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turnips-dont-grow-on-trees · 11 months

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What Measure A Man?

Fandom: Werewolf By Night (MCU)

Gen

Word Count: 3.5k

Summary: Jack and Elsa fight a monster, find a lost child, and talk philosophy, not necessarily in that order. Tw for off-screen child abduction, child in peril, canon-typical violence

(A/N: I hope I haven’t misstepped with my depiction of a cucuy. I am weak for wordplay and actor allusion, but if I’ve crossed a line let me know and I will make it a generic bogeyman instead.

(Also, I do love the film’s monster makeup and the decision to go with a trad wolfman design with an expressive face. I just wanted to have my cake and eat it too, so I wrote this doesn’t-contradict-canon-but-most-probably-wouldn’t-call-it-compliant fic.)

Elsa had been tracking the cucuy for almost a week, and she was getting close. It had been moving steadily south-southeast, and she expected it would likely be slowing down, now that it had found what was surely its ideal habitat – an old forest, whose canopy was so thick that even at high noon the understory was dim twilight, where shadows abounded. Just what a boogeyman needed.

She crept carefully along a deer trail, looking for any signs that the monster was in the immediate area. And because she was paying excruciatingly close attention to her surroundings, she noticed the wolf before it noticed her.

It was nosing through the brush perhaps fifteen metres downhill from her, its reddish coat blending in with the carpet of fallen leaves but the white on its paws and muzzle standing out in the dim light. Elsa took a steadying breath, prepared to stay still and observe from a distance, but she didn’t get the chance - a jay kicked up a fuss just over her head, and the wolf’s head snapped up to look in her direction.

“Elsa?!”

What. the. Fuck.

The wolf - Jack, it had to be Jack - bounded up the hill towards her. She had to stifle every instinct and trained reflex in order to keep her posture loose. Lucky for her, appearing unconcerned was a specialty

"Hi… Jack." Up close he was smaller than she would have expected, about the size of a large alsatian. Otherwise, there was nothing to distinguish him from the mounted specimens of timber wolves she’d seen in lowercase-h hunting lodges. There was nothing to suggest that he was a werewolf at all, or indeed Jack Russell, except she was fairly certain she would recognize those eyes anywhere.

"Elsa! What are you doing here?"

“I’m tracking a cucuy… ” There had to be a way to ask, right? Jack hadn’t said anything about why he was a wolf, but that didn’t mean it would be rude to ask. Jack’s ears flattened against his skull. “A cucuy! Oh no no no, that is not good. A little girl has gone missing; I’m helping the search party looking for her. If a cucuy is involved, we have to hurry! Come on, this way!” He raced back to where she’d first spotted him. Elsa hurried after him, scrambling to keep up with him and her tumbling thoughts, a jolt of adrenalin sending her heartbeat into overdrive. Internally, she was berating herself - if she’d been faster, better, she could have caught up to the cucuy before it found its next child to kidnap. But with Jack’s help, finding the creature responsible would surely go twice as fast.

Elsa’s chest felt tight. A knot formed, just beneath her ribs, that she knew could not be picked apart and untangled with logic. A proper Gordian knot, the only way to get rid of it was to cut it, and the only way to cut it was to find the girl and hope they weren’t too late.

That was the crux of the matter, wasn’t it? Starting now, she wasn’t going to stop looking until the girl was found, and she had no idea how long that would be. Tracking a cucuy alone was one thing; then, hours of tracking could be downright monotonous if there weren’t many signs. It was practically routine, and she could take short breaks knowing the trail would still be there for her to pick up again if she didn’t wait too long.

Now, though, now there was a countdown clock she couldn’t see, and her mind started forecasting the future, unspooling potentialities, imagining still being in the forest, still searching, still feeling this damnable, sustained tension for the next two, three, four hours - the thought of which was its own form of anxiety, compounding her stress.

Stop. Focus. She took a deep breath, then another, and finally a helpful, rational thought was able to penetrate her spiraling thoughts. Cucuy don’t typically eat their victims right away. They try to adopt the children, and when that doesn’t work, they lose their tempers with disastrous consequences… but it takes time to get to that point. And by now the sun had come up; the bogeyman was likely drowsing the day away, with the little girl in thrall. Like many monsters, it was primarily active at night.

She caught up to Jack as he was circling the ground, seeking whatever trail he’d been tracking before. Suddenly, he darted forward, only to slow down after several strides. He then backtracked, snuffled at the ground audibly, then leaped forward on a slightly different heading, only to come to a halt once again.

"Jack, Jack, slow down! We have time, so long as we get there before nightfall. At this rate you’ll just tire yourself out before we even get there."

Panting slightly and looking as abashed as a wolf could, Jack bobbed his head. “Sí, sí, you’re right. I got a bit ahead of myself, didn’t I?”

“You got ahead of the trail, at any rate.” The pace Jack now set, nose to the ground, was more akin to a leisurely amble, and Elsa fell into step beside him. “Can I ask a question?”

“Of course! Anything.”

“Is this what you’re like when you transform without the influence of the bloodstone?”

“Well, no, but yes.”

Elsa rolled her eyes. “Thanks, that cleared everything up.”

Jack glanced up at her, then at the forest around them. “You remember, when I said there is a part of me that is not me? That part came out with the bloodstone, yes, but it is also the part that comes out on full moon nights. That is one kind of transformation; this is another.”

“So if your current transformation is not the ‘part of you that is not you,’ what is it then?”

“Eh? Also me. I’m still myself, still human.” He paused momentarily to scratch behind one ear. Using his foot.

“Think you might need to get your eyes checked, mate.”

“Well – Hang on.” He paused, scenting the ground closely. “Would you mind moving to my other side? The wind’s shifted, your smell is getting in the way.”

“No one’s ever insulted my smell so directly before,” she huffed, mock-offended, but she did comply. “You were going to try to tell me that you are in fact a human right now.”

“Because I am.” He glanced up at her again. Behind his wolfy grin, there was… something. He wasn’t just trying to take the piss out of her. But she didn’t know what he wanted her to say.

"You're literally a wolf. For god's sake you're walking on four legs and covered in fur!"

"So? Most humans have two legs, it is true. But some have one, or none. The number of legs we have does not make us human."

“Yes, fine,” she conceded the point. “Humans are intelligent, is that it? You’re saying it’s your mind that makes you human, that because you can talk and think, you’re human on the inside, where it counts?” She shrugged. “Sure, why not.”

“I wouldn’t say humans are intelligent–”

Elsa snorted, then jerked in surprise when Jack actually nipped her heel.

"I'm being serious! This is important. Being smart, that's not what makes someone human. If that were the case, then there would be a, how you say, a scale. People at the top, the ones with the highest IQ, they would be the most human. And people less smart would be less human. There are already people who think this way, and it is wrong! Ted was born human, raised human. He got three doctorates. Since he was changed, he's not quite so fast at problem-solving. He can't do the quantum what-you-call-it in his head anymore, the way he used to. But he's not less! He's just different. And he hasn't stopped being human just because of an accident."

"An accident!?"

"In a manner of speaking. It was not the intended outcome to become as he is."

Elsa mulled that over, ducking under a low-hanging branch. "What, then, decides whether someone is human? If it's not their body and it's not their intellect?"

"Well, why not let them decide? I think, if someone feels that they are human, that should be enough, yeah?"

Elsa sighed. She’d come here to hunt a monster, not get philosophical, but she supposed this was par for the course when Jack was involved. “Surely it can’t be that easy, but what do I know? Can’t say I’ve given it much thought before. Growing up, I was taught a very black-and-white definition of human and monster.”

Jack hummed. “But something changed your mind, no? You disagreed with Verussa even before we met.”

Elsa waved him off. “You give me too much credit, it wasn’t anything as noble as you make it sound. I just - Wait.” She halted and gestured for him to do the same, crouching down to get a closer look at what she’d spotted. “Look - cucuy tracks, and they’re fresh. We’re close.” Jack was instantly alert, ears twitching and tail partially raised. He partially opened his mouth, scenting the air. "There’s fear-scent, faintly, both human and rabbit. It probably tried to offer her live prey, which she would have refused. I don’t smell any of her blood, so I don’t think the cucuy retaliated. But we are close, now, and we need a plan. You have more experience fighting monsters, how about you go after the cucuy, and I will get the child to safety?"

"And how are you going to do that, the way you are now? Which, you never actually - nevermind, no time now. How about you distract the cucuy while I get the child – what’s her name? Do you know?” “Sylvie.” “Then I’ll come back after I’ve gotten Sylvie to out of there, and cut its head off.” Then she added, more sharply than she intended, “Oh, sorry, unless it counts as human and I should spare it?” She could not say she was a fan of the uncertainty being around Jack brought to monster hunting.

Jack looked at her with eyes far too knowing. “I don’t like killing. But I do not have the luxury to pretend I don’t understand it.”

“Alright then. Glad we’re agreed.” Elsa broke eye contact first.

Moving silently, they crept forward. A broken-necked rabbit lay on the packed earth of a small clearing. There in the rocky hillside beyond was a tall, narrow crevasse, maybe four feet wide, and extending back at least ten feet. Elsa could just make out the small figure of a human child, tucked into the back of the cave. And leaning over her, the cucuy.

She and Jack exchanged one last look, then he charged, hurtling forward like an arrow, teeth bared in a snarl. He covered the distance in less than two seconds, giving the cucuy no time to react before his jaws clamped tightly around one of its legs. Jack heaved his body backward, pulling its spindly limbs tumbling from its shelter, before letting go and darting out of reach of its grasping hands. The cucuy screeched in anger, its deep eye sockets fixed on Jack; Elsa seized the opportunity to break cover and dash to the little girl’s side.

She was young, maybe six or seven, and dressed in Tweety Bird pyjamas. So far as Elsa could tell she was unharmed, though she was sound asleep despite the ruckus - likely still under the cucuy’s thrall. Elsa didn’t envy her the nightmares when she awoke, but at the moment it made her job easier. She slung the girl over her shoulders in a fireman’s carry and booked it, sprinting away from the fight and not stopping until she’d put at least twenty metres between them.

Then she carefully laid the girl down, beneath the overhang of a fallen tree’s roots. No time to catch her breath, Elsa ran back to the fight in time to see Jack, bleeding from one ear, leap forward and slash open the monster’s forelimb with a quick snap of his teeth, before leaping back to resume circling it, growling. Elsa readied her machete and waited until the cucuy, pivoting to keep Jack in its sights, turned its back to her before she leaped forward and lopped its head off with one blow.

She let the blade fall to the ground, and finally, finally, stopped to catch her breath.

Jack trotted up to her, skirting the headless, many-limbed body on the ground. “Sylvie, is she okay?”

“She’s fine, the thrall should break soon now that the cucuy is dead.”

“Good, good, that’s good.”

As they fell into step once more, walking towards the sleeping girl, Elsa figured she would not get another opportunity. "So… can I ask why you’re ‘human’ on four legs today?"

"To help with the search party, of course. My nose is much better, this way. But," he added, flicking one ear at her, "I am thinking that you are wondering how, not why. Simply put, when I transform voluntarily, I keep my mind. I am all of myself, and not caught in-between."

"So you could turn back, now that we’ve found the girl? I have to say, it’s a little distracting, having a conversation with you like this."

He grinned toothily. “Why didn’t you say anything sooner? But I think you will agree that changing back would be more distracting - I haven’t got any clothes with me.”

Elsa raised an unimpressed brow. "So what exactly was your a plan, if you found her? Naked man approaching a young girl in the woods - not a good look."

"I have a Lassie routine I can pull out. No, really!" He raised his tail from where it hung down at rest, pulled his head back so he looked less like he was stalking prey, and grinned a toothy doggy grin, his tongue lolling to one side. He shifted his gait so he trotted as he walked, practically bouncing. Elsa could not suppress a snort - werewolves should not be so goofy - and shortly thereafter Jack relaxed back into his natural wolfy posture. He shook his shoulders lightly like he was shaking off snow. "It is tiring to maintain for long time," he admitted. "Gives me a crick in my neck." The girl, Sylvie, was just where Elsa had left her, asleep between the roots of a wide beech tree. Elsa tried shaking her awake, but Sylvie merely turned over in her sleep. She checked her over for injury, more methodically than before, and beside her Jack did the same with his own senses. It all reaffirmed what Elsa had already determined, that apart from nightmares, Sylvie would be just fine. Still, little kids were resilient. Could be she’d be able to put this bad dream behind her. Jack wuffed softly. “You’ll have to carry her back. I’ll keep out of sight in case she wakes up.” “Except I don’t know the way. C’mon, Lassie, you can take the lead.” “Ay, I already regret saying anything about that.” Elsa lifted the still-sleeping girl onto her back for the trek back towards human habitation. Hopefully the search party wasn’t too far, or the sleeping spell wore off soon, because while seven-year-old wasn’t heavy, she wasn’t exactly light either, and as he was, Jack was no help at all. “So… How is Ted doing? Is he around?” “No, he doesn’t like cold weather; he rarely comes this far north. I am actually on my way to visit him, in Florida." "That’s nice. What brought you to Missouri?" They’d talked for about a quarter mile about places they’d both seen on their travels, when Elsa felt a stirring at her back. Signalling to Jack that he should stop talking, she shifted her grip and lowered Sylvie to the ground. The girl woke up slowly at first, then all at once. She shrieked, ear-piercingly loud and sudden enough that Elsa took a startled step backwards, holding her hands up placatingly. "Hey, hey, it’s okay. You’re safe now. I’ve got you, you’re safe."

"Wh-where am I?! Who are you?! I don’t, I don’t - !" she took great gulping breaths.

Elsa crouched down. "My name is Elsa. I found you in the woods. Your family is looking for you; I’m here to bring you home."

Sylvie latched onto her sleeve with a vice grip. "Why am I in the woods! Why!"

"It’s okay." Elsa soothed, squeezing her shoulder to ground her. "You’re awake, the nightmare is over. You’re safe. You’ll be home soon." Elsa didn’t particularly want to gaslight a seven-year-old with lies; a distraction, on the other hand, could be just the thing to shift her focus and get her moving forward. Physically and metaphorically. "Have you met my friend, Jack?" He trotted over, head held high, and sat down next to Elsa, tail wagging.

"Oh!" Sylvie released her vice-grip on Elsa’s jacket to tentatively reach towards him. Jack obligingly lowered his head so she could rub between his fuzzy ears. "He’s so pretty!"

"You’re so right," Elsa agreed, to appease the child; Jack cocked his head and grinned at her. She sighed and stood up, brushing off dirt and leaves. "C’mon, your family is waiting for you. Let’s get you home." She held out her hand to Sylvie, and together they started walking, Jack trotting along beside, still in Lassie-mode.

"How did I get out here? Do you know? Do you know where my Daddy is? I miss him! I don’t like these woods!" Sylvie stopped abruptly and dug her heels in. "Get my dad!"

"The faster we walk, the faster you’ll get to your dad."

"I don’t want to walk! I hate these woods! I want you to call my Daddy!"

"I don’t have his number." Which was an oversight on their part, admittedly. She should have checked if Jack had gotten a contact number for the search party. "I can’t carry you the whole way, it’s too far. Literally the only way we’re getting out of these woods is if we all walk."

"Why can’t you carry me?"

"I just said. You’re too big."

"But I don’t want to walk."

Elsa pinched the bridge of her nose. Sylvie was scared, and scared kids had the same fear reflexes as anyone else: fight, flight, or fawn. Elsa should consider herself lucky that the girl’s first response wasn’t to bolt into the forest, but the impulse to curl up and lie still wasn’t helpful in this situation.

She tried another tactic. "You know, Jack is scared of the woods, too."

"What, really?" Sylvie looked skeptically at Jack, who gave her his best puppy eyes in response.

"Yep," Elsa said, biting back a grin. "Total scaredy-cat, this one. But it’s good for him to be outside, so I’m trying to get him used to the forest. Do you think you can help me? Can you show him how to be brave?"

Sylvie gave her proposal due consideration, then nodded, steely-eyed. "You don’t have to worry anymore, Jack. I’ll look out for you."

Task in hand, Sylvie had no more issues with walking. She kept up a constant stream of chatter, directed mostly towards Jack in order to reassure him. In the end, it did not take that long to cross paths with the search party. Within half an hour Elsa had returned Sylvie to the grateful arms of her father, Jack hanging back out of sight of the adults, who were all significantly less likely to be fooled by his dog routine.

Elsa extricated herself from their gratitude as quickly as she could, uninterested in tearful reunions. She bummed a map off one of the searchers and plotted the best course back to her car. As soon as the search party was out of sight, Jack fell into step beside her.

"It was good to see you again, Elsa."

"Mm. This was a lot more fun than last time." She chewed her lip, thinking carefully about whether she wanted to make the offer. "Listen," Elsa began. "I was actually on my way to Georgia, this hunt was just a detour. Word is there’s something draining the ley lines. If you’re headed to Florida, do you want to… travel together, for a bit?"

"I’d like that."

"Clothing is required. That’s non-negotiable."

"Of course."

The last vestiges of the knot in her chest loosened, and she took a deep breath of cool autumn air. Some company would be nice for this trip.

#werewolf by night #ch: jack russell #elsa bloodstone #marvel #mcu #wwbn fic #my writing #truthfully this has been 70% done since last november #finally got the push i needed to finish it!

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superspookywombat · 4 years

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falling {j.h} chapter twelve

A/n: hey guys, so it took long enough but chapter 12 is finally here. Hope you enjoy!

Warnings: kind of in depth description of an animal death (deer)

“A what?” You ask, noticing that your knees don’t hurt even though the ground underneath you is rock hard. Alice steps gracefully towards you.

“A Thiriokinetic.” She repeats. “You can manipulate animals and their feelings.” You look to Jasper, his mouth a tight line as he processes her words.

“So like Jasper, but with animals?” Emmett asks, his eyebrows raised. Alice nods, and the blonde girl next to him scoffs. He nudges Jasper, who glares at him. “As if one wasn’t enough.”

“She’s putting us all at risk!” She says, her hands in fists at her sides clenching. Esme places a hand on her shoulder, giving her a motherly warning look.

“Rosalie.” She says softly. Rosalie shakes her hand off, then turns and walks inside. Jasper tightens his grip around your waist, but not in the way he did earlier to stop you. Now his hold was protective.

“We need to get her out of here, Carlisle.” He says, his crisp accent making you feel at home in his arms.

“We’re working on it. I need to find out what Bella is telling Charlie before I decide what to do.” He responds, clearly lost in thought. Grief floods your brain. Charlie. Jasper, sensing your pain holds you tighter.

“He’s fine, y/n.” He reassures you. It eases your mind, but only a little bit. “He was at Billy’s.”

“Yeah, no way he would get hurt surrounded by them.” Emmett snorts, earning a pointed look from Carlisle.

“What do you mean?” You ask him. He puts his hands up in mock surrender and turns to follow Rosalie into the house. You whip your head to look up at Jasper over your shoulder. “What does he mean?”

“It’s a long story..” He says, a nervous laugh bubbling up from his chest.

“Well it seems I’ve got time.” You sigh.

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“So we don’t need passports at all?” You ask Carlisle, your arms crossed as you stand in front of the doctor who leans on the desk in his study.

“We decided it’d be best to have no human contact. We want this to be as painless as possible for you.” He answers. You chew at your bottom lip, going over the last few hours in your mind.

“So we’re staying in the states?” You ask, but it doesn’t take a PHD to understand what he’s implying.

“Yes.” He says, then pauses, choosing his next few words carefully. “You and Jasper will be driving to Denali to stay with our cousins for a while. Emmett and Rosalie will also be joining you.”

You stare at him, waiting for him to elaborate on his choice in company. When he doesn’t, you speak. “Why them?”

“I’m sending Emmett along just in case something were to happen..” He trails off, but you already know what he means. In case I try to attack someone again. You look down at your bare feet, ashamed for even thinking about killing Bella. Your throat burns at the thought of her “Rosalie wants to accompany him, and I think it’s a good idea.”

“Oh, okay.” You say, giving him a small smile. He returns the favor and you turn to leave. As your hand touches the knob of the door, you let go and swivel on your heel. “And Charlie? What does he know?”

“He doesn’t know anything, as of now. And I’d like to keep it that way- for his safety and ours.” Carlisle says, not looking up from the textbook he’s flipping through. You don’t say anything else as you leave the office.

“Hi, how are you feeling?” Alice asks from behind you. You flinch, pressing your hand to your chest.

“Jesus, Alice. You just about started my cold, dead heart.” You joke, but saying it out loud makes it real, and that hurts.

“Sorry, I knew you would be leaving and I wanted to catch you before you find Esme.” She says, her bubbly voice bouncing off of the walls.

“How did you know I was- never mind.” You say, starting to walk down to the living room. Alice follows behind, practically bouncing after you.

“You’ve been exposed to so much in such a short amount of time. You need to take a break and process this.” She says, catching up to you as you step into the wide room. “And I know you’ve got to be parched, I figured we could go hunt and talk.”

“Now that you mention it, I am pretty thirsty.” You say, reaching up at your neck. She nods understandingly. “Jasper will come too, right?”

“Are you kidding me? That boy refused to leave your side when you were turning. He hasn’t fed in weeks, besides the rabbit that Emmett smuggled in without Esme knowing.” She says, grimacing. You opt out of responding, feeling guilty and also a bit sad. That poor rabbit.

You take a seat on the couch out of habit. You don’t feel yourself getting tired of standing, but it feels natural to just plop down onto it and kick your feet up. Jasper walks into the room not long after. Alice bounds up to him, picking a piece of lint off of his shirt. A pang of jealousy surges through you. You know it’s just a habit for her, like the couch for you. Something she’s done for so long, she just subconsciously does it now.

“Jazz! I was just telling y/n about how thirsty you must be. I mean, wow, look at those eyes.” She says, the words tumbling out of her mouth faster than you can even understand their meaning. She brushes a stray hair from his eyes, giving you a clearer look at his pitch black irises, then looks over her shoulder at you, giggling. “Someone’s thirsty.”

Jealousy pierces your heart, and you hear something behind you paw at the glass window. Jasper gently evades Alice, sitting down by you. “I was planning on takin’ her out alone, if you don’t mind.”

“Oh. Oh. Yeah, of course that’s okay! I don’t know what I was thinking, sorry.” Alice says, walking backwards a few steps before turning around and quickly walking out of the room, flustered. Vampires get flustered?

“You sure you can handle me all by yourself, cowboy?” You tease, trying to ease the tension from whatever the hell just happened.

“Sounds like a challenge to me.” He says with a smirk. He lunges at you, but you’re too quick and jump over the back of the couch much faster and more gracefully than you ever could when you were human. You sprint out the back door, your bare feet unaffected by the thick brush underneath them. You can hear Jasper get closer to you. If only he’d trip, I’d get way ahead of him.

Before you can second-guess yourself, you hear rapid heartbeats flying down towards you. You duck, but Jasper doesn’t- and receives a face full of squirrels. You halt, eyes wide as you watch the incident unfold behind you. At least five squirrels obstruct Jasper’s view as he peels one from his back, then chucks it into the forest. The touchdowned squirrel reminds you to start running again so he doesn’t catch you. He had told you earlier that newborns (you) were stronger than ancients (him), so you hoped that you could use that to your advantage.

“Yeah you better run, darlin’.” He says, and you can tell he enjoys this from the sound of a smile in his tone.

“I was promised a challenge.” You tease, paying no mind to the trees whizzing passed you. You get a couple hundred yards away before a sense of fatigue runs through you. You try to shake it off, but you can’t stop yourself from slowing down. After a few seconds, you can hear a quiet ‘thud, thud, thud’ get louder and louder from behind you. Something- someone hard collides with you, carving a deep indent in the forest floor. Jasper’s scent surrounds you, and you open your eyes to see his face right above you. Your hands are pinned on either side of you, and though you know you could most likely overpower him, you don’t want to. You smirk up at him, your noses almost close enough to touch.

“Gotcha.” He says, you feel his cool breath on your lips. You raise an eyebrow at him, feigning annoyance.

“You cheated.”

“You cheated first.” He rebuttals. You close your eyes as he leans in and connects your lips to his in a deep kiss. With a small tug of your wrists, he lets them go and grabs your waist, rolling you over to straddle him. You lean down, placing your hands on the sides of his face, deepening the kiss. The sound of a heartbeat and rushing of blood snaps you out of your daze. A deer trots out of the bushes, no doubt sensing your bliss and wanting a piece of it. The scent of her blood catches in your throat. You sit up straight, inhaling deeply as you close your eyes and lean your head back. She walks closer, maybe three feet away from you now. You swallow the venomous saliva bubbling up from your throat, and approach the deer as Jasper sits up.

