#Am I the only one having trouble with poses since the last update?

[romana-after-dark]

Blessed Be The Fruit: Part 2

Commander!Joel Miller x Handmaid!Reader

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(sorry if you get two notications, accidentally posted this to my mainlol)

Summary: A few decades into Gilead’s conception, you head into your first posting as a handmaid after an affair with a guardian landed you in trouble. Determined to keep your head low in order to keep your son safe, you take on the moniker of OfJoel. Commander Miller has very little to do with you and mrs. Miller regards you with disgust, however you find solace in an unlikely friendship with Commander Miller’s daughter from a handmaid 14 years ago, Ellie who just got done with wives school. You and your friend, Ofthomas start teacher her and her friend Reilly under her mothers nose. Slowly, Commander Miller begins spending time with you and you begin to learn more about the man he was before and an affair begins outside the confines of the ceremony. Although initially you go along with it out if survival, you find yourself falling for the version of Joel you saw in these late night rendezvous.

Which Joel is really him, and how will he react when his own daughters secrets are revealed?

Content and Warnings: DARK JOEL! DUB CON!

Although no violent rape happens like in TWW, reader is under systemic misogyny and a society of ritualized sex abuse. Everything other than the violent rape scenes, everything that happen in either The Handmaids Tale book or show are liable to happen here including but not limited to discussion of rape, child abuse, child marriage, ritualized sexual abuse, sexual abuse in general, acts of violence, major character deaths, mentions of miscarriage but never shown and never pregnancies we know of. Big ole homophobia warning, specifically in regards to lesbophobia. As for Joel, PIV sex, breeding kink, degrading (slut, whore etc but thing like Raider!joel) forced breeding and breeding kink, power dynamics, Joel is not the good guy but he’s also not the worst, slightly rough sex but not violent. Warnings are liable to be added as the story goes but I’ll always update. As always if I miss something please tell me, but i extensively label my warnings and in the end media consumption is your own choice. If you would like to know if this is a happy ending or not you can message me and I’ll tell you that way I don’t spoil for everyone but you can decide if this is for you.

Immersability: Reader has long hair, can conceive children theoretically. At one point, she has to pose as Ellie's mother and I know this can be loaded in terms of skin tone. I am no genetics expert but I know dark skinned parents can have white passing children, like Lional Richie and Nicole Richie. It's up to you to see if this is going to take you out of the story or not.

Support writers, reblog and leave comments!

Additional warnings: forced blowjob but reader is into it. Still dub con bc the nature of everything.

*******************

It was a strange feeling, knowing the entire household was keeping track of your monthly cycle. Mrs. Miller had been cued in by Aunt Lydia of where you were at last week, and since then you were told the date of the next ceremony; the night during the highpoint of your fertility. You wondered, not the first time, why the ceremony was only once a month, not during the entire time of ovulation, or why not two or three times a day… but you supposed that’s where the wives would draw a line. No rights to reading or education, no voice, no power. One wrong move and you too can become the victim of ritualized rape… but no, your husband fucking a random woman more than *checks notes you aren’t actually allowed to read* once a month is too far. 

Internal humor is how to cope. The reality of the situation was terrifying, but it’s not like you were shocked by the idea. You had grown up your whole life knowing this would be your fate if you strayed; well, if you strayed and you were fertile. That fertility is what landed you in this problem in the first place.

It wasn’t love. There was no grand story to it. You were married at 15 to a man in his 20’s who hit you, as was his right. Even that wasn’t as dramatic as it could have been, just slaps, shoved into furniture, things of that sort. When a local guardian made advances, you took him up on it. The sex was fine, and eventually produced a baby; your son, who looked just like his real father. 

The guardian was sent to a new local and seemed indifferent to his son who was placed with some commander and his wife. You didn’t even get to say goodbye to him. He probably has a new name now, something biblical, and you often wonder what it is, what word it is that calls his attention. Babies recognize their name around 6 months after all. Benjamin? Levi? Asa? You named him… well, that doesn’t really matter now. It’s a name he’ll never know as his.

Angela had a better story. There was a group of you, a few other handmaids in your region and Angela rallied you all together, sharing your real names and stories. She had lived one hell of a life, always brave. As a low ranking wife she went behind her husbands back for the underground resistance at the young age of 16 and was pregnant a few times, none of which made it very long. For ten years she fought against Gilead, continuing the tradition of her youth. Hell, even before Gilead’s official formation she fought, being a part of pro-LGBT and women’s rights activism since middle school. After her husband was killed in war a guardian attempted to rape her and Angela stabbed him to death. Badass. Gilead didn’t see it that way, despite espousing wanting to protect women. She was going to be hung, of course, but a pregnancy test reviled she was pregnant again, a baby she carried to term, this time. He died of illness a few months later. Regardless, she’d had a healthy baby, and was sent to Thomas Miller’s for her first posting last year.

Aunt Lydia had told Angela that this commander Miller would suit her temperament and you understood what that meant. Angela had confirmed the impression that you had gotten early that week.

Thomas Miller had kind eyes. The kind of eyes that warmed you, relaxed you. You bet he was a charmer in another life. The brothers seemed close, Joel- Commander Miller you mean, lighting up around him like you only see with Elizabeth.

Commander Miller adored his daughter, that much was clear. Many men in Gilead only viewed their children -especially daughters- as possessions or pawns, but it was clear it wasn’t like that between them. You wondered if that closeness is why she wasn’t married yet. At 14 she had been out of wives school for a few months, and it was time to at least get her betrothed. God forbid she waste of moment of potential fertility. Yet, Commander Miller didn’t even seem to be looking.

 Few knew more than him how dangerous it was as a woman in this world, and Elizabeth wasn’t a woman- she was a child, still. Commander Miller also seemed aware that Elizabeth was… particular. She only had one friend, Riley, a child from before the handmaid system who was married already. Mrs. Jones, she was called by Lisa, you and Mrs. Miller (who always tried to do things by the book). Joel refused to call her Mrs. Jones, saying “I’m not addressing a child who I’ve been forced to play dolls with as Mrs. anything. She’s Riley to me.” Outside though he did things right. Can’t be too familiar with another man’s wife, even if he’s known that wife since she was in pull ups. 

The ceremony was tonight, and it seemed like everyone knew. Angela did, but only because you mentioned it.

“Got any questions?” She asked you, always the older sister, even if she only had a few years on you.

“Believe it or not, I’m not a virgin.” You joke back.

Angela laughs and nudges you with her shoulder. “I know, it’s just your first ceremony. I mean, it’s pretty straightforward to what they teach you in the Rachel and Leah Center, only-” She seemed to shut herself off with that, but you urge her on.

“Only what? You can’t leave me there.”

She swallowed thickly before attempting again, somewhere between a cringe and a childish giggle. “Well, you know, genetically-”

“Angela.”

“Brothers have similarities-”

“Just say it!”

Angela stopped, pulling you in to whisper. “Tommy has a massive cock.”

You stand there frozen in shock until a guardian shouts at you to keep moving and stop whispering. There was a lot there, including the implication that if they share genetic similarities, Joel might be harder to take than expected, especially without foreplay, but the thing that really struck you, the thing that sent your mind whirling was how Angela phrased it. She called Commander Miller, Tommy.

*

He was handsome, Commander Miller. At least there was that. Another handmaid, Ofglen, was stuck with a 70 year old man. Several girls had commented in hushed whispers that you and Ofthomas were luck; the Miller brothers were a dream posting, comparatively. So many men were ugly, old, or cruel. Ofhim had scars from lashes on her back. Some of the wives were worse, Ofcole’s wife would starve her when her monthly cycle proved the ceremony useless. Mrs. Miller was a pain and was rude, but she’d never take anything like that into he own hands. She wanted to play the part of dutiful wife so bad. That didn’t stop her from constantly making digs at her daughter.

Mrs. Miller requested your aid in her garden once, using you to dump all her feelings. She confessed the reason you were here was her doing; Elizabeth had proven a failure in her eyes, and she wanted another child to raise, to start over. She said her father spoiled her, let her get away with to much. Commander Miller refused to physically discipline her, and Mrs. Miller was insistent that that’s what the girl needed. Commander Miller reminded her she was just a teenager, and Mrs. Miller countered that she is a woman, not a child. You were married off young and it had seemed fine. You felt like an adult. But now you look at Elizabeth and think ‘did I look that young? Did I seem that childlike?’ 

Mrs. Miller had expressed that she had hoped wives school would fix her, or that maybe after coming back, Riley’s influence would be good. Ellie’s friend, Riley, was 16 and was married to a man in his 20’s, both children from before who had been taken from an unworthy family. An age gap, but certainly not the worse you’d seen, certainly, but now you were near her husbands age the the idea of marrying a 16 year old…

All this to say, Commander Miller was a blessing. You’d been lying if you said you never thought of him when you masturbated. And of course you masturbated. His sweaty body all encompassing around you, brown curls falling on his face, his facial hair on your skin…

*

It was time for the ceremony, you and Mrs. Miller were in your respective positions, you laid up between Gina’s spread legs in her blue dress, her hand gripping your arms with your legs bent. Commander Miller emerged from the bathroom and your chest tightened at the sight of him, knowing what was coming. The pomp and circumstance had passed, the prays having been done in the living room with members of the household: You, Commander Miller, Mrs. Miller, Lisa, and the driver, Isaac. There had been a passive aggressive spat between Mrs. and Commander Miller on the idea of Elizabeth attending the prayers.

Mrs. Miller: “She needs to participate in household activities”

Commander Miller: “It’s bad enough she knows whats going on, I don’t need her to participate.”

Mrs. Miller: “She’ll be a wife soon enough herself, god-willing she’ll have a handmaid of her own!”

“God-willing she won't need to!”

Mrs. Miller scoffed. “As if God would find her worthy in her state!”

Commander Miller grew deadly calm, jaw set in a tense gaze as he stared at his wife, you and Elizabeth standing on the other side of the room. “Woman, you do not speak about her like that again, understood?”

The intensity of his eyes must have been warning enough, Gina backing down. “Yes sir.”

He straightened up. “Ellie, you are excused. Gina, drop it.”

The tension had carried over into the bedroom, the air thick with it as the reality of what was going to happen settled in. Commander Miller’s bulge was prominent even in his dark pants, having worked himself up alone before coming out here and undressing once again. Just pulling down his pants and underwear, god forbid you see him shirtless. This wasn’t for your pleasure, you filthy whore, this wasn’t even for his. This was for you to bare him and his wife a child. A son to lead the family in righteousness, or a daughter to bare more children and so on. This was a job.

You hear a spit and the distinct sound of masturbation, then a few more spitting sounds. It took everything in you to not look at him, keeping your eyes glued on the ceiling but the picture was clear in his head. The tall, broad, powerful commander furiously jerking off the the site of your body spread of before him. Was that for you? Or was he looking at his wife? He sure didn’t seem very fond of her, but there was no denying she was beautiful.

“Joel, do you really need to do that? It’s obscene.”

“Well you can’t expect her to take it dry when you can barely-”

“Joel!”

“Well unless you want me to-”

“JOEL!”

You couldn’t help it, opening your eyes to see him, his face scowling but eyes with a glint of mischief. He was fucking with her, purposefully embaressing her infront of a lowly handmaid to get back at her for what she said about Elizabeth.

When Commander Miller slid into you, you were suddenly acutely aware that this was going to be difficult. Slowly he moved inside and the inches just. Kept. Coming. Your breath hitched and you bite down on your lip trying to keep any possible sound from coming out, no gasps of pain that could be mistaken for pleasure. The stretch was unbearable by the time Joel was fully sheathed inside of you, thrusting as the tears pricked up in your eyes. It would be quick. There was no presence of needing to last, at least. Just get it done. Fill you up and hopefully you conceive. Problem was… the stretch.

 It wasn’t your fault, really. It was natural, wasn’t it? Even under these circumstances. Or maybe you were a harlot, only redeemable by producing a child for a high value man. That's why you were in this position, right? You could feel yourself getting wet and you wished he would hurry up before the smell of sex and arousal fill the room, before the fucking sound became impossible to ignore. The warmth in your belly grew, tightening, the feeling of being filled so completely was just dizzying and you needed him to finish, now.

Then it happened, the orgasm hitting you so hard your eyes rollback in your head and it takes everything you have not to cry out. You can only pray Joel isn’t looking at your face as you attempt to stifle every bodily reaction as you pulse around him. Warmth floods your insides when he stills inside you, a light groan from his lips. He’s allowed to make a few sounds; he’s the man, after all. It’s supposed to feel good for him, but for you? This was wrong. This was bad, and you were going to be in a fuck ton of trouble now. Aunt Lydia never said anything about orgasming. Did the law have a specific article about this, or was it left up to the commander's discretion? You hadn’t seen Joel raise a hand to Gina yet, but you were only a week in. You open your eyes, daring to take a peak at Commander Miller in order to gauge your future. 

You can see him smiling at you before tucking himself back into his pants to go clean up. Mrs. Miller instructed you to lay there for a while, bettering the chances of it taking, and left the room. When Commander Miller exited the bathroom and returned to the bed chambers, he excused you with a soft “You can go now, darl’n”

*

Another 2 weeks went by without incident, and it appeared Commander Miller wasn’t going to do or say anything about your embarrassing indiscretion. Angela had told you to play with yourself before the ceremony to get yourself wet, but you had been too scared of this exact scenario happening. Fat lot of good it did you, huh?

Unfortunately for everyone involved, you got your period as expected. One would think you didn’t want to get pregnant. The odds of dying in child birth had increased despite growing technology. It was the pregnancy complications and the insistence of home births even when the pregnancy was warning them not too. Gilead’s obsession with rituals meant that there was also an extensive one for childbirth and that obsession rendered many women dead. In addition to that, there’s the horror of growing a child inside you, and even if it was a healthy pregnancy and that child lives, after a period of breastfeeding you are taken away from the life you created to go to another posting.

If you produce a child and remain behaved, when you are no longer of birthing age, you get to retire in peace. Whatever that meant. You weren’t sure you entirely cared, one way or another, but the idea of the wall was scary. 3 postings, 3 years per posting, this was your window.

You often heard Elizabeth sneaking downstairs after the household went to sleep; always after Joel went down. Your room was right by the stairs, so you heard it all. God knows you aren’t sleeping.

You were bored. So bored. Bored enough to sneak downstairs after Ellie and go investigate, so you do. Slowly and carefully you go down stairs and find Commander Miller’s office, creeping up to the door to listening. You hear music. Music that was supposed to have been destroyed a decade ago, and you take a moment to enjoy the sound. Steady acoustic guitar, soft male singing.

“Can we listen to it again?” Ellie’s voice spoke from behind the door.

“After your lesson.” Commander Miller.

“UUUGGGHHH”

“I thought you wanted to learn?”

“I do…” Ellie acquiesced, and you can hear the sounds of pulling a book off a shelf and opening it. Biology. Commander Miller was teaching Ellie biology. This was unheard of, especially for a commander's daughter, a woman who was supposed to be getting married off soon. She didn’t need to learn science, to listen to ungodly music? So why was a high ranking Commander not only allowing it, but teaching her?

You move to go back upstairs where you belong, but the creak of the floor gives you away. White-hot panic, the kind where everything runs hot and the world suddenly feels funny floods your system. You freeze, hoping to God no one heard you. That goes out the window when the door flies open, Commander Miller spotting you and yanking you inside the room by the dress.

“What the hell are you doing here?!” He shouts, loud and angry and so close to you that you can smell his breath.

“Dad?” A panicked Ellie stood to the side, drawing your attention. She looked terrified, and you felt sorry for scaring the poor girl.

Joel gripped your face, fingers digging into his skin as he forced you to look at him. “Eyes on me. You don’t look at her.” Keeping your face forward, Joel turned to Ellie. “Go upstairs, I’ll take care of this.”

“But dad-”

“Ellie. I got this, you go to your room, it’ll talk to you in a bit, okay?”

Ellie nodded, going out the door and only stopped to eye you for a moment.

Joel turned back to you. “What did you hear?”

“Nothing-”

“Liar!” He screamed, fingers pressing harder into your skin.

“I heard the music! And, and some of the lesson, but I won’t say anything I swear-”

“Of course you won’t,” Joel chuckled. “Who are they going to believe? A commander and the first daughter of Gilead, or a handmaid who cums during the ceremony.” Your eyes go wide at that, the way Joel’s grip loosens but never leaves, thumb slowly beginning to trace at your cheeks. “Yeeeah, that’s right, I felt you. Little bitch in heat couldn’t help cumming on cock? Didn’t even need any build up, huh? You just take whatever's given to you. Little whore, all pent up…” 

God, he looked good like this; towering over you, broad shoulders closing in on you and making it clear there was nowhere to go. When he placed his thumb at your lips, you didn’t even hesitate to take it in your mouth and begin to bob your head, eyes closing just a little. “Dirty, dirty girl…” Joel taunted. “Just need to get filled up. All that pent up slut, nowhere to go. Tell me, sweet thing… Do you think of me when you touch yourself?”

Your sucking stopped, but Joel continued moving his thumb in your mouth. “Yeah, I know you do. Get on your fucking knees.” He didn’t wait, shoving you down to your knees, his cock entering your mouth before you had a chance to think.

The stretch pried open your mouth, pulling at your chapped and dry lips. The bulbous tip hit the back of your throat and made you gag, but he wasn’t stopping.

“Dirty fucking whore, that’s how you ended up here, isn’t it? Needed to be constantly filled, your husband wasn’t enough?” He thrust into you with vigor, your sputtering sounds only spurring him on more while you breathed through your nose, you couldn’t help but whine, preening at the sensation of a dick in your mouth once again. It felt, so, so good, despite the circumstances. “Don’t you worry, I’ll fill you up alright, fill you up enough you stay full.” His pace began to falter after a few more minutes. “Fill you up with my baby, fulfill your biological destiny like the pretty little whore you are.” You wriggle, trying to get some sory of sensation between your legs as you hungrily sucked at him, desperately needing his cum inside you.

He spilled into you, salty and thick and so fucking good, you swallow down every goddamn drop.

With a hand fisted in your dress, Joel pulled you up and to your feet, shoving you back against the wall as he cleaned up. “You are going to apologize to her, and after that.” Joel was close up against you again. “You are going to keep my daughter’s name out of your fucking mouth.” His tongue flicked out to lick at the corner of your mouth and swiped his tongue over your lips. “After tonight, we on’t be wasting one more drop in your mouth. Every last bit of me goes to filling you up, but this-” He patted your stomach where his cum was heading. “Should keep you satisfied until next time.”

Until next time.

Joel pulled you upstairs and into Ellie’s room where he shoved you forward. You fold your hands in front of you and bow your head, hoping she can’t see any evidence of you being a whore for her father on your face. You doubted Joel would’ve allowed that.

“I’m sorry for intruding, Miss Miller. It won’t happen again.” You are careful not to imply you heard anything, know anything, and certainly not imply that she did anything wrong. Joel wouldn’t stand for that.

“Yeah, whatever.” Was all she replied before Joel sent you out of the room, and all you hear as the door closes is “It’s okay, baby girl. It’s handled.”

But your thoughts were swirling on something else, how turned on you were, how dominant he was, how fucking hot he is, but most important, those last few words.

Until next time.

******************

We get to the spice nice and fast ayyyyyyyyeeee

We love Joel being protective of his daughter <3

Let me know your thoughts!

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[tickly-giggles]

Ultimate Masterpost! (Fics and Art)

Heyaa! I'm Giggles, I draw full time and write stories some of the time, so here's a full masterlist of everything I've done so far :D I will update this as frequently as I can ^^

I DRAW AND WRITE BOTH SFW AND NSFW CONTENT! FOR BOTH YOUR AND MY SAFETY, PLEASE DO NOT INTERACT IF YOU ARE A MINOR. THANK YOU!

Few notes for clarification sake:

I don't take art requests often, if at all. Commissions are a definite way to get personalized art from me!

