#(EVEN IF HE'S LYING TO HIMSELF THERE ARE GOOD LIES TOO 'THAT CAN HELP SAVE PEOPLE' AND IN THE END HE DOES WHATS RIGHT)

[ramblings-of-a-chaotic-neutral]

Time for today's silly Merlin au! This time featuring himbo Arthur!

I think that the show should have leaned into the whole "Merlin's technically a creature of magic" aspect, both in terms of being magic incarnate and kin to the dragons, and I think Arthur should have also been forced to come to terms with it as well. However, this is Arthur we're talking about, so of course he wouldn't come to the right conclusions right away.

In this scenario, around season 5-ish, there's an evil sorcerer seeking revenge against Camelot for the purge who puts a spell on all of the humans in Camelot, one that would weaken them and cause such fatigue that no one would be able to even stand up after a while. But it's a powerful and taxing spell to cast, so the sorcerer can only afford to target the humans in Camelot to keep the number of targets as low as possible. Besides, what could the livestock in Camelot do to stop him anyways?

So everyone in Camelot is falling under this spell, and Arthur and the knights are rushing to prepare for battle against the sorcerer to make him lift the spell. However, with each hour that passes, everyone grows weaker and weaker.

Merlin does, of course, know that this spell has been cast and what it does, but he doesn't feel its affects and assumes that his magic is protecting him. He acts like he's growing weaker so he doesn't fall under anyone's suspicions for the wrong reasons. However, after Merlin summons and talks to Kilgarrah for advice on how to break the spell, Kilgarrah informs him that Merlin wasn't protected by his magic, but rather by the fact that he isn't truly human.

And Merlin decides to unpack the implications of that some other time, because he's got a kingdom and a prat to save.

Fast forwards to the knights getting their asses kicked by the sorcerer and the evil sorcerer preparing to kill Arthur, who's lying on the ground with his eyes closed. All the other knights were knocked out by a blast from the sorcerer, but Arthur's still barely clinging to consciousness, yet he's too weak to even open his eyes. All he can do is listen helplessly as the sorcerer prepares to kill them all.

But then the sorcerer yelps, as if he were hit by something. Arthur's hope skyrockets as the sorcerer yells "You! How are you even still awake?! Every single human in Camelot should be feeling the full effects of the spell by now!" Arthur thinks for a moment that one of his knights has found enough strength to overcome the spell and fight back, but that hope is quickly dashed when he hears Merlin's voice responding like he isn't tired in the slightest, saying, "Well it's a good thing I was never really human then."

Merlin decided to say that to throw the sorcerer off-kilter enough to distract him and give Merlin an advantage in the fight. Besides, Merlin can see that all of the knights, including Arthur, are knocked out on the ground, so there's no harm in admitting it to this sorcerer who he's definitely going to have to kill.

Arthur, meanwhile, is still conscious and completely reeling from Merlin's words. What the hell did he mean he wasn't human?! Has some vile magical creature taken Merlin's place?

After the battle (which sounded to Arthur like a bunch of grunts, pained yelps, and a final, wet gurgle), Arthur could feel the effects of the spell lifting, letting him open his eyes with a gasp. He frantically looks around to make sure Merlin's ok, but Merlin's only a few steps away from him, while the sorcerer lies dead on the ground with a sword buried in his chest.

Hearing Arthur's gasp, Merlin turns to him with a relieved smile and helps pulls Arthur to his feet. Arthur, meanwhile, is too stunned to even ask how Merlin of all people managed to kill a powerful sorcerer by himself, but Merlin's giving some unbelievable explanation that involves distracting the sorcerer and then getting a miraculous opening and stabbing the sorcerer. Arthur's nodding along, but inside, he's really searching man who might be Merlin or might be some magical imposter posing as Merlin, as awful as that is for Arthur to consider, for any signs that he's truly Merlin.

If he's an imposter, Arthur has to give him credit, he plays his part well. The man in front of him looks exactly like Merlin, talks like Merlin, walks with Merlin's lanky gait, and seems to know everything Merlin knows, even their inside jokes. Still, Arthur needs to be sure, so after they get back to the castle, Arthur goes down to the vaults and grabs a secret object that Uther used in the purge that could detect illusions and glamor magics. It was a simple clear crystal in the shape of a sphere and small enough to fit in the palm of a person's hand, but if someone or something that was using magic to alter their appearance came into contact with it, the crystal would glow with a bright light.

Arthur plants the sphere in his chambers and disguises it as a new paperweight. The next day, Arthur pretends to accidentally knock it off his desk, sending it rolling across the floor, and orders the maybe-Merlin to pick it up and bring it back to his desk. Maybe-Merlin rolls his eyes in a perfect imitation of Merlin and walks over to the crystal. To Arthur's shock and relief, the crystal doesn't glow when Merlin picks it up, so he definitely is the true Merlin.

But then that leads Arthur to a horrible conclusion: the Merlin he knew wasn't a human, and never was. And the only creatures with the ability to look convincingly human were creatures of magic.

Oh god, Merlin was a creature of magic.

Arthur decides that, in order for him to plot an appropriate course of action, he needs more information. Namely, he needs to know what exactly Merlin is.

So, Arthur sneaks into the library and secretly takes some of the bestiaries, searching for what manner of creature Merlin truly is. Arthur tries not to jump to the worst possible conclusions, but all of the creatures of magic that can take human form that Arthur knows of are horrible monsters that prey on humans. Take the sidhe and the lamia for examples!

But people don't randomly go missing or turn up dead from monster attacks very frequently in Camelot, and Merlin cries when Arthur so much as shoots a bunny, so if Merlin's some sort of monster that kills and eats humans, he's doing a piss poor job at being one. So, Merlin must be some sort of creature that doesn't hurt humans, which certainly narrows down the list.

Arthur eventually finds a list of peaceful, human-like creatures of magic, and he starts trying to narrow down what Merlin is. He couldn't be an elf, since his ears were huge and round, not pointed. He couldn't be a gnome, he was too tall and gangly. He couldn't be a nymph, he spent too much time indoors to be a nature spirit. He couldn't be a leprechaun, he didn't have a beard or an affinity towards gold. He couldn't be a fae or a sidhe, he doesn't make deals with anyone (besides when he goes gambling at the tavern). And he certainly couldn't be a dragonlord, they were all dead!

Arthur was just about to give up when he finally found what he was looking for! The book's passage on fairies described them as benevolent relatives to the fae who would often disguise themselves as humans and would bring good luck and fortune to whoever befriended them, while sometimes engaging in some fun mischief! That must be Merlin!

Come to think of it, Arthur did have some great moments of luck, some of them almost miraculous! Morgana's magic failing her the day of a battle, defeating a dragon single-handedly, surviving the questing beast's bite, and of course defeating monsters that were said to only be killed through magic. And Merlin had been there for all of those events!

The book also describes fairies as creatures that love all living beings and are closely connected with nature, which makes perfect sense considering how much Merlin hates hunting! And fairies could see into the true hearts of people, which was how Merlin always knew if a person was untrustworthy!

It all made so much sense! This even explained Merlin's random "visits to the tavern", when Arthur knew that Merlin rarely ever drank. According to the book, fairies could only maintain their human forms for so long before they needed to spend some time in their smaller winged forms.

The book even addressed how fairies could be born from a union between a particularly powerful fairy and a human, which even explained why Merlin never knew his father and how Merlin could be a creature of magic while having a human mother!

Now that he knew the truth, Arthur felt so much relief! His best friend wasn't some diabolical monster, he was just a playful and friendly fairy trying to live as a human! It made so much sense!

And now all Arthur had to do was prove it. All evidence pointed to Merlin being a fairy, but he needed concrete proof before he could take any action. According to the book, the blood of a fairy in a human disguise sparkled under the light of a full moon. So, Arthur devised a plan to take Merlin out on an overnight hunting trip the day before the next full moon and "accidentally" cut Merlin's arm with one of the crossbow bolts. Arthur would then bandage the cut for Merlin and, after a couple hours, insist on changing the bandages, and pocket the first bloodied bandage.

Sure, Arthur felt guilty about purposely cutting his friend, but this was Merlin's fault for keeping the fact that he wasn't human a secret over their ten years of friendship! So, Arthur goes through with his plan, and when he held the used bandage up to the moonlight after Merlin had fallen asleep, he has to hold back a gasp as the red blood on the cloth shimmers and turns a bright golden color. Well, the book was right, the blood certainly sparkled!

(It was a shame that Arthur never read into warlocks, and how the magic in a warlock's blood made their blood turn gold under the light of a full moon.)

Arthur then turned to look at his peacefully sleeping friend, and swore that he would do everything he could to help his friendly little fairy.

Shortly after that revelation, Arthur starts actively noticing all of the strokes of luck he has. Bandits can never land a hit on him because they're too busy getting knocked out by tree branches or tripping over roots, his baths and meals are always the perfect temperature no matter how long he waits, and his injuries all heal at near-impossible rates. Hell, Arthur couldn't even recall the last time he got sick with something as small as a cold!

So Arthur tries to do little things for Merlin to show him his appreciation, like giving Merlin flower crowns (which fairies are said to like and Merlin absolutely adores), giving him a shiny silver mirror (fairies are supposed to like shiny things, and Merlin's never had a proper mirror before), and giving Merlin parts of his own meals as a food offering (which Merlin of course isn't about to turn down).

(Arthur's also kinda frustrated at the lack of information about fairy courting rituals lol!)

But Arthur isn't the best at keeping secrets, so the knights of the round table eventually catch him trying to set up a nice little fairy ring for Merlin in the garden, and they also "figure out" that Merlin is a fairy, and it all spirals from there until the entire castle is trying to show their appreciation for their fairy friend.

Merlin's very confused by all of this (since Arthur's terrible at actually communicating, Merlin doesn't know that Arthur thinks he's a fairy), but he's not about to turn down all of these lovely gifts!

And there's lots of different directions the story could go from there! A pretty funny scenario would be some rival king catching wind of how Camelot's great victories are all because of their king befriending a kind fairy, so he kidnaps Merlin in an attempt to make Merlin grant him such great luck and victory in battle. However, all they do to imprison Merlin is pour a circle of salt around him (since they firmly believe that fairies cannot cross a barrier of salt).

Merlin's just kinda raises an eyebrow and thinks that this is the weirdest kidnapping ever, steps over the salt, and escapes back to Camelot.

Thank you for reading through my rambling! :D

[mytheoristavenue]

MHA Mezo Shoji x Reader - Make Believe - VII

Summary: You ask Shoji to pretend to be your boyfriend for a dinner with your parents.

Warnings: mutual pining, fake dating trope, only one bed trope, nsfw, virgin!reader, virgin!Shoji, use of his quirk, mentions of scars, size difference, mentions of oral (fem receiving), heavy petting, angst, fluff

The night hours began to tick by as tried to wind down, doom scrolling on your phone. Every so often, your eyes would flick to the floor to the left of your bed- or more specifically, Shoji, still naked from the waist up, save for his mask. He laid on his back, having laid out his towel to rest on, also on his phone. You couldn't help but steal glances at his bare form, though it made you feel incredibly perverted. Your breath would hitch nearly every time he shifted, thinking he'd caught you for sure this time. He stayed none the wiser.

"Think I'll probably get some rest soon," he eventually said sitting up and stretching his muscles, twisting and popping his back. "Got maybe a blanket and pillow I can borrow?"

"Shoji..." your eyes softened at him, but you turned your gaze away before your words could capture his attention. "I'm not actually gonna make you sleep on the floor..."

"It was my idea, you aren't making me do anything." He persisted. "It's fine, really."

"Let me rephrase," you sighed, crossing your arms stubbornly. "I'm not going to let you sleep on the floor." You flashed a momentary smile, before realizing he was staring back and you glanced back at the wall, patting the spot beside you as you scooted over. "Get up here."

"I'm seriously good, (Y/N)," Shoji insisted, shaking his head. "The floor's actually pretty comfortable," he lied. "And if you don't have bedding to spare, I'll survive."

"Shoji," you warned, shooting him a glare. "Don't make me say it again." Sighing and giving in, he picked himself up off the floor, dusting himself off and scooping up the towel before draping it over the footboard. Hesitantly, he sat on the bed, legs still dangling. "Get under the covers, you'll weigh them down if you sleep on top." You said, swallowing at the way his body heat tickled your skin. Bashfully, he did so, lifting up the quilt and shimmying under it.

"Now, I think we should set some ground rules," you continued, trying not to let the lamp light show your red cheeks. "No cuddling, no touching, we sleep back to back, got it?"

"Right," he agreed, nodding and swallowing hard. "It'd be weird if that happened, considering we're not really dating."

"Yeah," you replied halfheartedly, rolling over as he did the same. You couldn't help but blush at the sensation of his bare spine against your clothed one. For a moment, you wondered if he'd notice if you lifted your shirt to feel his skin on yours. You promptly shook the idea out of your head when you noticed him trembling, lying stick straight.

"Shoji, is everything alright?" you asked, concerned, rolling back over and propping yourself up on an elbow.

"Yeah," he answers sheepishly. "It's kinda embarrassing." He chuckled.

"Tell me," you pressed, laying a hand on his forearm to see over his hulking form.

"My left arms fell asleep." he laughed nervously. "I'm not really used to sleeping on my side, I can usually only get comfortable sleeping on my back with my arms stretched out." He explains awkwardly. "I'm sure it'll be fine, though. If I get too uncomfortable, I'll go back to laying on the floor."

You felt terrible, you were so focused on your own comfort, that you forgot to take into account his. Of course, he wouldn't be able to sleep with his back to you, having three arms to lay on. "I'm so sorry, Shoji! I didn't even consider how your quirk must make mundane things difficult for you!" you worried, pawwing at his arm as he sat up with you. "I didn't mean to be so selfish!"

He waved you off, sctraching the back of his head, while trying not to fluster at your touch. "It's really okay, I totally understand. I guess I'm just built different," he laughed. "Literally."

"Maybe we should cuddle..." you suggested almost silently, twiddling your thumbs and staring at your lap.

"Hmm?" he hummed questioningly, glancing over and tilting his head.

"I-If we cuddle," you continued bashfully. "You can lay on your back and stretch out your arms, and I can lay on one of them." You explained. "Otherwise I could sleep with my head near your feet but..."

"Yeah let's not do that," Shoji joked. "But if you wanna cuddle we can..."

"I-it doesn't count though, it's not real, remember?" You said, more to reassure yourself than him.

"Right," he nodded, laying back as you pulled the cover back up. Once he was fully stretched out, you began to get comfy, snuggling up to his side. His top arms rested behind his head, his middle right supported yours, and middle left rested on his stomach along with bottom middle. The last one- the bottom left, snaked around your waist as his eyes fluttered shut, pulling you a bit closer with hand resting on your hip. Shoji could feel you become rigid under his fingertips, eyes snapping open and removing his hand. "S-Sorry, I-"

"I-It's okay," you interupted. "You can put it back..." To your relief, his hand crept back up to where it was before.

"This okay...?" he asked reluctantly, thumb ghosting circles over your pajama bottoms. You hummed in response with a nod. "Good," he replied sleepily. "I want you to feel good." Your head darted up to look at him, face entirely red. "I-I didn't mean anything weird! I mean like comfortable! I-i wanted to make sure you were comfrotable!"

Secretly, Shoji did want to make you feel good. Though it'd kill him to admit it, he was head over heels for you and was a victim to every emotion that came with that. Even the ones that left him pawing at himself in the dead of night, your name in whispers on the air around him. It was true that he had fallen for your kindness, power, and reckless care for others, but your evey thought left static on his skin.

It didn't help matters that you did not possess a single phyhsical attribute that Shoji disliked. He'd never consider himself as having a type, but if he did, you'd be the spitting image of it, and ervery good look he got at you reduced him to jelly. That's what landed him in this mess in the first place, an hour from home in borrowed clothes with a harsh sentance of detnetion surely awaiting his return. All you had to do was flash him that sugary sweet smile and bat your lashes and he was doomed.

"This is nice..." your voice shattered his thoughts and his attention returned to the present. "I wnder if it'll feel this nice when get to do it for real with someone."

A part of him wanted to lie and tell you it wouldn't feel nice with anyoen but him, irritated at the thought of someone else holding you, but he knew it'd be wrong. In the end, he compromised. "It probably will," she said sheepishly. "But one of the best parts of my quirk if that I give good hugs so..."

"You do give the best hugs..." you confirimed, voice tired and threatening to drift off.

"You know, if you ever want more hugs form me..." he trailed, unsure what he even planned to say. "Just ask..."

"As much as I love your hugs, Sho," you yawned, too lazy to even finish the last syllable of his name. "Think we should maybe spend some time apart when we get back."

Your noncahalant attitude about suggesting the two of you take a break from one another made his blood run cold and he couldn't keep his composure. "W-Why? Why would you want that?"

Your gaze shifted up to him questioningly. You'd hardly ever seen Shoji had strong emotions about anything so it unnerved you that he'd been so on edge all night. "What's with you?" you asked, perhaps a bit more accusitorily than you had to."

"What's with me?" He said, taken aback and confinscating his grasp on your hip, though if it was meant to be some sort of punishment or not, he couldn't decide. "What's with you?"

"Me?" You retorted, sitting up fully, officially offended.

"Yeah, you." He sassed back, also sitting up, towering over you, even hunched. "What, you just wanna go home and not be friends anymore or something? You know, for a fake relationship, this kinda sounds like a break up."

"A break up?!" you shouted in a hushed tone, so as not to wake your parents. "Shoji, we're not together! I just meant that someone has already probably started a rumor about us being gone together, if we cool it on spending time together, it might go away quicker!"

Swallowing hard, realizing he gravely misunderstood your intention, but still hurt, Shoji swung his legs over the edge of the bed, back facing you. "I still don't understand why you think I'd want that..." he trailed quietly, demeanor suddenly even tamer than usual.

"You wouldn't wanna nip a rumor that we were dating in the bud?" You asked skeptically. "You know how our classmates are, Shoji. We'd never hear the end of it."

"Not if it weren't a rumor..." he half confessed, peaking over his shoulder at you before glancing away.

You were befuddled and terribly confused. "What do you mean by that?"

He man sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You drive me insane, you cannot possibly be this dense." His words cut you deeply, but you had no time to confront him as a pair of disembodied lips slithered over to you, doing the talking for his. "If you're embarrassed to be seen with me, you can just say that." He snapped, arms all crossed, save for the one that was tearing into you at the moment.

"S-Shoji, why would you think that?" you sstuttered out, tears welling in your eyes.

"Because at this point, you're the only one that this isn't real for. It's real to me, okay? "He sounded exhausted, voice hoarse anbd cracking with raw emotion. "You can't pretend not to know how I feel about you, it's so obvious."

You gulped, confused with heart racing. "Let's say for a moment that I don't..." you prod, hoping he'd shed light on things. An exhaserbated sigh came from him as he turned around to face you, dark and typically cold eyes glossy and over flowing with emotion.

"I'm obsessessed with you, (Y/N)." He stated, voice ragged like he'd run a marathon. "I'm head over heels for you and I always have been!"

"S-Shoji, I-" He didn't even give you a moment to respond, yanking his mask down in a fit of desperation, and crawling across the bed ot you, pressing his naked lips you yours at long last. You froze against him, rigid and unsure of what to do. Shoji had always been the special person you wanted to share your firsts with, but if you kissed him back this time, it would make it your first official kiss- was it the right time? The right place? Could you replay this moment forever in your head and feel fuzzy everytimne from it?

Reguardless, your body betrayed your rational thought, throat releasing a starved whimper as your lips smooshed against his with almost the same amount of need that he displayed. Eyes fluttering open, you were met with an unfirmiliar sight as you parted from him, panting. He did this same, catching his breath as he rested his forehead against yours, tension from hiding his feelings finally releasing with his exhale.

"I-I've never..." you began, stare glued to the bottom of his face. "I-I've never...seeen you without your mask before..." I admit quietly. Shoji's eyes blew wide as seperated from you the same way he had in the kitchen earlier, this time slapping a thick hand over his lips. He turned his back on you again, cursing himself for being so impulsive, all the while fumbling to stretch the fabric back over his chin.

Your hand found his forearm and you crawled closer hoping to comfort him. "I-I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me." he stressed, wrestling his mask back on. "Fucking thing..." he muttered angrily.

"M-Mezo..." You murmured, hoping the sound of his given name would catch his attention. Luckily for you, it did. He froze, still facing the wall for fear of being perceived by you.

"Y-Yeah...?"

"Let me see you..." you plead, trying to pry him towards you, hands on his biceps.

"I-I can't," he mumbled, shrinking into himself. "You'll think I'm a freak, I-"

"Mezo," you said again, more sternly this time. "Please? How am I supposed to kiss lips I've never seen?" The idea of you wanting to kiss him again seemed to spark hope in him, but it wasn't quite enough to fully chip away at his conviction.

"You'll never want to kiss me again if you saw what I looked like." He argued weakly, fingers grazing over his face.

"I'm willing to take that risk." you reassured only to be met with a swift:

"Well, I'm not."

Sighing, you stood up, creeping over to his side of the bed, standing in front of him, looking as if he were holding his face together in his hands. Gently, you took him by the wrists, prying the modesty away form his features. Hesitently, he let you, looking up at you as if he were a child trusting you to fix a beloved toy.

Once you had him unveiled, your heart skipped a beat and your breath hitched. His lips were wide, wider than that of a typical looking person, forming what you'd imagined would be the biggest, most dazling smile. Decorating his lips was a myriad of scars, though you couldn't possibly guess what could have cause them and you didn't intend on asking. You gingerly ran the pad of your thumb over a few, noting that they were deep and raised. Lastly, teeth, you noticed, were perfectly straight and ivory white and even though there was hardly a soul alive that had seen them, it was obvious that Shoji took great pride in his oral hygeine.

"Say something..." he begged and you watched his lips move, entraced in his appearance.

"Mezo..." There was his name again, sending chills down his spine with the airy way it fell out of your mouth. "You're so beautiful..." you said, unblinking, admiration not wavering in the slightest.

He had half a mind to come up with some smart alick remark, but he hadn't the time as he felt your lips brush across his, pressence ghostly and barely there. A part of him still longed for the comfort and modesty of his mask, but he was putty in your hands and he knew it, there was no way he was getting away from you so easily after everything he'd said.