“Aim for the neck.” Jasper instructs so quietly that human ears wouldn’t hear it. But you do, of course. His words are long forgotten as you crouch and lunge, instincts taking over. As you sink your teeth into her neck, the bitterly strong taste of betrayal taints your tastebuds. A part of you feels a growing satisfaction, but another part of you- a much bigger part of you forces you to pull away. Blood dribbles down your chin and spills onto your already bloody and torn clothes that you have yet to change out of (much to Alice’s disdain).

“Careful, you’re spillin’ more than you're drinkin’.” Jasper gently corrects. You screw your eyes shut, trying to focus on drinking, but all you can feel is the deer’s anguish and betrayal. You push the deer out of your reach, falling back onto your butt with a gasp. You look down at your shaking bloody hands, the deer’s pain almost feeling worse than the momentarily soothed burning feeling in your throat. You sputter, coughing up blood as Jasper watches you with a horrified yet concerned look on his face. He looks at the deer, who is trying to push itself off of the damp, bloody ground. Disgruntled sounds gurgle from her mouth, her eyes twitching. Jasper takes one look at you before calmly walking over to her. He reaches down, and with his large hands, snaps her neck. Then he walks over to you and crouches down, and you avoid eye contact.

“You- you killed her..” You say, voice shaky. He looks over to the deer, her body limp as foam falls from her mouth.

“Your venom would have made her death slow and painful. I put ‘er out of her misery.” He says softly. You nod. You feel the need to cry, but your eyes don’t make the tears necessary. You remember Jasper telling you earlier that vampires don’t cry.

“I put her in misery.” You say, looking him in the eyes. “I did that to her.” He sits down next to you, placing his hand on your thigh. Her pain finally subdues, letting you think clearly. You place your head in your hands, your sticky, bloody hands.

“You needed to. You need her to live, we don’t get to decide the food chain.” He says. You lean into his touch when he moves his hand to your back, rubbing soothing circles into your tattered clothes. You stand up, deciding not to look at the deer carcass again. Jasper jumps to his feet behind you, then starts walking as he leads you back to the house. You walk in silence for a bit, the further you are from the deer, the more her pain fades. What kind of vampire can’t drink blood? How am I going to survive without it? I don’t think I can survive with it. You kick at a rock, it goes flying and disappears into the trees. Oh how you wish you were that rock right about now. About halfway home, the silence is so thick you could cut through it with a knife like melted butter. What lighter of a subject does it get than fashion?

“I need to get out of these clothes.” You say, pulling at the fabric lightly. The seam splinters, exposing the loose threads. “I’m sure Alice will be elated.”

“About Alice..” He says, then trails off. You raise an eyebrow, waiting for him to further his sentence. “You have no need to be jealous. She and I aren’t together anymore, and though I’ll always love her, I don’t love her in the way that I love you.”

Your breath hitches in your throat as you halt on the pathway. In the way that I love you, he said. Love? You feel lightheaded, though you know it’s impossible for it to actually happen. How long have you known this guy? Eleven months? I suppose that’s not totally unreasonable for a time frame for love. Is there even one? Wasn’t it more like love at first sight? Actually- more like lust at first sight, bow wow. Okay, stop the inner monologue, say something, literally anything!

“You- Love?” You spit out. Not that, idiot. He stops a few feet in front of you, looking at you with his lips pursed. Though he can feel you, he can feel that this isn’t a one-way feeling, he still freezes- not realizing what he just said. He watches you carefully, undoubtedly going through the same thoughts as you.

“I just- well I meant that- I mean- I feel very strongly about you, y/n. And unless you decide to leave us, I’m always going to feel very strongly about you.” He says, stumbling over his words. You step towards him.

“Only you would profess your love to a girl covered in blood.” You tease, and he releases a breathy chuckle.

“Am I that predictable, miss Swan?” He says, stepping towards you. You smile at him, and he wraps his arm around your waist, pulling you to his chest.

“Only a little bit.” You say, pushing onto your tip toes and placing your lips on his. He quietly grunts in approval, leaning down and deepening the kiss. You push him away for a second, but only to utter the following words; “I feel very strongly about you too, Jasper Hale.”

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#jasper hale #jasper hale x reader #jasperhale #twilight x reader #twilight #carlisle cullen #esme cullen #Rosalie Hale #Emmett Cullen #alice cullen #that poor deer #fanfiction #fanfic

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starr-fall-knight-rise · 5 years

Text

Humans are Space Orcs “Hunting”

Here is another story requested by a few of you (my lovely readers). Forgive me if I am not entirely accurate on this one. While I grew up where hunting was a thing, I never got around to actually participating, though I wish I would have tried at least once.

The leaves overhead rattled in a chilled autumn breeze. On Earth, the plants had adapted to the harsh winters, and so shed their leaves going sort of…. Dormant....through the cold season, assuming they had leaves instead of needles, and the forest floor was blanketed with the decomposing remnants bright red and orange on the top layer, and a dark moldering brown on the lower layers.

It was just barely warm enough for Krill to be outside of his enclosure floating softly through the air tethered to one of his human companions who crouched in the leaves. He was very silent predatory eyes facing forward into the trees. When he moved he moved unfathomably silently despite the leaves placing his booted feet on patches of open earth.

Two other humans ranged out to their sides slowly moving through the trees barely visible to krill, who couldn’t make them out against the backdrop of foliage, especially not with the confusing patterned clothing that they wore which broke up their bodies and caused them to blend backwards into the foliage. He only caught a glimpse of them every so often as they moved silently through the trees.

Adam came to a knee on a mossy patch of rock hand braced against the ground.

Krill shivered as he watched the other humans fall into a similar position. He had always called humans predatory, and science had proven that long ago, but he had never expected to see it in action. Though it may have seemed unbelievable, on their planet, humans were some of the slowest weakest , and arguably the most useless creatures, but mentally there was no foil, and the evidence of that showed in the technology used to aid their hunting ventures. Camouflage to help them be unseen compasses to help them find the way, and the lightweight carbon-fiber contraption gripped lightly in his left hand.

The human crouched on the ground peering through the trees and adjusted the contraption to rest over his knee. It was strange, an oddly shaped length of carbon fiber, aluminum and fiberglass ending in a set of pulleys which secured a fibrous length of cord between the two extreme ends.

Slowly and with very deliberate movement, the human reached back and drew a long black shaft from an open tube on his back. The back end of the shaft had three foam patches on it two in orange and one in white, and the other end…. Had a flittering set of blades reaching an apex at a single point. The human slowly moved his hand down and set the back end of the shaft against the cord.

The two other humans with him turned and he motioned the one to the left with a wide turn of his hand motioning him to flank around to the side.

Krill watched in great fascination and unease as the hunting human slipped into the brush. Adam stuck a finger in his mouth and held it up to the air “Checking the wind” as he had explained earlier. From the slight drift Krill was getting, he would say there was a slight breeze heading towards them. Adam seemed satisfied and turned to motion his other brother, Jeremy, off to the other side.

David was nowhere to be seen.

Krill hid behind a tree staring around at the strange alien landscape, and the strange human hunters. He really had not wanted to come with them into the hostile landscape even less so when he learned he was going to watch them hunt and kill another creature, but curiosity had gotten the better of him, so he had accompanied the humans as they had made their way into the woods.

At first, nothing had seemed particularly off about the situation. The three men had walked together talking and laughing, Adam somewhat less than normal considering he was still recovering psychologically after a very hard few months, but still all had seemed well, and then, after a couple hours of aimless wandering, the group of men had stopped on the open side of a ridge peering downwards into a valley with contraptions allowing them to see further.

The moon had changed significantly after that.

It was as if a switch had flipped , and the three men grew very, very quiet. They had slowly fanned out over a distance of twenty yards to either side knees bend slightly shoulders hunched eyes facing forward stalking through the trees with near silent footsteps as their, once strange, clothing began to demonstrate a new purpose as their bodies began to shimmer and vanish, to Krill’s eyes, against the background of trees and dying leaves.

Humans weren’t generally this quiet, and it unsettled Krill as he watched them stalking through the trees.

And then they sait waiting ten minutes turned into twenty twenty became thirty and thirty grew towards an hour of just watching as the humans sat perfectly still and in place unwilling to move a muscle. He had never seen a human hold so still in their life, much less Adam, but there he sat crouched on the ground as a chill wind blew past him through the trees. Out of morbid curiosity, Krill inflated himself a little bit more elevating himself towards the middling branches of the trees. Through the shedding branches he could just make out a clearing up ahead.

It was large and spacious with gently swaying grass fading from a light green to a dusky yellow color, and in that clearing, he could just make out a clump of brown shapes. It was difficult to make out from here, seeing as he did not have the best eyesight…. In comparison to humans, but he animals standing before him were strange beasts, quite large about the height of a human or more…. Some of the larger ones anyway. They had tan to brown coats, and the larger one’s head was crowned with a strange branching of bone.

It was a rather eerie sight. The creature lifted it’s head and sniffed at the air, easily supporting the great branches atop its head points glistening in the dim overcast light of the sky above. Its large ears flickered, and it’s wide, dark eyes scanned the trees about them. Around it, the smaller creatures, without the strange protrusions, lifted their heads as well turning towards the opposite end of the clearing.

Krill wouldn’t have been able to tell the creatures were prey animals if it wasn’t for the lateral positioning of their eyes. To him the beasts were terrifying, especially the large one which would have used it;;s horns to gore him in half if it really wanted.

Surely the humans weren’t after these things.

The large one sniffed the air again and pawed at the ground in agitation. As if on quq, the group of animals began making their way closer towards the hiding humans. A few broke out into a light trot and padded through the tall grass. Their agitation had not yet broken into full blown panic, though it definitely should have.

Krill could see the human now crouching in the bushes eyes locked upon the large thorny creature at the head of the pack. He inched forward taking a knee against the ground. The creature had turned its head facing backwards, but from what Kril Could tell, it’s line of sight would have been blocked by a set of branches just to the front of its face. The human took this opportunity lifting the contraption before his face and drawing the cord back. One hand held out straight forward and the other one drawn back to his cheek thumb delicately brushing against the side of his mouth. The weapon did not quiver.

The animal lifted its head.

The human let out a slow breath going very still and let go of the cord. There was a loud TWACK! And then a shrill scream as the animal bucked kicked and then fell over writhing in place. Its shrill cries echoed through the valley stirring the rest of the herd into a terrified frenzy, and together they bolted through the trees with the thundering of hooves.

The three humans converged from the woods breaking cover and no longer attempting to silence their footsteps. One broke from the left one broke from the right, and Adam ran straight up the middle. Krill watched in abject horror as the three humans surrounded the dying animal. The creatures wide dark eyes stared up at the surround predators in fear. David stepped forward drawing back another arrow, from a few paces away, put a shaft through its eye.

The creatures cries were silenced fading slowly into a dying echo as he lowered his bow, and the three humans morphed back into their earlier selves.

“Nice shot.”

“If it was a nice shot, I would have killed it.” Adam retorted. Uneasily KRill lowered himself form the sky staring in fearful fascination at the creature lying dead on the forest floor. The humans had done it, they had just…. Killed it.

And now they planned on eating it.

Jeremy dropped to one knee handing his bow off to Adam, “Tell your little alien friend he might want to turn away for this part.

Adam turned to look at Krill his single green eye flickering in the dying light of the sun, “We aren’t planning on dragging the entire thing out…… which means we have to gut it.” Krill didn’t need more prompting and turned away. Despite that, he could still hear the sound of rending flesh as the humans tore the creature apart into its component parts. The thought struck him with abject horror, and he wondered how it could be like this. Adam, a usually mild and unaggressive creature capable of stalking, hunting and dismembering something, but a lot fo humans were like that seemingly mild and unaggressive until they weren’t.

“Why dod you do this.” Krill wondered in shock

David took this one coming around to face Krill wiping his hands on some disinfecting wipes, “Depends, we used to do it for survival, and then we did it for sport, and we’ve always done it to eat because they taste good, but the reason we do it now has to do with population control. Last couple of years some sort of disease has been tearing through the predator population, especially wolves. IN turn the deer population saw a MASSIVE increase. They are having trouble feeding all of them, and grazing habits have caused issue with other species and wildland. Generally nature would take care of the issue, but it's been affecting some families and homes in the nearby area. The government gives out tags to hunters to take down the males to reduce population growth and control. Once the disease dies down, and the predator population goes up, they will be giving out wolf tags.”

Behind him one of the humans laughed, “I know you don't like the idea much Krill, but humans are hunters always have been always will be. The difference now is, we understand the kind of impact we have, and we know how to use what we kill to the best of our ability.”

Adam dusted off his hands.

Krill looked back at them expression unsure trying to ignore the caracc laid at their feet. Looking in their eyes, he didn’t see anything different, no signs of sadistic pleasure or a change for the worst, but perhaps that is what bothered him. The fact that killing something really didn’t change the way they felt, didn’t change anything about them. This was something that they did, and something they had done for thousands of years.

Perhaps he would never understand it. In comparison to creatures on their planet, he had more in common with the trees than he had in common with animals, so his species would never understand consumption for survival.

But still there was something about the way they moved that day, the way they had circled and sluk through the trees that would always stick with him.

It was a reminder.

A reminder that man had grown up in a harsh world.

A reminder that man was at his core.

A hunter

#humans are space orcs #HUMANS ARE WEIRD #humans are space australians #humans are spaceoddities #earth is a deathworld #Earth is space Ausralia

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chestnut-b · 5 years

Text

Clueless (Art + Fic)

Iruka’s sense of self-awareness has never been his strongest suit.

“Good afternoon Iruka-sensei.” he greeted. Kakashi turned to the back of the room. “A busy day in the mission room I see.” The silence was deafening. “There are some reconstruction projects near the Forest of Death that could use some extra manpower. Anyone keen?”.

In all his years in the mission room, Iruka had never seen a room clear out that fast.

He’d been receiving his second report of the day when he felt the sudden release of tension, but Iruka was nothing if not professional. Without even skipping a beat, he pulled his hitae-ate to his neck, tucked the curtain of hair behind his ear and out of his face. Iruka issued a quick apology to the Jounin before him and smiled amicably as he put away a freshly approved report. But the shinobi, whom Iruka had known to lack a chatty disposition, had not moved immediately as he usually did, and instead opted to stare at Iruka in a way that made him feel just a bit self-conscious.

He must have looked more of a mess than he thought.

“Is there something else I can help you with, Jounin-san?”

Iruka only received a mumbled thanks in response before the ninja quickly removed himself from the room. Quickly, he dug into his new vest pocket and felt absolutely nothing. He groaned inwardly, realising that in equipping his newly issued vest, he’d neglected to include his supply of spare hair ties.

“I’m getting a bit too complacent now that the war’s over.” he chided himself. It was too late to excuse himself to look for a spare; Iruka could only sigh as he ran a hand through his now loose, tousled hair, attempting to make himself look, at the very least, presentable for the day’s duties. So lost in his own thoughts he was, that he failed to notice the sudden dip in chatter that usually filled the room.

The back of the mission room had always been a bit of a watering hole for the returning shinobi of the village, but as the hour passed Iruka was starting to wonder if he’d missed a memo somewhere. Between reports he took the chance to scan the room. Too many people whom he knew had no business here, some weren’t even on active duty at the moment. Heads kept peeking through the entrance and disappearing just as quickly. As he read the latest report before him, he resisted the urge to grip the knot of tension that had been building up at the back of his neck. But of course, by the time he could look up any shinobi worth their salt wouldn’t be caught dead looking in his direction.

Two hours in, and Iruka was starting to get annoyed. The line stretching in front of him was not only growing, but seemed to move at a snail’s pace. He’d had to engage in more than the usual small talk, and for some inexplicable reason, received three invitations to drinking parties and just as many invitations to a meal or tea.

While it was nice to see that Konoha’s peaceful days were bringing good business to the village eateries, the proposal for a new Academy roadmap he was to present to the Rokudaime and elder council in the coming week wasn’t going to finish itself. He’d had to politely decline each invitation, prompting a chuckle and snicker from Kotetsu and Izumo, who were manning the table beside him. The pair looked disturbingly amused by it all.

Speaking of the Rokudaime - he glanced at the clock across the room. It was about the usual time he’d spot the Hokage wander past the mission room door on what Iruka guessed, was his afternoon break. If Iruka knew anything from having assisted Tsunade-sama in her bureaucratic duties before, it was that Kakashi must have been drowning in more paperwork than the former jounin sensei had ever seen in his life.

The teacher smiled to himself; it didn’t feel like that long ago since he’d last received reports from Kakashi right across this very table. While the man wasn’t the most meticulous shinobi in that regard, Cell 7’s reports always made for an entertaining read (when they weren’t missions gone horribly awry, anyway), and Iruka found himself looking forward to receiving them on their return. Their argument during the Chuunin exams naturally caused some awkwardness between them, but when Naruto had left to train with Jiraiya, it was to Iruka’s pleasant surprise when of his own accord, Kakashi offered to buy drinks on the rare occasions Naruto wrote back home. Iruka hadn’t known what to expect, but their conversations had flowed as easy as the sake on those nights.

A sound of shuffling papers made Iruka pause. Hmm. The heat of the late afternoon sun on his back was making him feel unusually nostalgic today.

There was one Autumn, he remembered, when the first saury had come into season; Iruka passed a home-made bento to the older shinobi, along with an omamori containing soldier pills from their village shrine. Kakashi was due for a long mission that would see him away for a few months, and Iruka had wanted to thank him for all he’d done. Naruto’s absence had been unexpectedly hard on him, and Kakashi’s efforts, he’d realised, had kept the worst of the loneliness at bay. He’d regretted not bringing something for the rest of his accompanying team though, because Gai-sensei, upon witnessing this exchange, burst into a flood of tears in front of the village gates.

Really, he never knew Kakashi could look so pleased. Naruto was right, his sensei really did have a soft spot for saury.

Dragging his mind back to the present, Iruka added another report to the stack. The kunoichi before him was looking strangely flushed, but he just couldn’t muster the energy to suggest a cautionary visit to the infirmary. When she’d finally scuttled away, Iruka’s musings continued. Could a mere teacher and desk worker be friends with a Hokage? He wasn’t quite sure. But he did miss the conversations they’d shared over the letters in those years. Pein’s attack and the war had brought the meetings to an unfortunate end.

The reality of their situation; the new shinobi age, and Kakashi’s appointment as Hokage meant they couldn’t just pick up where they left off, Iruka thought. It’d been only two months since everyone had returned from the front lines. Many people were still mourning, but many were trying their best to move on with their lives.

Perhaps that why he’d received so many invitations. Iruka felt a twinge of guilt at the possibility of this, but remained firm in his decision. It would simply have to be another time.

As Hokage, Kakashi made few appearances in this room now, but on the days Iruka spotted him slouching past, the former jounin would send a surprisingly enthusiastic wave in his direction. Though the teacher never felt quite comfortable casually waving to the leader of their village in the middle of work (and a room full of shinobi), he never failed to send a genuine smile of acknowledgement back. An interaction that lasted mere seconds, but always gave Iruka the boost he needed to finish his shift.

Something he could really, really use right about now. That, along with a cup of tea. His throat was uncomfortably dry from all the extra talking he had to do today. The line at least, was making some progress.

Mere minutes later, as if summoned by an unsaid wish, a silver headed figure ambled by the door. Having noticed him out of the corner of his eye, Iruka looked up, ready to return a smile he was sure was waiting for him. However, there was none to be seen (though with the mask on, he couldn’t be completely sure). Instead, Iruka could only blink as he made eye contact with the man, who had stopped dead in his tracks at the door, looking at him with a mixture of surprise and weirdly enough, a tinge of......panic?

What?

He wasn’t sure if it was a teleportation jutsu or just sheer speed, but in the next moment, the person standing in front of him wasn’t a stammering chuunin, but one Rokudaime.

In all his years in the mission room, Iruka had never seen a room clear out that fast. His line mysteriously looked shorter too.

Looking rather pleased, Kakashi turned back to face him.

“Working on a new image?” The Hokage beamed at him, gesturing to his own head of silver. Two grey eyes, Iruka noticed, the same colour as his new vest. It suited him well. Two eyes though, he’d have to get used to that. Kakashi emoted so well with one, that two seemed a bit overwhelming at this point. Iruka felt his face grow warm. To be seen in such a disheveled state by his leader. How embarrassing.

“Please forgive my attire, it was certainly not my intention.” Iruka apologised, with a slight bow of his head. Kakashi merely shook his in response.

“No need, sensei. If anything, I should be the one apologising for interrupting your work, but it wouldn’t do to have everyone so distracted.”

Kakashi turned to Kotetsu and Izumo, who’d been enjoying their front-row seats to this scene a bit too much.

“Kotetsu-kun, could you kindly take over Iruka-sensei’s duties for the rest of his shift?”

“As you command.”

“Do you need something from me, Hokage-sama?” Iruka was getting more confused by the minute. This wasn’t how he’d imagined their first proper conversation in months going. Kakashi merely nodded. Kotetsu took no pause and began shooing him away from his seat.

“Regarding the Academy proposals next week. I’d like to hear your thoughts about it so far. If you have the time to spare, of course.”

Well, he’d just had the rest of his shift taken over, it wasn’t as if Iruka had much of an excuse. Not that he minded at all. There was an unsettling energy in the room right now, and Iruka was more than happy to end what was an odd stint, by any means. Gathering his things, he said his goodbyes to his comrades, and made his way to the exit, where Kakashi was waiting for him. Iruka startled a bit when he felt a pat on his shoulder, but exited with a small smile on this face anyway. Even if they were just talking about work, he found himself looking forward to it more than he realised.

As soon as they’d left, the mission room seemed to take a collective breath, and the world returned to its natural state.

Izumo turned to Kotetsu, who was stamping the report Iruka had left unfinished.

“Think Iruka will ever get a clue?”

Kotetsu grinned and shook his head.

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Author’s notes:

Thanks for reading! I’ve been thinking a lot about Iruka these days and felt the need to just write and draw something! It’s been so long too.

I think Iruka has always been fairly sharp to everything around him, but himself. A little awkward and self deprecating, but that’s what we love about him!

I’d love to know how you think about it. It was really fun to draw and write after years of just lurking. :D

#kakairu #iruka #kakashi #iruka umino #umino iruka #hatake kakashi #naruto

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thewildeleven · 3 years

Text

The Titan.

"I do not know why you bother to name them, if only to place heavier burdens upon your heart," the Titan said. He was sitting on his throne in the Great Hall of Olympus, said to be the highest peak in all of Greece. His wife sat beside him, her own seat carrying equal grandeur.

Rhea learned to keep her eyes down in the Titan's presence. She avoided his gaze, then feigned endearment by firmly leaning on his shoulder as she spoke. Her tresses adorned his bare chest, the golden curls complimenting his sculpted muscles.

"My dearest," Rhea said, her voice almost a whisper, "You are my Capitol. I know that you mean to preserve us. Forgive me when I show weakness, they remain flesh of my flesh, bone of my bones."

"I do allow you this folly," the Titan said. "And yet, is it not better comfort to leave them forgotten and unnamed? Why must you remember them so?"

In her mind, Rhea held each and every one of them close. Demeter with locks like endless wheat-fields. Hestia, of the burning eyes. The even-muscled Hera, whom she imagined must grow with a strength rivaling the strongest mortal men. Hades, the timid. Poseidon, the proud. She had visions of them, of what they could be; each one a worthy successor to the Titan's throne.

And yet Cronus would not allow any of his offspring to usurp him, so he ate all of them alive as soon as they were torn from Rhea's womb.

"No, you are right," she lied. "In my mind they must fade like mortal life. Like threads spun shortest by Fate. I must not care for them."

"Good," said the Titan as he stood and faced his wife. "Look: the prophecy, salt which my father has poured over my wounds with, had me perpetually undone. My dear Rhea, in time you will bear our sixth child, and whatever you must name the creature, name it quick, for after I devour him I shall place my desires under deep slumber.

"You understand that I desire to rule only with might and be just." he added. "I did not ask for these atrocities. I will not allow my immortal conscience to plague me any longer."

Rhea looked straight into his eyes, and with a piercing gaze asked: "Why not just kill me?"

"What did you say?"

Rhea avoided his eyes once more and brought her head down. "Nothing. Forgive my tongue if it went out of turn."

Like most things Cronus offered her in the past decade, the slap on her face came as an unwelcome surprise. She could tell that his husband restrained from giving the hit its full strength, yet it brought with it the ringing of a thousand thunders; it heralded a clouding in her mind, the rumble of a great storm brewing.