I might take writing requests in the future? But for now, I do not.

Commissions are currently closed, as I'm still working on my backlog TwT but I do have a Patreon that I advertise frequently!

What is open right now?

Tickle fight HCs ✅️

Tickle HCs for characters ✅️

Fic requests 🚫

Art requests 🚫

Sentence starter drabbles ✅️ (Request one from here, pros and villains only pls)

I am multi-fandom, but right now, my obsession is My Hero Academia. I am only taking HC requests/fic requests/art requests/drabbles for the pro heroes, teachers, and villains! I love the classes, but they are quite overdone. I wanna shine light on the characters that don't get too much love in this community :3

Now onto the list~!

Last Updated: 4/22/2024

My Hero Academia

* = Not a part of any storyline

Fics

Feather Ticklish - (Lee!Dabi, Ler!Hawks) During a meeting at the LoV hideout, Hawks notices Dabi looking more down and apathetic than usual. He tries to make him feel better, but when words don't work, he realizes he may need to take another approach.

Watch Your Back (sequel to Feather Ticklish) - (Lee!Hawks, Ler!Dabi) It's been a few weeks since Dabi warned Hawks to watch his back, but nothing has come of it. Hawks decides to go about his work without worrying about it too much (spoiler: he worries a lot) and, during a private outing to the hideout late at night, he runs into Dabi.

Get Some Sleep* (Sentence Prompt Drabble) - (Lee!Hawks, Ler!Dabi) College AU. Keigo has to finish a very important paper in order for him to graduate, but he's having a lot of trouble and refuses to sleep or take care of himself until it's done. Luckily, Touya is there to get him to take a break and sleep.

The Safe Word is 'Tickle'* (Sentence Prompt Drabble) - (Lee!Dabi, Ler!Hawks) Dabi has been tickling Hawks so often since they started dating. Not that Hawks is complaining, but he wants his own chance at revenge! And he gets it, in the meanest way possible~.

When I Find You, You're Dead!* (Sentence Prompt Drabble) - (Lee!Mic, Ler!Aizawa) Mic decided it would be a good idea to play a prank on his sleeping husband. When Aizawa wakes up and sees what he did, he has quite a bit of fun with his punishment~.

Headcanons

Dabi Tickle Headcanons

Twice Tickle Headcanons

Aizawa Tickle Headcanons

Sir Nighteye Tickle Headcanons

Kurogiri Tickle Headcanons

Bubble Girl Tickle Headcanons

Shigaraki Tickle Headcanons

Tickle Fight: Dabi vs Hawks

Tickle Fight: Dabi vs Shigaraki

Tickle Fight: Endeavor vs Hawks

Hawks Tickle Headcanons

Mr. Compress Tickle Headcanons

Art

Wing TKs (Lee!Dabi, Ler!Hawks)

Anticipation (Lee!Dabi, Ler!Hawks)

Muscle/Pose Practice (NonTK fanart of Dabi)

Fuck Off, I'm Playing Pokemon (NonTK fanart of Dabi and Shigaraki)

Wing Stretches (NonTK fanart of Hawks)

Careful if He Gets Loose~ (NonTK fanart of Dabi, barely NSFW, light bondage)

College AU Dabi/Touya Design (NonTK fanart of Dabi)

Sup, Little Bro? (NonTK fanart of Dabi and Shoto, college AU)

Tickle Fight (Switches!Dabi and Hawks)

You Have a Tickle Blog~? (Lee!Keigo, Ler!Touya - Part of my "Keigo has a tickle blog" college AU)

OCs

Bios

Nathan

Andrew

Christian

Eric

Fics

Forgot to Hit Record - (Lee!Eric, Ler!Andrew) Eric has been in more of a bad mood than usual, and his friends are getting fed up with it. Coincidentally, they have to film a "movie" for their website, and Andrew decides it's the perfect opportunity to put him in a better mood~.

Art

Tickle Torture (NSFW, Lee!Andrew, Lers Eric, Nathan, Christian)

Ask for Christian - What pranks have backfired? (Mentions of NSFW activity)

Ask for Andrew - Bust it down, sexual style?

Ask for Nathan - Who do you prefer to be tickled by?

Lazy Day (NonTK)

Ask for Andrew - What tools are your favorite?

Why Do You Sext Like Jigsaw? (NonTK, Andrew and Eric)

Cuties Bonding - (Lee!Nathan, Ler!Eric)

Happy Pride Month - (NonTK)

Dude, Why Are You Crying? - (NonTK, silly animatic w/ Christian and Andrew)

Forgot to Hit Record~ - (Lee!Eric, Ler!Andrew)

Teaching Him How to Bake [wip] - (NonTK ship art of Nathan and Eric)

Four Square - (NonTK art of all the boys, draw the squad meme)

Christian's Mummified Tickle Torture - (Lee!Christian, Ler!Andrew)

Can't Sleep - (Lee!Eric, Ler!Andrew)

Nathan Bunny Slime Sticker - (NonTK art of Nathan with a bunny slime, a sticker for my shop!)

Anticipation - (Lee!Nathan, Ler!Andrew)

[madeofcc]

Reach out and touch faith !

testing and loving the new 80′s collection by @aniraklova *0*

[oreomonsterhunter]

Sick Day

Pairing: Jackson x reader

Word count: 2270

Warnings: none

Synopsis: Jackson stays home sick (and not very willingly lol)

[ 6:00 am ]

Soft gray light seeps around the curtains as you ease into wakefulness.  You stretch your arms over your head, finally registering the chime of your alarm.  But when you roll over to turn it off, you stop, a mere inch between your nose and Jackson’s back.

You frown at him, not that he can tell, since he’s not supposed to be there.  He should be at the gym, or practice, or wherever the hell he needs to be after his ungodly alarm goes off every morning.  Baffled, you poke his shoulder.  “Jackson?”  He groans, and your frown deepens.  You sit up, leaning over him, “Are you alright?  Is your schedule cancelled?”  You squeeze his arm gently to elicit a response.

Jackson cracks his eyes open to look at you, blinking rapidly.  Then suddenly his eyes are comically wide and he’s not sliding but falling out of bed and stumbling to the bathroom.  “Shit, I’m late,” he says hoarsely.

You sit there, still a bit shocked and not a little groggy, and try to make sense of things.  Then you get your act together and go to turn on the coffee machine.  When you pop your head in the bathroom, you find Jackson squinting at his phone, toothbrush hanging out the side of his mouth.  You hip-check him out of the way as you grab your own brush.  “Stop getting distracted if you’re running late,” you mumble around a mouthful of toothpaste.

Jackson starts to respond automatically, and you choke on a laugh as toothpaste dribbles down his chin.  This, of all things, seems to cause a Jackson malfunction.  He stops there, blinking at his minty goatee in the mirror.  With a sigh, you spit and go to help him, taking the toothbrush away before he drops it.  You cup his cheek while you wipe off the mess with a damp washcloth, but then you frown, placing the back of your hand on his forehead.  “Holy—Jackson, you’re burning up,” you exclaim.  You take his face between your hands and stare him down.  “Talk to me.  What’s going on, how do you feel?”

He just blinks for a moment, before shaking his head.  “I just had a headache is all.  Snoozed the alarm.  I’m totally fine, I just need to get to the studio for practice.”

“Jackson, how do you feel?” you repeat, holding him still.  You sneak a glance at his phone, still unlocked to show you his recent search for natural headache remedies.

He looks sheepish now, “Well, my head hurts.”

You raise one eyebrow at him.  “You don’t say.  What else?”

He groans, dropping his face in his hands.  “I’m fine, I promise.  Just a headache.”

“If that’s all it is, take some pain meds and get out,” you challenge him, folding your arms in what you hope is an intimidating stance.  You know bullshit when you hear it.

Somehow the pose works.  That, or Jackson vividly remembers how you chewed him out for lying and threatened to roast him alive if he ever tried it again.  “My throat hurts a bit, and I’m definitely a bit congested.  All I need is some tea and a mask and I’ll be fine,” he starts, but stops just as quickly when your glare intensifies.

You rummage around in the closet and find a thermometer, which confirms your suspicions: a fever.  “Back in bed after you finish brushing, or I’m withholding any and all sexy activities for a month,” you threaten him into compliance.  And you would absolutely uphold that threat, because you know Jackson.  He’s always hounding you to stay healthy, but is a definite member of the “do as I say, not as I do” camp of idiots.  If you don’t lay down the law now, he’ll continue working himself to death, and then he’ll really be in trouble.  Plus he’ll end up getting the other boys sick, and Jackson is enough of a handful on his own without six other boys moaning and groaning.

In the kitchen, you gulp coffee while boiling some water for tea.  Your fingers fly, tapping out a message to Jaebeom, knowing he’ll pass along the message.

Jackson’s an idiot and he’s sick, if anyone asks him to come to practice I’ll end them.

Then to Jinyoung:

Can you check on Jackson this afternoon?  I have to go to work, but would love it if you could make sure he’s still breathing (and hasn’t tried to leave the apartment).  I made kimchi jjigae last night, so there’s leftovers if you want some ❤️

Your phone pings with two positive responses right away, and you nod to yourself.  Then you pour a good spoonful of honey in the mug, grab cold medicine, and bring both to Jackson.  “Drink this, take this, and go to sleep,” you say, shoving the mug in his hands.  “There’s clementines on the counter, plus leftover soup in the fridge.  Call me if you need me, especially if you start to feel any worse.  Jinyoung will stop by around lunch, and I’ll be back from work in time for dinner.  Text me your dumb loopy fever thoughts, okay?”  You finally take a breath after spouting off instructions.  You’re worried, but now you’re running late.  And if he takes a turn for the worse, you can call out of work for the rest of the day.

Jackson just smiles up at you, and you roll your eyes.  You can’t help but smile at your precious idiot—he’s already fever loopy.  “I love you,” he says.

“I love you more.”  You press your lips to the top of his head, then dash to the closet to change into your work clothes.

Even though it’s possibly the fastest strip show in history, Jackson wolf whistles between sips of tea.  You chuckle, jiggling yourself into a pair of pants, and he grins shamelessly.

“Ok, I’m off,” you mutter, collecting various odds and ends and cursing to yourself because you’ve definitely forgotten something.

Jackson calls your name as you start to close the bedroom door, and you turn back.  His smile softens, and you swear there are hearts in his eyes.  “I love you most.”

This time, you really do laugh, and you blow him a kiss goodbye.  He’s an idiot, but he’s your idiot.

[ 11:39 am ]

You knew he was going to text you incessantly throughout the day, despite any good intentions, if only because Jackson was not well equipped to be stuck inside an empty apartment all day.  Especially when he wasn’t feeling well.  At least the texts waited until around ten, when you assume he woke up again.  You’d kept an eye out for any bad updates, but hadn’t seen anything to worry you.

After back-to-back meetings, you finally sign off and take a minute to scroll through the memes, YouTube videos, and more.  Fortunately, your phone was on silent, because he’d sent you half the internet.  The spam tells you he feels okay, all things considered.

I miss you already.  I’ve gone through all of your Spotify playlists and now I’m bored

I would spam you with bad jokes, but those don’t work over text

Why don’t we have a dog?  Can you bring me a dog on your way home from work?

Why won’t the guys text me back...did you THREATEN THEM? BABEEEEE

Babe

BABE

BABY COME BACK

YOU CAN BLAME IT ALL ON MEEEEE

...princess please answer me I’m dying and I have no one

You can’t stop the smile, knowing he’s doing his best to keep you from worrying, but also that he’s probably stir crazy.  You quickly tap out a response:

I’m glad you’re feeling better, or at least pretending.  Tell me if you feel worse.  Are you drinking water?

He sends you a selfie of him guzzling the glass you left for him.  And finally stops texting, which makes you chuckle.  A glance at the clock tells you a special visitor should be arriving soon, so you turn back to your computer to get some more work done.

Within fifteen minutes, your phone buzzes again.  Jinyoung’s update is quick and to the point: a photo of an exhausted Jackson nearly falling asleep in his soup.  That’s enough to send you over the edge, and you laugh out loud, regardless of the thin office walls.

[ 5:49 pm ]

You lock the door behind and toe off your shoes, then pad into the kitchen.  You’d stopped by the store on your way home, picking up cold medication and a few ingredients for dinner.  Jackson gives you the scare of your life, when you round the corner and find him slumped over the counter.

“Jackson!” you gasp, nearly dropping the shopping bags.

He mumbles incoherently, lifting his head and blinking blearily at you.  “Hi princess,” he says with a weak smile.

Now you do drop the bags and round the counter to reach him.  You press the back of your hand to his forehead.  “Still burning up,” you mutter.  “Jackson, why didn’t you call me?  And Jinyoung didn’t say you were this miserable.”

He shakes his head at you, hair falling limp over his forehead.  “I’m just tired.  Apparently I took a nap after he left,” he says sheepishly.  Your frown deepens.  “It’s just a cold,” he tries to reassure you.

Rolling your eyes at him, you go back to the grocery bags and retrieve the cold medication.  “I’ll make dinner and you can go right back to bed, okay?  Drink some more water.”

Jackson obeys your gruff instructions, sitting and sipping water while you throw ingredients together for a quick stew.  He tries to offer to do the dishes, but you shoo him off for a hot shower.  But he doesn’t reach your limit of irritating until he tries to convince you to sleep in the bed while he takes the couch.

“Should I move out?  That’s the only way I can be sure I won’t get sick,” you tell him, hands on your hips as you stare him down.  Jackson reluctantly puts his pillow back on the bed, prompting you to grab your own, “I’ll sleep on the couch.”

Now Jackson is the one rolling his eyes.  You huff out a laugh and watch his lips twitch, trying to hold back his smile.  “I just worry about you,” he says softly.

You can’t stay mad at that face.  Dropping the pillow, you sit on the edge of the bed, patting the space beside you.  When Jackson plops down, you bump your shoulder into his.  “I wish you would worry about yourself more.”

He knows what you’re getting at.  This isn’t the first time you’ve had this conversation—in the beginning, they were pretty fierce arguments.  The two of you are both stubborn, leading to stalemates more often than not.  Convincing Jackson to put his health before his work was one of those standoffs.

Jackson doesn’t say anything, but he bumps your shoulder back, so you know the message was received.  You smile at him, then poke his side playfully.  “I already told Jaebeom you’d be taking tomorrow off.”

He groans, falling back on the bed and throwing an arm across his face.  “I can’t afford to miss practice.  Comeback is only a few weeks away and—”

“And nothing.  You stay home until the fever is gone for twenty-four hours.  Or I’m taking you to the doctor, and they’ll tell you worse.”

He simply groans like the drama king he is, and you laugh while you take a blanket and pillow to the couch.

[ 7:24 am ]

You’re dragged into wakefulness by a crick in your neck, a sore throat, and a stuffy nose.  You groan, dragging one hand down your face in defeat.  Jackson wasn’t going to let this one go...you were in for an earful.  Rolling off the couch, you sniffle your way through your morning routine.  By the time you’ve called out of work, taken some cold medication, and sat down with your coffee, Jackson is also awake.

He does a double-take when he sees you, “Wait, shouldn’t you be at work by now?”

You grumble, sure he’s figured it out but wants to drive the point home.  “I’m sick.”

“I guess you should’ve moved out then,” he jokes, but his expression has never been more serious.  It feels like deja-vu, only Jackson is the one checking your temperature and muttering about tea.

“It’s fine, I’ve self medicated like a grown-up,” you say with a smile, but it probably looks more like a grimace.  “And I have coffee, go get yourself some tea.”

Ten minutes later, you’re staring down at a horrible green concoction.  “Jackson, I’m sorry, but what fresh hell is this?”

“Fruit, vegetables, and whatever else I could find in the fridge.  I didn’t put chicken in there, don’t worry.  I know how you feel about my shakes.”

You eye him up and down.  He doesn’t look much better than yesterday.  “You drink it.  You need to get your strength back for practice.”  Jackson pouts at you, and that’s when you figure it out.  “It’s not your fault I’m sick,” you tell him.

He scoffs, “Yes it is.”

You resist the urge to throw something at him.  Lovingly, of course.  “We’ll just have to agree to disagree then.”

“Fine.  But you’re drinking this,” he fires back.

You wince, peering into the cup again.  You’re not sure you can trust his ingredient list.  “Split it?” you ask, wearing your most angelic smile.

Jackson squirms away from you in fake disgust, “I can’t, there’s cooties!”  Then he ducks to avoid the pillow you hurl at him.

* * * * *

Masterlist

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

HASO, “Traitor.”

Going to be working on this one for a while. Hope you guys enjoy the update :)

He did his best to stay calm even as he was led into another room and introduced to their drake boss. He tried to keep his expression somewhere between an easy smile and a thoughtful nod, let them think he was really considering their offer, really considering  their offer to go out and murder himself.

It was all just so unbelievable.

He couldn’t wrap his head around the idea that the chairwoman would want  him killed. He thought the two of them were long time allies. He thought she had been the one, along with Admiral Kelly, to support his rise to the rank of captain when all of this began. What had happened between now and then to necessitate her desire to kill him.

He had to admit that he was both hurt and concerned for himself.

His brother Thomas was out there posing as him while the universe's most powerful politician plotted to end his life. She had the strength of the entire GA Armada behind her. He doubted all the ships would attack the omen if she asked, but at least some of them would, and without him there to maneuver the ship…. He worried that they wouldn’t last through a fight.

His stomach churned as the two pirate  women spoke among each other trying to make him believe a lie. His stomach tied itself into another knot. He was surrounded by an entire galaxy of people who wanted to kill him, and for what?

Because the human race was growing too powerful politically? And somehow he had something to do with it.

Despite suddenly being thrown into politics at a young age, he knew that he didn’t understand them. He was a pilot and a soldier first and foremost, and he found that being a politician required lying to people and in ways that he just wasn’t capable of. He knew he was in a vulnerable position.

The two women finished their little speeches, satisfied that they had followed him, and he nodded to them as he was led back out into the hall. Cannon walked behind him the entire time spear held at the ready, ready to cut down anyone who tried anything. He had no doubt that they would be able to handle Beatrice and Geea. The Drev was no great shakes as a warrior and Beatrice behaved more like a  crack addict with a knife than she did a fighter. Between him and Cannon they could take the two of them out.

In fact, Adam could probably take both of them at once if he had to, though he didn’t relish the idea.

He had a feeling that the two of them were being used just as anyone else might be. They weren’t working for themselves but being manipulated by a system that didn’t want to get in trouble itself.

The two of them were just patsies.

They led him out of the room and back into the main thoroughfare of the pirate waystation. Where once he had been excited to view all of the cool and illegal technology, he now felt sick to his stomach. Neon lights flashed above him under colorful ad campaigns for new jetpacks and all he could think of was the betrayal.

He needed to talk to someone. Immediately.

“I must return to my ship to make preparations.”

“We will come with you.”

He shook his head, “No, I need you to make sure that the rest of my men are getting along in the equipment they find. If they don’t get what we need then the mission is a bust, so you better make sure things go smoothly.

He didn’t wait for them to respond, but turned on his heel and made his way back towards the ship, his boots clattering on the metal flooring.

Beatrice said something rude behind him, but he ignored her for the most part.

He didn’t care about her at this point, she was simply a pawn in a larger game.

And while they were pawns….. Well that would have to make him a King, which honestly wasn’t much better than a pawn.

He was a target for an assassination, and the entire board felt like it was moving around them, and the opposing queen had him in her sights.

He was going to have to change that.

He stepped into the tube leading him into his “fake” pirate ship.

It had been a lot of fun pretending to be a pirate over the past few months or so, allowing words of his deeds to spread in just the right circles, and crafting elaborate stories of daring encounters with UNSC cargo ships who were willing to help him with his plan. For the most part it had all gone off without a hitch, and he had been able to live out every child’s fantasy of becoming a pirate.