"T-Thank you..." he choked out between kisses so delicate they could hardly be called such at all.

"I know nothing could ever make you feel confident in your looks after what you've endured that lead you to hide it but for what it's worth," You soothed, still standing between his legs cradling his head in your hands as he sat in front of you. "You really are just so pretty, Sho..."

It was as if that word made something inside him snap, jumping up, towering over you and pinning you to the wall opposite him. His lips instantly found yours in a needy kiss as his arms scooped you up. "C'mere," he muttered against your mouth as a second pair of lips brushed against your nape, lost in your hair as it peppered kisses on the back of your neck.

"M-Mezo..." you whimpered between hungry kisses, writhing in his grasp.

"This is all your fault..." he sighed against you, not letting go of your kiss for anything. "I told you, you drive me insane," You couldn't help but let your head fall to the side as you moaned, giving his second mouth more real estate on your throat. "Now I'm all riled up and I can't contain myself..."

You had never in a million years imagined the words he was blessing you with. Sure, you'd fantasized about him in a sexual way, but you never pegged him for the verbal type, yet here he was. He'd always somehow had a knack for making you blush but with the way he spoke to you, so deserate, yet stern at the same time made your knees weak as they buckled from beneath you.

"Careful there, baby," he cooed, catching you, reflexes sharper than ever. "Don't think I'm gonna go easy on you just because you can't stay standing." You didn't even have it in your to respond with proper words, simply groaning in his grasp. "What's the matter, baby?" He whispered, breath ragged against your face.

"M-Mezo..." you sighed, back threatening to slide down the wall if he weren't supporting you.

"I hear you," he grinned wickedly, pivoting backwards and laying you on the bed, looming over you. "Loud and clear." He studied your form, button up pajama shirt lifted up on your tummy, pink frilly duvet puffed around you. "Just let me take care of you, I've waited so damn long for this."

As soon as you nodded with permission, several pairs of disembodied lips descended upon you, sticking kisses to any exposed flesh they could find. One pair tickled your stomach with ghostly brushes, but never dared to ask for more real estate to work with. He wanted to give you the control, let you decide when and what you show him.

"Your skin's so soft," he murmured against it, though you were unsure where the voice had come from. "Can't wait to have it in my teeth."

His words flustered you infinitely further, nerves puppetting your arms up to sheild your face with your palms. "M-Mezo..." You whined again, unable to form little more than his name.

"I'm here," he replied, grounding you back into the moment as you zeroed in on where the words came from- his true mouth, above you, watching your writhe beneathe him. "Not going anywhere, I swear."

Your hands wiped down your face and sunk below your jawline, resting on your throat for a moment. You watched as he smirked, pearly teeth glistining in the moonlight that peeked through the window. "I'm afraid your gonna have to be patient if you want me to choke you," he teased, knowing well that that wasn't want was on your mind- well it was now, at least. "You'll get everything you want, I promise, just be patient for me, baby." He leaned back letting his lips press against your forehead.

"D-Don't patronize me..." you finally said, pouting as your fingers trailed beyond your collarbone and landed on the top button of your shirt.

"Oh, baby," he cooed, softening on his playfulness, realizing you were willing to share something special with him. "Do you wanna show me something?" You very timidly nodded before glancing to your right, embarrassed and having second thoughts already. That was until be began to dote on you, sealing your fate. "You're so generous, willing to share your body with me..." he sighed, lowering to his knees, still hovering over you, while scopping you up in his clamshell of an embrace. "I'll make sure to cherish it, however much or little you decide to give."

His words pulled on the strings of your desire, making you want to immediately strip fully, donating yourself to him, but you resisted. Trembling, your fingers worked your top button, spurred on by the gasp that escped his lips when the two sides of the attachment laid seperate against your sternum. One by one, they all came undone until your chest and stomach were one collumn of plush skin, framed by patterned cotton on either side. Your ribs heaved, rising and falling with anticipation for his reaction.

Shoji stared down at you with all the admiration of a devoted follower praying to a holy relic. He studied the way shadows and hightlights danced across your newly unvieled skin. "Say something..." you begged, just like he had earlier. "D-Don't just stare..."

"Theres nothing I could possibly say," he replied, making your heart sink, arms insticutally rising to protect your modesty. To your shock, your wrists were instantly pinned to either side of your head. "Don't hide from me, I wasn't finished." He warned softly, thumbs grazing over the veins that ran down your wrists. "Theres no words that could possibly begin to describe how you look right now but..." he paused, head dipping down to lay kisses on your ribs. "I'd die a happy man if I could spend the rest of my life staring at you until I could make some up."

You had never expected Shoji to be so elloquent. Everything he said or did made you feel like the only girl on the entire planet, you felt increadibly special here beneathe him. Your thoughts of his articulation, however, were shattered by the sensation of a long wet tongue slobbering a stripe from your belly button upwards, hooking under your right breast, tickling you in a terribly lewd manner. Your breath hitched and no amount of self control could have ever stifled the embarrasing moan that slipped into the air. "Me-Mezo!" You cried, overstimulated tears pricking your screwed shut eyes.

You could feel him chuckle against your skin as he sloppily made out with the crevice under your breast, teeth nashing against the curvature of it where most of the weight rested. To him, it was heaven or better, having your still partially obscured tit resting against his face, supple skin under his tongue. "Mezo..." you crooned, craning your neck upward, fruitlessly trying to find his gaze. "T-Touch them..." you granted permission, only to have him refuse your request, chuckling darkly.

"You gotta take it off for me if you want more than this," he teased, nuzzled into your ribcage. "I'm only workin' with what you give me, baby. Ball's in your court." With that, you promptly wiggled out of your shirt, tossing it in a direction you didnt care to look for, before laying back down, blushing at the way he ogled you as your breasts settled against your chest. "Shit..." his breath hitched as he stared hungrily at your nake torso.

"T-Touch me, please, Mezo?" you plead, batting your lashes up at him. His hands were on you in an instant- all of them. Fingers gripped your hips, carressed your ribs, kneaded your tits, touched you everywhere all at once. The delicious and foriegn stimuli overwhelmed your senses immediately, extracting strings of vulgarity from your vocal chords. Shoji revelled in your songs, eyes half lidded and full of desire as his digits tickled you in the best ways.

"Like that, pretty thing? Like my fuckin' hands all over you?" He smirked, drunk on the moment as his fists closed around any flesh they could find.

"Y-Yes, God, yes!" you cried, squirming under him, only to have him press a firm hand to your sternum to hold you still.

"Stop fucking moving," he commanded with an arroused and cracked laugh. "Let me look at you, baby." You froze at his words, desperate to do anything to get him to shower you in praise again. "Shit, so pretty..." he cooed, dipping down to trail kisses down your chest and tummy before two extra mouths appeared from the hands that girpped you moments ago. Before you had time to question, you gasped, back arched like a cat as you felt tongues and teeth enclose on your nipples simultateously.

"F-Fuck..!" you hissed, throwing your head back as tears bricked your eyes. "M-Mezo!"

"I know baby," he hushed, ghosting his lips over your gaped mouth, pressing a kiss to your bottom lip. "Shhhh, just relax, baby, let me suck on these pretty tits..." He soothed as your mind began to melt fromall the new feelings you were experiencing.

Your lip quivered as he continued to pepper it with kiss as he felt you up. For a moment, you elevted to suck it between your jaws, only to be stopped by Shoji. "Ah ah, better not..." he cooed, taking it into his teeth, nipping at it softly and pulling it towards him, chuckling darkly all the while.

The action sent chills down you spine and you began to wonder if he'd down this before. "M-Mezo...h-have..." you trail off, not only unsure if it was a question you wanted answered but also if you could form the words at all.

"Hmm?" He hummed in response, paying you hardly any mond as his kisses began to trail down your throat.

"H-Have you ever..." You began, only to be interupted.

"Never, you're my first, baby." He stated with reassuring firmness. "Never wanted anyone else, you should know better than that."

"I-I thought so..." you sighed, secretly relieved.

"That a problem, princess?" he murmured from the crook of your neck before draggin his tongue from your shoulder to your earlobe, which he nibbled when he reached it, pulling a sob from you.

"N-No!" you cried in an embarrasingly obsene manner. "Y-You just seem to know- ah!" You shuddered at his teeth on your ear. "J-Just what to do..."

"Thanks, baby," he smirked, hot breath in your ear as he spoke. "Unfortunately, I'm just a big pervert," he admitted in a low grumble, making you weak. "Read too much porn, ya know?"

"S-Shoji!" you shrieked, face heating infinitely further.

"What was that, princess?" he laughed, fingers crawling up to your throat as his fist closed around it increadibly gently. "Last name basis with my mouths on your tits? Cold..."

You thought you should pinch yourself. This had to be some sort of wet dream. You'd pinch yourself and wake up in your dorm, sweating with sticky thighs. None of this could be real. Your Shoji- a perv? A porn addict? No, it couldn't be possible. He was such a gentleman! He was kind and noble...and he currently had his hand around your delicate little throat.

"M-Mezo..." you corrected yourself. "I don't believe that..." You confessed shyly. "I can't, you're not a creep like that..."

"Oh, you're so wrong there," he cooed, his hips grinding against yours as he left bruises all over your shoulder and neck. "I'm a huge creep, for you specifially..."

Your head coninued to spin at his words, curious lust bubbling inside your tummy. "W-What...kind do you like?" You asked, barely above a whisper, wanting to take an interest in his desires.

"Of porn?" He asks, chuckling lightly as he raises back up to look at you. "Tentacle stuff, mostly." He admitted with a smirk. "Kinda obvious, I'd think. Just love the idea of taking someone from all different angles..." As if to prove his point, one of his spare hands left your skin, slitherng down your body, easing up as it reached your crotch, ghosting over your heat. "You want me to touch you, baby?"

"M-Mhm..." you nodded, mind plague with the image of Shoji in his room, in the dead of night, fucking into his fist, reading hentai of things that look like him desimating girls that look like you. Once again, he brings you back to the present with the sensation of a tongue pressed against your pajama shorts. Gasping, you tense beneath him, virgin body unaccustomed to the new feeling. "A-Ah!"

"Like that, pretty girl?" he asked, voice muffled as they moved against the fabric to talk..

"Y-You don't have to use that mouth to talk..." you pout, squirming under the cage that was his body.

"I know I don't," he replied, chuckling against you, the vibration making you cry out. "But it's so fun to see you wiggle around..."

"D-Don't toy with me, Sho..." you pout, looking up at him with sugary tears in your eyes. "Take 'em off..."

Unseen fingers hook around the hips of your shorts, threatening to inch them down before they halted, pulling them back up even m,ore securely with a gentle pat. "Nah, don't think you're ready." He teassed. "I know I'm a rookie at this stuff, but from what I've read, you're supposed to be begging me to eat this pretty cunt, and you're not so..."

You wanted to smack him, punch him, scold him for talking down to you as you shrunk into yourself. Reguardless, your need for him betrayed your pride. "P-Please...?" you choke out, humiliated tears threatening to spill down your red cheeks.

"Please what?" he grinned, eyeing you mischeviously.

"P-Please...eat me..."

"Eat you? Baby, thats called cannibalism and it's illegal in Japan." He responded, chuckling at your flustered frustration. Suddenly, to his suprise and delight, you reached forward, running your fingers through his tusseled, silvery hair, collecting fistfuls of it, before shoving his face between your legs.

"M-Mezo, just eat my pussy already, please!" You wept, unable to take anymore of his teasing. The look he gave in response would have sent you into cardiate arrest as his eyes darkened with desire. You jumped at the feeling of his teeth nicking your clit as the pulled the soiled fabric away.

"Don't have to tell me twice..."

[raya-hunter01]

Not My Sister's Keeper Pt. 8

Roman X OC(Kara)

Jey Uso X OC (Tia)

Rating: 18+

Warning: Smut; sex, fluff, couple arguing, Jealousy, infidelity, pregnancy

Roamn’s wife recently left medical school and returned home to save her marriage. Upon her return, she finds out things are not what they seem. Her sister is pregnant by her best friend Jey Uso, who is also Roman’s cousin, and her husband is acting suspicious.

What happens when a conversation overhead on a baby monitor blows her world apart?

Boston Medical Center

Two Weeks Later

Kara’s POV

“Kara, you gotta eat baby,” my mom pleaded as I sighed taking another bite of the soup she was feeding me.

“I just hate ya’ll gotta do all of this stuff for me,” I said feeling just discouraged and helpless.

“Don’t do that, what I told you last night?” Jey asked reaching over and wiping my tears.

“To let ya’ll help me,” I whispered as he took the food from my mom.

“Ma, gon’ check on the other one, I know you’re worried about her. I got Kara,” he said as my mom looked guilty.

“I wouldn’t make it back in time before visiting hours is over.”

“Mama, it’s ok go check on her,” I said as she sighed reaching over and giving me a hug.

“I’ll be back in the morning, they are going to transfer her from the jail to the hospital, I don’t want her to be alone,” she said as I nodded putting her mind at ease.

Even though deep down I wanted her to stay in jail not getting transferred to hospital for mental evaluation.

As soon as the door closed Jey and I shared a knowing look.

“A’ight gon’ let it out,” he said as I shook my head.

“What good would that do?”

“It may would help you feel better, you’ve been through a lot you need to talk Kara,” Jey said as I thought about how to even put into words how I felt.

“My sister almost killed me, and laughed over my body. I’ll never be ok with her Jey, and I don’t think mama can handle that.”

“Kara it ain’t for her to handle, I would be worried as fuck if you could be cool with everything that happened.”

“She’s going to try to get me to not press charges, I just know it,” I whispered as Jey sighed.

“I figured as much you’re both her daughters and she loves you both,” He said as I looked down at my chest.

“I stabbed her Jey, like I didn’t even second guess it-”

“Kara, she shot you, and was trying to kill you. I think anybody can understand that.”

“The lawyer said I would have to testify and so would Roman and Trin. I just want it to be done and over with,” I said as Jey sat down the bowl of soup.

“Trin is game if you are and even though I ain’t talked to Roman I know he will testify too. She can’t get away with this Kara. It’s gotta stop before someone gets killed. And I’ll be damned if that’s you,” he said as I burst into tears.

“I know,” I cried as Jey maneuvered himself in the bed carefully pulling me in his arms as I cried.

“We gon’ get through this…I promise you,” Jey whispered, and I prayed he was right.

-----

One Month Later

Boston Municipal Courthouse

 Jey’s POV

This has been a straight shit show. Tia is really up in here on the stand painting a picture of Kara betraying her. I am just confused as shit right now as is everyone else.

“Ms. Morris what was going through your mind as you held your sister and you boyfriend hostage?”

“Boyfriend?” Trin whispered as I felt Kara’s grip on my hand tighten as she listed to Tia serve up her lies.

“All I could think about is that I had just got suspended and I just wanted to talk to my sister.  I go to her house and there is my boyfriend I couldn’t believe they were hooking up behind my back,” she said as Kara leaned on her knees.

“Is she serious right now?” Kara whispered as Tia began crying. “I saw he had sent her flowers and I just lost it. We were arguing and before I knew it, I pulled out the gun and it went off by accident.”

I put my hand on Kara’s knee as I saw the pool of tears in her eyes. “She’s lying and they’re believing her,” she whispered looking at the jury trying to not lose it.

I couldn’t believe myself when I saw a juror crying.

“Kara, it gon’ be ok,” I whispered as she shook her head in disbelief as Tia spun a new web of lies trying to save her own ass.

“No, it’s not. It’s hopeless,” Kara whispered getting up and going out of the courtroom as I got up to follow her.

“Kara, ya’ll are going to have your time up there, and it will work out, I said catching up to her. “Why are we here?” Kara asked, the look on her face breaking my heart.

“To get justice and you will get it, I promise,” I said seeing Trin coming out with Jimmy, Roman and a few other people.

“They are doing a twenty-minute recess and then I’m up,” Roman said as I rubbed Kara’s arms trying to get her to calm down.

“Did all that really just happen?” she asked as I saw her wince in pain.

“Look sit down you’re still hurt and trying to do too much,” I fussed as I saw Roman cut his eyes at me.

“Kara, we go up there, tell the truth and everything will work out,” Roman said as Kara took a deep breath and laid her head on my shoulder.

“I hope so,” she whispered rubbing her chest as Roman looked at me with worry.

“Jey, can I talk to you for a minute?” Roman asked as I reluctantly agreed as Jimmy switched places with me and sat next to Kara.

I didn’t know what he wanted but it must have been important for him to want to talk about it now at all places.

“I need to tell you what I’mma talk about up there,” he said as I stopped him.

“Kara already told me you were in the house when she got there. She told me ya’ll argued about me, the keys, her pulling a knife on you . She told me everything,” I said as Roman sighed in relief.

“I didn’t know if she had told you, so much has been going on. I just didn't want you to be blindsided,” Roman said as I nodded in understanding.

“Jey, I’m trying my hardest here to make it right,” Roman said as I sighed. “I know I got a long way to go, and things will never be the same, but I want us to at least be able to be cordial to each other if I see you at family functions.”

“I know, I just don’t think nobody will be able to move on until Tia is gone,” I said as we saw people heading back in the court room.

“Then let’s make it happen..Kara and Logan’s safety  are the top priority,” Roman said as I silently agreed as we went back to join the others.

The tension in the court room was so thick as Roman was sworn in. Tia looked so calm it was almost scary.

“So, Mr. Reigns on the night in question why you at were your ex-wife’s house?”

“Objection your honor, why Mr. reigns was there has nothing to do with this case. This case is about Ms. Morris showing up there and holding them hostage and almost killing her sister along with Mr. reigns and Mrs. Fatu who was almost shot at.”

“Sustained, Ms. Morris stated she showed up and her boyfriend was there, so continue counselor." The judge said as I frowned at him.

“Oh my god,” Kara whispered as Trin slid over and put her arm around Kara as I grasped her hand.

“We got you,” she whispered as Kara sighed, looking at Roman

“I had saw my ex-wife on a video my cousin had posted. I was upset so I flew to see her, went in her home to wait for her and we argued about it when she got home,” Roman said with remorse.

“Mr. Reigns how did your wife- ….I’m sorry ex wife-”

“Council stop badgering the witness,” the judge said seeing how uncomfortable Roman was at the lawyer taunting him.

“I’m sorry your honor…Mr. Reigns how did Ms. Morris finally get you to agree to leave?” the lawyer asked as Roman looked over at Kara then back at the lawyer nervously.

“Uh, I wouldn’t leave after she continuously asked, Kara did what made her feel safe. I don’t blame her, I was kinda out of control,” Roman said as Kara wiped her tears.

“That’s not what I asked you Mr. Reigns, what did she do?” The lawyer pressed.

Kara’s POV

This man is really up here trying to say I’m the aggressor. Roman looked at me and I gave him a small smile letting him know I was ok and to tell the truth.

“I’ll ask you ag-”

“I don’t need you to ask again, I wouldn’t leave so Kara pulled out a knife and told me to leave. I apologized and went to le-”

“So, what you saying is she was already angry and willing to hurt someone, maybe even kill them in her hysterics. I mean she almost killed her own sister,” the lawyer said as I looked over at my mom who was crying.

“Objection your honor how is the victim on trial?!”

“Sustained, answer the question Mr. Reigns.”

“This motherfucker,” I heard Jimmy hiss as I felt Jey calmy caressing my hand.

“Kara, was upset and hurt. I wouldn’t leave, and even though I put her through hell, do you know what she did?

“I’m sure you will enlighten us Mr. Reigns,” the defense lawyer said smartly as I saw Tia smirk.

“I damn sure will, when she had a chance to run, she stopped and came back when Tia threatened to kill me. She asked Kara did she want to be the reason my daughter wouldn’t have a father,” Roman said as getting choked up.

“You monster, you tried to kill my baby!” Ms. Janice yelled standing up as the judge began beating his gavel.

“Order in the court! Order in the court!”

“I can’t believe ya’ll are putting people through this! She did it and needs to be in jail!” Janice screamed as Jimmy was trying to get her to calm down seeing two bailors coming towards us.  

“Come on auntie, let’s go take a walk,” he whispered leading her out the courtroom as she cried against him.

 The judge seemed conflicted if he should continue, or not as Roman stood up wanting to go after his mom.’

“Are you ok to continue Mr. Reigns?” the judge asked as he nodded sitting back down.

“Um, your honor it has already been a long day can we reconvene tomorrow?” the state attorney said as Roman seemed happy about the suggestion

“Yes, reconvene tomorrow at 9 a.m.,” the judge said as Roman came down and went to check on his mom.

“Ya’ll this is going to be an uphill battle, she’s spinning everything,” Mr. Reiner said as we walked out.

“It’s hopeless,” I said as my mom walked over making me look at her.

“Baby, its gonna be alright,” she said giving me a hug as I tried to hold it together.

As I saw Roman talking to his mom, he seemed relieved as she nodded, and they hugged.

“What they so happy about? That was a disaster in there,” Trin said as they walked towards us.

“Are you ok? You acting real happy all of a sudden,” I said as Roman hugged me, as I saw Jey tense up for a second before I saw his body relax.

“Uce, do you remember when I met ya’ll to sign the papers for the house and Kara was talking about getting used to being alone in the city again?” Roman asked as Jey rubbed his beard.

“Uh, yea, I remember,” Jey said still not following and neither was I. “What did you suggest she get?” Roman asked as it then clicked for Jey.

“Ring cameras,” Jey whispered as Roman nodded.

“Yes, ring cameras…Now please tell me ya’ll got them,” Roman pleaded as I nodded.

“Yea, Jey and Jimmy started doing them, but they had only got to the living room and kit-”

“Oh my god, ya’ll got everything on video,” Trin whispered as Mr. Reiner seemed to perk up at the new information.

“How do you retrieve the footage, Kara?” he asked, knowing I didn’t live in that house anymore.

“When I used It, it would automatically save to my iCloud and the ring camera app. When I was out and about, I could look at footage from inside the house,” I said opened the app and going back to the date before giving it to Mr. Reiner as he turned off the sound and began fast forwarding through the footage from that day.