The Titan took his wife's face and forced her to face him, and for the first time since the devouring of Poseidon, she saw the Monster that the prophecy created. He regarded her like she was some animal. The judging, wide eyes. The perfect set of teeth revealed by the smug smile.

"Rhea, my dear Rhea," the Monster said. "I am doing this for us, I am sure you know. And I promise… I will stop once the sixth child has been taken. Do you understand?"

Rhea's lips, even backed by the body of an invincible titaness, were too frightened to speak.

"Do you understand?!" the monster growled.

"Yes, my love…"

"Soon, this will be all over with, and both of us will live in eternal rule." He kissed her, his tongue tasting her tears. Rhea closed her eyes as the Titan undressed her.

***

Some months later, Rhea felt a familiar stirring within her belly. It brought a concoction of delight and dread upon her being.

She planned to hide the pregnancy for as long as possible, but she knew that the Titan would notice it eventually. She could have had a lot of help, yet decided against asking aid from Uranus, Gaia, or any other being whom she thought might have an interest in taking Olympus' throne for themselves. Her plan was to consult with the creatures of the Earth, and her eyes caught wonders in the heart of the forest nymph Adamanthea.

As the stirrings became more frequent, Rhea decided to appear in the nymph's grove at once. Not as the supreme being that she was, but as a mother seeking refuge for her unborn child.

"Surely all the Earth has heard of Cronus' atrocities," Rhea said.

"Bah!" the leaf-haired nymph replied, seemingly unfazed by the sudden appearance of the woman in front of her. "If it were up to me I would put Cronus' neck on a noose that will never break. I will hang him from the Great Tree to watch his life draining away, never quite dying but in enough pain to regret his immortality. I would ask for the vultures to feast on his carcass while he can still feel! Well," she paused to smile. "You see, vultures do not really eat the flesh of those who are still alive, you know. Heh. They are scavengers, see, and they only go for helpless carcasses. They only eat dead ones, yep. In any case! I think if vultures should make an exception, it should be for Cronus! Because what he does is just disgusting and spells injustice for anyone! Except--"

"Calm down, sweet nymph," Rhea interrupted. "The Titan might hear you."

Adamanthea covered her lips. She widened her eyes and turned her head left and right. "You're right," she whispered. "Wait… who are you again?"

"My name is Rhea. I come to you now not as your sovereign, but as a mother desperate to save her yet unborn child. Will you help me?"

Adamanthea stepped back, her mouth open. "Are you serious? I mean, I DON'T not believe you! You're really Rhea, huh. Who else could appear out of thin air anyway, right? If there's anyone with some serious nature-defying abilities like that, it would be you guys up top. But hey, look at me! I'm a forest nymph! I haven't even learned how to craft a weedwhistle cord yet. I've been a bit negligent in my daily practice. Lazy. Heh. You know… butterflies to chase and petals to collect, and gazelles and fawns and hummingbirds to talk to. In any case! How could I even help?"

"Take more credit for yourself, for we always say that the resourcefulness of the forest nymphs knows no bounds," the titaness replied. "Now listen, Adamanthea. In a few hours I will bring out Zeus, my sixth child, out into this world. I only need some way to hide him until he is strong enough to stand up for himself."

The forest nymph went silent, her eyes blank and lost in thought. After a few moments, she said, "Right. You know what? You have come to the right creature.

"All my life I have listened to the whisperings of the rocks and the winds," the nymph added, "and I imagine the rest of my kin still do, as well. But I fear that they have been rather selective in what they hear. They listen to good tidings and disregard the bad ones… which I think is wrong. I do not like Cronus. Or rather, I don't like what he is doing. Is it too much to listen to what the rain clouds tell the raindrops, which the raindrops in turn tell the leaves? Perhaps. But it has been horrible up there, hasn't it?"

Rhea nodded.

"Your husband is a great ruler, you know. What with bringing all the wealth and liberation and agriculture and stuff. As humble as we are, I cannot figure out why he allows himself to succumb to a monster. I wonder why he allows himself to be a slave to some prophecy."

Rhea smiled. "You share my sentiments all too well, dear nymph."

"Do not worry. Stay until you bear your child, and I will help you hide him," the nymph said.

***

The opulence of the titans' dining hall was deceptive, for no glorious feast of honor was to be held there that night. Cronus, with his supremacy over land, sky, and sea, sensed Rhea had given birth and called for her immediately.

She emerged with the little one wrapped up in a white blanket, a lump about half the length of her arm.

"Why the blanket?" Cronus asked.

"Husband, this one turned out to be so hideous and so deformed! I would not dishonor your sight as to dare you look upon the monster," Rhea replied. "It might be best to end this usurper's life as quickly as you can." She sat beside him.

"I see. And have you named him?"

"I call him Zeus."

"A waste of a good name."

Cronus opened his mouth to swallow the child whole. A small portion of the blanket hung out from the corner of his lips as he began to chew.

Rhea stared at the ceiling as madness started to consume her child. She wanted to pray, but to whom do the gods pray to?

Cracking sounds echoed as the titan's teeth tried to crush bone. He licked his lips, pieces of raw meat clung to his tongue. "Zeus," he said while blood dripped from his mouth, "tastes really different. I do not like his form. He— uhm,"

Cartilage snapped like frail twigs. And in no time at all, the titan finished.

He used his finger to free a piece of flesh trapped between his teeth. "He may not have been a threat," he added.

The Titan licked his lips after what appeared to be a very satisfying meal. "Come, Rhea. Sit beside me."

She did, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"The prophecy says that I will be usurped by my own children," Cronus said. "You've seen my madness. I know that you see me as some kind of monster. I even find it laughable that while I have already exiled Uranus, I still act as if I am a slave to his words."

"I have no words," Rhea replied. "I only trust that as you say, this will be the last time."

"Ah, that. Not so."

Rhea's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"'I shall make my desire slumber,' I said. But love… you are my desire."

As she realized that she was no longer talking to her husband, but the Monster, the titaness pulled away. She looked and there it was: the insane smile and his dead, dark eyes. The Monster was there, clouding his judgment. Feeding on his falsely-perceived and misguided benevolence.

"My love, this is not you," Rhea pleaded. "How can you act as if you are cursed? When no curse should ever enter the House of Cronus!"

"BLAME MY FATHER FOR NOT ACCEPTING DEFEAT!" The halls of Olympus shook as the Monster bellowed. "Not content in ceding their power! Damning me with a prophecy—"

"The prophecy was no fault of theirs! It was the price you had to pay for your ambition!"

"Price?" the Monster laughed. "The 'price' of my ambition? What, the liberation of the lesser creatures from the dark clutches of tyrants? The wealth I have provided from the minerals of the soil; the… the science of organized harvestry that the once-starving mortals now benefit from?! Tell me, Rhea, is this the ‘price’ I had to pay for wanting mankind to prosper?"

"No…. no, no…" the titaness wiped the tears from her eyes. "You could have accepted your fate gracefully… like an Immortal worthy of his throne."

"You are right, I could have. Yet the fact remains that I have done what I have done, and I must finish it now."

"Finish? Is it not already finished?"

"Dear," he took Rhea by the arm and pulled her closer to him. "You are my lone desire, and you are my weakness. You asked me once, why I should not kill you instead. Well, you made a compelling argument…"

"Let go of me, Cronus," the Titaness said.

The Monster responded by opening his mouth to take a bite off of Rhea's arm. In an instant she was dismembered, and the scream that followed was released for the entire World to hear.

"Without you," Cronus said as he chewed on Rhea's torn limb, "I would never have the urge to bear children again."

He grabbed her neck with one hand, while the other tore through her chest to take her still-beating heart. "Worry not," he said to her, "You will remain alive inside of me, just as your children are. It will be a family reunion of sorts."

Cronus held his wife's heart as he watched life leave her face. Rhea let out a final gasp and closed her eyes, and she was no more.

The Monster then consumed his wife's lifeless body starting with the toes and the feet, moving upward. He knew that she was alive, somehow, just as he knew his six children were alive, for their kin are immortal. But it did not matter; he only needed them contained inside him and he would have accomplished his end.

What he did not know was that Zeus, his sixth child, was alive not inside him, but far away from Olympus. The "child" that Rhea presented that night was not a child at all, but a newborn goat of Adamanthea's offering.

***

In Adamanthea's grove, there was an oak tree from which hung a cradle that was suspended by cords of cotton. The suspension was necessary, because the one who slept within needed to be hidden from the ruler of sky, land, and sea.

Adamanthea approached the cradle and saw the child Zeus asleep. "Hello, little boy," she whispered. "Presently your father longs for you, but not in the way fathers usually long for their children! He wants to eat you!" She poked his nose. "But don't worry. Your mother and I will protect you—"

The nymph's words were cut short by a blood-curdling scream that echoed, unmistakably, from the heights of Olympus.

The child in the cradle stirred and opened his eyes to stare at the nymph. He did not cry, nor wail, as infants are wont to do. The boy simply stared at the nymph with its cold, piercing eyes.

"Sleep for now, and don't worry. One day, you shall banish your father and rule us all," she said.

A sudden flash lit up the grove, followed by another, and another. The bright knives sliced at the night sky and broke it into a hundred pieces. Soon, the evening was filled by a lightning storm.

Zeus smiled.

It was as if the bolts were giving their Master a warm welcome.

#fiction #mythology #retelling #short story #greek mythology

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tortuerex · 3 years

Text

My honest, humble, and not-objective-at-all opinion about LORDS OF THE SITH

LORDS OF THE SITH by Paul S. Kemp, published in 2015 (canon)

Real quick plot summary : The Free Ryloth Movement, led by Chad Syndulla, attempts a massive attack on the imperial forces, in hope of killing Darth Vader and the Emperor and strike a fatal blow to the Empire. Things didn't exactly go as planned.

I've FINALLY managed to finished the book, started weeks (months?) ago. Actually, I finished it less than 15 minutes ago. And I really enjoyed it. So why did it took me so long ? I'll go back to that point later.

First of all, let me tell you I didn't exactly found in this book what I expected to find. And in a good way. Judging by the cover and the resume, I was prepared for a book mostly about the Emperor and Vader, but I'd say approximatively half the book is about them directly. (I mean, with the exterior narrator talking about them.) The rest of the book is about Cham and his movement, the Twi'lek rebels, and his relationship with Isval. And Isval was my favorite character in the book, she was really well written and her story is so interesting. Kemp managed to bring so more life in all these secondary characters.

I'll try to be cohesive because since I've just finished the book but begun it long ago, I have to go back to my notes about the first half.

I've loved learning things about the Twi'lek's history and traditions. I finally know why some male twi'leks have sharpen teeth and not female ! (In case you don't know, well, that's tradition. But Isval sharpened hers to show she's a hunter too.)

The whole passage of the book with Isval going downtown to literaly hunt imperials and save prostitutes Twi'leks gave me goosebumps. Definitively not a thing I was expecting in a « Sith Lords » book, but it was awesome, so dark, so shady, I was feeling the unhealthy atmosphere of the district. First I was thinking « Ok, he's suggesting she's a former sexual slave and that this is the kind of district these things happen in. » And then I was like « Ok that's not suggested anymore, that's pretty explicit right now. » I didn't expect a Star Wars book to talk to me about sexual abuse and prostitution, but boy it was so strong and hard to read.

And to be honest, I'm really thankful to Kemp for not being patronizing about it. Isval is not a broken little thing, she's a warrior, she had a really bad time in her life, and now she's fighting to help other girls, and she's fueled by hate.

And about Isval, her relationship with Cham was really touching as well. We kinda see it grows before our eyes, not invading the mission nor polluting their discussions, but slowly showing more and more, from chief to subordinate, friend to friend, freedom fighter to freedom fighter, and finally acknowledging that from the very beginning, they were more than that but never had the opportunity to take their chance.

We'll talk a bit about the Sith side of the book too. It was very enjoyable. Exploring the relation between Vader and the Emperor felt like a force hand tightening your chest. The Emperor is perpetually testing Vader (and everyone else). Everything he does, everything he says, has a purpose. This man isn't tied by the mortal rules of luck and probability. Everything is planned and calculated. And Vader knows it. Every word the Emperor speak has a reason, and Vader is like « What did he mean ? » and then « Ok, that's what he meant. »

Vader having flashes of his past life, his former friends, the Clone Wars, Padmé... Every one was heartbreaking and the Emperor KNOWS it. He used them, to keep Vader hateful, to constantly remind him he's a tool of a greater force, and every sentences he said could have been finished by « So... who's the boss ? ».

He's the boss.

You can feel how strong and inflexible they are, there is so many good descriptions of their strenght and determination.

A bit about the secondary characters : I liked Belkor, he was interesting. I liked seeing how he slowly turn insane through the book, ending up talking to a corpse. He's the opposite of the Emperor, having to constantly change his plans depending on other people or just because of misfortune, being manipulated and mocked, and finally snapping out of his mind because of pressure.

Moff Mors was cool too. I would have love to learn more about her, about her past life, but the little we know about her explains perfectly who she is. I felt a little frustrated by never knowing what happen to her at the end, because I personnaly doubt the Emperor will forgive years of non-interference and laziness (damn she was supposed to handle Ryloth!). It's implicitly said she's redeeming herself, but seriously, Palps, do you even redeem bro ?

My biggest problem with this book can be resumed in one word : LYLEKS. The passage with the Emperor and Vader fighting Lyleks was way way way way too loooooooong. I really felt it like a break in the momentum. And speaking of break, I had mine at this point. Bad luck, but hard weeks of work happened at this moment in my life, I had to put the book down while reading this passage, and it was hard coming back to it. Everytime I was reopening the book and seing the Lyleks everywhere I was like « Nobody got time fo' that ». It was a real let down.

To be honest, it almost felt like this whole passage was added in the book completely artificially. Like Kemp has finished his book and the editor said « Hey man that's a cool book you wrote, but what about more Sith kung-fu fighting ? Like, maybe, 40 pages of it ? »

It felf so weird and useless compared to the rest of the book. So unnatural. And it's the only part of the book where I've found severe incoherences. Vader deigniting his lightsaber two times on the same page (without having turning it on in the meantime), and few pages later the same thing but this time with igniting it. Like this passage was rushed and hadn't been seriously reread and corrected.

This was a serious problem because as soon as I've finished the Lyleks passage, and Vader and Palps were running into the young Twi'lek girl in the forest and then heading toward her village, the tension was back again, the apprehension of what was going to happen next, and everything then come one after another very smoothly and I was trapped again in the suspense.

So WHY ? Why would you stop this so effective momentum with an endless fight when we all know the outcome of the fight ?

This being said, what would be my opinion on Lords of the Sith ?

PRO :

- So much characterization. Every character is unique, even the secondary ones. Every motivation, backstory, personnality is understandable and relatable. That's for me the strongest force of the book.

- A good story. That may sound stupid but it's not. Writing a original story in a so vast universe isn't easy. You can't just repeat things that have aleady been told in another Star Wars media, you have to be creative. In this book the stakes are high for the heroes, but may seems lower on the scale of the galaxy. The whole point is... will it be the case ?

- The suspense. Like I've already said, having appealing secondary characters is a licensed book is super important to keep the suspense. Sure, Palps, Vader and Cham won't die. But you don't know about the other ones. And you care about them. You've learnt to know them, to love them.

CON :

THE LYLEEEEEEEEKS

TO CONLUDE :

A very important book to read. Don't expect to see crazy sith things all the time like you may think you will because of the cover. You'll see some sith shits (like Vader boarding a enemy ship alone in deep space), but that's not what important (yet that's impressive, to say the least). You'll learn about Vader, how he feels, his anger, his neverending pain, you'll learn about life on Ryloth, slavery, humiliation of having your planet under imperial jurisdiction. You'll learn about imperials too, human being working for the Empire, how they feel too, their backstory, how they are not just bad guys in uniform blindly following orders.

That's a very deep book for so many reasons (except Lyleks.)

I hoped you liked this review, I'm sorry about the time it took me to write it down. I may take a break because the next book I'll read won't be a Star Wars book (but a book lended to me by a friend so I have to finished it to give it back).

With the hot days slowly returning I have hope to read more seriously in the times to come, because one thing I enjoy is reading in the sun, but as always I won't make any promises I can't keep. I still have to write some reviews for old books I've read (Dark disciple, Wrath of Darth Maul, Ahsoka...) and still got new books to read (including Bloodline), but they will come in time.

As always, take care of yourself, of your surroundings, and enjoy :) Tagging @maulpunk !

#starwars #star wars books #dark vador #palpatine #twilek #lordsofthesith

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wwwafflewrites · 5 years

Text

Of Daydreams and Realities

Chapter 3: KAZ 2Y5

You came to around dusk, the day succumbing to its dying sunset. The sky was dark. You were flat on your back, with grains of gravel and concrete woven into the fabric of your shirt.

Two feet from your face was a dumpster, with squatting grey legs and a wide green base, smelling of rotten produce. You used its side as leverage to stand, raising your eyebrows as blood rushed away from your head and your vision went dark. And after a moment of patience, you found your balance.

You meandered some. Based upon your rough deductions, you had landed smack in the middle of nowhere, next to a rickety gas station.

You peaked around the faded building and confirm your suspicions, eyeing the few cars littering the lot. And one just so happened to fit your fancy. "Woah, sweet car," you mumbled as you neared the vehicle, admiring it's subtle beauty. It was a 1967 Chevy Impala. The hood was sleek and glossy, the headlights were... oh.

KAZ 2Y5.

Oh.

You stared. This has to be a joke, denial immediately kicked in. You just continued to stare at the license plate. Your hands shook—and jeez, your anxiety just wouldn't chill already—so you steadied them on the hood of the car, leaning in as you processed it all.

Looks like we're in Kansas, Toto.

You heard the bell of the gas station's door sing and you booked it. Past the road was a forest of thick vegetation, and if you could just lose them in there…

They probably think I stole something.

You could hear them behind you. So you pumped your arms and pushed your limits. This was life or death. Nobody touched Dean's Baby. Especially not you.

You made it to the ditch, and just as you were about to throw yourself into the trees, your collar snapped back. You collapsed in a pile of coughs and heavy breathing as more arms pinned you from above. Dean was literally straddling your waist and Sam was pinning you to the wet grass.

Naturally, you began to cry. You were just overwhelmed, but it was humiliating. However, all you could think of was that nightmare you had had of them. Dying once was enough.

I'm going to die.

For a moment, everyone caught their breath, yours hitched as you cried silently.

The hunters shared looks. They're agreeing to kill you. "Wait," you gasp, "just wait, please, I'm sorry."

Sam tilts his head a bit, his expression unreadable. "Sorry for what?"

"F-fo-for-"

Dean snapped, "For what? And what's with the crybaby act?"

His anger only made you frantic, wiggling underneath him. "Please don't kill me," you sob, hiding your face with you hand and cowering. You're twenty-two years old, get a hold of yourself.

"Well, do you deserve to be killed?" Dean was straight to the point, pinning you harder as you squirmed in fear.

"I d-d-don't think so. I just woke up and saw you..."

"Then why run?" Sam asked.

"Because I know who you are," you say with tear-brimmed eyes, heaving the words, "And now I won't survive this. Not this time. And you-you-you two are not going to help. You'll just make it worse."

At your response, Sam frowned deeper, his expression crinkling in thought. "How about you come with us and explain it all, so we can talk."

You shake your head vigorously, cheeks pink from your breakdown. "Did you not hear me? You'll only make it worse!"

But they've apparently made a silent agreement, hoisting you up and dragging you to the car. Your feet dig into the concrete, trying to find ground, but your toes only skid. "Let go of me!" You scream like a banshee. It's your last and final strategy for escape. Play the victim. "Let go!"

They faltered, but then plowed ahead faster.

A worried but timid employee ran out of the gas station, and the brothers showed their fake badges to the kid, who only nodded in compliance with wide eyes and retreated.

"Don't believe it! They are not cops! It's a fake!" You shrieked, but there was no use.

You attempted to kick Dean where it hurt, but he completely blocked the move by shoving you into the back seat face first and slamming the door. You were forced to readjust in the awkward position, and by the time you had, the doors were locked and the brothers were both in the vehicle.

"If you kick the windows you're going in the trunk," Dean warned, but you weren't even thinking about it. You'd be dead before you lifted your feet.

Dead, dead, dead.

A new panic rose as you pictured all the ways you could painfully die. You could only imagine all the djinns, the witches, the wendigos, the kahn worms, and all other creatures that could easily overpower you. "I'm going to die," was all you could say, terrified. Your lungs heaved, and you planted your face in your palms. Just don't think about it… just forget it… just forget…

A hand landed on your shoulder and you looked up to Sam, who looked so young. "Just tell us what's going on so we can help you."

Angry and afraid, you lash out. "You kidnapped me, that's what. You're making it worse. And you can't help me."

"You'd be surprised by how often we hear that."

"No, I wouldn't. But this is something you can't help. And if you say 'try us' I will kick your windows out, believe me."

They share another look like they're telepathic. "Did you even have a ride? We were the only people at the station besides the kid."

You froze. You didn't even think about that. "...Yeah. Yeah, I had a ride. I was parked in the back… by the dumpster."

Dean nodded. "Right. By the dumpster we just threw seven vampire heads into? Got it."

Sam looked to his brother in exasperation. "Dean…"

"I know a lie when I hear one." Dean shrugged.

You must have rounded the corner right as they disposed of the decapitated heads and bodies. How convenient. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh. We almost thought you were a vamp too. So, now that we're on the same page, what was that all about?" Dean demanded.

"That was… I'm not a vampire."

"We know. But how did you get here? You don't have a ride, and we're literally in the middle of nowhere."

You pinch your lips for a minute. “You won’t understand.”

“Try u...uh... why not?” Dean said, smooth like crunchy peanut butter.

You glare, raising a hand in a pinching motion, “You are this close to losing a window.”

“Why not? I can guarantee we’ll understand,” Sam said.

“No. You can’t. You won’t.”

There was silence. The hidden try us was infuriating. But you didn’t care anymore. “I know you. I know your history, I know your eating habits, I know your family, your friends, your life. All of it. But you don’t know me.”

There’s a long pause.

“She’s right, Sam, I don’t understand.”

Sam just shakes his head at his brother and turns back to you. “How? Time travel? Alternate dimension?”

You sigh. “Yes? You guys are a TV show where I’m from. And yes, like that one time with Balthazar, but also... no.”

“Explain.”

“I don’t know how to.”

///

Night had crept along rather quickly, and you shifted yet again in your seat. “So have you found…” The bunker, you wanted to say, but you were too exhausted to explain. “Are we headed to a motel, then?”

Dean was the one to respond, as Sam is asleep. “Yeah.”

“Figures,” you mutter.

You end up stopping at The L8 Nite Inn, which, in your opinion, was the most horrendous name in existence.

They herded you about like a lost sheep, roughly pulling your shoulders this way and that. They directed you like you would disappear if they blinked.

In all honesty, you wished you could.

The hotel room was shabby but warm. The brown walls glowed from the soft, yellow lamplight and the curtains were drawn. Eventually, a cot was rolled in, to which you dumped your few salvaged items.

Nervously, you prepared for bed, avoiding all eye contact. These guys were the real deal. Hunters. They hunted demons and witches and ghosts. They had scars. You hadn't thought this through. You hadn't thought any of this through. The next time you woke up in an unfamiliar place, you would not explore. No exploring. You were grounded from exploring.

Huffing, you curled up on the cold sheets, shivering a little.

Looking up, you found the boys staring. Dean immediately reacted. "Woah, wait. There is no way you're sleeping on a cot," Dean says.

You paused. "You guys always take the beds."

They share a look. "Well, I just. You're a g—"

"Girl?"

"—guest." Dean finished. He paused. "Hey! No! I'm not se—hey, nuh uh. Get that out of your head." He let out a sigh before sending a sly smile your way. "What I mean is Sammy here is going to take the cot."

Sam took five full seconds to comprehend what Dean had just said. "What?"

You panicked. No arguments. No matter how good natured. No arguments, please no arguments. "Hey, no, no. I'm cool with a cot. Seriously. It's comfortable."

Dean watched you. "You sure?"

You nodded.

A bit later, the lights went out.

///

You tossed and turned.

If you fell asleep, you could very well wake up in Sherlock. And while you loved the show, you weren't quite ready to be observed by his eyes. You didn't want to hear what you already knew.

This had hardly begun and you had already broken. A raw nervousness had begun to inflate within your stomach—a bloated, unpleasant bubble of anxiety—and you were sure it was steadily growing.

To sleep or not to sleep.

