#[ and we never saw him alive again /lh ]

[redstringraven]

Ok question about Cassia in particular, if she ever met Rise Leo, how would they interact. It seems like that would be an interesting duo to me where they might get along great or absolutely hate eachother's guts. What if Rise Donnie is there too? Also are all of your OCs from the TMNT 2003 world? or, universe rather

full disclosure that i've barely interacted with rise; almost all of my exposure to it has been osmosis via being around other tmnt fans/seeing it pass by my various feeds.

but i know enough to know that if you put them in the same room together, someone would likely say "oh no, god made TWO OF THEM???" and then the universe would divide by zero, and we'd all implode.

i think the biggest difference between them (again: limited exposure to rise; sorry if this is inaccurate) is that cassia's more capable and willing to drop the goofy facade and take things seriously when needed. despite her tomfoolery, she IS my most stable OC of the four, having regularly been to therapy since she was young and knowing how to self-reflect, identify what she's feeling, and manage it. she's a lot more emotionally intelligent than she lets on, and--in enneagram terms--is on the healthier side of her 7 where she's willing to slow down and process the heavier feelings.

as for rise!don... my gut feeling is that she'd butt heads with him a lot and potentially become easily frustrated around him or generally Done With Him™. we don't like the energy we've created in the studio today. the vibes are off. i don't think they'd be outright antagonistic toward each other, more so they're just... personalities who don't jive. oil and water and all that.

and yes! all my OCs are from/for the 2003 iteration. c: it's the one i'm familiar with, the one i grew up with, and the only one i have any real interest in engaging with and expanding on! this isn't to say i think lesser of the others, of course! '03 is just what i know, and it's where i like to spend my time and energy. 🖤

[minhosimthings]

Love Wins All - LHS

Synopsis: In which Heeseung is your true home.

Pairings: bf!Heeseung × fem!reader

Warnings: reader has a panic attack, reader has complicated relationship with her parents, crying, the eldest daughter syndrome, swearing, HEE COMFORT LETS GAURRRR, fluff, mention of food, me being poetic as always

A/N: whadup y'all I am unfortunately alive so I'm BACK with this here Heeseung fluff because I love him and he is mine and I am going mental. This is for the Hyuck to my Mark, my beloved @jaeyunluvr

There is a peculiar notion that exists in the human world that no one can love you more than your parents. The people who created you. The people who brought you into this universe, this magnificent galaxy of ours that we call home.

There is a notion that your parents are home.

But you learnt early on in life not to make homes in people. You learnt that people are like travelling rivers , like the flowing water in a forest stream, which brings about both peace and destruction, depending on how one's eyes view it. People would never allow you to make homes in them.

And no matter how hard you tried to make a home out of your mother and father, because you thought they were the only people you were compelled to live in, you failed. If people were asking to calm rivers, your parents were like the harsh nightly waves of an ocean, which brought out destruction as they hit the rocks of the shore over and over again and again, never ceasing to think about how the rocks are doing.

Nevertheless, you managed to find a home of your own. You were surprised you did, what with how much you didn't believe in homes and souls and all that bullshit you read repeatedly in books and saw on the screen.

But Heeseung was different, you thought to yourself. He was like a river you had made yourself a travelling home in, one which would be suited well to his serenely flowing water, which touched and kissed you like the skyline kissed the sea at dawn.

Heeseung was different, you knew that. He was that familiar pair of arms and that familiar, comforting scent that you always imagined you'd go home to as a child. He was the person who you had dreamed of as a teenager, someone who'd hang up your coat for you after a long day, someone who'd make you pancakes in the morning while you slumbered on, someone who'd talk with you deep into the starry nights about anything and everything, someone who'd kiss your forehead everyday before leaving for work, someone who'd love you and show you that your 17 year old perception of the concept of love was not wrong.

So there was no thinking about it when he was the first and only person you wanted to collapse into after a devastating, disastrous, draining day, filled with no calm waves and no love.

•••••••••••••••

The sound of your keys jangling, as they were set down onto the key holder, bought a smile to Heeseung's face, as he was cooking up the last portions of pasta. It was Friday night, which meant that you and him were going to eat Heeseung's notorious pesto pasta, drink some wine and relax into the night's clutches. Saturdays meant going out, so Friday was set aside for peace.

Heeseung's left the noodles simmering in the water as he shut the lid and took off his apron before going to greet you. He was excited for pasta night today, since it had been a long week, filled with work on both your sides. Additionally, you had been staying over at your parents' house for some time, so that added to the lonely hours Heeseung spent in bed hugging your hoodies because he couldn't fall asleep without the scent of you lingering understand his nostrils.

Now, he was hot on his heels, ready to engulf you into the biggest hug ever and kiss you for eternity. Perhaps he was exaggerating, but the taste of your lips on his really was asking to ambrosia to him. If the Gods had their nectar, then he had his.

"Evening, princess." Heeseung chuckled, leaning against the kitchen door as he watched you slowly take your coat off and hang it up on the rack. Lifting your head up, your mouth stretched into a smile on seeing him.

"Seungie..." You cooed, walking over to him and immediately locking yourself into his arms. Heeseung's left arm went to your waist, the other going to support your head. You layed your head gently on his chest, your own arms tied 'round his slender figure.

The comforting scent of him, cherry cologne, basketball tees and pasta sauce, filled your senses as you took a deep breath in, closing your eyes. Perhaps it was from the pure exhaustion you were feeling, but the mere scent of him brought you back to where you've wanted to be for the entire week.

Home.

Heeseung was your home wasn't he?

You felt Heeseung smile as he loosened his tight grip on you, pulling back to look at you. His bambi eyes traced your features one by one, making you feel a bit shy, as if the love of your life wasn't doing what he always did. Heeseung's eyes wavered a little as they landed on your slightly bloodshot ones. Ever the observant man, he was, he chose not to question you about it, knowing you would tell him the reason sooner or later.

"I missed you." You beamed up at him, as a breathy chuckle left his plump, pink (perfectly kissable) lips, "Missed your pasta too." You nose wrinkled at the delicious smell coming from the kitchen, as you glanced towards the door.

"Only my pasta?" Heeseung's bottom lip jutted out to form an adorable pout, which you oh so missed, "Not my kisses?"

"Nope." You giggled, popping your lips, eyes wandering down to his again, "Only your pasta."

Heeseung smiled gently as he pressed a soft kiss to your forehead. The gentleness of his touch made tears well up in your eyes, you had craved this love for a week now, as if you were Eve, starved of interest, and in her hunger, taking a bite of the apple to satisfy herself.

"Love?"

You snapped out of your stupor at the sound of Heeseung's honeyed voice, gently calling you. You felt the warm touch of his hand against your cheek, he gently cupped it and closely examined you with his eyes.

"Are you alright?" He asked, voice still soft as cotton, as if he would have broken you if he spoke any louder, "You don't look too good."

"I'm fine!" You responded, the words coming out a little more enthusiastic that you had intended them to, "I just need a shower." You laughed it off, but Heeseung knew (through what he called his boyfriend tingle) that you most certainly were not ok.

"Love, are you sur-"

"I'm fine, Heeseung." You firmly stated, putting your own hand on top of the one Heeseung had on your cheeks, gently pushing his off, "I'm gonna go take a shower." You smiled again at him before glancing towards the kitchen, "And you've got some pasta to make, mister, so get going."

Heeseung grinned before letting go of your waist, one last kiss was pressed to your forehead before he rushed off into the kitchen to put together a dinner fit for royalty.

•••••••••••••

The feeling of warm water hitting your skin, whilst you stood underneath the shower, brought about the waterworks. This feeling, this familiar feeling of showering in your own bathroom was ridiculous to bring tears to your eyes, but here you were. Soaking in despair, as memories of the week you had spent came rushing to your brain.

You enjoyed staying with your parents, you truly did. After all, they had been the ones to witness each one of your fails and each one of your successes, carefully shaping you, like a potter with his clay, to avoid the mistakes and focus solely on being the golden child. But they had failed to notice that even the golden child burns out sometimes, even the Icarus child loses her wings. That, combined with the never ending screams and shouts that envelope your childhood home, you weren't even sure sometimes whether your parents actually loved you or not.

Love, as you had believed it from ages six to ten, was the feeling of receiving ice cream, the feeling of someone running a brush through your hair, the feeling of rushing home from school and excitedly doing your homework, so that the teacher would give you a star the other day.

Love, from ages eleven to sixteen, was something that was fictional, something that was described so sweetly in the books that you thought 'of course it isn't real'. It was something to be bought and sold, something that couldn't actually exist between people, you blanked out at the fact that when you visited your friend's home, you found her parents talking merrily to each other, as if they actually knew one another.

Love to you, now, was a complex conundrum of ideas. It was full of paradoxes and oxymorons that you didn't want to spend hours decoding and deciphering.

For now, love had been the same cherry cologne, the same honey coated voice, and the same pair of doe eyes, staring lovingly into yours after a long day, whilst you lay with tangled limbs and slightly fuller hearts.

Stepping out the shower, with a warm towel wrapped around yourself, you stared at yourself in the vanity mirror, tracing your hands over your face, whilst your eyes did the same with themselves. Heeseung would definitely notice how bloodshot your eyes were, and you didn't want to put more of a burden on him than you thought you had already done.

Burden. That word again.

Always showing up when you least wanted it to. Of course you were a burden to your parents, why on earth would they even want you, now that you had a life of your own? Apart from the fact that you were the sole witness to the years of domestic bitterness, they had no idea who you truly were. And of course, you were a burden to the world, you had been taught that since the ripe age of eight. Who'd ever want a burden?

You quickly rubbed some of your face cream onto your skin, hoping it would make the tear marks disappear. As for the bloody eyes, well, there was always the soap in the eyes' excuse.

Your hands roughly blended the cream into your skin, you knew it was unhealthy, but at that point, all you wanted was a plate of pasta in front of you and a tall, pink haired man in your arms.

••••••••••••••••

Heeseung stood in the kitchen, frozen like a deer in headlights, staring down at your phone. An unread message proudly showed itself against your bright Studio Ghibli wallpaper. Messages from your younger brother. He was about six years younger than you, and he still stayed at his parents, being a year away from college. That was what Heeseung knew, based off of what you'd told him. Messages from your brother were peculiar, because for one, he was busy with his work, and two, apart from sending each other dozens of reels on Instagram everyday, you and your brother never really talked much. It was that kind of sibling-love, Heeseung thought, the kind which stayed on, even after not conversing with actual words.

So these many messages from your brother was weird, especially considering the fact that the first one started with "Are you doing alright?"

Out of curiosity, Heeseung had checked the texts, and his mouth fell open at what was before his eyes. His mind couldn't comprehend what your brother had been taking about.

Dozens upon dozens of texts, all taking about something with the keywords, 'argument', 'parents' and some or the other thing to do with 'I miss you'. Heeseung's brain seemed to do some kind of a backflip, as he finally realised why your eyes were so bloodshot when you had arrived.

"Hee? Baby?" Heeseung snapped out of his stupor at the sound of your voice behind him. He was quick to put your phone down and pretend like he was checking on the pasta.

"Need anything baby?" He asked, eyes visibly softening as he looked at you. You smiled gently at him.

"Have you seen my phone?" You ask, peering around for it.

"Yeah uhm..." Heeseung hesitated for a moment before picking up the phone on the counter behind him, "Here you go."

Your fingers gently brushed against his as you took the phone from him, offering him a smile as you did. Heeseung turned back to his pasta, while your eyes gravitated to the multiple texts that lay scattered on the screen. Quietly sighing, you sat down on the chair, and resting your arms on the table, scrolled through your brother's texts.

You felt your jawline tighten more by the second as you read each and every sentence, the drastic moments of the horrible week you had suffered flashing in front of your eyes. The air around you seemed to still as you read your brother's last text. Perhaps you had read it wrong, you thought, but no manges how much you tried to convince yourself that your tear-filled eyes did not just read 'I miss you, when are you coming again?' wrong, you couldn't.

Your heart tore itself into bits and pieces as you re-read the texts again, torturing yourself by doing so. You had told yourself that you'd never go back to the argument filled house again, back to bad memories and nightmares. But there was that pang of guilty sleeping inside of you, 'They are your parents after all', 'They raised you, shouldn't you be more grateful for it?'.

The air around you stilled as you felt the muscles of your chest constrict, your veins tangled into one another, like dark, flimsy ribbons. You couldn't remember when the last time was that you felt like this. Perhaps it was in high school, when you had lost a quiz, solely because you had one less mark than the winner. Or perhaps it was when you had won the tennis match, on the grounds that the other player had been cheating. Whatever it was, you couldn't recall the last time the world came swirling down on you like a tornado and you felt like your lungs were filled with weeds.

This feeling inside seizes you, holds you tight, and doesn't allow you to take a proper breath. And that's ok, you think. You don't need to breathe, not yet. But the feeling doesn't stop, and your body eventually screams for another breath. The thing is, though, you can't get any air in, so you panic once again. The cycle never ends. It keeps repeating until you're drowning in your sweat and anxiety

"Baby?" You faintly heard Heeseung's voice from afar, "Y/N, love, look at me." His voice was firmer this time, and you felt the soft touch of his fingers on your skin.

His gaze loomed over your blank expression, never before had he seen your eyes so devoid of any emotion. Heeseung takes in the painfully blank expression on your pale face, the way your chest is rising and falling in quick, shallow breaths that you couldn't quite seem to control, the way you were angled himself just slightly away from him, and suddenly his mind snaps back into place.

You're having a goddamn panic attack, one that you haven't had in a long time.

When he gets his fingers wrapped around your own, he can feel how cold they’ve gone, can feel the fine tremble of adrenaline working through them, and can’t quite choke down the noise of sympathy in his throat. He tugs on your hand.

“Baby, come on, breathe.” He said, slowly reaching out to you, “Love, look at me,” He said sternly, turning you around to face him. He immediately searched your eyes to get you to look at him.

As soon as your eyes landed on his— those beautiful pools of comforting chaos and shimmering stars that you wanted all to yourself—the lasso that was tied tightly around your exhausted brain, broke with an audible snap.

A loud, theatrical sob ripped through your chest as the dam at your eyes broke. Tears flowed down your skin rapidly, like raindrops in a thunderstorm. You probably looked pathetic at the moment, which caused you to double over in another trough of tears. You wanted this night to be perfect for Heeseung. So why couldn't you just be perfect?

Heeseung could sense your thoughts running wild in your mind. He tightly gripped you in between his arms as you sobbed. He blinks his own tears away, and bites his lip to stop himself from calling your parents every possible insult that existed in the English lexicon.

Heeseung hated seeing you cry. It was one of the few things that actually made him sad. Seeing how your beautiful eyes would fill up with tears, how your lip would tremble and how your entire body would shake like a life in the wind, much like it was doing now, he despised all of it.

"Shh love, it's alright." He hummed so softly that make you want to cry even more, "It's alright, I'm here. You're safe."

“I-I’m really sorry—…” you choke out between sobs, "—I'm sorry!"

But Heeseung only pulls you closer to him, his grip growing tighter, as if he wanted to squish all the despair out of you, "I'm here for you, princess."

You let your body go limp and rested your head on Heeseung's shoulder. His hand instinctively cradled your head and stroked your hair. You felt calm now, but weren't ready to move and Heeseung didn’t seem to be in any hurry for you to get up. However, he was in a hurry to get you to breathe properly.

“Love, come on now, look at me,” Heeseung said, cupping your cheeks and forcing you to open your eyes to look at him. “Come on, with me, yeah? Breathe.” He then took a slow, deep breath, and you mirrored his actions.

“And again,” he said, getting you to focus on slowing your breathing down. One of his hands held yours against his chest so that you could feel the pattern of his breaths. After several moments of slowing your breathing and getting you to breathe normally again, you finally sighed and looked up at Heeseung with tired eyes, muttering a small 'thank you' to him.

You stayed wrapped up in his arms for quite some time, stuck in the moment in quiet silence, the only sound being the sound of Heeseung's softly humming. His fingers drawing shapes on your back and his voice gently floating through the air slowed your world down to a still, a rare moment for you that you quiet enjoyed.

"Baby?" Heeseung cooed softly, "Would you like to go up to the bedroom?"

Exhausted from all the crying and unable to open your dry mouth, you mindlessly shook your head, only wanting to stay in his warm arms for longer.

"Then do you want to talk about what happened?" A soft smile settled on his lips, bringing your mind to ease and a little more saliva into your mouth. Sighing heavily, you spoke.

"I—my parents," you started rather lamely, the gravel in your voice was evident, "I can't deal with their taunts and scoldings everytime I go over to their house. That and the fact that they keep fighting all day." You sighed again, "I'm not saying 'don't fight' or anything–I get it they're grown adults, but fuck Hee, I can't deal with the fact that they don't even wait for my brother and I to leave the house before they're going at it on each other like bulls." You felt Heeseung's fingers slightly tighten, "And they keep fucking making me feel like I'm the least perfect person I'm this entire world when they, out of all people, know that I'm trying so hard."

"And I can't rid my brain of the fact that my brother has to suffer all that until he gets to college. And sometimes I feel like I've betrayed him by getting away from that stupid house." Your voice slightly cracked, the tears starting to form at your eyes again, "–and I feel so fucking selfish all the time for that. And then there's the fact that no matter how perfect I try to be for them, they just don't accept it!"

You breathed out a long held breath of air and melted into Heeseung's arms once more, your hand holding onto his shirt tightly, as if he's float away if you let him go. You felt guilty about his wet shirt, stained with all your dumb tears.

"Sorry about the shirt...." You mumbled, hiding your face, "And for everything else, I know I've ruined the night-"

"Oh princess." Heeseung softly cooed, a smile dancing on his lips, "You didn't ruin anything for me." His fingers went to your chin, grabbing your face and tilting it up to look at him. Your eyes met his and you relaxed at the true home you saw in his irises.

"I love you, you know that right?" He asked, to which you nodded. He let his grip on your chin fall down to rest on your waist again.

"Do you know why I love you so much?" He asked again, to which you meekly nodded a 'no'.

"It's because you're human." Heeseung said, making you snap your head up at him with a confused (or in Heeseung's terms, adorable) look.

"I don't love you only for the perfect version of yourself, or for your amazing cooking." You let out a tiny puff of a laugh at that, "I love you for all your flaws, all your fails and all of you. Baby, no one is ever gonna be perfect and if your parents can't understand that, then, pardon me for saying it, but fuck them."

You let out a raw laugh at his words, burying your head in his chest as you giggled, feeling the saliva come back to your mouth as he gave you a tight squeeze.

"You're the most perfect person in the world to me." He cooed gently, "No cap." A lopsided smirk decorated his face after his last words.

"Heeseung!" You laughed raucously at him, "What have Jake and Riki been teaching you?"

"It's the language of love mi amore." He smirked again, his eyes shining like nebulas.

"Can we have that pasta now?" You asked timidly, beaming up at Heeseung, who smiled his warmth back at you, "And watch Howl's Moving Castle?"

"Anything for you, love." Heeseung pressed his lips to yours in a short sweet kiss, one which you'd never get tired of, even as a thousand suns set and a thousand moons rise up from the horizon, you'd never get tired of Heeseung and his gentle love.

"I love you." You broke off from the kiss to take a breath.

"I love you more, princess."

[relaxxattack]

hwy so i saw ur poll ab arasol and f they were matesprits or not and ive been into homestuck for about 7 years and its a special interest and im autistic and thwy are my first and tbh only otp anf so if this is ok i wld like to infodump my opinion/hcs ab them bc i just 🥰 i love them sm 🥰 (def not frothing at the mouth at the idea of an audience for my opinions bc everyone irl is sikc of me lmao /lh)

ok so i deffo think they ar e matesprits BUT i think they never liie. clearly confirmwd it while aradia was alive. and once she became ghost aradia i think she got so distant and aloof (i think thats the right word?) about everytuing that it made sollux feel like she disnt love him anymore, and he eventually just had to move on, even thouvh it hurt. and feferi was there, not necessarily as a "rebound" but as a shoulder to cry on. someone for sollux to confide in, and to listen to him because he didnt have anyonw else he felt like woild. and i feel like feferi was def nto him and wanted to be his matesprit but i think sollux wasnt really. and i think they developed a kind of mixed/blurred lines relationship and the whole ghost and aradiabot phases pushed him and aradia furhter apart because aradia was dealinf wth so so much and in turn sollux was dealinf with the loss of his presumed (unofficial, wtv) matesprit, because that wasnt the aradia he knew and had fallen in love with. the ghost thing wasnt a bother - he loved her, not her physical form - it was the personality shift, i think.

and so when she reached god tier and regained her body nd her sense of identity, ithink they started to rekindle what they had nefore, if that makes sense? like aradia was his aradia again, an aradia interested in life and adventuee and archaeology and not this stupid, stupid game and suddenly not everything felt like it was collapsing around him and he felt like things could be okay again. and she helped him and he helped her and together they did make thinfs okay again. with each other.

and i think aradia's living>ghost>aradiabot>godtier timeline is a good allegory for depression and how it can absolutely shatter your sense of self and strip your world of colour and how that can make you push people away and self isolate and whatnot. idk thats just how i see it but :3 yea

i havet checkwd out the epilogues or homestuck^2 btw so this is based solely off of andrew hussie's homestuck bc i love it sososo much anyways yea !!!! tysm if anybody took the time to read this i love u all!! and ty for letting me drop this in ur askbox lolz and yea :3 srry if this isnt v comprehensive i just got off an 8hr closing shift at work lmao <3

this is a REALLY good analysis and i really love it, thank you for sharing! this makes complete sense to me.

aradia's depression being the catalyst for their split is very true! especially since she then sort of broke his trust with the whole sgrub thing-- and before that interacting with her was hard because sollux felt so guilty about what he did to her. it's just sad on all accounts, and i'm glad they both got better

honestly my poll was more to ask the question; "so we all agree that aradia and sollux were matesprits right because they do NOT act like moirails lol but it's funny because if they're matesprits that makes the feferi business weirder", but i don't think it came across in the post correctly, pfft

yes i definitely agree that they were matesprits, and also the idea that feferi was more into sollux than he was her is a really interesting one-- i also wonder if maybe feferi was maybe less into sollux than she thought, herself-- it's possible she threw herself into that relationship because she was just so relieved to be finally cut off from eridan and "allowed" to have relationships like that. but that's just my thought!

at the end of the day they're all just kids trying stuff out and it's kind of adorable and not that serious. i'm an arasoler at heart but there's nothing wrong with solfef either

[danidoesathing]

wait hello I just saw that ‘feelings about the cowboys’ post and am EXTREMELY INTRIGUED by the “Lonesome Dreams is a time loop” thing??? 👀

ok ok ok so like. the plot of the lonesome dreams MV always kinda bothered me cause like if it's Huron and Blaquefut's first encounter, just. huh? How does Huron have a picture of Blaquefut in his pocket? why does he have a picture of Blaquefut in his pocket? is he searching for Blaquefut, if so, why? did he take this journey in search of him, and if so what could Blaquefut possibly offer to make him take such a dangerous journey? it just. never made any sense to me.

the island is implied and often theorized to be the afterlife or some kinda limbo. And Blaquefut does die during the Time to Run music video, so the idea of Huron going out to save his brother isn't really that much of a stretch. But he knows Huron at that point so Lonesome Dreams couldn't take place afterwards, right?

but like. what if its not their first encounter?

Time and death have always been a bit fucky in LH lore and like. lets say Blaquefut dies right? and somehow, Huron figures out this island exists and even though its insanely risky and may not work, he's willing to try. Because he can't just abandon his brother and he's willing to risk life and limb for it. So he does, and he does make it to the island. And then things just get...weird. it already doesnt make sense already with the changing biomes and the seasons changing within too short of a time. But even memories start to blur, even if the feelings remain. And washing up on the shore with nothing but a picture of man and the strong urge to find that man, Huron's left with no choice but to follow his instincts. It does eventually lead him to find Blaquefut, whose got no clue who he is either and well. we see what happens next. They form a close bond and get off the island together, and set off to all their future adventures together. They grow as close as brother and form a loyalty to the other unlike any other.

At least until it loops back around to the Time to Run MV and Blaquefut dies again.

and like. lonesome dreams the song is also weird in the sense that like. its not actually about the events of the MV and more about Huron having a strange dream about a lonely world that makes no sense. Maybe, one he's been to before 👀.

seriously like look at these

and hey hey. you wanna know another fun aspect of it that ive completely pulled out of my ass? with this theory and the fact that Huron is the one perpetuating the loop, it keeps with the "doomed both by the narrative and their own actions" and "I love and care about you a lot and that will be the death of us" things. Because the whole thing in the album is like. Huron really wants to go home to Helena. and as time goes on, he becomes more and more desperate to actually get back to her.

but in this scenario, its a timeloop. one he's causing, because he just...can't let go of his friend. He wants to get back to her more than anything but how could he just abandon his brother? if there's even a slim chance of saving him, how could he not take it? so he goes after his friend, and brings him along to this journey to get back home, and then Blaquefut dies again and Huron is going to go save him again and he just. isn't going to get home because he can't let go. Maybe if he took a different path, maybe if he stopped trying to go home and accepted that the life with Helena is unobtainable to him, then maybe they can avoid that fight and maybe Blaquefut can get out it alive. But Huron can't let go of Helena either, so he'll keep trying to return and Blaquefut is loyal enough to follow him to the ends of the earth and it just. keeps going. He can't have the life with both that he desperately wants but he refuses to make the choice necessary to free them from this loop. and thus the cycle continues.

[square-blunt]

I love my friends, they make me feel alive again, or at least they remind me that I'm not even dead

I am kicking and screaming i must put this one and another Esmp fic out before tomorrow and I am very Nyoom rn so I'm sorry if this one isn't as good, I really liked the way it turned out so here have some clingyduo fluff bc yeah I can writing things that aren't angst?? What? no one dies and their best friend holds them in their arms this time?? fuckin crazy. /lh

TW- Abandonment anxiety, ptsd WC: 2530 words Ao3: :3

It was Tubbo's birthday today. Tommy had been planning something for weeks- grinding, mining, stealing, going through ax after ax getting wood. He even asked Foolish for some help, and after those weeks, he had finally built a perfect replica of the L'manberg bee house. It wasn't in L'manberg, of course, but Tommy was sure Tubbo wouldn't care.