“Can we use it?” Jey asked as but he didn’t say anything for a few minutes.

 “Kara, Roman, and Trinity come with me please,” he said pausing the video on my phone as I looked at Jey, panicking. “I’ll be right here waiting,” he said as I nodded following behind Trin and Roman.

“Can I help you Mr. Reiner?” the clerk asked as he smiled. “Yes, I need to see Judge Kendell in his chambers this is important. I have new evidence this has come to light, and it is vital to our case,” he said as the clerk got up to see had he left yet.

“Please let him see us,” Trin prayed as I felt like this was too good to be true.

“I can’t believe I didn’t think about that. We could have avoided all this shit,” I hissed as roman grabbed my hands.

“Hey, it’s about to be over…Believe me,” he whispered as I nodded.

“I’m just glad you remembered, because I didn’t even think about it,” I said as he sighed. “It just popped in my head when I was talking to mom and I’m glad it did too,” he said giving me a hug that I actually welcomed this time.

“The judge will see you all now,” the clerk said taking us to his chamber. I felt like I was walking the green mile.

The poor judge looked ill watching the footage, thankfully he didn’t have the sound on, and we didn’t have to see it. I don’t think I would have been able to keep it together.

“I will inform the prosecution of the new developments. You do know this will be played in court tomorrow. Do you all think you can handle that judge Kendall asked as Roman and Trin nodded.

“Ms. Morris what about you?”

“If it gets to be too much, I’ll leave…They have to see it, she can’t get away with this.”

“Ms. Morris, you fought for your life in there that night, and I don’t want you to feel guilty. You had no choice in the matter, and the jury needs to see this,” he said as I nodded in understanding and feeling better knowing he knew the truth.

“Mrs. Fatu, I’ve watched your face throughout this trial, and I’ve seen a lot of this weighing heavy on you. I want you to know that you did the right thing, you ran and got your family help.”

 Reaching over I grabbed her hand in mine as she wiped her tears.

“Told you so,” I whispered, clearing my throat trying not to cry myself as Roman put his arm around us both.

 “I’m sorry we’ve had to put you all through this.” Jude Kendall said sincerely remorseful.

“I’m just glad Roman thought about it and we can set the record straight,” I said he looked at Roamn.

 “You didn’t hesitate to risk your life for these young ladies, its commendable.”

“They’re my family I wasn’t a hard decision,” Roman said as the Judge cracked a smile.

“Mr. Reigns the circus that took place in there today will not happen tomorrow; I promise you.”

“I hope not sir, but I’m just thankful this will be over soon so I can get back to my daughter.”

“I will see you all at 9 am and let’s finish this,” he said standing up shaking all of our hands.

I walked out feeling happy but at the same time unable to really feel it was over until I heard a guilty verdict.

----

Later on that night

Kara’s new house

Jey’s POV

“So, ya’ll didn’t see the footage?” Jimmy asked as Trin shook her head.

“Nah, he said watching it tomorrow was going to be hard enough. He watched and apologized. How’s Kara?”

“I just checked on her..She’s finally asleep.  It was hard on her today,” I said not even wanting to think about the train wreck that was court today.

“I know it was, I couldn’t believe that asshole was trying to paint her as the problem,” Jimmy said as I nodded taking a swig of my beer.

“I wanted to reach over and kill him, like do you know what she been through. What we all been through dealing with that crazy fool?”

“He gets paid to get his clients off, but he ain’t gon’ be able to do shit tomorrow, it’s game over,” Trin said with full of confidence.

“Your right let’s just focus on tomorrow. I don’t even know how Kara is going to react seeing that footage tomorrow. Hell, how are any of us going to react?” I asked, truly not looking forward to watching the video tomorrow.

The lawyer called earlier and told us they had lifted the footage from the app and put it together splicing the view from the living room and kitchen together.

Tomorrow people were going to see everything up until they carried Roman out of the house on a gurney.

The worst moment of our lives was about to be displayed for everyone to see but if that was what needed to be done for Tia to pay then so be it.

-----

The next day

Boston Municipal Courthouse

Kara’s POV

I smiled watching that smile fall from Tia’s face as the judge allowed the evidence to logged in and tagged. They are currently moving the big screen TV to the middle of the courtroom.

“I have to warn you all this is graphic, and does have sound.,” the Judge said as Tia’s lawyer all but jumped out of his chair.

“Your honor, I object this is a witch hunt,” Tia’s lawyer said as the footage was being loaded.

“Sustained…. Counselor your client got on this stand and said her side of the story, now the prosecution is about to present their side of the story and evidence.” He said as Tia’s lawyer sat down placing his hand over the microphone as Tia leaned over talking to him.

She was shaken, that smile was gone now, and I loved it.

“Ms. Morris, Mr. Reigns, and Mrs. Fatu if at any time this gets to be too much you can leave,” the judge said looking at me as I gave him a small smile.

The video started with me walking across the living room with Roman in tow.

I felt the Jey tense as he saw Roman following me into the kitchen.

I felt embarrassed watching myself pulling out a knife on Roman. “God, I look crazy, maybe she was right,” I whispered as Jey shook his head.

“No, you were defending yourself, he wouldn’t leave,” Jey said looking over at Roman who had his head down, refusing to look.

“Kara, we need to talk about Je-”

“I don’t want to talk to you…I want you out!”

Hearing my voice, Iclosed my eyes almost transporting back to that moment as I tried to tune everyone out. But hearing a collective gasp, I looked up to see Tia urging Roman back inside the house and shutting the door with the gun pointed directly at him.

Lie number one exposed…..

“My god, Tia,” my mother whispered in disbelief as the scene played out like a movie in front of us.

“Get back here or I’ll shoot him.. Do you want to be the reason Logan has no father?”

I felt helpless once again, seeing myself this way was fucking with me. My hands in the air begging and pleading for her to calm down as she seemed to love the fear she had instilled in us.

Roman jumping in front of me to protect me.

“You didn’t give us a chance because you wanted her, Roman! You wanted her!..... Jey wanted her!”

I looked at Jey as he frowned looking the footage, but he never let go of my hand. His eyes full of tears.

“Kara, I got your food, twins ran up the street to the store for your ginger ale, and some snacks.”

“Trin Run!!”

“Help! Help us! She has a gun!” Trin hysterical screams fill the courtroom as she leans, over putting her head on my shoulder.

“I can’t do this,” my mother cried getting up, but my dad pulled her back down into her seat. “No, you need to see this, we all do.”

“Run Kara!”

I glanced up at the screen, hearing the first gunshot, my stomach becoming queasy as I looked over and saw Roman getting up to follow his mom, who was unable to stand it anymore.

 She had just saw her son head hit his head on the table as he struggled to get a gun away from a lunatic. His neck snapping back as he collapsed on the ground, unconscious and bleeding profusely from his head.

Who could blame her for wanting to leave?

I was finding people to look at instead of watching the video. I glanced at the jury as soon as I saw the video switch to the view in the kitchen.

I didn’t want to see it…I couldn’t see it.

As another gunshot rang out, I closed my eyes heard my body hit the floor with a thud.  I shifted in my seat trying move, but Jey stopped me, pulling me closer as I looked up at him.  

The ushed tears spilling from his eyes breaking my heart. I felt the walls closing in on me.

My heart dropping  to my stomach as a blood curling scream escaped from my mother’s lips as I stabbed my sister, the swift sound of the blade entering her flesh made me nauseous.

The silent sobs of the jurors making my heart race. I saw many people in the room focused on me, trying to see if I was actually watching the video…They wanted a show, but I wasn’t going to give it to them.

What they didn’t know was that I didn’t have to look at the TV screen to know what was happening.

It was a horrible nightmare etched in my memory, consuming me as I laid in that hospital bed thinking and wondering what I could have done differently.  

The way you could hear a pin drop in the courtroom when the Paramedic screamed, I wasn’t breathing and asking for backup sent chills down my spine.

Hearing Jey’s voice I looked at the screen. There was Jey seemingly in a daze helping the paramedic any way he could.

“She’s dead, Jey,” the joy in Tia voice shocking everyone in the court room. She truly wanted me dead and it ain’t no coming back from that.

Seeing the relief in Jey’s face as I began breathing again as he kissed me on the temple, I couldn’t stop my tears.  

“Kara, its Josh…I love you so much…You hear me I’m here and I ain’t goin’ nowhere,” I couldn’t take it anymore and as calmy as I could, I got up and left, as Jey followed me.

“Kara, stop for a second,” he pleaded as I tried to find a quiet place, finally going into an empty stairwell away from prying eyes.

“I’m so sorry I did that to you,” I whimpered as Jey made me stop walking and wrapped me up in his arms, burying his head in my neck.

“You ain’t got nothin’ to be sorry for,” his voice breaking as we silently cried together, the reality of what could have happened and did happen hitting us hard.

“I almost lost you and it’s fuckin’ wit me but I can’t even imagine what you feeling after having to see all that. It’s ok to not be ok.”

“I know, it just seemed to hit me all at once,” I whispered pulling away slightly, to look at him.

“We gon’ be ok though Kara, we are almost there,” Jey said as I gave him a tired smile.

“Thanks for being here,” I said as he smiled at me. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else, I got you and we can go back when you ready,” he whispered as I nodded.

After about an hour, we went back in the courtroom sat back down next to Trin and Jimmy.

“You ok? We had gone out to look for you but couldn’t find y’all.”

“Yea, I just had a moment sis, and needed a break. What did we miss?” I asked as she chuckled.

“Girl, the defense was so shook.. They waived calling any of us back up to the stand to be questioned. They know it’s a wrap, they rested and gave a weak ass closing argument and now want to take the original plea deal,” Trin said as rubbing my knee trying to calm my nerves.

“I’m so glad this is about over,” I said as Mr. Reiner stood up.

“Yesterday we heard this sad sob story from Tia Morris on how her sister hurt her by going with her boyfriend. When in actuality, Tia did that betrayal to her sister Kara Morris,” he said talking to the jury, briefly turning around to point at Tara.

Watching their faces, it seemed they were invested in what he was telling them.

“Your honor is this necessary?” Tara’s Lawyer asked as Mr. Reiner smiled.

“Your honor, they brought up this yesterday, so I feel the jury has a right to know how all this started.”

“Sustained…Keep it brief,” Judge Kendall said as Mr. Reiner nodded in understanding.

 “Tara Morris isn’t as innocent as she claims to be.. She sought out her sister’s husband, seduced him, had a child with him and them tried to extort money from him. The child hasn’t had anything to do with its mother really since birth.” He said walking back and forth down the jury box, making sure to look at everyone.

“When Ms. Morris realized Mr. Reigns still loved his wife, and wasn’t going to be with her, she abandoned the child and agreed to sign over her rights to her daughter if Mr. Reigns would give her 50 million dollars.”

“Dirty bitch,” Trin muttered as I sighed shifting in my seat.

“Her sister Kara Morris then moves away to get away from the chaos that is her relationship with her sister, and husband. Gets a divorce, is trying to piece her life back together to only have her home invaded and almost shot and killed by that same sister she left Florida to get away from.”

“Gon’ break dat shit down for’em,” Jimmy said engrossed in what the lawyer was saying. Everyone was and I actually felt a little more at ease.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, who taunts another human being as someone they love lays dying on the cold hard floor?” The dramatic pause in his voice captivating the room.

I’ll tell you who… An animal that’s who, an animal shows no remorse. The tricky part though is when Ms. Morris realized she had to face the consequences of her actions, she cried mental breakdown, and I don’t think that’s the case her at all.”

I felt Jey caressing my leg as I looked at him and he winked. “She’s going down,” he mouthed as I nodded, looking back at my mother who seemed just defeated.

“The video we all saw today clearly shows malice intent and while at times unhinged, Ms. Morris knew what she was doing. Now, I would never say deny someone mental help, but I do believe in actions have consequences and Tia Morris has been terrorizing people with no consequences for her actions.”

I nodded agreeing with him as I saw a few jurors looking at me with a sad smile.

I didn’t want pity. I wanted this to be over. Sensing my discomfort Jey draped his arm around my shoulder pulling me closer, kissing me gently on the temple as I melted into his touch.

“It’s time we do right by Ms. Morris and make sure her attacker takes responsibility for her actions and her disregard for human life. It’s time for Kara to heal so she can move on with her life.”

He was working the room, and everyone was hanging on to his every word.

 “It’s time we do right by Mr. Reigns so he can move on a focus on being a father to his beautiful little girl who needs him so he can move on with his life.”

“Oh, he’s going in for the kill,” Trin whispered as I smiled. “Yea, he is.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time we do right by Mrs. Fatu so she’s not afraid to walk into her best friend’s home. Give her the comfort of knowing there won’t be a psycho lying in wait trying to kill the people she loves or even kill her.” Mr. Reiner said, his voice trembling as I saw an older lady juror nodding, wiping her tears.

“Damn, man,” Jimmy whispered trying to keep his emotions in check as he looked at Trin. “Hey, I’m ok,” she assured him leaning over giving him a chaste kiss on the lips.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you have the power to give them all peace of mind so they can finally move forward with their lives… Please make the right decision and thank you all for your time.”

I wanted to jump up and give him a standing ovation, but I had to force myself to sit quietly. Looking over I saw Tia arguing with her lawyer, that cool facade long gone. She was scared.

“Oh, he did that,” Trin said with a small smile.

“Yes, he did.. Now let’s see if the jury can take it on home,” I said as the judge gave them instructions.

As they filed out the room to deliberate, I went and sat by my mom and dad. I had been somewhat avoiding them knowing they were struggling with being there for Tia and me.

They didn’t want either of their children in trouble or hurt.

“Honey, I’m so sorry,” my mom cried as I shook my head at her words.

“Mama, it’s ok…I’m good,” I said as my father gave me a hug. “You did what you had to do,” he whispered as my mom began sobbing.

“What was she thinking?” my mom cried as my dad sighed.

“Rebecca, she wasn’t thinking. She’s so used to getting away with stuff or shifting the blame she thought she was invincible. Now she’s going to have to deal with the consequences,” he said as my mother continued to cry.

“Maybe the time away will do her good and she can get some help she needs,” she said as I tried to share her positive outlook, but I wanted her ass in jail for the rest of her life.

Nothing would never ever be the same again.

As we went to lunch at a local eatery down the street, I tried not to worry but I was so use to Tia finding some way to get out of things I had to be prepared.

“So, when are you going to Mike’s?” Jimmy asked as I chuckled. “I don’t know yet, but he has been sending me ideas of what he could do to cover this,” I said pointing at my chest.

“It’s not that big, so you could easily get like a tiny tattoo,” Jey said knowing I was never really big on tattoos on my body, but I loved them on him.

“Doctor said it would be a few months before I could get a tattoo, I’m still healing. I think I want a little one, but the idea of the pain scares me. I remember your choice words as he did your back tattoo,” I said as he chuckled.

“Man, dat shit hurt, I was questioning my choices,” he said as we laughed.  

“Good choice though, it looks amazing, and I love it. It was really cool to see the process up close,” I said as he blushed.

“Damn, she got twin out her blushin’ n shit,” Jimmy said as Trin slapped him on the shoulder.

“Get out they business, Jurdy.” Trin warned as Jey rolled his eyes at his brother. Hearing my phone buzz on the table, I quickly picked it up.

“Hello, Mr. Reiner,” I said as the table got quiet in anticipation.

“I was just calling to let you know, they’ve reached a verdict. I’ll meet you all back at the courthouse.”

“Um, thank you, we’ll see you there,” I said hanging up, feeling anxious. Damn that was quick as hell.

“What did he say?” Jey asked as I looked at him in disbelief. “They already have reached a verdict, we need to head back to the courthouse,” I said as he smiled at me.

“What we still sittin’ here for then,” he said getting up to go pay the bill.

“Damn, in under an hour! “Jimmy said as Trin smiled at him.

“It’s guilty, I know it is,” she said as I silently prayed it was.

---

Boston Municipal Courthouse

Jey’s POV

“Will the defendant please rise,” the judge said as Tia stood up with her lawyer.

The appointed juror that was nominated to speak began to read the verdict.

“We the jury on the charge of attempted murder in the 1st degree we find the defendant, Tia Morris not guilty.” The collective gasp of disbelief spread throughout the courtroom as Tia smiled.

I wanted to bolt but Jey held me in place. “Just listen,” he pleaded.

“On count two, attempted murder in the second degree, we find the defendant Tia Morris guilty,” the juror said as I collapsed against Jey in relief.

“I got you..I’m right here,” Jey whispered as I tried to keep my tears at bay.

“On the charge of reckless endangerment in the second degree, we find the defendant Tia Morris guilty.” Satisfied murmurs filled the courtroom as I finally felt free, she had been found guilty.

“Was the verdict unanimously reached?” the judge asked as all the jurors answered yes.

“Good, we can begin to talk about the terms of the plea deal.”

Looking at Tia, I knew the theatrics was about to begin. She all of a sudden cried out, and collapsed on the floor as my mother screamed, running over to her with a bailiff.

“Oh, get up, ain’t nobody buying that shit,” Trin said as I shook my head.

“There she goes, always two steps ahead,” I whispered as Jey made me look at him.

“Aye, she can fall out all she wants, it’s a done deal…You hear me, they found her guilty,” he said as I nodded trying not to look over at her.

“Bitch, get yo’ fakin’ ass up off dat floor,” Trin whispered with a hiss as Jimmy shook his head in confusion.

“She really done fell her crazy ass out on these folks’ floor,” he said as Roman looked over at us in just as much shock.

“Leave her alone, she alright..Get up ,Tia,” my father said standing up as my mother scoffed at him.

“She’s hurt Bill.”

“Hurt my ass, more like caught. Tia get up before I come over there,” he ordered as she began to sit up, wiping her tears.

“Yea, that’s what I thought,” my dad said irritated, sitting back down shaking his head.

“Lord have mercy,” Ms. Janice said as Roman shook his head.

“They got her Rebecca, come back over here,” my dad said as my mom looked Tia over quickly and came back to her seat.

“Well, that was rather eventful,” Judge Kendall said looking at Tia as she wept standing next to her lawyer.

“Ms. Morris, your guilty verdict of second degree means some feel you acted in a moment of passion. That tails a 5-to-15-year sentence. Your reckless endangerment charge warrants three to seven years. Now your attorney wants your clean record to be taken into account and I tend to somewhat agree.”

“Thank god," my mother said as I rolled my eyes. I was getting irritated as fuck, as Jey reeled me in with his touch.

“Tia Morris, in taking all that into consideration, and you opting for the original plea deal. Ms. Morris, I hereby sentence you to eight years at the Boston State Women’s prison. Probation eligibility after three years served. Counseling will be provided on a weekly basis,” he said as Tia nodded, wiping her tears.

“Thank you so much your honor,” she whimpered making my skin crawl.

“You’ve been given a second chance Ms. Morris don’t make the court regret it. Also, I’m issuing a no contact order with your sister Kara Morris. When released if you violate the order, you will go back to finish your original 15-year sentence. Do you understand?”

“Yes, your honor I do,” Tia whispered as I nodded taking in the verdict.

“She could be out in three years.”

“Hey, let’s not think about it now,” Jey said as I looked at Tia as she hugged her lawyer.

Justice had been served, but I still felt like things between Tia, and I were a long time from being over.

Could we all really move on with this cloud hanging over our heads?

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[whatshehassaid]

“I LOVED HER.” “BUT SHE DIDN’T LOVE YOU. Not like he did. Not like I have”

That isn’t Armand saying Claudia didn’t love Louis. She did. What he’s saying is that Louis was so fucking focused on PINING for Lestats love, superimposing Lestat on Claudia AND Armand that Louis refused to accept love from them. Because he didn’t want Claudia. He didn’t want Armand. He wanted Lestat and he couldn’t have him (whether it be because Louis convinced himself Lestat was bad, or dead, or because Louis is in denial). He tries to make villains out of Armand and Claudia.

“Speaking of mistakes…”

“Vintage Lioncourt.” “I’m not Lestat, Louis.” “Okay….”

“Picked ANOTHER ONE over ME”

“It was NEVER ABOUT ME. Another chapter in the FUCKED UP ROMANCE OF YOU TWO”

“If you want to escape this cage of empathy I’ve trapped you in all you had to do was ask, Louis.”

“Imagine me without the burden of her”

Louis can’t face the fact that he was IMPLICIT in what happened to Claudia in Paris. She wants a companion in Madeline cause she’s not getting in from Louis.

I feel like we may be going the route of Armand and Claudia (probably immediately after the trial and before her death) bonding over their experiences. Not just to do with Louis and Lestat… but their childhoods… being raped… being used… being turned so young…

I’m not 100% on this but if they do include the head swap thing (which is still fucked up, I’m still upset at Armand for that) I feel like Armand will frame it or believe that he can save her if he can just give her a woman’s body to match her mind. And I feel like Claudia will jump at the chance. Again, not 100% with that and it’s STILL super fucked up.. but I think if that happens Armand (AT THE TIME) would believe he was helping her. Like how he “helps” his victims. How he was never helped as a human child and as a vampire. They relate to each other because they’ve never been someone’s first choice… and I think the moment Armand hears her say those words (“it was never about me. Another chapter in the fucked up story/romance of you two”) he’s gonna realize how much they really have in common and feel empathy for her.

It makes a lot of sense with how Armand’s character (especially in the books) is. He has a thing about consent (it’s a bit twisted because you could argue he assumes he knows what’s best for people… and acts accordingly thinking that he’s helping them) But he needs people to consent at least somehow. Even if it’s coerced.

That’s also why I believe after Paris… Louis initially agreed to have the memories of his role in Claudia’s death suppressed. He couldn’t handle the guilt that he didn’t care enough to save her. Armand just took it to the point of constantly suppressing the triggering memories. Plus on TOP of that I’m 100% sure Louis is schizophrenic and it’s causing blackouts.

Armand wasn’t really lying when he said that “I protect Louis from himself.” He WAS being honest. It’s in a fucked up way, but I believe it’s true.