But now, now the jig was up and the fun was over. He was going to have to figure out something in the next few hours.

He stepped onto the ship and headed towards his rooms, shutting the door behind himself before setting up a secure transmission to the Omen. The line that he sent the transmission out on was disguised as some sort of manifest request to an orbiting ship above. No one would find anything interesting about it, though the signal would be intercepted by the Omen and opened on another secure channel, which generally tended to be used to monitor cosmic feedback.

He waited there for a moment as the device rang a few times, and then the screen sputtered to life.

The picture wasn’t the greatest quality, but they had made sure to do that over the past few days to hide any of the small quirks about Thomas that would have made him easy to identify as an imposter.

“Cargo?”

The word was a pre made code word asking if it was safe to speak out of character.

Thomas would respond with either, “Goods, or weapons.” The first meaning go and the second meaning stop.

“Goods.”

The image before him cleared up, and his brother's face peered back at him from the camera. He had to admit, they had done a good job in making him look Like Adam. He had tousled blond hair and eyepatch and likely makeup to adjust the structure of his face. All in all, it was pretty impressive, but being Adam and Thomas being his brother he could definitely tell. Thomas was shorter and a bit thinner than he was, though he had filled out since joining the marines, and his hair was a shade or two off from Adam’s.

“You good?” Thomas asked, flipping up the eye patch to show his real eye.

Adam sighed, and rested his elbows on the table before him, “There has been a….. A massive compilation, and I’m not sure what to do.”

Lord Avex still sat on his shoulder, and had been surprisingly quiet since the revelation about the chairwoman. 

“Are Sunny Krill and the others there, I need to talk to them.”

Thomas nodded and shuffled on the other side of the camera for a minute before returning.

“How about physically. Haven't had the shit kicked out of you, have you?”

Adam shook his head, “No, no I’m alright, Just mentally reeling at this point.”

He rubbed his temples trying to stave off the headache he could feel coming on.

There was a soft thud and hiss, and the door behind Thomas opened.

Sunny stepped into the room and hurried over to the monitor resting her hand on the back of the chair Thomas sat in, “Adam, are you alright!” The worry in her voice was palpable. She had wanted to come along on the mission with him, but he had reasoned that she was  too recognizable. Even if they had changed her colors it would have been far too easy to  identify her. She hadn’t like that, but had still agreed to stay behind.

“I’m alright, physically anyway, and so are the others.”

“You’ve figured out who their leader is.”

Adam went quiet, and by the looks he was receiving, he knew that they could sense the tension in his face, “Wait till the others get here.”

Just when he said it, the door hissed open again and Simon, Dr. Katie and Krill walked into hte room.

Dr Krill inflated his helium sack and floated into the air, looking him over with a critical eye for a long moment, “You don’t seem injured, so that is a good sign.”

Adam sighed and shook his head, “I wish that were the case.” 

“I don’t understand.”

“I mean I would rather be beaten up than dealing with the real problem at this point.” He rested his head against his hands and squeezed his eyes shut.

“Look, this is going to sound absolutely insane, so I will just go ahead and send you the recording.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the recording device he had taken with him dropping it into the little well on the communications array. There was a soft whirr and it slowly levitated upward and began to spin. The video was played back for the others to see, and they watched in silence ad growing horror as the Chairwoman of the GA plotted his death.

When the recording cut off, the group of them stared at him with wide eyes.

Sunny shook her head, “This makes no sense.”

“Why would she…..”

Adam shook his head, “I don’t know…. I thought we were on good terms, but it seems as if that is no longer the case. THe GA is against us, or at least the head of the GA is. I don’t know who is loyal to us, and I certainly don’t know who to trust.”

It was then that lord Avex piped up hopping down from Adam’s shoulder, “The Celzex will always be on your side, Admiral. That is why I came on this mission, that is why your ship is the only one equipped with our weaponry.” he stamped one of his feet, “We will wipe her and her puny planet off the map.”

Adam raised a hand, “Woah…. woah , I don’t know about that. We have to do this carefully. I doubt she is acting with the entire interest of her species in mind, but more likely a small group of people. If we are going to deal with her we will want to confront her quietly where no one else is going to get hurt.

Lord Avex didn’t seem particularly pleased about that turn of events, but he kept quiet and allowed Adam to continue.

“We need to expose her publicly is what we need.”

Sunny shook her head, “And how do you plan to do that. There is already the problem of you having to assassinate yourself, which really isn’t going to do us well at this moment in time.”

He shook his head, “IT will be easy to take care of the pirates, they aren't all that smart and taking them out won’t be difficult. Just let them board the ship and then we can deal with them from there. After that is what I am worried about. We need her to show her hand, and we need to gather plenty of evidence. What I have right now is good, but if we can find something better, then that will ease my mind.”

He stood and paced back and forth slightly across the room, “We need…. We need to open me up to them. We need to make it look like I am vulnerable, we need to give them a chance to carry everything out, make it look like I am an easy target. Let thor guard down, and then when they come for me, we close around them like a bear trap and they will be none the weiser.” He tapped his fingers against the table, “You can’t help but leave some kind of digital trail in a time like this, it is completely impossible, if we have one end of her plot in a public setting, than we can unravel it right before her eyes and there will be nothing she can do about it.” 

Krill, who had been mostly quiet for this time shook his head, “It seems strange that she would involve herself so closely. Using a proxy to do all the work for her would at least give her plausible deniability, why would she do it herself ?”

It was Thomas’s turn to pipe in, “Seems easy enough. She’s the only one she can trust. If what you say is true than I doubt she is going along with the interests of her own people. If she involves someone else than it is going to get messy for her especially if she doesn’t know where their loyalties really lie. She would have to make the decision to deal with it herself and ricks being caught, or risk being outed by the people that she trusted, and seeing that most of the Rundi are politicians at heart, it wouldn’t surprise me that she wouldn’t trust anyone ther than herself.” he waved a hand in the air, “They are grabbing for power just like she is, and they might see this as an opportunity to undermine her and set themselves up to become the new chancellor.”

He nodded slowly, that did make some measure of sense.

But how to pull hair out of hiding.

One thing at a time he supposed.

Outside he heard the sound of footsteps coming up the hall, and he turned to look at them making a quick hand signal, and the feed was cut off. He leaned back in his chair just as there was a knock at the door.

“Come in!” He ordered, and the door opened up to reveal cannon trailed by Beatrice and Geea.

He growled internally

They continued to get in his way and were becoming  a real annoyance for his plan.

He was gong to have to deal with them soon.

“Ah, ladies, you’re back. Were we able to find all of our supplies.

Geea stepped forward, “I believe we have, now you better get to work quickly, my employer grows impatient with your stalling”

I bet she does, he thought standing and smiling to conceal the rage that was festering inside him. He walked over and patted the Drev on the arm, “Don’t worry, by this time tomorrow you will be all sorted out, and all of us can go happily on our merry way.”

He slipped past her and walked into the hall chin down eyes narrowed,  hands balled into fists slightly at his sides.

By this time tomorrow they could begin dealing with the traitors, whoever they may be.

[takaraphoenix]

Ofc I'm excited for the new chapter phoe, I am so starved for Jason content that even the suggestion that I'm going to get some (esp QUALITY Jason content like urs) makes me unbelievably giddy and I'm fr checking my phone to see when it's gonna be update time in ur timezone 🥺✨

Oh gosh, you're so sweet. Your messages always delight me a lot and since Jason took kind of a backseat today in favor of the build up of the secret reveal, yooou get a small, Jason-focused flash-forward into their future. ;) also because I actually have time to write again fdklghaöklh

--

Sky-blue eyes were large as they quickly flew over the words in front of him. His mouth was in a small oh-shape as he absorbed every little bit of information that was given to him. And then it just ended.

To Be Continued...

No, no, no. That couldn't possibly be! This was too exciting, it couldn't just end like that! His sister next to him made a squealing sound as she also reached the ending. She grabbed the comic book out of his hand and tried turning the page, hoping against hope there would be more.

"No, no, no," she whined frustrated and threw herself back onto the bed.

After a moment, her brother mirrored her. The two groaned and whined until their current babysitter walked in, a frown on his face. He brushed hazel-hair out of his face.

"What's gotten into you lot?"

"The comic ends, uncle Tyson! It just ends! And the next issue won't come out until next month, but it just got really, really exciting!" he heard his sister complain.

"Grace is right! This isn't fair. Cliffhangers are unlawful and inhumane!"

Tyson laughed and approached the bed to sit down between his niece and nephew. "I think I gotta talk to your parents about your definition of unlawful and inhumane, Jacky."

Jackson huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, pout in place and sky-blue eyes dark like a brewing storm. When it darkened in the room and rumbling could be heard from outside, Tyson frowned concerned and cleared his throat.

"You guys do know that you could just... ask your parents, right? They were right there. They know exactly how all of this unfolded," offered Tyson.

He took the comic-book - issue 13 of The Adventures of the New Olympians - and closed it to hold up the cover, where Jason di Angelo was standing heroically in his Blue Lightning uniform, fighting a giant space-octopus. Jackson frowned and turned to look at his sister.

"I dunno", admitted Grace. "Dad is like... dad. Not Blue Lightning. Dad sings bad old boyband songs in the shower and steals daddy's blue cookies and baby-talks to Mrs. O'Leary."

"Yeah. These comics are totally fiction, uncle Tyson", agreed Jackson seriously. "Dad's a total dork, not a superhero! He isn't like daddy and papa."

Tyson huffed a little at that, fond smile on his lips. "He isn't now. But when push comes to shove, he always got our back in a fight. Because he could never bear standing aside if his family gets hurt. Go and ask him about it, mh."

"Tyson? Where are you?", called his wife from somewhere else. "Jason is here to pick up the kids!"

"Ah, your cue, pipsqueaks", Tyson grinned and ruffled both their hair.

Grace quickly grabbed her Wisdom Warrior doll, while Jackson took the comic book, both kids quickly running out the room and downstairs. Grace just lept off a few steps before the end of the stairs, jumping straight into her dad's awaiting arms. Jason was smiling softly, hugging her tightly. Her blonde curls bounced as he whirled her around once.

"Hey there, kids. Had fun with uncle Tyson and auntie Ella?"

"Ye--es", chorused Jackson and Grace.

"Thanks for watching them, guys", Jason turned to offer Tyson and Ella a small, grateful smile. "With Perce and Nico still in Canada about that... maple syrup fuled robot apocalypse... it's been kind of stressful. And then Thabi got into trouble at school and-"

"No need to explain, or to thank us", assured Tyson, patting his brother-in-law on the back. "That's what brothers are for, Jay. We got your back. Besides, we love those two."

With a last smile aimed at the couple, Jason herded the twins out of the house and toward the car. He made sure their seatbelts were fastened before he got in the driver's seat and started the car. In the rear-mirror, he could see the twins whispering with each other, but neither speaking up. He decided against asking, for now. They'd tell him whatever was on their minds when they were ready.

Once at home, both of the kids ran off to their rooms and Jason was so busy with things around the house that he nearly forgot about the kids' strange behavior. That's what they got for having a ridiculously big house and stables, but then again, they did need the grounds to allow their companions enough space to roam free. He'd just finished feeding Tempest and Blackjack when the twins suddenly stood behind him, serious, matching frowns on their faces.

"We have come to the agreement that we should ask you", declared Grace.

A nine-year-old with pigtails had no right to look this serious. Jason smiled a little at that, nodding and waiting for more.

"We know that daddy and papa are superheroes", continued Jackson as the three headed back toward the house. "But you aren't! You're just... dad. Right?"

"Ouch", Jason huffed out a little laugh. "Just dad, huh?"

"I mean, you're normal, like us", corrected Grace with a frown, motioning at the posters at the walls when they entered the living room. "You're only a hero on the big screen! Not in real life!"

The smile on Jason's lips turned more nostalgic. His dorky, dorky husbands had decided to plaster every wall that wasn't filled with family pictures with posters of his movies. Right now, Grace was motioning very decidedly at The Twelve Tasks of Hercules. Hercules was his most popular role, a fictional superhero clearly supposed to be the son of Zeus but never actually name-dropping Zeus in the movie series. Or the spin-off TV show. It had spanned a whole cinematic universe about fictional superheroes after they had introduced Theseus, a water-powered superhero who was a thinly veiled homage to Percy, in one of the movies. Theseus got his own solo-movie, then a sequel and over the years, they had established more and more heroes in this universe. Jason was so incredibly proud of it, not just because he played the hero who started it all, but because he was also creatively involved; he had pitched the character of Theseus.

Sitting down on the couch, he let his eyes wander just a little. A poster of his first big breakout role as Jace Herondale in a TV show adaptation of The Mortal Instruments... naturally, Percy had chosen the poster where Jason posed shirtless, showing off the runes.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?", asked Jason softly.

"I wanna take over granny's bakery", declared Jackson with a puffed-out chest. "I'll learn all of her recipes and become the best baker in all of New York."

"I dunno, dad. I'm nine", huffed Grace with a pointed look. "Maybe I'll become a great fashion designer like auntie Silena! Or a teacher like auntie Annabeth. Or president. Or astronaut. Oh! Or doctor."

"Okay, okay", Jason interrupted her, laughing. "But neither of you wants to become a superhero like your dads?"

The twins exchanged a silent look before shaking their heads and Jackson answered. "No. It looks scary. It looks cool to watch but I'd be super scared."

Jason nodded slowly. "But if Gracie was in danger, like really, really scary danger, what would you do?"

"I'd help her!", exclaimed Jackson immediately, grabbing his sister's hand.

The smile on Jason's lips grew some. "Being a hero is really, really scary and really, really dangerous. And I never-ever wanted to be a hero. I'm not as brave as your dads when it comes to that. But when there is something very big and dangerous that your dads can't handle on their own, I'll put my own fears aside. Because you know what is just... so much scarier than being a hero? It'd be if something happened to your dads. And I couldn't help."

He knew their kids were under no illusions; they knew Nico and Percy led dangerous lives and they knew something could happen to them. Nico had already been hospitalized for a longer period of time a few years ago.

"So when they really need me, I'll be very brave to help them."

"So... So this is really real?", asked Grace softly, holding up the comic-book.

Jason snorted a little at the extremely overdone hero-pose he was striking on the cover. "It's... more or less real. There's some... made-up stuff there, because those who write these comics, they only had the news coverage to go by, they weren't actually there when we met in private and planned and talked. But yes, that happened."

Jackson straightened up at that and took the comic from his sister to open it on the last page, putting it down on Jason's lap and very decidedly pointing at the To Be Continued in the lower corner.

"How's it end!?", asked Jackson eagerly. "We don't wanna wait!"

"Ye--es! Did you save the day? Did you rescue daddy when he got abducted by the alien octopus?", wanted Grace to know, eyes large.

Laughing to himself, Jason leaned back against the couch and opened his arms, both his kids immediately snuggling up to him and eagerly awaiting the story. Jason wasn't the greatest story-teller in the family, Piper was the author, but he did his best to actually tell the story as exciting as possible. He talked and talked for over an hour and by the end of the story, both twins were deep asleep. Asleep on him, not giving him a chance to move from the couch either. Though he was tired too, so he closed his eyes, just for a second.

"I'm de--ead", groaned Percy softly and something shifted.

Jason blinked sleepily, turning his head toward the source of the voice. His face lit up when he saw Percy snuggled up to Grace from behind. When he turned toward his other side, he saw Nico behind Jackson.

"I'm sorry we were both gone, amore", whispered Nico as he leaned over to kiss Jason sweetly. "It was an all-hands-on-deck situation..."

"You don't have to explain", Jason smiled faintly. "You're the leaders of the Olympians. They rely on you. Especially now with all the newbies, they need your guidance."

"Yeah, but we promised you we'd step back some", Percy sighed frustrated.

"You can't control when a weird Canadian wants to start the robot- apocalypse", Jason chuckled amused. "I'm proud of you both. And you have been stepping back a lot."

Percy hummed in agreement, eyes slowly closing as he rested his head on Jason's shoulder. Within moments, he was out cold. So the entire family was going to sleep on the couch today, mh?

"How did your meeting go?", asked Nico, sounding sleepy.

"Good. I mean. Really good. The studio is still so stubbornly thinking that female superheroes won't sell, but we finally pushed through. We got the Helen of Troy spin-off greenlit", replied Jason with a puffed out chest.

Nico smiled at him, kissing his cheek. "Good. I'm proud of you."

And then he yawned and snuggled closer to Jason. It filled Jason with warmth to just sit here, with his husbands and children, in their home. Safe and happy. Yes, he worried for Nico and Percy when they were out there, but he also knew that this was their dream and they loved their job. And ever since the twins had been born, the two really had stepped back, leading from the headquarters and training new heroes, only going out themselves if it was an emergency and the others needed help. Jason couldn't be mad about that, wouldn't want to be either, because he could never resent his husbands for living their dream - they had, after all, always supported Jason and his dream. Even when Jason would be in another country for months filming a movie, they never complained, they took care of the kids and were proudly at his side during the premieres.

"I love you two", whispered Jason, carefully kissing the top of Nico's head on one of his shoulders and the top of Percy's head on the other. "My heroes."

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

Trying to alternate between my writing and my analysis blog sounds good in theory, and then you get stuck writing a scene and immediately start falling behind on the schedule you just made to try and catch up with your usually slow update rate. orz.

Anyways, let’s get into things. I’m already close to 300 chapter behind canon, no need to let that lead get any larger. (Abet I might have to take asides to do stuff like Vigilantes and whatnot… hrm… will see when we get further into this reread.)

[No. 15 - Vs.]

We start off with another ‘cover’ page, this time of All Might front and center, posed like he’s the main character of an American comic book. Which, with the number of jokes we make about him being the OG series protagonist while Izuku’s story is the subversive sequel, would be pretty damn apt.

Our return to the story starts with Toshinori, sitting in the breakroom at UA, worried that he can’t get in contact with Aizawa or Thirteen. He then considers how foolish he was for putting hero work ahead of his teaching, good reasons or not, and then wonders what he’ll have to tell the other teachers when he shows up at the end. He thinks that he’ll be fine in another ten minutes… then inflates into All Might with a splurt of blood as he gets up, deciding to go immediately.

Of course, that’s when Nedzu decides to make an entrance, pulling his ‘am i a-’ spiel for the audience All Might. All Might crouches down in place, rocking a bit on his feet as he complements Nedzu’s coat. Nedzu replies that the secret is keratin, and that ‘no human could produce such luster’ - our first actual confirmation that Nedzu isn’t a particularly extreme mutation quirk, but is in fact a quirked animal!

(Not that we seem to see any others in the series so far… at least not to my awareness.)

Nedzu pulls out a tablet, showing a news report about All Might handling three incidents in under an hour. Nedzu goes on to explain that while the villains haven’t let up even with All Might’s presence in town, running off the moment he hears there’s trouble is so very like the man, and that All Might hasn’t changed at all.

(and a little bonus translation difference)

...anyways. Toshinori deflates again as Nedzu tells him to try taking it easy once in a while. As Nedzu clambers up onto the couch, he goes on to note that Toshinori would only be able to attend a portion of the rescue training class that day. He then reminds Toshinori that while Nedzu had made the offer to teach, Toshinori had been the one to accept it, so he’d appreciate it if he would try a bit harder to prioritize his role as a teacher. The city has enough hero agencies to deal with common criminals.

Toshinori agrees, and that that was way he was just getting ready to head to the USJ. Nedzu pours himself some tea, noting that Toshinori would be forced to return soon thereafter, so why not take some time and enjoy tea and crackers with him? He can even share his theories on education! Toshinori sweats as he watches Nedzu pour his tea, thinking on how there’s no stopping Nedzu once he gets going. He’s also thinking about the fact that he hadn’t even gotten voicemail, and that the fact he hadn’t been able to get through at all was what was worrying him about the situation.

Man’s hero instincts are on point. Another small reminder of how this man held onto the number one spot for so long. 