He didn't fill the basement with wolves, but he did get two or three bees in there- he named them. Beeinnit, Ranbee, and Tubbee. Tubbo and his two best friends, but bee form. Tommy was still Tubbo's best friend, right? He knew that Ranboo was more than a friend to Tubbo, the two were married, Ranboo couldn't technically hold both titles, and Ranboo was too dumb- he needs to stop blaming Ranboo. Sitting in the bee dome, planting a few last flowers- cornflowers, poppies, sunflowers, and white tulips, Tommy realizes that he needs to stop blaming Ranboo. He needs to. Because Ranboo was a good… enderguy. And he was good for Tubbo. He had asked Tubbo if Ranboo made him happy- Tubbo nodded, and that was good enough for him. He needs to stop blaming Ranboo, and start looking at himself. Because if he and Tubbo aren't talking as much, of course, he's gonna find someone else to talk to. And he's learning to not blame himself for everything, he does blame Dream for that, but this isn't Ranboo's fault and it isn't Tubbo's. And Tommy knows that he and Tubbo are still gonna be friends. It's been him and Tubbo since the beginning, that's what he said before fighting Dream. And Tommy knows that he and Tubbo will have each other's back. He's just overthinking this, but he is still gonna try and give Tubbo everything he wants or needs. And try to give him the world that he deserves. He's gonna try and make the world a better place for him. And a bee dome is a nice, easy start. It was more tedious than anything- thank prime for Eret stealing the blueprints before Doomsday. They had the plans for every building ever created- they let Tommy have the one for the bee dome. They even brought over the bee that would become Tubbee. Tommy… wanted to forgive Eret. And he would. Eventually. Tommy kind of did that before going off to fight Dream- Eret was the last person he talked to. And Eret looked so relieved when Tommy said that he thought they were the true king. They had been there for him and Tubbo. That was good enough for him. He did think that Tubbo, Ranboo, and Eret, even, were his best friends. He knew that Puffy was his friend, and her griefing his house was just some friendly pranks, and he enjoyed having something to do. Shit was getting too buddy-buddy around here. Wilbur… he wanted to be Wilbur's friend- brother. He wanted the Wilbur who started L'manberg, he wanted the Wilbur who would sit down and play a song. He knew that Wilbur was still there. Somewhere. He stops to touch the petal of a cornflower next to him. Blue and yellow are on opposite ends of the color wheel, but they mean the same thing to Tommy. He loves, and misses, his best friends. They make him a better person. He doesn't have to be the bad guy.

Tommy shields his face, the sun setting and glaring into his eyes through a window. It's almost night, shit. He had put enough lanterns and shroomlights in the dome that mobs wouldn't spawn, but he wasn't so sure about outside. There was some pathing, courtesy of Foolish, and there was some light around, but he wasn't sure. Because mobs weren't the only thing that darkness hid.

Tubbo whispers to you: I'm here boss man

Tommy smiles. He had asked Tubbo to meet him at the community house, after his birthday party in the mansion- Tommy had left early to put the flowers in and told tubbo to meet him there whenever he was ready.

/msg Tubbo: k I gotta do one last thing

/msg Tubbo: be there in a sec

He's almost happier it's night, it'll look a lot cooler from a distance. He plants one more cornflower next to a hive. He brushes his hands off on his pants, and then brushes his pants off, and checks his reflection in the window. It wasn't too far of a run back to the community house, the dome was just to the side of Eret's castle.

"Tubbzo!" Tommy runs up behind his friend, who, unfortunately, had his back turned.

"Tommy!! You scared the shit out of me, fuck you-" Tubbo said, Tommy laughing.

"You fucking jumped, like, 30 feet in the air," Tommy says, a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Fuck you," Tubbo repeats, lightly hitting Tommy in the arm, beginning to giggle as well.

"Come on, I spent so fucking long on this so you'd better like it," Tommy says, beginning to drag Tubbo out by his forearm.

"Yeah, is Ranboo already there?" Tubbo says, walking at pace with the other.

"What? I haven't seen Ranboo since the party." Tommy says, a pit in his stomach opening up.

"Huh, he said he was going to go help you with my birthday gift. You never saw him at all?" Tubbo says, voice laced with worry.

"No, was he going anywhere before coming to me? And- and I never told him where this was- only Foolish knew. So I don't even know how he'd find me." Tommy says, his grip loosening on Tubbo's forearm so he could pull away if he wanted. Tubbo didn't.

"No, he did that weird thing though, he calls me Tubbo and talks to me like you or Foolish would." Tubbo walks a little closer to Tommy.

"What's off about that?"

"Ranboo usually calls me beloved or snow angel, and he'd talk to me like a husband would, yknow?"

"He calls you 'snow angel?'" Tommy screws up his nose.

"Oh, piss off," Tubbo smiles a little.

"But still, we can look for him on our way? Unless you wanna look for him now, the be-irthday gift can wait."

"A beirthday gift, you say?" Tubbo says, smiling.

"Oh, piss off," Tommy mimics Tubbo, "but seriously, if you wanna look for him we can." Tommy stops and turns to face Tubbo, giving a reassuring squeeze.

"No, no, it's- you made it, whatever it is, I'm sure he's fine, and I'm sure he'd want me to go ahead," Tubbo says, looking up and smiling slightly.

"If you're sure. Because fucking Prime, this shit took so fucking long and I had to practically beg Foolish to help…" Tommy continues to talk to Tubbo, trying to distract him from his currently missing husband. Eventually, the moon high in the clouds, they get to the start of the path.

"There's no way you did this." Tubbo laughs.

"I didn't- Foolish did the path but I built the actual thing," Tommy says, letting go of Tubbo's arm, "I'll race you!" and off he sprints.

"NO FAIR YOU KNOW WHERE IT IS!" Tubbo laughs from behind him.

"BYE-BYE BEE- boy-" Tommy skids to a stop, not long after rounding a corner of trees. He can see flames, high over the tree line, the light eating away and the surrounding stars, in the back of his mind he hears explosions- there aren't any explosions, Tommy, it's just a forest fire, there isn't any TNT, there isn't any TNT-

"Oh, is that… supposed to be on fire-" Tubbo stops next to him, Tubbo's hand on Tommy's forearm this time.

"No- no it-" Tommy straightens up, and he catches a glimpse of someone running away- a figure behind the trees, he blinks, and it's gone-

"Tommy?" Tubbo turns to look where Tommy was looking- where the figure was just moments before.

"N- nothing- Tubbo get- get behind me-" Tubbo's grip tightens on Tommy's arm as he pulls Drista's dagger out of his inventory, holding it in his other hand. Together, they creep up the path, until what's left of the bee house comes into view. It’s engulfed in flames, and all of Tommy’s hard work is being eaten away before his eyes. Tommy curses, puts the dagger away, and pulls out his water bucket.

"You've got-" Tommy motions at the bucket

"Yeah- and c'mere," Tubbo says, pulling on Tommy’s arm, throwing a fire res pot up. Tubbo lets go of Tommy’s arm as the shield washes over them, Tommy's skin feeling tingly. Together, they manage to put out the fire and put out a few trees that had caught before it spread anywhere else. They end in the dome, the roof all but gone, one of five beehives on the top floor remain.

"Oh, Tommy-" Tubbo begins to say, sadness heavy in his voice.

"Yeah, yeah, I spent fucking ages on it. Can't have shit- the gods must hate-" Tommy begins bitterly, collecting the last of the water, and putting it back in his hot bar. At least before his knees buckle under an unanticipated pile of weight. He hears Tubbo laughing from right behind him- he jumped on Tommy’s back, “Fuckin- Get off of me-” Tommy laughs, too. He doesn't mean anything by it, there's no malicious tone to anything he says to Tubbo- and Tubbo's one of the few people who actually understand that.

"I know exactly what this is-" Tubbo says, standing straight, a hand on his hip.

"What it was supposed to be." Tommy, out of habit, mirrors Tubbo. "See, why can't we have nice things? Fuckin, everyone else gets cool buildings and kingdoms and shit why the fuck can't we have a bee dome in the middle of the woods- what, why are you laughing" Tommy gestures vaguely at the rubble before raising a quizzical eyebrow at Tubbo's silent giggles.

"What it was supposed to bee," Tubbo says, cackling, and Tommy groans.

"Augh Tubbo, now is not the time-" Tommy rolls his eyes

"It was never meant to bee-" Tubbo laughs harder, clutching his stomach, leaning on Tommy for support. Tommy finds himself laughing a little bit,

"Ok, yeah, that was a good one- you wanna bee a hero, Tommy?" Tommy mimics Techno in a high-pitched voice- sending Tubbo into hysterics.

"We- We-hehehe- We would rather die than give into you and joi- join your SMBee-" Tubbo says between fits of laughter, making Tommy bark out a wheeze, "That was- was beeasier than I thought-"

"My unfinished symphobee-"

"TOMMY-"

"You can't control who lives who dies who-"

"-tells your storbee?"

"Yeah-hahaha! F- for Tommy to bee exiled-"

"That was so fucking stupid why'd I do that-" Tubbo shakes his head, his laughter subsiding.

"Because that's what you thought was best, you had no way of knowing what he was gonna- what he was gonna do to me-" Tommy says, the tone becoming solemnly serious.

"-If I had known I never would have done it, I would have told Dream to shove it up his ass, you know that right?" Tubbo says, reaching for Tommy's hand.

"Of course. We're best friends, I know you'd never do that to me." Tommy squeezes his hand. Tubbo lets out a breath, and he looks like a massive weight has been lifted off his shoulders. As much as he feels guilty admitting it, Tommy's glad Tubbo's been worrying about that. It means that he cares.

"Should he go in there and see what we can rebuild?" Tubbo says, rocking back and forth on his feet.

"If any, but- the bees!" Tommy breaks into a sprint, tugging Tubbo along with him with a yelp.

"Bees?" Tubbo easily gets his footing as they fly down the stairs, and all of Tommy's breath leaves in a sigh of relief. He can see three balls of yellow and black in a patch of flowers.

"Oh, thank prime," Tommy says.

"Oh, the flowers are L'manburg colors!" Tubbo reaches down to pick a poppy.

"Yeah… I tried to think of as many things as possible because I know how much L'manberg meant to you-" Tommy flails his arms out- Tubbo launching himself at Tommy- into a familiar hug, their laughter bouncing off the walls.

"It's fine, Tommy," Tubbo says, his voice bright- and Tommy becomes coldly aware of a memory- the last time Tubbo had roughly tangled him into a hug.

What am I without you?

Yourself?

"Tommy?" Tubbo's pulled back, a- at this point- very familiar concern on his face.

"I'm alright- just, bad memories. I'll be alright-" Tommy shakes his head, pulling Tubbo back into the hug.

"Are you sure? We can stop for a second- sit and talk?" Tubbo says softly from Tommy's shoulder.

"No- not on your birthday, I promise- I promise I'll be alright, this is nothing I haven't done- we haven't done before," Tommy says back, tucking his head into Tubbo's shoulder, trying to chase the pit in his stomach away.

"You sure?" Tommy can feel Tubbo's hand smooth down his hair. Tommy just hmms in response. "Do you think they- the bee's are asleep?"

"What do you mean?" Tommy looks up, he can't see the bees, but he doesn't want to leave the hug.

"The smoke, you think it put them to sleep?" Tubbo muses.

"Maybe," Tommy mutters. "Fuckin- I spent days on this." it was more of an inconvenience than anything at this point. "Do you wanna rebuild it?"

"Not right now, I'm tired, boss man." Tubbo sighs. Tommy realizes how tired he is, too, the familiar ache in his bones.

"Me too, Tubbzo, me too. Let's go home?" He says, making no move to back out of the hug. Tubbo just hums. And so they stand there, until they figure out they can shuffle together- at least to the stairs. Tommy laughs at the image this must make. Two boys, one half-cow, one half-dead, who would rather tear up the ground and trample flowers than break their hug. By the time they do eventually get to the stairs, they both are laughing. Tommy notices that he laughs a lot more whenever he's with Tubbo. He also notices he gets tired a lot quicker. Puffy would say something about Tommy feeling safe around Tubbo, enough so that he shows emotion and lets his guard down, but Tommy knows that. He yawns, he is actually really tired. Tubbo yawns too, and they help each other up the stairs and out of what's left of glass and wood. About halfway down the path, Tommy stops and looks over his shoulder, at the space between trees, where he saw-

"Whacha lookin at, big man?" Tubbo asks from beside him.

"Nothing- I thought I saw someone running away from the fire when we first got here- I think maybe they were the one that did it, but I didn't catch their face." Tommy says, half lying. It was true, he didn't catch their face, but he'd know those two glowing eyes anywhere. He knew who it was. No way he was gonna tell Tubbo about it.

Because he was almost sure it was Ranboo.

[doyumacy]

FALLOUT |LH| SEVEN

*gif not mine

PAIRING: donghyuck x reader bodyguard!donghyuck

WARNINGS: mentions of yuta, taeyong, jaemin and jeno. swearing, hospital, gunshots, handguns, stabbing, falling down the stairs, blood. character death

WORD COUNT: 3K

You didn’t even hear what Donghyuck had to say.  You burst out running from his place and you fell when you were running and landed your knees and you thought you might have bruised something. You were in pain as you struggled to stand.

You can't run fast but you counted on his knowledge of you to carry you to where you know you should go. It took you a little over one minute to get to your destination, your house. You would be safe there. With Yuta.

As soon as you got home, you felt someone grab your arm so you whirled around to punch them. Taeyong clutched his nose, cursing as he felt blood gush out of his nose. You had one hell of a punching arm if you asked him now.

"Oh my, God," you covered your mouth, startled. "I'm sorry, Taeyong. I thought you were Don-"

"(Y/N)?" Yuta called you from behind.

You turned and ran to his arms. "I'm sorry. I should've listened to you. I'm sorry, Yuta."

Yuta wrapped his arms around you. "What happened?" He whispered to your ear.

"Donghyuck," you cried as you tightened his grip, not being able to say more.

Taeyong glanced at Yuta and Taeyong frowned looking at your knees that were bleeding.

"Put her in her room and send the medic there as soon as possible," Taeyong said.

Yuta nodded and took you in his arms, carrying you to your bedroom. When he put you in your bed, you grabbed his hand and looked him into his eyes. "Don't leave me alone, please. I'm scared." You whispered.

Then Yuta knew you knew, and for a moment thought how much you knew, but seeing you like that, asking him to stay then it meant Donghyuck didn't tell you about him. And that relieved him since he could finish what Donghyuck couldn't.

"I'm here, doll," he ran his fingers through your hair, "I won't let him get any mile close to you. I promise."

You nodded and you turned on your back, sinking your head in the pillows. You were shattered. You felt betrayed and so stupid. That was his plan; making you fall in love with him and killing you as if you were nothing but a piece of trash.

The next morning, Taeyong knocked on your door and let himself in after you did not respond. He shut the door behind him and sat next to you in the bed. (Y/N)? You have to eat something.”

“I’m not hungry,” you said, with your eyes still closed.

Taeyong sighed. “What happened?”

You gulped and sat on the bed. “Donghyuck…” you closed your eyes, trying to hold your tears. “He was all of this.”

“What?” Taeyong stood up, upset. “I’m gonna kill him. Son of a bitch.”

“Taeyong,” you cried. “I need you, please.”

Taeyong lay next to you and hugged you. “I’m here and I won’t let anyone hurt you, you understand?”

You nodded, whipping your tears. “I feel so stupid. I was so easy to fool.”

“Hey, don’t do that,” Taeyong pressed his lip against your temple. “You’re a good woman and sometimes people will try to take advantge of that, but that doesn’t make you stupid.”

“I’m not defending Donghyuck, but he was just doing his job, which is disgusting and you don't know how bad I want to beat the shit out of him.”

You sighed, maybe for the fiftieth time in the morning. “Whatever. Sometimes I wish he would just finish it with this.”

“That’s something selfish to say, you know?” Taeyong looked at you.

“I know, I’m sorry,” you cried again. “I don’t know what to do.”

“I’m here and if all you wanna do is to cry in bed then I’m laying in bed with you all day.”

“And  what was your plan?” Jeno looked at Donghyuck. “How did you even think she was going to react?”

“Jeno, I really don't need this right now,” Donghyuck glanced at him and growled. “She didn't even let me explain everything.”

“What are you gonna do now? Jeno sat next to him.

“I’m sure Yuta will take advantage of this and finish it,” Donghyuck stood up walking around the living room. “I need to get her away from him. He 's dangerous.”

“Maybe you should… kidnap her?”

“Are you out of your mind? She hates me enough, I don't want her to hate me even more. She’ll despise me.”

“Right,” Jeno grimaced, “what about her friends? You should talk to them and warm them about Yuta so they can keep an eye on her.”

Donghyuck nodded. “Taeyong won’t listen to me and neither will Lena, maybe Jaemin. He seems more… flexible.”

“Then we should get going.” Jeno threw him his car keys and his black jacket.

Donghyuck and Jeno arrived to Jaemin’s restaurant and after a long battle with the host, she finally let Donghyuck talk to him. Jaemin tried to shut the door in front of him and threatened him to call the police if he didnt leave.

“Give me five minutes, that’s all i ask,” Donghyuck begged him and raised his arms. “I’m unarmed, I promise.”

Jaemin stared at him for a couple of seconds and then nodded. “Five minutes, that’s all you’re getting.”

“Thank you.”

Donghyuck didn't sit and  just stayed standing up in front of him. “You need to talk to Taeyong and tell him Yuta is dangerous. He’s planning on hurting (Y/N).”

Jaemin laughed and looked at him astonished. “You have some balls to show up here and talk shit about the man who’s been there for her, protecting her. Fuck you.”

“Jaemin, listen to me. Yuta along with her father is planning on killing her so they can keep her company. She’s a threat to them, that's why her father hired me.” Donghyuck approached him a bit. “As I got to know her, I realised she’s just… amazing. I fell for her. I could never hurt her. All this time I planned something so she could make it out alive.”

Jaemin furrowed his eyebrows. “What plan?”

Donghyuck pulled out two fake passports and placed them on the table. “I was planning on leaving the country under a fake name with her for a couple of days until I could get all the proof against Yuta and her father to the police. Including me.”

Jaemin grabbed the fake passports and stared at them for a couple of seconds. He then looked up to Donghyuck. “Promise me you’re not bullshiting me.”

“I am not. I love her, Jaemin.” Donghyuck looked right into his eyes. “I will die for her if I have to.”

Jaemin squinted his eyes and then stood up. “I have a private jet that will take you anywhere you want. I’ll try to talk to her and take this,” Jaemin wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it to him. “Here’s the address where I keep my jet. Be there on Saturday at midnight.”

Donghyuck nodded. “Thank you, Jaemin.”

“If I find out you’re lying about this, I swear to God I’ll destroy you, Donghyuck,” Jaemin warned him.

“I know,” Donghyuck nodded.

Later that day, Jaemin went to your house and brought you your favourite food but you weren't hungry and excused yourself early. Jaemin and Taeyong stayed in your living room and Jaemin unbuttoned his shirt. “I saw Donghyuck today.”

“And why would you do that?” Taeyong stared at him.

“He told me everything and even told me…” Jaemin made sure they were alone in the living room. “Yuta is behind along with her dad.”

“What?” Taeyong frowned. “That’s bullshit, I mean, her dad maybe but we’ve seen how Yuta behaves with her.”

“And we also saw how Donghyuck behaved with her,” Jaemin raised his eyebrows. “ Anyways, I’m gonna help him.”

“You’re gonna help Donghyuck?” Taeyong laughed. “Have you lost it?”

“Hear me out, okay?” Jaemin looked at him and Taeyong rolled his eyes.

“Fine.”

“Good afternoon, Yuta,” your father greeted him and poured some whisky in his glass. “Have you found Lee Donghyuck? I need him dead along with my daughter.”

Yuta shook his head. “We haven't been able to track him, but I will find him. Luckily, your daughter refused to listen to him and she doesnt know we were the ones who hired him.”

“Great, that gives us more time,” your father sat down on his leather couch.

“We should not wait.” Yuta licked his lips. “I’m gonna do it tonight.”

“Rushed, but okay. The sooner the better I guess,” your father shrugged. “Call me when it’s done.”

Yuta came back to your place and for the first time, you got out of your room and ate something. You missed Donghyuck so much, his touch, his kisses, his smile, his smell… everything. But you were hurt. More than hurt.

The next day, you woke up feeling worse than other days and took a long bath. Maybe that would help you feel better, but it didn’t, so instead, you spent the whole day zapping, not really paying attention to what was watching on the tv. In the night, you went downstairs and frowned not seeing any guards in the front door or the yard. Maybe Yuta had changed his mind about the security.

You entered the kitchen and opened the fridge watching all the things you got and spotted the food that Jaemin had brought you a night before. You grabbed the food container and put it into the microwave. You sighed waiting for the food to come out and leaned against the counter.

BEEP BEEP

You turned and got the food out from the microwave putting it in a plate. You decided you would watch something and zap again. You turned to go to the living room and you dropped your plate when you saw a man dressed in all black wearing a black ski mask. Your heart fell down to the floor, freezing.

That was it. That was how you died.

But a voice inside your head screamed at you to run or at least to die fighting.

“Listen,” you began in a quiet voice, trying to reason with him, “—I whatever they're paying you I can give you twice the amount, but please don't hurt me.”

The man in front of you didn't say a thing and he pulled out a gun and propped it his hand. He made a few steps getting closer to you and you were quickly enough to grab a knife. “Don’t move— don’t you fuckin’¡g move. I swear I’ll stab you, I’m not afraid to do it!” The man stopped.

You walked backwards until you were cornered in the sink and you cursed at yourself. The man made quick movements and in a matter of seconds, he had his hand around your neck, choking you. You tried to push him away with one of your hands, the other smacking wildly at his face and chest. He just got his other hand around your neck, making more pressure. At that point, you were gasping for air, you were not going to give up.

Your hand tucked into his ski mask and after pulling it a few times, you finally saw the man behind it: Yuta. You couldn't breathe and it wasn’t because of Yuta’s hands around your neck. Donghyuck was right. You should have never trusted him.

You even didn't think twice, you stabbed Yuta -or that’s what you thought, - in the chest and he released his hands growling. You pushed him aside and ran to the front door trying to open it but it was locked from the outside. You saw Yuta running to you and whined running upstairs to lock yourself in your bedroom and call the police. Unfortunately, Yuta made bigger steps and as you were about to reach the second floor, he grabbed your wrist. "Let go off of me," You tussled with him and tried to push him so he could fall down the stairs.

But Yuta was stronger and pulled you with him making you both fall down the stairs. Your foot went down for your third step it continued to fall, your eyes filling with fear as your lips parted.

It seemed like everything was going in slow motion.

Your body started to slip back as your arms went to the sides. The right hand landed on the wall but you continued to slip back, the other grabbing for the railing that wasn’t there. Your back hit the stairs and you screamed out, your eyes closing as you slid down. Your head hit the wall at the bottom of the stairs loudly, and time sped up again once Yuta fell beside you.

Every part of your body ached and your muscles weren't responding to your brain's signals to run and hide. You felt a warm liquid dripping from your forehead and you pressed your fingers on it. Blood. You were bleeding from your head. You turned your head slightly to see how Yuta stood up, groaning from the pain.

"Stupid bitch," he hissed between teeth and bent over to grab you by your hair making you stand up. "You've given me enough headaches. I'm gonna fucking kill you."

You whined from the pain when he clenched your jaw, tightening it. "Get on your knees."

"Yuta, please," you cried. "I'll give you everything, but please don't kill me."

Yuta pulled out a silencer and attached it to the handgun. He looked at you and smirked. "You already gave me what I wanted. No need to beg."

You cried again and Yuta finished loading his gun. "You won't even feel a thing. I promise, doll."

You closed your eyes and you heard a gunshot, you prepared yourself for the pain and but then opened them but you heard Yuta growl. Did he shoot himself? Yuta was bleeding from his stomach and he pressed a hand against his wound. "Fuck. He's here. Shit."

Who was there? The police?

You tried to stand up but Yuta was quick and hit you with his handgun making you fall. "Goodbye, (Y/N)." And then, you heard nothing.

“Hey, hey, don’t close your eyes, love. Look at me. Look at me, (Y/N) -”

Yuta was dead. A bullet to the heart, not even 6 feet away, and you tried to replay the events that had led up to it but you don't remember a single thing after Yuta hit you with his gun.

Then you were shot.

“Hey.” You vaguely registered Donghyuck calling for medical in the background, but all you can focus on was him. His hands were pressing down on the hole in your chest, and he kept looking between it and your face like you’ll magically disappear if he looked away for more than a few seconds.

Something in the corner of your eye moved. It was Jeno. Taeyong and Jaemin, kneeling down beside you, faces contorted with shock. They looked strange, like you’re looking at them through glass. Blurry, steadily dimming…

“Stay awake,” Donghyuck urged, hand slapping the side of your face gently. “C’mon, love, you can do it. Don’t fall asleep on me.”

“But I‘m… tired,” you slurred, whining with another twinge of pain. “Ah... my chest hurts, Hyuck, it hurts-”

“I know, love,” he’s gasping it out, he was holding back tears, you realised, and you couldn't fathom what for. “You’re doing so well, okay? Medical, where’s medical?!”

“They’re on their way,” somebody said.

“What’s taking them so long?” Somebody else exclaimed.

“I… I…” You couldn't speak. You couldn't. You were too tired, your lips almost refused to move, and it was getting harder to formulate words.“Donghyuck, I… love you… and I... forgive you okay…?”

The panic in his voice increased “Hey, no, don’t-”

But against your will, your eyes rolled to the back of your head, and the world faded to black.

The journey to the hospital passed in flashes. The ambulance ride was a flurry of hushed talking between paramedics, the siren numb and shrill in the back of his mind. You were too still. Too grey-looking, too pale, and he knew the image would stick with him.

He walked with you as far as he could. Donghyuck had one bloodied hand on the side of your stretcher until one of the doctors who’d gathered around you kindly told him that he couldn't be past this point because you were going to have surgery. You were going into surgery because you got shot in the chest and your blood was all over his hands and he was still got his bulletproof vest on and

“Donghyuck, you need to clean yourself up.”

The rest of the guys arrived maybe10 minutes after he did. Donghyuck registered them walking towards him, registered the way they stopped and stared. He guesses he made an image, sitting with his elbows on his knees and his head bowed, blood up to his forearms. He told them what the doctor had said, word for word, but that wasn’t much — and then he didn’t say much afterwards, either. Just sat and stared at the ground, mind moving too fast for him to keep up with.

The third hour in, though, Jeno leaned over, a firm hand on Donghyuck’s shoulder. “C’mon. We’ve got you clean clothes. Go and change.”

Donghyuck wanted to say no, but he and his clothes were a mess and that was the last thing you needed to see. In case you'd wake up.

[nights-legacy]

Persevere through Imperil Pt.2 -Leo

Leo 2012

+ Y/N, Raph, and Donnie are being held at one of the Foot’s warehouses and they are there because Shredder want Y/N. The guys try everything to keep her from being taken. At the same time, Leo and the others find them and are ready to whatever it takes to get the three out of there. Alive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Y/N’s POV

I must have fallen asleep because I was jerked awake by the sound of yelling and fighting. I sat up and saw Raph and Donnie fighting off Foot soldiers off at the door. I pressed back against the wall and tried to get my mind straight.

“You won’t touch her you pee brains.” Raph growled. Just as he finished his sentence, one of the men punched him on his wound and then took a head shot.