And then with Daniel, that’s a whole other can of worms because I don’t think Armand wiped his memories right after San Fran. I’m starting to believe it wasn’t just Louis telling him to keep Daniel alive. The minute Daniel admits he finds Armand fascinating… and tells him “you can read minds right?” Alluding to the fact that he ISN’T LYING. Daniel is intrigued by Armand… and that immediately catches Armand’s attention. We’ve only seen up to Louis attacking Daniel from an unbiased POV (the tape recording). The rest is MOSTLY FROM LOUIS. Who had had memories taken whether by Armand or by the blackouts… and remember he has a habit of trying to make himself look good in Daniel’s eyes. He tries to convince himself constantly that he’s not a bad guy - but in reality…. He’s done some shitty things too. So it wouldn’t surprise me if some of that was also lies to Daniel. “You’re a liar Louis. Whether you know it or not.”

Something happened in those 4 days with Armand and Daniel that I’m not sure Louis realizes. He may come in and out of actual remembrance where he KNOWS Armand and Daniel fell in love… and he uses it against them both… and then goes back into not knowing what’s happening.

I have a feeling we’re getting the trial/claudia’s death/a reveal about the blackouts etc/the fire from ARMAND. Hence the “imagine me without the burden of her” line that Louis says. He would NEVER in a million years admit to saying that. Definitely not to Daniel.

The Merrick storyline plays into this here. Finding Claudia’s diaries… realizing that Louis really treated her badly and that she hates him for it. And Louis not being able to take it.

I also feel like Lestat and Armand have teamed up in Dubai without Louis or Daniel realizing it. They may be trying to help cure him with the help of Dr. Bhansali.

(Also, devils minion definitely happened in the past… you can just see it in the way Armand sometimes looks at Daniel - and in the books even though he was a stickler for rules… his only exception has ALWAYS been Daniel. He loves Louis, he wouldn’t have put up with any of this if he didn’t… but Daniel? Daniel is really the love of Armand’s life. And Lestat is Louis’. I need them boys to figure this shit out - and with the fact that Daniel wasn’t listed in the Talamasca victims folder? Even though he was attacked, held hostage and tormented… means he is probably in ANOTHER folder - *cough* ARMANDSPARAMOURS *cough* I hope they have Daniel find his name in there cause THAT is gonna be J U I C Y.)

[curapicas]

Oh look, the donghua is doing the heavy lifting for me and juxtaposing them on its own volition. (kind of a continuation of this)

Plot-wise, Li Tianchen's relationship with Lu Guang hinges basically on trying to manipulate and hurt Cheng Xiaoshi to do his bidding through hurting LG (worth noting this implies an understanding of such attachments, and the viciousness stems from a certain resentment of it + his twisted personality). I don't even remember if he's aware LG also has powers.

but tbh the funniest thing coming out of LTC vs CXS&LG is that, in a weird way, he was actually letting off his anger on the "right target", kinda? Technically? Of course I'm not saying LG deserves it nor that LTC was being anything but unhinged. But I do believe there's more than meets the eye (and probably informs the ways Lu Guang can be confronted on the narrative, more on that by the end)

Bc this show is competent, many characters have parallels with each protagonist, and LTC-LG are no different. There's a post I couldn't find that went on their reactions to their most precious people dying in front of them: whereas LTC loses all hope, LG has the means to go back, and thus doesn't even try to let go. Alas, they're both tacticians who, despiste meaning well for LTX and CXS, end up manipulating them into inaction/ignorance;

And they do so bc both feel adrift and out of options - but the show focus a lot on how powerless LTC feels about his life for it to not be a big factor. LTC fights so hard for a modicum of control that I don't even think it registers how he impacts LTX, meanwhile LG has so many variables stacked against him and his empathetic partner that he ends up prioritizing CXS' survival, even above their connection (he keeps to himself Emma's death, for example)

In the twins past, LG was the one that guided CXS into staying on task. And before that, he hid the photo even from the police. Tbh he'd never see it that way, but isn't this accidentally the best revenge for his stabbing? lol

Either way, LTC loses his hope, blames CXS and believes him to be what LTC hates the most, a nice guy who's secretly a jerk. Except. Who is actually closer to this description? A guy who can be polite but will stay passive if that affects CXS too much, to the point of lying about saving Chen Xiao's mom?

Curious to me he was also pretty straight forward in calling LG a jerk, and maybe it's just because LG botched his kidnapping attempt. But maybe he has pretty good instincts bc I don't think he even knows why he hates the man so much, lol. After all, for all Li Tianchen knows, everyone is a jerk who stands by and watch.

And maybe it makes him even angrier because he finally met someone who also has powers and is willing to call him "friend" and "play" with him. Considering his one friendship was with Liu Xiao, someone he's aware has plans, he might've even considered to have his own pet project on CXS. But the thing is, this person already seems to have a way more genuine friendship, and it's with LG.

Summary: LTC, if only he knew, would hate LG for not changing his past + being a guy who's very much capable of standing by and watch + having an actual friendship with CXS

DISCLAIMER: I think on his own right, Lu Guang values kindness in general. But LTC's vision is too black and white to even account for that.

While I'm on the topic of LG: while his passivity keeps him from being of any effective help to the twins, he's also keenly aware of the butterfly effect and that he could possibly make things worse instead, something CXS has been confronting throughought the story.

And yet. His objective is what ultimately makes us see this approach as instead of wise, more akin to the desperation of a grieving man - not unlike LTC who by the end of s2, gives up altogether of hope and follows the Big Bad. Besides, it somewhat clashes with the fact CXS actually does make a difference for the clients, be it by making the past more tender (Chen Bin's wife has sweeter memories, Dou Dou's life was actively made less worse) or the present better (lesbian noodles make up, Dou Dou's father and Qiao Ling reconcile), which is also something LG is aware of, since he agreed to deliver Chen Xiao's messages. So far I don't personally see a clean, objectively correct approach, thus I'm willing to bet it'll be whatever is diametrically opposite of Liu Xiao's, lmao

-kinda unrelated, but I've seen people mentioning an interview where Li Haoling-laoshi (aka the director) said he tweaked a little with Li Tianchen before s2, and he was meant to be (even more) obsessed with Cheng Xiaoshi, making this whole post even more hilarious

[lemonandlime22]

Yandere sibling!Dorm Leaders

Pt 1 Riddle Rosehearts (older sibling!reader)

Warning(s): cussing, yandere shit, unhealthy behavior, this shits only good for fiction irl this is no fuckin good obv

Word Count: 1k

A/N: I've been reading a lot of yandere stuff lately and I've been wanting to try it out too. Any constructive criticism would be very much appreciated, cause this is my first my writing any yandere type stuff. Also, tysm to @lorkai for the inspo help.

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

Riddle Rosehearts

When the two of you were young, you were always the one to comfort him after any unwarranted punishments, and were often blamed for his mistakes by your mother. You'd be lying if you said that you were never bitter or jealous about this miss treatment, but you pushed it down in favor of the relief that your baby brother didn't have to be put through what you did.

You found out about Trey and Chenya long before you mother did. Riddle cried and begged you not to tell your mother, to which you assured him that you would keep his secret no matter what. At the time, you believed this was a sign that he wouldn't turn out like your mother and in your excitement and relief you shared all of the secrets you had hid for years even giving him some pointers on where to hide things and convincing lies to tell. You thought these would have been an amazing bounding moments for the both of you to cherish.

But then Riddle was caught... You tried to convince your mother that it was your idea, you introduced the boys, you helped hide it for do long (which was only partly un true) but it only worked to give you a worse punishment then him.

After this incident, he started to turn into a miniature version of your mother, with the love of absorbed rules and anger issues. This of course drove quite the wedge in your relationship. As you got older your formulated somewhat of a plan, you would focus on your studies as much as possible, then try and get into a prestigious boarding school, and while there save as much money as you can so once you graduated you don't have to go back and can start a life far away from your mother and her control.

Now, Riddle had always admired you for your intelligence and bravery to stand up to your mother, whether for him or yourself, and he wanted to protect you just as you had always protected him. As Riddle grew older that strong admiration for you and want to protect you, and mixed with his belief of rules being of utmost importance, it grew into something nasty as time went on.

Riddle had heard you mention your plan when he walked past your room while you were on the phone with a friend. Once he knew you were up to something he was determined to find out what it was. After a few days of eavesdropping on your conversations, he was able to put together enough pieces of information to understand what you were doing. To say he was distraught would be an understatement, but he quickly composed himself in favor of making a plan to keep you here. With him. Your precious baby brother.

He played the waiting game for his plan to work perfectly, he waited right unit just weeks before your scheduled leave for school. That evening he knocked on his mother's study door,

"Who is it?" His mother asked through the door, in her ever-cold and rigged tone.

"It is Riddle, Mother. I have some things I must inform you of." Riddle replied, his heart racing in his chest as he awaited her response. Deep down he knew exactly that what he was about to do was horridly wrong, but he had assured himself multiple times that it was for your own good. But what made his heart pound so hard in panic was the thought that you would hate him for this. That you would refuse to speak to him, look at him, or even be near him. The mere thought made him feel like he was going to fall to his knees in tears right then and there. He couldn't live without the love and care that you had always given-

"Alright, come in." After what felt like an eternity, his mother responded, stopping him from spiraling deeper into his thoughts. He took a deep breath, pushing away his worries down as he opened the door.

'They'll understand, this is for their own good...'

Riddle's heart squeezed in pain and sympathy as he stood next to his mother while she yelled at you. But he couldn't help but feel just a twinge of satisfaction at the thought of the betrayal you must feel, that your own brother told every one of your secrets that you told him all those years ago and just maybe a little more for good measure. He wanted you to know the pain he felt when he found out you were going to leave him.

From then on, you weren't allowed to damn near anything, at least not alone, and that included school. She didn't allow you to go to any boarding school and she personally oversaw the rest of your schooling. You weren't even allowed to leave the house alone, which was something that took years of goodwill and trust to earn from your mother.

After that, you were far more distant from your brother, which eventually turned into coldness. Anytime he entered a room, you would leave it, if he tried to talk to you, you would either walk away or glare at him. All of Riddle's fears had come true, you hate him. He couldn't help but sob to himself in his room after you had glared at him for the first time. After almost an hour of sobbing into his pillow, he managed to calm himself down with a technique you taught him years ago, how ironic., he tried to think of this logically, you were a teenager, teenagers are notorious for overreacting because of hormones, yeah.. that must be it... you would get over this soon... he's sure of it...

Riddle would later learn to understand you more, after a certain redheaded freshman challenges him for Houseworden. He would understand why you did the things you did, and how big of a mistake he had made. He'd do anything to make up for it and keep you by his side...

Anything...

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

[ryllen]

Please read this by putting it through google translate image translation feature on phone and cry with me,

or i can summarize it to you

"Why does human help the weak?" [ You just do it automatically, don't u think? ] - Kalim [ I was taught to do so. ] - Deuce [ Helping others is a beautiful thing. ] - Rook [ It's a natural for the strong to help the weak. ] - Riddle

[ It's just human's instinct of wanting to survive together, is it not? ] - Trey Jade finds it weird, because in the sea, no thought will be given to the weak. The strongest will survive. Call it an ego on land if you want, but that is how it has always been in that big pool of deep never ending water.

Jade is a mermaid type who is rather sensitive when turned into human. Walking with legs feel like walking on knives for him. To counter that problem, he always had his transforming potion mixed with a lot amount of pain killers.

One time he started to feel pain on his feet, he refused to be helped as he is fixated of being a strong creature & not wanting to be positioned as something weak. When he finally let trey helped him, he kept asking if there's any compensation he had to pay for having Trey helped him. "It is just pure kindness for underclassman", Trey said. Having it not sitting right on him, Jade told Trey his secret about his human legs' sensitivity problem as a form of payment. "That's too much information for that price." "Such critical thing! I never tell anyone that information as it would endanger my life!" "So.., are you telling me because you trust me?"

"No. I am telling you because I want (to keep receiving) that pure goodwill from you, my senior."

"That's an unnatural & greedy remark from a benevolent Octavinelle's student. Such a bad boy, Jade." Trey touched Jade's face in soft scolding manner & it made the mermaid quietly flustered with feeling he never knew he could felt before. Finding Trey's affection dear to him, at some other time later, he pretended that his feet hurts. And he lied about not bringing any pain killers with him. Trey who was wary about lying Jade, used his magic to overwrite the pain on Jade's feet, so he could walk by himself. But Jade sulked. Because, rly, he just wants to be carried by Trey again. Sensing this, Trey gave in, and carried Jade on his back, pleasing him.

Previously seeing Trey danced with Cater & Rook at other events, Jade invited Trey to go to an abandoned castle. He asked him to dance with him.

"I want to look good in front of you. But I'm not good at dancing," Trey said.

"Good." Jade replied with a smile, happy with his awkwardness. "I am not familiar with human's dance either."

They started to dance. And flirted a little. "Your eye is like olive." (Typical TREY) And when they were about to kiss, 3 overblot ghosts broke in.

"'ll take responsibility" Jade said, instantly feeling responsible as he was the one who brought them there. He managed to defeat one of the ghost. But in the middle of battle, the usual pain started to seep in to Jade's feet. For real, this time. His legs gave out.

With 2 overblot ghosts left still, Trey put himself into the middle of the fight. "I don't have enough magic to both overwrite your pain & defeat these overblot ghosts at the same time. So, run away while I try to hold them back."

Jade started to think how unacceptable it is that he is protected by someone who is supposed to be weaker than him. He should have been the one protecting Trey as mermaid is a stronger being, however he is nothing but a hindrance right now. Trey would even win the fight if it was not because of him.

So Jade found a way. He made noise to get the overblot attention's. He directed them to him so he could take them out by letting the chandelier fall over all of them together, including him. He was so ready to be crushed & took all those responsibility with him.

But, of course, Trey can't have that! Trey saved Jade at the last minute. He pushed Jade away, so the chandelier missed him. But in consequence, Trey had his legs broken as they were the ones that got crushed by the chandelier, instead -- together with the remaining overblot ghosts.

Jade who still didn't realize the situation, said "... Oh. That's too unreasonable to suddenly jump in, under the chandelier and come..." "I can't help it."

Jade slowly turned his head.

"It's too easy to want to help the person you love." "...So let me help you out." The horror of the current situation finally creeped to Jade's face.

"T-TREY-SAN! TREY-SAN!!!!!!!"

[ What do i do now?? What do i do??? ]

"Go, return by yourself even without me..."

Jade started to think of all his options. Phone? out of range. Magic? Out of the question, he just realized that his magic gem is now broken. The only mirror to come back to the school was at the foot of the mountain, while the castle they were in was at the very top of it.

[ Carry this person on your back. ] The voice in his head said...

"Carry this person on my back--?" he turned his head, and suddenly imagined the path of 'knives' he had to step on to go back. Not alone even.., but together with this person. ...The additional weight surely would pressed his feet harder to the ground, causing even more pain.

Trembling from the thought of the pain, Jade thought... "This is bad..., I only have one more painkiller...."

He took out that single pain killer in his pocket, and put into his mouth, seemingly ready and prepared to walk; at least a few steps back without pain. But no, he refused to do so. Trey is wounded. He must experience pain too right now. Lips-to-lips, he gave the wounded Trey the painkiller & let him swallow it.

"I'll help you now..." Jade said, repaying on Trey's deed & now walking back without painkiller, with his dear senior on his back.

His feet hurts. So badly that he started to bit his lips & let them bleed. The sudden thought of wild animals attacking them in this situation, made him shuddered.

Near them, he spotted a good running river.

...

[ I can just abandoned this person... and jump into the river. ...With that I can easily reach the foot of the mountain. ... With that, I can become a strong creature again, not the helpless one like what I am right now. ]

...

For a second Jade lost in thought of abandoning the weak like what the sea always taught him to do. But then, reminiscing how Trey carried him at that crucial time when he needed him to, he said to himself...

"No. That doesn't matter... "

"Because right now ..., I am helping him out of pure love."

And so, he kept enduring, until Idia who wandered at night to get his late night snack from the school's vending machine, found them who successfully came back, fainted at the hallway.

--

Time passed.

--

...

"Jade refuses to walk for awhile now." Floyd said, guiding Trey further inside to the longue. It might be because that event; so traumatic & painful, that Jade just wanted to forget entirely about walking all together. Or maybe it was out of guilt, for him being the reason that Trey had to be confined in the hospital room to recover & not being able to go anywhere. That's why, Jade isolated himself in the glass wall as a way to punish himself & share the same feeling with Trey.

"Sorry for the trouble." Trey replied, pushing his wheelchair with his hands.

"It's okay. It's Jade's own fault." Floyd replied, nonchalantly. Just like he always been. Oddly comforting, at the current situation. "Jade, sea turtle is here~~"

There he is. Jade, swimming in his mermaid form. Their eyes met. Seeing Trey sitting on a wheel chair, his eyes, glistened.

--

"So will your legs heal?" Jade was still in his mermaid form. He perched on surface of the longue's glass wall he was in, to talk to Trey.

"Yes."

"It's not just the bone fractures, right? It's also the ability to walk, right?"

"Of course."

...

Jade was relief. But he was still burdened with other feelings from the incident.

" --- IF I NEVER MET you, after graduating, I would have returned to the sea and keep being a strong creature forever....." "I am so scared and feeling so pathetic......."

...

Trey reminiscing the moment Jade carried him on his back, while enduring the tremendous pain on his feet, said, "You are...? At that time though, you looked like the strongest person in the world to me..." He patted Jade's head, consoling him.

Jade was relieved once again. " ... Trey-san ... " But it seems that this mermaid still has something in his mind...

"...When you risked your life, and let yourself be crushed under the chandelier..., was it all just because of the natural instinct inhabits in your body, OR-"

He didn't finish his question, and yet Trey answered. "It's because, I like you."

...

Jade proceeded to come out of the water, having his tail transformed to legs, once again after a long while. He approached Trey who sat there still with his immobilized legs.

"...I never thought I would ever need my legs again... He gazed Trey in the eyes. "But it is necessary...." "...There are a lot of things I want to do with you, with these legs..."

"...Many..."

And they both shared a kiss, which became the start of everything else.

[rapha-reads]

IWTV rewatch

Season 1 episode 7 [The Thing Lay Still] - part 3/3

- Okay, the triple confrontation Daniel/Louis, Daniel/Armand and Louis/Louis is long but there's so much to say, I have to quote it entirely:

[Daniel] "Well, isn't that neat and tidy?" - THANK YOU DANIEL, I know I can always count on you to point out the flaws and holes in the fabric of Louis' recollection.

[Louis] "'There was a ship. We did get on it.'

[Daniel] 'Yeah, I read that, the first 50 pages. Not exactly the, uh, adventure-of-our-lives feeling I'm feeling.'

[Louis] 'It was a traumatic escape.'

[Daniel] 'Yeah, but she didn't say that explicitly. […] But, um… there's a feeling that she hated your guts there for a while. Why is that?'"

Trust Daniel to always see the little thing that would be inconsequential to anyone else.

[Louis] "'I was haunted by my brother's death, by the abandonment of my sister, by the murder of Lestat, I…'

[Daniel] 'Murder? What murder? It was an act of mercy. You didn't kill Lestat. You spared him out of some fucked-up idea you had about love.'

[Louis] 'Love? I bled him like a pig and waited for the death rattle.'"

Oh, Louis. You are so good at lying to yourself. Good thing Daniel's too much of an excellent investigative reporter to let you fool him like you're fooling yourself. Notice how Louis looks as Daniel undoes all his lies and smoke mirrors? Like he's still trying to cling so hard to the story he's told himself for the past 80 years, like the lie is the only thing that keeps him upright, like if he admits the love, admits he wanted to save Lestat, that would completely undo him and there would be no going back?

[Daniel] "You were shot point-blank by an alderman. You were dropped a thousand feet and survived. You torched Antoinette just to make sure. Where does the trash go, Louis? You take the trash down to the street, some guys show up in a truck and they throw it in the back, and then, they drive it out to the middle of nowhere, right? No. They take the trash to the dump. And having lived two blocks away from the dump just outside of Fishkill, New York, with my first wife, I can state, with authority, what else you'll find there. Rats. Big fucking rats, the size of Kevin Durant's sneakers. Enough blood in them to bring back the dead. Especially one in a trunk with locks on the inside. You knew it, Louis. You had to. The biggest rat eater of them all."

Thank you for bringing back Moonlight Sonata! Haven't figured out yet if it's intra or extradiegetic tho. I love its presence in this episode. It's my favourite piece of classical music (I know, very original) and it's so gothic par excellence.

Mention of the first wife, Alice/Armand, no, I will not get down from this hill.

I love how Daniel's theory posit Louis as having done some planning for himself outside of Claudia's and even Lestat's, with the trunks locking on the inside and the rats needed to revive.

[Rashid/Armand] "'This session is over.'

[Daniel] 'How many days in the Islamic year? How many names are there for Allah?'

[Rashid/Armand] '355 and 99.'

[Daniel] 'Why does a 200-pound bouncer pass out after he sucks him off, and you, a wet T-shirt away from 130, doesn't even blink?'"

Ha, Daniel said 'okay who the eff are you and why am I smelling bullshit'. Meanwhile Armand said 'oh shit we're getting too close to dangerous waters and Louis is about to lose it, better reassert control'. But also, Muslim!Armand. Definitely. Not a throwaway line, not just pretence. Rolin Jones I'm counting on you to not fuck this up.

[Louis] "'I couldn't burn him.'

[Daniel] 'But Claudia could.'

[Louis] 'No', she couldn't.'

[Daniel] 'She stuck a pen in his neck. She recorded his last words in his own blood. The girl did not have a fuckin' problem tossing him on the grill, okay?'"

And Louis' wall of lies is breaking and shattering… And the pebbles of the zen garden, his other big trauma, don't help either…

[Daniel] "You cursed her into the darkness. You chose Lestat over her time and time again. You don't need a memoir, Louis. You need a hundred sessions of EMDR. You know the shit they put soldiers through when they see one of their platoon buddies get blown up in front of them?"

Say it, Daniel! These messy vamps need therapy.

Making jokes to avoid the sheer anguish in Louis' face, voice and body language, both in the 1940 flashback (the image of Louis holding Lestat's body and yelling is tattooed on my eyelids) and in 2022 (Louis sitting in his zen garden hugging and rocking himself, eyes screwed shut, trying to block Daniel and Armand's voices and the memories lives rent free in my mind).