If you sat up very quietly, perhaps the Winchesters would not notice. Maybe you could avoid sleep. Perhaps even escape. If you could escape, you may be able to break this loop.

All you had to do was rise ever-so-slowly without the bed creaking. You dared to sit up.

Creak.

You winced. First the door, now the bed.

You were completely still, listening. Nothing reacted… maybe they didn't notice. You pulled your legs over the side of the bed, biting your lip hard as it let out yet another squeak.

A glance to the Winchesters. Nothing.

You sighed, carefully standing. The door was to your right, just within reach. If you could just tiptoe—

"I wouldn't do that."

You spun around.

Dean was sitting up in his bed, eyeing you. You couldn't read any humor or anger or irritation, but you also weren't great at reading faces.

When you decided to sit back on your cot, he flopped back down. You fumbled with the covers, stalling. You decided that, as much as you would love to, you would not rest your head against the wall.

You couldn't face Sherlock yet. In past dreams, he'd been rather cryptic. But if these new dreams—if they even were dreams, they were so vivid you were convinced they were real—were anything to go by, you would be facing a fully-charged detective very near his flat. With your luck, you’d be stuck in Baker Street, 221B.

And even if you could avoid Sherlock, where would you be off to? An American in London, with no belongings or money to offer? You'd be snuffed out before a week had passed. No, your only hope would be Sherlock. And you really weren't ready for that yet.

"You're not going to get any sleep like that."

You rolled your eyes. Dean was sitting up again, stretching a little. Just sleep, you thought, leave me be. "I'm well aware, thank you."

His forehead wrinkled as his eyebrows were drawn up. "If you think you can outlast us, then you're very, very wrong. Do yourself a favor and get some shut eye. You'll appreciate it in the morning."

You shook your head gently. Not knowing what else to add, you replied, "I'm okay."

"...Right," Dean said. "And why won't you sleep?"

Your eyes drooped. You were too tired to have this conversation. "I don't want to face him right now."

Dean stiffened. "Who?" He looked... murderous. You could only assume he was picturing the worst. Why shouldn't he? He was a hunter. He expected it. When you met his stony gaze, you realized you'd definitely said the wrong thing.

You hesitated.

You would regret this. You really really would regret this. But the words fell out of your mouth, anyway.

"Who?" He repeated icily.

"Sherlock Holmes."

#superwholock #supernatural #sherlock x reader #sherlock holmes #sherlock #tenth doctor x reader #tenth doctor #10th doctor x reader #10th doctor #doctor who #x reader #dean x reader #reader #dean winchester #sam winchester #john watson #fanfiction #fanfic #@jay-bel

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invisibletinkerer · 5 years

Text

Fic: The Secret Journal of 'Stanford' Pines

Size: ~3000 words AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20864183

Stan Pines keeps a journal of brief daily notes during the summer of 2012.

Note: We all know that the Gravity Falls timeline makes no sense whatsoever. Therefore this is based on a headcanon timeline I made a year or so ago, trying to incorporate as many of the canon dates (in show and published J3) as possible, but ignoring the ones that were contradictory or made no sense. This still means some episodes did not happen in a strictly chronological order.

June 1

Kids are here. I have no idea what to do. Why did I agree to this.

Boy is a grump and girl made macaroni art in the kitchen. Did I even have macaroni?

June 2 Sunday

I think boy got spooked in the forest. He seems fine, though. Good taste in gold chains.

Girl is now dating some punk kid.

June 3

Kids looked like they’d been run over by the golf cart when they got back tonight. Not good.

Gave them some free gifts from the shop to cheer em up. Yes I know

Boy got a new hat. Should get him to wear a Mystery Shack shirt next. Girl found a grappling hook that was not in my inventory. Bold choice.

What would they say if they knew about me?

June 4

Fishing Season Opening Day – took the kids fishing.

Of course, they got excited about monster hunting instead. They’re listening to reason about as well as I and Fo did as a kid.

But. They came back to me in the end. We had fun.

I love those kids.

June 5

Soos found those cursed old wax statues I sealed up some ten years ago. Don’t seem all that cursed now. One had melted.

Mabel’s gonna make a new one for the wax museum. Meaning I’ll have to figure out how to make suckers pay to look at wax statues again.

June 6

Mabel’s wax creation nearly gave me a heart attack. It looks just like my twin me.

She’s crazy talented.

June 7

I’d say the wax museum reopening went well. Assuming “well” means “profit”.

Did anyone actually think I’d hand out free pizza?

June 8

Hanging out with my wax twin Stan, and the moment I turned my back he was murdered.

June 9 Sunday

Tried to hold a funeral for Wax Stan. Failed to keep it tounge-in-cheek.

Face it, Ford is long gone

June 10

Guess the wax people were still as cursed as I remembered. Kids killed them with fire – I should have done that long ago.

Dipper crawled in the vents all day looking for a wax head that got away.

If I keep telling him he’s delusional, he’s got to stop looking for trouble eventually, right?

June 11

Mabel decided I should date Lazy Susan. Couldn’t stop her. Now Susan and her cats keep calling me.

This was a bad idea. (I will never tell Mabel that.)

June 12

Went on a date with Lazy Susan to shut her up. That ended just as well as expected.

Need to figure out some more specific excuses.

June 13

The worst thing is, the Portal should work now. It’s functional. I just can’t get it to start.

Maybe I’ve been doing it wrong all along

I did fix that old copier. Don’t know if it still makes copies of people, but at least it makes copies of paper again.

Caught Dipper making oogly eyes at Wendy. I smell drama.

June 14

Did not expect “The Duchess Approves” to be that good.

June 15

The traditional Mystery Shack party that has nothing to do with any birthdays.

Mabel is a great singer, and that Northwest brat cheated.

Happy birthday, Sixer.

June 16 Sunday

Gideon Gleeful’s running TV ads again.

Of course my family goes to his show just to spite me.

June 17

Mabel played with Gideon today. Did not see that one coming.

As long as she’s happy, I guess.

June 18

I hate Pioneer Day.

Stupid people acting even stupider than normal, nothing works, then someone (me) ends up in the stocks.

June 19

Gideon and Mabel are dating!?

Seemed like a horrible idea, but Bud Gleeful has a point on the moneymaking opportunities if we play it right.

June 20

So if Mabel marries Gideon, his business will be incorporated into mine. I sure like the sound of that.

Bud is already making t-shirts.

June 21

June 22

OK, no. No deals with the Gleefuls. Not now or ever.

Mabel broke up with the little pest. Good riddance.

Got me a nice painting from Bud’s house, though.

June 23 Sunday

The Mystery Fair! It may look cheap, but it brings in the money.

Though someone broke all safety protocols and brought a futuristic laser gun to Dunkle the Grunkle. That’s unfair.

Mabel has a pig now.

June 24

Got roped into the gaming arcade with the kids.

Maybe get one of those games for the Shack?

June 25

Mabel decided to fix my fear of heights.

I can say this – being on top of a water tower about to fall over was unpleasant. Compared to that, a high but stable ground isn’t so bad.

Dipper got into a fistfight with Wendy’s boyfriend over teenage drama, but good on him for standing up for himself.

June 26

For some reason Gideon has gotten it into himself that he wants the Mystery Shack now.

Good luck, kid. I’m a better conman than you’ll ever be.

June 27

Mabel is slightly taller than Dipper. This is funny.

Gideon Gleeful trying to be threatening while throwing a hysterical fit after breaking my new mirror maze – mostly confusing. Wish I knew what went on in that kid’s head.

June 28

Kids made me wear the golden teeth. Guess they think I’m a dishonest man.

Fortunately, I’m good at bullshitting even when telling the truth. Think I scandalized the poor things. Hilarious.

Could have been disaster, though. Could have easily made them hate me.

June 29

Spent half the day falling down the Bottomless Pit.

June 30 Sunday

Summerween, now that’s a respectable local holiday.

Scaring children for fun and profit. Celebrating true evil together with family.

July 1

Hottest day of the year. Wax Stan was permanently murdered by the weather.

Closed the Shack and went to the municipal pool with the kids.

Gideon stole my perfect pool chair. It’s on.

July 2

Broke into the pool area at night to get the chair to myself. Which was a good plan, until I wanted to get up later in the day. The pest had coated it with glue.

The kids broke into the pool at night, too. Didn’t ask.

July 3

Opened the Shack again.

Can’t be too lazy. Tourists to fleece and all that.

July 4

July 5

Mabel bet she could run the Shack better than I can. Well. I’m nothing if not a gambler.

So, three days of vacation, in which I will make more money than she will make running the Shack. Winner takes the Shack, loser sings a silly song.

Best case scenario, she learns something about business and stops complaining. Worst case, she actually makes money and then runs the Shack for me the rest of the summer. Not bad.

July 6

Made it past the line to be a contestant on Cash Wheel, using my Old Man powers and lack of common decency.

Why is it so hard to sleep

July 7 Sunday

Well. I lost at Cash Wheel.

Guess that means I lost the bet with Mabel, too. Unless I go rob a bank or something in the time I have left. Hm.

July 8

Turns out Mabel barely broke even when running the Shack. She did win the bet, but she didn’t want my job, no surprise there.

I’m proud of her for learning something.

She still made me sing that song. On video tape. It’s kinda catchy.

July 9

Mabel’s friends came for a sleepover. They make a lot of noice.

July 10

Soos managed to uncover the door to Ford’s that old study I sealed thirty years ago the very moment the kids demanded separate bedrooms.

I never wanted to see that room again. His glasses were still there

Guess they didn’t want the room in the end, but now it’s open. Can’t re-seal it.

I think they messed around with the freaky carpet. Took it away at the end of the day just in case.

July 11

I fucked up, but I fixed it.

I got Mabel’s pig back, even when I had to punch a pterodactyl in the face for it.

She doesn’t hate me.

I love that kid so much.

July 12

That weird egg I pocketed from the dino-cave hatched. Dipper says it’s a compo-whatnot.

I call him Compy. He’s now my Mystery Pet.

July 13

Soos’ birthday. The kids tried to throw a party, which is. Bad idea.

Think he appreciated laser tag, though. And the magic pizza they got him. Never seen him so happy on a birthday.

July 14 Sunday

Turns out Compy is a very tiny dragon. Hoards stuff, mostly cash. In places I can’t reach.

It’s no good. Gonna hand the chicken-lizard over to farmer Sprott first thing in the morning before he bankrupts me.

July 15

Mabel and her friends went to some boy band concert. Got back late with a large pack of spoils. Probably robbed someone.

Wendy’s boyfriend is charming her with homemade music. Dipper suspects magic. Can’t rule that out.

July 16

There was a hypnotic message in the music, but telling Wendy about it only made the teenage drama worse.

Went bowling with Dipper afterwards to cheer him up. Should have a chat with Wendy, too.

July 17

Gideon I’m How could

Didn’t know Gideon was that serious.

As if half-lucid dreams about that yellow triangle wasn’t bad enough. (The kids know something. Not asking. I want them to stay away from that stuff.)

We’re staying with Soos as I panic figure out how to fix this.

July 18

I can’t fix this.

Gideon’s got the whole town eating out of his hand and I’m just a grouchy old man.

Doing the responsible thing. Got bus tickets to send the kids home tomorrow.

Whatever I do next, don’t want them to watch.

July 19

GIDEON IS A LITTLE SHIT AND I AM AWESOME.

Figured out his trick, proved it in public and now he’s in jail.

Got the Shack back. Got the kids back.

And. Get this. Gideon had one of Ford’s missing journals. I have it now.

July 20

I can’t believe it. Dipper. Had the third journal all summer.

All three of the dumb books are right here in front of me.

I activated the Portal. Simple as anything.

It’s scanning for Ford right now.

I’m actually bringing him back.

July 21 Sunday

Grand reopening of the Mystery Shack turned into a zombie-fest.

Kids could’ve died because I was too busy with the Portal to pay attention. That won’t happen again.

Should have talked to them about weirdness sooner. Hope they believed me when I said I have no more secrets.

A little worried that government might have picked up signals from the Portal.

July 22

Repairing the Shack. Too much undead slime to attract tourists like this.

July 23

Re-reopened the Shack.

Dipper got himself an old laptop computer from somewhere. Probably stolen. He tried to hide it.

July 24

Went minigolfing with the kids.

Mabel challenged Pacifica Northwest to a duel at midnight. I’m so proud of her.

Letting kids into minigolf courts at night to take a rich snob down a few pegs – finally putting my skills to good use.

July 25

I still can’t believe the Portal works.

It keeps scanning.

July 26

Tried to bring old Goldie back to the gift shop but apparently he’s unhip and scary. Had to throw him away before the parents sued me.

What I do need is a singing animatronic robot badger. That’s what kids like these days.

July 27

Soos missed work for the first time ever. Seems to be girl trouble, but the kids are handling it.

Would’ve stolen myself a robot badger if it hadn’t tried to kill me. Saved by old Goldie. No way I’m not keeping him now.

July 28 Sunday

Went for a Vegas vacation because I deserve it.

Not because I’m nervous.

Brought Goldie, might have gotten slightly drunk. And slightly married.

July 29

Mabel found herself a new obsession with hand puppets.

She’ll throw a big show on Friday. Made me rent Gravity Falls theatre for her. (Can’t believe I did that.)

July 30

The Shack is full of sock puppets and kids and Mabel keeps singing.

Guess this is my life now.

July 31

August 1

Soos went to his cousin’s wedding with his new girlfriend. Good on him.

Mabel’s still obsessing about puppets.

Dipper looks like he hasn’t slept in days. Can’t blame him with all this ruckus.

August 2

Play was good! Think it paid for the costs, too. Mabel’s got showmanship.

Don’t get the ending, though.

I mean. Children fighting always makes for good footage, but was it necessary to beat Dipper up that bad? I swear Mabel don’t know how strong she is.

A little worried about Dipper. He seemed high as a kite all day. Probably sleep deprivation. At least he’s sleeping now.

August 3

August 4 Sunday

Gravity’s going more crazy around the Portal the longer it’s on, but I don’t care.

It hasn’t found Ford yet.

It won’t find him if he’s dead

August 5

The Portal ate my notebook.

Got a nasty cut on the back of my hand from some debris, too. Could have been worse.

August 6

Tried to advertise the Mystery Shack for the kids at the Woodstick Festival. Hilarious disaster.

Being feared is worth more than being loved anyway.

August 7

August 8

IT FOUND HIM.

He’s alive. There’s a lock on his position.

Fuck I don’t I have to

I know how it works. It needs to calibrate for a while. It needs to be fueled for the big moment.

I’ll go rob a government facility right now.

(So glad the kids are off at the Northwest party tonight.)

27 hours and then I’ll see him again.

August 9

Ford is back.

I had to run from the feds and the kids found out everything the wrong way but it worked and he’s back.

But he doesn’t He still hates me.

Why would I expect anything else.

Don’t know what I’d do with myself if the kids weren’t here.

It’s fine. I fucked up everything, but. Mabel trusts me. Dipper forgives me. I’m fine.

not crying

August 10 Sunday

The Shack needs repairs again.

Spent most of the day making Duck-tective finale preparations with Mabel. We had fun.

Told the kids to stay away from Ford.

August 11

Dipper has predictably decided to be nerd friends with my brother.

Can’t stop him. He looks happy. Both of them do.

Still can’t figure out why Ford would have reality altering dice lying around in his sci-fi pouch.

Anyway. I knew Duck-tective had an evil twin.

August 12

I hate everything.

Ford will take my his place here soon enough, does he have to undercut me while I’m still here?

I’m running for mayor now.

August 13

Kids are helping me with a political campaign. Apparently I know nothing about politics and have unpalatable opinions. Bah.

August 14

The Stump Speech went great! I relax, words happen, people cheer.

Dipper got a lucky tie for me. Think it really works.

August 15

Should’ve tried being a politician before. Almost feels like people like me.

August 16

Nope. Politics is not for me. Too much mind control.

Should’ve known it wasn’t me making those speeches.

(The kids shouldn’t get into politics either. Can’t always be there to save them from murder.)

Turns out I’m not mayor material, but I’m a HERO.

Take that, Ford.

August 17

Rented an RV and took Soos and the kids and Mabel’s friends on a road trip.

Pranking the tourist traps. Good old Mystery Shack tradition for the last time.

Dipper’s practising flirting like a pro.

August 18 Sunday

Almost got eaten by a spider-woman. That could have gone better.

Have to admit, the kids are heroes too.

Don’t think Ford noticed we were gone.

August 19

Opened the Mystery Shack for the final stretch.

Two more weeks, then I’m gone for good.

August 20

Made a good deal on illegal pugs. Still got it.

Ford and Dipper put some magic mojo on the Shack. Not gonna ask.

Might have something to do with how badly Ford is sleeping.

August 21

Ten days left until the kids’s birthday and the end of summer.

Guess I’m doing a countdown now.

August 22

Nine days left.

August 23

Eight days left.

I’m gonna order a ponytail kit.

August 24

HELL NO I DON’T NEED THIS.

It’s the literal end of the world and the kids are missing.

Suddenly orange skies, goats turning into monsters, the whole shebang. I thought I had enough troubles.

That magic on the Shack seems to be protecting it, but. THE KIDS ARE MISSING. So is Ford.

??? 1

Day and night are replaced by eternal glowing orange and every single clock is busted, so no more dates.

Went out looking for the kids, but all I find is other people. Also demons. No sign of Soos or Wendy, either.

Been taking people to the Shack. Safest place on Earth for all I know. I have enough brown meat and elected myself Chief.

The kids are fine. Probably with Ford. That’s the ticket.

??? 2

Went out looking again. Found the Northwest girl dressed in nothing but a potato sack. She was crying and I don’t want to know, but she didn’t deserve it.

Been told the head honcho is the yellow triangle. He calls this Weirdmageddon.

Old McGucket showed up more coherent than usual, herding a whole flock of forest creatures into the Shack. Starting to get crowded here.

The kids are fine. Of course they are.

??? 3

There’s still people alive out there. I heard cars over at Gleeful’s place.

Didn’t see anyone else.

I’ve lost I couldn’t even

Mabel and Dipper are definitely still alive. So is Soos and Wendy. And Ford better be.

??? 4

They’re alive!

All four of my kids, bursting through the door like cops doing a raid but they’re alive!

Now all I want is for them to stay here and be safe. Why can’t they see that?

I’m done saving my brother’s skin and getting nothing but scorn for it.

Ford made his own bed with that demon. Forget it.

??? 5

Did I mention, the plan concocted by five kids, Soos, and a known madman is utterly insane?

They’re rebuilding the Shack. I just had it repaired, too.

It’s my house, but no one’s listening to me.

??? 6

I keep having this bad feeling about Ford.

It’s dumb. My brother has made it perfectly clear how he feels about being saved.

??? 7

Well then.

Not letting the kids lead an apocalypse rebellion against a demonic triangle without me.

August 25 Sunday

August 26

August 27

August 28

Huh. I can’t remember writing this, but it does ring a few bells.

It’s like I

I need to talk to Ford.

August 29

So. The apocalypse is over, and we’re all fine.

We killed the demon by burning my mind out when he was inside, pretty much.

My mind’s still there, but it’s kinda. Well. In need of repair.

Spent a few days reliving good memories.

Turns out there’s more than a few bad ones, too. But.

Everyone is so good to me

I don’t deserve this

August 30

I remember how Ford looked at me after I brought him back.

Now he acts like he likes to he thinks I’m

Now it’s like he’s my brother again.

He said. “Thank you.”

August 31

The kids have left. I’ll miss them, but I’ll see them again.

Until then, my brother and I are going sailing.

#gravity falls #fanfic #stanley pines #i still have feels about this old conman #it writes #unconventional writing

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elisaphoenix13 · 5 years

Text

From Cub To Pup

This was certainly new.

Stephen stumbles onto four legs and shakes freshly fallen snow out of his fur. He and Peter were attacked by a zealot during their visit to one of the sanctums, and the rogue sorcerer managed to hit them both with some sort of shapeshifting spell before sending them through a portal. Now they were stranded in a forest, and their nanotech disappeared with their human bodies. Probably not working of course.

The Sorcerer Supreme was currently trying to fight through the spell. At least long enough to get his bracelet off before turning back into a wolf. Then at least the nanotech would work correctly and Tony could find them. FRIDAY probably alerted him that their tech was offline by now.

Stephen releases a frustrated beastly growl when he manages his human form for all of two seconds before being forced back into his animal form. The spell was apparently one that would be extremely difficult to break through (even for him) and right now his best bet was to have another sorcerer reverse it.

Now he just had to find one. What was the chance he would find one in the woods, in the middle of nowhere?

A quiet whine distracts the sorcerer from his thoughts and he turns to find Peter (in wolf pup form) shaking like a leaf. Which was weird because they had fur and Stephen wasn't bothered--

Oh.

Shit.

Peter's spider DNA was probably still playing a role in his inability to thermoregulate. Which meant he had to find them shelter and fast. The fur seemed to help so getting out of the elements should keep Peter out of danger of hypothermia.

So, giving in to his beastly instincts, he rushes over to the shivering pup and picks him up by his scruff before taking off to find someplace to stay warm. It took a little too long in Stephen's opinion to find shelter that wasn't occupied, and he found it in a tiny cave. If one could call it that. It was just deep enough that they could stay out of the wind.

He pads all the way to the back and gently places Peter on the ground before laying down himself, both of his front legs on either side of the pup and his head on the ground right next to Peter. The pup snuggles against him as closely as possible and Stephen huffs when Peter gets comfortable and slowly stops shivering.

Stephen would have to make his attempts to return to his human form later.

___________________

"Stark...did you hear a single word I said?"

Tony blinks and returns his focus to reality and finds Ross glaring at him. He was stuck in another worthless meeting about the Sokovia Accords, and he was ready to tear his hair out. They were rewritten, all of the Avengers signed it, but it was never enough. They were all pretty sure the meetings were only held to let Ross rant since no one was making any motion to change anything.

"Sorry. I kind of zoned out. What did you say?"

"What was the last thing you heard?"

Tony yawns. "Nothing really. You opened your mouth and I drifted off."

His comment earned a few sniggers from the attending Avengers and the general's glare intensifies. "I want to know when your husband and Spiderman will sign the Accords."

"We already talked about this. He's my wife."

Tony could see Steve clenching his hands in front of his mouth to keep himself from laughing. His sarcasm is what probably kept the team sane during these meetings, and he was more than happy to provide. It kept him sane too and Tony had a ball getting Ross's face to turn red because he knew the man couldn't do anything.

It gave the billionaire a sense of sick satisfaction.

His watch beeps with an alert from FRIDAY. "Speaking of..."

Thaddeus grinds his teeth. "Fine. We'll pick this up some other time."

"Yeah...feel free not to let that be...ever." Tony mutters as the general leaves the room and the team releases a collective sigh of relief as Tony puts on his sunglasses. "What's the message Fri?"

"No message, Boss, but I needed to inform you that Victor and Karen are offline."

Tony blanches and the Avengers look at him worriedly after his next words. "What do you mean they're offline? Where are Stephen and Peter?"

"Unknown. Their tracking devices are offline as well. I can't connect to any of their current equipment."

"Fuck. Keep looking. I'll go talk to Wong." Tony takes off the eyewear and looks around at his team before scrubbing his face with one of his hands. "Mama Bear and Underoos fell off the radar."

Natasha frowns. "Is that even possible?"

"It's not supposed to be! Hell, even Stephen's stuff works in other dimensions!"

Rhodey gently grabs Tony's shoulder from the seat beside him. "Try not to worry Tones. It could be something as simple as a malfunction."

They all knew that was unlikely since Tony took special care to make sure everything worked flawlessly when it came to his family's equipment, but it was still a comfort. A bit of an empty one but comfort all the same. There was always the small chance that a malfunction could happen, even from something like banging their bracelets on a hard surface.

"For once, I really hope that's the case."

"Go talk to Wong. We'll look for them. Just let us know if anything changes or if he knows anything."

Tony stands and nods. "If you do find them, please don't pull a Stephen and forget to tell me."

____________________

Stephen was exhausted. The moment Peter was warm enough to unfurl himself from, he started trying to break himself out of the spell again. Whenever he managed enough of his human form and tried to get his nanotech bracelet off his wrist, he would snap back and have to take a few minutes of rest before trying again. Peter eventually caught on to what the sorcerer was trying to accomplish and tried his best to pull it off with his teeth, but Stephen always changed back too fast.

He kept trying though. While shelter from the elements was helping, it only slowed the process of potential hypothermia for Peter. Physical contact kept the pup warm, but they couldn't do that forever.