“Raph!” I shot to my feet. He fell to the side and Donnie stalled for only a second before lashing out and knocking the three men back out the door and on their backs.

“You freak.” The man that had grabbed me was among them. He got up and went to attack Donnie. They fought but I saw the man pull out small device. I recognized it as a tranq dart.

“Donnie, watch out!” He saw it but was too late to avoid it. The man stabbed him with it and threw Donnie in Raph’s direction. The man was breathing heavy.

“Persistent. I’ll give them that.” He said before he looked at me. He smirked. “Hey sweetheart. Ready to go?” He started walking toward me. I back up into the wall.

“You get any closer to her and I’ll kill you.” I looked and saw Raph trying to get up.

“Uoooh. I’m so scared.” The man laughed and continued my way. He looked back at me and I punched him. He stumbled grabbing his jaw. He glared at me. He shot forward and pinned me against the wall. I yelped and pushed against him. “Master Shredder will have fun with you.”

“No!” I screamed as he drug me from the cell. I grabbed onto the door and kicked out at him. He was growing irritated. There was a clinking that catch my attention. I looked down and saw the keys on the man’s waist. I let go of the bars and pushed against him. The movements surprised him and threw us of balance. I grabbed the keys and thankfully he didn’t notice. I backed up and shot for the door.

“Bitch!” I heard him scream. Raph was kneeling in pain near the door. He reached out and with the hand that held the keys it reached for him. He grabbed my hand but a tug on my ankle made me slip from his grip but the keys stayed.

“Y/N!” He yelled before noticing the keys. He looked down and saw them. He quickly closed his hand as the man slammed the door shut, the lock automatically shutting. Raph looked up at me. I smirked and he nodded.

“Come on you.” The man growled. He grabbed me by the arms and pulled me from the room. He walked me down multiple corridors before stopping in front a big door. “Hope you’re ready.” The door opened and he shoved me through. I hit the ground and groaned. I pushed up onto my knees and looked around.

“The leaders beloved.” A deep voice bounced off the wall. Off to my right, I flash caught my eye. Out of the darkness, a man in metal armor and weapons stepped out.

“Shredder.”

Leo’s POV

It was nearly midnight when we finally found the place they were holding Y/N, Raph, and Donnie. Mikey, April, Casey, Leatherhead, and Myself were across the roof tops on a nearby building.

“Thank you for coming to help LH.” I told him. He bowed his head.

“Of course. Y/N and you turtles are family to me. I would do anything to make sure you all are safe.” He told us. He turned to the building and seemed to focus on one window. “Donatello and Raphael.”

“Where?” Mikey asked. LH pointed at the water front side of the building. Through a window I saw the siloettes and colors of my brothers.

“Mikey. You and I will go down there and get them. You three, please find out where Y/N is. If you find her, wait for us to return so we can make a plan of action. I don’t know how hurt Donnie and Raph are so we don’t know our strength.” They nodded before taking off. Mikey and I silently made it to the window we saw our brothers. Mikey got the window open and we crept inside.

“Donnie!” I heard Mikey whisper and whipped around. I saw Mikey running toward Donnie and Raph. I did the same and latched onto them.

“Are you guys okay?” I asked. I wrapped an arm around Raph as he stumbled.

“Yeah. We’re a little worse for the ware but we’ll live.” Donnie said leaning heavily on Mikey’s shoulder. I looked at Raph and saw his leg wrapped in Y/N’s shirt.

“Where’s Y/N?”

“The jerk that nabbed her on the roof took her somewhere. Before that though she was able to get the keys away from that shell head and pass them to me in the scuffle. She put up quite a fight until she got me the keys.” Raph snarled.

“The bad part being wherever she’s at, Shredder is too.” Donnie added. “He had her kidnapped and we were the bonuses. They hit me with tranquilizer but I should be okay over the next few minutes.”

“How did he even find out about her?” Mikey asked.

“I don’t know. That’s not our main concern.” I said. I looked toward the window we entered. “Come on we need to meet the others. Can you guys make it?”

“Yeah. Just need a shoulder.” Raph said. I nodded and we made our way back to the roof tops. We found the others looking over a large section of the building.

“Raph! Donnie!” April ran forward and hugged the both of them. “I’m so glad you’re alright.” We helped them sit on a roof unit.

“Did you find her?” April paused and looked at me conflicted.

“We did but…” She pointed at the edge of the building. I quickly walked over and looked down. Through a large window I saw Shredder, Y/N, and a few Foot ninjas. What caught my full attention was that Y/N was laying on the ground, her body moving as if she was breathing hard.

“What is…” My question was caught off by Shredder grabbing her and throwing her across the room. My blood boiled and I nearly jumped off the roof in that moment. If it wasn’t for LH, I would have.

“Leo wait. We know you are scared, pissed, and worried but you know you can’t just jump in head first. We need a plan.” April turned me away from the scene. “Right?”

“Right.” I closed my eyes and took a calming breath. “We’re not here to fight we just her to recover. Casey you help Donnie and Raph back to the lair. April you will stay on the roof as eyes for LH, Mikey, And I.”

“Got it.” The two said. Casey walked over to the two before helping Donnie carry Raph away.

“Be careful Leo.” Raph called. “You can do this but please keep your head. We can deal with Shredder another day.” He looked at me worried before I nodded my head. He sighed in relief.

“LH, you and I will distract or whatever to keep Shredder away from Mikey as he gets Y/N out. Alright?” The two nodded. “Once you get her out of there, Mikey, bring her to April and then meet us by the bridge. Get away from here as fast as you can.”

“Alright Leo.” He said. We all looked down. I moved first and snuck down to the window, ready to work.”

Y/N’s POV

I grunted as I hit the floor. I tried to push up but fell back to the ground as pain shot through my wrist. I Looked over and saw Shredder advancing on me again.

“Where are the rest of the turtles?” He roared. He grabbed onto my arms and hoisted me up. “Where?”

“Why would I tell you? Huh? I would never betray them like that.” I spat at him. He growled and jerked his arm, sending me flying again. My vision blurred as I hit the floor again.

“Then you are of no use to me anymore.” I heard him say while the sound of swords filled the air. I heard footsteps come my way then stop. After a moment, I felt a presence above me. I flinched but felt a familiar hand. I looked up and saw Leo. “Leo…”

“Shhh. It’s alright.” He smiled before his face turned dark. He looked beyond me. “You wanted us? Here we are.” He was gone a flash. I turned over and saw him and Leatherhead standing as a barrier between me and Shredder. I heard a thud and saw Mikey come up next to me.

“Hi sis.” He smiled before gently picking me up. I groaned as my muscles protested. I latched onto his neck.

“Get her out of here Mikey.” I heard Leo yell. Mikey didn’t question and ran for it. I felt him jump as noise of fighting started. I opened my eyes to see him climbing through a window. I looked down and saw Leo and LH keeping the Foot from following.

“Mikey what about them?”

“They will follow as soon as were clear.”

“Mikey! Y/N!” I heard April. Mikey didn’t stop but I did see April run up and join us. We ran without pause for a nearly 10 minutes. When Mikey finally stopped, I saw we were near the Brooklyn Bridge.

“Ah.” I yelped as Mikey set me down. I grabbed onto my wrist and curled into myself slightly.

“Where does it hurt?” April knelt down.

“I think my wrist is either sprained or cracked. The bruise on my stomach has gotten worse and I think there are a few hurt ribs to add to the list.” I laid back and tried to breathe normally. Each breath hurt slightly.

“IS she alright?” I heard Leo’s voice.

“Leo!” I exclaimed. I sat up to quick and screamed. I felt someone grab my hand and wrap an arm around my back. I felt them shaking against me and knew it was Leo. “I’m alright, just a little bruise in places.”

“You are not going on patrol with us ever again.” Leo gripped. I chuckled and nodded before cuddling into his chest. I felt him slowly relax as a few minutes went by. A thought interrupted my peace though.

“Oh My God! Raph and Donnie! They’re…”

“At the lair. We found them before we found them before we got to you.” I relaxed and leant into his chest.

“Good. I can’t believe I forgot about them.”

“You really saved them sis. Getting Raph the keys helped them get out and us finding them.” Mikey said with a smile. I felt Leo shift and look at his hand that was behind my back.

“We need to get you back to the lair. You’re bleeding and we need to see the extent of your other wounds.” Leo’s voice was concerned but I could hear an underlying tone of anger. Anger towards Shredder.

“Alright. As long as you stay with me.” I said turning and wrapping my arms around his neck.

“Of course. I would never leave you if I had the choice.” He said before placing his arms under my back and knees. He slowly lifted me and stood to full height. I looked over and saw Leatherhead.

“Thank you LH. For being here. It means a lot.” I reached out for him. He returned and I set my hand in his. He gave me a tight squeeze and bowed his head.

“Of course. And I will be here until I know you are well and resting.” He smiled and let go of my hand. “I will be behind, watching for any followers.” He looked at Leo. Leo nodded and we started our way back to lair. Mikey in front, Leo and I in the middle with April and LH behind.

“You got her! Thank god!” I heard as we entered the lair. “We were starting to get worried.”

“Is she alright?”

“What held you back so long?” A chorus of questions rang through the air as Leo walked through towards Donnie’s lab. I heard Master hush the boys as Leo set me on a table. He leaned over me and brushed hair out of my face. Donnie came up on the other side.

“What happened to you Y/N?” He asked. He reached and pulled my shirt up a bit and grimaced.

“Shredder threw me around a bit.”

“A bit?” Leo he copied. I smiled sheepishly. Leo sighed and shook his head. He pulled up a stool and sat next to me. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“As we all are.” Master Splinter walked forward and set a hand on my head. “This could have been worse my dear. But you are strong. You persevered. Both of you did.” He said looking between the two of us. “We will leave you to it.” HE ushered the others out while Donnie got to work. After a while, Donnie finished and Leo carried me to his room.

“I meant what is said. You are never joining us on patrol again.” He said while setting me on his bed.

“I’m not going to argue with you.” I chuckled and moved over to let him on the bed. He took off his gear and laid down next to me. I cuddled carefully into his chest. He set an arm over my hips and placed his snout on top of my head.

“I was so scared. I thought I was going to lose you.” He whispered. He brushed his lips on my forehead. “I broke down completely once we had to wait to come save you. I thought if we waited that you wouldn’t be there when we finally got there. But Master calmed me down saying that Donnie and Raph would protect you.”

“They did. They fought with all their might before anyone could get close.” I looked up and settled my head on his arm.

“I knew they would.” He closed his eyes and relaxed into the bed. I watched and could almost see the tension leave his body. I reached up and traced the edge of his snout then down his cheek down to the dip in the top of plastron. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing.” I said innocently. He chuckled and opened his eyes. He stared down at me before leaning in for a kiss. The kiss was soft and loving and lasted for a few minutes.

“I love you, Y/N.”

“I love you too Leo.” I said while placing my head against his shoulder and pulled myself closer. I yawned as Leo pulled a blanket over us. “Night baby.”

“Goodnight, my love.” I heard him say before I drifted out into dreams of my knight in shining blue.

[nabrizoya]

Instead of the odd grocery list you sent me, have this. @jb-lh 🙄 Thanks for the prompt by the way! I really hope you enjoy this! <3

Prompt: “Have you ever kissed anyone?”

Ship: Jesse x Lucie (Blackdale)

Statues and Ghouls and Eerie Romances.

“You’re mad,” Jesse hissed. “You’re mad to come in he-”

“I’m not mad,” she breathed, joy at the sight of finding him in the manor threatening to tear her face apart. “I’m Lucie.” She held her hand out with a grin.

“Oh, Angel help me-” he groaned. He put his face in his hands and swore softly. Lucie only grinned more, happy to see him after nearly a week since she last saw him on the outskirts of Alicante. Which wasn’t odd. Jesse had nothing to do with her, no reason to visit her. And thus she was here, because he wasn’t there.

They were in a vast living room. Two grand staircases overtly covered with vines encircled the foyer, a dead fireplace adorning the centre of the establishment. There were rare antiques everywhere, all of them put to dust and disrepair. She took a step forward, in awe with the ambiance the entire house radiated. She had never been inside the house, save for the ballroom, and now that she was, she liked it. It looked like fiction had come true; she stared at the balconies that the upstairs lead to, instantly drawn to them. She kindled the witchlight with some hesitance, wary it would ruin the atmosphere. She thought she could glimpse something behind the statue that stood at the centre and stepped towards it. Cold air seeped at her wrists.

“Why, why is it exactly that you’re here?”

“Oh, don’t be so disappointed in me,” she waved him off, still captivated by her surroundings. “I’m here for many things. First, I love the Gothic ambiance your house radiates,” she said, enchanted with the way the witchlight reflected off the chandelier at the top. “Though this doesn’t seem like the most humane place to live, if I am being honest. It is an interesting house.”

She turned to face him with a smile and was met with a steely glare, sharp as a blade. Under the darkness and the hollows spaces between her fingers through which the witchlight peeked, his eyes were gloriously green. She could see traces of black in them now and wondered if they had been there before; they hadn’t, right? They were always alive and green. “Lucie,” he said determinedly. “Why are you here?”

“Isn’t there a better place to talk? It’s awfully chilly in here.”

“Your mistake for not bringing a cloak,” he pointed. Anger surfaced his features even now but his tone wasn’t as cold as it had been before.

She was still glancing around her in awe: it matched her imagination of the Castle of Otranto, though it wasn’t as deadly as the book. Lucie didn’t want to press her luck though; she had only come to see Jesse and now that she had, she didn’t know what she was going to speak about. She tried devising a plan and imprudently said at the same time he spoke- “Can you show me-”

“Do you nee-”

She paused, her gaze fixed on his. When she was sure he wasn’t going to continue, she gave him a smile and said, “Well, go on. What were you saying?”

“I asked if you needed a cloak. I can show you Grace’s room; you can borrow one perhaps,” he offered. “Though I do doubt it will fi- nevermind,” he blushed. Ghosts couldn’t blush but with the way he looked down at the floor, eyes cast away, she was confident he was. “Do you need the cloak?”

Lucie thanked him, but denied. “Kind of you, though I think I am perfectly fine without one.”

“If you ask me-”

“Which I didn’t,” Lucie interjected.

Jesse glared. “-I would suggest you to borrow one. You said it was cold.”

Ghosts couldn’t feel or touch, Lucie noted, especially in this form that Jesse manifested. “No cloak. I’m fine- can you show me the library?”

He shrugged. “I can, but I don’t see a reason why I should. Especially when you’re invading my home.”

Lucie scrunched up her face at the word ‘home’. “If you ask me-”

“Which I didn’t-”

Lucie tried to glare, but laughed instead. “I can still command you to show me the library,” Jesse’s face hardened at that, “which I won’t because I’m a good person and I am requesting you politely to take me to the library.”

“Lucie- By the Angel,” he swore again vehemently this time. Lucie considered pointing out that it was ungentlemanly to swear in front of a lady but was secretly amused at how distressed he was at her presence. “Do you not realize that it is dangerous here? There’s demons- God.” He looked up at the ceiling as if demanding the heavens why he was feeling whatever it was he was feeling.

“I’ll tell you why I’m here on the way to the library,” she offered.

Jesse gave up and gave her a long look. He sighed then, anger completely vanishing from his fine face as he gestured for her. “Come along. It’s upstairs. You’re certain you don’t need a cloak?”

Lucie shook her head and turned to follow him. She took one last look at the ghoulish statue that seemed to share her amusement. She raised an eyebrow at it interrogatively; the statue didn’t reply, of course. “Have you ever kissed anyone?”

“What?”

Jesse’s incredulity was priceless. Lucie shrugged and pointed him to the statute. “It looks like it wants to.”

A moment of silence. Then two. Then three. And ten. Jesse peered the statue and then, surprising Lucie and the statue too, he threw his head back and laughed. Lucie’s smile grew; it occurred to her how she had never heard him laugh and now that she did, she admitted she liked the way he laughed; amused and contented as if nothing else in the world mattered then than laughing in that moment.

“Oh, Lucie,” he sighed, finally smiling and leading the way up the stairs. “Please tell me why you’re here.”

“Tell me about the ghoul first-”

Jesse snorted. “Odd of you to think I’d kiss a ghoul. It’s the statue of- ah, I’ve forgotten.”

“Perhaps you should pay more attention to the statues that look like they want to kiss you.”

Jesse laughed again. Lucie was smiling, suddenly shy. Where had this confidence come from? “Perhaps you should stop paying attention to the statues that you claim look like they want to kiss me.”

“I wouldn’t blame the- nevermind.” She blushed. What on earth? “I came here to see you.”

Jesse came to a standstill. “What?”

“For someone who claims to read a lot of books,” she said dryly, “Your vocabulary is very limited. You haven't come to the institute since I last saw you near the mausoleums. Besides,” she added, “Like I have mentioned before, I came here for many things. I wanted to take a look at your library and explore for books that may contain references to my odd power.”

“I hear the Institute has an exalting library.”

Lucie glowered at him sideways. “I know the Institute has a grand library, but given your grandfather’s odd dealings with demons and what not, I’m certain I shall find worthy material here. The more I know,” she pointed, breathless a bit with how the roof expanded even more above them, “the better.”

Once at the top of the staircase, Lucie beheld the view. She felt like a royalty who was peering at the visitors assembled near the door. Ahead of them was a strange corridor with long and rounded windows from which moonlight spilled. It took Lucie a ton of effort to not look away and admire the Ivy that penetrated through the walls from the windows savagely. It resembled Sleeping Beauty’s castle more than the Castle of Otranto. The entire place reeked of misadventure and risk. Lucie liked that.

Jesse considered her. “I know we are oddly bound,” he started, looking to where she was gazing at the intricate designs on the pillars that walked a path towards the balcony that Lucie had been admiring earlier. “But you could summon me whenever you want my help. Instead of coming here.”

“I didn’t ask for your help,” she said. “Yet. You say we are oddly bound and I do not disagree. You say you want to help yet are recoiled at my presence here. You-”

“That’s because there’s demons here- !”

“All right then,” she glared at him. “Where will you be vanishing then? I suppose you’re going to live in this tumbledown excuse of a house?”

Jesse shrugged, still not meeting her eyes. “I will have things to do.”

Lucie put her arms on her hips and tilted her head questioningly. “I’d like to know what strange trysts you have to attend in the middle of all nights.”

“I don’t-” he looked at his feet, a small smile on his lips. “What are you trying to say?”

Jesse looked up. Lucie felt her breath catch suddenly for a reason she couldn’t put a finger on. “I need your help,” she said slowly, “and I want us to work together in helping me understand my powers, despite you telling me I’m good on my own.”

“You can still be perfectly fine on-”

She narrowed her eyes, recovering from her past reverie, effectively shutting him up. “You are welcome at the institute whenever you please, as long as you are unseen and undisturbing. It’s rather unbearable to think of this place as a home,” she mimicked the face of a person ready to throw up. How could anybody live here?

“And you can’t disagree,” she warned lightheartedly, falling in step with him as he motioned towards the rightward passage, “because I can command you.”

“Oh, freedom,” Jesse grieved. They left the traces of their laughter behind as they marched to the library.

Thank you so much reading! I’m still accepting prompts (though it will take me a LONG time to get to them but I promise it will be worth the wait.) Send me a ship/character along with the prompt number in my ask box. You can find the prompts here.

[verai-marcel]

If you’re still taking requests, could you do an low honor arthur x healer!reader where he keeps coming back injured so she’ll patch him up and it eventually leads to smut 🌚👩🏻‍⚕️🤠

Healing Touch (RDR2 Fanfic, LH Arthur x Healer F!Reader, 18+)

Summary: You’re a healer living on the border of Lemoyne, gathering herbs and making poultices and tonics to sell to travelers and locals nearby, because the nearest doctor is all the way in St. Denis and costs too much for most. When a man keeps showing up at your door, in various states of injury, you’re exasperated at first. But when you start to crave the company of the blue-eyed cowboy, you start to wonder: is his touch as hot as his gaze when he looks at you?

Author’s Notes: @the-moon-kingdom, a story for you, my dear!

Tags: low honor Arthur Morgan, rough sex, dirty talk, a lot of dialogue, clothed man/naked woman, female reader

AO3 Link is here, darlin’.

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

“Again?”

The man shrugged. “I was nearby.”

You shook your head. You didn’t believe him for a second, but you gestured for him to come in and sit down.

He unloaded his weapons and bandolier as he took a seat on the stool in your main room and started to unbutton his shirt. Gingerly, he peeled the cloth off his shoulder where the claw marks were oozing blood. Tossing his shirt down, he looked at you with a wry grin.

“Cougar weren’t none too glad to see me.”

Sighing, you went outside to pull a bucket of water from the rain barrel, then came back in and poured some of the water into a pot and set it over the fireplace. While you waited for it to heat, you gathered a few herbs from your cabinet and started making a poultice at the work table.

The man just hummed a soft tune as he watched you worked. 

“You seem to be in a good mood,” you commented.

“I’m alive. That’s good enough for me,” he replied.

You smiled. “A simple man with simple needs."

“At least I ain’t a simpleton,” he joked.

“Of course.” You finished the poultice and set it aside. Going to the pot of water, you found a clean cloth and wet it in the hot water. Moving back to the man, you started to clean his wound.

He said nothing as you gently wiped away the blood. You tried to ignore his stare, but after a while, his gaze was far too intense.

“What?”

“Nothin’. Just like watchin’ you work, is all.”

You shrugged and kept cleaning him until all the dried blood was gone, and only a small trickle of fresh blood was left from his scratches. Tossing the cloth into the now boiling water, you went to grab the poultice and moved to stand behind the man. 

“This might sting, but it’ll clean the wound, keep it from getting infected.”

He nodded.

You put the poultice on, watching his body tense as you tied it onto his shoulder with some bandages. 

“Keep that there until nightfall, then take it off and wash the wound with some hot water. You should be fine as long as you keep it clean.”

He nodded again.

You held out your hand.

He smiled. “Can I give you the cougar instead?”

You raised an eyebrow and followed him outside.

The cougar tied to the back of his horse was massive, with a beautiful coat and plenty of meat on its bones. It was definitely worth more than your services this day.

“Consider it a down payment,” the man said. “For the future.”

“Are you planning on getting hurt some more?”

“I never plan to, but it seems to happen one way or the other.”

You laughed. “Alright.”

***

The man continued to show up to your cabin on the regular; he showed up enough times that he finally gave you his real name, or at least, a name that was more real that Tacitus Kilgore.

***

“Arthur.”

“Yes?”

“Tell me how you got these wounds.”

“I told ya, some murfrees ambushed me.”

“These don’t look like gun wounds. More like knife slashes."

"They got too close."

You clicked your tongue. "Arthur…"

"I wasn’t out lookin’ for’em!”

You sighed. “Alright, alright. Just… sit. And take your shirt off.”

Arthur smirked at you, but you rolled your eyes and went to boil some water and smash some herbs together.

When you came back with a wet towel and a bucket of hot water, you saw him shirtless, knife slashes on his arms and shoulders. You started tending to the ones on his back side, but when you moved to his front, you had to bend over him. He was eye-level with your chest, and when you noticed where his attentions were, you felt your cheeks warm.

“Do you mind?” you mumbled.

“Don’t mind at all,” he teased. Then he sat back and patted his leg. “Sit here, it’ll be more comfortable than bendin’ over like that, as much as I enjoy the view."

You raised an eyebrow at him.

Arthur smiled, charm oozing from his pores as he gestured towards his thigh with a tilt of his head and a wave of his arm.

You bit your lip, then decided to take his invitation and sat down. His thigh was strong under your rear, and as you began to clean his wounds once more, you noticed his hand had come up to touch the small of your back, keeping you balanced, and also drawing sensual circles with his fingers. The contact was electric. It was getting harder to focus on what you needed to do.

“Um, Arthur?”

“Yes, darlin’?”

“I need to get the herbs.”

“Of course.” 

But he didn’t stop touching you, and you couldn’t pull yourself away. You looked up at his face, and suddenly you were lost in a sea of blue, carried away by a storm of desire.

A knock on your door broke your reverie and you shot up out of his lap. You practically ran to the door and opened it a crack.

“Yes?”

“Do you have any cough tonic? My little one has been coughing a lot recently.”

“Sure thing, be right back.”

You closed the door, walked past Arthur, who was smiling like a cat who had gotten away with a piece of meat, grabbed an herbal tonic from your pantry, and went back to the customer. You finished the transaction and shut the door, leaning against it and glaring at Arthur.

“I need to finish up with you, then you can go.”

Arthur faked a pout. “Aww, but we was havin’ so much fun.”

You grabbed the poultice and all but slapped it on his wounds. “You’re incorrigible.”

“Admit it, you liked it.”

You didn’t say anything until you were done dressing his wounds. Seeing him to the door, he turned around before he left your front porch.

“Did my cougar from last week cover this?”

You nodded.

“How many more visits?”

You thought about it. You had sold the extra meat, the claws, and the fur, and it had netted you quite a bit of cash, but he had also come by a few times since then. Mentally, you did the math. “Probably one or two, depending on the severity.”

Arthur nodded. “Alright then. See you soon.”

“Soon? Don’t get hurt, you fool!”

He got on his horse and gave you a cocky grin. “So you do care about me!”

You stuck your tongue out at him as he rode off, laughing heartily down the path.

***

You were chopping firewood when you heard horse hooves coming up the path. Setting your axe aside, you looked up to see Arthur, who grinned at you. 

"Hey there, sweetheart."

You looked him over as he hitched his horse and walked over to you. Without asking, he picked up your axe and started chopping the rest of the firewood for you while you watched. He didn't look wounded. In fact, he looked healthier than you'd ever seen him. 

Granted, you had only ever seen him injured in some form or another. 

"So… What brings you here?" you asked hesitantly. 

Arthur brought the axe down on a particularly large log, and it cleanly broke in two. You quietly admired the way his muscles flexed in his shirt as he worked, clearly ignoring your question for the time being. 

After he had chopped one more log, he put the axe down and turned to you. "Am I not allowed to visit you fer pleasure?" 

The way he said that last word, how it rolled off his tongue and wrapped around you, reminded you of a cat wrapping its body around someone when it wanted attention. You took a step towards him before you realized it. 

"You work so hard," he said softly as he stepped closer, his hands reaching for you. Letting him get within arm's reach, he touched your waist, his hands snaking around to splay out against your back, bringing you closer to him. The warmth of his body sank through your clothes and into your skin, and you suddenly longed to feel his bare body against yours. Would it be even hotter than this muffled contact through cloth? Would you burn alive with his heat? 

You wanted to find out so badly. 

He leaned down, his lips a feather's width away from yours.

"Do you want to take a break?" 

You swallowed hard before you could let out a soft whisper. 

"Yes."

***

With his hand on your back, he walked you back into the house, locking the door behind him. He pulled you into his arms and held you close, gazing down at you. 

"I'd be lyin' if I said I came here fer no reason," he said softly.

"So what's the reason?" you asked, knowing full well what his answer would be. 