[Daniel] "'144 years and you're still Louis the Pimp, paying a whore to sit in a room and talk with you. 'Cause why? You got some story you wanna tell the whole world about yourself?'

[Rashid/Armand] 'When you hear it you'll be ashamed, ashamed of what you say to him now!'"

Please don't hold back, Danny, do tell us what you think exactly. But hey, Louis needs to hear it.

The fuck are you talking about, Armand… Also notice how agitated he is? Feeling protective of Louis, or feeling like he's losing control of the interview, the interviewee and the interviewer all at once?

Love Armand taking off is gloves in the background. So subtle, so crucial. And then the lenses.

[Daniel] "'This is the same shit that happened in San Francisco.'

[Louis] 'Not exactly.'

[Daniel] 'How is it any different, Louis?'

[Armand] 'This time I won't save your life. Louis can sometimes act out. I protect him from himself, always have. Stopped him that night in San Francisco.'"

Oh, hello, Armand's decided to play Superman. Aaaaah, Armand's orange eyes, I love them!!!

Can we talk about Armand's infantilisation of Louis? "He acts out, I protect him from himself"… Like a child that can't regulate his feelings and needs to be put on time's out. The manipulation is deep and multi-layered, it's not just the memory alteration. Notice how Louis is pretty much dissociating, staring at the grey wall, face slowly becoming inexpressive and voice returning to flat and empty, from the moment Armand started telling off Daniel?

[Daniel] "'You were there.'

[Louis] 'You don't remember.'

[Daniel] 'No, I don't remember.'

[Louis] 'What was that you said about memory? 'A monster', was it?'

[Daniel] 'But I saw you standing in the sun.'

[Armand] 'As we age, the sun loses its power over us. What's a mediocre star to a 514-year-old vampire?'

[Louis] 'Daniel Molloy, I'd like you to meet the vampire Armand, the love of my life.'"

One, don't be too cocky, Louis, there's plenty you don't remember about that night too yourself.

Two, and we've come full circle again, the monster memory making itself fully known after lurking all season long.

Three, shut up Armand, the Sun is not a mediocre star, it's part of the entire reason there's life on this planet, show some respect. Sun deities are some of the most frequent deities around the globe. You need to come back down to earth.

Four, all the books being out of reach to Louis, another way Armand's exerting subtle control.

Five, "love of my life", BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAGA *deep breath* HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAA, that line kills me every time I hear time. Why you lying Louis, stop fucking lying all the time. Sorry, Armand.

Daniel seeing them side by side and hearing that stupid line after listening to Louis ramble and compose poetry on the spot about Lestat for the past week or so: "hm. I sense bullshit of the highest degree. Time to destroy that whole tower of lies one by one.".

Aaaaaaaaaah, that was such a rich and intense episode!!!! What a grandiose season 1 final!!! So many different elements that have got to be revisited by other perspectives to get the full painting. So many seeds planted for season 2 and even season 3!! The writing is flawless, the acting is exquisite, the music is gorgeous, the costume, set design and stage direction are masterful. I am in love with this show.

ep1 | ep2 | ep3 | ep4 | ep5 | ep6 | part 1 | part 2

[locke-esque-monster]

Have we considered that Mystery Spot actually gives credence to Dean's lie in early Season 4 that he doesn't remember hell?

Because at this point, Sam doesn't know that the Trickster is an archangel, that he's already met an angel, or that angels can create pocket universes. And considering how everyone in that universe reacts (think the minimal concern by either the old man or anyone around by a hit-and-run) they're almost certainly creations of Gabriel. And with how Sam survives a whole 6 months without Dean - this is an angel pocket-verse, not Gabriel changing things. So we can assume Dean didn't actually go to Hell during those 6 months vs Dean going and having forgotten like he did all the Tuesdays/previous Wednesday. And so Dean didn't lie when he said he didn't recall much. He essentially was an actor exiting the stage of the play, in limbo until its time to return.

But Sam doesn't know that. He knows Dean is being made to forget things. He knows the Trickster can change reality (If he can throw someone in a wormhole, how hard is it to grab someone out of hell?). He knows the Trickster refers to Dean as doing the "hellfire rumba" right now. He knows if Dean dies early he should still go to hell.

But Dean doesn't know this. It's pretty clear that while Dean knows a little about the Mystery Spot incident, he doesn't have the full picture. So he probably doesn't know he died for 6 months in this pocket universe. (With how they struggle to express themselves normally and Dean's upcoming death being traumatic for them both, neither of them likely want to dig into this.) In Mystery Spot Dean has no visible tics he's lying (unlike later), this time he just looks confused.

So from Dean's perspective, when he lies about not remembering hell in 4x1, it isn't something he's trying to slide by Sam, say for continuity because he's told this lie before. Instead, this is a first-time reaction/lie you'd expect from Dean, whose trying to avoid talking about his feelings and trauma, and to hopefully to will the memories away.

Sam however is expecting Dean to say this. He thinks forgetting hell upon resurrection is normal, it happened to Dean before. Sure he wants to believe that Dean forgot, but having a precedent helps (he was pre-law after all). It's only when Uriel questions it does Sam start doubting the lie.

So it's crazy to me that Gabriel's experiment when he's trying to stop Sam letting Lucifer out, actually helped solidify Dean's lie to being even more effective, by drawing out the full reveal to Dean's hell experience until mid-season (for good or ill to how the season played out with Sam finding out later rather than sooner - and how that impacted Sam's actions in season 4 is a much more in-depth conversation).

[As an aside to a point above, Gabriel would be too much on the angels' radar to send Dean to hell early, and to get him back all by himself - unless saving him is far easier than the angels implied. Under his "witness protection" Gabriel probably had to do one a heck of basically an obfuscation spell to get off the angels radar during Mystery Spot, since it's likely they were keeping basic tabs on Dean this close to his trip to hell and this would have caused some attention he didn't want. Cas easily caught Gabriel was too powerful to be a trickster during Changing Channels, and he's doing a whole town as a set versus a building and (at least to Sam) goes on for about 9+ months (3+ of Tuesdays and 6 more afterwards - funnily enough that's also how long into Dean's deal we are at this point based on airdate) - which is hardly a subtle use of his powers.]

[janetbrown711]

If I Fail You

Zhu Li Na is four months old when the cracks in the universe return, so it looks like it's time for baby's first Collect-A-Thon to Save the Universe! Surely nothing will go wrong!!! (Season 5 Rewrite adding in freenoodles fan kid Zhu Li Na + diving deeper into the mentality/mental health of certain characters)

Chapter 1: Watching Him Fade Away

Pigsy notices his son is starting to crack, but it's hard caring for a monkey-demi-god-kinda-regular-god and a four-month-old. But nevertheless, Pigsy tries.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

Ao3 Link

Doodles !!!

MK was a very, very good big brother. 

He was over at Pigsy and Tang’s as frequently as Sandy, always helping out and playing and cuddling and changing and cleaning and taking care of the little piglet as much as possible whenever he wasn’t training with Monkey King. 

Pigsy hadn’t minded the extra help at first. It was nice to have his son and daughter bond and who was he to refuse an extra pair of hands when he was this tired all the time? Plus, Tang had to go to work, and so the help was certainly needed at times. 

But something was… off with his son. Of course, something had been off for months now, but whatever it was it was clearly getting far worse as he was gaining circles under his eyes so dark they were supposed to be reserved for new parents. He was also adamantly in denial of the whole thing, as any time Pigsy tried talking to him about sleep or stress, he jumped right up and suddenly remembered a task he had procrastinated and dashed off. 

A part of Pigsy worried MK had been lying about accepting all this change– that he didn’t like his room being taken, or that he even didn’t like Li Na. Another part of him told him that was ridiculous, as MK seemed genuinely happy to help her whenever he could. Another, deeper part of him wondered if MK had been like this for months, but Pigsy just hadn’t noticed, too busy dealing with the pregnancy and NICU. A more optimistic part said maybe the couch wasn’t as comfortable to sleep on as it used to be, and he should encourage the kid to go back to sleeping at his place. 

But that could easily make him feel worse, right? Pigsy worked to make sure MK knew he still had a place in his home, he didn't want the kid to think he suddenly flipped a switch on him. He needed to know he could still rely on Pigsy, even if he was a lot busier these days. 

It didn't help that no matter what progress Pigsy felt he made, it felt like he was back at level zero every time MK returned from training. 

He needed to think up a plan, and quick– or else risk MK losing his mind. 

Of course, it was hard to plan with a four-month-old in constant need of attention, but you know. 

“If the problem is a lack of sleep, bringing MK back to his own place and away from a screaming baby would certainly be for the best,” Sandy suggested, finishing buttoning up Li Na's onesie after a change. 

“Yeah, I know, I know– but I don't want ‘im thinking I'm shoving him out, you know? I want ‘im to know he can always come to me for help,” Pigsy sighed, folding some of her laundry. 

“Have a little faith in the kid; he knows you love him, he's said so himself.” Sandy picked Li Na up, though she cooed and reached away to Pigsy. 

“I–... I dunno… he's real sleep deprived– you know how thoughts can get,” Pigsy scratched his neck. 

“Then remind him,” Sandy gave a soft smile. “Tell him you're concerned and be honest about why.” 

Pigsy looked away. “Eh… me and honesty don't really get along well, what with sayin’ I wasn't the kid's dad to his face and all for twenty years…”

“Are you sure that was honesty and not insecurity?” Sandy raised an eyebrow as Li Na began to whine. 

Pigsy sighed, taking his daughter back in his arms. She immediately cooed happily, which made the elder pig demon chuckle a little. “I guess you might be right… but still, I just– I'm not good at this. Not really.” 

“I don't know, Li Na seems to think you're doing just fine.” Sandy winked, making Pigsy roll his eyes and blush slightly. 

His friend laughed. “Just trust your instincts, Pigsy. You've always been good when you listen to your heart.” 

Pigsy snorted, but didn't have a good rebuttal. Especially because Li Na did seem plenty happy, reaching for the buttons on Pigsy's shirt with glee. 

The thought occurred to Pigsy that maybe Sandy ought to be the one to talk to MK since he was so good at it. Before he could suggest it though, there was a massive woosh throughout the apartment announcing MK's arrival from training.

“You want me to head out for some groceries?” Sandy offered, but Pigsy shook his head. 

“I think it'll be good if just the two– er, three– of us head out for a bit,” Pigsy suggested. 

“That sounds like a wonderful idea, Pigsy.” Sandy smiled at him all bright and corny, which made him roll his eyes again as he exited the nursery. 

Not to his surprise, Pigsy found MK in the kitchen wiping down the countertops with extreme vigor, acting like each little crumb and blotch was the Lady Bone Demon and needed to be wiped off this plane of existence asap. It might have been funny if it weren't for the stress and exhaustion weighing in his eyes. 

“Hey, kid. You– uh… feeling okay?” Pigsy asked. 

“Pigsy–! Hi! How're you doing?” MK shot up from the counter with a forced grin. 

“I asked you first.” Pigsy raised an eyebrow, shifting Li Na to an upright position so her head was against his shoulder. 

“O-oh! Right! Yeah, I'm all good man! Never felt better!” His son gave an even bigger smile and thumbs up for emphasis. 

Pigsy frowned. “Kid, when was the last time you slept?” 

“Bah, sleep is for the weak.” MK tried to wave off. “How's Li Na? When's the last time she slept?” 

Pigsy gave an unamused look. “Kid, I know what you're trying to do and it ain't gonna work.”

“What? Being helpful? I'm hurt.” MK put his hand over his chest dramatically, before scrubbing the counters again. 

Pigsy rolled his eyes. “Li Na is fine, MK. It's you I'm worried about.”

“I told you, I'm fine! Never felt better!” His son insisted, tossing out the cleaning wipe. 

Pigsy growled in frustration, causing the piglet in his arms to whine, sensing his distress. 

“Oh–! Hey, I can take her if she's not feeling okay! Or I can get her formula started or her diaper changed or–”

“MK, she doesn't need any of that–” Pigsy took a breath to try and calm himself while rubbing Li Na's back. “Just tell me what's wrong… please.”

MK's smile faltered. “A-are you sure you don't need anything? I can clean up around here or wash the van o-or even cook dinner, if you need.” 

Pigsy sighed, closing his eyes for a moment, before remembering his idea from earlier. “You know what? Let's go check on the restaurant. See how it's holding up.”

That worked to snap MK out of his spiral, as he froze and tilted his head. “Really? Why? You're not gonna open it for another four months.” 

Pigsy shrugged. “Fresh air'll do us good. Plus, I wanna make a proper meal on a proper stove, and I think my old cookbook is still over there.” 

“Oh– Okay! I can get the ca–” 

“I'll get the carrier and bag. You can take Li Na,” Pigsy decided instead. 

MK seemed confused again, but accepted the now smiling infant into his arms. “Hey kiddo, you having fun?” he asked, scrunching his nose. “We're gonna go to the restaurant soon. That's where you were born! It's also my favorite place on earth, so it'll be super fun.” 

Pigsy chuckled, shaking his head before going back into the nursery to get the same well-loved carrier he had used years and years and years before with MK. 

“So..? How's it going so far?” Sandy asked, startling the pig who had forgotten he was there. 

“We're gonna go for a walk, get some fresh air… though if you wanna take over, be my guest,” Pigsy half-joked. 

Sandy gave him a pitiful smile. “You got this, Pigsy. Just open up a little bit and you'll be golden.” 

The chef rolled his eyes. “Yeah, just text Tang where we are so he doesn't think we're being kidnapped or somethin’.” He snorted before  finding the diaper bag and throwing a few things in.

He had to dig a bit through the closet before he found his old baby carrier, with a well-worn scrapbook sitting right underneath. 

The chef couldn't help but smile a little as he picked it up and started flipping through. At the time he'd thought it was corny, that he wasn't MK's dad so there wasn't a point. However, his grandmother (and eventually Tang) insisted it was just to preserve good memories, and Pigsy couldn't have been more grateful. 

His heart ached with happiness and joy as he saw old photos of MK's chubby face, with fistfuls of noodles and a face covered in sauce. It had been a long, long time since he'd seen that face, so full of joy and nativity. No past, no future, just in the present focused on gorging himself on noodles. 

“Found something?” Sandy asked, peeking over Pigsy's shoulder. 

“Just an old scrapbook,” Pigsy chuckled before shutting it carefully. 

“Oh? I thought you weren't the ‘nostalgic type’.” Sandy grinned cheekily, quoting Pigsy from twenty five years ago. 

“Yeah, yeah, shut up,” Pigsy huffed and stood up, pausing when he realized he was still holding the book in his hands. 

…He wasn't exactly sure why, but he slipped it into the diaper bag too. 

“Text me if you end up needing anything,” Sandy said, not commenting on Pigsy's impulse decision. 

“Yeah, yeah. Get some sleep while you can,” Pigsy gave his friend a short crooked smile. 

Sandy laughed. “I sleep plenty fine on my boat, Pigsy.”

“With all those cats? Sure.” The chef retorted. “I should be back in an hour or so.”

“I'll hold the fort down. Have fun.” Sandy gave a salute, making Pigsy huff in amusement before heading back out to the living room, where MK was bouncing Li Na in a mix of exhaustion and worry. 

“C'mon, Li Na, it's okay, h-he'll be back soon, it's okay, you're okay, you're– Pigsy! She started whining and I-I think I'm messing it up, she won't–”

“Hey, hey, it's okay, kid, it's okay.” Pigsy immediately set the carrier and diaper bag on the couch, rushing to his son's side and placing a hand on his back. “You're okay, kid, just relax.”

“No, she wants you, she doesn't want me, I-I'm all messed up– take her back, please.” MK's resolve was starting to crack. 

“Hey, MK, it's okay, you're okay, just take a breath for me, alright?” Pigsy placed a calm and firm hand on his chest, taking a slow breath MK eventually copied. 

“Th-thanks, Pigsy.” MK sniffled, trying to bounce the still squirming piglet. 

Pigsy's chest ached with worry for both of them, but he shook it off for a moment. “I'm gonna get the carrier on, and then we'll go for a walk, alright?” 

“Yeah, that’s good.” MK nodded, small tears forming in his eyes.

Pigsy bit his cheek, but knew the best thing would be to just move on for now. And so, he quickly got the baby carrier on, putting it into front-inward carry mode, and placed Li Na inside, who relaxed as soon as her chest was against his. 

MK just stood there, watching at first before looking at the ground with his hands in his hoodie. His eyes were shining with tears, and his head was slowly sinking further and further down. 

It was something MK did a lot as a kid, especially on days he wanted nothing more than to just disappear. It made Pigsy want to cry, but the chef toughed it out. 

“C'mon, let's get some air.” He gave a mostly-not-forced smile and patted his son's shoulder. 

The boy nodded, clearly swallowing his tears before he suddenly moved, picking up the diaper bag and opening the door. 

“Dads-ies first.” MK cracked a mostly-forced smile that made Pigsy's heart twinge. 

“Thanks, kiddo.” He patted his arm again, and the three of them headed out into the night. 

The chef instantly felt more relaxed the second the late evening air hit his face, but he could tell it made MK more than a little anxious. Pigsy nudged the kid before taking a deep breath, implying for him to do the same. MK did, his shoulders loosening a little, but his eyes stayed glued to the ground. 

“You know– it’s– uh… it’s hard to believe it’s been four months, you know? Since she was born,” Pigsy tried lightening the mood. 

“Y-yeah! Man, time does fly, doesn’t it?” MK gave a weak laugh, one hand briefly leaving his pocket to scratch his neck before going right back. 

“Oh yeah. Sometimes I can hardly believe you’re in your twenties and not still goin’ to school,” Pigsy snorted. 

MK laughed a little less at that. “Yeah, it’s… yeah.” 

Pigsy winced as they stopped at a crosswalk. “It’s… hard to imagine one day Li Na’ll be in her twenties, all grown up and probably helping you fight whatever monster’s attacking the city that week.” 

“I thought you don’t want her fighting?” MK raised a somewhat playful eyebrow. 

“MK, I’m still not jazzed about you fighting,” Pigsy chuckled. “But… if that’s how it’s gonna be, that’s how it’s gonna be.” 

MK looked forward. “Right. Because ‘destiny’ and all that.” 

“What? No–ugh, I’m putting a household ban on that word.” Pigsy shook his head. “I mean because– I– you know– with the whole–” 

“Light’s green,” MK interrupted and immediately started walking again. 

Pigsy sighed, making Li Na shift so the chef put a hand on her tiny head. “I’ve got my work cut out for me tonight, don’t I kiddo?” he asked in a low voice, to which Li Na just cooed tiredly. The chef chuckled and gave her a soft pat before walking again. 

Just listen to your heart, Pigsy, just like Sandy said to. Sure, you’ve screwed this up before just about a million times, but Sandy is usually right about these things anyways so– just– try. For MK. 

“So– um… you feeling hungry at all?” Pigsy ventured, deciding to steer clear of the d-word. 

“Eh, not really.” MK half shrugged. 

Pigsy eyed MK for a moment, looking him up and down and checking for his usual hunger ticks. “Let me rephrase that; when was the last time you ate?” 

“Pigsy, I’m okay, really, I just–” MK tried to lie, but seemed to remember he’d already been caught earlier. “Training was just hard today.” 

Pigsy’s brows knit together. “What do you mean?” 

“No! Not like that, I don’t mean it like that– I just– you know–! The more powerful I-I get the more he works me, which is good! Monkey King isn’t bad, it’s all just– it’s fine, I’m fine, let’s just go back home.” MK almost turned around, but Pigsy grabbed his arm. 

“Kid, I know I’ve been… a little hard on him in the past, but I know he’s helpin’ you in ways I can’t, so it’s okay,” The chef gave a weak smile. It seemed to help the kid genuinely relax a bit, making the chef’s smile grow. “Besides, he did help save your sister’s life, so I know he ain’t all ‘irresponsibility’.” 

MK let out a genuine laugh. “Of course him saving your life doesn’t count for anything.” 

Pigsy rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, he’s saved me too, I guess, whatever.” 

“And he’s saved mine,” MK pointed out with a smug grin. 

“Eh, I’d say at this point the score of ‘saved your life’ versus ‘actively put it in danger’ is about even,” Pigsy pushed back playfully, and his son let out another laugh. 

“Yeah, whatever,” The kid shook his head with a chuckle, and all that laughter made Li Na let out laughs of her own. 

“Well, look who’s deciding to join all the fun,” Pigsy teased her a little. “What do you think? You like that Monkey King guy?” 

Li Na laughed again, making her brother grin. “You know, I think that counts as a ‘yes’.” 

“Bah, she’s four months old, what does she know?” Pigsy waved off. 

“Nah, I think she’s got it just right.” MK winked and booped her snout, making her scrunch up her nose and smile big, which MK copied, just as they came to another crosswalk that was thankfully green, and then it was “restaurant, sweet restaurant”. 

“Look, Li Na! It’s the best restaurant in all of China,” MK grinned as he fished out the keys from the bag, meanwhile, Pigsy soaked in the quiet warm feeling of seeing his third biggest pride and joy in person again after four months away. Of course, it also brought back memories of the absolute pain and terror he felt when last there, but there was also plenty of joy and love, so Pigsy was doing just fine. 

As was MK, evidently, as he lifted the security shield and flicked the lights on with delight before zipping to punch in the alarm code at a pace physically impossible for the old chef. Instead, Pigsy took his time letting all the memories soak in (though was certainly thankful all of the… “mess” had been cleaned shortly after going to the hospital). 

“Ahhh, it’s good to be back Pigsy.” MK came out from the back with a grin. “So, what’re we going to make? We gonna go for the longest noodle record again? Ooo– wait! What about the thickest noodle?! You haven’t done that yet, have you?” MK’s more manic energy came out yet again. 

“Woah kiddo, let’s settle down a bit first, alright?” Pigsy said lightheartedly. 

“Ahhh, c’mon! It’s why we came here! Revisit some memories, get cooking, and have a totally cool and awesome time for Li Na’s first visit– er… I guess first ‘return’ to the restaurant since she was born here.” MK tapped his chin. 