So he fought through his exhaustion, focused, and when he turned into his human form again, Peter didn't waste any time to finally pull Stephen's nanotech off his wrist. Just in time, too. As soon as it was off, the sorcerer turned back into a wolf and collapsed onto his side in weariness. Peter drops the bracelet to the ground to nuzzle him with a worried whine as Stephen pants heavily (something he might have found embarrassing if he weren't so damn tired), and nudges the pup to ease his worry.

He could rest properly now that his bracelet was a physical thing again. Tony would be able to find them now, so it was a waiting game at this point. Now his main concern was to keep Peter warm. Much easier than fighting a spell that only another sorcerer could remove.

At least it didn't have to be removed by the one who afflicted them with it. That would have been a nightmare.

Peter stops his incessant nuzzling and opts to curl against the sorcerer's stomach instead, and Stephen soon succumbs to sleep once his exhaustion wins over.

___________________

"They were here but they must have been portaled somewhere because I had to deal with a zealot."

Tony sighs. "That doesn't explain why they suddenly fell off the map."

Before Wong can say another word, FRIDAY chimes in. "Boss, Victor is back online. I've traced Dr. Strange's location to a forest in Canada."

"What about Peter?"

"Karen is still offline."

Wong slips on his sling ring and creates a portal to the coordinates shown on Tony's phone. "Peter might be with Stephen."

Tony nods in agreement and follows the sorcerer through the portal and bites back a panicked yell. Wong's portal had dropped them in the middle of a tiny cave, barely five feet away from a couple of wolves, and they were just staring at him. When the pup flounders up to him excitedly, Tony backs away, causing the small animal to whine.

The older wolf didn't attack though.

"Shouldn't we be dead right about now?" The engineer asks carefully, and he balks when Wong approaches the adult beast. "Are you crazy?!"

"I think I know why your technology stopped working." He picks up what Tony immediately identifies as Stephen's nanotech. "They are Stephen and Peter."

The pup at Tony's feet yips excitedly and circles Wong, while the billionaire stares at the other man like he had grown a second head. Wong ignores him, gestures his hands above the grown wolf, and the beast forms into Stephen seconds later.

"Okay. I'd like to say I've seen everything now but I'm sure you'll continue to surprise me." Tony says as he kneels next to the exhausted doctor. "Are you okay?"

"I could use a ten year nap." Stephen replies with a tired chuckle as Wong removes the spell from Peter.

"Yeah, I bet. You look bushed."

"Fighting the spell to get my suit off was difficult. I only managed because of Peter."

"Karen is back online, Boss." Tony rolls his eyes and Peter laughs from behind him before shivering. "I'm aware FRIDAY. Thank you. Please tell Rhodey that Stephen and Peter have been found."

He helps Stephen to his feet and the group steps into the new portal Wong made to the tower, and gently lowers his husband onto the couch. Stephen stretches out, promptly passes out again, and Tony covers him with the blanket sitting on the back of the couch before turning to Peter.

"You okay buddy?"

The teen nods. "Yeah. The cold still affected me but Mom figured that out pretty quickly and got me somewhere dry and out of the wind."

"...did he scruff you?" Tony asks with a grin.

Peter blushes. "He kind of had to. I couldn't move."

"Why does all the good stuff happen when I'm not around?!"

Wong rolls his eyes. "I'm going to assume I'm not needed anymore."

Tony and Peter look at him. "Thank you."

The sorcerer nods. "Stephen will probably sleep until tomorrow morning. Only the Sorcerer Supreme can fight through a spell like that. If it was any other sorcerer...even a master...it wouldn't have been possible."

"You hear that Underoos? You're lucky Mom is an all-powerful wizard or you would probably be a flea bag for the rest of your life."

"If he didn't freeze first." Wong adds as he opens a portal to the Sanctum and steps through. "Let him sleep."

Tony salutes the sorcerer and the portal closes.

"I didn't have fleas." Peter mumbles and his father chuckles.

"Go eat kiddo. I'm sure you're hungry."

The teen responds with a quiet response of 'starving' as he turns on his heel and walks into the kitchen, and Tony crouches by the couch. A quiet snore escapes the younger man sleeping on the couch and the elder smiles, and then places a gentle kiss on Stephen's forehead.

"You really are a Mama Bear. Peter's lucky to have you." Another quiet snore from the oblivious sorcerer. "I'm lucky to have you." Tony whispers.

#tony stark #ironstrange #peter parker #mama bear stephen strange #supremefamily

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thedenofravenpuff · 6 years

Text

The Purpose of the Cutie Map

I felt it’s been up in the air for a long time what the cutie map is really about.

Of course we know the surface of it. The map is a magic mcguffin summoning chosen ponies to deal with ‘friendship problems’ on different scales.

But why? And, I suspect the original purpose behind all this, whatever it may be, might gone off track over time.

Let’s take a look at that, while I Ramble.

So, what do we know of the map?

It appeared with Princess Twilight’s Castle, or Castle Friendship, when created by the Tree of Harmony to replace the lost library and provide a more royal base of operation to the young alicorn.

The map activated the first time when all of the Mane Six was together in their thrones provided along with map and castle.

The map chooses specific ponies, at first solely only the Mane Six, and shows them where to go with no further directions on what to do. But it has a clear end goal in mind, as it also signals to the map when their mission is complete.

The Map’s name, Cutie Map, refers to its choice of communication by the use of ponies’ cutiemarks, and by the episode title it was first introduced in. As well as being a play on the word Cutiemark, and without that context “Cutie Map” isn’t the most dignified name. Although usually just refered to on show as “The Map”.

So, what kind of missions do the map send its ponies to, and for what purpose?

Missions of Season 5 - Communities

The first mission (The Cutie Map, s5ep1-2) included all of the Mane Six and sent them to Starlight Glimmer’s village. With nothing to let the Mane Six know what it was even about, why they were chosen to go where and what any of it meant.

The mission turning out to stop a cult and its charismatic leader. A small growing society with a spreading ideology, climaxing with the leader FORCING ponies, a princess even, to join her cult without the softer convincing used on her subjects. The cult was ended with the members having their cutiemarks returned and their leader running away.

Next mission (The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone, s5ep8) sent two ponies, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, outside of Equestrian boarders and to the griffon kingdoms. Specifically the falling apart town of Griffonstone which had lost a great artifact in the past. A society crumbling until provided new means to prosper through a new ideology of working together instead of focusing personal greed. It was not all fixed in one go, but a seed planted to hope it would grow and change things.

Rarity and Applejack is sent to Manehattan (Made in Manehattan, s5ep16), to save community from losing touch with each other and remember that a small thing done by each can together make something bigger.

And then Twilight and Fluttershy (The Hoofield and McColts, s5ep23) goes to stop an old family feud between two clans with settlements close by unable to coexist until solving how to work together instead of against one another.

The full 5th season the Map’s focus is on saving communities from falling apart. The scale is bigger. A cult spreading, growing to a point where free will is no longer an option on whether or not one is to join. A foreign town fallen from glory in need of new directions. A city community that used to be the driving example of working together to help one another. Two clans wasting their resources on fighting (with inspiration from a real life clan feud which had a plenty of a death count).

Then Starlight Glimmer returned at the end of season 5 and repurposed the Map to power a time travel spell. The Map no longer summoning certain ponies by their cutiemarks, but stays an anchor in the different timelines for Twilight to keep traveling back and look for a way to fix things.

Then things changed. The Map had to be reactivated by Twilight Sparkle the now reformed Starlight Glimmer in the start of season 6, to once again call ponies in for friendship missions.

Magic Mishaps and Small Scale Problems

The missions had changed. Instead of sending ponies to save communities, the focus became a much smaller scale. A couple of shop owners with a failing business. A lying business owner manipulating his staff. Wonderbolt cadets in need of tutoring to pass their class.

Following that Twilight Sparkle in season 7 (Celestial Advice, s7ep1) uses the map for a spell to create images of her worries about sending Starlight Glimmer away.

Shortly after the map gets accidentally teleported by Trixie (All Bottled Up, s7ep2).

After that (A Royal Problem, s7ep10) the Map only sends ONE pony on a friendship mission, Starlight Glimmer, to help the Royal Sisters with their personal problems between the two of them.

Spike, the first ever non-pony summoned by the map, is tasked to fix the friendship problem he was causing himself (Triple Threat, s7ep15), by not trusting his friends to get along and instead cause a war between them.

From saving communities, the Map had scaled down to smaller problems one wouldn’t think would need outsiders from afar should be needed to fix. Two Wonderbolt students might fail. That’s a teacher’s job to realize and fix. One could argue it’s about helping the Mane Six to develop further as they each learn lessons from their missions.

The Map proves it’s still in for the big scale when providing clues in the season finale Shadow Play (s7ep26-27) on where to find the Pony of Shadow and let the Pillars and Elements work together to save a lost pony while also banishing a dark force. AFTER Starswirl manipulates it to show his own ideas where to look first.

Then the map goes back to smaller scale problems afterwards. A hippogiff kid is unsure whether to live with Mom or Dad (Surf And/Or Turf, s8ep6), the summoned ponies being the Cutiemark Crusaders. Sunbursts get called all the way from the Crystal Kingdom to go with Starlight to fix their relationship with their parents (The Parent Map, s8ep8).

Unseen Future and Technical Issues

Did the Map change from the magic manipulation and breaking over time? Or do these small scale cases still fulfill whatever grand scheme the Map is plotting?

That, of course, alludes to there actually being a grand scheme behind the Map. Why does it send ponies on friendship missions? Why certain ponies for certain places? In the start the focus was on whole communities and the long term effects the actions on the missions will have. It seemed grander.

Then the Map was manipulated by a time spell, to be fixed by magic of a unicorn and an alicorn. Ponies like Twilight who saw small issues to be the same scale as big ones. Did they change the original setting to something they figured was as good? Unintentionally of course.

The Map isn’t invulnerable towards magic manipulation, seems like any pony can effect the Map. Trixie teleported it while still learning magic beyond her usual skills. Or are these smaller cases just more densed down issues which can have a greater effect later on?

After all, in time travel we learned any slightest change in the past can and will change the future greatly. Even if only interrupting a race between foals in different manners. Potentially, the Map is seeing ahead and knows to change little things in the presence to preserve the future.

Two young cadets needed in the Wonderbolts as individual talents instead of relying on one another to succeed. What do they mean to the future of Equestria? After all, they are joining a military force. Spike was actively told by the Map to cut that crap out and stop causing an incident between two powerful nations by not trusting they could get along. Dragons and Changelings are great allies to keep after all.

But then there is saving a failing restaurant, usurping a hotel and casino manager, helping a kid to deal with life in two homes and fix the relationship with parents for two side characters.

Is the Map funked up from its original purpose, or are there still a grand plan behind it all? Was there ever a grand plan to begin with?

Map of Wonders Friendship

What IS the Map? It grew with the Castle Friendship into existence from where the Tree of Harmony planted its power. The Tree of Harmony and Elements in general still mysterious forces. Even those who originally planted the Tree of Harmony had no clues what it would become.

Is it directly linked to the Elements? Linked to the Tree of Harmony? The Tree was first planted merely to save a seed of the grand magic of the Pillars of Equestria before they sent themselves to Limbo. They had n o other plan beyond hoping this seed could grow to a force that could help protect Equestria.

The Tree was later discovered by the Royal Sisters, who took the Elements it held to defeat Discord with their power and the representation of the values the Pillars used to stand for.

Without the Elements, after 1000 years the Tree of Harmony faltered in its duty to protect Equestria. Unable to hold back the vines Discord planted ages ago and thus let havoc loose. Reunited with the Elements the Tree could once again protect Equestria, rendering even the Everfree Forest so little a threat that ponies constantly wander in and out of it freely now.

In return the Tree created a Chest of Harmony the Mane Six could only unlock with special keys they earned through understanding both sides of their respective Element.

This unlocked the Rainbow Powers that temporarily gave the Mane Six the super powers to defeat the big bad at the time. Leaving a discussion for the fans whether it was the power of the box or just the unlocked potential within the Mane Six themselves.

The Chest itself is brought to Ponyville by the Friendship Rainbow Super Duper Powah of Dah Tree of Harmony And Stuff, where it is planted where the destroyed Golden Oak Library used to be and creates the Castle Friendship along with the Map.

Is the Chest the Map? Is the Chest the Castle? Or were both things a gift from within the Chest? Might the Chest still be somewhere within the castle or underneath it?

That is hard to tell.

Is this an ever growing force that will keep creating more McGuffins, or is the faulty map the last twitches of this exhausted magic source of power still struggling to keep Equestria safe?

Hard to say.

Conclusion(?)

Harmony, Friendship, Cutie, Castle, Elements, Chests, Boxes, Trees, Maps and so on. All coming from one seed those who planted it had no idea what it would grow to be.

How does these things know what to do and how. What rules and guidelines do these forces follow? The Elements turned a living spirit into an eternity of stone imprisonment, another was banished to a thousands years on the moon, before purged from the evil within caused by jealousy.

The stationary Tree suppresses danger and negative influences on the land.

The Chest unboxed new wonders and real estate.

The Map sends ponies out on seemingly random quests with no rhyme or reason on WHY, starting from saving communities to just helping individuals on small scales they could solve themselves or at least not be a catastrophe when lost, least of all to the unrelated ponies who got sent out to fix the problems in the first place.

So, will we ever truly know? Will any of these things ever truly be explained or will ponies just continue to shrug it off and just roll with it until a new mcguffin is revealed?

Who knows?

Personally... I still think SOMETHING is the driving force of all of this. And I feel it can all be tracked back to the Tree itself, the driving force starting this chain.

Each thing we got from the Tree, the Element, the Chest, the Castle, the Map, each is planted by the tree for a purpose. Setting its own seeds of power to grow new artifacts. Just like it once was seeded to become a new protective force. It is a new life, made up of magic force, acting like any other life. Spreading its seeds to carry on its purpose.

Each thing that comes from the Tree each given their own purpose.

But as with anything happen seemingly at random without a first planned purpose, these items are created with more intention than actual plan. They are just fruits of different flavours, each happening to help in saving the day in different ways. Shaped by the needs sensed from the ponies around them.

The driving force is not one of thought. It is a pure magic force simply acting like a plant, setting its seeds to grow into more magic force with a physical form. The Castle of Friendship carries Twilight’s cutiemark. Provided with thrones for each of the Element Bearers. Because they all effected the Elements of Harmony, before they were returned to the tree. Before the Mane Six, the Elements were shaped like simple gems, even when used by the Princesses. The Tree holds the mark of the Sun and Moon, the first to find the Tree and use its fruits, the Elements. All these things shape based on who interact and influence them.

Will it stretch too thin or keep growing stronger? We don’t know.

The Map? Ah yes, the original subject of this whole ramble.

The Map may seem faulty, and I believe it very well might be from magic mishaps in the past. But as random as its actions and choices may seem, both before and after the first magic mishap, is driven by a specific force. Time. It foresees the past, presence and future. It provides clues to fix tiny in the timeline before they turn into a problem for a yet unseen future. Was this the original purpose? Or a side effect from Starlight’s time travel?

Was is in the start only meant to fix settled communities? And then moved to fix minor issues to save an unknown future?

I like to think so.

But this is just me rambling my own thoughts. Thank you if you managed to get through this whole wall of text if you made it this far.

#MLP #FiM #My Little Pony #Friendship is Magic #The Purpose of the Cutie Map #Cutie Map #Map of Friendship #The Elements #The Elements of Harmony #The Tree of Harmony #The Chest of Harmony #The Map #Ramble #Puffy Rambles #Rambling #PuffBlog

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sangsanghaebwa · 7 years

Text

Coming Home

Genre: Small town kids!AU, angst (happy ending though no worries) Word count: 7.5k Description: I thought my future was all about running away from my small hometown and creating a career in a big city, but it turned out that no matter what, home remained where the heart was, and my heart was stuck in that small hometown, the biggest part of it held by a certain Kim Taehyung. Author’s note: I started writing it this morning and just kept going, only taking breaks to eat. It’s been a while since I wrote and I worried that once I started again it would be really difficult, but this piece just happened, probably because it’s very personal. Most of the thoughts I put into this is what I’m actually going through at the moment, and then I just added Tae into it. This is kind of a wish of how I hope it would work out for me in the future too. Even though the circumstances don’t allow me to follow my OC’s steps just yet... :) I cried a lot writing this and I selfishly wish you’ll cry too, because I really poured my heart into this. It’s probably why I decided it was time to try out writing in 1st POV too. It’s hard to judge my own works but by the ease of writing, I’m starting to get the feeling I’m better at angst than anything else... >< And a few words about the topic itself - I think that many of you probably won’t be able to relate, but I believe there might be those who will too. Lately I came to realize that becoming independant and moving away from home is overrated - while it’s not good to live off your parents all the time, it doesn’t mean you have to move far away, staying in a small town and being happy with small achievements is not a bad thing. I think there are two kinds of strong people - the kind that are strong in reaching their goals and the kind that are strong in becoming happy with what they have. There’s nothing wrong with either and I just so happened to be mistaken about which one I was until it was kind of too late. Sorry for the long author’s note to those who actually read it! :D Warnings: Mentions of sex, no smut this time though. [Picture credit to VIA (@kimtaehyung_net on twitter)]

Glancing through the window of a moving bus I could see the scenery getting more and more familiar, places where I used to ride my bike, or forest trails where I’d walk my friend’s dog flashed by and soon enough I could see the familiar sign, announcing that I was entering my hometown. It hasn’t been that long since I last visited – coming to drop off the last big batch of my stuff a few weeks ago – however this time the feeling was different. I was coming back. For real. And while I still had a ton of worries weighing on me with this new decision, I could practically cry from the relief I suddenly felt – like I could actually breathe again after getting used to being suffocated for months.

A small town girl, getting a full scholarship in a university in a big city – that’s what I had always dreamed about and that was exactly what I got, except that it wasn’t enough for me. Always yearning for more I went on exchange to a country far away and that experience should have been the biggest warning sign – it was fun, it was all I dreamed about, but it wasn’t home. It wasn’t familiar; it didn’t have the people I love, the places I know. It didn’t have him either.

However that time he was waiting for me back at our university, chasing his own dreams, studying arts, even though he never had any intentions to actually pursue a carrier in art. Even when all the people around him couldn’t understand or agree with his decisions, he always knew what he wanted, and most importantly – he always knew where he belonged. And he told me that too, he told me where he saw the two of us, after we were both done with our studies. He told me, he saw the two of us at home, together; doing what the two of us enjoyed, together; not caring what anyone else had to say about our ambitions and choices, because if it was too hard for me alone, he said I didn’t have to worry - after all, we were together.

I want to slap the me of that time now when I remember her, when I remember how she just couldn’t see where that home he talked about actually was. The home I wanted for myself back then was far from my hometown, in an even bigger city than the one we studied in. So when the time came and we both graduated, we put on fake smiles for the graduation pictures, and I cried the whole way to my new apartment in that big city, while he was driving in the exact opposite direction, back to our hometown.

I would meet my friends from university from time to time and I would stay silent when they snickered about him, how he was throwing away his life going back to that small town in the middle of nowhere, praising me for making the smart choice of breaking up. I didn’t have the courage to admit that I never once felt smart about it though. I got that carrier promising job, got payed just enough to have a comfortable life, got my freedom and independence, and I still couldn’t actually feel why this was what all of my peers craved so much.

I stayed silent though. No one there would relate to me, and I couldn’t talk to him anymore either. There was also that part of me, which was stubborn and too prideful to admit that I wasn’t doing as great as it looked like from the outside. I was afraid of people seeing my weakness, when everyone thought I was that strong, independent woman, who wouldn’t choose a man over her dreams. It wasn’t until I realized it wasn’t just about him, that I cried the whole night, finally understanding how much I fucked up my own happiness.

After that night it only took me a couple months to wrap up my life there and little by little bring my stuff back home. I didn’t tell anyone except my parents, still too afraid of appearing weak, too afraid to fight for what brought me happiness. I didn’t tell much to my coworkers either, and I knew that I should stand up for the way I want to live my life, but I was already too mentally crushed to take on other’s judgement as well.

The hardest thing in life I had to do was to realize and admit to myself that I was fundamentally wrong about where I wanted my life to go.

After that almost everything suddenly seemed simple. Almost.

I came back from the bus station drenched in rain, grateful to find hot food on the table. My parents were a blessing – eager to welcome back their youngest daughter after her numerous wanderings. I felt guilty for ever wanting to run far away from them, when deep in my heart I just wanted to take care of them the way they always took care of me. I was at least glad I realized that before it was too late. A thought, that brought a bittersweet smile to my face – this was something he always said about his parents. He was a filial son through and through, and all that time I failed to see how it wasn’t only a good thing for his parents – it was a good thing for him too. He always looked so fulfilled with what he had in life, because he learned early on how to appreciate the small things, as cliché as that sounds. I thought I knew how to do that too, especially when it came to our relationship. Now I can see that I knew nothing back then. He was right and I was wrong.

And while it was probably never too late to admit you were wrong to your parents, with lovers time was a bit more important.

“Honey, you have a guest!”

My mom’s voice made me stop unpacking, and move towards the front door confused. No one even knew I was back here, so I was definitely not expecting any guests, but once I saw Park Jimin’s smiling face, everything made sense.

“Is this real life? Are you actually coming back for good?” Jimin didn’t even wait to pull away from our hug, before he was already questioning me, excited.

“Were you spying on me, neighbor?” I tease him, leading him after me, to my mess of a room, waiting to be upgraded since I left it as a barely adult.

“I wasn’t, but my mom is kind of guilty,” Jimin chuckled, getting comfortable on my bed, while I went back to unboxing, “she saw you coming back with a lot of stuff for the last month, and leaving empty handed, so I put two and two together, and once I saw you out the window coming back today, I figured I should investigate!” The boy shot you a mischievous wink and you couldn’t help but smile – he would always make you smile in a few seconds, he was just that kind and warm of a person. His family moved in to the apartment next door when you were both in elementary school, and while you weren’t particularly close once you hit teenage years, you got stuck in the same friend group once you started dating his best friend.

“You sound like an old lady, Jimin – spotting me through your window? That’s what that granny from the fourth floor does. Did you get binoculars too?” I tease him and he calls me ‘meanie’ with the cutest pout, totally not fit for his age, and I feel grateful that it was Jimin who happened to live next door, and not any of my other friends. They were all great people too, but with Jimin it was always just extra easy to let everything go. Even now, I couldn’t feel a drop of judgement, or any ‘we told you so’ vibes, just genuine curiosity and care for his friend.

“Yeah, to answer your question, I did come back for good this time. Quit my job in the capital. Still no idea what I’ll do here, but it just felt like the right thing to do.” I took a deep breath and finally admitted for the first time to someone who wasn’t my parents, “You were right and I was wrong. You and the guys and Taehyung, you were all right, and I was fucking stubborn and too blinded by everyone’s expectations to realize what was actually right for me.”

I didn’t notice that I had started crying until Jimin left his spot on my bed and came to hug me, cradling me in his arms and petting my head in a soothing way.

“No one’s going to hold this over you, you know? Sometimes you just have to experience things on your own to realize that it’s not for you.”

“I know you guys might not hold this over me, but everyone else will. They’ll say how I’m indecisive, how I don’t know what I want, how I’m a failure for leaving and then coming back-“

“Why the fuck would you care what people who don’t even know you will say? I thought you would have at least learned to care less about others from all that time you spent with Tae.” I involuntary hold Jimin tighter at his name, and a tiny sob escapes me, the dam which had been holding back my emotions for the last months completely crumbling down.

“I fucked up. Jiminnie, I fucked everything up.” I cry into Jimin’s shoulder, mumbling how stupid I am, and I’m not sure if I just imagined it, or if Jimin really said something, but what reached my ears sounded a lot like ‘you don’t know him at all, do you?’.

Reuniting with Jimin was a blessing for a few days, but then he had to leave town for an international dance competition, which left me with two options – staying in my room and dreading meeting people, or coming out and reuniting with the rest of my friends. The decision was made for me when our wifi broke down and while it was being fixed, I packed up my laptop and went to visit the only coffee shop in our tiny town, which coincidentally had great wifi. And a certain Kim Seokjin – a friend I relied on a lot whenever I needed an advice, and the boyfriend of a sweetest girl Miyoon, who likewise relied a lot on me, back when she was just a school girl, crushing on our senior Seokjin.

Things had changed a lot since high school, and now the sight of the cute couple running the counter is what greets me when the coffee shop door opens with a ‘ding’. Only a couple seconds pass between their confused stares and the both of their hands wrapping around me at the same time, and then a couple seconds later Seokjin is already making my coffee, jumping with excitement and Miyoon is already seated across from me, waiting to burst with questions.