"To see you, darlin'." 

He dipped his head and kissed you, his lips moving slowly, savoring your reactions as you sighed and let him take control. His hands traveled down your back to rest on your hips. 

"Why don't I give ya back rub, get you nice and relaxed?" 

He led you to your bedroom and sat down on your bed, gesturing for you to sit down between his legs. Your eyes flickered over his bulge before slowly approaching him. You turned and sat daintily between his legs, perching on the edge of the bed. 

You gasped when you felt Arthur's big hands on your shoulders, but soon you were letting out soft moans of bliss as he massaged your muscles, working out the knots in your shoulders and neck. His thumbs rubbed circles around the base of your neck before his hands slowly made their way to the front of your blouse. 

"This would feel better if you took yer shirt off," he whispered in your ear, his lips grazing your earlobe. 

You nodded, and he took that as permission to unbutton your shirt, sliding it down your arms and throwing it aside. He kissed your shoulder, your bicep, the inside of your elbow, your wrist, and finally the palm of your hand. He glanced at you before taking your hand into his two large ones and massaged your fingers and palm muscles.

Your hand looked so small in his, so dainty. You weren't some noblewoman; your hands were scarred and tough from a life of hard work, pulling up herbs and digging for roots. But in Arthur's hands, you felt pampered, like a lady.

He nibbled softly at the top of your ear before he kissed your temple, then your cheek. You turned your head, and he took advantage of your position and captured your lips, kissing you with a low moan as he let go of your hand and reached up to slide your chemise off your shoulders. 

"Mmmf!" you yelped in surprise, his mouth stifling you. 

"Mm-hmm," Arthur rumbled, a soothing affirmation as he continued to slide your chemise down, revealing your breasts to the open air. Instead of reaching for them, he instead ran his hands up and down your bare back, his soft caresses followed by deep muscle rubs. 

You bent forward in his lap so he could massage circles on your lower back, his thumbs pressing all the right pressure points. His fingers gripped your waist, and you could feel his bulge against your ass, pulsing with heat. 

He wrapped his arms around your waist and leaned back onto the bed, taking you with him. You lay on top of him, feeling the rough fabric of his shirt against your bare skin. He still hadn't touched your nipples, hadn't cupped your breasts, and you felt needy.

“Touch me,” you pleaded.

“Not yet, darlin’.” Arthur's hands rubbed your belly, stroked your sides, then he started to unbutton your pants. You lifted your hips as he finished, helping him slide them off you. Your cotton drawers were thigh high, scandalous, but they were nice for hot weather. 

"My, my," he uttered into your ear as his hands felt your bare thighs. "Such naughty underthings."

"Guess you'll have to take them away from me,” you joked. 

Arthur hummed. "Guess I will."

His hands found the ribbon on your drawers and slowly undid them, his fingers brushing softly against your skin. You felt spoiled, lying there as Arthur undressed you. He sat up again, lifting you up with him. His chest was warm against your back, his arms holding you oh so gently. Putting his hands on your hips, Arthur guided you to stand so your drawers and chemise could slide down your body. You kicked them away and tried to turn towards him, but he kept you still. 

"Don't move yet, darlin'."

He lay a kiss right above the curve of your rear, running his hands down your body, caressing the shape of your backside reverently.

“Beautiful,” he whispered before taking a hold of your hips again and turning you around. Leaning forward, he kissed your belly with the same reverence. His hands slid up your body to finally cup your breasts, kneading them gently before teasing your nipples between his fingers and thumbs. You cried out as the pleasure zipped through your body at his insistent touch.

“C’mere,” he murmured, moving you to straddle his lap. With one finger, he stroked your wet slit slowly, stopping at your clit. He pushed slightly, watching your quick intake of breath as your eyes fluttered shut.

“You want more?”

“Please,” you whispered.

Arthur laughed softly before he began to caress your center, a languid pace that drove you mad. He alternated between gentle brushes and deeper strokes, sometimes giving you the pressure you needed, other times barely touching you at all. Wriggling on his lap, your hands clutched his shirt collar tightly as he watched, a playful gleam in his eyes. 

“Arthur…”

“Hm?”

“Harder,” you whined.

“Oh? How much harder, sweetheart?”

“Just… harder!” You didn’t know how to articulate exactly what you wanted; you just knew that if he kept going at this rate, you would go crazy.

You were suddenly on your back, Arthur towering above you.

“Remember, you asked for this,” he muttered as he stood up and undid the buttons on his jeans. You watched as he released his cock and held it in his hand, stroking it slowly; it looked huge.

“Th-that won’t fit,” you mumbled.

“Oh, it’ll fit alright.” Arthur grabbed your knees and spread you wide open. “It’ll fit just fine.”

Kneeling between your legs, he took hold of his thick member and pushed into you.

“W-wait!” you gasped. 

He stopped moving. “Does it hurt?”

You looked away. “No, but…” You didn’t want to admit it, but you were a little scared. He was so big!

Arthur bent over and held your face in his hands. “Look at me, darlin’.”

You focused on the beautiful color of his eyes as he moved his hips forward, taking you slowly but surely.

“That’s it, just breathe. Focus on me. Good girl.”

You let out a breath and realized he was all the way in, his hips flush against you. You could feel his chest against yours, his lips an inch away.

“Arthur,” you sighed.

“Gonna take you now, nice and hard. Just like you asked.”

Before you could argue, he lifted his hips and slammed back into you, taking your breath away. He continued to pound into you as he kissed you feverishly, his tongue invading your mouth and claiming you as his. Wrapping your arms and legs around him, you clung to him, moving your hips with his, your bodies undulating together, losing yourself to his burning passion.

All too soon, he pulled away and turned you over on your stomach. His hands gripped your hips and lifted them up, tucking your knees under you to keep your butt in the air. 

“Wh-what—”

You were quickly silenced by Arthur’s hand over your mouth as he thrust inside of you from behind. Your muffled cry of surprise only made him chuckle.

“This’ll be good fer you,” he crooned. His hand left your mouth and soon you felt both his hands rubbing your back, his fingers working your muscles as his hips rolled slowly. You could feel each glorious inch of his cock moving in and out of you. He controlled his motions, keeping his thrusts slow and steady while he massaged the tension from your back, his hands warm on your exposed skin. Feeling his soothing touch juxtaposed with the sensual movements of his hips, you could only whimper helplessly.

As his hands wandered towards your waist, one hand went around and stroked your center. You felt him bend over you, his warm chest against your back.

“I want you to let go fer me,” he whispered into your ear as he stroked you firmer, faster. “I want to hear you scream my name.”

Then he thrust faster and harder, murmuring praises in your ear until the pleasure building up in you was too much, and you burst like fireworks, crying out his name like a prayer. The euphoria that enveloped you was enough to make you collapse, taking Arthur with you as he crushed you into the bed, his hips still moving against you.

“Damn, sweetheart, yer… so good…” He slurred as he pulled out of you at the last possible moment. You could feel his spend as he finished all over your ass. His harsh breaths tickled your ear as he rubbed his cock against your skin.

The two of you lay motionless together, sticky with his essence and sweat, and all you could do was breathe.

When Arthur finally rolled off you, you felt the cool air chill your skin and shivered. He immediately threw a blanket over the two of you, and pulled you back into his arms.

“Feelin’ relaxed, darlin’?”

You nodded, your eyelids heavy. A nap sounded really good right about now.

“Does that mean I can come back and give you a back rub anytime?” he teased.

“Only if you give me a front rub too,” you teased in return.

 Arthur just laughed and kissed your forehead.

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

End Notes: I almost went a little more rough with the sex, but I felt like I already built up this sorta playful low honor Arthur, so I just went with it. Hope you enjoyed this, @the-moon-kingdom!

[s4lticid]

The Shady as all Hell Whistleblower: Or why we shouldn’t take Romelle at face value.

Some firsts:

First and foremost, my deep thanks to the wonderful family at the Lotura Discord Server.  In the midst of dumping this stream of consciousness mess on you all, I may pull some ideas that were discussed there and are not original to me.  Where possible I will try and credit individuals, but if I miss anyone my deepest apologies and know that everyone there has had a great deal of influence over my thought process.  My love and thanks for all the great discussion and support – even the stuff I haven’t been present for!    

Second, this and the stuff to come right after, was the work of lots of thought and research that started right after S6 dropped.  That is a long time, and I wanted to get something out sooner but I have just been too swamped with RL, which has decided to become a giant, bloody, throbbing, pus-filled buboe blocking me from doing much of anything fun at all ever again.   Thus you will be treated to a stream of as much shit as I can spit out at once in the time I have to get this down, and it may not be in the best format or particularly well written, but here goes…  oh, and this is also another reason I may forget who said what in conversations exactly, because some of it happened nearly 2 months ago.

I am aware there have been a few metas written about Romelle.  I haven’t actually read any of them at this point, except for Leaking Hate’s awesome meta here, because  I didn’t want to get overly influenced by the ideas of others.  As such I have been on reading and participating in fandom even less that RL gave me a chance to.  So if you see something here that was said by someone outside of the Lotura Server and they are not credited, it is not me copying someone, I have just been holding on to it until I could post this.

That said, this builds off of some things LH posted in the above link, and I will do my best to credit those conversations I can remember reading and/or participating in within the Discord.

~oOo~ 

OKAY.

 I’m going to come right out and say it:  

Romelle is not who she says she is.

There are too many inconsistencies in her story.  So, let’s start at the very beginning and begin poking the holes to prove my point:

1.  Keith and Krolia find Romelle:

Keith and Krolia are in the Quantum Abyss riding a Space Whale and it brings them to a planet. Krolia takes a reading, and finds the same signal as the strange quintessence the Blade has been tracking on that planet.  

Note: Krolia first sees the readings from space and tracks them to the planet.  She doesn’t find any Quintessence signal anywhere else, she specifically states that it is strong and coming from exactly one place. 

It is coming from here:

So, if there was a moon base absolutely full of Alteans being drained for their quintessence, as they were shown later, why ever did such a larger source not register first and foremost rather than that cute little dome Romelle is in?

Speaking of that Dome, it’s pretty small, isn’t it?  It’s a bio-dome.  Meant for a few inhabitants.  Does this look like it could house a colony, or even a village realistically? No.  It can handle a handful, maybe a dozen people.  Probably, it was meant to house just one.  But we’ll get to that later.

Keith and Krolia break in and find Romelle, alone and by a riverside.  Washing clothes?  Why do that in her only clean water source when she has technology all around her? And make no mistake here, she is alone and demands help.

 ~oOo~

Now I am going to digress here for a moment before I go on to point 2, so I can point out a parallel to the original show, Defender of the Universe (to be referred to from here on as DotU for brevity’s sake, and for my fingers).

There are a LOT of nods to the original shows, (GoLion too), throughout VLD.  Some are flat out mirrors for the original, same plot ideas remade, lines taken and reused, Characters, Mechas, motives and situations, they’re all here, though sometimes reworked in very unexpected ways.  It’s beautiful seeing them all.

Finding the pretty Damsel alone by a stream, helpless, perhaps even passed out, is one plot device DotU used a LOT.  

For instance, when Allura’s Aunt Orla comes to visit, Haggar intercepts and captures her, and then takes her form and lies down to appear knocked out after an attack on her carriage.  She is found lying by a stream.  That was a plot to get to Allura:

Or how about the time Haggar herself was caught being pretty for a day – in apparently her original form – and cursed the person who saw her?  

Again, found by a river.

Fine, you say.  But this isn’t Haggar pretending to be Romelle.  That didn’t happen, right?

Oh but it did.  “It’ll Be a Cold Day”:

Ok, so she wasn’t found by a river this time.  But two out of three combined with the VLD writers’ way of reworking things make this a nice little reference point for this original trope.

Something else to note here is there is always some part of Haggar that is a tell.  Some part which she cannot disguise.  I would posit that we have one with VLD Romelle too: Her clothes.  As you go through this post, where you see images of other Alteans, please get a look at their garb.  There are several styles that are re-used among each of the people shown. However not one of them wears the same cut we see Romelle wear.  And yet someone does.  Who?  Haggar/Honerva.

No, I am not saying Romelle is actually Honerva/Haggar in disguise.  But she could easily be in league with her, and at the very least she definitely is not the innocent she appears and claims to be. Not just because of these fun little references to the original, but they are nice signposts along the way.  

 ~oOo~

2.  Romelle’s Story:  The Colony

Romelle starts her story to the Paladins by telling them she comes from a planet where there are thousands of Alteans.  

This bears repeating:  Thousands. Of living Alteans.  

Not “were” thousands, but are.  

Lotor apparently hunted down every Altean who had been off planet at the time Altea was destroyed, and their offspring, to bring them to the first Colony.  

Here is an image of the beginnings of that colony:

Here’s another:

Green as far as the eye can see and a giant ship that, as Leaking Hate pointed out in her meta and on Discord,  is easily the size of the dome we were shown above where Keith and Krolia first found Romelle.  

That ship would never fit in the bio-dome.  And as the upper picture of these two states in the subtitles, Lotor chose a remote planet beyond the Quantum Abyss, not in the Abyss.  A planet with a sun such that plants could grow, not a pulsar.

This means it cannot same planet as Romelle was found on, because she states the colony planet is beyond the Abyss, so the Abyss and the Pulsar within it already existed back then.  Neither could that ship ever hope to fit inside that dome, as is shown in her memory.

And that colony that was built, shown in the lower picture?  Is easily twice as big, or more, as the one Romelle is found in.

 3.  Romelle’s Story:  The Second Colony

Generations ago, once the Colony was very successful, Lotor began testing Alteans for special characteristics such that they could survive the journey to and live on a “Second Colony”. “To better our chances for survival”.

Let’s start with who was chosen.

Around Nine Thousand Five Hundred to Nine Thousand years ago – assuming time for Lotor to mature enough to do all this, knowing that he ages slowly thanks to the writers – Lotor would have started the first Colony.  The last people brought might have been found within a couple of hundred years of that range, but probably less.  

Think about how long a time that is.

Now, get a look at the faces that came in with some of the survivors found way back then:

 Now look at who is being tested:

(Note: I circled a few faces, but if you really look you will see many of the same ones from the above pic)

And note two of the faces I circled.

We know Alteans have a long life span.  Far longer than Humans.  But we also know from Allura’s reaction that they shouldn’t be anything like at least Nine Thousand Years or more.

So how are First-comer Refugee Alteans alive and young at the same time – ‘Generations Later’ – as both Romelle and Bandor?  

Let’s argue that they could be.  Bandor and Romelle were just younger then and not chosen.  So then Why have neither of them aged at all by the time Romelle related that eventually Bandor was old enough to be tested and passed?

And look, here are some of the first people chosen.  Recognize at least one face and clothing? (Not including Petrulius who is a contemporary of Romelle’s as she identifies him on the Moon Facility)

Sure they could be chosen much later, but then why have they not aged at all?

So were Romelle and Bandor refugees?  If so then why did Romelle say she was born onto that planet?

Were they born on the planet as she claims? 

Did Lotor start testing for special Alteans earlier than she says?  Or was it really later?  If the latter then how are these original refugees still so young?

However you look at it, her timeline does not add up,

 4.  Romelle’s Story:  The Monument

Thanks in advance to Trisha, Giobana, Crystal Rebellion, Leaking Hate and anyone else who contributed to the conversation that led to this one.

Romelle shows us in her memory that there was a memorial wall to those who went to the Second Colony. Whether she mentions it to the Paladins, I don’t know, but what is shown in the episode looks very much like a memorial to the Fallen.

The base of the Lotor’s statue is covered in names, and we see it cracked with age.  People go there to pay respects and leave flowers – and not just any flowers, but pink flowers.  

This kind of memorial is what you do for Fallen Soldiers and Fighters in a struggle, not people who are alive off somewhere on another colony and whom you hope to see again once the struggle is over. We even see this is a cross-cultural, cross-species, and intergalactic practice when we see the monument planet Pidge first traced Matt to. 

And what do we know about Pink to Alteans?  From Allura:

Fallen Warriors.  Not people who have gone to a second colony in the hopes of keeping their people alive.

Actually, let’s look at that little tale there.  Any colony, in order to be successful, requires a genetically diverse population, a breeding population.  A handful of people at a time, because they test as special is not going to provide that. Particularly not in what has been portrayed as a potentially dangerous and harsh journey and place – that alone would be safer in numbers.

Add to that we clearly see that Lotor has separated breeding pairs – Couples – in the few images we see of those chosen.  If he is trying to establish a new colony why would he logically do that?  The Alteans are intelligent and have some technological expertise, at least some of them, how did no one question that?

I call Shenanigans.  

Whatever was going on, it was not another colony and the Alteans all knew it.

This wall?  Is a War Memorial honoring warriors who the Alteans think are probably dead. 

 5.  Romelle’s Story:  The Communicator

When Bandor is chosen, he is portrayed as giving Romelle a communicator to try and stay in touch with her. 

This, despite his being portrayed by her as someone who deeply believed in the importance of not compromising the location of each colony through stray communications that could be picked up and tracked.  He is portrayed as explaining to Romelle, in such a ways that impies he has explained it to her time and again, why it was so very important that there be no communication.  He seems to understand and believe that it could be life and death.  But he creates one anyway?  

And then, he doesn’t think to give it to her until he is about to board the ship, in front of the guards:

Look at this picture above.  If you zoom in, everyone is looking at them and watching.

This whole part of the story is flat out ridiculous, and makes zero sense. There is no logic to this chain of events or his giving her the thing only at that very moment and not before testing just in case or something.  

It is a lie on the level a six year old might tell.  It shouldn’t even be considered as more than that.  And it is here, I think, that we fly into the realm of pure fantasy. Everything up till now was probably half-truths and misdirection.  From here on out though, her story really starts to fall apart and it is very likely we are seeing total and full fabrication.

 6. Romelle’s Story: The Dome

We know Romelle never gets chosen for the second Colony, or at least she never states that she does. Her never being chosen for the second colony wouldn’t be something to hide, it could totally benefit her story.  It would also help to explain why they didn’t try to warn anyone or stop the testing once they found the moon base – a fact that no one questioned, which itself is suspicious.  But she implies by her story that she remains at home, among her people, all alone and depressed because now she has no family.  

So she is supposedly still at the original colony when Bandor finally does contact her.   He has crashed by the woods.  She goes to him and what does she see?

The roof of the Dome. Which we have already established does not exist on the First Colony.  So, where is she?  Why is she now in this Dome?

What happened in the intervening time that she is not telling us, and is this story about Bandor crashing and the communicator even true?  Or are we now in fully manipulative fantasy?

There appear to be no other people in the Dome at all.  At least neither Keith nor Krolia relate having seen even one single person to corroborate her story.  No other Alteans on this original Colony she is supposed to still be on, which is where Keith and Krolia supposedly find her, and where she states very clearly in the beginning of her story that there are thousands of living, healthy Alteans.Why did Keith and Krolia not see one other person? 

Why does Romelle know about a flight bay on the outside of the Dome such that she can take Keith and Krolia to it, but they are supposed to be on an open planet?

When Romelle shows them to said pod, she actually says that “No one else here would know how to fly them if they wanted to”.  She represents in this line, once again, that this is the First Colony and there are other people here.  So where are they?

 7.  The Moon Base

Let’s begin with a question I asked at the beginning.

Why, when they were coming in to the planet, did Krolia see  

no quintessence signal at all

 from that moon base?  

These supposed people are supposedly being harvested – and Keith uses the active verb. 

These people

Are.  Not. Dead

.

The signal of Quintessence from a place so full of so many people, and the energy being harvested from them, not to mention the pods of Quintessence being harvested off in a storage room somewhere, being collected and stored for pickup, would have logically dwarfed the signal coming from Romelle and her little Dome.  They would have ended up here first, not at the Dome.

Even when they finally get there, at first Krolia only says she sees something down on the moon, not that she is getting any kind of Quintessence signal there.

Why?  Because there isn’t any.

The pods and the people are a mirage, created by them and for them; woven out of their own pre-existing prejudice and hate, and so very easy for them to believe.

Lotor never was portrayed as taking so very many people at once.  For that many people to still be alive and being drained on that station, almost every single Altean would have to still be alive and being used.  

A key thing Lotor has been portrayed as is not wasteful. Realistically, and if this were true, Alteans would have died of age.  Some even may have died from the process itself.  

Why would you keep a dead body in a pod like that for generations, and just build another?  

You wouldn’t.  You would dispose of the corpse and reuse the pod.

There wouldn’t be so very many of them if what Keith and Krolia saw was real, and was what they thought.

Let’s get a look at the pods, btw.  They are very reminiscent of Earth Batteries or Quintessence Capsules themselves, aren’t they?  Why do you think that is?  Perhaps because they are being manufactured from the thoughts and imaginings of Keith and Krolia?

Here is what real Galra Pod Tech looks like – this is the most recent example, but we HAVE seen it before in earlier seasons.  I am just too lazy to go and find it.

Lotor is a Prince, with access to resources and a scientist who designs and creates his own tech advances, ships and fleets.  To top that he has access to all of the best and latest technology in the empire.   

Does this really look anything like real, known and hi-tech Galra technology, except in a passing, functional way?

And why, after they have seen this and come to the conclusions they have, if the colony is right there and they have not only the proof but are themselves outsiders, giving them credibility….  WHY do Keith and Krolia – both Altruistic heroic do-gooders – not go and try to warn the rest of the Colony?  Get them to stop participating or submitting to the tests?

Again, that makes no sense at all according to their personalities.  Instead, they run headlong back to Allura to blow the whistle on evil, evil Lotor. No stops, no questions, no thought about the others still at risk.  

Also, no proof aside from this one little girl and her story, which without other evidence amounts to nothing more than Heresay.  No pictures, no video and no attempt to grab a jar of Quintessence to prove their case.

We find out in S7, that Keith at least sent a message to Kolivan and asked him to send a squad out there.  But what did Kolivan’s team find?

Nothing.  The place was empty.  “Cleaned out”.  And judging by the lighting when they got there, it was already probably empty and shut down.  They just imagined the pods.  How else would it be empty?  It’s not like Lotor had any time to clear it.  Neither did Honerva, if Kolivan acted right away – and honestly, Kolivan would have acted as fast as he could.

Speaking of Honerva:

 8.  On the Castle of Lions

Honerva is watching through Mommy Cam Kuron.  Nowhere in this episode is she at all surprised or disturbed to see another living Altean.

We find out later when she speaks to Lotor that she is aware that he has continued her work and succeeded where she could not.  That work was partly involving Alteans, but I will get to what that means later and probably in a different post.

So she is aware that Alteans exist, but she is still not at all surprised to see Romelle there in the castle.  At all.  As if it is part of her plan.  Could Romelle be in league with Honerva?  A part of a plan?

OR, thanks to the Blade being compromised by the alliance with Lotor – which Keith points out in S7 – Honerva found out about the investigation into the Quintessence early on into the new Alliance and traced the path herself.  She has access to all databases and resources in the Empire, after all, and we do not know what she was doing for a looong time while a lot of other things were going down in S5 and S6.

Kolivan and the blade, despite their own resources, were having trouble tracing the source and route of the quintessence.  Perhaps what they did find was carefully fed to them when Honerva was ready for them. When both she and Romelle were prepared.

And let’s talk a moment about how not one of the members of the team, including both Hunk and Kuron – both great voices of calm and reason for the team – questioned any of the discrepancies of the story I mentioned above, or Keith and Krolia’s actions, lack of corroboration and lack of trying to help the surviving colonists.  

They have started to build a relationship with the Galra, learn their culture and working hard for peace for months and months.  They were all starting to get to know and like Lotor even.  They know the careful balance going on right now in the empire.  And then one girl shows up with an MIA team member and has an uncorroborated story, and starts ordering people to shoot Lotor down, not caring that Allura is there too.  Even after she is told that Allura is there she doesn’t care.

Her story starts preying on emotion and projecting her own obvious desire to see him dead.  And the team members all get very emotional and ready for violence as well, as if the last several months never happened.  Their reasoning starts to slip, they don’t question or think out what they’re being told, not even the ones that normally do that no matter what.

And then we have this foreshadowing from waaaay near the beginning of the show:

Keith is still a hothead in many ways.  And he was too impatient to get Lotor to be focused against mind control.

He shows up on the Castle ready to rush into the rift and attack.  Even after hearing that Allura would be caught in the crossfire he presses to try and do just that and has to be bitchslapped by Lance.

The sheer venom and anger in all of the Paladins’ responses once Romelle is done with her story is off the scale.  Especially Hunk and Shiro.  Shiro’s tone when he says once Lotor and Allura land they will separate them and “Take Lotor down!” is a tone I have never once heard from him in the entire series.  It’s sheer rage fueled bloodlust.  This is not any of them.  This is them being manipulated.

A brief thought about S7…  Never mind that Romelle’s Altean frankly sucks, and she seems able to read Hunk’s mind – convenient that.  How about Romelle identifying Lotor’s fleet by sight?  When did she ever see enough of that, while living isolated on the colony, to know his ships by sight?

 SO. Who or what is Romelle?

Well, we have seen how characters are reworked from the original.  And there is one major character from the original we still haven’t seen.

Merla.

It makes no sense to bring in a new character now.  But merging her with another character already brought in, one who disliked and enjoyed thwarting Lotor as much as the original Romelle did?  That is not only possible, it is plausible, considering many of the character merges and re-works the VLD Team has already done throughout the series.

Merla is telepathic, but more, she can control people.  Partly via telepathy, but most often she uses the trope known as Emotion Bomb:

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EmotionBomb

It is so much easier to control people through emotions and insecurities they already have.  And by the behavior of the Paladins that day? That is exactly what was happening. Not one of them acted rationally or completely within the current development of their character to Romelle and her appearance/story.  Not even Keith and Krolia did when they found her, as pointed out earlier.

They are all being manipulated and at least mostly, lied to. They are pawns and Romelle a tool to get Lotor out of their Alliance and out of his safe space with Voltron.  This is why Honerva was not surprised about Romelle being there on the ship.  This is how Honerva knew about the Alteans and the research when she finally got Lotor back onto her ship to try and talk to him.

Honerva is back to herself and she wants to get back to her people, probably to lead them.  She wants her son back now that she has herself again too.  To get even a chance at that she needs to get him away from his safe and stabilizing place with the Voltron Coalition.  She wants his Sincline ship, so she wouldn’t need Voltron anymore.  She certainly wouldn’t want him cozying up to Alfor’s Daughter.

Honerva has put a nice chess game onto the table, getting Romelle on her side, manipulating the Paladins, and forcing the breach in the budding New Empire and Alliance.  

Romelle is pissed, perhaps understandably, and has a bone to pick.  She may have been exiled to that planetoid by her people and Lotor, for starting shit on the Colony, and found there by Honerva, or she may have been set up there by Honerva.  In the end the result is the same.  Perfect tool.