“Right, yeah, that’s true, but– I mean– there’s also– you know–” Pigsy hesitated again, cursing himself for stumbling over his words again. 

MK tilted his head. “You feeling okay, Pigsy?” 

“Are you?” Pigsy immediately snarked back, though immediately wished he hadn’t (the cursing in his head growing louder). 

MK’s eyes glanced around the restaurant as he slowly made his way to the bar and sat on a stool before picking at the grout. “I-I mean– I’m okay, if that’s what you’re asking. I-I just–...” 

Pigsy blinked, surprised his screw-up wasn’t backfiring. Scared he’d find a way to ruin it though, he quietly and carefully approached the bar, giving MK an analytic up and down. 

MK glanced his way, noticing the look and shrinking down. “I… I can’t sleep. Every time I do, I-I just– I-I–” The kid suddenly froze, eyes glazed over with a distant look of shame and terror before he desperately tried shaking it away. 

“Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay– stay with me, kiddo,” Pigsy tried his best to soothe, placing a free hand on MK’s shoulder and squeezing it tight. He could feel MK wanting to resist, but Pigsy held on tight, and eventually his son leaned into his shoulder. 

“I-I’m so tired, Dad. I just wanna sleep, but– I-I have to keep working– I have to keep training, I have to.” MK sniffled. 

“MK, it’s okay to take breaks sometimes,” Pigsy urged, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and giving them a squeeze. 

MK shook his head. “E-even if I didn’t need to, I still can’t– it just doesn’t stop…” 

Pigsy nodded slowly, not entirely surprised he was finally displaying symptoms of PTSD, or whatever Sandy called it– dammit, it really should be Sandy instead of him– why did Pigsy think he could do this on his own? Always so stupid–

No. If MK needed help getting to sleep, Pigsy knew how to get him to sleep– just use the same trick from when he was a kid. And who knows? Maybe with some luck, Pigsy could get a meaningful lesson in there too. 

He could do this. He just needed to listen to his gut. 

“I’m sorry sleep’s skipping out on you, kid,” the chef started, giving him another squeeze. “But since we’re all up and here, why don’t we give Li Na her first cooking lesson?” 

A light sparked in MK’s eyes. “Really? You want me to help?” 

“‘Course I do. You’ve run this place on your own a few times already, and she needs to know all the tips and tricks.” Pigsy winked, going behind the bar. “Although the dish we’re making tonight ain’t on the menu.” 

“Huh? Why?” MK tilted his head and followed. 

Pigsy shrugged. “Consider it a ‘double lesson’.” 

“Ooo! Like a noodle master and his proteges,” MK grinned again.

“Sure,” Pigsy snorted, finding his old cook book and flipping to the particular Lanzhou Beef Noodle Soup recipe he had in mind. 

“You sure Li Na’s gonna be able to stay awake for the whole lesson though? She’s already looking so sleepy to me,” MK cooed over the somewhat droopy-looking infant. 

Pigsy chuckled, patting her head again. “She’ll be just fine; us Zhu’s can practically cook in our sleep.” 

“I made instant ramen once in my sleep, does that count?” MK joked. 

As much as Pigsy hated that garbage, he nodded sagely. “No doubt about it.” 

That seemed to strike MK, as his joking smile twisted in surprise, before he shook himself out of it. 

“R-right– well, um– I’ll get started on the dough,” MK forced a more casual smile before zipping off to the back again. 

Pigsy bit his cheek, looking down at Li Na and silently wondering if that all was a good sign or not. The infant just blinked and smiled back tiredly. 

“You know, you’re a lot like your brother when he was a kid,” Pigsy smiled tiredly and kissed her forehead. She cooed a tired response before nuzzling her face into Pigsy's chest. 

Shortly after she did, MK came out from the back with all the stuff needed to make the noodles piled high in his arms. He managed to set it down just fine though; probably due to the kid’s super strength. 

“Alright, I’ll get started on the dough if you get started on the chicken and beef?” Pigsy proposed. 

“On it.” MK grinned, and Pigsy hummed happily as the two of them got to work. 

Pigsy immediately started talking Li Na through the process of making noodles, despite her immediately falling asleep at the likely familiar sounds of sizzling meat and boiling pots. MK of course chimed in whenever he could, whether with a joke or with how he liked to do it versus how Pigsy did it. A part of Pigsy wondered if the kid knew his sister was asleep, but even if he didn’t, Pigsy wouldn’t dare say a word. After all, he was having fun, and that plus the sleep he’d get tonight would make him start feeling better in no time. Not completely fixed, of course, but better. And MK needed better. 

It was dark out by the time they were wrapping everything up, and while MK was babbling about this one customer he had to serve, Li Na was starting to stir once again. Pigsy immediately started to sway as he stirred to try and keep her wake-up calm so MK wouldn’t worry, but babies are babies and soon enough a cry broke out. 

“Seriously! A whole avocado! Who doe– Li Na–!” MK dropped everything to run to his dad’s side. “Is she okay? What’s wrong?” 

“She’s okay, she’s okay, she just woke up from her little bed time nap, didn’t you?” Pigsy tried assuring the both of them, but Li Na must’ve been tired of the carrier as she started wriggling in frustration. 

“Okay, okay, I hear you kiddo, just hold on a sec, okay?” Pigsy told her before looking at MK. “How’s about you do the finishing touches and I get her settled, alright?” 

“O-Okay, yeah, I-I can manage.” MK chewed his cheek but tried to smile. 

“Everything’s under control. Don't worry, MK.” Pigsy placed a hand on his arm again and gave it a squeeze. 

“Right, yeah. On it, boss.” MK nodded to himself and went to the pot, giving Pigsy enough confidence to make his way to the bar where he finally freed his agitated piglet from her prison. 

“There you go, it's okay, you're okay,” Pigsy shushed, carefully holding her in one arm and setting the carrier down with the other. 

Li Na still continued to fuss though, threatening to wail as she kicked and failed her arms. Pigsy bit his cheek, trying to rock her but she kept trying to push him away. 

“Kid, it's okay, I'm just trying to help you, just let me help you,” Pigsy pleaded with her, trying to bring her back to his chest but that only made her angrier as the wailing began. 

Pigsy winced, trying to rock her instead, but that wasn't working either. She just kept crying and crying and crying, her face turning bright red and scrunched up. He tried digging through the diaper bag for something to help, but with how much squirming she was doing it was hard to be efficient with one arm. 

“C'mon, it's okay, you're okay,” the chef whispered, desperate to not stress MK out even more than he already was. 

God, this was such a mess. Sandy would've had it all figured out by now– he could read Li Na like a book, and he could help MK actually talk about his feelings. All Pigsy could do was bury his own feelings deep down and hope his kids didn't do the same. No wonder MK was like this, Pigsy was an exhausted mess too– he couldn't help anyone like this– he–

“Here, I got her formula for you.” MK suddenly appeared in front of Pigsy with a bottle in hand, startling the chef who needed a moment to comprehend. 

“I– uh– thank you,” Pigsy took it with hesitation, unsure if it would work. However, the second the bottle reached the infant's lips she started chugging away. 

Pigsy cursed himself internally for not even considering that could be the issue. 

“Thanks, kid. How'd you know?” Pigsy asked tiredly. 

MK shrugged. “She had that kinda clicky sound when she cried, and she only does that when she's hungry. I think it's because her tongue is in position for the bottle or something, I dunno.”

“Oh, yeah, I– uh– I guess she does,” Pigsy looked at her, shame weighing heavy in his chest. 

“A-anyways– um– soups on,” MK gave a big nervous smile.

“Right, yeah. Back to our cooking lesson,” Pigsy forced a weak one back. 

Taking a breath to ground himself, Pigsy got up and started making his way back to the counter. “You see, Li Na, the thing about good food is when you make it just right– the flavor, the feelin’– it all just comes rushing back to you,” Pigsy couldn't help but smile a little, thinking back to the last time he held MK in his arms in this very kitchen. If you do it just right, Li Na, it's more than ‘just food’, you know what I'm saying?” Pigsy looked at MK too. 

“Right! Yeah, Li Na, follow the recipe and it'll all be good,” MK patted his sister's head. 

“Oh– well– no, I, um–” Pigsy glanced at the noodle dish, when he realized MK– if he was following the directions to a tee as he claimed– missed an ingredient, and did a taste test to confirm. 

“Hmm… it's missin’ somethin’.... but what?” He teased his son a little, and panic quickly entered his eyes. 

“Wh-what?! But I followed the recipe perfectly, right?” MK went to flip through the cookbook before Pigsy rolled his eyes and let him have his own taste. 

Thankfully, that snapped MK out of fight-or-flight as he tasted it for a second before it must've clicked in his mind. He instantly stood upright and reached for the soy sauce. 

“Ahhh,” Pigsy winked encouragingly. “See kid, it's not always about following the recipe like it's written; sometimes you gotta feel it.” The chef smiled softly at the piglet as MK got bowls down and poured servings for the two of them. “And when you do, it becomes more than just food: it's home.”

“Oughhhh, it's so good,” MK laughed, tiredly picking the bowl up like he was talking to it. “Wish Li Na could try some, man, it's delicious.”

Pigsy chuckled, noticing Li Na was done with her bottle and quickly moved to start burping her, towel already on his shoulder. “Can't say I'm surprised. When I found– er– when you–... when you were a kid, this was your favorite.” He smiled tiredly at the memory, thinking back to the scrapbook. “I don't know when you stopped likin’ it so much, but–... but it always helped you sleep, so I figured–” 

A soft thud of MK resting his head against the bar, next to his bowl, made the chef chuckle. “Still works.” 

MK mumbled something in his sleep, and Pigsy rubbed a hand across his back until a small smile crept on his son's face. 

“Now for the hard part.” He cringed, thinking how he'd now have to carry both of his kids up the stairs to MK's room. 

Welp. He had no one but himself to blame, so may as well get to it. 

Pigsy worked quickly and efficiently, making sure Li Na was 100% satisfied and ready to go back in the carrier before he set it to “backpack mode” and placed her in. After that, he mentally prepared himself for how much his back was going to hurt in the morning, before scooping up his sleeping son and throwing him over his shoulder, trying his best to make sure no part of him was hitting Li Na. 

Immediately, Pigsy knew this was a stupid idea and that he should just text Sandy or Tang to come over to help. Instead, Pigsy stubbornly trudged up the stairs and into MK's apartment before all but dropping him onto the bed, before he too practically collapsed and sat. 

“You know… that… was a lot easier when you were little, kiddo.” Pigsy snorted. 

MK didn't respond in the slightest, those noodles really knocking the living daylights out of him. It was good to finally see him relax and hopefully, with time, the dark circles around his eyes could disappear. 

“Sorry I had to kinda trick you into sleeping, kiddo, but it's for your own good. You need to take care of yourself before you try and take care of me and your sister,” Pigsy chuckled a little as he heard Li Na coo behind him. 

“Oh yeah, your brother's a real hard worker, missy. He needs his rest so we can't be staying long,” he told the infant, though wasn't really motivated to move. 

He watched as MK's chest slowly raised and fell, over and over and over again in a rhythm that finally made Pigsy's own tense shoulders relax. He chuckled to himself as he instinctively reached and brushed his son's hair out of his eyes.

“I don't know how I ended up with you, but… I'm so glad I did,” he whispered. “I love you, son. Get some rest.”

Pigsy sat there for a while, softly stroking his son’s face and humming a lullaby out of habit. It seemed to help his son relax even more, a smile creeping on his resting face, making Pigsy feel like his heart could burst with pride and love. However, the chef knew he couldn’t stay forever, and so after finishing the song, he stood and turned off MK’s lights and left him to do as he was told.

Once outside, he let out a heavy, exhausted breath before going back to the restaurant where he took off the carrier and rearranged it to be front-facing once more. 

“You have fun with your cooking lesson, kiddo?” Pigsy asked, adjusting the straps. 

Li Na had no response, of course. Instead, she just watched her dad with big, curious eyes as he started gathering up all the baby supplies. 

“Glad you liked it cuz there's plenty more where that came from,” he teased and slung the bag over his shoulder before he looked at all the bowls and food still out. 

“Looks like we're coming back tomorrow anyways because I do not have the energy to clean all this up.” He snorted, which Li Na tried to copy. 

Pigsy chuckled. “Nice one, kid. Now let's get you home.” 

Li Na again attempted to snort, which Pigsy took as tired acceptance, so the two of them left the restaurant and headed homeward. 

.o0o. 

Despite Li Na waking up every two to three hours for food and changing, Pigsy actually felt somewhat at peace knowing his son was finally getting some rest. On top of that, Sandy was finally taking a day off as well, working on a “personal project” since it was Saturday. Tang didn't have work too, meaning he was home and relaxing as well. The only one not relaxing was Li Na, but she was still getting the hang of the “existing” thing, so it was fine. Besides, she was getting good at sleeping (much better than the previous three months), so he was relieved and proud nonetheless. 

“You know, call me crazy, but I feel like we're actually starting to get the hang of this whole ‘baby parenting’ thing,” Tang joked, lifting Li Na in the air while he sat on the couch, making her squeal in delight. 

“Compared to how we handled MK? Definitely,” Pigsy agreed as he repacked the diaper bag so they could go back and clean the restaurant.

“Oh, c'mon hon, that's not fair– he snuck up on us,” Tang pointed out, putting Li Naback down. 

“Literally,” the chef snarked. 

Tang rolled his eyes. “I don't know, I don't think we were terrible or anything– he's still alive, isn't he?” 

“By a miracle.” Pigsy shook his head. “I still remember the beach incident.”

“Hey! That wasn't my fault! And in my defense, he's probably literally made of stone! And it's not like he was drowning or anything, I just–” The scholar got all red and flustered, making his daughter giggle. “You mock my pain, Li-Li.”

“Clever girl,” Pigsy smirked as his husband shot a dirty look. 

“Well, if she's going to be like that then she doesn't get any more upies.” Tang stuck his nose up and Li Na's face fell. 

“Tang…” Pigsy cautioned, noticing her face already beginning to twist and redden for a cry. 

Tang looked back and noticed too, before immediately correcting his error and lifting her back into the air. “It's a good thing I'm not though, because you're such a cutie! Yes you are! Yes you are!” he said, lowering to kiss her cheek before raising her again and again. 

Pigsy smirked and shook his head. “You're such a sap.”

“You are too! Yes he is, yes he is!” Tang fought back without stopping his little game. 

The chef rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I'm all packed, we good to go now?” 

“You know, I don't understand the purpose of taking MK all the way to the restaurant when you could've just made him food here,” Tang quipped, standing up and cradling his daughter, who was slightly less upset than before that their game had ended (though she did reach up at him with excited arms). 

“It was for the lesson! Plus, kid needed to sleep in his own bed so he wouldn't be woken up by Li Na for once,” Pigsy pointed out, getting the carrier ready for Tang. 

“You just wanted to check up on the place again, didn't you?” Tang raised a playful eyebrow. 

“And if I did?” Pigsy dared his husband to question him as he handed the carrier off

Tang chuckled, kissing Pigsy's cheek as they swapped Li Na. “Big sap.” 

“Oy,” Pigsy rolled his eyes yet again, bouncing Li Na a little as he did. “Can't a man have some peace in his own home?” 

“I think even you should know by now the answer to that is ‘no’,” Tang snarked, clicking all the buckles. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's just get a move on.” Pigsy placed her in the carrier with her chest against Tang's, and this time Tang kissed him on the lips. 

“Maybe you can whip me up a bowl of noodles while we're there too, hm?” he teased, his fingers tracing up Pigsy's shoulders flirtatiously. 

“Freeloader,” Pigsy scoffed. 

“My darling husband.” Tang batted his eyelashes. 

“Yeah, yeah, let's try and get going before sundown,” Pigsy stopped the banter before they got too carried away, and so the couple (+ baby) headed downtown. 

Of course, the walk wasn’t long since it was just the three blocks, but “somehow” Tang’s ankles were already hurting, so he “rested” by the bar and played with Li Na while Pigsy started cleaning on his own. 

“You know, I’m kinda surprised you’ve been handling the whole ‘stay at home dad’ thing so well so far– I really thought by now you’d be itching to just open this place again– or at least be writhing with envy at the fact that Golden Hog’s open right now,” Tang pointed out, eyeing the window of the rival restaurant across the street. 

“It’s nice to know you have confidence in me,” Pigsy huffed, scrubbing off some sauce from a bowl. 

“Oh, come on– I’m allowed to make comments based on years of observation and learning now, aren’t I? Besides, it’s a compliment. You’re doing well,” Tang gave a small smile. 

Pigsy just hummed a little, continuing his work. 

“Then again, when you get to spend almost all day every day with this lil’ cutie, I can see why,” Tang scrunched his nose and took Li Na out of the carrier to cradle and bounce her. 

“Yep, she’s my favorite little freeloader,” the chef teased, setting the dish on the drying rack. 

Tang gasped in offense. “I’m wounded, Pigsy. You’ve wounded me.” 

“Take it up with the baby, I’m sure she’d love to hear why you’re better than her.” Pigsy waved off, grabbing some more pots and spoons to clean. 

“...Am I at least your favorite big freeloader?” Tang asked cautiously. 

Pigsy laughed. “You’re ridiculous.” 

“Wow. You did it. You wounded me again,” Tang sighed dramatically, which made Li Na laugh and reach at his scarf with excitement. “How can you live with yourself?” 

“Knowing that this is payback for all of the many, many noodles I've cooked over the years,” Pigsy gave his husband a wink. 

Tang stuttered to think of a comeback, but didn't manage to get one out before there was a loud squealing of tires outside and someone burst through the bamboo flap. 

“Heyo my favorite-set-of-dads and niece-y! How's it hanging?” Mei grinned wide as she took off her motorcycle helmet. 

“Mei! It's so good to see you,” Tang practically jumped to hug her with one arm. 

“Yeah! What're you guys even doing here though? Aren't you staying closed for another two months?” Mei looked to the chef. 

“I'm cleaning up from an impromptu late night meal I made last night for MK,” Pigsy explained casually. 

“Oh, sick! He doing okay?” she asked, pulling up a stool next to where Tang sat again. 

Pigsy's shoulders tensed a little before he shrugged. “He's resting now.” 

“Oh, that's good. I noticed him being wayyyy more active on my late-night streams than he normally does. That's good.” Her eyes wandered back to the little four-month-old. “Omg–! Is this Li Na's first outing? That's so cool! I gotta take a photo!” 

Pigsy paused. “Ah– well– actually she was with me last night–” 

“Shushhushhushhushshhhh–  I'm taking photos.” Mei grinned, taking out her phone and snapping picture after picture of Li Na looking at her with her head tilted in confusion and curiosity. 

Pigsy couldn't help but laugh and shake his head, putting the last few dishes on the drying rack before taking out one of his bigger pots and boiling water yet again. 

Mei perked up. “Ooo, you cooking for Li Na too? That's so cute!” 

“Nah, this is just to satisfy the freeloader, since Li Na's too young,” Pigsy sighed dramatically. 

“Ah, right, can't make her sick in the tum-tum, got it.” Mei nodded wisely. “Though– uh– can that be for two freeloaders?” she asked, batting her eyelashes. 

“You people are gonna be the death of me.” Pigsy shook his head as if he wasn't already planning to. 

“Teehee,” Mei giggled, making Li Na giggle too. “Ough, she's just too cute! How do you people get anything done around her?!” Mei booped her snout. 

“Lots of practice,” Tang laughed, offering to let Mei hold her, which she immediately accepted. 

“Well, call me untrained because all I wanna do is play with this cutie patootie, yes I do, yes I do,” Mei grinned wide as she tickled Li Na with one hand, filling the restaurant with piglet squeals. 

Pigsy couldn't help but smile as the restaurant came to life with cooking, chatter, and laughter as Tang and Mei caught up while keeping the piglet entertained. He could actually relax when it was like this, when he knew exactly where all his loved ones were and that they were safe and happy. He loved feeling like he could provide for them– that he could watch over and protect them. It was something of a scarce feeling these days, so Pigsy would soak it up while he could. 

Pigsy was about half way through cooking a massive pot of zha jiang noodle soup, when there was a massive truck that parked just outside. At first, Pigsy worried that the delivery company forgot the restaurant was closed, but one glance outside revealed it was just Sandy with his new pet project. 

“OMG! Sandy! And Mo!!!!! Hi Mo!!!!!” Mei ran out the door and waved, piglet still in arm and squinting and squirming at the sudden sunlight. 

“Mei, don't run off with her,” Pigsy cautioned, not taking his eyes off of the bamboo he was slicing. 

Thankfully, she heeded the warning, as Sandy came to them instead of vice versa. 

“Wow! Nice surprise seeing you all here.” Sandy smiled big, Mo perched on his shoulder. “What's the occasion?” 

“Clean up turned late lunch hangout,” Pigsy explained, adding the vegetables to the pot. 

“And here I thought maybe you'd actually take a day to relax,” Sandy teased. 

Mei laughed, sitting back down on her stool. “This is Piggy we're talking about– he wouldn't know relaxation if it hit him in the head.”

Pigsy scoffed, but let the insults come. He didn't feel like explaining the nuances of his hobby, and was perfectly content knowing they were having a good time trying to roast him anyway– or at least Mei was. Sandy and Tang moreso just laughed along. As for Li Na, she reached and grasped at Mei's jacket while oinking here and there before she started to grow tired. 

By the time soup was up, Pigsy recognized she was on the verge of getting cranky, and so ordered Tang to take her before serving up everyone's meals. 

“Wow, Pigsy, are you psychic or something? How'd you know to make enough for Sandy too?” Mei asked before eating a spoonful. 

Pigsy shrugged. “I always make more than enough because I know a certain freeloader is gonna ask for more.” He shot Tang a dramatic look, to which his husband grinned. “Besides, I wanted to make enough for MK too in case he heard all the noise and decided to come down.”

“Oh yeah, he must be real conked out right now, huh?” Mei spat out bits of sauce. 

“Must be.” Pigsy shrugged and handed her a napkin. “I should probably check on him soon.”

“Ah, MK's fine, Pigsy. He's just a very sleep-deprived adult. If he's resting, I say let him,” Tang waved off. 

“Yeah, yeah, you're right, I'm just being paranoid,” Pigsy let out a tired sigh. “I think I'm in need of some sleep too.”