And yet again I am left feeling stupid for worrying about these people’s reactions.

I feel grateful when Seokjin sits down with three coffee cups and instead of demanding for explanations as to why I never once visited after I moved to the capital and suddenly showed up now, he starts telling me about himself, and Miyoon joins in at some parts, taking the story over. Seokjin’s parents were the owners of the coffee shop and he hadn’t gone to university, already knowing that he’ll just help out with family business and eventually inherit it too. I knew that already since all of our friend group would gather at this very coffee shop every vacation we had. However the last time I visited was Christmas of my last year studying, when I came on a date with Taehyung. That’s why I hadn’t known that Miyoon started working there as well when she was done with her business management studies in one of the smaller colleges near home.

I would have been lying if I said I wasn’t at least a little bit jealous of how it worked out for them – Seokjin had a clear path ahead of him and he loved it too, and Miyoon as well chose what made her happy and it worked out perfectly. A small sad part of me wondered whether I could have had something like this too, if I had only realized how right Taehyung was.

Instead of dwelling on these thoughts I finally muster up the courage to tell my story too, and it feels like one less rock weighing on my chest when the two of them smile at me and hold my hands, glad that I finally seem to know which way I should go to be happy. All would have been seamless if only Seokjin hadn’t blurted out ‘does Taehyung know already?’, for which he got an obvious hit in the ribs from his girlfriend, but it was already too late, and once they got up to serve a new batch of customers, I was left deep in my thoughts.

Would he want to know? Would it even matter at this point? In my opinion, it was already too late the moment we got into different cars after getting our diplomas, but then again, life proved time and time again that my opinion tends to suck.

A tiniest of hopes had bloomed inside me and I was ready to do all it takes to suffocate it, to hide my feelings for the last time, because the fear of hurting any more than I already did, was way bigger than any hope.

After that day, it became a habit to spend my mornings in Seokjin’s coffee shop, working on my CV, looking for a job that would pay enough to help out my parents, while I worked on my new goal – learning how to sew. My mom was a seamstress and learning her trade even a little bit, seemed like a great way to get back in touch with my roots. I had no idea whether I’d be any good, or if I’d actually want to do it as a job, but if I learned anything, it was that I only seemed to learn through experience.

I had to, yet again, shut up that tiny voice in my head whispering that I was trying to walk in Taehyung’s path, by following my parents. It was easy to convince myself otherwise though, arguing with myself that he wasn’t the only person like that in my life. Take Seokjin for example.

I smiled to myself as said boy dropped off a cup of hot chocolate and went back behind the counter without saying anything.

It wasn’t just Seokjin like that either. One morning a couple days ago my middle school crush stumbled into the coffee shop, and only after he had left did I catch onto the fact that Seokjin had actually invited him over for me. I had to thank him for that though. Namjoon had always been one of those people I could talk for hours with and his life had turned out quite interesting too. He had followed his mother’s footsteps and became a literature teacher. He was still only an intern of sorts, but remembering all the old ladies teaching in our old high school, it was safe to say, he’d soon have a permanent spot there.

I had to admit he was still beautiful and I could still see why my fourteen year old self was so smitten with that dimpled smile. And I still couldn’t feel anything more than nostalgia, even when he offered to go out together sometime. My heart was still being held tightly in those beautiful big hands and a new dread grew within me – a dread to run into the person who has shaped my life and my mind, more than he himself knows.

That’s why after seeing Namjoon I spent a few days holed up at home, hiding from the world, before I forced myself to come out again. And I couldn’t have imagined how much I’d come to regret that decision a few seconds later, when the bell above the door tinged and I raised my head only to rest my eyes upon the person I craved to see the most and wanted to hide from forever, both at the same time.

Kim Taehyung was still the sole most beautiful human in my eyes. He was different, and it made sense considering it’s been more than a year since I last saw him. However he was also the same, as much as it didn’t make sense. His hair was longer than usual, and he had finally started wearing glasses, which he had needed for a while now. He was also wearing jeans, which he rarely did, carrying his trusted camera and a thick envelope – probably pictures he had come to the town to develop.

His gaze however, hadn’t changed a bit. It was piercing, yet warm – kind of like his whole person. I wish I could have witnessed his radiant smile too, but to my disappointment he didn’t find a reason to smile in that moment.

He didn’t notice me, and I didn’t try to be noticed, while he greeted Seokjin and Miyoon, and Seokjin immediately jumped to making his usual hot cocoa, without being asked.

“I haven’t seen you in town in weeks, was beginning to think you were eaten by wolves in that farm of yours,” Seokjin was making small talk and I wished he stopped glancing my way every two seconds, because as oblivious as Taehyung was sometimes, he was bound to catch on.

“Nah, was just avoiding your annoying ass,” Taehyung joked back and went to check out the display of pastries they had to offer.

It was a split second decision, and I wasn’t quite sure if it was a good one, but I jumped up as quietly as possible and started throwing my stuff into my bag, only to meet Taehyung’s stare the moment I turned around to head out.

It must have been the longest second of my life, until I brought myself to whisper a broken ‘Hi.’

He didn’t reply.

I bolted.

Cheeks burning red, maybe from the November cold, maybe from the shame and frustration, maybe from the warm tears that spilled without my permission.

Taehyung couldn’t quite comprehend what was going on around him the way he usually would. The shock of seeing her accompanied him all the way on a car ride home; all the way through dinner, where his confused parents stared at him in worry, wondering aloud why he was so out of himself; all the way through a hot shower and to his warm bed, which did nothing to help him chase sleep this time.

It wasn’t the first time he laid awake in that same bed, thinking about her, remembering what they had, thinking about what could have been.

Still, seeing her up close after all that time spent only looking at her old pictures, everything suddenly seemed so fresh again. It felt like yesterday when she told him she wouldn’t come back home with him, that it wasn’t what she wanted in life. It felt like yesterday when they both put on an act for their parents during graduation, when in fact everything had already gone to shit weeks prior. He could suddenly vividly remember the silent car ride home after that day, how Jungkook drove without asking anything and let Taehyung seethe with anger and disappointment and so much sadness, not crying just wasn’t an option.

He had hoped until the last second that she would change her mind, that she would think more about it and come to a conclusion that staying together was worth it, that she would give this kind of lifestyle a shot before she right out rejected the idea.

The hope was futile. She had already left before his mom could even ask her to join them for dinner and he was mad. He knew he had no right to be, but at that moment it just felt like the love that meant the world to him, was just a temporary shelter for her. Like he was just a temporary shelter for her.

And he felt so stupid for still caring so much after weeks, after months. For still loving so much.

He told himself to stop being selfish, like he had done so many times already. It was done, there was no point in dwelling on it, on her. She made her decision and if there was no place for Taehyung’s future in the vision she had for her own, there was nothing else he could do except accept it.

But acceptance hadn’t come to him all those months and it didn’t that night either. He could only stare at the darkness of his room, the numbers on his digital clock stating it was well past three in the morning and all he could do was think about how it made no sense that at that moment she was finally this close again and he couldn’t even hold her anymore. In fact, he couldn’t even say hi, it seemed.

However he told himself it was for the best. After all her future was not here and not with him. She will leave again soon enough and he will stay here, where he belongs, yet still can’t fully settle, when a part of him is and might always be held by her soft pretty hands.

He chases away any impure thoughts that come after remembering how soft her skin would feel when they shared a bed. Instead he tries to recall the feeling of calmness he’d get when he cuddled her to sleep, hoping that it will lull him to unconsciousness too.

Only to be rudely awakened again by a notification from his phone.

I thought I could be happy back at home even without Taehyung, and if I gave it a lot of time, I just might be. However it became clear it wouldn’t be happening any time soon.

Taehyung was still hurt. Or mad. Maybe both. I couldn’t know, but it was obvious he didn’t even want to talk to me anymore. I understood.

Doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

It took a big cup of calming tea before I could stop crying enough to tell mom not to worry and that it was just pms probably. She didn’t believe it, who would, but she showed her understanding by not asking any questions.

Sleep didn’t seem like an option when my mind was swimming with thoughts of all the happy moments we spent together, all the times when his eyes looked at me with warmth and his lips spent every second he wasn’t kissing me, smiling.

The scale of my selfishness hit me full force when I saw how all of that was gone from his gaze now. He was not a person who changed easily and I managed to break a part of his eternal sunshine.

A blessing came to me at midnight in the form of Park Jimin, just coming back from his trip. I felt guilty when the smug smile disappeared from his face, after seeing my tear streaked one, putting the golden trophy back in his bag and jumping on the bed to cuddle me through the layer of blankets.

All he asked was ‘is it Tae?’, and all I answered was a wordless nod, but it was enough for him. He hugged me until the exhaustion won over him and the fact that he fell asleep on my bed when he was supposedly trying to make me feel better, was so comic, it actually helped me gather myself a little. Just enough to turn on my computer and open up a word file, choosing to let all of my feelings out in writing just like I used to when I had all the time in the world and too many feelings. I would pour out all those thoughts I hid for a year, so I could delete them forever along with the file tomorrow and hopefully suppress them again at least for another year.

It felt as if the walls in my room had eyes when I typed out those words, I haven’t said even to myself in so long.

‘First of all, Kim Taehyung – I love you.’

I smiled to myself as a fresh wave of tears hit, but it was something I needed to do in order to move forward, so I made sure Jimin was still sleeping and continued.

‘It’s been more than a year since I last said it to you, but god I love you. You won’t even read this, but I love you so much, I hope you can feel it in your sleep. I hope you still dream about me sometimes, like how I dream about you constantly. From the absolutely nonsensical dreams of running away from angry cats together, to dreams that hit way too close to home. Dreams that leave me thinking whether it was in fact a memory. Last night I dreamt of kissing you and I woke up still feeling your lips on mine. I wonder will it ever be possible to forget how it felt? I’m not sure I want to. Do you ever miss my warmth in your bed? Do you at least miss my body? I miss all of you so much, one time I tried to kiss a guy who wasn’t you and ended up crying the whole night – it felt so wrong.

I don’t expect you to still think about me at all, and frankly speaking I don’t deserve it. Sometimes I doubt I have a heart, seeing how I’ve never loved anything in life more than I love you and yet I still threw you away.

I was wrong. I was wrong and you were right, I will admit it here, where no one else can ever see, because after all I’m still a coward. I wish I had never gone a path separate from yours, but maybe it was the only way to realize that what you offered was what I needed in life all along. Now I’m left feeling jealous of what you have already created – the kind of calm, fulfilling life, that I only started pursuing now. If only I hadn’t been that stupid, we would probably be pursuing this kind of life together now. No stress, no expectations from some strangers we don’t care about, just us, our families, our friends, our hobbies, our little hometown, and no faking. Just genuine happiness. I can see now that this is what you offered me back then, just for some reason at that time all I could see it as was unfulfilled goals and going backwards to a place I wanted to escape from.

I never wanted to escape from you though. I wish it was enough back then.

Now I’m left crying myself to sleep, missing your presence, missing your company, missing your warmth and your body and most of all missing your love, in all the forms you gave it to me.

I hope you don’t think you weren’t enough for me. You’re the best thing that has happened to me. You’re the most amazing and interesting person I have met. Even if it’s not with me I hope you’re forever happy, because you make the world a better place. Not just for me, but in general. You’re so good, I don’t deserve you, I never did, and you still shared yourself with me. I will forever be grateful for that.

It might have not been meant to be for us, I made sure to take care of that, but I don’t regret loving you. As much as it hurts now, I was just this happy, and even if the memory of what we had will never allow me to be that happy again, I still wouldn’t change it for anything.

Be a good man, a great son, an amazing artist, like you always were, and I promise I will try to become half as good of a person as you are, taking care of my parents and finding happiness in things that actually matter, instead of all the superficial stuff.

I won’t ask you to be a good husband to another woman, I’m too selfish for that, but I hope that when the time comes I will be able to wish you happiness, without hurting myself.

Lastly – I love you Kim Taehyung. I have not said it enough and now I will never get the chance to, but even if it’s the last time I say it, I love you Tae.’

It became hard to see anything through tears and I was afraid the sniffles would wake Jimin up, so I wrapped up the letter to myself and put the computer away. It felt like even if I kept writing throughout the night, it wouldn’t be enough to pour out all I want to say, all the things that had piled up on my heart throughout the last year.

All the crying had drained me out so it didn’t take long to drift away from consciousness, the last thought I could remember having – a genuine wish that Taehyung never felt this way. Even if it meant he didn’t care as much, he at least deserved to sleep peacefully.

The next morning I found no trace of Jimin, he must have left some time at night. My computer was still resting where I had left it and I took the time to read through what I had written last night before I deleted the file altogether and went take a long shower, washing away as many thoughts as I could.

It was a Sunday morning and once I found the house empty, I remembered my parents mentioning something about visiting relatives that day, so I helped myself to breakfast alone, wondering whether I should bother Jimin today, since Seokjin’s coffee shop was closed on Sundays.

I didn’t have to dwell on it for long when a message from Jimin came first.

‘Get dressed and be out in 20 mins, if you’re not ready I’ll drag you out of bed myself’

And a few seconds later another one followed.

‘Seokjin and Miyoon are going for a ride around the area.’

‘Asked me to fetch you’

‘Jungkook might join’

‘We’ll go and try to drag him out of bed >:D’

I sent a thumbs up and a laughing emoji and set off to make myself look presentable, all the while feeling grateful for still having friends who care to drag me out of bed on a Sunday morning.

It was already quite chilly outside, but the inside of Seokjin’s car was toasty warm. He put on an old playlist that we used to listen to when we went on such rides and the feeling of being home hit me hard. The three other people in the car discussed where we should visit today after we pick Jungkook up, but I didn’t participate, lost in my thoughts. The chilly weather and the frost bitten pine trees reminded me of Christmas back at home and I realized how it was barely a month left until that time of the year, and at the same time remembered how miserable my last Christmas was, when I couldn’t join the rest of my friends to go to Taehyung’s remote farm house, for our traditional Christmas day party.

I almost wanted to jump out of the moving car, when I realized exactly why the scenery reminded me so much of those times.

“Guys, why are we going this way? Shouldn’t we have gone straight if we wanted to get to Jungkook’s?”

Their guilty expressions made my stomach twist, and I focused on Jimin, who was the closest to me, demanding him to explain with my eyes only.

“Jungkook’s parents dropped him off at Taehyung’s, we’ll pick him up from there.” Seokjin was the one who answered, but I could see that all of them knew and purposefully hid that detail from me.

There was no point in acting up at that point though, so I sank into the seat and hid in the hoodie of my jacket, hoping to disappear altogether. ‘I don’t even have to get out of car’ – was what I kept telling myself when we rounded another corner and behind the trees came out a huge clearing with a single farm house sitting by the tree line.

I could see something moving by the front door and I couldn’t help but smile once I realized it was one of Taehyung’s dogs, a fluffy white bundle of happiness, so much like his owner, it was almost funny. A second later Jungkook came out the front door and I almost felt relieved, thinking we’d be leaving immediately, until Seokjin excused himself to the toilet and the rest of the traitors left the car as well to play with the excited puppy. However Jungkook grabbed it before they could get to it, and to my surprise, carried the huge dog to the car. The little buddy didn’t seem to mind though, wagging his tail while Jungkook held it in front of my window.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculous boy, who turned out to be exactly the same as I remembered him.

I got out of the car, shaking my head, and hugged the excited puppy, scratching his fur where I remembered him to like it.

“You’re not normal Jeon Jungkook, you know that?” Jimin and Miyoon had joined us by the car too and the three of them all laughed while Miyoon also joined me in petting the dog.

“You don’t even like normal, noona.” Jungkook ruffled up my hair and in that moment I had all but forgotten where I was and how much shit has happened – it was as if I was back in high school, chasing the annoying younger guy around, until he apologized or hid behind my boyfriend, begging him to protect him from me.

I came back to reality, that it wasn’t back then, and the man Jungkook hides behind is not my boyfriend anymore, but nonetheless Taehyung was standing before me and Jungkook was hiding behind him, a little unsure of what he should do, as he too must have realized things were not the same.

It felt like I was glued to one place, both my body and mind frozen, while Jungkook sneaked away to join the others, and Taehyung remained standing in front of me, staring into my eyes as if he actually longed to see me.

His hair was a mess and the top he was wearing must have been a pajama one, yet he still managed to look intimidatingly beautiful. How I had even managed to claim this beauty as mine was beyond me and I realized yet again, I was never worth him to begin with.

The sound of a car engine forced me to break the eye contact, and I was thrown into a whole new shock when I saw Seokjin’s car pulling out of the drive way, Jungkook sitting in my place and Jimin looking at me worried, but so obviously determined.

I couldn’t do anything else but stare at the empty road, afraid to face the man I was just bawling my eyes over the night before.

Taehyung was the first one to break the silence.

“Come inside, it’s cold.”

I couldn’t say anything and I couldn’t move either, refusing to believe the situation I was in, the reason behind my friend’s actions lost on me. Did they not know Taehyung didn’t even want to talk to me?

“I can drive you back home if you don’t want to come in. Just… don’t stay here, it’s cold.”

It wasn’t until Taehyung’s hand gently rested upon my shoulder that I faced him again and in a split second decision, I took a step towards the house, unable to comprehend what could possibly happen next, but feeling like this was the right thing to do.

Taehyung followed after me, leaving me to take my shoes off at the entrance while he went to the kitchen, where I could hear him pouring water into a kettle. Hesitantly I followed after him, and took a seat at the table, watching his broad back rummage with the tea cups. He didn’t say anything or turn around to face me until the water started boiling, and I was thankful for the time to gather at least some of my thoughts.

His house had always felt cozy to me and I wasn’t sure whether it was the house or the fact that it was his, but nonetheless, the feeling had not changed. When he handed me the same cup, which used to be dedicated to me exclusively whenever I came by for sleepovers, I couldn’t help being overwhelmed.

He sat across from me, his cup looking small engulfed in his huge hands and the thought of how it would feel to put my hands on his passed my mind. Looking around for a distraction, my eyes feel upon his again, and this time I noticed the dark circles beneath them.

“Didn’t sleep well?” Were the first proper words I said to him after more than a year and I wanted to kick myself, until I noticed a tiny smile on his lips, and felt warmth instantly blossoming within me.

“Didn’t sleep at all tonight.”

“Oh. Something happened?”

“Yeah.”

“What?”

“You.”

I could only stare confused, wondering if the meeting in the coffee shop the day before could have possibly shaken him up enough to be unable to sleep for the whole night. Was he that angry with me? Why would he even invite me in then? He should have just left me outside, like I deserved.

When he realized I wouldn’t be saying anything else, he continued himself.

“I got your letter.”

My confusion must have been obvious, so he continued.

“I couldn’t sleep already, but as I was about to, it came. Around three a m. Couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night after that.”

He smiled to himself, seeming lost in the memories of last night, while I was lost as to what letter he was talking about. I never sent any letters to him…

Dread filled my heart, at the same time as I was convincing myself that there was no way. I didn’t send it. That’s what I tell him too.

“I didn’t send any letters.”

Taehyung’s smile widened a little and he almost seemed happy like he used to be, if only those dark circles were gone.

“You didn’t send any. Jimin did.”

Approximately five seconds of pure shock later my face dropped to my palms as I moaned in misery.

“Oh my God. Why would he do that?”

I couldn’t bear being in the same room as Taehyung so I got up and headed outside of the kitchen, but Taehyung’s voice stopped me in my tracks.

“If you meant what you wrote, you won’t take another step.”

And then I was frozen, my legs unable to move even if I wanted to, and I didn’t, God, I didn’t want to move an inch further away from him than I already was.

I could hear him getting up from the table and coming closer and all I could think about was how much I just wanted him to hug me, how much I wanted to lean back into his warmth and comfort and safety and finally feel home.

“Do you love me?”

Out of all the questions he could have asked me I wasn’t expecting this to be the first, but the answer rolled off my tongue, like I was bewitched by the man behind me.

“Yes. I love you Taehyung.”

“Then that’s all that matters isn’t it?”

And before I knew it, he was hugging me from behind, like I had just wished for a second ago, and I all but melted into him, his familiar scent engulfing me, his warmth calming me and his touch comforting me.

“I’m so fucking sorry Taehyung, you probably hate me, and I definitely deserve it, but I do really love you so so much-“

I was unable to finish my rambling thoughts when I felt his lips caressing my neck in the softest of touches, moving to peck the side of my head, while he swayed our bodies together, to a rhythm only he could feel.

“I love you, darling. I could never hate you. Be angry? Yes. Disappointed? Yes. Sad? Yes. But never hate you. And now you’re here and I have no reason to be angry or disappointed or sad anymore. You’re here and you love me and I love you and that’s really all that matters. Simple as that. Okay?”

I wasn’t even aware of the warm tears that had escaped my eyes as I nodded along to Taehyung’s words and the next second he was turning me around and finally kissing me on the lips. Gentle but so determined, like he wanted to convey all the love he had in that one kiss, and if so, then I could definitely feel it.

His lips were the most innocent love and the most devilish sin at the same time and in that moment I was ready to sell my soul to him if he just asked.

His arms wound around my waist, holding me impossibly close and I wouldn’t have it any other way, as I too clung to him with all I had, my fingers slithering into his soft hair, holding him like the most precious thing in my life. Which he, in fact, was.

He nibbled my lips, changing from top to bottom, and I had no objections when he lead the kiss to a less innocent one, wet, desperate sounds filling out ears, the hunger for each other palpable in the air.

When the need to breathe finally won over the need for each other, we were both panting, smiling into each other’s lips, pecking each other occasionally, unable to stay away from each other even just to breathe.

“I do dream about you. All the time. Not innocent usually.” It took me a second to realize he was referring to my letter and I whined, hiding my face in his beautiful neck, taking the opportunity to kiss the delicious skin there.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t realize sooner that what makes me happy isn’t some fancy job in a big city and an apartment far away from everything I love.” I held onto Taehyung as strong as I could, almost afraid it would all turn out to be a dream, but the way he moved his fingers through my hair, urging me to look him in the eyes, felt all too real.

“Love, what matters is that you know now. You feel the same way as I do now and whatever you feel that you did wrong, I forgive you for it. If anything I should apologize too, for not trying to make you see that I didn’t just want you to follow me so I could have you by my side, that I genuinely believed you would be happier here than wherever you wanted to run away to.”

Taehyung’s deep voice lulled me into a state of calmness I hadn’t felt in a while and I kissed him again, lacking words good enough to express that he has nothing to be sorry about, that I am the happiest person alive to be given a second chance with him, that I love him so much it’s scary, that I don’t need to be that strong independent woman, as long as he’s willing to be there for me to depend on.

And I feel his feelings conveyed in the way he touches me too. How much he has actually missed me and how much I had hurt him by leaving, and how despite that he still loves me the same and needs me the same as I need him. I could feel it all and so much more of what I couldn’t even put into words in the way he held me, kissed me, smiled at me and whispered words of love as well as hot sins that would always remain behind closed doors of his bedroom. The way his body engulfed mine, so familiar and so missed when we made love to each other again and again until we felt at least a bit sated, at least a bit closer to catching up for that lost time.

And when we held each other close, hearts beating for each other all I was hoping for was that from then on Kim Taehyung would be my home, because wherever he was, that’s where my heart would be.

#taehyung scenario #v scenario #bts scenario #taehyung fanfic #v fanfic #bts fanfic #taehyung #bts #kim taehyung #v #kpop scenario #bts angst #taehyung angst #v angst #kpop angst #kpop fanfic #my works

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roseonhissleeve · 7 years

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Kiwi: Part Three

A mini-series based in Jamaica during the writing/recording of Harry’s new album. Enjoy. x

Kiwi: Part One // Kiwi: Part Two

“Where are yeh taking me?”

Harry’s voice called out to her as Cal led him uphill through the forest, the humidity of the Jamaican air causing the material of her shirt to cling to her back. She turned around to look at Harry as he scaled up behind her, his blue muscle shirt showing off the inked skin of his arms. She flashed a grin, reaching a hand out to him as she spoke.

“It’s a secret, Kiwi. That means I can’t tell ya,” she laughed a little, and he reached out to take her hand in his. She gave him a tug and pulled him up to her level, smiling at his dimpled grin. She released his hand and turned to continue walking uphill, grabbing onto the straps of her bag. “It’s one of my favorite places here. Found it a little after I moved to this side of the island, and I usually come here on my free days.”

“How long’ve yeh been here fo’?” He asked, running a hand through his unruly locks that had yet to be tamed by the heat.