Because Lotor had not been harvesting Alteans all this time.  Romelle, as he said in the episode, was not telling the truth and did not know what she spoke of.  What would be the point of that, there is no research in that, only death.  No, he has been developing fighters like the one we saw in the end of S7.  Fighters that fuse Altean Alchemic Magic and fighting skill from the pilot, allowing the pilot to see and experience straight through the ship’s sensors, and powering the ship through their own Quintessence – very like the Lions only more.  (My thanks to Crystal Rebellion who helped me develop this base idea with this meta.  There will be more to come on this.)

The special Alteans who went with him from the colony were test pilots, heroes to their people, to help ensure their survival.  A new protective military force.  .  

Test pilots have a dangerous job, one that is known to lead to death.  And who knows, maybe some Galra had snooped around at times. Regardless, that memorial to fallen warriors was just exactly that, and all the Altean people knew exactly what they were volunteering for.  

Even Lotor said a few were martyred for an important cause to save the future for thousands.  One cannot become a martyr unless everyone knows what they did and why.

Lotor is their greatest Hero and Savior.  And now his Mother is likely there – having forsaken the Druids – and has given the Colony a story of betrayal, and the Komar to perfect their fighters.  Perhaps a wounded and/or Comatose Lotor is with her if she managed to pull him out of the rift first.  But regardless, the Alteans are not friends to Allura, Voltron or the Coalition.  They are going to see Allura and the Paladins as enemies, who betrayed and hurt their leader and protector.

That fighter was not a part of Sendak’s fleet, she was a forward thrust.  A shot across the Paladin’s bow.  The Alteans will be hunting Voltron.

I’ll leave you with a parting thought.

The writers also said in the end, we would look back and see that Lotor was never lying.  And that he came from a genuine place, though he never had the tools and choices the rest of the Paladins were given in their upbringings and lives.  And lastly, that his feelings for Allura were indeed genuine.

I am working on a meta for Lotor.  I’ll get there soon.

My thanks again to everyone on the Lotura Discord.  You are all amazing, wonderful people and I am lucky to have met you and to be able to discuss ideas with you.

Thanks to Crystal Rebellion for helping me last minute find links at 2 AM so I can get a bit of sleep before work

And thanks to the love of my life for putting up with me being tied up so late tonight. 

Without your support I can do so little.

[thatcrazyfanfictionwriter]

Secret of the Sewers: Rescue and Revenge

Casey's head was throbbing like crazy as he began to come to. He went to rub his head, surprised when he found his wrists connected to each other. He looked at his hands, noting the futuristic cuffs with a note of disdain.

"Dammit." he cursed. "They got us."

April let out a groan from the ground next to Casey. He looked over at her, gently cradling her as she woke up. As he did, he noticed a strange straw dangling from the corner of her mouth. That was about the time he noticed a similar straw in his own mouth.

"What the-?" he let out, going to grab the straw.

Before he could, Splinter's tail wrapped around his wrist, preventing him from doing so.

"I would advise against that, Mr. Jones." Splinter warned. "These things are what are allowing us to breathe."

Casey went wide-eyed when he saw the rat master leaning against the wall, as well as Mr. Murakami. What really shocked him was the unconscious form of Leatherhead, bindings around his wrists, ankles, and even a muzzle over his mouth.

"Holy chalupa..." he let out. "They got all of us."

"Indeed." Murakami agreed. "These creatures were quite thorough in their hunt. Whatever the turtles and their sister did to anger them, it must have been quite a spectacle."

"From what we've seen of them, they're not one to do things by halves." April commented, sitting up and leaning against the wall of the cell.

"Yes." Splinter nodded, looking at his bound wrists. "I can only hope that their situation is less dire than our own."

...

Mikey was pacing back and forth across the floor of the rebel base. His fingers were running through his hair as he grew more and more anxious.

"Oh man, I can't believe this is happening!" He exclaimed. "They got everyone we knew! I mean, I can see them snagging April, possibly Casey too, but sensei, Murakami and LH?! That's insane!"

Raph whacked his brother upside the head, causing him to stop pacing. He shook his head, facing his red brother.

"Feel better?" Raph questioned.

Mikey thought for a minute.

"A little." he admitted.

"We need to find them." Leo declared. "Traximus, do you know where Zanramon would take his prisoners?"

"While he would normally send his prisoners to Incarceron, considering who he is dealing with, I doubt he would be willing to risk a repeat of what happened when he imprisoned the five of you." Traximus answered.

"I see our reputation around there is still intact." Mikey remarked.

"But Incarceron was his high security prison." Donny remembered. "Where else would he send them?"

"That is just it, Donatello." Mona Lisa spoke up. "I do not believe they are to be 'sent' anywhere. If anything, they are to be 'delivered'."

"Delivered?" Leo repeated.

"To Zanramon himself." Traximus concluded.

A silence fell over the siblings before Raph voiced their collective opinion.

"Frikken shitaki mushrooms on a stick!" He cursed.

"This is gonna make things a lot trickier." Leo dreaded.

"Hey, it's not like our lives were ever easy before." Hisako reminded.

"So, how are we gonna infiltrate Zanramon's place or whatever, rescue our friends, and put the whammy on our least favorite Prime Leader, all the while getting out alive?" Donny proposed.

"I don't know." Leo admitted. "I don't know."

...

With Splinter and the others, Commander Mozar escorted the five captives down to a private chamber where the Prime Leader was waiting. Two Triceratons were dragging Leatherhead, the croc still heavily sedated to prevent him from fighting. Casey scanned the area they were entering, Splinter doing the same.

"Uh, Splinter?" Casey whispered. "Is it just me, or does this place look like a private torture chamber?"

"Keep your wits about you, Mr. Jones." Splinter told him. "These are not the first adversaries that sought to break us."

April just let out a whimper, staying close to Casey as the group was finally brought before the Prime Leader. He looked as intimidating as ever, though now that they met him in person, the group could see some strange burns across his skin. April recognized them almost immediately.

"It looks like he was dumped in some sort of acid." she muttered quietly. "I wonder what-"

"Welcome, inferior creatures." Zanramon created, cutting off April's train of thought. "I suppose you five are wondering why I had my men bring you here."

"Actually, I was wondering what happened to your face." Casey quipped. "Lose a game of acid dunk tank?"

Zanramon growled in response.

"If you must know, these burns are thanks to the four Gamarons and the humanoid that you five ally yourselves with." He snarled.

"They did that?" April questioned. "But how? They're not capable of-"

"Silence!" Zanramon ordered.

Mozar then stepped forward, stabbing April in the back with a stun baton. She screamed and fell to her knees, Casey catching her as Splinter stepped forward.

"Enough!" Splinter snapped. "Your quarrel is with my children, not with them!"

"Any ally of those five fugitives is an enemy of mine." Zanramon dismissed. "And you have the nerve to call them your children so flippantly? It seems you are unaware of just how many crimes your so-called 'children' committed."

"Then perhaps you would like to enlighten us of these supposed crimes." Murakami spoke up.

"They assaulted officers of the Triceraton armada." Zanramon began. "They stole personal property of the Prime leader not once, but twice! They instigated a riot in our maximum security prison, as well as attempted an escape! They caused a full rebellion in my Arena of Carnage, freeing all of my gladiators! And, to top it all off, they held me hostage before feeding me to a Kraathatrogon!"

"I'm guessing that's the reason for your bacon face." Casey assumed.

Zanramon was seething with rage, to the point that he walked up to Casey and slapped him across the face. He fell to the ground, his face stinging.

"It seems that everything associated with those five pests is wrought with dissent and disrespect." the Triceraton snarled.

"Only to those who deserve it." Splinter remarked.

Zanramon lifted his hand to smack Splinter, but the rat didn't even flinch. Realizing that giving into his anger was pointless, Zanramon lowered his arm, adjusting his robe and taking a deep breath.

"You are merely eating away at your own time." Zanramon warned. "This planet's very existence lay on the line, and you stand here making witty remarks and trying my patience."

"Then I suggest you get the point." Splinter told him.

"Very well." Zanramon replied. "Tell me where your 'children' are hiding. I get them, and perhaps I will allow your planet to become part of the great Triceraton Republic."

"Never." Splinter said firmly.

"Fine, we'll do this the hard way." Zanramon declared. "Prep them, and start with the rat."

Mozar grabbed Splinter, dragging him over to a large, metal slab. He slammed him against it, thick bindings immediately grabbing hold of Splinter. The rat master instinctively struggled as several guards held back Casey, April, and Murakami.

"Even the most resilient of prisoners always give up their secrets." Zanramon bragged as Mozar picked up a menacing looking helmet. "Because we pry them right from your brain. Though I will warn you, the process is… excruciatingly painful."

Mozar slammed the helmet down on Splinter's head and it latched on. The rat stiffened as Zanramon leaned in.

"Last chance to do this the easy way." he warned.

Splinter remained silent, his fists clenched in anticipation for what was to come. Zanramon snorted, then straightened up.

"Fine." he let out.

All of a sudden, the helmet began to spark wildly. Splinter started growling in discomfort from the helmet's effects. The groans soon began to become louder as the pain grew, his claws scratching at the table as he struggled to free himself, the helmet delving deeper into his mind.

...

"Zanramon wouldn't have them brought to his throne room." Traximus surmised. "He's most likely taken them to his private torture chamber."

"Do you know where that is?" Raph questioned.

"I'm afraid not." Traximus lamented.

That's when Hisako brightened.

"I bet I could find out where it is." she suggested.

"You got a lot of ground to cover." Donny told her. "You sure you can handle it?"

"This place isn't as big as the whole city of New York." Hisako argued. "Besides, what choice do we have?"

She assumed a meditative position on the ground, branching out to try and find the others. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then, she suddenly doubled over, clutching her head and screaming in agony.

"Hisako!" The turtles cried out.

She kept screaming, her fingers digging into her skull as blood began to run down her face. Still, despite the extreme pain she was in, she could feel another presence suffering with her.

"Sensei!" she cried out.

"Sensei?" Leo repeated. "What about Sensei?"

"He-!" she convulsed again, curling up tighter as she tried to fight through the pain. "He's hurting!"

She writhed on the ground, drawing in a crowd of concerned revolutionaries. Blood was now beginning to flow from her eyes, much to Donny's grave concern.

"Hisako, get out of there!" He shouted. "You're killing yourself!"

It was unclear whether she heard him or not, but she did not stop, reaching out desperately for her father's mental spirit.

"SENSEI!" she screamed, both physically and mentally.

...

In the midst of all his pain and agony, Splinter somehow managed to hear his daughter calling out to him. Needing something to focus on, he latched onto her voice, calling out to her.

"Hisako..." he mentally wheezed. "My child… is that you?"

"Sensei… it hurts… what's happening?"

"He is… trying… to probe my mind…" He barely replied. "For you…"

"No… He can't..."

"I need you… my daughter…" Splinter requested. "Use me… as a channel..."

"I can't! It's too much…!"

"Yes... you can!" Splinter told her. "I… have faith… in you… be strong!"

"I'll… try..."

...

Hisako's screaming began to peter out as her entire body began to glow. Small bits of rubble began to shake around her, floating off the ground. The turtles looked at this, realizing what was about to happen.

"Everybody!" Mikey shouted. "Hit the deck!"

The others went for cover, the rebels following suit as Hisako began floating in the air. She let out an ear piercing scream as energy exploded outward, sending everything and everyone flying away from her. Light poured from her eyes and mouth in perhaps the greatest display of power she'd ever shown.

...

The helmet attached to Splinter's head began dancing with green power. The lights flickered and the room began to shake. Casey and April exchanged looks, then grabbed each other and hit the deck. April dragged Murakami down as well, urging him to take cover. Then, the helmet completely exploded, sending out a wave of green energy that seemed to come out of Splinter himself. His eyes were glowing for a moment as his bindings disintegrated, the energy freeing him.

The wave of power knocked all of the Triceratons back and freed the other four captives. More than that, the feeling of power washing over him caused Leatherhead to stir.

"Oracle..." he groaned, fighting off the tranquilizers keeping him down.

The light died from Splinter's eyes as he slid from the table, disoriented and shaken from what had just happened. April quickly helped steady him, looking at him in surprise.

"Was that-?" she began.

"Hisako, yes." Splinter replied. "She felt the same pain I did, and helped to free me from that accursed device."

"Oracle… pain..." Leatherhead snarled, his eyes beginning to glow.

Casey saw the croc beginning to liven up and got an idea.

"Yeah, these guys hurt Hisako's dad." Casey explained. "And when they did that, she felt his pain. She was screaming, crying out, because of what these monsters were doing."

Leatherhead snarled at the thought, his eyes becoming bright red as the Triceratons were beginning to come to. Casey took a step back, then utter the phrase that signed their death warrants.

"If it had gone on any longer, they might have killed her." he told the croc.

With that, Leatherhead snapped up and barreled at the Triceratons. He picked one up and threw him into a group of others, knocking them down. He then whipped his tail around and smacked another Triceraton back. As one ran up, he leapt onto him and slashed at his face, causing him to cry out before falling to the ground.

"Restrain this beast!" Zanramon ordered.

Leatherhead snapped his head around and snarled at him before running straight at him. Zanramon stood his ground, catching Leatherhead's hands and wrestling with him. As the two struggled against one another, Casey grabbed Murakami as April continued helping Splinter.

"We need to get out of here." April insisted. "More Triceratons will be coming, and even with LH worked into a blood frenzy, I doubt he'll be able to hold them all off."

"Agreed." Splinter concurred. "We must escape and the sooner the better."

"What about Leatherhead?" Casey asked.

"He is strong of will and spirit." Splinter reassured as they got moving. "I have a feeling he will not be captive to them for long."

"Yo, LH!" Casey called out. "Hisako's waiting for ya!"

Spurred by the idea of seeing his precious Oracle again, LH gave Zanramon a hearty shove, sending him flying into a wall. The croc then lumbered after the group on all fours. With the mutant croc back among their ranks, the five bolted out of the room and down the hallway.

"Yoshi-kun." Murakami spoke up. "Do you know where we are going?"

"Yes." Splinter answered, slowly pulling himself from April's grip and taking the lead. "Hisako showed me the way."

...

In the aftermath of Hisako's mental bomb, the psychic had promptly dropped to the ground, motionless and groaning. Raph and Mikey hoisted her up while Donny checked for vital signs.

"She's alright," Donny reported. "But she's spent a shell ton of energy."

Traximus pulled himself out from under a pile of weapons, looking at Hisako with surprise.

"I am thankful that she chose a pacifist route when we crossed paths in the Arena." he said quietly.

"She's very selective on who she gets violent over." Mikey told him.

Hisako groaned in Raph and Mikey's grip, her head lolling about as she tried to focus.

"Sen...sei..." she let out, her voice weak and cracking.

"Take it easy sis." Raph told her. "You put on a shell of a show."

"Escaped..." she winced, weakly pointing off in the distance. "Coming… Need… to help..."

Her hand became shakier with each word before her eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out, her arm flopping down once more.

"I think I know where she wants us to go." Leo deduced. "Trax, you mind carrying her?"

"Not at all." Traximus replied, plucking up Hisako and draping her across his shoulder.

The group then went down the direction Hisako was pointing.

...

Splinter and the others made their way out of the hallways, and down into the sewers to avoid detection.

"We should be safe down here." April said, though it was clear she wasn't quite certain about her statement.

LH began sniffing the air, his eyes still bright and he was still on all fours.

"Not… alone..." he snarled.

Casey and Murakami readied themselves as April held Splinter, still recovering from the mental strain. Suddenly, a cluster of shadows began to approach the group, making their way around the corner. The first to emerge was Traximus, a bloody Hisako still on his back. The second he laid eyes on the sight, LH completely lost it. He charged forward and tackled Traximus to the ground, ready to claw him to pieces. Fortunately, the turtles sprang forward and grabbed his arms.

"Whoa, Leatherhead!" Mikey called out. "It's cool!"

"This is Traximus." Leo explained. "He's a friend."

Splinter cradled his daughter, who had been knocked to the ground in Leatherhead's haste. As he held her, her eyes fluttered open and she smiled slightly.

"Hi dad..." she whispered.

"Hello my child." Splinter greeted back. "I knew you could do it."

LH turned towards Hisako, hearing her voice. He quickly went over to her and caressed her face, the glow dying from his eyes as she reached up and returned the touch.

"Oracle..." The croc said quietly.

"Hey big guy..." Hisako replied. "Don't kill Traximus. He's a good guy."

"If you... say so." Leatherhead relented.

"Aww." Mikey let out. "He acts all big and mean, but he's really just a big softie."

He then realized Traximus hadn't moved from where LH had pinned him, no doubt afraid to provoke the croc anymore.

"Dude, you can get up now." Mikey told him.

Traximus then got back to his feet and rejoined the others, keeping a wary eye on the croc.

"We're just happy you're all ok." Donny told them.

Mona Lisa then let out a cough.

"Perhaps we should retreat back to base camp before the Prime Leader sends out a search party?"

"What about Zanramon?" Raph asked.

"Hisako is in no condition to do anything to him right now." Leo told him. "We need to fall back and give her time to rest. Once she's fully rested and we have a plan, then we make our move."

Raph nodded in response before the group retreated.

...

Back in the torture chamber, Zanramon had just picked himself up as the troops not decimated by Leatherhead began to get up. Mozar dislodged himself from a broken table, his metal arm off to the side. As he fetched it and reattached it, he turned to the Prime Leader in fear and shame. He knelt down, bowing his head.

"Forgive me, Prime Leader." he begged. "The creatures have all escaped."

"This will not stand!" Zanramon declared. "Prepare communications to broadcast another message! It is clear that we have been too generous with these inferior pests."

Mozar gave a salute, then rushed off to do as he was told.

...

Once the group returned to base camp, Hisako was laid to rest on a small blanket off to the side. Leatherhead curled around her, acting as her guardian and pillow as she slept. Splinter took the time to rest as well, the mental strain from earlier still weighing heavily on him. All the while, April and Casey took the opportunity to meet their new alien friends.

"So, you're the alien salamander Raph told us about." April said to Lisa.

"Salamandarian." Lisa corrected. "And yes. You may call me Mona Lisa."

Casey grinned as he elbowed Raph playfully.

"Guess Hisako's not the only one who's attracted to powerful reptiles." he quipped.

"Oh get over yourself." Raph replied, playfully pushing him.

The two laughed as Leo introduced Traximus. The blue turtle also took the opportunity to apologize for earlier.

"Sorry about Leatherhead almost ripping your face off." he apologized. "He's extremely protective of Hisako."

"And it didn't help that I worked him into a frenzy so we could escape." Casey added, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry."

"It is quite alright." Traximus insisted. "It is not hard to see how protective he is of her."

"You have no idea." Leo replied. "The guy would both die and kill for her."

"At the same time if he could." Donny added.

As the group continued talking, Monza-Ram came running up with a distressed look on his face.

"Everyone!" He called out. "Zanramon is making another announcement!"

Everyone quickly gathered around a small holographic projector, even Splinter and a semi-conscious Hisako joining, the latter on LH's back. Monza-Ran turned on the projector, showing an image of Prime Leader Zanramon.

"It has come to my attention that I have become far too lenient with my ultimatum regarding the Gamarons and their allies." Zanramon addressed. "They have escaped justice for far too long, and I have grown tired waiting for you insects to hand them over. Because of this, you now have one hour to hand them over to me. Otherwise, your planet will feel the might of my Decimator Cannon!"

There was a collective gasp from every single revolutionary in the base camp. Lisa's hands flew to her mouth, her eyes going wide as she fell to her knees, her face a paler shade of blue. The hologram then cut out as a stunned silence filled the camp. The turtles looked around at their allies, feeling more than a little apprehensive about Zanramon's threat.

"Okay, I'll bite." Donny spoke up. "What's a Decimator cannon?"

"It is the ultimate weapon of the Triceraton republic." Monza Ram answered. "It is a deadly laser that can cut through to the center of a planet, detonating its molten core."

"Many planets have been obliterated by the terrible weapon." Lisa let out, shivering slightly. "Including Salamandaria."

The turtles were left speechless at the revelation.

"Can… can he really do that?" Donny asked.

"He can." Traximus dreaded. "And will unless his demands are met, or we manage to destroy that weapon."

"Then we got to get to Zanramon now!" Raph insisted. "We need to change his mind so he leaves before blowing up the earth!"

"Even if Hisako was in a state that she could perform such a feat, I do not believe it would do much good." Splinter spoke up.

"Yoshi is right." Murakami agreed. "I have heard that amount of hatred and venom before, from none other than Oroku Saki. Even if you convinced him that you five were not on this planet, he would simply destroy Earth out of frustration and anger."

"Then we gotta take out that weapon." Leo decided. "... uh, any ideas on how?"

A heavy silence filled the room once more, then one of the all-stars went to speak. However, Monza Ram quickly shushed him, giving him a pointed look. Leo noticed this, not needing Hisako's telepathy to know something was up.

"If one of you guys has something to say, then now's the time." Leo told them.

Monza Ram shook his head instantly, but the all-star he had shushed refused to listen.

"I will not hold my tongue any longer." the All Star insisted. "Our blind silence has caused enough pain and suffering."

"Cathar be silent!" Monza Ram ordered.

"We were once the team in charge of the Decimator cannon." a second all-star spoke up, much to Monza Ram's fury.

"Mor-Tax!" Monza Ram exclaimed.

"We know how it works, how to arm and disarm it, and how to destroy it." Cathar concluded.

"It is what we were arrested for before we were thrown into the games." Mor-Tax added.

"Tell us everything you know." Donny insisted.

The two all-stars began their explanations as Monza Ram turned away. Leo looked at him in confusion, following him towards the corner of the base. The Triceraton was grumbling to himself, several expletives slipping past his lips.

"Why did you want your knowledge of the Decimator cannon a secret?" Leo asked.

Monza Ram sighed, his anger giving way to what looked like resignation and exhaustion.

"My men and I were loyal to Zanramon." He explained. "We followed orders and destroyed many planets for the glory of the Triceraton Republic. We never thought to question what we were doing… until the day we found a young Salamandarian boy carrying a young hatchling hiding on the ship."

"Sal Commander." Leo realized.

"They were children, innocent beings." Monza Ram recounted. "It is easy to forget that such creatures exist in times of war. They were a stark reminder of exactly what we were doing every time we fired that cannon."

He sagged to the ground, leaning against the stone wall.

"We destroyed their home." He let out, turning to Mona Lisa, who was being comforted by Raph across the room. "Her home."

"She didn't know." Leo guessed.

Monza Ram shook his head.

"How do you tell someone you are responsible for the destruction of their entire race?" He questioned. "How do you even begin to atone for such a crime? And… how can she cope with the knowledge that her brother gave his life to protect the ones who doomed her to this life?"

"I… don't have the answer for that." Leo admitted. "Only you do."

Monza Ram looked down in resignation, letting out a log sigh. After a minute, he lifted his head and rose to his feet.

"For now, the best I can do is aid my men in finishing what we started all those years ago." he declared. "Destroying that accursed weapon once and for all."

"Then let's get to work." Leo declared.

The two returned to the group, where Donny was in the middle of drawing up a plan. The All-Stars were still giving him as much info as they could. Traximus observed it all, occasionally glancing at Mona Lisa. The Salamandarian kept her eyes on the All Stars, as if unsure of what to think anymore. Raph just held her, quietly petting her head like he'd done to Hisako a million times.

"You gonna be ok?" He asked.

"I do not know." she answered honestly.

"Alright, according to the All Stars, the Decimator cannon is located at the lowest level of the home world." Donny reported.

"Hang on, there's a level lower than the sewers?" Mikey questioned.

"The Prime Leader wanted to ensure that saboteurs would have a difficult time finding and reaching it." Monza Ram explained.

"There's a single access point hidden within the Home world's main armory." Mor-Tax interjected, pointing to a spot on a provided map. "From there, we take the transport lift down to the bottom. We may meet some resistance from the team in charge once we get down there."

"Yeah well, what else is new?" Raph remarked.

"After we reach the Decimator cannon, we'll plant charges around the power supply line." Canthar instructed.

"And blow this baby to kingdom come." Donny finished.

"You make it sound so easy." Mona Lisa quipped. "But since there is only one way in or out of the cannon chamber, we run the risk of walking right into a possible ambush."

"She's right." Splinter concurred. "We need something that could draw the guards' attention."

"We could." Mikey spoke up.

Everyone turned to him.

"Think about it, Zanramon wants us, right?" Mikey asked. "We can lure his forces away while Traximus' team plants the charges."

"But, wait." Casey spoke up. "What about your secret?"

"Yeah, if you guys put yourselves out in the line of fire like that, you run the risk of getting captured." April noted.

"More than that, Zanramon seems like the type who would make your execution public." Murakami added. "No doubt the entire world would know you exist, and in the event you survive and our plan succeeds, I doubt you would be able to return to being secrets of the sewers."

"Our little secret doesn't matter much if there's no one to keep it from." Mikey said.

"Mikey's right." Leo agreed. "If we put our desire for secrecy over the lives of billions of innocent people, then we're no better than the monsters we've worked so hard to fight."

"Besides, he's gotta catch us to execute us." Raph snorted. "He got lucky last time he caught us, and he ain't gonna get another opportunity like that again."

"Right, he'll leap at the opportunity to get payback for everything." Donny agreed.

"He made that much quite clear when we spoke with him." Splinter nodded.

"Then I guess it's settled." Hisako spoke up, leaning over Leatherhead's shoulders. "We earthlings will draw Zanramon's forces away while Traximus' team handles the cannon."

"My friends..." Traximus interjected. "I cannot ask you to do this."

"It's alright, Traximus." Leo insisted. "We know what we have to do, and we're all in agreement. This is the only way."

"Well if we're all in agreement, I suggest we get to work." Donny spoke up. "We've got less than an hour to pull this off, or Earth goes the way of the dodo."

"Right." Leo agreed. "Let's move!"

[roominthecastle]

Everyone is making a house call to Grissom, where we're y'all when Sara was here lol? And now noone is there to make him soup or shave him apparently :(( *no but srsly, why is everyone sick this episode? Was there some kind of an epidemy on set or sth? *It's Sara calling right? His face just light up)) I'm glad they stay in touch *wait, are those Mythbusters?? Too many nights those crazy dudes kept me company. Fun times... *Where's Sophia? I feel like I haven't seen her in a while... *Warrick 😿

This ep is a goldmine for domestic!Grissom!! cooking, wandering around in pjs and robe, taking care of his dog, and desperately trying but failing to escape visitors & adventures like some reincarnation of Bilbo Baggins.