Nedzu does get into his spiel about the stresses and burdens when walking the line between hero and educator, while Toshinori determines that Nedzu hasn’t changed either.

A couple interesting things I can think about for this last bit:

1) Nedzu and Toshinori have known each other for a while, enough that they can have had some time without much interaction and then come back into contact and go ‘ah yeah this is the same as ever.’ I wonder just how long ago they met, in what circumstances, and how long Nedzu’s known about One For All…

2) People who use this as another reason to criticize Toshinori as a teacher. I mean. He’s only been teaching for three days at this point. He knows he fucked up. Nedzu reminds him he fucked up. People make mistakes, especially at the beginning of a new job they aren’t experienced in. He’s learning. Please just chill.

3) 'Stresses and burdens walking the line between hero and educator' is something that I think could actually be a very good summary of Aizawa's character development? Because early on, he very much is Not A Teacher. The only reason he's at UA is because he was basically dragged in there by Hizashi and Nemuri. He demanded the power to be able to expel to give the kids 'a taste of death' without actually, like, killing them.

At the beginning of the series, he's not really all that invested in his students. He's just There. He doesn't care so long as they stay up to his unknown standards. He's much more focused on what he needs to do as a hero, ie the USJ incident. He's acting as a hero, protecting the kids who are basically civilians from a villain attack, even if it means his own life. 

But then we also see him push himself that bit further to save his students, which might be the first point where he might be considering that he can’t afford to die, because who else will teach them to protect themselves from such things? Because a hero can die in the line of duty and all that, but a teacher needs to keep living to protect their students and teach them how to survive and thrive. 

I think we see the culmination of the character arc started here in the War arc, though of course he’s got a lot further to go. I think it’s also a parallel to Toshinori, who’s also learning to be a teacher but from a different direction, which just continues to make them great narrative foils. Hori, man, how do you keep doing it?

...hah, but I might also just be reading too much into what might be an awkward translation.

Anyways, we switch from this generally low tension scene right back into the chaos at the USJ. Tenya gets into class president mode as he asks for a sitrep of people’s locations. Shouji confirms with his extra ears that everyone is still in the facility, abet scattered. Thirteen is surprised (and perhaps relieved) that that is the case, though she doesn’t say anything specifically.

Sero notes that physical attacks are no good against Kurogiri - he can just warp away. The quirk’s just too tough to handle! Thirteen turns to Tenya and gets his attention, then tells him his job is to run back to the school and report on what’s happening. She goes on to explain that the alarms haven’t sounded and the phones aren’t working. The alarm system uses infrared tech, so the fact that it hasn’t activated, even with Eraserhead nullifying quirks, means whoever is interfering with the system has hidden themselves well. With that being the case, Tenya making the run is their best option.

Tenya starts to argue that the class president can’t just abandon his class, only to be stopped when Sato grabs him, saying that Thirteen said to go! Also I thought for a second they were making another emergency exit Iida joke here, but no, it’s just that Tenya needs to escape through said emergency exit. A more serious nod to the previous joke about him and emergency exits. 

Sato then goes on to note that there’s alarms outside, which means the villains can only be causing trouble inside the facility - so if Tenya makes it out, the villains can’t follow! He finishes it off with a motivational ‘shake off that mist with that speed of yours!’ Thirteen adds onto that with a repetition of their request - use his quirk to save everyone.

God, look at these kids, so scared and so brave. Ochako and Mina are both sweating and nervous, but Ochako is still swearing to provide support, just like in the cafeteria, so he needs to do it!

Kurogiri is being a looming shadow as he notes that they have no hope, and wonders what kind of fools discuss strategy in front of the enemy. Thirteen starts using her quirk on him as she states that it doesn’t matter if he overheard because he can’t stop them.

And since the rest of this chapter is dedicated to Izuku, Tsuyu, and Mineta’s escape from the yacht, I’ll cut this off here so that it’s the focus of all the next post. I guess it’s kind of a good thing I rambled early on, otherwise this would be extremely short…

[ibijau]

You’re a marked man, brother

A new ghost king emerges, and promptly marries a god A martial god's temples are being targeted by the Magpie King and it is up to Lan Xichen to deal with all this trouble

I am 100% blaming the xisang discord for this, since a large part of the plot was brought up by other people

This is a tgcf AU, not a crossover, so while I'm using some of the same settings and general rules, the characters front tgcf won't appear. I also don't think it's all that necessary to have read tgcf to enjoy and understand the story (I'm personally still just going through book 3) but since this is inspired by a certain arc in the novel, I guess this could count as spoilers.

Also on AO3

The news that a new ghost king had emerged from Tonglu mountain, thirteen years after its gates had last opened, spread like wildfire among ghosts and gods. Everyone stood anxiously to the side, waiting to see what this new Devastation would be like, especially when the Magpie King was already out there, causing all sorts of trouble whenever the mood struck him. Everyone watched as this new ghost king went to settle into the eerie Burial Mounds of Yiling and established himself there. Although nothing terrible seemed to happen at first, everyone who had breath still held it, waiting and waiting. A number of bold ghosts and demons went to Yiling to offer their service to this new king, or to beg for his protection. Some he accepted into his new domain, others he rejected, all according to criteria that no one could understand.

It was almost a relief when, nearly a year after rising from Tonglu mountain, the Yiling Patriarch created trouble and destroyed some temples belonging to a martial god. Finally, the new ghost king was living up to everyone’s expectations, acting with the sort of evil intent everyone had expected, and the world made sense again.

As far as Lan Xichen was concerned, it would have been better if the Yiling Patriarch had remained quiet. It had already been upsetting to see that Devastation take root so close to his own territory, but then the Yiling Patriarch was obviously trying to cause trouble for Lan Xichen personally with these attacks. Although the damaged temples were not his own, in some ways it would have been less troublesome if they had been. There were only a few temples dedicated to his friend Nie Mingjue on the lands Lan Xichen was responsible for, but these had been the targets of the Yiling Patriarch, which seemed a clear attempt to create strife between them.

Nie Mingjue, whose domain was up in the North, was a god with a short temper who did not take well to insult. He would have barged into the Burial Mounds without hesitation if Lan Xichen had not asked him for a chance to investigate the matter before making judgements against the Yiling Patriarch. After all, just by existing a ghost king would attract enemies, Lan Xichen argued, and it wouldn’t be impossible for some lesser ghosts to try to get rid of him by sicking a heavenly official on him before he could become too powerful. After the initial burst of burning anger, Nie Mingjue agreed that it would only be just to investigate this matter, and allowed Lan Xichen to take matters in his own hands.

As usual for matters concerning the mortal world, Lan Xichen sent his brother to check on this matter. Although Lan Wangji was only part of the Middle Court, he excelled at dealing with this sort of thing, always finding the heart of chaos and untangling whatever mess he encountered while being careful of the well-being of any mortals involved. Lan Xichen could not have asked for a better deputy than his brother, and still hoped that in due time, being involved in chaos this way would give his brother a chance to ascend on his own.

Nearly a month passed after Lan Wangji was sent down to earth to investigate, and no news came from him. Lan Xichen, at first, did not worry. It was not unusual for his brother to get caught up with things and not update anyone on what he was doing. After two weeks, this was only mildly concerning. After three, it was odd. After four, Lan Xichen started to fear for his brother’s safety. It ought to have been just a quick investigation after all, and Lan Wangji had been ordered to report to his brother without attempting to handle the situation on his own, since Nie Mingjue would probably wish to punish the culprit himself. Besides, although Lan Wangji liked the mortal world too well and could be wilful at times, he simply never disappeared so long, not once in the several hundred years he had been around.

Terrified that some evil had befallen his brother, Lan Xichen decided to start his own investigation, helped (or hindered perhaps) by his husband who he thought needed a break from his official duties. Jin Guangyao complained at length about this, pointing to the piles of work he had to do, information to collect and organise, prayers to answer, outstanding mortals to check. He also pointed out that anything which might have caused trouble for someone like Lan Wangji would pose great danger, and being a civil god rather than a martial one, he would be of little help. To this, Lan Xichen countered that Jin Guangyao was an expert in collecting information, and thus would surely help finding what had happened to Lan Wangji. As for the danger, Lan Xichen was a martial god, so he could take care of it all and keep his husband sage. Jin Guangyao, knowing how stubborn Lan Xichen could be when he’d decided they were overdue a vacation in the human world, gave in and agreed to come along.

Their first stop, of course, was the dreaded Burial Mounds of Yiling.

It was also their last one.

At the foot of the Mounds, a ghost village of sorts had sprung, where those who had been refused access to the Yiling Patriarch’s domain mingled with those who had just arrived to demand such a favour. It was a grim place, filled with the unresting spirits of criminals, demons on the lookout for their next devious plan, and a number of lost souls too hurt to move on and rejoin the circle of reincarnation. And it was there, among those miserable creatures, that Lan Xichen found his brother hanging out with the ghost of a young man toiling over a nefarious looking pot of soup.

Much as Lan Xichen wished to run to his brother, something about the scene stopped him. There was something not quite right about it, though he couldn’t find what until Jin Guangyao, equally stunned, pointed it out for him.

“I believe it’s the first time I see your brother smile,” Jin Guangyao said. “Do you think he might have been cursed?”

And that was the oddity, of course. Lan Xichen, who knew his brother better than anyone, could recognise the signs of an implied smile on Lan Wangji’s stern face, but to anyone else Lan Wangji appeared impassible and colder than ice. To see him smile outwardly was something entirely unheard of. Then, to make it worse, the young man in black and red said something that Lan Xichen couldn’t hear, and Lan Wangji laughed.

It wasn’t a boisterous laughter, nor indeed a very loud one, but even at a distance there was no mistake possible when seeing the slight shake in Lan Wangji’s shoulders: he was laughing.

Seeing this, Lan Xichen could no longer stay away. He walked toward his brother, Jin Guangyao just one step behind him. Lan Wangji stood a little straighter upon seeing him, while his companion grinned at them and waved his hand.

“You’re not the sort of people we usually get here,” the young man said, distractedly mixing his pot of soup. “I’m guessing you’re here for Lan Zhan? Ah, gongzi, could you perhaps be his brother? You do look the same.”

Hearing his brother and him be referred to so casually, Lan Xichen had to fight a smile, especially when Lan Wangji, usually so formal, didn’t protest in the least.

“I am his older brother indeed,” Lan Xichen confirmed. “I had asked him to take care of a certain business for me, but instead I find him here with you. Might I be so rude as to enquire about your name, gongzi?”

“Where are my manners?” the ghost gasped, just a touch too dramatic. He let go of his ladle, and bowed. “My name is Wei Wuxian, and I am most honoured to meet you. Am I right in guessing you two must be Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao?”

Both gods instantly tensed upon hearing that name.

There were a number of ghosts who didn’t use their name, and preferred a scary sounding title that would strike terror in the heart of enemies and future victims. Even after several hundreds of years, nobody knew who the Magpie King was, and so it had been initially expected that the Yiling Patriarch would do the same. But the Yiling Patriarch liked to do things his own way, and was well known to dislike this title he hadn’t chosen, and to prefer introducing himself under his true name: Wei Wuxian.

It was a shock for this power ghost king to be this sort of a casual looking young man dressed in plain dark robes. Certainly Wei Wuxian was very handsome, but neither his face nor his easy going aura fit what Lan Xichen would have expected from a ghost capable of rising to the rank of Devastation. And yet, it wasn’t a complete surprise either. All the other ghosts and demons around were keeping their distance from Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao, instantly guessing they were heavenly officials, and thus a danger to them, but Wei Wuxian didn’t appear particularly impressed with them.

“I imagine you’re here for that business with Nie Mingjue’s temples?” Wei Wuxian asked, his attention going back to his devilish stew. “I’ve already told Lan Zhan when he came here, this had nothing to do with me. I’m not interested in making trouble, and I’d prefer to keep away from Heaven’s business.”

Lan Wangji nodded firmly to this, so earnest looking that Lan Xichen couldn’t help smiling again.

“Then Wangji should have come home right away and given me his report on the situation.”

As expected, although Lan Wangji’s face remained impassible, there was just the slightest hint of pink on his ears. He looked away, while next to him Wei Wuxian burst out laughing.

“Well, that one is my fault!” he exclaimed. “See, Lan Zhan and I met when I was still alive, and then again a few times here and there after I died, and we became good friends.”

“Good friends indeed,” Lan Xichen noted with amusement, while his brother’s ears turned a bright red. Lan Xichen exchanged a glance with Jin Guangyao who was also struggling not to grin now that he understood the situation.

“Maybe more than good friends,” Wei Wuxian admitted without shame. “Poor Lan Zhan was very worried that I’d disappeared for a few years in Tonglu Mountain, and so now that I’m back, he decided he doesn’t want to lose sight of me again in case I do more stupid things; And that’s how we got married. I really thought he’d warned you,” Wei Wuxian added, lightly slapping Lan Wangji’s arm. “How rude. I didn’t think I’d married someone so rude.”

“Being around the Burial Mounds makes it difficult to contact Heavens,” Lan Wangji said.

“Then you could have gone away for a little bit, send your message, and returned!”

Lan Wangji shook his head. “Where Wei Ying is, I am as well.”

That simple declaration had Wei Wuxian groaning and whining as if he’d been mortally pierced through by a blade, and he complained heavily that Lan Wangji was unreasonable and unkind and quite clearly trying to murder him with words too sweet. 

Lan Xichen, at first, was shocked and disappointed to learn that his brother had married in secret, but ultimately decided that the decision made sense. Although he was only from the Middle Court, Lan Wangji was still a heavenly official, and so for him to marry not just a ghost, but one of such a dangerous level, was really scandalous. Lan Xichen dearly wished he could have been present for such an important moment of his brother’s life, but it would have been complicated to organise, and his own reputation would have suffered. Not that he cared too much about his reputation compared to his brother’s happiness, but Lan Wangji had probably wanted to be kind in leaving him in the dark.

As for the rest, if Lan Wangji believed that Wei Wuxian really was innocent of that incident with Nie Mingjue, it had to be true. Knowing Lan Wangji, if he liked a person he would stay at their side no matter what they did, but he wouldn’t close his eyes to their fault. If anything, had Wei Wuxian really been in disagreement with Nie Mingjue, Lan Wangji would have immediately said so to Lan Xichen so he could try to act as a peacemaker and resolve the situation.

“Will you be staying here then?” Jin Guangyao asked Lan Wangji.

Lan Wangji nodded. “Hm.”

“Then we would do well to find a way to explain your prolonged absence,” Jin Guangyao mused. “Let’s avoid creating trouble for everyone. If Xichen agrees, I will go back and prepare an assignment asking you to keep a close eye on the Yiling Patriarch for an undetermined period of time. That way, no matter what others say, it won’t be a lie to say that you are here on official business.”

Lan Wangji nodded again, but it was clear he did not care much what others said about his decisions. Even after so many centuries in Heavens, he still had the firm belief that a person’s actions should be the only thing they should be judged on, regardless of gossip or social expectations. Lan Xichen found that trait charming and infuriating in turns, and so was deeply grateful to his husband for giving Lan Wangji some protection against those who would speak ill of him.

Having decided this, Jin Guangyao promptly left so he could take care of this, while Lan Xichen chose to linger a little while longer and learn more about his new brother-in-law. Since he had such an esteemed guest to entertain, Wei Wuxian abandoned his stew and the ghost village, offering that they continue this conversation inside the Burial Mounds. He’d only come to the ghost village because some of those who resided inside the Mounds had complained at length against his cooking and he didn’t want to bother anyone who didn’t deserve it.

"Then you are kinder than I might have been led to expect," Lan Xichen remarked as they traversed the village. "I suppose your mounting reputation might have more to do with memories of the Magpie King's early days than your own actions." 

"Is he really so bad then?" Wei Wuxian asked. "I think I've met him once or twice over the years, he didn't seem so bad. That is, if it was even him. He never introduced himself, eh?" 

Lan Xichen refrained a grimace. "If he likes a person, he'll make their life easier. If he dislikes them, they'd better start praying to every gods in the Heavens because the Magpie King will stop at nothing to destroy his enemies."

In fact, even heavenly officials weren't quite safe. Right after reaching the rank of Devastation, the Magpie King had taken a sudden dislike to a few minor civil gods and ruined their reputation so thoroughly that their own followers, ashamed of ever praying to them, had torn down their temples and burned their broken fondations. Since those gods had all been revealed to be corrupt nobody had really missed them in the end, but civic gods had lived in fear for years after that. Even the most upright of gods had secrets they didn't want to see revealed. Lan Xichen still remembered that Jin Guangyao had been terrified his origins would be revealed, and that his followers would turn away from him if they discovered he'd been born the son of a prostitute. 

"Maybe it wasn't him I met then," Wei Wuxian mused. "The person in question helped me quite a bit back then, and I've always made enemies of the wrong people. If I'd met the Magpie King, he'd have hated me for sure, ahah!" 

"Maybe yes, maybe not," Lan Xichen replied. "Nobody knows why he chooses to like this person and hate that one, so it's possible…" 

Someone caught Lan Xichen's attention as they were about to exit the ghost village, a silhouette not far that sent his heart racing. Without thinking he abandoned the other two and ran toward the person, a young man leaning against a tree and deep in conversation with a headless monster. With trembling hands, Lan Xichen grabbed the man's shoulder, roughly forcing him to turn around so he could see his face. 

"A-Sang?" 

Assaulted this way, and by a high ranking god no less, the poor ghost shrieked and nearly fainted on the spot. He'd been given that fright for nothing, too. Although from the back the silhouette and posture had seemed to match, from the front it was clear that there had been a mistake. 

"My deepest apologies," Lan Xichen said, bowing to the terrified ghost. "I mistook you for someone else." 

"Are you looking for someone?" Wei Wuxian asked, coming closer. "An evil ghost maybe? We're family now, so I don't mind helping out." 

"No, the matter is a personal one," Lan Xichen confessed, his cheeks burning at having behaved this way in public.

"Then all the more reason to tell me!" Wei Wuxian insisted. "Who are you looking for? An enemy? An old rival?" 

"A friend." 

Wei Wuxian looked surprised, though less so than Lan Wangji who had never heard of his brother having any missing friends. Of course he wouldn't have, when Lan Xichen had kept this matter to himself. Even Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao had never been told about this, so it would have been foolish to tell this stranger Wei Wuxian. And yet, if there was just a slim chance… 

"Back when before I ascended, I had a very dear friend," Lan Xichen explained. "A few years younger than me, but we got along wonderfully and made plans to travel together someday. I remember he particularly wanted to go see the stone pillars in Wulingyuan. Before this could be done, I had to return home and deal with some things there, but as it happened, I ascended shortly after. I offered my friend a chance to join the Middle Court, but he declined for the present because there was no one else in his family to take care of his parents. He said he would gladly join me once they had passed away, but for now he was happier in the mortal world."

Lan Xichen sighed. To this day, he still regretted not having insisted some more. 

"A little while after that, someone slaughtered the entire household," he lamented. "Even the children and the elderly were all killed to the last, there was no survivor."

Lan Wangji took a sharp breath, to which Lan Xichen answered by a sad smile. 

"I know what you're thinking, Wangji, and you're right. It is the same as what happened to Nie Mingjue’s family after he ascended. It even happened around the same time, and the city was the same as well, so I think the two crimes were linked. And as for my friend, his soul was not among those put to rest after, so I believe he might have become a ghost."

"What was his name?" Wei Wuxian asked. 

Lan Xichen laughed awkwardly. 

"For how dear to me he was, I actually don't know," he admitted. "I only knew him as A-Sang. For some reason, I didn't even learn his last name either. As you can imagine, it has made it nearly impossible to look for him. Perhaps it's for the best anyway." Lan Xichen sighed. "What would I even say to him anyway? After so long, 'sorry' is a pitiful word, and anyway I am married to another now, someone who was fated for me. Still, I wish we could have had a proper goodbye." 