“About a month and a half now,” she answered. She waited for him to catch up and take the few steps he needed to before she started to walk again. “How about you? What’s a superstar like you doing here?”

“Been here for about a week now working on the next album,” he explained.

“What made you want to come here?” She asked.

“It’s a peaceful place,” he answered, reaching to brush a stray lock of hair out of his face. “The past few albums I’ve made with the boys have mostly been recorded on the go—in hotel rooms or between a handful of different cities. I loved it an’ I wouldn’t give the memories away for the world, but I wanted something different this time ‘round.”

“Makes sense,” Calliope said, glancing at him over her shoulder with a smile on her face. “Almost there.”

Harry followed her to the edge of what looked like a small cliff. He took a few steps towards the edge and looked over at the pool of water at the bottom of what could have easily been a hundred foot drop. He then watched as she set her backpack down on the ground and began removing her t-shirt, revealing the white bikini top underneath.

“What’re yeh doing?” He asked as he watched her, taking a few steps closer to the cliff’s edge and trying to judge the depth of the water below.

“We’re jumping,” she explained casually, as if it was just another leisurely activity. His eyes widened slightly as he peered over the edge once more—meanwhile she continued to strip herself down to her bathing suit bottoms, leaving her clothes in a pile by her backpack.

“Is it safe?” He muttered nervously, jumping a little at the sudden sensation of her hand at his back. She giggled softly, nodding her head and peering over the edge herself.

“Of course it is, Kiwi. I wouldn’t put you in danger,” she said with a sweet smile, patting his back softly. He still looked anxious regardless, and she found it rather endearing—she exhaled a little laugh, reaching down to take his hand in hers and give a squeeze.

“Isn’t there anything you’re afraid of?” He questioned, and she laughed once more with a shake of her head.

“If only you knew,” Cal replied as she let go of his hand, stepping towards the edge. He instinctively took a step towards her in order to stop her, until he caught himself and realized that this wasn’t some danger he needed to save her from—she was doing this because she wanted to, because she…well, she seemed fearless.

That’s when he knew he was in real trouble.

“I’ll go first, okay?” She looked over at him and smiled, slipping her runners off and kneeling down to remove her socks and tuck them into her shoes. All the while Harry was still nervously looking down, trying to get any sense of the depth of the water beneath them.

“Be careful,” he said with a nervous smile as she stepped closer towards the edge. She looked at him from over her shoulder, with a smile that he didn’t yet recognize on her features. She felt a flutter in her chest that she hadn’t felt in a long time.

“I’ll wait for you at the bottom…I swear, it feels like flying,” she said with a grin on her face before bending her knees, eyes downwards in the direction that she was aiming for. She propelled her body out from the small cliff’s edge and suddenly she dropped, her delighted shrieks filling the air. Harry jogged a few feet’s distance to peer over just in time to see her plop into the water in a cannonball—it made him chuckle, and she somehow made it look graceful.

“C’mon, Kiwi!” She yelled at him once she captured her breath. Harry peered down at her, watching as she treaded water and gazed back up at him expectantly. He exhaled a nervous sigh, rocking side to side on his heels as if to pass the time while he tried to mentally calculate the distance down to the water.

He could see her grin all the way from up on the cliff. Her eyes were crinkled together from peering up at him through the sunlight, and it made her look more radiant than ever. This girl…the girl who jumps off of cliffs without a second beat, the one who breaks up fights between people twice her size.

She’s the girl who could quite possibly be the death of him.

There she had him, standing on the edge of a cliff when his friends have barely ever gotten him to ride a roller coaster. And he’d seen so many things—he’d been to practically every continent, he’d travelled to more countries than all his family combined. And he’d gotten so used to his so-called adventures that he maybe began to thought that he was less afraid of them, maybe even brave…

Calliope was brave.

He had never met anyone in his entire life that wasn’t absolutely terrified at the idea of their own existence.

Not until her.

He’d made his decision.

She watched him as he peeled the shirt off of his torso and tossed it to the side along with hers, slipping out of his runners and taking his socks off. He could hear her laugh from below, and it resonated among the trees. He took the last few steps towards the edge of the cliff and took a deep breath—the adrenaline was already racing through his veins, and he couldn’t tell whether it was from the jump he was about to perform or the look in her eyes as she waited for him at the bottom.

Either way, it gave him that last push that he needed.

He launched himself off of the cliff and into the air, without room for hesitation or fear. The second he felt himself fall his stomach dropped, like airplane turbulence or the drop of a roller coaster except there was no sense of safety other than the smile on her lips.

But after the initial shock, the rush of air, the sense of weightlessness, and gravity combined gave him a rush that he’d only ever experienced while performing. He laughed loudly, and he looked downwards so that he could see the water in the lake below come closer and closer. Once he was close enough he could hear her laughing, and it only made the fall so much more exhilarating. He took a breath right before making contact with the water—it was cold to the touch and shocked his skin, causing goosebumps to form as he held his breath. He was almost surprised that the water was deep enough to withstand the fall, but his feet didn’t come anywhere near the bottom; once he broke through the surface of the water he inhaled again, blinking quickly to shake the water from his eyes. Once his vision came into focus he could see her wading closer to him, her lips parted in a grin which he reciprocated immediately.

“Atta boy, Kiwi!” She giggled, her eyes gleaming with mischief as she floated over to him. As soon as she was close enough she brushed a lock of his hair away from his forehead. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“You’re fearless,” He mused, laughing in almost disbelief as he reached to run both his hands through his own wet hair.

Her gaze shifted from his in response to his question, as if she was wondering whether or not to let him in on a secret. He could practically see her defenses coming back up, but just as he was about to say something else to change the subject, she spoke again.

“Mm, maybe, but not when it comes to clowns,” Cal said, her lips revealing a smile once more. “Clowns scare the fuck outta me.”

“So I suppose now’s not the best time to inform yeh that I tell jokes?” He teased, crinkling his nose slightly.

“Something tells me that you’re not as funny as you think you are,” she giggled, and just like that, any weirdness or tension had passed.

The two of them spend about an hour swimming around in the little cove, telling stories and talking about themselves. She told him about how she ended up working at the bar, and about Pipo and his family. He talked about the places he’s seen and about his family back in Holmes Chapel. She told him that her favorite color was yellow, like sunflowers. He committed every detail to memory, as if she was showing him a scrapbook of the most important snippets of herself.

“Would yeh rather lick peanut butter off of a hobbit’s foot, or only eat lemons for the rest of your life?”

“Peanut butter, easy. You’ve got to step up your game, Kiwi.”

“Yeh would rather lick peanut butter off of a hobbit’s hairy, smelly foot, filled with toe jam and dirt?!” Harry exclaimed, his face disgusted at the thought which caused her to giggle.

“It’s two minutes of suffering for a long long lifetime of eating chocolate whenever I please,” she rationalized, pursing her lips as she thought of her next question.

“Would you rather have your older sister watch you have sex every single time for the rest of your life, or have your ENTIRE family watch once? This includes cute little old grannies,” she announced.

“You are absolutely terrifying!” He gasped playfully, jaw dropping. “Leave Gramma Styles outta your mind games!”

“Make me,” she challenged, a mischievous grin appearing at her words. Her eyes widened slightly as she watched him begin to come closer to her, and she immediately began to swim away with a fit of giggles escaping from her lips. Within seconds she felt his arms wind around her waist and press her against his chest, his chuckle against her ear as she shrieked and kicked her legs underneath the water.

“Gotcha,” he breathed out softly, grasp tightening around her to pull her closer. She was suddenly very aware of the feeling of his chest pressed against her back—the realization sent tingles up and down her spine that she did not expect, but they were not exactly unwelcome. She could feel his laughter die down as he came to the same realization, and she could feel her heart beating in her chest as each one of her nerve endings began to flip the FUCK out at the contact between her and his skin. She could feel the curve of his muscles in his arms as they remained wrapped around her body, and his palms were splayed across her torso and covering space like the blooming of a flower.

Cal couldn’t help herself. She slowly began to trace her fingertips across the backs of his hands, and she could feel him shivering slightly from behind her. His breath was in her ear and it was the most innocent yet sexy thing that she’d ever experienced in her entire life, and it was driving her mad. She continued to run her fingertips up the length of his arms, feeling the muscles tense underneath her touch and then relax. She realized that she had been holding her breath the entire time and exhaled softly, which prompted Harry to do the same.

Once she had explored all the skin she could comfortably reach she pulled away, only to turn around and set her hands on his shoulders. She avoided looking into his eyes, as if she was afraid to make the contact. She kept her gaze attached to her hands as she set her palms against the broadness of his shoulders, the pad of her thumbs tracing over the tattoos that decorated his skin. His hands found their place on her waist, thumbs gently pressing against the pudginess of her hips and bringing her closer to him. Her lips parted as she exhaled another breath, her proximity to him causing her to become dizzy.

He finally drew a hand back to settle his fingers underneath her chin and bring her gaze up to his. She looked into his green eyes and immediately knew that they were something she would never forget. Like when you look yourself in the mirror and know that it’s you—looking into Harry’s eyes felt like a certainty that shook her very existence, and absolutely terrified her to death.

She was anything but fearless.

“We…Um, we should go,” she spoke after mustering up all her willpower, swallowing the lump in her throat as she pulled away. She looked away from his eyes and he immediately released her from his hold, exhaling a shaky breath that he had been holding in.

For whatever reason, that’s all that would happen, and that was okay with him. He didn’t want to push her.

But fuck, he needed a minute to get himself together.

He slowly regained the ability to breath normally as he stared straight ahead into the trees, avoiding following her with his gaze. There was a fire in his belly that had been lit, but it was more than just that—there was a feeling to this girl that he couldn’t shake out of his system. Everything with her just made sense. His hands fit against her frame perfectly, her fingertips danced across his skin as if they had mapped out his every cell. As if she owned him.

Hell, maybe she already did.

Kiwi: Part Four

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starr-fall-knight-rise · 5 years

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Humans are Space Orcs, “Fear

Something I wrote for you all really quick this morning. Forgive any grammar mistakes :) Have a great day.

Fear….. I think it would be safe to say that it is the one universal emotion across the galaxy. For most of us, fear is a means to an end: a simple mode of survival, but for humans….. Well fear is something more. Fo us fear comes in situations where we might die, and that’s it. The only thing we fear is the loss of life before our time is up.

Humanity….. Humanity fears implication.

Sure humans experience fear in life or death situations, but sometimes they don’t . Humans will jump from planes, play with fire, and swim deep under the crushing weight of water well over three to four times the pressure of their own gravity. They will tie ropes to their ankles and then jump off of high places.

I don’t think I have ever seen a human that was truly afraid, or at least not overtly…. Not until today anyway.

Sure humans fear death, but they fear implications more. Life or death situations are hardly an issue when you have your own imagination to fear. Humans are a strange species that can leap from the sky for a thrill, but alone in the darkness and safety of their own homes, they conjure up things to fear in the dark. THey see shadows out of the corners of their eyes and reflections in mirrors at their backs.

They fear the implication of things that are unseen.

Believe me, the human mind is a horror house or personal torture.

Just watch their movies, and I promise you that some of the scariest ones to humans, do not involve natural disaster, life or death, or even dangerous killers, but they do involve the unexplainable, the uncontrollable. Those things that hide unseen in the dark and infect the mind like an insidious disease.

Man does not fear life or death, he fears his own mind and what might hide in it’s dark recesses.

***

“Get everything locked up, we do not want to be out here after dark.” The Commander ordered, pushing through a thick stand of deep purple foliage, and out into a large-circular clearing where three of their shuttles stood surrounded by that day’s camping supplies, and a group of waiting marines.

They stood as the second team of marines trudged their way from the bushes covered in dirt, slime, and sweat from their day’s work.

“Break it all down and get it back inside.” The commander ordered.

Krill, who had been waiting in camp with the marines floated over to absently eye the marines as if for scratches scrapes and bruises. Sunny was the last to break through the trees hauling her bulk over a mossy stone and onto the strange purple moss of the clearing. She snorted a leaf from her face, “Why in such a hurry, Commander, afraid of the dark.” Her voice was playful, but the expression he shot her was serious.

She stopped

“No, not the dark, but what might be hiding in it.” He began locking their food away into the climate-controlled lock boxes, “Plus, the last group of colonizers that tried to settle on this place ran screaming after one night. THe UNSC wants to know what’s up. The report had something to do with a ‘mimic” Now I’m ot sure what that means, the civilians were to shaken up to talk, but they seemed adamant that it was important not to go outside after dark, and I am not in the habit of ignoring warnings.”

Sunny nodded a tiny bit apprehensive. Whatever could have made a human run screaming was not something she particularly wanted to deal with.

Krill was as skeptical as ever, “Probably just some strange planetary creature, no big deal. They probably saw it, assumed it was some sort of folk monster and worked themselves up enough to run away.”

Commander Vir didn’t say anything, but didn’t look like he agreed. Then again, he was known heavily as the kind of man that likes to give people the benefit of the doubt.

They got the camp packed up just as the star was beginning to set in the north (the planet had a strange rotation relative to its magnetic field)), and Commander Vir made sure his marines had entered the shuttles and closed the door remaining the last one before coming into the third shuttle and closing the door behind him.

Two other marines were watching the monitors in the cockpit, so he took a seat on his bedroll next to where sunny sat by the wall idly tracing her claws through the striations on the floor. Krill floated not too distantly listening to the sound of idle conversation.

Sunset came and went, and nothing on the camera peaked the marine’s interest.

They left one person on watch for that night while the other came back to select a bedroll and get some sleep.

Commander Vir and Sunny were out like lights back to back with each other in the tropical warmth of the planet’s midnight atmosphere. It hardly seemed like a bad place to settle down. Even Krill had dropped into his half-meditative trance still partially aware of what was going on around him.

***

“Adam!.” Commander Vir jolted away in a cold sweat looking around for where the voice had originated. Most everyone else was still asleep. He shook himself a little. That was strange, for a second he thought that maybe the infected starborn had returned to take over his mind, but…. Starborn couldn’t survive on the face of a planet….. And he would have sworn that voice was the voice of a child.

He rubbed his eyes, stood and moved into the cockpit where one of the marines was still watching the cameras, “Anything?” He muttered, but the marine shook his head. He was just opening his mouth to say something when.

A baby began to cry just outside the shuttle door.

The marine leaped to his feet eyes wide, “What the hell.”

His voice caused everyone else in the compartment to store.

“Adam.” Commander Vir turned in a wild circle to face the wall behind him. Of course he couldn’t see anything because the voice had been just on the other side, like a small child pressing their mouth to the metal, whispering.

A few more of the marines had stood up eyes turned to the hatch with the sound of the crying baby still echoing through the metal, slightly muffled by the door. One of the marines got to his feat and reached for the handle, but Commander vVir caught him, “NO ... that's not a baby marinee. We are the only people on this planet.”

The marine turned to look at him eyes wide with concern, “But, Sir maybe it’s one of the settlers.”

“They may not have been coherent, but they would have told us if they were missing a baby.”

“Adam, Adam, Adam…..” As the voice repeated it plunged from the high chirp of a child deeper and deeper into a demonic growl.”

“Adam!” Something slammed against the side of the shuttle.

The marines yelled out in alarm. Commander Vir jumped back. Something skittered and clawed at the metal outside. More voices joined in whispering pleading. Voices rose and fell, more often than not mimicking the sound of children.

Sunny was up now and found herself at the center of a group of humans who had backed themselves into a circle eyes wide.

The sounds died away for a few moments, leaving them in the deep silence of the forest.

There was a knock on the door, “Daddy…. Daddy, let me in, I'm scared….. Help me.”

One of the marines turned his wide eyed face to the commander and then back to the door, “Jamie.”

A hand clamped around his shoulder, “No, marine, that isn’t who you think it is.”

“Daddy….. Daddy please help me.” The knocking turned to a frantic banging then a thudding, “Daddy please, something is coming!”

The sound of a small body throwing itself against the door repeated over and over and over again.

The marine’s face was streaked with tears, but he held his ground.

However, as they listened, the sound of thudding grew louder and louder. The shuttle rocked violently.

A child could not have had the strength to do that.

The marines cowered back against each other weapons pointed towards the hatch.

The voices faded turning themselves back into gibbering whispers.

Whispering died away replaced by the sound of something rushing through the trees. Thud thud thud on the pad of feet. It’s movements where unholy. It’s feet or hands, whatever they were were soft, and something dragged behind it.

Pad, pad scrape, pad pad, scrape.

“Let me in.” The voice was loud and sudden emanating from about knee height and right behind them. A girl’s voice throat torn and ragged, from fire….. Or from screaming.

The marines yelped and turned to the corner where something now scratched against the metal.

Commander Vir was the first to voice what al the humans were thinking, “Fuck this, let’s get out of here.” With that, he rushed into the cockpit giving a cursory glance to the cameras, but seeing nothing. Engaging the coms system he opened a line to the other shuttles, “Bravo, Charlie, this is Alpha leader ordering and immediate launch, do you copy.”

For a horrifying moment, it seemed as if they wouldn’t answer, but then two voices crackled over the line breathless and hopeful, filled with their agreement.

Commander Vir engaged the launch sequence as the other marines strapped themselves in. Krill and Sunny looked around the cockpit in confusion hardly understanding what was going on. Sure there was something creepy outside, but it was outside….

They had never seen the human’s cut and run so fast before.

And they Cut and run as fast as they possibly could, making it out of atmosphere in record time.

***

Back aboard the ship, only the graveyard skeleton crew was there to meet them surprised and worried to find three teams of frightened bedraggled marines, and their more than paranoid Commander eyeing the shadows in unfounded paranoia.

Krill watched from the side confused.

Sunny looked on in worry.

The skeleton crew got to work packing up the gear allowing the marines to return to the crew quarters for a rest. Commander Vir followed, but paused in the long hallway up to the Captain’s quarters glancing back at Sunny. She was about ready to head down the hall to her room when he spoke, “You know…. Um maybe it is best if….. If maybe, we set up a watch for-for tonight. I mean just to make sure nothing ended up hitching a ride or…. Or something..”

Sunny looked at him in surprise, “But captain, space….”

“Yeah yeah…. I know, I mean…. Just in case, but like in the rec room….. Where we have light, and space to fight…. If we have to.”

She tilted her head at him, but finally nodded in agreement.

She had never seen such a look of relief on anyone’s face before, and together they made their way to the rec room, set up one of the couches and began their “watch.” A watch that simply turned into Adam leaning against her arm and promptly falling asleep.

She rolled her eyes a little, and was about to do the same when a soft thud echoed to her from down the hallway. She opened her eyes suddenly awake and alert ready for some creature to come around the corner, but instead one of the marines poked his head in, “Er….. do you guys you know… need help.”

Sunny looked down at the sleeping Commander and sighed, “The more the merrier I suppose.”

“Oh… ok…. I guess I can help.” He walked over, selected a beanbag, pulled it up to her feet, and immediately followed his Commander’s lead.

Sunny sighed and closed her eyes, not even bothering to open them when the next set of footsteps moved up the hall, “Yes ... we are on watch, and obviously we need your help.”

This marine took the other side of the couch.

By the end of a half hour span Sunny sat lording over a room full of uneasily sleeping humans, and she idly wondered if this is what it would have been like to have a brood of her own. However, since she wasn’t likely to ever experienced that, she would happily protect these ones from the dark

***

Other species don’t mind the mimics so much. However, for some reason they have a profound impact on humans. My theory is that, like the starborn they have some ability in telepathy, and because of this, they have complete access to the one thing that humans fear most.

Their own imagination

#humans are insane #humans are space orcs #humans are space australians #humans are space oddities #earth is a deathworld #Earth is space Ausralia #humans are weird

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mistye-dawne · 7 years

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Finding the Words

Summary: A chance meeting while taking a break from her team sends Lucy and Laxus into unfamiliar territory as Lucy tries to find balance between catering to her team and moving forward with her own life, while Laxus fights his demons and struggles to accept that he just might be good enough to have the girl of his dreams.

FF.net

Chapter 12: Confrontation

Days had passed since Laxus and his team left Magnolia and in that time, they'd met with their client in a town located on the southern edge of Waas forest. There were rumors of a dark guild lurking in the forest attacking merchants and travelers passing through. The same thing was happening to those coming from the north end of the forest. With that information, the four easily assumed they'd find these mages in the heart of forest not too far from the road.

They spent a day traveling along the road and easily took out the guilty mages that ambushed them. However, the group felt a strange energy settle over the forest and were convinced that there was something sinister at work around them. They were compelled to investigate it before leaving.

Laxus had no trouble sniffing out whatever it was they headed toward but the moment he got close to it, they realized that they'd been caught in a misdirection spell. A powerful one. The lightning slayer felt like he'd get them a little closer each time, but then the scent would suddenly change directions before they could reach the source.

"This is getting us nowhere. We've double backed how many times now?" Evergreen inquired agitatedly.

Beyond frustrated with the situation and other things, Laxus spun on the woman with a glare that made her flinch. "Yeah, I know Ever," he growled. "Everytime I think we're close to getting out, this shit shifts around."

"I wasn't blaming you," she asserted. "I was just thinking that maybe we need to try something else since we've been stuck for so long that it'll be getting dark soon."

"By all means then, think of something," he snapped. "I've got a fucking headache." He stomped off ahead of them, beyond caring if they got separated.

Bickslow placed a hand on Ever's shoulder and she shook her head at him. "I'm good Bix. I could have said that better with tensions running so high," she confessed. "You should go check on him. He's been irate since the master called him the other night."

"We still have a few hours before it's completely dark, so Ever and I will try to look for a weak point," Freed offered. "Separating isn't an option."

"Right," Bix nodded. "I'll make sure he doesn't get too far ahead. You guys pay attention though and don't fall behind."

The two nodded and watched him catch up to Laxus. Freed wondered aloud if it had really been a wise choice for the guildmaster to inform Laxus that Jaice had not been apprehended. Ever didn't quite know how to answer. but she thought the master had to have had a good reason to bring it up while they were in the middle of a mission. She also offered the idea that maybe he had called as his grandfather rather than the guildmaster, reminding the rune mage that the call between them had been a rather long one.

Freed thought about Ever's words. The relationship between the lightning slayer and the guildmaster had slowly mended since Gildarts reinstated his status as a member, but to call them close would be an exaggeration. If anything, Laxus just respected his grandfather properly now. But maybe she was right and they had spoken about something of a more personal nature.

The fairy mage and rune mage for silent for some time after that, trying to feel a break in the spell surrounding them. Freed thought that since the spell only shifted once they got close enough to it's edge, that it was possible for there to be a rune surrounding them. If that were the case, then all he would need to do was locate a weak spot within the rules, and then rewrite it because a rune of large size could very easily have multiple weak points if it had been rushed. The remaining hours seemed to drag on until Ever and Freed felt the air change again, this time far more subtly than before that they expected Laxus and Bickslow to miss it since they'd not been looking for it.

"My hair is starting to frizz up," Ever complained.

"It's gotten humid." A heavy mist had settled over the two making it hard to see more than three feet in front of them as the sun was already low in the sky. "Fog?"

"Jaice wielded a type of mist, didn't he?" Ever asked, panic in her voice.

"Laxus! Bickslow!" Freed shouted. He'd only just realized that they'd gotten out of sight and prayed that they hadn't gotten too far, leaving the group separated. A second later, the men came into view.

"Why'd you stop?" Bickslow questioned. "You find something?"

"I don't feel the misdirection spell any longer. Instead this mist has settled in it's place."

He was right, none of them could feel the effects from before. However, when Laxus inhaled to catch the scent of something he could use to lead them back to the main road, all he could smell was the moisture in the air.

"Dammit. I can't smell anything past this mist. How are we gonna get out?"

"Well the spell changed for a reason. I also don't feel like my magic is being suppressed so I might be able to do something about the mist."

The group made a fire to give Freed a little bit of light as he and Ever worked on adjusting the spell around them.

"How's cosplayer?" Bix asked, hoping to get the lighting slayer talking since he been silent after his little outburst.

"Irritated to hell."

"Can't say I blame her. Weeks ago, she's told that she can't work solo and now she's gotta have a babysitter."

Laxus sighed and shook his head. "I don't think I helped to improve her mood any."

Bickslow eyed the blonde as he ran a hand through his hair. "Good lord, what did you say to her?"

"That I was glad to know that she was safe," he mumbled.

"What else, Laxus?" Bix prompted.

"I tried telling her that the old man is just looking out for her."

What he didn't tell his friend was that his grandfather had been speaking to Loke before he'd called him to inform him about Jaice the other night. They'd spoken at length about protecting Lucy and while both the spirit and his grandfather seemed against the idea, they were considering it simply because they didn't know what might happen to her once Jaice was near her again.