I guess if a show is on air long enough, it’s almost inevitable to have an episode where the flu or a cold - or a musical event - strikes our faves. I tend to enjoy those eps and this one is no exception. Yes, your eyes weren’t deceiving you, those guest nerds in the lab were Adam and Jamie (CSI has on- and off-screen ties to the Discovery Channel), and oh YES that’s def Sara calling at the end. It’s enough to look at Griss stretch out on the couch after he answers the phone. I think if you lean close, you can hear him purring ;)))) And I kept thinking about it, but rn I honestly cannot recall what happens to Sofia. I think she just… idk… drops out of the story at some point?? and Warrick, yeah… now his departure is something else, like

9x01. How can I even… I AM NOT OKAY!!! Jesus I can’t even formulate anything… They’re all so close… Family… How can I ever be fine after seeing Grissom’s face?? When he just crumbled… Losing someone after allowing them to become that close, I don’t know how to… I’m not ok, with any of this… Glad Sara is there (even more beautiful than before, that’s just not fair) God I’m such a mess. I didn’t even like him all that much but Nicky loved him, and I can’t see him cry! And Gris… JC

What you said, anon. I’m not familiar w/ the specifics of the off-screen events that forced the writers to come up w/ an exit for Warrick/GD, but boy did they manage to make it CRUEL and PAINFUL. but also meaningful, imo. Warrick once called Grissom a robot for never emoting like a “normal” human being, and here we have this “robot” saying the L word out loud and openly breaking down and literally clinging to him in an entirely irrational and desperately emotional, futile human act to keep him alive… yeah, I’m w/ you 1000%: I AM NOT OKAY!!!

9x02. “who are we talking about right now?” A-a-and there is my Sara from first few seasons! God I love that woman. So brave, and strong, standing up for what she believes in, unwilling to talk riddles and play mind games. Just say it straight to her. Kind of understand Grissom too though… This whole thing is so damn sad… Oh and that pillow talk was so tender and quiet, so them…

They’ve been doing this thing ever since they started dating - whenever one makes an observation or drops a remark about a victim or a scene they happen to process, the other is like “okay, is that supposed to be about us?” and it’s never 100% clear. Work and private stuff has been bleeding together w/ them for a while and it is finally starting to make waves in a way that not even Grissom can remain immune to it.

9x05. Why does this show insists on fucking me up this season??! I can’t see them suffer anymore! He’s like a fish out of the water the whole episode… I’m a bit conflicted though. Sara left because she couldn’t take that job anymore and I totally get it, but did she expect him to just follow her? I mean it just doesn’t seem like him at all. Yes he belongs by her side but she moves around, he should have just upended his whole life, without any kind of plan? Perhaps I need to sleep on it tho…

905 is like exhibit A of why I love Lady Heather episodes - she cuts through Griss like no other, and this time there’s a clear overlap btw case and private life. LH’s sugarcoat-free remarks are relevant to both, helping Grissom unpack (or more like rip open) some of his own private mess and climb off the fence he’s been sitting on. I do understand your conflict, I was the same way at first, but then I came to the same conclusion you did below:

9x08. You damn right it’s time to up the ante! This girl is the right girl!! Ugh… 9x09. If Sara was here, she’d help you with that last word… Just saying… *omg is he for real? (I know he is, I’m just really emotional omg) *fly-fishing) his mind is already off of work)) he has been quite distracted lately though. This whole thing is a long time coming. Perhaps all he needed was that push from Sara… *man I love Bill Irwin! Which reminds me, have you watched Legion this year?

(After reading the summary, Legion instantly went on my watchlist, anon, but I haven’t seen it yet.)

Exactly, it’s been a long time coming and that’s why I think Sara was not out of line with her hope - or maybe even reasonable expectation? - that he’d start a brand new chapter with her away from the lab. Most of this relationship happens off-screen, so I can only offer guesswork, but we can find some telltale breadcrumbs leading up to these final episodes.

Grissom already starts displaying burnout signs in S7 + he starts dropping comments about how ppl no longer really need him in the lab anymore. He is not bitter, mind you, he is genuinely proud of the team he’s trained/mentored, but this also means that he becomes - as he tells Warrick - a teacher w/o students who feels increasingly aimless, unfulfilled and even drained after having spent 25+ years wading through the (literal and figurative) cesspools of humanity. I think the combination of developing burnout and unfulfillment is why he grabs at the opportunity to leave for a month and teach a seminar as far away from Vegas as possible, and I don’t think it goes unnoticed by Sara. It is never said out loud (naturally), but she seemed to understand why he just up and left the same way Griss understood why she needed to leave in S8 despite each feeling miserable w/o the other. It’s a constant back-and-forth btw them, a drifting away then back again then away again, as they work through their individual baggage, and this “double pendulum” doesn’t stop until the very last episode of the show.

Uprooting one’s life is a huge ask, esp for someone like Grissom, but in this specific case I think it was a natural progression and would have happened anyway. Sara did not force him out of a pleasant, fulfilling life. He needed - wanted - to move on, he knew it was time, he just needed one more little push, like you said. Then he jumped in w/ both feet

and:

9x10. Oh Lord omfg this is… I… This is like a cinematic experience or something… Oh God his face the very moment he first saw her! Oh my sweet awkward nerdy boy, his eyes!! And that sigh! The smile! And those needy arms!! And Sara omg I just can’t… Yes that’s right just grab her and kiss her, talking’s overrated anyway!! OMG I saw the gifs but I didn’t realize how this scene will be… will make me feel… It’s just so… I’ll get back to you when I’m a bit more coherent, please stand by

[fearofaherobrine]

Roleplay Server Log #153

“Lost Silver’s Eevee Evolves, LH speaks”

[TLOT] Sits up a bit disoriented, remembering he's still in a cat shape before shifting back.

[Lie] Gasps awake and is still shaking, CP is quick to pull her closer to him-

[Doc] Is everyone okay? Did you fix it?!

[TLOT] Her memory of Offender surfaced.

[Doc] Frowns darkly. - That bastard...

[Smile] Stretches and sniffs around-

[CP] Holds his wife and is whispering soothing things to her, he's in full protection mode-

[TLOT] Lie beat him up Doc.

[Doc] Good for you Lie!

[Lie] - I...  I don't ever want to sleep again...

[Deer] Is gathering some blankets and trying t find some herbal tea she knows she stored down here at some point-

[TLOT] Well, you don't actually have to sleep if you don't want too. But you probably should.

[Lie] - I just...  I couldn't remember it whenever I woke up, and with her voice there as well...

[Doc] Wait... she was there and tried to speak to you when it happened? Or was she just the one that triggered the memory?

[Lie] - I don't know, but I could hear her voice

[CP] - I don't actually think she was there...

[Doc] I thought she was always near the Slenders, even if she doesn't posess them directly.

[CP] - You mean when she was little?  I have no idea...  But I must say you were...  cute as a child...

[TLOT] Seconded. Though you look even nicer as a brine.

[Lie] - I barely remember what I looked like back then...

[TLOT] Focuses for a moment and projects an image of the little girl to everyone in the room.

[Doc] Awwww

[Lie] - TLOT!

[TLOT] What? You said you couldn't remember.

[Lie] - I said barely!  I do still have some!

[TLOT] Tiny knowing grin-

[CP] Nuzzles into Lie, hearing her hearts pounding loudly as Deer approaches with the blankets and tea-

[Lie] Accepts them- Thank you Deer

[TLOT] Spawns several steaks for Smile and holds them out. - You did good. Thank you.

[Smile] Eagerly takes the steaks-

[Grinny] Shakily manages to come down the stairs-

[LH] Is bounding along and keeps going back to check on Grinny -

[Grinny] Hisses at LH as he approaches Smile.  Smile sniffs him and then lays down, letting Grinny crawl on top of him-

[LH] Approaches Smile warily. - Mew?

[Smiles] Grows menacingly at LH, he would start chasing LH, but won't move because of Grinny-

[LH] Poofs up and hides behind Doc.

[Doc] Hello Grinny. I'm glad you're up and around at least.

[Grinny] - Fuck you

[Doc] Lie, you remember Grinny.

[Lie] Is finally calming down-  Yeah, what happened to his fur?

[Doc] The Insanity possession was masking a lethal dose of radiation poisoning. Flux and Deerheart cleaned it out of his system, but his fur still fell out. Poor kitty. Steve made him the little sweater.

[Lie] - I can see that...  How long were we asleep?

[Doc] Not long at all.

[Lie] - So then Steve's probably still busy with Stevie

[TLOT] Is quiet for a second- Yep. They found a cache of redstone. They're okay.

[CP] - Good- Realizes he said that aloud

[Lie] Sighs and leans against CP- TLOT, do you mind if I used your hot tub?  I feel like I could really use it...

[CP] - Why not just use the lava pool?

[TLOT] Go ahead. Use whatever one you like. Take your time too.

[Lie] - Thank you- She stands and starts making her way towards TLOT's room

[CP] Moves to follow her-

[LH] Scampers after Lie -

[TLOT] Cp... maybe you should give her a minute to herself....

[CP] - But...

[TLOT] She has a lot on her mind, and my room is a pretty safe place to be.

[Doc] Whispers- unless you're Steve.

[CP] Growls a little-

[TLOT] Hey!

[Grinny] Stretches out on Smile-

[liu] -come into the room- hello?

[Doc] Oh hey Liu. Did you see Jeff? He went storming out of here a little while ago

[Smile] Perks up and his tail starts thumping against the ground-

[liu] I didn't see jeff but I saw in chat he came in I was looking for him and smile I made them rooms in my house if they wanted to visit.

[Doc] I think Smile wants to stay with Grinny for now, but you're welcome to hang out here.

[Grinny] Annoyed, swats Smile's head, the thumps from his tail are vibrating his body in an uncomfortable way-

[liu] -sits next to smile and scratches his head-

[Smile] Tail still wagging-

[liu] -gives smile a steak-

[CP] Just starts pacing-

-There's giggling from up in the vine room-

[Lie] Has slipped into the heated tub and is gently feeling the only remaining lotus blossom-

[Smile] Tears off a small amount and tosses it onto his back for Grinny-

[liu] -also puts a cooked fish on smiles back for grinny-

[Grinny] Bites Liu-

[LH] Paces around beside the tub for a minute and then sits there placidly looking at her - meow.

[liu] OW!

[Lie] Holds out some fingers for LH to rub against-

[Doc] Hears the chuckling upstairs but is loathe to leave CP alone.

[LH] Puuuuurrrrrr

[Grinny] Growls-

[Doc] Oh Liu! Let me see that.

-The lab door can be heard opening and closing and Sally skips down with an apple.  EJ is following her-

[liu] -holds his hand out it is bleeding only a little bit- I don't know what I did wrong to upset smile's friend cat.

[Doc] rubs a bit of potion on the little scratch - He just doesn't like people.

[Sally] Gasps- SMILE!  GRINNY!- Runs over and hugs them

[TLOT] Sally, and hello Ej.

[liu] -waves at both of them- hello.

[EJ] Flips them both off-

[Doc] Give Ej a respectful nod. - Hello Sally. What do you think of my little castle?

[Sally] - It's funny!- She has Grinny hanging limply in her arms

[liu] -pets smile again-

[Doc] I guess there is someone else Grinny likes after all.

[CP] - Nope, more like we'd rather still be alive then let any harm come to Sally

[EJ] - Why is Grinny wearing an ugly sweater and hairless?

[Doc] He had radiation poisoning underneath his Insanity possession. It's gone now but he'll need a little time to regrow his fur. Steve made him the sweater so he wouldn't get cold.

[EJ] Face palms- Oh for fucks sake

[Doc] Time moves weirdly here, I don't think it will take long to come back.

[EJ] - Eh, whatever, not my problem

[Doc] Nope, it isn't. I'll take care of him.

[EJ] - Good, cause I'm pretty sure you're on the war path with Slender anyways

[Doc] I've known that from the start. I'm kinda glad he doesn't remember me working on him while he was out of his head...

[EJ] - You what?

[Doc] I did some battle damage repairs on him, that's why I left with Splender. He's a real bitch to stitch up while he's thrashing around.

[EJ] - No shit, that's why his brothers usually tend to that

[Doc] Eh, I managed. And how many people can say they actually hugged Slender? It's good to be a dragon sometimes.

[EJ] - You are damned lucky he doesn't remember

[Doc] Especially since I got stupid drunk afterwards. It was kind of a wild night.

[CP] Still pacing, leaving a heated trail behind him-

[EJ] - I don't want to know

[Doc] That's probably for the best.

[TLOT] Didn't you have something for Ej Doc?

[Doc] Yeah... I do. Steve borrowed my computer. He made you a present.

[EJ] - A present?  Fuck that, I don't want it

[Doc] It's rather nasty and I think you'll be quite pleased with it actually. It's a special cookbook.

[EJ] - You mean for my diet which you messed up?

[CP] His trail is starting to turn into full on lava now-

[Doc] It's not messed up. It was abnormal and now it's fixed. Surely you can't look at your gross rotting organs that I took out and think that was healthy?

[TLOT] Walks behind Cp and keeps the lava cleaned up.

[EJ] - Hey, they were still functioning

[CP] - The fuck are you doing?

[TLOT] Just tidying up, pay me no mind.

[Doc] Let me guess, you were fine?

[EJ] - Shut it

[Sally] Puts Grinny back on Smile and starts eating her apple-

[Doc] Just look at it please. - holds out the small book-

[EJ] Takes the book and glances through it-

-Inside the book each page is a recipe containing at least one animal organ, blood or some other rarely eaten part, chorizo, oxtail stew, blood pudding, steak and kidney pie, haggis, goose liver pate, fried chicken livers and gizzards, boudain, tripe, blood sausage and scrapple -

[EJ] - Is this your way of trying to make up for ruining my digestive tract?  Pathetic

[Doc] It wasn't me. Steve saw how upset I was and decided to help. The only reason he's not delivering it himself is that he's terrified of you and he's currently mining down below with Cp's little brother.

[EJ] -...  So there are two humans alone downstairs?

[CP] - EJ I will murder you myself if you do anything to Stevie

[TLOT] Darkly - Steve is the mate of a Herobrine, he is NEVER truly alone.

[EJ] Scowls under his mask-

[Doc] Oh, while you're here Smile, I have something fun for you too. It's pretty cool. You want it?

[Smile] Perks up, his trail still thumping hard on the floor much to Grinny's annoyance-

[Doc] gets out a copy of the code they used on Grinny and smears it across hir palm before patting the big dogs head. - There you go boy, speak! Just say anything.

[Smile] Barks- Do I did good speak!?

[Doc] Very good. You're a very helpful doggie. Lie should be able to sleep better now.

[Smile] - Good, she's pretty and smells nice and has lots of cats to chase and other dogs to maul!

[liu] are you excited for the room I made for you smile?

[Smile] Tilts head curiously- What room?

[liu] I made you a bed room for when you visit in my new house.

[Doc] Okay... don't maul her dogs. She'll cry and her plants will probably bite you. Best to leave the cats alone too. There's plenty of wild pigs, chickens and cows around to bother, and no one cares if you eat them.

[Smile] To Doc- Okay!- To Liu- But I always sleep with Jeff!

[liu] I made jeff a bedroom as well

[Smile] - Okay!

[Grinny] - Smile, stop that infuriating thumping!

[Smile] - Grinny! I have to scratch!

[Grinny] - Too bad! I'm not moving

[Smile] - But my butt itches!

[TLOT] Reaches over and scratches the dog-

[Grinny] Swats at TLOT-

[TLOT] Swats back and pokes Grinny in the nose-

[Grinny] Tries to bite TLOT-

[TLOT] Is still sitting on the bed slightly above them and gives Grinny a perfect view as he morphs back into his massive golden cat form.

[Griny] Hisses and growls- Leave us be!

[TLOT] He just wanted his rump scratched. You're the one being snotty.

[Grinny] Because it disturbs my resting

[TLOT} Then have a little respect for your fluffy pillow.

[Grinny] - He's fine- Settles down some more

[TLOT] Saunters down near Smile and gives him a head pat with one big paw.- Good boy

[Smile] - I'm a good boy?  But I haven't killed or scared anything?

[TLOT] You've putting up with your friends crap. That makes you a damn good dog.

[Smile] - Really!?

[TLOT} cocks his head curiously,-well yes! In fact, generally speaking killing and scaring aren't considered good at all. I mean unless you're protecting someone else or yourself from danger.

[Smile] Suddenly stands up, dislodging Grinny who yowls as he falls to the floor- But they're so much fun!  And it's what we do!  And it's fun!

[TLOT] But it's not fun for the person you're hurting or scaring.

[Smile] - But that's the point!  And then Jeff usually stabs them!  Or let's me rip out their throats!

[Grinny] Huffily walks around trying to find a spot to curl up-

[TLOT] But that's not considered being good. Just obedient.

[Doc] Sits down on the bed and picks Grinny up.

[Smile] - But it also makes me a good dog!  And I get rewarded!

[Grinny] Struggles- Put me down you imbecilic quack!

[TLOT] It's what Jeff considers good, but that's just his opinion.

[Doc] Puts the cat next to hir on the bed. - chill out.

[Grinny] - Then leave me be!

[Smile] - Jeff is owner, Jeff is always right

[Doc] flips the blanket over Grinny except for his head. - Shush.

[Grinny] - I hate you so much...

[CP] Is still pacing-

[TLOT] But all I'm saying is that his opinion is different from most.

[Smile] - Not those of the manor

[liu] -whispers- he thought I wasn't real but I am

[Doc] Pats Grinny's head.

[Grinny] Tries to bite Doc-

[TLOT] Liu is right, Jeff isn't infallible. And what someones family teaches may easily be at odds from what everyone else believes. Morality is subjective, but when you take someones life out there, someone who meant you no harm. It is wrong. You're stealing something that doesn't belong to you. And they go away, from everything they've ever loved, and never come back again.

[Doc] Easily evades Grinnys bite and starts fussing around in their inventory instead.

[Smile] - Just as what has happened to many of us...  Parts of us taken by humans, never to be returned

[TLOT] But you can't hurt everyone in a crowd because one of them hurt you.

[Smile] - Yes you can

[TLOT] Okay, pardon, you CAN, but you shouldn't.

[Smile] - Yes you should

[TLOT] Okay lets say you lead a reign of terror, and you make everyone afraid of big dogs like you. And then they see normal dogs that aren't doing anything wrong at all, and assume they're murderers just like you. And then they hurt and kill all those innocent dogs because you made them scared. Is that fair?

[Smile] - But they don't...  I am one who causes mass panic...  My abilities...  Act like a chain letter, I tell them to spread the word

[TLOT] You didn't answer my question. Do you think that's fair?

[Smile] - Why should I care?  They already irrationally fear some types of dogs, it doesn't change much

[TLOT] Because it's your type of thinking that's destroying my kind. The NOTCHs believe that all Herobrine's are bad because some of them kill players. Cp's family was ripped apart because someone thought all creatures like him should be deleted.

[CP] - And they brought us one of our strongest members, a new addition to our family

[TLOT] Broken in spirit and full of hatred. He was happy and the NOTCH took it away from him.

[Smile] - What family?  He never really mentioned one...

[TLOT] He was afraid you creepypastas would kill them.

[Smile] - Eh, I don't care

[TLOT] Is sticking his whiskers out, he's obviously annoyed. He goes over to the base of the stairs and starts washing his face.

[Doc] It's okay TLOT, you tried. I of all people know how hard it is. You can't make someone care.

[CP] Is starting to leave lava behind him again-

[Doc] Gets up to tidy it up behind him and then watches him pace for a few minutes before getting in his way.

[CP] Growls- What?

[Doc] Nothing at all. - Xe darts forward and gives him a tremendous hug, pressing his arms to his sides and making a spirited attempt to pick him slightly off the floor before letting go and stepping out of his way again.

[CP] Lashes out at DOc- FUCKER!

[Doc] Ducks, xe's used to this-

[CP] Keeps pacing-

[Doc] Quietly- it's going to be okay Cp. She just needs to collect her thoughts. What are you so worried about anyway?

[CP] - You didn't see how terrified she was, even when she was my victim she never showed such terror

[Doc] She was a child CP, with no idea what she was seeing beyond someone else in mortal terror. Children have empathy, they see bad things happen and imagine themselves as the victims. She had every right to be afraid. Offender scares me too. His sheer predatory callousness is like a slime I just want to burn off my skin.

[CP] - Really?  Because you seemed to get along just fine with him when drunk

[Doc] Being drunk makes me less scared.

[CP] - I just...  Never mind...

[Doc] What? I don't have a tolerance like you, and I did drink two full bottles of whiskey.

-There's a tiny flutter in the vines above and one of the white flitters perches there silently fanning it's wings. -

[CP] - I just need to make certain she's okay...  I don't like the thought of her being scared anymore...

[Doc] Is really hoping Ej heard what CP just said. - That's love. You don't just want her as a possession, you want her to be safe and happy too.

[EJ] Scoffs-

[Deer] - I'd think you'd be used to it by now CP

[TLOT] Has shifted back and is sitting on the bottom step with his cloak pooled around him. - I understand. If you're not used to feeling that way, it's like being hit with a ton of netherbricks.

[CP] - Shut it!  How the fuck did we even get on this subject again?

[TLOT] You're pacing a lava trail worrying about your mate, how can we not talk about it?

[CP] - It's not my fault I run so hot

[EJ] - Do we need to get a hose?

[TLOT] No, it's okay, I'll take care of it. - Gets up and flips the lava back to stone.

[Doc] No one is blaming you Cp. It's just a stone floor, easily fixed. And we all run a bit hot.

[CP] Growls a little-

[Doc] Oh stop it. We're your friends. We care if you're upset. And we want Lie to be safe just as much as you do.

[CP] - I'd rather she have not had to go through that!

[TLOT] Well obviously. There are several things I wish had never happened. But you can't go back and change the past.

[CP] - Are we sure about that?

[Doc] Yes. And if she hadn't seen that, she might not be your mate today.

[CP] Scowls- Would it be better that way?  She may have never become my victim if that hadn't happened potentially...

[TLOT] Probably not, and what you did was horrible. But without her, and potentially us, you would still be out there hurting others just as badly.

[Doc] Lie loves Minecraft, and it's not such a bad existence.

[CP] Is slowly sinking into a block of lava since he stopped pacing while talking-  I just don't know what to do...

[TLOT] Takes him by the shoulders and lifts him up back onto the floor. While Doc throws a stone block in the spot. - You're thinking too hard Cp. Just stop for a minute.

[CP] - I can't

[TLOT] Just gives him a wry grin and stops for a sec. - Haha... Good one kiddo.

[CP] - The fuck did you just say?

[TLOT] Your little brother got first blood on a spider that was sneaking up on him and Steve.

[CP] - I see...  There's the barest hint of a smile on his face

[TLOT] Steve says he's all elated because he found some lapis high on a wall and got it without any help. It was just a four block nerd pole, but that's high for a little kid.

[CP] - WHY DID HE LET HIM DO THAT!?

[TLOT] Because Steve is two blocks high and can reach up to three blocks and is perfectly capable of standing under him and catching him if he falls.

[CP] Growls a little- He's barely strong enough to use the iron pick, it could have thrown him off balance and made him fall into a more dangerous situation!

[TLOT] It's a tight, dry cave Cp, it's okay. Steve won't let him get hurt. They know what they're doing. Steve's mine like fish swim.

[CP] Frustrated noises-

[EJ] Is finding it very weird to be seeing CP acting like this-

[Doc] Here, I'll make you feel better- Makes some weird chittering noises and there's a squeak upstairs as the lab door is triggered. The Galvantula scurries down the steps and buzzes at Doc. - Can you go watch over Steve and Stevie? They're in a tunnel down the shaft by the shulker pen.

[Glavantula] Buuzop! - Skitters in that direction.

[CP] - How is that supposed to be helping?

[Doc] It can guard their backs. The jolt it gives off now is nearly as strong as my lighting blast as a dragon.

[CP] Grumbles-

[Sally] - EJ, I'm still hungry!

[Doc] I'd say you could send your Honedge but you kinda need it. Where's the Shuppet? You could tell it to guard Stevie.

[CP] - The hell should I know

[TLOT] I've got plently of basic food I can drag from creative Sally. What sounds good? roast chicken? Pork chops? I've got a loaded baked potato and even cookies.

[Doc] Fixes on the Honedge - can you call other Pokemon?

[Sally] - Cookies!

[EJ] - Real food first Sally

[Honedge] Gives a thumbs up with it's sash-

[TLOT] Spawns some food for her and a pile of cookies.

[Doc] Excellent, thank you.

[Sally] Immediately goes for the cookies-

[EJ] - Sally!

[Shuppet] Phases through the far wall and floats down near the sword making odd noises.

[Doc] It's technically yours Cp. Ask it to watch over Stevie.

[Honedge] Vibrates at Shuppet-

[CP] Grumbles- Oi, go watch Stevie

[Shuppet] Brushes the hem of it's little cloak on the sash of the Honedge and flies off the same way as the Galvantula went.

[Doc] That was perfect. Well done.

[CP] Shut it

[Doc] Do you feel better now at least?

[CP] - No

[TLOT] Should I tell them to stop and come back up?

[CP] - Ugh, I don't know!

[TLOT] Does a little skim on Cp's mind to see if he needs anything.

[CP] Worry is the greatest thing in his mind right now, he wants to be down with Lie to make sure she's okay mostly-

[TLOT] Touches Lies mind gently. - Are you okay Lie? Cp's very worried about you. Like, in a nice, loving way.

[Lie] - Yeah...  I think so...  Just still a little shaky...

[TLOT] Do you need to be alone a bit more?

[Lie] - I'm already not entirely alone, LH is down here with me

[TLOT] accidently aloud- Yeah, he's a good cat. That doesn't surprise me.

[CP] - You better not be referring to me

[TLOT] Chuckles - No. Lie is fine, she's still in the tub and LH is hanging out with her.

[CP] Sighs a little before starting up pacing again-

[TLOT] Looks unfocused for a moment. - You should have told the Shuppet to watch over Stevie when you first brought it here. Steve say that Stevie thinks it's the coolest thing ever.

[CP] - Oh joy...

[Doc] Pokemon do make really good bodyguards...

[CP] Growls a little-

[Espurr] Comes toddling in from Silver's room-

[Doc] Speaking of.... Hey Espurr.

[Espurr] Makes  happy face as it says it's name at Doc-

[Doc] Kneels down - I think I have some cooked fish left - pats around and offers him one- There you go. Where's Silver?

[Silver] - Dieno wait!

[Dieno] Rushes headfirst into a wall without it's helmet-

[Doc] Ouch, I guess that answers my question. - Xe gets up and sprays the Deino with a spritz of regular potion.

[Silver] Comes in with Dieno's helmet- Dieno!

[Doc] He's raring to go isn't he? Seems healthier then he was too.

[Silver] - I was just giving him a bath and he decided to run off...

[Doc] Scrubs the Deino under his chin- well that was naughty Deino, running away from your bath. Shame on you.

[Silver] - Of course he waited till I had his helmet off...

[EJ] - Silver?

[Doc] Laughs- Like a little kid.

[Silver] - Oh!  Uh... Um.. EJ...

[Doc] Is tryign not to grin.

[EJ] - Who'd you kill?

[Doc] No one. A friend of ours got his colors back with sheer love and determination.

[EJ] - That doesn't seem possible...