Lan Xichen sighed again, in spite of himself. He knew it was selfish to still miss this person, and surely Jin Guangyao would have been hurt to know his husband couldn't fully get over that old flame, even after centuries. It was why Lan Xichen had never told him, nor Nie Mingjue who would have been upset on his brother's behalf. But maybe he should have said something, because sharing this secret made him feel a little lighter. 

Still, this was a very grim topic to discuss with newlyweds, so Lan Xichen forced himself to smile more warmly and quickly changed the subject. Although the others were clearly curious, they understood this was painful for him and dropped the matter. 

Aside from that brief incident, the rest of the day was pleasant enough. Wei Wuxian was an eccentric character, and maybe a little self centered, but ultimately Lan Xichen figured this new ghost king should cause as many problems as the first one. Wei Wuxian seemed more interested in experimenting with his new power than in causing chaos, and apparently his goal with those powers was mostly to see if the notoriously nefarious Burial Mounds could be purified. That, and shamelessly flirting with Lan Wangji, seemed to be Wei Wuxian's only preoccupation. 

Still, a Devastation remained a Devastation. Although Wei Wuxian was friendly, it would be best to keep an eye on him. 

As night started falling, Lan Xichen took his leave. He promised to come visit again, and at Wei Wuxian's insistence he swore he would try to bring his husband, though it would be an arduous task. Jin Guangyao wasn't found of leaving his work behind, and had little taste for ghosts. 

All in all, Lan Xichen was in an excellent mood when he walked away from the Burial Mounds. But as soon as he was out of that place's area of influence, a panicked voice into his mind as Jin Guangyao shouted into their private communication array. 

"I'm here," Lan Xichen said, surprised that his husband had lost his calm so thoroughly. "Were you worried because you couldn't get in touch?" 

"Indeed I was," Jin Guangyao replied, already calming down now that he'd gotten an answer. "Xichen, you must return at once, the situation is urgent. More of da-ge's temple have been attacked, in his own territory, and this time the culprit signed his crime so da-ge went to confront him!" 

That didn't sound like something to panic over, Lan Xichen thought at first. Out of all the martial gods in the Heavenly Court, Nie Mingjue was the most powerful by far. Ghosts, demons, mortals, or other gods, there was nobody he couldn't defeat. 

Not unless the battle wasn't just a physical one. 

"A-Yao, the person who attacked his temples, could it be…" 

Jin Guangyao let out a deep sigh. 

"Yes, Xichen, it is. Da-ge went off to fight the Magpie King."

[cutegirlmayra]

May I request cute Tails and Amy friendship? You can choose which version just them being cute friends? Maybe they defend each other when someone tries to mess with them? Love your writing

Watch 18:19 of Pajama Blogs - Prompt Requests - Ep 1 for juicy first thoughts on this prompts! (I may divert away from it, but we’ll see :3c)

Thank you so much! I try hard to stay pumped with energy so that I can give you all reading material during these trying times, lol. So let’s hope and press our hands together in a prayer that I’ll entertain, satisfy, and bring joyful feels to everyone through my prompts and fanfiction updates :Db

Prompt:

“Still working on that observatory, eh, Tails?”

As Tails was about to hammer in on his half-finished ‘dome-effect’ he wanted for his upper-level room, he blinked a moment at the familiar voice and excitedly looked down.

“Amy!”

“The one and only.” She winked, grinning widely.

He had managed to get half the curve of the wall done, a dark, steel grey for it’s base color as it held a half-finished walled hole where the large glass would be for viewing the stars. He would insert a self-made telescope between there, and design a way to bring the view as though a holographic light performance right into his ‘black room’ when he wanted to personally ‘sit among the stars’.

“Permission to come aboard, captain?” Amy joked, placing a hand on the ladder and saluting him.

Tails’s twin namesakes wagged in joy, smiling and closing his eyes as he nodded, “Permission always granted! B-but be careful of the rickety-”

“Ah!” the ladder seemed to tilt as a piece of metal began to bend.

“Amy!” he was about to fly down but she summoned her hammer, wedging it into the place where the metal was bending.

“Phew~” she sighed out in relief, having some sweat trickle down the side of her face before climbing up again.

She removed her hammer and used it to place the metal back into the proper alignment again. “You might have given me permission, but did you consult your ship on that decision?”

The two laughed.

“Sorry about that. Everything is still a work in progress, and honestly, it’s kinda revolutionary if this actually works.” Tails scratched behind his head, then explained how new this technology and optical illusion trick really was.

“Yeah,... kinda amazing, Tails.” Amy admired the work already done to give Tails a space to mediate and enjoy the nature of wonderful night sky above him. “I remember when I first met you, that the dark used to be such a scary thing for ya.” She kid, looking to him kindly but nudging him with a tease.

He blushed slightly, looking away, “Well... then you and Sonic showed me how beautiful it was! A-an-and besides that, I’m too old for a night light.” he tried to seem so mature... but that pout made it obvious he just didn’t want to be looked down upon.

“Right. So a big sky-show isn’t the same thing?” She looked over to see he had already marked a place with some cushions, a reading-outlet to the side of the wall imbedded in with a shelf for the books, and a big fuzzy blanket. The tape read: Second Bed.

It all made her smile, “What a lovely little R&R space...” she lowered her eyes, wondering if he still got lonely like she did... and this was his way of coping.

He lived far away from the city, and although Amy lived down a winding road, she would visit the city often enough for groceries and other fun shopping sprees.

What did boys do to occupy their time?

“Heh, I wouldn’t say a 3D projected model of a precisely positioned magnifying glass and hyperized telescope make for a sky-light.” he tried to defend himself, and it was rather cute to Amy.

“Well, I bet Sonic’ll love to bunk here more often.”

The tone suddenly shifted as Amy and Tails both looked down, away from the other.

“Have you... heard from him lately?” Amy asked, almost worried that she already knew the answer to that question.

“No.” Tails sighed out, before dramatically leaning back and letting his head fall back on his shoulders, “Not since Eggman last showed up.”

“Yeah... he’s been rushing off more and more lately on some daring-dos that apparently don’t require any of us to come along...”

There was a quiet somberness...

“Yeahhhh...” Tails once again leaned properly back in place and dipped his head, scratching it softly...

He seemed friend-sick... and as Amy observed him more, he even looked starved for conversation.

“Hmph!” She puffed up the side of her cheek, “Well, we’ll have to give him the ol’silent treatment when he gets back this time too! Serve him right for all those times he’s left us behind on all the fun!” Amy rambled off, but Tails perked up a bit, looking over to her with a slight turn of his lowered head.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah! Just you wait! He’ll come back ready to tell us all his cool stunts on his new latest adventure, and we’ll be just chatting it up about your awesome star project!” She posed with her arm out and her hand upon her muscle, as though Rosy the Riveter. “That means we should wrap this little project of love up and really see what it’s made of!”

“Y-you mean it?” Tails looked thrilled by her offer. “I-I mean, if it’s not too much trouble... I could use your hammer for a few things.” He looked down at the metal that had bent out of place. “You’re strong arm means I could patch the rest of this in one hammer hit! It’ll remain sturdy if you’re strength! Ah...! Sorry!” he looked back over and saw Amy frowning embarrassedly, pushing her fingers together. He wagged his arms out to the side of her, apologetically. “I forgot... how you sometimes take the praise for your strength a little...” he felt awkward now, seeing her begin her usual spiel.

“But I’m... elegant... A-and lady-like when I do it... right?” She looked over to him as though pleading for his approval.

“O-O-of course, you are! I-I even remember Sonic saying something about it! Your hammer is super cute and only adds to your-! Uhh... c-charms!” Tails bundled his fists up and started shaking them profusely around, not sure how to convince her a ‘giant hammer’ was somehow ‘girlish’ but he did his best. “And besides, I don’t care what anyone else says, Amy! You’re super useful thanks to your strength! Just like I am with my brains.”

He was so determined to succeed in cheering her up that Amy couldn’t bear to disappoint him.

She took in a deep breath and got over herself, straightening up. “Yeah... well, I have to be strong, to look after and protect you and the others.” She ruffled up his hair and he laughed lightly, slightly moving away from her touch as a brother would to his older sister.

“I’m sorry that you’re sensitive to that.” He admitted, “You really are super cool when you hit a robot miles away!”

She flinched.

“I-I-I meant that in a good way!” he shook his hands out again, “Honest!”

Amy just laughed, “I can cook too, you know. Why don’t we finish building this thing and then I’ll make us something good to eat. We can turn it off with some smores and maybe crackers or something too later tonight!” Amy’s usual optimism was restored and Tails immediately caught on to it’s wave.

“Woah! You mean it! T-that could take all day...” His ears lowered just slightly.

“Pfft!” Amy turned with a proud look upon her face, placing one hand to her hip as she sat off the edge with him and then slammed her hand to the top of his head again, making him flatten slightly as he was sitting slightly on his knees. He looked uncomfortable, like her force had made him do an unwilling ‘split’ sort of with his knees being parted and he looked as though in strained pain. “Think nothing of it, Tails! As you said before, my hammer strikes are good on one blow! We’ll have this done in no time, so..? Can I stay the night?”

He continued to flinch and twitch in the pain, “S-sur-sure, I-I-I don’t mind... mmm...” he had a small tear forming at the right of his eye.

A few hours passed as the two worked hard, and finally, the dome was done and the telescope he had already completed for the room was successfully moved up to the upper-room... with a lot of back-strain and power from the two working together. Tails had to really test his twin-propelling tails’s weight limit on how fast they could twirl to lift something, and Amy’s powerful arms and back were put to their ultimate test as well!

But somehow, the two worked great together, though bickered and taunted the other at times...

“You can fly higher than that, Tails!”, “D-don’t act like I’m the only one lifting my weight here!”, “AH! What is that supposed to mean!? I’m as light as a feather! And this is... nothing... compared... to what I can lift!”, “Then push harder!”, “You fly harder!”, They both ‘ggrr’d and finally got the massive telescope up that ladder...

When everything was set up, Amy put on a movie for Tails to rest and started cooking up some dinner. She wanted to leave room for the late-night snacks, and coming back in, noticed Tails wasn’t watching the television.

“Huh?” She looked up the ladder to the room and smiled, seeing the computer light on as he must have been programming the telescope and other functions. “He works so hard... he must be excited to show it off to Sonic.” she felt a slight bit of envy. She sighed, “Not like girls and guys can have that strong of a bond... botherhood and sisterhoods are really exclusive, huh?” she frowned, not liking the idea that she could never be as close to Sonic or Tails as the other was with them.

She called down Tails though, and they had a nice dinner together, complimenting their success as Tails hoped it would all work, but Amy told him not to worry.

“You’re incredibly good at designing these technological masterpieces, Tails.” Amy scolded him for about to open his mouth to answer with food in it, and seeing her hand raised and her eyes closed while one opened slightly, he chewed and swallowed before continuing.

“W-well, that doesn’t mean that their isn’t going to be some error on my part involved...”

“I’m sure Sonic will love it. I know I’m excited to see it.” She picked up his finished plate, going to wash them and as she removed her apron...

“Sonic? I was building this for us to view it together, tonight.”

Her face shot up, touched.

Her heart seemed to rise up as though being elevated to a status it thought unattainable.

“R-really?” She always had felt a distance between the boys, and found it just seemed easier and less forced when interacting with Cream... but Cream was still so young too. She loved picking flowers! Don’t get her wrong! She had just gotten really, really good at making flower crowns for so... long...

She placed her apron that she had borrowed from him down, planning to wash it if needs be as well, but turned back to Tails.

He didn’t seem to notice how much that meant to her, already wiping his hands on his white fluff like he would if he was greased up in oil or gunk stains from working on his pet-projects like the X-Tornado and this Observatory. She puffed up her cheek, “I still need to teach you proper manners, huh?” she whispered under her breath, but smiled and touched her heart.

He was already racing up the ladder, and she immediately went into mother mode.

“Ah! Tails! D-don’t move so fast after eating!” she reached a hand up but he called down to her.

“Bring up the treats! I think it’s loaded all the settings in by now! ... Yeah! Yeah it has!”

His excited voice sprang her into an excitement, “W-well, hold on! I’m coming!” It was like he just called out that the fireworks were gonna start...

She rushed through the cleaning and threw the plates into the dishwater, a little rougher than she usually would like to and washed herself up before charging up the ladder. “Don’t let it start without me!”

“Hurry!” Tails called, and she immediately started to leap passed rings on the ladder to just reach out and jump pass a few steps.

“I’m here!” her quills looked a mess as she clung to the edge of the room, Tails rushing over and helping her up as she huffed and puffed in her strain to get there in time.

“Haha, and you tell me not to rush.” He teased her back.

“Hmph.” she blew up her bottom bang of the three quills on her forehead and then smiled to him, cheekily, “If I get stomach cramps, I’m blaming you!”

“Over here!” He laughed a moment at her response but was too excited to show her what he had set up.

“Ah... Tails...” Amy felt so important and loved then, seeing he had taken the large fuzzy blanket and got in it, opening a space for her to join him.

“S-sorry, is this too... um... close?” He squinted an eye, lowering his arm that was gesturing for her to intimately cuddle up within it and watch the show together.

She shook her head, holding back tears and hoping to not confuse him. “Absolutely! I-I mean, it’s perfect! Don’t change a thing!” she crawled down and got into the blanket, taking the other side as she felt Tails bouncing in his seat.

“Okay, good. Three... two... one... Ehem,” he cleared his throat, like a child about to press ‘liftoff’ on a rocket. “Computer! Activate Spatial Definity Mock 5 Advanced Overhead Project 3.2.7.”

Amy blinked her eyes rapidly at such a long line...

“What? You couldn’t have called it, Sky-light?” she teased again, “For nightlight?”

“Quit it...” He nudged her lightly, embarrassed she kept teasing him on that one. “It sounds cooler this way... and it reminds me how long it took to set up the program and make it run right. I haven’t tested this final version yet, so SDM5AOP 3.2.7 is a perfect name for-!”

“O-okay, as long as it makes sense to you.” she decided not to question it.

The whirling of a computer was heard and the two waited anxiously for the results...

“It has to take a second to go through all it’s processing. Lots of... kinda like doors to hurdle through and collect data for.” He explained.

“...Do you... wish Sonic were here instead of me?” she looked away from him for a moment. “I mean... not that you would have a preference b-b-but...” she thought this was a bad, killing the mood he had tried to set up and wish she didn’t say anything. “Nevermind.”

“No, I think you’ll appreciate it more than he will.”

She felt that ranking skyrocket again, as though her tiny significance in life was suddenly bumped up again to a higher sphere of importance in this little fox boy’s life.

“W-... What makes you say that?” she was trying so hard to hide the sparkles in her eyes, but her quivering voice gave away how happy she was to hear that. No, not happy, overjoyed to know she was considered such a special friend to him.

“You actually helped me complete it!” He spread his arms out as the first little light formed in the blackened room.

“Ah!” Amy saw it first, marveling as it faded and then grew brighter and brighter to show the actual dimensions of the star that was currently in the sky, or at least, the radiance of it.

She marveled as he continued to talk, not noticing multiple other little constellations starting to form over his literal head and scattered all throughout the room. Accurate and pronounced, their distance was a miniature diorama of the actual space of the universe...

“I knew you’d want to see it... I’m sure he would too, but Sonic would rather be in the stars then just viewing them... though he does all the time. Heh, I guess you’ll be able to brag about how you were the first to see it! I-if it works or not... It’s still a longshot, s-so... don’t get your hopes up too hig-”

His face was yanked towards the direction of the star, then Amy started shaking his arm. “Ah-AH-AHHHH!!!” she freaked out as a very distinct cosmic entity was defined in the space.

“AH-! AHHH!! IT ACTUALLY WORKS!” Tails flipped out as they both cried out-

“EARTH!”

Then, one after another...

 “The Milky Way!”, “It’s the galaxy from Chris’s world... and look! Here’s our constellations!”, “Ohhh! It’s our solar system! Ahhh! It’s so bright!”

“...Do you think Cosmos seeds found good land to grow on?”

The two suddenly stopped gawking...

Amy couldn’t even look to him, and him the same.

Instead, she scooted closer to him in the blanket, felt his tails solemnly wrap around her for support and comfort, and placed her arm to his opposite shoulder to pull him into the gap of her neck.

He laid his head on her shoulder, tearing up.

“Is... is that why you made all of this?” Amy’s heart tugged on her vocal chords, making them choke slightly.

“...Yeah.” he admitted. “If this was Sonic, I don’t think he’d be willing to talk about it... not like you.” he looked down a moment.

“No, don’t look down.” Amy’s voice plucked up an octave. “Look at your amazing work, Tails. Look at how vast... how beautiful the universe is... I’m sure you’ll see evidence of Cosmo’s seed blooming all over the place. You know why?”

She ducked her gaze down slightly, moving her head to make sure she didn’t obstruct his view.

He smiled lightly through his tears.

“Because life never quits, that’s why!” She pulled him into a half-hug and continued to snuggle up in the blanket. “Hehe, because Cosmo would want you to look at these stars and know that she’s everywhere. Smiling just as brightly as any of these ol’stars and wishing you the best forever!”

She felt his shoulders bounce a little...

She knew Sonic would have done an alright job if he were here too, but...

She was so glad...

Holding him and tucking him in better into the blanket...

That she was the one he shared this whole project with.

That she was the one... who could dry his tears tonight.

-Author: And now I cry, wow, hands slapped together in a prayer really did wonders for myself in this prompt, how about you? lolol To those of you who actually did the gesture and wished me the best, this one’s for you.

[loveafterthefact]

Love After the Fact Chapter 69: Making Short-Distance Calls

Keith and Lance make some calls back to the Imperial Compound.

Also, because I’m incredibly mature... Nice

First  Previous  Next

“Hey.” Keith peeks around the bedroom entryway to the main room, where Lance is stretched out on the floor in just a pair of pants, reading on his datapad. “Could you go take care of the elk and make breakfast? And take a little while? I need to speak to my mother.”

“Is everything okay? Are you alright?” The Altean rises to his feet, brushing dust off his pants.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” Keith manages a smile for his concerned mate. The Altean’s frown only deepens, clearly not convinced. “I just… want some privacy, okay?”

“Sure, as long as you’re alright.” Lance sets a tablet aside, kisses his cheek, puts BleepBloop on his shoulder, dances outside to play with Bruna and the bull elk.

Summoning his courage, he settles into his father’s old chair at the small work table, a breeze teasing his loose hair. He turns his gaze briefly through the glassless window into the open clearing, where Lance is petting Bruna, scales, dark skin gleaming in the sun.

He takes a deep breath. He makes his choice. He calls his mother.

“Hey, sweetheart! I tried calling you last quintant.” Krolia smiles. “Did you have a nice time with Lance?”

“Actually, that’s what I need to talk to you about,” Keith whispers. That hurt he’d felt simmers to the surface again.

Krolia’s brow creases with worry. “Is everything alright?”

“Well… No. It’s not.” Keith squares his shoulders, drawing on what he’s learned from his time on Altea. He allows himself to be a prince. “I saw how you looked at Lance at the Sanctorium. I don’t appreciate it in the least.”

“I see.” Krolia lifts an eyebrow. “Perhaps you should talk to him. He recommended we keep it between ourselves, for your sake.”

“Lance isn't the problem!” Keith snaps. “You’re the only one who has a problem.”

Krolia averts her gaze. “You’re right. He bears me no ill will.”

“We’re starting a family,” Keith states. “In a movement.”

“Your trust in him-” Krolia begins, warning clear in her voice.

“Is more than deserved. More than earned… Lance has done nothing but defend me against his people and protect me, even despite immense pressure from his father, who expected him to rape me, pushing and pushing and pushing us for phoebs.