Laxus didn't want to consider the possibility of Lucy losing her memories so he decided that there would be no chance of it happening. The celestial mage might end up hating him, but if he wasn't there to help protect her he wasn't going to risk her losing everything because of her pride.

"I'm sure she knows that. But she's a mage in her own right," Bix explained.

"And a prideful woman that doesn't need anyone," he scoffed.

"Hey. Doesn't mean that she don't want someone around."

Laxus knew Bix was right. If Lucy didn't want him, she'd say so. This whole situation was just fucked up and he wanted to do nothing than just go home to her and try to make it better, not that he knew how to make things better. They continued to talk for a little longer. Lucy had finally found a new apartment and was starting to move in. Bickslow assured him that the distraction was a good thing for her. It would let her feel normal and lot like some crazed loon was possibly hunting for her.

Ever came back to sit with them as Freed made a few more adjustments to the enchantment. The lightning slayer apologized to her for snapping and she just shook her head offering her own apology. She rested with them for a little bit and asked about Lucy's new apartment. He told her that the celestial mage had found one that she was finally happy with even though it had more space than she could use up. The fairy mage joked about maybe moving in with her and Laxus said that all she had to do was ask.

The place had two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The selling point for Lucy had been the jacuzzi in the master bathroom. Evergreen was definitely going to consider asking her friend for the spare bedroom since she was getting tired of Fairy Hills.

When Freed walked over, Ever nodded at him and stood up motioning for the other two to follow. They returned to where he'd been working and she made sure they were prepared for whatever was waiting for them once the mist was cleared. The rune mage recited the incantation and the mist was lifted to reveal a small clearing surrounded by at least twenty mages. One of the mages stepped from the crowd and pulled back his hood, a smug grin on his face. His hair was black and fell over his gray eyes.

"So these are the four you've been so concerned about?" he mocked. His were held open to them as though her were extending them a warm welcome. "Well I must admit, to be able to clear the mist in such a short time and with little effort, it would seem that you all were rightfully afraid." The man narrowed his eyes at Laxus. "Leave all but the lightning mage alive. I have uses for their magic."

The man turned away and the others started attacking. Freed called out to Bickslow who moved to cover the rune mage as he began crafting another rune to give them control over the fight.

Ever leapt up and summoned her wings to hover over the group that had surrounded her. She shot them down with her fairy machine gun but was knocked out of the air by someone behind her. She managed to recover fought beside Bickslow as Freed finished writing his rune.

Laxus teleported after the man that had been speaking, cutting of his path and forcing him to jump back away from where he struck.

"You don't get to dish out orders and then walk away."

"Normally I do, but you seem to be an interesting sort and I've been rather bored since evading imprisonment by the council." Laxus furrowed his brow at the familiarity of the man's words. "I need this to end quick I have someone I need to be looking for."

"Oh? Maybe I can help when you're face first in the dirt," he taunted.

Laxus surged forward, his fist connecting with the mage's jaw. The lightning slayer showed no mercy but the mage was able to find some ground and tried to ensnare Laxus within his mist. He was easily able to teleport from it before he was physically trapped but the mage had already tapped into his mind.

"You seem to know the individual I'm looking for," he said, sounding genuinely surprised. Laxus fell to his knees and clutched his head after landing as the mage tapped into his mind. "Why don't you tell me where she is."

"Laxus!" Evergreen jumped between the men, devoid of her glasses and looked the man she now knew was Jaice. She'd already suspected as much with the mist but his mind melding confirmed it. Jaice looked away and fled before she could gaze into his eyes that had been glowing.

"Done!" Freed shouted as he finished his rune. Any mage that continued use their magic would find it hard to breath. "Bickslow, you and Laxus get back to Magnolia now," he ordered.

"Freed and I will clean up things here. Hurry up," she added.

Bickslow knelt down beside his friend and pulled him to his feet, dragging him away from the fight. With Laxus' lightning they could be back home in no time, but Jaice had done a number on the man when he looked into his mind. Bickslow only hoped that he'd come to his senses soon so that they could get to Lucy first.

Two days later, a strange fog settled over Magnolia when the sun was peeking over the horizon as Jaice tried to find the celestial mage within. Lucy was fast asleep in her bare apartment and woke up, feeling a familiar tug on her mind. Before she came to, Horologium's gate was opened and she was taken to the spirit world.

She looked down at herself and recognized the clothing as something Virgo had once brought her. Still half asleep she watched Loke offer his hand to help her stand, a sad smile on his face. All of her spirits were there, each happy to see that she was safe but also a bit saddened. Loke would be the one to take her wrath and anger since he'd been the one that sent Horologium to get her, but they each felt a bit guilty about bringing her here to protect her.

"Loke, what's going on? Why am I here?"

The lion spirit just shook his head. "I'm sorry, Lucy. I waited as long as I could."

"Loke," she whispered, placing her hand on either side of his face and forcing him to look at her. "Waited for what?"

"Jaice just arrived to Magnolia."

He could see that she was confused and lead her over to the fountain where they watched over her on occasion. There, she looked down at the water and saw her home blanketed in the familiar mist.

"Loke, you have to take me back," she said shakily. Now was not the time to lose her cool because he;d never let her go back if she wasn't calm. "I need to warn the others."

"I'm sorry, Lucy. We can't risk that."

She spun on him and glared. It hurt that she was looking at him like that but this was what had been agreed upon. They were doing what they could to protect their mage, consequences be damned. "Loke, take me back this instant," she fumed.

"You're as obnoxious as ever, girl," came a familiar voice.

Lucy turned around to see Aquarius on the other side of the fountain, a rare gentle smile gracing her face. "Aquarius," she sputtered.

"You have to stay here until this passes," she commanded bluntly.

Lucy tried to argue but the sad look in the water spirit's eyes made her think of the day she broke her key. She walked over to the spirit and collapsed, tears streaming down her face. She'd missed the spirit so much and if Aquarius was honest, she missed Lucy as well. But now was not the time for an emotional reunion. She explained to Lucy that bringing her to the spirit world had been her idea in the first place. She told her that if she wanted to be mad at or hate anyone, that it needed to be her.

Lucy pleaded her case to Aquarius. She needed to be there to fight with her family if it came to that. She didn't need to be hidden away and protected. She was perfectly capable of doing that herself. The spirit just chided her and reminded her that she'd grown too prideful in wanting to do everything on her own.

The celestial mage wanted to argue but the spirit was right. Loke had been telling her so for some time now and she hadn't listened. Instead, she'd acted like a child and ignored him saying that she needed to stop relying on others to solve her problems.

Lucy looked to the pool and saw Laxus approaching Jaice, who was standing on the cliffs that overlooked the city. She looked up at Loke who looked truly regretful that he'd brought her here. She reached out to him and tried to reassure the lion with a smile before looking back at the pool.

"She's vanished. Hmm, maybe I can wait until those spirits bring her back," Jaice mumbled with a shrug.

"What do you plan to accomplish? What's all this for?" Laxus barked out.

Jaice turned to look at the lightning slayer, annoyed at his persistence. "You mean the ritual? Hell, I don't even know if it'll work. I was just curious to find out."

"Curious?" he scoffed. He couldn't believe it. This prick was going to use Lucy asa fucking sacrifice just because he was curious. "Is this a fucking game to you? Playing with people's lives?"

"I wouldn't say easing my boredom always included someone dying," he sighed. "But she's eluded me again and I'm quickly losing interest, which is never a good thing."

Laxus saw nothing but red and as he did two days prior, the lightning slayer charged at the man. Lucy was forced to sit back and helplessly watch as the two men traded blow after blow. Jaice was physically weak, but the celestial mage was afraid to see what he would do when he was pushed into desperation. And Laxus, she hardly recognized him and realized that she'd actually never seen the man when he was in dragon mode.

It reminded her of Natsu, how uncontrollable and feral he seemed when he was pushed that far. Was Laxus this way because of her? Was he fighting purely on instinct because her life had been threatened? It was clear that he wasn't going to let up until Jaice was dead. However, the mind-melding mage didn't look like he was giving up easily either.

There's was something different about him. Just as Laxus could become part of his lightning, Jaice had become part of the mist and Laxus' attacks had ceased to do anything to him. Lucy was starting to panic as Laxus started to fall behind. Jaice was able to get in a solid blow and knocked him back and he didn't immediately get up.

Laxus shouted in agony when the mind-melder gripped his mind. The mage's eyes and tattoos were glowing. The lightning mage was unable to fight against him. "I'm sorry... Lucy."

"Oh you will be," Jaice spat. "She would have died quickly, but now I'm going to make her suffer."

"Let me go back!" Lucy cried. "Please... please. Live. Laxus"

"Live. Laxus." Lucy's voice rang through his head and his eyes snapped open. That's right. He was fighting for her and she was waiting for him. He took the deepest breath he could manage, summoned his magic forth and let out that same breath with all his remaining strength before his world went black.

As soon as Magnolia was in sight, Laxus sent Bickslow to find Lucy. He had tried her old place only to find her bed empty. He didn't know where the new apartment was so he just headed to the guild praying that she'd be there.

"Bickslow?!" Mira was more than a little surprised to see the seith mage burst through the doors.

"Mira! Where's Lucy?" She opened her mouth to tell him that she hadn't been in yet but words didn't come. "Mira!" he called again. His voice was filled with desperation.

Makarov, hearing the commotion downstairs, walked from his office to investigate. He saw the seith mage leaning against the bar, out of breath. He also saw a confused Mira who couldn't seem to answer him.

"Bickslow," he called. The mage looked up at him. "Tell me everything," he demanded, narrowing his eyes.

Bickslow, remaining on the first floor, explained to the guildmaster, and everyone else sitting the hall, what had happened to them in the forest. How Jaice had organized an ambush after trapping them inside the forest. The mind-melder had tapped into Laxus' mind and learned that Lucy was here. Laxus and he had been the only ones to give chase. He assured the guild that Evergreen and Freed were fine and probably already on their way back to Magnolia.

Makarov responded by informing him that Lucy was safe, though he wouldn't say where she was. Bickslow pleaded with him, but the old man simply ignored him and asked where his grandson was. Bickslow assumed that Laxus had sought out Jaice by himself to finish this. Only then did the seith mage realize what a horrible mistake he had made leaving the lightning slayer alone..

Bickslow turned on his heel and ran outside, looking for his best friend's lightning. Seeing the strikes on the far west side of the city, he took off hoping that he could get there before this was all over. It wasn't that he wanted a piece of the action per se, but they had no idea how to protect themselves from Jaice's mind-melding. The only way they could prevent him from even attempting to use it was keeping him on the defense.

He ran past Natsu who was shocked to see him and called back to the fire slayer to follow him. Picking up on the urgency in Bickslow's voice, he ran after him. When the two reach where Bix had seen the lightning, they find both men collapsed and unconscious. The seith knelt beside Laxus and rolled him to his back. He was pretty beat up but Jaice looked ten times worse. Seconds after Bix looked over the lightning slayer, Lucy appeared.

"Bickslow!" she called and ran to kneel opposite of him.

She cradled his face between her hands and leaned over him, pressing her forehead to his. She felt Bickslow lean over and rest his head against her back as he let out a shaky breath.

"You're okay," he sighed. "Where the hell were you? Master wouldn't tell me?"

"I was taken to the spirit world," she admitted sadly.

"Did anyone know?"

"I can only assume that both Laxus and his grandfather knew," she answered.

Loke would never have brought her there without seeking advice from the guildmaster. And if he did go to the master, then she knew that he would have told Laxus. Had he given Loke the okay to just take her while he fought to protect her?

"If he knew, then why would he send me to find you?" Bix choked out.

His weight left her back and she say up to look at him. Why would Laxus fight alone if he knew that she was already safe. Her eyes grew wide and filled with tears as she looked back down to her unconscious boyfriend. She wanted to be upset with him for sending her away but knowing that he'd fought alone to protect his best friend as well, knowing the risk.

"Bix," she sobbed. "What if he did something to him?"

He reached over and wrapped his arms around her as tightly as possible, given how they were sitting. "Shhh. He's gonna be okay. He's just a little beat up is. Everything's alright now." She wanted to believe him but she just had too many questions.

"Lucy!" The two looked behind the celestial mage to see Wendy run past Natsu and directly to them. Lucy hadn't even realized that he had been there.

The girl knelt beside Lucy and made sure that they could move him to the guild. He had several fractured bones and she could definitely tell that there was some brain damage, but she couldn't say that. Looking at both the seith and celestial mages, she tried to think of what she could do to help them. They were grief-stricken and lost in their heads with uncertainty and self-doubt. They needed something to keep them grounded and focused on the now.

She turned to Natsu who was hovering over the other mage.

"Natsu, is he alive?" she inquired.

"Yeah. He's in bad shape but he'll live." Laxus had done a number on him but it was clear that he was still alive. Natsu's instincts raged and he had half a mind to take the mage to finish him off, but that wasn't going to help anyone.

"Good," she acknowledged and nodded. "I need you to get Laxus back to the infirmary at the guild. He's fine to move, just be careful please. And send for Porlyuscia when you get there." She stood up, holding Lucy close and stepped aside for him. She thought the blonde might fight her but the woman was limp and allowed herself to be moved while clinging to the healer.

Wendy watched the fire slayer carry Laxus away and then turned back to the seith mage. They needed to get Jaice back to the guild as well, but she wasn't going to risk anyone touching him and falling under his influence. She sat Lucy back down and asked for Bickslow to follow her. She explained that she was going to heal him just enough to be conscious and able to move.

Without needing an explanation, Bickslow agreed to go along with her plan. She would heal him and he would use his figure eyes to bring the man back to the guild without ever having to come into contact with him. While doing so, he'd be able to see into his very being and see if there was something he could possibly glean from the man.

Wendy felt ill at the idea of healing this man but they needed this man alive just in case he had done something to Laxus. When he opened his eyes, Bickslow removed his visor and looked down, reaching for control. When he had it, he lead the mage back to the guild with Wendy and Lucy following just behind her. Both prayed that nothing serious had happened to the lightning mage or there would be hell to pay.

#ficsforvera #ftfanfics #laxlu #Laxus Dreyar #lucy heartfilia #fairy tail fanfiction #fairy tail #mistye-writes #finding the words #multichapter

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cutepresea · 4 years

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6-4 Innocent Sister: Still My Sister

Sorry again for the spam.

If you want to blacklist these, you can use either the tag #innocent sister for just this event, or #xdu event scripts or #xdu scripts

Reminder that these are copied straight from XD Unlimited itself, so any grammatical weirdness, mistranslations, and/or mischaracterizations are not my doing.

Maria: "--Basically, we came from a parallel world via a gate created by Gjallarhorn... I'm a different Maria."

Nastassja: "I see. So it connected your world to mine... This relic must hold endless possibilities."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "When it connects to a parallel world, it also spawns Noise in our world."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "It's somewhat of a double-edged sword, really..."

Nastassja: "If it weren't for you, we would have been in very serious danger. Serena and I are indebted to you all."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Oh, don't mention it! If anything, I should apologize for punching down your wall!"

Nastassja: "Well, if that wall had been any stronger, many more lives would've been lost. Please, don't worry about it."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Thank you so much! How is she doing, by the way?"

Nastassja: "She's currently undergoing a medical check, but it doesn't look like there was any serious damage."

Maria: "Before Serena gets back, could you update me on the situation here, Mom? ...I mean, Professor Nastassja."

Nastassja: "There's no needs for formalities, Maria. Call me Mom iif you would like."

Maria: "Okay then... Mom."

Nastassja: "Before I begin though, I have a favor to ask of you."

Maria: "What is it?"

Nastassja: "I ask that you please keep what you've told me about the relic which connects parallel worlds a secret."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Why, exactly?"

Nastassja: "What've you just told me has the potential to destroy the balance of power in this world." [1]

Nastassja: "There are many in our organization who would try to obtain the relic if they knew of its existence."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "I see. We're on the same page, then."

Nastassja: "Now, let me tell you what happened here... After all, no-one knows better than I."

Nastassja: "Where to begin..."

Nastassja: "During a previous experiment with Nephilim, something went terribly, terribly wrong."

Nastassja: "As a result, Serena suffered fatal wounds, and was put into a cryogenic sleep to sustain her life."

Maria: "Cryogenic sleep? So then--"

Nastassja: "Yes. It's been seven years since that experiment."

Nastassja: "During that time, we had a technological breakthrough, allowing us to finally wake Serena up."

Hibiki Tachibana: "So she was asleep for seven years..."

Maria: "...And what happened to me?"

Nastassja: "...The Maria of this world lost her life in that very same experiment."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "It's just like the world where Kanade and I switched fates..."

Maria: "If someone lives, then someone must die in return. That seems to be how parallel worlds work."

Maria: (I guess cruelty is endemic to all worlds...)

Hibiki Tachibana: "...Maria-san?"

Maria: "I'm fine. Anyway, if that's what happened, why try to activate Nephilim again?"

Nastassja: "Well..."

Dr. Adolph: "Because Nephilim is power."

Nastassja: "Dr. Adolf." [2]

Maria: "Power? That... That THING is what you call power?!"

Dr. Adolph: "If we can unleash its full power and control it, it would be a great asset in countering the Noise."

Dr. Adolph: "Instead of living, cowering in fear, we can harness a power to fight back and destroy the Noise."

Hibiki Tachibana: "But that sort of power... Isn't it too dangerous?"

Dr. Adolph: You Symphogear wielders could never understand."

Dr. Adolph: "You could never know the absolute terror the Noise instill in the hearts of the powerless."

Hibiki Tachibana: "......"

Nastassja: "We need Nephilim's power in order to deal with incoming threats."

Maria: "Threats?"

Nastassja: "The Noise! I'll go and wake Serena."

Maria: "What? But she's still recovering from her injuries!"

Nastassja: "Even so, that girl is the only wielder we have."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Not right now, she's not!"

Maria: "Yes, you have three more wielders right here."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "A guardian's sword is made to protect. If I were to leave it sheathed, i tmay as well be made of wood!"

Nastassja: "...I can't thank you enough. And remember, you won't be facing just any Noise. You must be careful."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Okay! Thanks for the heads up!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: (Just what are we up against?)

Hibiki Tachibana: "If you wanna hurt them, you'll have to go through me first! Hyaaah!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "An accursed relic is no match for a wielder who is in tune with her own heart!"

Maria: "I cant let this burden fall on Serena alone! Raaah!" [3]

Hibiki Tachibana: "Phew... That's that, then. You know, they didn't seem too different from regular Noise, did they?"

Maria: "Yeah, nothing seemed particularly strange about them. Just what were mom and others--"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Hold up, look over there!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "I suppose this is what they meant."

Maria: "Karma Noise?!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "So that's why they needed Nephilim!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "If Nephilim's accelerated activation is what caused this, all we need to do is eradicate the source!"

Maria: "Damn Karma Noise... They just love to cause trouble no matter wherever they turn up!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Hyaaah!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "It blocked me?!"

Maria: "They truly are awful things. They're strong, though, I'll give them that."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Thanks for that!"

Maria: "Don't worry about it. More importantly--"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Our opponent is a Karma Noise. We'll have to step things up a notch!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "You got it. Time for S2CA!”

Hibiki & Tsubasa & Maria: "Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal. Emustolronzen fine el baral zizzl--"

Hibiki & Tsubasa & Maria: "Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal. Emustolronzen fine el zizzl..."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Superb Song!"

Maria: "Combination Arts!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Set Harmonics!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "S2CA Tri Burst! Take this, Noise!"

Maria: "Looks like that did it."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "I didn't think we'd have to use S2CA on one single Noise, but we're lucky that it was alone."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Let's head back to Professor Nastassja."

Nastassja: "Such might!"

Dr. Adolph: "Indeed..."

Nastassja: "They took out that black Noise with one attack. It didn't even have time to regenerate..."

Natassja: "If we wielded a power this strong..."

Dr. Adolph: "By spreading out the burden of their Superb Songs, they reduce the impact. Impressive, but highly dangerous."

Nastassja: "So far as I can tell, that wasn't the first time they've used that attack."

Dr. Adolph: "That alone isn't enough to reassure me."

Dr. Adolph: "Furthermore, there is another Airget-lamh wielder among them. Has the government been hiding it from us?"

Nastassja: "...Hmm. Perhaps they've been keeping it as a top secret weapon?"

Dr. Adolph: "Dammit! No matter where you look people are simply there to profit off of your negligence!"

Nastassja: "......"

Maria: "Serena, are you feeling bett--"

Serena: "Maria-nee-san!"

Maria: "...Hey, Serena. I'm back."

Serena: "Hmm..."

Maria: "Wh-What? Why are you staring at me like that?"

Serena: "You seem a lot more grown up, Maria-nee-san. It's like you're a full-blown woman now."

Maria: "Y-Yeah... Well, it has been seven years, you know."

Serena: "Seven years..."

Maria: (I've been waiting for this moment for so long.)

Serena: "...Sis?"

Maria: "Ah, don't worry about me. I'm just a little tired."

Serena: "You beat that black Noise, didn't you? You're so incredible, Sis."

Maria: "It took a little help from my friends, you know."

Serena: "But you're still incredible to me. Hey, Sis... You're not going to leave me again, right?"

Maria: "...Of course not, Serena."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Prof. Nastassja doesn't skimp on the detail, does she? It felt like she'd never stop asking up questions."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Why mention that now?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Well, she just seemed super interested in how our world was doing!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "It was her first time meeting visitors from another dimension. Of course she would be curious."

Hibiki Tachibana: "That's true... I don't get why she needs us to wander around the forest like this, though."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Hey... How long do you think Maria-san can keep up the act?"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Well, who knows..."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "But Maria took it on as a favor to Professor Nastassja. I'm sure she's dong just fine."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Why would she do something like that, though?"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "...Were you not listening, Tachibana?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Ahaha... To be honest, I was so worn out from doing S2CA that I was kind of zoning out."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "You could have just said something, you know... Oh well."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Serena's been through a lot. Serious injuries, seven years in cryogenic sleep, having to fight alone..."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "She's only just woken up, and she could possibly find out that her older sister is dead."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Her treatment may be complete, but she's still unstable. The last thing she needs in a shock like that."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Now do you understand why Professor Nastassja asked Maria to act as Serena's true older sister?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Yeah... Serena really does love her older sister, huh."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "It may feel deceptive to hide the truth from her, but it's for her own good."

Hibiki Tachibana: "So that's why she said we came from a different F.I.S. facility..."

Hibiki Tachibana: "...Wait. The facility we just came from is F.I.S.'s?!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "You really were out of it, weren't you? Anyway, let's make sure we don't break the illusion."

Hibiki Tachibana: "That won't be a problem for you, but I've never been any good at keeping secrets..."

Hibiki Tachibana: "It's Nephilim!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Tachibana!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Right, Tsubasa-san!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Balwisyall nescell gungnir tron."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Imyuteus amenohabakiri tron."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "This thing is a real thorn in our side. Usually, you and I would be more than enough, but not for Nephilim!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "You know what time it is!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "It's time to draw out the cursed blade... Ignite Module!"

Hibiki & Tsubasa: "Drawn Blade!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "It's definitely no pushover, but so long as we have Ignite... Hyaaah!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Yaaah!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "You're getting carried away! You know firsthand how dangerous its relic absorbing abilities are!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "So long as we're keeping our distance, we should be fine!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Guh!"

Maria: "Raaah!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Maria-san!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "It's about to attack! Wait... It's aiming at the ground?!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "It shook us off!"

Maria: "I heard there was a new energy signal so I came to help, but it looks like I was a little too late."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "We were able to match it once we used Ignite, but its regeneration is exceptional. You came at a good time."

Maria: "That's good, then."

Serena: "Umm, who exactly are you two?"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Let me introduce myself. I'm Tsubasa Kazanari. I can't count how many times Maria has had my back in battle."

Hibiki Tachibana: "I'm Hibiki Tachibana! Nice to meet you, Serena-chan!"

Serena: "I'm Serena, and I'm Maria-nee-san's little sister. It's nice to meet you both."

Maria: "Now, let's get back to Nephilim, shall we?"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Of course. Why on earth would it appear here?"

Notes:

[1] Should probably have read "What you have just told me" or omitted the "have" altogether rather than starting with "what've"

[2] Yes, they're still doing this with his name.

[3] The apostrophe on "can't" is missing

#senki zesshou symphogear xd unlimited #symphogear xd unlimited #senki zesshou symphogear #symphogear #innocent sister #xdu event scripts #xdu scripts

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