[Doc] -shrugs- He's not the only person she's healed with her hugs either. She's a very special Alex.

[EJ] - Whatever...

[TLOT] You know... now that you mention it Doc.... that crap coming out of Ej's eyes looks an awful look like the black weeping nastiness that GK had from the holy water corruption.

[Sally] Sneakily reaches for a cookie-

[EJ] - The what?

[Doc] GK can possess people, and he was forcibly ejected from a victim because the victim was made to drink holy water. The corruption stayed in his body, burning him from the inside out and weeping from his eyes and the corners of his mouth. He was incredibly ill. I think a lesser brine might have died.

[EJ] - I doubt it's the same as mine

[TLOT] You never know. You could talk to him about it. If you see a big red dragon that looks like he's part pig, flag him down. He's easily swayed to cooperation if you have alcohol too.

[EJ] - I doubt what he has to say will be of any interest to me- A bit of the black substance drips onto the ground

[TLOT] Suit yourself.

[Doc] Silver, guess what? My Joltick evolved! He's freaking huge now.

[Silver] - Wow, congrats- Silver now feels a little bit bad since none of his pokemon have ever evolved

[Doc] What's the matter Silver? I thought you'd think it was neat.

[Silver] - Oh, uh, it's nothing really...- Very quietly to himself- I guess I'm just not a good enough trainer...

[TLOT] A what Silver? I thought the evolving was just an experience thing? And I didn't think you'd be able to battle much with your housemates.

[Eevee] Bounds up, making inquisitive noises towards Silver-

[Doc] That's a good point. Which pokemon did you get first Silver?

[Silver] Turns reds with embarrassment- Oh...   Um, uh...  You see, experience isn't always the defining factor of an evolution.  Pokemon can force evolve themselves if they feel it's necessary...  Oh, and, uh, Eevee

[Doc] Then I guess we could just ask, you said they understand people- kneels down beside Eevee- You know, if you wanted to evolve you could. I think it would make Silver pretty happy.

[Eevee] Happily says it's name and jumps around-

[TLOT] Maybe they couldn't evolve because they were all sick and rotting before?

[Silver] - I...  I don't know...

[TLOT] what does Eevee turn into anyway?

[Silver] - A number of things, they don't evolve normally.  The can evolve into one of several element pokemon like flareon, jolteon, leafeon, or umbreon.  Most require a stone though...

[Doc] Hmmm. What do you think Eevee? You've got quite an audience here. I know I'd love to see it. And it sounds like you've got lots of options to pick from.

[Eevee] Runs over to Silver and stands on it's hind legs, his front paws on Silver's legs as it says it's name and paws at Silver-

{Doc] What are they saying? Do they need a stone for the one they want?

[Silver] - They're just saying they love me...

[Doc] AWWWWW.

[TLOT] That's a good place to start. Do they want you to pick?

[Silver] Crouches down- It's up to you Eevee...  If you can...

[TLOT] Takes a surreptitious picture.

[Eevee] Makes a very happy sound before beginning to glow-

[TLOT] Decides to project what's happening to Lie and Steve.

[liu] -is watching with amazement-

[Eevee] It's legs elongate and it loses it's fluffy collar and tail and long ribbons wrap around it's neck as a bow appears on it's head.  It's now pink and white-

[TLOT] That's so cute!

[Sylveon] - Sylveon!

[Doc] Whoah! Are the ribbons appendages?

[Sylveon] Wraps an appendage around Silver's arm-

[Silver] - Yes they are

[liu] it's adorable

[Doc] See? I knew you were a good trainer.

[Silver] - Hey Sylveon

[Grinny] Barfs on the bed-

[Doc] Oh come on!

[Sylveon] - Syl!  Sylveon!

[TLOT] You said they were elemental? Is this one love based?

[Silver] - Sylveon is a fairy type, they can only evolve if they have a deep bond with their trainer and love them greatly

[Doc] Dawwwwww.

[EJ] Would roll his eyes if he had any-

[Espurr] Initiates play with Sylveon-

[Sally] - It's so cute!

[Deer] - It is adorable looking, especially with how it has that ribbon around your arm Silver

[Doc] Reminds me of Stevie holding Markus's hand everywhere they go.

[Silver] - Yeah, Sylveon's do that

[Doc] Oh, Silver. You remember how you gave me those pokemon codes to stabilize them? I used them on Grinny and Smile. And then Jeff stormed in having a shit fit earlier because Smile apparently learned tackle.

[Silver] - Oh...  Oh dear...  That could be bad...

[Doc] Just because he's so big? It's a basic strong move right?

[Silver] - Yeah, but it can get stronger with training...

[Doc] Well he's already formidable. And he's got a new trick as well. Hey Smile wanna say hi to your buddy Silver? You haven't seen him in a while, right?

[Smile] - SILVER!- Goes to barrel into Silver when Sylveon intervenes, blasting Smile back with Fairy Wind

[Doc] Gets in the way and catches the dog before he can slam against the stairs. Xe's smushed for a moment and makes a loud noise as all the air goes out of hir. - fuck!

[Smile] Wiggles upright again and his tail briefly beats in Doc's face as he wags it-

[Doc] OoF! - spitting out a bit of hair-

[Smile] Runs around the room-

[Doc] Wheezing - well anyway. Him and Grinny can talk now.

[Silver] Tilts head in confusion- They always could...

[EJ] - At least to us pastas...

[Doc] They can talk to anyone now.

[EJ] - Oh lovely...

[Doc] Though Grinny is mostly just cussing at me.

[EJ] - As he does with everyone

[Doc] Oh, that actually makes me feel a bit better about it. Thanks.

[EJ] - Wasn't my intention

[Doc] Tough. - So how's the Deino doing? I can't wait to see what it'll turn into.

-There's a squishy sound on the steps - goo?

[Silver] - Okay for now

[CP] Is still pacing-

[Doc] Oh hey Goomy, wanna join the party?

[Goomy] Cooing.

[Doc] This one has been training without me I think. They keep going out in the rain to fight mobs at night. I keep getting up to the garden being full of mob loot and this one all exhausted.

[EJ] - Idiot little slug

[Goomy] Blows a raspberry at Ej-

[EJ] Flips it off before turning to Sally- Come on Sally, ready to head back to Splender's?

[Silver] - Actually it's a dragon...

[Doc] It is?

[TLOT] SERIOUSLY?

[Silver] Nods-

[Goomy] GOo!

[Doc] You little dickens- Scoops up the Goomy. - Is that why you wanted to come with me?

[Goomy] Coos

[Silver] - They're supposed to be leveled up in the rain...

[Doc] Oh that's perfect. Yeah you and me are going to do some training together. Silver if you don't mind, I'd love to see you put the Deino through his paces anyway.

[Silver] Grabs Deino and puts it's helmet on- How so?

[Doc] What kind of moves can he learn? I don't even know what type he is, he looks part plant.

[Silver] - Plant and dragon moves

[Doc] This thing around his head does look like a blossom that's not open yet too.

[Silver] - Well I think I'll go give him his bath now, come on Espurr, Sylveon

[Doc] Hey Silver, - comes over with the Goomy in hir arms. - Thank you for the advice. I can't wait to see what these two become.

[Silver] - Oh, uh, your welcome

[CP] Is now pacing through more lava-

[Doc] And let Strangled know he's not a prisoner, okay? He's been hiding in your room for quite some time.

[Silver] - Oh, I know

[Goomy] Coos happily at Silver

[Silver] Goes back to his room-

[TLOT] Goes back to flipping the lava blocks back to stone.

[Doc] Makes a smug face at Ej.

[EJ] Collects Sally and leaves-

[TLOT] Palms another cookie to Sally as she passes.

[Sally] Smiles at TLOT and waves good bye-

[TLOT] Hehe, Cute kid.

[CP] Is just getting more wound up-

[Doc] Turns back to watch him. - Cp... you're just making yourself more upset.

[CP] - Well what am I supposed to do!?

[Doc] Right now there's not much you can do. Would you like some tea? Deerheart did bring some down earlier.

[CP] - I'll be fine

[Doc] Oh, I know something that will help one problem at least. - Xe whispers to TLOT for a minute and he grins hugely-

[CP] - I don't like that look...

[TLOT] Whips up something behind his back and force equipts a pair of iron enchanted boots on Cp.

[CP] Stumbles a bit- The fuck are you doing!?

[Doc] They're frost walker boots. At least it'll keep the floor solid and your hot foot cool.

[CP] Scowls but does continue pacing, ending up in a cloud of steam-

[TLOT] Leans back on the stairs. - That feels nice. Instant sauna.

[CP] - I hate both of you

[Doc] Love you anyway Cp.

[TLOT] Likewise.

[CP] Growls a bit-

[Grinny] Slinks about the room-

[Lie] Pet's LH, her nerves finally almost completely calm-

[LH] Is purrring loudly, and bumps himself against her head, then jumps because now he's a little damp.

[Lie] - Silly kitty

[LH] Shakes his little head, and bumps her again - PUUUUUUUUUUULOVEYOUUUUURRRR

[Lie] Yelps a little- Doooooc?

[LH] Innocent look.

[CP] Perks at Lie's voice-

[Doc] calls out- Lie? Do you want company or are you coming back up?

[Lie] - um...  Your cat just talked...

[CP] - HA!  FUCKING TOLD YOU TLOT!

[TLOT] Jumps because he just got yelled at. - What? Huh?

[Doc] Lie... Are you okay?

[Lie] - Yeah, just a bit weirded out...

[LH] Is jumping after a stray touchie that's buzzing over the bed.

[Lie] Steps out of the tub and finds a towel to dry herself off with-

[LH] Catches the bug only to let it go again.

[Lie] Pulls her clothes on and grabs LH and carries him upstairs-

[LH] Is wiggling-

[Lie] - Doc, how does your cat know how to talk?

[Doc] He doesn't, at least not that I know of. I mean he's glitched a little but he's still just a simple cat.

[Lie] - No, I just heard him say "love you"...

[CP] - He's said things to me too...  But TLOT didn't believe me...

[TLOT] Can you blame me? You were really stressed at the time.

[Doc] I'm not sure what to say Lie, are you sure you didn't just doze off in the tub a bit?

[Lie] - Doc...  I don't think I can sleep after what I just went through

[Doc] Good point... well.. I don't know. At least it was something good right? He didn't threaten to eat your eyeballs or something.

[CP] Is a bit smug over the fact that he was right-

[LH] Mew? -wiggles more-

[Lie] Puts LH down and scoots closer to CP- Why are we steaming now?

[LH] Gets interested in his own tail and starts chasing it in tight circles.

[TLOT] He was pacing hot holes in the floor

[CP] Kicks the boots off and pulls Lie close to him- Mine

[Doc] Lets a little laugh slip out at the abruptness of his display

[CP] Flips Doc off-

[TLOT] Happy now?

[Doc] Is watching the cat as he falls over from dizzyness

[CP] Just nuzzles into Lie-

[Lie] - Hey, how's Stevie doing?

[TLOT] Having fun, getting sweaty and covered in rock dust. The natural state of Steve's everywhere.

[Lie] - At least he's having fun...

[LH] Prances back over to Grinny - Meep?

[Grinny] Growls at LH-

[LH] Is trying to get Grinny to play with him-

[Grinny] Tail is drooped and he really doesn't have much energy-

[Doc] Notices- Do you want some more food Grinny? I saw you threw up.

[CP] - Oh, and TLOT, you've heard LH talk

[Grinny] - No, I'm fine...

[TLOT] I have?

[CP] - When you put the fucking sub titles on me, that please?  That was from the cat, not me

[Doc] Are sure? I have some nice warm chicken - offers a piece of roast meat.

[Grinny] Just flops down-

[TLOT] Then I should turn them back on you, you rat.

[CP] - Oh fuck no

[TLOT] Narrows his eyes at Cp. He's just faintly annoyed.

[CP] - Your opportunity is long gone TLOT

[Doc] Sighs and makes a bit of statick before glitching the food directly into Grinnys stomach.

[Grinny] Turns and attacks Doc's hand-

[TLOT] I'm not going to do anything now. But I'll remember that.

[Doc] Just ignores his little scratches. They aren't strong enough to pierce hir gloves.

[Grinny] Flumps in defeat-

[Doc] gently- It doesn't hurt to take kindness from me Grinny. I don't expect anything in return.

[Grinny] - Shut up

[Doc] Kisses a finger and boops it gently on his little nose.

[Lie] - TLOT, can you make sure Stevie gets home?

[TLOT] what you mean, doesn't get lost? They're just in a tunnel a few levels below us. If you go to the ladder by the shulker cage and yell down they might even hear you.

[Lie] - I mean my house, I kinda just want to be there now...

[TLOT] oh, do you want us to babysit for a bit? Or bring him straight over when they're done?

[Lie] - I wouldn't mind either, I know we already have baby dragons running around...

[TLOT] Okay we'll entertain him for a while and he can sleep here. I'll bring him back over in the morning. Alright?

[Lie] - Thank you

[CP] Perks a little and whispers to Lie- Sex?

[TLOT] Huge smile- quietly mentally to Cp- Get some brother brine.

[CP] Glares at TLOT-

[Lie] Shakes her head a little- Really CP?

[CP] - Oh come on, Stevie won't be there...

[TLOT] Pulls out a fat bottle of golden liquid and holds it out with a grin-

[Lie] - Why!?

[TLOT] Its good for... calming nerves.

[Lie] Uncertain noises-

[Smile] Bumps into TLOT-

[TLOT] Fumbles the bottle and barely manages to catch it in time.

[Lie] Sighs- Thanks TLOT- She takes the bottle and puts it in her inventory

[TLOT] You guys have fun.

[CP] Picks Lie up and starts walking out of the lab-

[Doc] Sit's down on the clean bed and cradles Grinny.

[LH] Hops up as well and starts cleaning the other cats left ear.

[Grinny] - Go away!

[LH] Cleans the other ear instead.

[Grinny] Hisses-

[LH] Gives Grinny a little lick on the cheek and snuggles up next to him and Doc.

[Smile] Lays on top of Doc's feet-

[Deer] Giggles at the sight- Aren't I supposed to be the one that animals like?

[Doc] I'm not nearly as good as you are.

[Goomy] Bumps up against one of Deerheart's hooves.

[Deer] Picks up Goomy and joins them on the bed, giving Doc a kiss on the cheek- Either way, I love you

[Doc] Just melts with happiness. - I love you too. - happy little hum.

[TLOT] Starts fiddling with some pixels and lays back on the steps. There's a bit of indrawn breath and he starts to laugh.

[Deer] - TLOT?  What is it?

[TLOT] Focuses a little of his energies and raises one hand straight up.  A tiny scrap of white flutters down from the ceiling and lands on his fingers. - One of the honesty flitters was hanging out in the vines above us.

[Deer] Giggles- Well that would explain CP's honesty earlier

[TLOT] I thought he was being more forthcoming then usual.

[Deer] - How's Stevie doing?  Have they found good loot?

[TLOT] Closes his eyes- Looks like it, lapis, a little redstone, some gold, a whole lot of coal. And it looks like Stevie found some of the weird bone blocks.

[Deer] - Good for him

[jacewilliams1]

How many second chances do you get?

It was day six of a seven-day VFR cross-country trip over 2800 miles and nine states. We could make it home, but it was going to be late. It was February 2017, and this was the longest trip I had ever flown in my 39 years of flying: 15,500 feet MSL and yet only 1500 feet above the ground at times, many snow-covered mountain peaks that came up to greet us the first few days.

We thought our most exciting memories were behind us. Everything was going great; the sun was about to set and, in an instant, we lost everything but the motor. No radios. No lights. No electrical instruments. And no ideas – yet. We got through the checklist and decided we had lost our alternator. We could make it home, but the smart money was on getting to an airport that could fix our problem and get us back in the air safely again.

We both had no place to be for a week and no reason to push it or take any chances. My copilot was an Air Force vet, and he was missing his wife, but feared an onboard fire so he wanted to be on the ground now.

It was cold and dark in Salina, Kansas, but it felt good to be on the ground.

We saw Salina, Kansas, ahead to the left, an old military base. We had ForeFlight on my iPad so we had all we needed to get to the airport. By the time we reached Salina, it was still VFR, but a dark, cold, moonless night. We were there first, but we had no way to inform anyone of our location or our problem. My first thought was, we lost power so we have the right-of-way as we lined up for a straight in shot to runway 35.

My copilot had a strong flashlight and was trying to signal the twin on base leg to the same runway. It was clear he didn’t see us so we peeled off to the left, clear of his flight path. We then saw two other single-engine planes about to enter the pattern. We created our own holding pattern waiting for everyone to land.

I felt I needed to let the tower know we were there, but the only way I knew how to do that was to buzz the tower in the dark. We did and it got his attention – but not in a good way. We landed in the dark – no landing light, no lights for gauges, and no electric gyro – so just basic seat-of-your-pants flying. However, this was one of my better night landings.

One important point: a strong flashlight in the cockpit is of no help as it takes time for your eyes to adjust back to the darkness and you are going to need your eyes to land in the dark.

We taxied right under the tower to the FBO, and out came the lineman asking us if we’d seen the idiot out there flying with no lights and buzzing the tower as they wanted his N-number to turn the fool into the FAA.

I turned and pointed to my plane and read him my N-number. “This is that plane, and I’m that idiot,” I told him. He instructed me to call the tower and explain my actions at once.

This was the coldest night in recorded history for Salina – well, at least it felt like that to us. One of the linemen was a linewoman, and she had on two pairs of insulated coveralls and a coat and a lot more under that so she could hardly put her arms down. She also had on two pair of gloves and two stocking hats. All I could see was her face – she looked like the female version of the Pillsbury Doughboy.

She was sure we were in big trouble and wanted to be there when I called the tower. She was sure they had caught their man and I was going to spend the night in jail, or at least be grounded. She had already found me guilty before hearing all the facts so I made sure she was close by as I phoned the tower with my explanation.

The tower told me the Paul Harvey version of a few college students who were buzzing the tower at night with no lights on. So, he never gave me any light gun signals, and I don’t remember many of them anyway so I was glad he didn’t. At that point, he felt bad for assuming I was part of their problem, not someone with a problem.

When he said he was sorry, I made sure the two-pair-of-everything linewoman could hear him. He then told me who to call and they would get to work on my airplane first thing in the morning. I was glad to hear that.

After hanging up the phone, I heard, “Oh my God, you were in real danger not just big trouble.”

“No,” I said. “We were never in danger or trouble. We just lost our alternator and landed here to get it fixed. We need to spend the night somewhere, but I prefer a nice warm motel if you can help us get a car, and you can fuel my plane tonight or in the morning.”

The Mooney, during happier times.

When I looked outside, my airplane was fueled and already being towed to the shop. The linewoman wanted to know more and offered to drive us to a motel and even picked us up in the morning. She was very kind and very helpful.

“How do you know your airplane will be fixed in the morning?” she asked.

“All we need is the battery charged, and we can make it home in the daylight,” I said. She was not so sure.

That night, my copilot and I started doing all the “what ifs” we could think of from renting a car to drive home to flying back on a good battery. I had been to many flight safety meetings and heard a number of times that it is not the first thing that goes wrong that kills you, but what happens next, so getting on the ground to get the bird looked at was the wise choice.

Salina was very friendly – a few days here could not be all bad, but my copilot was missing his wife even if it did take her three days to notice he wasn’t home. She called me to ask if I knew where he was three days ago, as his phone was dead. I wasn’t sure what to say at first, and I thought she knew our plans and saw a golden opportunity to play a trick on both of them.

However, it was now bitter cold outside, and these two were like teenagers: every minute apart was like a year. I had one love-sick puppy on my hands. We were one vote away from renting a car that night and driving four hours, 180 miles on icy roads, to get him home so she could kill him for not telling her where he went or how long he was going to be gone.

The next morning, we went to the shop where they were working on my plane. Of course, the double-everything linewoman wanted to go along. She was on top of everything. What she didn’t know, she wanted to know. I was very impressed even if she did think I was either wrong or guilty from the moment we met.

When I talked to the shop foreman, he had a small brass bushing in his hand. He said that fell out of my airplane and didn’t advise flying it till it was fixed. I own a boat repair shop so I knew what he was trying to do. A little fear and visual aid can go a long way to opening a pocketbook. I asked where he found the part, and he showed me under my starter.

It was the nose bushing to my starter, and I asked for a hammer. I now had everyone’s attention. My copilot said, “You can’t just pound it back in.”

I said, “No, I’m going to tap it back in as it only has to work one more time. It is not a vital moving part of the plane once it starts and, if it won’t start, then I’m not flying anyway so it is worth a try.”

For some reason, it went right in, like I had done it a million times before. When I turned around, everyone was looking at me like I just shot the president. The linewoman looked at me and said, “You are not going to fly that now, are you? I would never fly in that plane till it was fixed right.”

At this point, my love-sick copilot was ready to fly, drive, or walk home. Everyone looked at the shop foreman for his OK. “If it starts, he can make it home,” he said.

They had the battery charged up overnight and we had a good plan. I called my friend in the tower. It was a different guy, but he knew the entire story. We may have even made the local news. For sure, we made the coffee shop grapevine.

I told the tower if the plane started, I was going to Squawk 7600 and fly home with everything shut off but my transponder. I called home to inform the FBO if I had no radios, I would buzz the office and make LH traffic for Runway 31 so they could inform any planes in the area we had no radio or lights.

The “first second chance” happened before the author was even three.

Cozad, Nebraska, is my homebase. I consider everyone there a good friend, and they need to know ahead of time what is going on. They are like family: when I first landed my “new to me” Mooney there, the FBO owner’s wife called me the moment I landed. I hadn’t even got to the hangar yet. She asked me to call or text her every time I landed just to be sure I was safe.

It was a very clear VFR flight and we did not have one problem all the way home. We had plenty of power for the radio when we entered the Cozad airspace. I was impressed when we landed, as Flight Service called the FBO to make sure we landed safely.

Allison is the second-generation manager of the FBO at my homebase of Cozad. Flying is in her blood. I like to tease her by saying I have been flying longer than she has been alive. She was a huge help in getting my second bird, and getting me back into flying. I have told her many times what a positive effect she has made on an old man’s life, giving me a second chance at my love of flying. Thank you, Allison!

A postscript about second chances:

One of my first memories in life was my first second chance. It was the day before my third birthday when my mother stopped the car on a railroad track and we were hit by a freight train that dragged us for almost a city block. By the time I learned to drive I had already been in 12 car accidents. I added a few more in my bulletproof years. I have no idea why some of us get so many second chances and some never get even one. I feel every second chance makes it likely you will get another second chance because of the knowledge you were just given. Second chances are a massive gift; don’t take them lightly.

You still have a lot of living to do and a second chance to follow your dreams.

The post How many second chances do you get? appeared first on Air Facts Journal.

from Engineering Blog https://airfactsjournal.com/2019/10/how-many-second-chances-do-you-get/

[doyumacy]

FALLOUT |LH| TEN

*gif not mine

PAIRING: donghyuck x reader bodyguard!donghyuck

WARNINGS: mentions of jeno taeyong. swearing, food playing? 

WORD COUNT: 2k

ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE

its a bit shorter than expected but the finale is coming <3

Donghyuck woke up with a start. This wasn't uncommon for him. He was used to being woken up at all hours of the night because of a case or night terrors. Something he needed to work on. He looked at the clock. 6:46 am. Better than usual considering he went to bed about three hours ago. He got up and headed to the kitchen to make some coffee and breakfast.

Walking down the halls of the house he noticed most of the lights were on. That meant you were up. As he got closer to the kitchen he noticed music playing. You were dancing around the kitchen. "Let's have the sex talk. I wanna see your body, take your clothes off, I'ma bust quick if ya lips soft! "

Damn you couldn't rap at all, but it was amazing watching you dance and sing. Until you turned around and saw him in the doorway that was.

You stopped immediately and got a rather freaked out look. And from what Donghyuck could tell you were blushing hard. "How much of that did you see exactly?" You asked timidly.

"Enough to know that you are not a good rapper but a good dancer." Donghyuck said with a smirk. "Oh and love?" You got even more flustered.

"Yes?" You answered quietly.

"Your eggs are burning." Donghyuck said with a laugh as he watched you turn around and immediately try and fix your eggs. Which by now were burnt beyond all recognition.

You sighed and pitched them into the trash can. "I guess dancing and cooking at the same time ain't my thing."

"I'll make you some crepes and bacon, love. Don't worry." Donghyuck said with a broad smile.

You nodded and sat in on the kitchen chair propping your elbows on the desk and placing your chin on top of your interlaced fingers. "If you hadn't interrupted my rapping session, my eggs would still be alive."

Donghyuck laughed, opening the fridge doors. "They were long gone when I arrived, love. But I enjoyed the show, the way you shake your ass is so hot."

You rolled your eyes. "As if you didn't know already."

Donghyuck smirked. "Oh, I do now. You should shake it in my face."

"Donghyuck! It's 6 AM!" You chuckled.

"I wasn't the one popping my booty 2 minutes ago," He mocked you.

"It's one of my hidden talents," you shrugged.

"Once this thing is off my ankle I'm taking you out and we're gonna dance all night," he promised.

"Oh boy, if your dance moves are just as the same as in bed, I'm gonna be dead," you sighed.

"Oh, love. Don't even doubt it." he winked at you.

Donghyuck expertly poured a thin layer of batter onto the pan sitting on the stove, tilting it in a circular motion in order to get the mixture into a thin, even layer that would be easy to flip.

By the time he'd successfully filled, plated, and garnished three crepes. Donghyuck turned back to the stove and continued his work, pouring the batter, waiting, spreading Nutella on the finished pastries, putting them on a plate, and finally, sprinkling them with powdered sugar.

You stood up and placed yourself behind him, wrapping his waist giving small kisses at the base of his neck, marvelling when you received a slight shiver in return.

Donghyuck loved the feeling of you wrapped around him, showering him with chaste pecks.

While Donghyuck was flipping another crepe, you looked to your left, and seeing that the Nutella jar was open moved to dip your finger into it. Before you could, Donghyuck slapped your hand away with a small smile.

"Don't stick your fingers in the jar," he said, "you'll make a mess." You ignored the warning and stuck your finger into the jar, bringing the dollop of dark chocolate spread into your mouth and sucking it off.

Donghyuck smiled wider when he turned off the heat on the stove and turned to face you, who was displaying your chocolate covered teeth with your own smile.

"Ew, no gross," Donghyuck said as he moved back, escaping the kiss you were leaning in to give him.

"Gross?" You teased, pulling him closer by the waist, "but you love Nutella," and this time you succeeded in placing another soft kiss against his lips, the latter humming shortly after they parted.

"I told you so," Donghyuck said as he started walking towards the table, food in tow.

"Told me what?" You asked, leaning against the counter while crossing your arms in front of you and puckering your lips as if you were deep in thought.