“He cannot have you around him if you pose a risk to his reputation. He deserves the respect of his people. He deserves the respect of his kits. What happened at the Sanctorium cannot happen. Ever.” He sighs, ears wilting just a bit. “I need you to actually try, Mom. Not passively, to appease me. I need you to actually try, so that you can be a part of my kits’ lives.”

Krolia stares at her son, quite suddenly disturbed. “King Alfor expected him to-”

“Yes. but you never thought of that, did you? You assumed that Lance just didn’t feel like mating with me because I was too young! You didn't think at all about what that cost him! Or me, for that matter!”

“You didn’t-”

“Why would I?! You think that’s what I wanted to tell you about when I finally got to see you again? That I was sexually abused by my mate’s father? No! I wanted to tell you about how happy Lance makes me, and how important he is to us all, and about the work that I’m doing! Because I am happy, and I wanted to share that with you!" Keith takes a moment, composes himself.

“Regardless, we can’t have anybody undermining his influence. Especially not now, when we’re about to start enacting major changes on Altea. You're the Imperial Advisor. You have power here. Not only could your lack of respect lessen our influence, but it could put us in actual danger. If we’re going to have kits, I cannot allow that. Ever.”

Krolia’s staring at her son, visibly distressed. Keith hates it, hates the look on her face thinking of what he’s experienced at the hand of King Alfor. He hates that he made her feel that, that he’s broken her heart yet again. But she needs to know exactly what kind of person Lance is, and exactly what kind of person he himself has grown into.

“Forgive me, Keith. I didn’t know- I should have given the boy a better chance, like I said I would.”

“Yes, you should have. But you didn’t. And now, here we are, with an ultimatum. Learn to behave, or you can’t see my kits. Or me.” Keith sets his hands down on the table. “I’d better go. I gave Lance a couple chores to do, so he’s probably forgotten all about them and fed himself to something… I love you, mom.”

“I love you too, kitten. I’ll see you soon. I’ve gathered some things you might need for your season. I’d best talk to Lance, too.”

“Thace will talk to him. He’s a physician.”

Krolia’s ears droop. “Okay. ‘Bye, kitten.”

“‘Bye.” After he’s hung up, Keith rests his head on the edge of the table, lets out a chirp. He isn’t surprised. He’s distressed enough. He feels worse when Lance comes running in.

“What was that? Was that you?”

“Yeah…” Keith sits back up. “I spoke to my mother. About how she treats you.”

“Civilly? I mean, she hates my guts and wants to rip them out through my throat, but...”

“She’s not civil when you’re not looking.”

“Ah. That’s problematic.”

“I know. I’ve taken care of it, but it really sucks.” Keith’s ears are drooped, practically limp on either side of his head. “She has power and a station. We don’t need people to see us all butting heads.”

“I’m sorry, beloved.” Lance rubs the base of his ear, like he used to do before, when Keith had trouble sleeping.

“Not your fault… It just sucks.” Keith leans into that old comfort, letting his chemistry take over as soothing hormones travel through his system. “What else do we have to do today?”

“It can wait-”

“No. We have stuff to do. What’s next?”

“Calling Adam and Shiro. They’ve been collaborating.”

“Is that what we’re calling it?” Keith gives a ghost of a smile.

“Collaborating only in the professional sense, I believe. Adam is… We’ll say extremely cautious. Come here.” Lance guides him to his feet, gives him a hug. “Let’s do the next one outside. It’s nice and warm out. I know you like the sun.”

Keith nods, humming his assent into the crook of Lance’s neck. He lets his mate guide them outside into a patch of sunlight. BleepBloop parks himself in Keith's lap for pets.

Adam’s walking when he answers the call. “Your majesties! What can I do for you?”

“Oh, I just wanted an update on your work. We haven’t seen you hardly at all since we arrived.”

“That’s hardly my fault,” Adam remarks, smirking as he settles on a couch next to Shiro. The large Galra immediately puts an arm around him. “As I understand it, you're finally getting your house in order. Tell me, do you plan to expand said house?”

“Why do we keep you?” Keith mumbles, rolling his eyes, ears tipping back with the motion.

“Because you’d be dead without me. Quite literally.”

“Oh, yeah. How has our work been coming along?”

“We’re handling it,” Adam confirms, leaning into Shiro’s side a little more. “Now, as I understand it, you have not been invited to join the Imperial family for dinner?”

“Not at all,” Lance confirms.

Adam and Shiro glance at each other, visibly troubled. Shiro frowns. “How unusual. That is the tradition. In ancient days, when a chief of another tribe visited, they were immediately invited to dine with that tribe’s chief and their family. It could just be because they know your concerns are elsewhere, but the invitation should still have been extended..."

“I wonder if Lotor and Allura could tell us anything,” Adam muses. “Or Pidge. They’ve all been running around together. In the meantime, we have found something that might interest you. Do you remember that shipment with the weight discrepancy?”

“I don’t,” Keith grumbles as Lance nods. He fixes his mate with an annoyed gaze. More secrets. He really will strangle this idiot.

“Seriously, Lance? You didn’t tell him?” Adam shakes his head. “Nevermind. We’ve discovered that it’s happened multiple times, over the last two decaphoebs. Someone is smuggling on the regular, and someone else is making sure it’s not discovered. These records are not flagged. They’ve been approved and archived, but have no name attached to inspection. The ships hail from Ariel, Pollux, Feyiv, Senfama, and Marchanda. Twenty-three in total.”

“So these are not our assassins,” Lance clarifies.

“Well, they certainly aren’t all your assassins,” Adam agrees.

“Sending assassins to Daibazaal and then on to Altea is stupid,” Keith says, still sulking. “It would only make it easier to trace the client. Unless the client wasn’t Galra at all.”

“Yes. But now we have multiple shipments, which suggests something else entirely. Anyway, we’re still looking into it. We’ll let you know if we find anything. Otherwise, assume no news is no news.”

“Understood. Thank you, Adam. Shiro.” Lance smiles. “Keep up the good work.”

“Always, your Majesties.” Adam bows his head, ends the call. Brief, but informative.

The ensuing silence falls heavy.

“Beloved?” Lance murmurs.

Keith’s leaning away from Lance, not looking at him. “This is becoming a habit, Lance,” he warns. “I don’t appreciate it.”

“I… I didn’t realize.” Lance pales, color washing from skin and scales. “You’re right. It is becoming a habit.”

Why didn’t you tell me? Why are you keeping secrets?!” The tone and loudness of Keith's voice send BleepBloop running from his lap, screeching with irritation from a nearby tree.

“I didn’t want to trouble you.” Lance studies his hands in his lap, guilty.

“Why do you think I mated with you or started a relationship with you at all?!” Keith’s on his feet now, ready to give a right and proper scolding. “I want to be troubled! I want to be there, and help you, and share your burdens! They’re my burdens, too! I don’t have secrets from you! Don’t you dare keep secrets from me! Ever!” Keith sighs, shoulders drooping, anger turning to something softer. “No more. Please.”

“No more. I promise. I’m sorry.” Lance tugs on his hand, pulling Keith back down next to him. “I actually don’t know how to do this very well. I know how to get along with you, and look after you, but I don’t really know relationships that well... I just want you to be happy.”

“Lance, I’d rather know what’s going on around me and be absolutely fucking miserable than wander around happy and ignorant. I mean, not telling me about my mother not liking you is one thing, not telling me about your deal with Alfor is another, but this? Lance, someone tried to murder us! In our sleep! Don’t I deserve to know about that?”

“Yes… You do. I’m sorry.”

At Lance’s miserable face, Keith softens a little. “I want to be with you in everything, Lance. Even the stuff that hurts. Especially the stuff that hurts.”

“I understand… I’m sorry, Keith.”

“You’re forgiven.” Keith kisses his mate’s cheek, right over his dulled scales. “I trust your intentions. Promise we’ll work on it? I'll help.”

“I promise,” Lance whispers, voice fervent and strained.

“My good man.” Keith smiles, presses a gentle kiss to Lance’s lips. “We should call Lotor.”

“Okay.”

Keith leans against Lance, talking over the comms device, calling his cousin. The half-Galra is glistening, shirtless, a loose bit of silvery hair clinging to his forehead.

“Oh, thank the gods! An excuse!” The prince wipes his face with a rag. “I think Kolivan was actually trying to kill me!”

“More like trying to save you from sympathy weight,” the Galra grunts, his sons snickering behind him.

“Pfft. I am a prime specimen. I don’t gain sympathy weight. Or any kind of weight, for that matter.” Lotor grins at his coach. “Go beat up my generals for a bit so I can speak to my cousin and brother.”

Kolivan bows, fist over his breast, his sons doing the same on either side. Once they’re gone, Lotor turns back to his comms unit. “Now, what can I do for you?”

“Your medical records. I need them,” Keith states, not bothering with niceties.

Lotor frowns. “My mother said she gave them to you.”

Lance shakes his head. “She refused us. Why would she lie to you?”

“I don’t know… Well, perhaps my medical records will tell us something.” The prince shrugs, good-natured and mischievous. Ancients help Allura with their children, because clearly, Lotor is going to be no help at all. “Ah, Mother. I love her dearly, but… Science isn’t a warm discipline, if you know what I mean.”

“I… have not idea what that means,” Keith mumbles.

“It means she’s emotionally distant and more likely to use logic than kindness,” Lance summarizes.

“Pretty much.” Lotor drinks from a flask, leaning against an old wall in the shade. “Have you learned anything of our assassins?”

“Nothing for certain. But there have been several incoming cargo ships that did not pass inventory inspection, but were approved anyway. No signature from the inspector. They appear to be coming from five planets in Galra territory.”

“So these might not be our assassins, or even the client, but it is a problem. Which planets?”

“Ariel, Pollux, Feyiv, Senfama, and Marchanda,” Keith recites.

“Ariel is a mining planet, populated. Pollux is a verdant planet, with farming communities, self-sustaining. Feyiv is polar, but its surface harbors organic materials used in some of our biomechanics. Senfama is lush and green, a rich source of medicines. It is also where we tested our Zaiforge prototypes. Marchanda is a mining planet like Ariel, but devoid of life.”

Keith wonders briefly if his uncle knows all of this. He doubts it. he has his son to know it for him.

“This is definitely problematic,” Lotor decides. “I’ll discuss with Shiro and Adam, see if I can be of assistance. I will keep you apprised, and I will ensure that your delightful little associate gets hold of my records for you.”

“Many thanks, dear brother.” Lance smiles. “And do tell Pidge I said hello. I hope that our run-in with the kronil didn’t scare them too badly.”

“On the contrary. We carried it home and dissected it together. Allura nearly gutted us for it.” Lotor chuckles. “I’ll take my leave of you. Good day!”

“See you!” Keith waves his cousin out of the call, throws himself back with a groan.

“Ready to be done?”

“ So ready.” Keith sighs, snuggling in against Lance’s chest to listen to his heartbeat. “I know we only called three people, but I am exhausted. There was so much.”

“I know. We haven’t even called Thace and Hunk, yet.”

“Hm. I think we should talk to Alfor too. About plans in case Altea is attacked.”

“Do you think it likely?” Lance strokes Keith’s hair, enjoying the loose strands between his fingers.

“I don’t know. But Altea wants peace. My people want peace. If some faction is out there preparing to rebel and bring chaos, then I want to be able to stop them.” Keith closes his eyes. “I haven't lived at the compound or my village very long, but I’ve seen awful things, Lance. The things nobody wants to talk about. Bearers, summoned to do their service onlu quintants after giving birth. Sires, leaving pregnant mates behind, never knowing their kits… Kits always get caught in the middle. They’re the collateral, and then later, the next generation of fodder.”

“You’re not fodder, Keith.”

“I’ll gladly be fodder, if it means my kits won’t have to be.”

Lance is quiet for a moment, then- “Me too. But we can’t just go jumping into battles. We have our own responsibilities: to live, and build a better world.”

“Power and influence?”

“Power and influence. Rest assured, though. If it comes time to raise arms for us, I will. For Daibazaal and Altea.”

“For me, and you,” Keith whispers. “And everything we have between us.”

[annsparksthegmr]

Pokemon Black Nuzlocke - Part 4

Hello! Surprise everyone I got another Nuzlocke update. And for a quick minor spoiler. I tackled two Gyms down in the next part. Might surprise you but I got a feeling the last two Gyms may pose a challenge. But you can read more below!

Back into we go with a Vanillite encounter at the Cold Storage. Once again, I caught a female one and decided to name her BananSplit. Totally spelt it wrong but that shall be her name for now on. Then I went inside of the building to go deal with Team Plasma and level up my team. After that I went to the Gym, watched Ghetsis truly do “totally not villainous” things before busting down the door to challenge his Gym. After buying a bunch of Moomoo Milks because they are surprisingly affordable for the time being.

I managed to reach Clay with no casualties. But then came our battle and immediately after his Krokorok used Swagger, he got a critical hit Bulldozer which Captain thankfully survived. I switched into Queen to handle the incoming Palpitoad and heal Captain back up. Queen then easily took out Palpitoad, but then came Excadrill. Which I’ve heard can be an end runner if I wasn’t careful - or at least I thought so. My main goal was to use Leech Seed and have Queen slowly take it out. After all, she resists most of its moves besides Slash. And I can switch into Captain if her HP gets too low. But thankfully Leech Seed secured the victory after using a hefty Grass Knot.

Another Gym secured with no casualties! I am so happy for my team. Queen and Captain really helped pull their weight. It might be because I get over prepared at times. Maybe a bit too much with items, but I feel like it's fair to use items. I headed to Route 6 and had a battle with Bianca. Not sure if I was supposed to do this before the Gym Battle, as all my team was around level 30 and her team was level 28. But she was easy to deal with.

Route 6 arrived so far all I am getting are Vanillites, which I use dupes to ignore for another. I understand it is because I am playing in winter so most options don’t appear. But I ended up running into a Foongus. A male one, who I decided to cheekily name Voltorb for the encounter. Never really going to use it right now but it shall hang out in the box.

Clay opened the way to Chargestone Cave and I got the TM Bulldoze. And I remember why I like Clay so much. Just like with all the other Gym Leaders. Oh, also N sent ninjas - I mean Shadow Triad - so we could chat. Here comes when N reveals Cheren is ideals, Bianca is truth and the main protagonist is somewhere in between. And it's kind of scary after N apparently walks off and teleports away then Bianca and Professor Juniper appear to explain the floating blue gemstone mechanic. I really miss stuff like this. I get the Lucky Egg and manage to find my encounter for Chargestone Cave - a Klink. Never got one of them before, so I nicknamed it Geartown.

After defeating more of Team Plasma I finally fought against N. We beat him no problem. I arrived in Mistralton City. Skyla had her little speech which led me to Route 7. On the way, Odette evolved into a beautiful Swanna. And I got my encounter as a double - with a male Watchhog and a female Cubchoo. I decided to go with the Cubchoo because I have found memories of my Beartic on my first one. Plus, if memory serves - a Beartic can learn some potential HMs. I named the adorable Cubchoo Snowball and she’ll rest in the PC until I need her.

Arriving at Celestial tower, I climbed up to the top and on my way caught a male Litwick. Decided to name Gracey after Master Gracey - neat Haunted Mansion reference because why not. At the very least, if Ramona faints before I reach the end I can use him. Or if the Modest nature on Ramona becomes too big of a problem to ignore. Plus Ramona also has Hustle as an ability. Though speaking of Ramona, she evolved into a Darmanitan. I reached the top and rang the bell. I really miss stuff like this. But a quick check of the PC revealed how both my Fire-Types have their natures lowering their respective attack/special attack. Whelp. Guess I have to wait and hope Reshiram will have a decent nature.

But now, I’m about to do something risky. I’m going to take down Skyla’s Gym at the same time. I already have a decent pick of Pokemon already prepared for this. Which hopefully, she won’t be too much trouble. By the way, what are the odds of a Trandquill getting off three Detects in a row? Just curious. There were no problems and with my confidence boosted so high in the sky, I challenged Skyla to showcase the power and potential of my Nuzlocke team. And I’d like to say, Pebbles and Zigzagzop clearly brought Skyla down to ground level.

Two gyms down a single update? I might be getting a bit too cocky, considering how N nearly spooked me as I exited the Gym. He wanted to chat with Pebbles - and seriously N, call Pebbles by her nickname and not Boldore. She takes great offense after defeating Skyla. He left about spouting about the Light and Dark Stones.

I plan to end things on this high note for the time being! I am only slightly considered regarding the next two Gyms. Brycen is Ice-Type, but with Ramona I feel okay with challenging it. But the bonus of Ramona getting Sheer Force now, I’m fairly confident in her performance. Though I may train up Gracey a bit, since I don’t think having Zigzagzop would be totally okay. My Zebstrika might have Flame Charge, but I don’t think it would help out as much as another Fire Type. 

Though after that will come the final Gym Leader. Who I currently have is either an Ice or Dragon Type in my party. Meaning that Drayden could honestly kick my butt if I went with how I had now. *has flashbacks to his Gym Battle* His Haxorus is scary… I do, at the very least, have BananSplit and Snowball currently relaxing in my PC. I may have to plan to do some extensive level grinding to get up prepared for that challenge. If I don’t end up suffering any unsuspecting battles which end up taking out members of my team.

Maybe it is my experience with casually playing Pokemon and trying to keep a balanced team of Pokemon which has me pretty much not having any deaths so far. Though, I won’t be surprised if an upcoming battle decides to add a bunch into the death category. But for now, I played enough for the time being. Next time, I plan to at the very least challenge Brycen or hopefully get a considerable chunk of the way through to the eighth Gym. Not entirely sure if I’d be up to face Drayden - since I am playing Pokemon Black, which means no Iris fight. 

But overall for my team, I can’t help but feel extremely proud of them so far. I knew for the later Gyms, Queen would have to practically be benched since Grass does not fare well against Flying, Ice or Dragon Type Pokemon. But she still carries herself well otherside of Gym Battles. Pebbles was definitely a surprise pick who I thought I’d bench her right after Lenora’s Gym. But this girl’s been proving her weight with her massive defenses enough where I want to keep her around. (And I swear if Pebbles dies, I will actually cry. She may not be able to fully evolve but I’ve grown attached to my rock). Zigzagzop was meant to be dropped after Elesa’s Gym, but he’s actually been proving himself with this latest Gym to keep around. I feel like he has a strong friendship with Pebbles considering I got them back to back. (Even with the funny Jaiden Animation reference.) Captain has been… well, I don’t really like his final evolution but having the Water/Ground typing makes him a good enough tank and Water-Type Pokemon to have on the team. Even if Odette is on the team. He might end up being Boxed, but it may just depend how things go. And Odette has already been showcasing why I needed a Flying-Type Pokemon on my team. Even if she is x4 weak to Electric. Even after fully evolving, she’s already showcasing her worth. 

The only dilemma I have will have to be addressed soon. But I really hope even with losing Puppy and Fountain, I won’t have to say goodbye to anyone through a death. I expect to have to switch some out for the upcoming Gyms. Until next time though, which, I do plan to draw what my final team will end up being. And who knows? Maybe I’ll end up finishing the main story of Pokemon Black right on Christmas? Wouldn’t that be a treat? 

Smell ya later!

Team Recap:

Queen - Female Servine (Lvl 35)

Pebbles - Female Boldore (Lvl 36)

Zigzagzop - Male Zebstrika (Lvl 36)

Captain - Male Palpitoad (Lvl 35)

Ramona - Female Darmanitan (Lvl 35)

Odette - Female Swanna (Lvl 35)

In Box/Reserve:

Ghost Girl - Female Liepard (Lvl 20)

Cassandra - Female Sandile (Lvl 21)

Trashie - Female Trubbish (Lvl 22)

Lowen - Male Cottonee (Lvl 20)

Lady - Female Minccino (Lvl 23)

BananSplit - Female Vanillite (Lvl 21)

Voltorb - Male Foongus  (Lvl 23)

Geartown - Klink (Lvl 26)

Snowball - Female Cubchoo (Lv 30)

Gracey - Male Litwick (Lvl 26)

Deaths: 2

Fountain - Male Sampour (Lvl 15)

Puppy - Female Herdier (Lvl 25)

[coza-main]

Congrats on 100!! I would request a one-shot, but idk if you want to... If you do want to do one just surprise me...