Sandy smiled at him pitifully. “I can help out at night too, you know.” 

“Bah, you got your trucks and boats to work on,” Pigsy waved off and Mei immediately snickered. 

“That's our Pigsy, ladies and gentlemen,” She clapped with a shit-eating grin. 

“I can and will charge you for that bowl, Miss Dragon Heiress.” Pigsy squinted at her. 

Mei squinted right back but said nothing, eating more. 

Pigsy ate in smug satisfaction. 

The “late lunch” ended up lasting hours, the gang all laughing and talking and taking care of Li Na and feeling normal together. Pigsy hadn't realized just how isolated and disconnected he felt being locked up in his apartment all day every day, but now that he was here it was like a breath of fresh air. If Pigsy could find a way to capture the moment in a bottle for him to access whenever, he would. 

However, the longer it went on, the more… off Pigsy felt. Despite Sandy and Tang's assurances, he couldn't help but worry why MK hadn't wandered his way down yet. It was true MK had slept an entire 24 hours before, but something deep in Pigsy's gut told him something wasn't right. He tried to ignore it, especially whenever Li Na needed him, but it continued to nag at the back of his mind even as the conversation went outside to Sandy's new truck. 

“OMG!!! It looks just like Mo! That's so cute, Sandy!” Mei admired the headlights and grill. 

“My little guy does so much for me, it's the least I can do for him,” Sandy smiled softly, giving the cat a nice scratch on the chin. 

Pigsy thought it was corny, but knew not to say anything. Instead, he kept on wiping down the counter near the outdoor bar, where Tang was eating his third bowl and wearing Li Na in the carrier. 

“Omg-!! Is that a little kitty cat-patterned car seat?! That's so cute! We gotta get Li Na in it!” Mei beamed excitedly into the vehicle's windows. 

Pigsy looked at the time. “Maybe later kiddo, we gotta start wrapping up soon.” 

“Awww, I don't wanna go home. Home is lame and I want more delicious noodlessss,” Mei whined. 

“I have some leftovers if you want em,” Pigsy offered, and Mei immediately grinned. 

“Man, Dadsy, you're the best,” She gave an enthusiastic thumbs up. He responded with his own tired one that made Tang chuckle. 

“You sure Li Na's our first daughter?” Tang smirked. 

“Yeah, shut up.” Pigsy scrubbed harder to avoid the stupid look on his stupid husband's stupid face. 

“You know, I got a feeling that this baby is built to last.” Sandy patted his handy work, andthat sense of unease in Pigsy went into complete overdrive right before a sword fell from the sky and right onto Sandy's truck before three louder crashes destroyed the carrier. 

As if almost triggering a heart attack from the sheer volume and damage alone weren't enough, Pigsy could make out the familiar groans of pain from MK, making his heart sink into his stomach. 

“MK?! What– are you okay?! What just happened?! Pigsy exclaimed, rushing out of the restaurant. 

“Aha– we have to go.” MK hopped up just fine, though had a look of extreme panic on his face. 

“Does that have anything to do with the fact that the ominous cracks are back in the sky?” Tang questioned, pointing up. 

Oh god…

“It's okay! We got a plan!” Sun Wukong smiled and patted MK's back like it was no big deal (as per usual). 

“Oh, do we, huh? We don’t even know if these magical pillar healing stones are real,” Macaque bit back, filling Pigsy with rage towards the Monkey King for the millionth time, especially when he realized all the noise had woken Li Na from her nap and she was starting to wail. Tang was handling it, of course, but it still was enough to make the elder pig demon growl. 

“W-what if going after the stones is just another tricky plan by tricky plan demon– like this is exactly what they want? Wh–... what if we really just are chaos..?” MK paced with anxiety, and Pigsy wanted nothing more than to put a hand on his shoulder and tell him that whatever he was talking about, it was okay and they'd be fine. 

However, Wukong beat him to it. “Listen bud, the only thing I know for sure is I don't trust anyone who isn't standing right here, right now.” He looked around the street, making Pigsy feel slightly bad for getting so angry at him.

Slightly. 

“If those stones are important,” Wukong continued, “then the safest place for them to be is with us.” 

“Uh… what?” Pigsy finally got the chance to ask just as a bunch of sigils appeared in the sky. 

“It feels like we're still missing something important here,” Tang pointed out, looking at the sky while he tried patting Li Na's back to soothe her. 

“Oh– Yeah! We're– uh– sorta on the run from the celestial realm,” MK confessed, scratching his neck. 

“I'm sorry– what?!” Pigsy exclaimed. 

“I-I can explain, but we really gotta get going,” MK urged. 

“What?! But what about Li Na? She's only four months old!” Tang added, the parents sharing a worried look. 

“Yeah, well too bad, she's an accomplice now, so let’s get a move on,” MK urged, and terror settled in its usual spot in Pigsy's stomach. Just then, celestial soldiers teleported down all around them in pillars of light, armed and ready for battle. 

“Yep–! Go now, people! Now, now!” MK laughed nervously, grabbing Mei's arm as he looked for an exit. 

“Yeah, you probably shouldn't have messed up Sandy's fancy-schmancy new truck,” Mei pointed to the wreckage, which MK seemed to just now notice. 

“Oh-! A truck! Yes, I can make one,” MK quickly decided, twirling his staff around before he hit the ground. It caused a blast that thankfully pushed away the celestial armies while also making the remains of the truck turn into a proper and overcomplicated getaway vehicle. 

“Okay-! Everybody in!” MK called, looking around as the soldiers readied to fight again. 

Pigsy froze momentarily, unsure of who to help or how, when Tang grabbed his arm and started dragging him to the truck, his other hand covering Li Na's head. 

Right– yes, Li Na was here– Li Na was in danger– MK could handle himself, but Li Na was just a baby– he'd be okay, MK would be okay, Li Na would not, not if he froze– not if he–

“Pigsy, come on,” Tang urged at the open door and Pigsy snapped out of his spiral to quickly shuffle inside, taking Li Na out of the carrier and into the car seat MK had thankfully thought to include just as Wukong let out a painful cry somehow louder than Li Na's. 

“What on earth is going on around here?” Pigsy muttered, digging through the diaper bag for Li Na's blanket while Tang tried patting her chest to keep her calm. 

“If the sky cracks are back, it can't be anything good.” Sandy gave his friend a somewhat grim look through the rear-view mirror. 

“Great, okay, good, just great.” Tang’s eyes started twitching. “And here I thought maybe everything was okay for once and that we were having a good time but nope! No peace in this family, no siree, we’re monster magnets and we’re never going to know peace a day in our lives until we die and–” His rant was interrupted by Wukong and MK suddenly falling into the truck from a shadow portal.

The second they were in, Sandy shifted the vehicle into gear and floored it on out of there, MK sticking his head out of the window to look back at whatever fight was still happening with Macaque. 

“H-He’ll make it out of there, right?” He looked at Wukong, whose eyes were distant with shock. “He always gets away… right?” 

The king didn’t seem capable of answering. 

“I’m sure he’ll be okay, kid. Macaque’s a tough one,” Pigsy tried to comfort, though was distracted by Li Na still wailing. 

“R-right, yeah, he’ll–...” MK again glanced at his mentor, before just falling back into his seat and hanging his head back. 

The kid somehow looked even more exhausted than before. 

Pigsy finally found the quilt Sandy made for Li Na and gave it to her, stroking her cheek gently twice to maximize her comfort. After a bit of that, she was able to stop her shrieking, which was only a slight relief to all other passengers as now the car had a tense atmosphere of uncertainty and pain no one knew how to address. 

Pigsy wasn’t surprised when Tang suddenly held his hand, and he gave it the strongest squeeze he could before reaching and placing a hand on MK’s shoulder, squeezing it too. 

“We’ll figure this out, kid, I promise.” Pigsy forced a weak, but hopefully encouraging smile. 

MK sniffled and put a hand over Pigsy’s. “God, I hope so.” 

“Hey now, there’s nothin’ we can’t figure out as a team, alright? We got this,” the chef insisted, trying to sway both MK and himself as he did. 

“Right… right, yeah, we got this… together?” MK smiled. 

Pigsy nodded. “Together.” 

[destinygoldenstar]

My Evil Arin AU Prediction (Fully Expecting To Be Wrong)

So Arin, caught up in Sora’s lie, believes in the false hope that he has his abilities starting to be figured out. That with Lloyds, Sora’s, and his own minds support, he can be a valuable ninja and be a great asset to the mission to get Kai and Bonzle back.

My prediction of this is that Ras and the gang come up with a plan to revive the blood moon to get the other elemental masters freed. So the ninja after realizing this plan have to return to the dragons to come up with a way to save Kai and Bonzle.

But oh no, Egalt (sorry I still can’t spell his name) still things Arin isn’t good enough.

Arin is by no means arrogant of his own abilities after his success, (that’d be very OOC in my opinion), but he is more trusting in himself and blindly optimistic that he has more of this figured out than he actually does.

He tries to prove this, but no matter what he does, he just can’t get it right.

Even Lloyd starts to get confused. But, you know, Arin could do it, so he has faith in the kid that practice will make perfect.

There could even be a scene where Lloyd tells Arin about his experience of getting possessed by Morro (maybe Euphrasia is also in this scene to give her character development), and how his own master, Master Wu, set him up for something so impossible that Morro became twisted jaded and arrogant in himself to achieve something he couldn’t.

Lloyd is saying this as a warning for Arin. While he by no means thinks Arin is acting the same way Morro was, he had the paranoia that he could. And Lloyd totally knows he isn’t setting Arin up for something impossible. He saw Arin get better and be able to do his tricks. So it’s not an impossible standard. Totally not.

Then there’s Sora, who is trying to keep her distance from Arin, who doesn’t know why. The guilt of what she’s done is killing her, and it’s cost her some sleep knowing that either route she could take could potentially end her friendship with Arin. Keep the lie and watch Arin meet his downfall, or tell him the truth and crush his spirits for good.

After all, she was the one person who since the very beginning believed in Arin. Even when no one else did.

And then she didn’t.

She can’t ever take that betrayal back.

Then, you know, she’s learning Spinjitsu. But Arin isn’t completely bothered by it so long as he’s got his own thing going too.

Arin is obviously hurt by her distance, unsure if there was something he did wrong. But maybe there’s a scene where he pours his heart out to her about their friendship, how their belief in each other is something nothing can undo, and how no matter what is bothering her, she should know very well how forgiving he is.

So she’s ready to be honest and tell him-

And then one of the generals of the villain faction attacks them (and whoever else you want to say is here). For now I’m gonna say Jordana, but anyone can take this slot.

And in this fight, Sora gets knocked down, and Arin is ready to defend her using his object Spinjitsu…

But he fails.

And Jordana reveals to Arin, against Sora’s consent, that Sora lied to him and used her own tech to move that object in that fight. She really taunts it in that his best friend and companion never believed in him and was lying to him the whole time.

How does Jordana know this? Idk maybe she found out in a scene before this.

Arin is obviously so devastated that he’s zoned out and unable to defend himself.

Sora, enraged from Jordana having zero respect, protects Arin and does Spinjitsu for the first time.

Jordana is forced to retreat at Sora’s power, part of that has to do with her anger. And once she’s gone, Sora cools off and tries to help Arin. She doesn’t even care or process that she did Spinjitsu, she’s more concerned about her friend.

But Arin is just… blank. Spaced out. He should be furious at Sora, yell at her and express how absolutely betrayed he feels…

But instead, nothing comes out of him. His feelings towards Sora, or the fight, or everything else is replaced by… nothing. And Sora now being able to do what he can while he’s still him is just icing on the cake that Arin is basically nothing now.

Blah blah, in some other points of the season they can learn more about the elemental masters and the wolf masks and the reveal of Ras’s master.

But Arin is mostly just a spaced out person in the way of all of this, it seems.

Lloyd obviously chews out Sora for her stunt and lying about it, but it’s clear she’s very much aware of the damage she’s done and wants to figure out how to apologize and make it right. She doesn’t know how though with Arin’s condition. Lloyd is quick to forgive her so long as she’s willing to try this apology towards Arin.

Lloyd is also trying to help Arin the best he can. It doesn’t matter to him that Arin doesn’t have anything figured out yet. Lloyd himself didn’t, even when his destiny was written in stone. Arin is just… a late bloomer, shall we say.

This doesn’t help Arin, and even tries to get Lloyd to tell him the ‘truth’. That he is a failure of a ninja. He can’t even help with beating Ras. He can’t even find his own parents…

But Lloyd still refuses to call Arin a failure.

That’s a shred of hope that Arin has that maybe the voices in his head, and Ras, are wrong. As long as his idol believes in him.

Maybe he even expressed how much he misses his birth parents. He misses the life he had before the merge. Even everything made sense. Maybe then he could be a kid DREAMING about these big things and not having to think those dreams would ever come true. That was the simple life.

Then there’s the mission to save Kai and Bonzle. And stop Ras and the others. A plan that’s so tight on the ninjas end that they NEED this to go PERFECTLY. Otherwise, a lot could go wrong.

As such, Lloyd makes the call to leave Arin out of the field part of the mission. Instead he’s gonna be working in the back on comms or something.

Arin tries to convince the others that he wants to be out there and help save Kai, but there’s no convincing the others. They all have agreed to leaving Arin behind for his own good. Especially Lloyd. He lost Kai to this and Kai was a professional. He can’t drag Arin into this and lose him too, if a vision of his is correct. (Maybe he sees Ras grabbing Arin’s hand or something, and he’s come to the conclusion that Ras would use Arin as a sacrifice too)

So they leave, and Arin is stuck on comms.

But eventually, seeing one of them get knocked down hard, Arin decides to refuse the order to stay in place. He goes on the field anyway, ready to prove himself and help the ninja as a ninja.

So far, the plan on the ninjas end is going very smoothly. They got Bonzle out and are ready to get Kai out too, and they’re fending off the villains pretty good…

But then Arin interferes, trying to help. You can decide exactly what he does, Im not sure.

Point is, that because of Arin’s actions, and specifically that, everything goes wrong.

More of the elemental masters get out, (probably using Euphrasia as one of the sacrifices), and not only that, but they are unable to get Kai out of there.

They try hard, very hard, but ultimately… they fail.

Four of the elemental masters get out, and they’re ready for the last one when Lloyd realizes Arin is here and Arin is the cause of this disaster.

Not only were they not able to save Kai, Lloyds beloved surrogate brother, but they also now lost others too (whoever you want to imagine got sacrificed. Pick two more characters you think did alongside Kai and Euphrasia). And it’s all Arin’s fault.

So in a bit of rage and unable to think straight (also from his own mental health issues making him irrational), Lloyd lashes out at Arin.

Arin ruined everything.

Arin didn’t listen to him.

Arin should’ve stayed behind.

Arin doesn’t know what he’s doing out here.

Arin is a failure.

And as soon as that last one gets said out loud, Lloyd snaps out of his rage and realizes what he’s done.

He just confirmed all of Arin’s insecurities. That everyone who said Arin was a failure and a terrible ninja were correct. That absolutely nobody believes in him to do the right thing.

Lloyd IMMEDIATELY regrets it. He immediately tries to take it back! He didn’t mean it! He’s sorry! They’re gonna figure something out! He’s so sorry-

And then Ras gets behind them and knocks away Lloyd. After a short fight, Lloyd becomes the last sacrifice for the spell, all while Lloyd is begging and screaming for Arin.

Arin is obviously devastated by what he’s heard and can’t even process the situation. All the elemental masters are freed and it’s his fault. His idol is gone and it’s his fault.

The very idol that said to his face that he was not good enough.

…was he even an idol anymore?

Arin kneels down to Ras in surrender, ready to be defeated. But he becomes surprised when Ras instead shows pity towards the kid.

Instead, Ras offers Arin a way to find his parents. To go back to his old life and not worry about any of these people who never believed in him.

All he has to do is join Ras and help him out. In exchange, he would spare him and his parents. He even offers the wolf mask to help Arin reach his full potential and become the powerful fighter he saw in him.

And with nothing else left, Arin accepts this deal, allowing himself to be corrupted by the mask.

Almost immediately, his insecurities vanished and are replaced with a sense of purpose, of belonging, of power. With nothing holding him back.

He decides to commit to going rogue and finding his parents with this power. He doesn’t care if Ras wins or loses so long as Arin gets what he wants.

With Arin leaving and now on the dark side, Sora, who I guess was knocked out during the fight or something, realizes what has happened.

It’s not hard to imagine her bawling her eyes out and realizing she just lost her best friend. Maybe she even blames herself.

For the remainder of the season, Arin is just kinda along for the ride with Ras’s forces and the master taking a liking to him and helping him control his new abilities. Maybe he’s able to do the object Spinjitsu without much issue thanks to the mask power. But like I said, Arin doesn’t really care about these villains and their plans, so he’s not concerned which side wins, so long as he gets what he wants.

I’m going to say that Sora, making an army with whoever is remaining, sets up one last fight to rescue the sacrificed ninja.

And TLDR, they win and they’re all fine.

I mean, it’s Ninjago, what do you expect?

The only notable thing is that at some point of this fight, Sora is cornered and most certainly going to get a killing blow by someone, but Arin stops them to ‘focus priority on something more important’.

Even evil, Arin can’t bring anyone, especially not himself, to kill his best friend.

It’s short, but it’s enough that after the fight, Sora says that she knows Arin is still in there and there may be a way to save him in the future.

She doesn’t know how yet, but with her power is a strong responsibility to use it properly this time, and she’s making it her own personal mission to get Arin back. No matter how hard the road of struggle and training is, and no matter how long it takes.

Then of course she has to explain to the others, especially Lloyd, that Arin has turned to the dark side.

Lloyd is the most hurt by this, for obvious reasons.

He failed his student.

He can imagine Wu’s ghost shaking his head in disappointment in Lloyd.

From here on, (season three), Lloyd kinda changes as a mentor. He’s still caring towards the kids, but he’s much stricter on them and very cryptic and demanding of them. Kinda like how Wu was in the first couple of seasons of the main show. It’s obviously taxing on the others. But they also kinda understand how paranoid Lloyd is that he’ll fail another person.

With Ras’s forces defeated and the main members scattered, (whoever you want to say is alive or dead), Arin is alone with a bind of his own to Ras’s master guiding him.

Arin becomes a rogue wanderer searching for answers on where his parents are. And while he doesn’t resort to killing, he still will not let anyone get in his way or let him feel that despair of failure ever again. Not even the ninja.

I expect this to be totally wrong. As I said, I don’t think this theory will come true at all. At most I expect Arin to be turned good again and fixed after like one episode. Whereas this AU theory has Arin’s villainy be expanded further into Dragons Rising where Arin becomes a reoccurring antagonist. But while a villain and having seen a villain origin story unfold, we the audience are still routing for Arin anyway in a pretty twisted kind of way. I don’t know, I thought that’d be an interesting angle instead of ‘And then he became a heartless monster’

[phantomrose96]

The Art of Keeping Secrets

(Back at it with writing fic for a show I've seen like 3 episodes of. I saw this comic by @cadenzarose and my brain took things in a very different direction. 1.3k words. Enjoy!)

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

Marinette has two secrets.

The first comes as naturally as breathing. She’s coddled it long enough, held it close enough to her heart so that it’s become part of her identity. Ladybug is her identity, and so is the fact that she may never reveal that it is. Marinette knows how to lie easily now. Deflect, deny, “Oh I don’t recall”, “No, I was walking home”, breathe in, breathe out, easy. There’s something even easier than lying, and that’s never having to lie in the first place. Marinette has learned most people aren’t so observant. Most people would never suspect her. And if they never ask, then she never has to lie.

Marinette’s second secret is so much harder to keep.

It’s new, and it squirms the way new and uncomfortable secrets do. It twists her gut and pushes sweat into her palms. It feels like lying every moment she does not say it. It feels like lying every time Adrien catches the discomfort on her face (He’s observant—at least observant enough to notice this) and asks what’s wrong. “Oh, nothing! Why do you ask?” Does he believe her? Marinette had thought she’d gotten good at lying.

Marinette’s second secret eats her. She thinks of telling someone. Luka, maybe. He would at least understand the weight of it. But she can’t. She knows Luka would do the right thing, and the right thing would ruin so many things.

“Bye, Dad! Marinette and I are heading out to see a movie. I’ll be home before 9.”

Gabriel Agreste stares at them from the heights of his beautiful staircase, stern face set to the glower of a father who doesn’t approve of anything that brings his son happiness. Least of all friends. Least of all a girlfriend.

Marinette sees so much more in that stone face.

Marinette cannot tell Adrien that his father is Hawkmoth.

It eats her all over again.

…

“I think my dad is warming up to you,” Adrien says in a courtesy whisper, even though the previews have not started yet and the theater is empty save for them and an old man nodding off 10 rows ahead. His words are full of hope so deeply misplaced Marinette wonders if he’s lying to himself. “He’s been acting way less—Marinette?”

Oh. Adrien’s looking at her. It should be wonderful to have him look at her like that. But concern creases his brow. Marinette freezes. She feels it’s written all over her face. As if Adrien only stares close enough, he’d know the words playing in her head.

Your father is Hawkmoth, Adrien.

“You okay, Marinette?”

“Oh! Yeah. It’s—I just—it’s just I just have a headache, is all.” That part isn’t a lie. Marinette is bad at lying these days.

Would it have been better if it weren’t a solo mission? If Marinette knew she’d been heading directly into the bowels of Hawkmoth’s lair, she would have called for back-up. She hadn’t known it would be Hawkmoth’s lair. It was only supposed to be the Agreste family manor. She didn’t know until it was too late. She ran before she could think to call for back-up. What would Chat Noir have thought? What would he have done? She hasn’t seen him lately. She can’t ask him. She can’t tell him this secret, anyway.

“--Marinette?”

Oh. Adrien is still talking.

“Are you sure you’re okay? I can walk you back home if you’re—”

“I’m fine!” Lies. And Marinette is a bad liar these days. “Really. Just a headache. I was up too late studying. I have some Advil. I’ll just take some and—” Marinette reaches for a backpack strap which isn’t there. Right. She’s not at school.