Donghyuck couldn't resist the plump, pink cushions, and placed another quick peck on them as he passed to retrieve the milk from the fridge beside you. "I told you you'd make a mess," he said, "you've got Nutella on the back of your hand," he giggled, pointing in your direction.

You untangled your arms from each other so you could better inspect the area in question, chuckling softly as you found some chocolate smeared across your knuckles from the edge of the jar. You took a step towards the table where Donghyuck was waiting and leaned down so that you two were the same height.

You looked Donghyuck right in the eyes, smirked, and wiped your knuckle softly against the tip of his nose, leaving behind a small streak of chocolate spread.

Donghyuck jumped up from his seat, surprised at the action but immediately bursting into a great fit of laughter. You soon follow, his joy contagious. Donghyuck placed his hands on the base of your neck and pulled you in for a kiss, making sure their noses came in contact, resulting in both of you having chocolate smeared on your noses. This made you laugh harder when you pulled apart, sitting down at the table so you could finally begin their meal.

"Thank you for all of this," You had said while reaching to interlock your fingers, "I love you."

"I love you." He kissed the palm of your hand.

"Can I ask you something?" Your elbow was propped on the table and rested under your chin, your index finger on his cheek.

Donghyuck hummed in response.

"How did you become an... assassin?" You inquired.

He tilted head to the side and leaned back, sliding a little on his chair. "My parents died when I was 16 and I guess I kinda lost myself?"

He cleared his throat. "I dropped out of high school and left home and just hid out in old houses and stole food, money and beer until I was caught. When I got caught, I ran away."

"One time I tried to rob a train and a man held me up, I was drunk and a bit high, and he took me with him before the police arrived," he explained. "It turned out he was a very trained spy. I guess he saw something in me and made sure I never drink or get drugs again."

You reached out by taking his hand in yours. He smiled at the gesture. "He trained me for a year, and when I was 18 I had my first job. I'll never forget him. The fear in his eyes..." He furrowed and sighed. "Sometimes I dream of him. Of everyone."

You stroked his cheeks and your eyes darted to him. "You're different now."

"That doesn't change the fact that I am an assassin." Donghyuck smiled sadly.

"I uhm... shoplifted once," you shrugged.

Donghyuck cocked an eyebrow. "Is this you trying to make me feel better?"

You sighed. "Okay, maybe it wasn't the best example, but what I'm telling you is that we all have made mistakes. As long as we acknowledge them and we try to be better everyday, then we're growing."

Donghyuck smirked and his index finger stroked your chin. "Marry me."

"What?" You felt your mouth open, but no sound came out. There was a moment of pause as you just took in what Donghyuck said. He's looking at you so seriously, there was no way you could even think that he was joking.

Meanwhile, Donghyuck didn't even register what he said, much less the implications. He was still awestruck with his overwhelming feelings for you.

"Are you serious?" You asked looking at him.

He flinched, finally realizing what happened. His blood flow redirected upward to give his cheeks a glorious red tint. “I– er, uh…”

"Hyuck!" You snapped.

“Well, love– I– Er, got caught up in the moment!"

Donghyuck looked at the ceiling, checking out the chandelier. "Oh, is it new?"

"It's been there all this time!" You snorted. "Donghyuck!"

You scoffed. “Hah! Fine! I’ll marry you!”

His head snapped to you, grinning with a bright expression, looking like an eager puppy. He stood up and pulled you towards him. Then he frowned. "Wait, I don't have a right."

"Fuck the ring," you laughed and kissed him.

(...)

“So…you proposed?” Jeno asked as he visited his friend. Donghyuck nodded smugly. “When did you even get a ring?”

"I didn't."

“How’d you propose then?” He raised his eyebrow.

"We were talking about my past and she's just amazing," Donghyuck sighed. "And I popped out the question. Well, it was more like a command."

Jeno bursted out laughing. "God, you're lucky she loves you because I would have left your ass. You're so lame."

Donghyuck rolled his eyes. "Screw you, Jeno."

"So, when's the wedding?"

"I just proposed 2 days ago, dude." Donghyuck chuckled. "I don't know."

"Well, congratulations, bud," Jeno gave him a hug. "I wish you two the best."

"Thank you, Jeno." He smiled and had a sip of his beer can.

"I hope I'm the godfather of your first kid." Jeno beamed.

Donghyuck choked on his water and started coughing. Jeno laughed. "Oh man, I love this."

"Fuck you, Jeno," Donghyuck said.

On the other side of the house, you opened the door to your visitor and smiled. You barely had time to say anything before he had you in a big bear hug. "Well hello to you too."

"I missed you (Y/N)," he said into your hair.

"You dork. You didn't even make it for my birthday." You said teasingly.

He pulled away from the hug, his hands still on your shoulders "(Y/N) I'm sorry you know, but I have some work to finish. I'm sorry."

You laughed, "I know. Don't worry, Taeyong. Come on in."

Taeyong closed the door behind him and walked behind you. "Any updates while I was gone?"

"Actually, yes." You smirked.

He took off his jacket and placed it on the couch. You turned to him, still smirking. He tilted his head looking at you. Then his expression was serious. "Please don't tell me you're pregnant."

"What? No!" You furrowed. "Why did you think that?"

"You're... too happy so I figured," he crossed his arms against his chest. "What is it?"

"Donghyuck proposed!" You beamed. "I'm gonna get married, Tae!"

Fuck. He thought.

(...)

Still laying on the couch with his fingers famously steepled under his chin, he slightly opened an eye to glance at a portrait of you and him. God, when did you become so stupid?

Now he had a new dilemma: does he finish the job by himself all and hope for the best, or does he plaster on that fake smile he mastered ages ago and pretend he's super happy for you? He finally made his mind up.

He was going to kill Donghyuck.

[verai-marcel]

Chase Me Down (RDR2 Fanfic, Arthur x Fem!Reader, 18+, DubCon)

Just posting some of my older fics to tumblr. This is the Captured Hearts series, part 2 of 4.

Summary: You hadn't seen him in weeks, and then he shows up while you're in the middle of a hunt. How will you deal with Arthur’s forceful entry back into your life?

Author's Notes: I wasn't intending to write another one in this series… But since I am, let me establish a few world building things. This is a world where Chapter 2 in the game just started, and it's staying there, as if you went on a bunch of side missions and are not advancing any story missions. So no spoilers beyond that because it isn't happening. Blackwater happened in the past, and that's all. No other crimes occurred, no other plot lines to get in the way. And now, on to the smut! 

Tags: LH Arthur, DubCon, smut, rough sex, D/s undertones, Female!Reader

Word Count: 4772

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

You've had a really good run lately. It has been a month since you failed to capture Arthur Morgan, and your “encounter” with him has become just a memory. At least, that's what you tell yourself when you're not furiously touching yourself after dreaming of his strong hands around your neck and pulling your hair. Part of you thinks you've lost your mind. Another part of you wants to go find him and beg to be taken again. 

You shake that all out of your head. You get your rifle ready as you reach the edge of the cliff, far above the gang camp. If you could bring in the leader and two of his cronies, you could make enough money to rest for a month. You had been tracking this whole gang for a while now, and bringing in a few of the men here and there, dead, of course. They weren't much trouble, and you eventually managed to bring one in alive too. But you finally got a good lead three days ago, and tonight you tracked a few of the loud idiots back to their base camp. 

You'd have to be fast if you were to take out the top three men in the gang. There were at least seven men below. You wondered if you were a fast enough sniper to get them all in one go. 

You decided to wait until night and take them out quietly once most of them slept. It'd be a long night, but it beat getting all of them running towards you at once. And you had learned your lesson about being impatient with Arthur.

Thinking of him made you shudder. The feeling you had was complicated; it was both longing and apprehension wrapped up into a solid lump in your chest. 

You took a deep breath and focused on the work at hand. 

As night fell and men started to go to sleep, you waited until all but one was tucked into their bedrolls. You waited another half an hour to make sure at least some of them were passed out. 

Then you started shooting. The first headshot was for the man on watch. The next three were for the men sleeping nearby. 

By now, the three remaining men had woken up and were hiding behind crates and began firing in your general direction. You quickly scuttled to another part of the cliff, closer to the men but circling around them, to fire once more. Another headshot. Two left. 

You heard a rustling behind you. Not this time, you thought, as you pulled out your revolver and scampered around the cliff to some tree cover. A bullet hit the tree next to you, and you looked through the trees behind you and saw a few men coming your way with lanterns, making them easy to spot. 

One hand slinging your rifle back over your shoulder, you shot at the men with your revolver, hitting one and making two of them dodge back into the forest. Then you ran. You needed better cover. 

Bullets began flying again, and you cursed your luck. Of course some of the other gang members would come from a different direction and get behind you. You couldn't kill all of them, but you knew you got the three men you needed. Now you just had to get out and wait, and maybe you could collect their bodies later.

You found a nice thicket to hide around, and decided to try something. Finding a rock, you waited for them to get closer. As two of them approached, you threw the rock far away from you, but out of their sight. Foolishly, they followed the sound, and you quickly shot both of them in the head. 

As you came out and around to confirm the kills, you heard the other man, the one you had shot earlier, come bursting through, his gun pointed at your head. You could see down the barrel of his gun and thought this would be a shit way to die. You tensed to dodge and shoot. 

And then blood exploded from his head and he fell over before you could move. 

You quickly tried to dive back into the thicket, but a shot was fired at your feet. You stopped moving forward, dropped your gun, and slowly raised your hands as you looked up from your crouched position.

A familiar face appeared from behind the trees, and you felt both relief and trepidation. But mostly you felt surprised at seeing him here, and it probably showed on your face.

“Hey sweetheart,” Arthur said as one corner of his mouth twitched in amusement at seeing your reaction to him. 

“Did you have to shoot at me?” you asked, somewhat annoyed, as you picked up your gun and started walking to the dead men to loot them.

“Well, had to be sure you wouldn’t shoot me first,” he said in a light tone. “By the way, I took out the rest of them bastards at that camp.”

You just glared at him and walked away. You had this. You fucking had this bounty. And now you might have to share.

“You’re supposed to say thank you at times like this,” he said sarcastically. 

“Thanks,” you responded curtly. 

He looted the body that he had killed, and followed you as you made your way back to the camp. The walk was made in silence, with Arthur following you a few steps behind like a dog, or perhaps more like a stalker, and it was making you nervous. He was obviously playing with you, and you didn’t really like that at the moment. Also reminded you that he was an outlaw with no loyalty to you. 

When you got back to the camp, you whistled for your horse while you grabbed the head of the gang and dragged his body to a big rock. It was a gristly business, but after the last hunter had lied about killing this guy, the sheriff in the town you took this job from had wanted physical evidence of his death.

Arthur just watched, amused, as you led your horse to the rock and started hauling the body up and onto his back. It took you some time, but you finally did it. When you looked back over at the other two bodies, you realized that in the time it had taken you to move one body, Arthur had moved the other two to his horse, and was mostly done with his cigarette.

“Son of a bitch,” you mumbled. Then you called out to him, “I guess you’ll be wanting partial credit for this?”

“Half.”

“Fuck you.”

He walked closer until the two of you were standing toe to toe. He was taller than you, but that didn’t scare you. What did frighten you was the intense look in his eyes as he stared at you for just a few moments too long. 

“Careful what you say, missy,” he finally uttered in a low tone.

Your brain decided at that moment to remind you of the last time you met, and you felt your cheeks heat up. It was the middle of the night, but in the moonlight, you felt like he could see everything. 

You quickly turned around and got on your horse. It wasn’t like you could really fight him and take his horse with the bounties from him. You knew a losing battle when you saw one. Sighing heavily, you started riding back to town, knowing that it would take you at least the rest of the night and part of the morning to get back. You could get a hotel room and sleep for a day afterwards.

Arthur followed, and you weren’t sure what to expect. You mostly felt annoyed that your reward money was being split.

***

You rode through the night and into the early hours of the morning. Despite the situation, you enjoyed the sunrise, though you were tired and your nerves were frayed because of Arthur’s complete silence along the way. It was eerie.

But during the ride, you had thought about what just happened. He did save you. You hated to be in debt to someone. You also hated it when you got help you didn’t need. Made you feel weak.

You looked over your shoulder to peer at him. He was still following you quietly, and he was looking around, clearly keeping an eye out around you. 

When the two of you got to town, it was almost business as usual, except for the Sheriff looking at Arthur suspiciously. You had done quite a few jobs in this town, and he had never seen you work with a partner. 

“Thought you worked alone, O'Malley,” the sheriff finally said after he had confirmed the identities of the three bodies and handed a stack of bills to you. 

“Ran into him on the way, thought it might be faster with two,” you said, affecting a deeper voice; you, at least hopefully, sounded like a boy on the cusp of becoming a man. Arthur was giving you a pointed look, glancing at the money in your hands. You counted out half and passed the bills to him begrudgingly. 

“Alright then. Well, come on by next week, see if we got any more trouble. Wish you'd take my offer of deputizing you. You're young but capable,” he said, clapping you on the shoulder. You noticed Arthur eyeing the man’s hand on you.

You shook your head at the Sheriff’s offer. “No thanks, but appreciate the compliment,” you replied as you ducked away from him and walked out the door. Arthur just tipped his hat to the sheriff and followed you out. 

“O'Malley, huh? That ain't your real name,” Arthur said after the two of you were back on your horses and riding to the other side of town, via a back road.

“Of course not. It's just the name I give out as a bounty hunter,” you said as you took your hat off that was concealing your longer hair, and shed your bulky jacket so you actually looked like a woman with your tighter fitting union shirt.

“Hmmmm. So you that O'Malley Kid that I hear about sometimes? Young guy that only brings in dead bounties?”

“I brought in one man alive!” you retort, but the jocular grin on Arthur's face makes you laugh. You were somewhat aware of your reputation, but to know that he had heard of it too was a bit embarrassing. 

You had reached the hotel, and wanted to just sleep. You looked back at Arthur, who was just watching you with that intense stare again. But you were so tired. 

“I'm just gonna get some rest. Maybe see ya some other time,” you said almost too quickly as you slid off your horse, hitched him, and started fast walking up the stairs. 

Arthur, of course, followed suit, and was right behind you when you missed a step and almost ate it at the front door. An arm quickly wrapped around your waist, and he pulled you close to his chest. 

“Seem a bit tired, sweetheart.” 

“Don't call me that.”

“You gonna give me a name, then?” 

Not answering him, you shrugged out his hold and surprisingly, he let you go. You could feel him next to you though, and you had an inkling as to why he was sticking around.

“I’d like a room, please,” you said to the clerk at the front desk. The clerk glanced at Arthur, who said nothing.

“Alright,” he said after a moment before handing you a key. “Upstairs, second door on the right.” You gave him a dollar and made your way upstairs. Arthur was following you quietly, and you really didn’t want to make a scene, but the second you got to the door, you whirled around.

“I need some alone time.” And you slammed the door shut in his face.

***

Arthur stood there, a bit stunned, but once he recovered, he just chuckled to himself quietly and sauntered back downstairs.

The clerk raised an eyebrow at him.

“Lady thinks I smell. Could I get a bath?”

The clerk just laughed, and got another worker to prepare it for him.

***

As soon as you locked the door, you practically leapt onto the bed and sighed in comfort. You were exhausted and just wanted to sleep, but you were also nervous because you had also slammed the door on the most dangerous man you had ever met. Would he break in and then, potentially, break you?

You were mad at yourself for being a little bit excited by the idea. This man really was dangerous. Dangerous to your mental stability, that is. You tossed and turned on the bed for a few minutes, and then realized you had to run. There was no way you’d be able to enjoy this nice room while knowing that HE was nearby.

You opened the door and went downstairs. Walking past the clerk who was reading a paper, you asked if he had seen Arthur.

“Oh, he went to take a bath, just for you,” he said with a wink.

Plastering a fake smile on your face, you said, “Oh, that’s good. I’m just going to step out for a few minutes, please let him know I’ll be back shortly.”

“Sure thing miss,” he said, already going back to his paper.

You got on your horse and fled like the wind.

***

After riding all day, you finally felt like you could breathe again. You knew part of you had been really happy to see him, but it was also the part of you that just wanted to bend over and let him have his way with you. You were an independent woman, dammit! 

You chose to bounty hunt because it was what your father did, and it was how he met your mother in a small town out in the middle of the plains. Even though you didn’t see him much back then, every time he came back, he had new toys for you and stories to tell you about the crazy things he had seen. It was too bad your mother came down with an illness seven years ago and died while he was out on a week-long job. You didn’t know what to do; you remember seeing your mother’s dead body in bed, and shutting the door to her room and just surviving on canned food until your father came back. Once he did, he mourned & buried her in a day, and then he packed your bags, got you a horse, and you two never went back to that house. You learned everything from him, how to snipe, how to survive in the wilderness, and how to dress and act like a man so that no one would take advantage of you.

You had learned so much. You should have been better. So you regretted your actions when a job went bad a few years ago. You should have been patient. You should have breathed out when taking that shot. Then your old man wouldn’t have had to go in. He wouldn’t have had to die in that gun fight.

You shook your head of the past. You had been making your own way for years now. You missed both your parents, but like your old man had said the day he buried your mother: “You must move forward and face the future. If you stand still and look behind you all the time, life will pass you by and you’ll be left for dead.”

I must move forward, you thought to yourself again, and took your horse off the path to find a spot in the wilderness to tent up for the night. You felt safe out here, where there were few travelers and there were enough rabbits that you could easily hunt one for supper. A stream nearby made a calming sound as you set up camp and relaxed. After a satisfying rabbit stew, you killed the fire and crawled into your tent to sleep soundly.

***

You woke up to a hand around your mouth. Panic set in. How did your horse not whinny at strangers approaching? Was he okay? You swear, if anyone hurt Ol’ Trigger, you were going to be real pissed. You latched onto that angry feeling to give you courage.

That is, until you heard a voice like butter in your ear.

“Cute, trying to run like that, sweetheart.”

You relaxed, but tensed up again immediately. How did he find you so quickly? You swear you took several back roads and went in and out of streams to lose a trail. And why didn’t Trigger neigh or something?

“I went after you as soon as that clerk said you had stepped out for a little while. I knew it was a lie,” he said, a bit angrily. He slowly let go of your mouth.

“Is my horse okay?” you immediately asked.

“He’s fine. Led me right to you, in fact.”

You were shocked. Trigger wouldn’t betray you.

“I copied your whistle.”

You sighed. You hadn’t thought of that. Then you tried to sit up, but he pushed you back down with his other hand.

“Stay.”

“I’m not a dog to command-”

He immediately put a hand over your mouth again. You were about to bite him and retort, but you saw that he wasn’t looking at you anymore. He was looking outside the tent.

You listened intently. You heard bushes moving and the sound of your horse stamping his foot and whining softly. 

Arthur turned to you with a look that said stay here, and he pulled out his revolver and quietly crawled outside. You stayed put for all of three seconds before grabbing your revolver and following him. 

Once out of your tent, you immediately saw an agitated Trigger. Quickly going to him, you patted his neck to calm him, but you weren't prepared for the gunshots nearby. Trigger reared up and nearly landed on you as you jumped back. You grabbed at his reins and calmed him once more. 

You were feeding him an apple when Arthur came back, a wolf corpse tied up on his horse. He got off and walked towards you, grabbed you by the wrist, and pulled you towards your tent. 

You tugged and dug your feet into the ground, but he was too damn strong. He had almost gotten you to the tent; then he grabbed your hair and forced you onto your knees in front of him. 

“Unbutton my pants, sweetheart.”

You blinked and looked up at him. He kept watching you silently. After a few moments you reached up and did as he commanded. His tone of voice did not brook argument. That, and you felt heat curl below your belly and knew you would do whatever he asked. That voice did a number on your senses, and your sense. 

“Take out my cock.” 

You reached into his pants and pulled him out, your hand gentle on his skin. He hissed with pleasure and wrapped his hand around yours, guiding you on stroking him. With his other hand, he cupped your chin.

“Open your mouth,” he rumbled. 

Your eyebrows furrowed. 

Arthur let go of your hand and pinched your nose, forcing you to open your mouth to breathe. When you did, he forced his cock into your mouth. 

“Just lick and suck on it,” he coaxed, letting go of your nose and caressing your cheek gently with the back of his fingers. 

You started to move your lips and tongue around the head, looking up at him and watching for his reaction to everything you tried. Tonguing a line from the base of him to the tip made his eyes roll up, which made you unreasonably happy. 

Then he suddenly grabbed your hair at the back of your head and thrust deep into your mouth. Your eyes started to tear up, and he pulled back, only to thrust in again, but shallower this time. He did this slowly at first, but then he was going at a steady rhythm, taking your mouth. 

Your mind fell into pace with his movement, and you grew wet from him ravaging you like this. You didn't know how much you had missed the feeling of him fisting your hair like this. 

He pulled you away from him after who knows how long. Then he started taking off his jacket and shirt. You just stayed still, transfixed. I should run, you thought to yourself. 

But then he threw you into the tent and onto the bed roll. Landing on your back, you got up on your elbows to see him crawling towards you, and you couldn't help but think again of the wolf coming to eat his prey. You quivered, knowing that there was no escape, but you didn't know if you really wanted to escape now. 

“Take your clothes off.” 

You started to take off your pants. 

“Slowly,” he added. 

Under his gaze, you did as he said, each piece of clothing sliding off your skin slowly as you trembled. He was watching you so closely, and it was bringing heat to your cheeks as you finally took off your drawers and chemise. 

You sat on your bed roll, naked, and covered your breasts out of habit. 

He crawled closer to you and wrapped his hand around your throat, pushing you down onto your back. You struggled a bit before letting him. Then he put a hand on each of your knees and started to spread your legs apart. You strained your muscles to keep yourself together. 

“Keep fighting me,” he snarled. “It'll make breaking you all the sweeter.”

Like some twisted reverse psychology, you instantly relaxed your legs and let him spread you out. He chuckled darkly before dipping his head down to your stomach and kissing your scar. Then he moved lower, kissing a path to your clit. He licked around it, torturing you with almost-but-not-quite touches, sticking his tongue into your wet channel and making you squirm. Your hands reached for him and you ran your hands through his soft hair. 

Then he started sucking and licking your clit with no mercy. You gasped and writhed, your body coming apart under him as he brought you to climax with just his mouth. As you lay there, breathing heavily, he lifted his head, wiped his mouth, and pounced on you, his cock sliding up and down your folds, but not penetrating you. 

Grabbing your wrists, he positioned them on either side of your head. He lifted himself up so his cock was nudging your entrance. 

“Surrender to me.”

Your heart beat wildly at his command. You couldn't look away if you tried as he took you, agonizingly slow. Your hips bucked, and he froze. 

“Don't you dare move,” he growled. You gulped and nodded. 

He hummed approvingly and kept pushing into you. Once he was all the way in, he crushed you under his weight, making it hard to breathe. He stayed still for a moment, just feeling your heart beating loud in the night. 

Then he took you with abandon, his grip on your wrists tightening as his thrusts became faster, harder. He came with a harsh groan, and finally let go of your wrists. He rolled off you and bundled you up in his arms, pulling you close. Your cheek was against his chest and you could hear his heartbeat calming down. 

But much to your annoyance, you wanted to come again, and you started to reach down to take care of things, but then you felt embarrassed about even thinking of touching yourself while he was right there. 

As if he was reading your mind, Arthur reached between the two of you and stroked you, exactly the way you wanted. You looked up to see him watching you intently. 

“I wouldn't leave you wantin’, sweetheart.”

Trapped in his gaze, he brought you to the edge, slowed down, and did it again, driving you crazy. You grabbed his arm and dug your fingernails in. 

“Damn you,” you cursed as he teased you some more. 

“Beg me.” 

“Never.” You started to reach down to finish yourself, but he grabbed your wrist and twisted you around so your back, and your arm, was against his chest. It hurt a little. 

“Now now, you should know better,” he whispered. “Just give in, it’ll be better for both of us.”

You reached for yourself with your other arm, but he just grabbed it too, pulled your arms back and held your wrists together behind your back with one hand. You pulled and twisted, and in retaliation he wrapped his legs around you to keep you still, and snaked his free arm down to touch you again.

You’re not sure how long it was, of him teasing you, edging you, driving you mad with the desire to come. You hated to admit that he was wearing you down, and you were close to just begging for it.

“Just one little word, and I’ll give you what you need,” he said low in your ear.

You finally whispered, “Please…”

He changed his pace immediately, his stroking became exactly what you needed to push you over the edge and you came in his arms, crying with pleasure and relief, the release almost too much for your poor tired body.

Arthur let go of your wrists and let you stretch your muscles before wrapping his body around yours and petting you gently until you fell asleep.

***

You woke up deliciously refreshed. You’re not sure how long you slept, but the sun was high in the sky now. You rolled over, and found that Arthur was gone. The relief at being alone again, and the shame of succumbing to him once more flooded through you. Along with that tempest of emotions, so too did you have the feeling of a string wrapping around your heart.

You quietly got up and threw some clothes on before crawling out of your tent.

To your surprise, he was still here, patting Ol’ Trigger nearby and feeding him a carrot. It ticked you off, just a little, to see him so friendly with YOUR horse. As you got closer, you could hear Arthur mumbling something to him.

“Now you take care of your lady, you hear. She’s precious, don’t let her get hurt.”

Your heart melted.

He turned to you and smiled, and it was warm like the sun. Goddammit, why was he like this only after fucking you mindless?

“How you doin’?”

“Doin’ alright.”

“Just alright?”

“I’m doin’ GREAT. Is that what you wanted to hear?” you responded, a bit annoyed now.

“I just want your truth,” he said calmly.

His answer threw you for a second. Then you laughed. “My truth,” you said after a while, “is that I feel good. Thanks.”

Arthur just nodded, gave Ol’ Trigger one last pat, and started walking towards you. “Guess I’d better be goin’. I’m sure you have other bounties to hunt.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I do.” Now that he was leaving, you felt torn. You loved your independence. But you also loved what he did to you, though you would never admit that to his face lest he have even more power over you. You watched as he walked up to you. He cupped your cheek and stroked your skin with his thumb. Then he leaned in and kissed you on the forehead.

“See ya later, sweetheart.” He took a few steps back, his eyes on you one last time, before he turned around, got on his horse, and rode away without looking back.

Once he was out of sight, you immediately fell to your knees and hugged yourself. 

After a few deep breaths, you regained your composure and broke camp. Packing your stuff onto Ol’ Trigger, you noticed your saddle bag had been opened. You looked and saw a wad of bills and a piece of paper.

Counting the bills first, you noted that it was half of the amount you had given Arthur yesterday. Then you read the paper.

“Thanks for the fun night, my sweet.”

You were caught between being pissed and being amused. Maybe he was paying you like a whore. Maybe he felt bad about barging in on your hunt.

Maybe it was both. 

You shoved the money and the letter back in your saddle bag and got onto your horse.

“Son of a bitch!” you yelled as you rode west. 

--------

End Notes: I’ve got two more fics in this series on the way, so keep an eye out. Thank you for reading!