Stormy!!! I’m so sorry for the delay, I promise I didn’t forget you!! I was just being lazy and taking my sweet sweet time. But here it is, I tried my best!! Hopefully there’s not too many errors and such. 

Training Day

“What are you doing, Boruto?”

Boruto opened an eye lazily to see Sarada standing above him with her hand on her hip, looking at him disapprovingly. He snapped his eye shut and resettled into his resting position at the base of the tree without saying anything. Sarada always seemed to find something to be mad at, and it was usually him.

“Hey!” Sarada protested. “Just because you’re the one picking the team training today doesn’t mean you can choose to lay around! I can’t be caught slacking if I’m going to be Hokage.”

“Actually, we’ve been waiting for you, Sarada.” Mitsuki appeared on the tree branch and sat down nonchalantly. “We’ve been here for about 20 minutes.”

Sarada shot Mitsuki a glare and crossed her arms. “Hmph! Well it’s not my fault you all decided to be early. I was on time, like always.”

“You know, I’ve been thinking,” Boruto wondered out loud, oblivious to the previous conversation. His blue eyes stared past Sarada to the sky above them. “What do you think is under Kakashi-sensei’s mask?”

Sarada was about to respond with a snarky comment when the realization hit her that she didn’t know the answer. She had asked her mother once, but even the medical ninja didn’t know.

“I mean, it has to be something, right? Or else he wouldn’t wear it.” Boruto continued, lost in thought. “It can’t be a scar, because he doesn’t hide the one on his eye anymore.”

Sarada’s eyes widened as her mind considered the possibilities. “What if he has crooked teeth?”

Boruto laughed as he got up from his resting place. He stood and faced Sarada as he thought of other absurd options. “What if he’s missing a tooth? Or maybe he has no teeth at all!”

Sarada rolled her eyes. “He has to have teeth, idiot. Or else he’d have trouble speaking.”

Boruto’s face scrunched. Sarada was always such the realist when it came to these things. It really put a damper on the mood. “Fangs, then.” He said with a nod. That seemed more likely.

Mitsuki dropped down next to the pair. “His summoning animals are dogs. It would make sense if he had fangs.”

Boruto and Sarada’s eyes widened at that realization. A devilish grin came across Boruto’s face as he looked at his teammates. “I think I know what our team training is going to be today.”

“We don’t even know if Lord Sixth is in the village, Boruto.” Sarada finally admitted. The trio had been searching for an hour and were nowhere near finding the masked man. “It might be a lost cause.”

Boruto frowned and put his hands behind his head. “Come on Sarada, have a better outlook on life. I have a feeling that things are about to change for the better, ya know?”

“Shouldn’t you all be…I don’t know…training?” The bored voice from directly behind them was unmistakable. The trio turned around quickly to see Kakashi leaning on the side of a building, not even bothering to look up from his novel.

“We were actually looking for you, Lord Sixth,” Mitsuki said cheerfully. “To see-”

“If you had any pointers to our formation!” Boruto finished, quickly cutting Mitsuki a glare. Mitsuki was good at many things, but social cues were not one of them. The guy was way too blunt for most people. For a second, Boruto was concerned he had hurt Mitsuki’s feelings, but the boy seemed completely unbothered by the cutoff, only returning a friendly smile to his teammate.

“Yeah!” Sarada rushed to add in, trying to cover up Boruto’s sloppy answer. “I was hoping you could help me hone my Sharingan a bit.”

“And my Rasengan!”

“And my lightning-style chakra.”

They were totally going to get away with this.

Kakashi sighed, putting his book away. “Don’t you kids know the meaning of retired? I don’t do that stuff anymore. Go find your sensei or someone else who isn’t me.”

“Wait!” Boruto cried, just a little too eagerly. His outburst caused Kakashi to raise an eyebrow, but he stayed put. Boruto’s mind searched for any incentive he could think of at a moment’s notice. “Lunch is on us! You can give us pointers over lunch, you don’t even have to come to the training grounds.”

“Eh? Lunch you say?” Kakashi patted his stomach as he weighed his options. “It has been a while since I’ve had Ichiraku Ramen. Alright, then. I’ll give you three tips in exchange for three bowls of ramen. Deal?”

“Deal!” The trio chimed. They didn’t even have to look at each other to know the bill would be worth it.

“Great. See ya there.” And with a puff of smoke, Kakashi was gone.

Boruto spun around to Sarada as soon as Kakashi was out of sight. “I told you out luck would change, Sarada! I knew we would find him!” But Sarada’s eyebrows were knit together in confusion.

“You didn’t find him, Boruto. He found us. Don’t you think that’s a little suspicious?” She pushed her glasses further up onto the bridge of her nose and shook her head. “Besides,” she continued. “He probably heard you and your loud mouth boasting about our plan from a mile away.”

Mitsuki nodded in agreement with Sarada. “Yes, that was a bold move. And it definitely won’t be easy to take that mask off of him forcefully. I find it strange that you want to do it in such a public place like Ichiraku, Boruto.”

“What?!” Boruto demanded, looking at Mitsuki like he had grown another head. Mitsuki always went straight to using whatever force was necessary. The blonde shook his head and sighed.  “We’re not going to force him to take it off, Mitsuki. He’ll have to take it off to eat, that’s when we’ll be able to see it.”

Sarada clearly still wasn’t convinced. “Don’t you think other people have tried this, Boruto?  What makes you think it’ll work this time?”

“Of course other people have tried it,” Boruto shot back. “But I guess they’re just not as good as I am. We’ll get him for sure. Right, Mitsuki?”

“Whatever you say, Boruto,” Mitsuki responded optimistically. He smiled genuinely at his teammates. “If you all think we can do it, then I’m sure we are more than capable.”

They rounded the corner to see that Kakashi had already grabbed four seats at the high table top area. The silver haired man spun around at their arrival. “Yo. Hope this is good seating. It was kind of all they had.”

Boruto eagerly grabbed the one next to Kakashi, with Mitsuki and Sarada following in line beside him. Their food was out within minutes. Kakashi picked up his chopsticks, feeling three sets of eyes staring straight at him. He quizzically looked over at the kids, who were looking at him expectantly.

“Oh, did you want your advice now?” He asked dumbly. “Well, alright. Sarada, we can start with you. I recommend you do some agility training with your teammates. Having them throw multiple weapons at you can be quite compelling. Unfortunately you can’t force your Sharingan to progress, but you can enha-”

“Excuse me, you’re the kids from the academy that I interviewed last year, correct?”

Team Seven spun around in their chairs to see Sukea standing behind them. “I hope you all figured out the answer to my question, or at least thought about it.”

“Hey, journalist guy!” Boruto called with a wave. “Nice to see you back in the village! Kakashi- sens…ehhh?!?!” Boruto stared in horror as Kakashi set a finished bowl of ramen off to the side and then turned to look at Boruto. “How did you…How did you eat that so quickly?” Boruto stuttered, a mix between jealousy and awe.

“Hm?” Kakashi looked bored and unamused. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Another bowl please!” He called out to the wait staff, before turning to the journalist. “So you know these kids? I hope they didn’t give you too much trouble the last time you met.”

Sukea flushed with embarrassment and raised his hands. “Oh no, nothing like that! I was working on a project to highlight the academy students as they graduated, that’s all! There were some very high dreams in the group.” He said, with a nod to Sarada. “I hope that’s still the case.”

Sarada opened her mouth to speak, but Boruto beat her to it. “Oh yeah! Team 7 is going all the way to the top! We’re going to make the old team 7 look like amateurs, right guys?”

“Boruto, why do you have to be so cocky all the time?” Sarada was glaring at him, and Boruto was certain he could see her eye twitching.

“Well you are the one who wants to be Hokage, Sarada.” Mitsuki chuckled. “I would say that’s higher aspirations than Boruto.” Sarada was about to respond when the second bowl of ramen was placed in front of Kakashi. Instantly all three had their eyes on Kakashi, who didn’t appear to notice their gaze.

“Sorry,” Sukea interjected. “Would you three mind if I took a picture of you, just to update my readers about your journey?”

Boruto and Sarada hesitated, and Sukea could see their unease. “It will only take a quick second to snap a picture. I’d love to give an update about how well the academy students are thriving.”

They all exchanged glances, but Sukea was already holding the camera up to his face. “Just look this way and smile!” He encouraged them. Boruto continued to side eye Kakashi while posing for the picture, refusing to let him eat without seeing his mask. Sukea focused the camera, but then pulled it away from his face, frowning. “The lighting isn’t great in here, do you guys mind taking a few steps towards me?”

Boruto stifled a groan as Sarada elbowed him in the ribs. “Be polite!” She hissed under her breath. “It’s one picture, it can’t take that long. And if either of you complain, I’ll punch you both into next week so only I get to see his face.” She grabbed the boys by the collars and pulled them off their chairs.

“Perfect!” Sukea exclaimed joyfully. “Just give me one second…” He fiddled with the camera for a few seconds before the shutter sound went off. “It looks like the future is in good hands. I’m glad you all have found a purpose.” He gave a sly wink at Boruto before exiting the restaurant.

Sarada raised her eyebrow at the blonde, but Kakashi was the one who spoke. “What was that about?” he asked, before turning back to the waiter. “Also, I think I’ll have one more bowl, if you don’t mind.” He handed an empty bowl to the waiter.

Boruto’s mouth dropped to the floor. This was unbelievable. “How…how did you eat that so fast?”

“I believe you are the slow eaters in this scenario.” Kakashi pointed to each of their bowls, which remained untouched. Team 7 begrudgingly sat down and started eating slowly. Each of them began eating slowly, constantly glancing up at Kakashi to make sure he was there.

Once his third bowl was set down, Kakashi sighed. “I guess I owe the other two of you tips. Boruto, you have amazing chakra control, but not a lot of reserve. And you might be maxed out on your reserves at this point. You should try to apply more pressure to yourself and your chakra if you want a stronger rasengan.” At that advice, Boruto opened his mouth to protest, but Kakashi held up a finger to silence him.

“Mitsuki, you have a ton of chakra, but not nearly enough control. If you can focus and condense your chakra, your lightning strikes could double, or even triple, in the damage it can do. Focus more on your enemy and less on your teammates. Now if you’ll excuse me…” Kakashi raised his chopsticks, as team seven looked at him eagerly, closing in.

“SARADA!!!” Chocho’s voice cut through the restaurant as team ten came into the restaurant. “Sarada! What did you get?!?” The whole team ran over to talk to their friends, blocking their view from Kakashi.

“You know, Boruto, I got in a lot of trouble the other day because of the misunderstanding with the shopkeeper. You really are such a-”

“No! Get out of the way, Shikadai!” Boruto pushed him in a frantic attempt to find an eyeline for Kakashi.

“Hey, don’t be annoying!” Suddenly the two teams were enthralled in a battle that erupted in chaos as team seven tried to fight off team ten. But it was useless. By the time they had finished fighting, Kakashi had polished off his last bowl. Oblivious to the reasoning for the hostility, team ten sent the trio a glare before sulking away.

Boruto finally lowered his head in defeat. “Damn it. We were so close.”

“Well, thanks for the food you guys! Hope it was worth it. See ya.” Kakashi began to walk away from the group and towards the door.

“Lord Sixth, may I ask you a question?” Mitsuki’s voice was surprisingly strong for being quiet most of the day. He couldn’t stand to see Boruto upset without trying the most simple option.

“Hm?”

“What is underneath your mask?” Panic set across Boruto’s face. Sarada looked permanently mortified. Neither of them could believe Mitsuki would actually be so forthcoming to the old. man.

“Under my…mask?” Kakashi asked innocently. He stared at the group. “Is that why you all took me out to lunch?” The silence from the group told him that he had guessed correctly.

“You know, the old team seven actually did something very similar back in the day. It was a good training day for them.” Kakashi reminisced. “I told them all they had to do was ask. So, do you three actually want to see what’s under here?” The main pointed to his mask with smiling eyes.

They all leaned in. Sarada had a wild excitement in her eyes that Kakashi had sworn he had seen before. Boruto had the same mischievous grin that he always wore. Mitsuki stood further back, more focused on his teammates, but intrigued nonetheless.

“Behind this mask…is another mask!”

Looking at the pair and their disbelief, Mitsuki could do nothing but laugh. Sarada was so surprised that she almost fell off her stool. Boruto actually did, and hit the floor with a hard groan.

[saikagerights]

A New Possession One Shot- Christmas Date

Hello Saiino nation, long time no see. It’s been about a week since my last entry and a lot has happened. An update on me is that unfortunately the anti-depressant I started taking caused my ill-feeling these past couple of days. I was luckily able to get some time off of work to recover, but it’s a holiday weekend over here in the U.S. so my personal situation will probably be ongoing into this week. 

But enough about me! We finally have the Christmas chapter, or should I say, one shot. I decided to post this as an extra one shot to better lure people from Archive onto my journal. But it’s also because this is the first narrative piece written in over a year. This time with actual dialogue. I realized from my previous entries that I am capable of writing like this, and I did enjoy writing like this. I do plan on writing more narrative tie-ins to the journal, so you can expect to see more. However, this particular story line I had a bit of trouble, since I know in the timeline it’s still a bit too early for Sai and Ino to get together. I decided to take inspiration from multiple fics in order to get a coherent idea. I particularly took a running theme in  omegafire17′s classic fic Art Date. 

I also want to once again shout out my bf for listening to my dribble and helping me edit this. He wants to complain, but I know he enjoys doing this. 

This was my first true hurdle since beginning this project, so I am excited to finally overcome it so I can continue on with the story proper, I hope you also enjoy it. I also hope you enjoy angst, because this has got plenty of it.

Also on AO3

“Are you doing anything Christmas Eve?”

 Ino froze at Sai’s words, trying to process them. Of all the things she expected to come out of Sai’s mouth, which was quite a list mind you, she had never expected him to ask about Christmas. She had her back turned to him as she had assumed he was only visiting to ask more overly-complicated questions about the journal she gave him.

 But Sai of all people asking her about plans on Christmas Eve?

 If she were still 16, the idea of being asked out on Christmas Eve would’ve given her enough joy to last her a lifetime. But she was now 19, and this was Sai.

 Perhaps he’s been sent to inform her of a group gathering. She turned around, applying a small smile as an attempt to enforce a casual atmosphere. 

 “Nothing in particular. I will be working here a bit, but we’re closing early. Is there something going on?”

 His expression then grew pensive, as if he had realized that he once again slipped into his mask. He was truly a challenge for a highly skilled interrogator like her to read, but the more she spoke with him, the more she could pinpoint the cracks in his false demeanor. With this, she could tell that he was having a bit of difficulty with communicating his words.

 “Well, I was thinking about inviting you over to celebrate with me.”

 Ok so the group gathering was out the window and now her mind was taking a slow but steady nose dive into panic. Sai asking her out on Christmas Eve of all times seemed too unbelievable to be true. 

 Don’t get her wrong, she still found the young man incredibly attractive. She’d be lying to herself if she didn’t acknowledge the finer points in his appearance. Like his face, or his hair, or his body...

 “Uh-” she stammered before he continued.

 “I figured since you have given me so much during the span of our friendship, that I could perhaps repay you. Christmas just seemed to be good timing.”

 His eyebrows raised slightly, reflecting the utter innocence in his request. Ino inwardly sighed, relieved at his clarification. 

 More like bad timing… Of course it would be as pure intentioned as him. 

 It’s not as if she would’ve rejected his advances if it were a date. In fact, she’s been wanting to pull back more of the layers and dig into that inner psyche of his since they met, but that was before she realized how delicate his situation truly was. 

 The mission to the Land of Silence proved to her that the only way she could truly connect to Sai is if he’d let her in. His trauma ran deep. Deep enough to cover up his true smile and emotional responses.

 Seeing his smile in the depths of his subconscious made her heart weep and flutter all at once.  

 She truly wanted to get to know him better, but he had to get to know himself first. This was her intention when she gave him that journal to write in, and based on his accounts it seemed like it was doing the trick. It also helped that they had engaged in more small talk when he visited the shop. 

 But now a true opportunity has presented itself to Ino to finally delve into that mysterious aura that had once allured her. 

 Okay, maybe it’s still a bit alluring now. 

 As she relaxed, her nervous grin fell into a soft smile.

“So tell me more about this gift of yours…”

________________________________________________________________ 

Ino followed Sai as he led her through the village, absorbing the environment around her. Christmas Eve in Konoha had always been nothing short of festive; Strung up lights floated above the heads of those walking along the snow ridden paths. Gazing at the ground before her, she couldn’t help being overcome by memories of her childhood perched atop her father’s shoulders as their family strolled through those very same sights. Christmas hasn’t been the same without him. Nothing was the same without him if she were honest. Especially to her poor mother, who had insisted she depart with Sai while she finished closing up for the night. 

 She glanced at her companion walking beside her. Sai’s expression was unreadable as ever, but she couldn’t help but be transfixed by his cold and focused eyes staring forward towards their destination. She quickly turned her head away as his gaze moved towards her, face growing warm and ponytail whipping behind her. She had tied it up for this outing in order to restrain her hair from being harassed by the winter wind. 

 Why am I like this? I know this is only him being friendly.

 But she couldn’t help him being so beautiful.

 Hoping he had shifted his focus back to the road, she turned her head once more in his direction, only to find him still staring down at her. 

 His expression softened in moderate confusion. “Is there something wrong?” 

 “No!” She tried to clarify through frivolous waves of the hand. “I was just remembering something…” Ino trailed off for a moment, trying to assess the interaction before deciding on a new route. “Do you spend every Christmas with girls?” She resorted to her typical method of teasing in hopes to take some of the heat off. That may be difficult with what she was working with. He probably couldn’t even understand the nature of her words. 

 As expected, his confusion was still as strong as ever. He lifted his gaze back to the road.

 “The few times I’ve experienced this holiday have been at the gatherings that Naruto puts together. You’ve attended a few of them yourself…” Sai paused in his speech before returning his dark stare down to her. “Were you so inebriated that you have forgotten?”

 She found herself flushed once more, covering her face with both hands. She wanted to scream, or at the least groan in frustration, but didn’t want to discourage him. Ino needed to be patient with him. She took a deep breath before throwing her hands down to her sides accompanied by an audible exhale.

 “I remember Sai, I was just poking fun. You have to know what teasing is, right?”

 The curt nod he gave her had enough force to shake the dark bangs that covered his eyes. “Of course. Teasing is an act intended to provoke someone in playfulness. It is still a little hard for me to identify a teasing remark, however.”

 As he looked away, his frown deepened, giving her the impression that he was disheartened by that fact. To prevent him from caving in on himself, she lightly placed her hand on his bicep in encouragement. He shivered, eyes wide and pale skin looking even paler as she quickly pulled away. She tried to keep her tone as gentle as she could muster so as to not startle him further.

 “It’s okay. I’m sure you will someday.”

 Sai only hummed in acknowledgement, peering at her from the corner of his eye. His body was still tense, reeling from the contact. 

 Mission failed. I just want him to be able to trust me. 

 Just as the awkward silence dropped on them like a weight, they had arrived at their destination. The silence continued until they entered his small apartment. The flat wasn’t very homey, but it seemed to have suited Sai. The bare necessities with his supplies littered around the room. An easel accompanied by a short stool sat in the center of the floor. Another stool was placed across from it. 

 She watched as Sai hastily padded around the space, grabbing small things here and there in preparation for the painting.

 Ino had been surprised when Sai proposed the idea of painting her given how naturally intimate the process seeme. He would be giving her his undivided attention, something she had always yearned for, and creating something entirely out of her image. It was a fairly high ranking gesture on the romance meter if you asked her. 