“Here.” Adrien hands her his bag. “I’ve got some Advil in the front pocket. Have you eaten yet?”

“Um, no—”

“Then I’ll get some water and popcorn for us. That’ll help.” Adrien stands. The worry is still on his face. “Or, really we can just head home. If you’re not feeling well—”

“I’m fine, really! Popcorn, yes—popcorn would be good!”

He smiles at her. Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth. Adrien is smiling at her and he’s concerned for her. He has no idea how much he should be concerned for himself.

“I’ll be right back.” He leans down and plants a gentle kiss on her forehead. Marinette’s nerves buzz.

He can’t ever know.

And suddenly she’s alone. Holding Adrien’s bag. And it smells like him.

The previews kick on, stuttering and sudden. Marinette startles. The man 10 rows in front jolts awake. Marinette is out of her own mind for the few moments that the first preview holds her attention. She tries to follow it, tries to absorb its distraction, but her mind always pulls her back.

Hawkmoth.

Her head hurts.

Right… the Advil. In Adrien’s bag. Adrien her boyfriend and his dad is Hawkmoth—

Breathe.

Calm down. Come down.

Adrien said it was in the middle pocket, right?

Marinette unzips the middle zipper.

Two beetle-green cat slitted eyes blink up at her. Surprised, then scared, then vanishing all together, with just the remnants of a half-nibbled wedge of cheese to confirm Marinette had seen what she’d seen.

Marinette is good at not saying the words which only Ladybug should know.

Plagg?

She stares into the after-image. The previews fall quiet, and kick into the next film. Marinette isn’t breathing right, but her heart is racing. That was Chat Noir’s kwami. She knows she didn’t imagine it. And Plagg hid himself from her, because she is Marinette, and not Ladybug.

In Adrien’s bag.

Why in Adrien’s bag?

Marinette’s breathing gets shallower. She digs her fingers deeper into the pocket, pressing against the sickly sweaty sides of cheese wedges, until she hits something smooth, something hard, something small. She clasps her fingers around it and raises a single silver ring from the bag’s depths.

Marinette isn’t breathing.

When was the last time she saw Chat Noir?

“Marinette?”

She stows the ring, and snaps to attention. Adrien’s footsteps had always been quiet. She hadn’t noticed him return. He hands her a water bottle, and she takes it with her unoccupied hand.

“Here, for the Advil,” Adrien says, and he offers the popcorn in turn, though he hesitates at the new look on Marinette’s face. “Marinette, are you—?”

“I’m—NOT feeling well, actually…” Marinette says along a shaky exhale. “I’m just gonna go home.”

“Oh. Here, I can walk you—”

“I’ll just call my dad! Really. I don’t want to get you sick.”

“Oh… Okay, well—”

Marinette shoves his bag back at him, and she tries for a nod to temper the look on Adrien’s face before she pivots and stumbles through the row of theater seats.

She presses her fingers against the ring in her pocket as she pushes out of the theater.

She has to get this back to Chat Noir.

(If he’s still alive.)

She has to protect her own Miraculous.

(Assuming Adrien doesn’t already know.)

She has to protect all the others too.

From Hawkmoth.

From Gabriel Agreste.

(From his son.)

Was it foolish of her? To assume she knew something Gabriel’s own son didn’t?

To assume she was protecting Adrien from this?

Was it because Adrien never seemed anything like Hawkmoth?

(Marinette doesn’t seem anything like Ladybug.)

Why did she assume that she and the other Miraculous carriers were the only ones good at it?

The night air feels so much colder now. It’s the sweat on her face.

The son of Hawkmoth had kidnapped Chat Noir’s Miraculous.

A car narrowly avoids her, blaring its horn as it sweeps around. Marinette only touches her fingertips to her pocket, ensuring the ring is still there. Her ears, touching the earrings in place. The ghost of Adrien’s kiss lingers on her forehead.

(Why should only one Agreste be Hawkmoth?)

Marinette has three secrets.

[leslutdepointedulac]

Sleep

Micromay ~ Week 1: Sleep

They look so peaceful in their sleep. Mere hours ago, Lestat might have been alone this morning but now he has a family once again; his lover and their new daughter. It’s something he never thought would be possible, that he would find sanctuary in this familial unit he’s created. Yet there they are, sleeping soundly. 

Claudia lies nestled into Louis’ side, her little hand clutching tightly to the front of his shirt. It looks almost natural to see Louis with a child in his arms, their child. 

A shiver runs through Lestat at the thought of him almost losing his beloved. It’s not that he didn’t anticipate it coming at some point, but no matter how much he had prepared himself, the words, “I’m leaving you”, still sent Lestat’s heart sinking. Just the thought of it now causes him to feel choked up; the tears forming in his eyes are forced down. It was enough to keep his emotions in check at the time. 

But now isn’t a time for sorrow, it’s a moment of happiness. Against all odds, not only has he prevented Louis from abandoning him, but he’s brought them together, even stronger than before. He’s given him reason to stay. The fact that he himself wasn’t enough for Louis hurts him more than he would care to admit, but it’s no matter now. 

The girl is exactly what they need. The girl will save them. 

Despite his joy, Lestat can’t help but think back to Marius’ warning words. They must never know the secrets of their kind. They must never discover even one aspect of his own past, not even in a lie. The story could unravel, one thing could lead to another and soon enough everything would be revealed. He’ll have to do everything in his power to protect his new-found family, to keep them safe from the dangers their kind will show them. They don’t need others; they have each other and they have him. All they’ll ever need is each other. 

It won’t be much longer before the sun rises, taking Lestat with it, forcing him into his day of rest. But until then, he will stay and watch over his beloveds. He finds himself kneeling down beside the coffin to get a closer look. Claudia is such an innocent child, so darling and so perfect. He hopes her dreams will be good to her. She’s safe now, here with them. He runs his fingers through her golden ringlets. So delicate, he’s almost afraid to touch her, lest she break into thousands of tiny pieces. 

The troubled expression that is ever present on Louis’ features is melted away in his rest. He seems so much calmer and more at peace when he sleeps. Lestat would be lying if he said this was the first time he’s watched over his lover, before the dawn takes him too. It’s the one time he can bear to look at him, without having to fear that look of resentment being cast back. A small part of Lestat questions whether or not bringing the child into this was a good idea. The thought is immediately pushed down when he thinks about what this will do for them. Is it possible for Louis to hate him still, when he’s given him such a gift? A gift for the both of them, even. 

Lestat finds his gaze lingering on Louis. How he wishes he didn’t have to wait until tonight to see those emerald eyes again. As much as he despises the hateful glares thrown at him, he would take that any day over never setting eyes on him ever again. His heart begins to ache at the thought of being left behind by one he treasures so dearly. His first loss in love was more than enough, it’s not necessary to go through that a second time. 

Like with Claudia, Lestat finds himself reaching to touch Louis. He hesitates, his hand hovering only inches away from his face, like he’s scared of those eyes fluttering open and catching him in the act. As if he’s expecting to be scalded by Louis’ burning hatred. He takes the risk. He’d sooner be burned than relinquish his love for him. Inky locks are swept gently away from his love’s face, as Lestat seems unable to keep his fingers from threading through his hair. 

His hand comes to rest on the side of his face, while he watches him intently. Once again, Lestat feels a lump rise in his throat. What is he doing so wrong? Why is it that Louis insists on keeping him locked out, caging himself in his own resentment? Whatever it is, Lestat is sure all of that will disappear now. 

Would Gabrielle be pleased for him, understand why he had to do what he did? Knowing her, probably not. He thinks about her from time to time. Where is she now? What is she doing? There are more miles between them now than ever before, but maybe it’s for the best. Besides, he has his own family now, one he made for himself, and they will be forever happy together. 

One happy family. 

Various thoughts race through Lestat’s mind, asking himself where they will go from here. They’ll need to find somewhere more permanent for starters, and provisions will need to be made for their daughter. 

None of that’s important now though. For now, all that matters is that they’re together. Lestat closes the distance between himself and Louis, leaning over the edge of the coffin and Claudia to press a light but loving kiss to his forehead. He brushes one last stray strand of hair from his face, before leaning back to gently kiss Claudia’s golden curls. 

Daylight begins to break and its pull starts to affect Lestat. With great reluctance, he draws back, closing their coffin’s lid and goes to settle in his own coffin. He spares their coffin one last glance before shutting himself in.

[I Did This For Us A03]

@vcmicroficmay

[soulventure91]

5 (and 7 and 8 if applicable) for seht!!

spoilery rook asks!! |

5. Who does Rook romance? What was the moment that sparked their interest?

Lucanis was Seht's chosen romance - not deterred by his possession or distance, charmed by his gentleness and dedication. I think her interest was fully sparked when she found Lucanis planning dinner and mentioning baking a hazelnut torte for dessert to complement the coffee Seht claimed was her favorite.* (*Seht eventually grows to like coffee. In the meeting with Illario at the cafe, Seht was so caught up in what was going on that she automatically agreed with Lucanis regards good coffee. Fic in the works of this coming out of course.) But the fact that he not only remembered that she had made the claim, but wanted to make something for her (despite his protests it's for the team sure Lucanis u stoke that oven up to 400*F to roast hazelnuts for the team) that would go with it? Floored. Though the near-kiss in the pantry did help, and they're a regular battle couple of assassin and spellblade.

7. How does their romance start? For Lucanis - it was definitely a moment of love at first sight, though he would never have imagined it that way until far later. A beautiful woman breaks you out of your year-long prison - never mind that she's qunari and a full head taller than you and a mage - with no regards that you've been held by maleficar Venatori that literally stuffed a demon inside you (against both your will, and the demon's) and she's immediately...kind? Sympathetic, at word of Caterina's "death"? How could he not? ...he can't, because it's a job. A contract. He has to be professional. And Spite? Complicates things, drastically. How can he risk it? Can he even open himself up enough that she can see he's dangerous? [I want. To talk. TO ROOK!] For Seht - I think during the 'Inner Demons' quest is when she actually realizes she has feelings for Lucanis and lays the groundwork of their relationship. She does like him, is intrigued by him, right away - but Lucanis's indecision ending up bad enough for Spite to pull her in? [He listens to YOU!] It makes Seht realize how much they care for each other, even if Lucanis doesn't flash his feelings openly. That realization ensures Seht guides Lucanis to focus on saving Caterina, not getting revenge on Illario. That way, when Lucanis sees Seht as part of his family? It means they'll fight all the harder for each other.

8. Rook and their LI(s) first kiss:

~*~

"Here, try this - step into a lunge, then pivot. Keep your arm out, dagger extended -"

[Watching her,] Spite taunts, though Lucanis tunes out the demon as Seht tries to mimic the move. She's good enough with her mageknife that Lucanis decided to train her with a few Crow maneuvers - nothing too fancy or complicated, but steps Seht could use to enhance her combat alongside her magic. Risky, perhaps, but one he's willing to take.

Seht nods, adjusting her stance and biting her lip in that way Lucanis has noticed when she's concentrating perhaps a little too hard. Of course this means she pivots as she's trying to lunge, and Lucanis stifles a soft laugh as Seht tumbles. Not cruelly, of course, but they've been at this for at least an hour.

"I don't think I'm coordinated enough for this," Seht groans, lying on the cobblestones of the Lighthouse's courtyard for a moment. "Definitely not Crow material..."

"Good thing, then; Heir would eviscerate you for being sloppy," Lucanis replies, though he keeps his voice light as he approaches to help Seht stand. "Let's try it this way -"

He hears Spite inhale deeply, though Lucanis tries to keep his own breathing from matching it, as Lucanis stands near Seht, carefully holding her waist with one hand and using his feet to adjust her stance.

[Smells like...salt! Sour apples!] This was not helpful information.

"Bene - from here, step into the lunge -"

Seht's left arm comes up as Lucanis guides her movement - standing behind her, his own left hand coming up her arm to match her movement.

"Then pivot -"

Seht begins to turn, Lucanis's touch on her waist gliding across the small of her back. Seht's face is now about eye level with his - her night-sky gaze finding his, making his heart skip and gut plummet. Seht's long brown hair drifts past, followed by her curled horns. A waft of scent tingles his nose: sharp, tangy, storm-like.

He has to step back, has to, as Seht's left arm and her knife curve between them. Seht does pull her arm back enough that Lucanis isn't caught in the arc, and moreso with the crackle of lightning that fills the space. Lucanis's heart is pounding, even as Spite forms in his vision, gaze fixed to Seht with a low purr.

Seht's expression breaks into a smile, not wide and toothy, but soft, so soft and delicate - more visible in the way her diamond-shaped scars rise, how her eyes glint and shine.

Lucanis regains that step as Seht finishes the move, but before she straightens, is still in his reach - his hand cradles her cheek, his lips find hers. Soft, brief, and yet it arcs through him. Lucanis is more surprised Seht doesn't push him back, even as he pulls away himself.

"...not bad," Lucanis murmurs.

She smelled of salt and sour apples.

[amorganva]

Putting down my unhinged theories

I voiced all of these during my playthrough but I wanna put them down anyways Lies of P is a game of lies and I often feel like the game itself is trying to lie to us so...... Compiling Theories

Carlo and Romeo didn't die of Petrification disease I honestly believe that something else killed both of them. The Petrification disease is just too much of a convenience and would've been used as a cover up. Why else would the stalker be like "Gemini, get rid of them." "I'm so sorry....I was too late" if it was only Carlo contracting the disease. The pose the body is in to me clearly conveys DEAD. And even if he caught the disease, Mr. Geppetto, the amazing Geppetto of the Workshop Union who sends his son to the MONAD CHARITY HOUSE - Valentinus Monad: Leader of the Alchemists - surely, SURELY he would've gotten a cure for his son/be able to afford it. Hell, Geppetto knew of his daughter, Sophia, and of Simon Manus. He had the connections. Giangio cures Antonia after all and she only dies because her organs were too damaged already so the disease was the thing keeping her alive. If caught early on, Carlo would have lived and given Romeo part of his cure seeing as it's implied that Geppetto didn't very much like Romeo - worded as "a grudge." What this grudge is about - getting his son killed or something else....we don't know yet but hopefully will find out.

2. There's 2 Geminis "Gemini, get rid of them." ...How? He's a cricket guide. Or is he? I honestly think there's a cricket Gemini and a Stalker or puppet Gemini. Or it's one and the same and he's now "atoning" so to speak by helping PCarlo in his cricket form. It feels like Sophia knew Gemini from somewhere because she's like "I see they got Gemini too." And since Sophia knew Carlo as a child from their time at Monad... "Gemini get rid of them" may have been misinterpreted....and subsequently covered up since she was a famous, legendary stalker. Also his name spelled Gemini, to avoid copyright they couldn't go with Jiminy but...they could have also used any other name since most names are based on the original story or versions thereof and the cricket is only ever the cricket. Sticking with Jiminy but spelling it like the astrological twins sign is too much of a coinkydink for me. Gemini was there in the car, the car that Geppetto based his secret workshop in. Mhh..

3. If Camille acted on instinct saving a baby - something beyond her programming - then PuppetRomeo and P are 100% acting on muscle memory from their lives mixed with puppet strength/speed. Which means that Romeo and Carlo were actually pretty good stalkers-in-training. I talked about this in my Romeo appreciation post but I can totally see live Romeo doing fancy moves like that, like he's dancing, and Carlo just wanting to get things done quick and clean. This lends to my theory that something other than a disease must've gotten to at least Carlo because he'd be more skilled than that. (He took down all major puppets and a demigod thing by himself with the occasional Sophia rewind....no way in hell that's just programming, since P is awakening) Then again we don't know how old exactly he was when he died. But Geppetto made him a young adult puppet and the nameless puppet is clearly not a child (assuming it's Carlo's OG body yes?) so it's safe to think he could've handled himself in combat somewhat by that point. Something more powerful did him in and the game is lying to you and I stand by that until the series is finished and I'm either right or have to concede that it just do be like that and his origin story is just kind of "yeah he died. Nothing more than that. Let's get the plot going." But that feels very Un-Neowiz because this world and its characters are full of easter eggs and research and care that I don't think the devs would just handwave something as big as this.

4. Not so much a theory as a comment but imagine seeing the guy you had fun talks with, helped out, nerded out with, listened to music with all of a sudden just kills you and every one of your friends. The evil ending is so devastating and I feel the badest for our girl Eugenie she's so sweet. Eugenie and her country and origin will hopefully get more elaboration, maybe Carlo will sail beyond the seas of Krat. Also that literally no one at the hotel seems to realize P is a puppet. Maybe Antonia since she knew Geppetto. But since you are required to lie and P is a special puppet who can lie....easy mistake to make. Venigni would've realized Law 0 much sooner - that Geppetto can create exceptions. Which also makes the Romeo fight even sadder - because P is exempt every other puppet must attack him...he can't help himself. My bro better be revived with some ergo, we need more of him and I think the devs know by now how popular of a character he is...I think...I hope...(alongside the lords of drip - the BRBH) 5. There's not really a timeskip in the lore. Sophia was trapped for a few years...maybe? She knew Carlo and Romeo since they were children at Monad and she's maaaaybe in her late 20s? early 30s? That means that the time between Carlo's and Romeo's deaths can't have been more than a year or two from when the game started. The King of Puppets was created to cover up the true origin of the Frenzy - that's Romeo and he awakened way before Carlo - his model only looks shabby because he literally exploded into flames, not because it's decades old (if you look at the model textures they might look old and grainy but that's literally everything in this game - look at Ps sock textures).

They were created after Arlecchino - Covenant. Carlo's body proved unstable, volatile - making Geppetto spend more time on a new and improved version of a puppet which is why P looks so human and polished aside from the Legion Arm. I still commend Geppetto for giving his son freckles. He did this for us. Aside from that you'd probably recreate your child the way you knew them and the last G probably heard from his son was the Graduation which would be like 17/18. So he was probably just a little older - like early 20s.

6. Carlo's journey is that of a Heart, a Brain, and Courage. Tying in with the Wizard of Oz, if Dorothy doesn't end up as our player character, I feel like Carlo received his Heart in the first game from Geppetto and Sophia. The second game will focus on recovering more of his memories and personality - the brain. The last game, because it 100% is a trilogy, will focus on the courage to do what's needed to save....Krat? The world? His friends? Who knows - from whatever org Paracelsus belongs to. And then...we go home :)

This is probably why the game has stuck with me well after having played it multiple times. I love it when it gives you material to theorize with but also isn't so open ended that it's not satisfying, that the story is just whatever you want or gives you nothing to work with. Maybe I should do some Link Click crossover doodles mhh.

[beanghostprincess]

Omg your Sora/Banchina post is so good 😭 i loved read this, and like, Sanji's brothers (and sis) would be really protective of Sora and their brother, so when Sanuso start to date would be kinda a chaos

When Sanuso starts dating, it is the most chaotic thing in the world.

You see, the brothers are always being a bit mean to Sanji because he is a crybaby but it's just in the regular, normal, sane way siblings act. But if there is any possibility of Sanji being in danger/away from them, they get really protective.

They don't have any issues with Banchina and, in fact, they love her so much it's insane. They enjoy her company and help and they're always asking when she's coming over too because "Mommy looks happier when she is around, so we want her to come back!". Until one day they don't have to keep asking because she is constantly there. And they love her. They are... Intense and clingy with Sora, yes, and won't dare to leave her side either. And if they realize there is something romantic going on, they won't hesitate to be even more protective. But in general they accept Banchina right away because, again, she looks happier than when she is alone with her thoughts (<- Sora tries to hide it, but they did run away from Germa, after all. She is worried Judge might find them. Always thinking what would have happened to her little angels if she hadn't saved them. Always, always taking care of them).

But!!!!!! It's a different story with Usopp.

You know, when they meet, they are kids. And Sanji is a sweetie pie. And naive. And maybe Usopp gets a bit carried away with his lies and maybe Sanji believes all of them. But they're cute little lies and they always make Sanji happy, so it's fine. Basically, more storytelling than anything. And it's not that the siblings don't like him! In fact, Usopp's aiming/shooting skills are already pretty good and they're impressed by that. Always asking him if he can do tricks with them.

Buuuut. Usopp is younger and anxious and God the brothers love to tease him about Sanji and they try to make him stutter when he is lying/storytelling to make fun of him in front of Sanji. It's just silly and it's all kids games. Nothing cruel. But!!!!! But there is also the realization that "they like each other. Usopp likes Sanji". And at first, it's just a silly thing so they make fun of them, but as they grow up together, their crushes on each other also do and it's like,,, It's something they learn to live with. They get used to it.

They've been in love forever and they are 17/15 and haven't confessed yet and it is just their normal behavior. Everyone can see they're in love. And when the "they are actually in love and it's not only a crush thing" sinks in, the brothers do get a bit protective. Because Sanji knows how to defend himself thanks to them but, again, Zeff's influence is crucial for Sanji's character so I think here he'd be just a little tiny bit softer than usual? Not really. Same personality. But the sibs just feel like they need to take care of him. Not gonna explain this word for word but-- There is obviously the "we're so done with you pining over longnose, PLEASE just confess so we don't have to hear you anymore" conversation with Sanji and "if you hurt him we will kill you. We could do it. Eyes closed. No hesitation. Don't you even dare make him cry once-" with Usopp. They regret it immediately, tho, because when Sanji and Usopp start dating they become ever more annoying and clingy and it's,, Impossible.

They all share a room. Not really. Reiju has her own room and the brothers sleep on a different one. Bunkbeds and everything. And even if they didn't sleep there together, the house is small and the walls are thin and they can't have any privacy in there. And they're always eating together because of course they all love Sanji's cooking, but he is always so cheesy with Usopp they prefer to kick them out of there and eat leftovers. This starts when they're 17/15, right? So it's two... Whole years... Dealing with them... Until they go with Luffy.....

Oh!!!!!! And Reiju. She is the sweetest and gets along with Usopp SO well. She and Sora are always talking with him about Sanji and they're so so so supportive. Reiju is the one to always defend these two from the other 3 idiots.

But it's alright because the brothers always find ways of teasing their new brother-in-law ("I'm not married to Sanji, though-" / "With the way he looks at you, you might want to start preparing for the wedding already"). So at least they have fun. But sometimes they look at Usopp in a weird, defensive way and he gets,,,, Scared.