 “Ino?”

 Lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t realized that he had already taken a seat and was gazing at her expectantly. Shaking her head clear of thoughts once more, Ino slowly made her way towards the stool that awaited her across from him. 

 She readily noticed the artist’s calculating eyes upon her when she took her seat. His head was slightly tilted, a pale hand covering his mouth. 

 “Is there anything in particular you wish for me to do?”

 He said nothing for a few moments, still processing his vision she presumed. She watched intently as his hand slipped down to uncover his mouth, focusing only on the movement of his lips.

 “I planned on having you pose yourself, but I would personally prefer your hair down for this.”

She felt warmth rise into her face, averting her eyes from his gaze once more as she brought her hands up to remove the tie from her hair. Her fingers combed at her golden locks that cascaded down her back.

 “Is that better?”

She returned her eyes to him to find that his expression had remained static.

 So much for looking seductive

 She let out a frustrated sigh and relented to placing her hands into her lap.

 She still found his face unchanged. He almost looked troubled. Regarding her for a moment more, he rose from his stool and stepped over to her, grabbing her face without hesitation and positioning it slightly to the right. 

 “Apologies, this seemed much easier than directing you.” Once seated, he peered at her from the side of the easel, a grin stretched across his face

 “But to answer your previous question, yes.” 

 Ino’s hands reflexively lifted from her lap to wipe at her face in aggravation. 

 Sai’s face reappeared from the side of his canvas, this time sporting a look that was far less amused than before. 

 “It would be better if you tried not to move or speak during this process.”

 Silence suddenly blanketed the room. A common theme with him. She could tell he had started his work because she could only hear the sounds of his pencil scratching the canvas. Outlining, she assumed. Ino had also noticed how often he peeked from behind his canvas to look at her. It was quite amusing to watch his ever-changing glare from her perspective. His thin eyes narrowed, growing even thinner. Sometimes she would be graced by the twisting of his lips, exposing dimples she never would’ve guessed he had in the first place. She especially couldn’t help but notice the way his brow lifted along with one corner of his mouth, almost as if some part of her was particularly interesting to him. 

 But what was so interesting? She could easily find out if she put her mind to it. Perhaps all Sai needed was some careful instruction and physical persuasion to bring out those feelings she knew he had. He would probably be eager to learn if she truly insisted. Tonight could present itself with a teaching opportunity if she looked hard enough. He’d probably be up for it, maybe his invitation meant something more. 

 What am I thinking?! Of course it didn’t!

 Ino left her mind to wander into dangerous territory and she had finally become aware. Her resolve was crumbling more and more by the minute and they had only just begun. She wasn’t sure what was worse, the concentrated silence that enveloped him, or that strange lift in his voice. The one that otherwise betrayed the more dreary expression that usually occupied his face. 

 He’s just trying to be friends! And yet-

 Ino shot up from the stool, stiff as a board. She caught a glimpse of Sai from behind his canvas before he noticed, a serene smile adorning his face. 

 He was really enjoying himself. And she was about to ruin that…

 “What’s wrong?”

 Genuine bewilderment had spread across his expression.

 “Sai, I’m sorry, I just can’t do this.”

 Sai sat rooted in his seat, pupils shaking as his mind was incapable of processing the situation

 “I-I don’t understand. Wh-what do you mean?” 

 Ino wanted to explain, but the thoughts couldn’t form. She didn’t quite understand what was going on with her either. She picked up her discarded jacket and made a move to leave, but was impeded by Sai’s hand tightly gripping hers. 

 “Please, at least explain what I did wrong. I thought this was what friends do.” His eyes pleaded with her. Pulling away from his grasp was what finally uprooted him, but he stood frozen in place as she fled towards the door.Her eyes watered as she looked back at his still form and dejected expression. She was really going to break his healing heart, and it killed her.

 Ino’s control had vanished, leaving her vulnerable to her oncoming feelings. She needed time to think about the door she was about to enter, and getting worked up over it now would only make it worse.

 What could’ve happened if her thoughts strayed any further? 

 Would she have acted upon her deep-rooted desires? 

 It doesn’t matter what I want. Sai just doesn’t need that...

 “It’s not you, I promise. You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s all me. I’m sorry-” 

 The door slammed shut behind her before he even had a chance to think over it. 

And that makes this one shot complete. Angsty as hell. I hope that I did Ino justice with this one. I didn’t want to break Sai’s heart, but it had to be done for the sake of forwarding the plot

Also to properly convey, Christmas Eve is a romantic holiday where couples go out and spend time with one another, similarly to the western Valentine’s day. Not yet sure when the next entry will be posted, but it is coming. I do have multiple ideas for how the story develops after this occurrence. Hopefully I’ll have enough content to get through until the next milestone, the Sakura Hiden. 

Thanks for sticking with me during what is considered a difficult time for me. And until the next one,

-Saikage

[adverb-slut]

Breakpoint (Fanfiction) Part 1/6 | Belphegor

Heyo, it’s me again!  This is an older fanfic for Obey Me! that I haven’t updated in a hot minute, but I’m planning on working on it soon-ish.  Anyway, this isn’t fluffy or cute or anything, it’s really mostly lore stuff!  

Anywho, it’s a six-part story (only parts one through three are written so far) and focuses on each of the brothers (Satan being the exception since he was never an angel) breaking point in when they decided to rebel against their Father when they were angels up in the Celestial Realm.  

You can read all the chapters that are up (one, two, and three) here on AO3, but I shall post them on Tumblr one by one in the coming days.  

Also, I know I still have more requests to do, and I am working on them, I promise!

Title:

Breakpoint

Summary:

These are the tales of when Belphegor, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Leviathan, Mammon, and Lucifer each decided to actively rebel against their Father and together incite the Great Celestial War.  

Genre:

Backstory/Lore

Rating:

T

Word Count:

3126

Additional Note:

The chapters are ordered “age-wise,” in the sense that Belphegor is first and Lucifer is last.  However, the actual content of the stories do not go chronologically, save for Lucifer’s chapter, which brings all the previous chapters together.  As I stated before, the first chapter is Belphie’s!

-

“Belphie, stop squirming,” Beelzebub muttered.  “You’re not very heavy, but if you keep moving around, I’m gonna lose my grip and drop you.”  He readjusted his hands under his twin’s arms as he flapped his wings in descent.

Belphegor fidgeted a bit more at the movement, earning a hmph from his brother.  He knew better than to look down, especially as an angel without wings and so unused to flying, but some kind of inane reflex prompted him to anyway.

He gulped as he tilted his head downward.  The ground didn’t seem to be coming up awfully fast—Beel was a deliberate flyer—but that didn’t stop a tingle from snaking its way up his spine.  He clutched the scroll in his hand tightly, not daring to imagine what would happen should he drop it and it go whizzing down all the way to the verdant plains below.  

“I always forget how far the cloud cover of the Celestial Realm is from Earth’s surface,” Belphegor commented.  “I can’t believe you make this flight every day, Beel.”

“It’s my job, Belphie,” Beel responded cheerfully.  “Someone has to guard Eden, you know?” After a pause, he scanned their surroundings below, and decided, “Alright, I’m going to drop you off here.  I’ll walk the rest of the way—Eden’s only a half a mile north, but I’m pretty sure there’s a town nearby here for you to explore.”

As Belphegor’s feet touched Earth’s surface and he wriggled free from his brother’s grasp, he marveled at the solidness of the ground, despite having made this excursion several times before.  In the Celestial Realm, everything under their feet would be on a layer of cloud, and it was strange for him to feel the sturdiness of soil against the soles of his sandals.  

He turned to his twin.  “Thanks, Beel.”

“I would say, ‘anytime,’ but Belphie, you can’t keep doing this,” Beel warned, wringing the hem of his tunic anxiously.  “You know you always get in trouble whenever you come down here.”

Belphegor sighed.  Getting in trouble was quite an understatement.  As the Angel of the Sabbath, he was meant to spend his time in the Celestial Realm, managing reports on which humans below kept the covenant of the Sabbath and which did not, and calculating percentages of whether or not their Sabbath-related actions warranted them a spot in heaven.  As far as his Father was concerned, this was not a job that required him to go down to Earth, and every time that he did, he had quite the plethora of punishments to endure—most in the form of excruciatingly long lectures on disobedience. 

But that didn’t stop him from making the odd trips down to Earth.  It wasn’t necessarily the planet itself that fascinated him, but the creatures that inhabited it: in his opinion, there was no other being that his Father had created so engrossing than the strange little mortals that looked surprisingly like their angelic counterparts above.  These creatures—these humans —he could never find a way to truly describe them.  

Humans, with their mortal life spans, each living only a fraction of what he had lived, who had seen only an iota of what he had seen.  Humans, who lived each day like it was their last and loved so fiercely that altruism seemed to be embedded into their very beings. Humans, who were just another one of his Father’s innumerable possessions, expendable and easy to dispose of.     

He couldn’t help but allow himself to visit them now and again, and due to the fact that his Father had decided in the Beginning that wings were given to angels based on their job and how often they needed to travel down to Earth, he had to rely on his twin, Beelzebub, to fly him down on his way to Earth for his daily morning shift as a Guardian of Eden.

However, this always brought the discussion of when Beel was supposed to return after his stint at Eden to recollect his brother, so together they could fly back home.

“I’ll come back at sunset—that’s okay, right, Belphie?”  Beel asked. It had been the same schedule the pair had been using every time they visited Earth. 

“Uh,” Belphegor began, turning his eyes downward, as he unfurled the scroll that he had been holding.  “About that ...”

Beel’s eyes widened as he saw the contents of the scroll.  “Isn't that … isn’t that the official schedule for Messenger Angels on when they’re supposed to deliver messages to humans?”  He gulped. “Why do you have that?”

“Relax, I asked Gabriel for a copy, and he said I could have it,” Belphegor reassured.  He pointed to the hundreds of boxes inked on the papyrus, each box containing writing that depicted a single message, to whom it was for, and where a Messenger Angel could find the recipient.  “Some of these have dates for when they have to be delivered by,” he explained, tracing his finger along one of the boxes, which was stamped with an angel’s personal seal and acted as their signature.  “The ones sealed with purple wax means that someone has already been assigned to deliver the message because it was so urgent.”  He moved to the next box, which was stamped with red wax.  “This one means that it can be delivered at any time, but someone already is en route to do it.”  He then pointed to a box that had no stamps near it whatsoever. “And these?  They’re nonurgent  and no one’s signed up to dispatch them.  Those are gonna be mine.”

Beelzebub gulped.  “What do you mean, yours?”

He rolled the scroll back up and took a deep breath, not daring to look his brother in the eye.  He hadn’t told Beelzebub of his plan, yet, and he dreaded to hear his twin’s opinion of it.

Beel was a fastidious worker, who was proud of his role as one of the Guardians of Eden, but he was even more proud of his younger brother’s monumental task of being the angel who was in control of the entire Sabbath.  Belphegor’s titular role of Angel of the Sabbath was one that afforded him quite a bit of fame and power up in the Celestial Realm.  There wasn’t an angel who didn’t know his name, and he was always getting stopped by those who wanted his advice on various subjects, most of which Belphegor knew nothing about.

But that didn’t stop him from envying the role of angels who were granted wings and were permitted to visit Earth as often as they needed—Guardian Angels and Messenger Angels (as well as some of the all-powerful Archangels); even though their faceless roles didn’t offer as much prestige as his did, they were gifted the privilege of actually interacting with humans.

“I can’t keep doing this,” Belphegor admitted.  “Coming down here, spending a few hours until the sun goes down, just watching them, you know, Beel?  I want to talk to them, learn about them, heck, I want to learn from them—”

“No, stop,” Beel interrupted.  His eyebrows were upturned in worry as he lifted his brother’s chin so he could look him in the eyes.  “Belphie, don’t tell me that you want to stay here forever—” He paused and glanced at the scroll that Belphegor had been holding.  His eyes widened as he made the connection. “—posing as a Messenger Angel.”

“Not forever, Beel,” Belphegor reassured.  “Just … a few weeks. Let’s say three, okay?”

Beelzebub massaged his forehead.  “Three weeks? That’s three weeks where you won’t be able to do your duties as the Angel of the Sabbath.  You can’t—no—no—Father would be incensed.”  He reached over to his brother and grabbed his arms.  “That’s it, I’m taking you back to the Celestial Realm right now.”

He shook off his brother’s hands.  “No, Beel.  I’m doing this.  I’ve already made up my mind.”  He sighed, closing his eyes. “Just … promise me you’ll support me in this?”

Beelzebub smiled.  “Okay!” He grabbed Belphegor’s shoulders and flapped his wings as if he hadn't said a word.

“What—Beel put me down!”  He squirmed and kicked his legs.  “I’m serious!” He opened his eyes and looked down as they flew higher and higher, farther and farther above the Earth’s surface.  Taking a deep breath, he stopped wriggling and held still. “Beel … please. Just three weeks. I promise I’ll have my curiosity sated by then—I’ll never come back to Earth after that.  I’ll never leave the Celestial Realm, I’ll—I’ll stay up and run the numbers of Sabbath-day-keepers, I—I won’t even think of humans—I swear!”  He sighed. “... I won’t ... even think of humans.”

Their ascent stopped.  He couldn’t see his twin’s facial expression from where he hung, but he could hear the weariness in his voice.  “Who’s going to take over the role of the Angel of the Sabbath when you’re gone?”

Belphegor’s heart lifted.  “Azazel and Telantes. They work under me, you remember?”

He could feel the body-shaking groan that left Beelzebub.  “Fine.” He flapped his wings as they descended.  “Three weeks. I’ll come find you at sunset at the end of them. Do you know where you’ll be then?”

“I’m not really sure,” Belphegor admitted.  As his feet came to rest on Earth’s surface, he looked at his brother.  “But you’ll come find me, right?”

Beelzebub beamed.  “Of course, I will, Belphie."

-

Beel didn’t find him, and three weeks turned into three moons, which turned into three years.  

Belphegor had run out of messages to deliver after the first week and had spent most of his time wandering from city to city, country to country, living in camps that welcomed him as a messenger of the gods.

That was the case, at least, until about a moon ago; he had taken copious amounts of some kind of liquid that a village had offered him as an act of hospitality called wine.  He didn’t know what had transpired after he had consumed the fourth wineskin, but he had woken up in a deserted land, with nothing but enormous snowdrifts as far as the eye could see. 

Belphegor had seen the storehouses laden with snow in the Celestial Realm but never had he ever imagined it to be so blisteringly cold.  The Earth was still new, and humans had yet to populate the area where he was in.  Ill-equipped for such weather, Belphegor had no choice but to trek through the snow, shivering from the cold with his teeth chattering and his lips an unbecoming shade of blue.  

Being an immortal angel with no fear of hypothermia or frostbite, the only way he could find respite from the frigid air that surrounded him was to sleep.  

And sleep he did.

For days, in fact, until all Belphegor knew was sleep.  There was something cozy about the pitch darkness that enveloped him when his eyes were closed; it was a surefire welcome as opposed to the freezing wind and subzero temperatures that greeted him when he was conscious.  Sleep was a comfort, wrapping him in momentary joy instead of the crushing sense of abandonment that bodied him if he dared to open his eyes.

That was, until, he felt something other than the howling wind waking him up.  

“Belphegor, Angel of the Sabbath,” someone said, shaking his practically frozen body, which was nestled deep in a snowdrift.

“Beel?”  Belphegor asked groggily, noticing that the silhouette glowed and had wings like an angel.

The silhouette offered him a hand to help him get up, which he hesitated before taking.  “No, my name is Jabril. I am a Messenger Angel.”

Belphegor rubbed his face with frost-covered hands and widened his eyes to take a better look at the figure, who he realized wore the standard white robes and blue sash of a Messenger Angel.  He looked at their surroundings. “Why are you here? There’s no one to deliver a message to around for miles.”

Jabril shook his head.  “No, Belphegor. I’m here to deliver a message to you.”  He produced a scroll hidden within his sash and unfurled it.

Belphegor choked as he noticed that it looked exactly like the scroll he had shown his twin years ago.  

Jabril pointed to a message box, which was stamped in purple with his seal.  “Belphegor, Angel of the Sabbath, has been summoned to the Almighty’s Throne Room,” he read.  Underneath it was written today’s date and the exact coordinates to Belphegor’s location.

He gulped.  His Father never invited His sons to his Throne Room unless it was for punishment.  And it wasn’t the typical “lecture” punishment—no, no. These types of punishments were much more severe.  There was a real chance that Belphegor could have his title ripped away from him or Hell, his very existence erased.  “He waited three years to summon me.  Why?”

“You know better than to question, Father,” Jabril reminded him as he latched onto Belphegor’s shoulders and began to flap his wings.  “But you know how He is. Making you wait this long to wonder when He was going to find you might just be part of your punishment.”

Belphegor stomach clenched as the two continued to fly higher and higher into the Celestial Realm.  “I hope that really is the case.” 

-

The first thing he noticed when he entered the Throne Room was not the pearlescent marble floors, the walls encrusted in brilliant diamond, or the immense moonstone chandeliers that hung from golden chains off the ceiling.  

It wasn’t the seraphim that loitered around His throne, their haunting praises rumbling in their throats.

It wasn’t even the blinding light, the glory of his Father, that shone from the throne itself.

The first thing he noticed was the music.  

Soothing notes—a melodic piece—a cry of melancholy and reassurance, resounded from the masterful fingers of Lucifer as he guided his harp into realms of music so beautiful that Belphegor, who knew better than to linger in the Throne Room entryway, had to stop and listen.

From the left side of his Father’s throne, Lucifer’s music was a constant: he produced a sound so beautiful that the Almighty could rarely go without it.  His fascination with Lucifer’s music had grown to a point where the two were nigh inseparable.  

The Archangel of Music’s eyes were closed and his face held an expression that was so serene that Belphegor had to wonder if Lucifer even realized who his audience was; he looked as if his only purpose was to coax the notes out of the instrument, regardless of who might be listening.  

Belphegor stood entranced, his eyelids feeling heavy with the comforting tones before he was pulled out of his reverie with the sound of someone clearing their throat.

“My son.”  His Father’s voice, like peals of thunder, reverberated through the expansive throne room.  “You may approach.”

He walked forward, his shoulders straight, and tried to keep his gaze ahead, but every time his peripheral vision grazed the bright glory of his Father, his eyes watered and he was forced to look down.  When he was several feet away from the throne, he fell prostrate on the ground.

“Father,” he greeted, his forehead resting on the tile.

“Arise, Belphegor, Angel of the Sabbath,” his Father said.  “Although, perhaps it is wise to address you also by your self-given role of Messenger Angel, as well.”

He peeled himself off the ground.  Knowing better than to stare at the luminous figure of God, he stood and averted his eyes toward the almost equally brilliant Lucifer, who played on as if there was no one else in the room.  “That’d be alright.”

“Do you know why you stand before Me today?”

He took a deep breath, drawing a miasma of calmness from the harp and the low chanting of the seraphim.  “I do.”

A moment later, his Father boomed, “Do you know why, my son, I created the Sabbath?”

“I do.”

“You are the expert angel, in this case, then; explain it to Me.”

“You created it, Father, to represent the day of rest You took after spending six days creating the universe, back in the Beginning.”

His Father’s glow diminished for a moment, and Belphegor cringed.  For every time his Father’s light faltered, it would return a moment later tenfold brighter, signifying his rage.  

There it was: the glorious light roared back with a fierceness that indeed rivaled what it had been before.  “And yet, this duty of protecting such a hallowed tradition is something you are willing to shirk, only to take upon the duties of a Messenger Angel —a duty that is not even yours?”

“Yes,” Belphegor gulped.

Strangely enough, the inferno that was his Father receded slightly and didn’t get brighter.  It seemed almost as if the Almighty was actually calming down.  His voice, now, sounded like a stream of water, without an ounce of malice.  “You did well in your duties as a Messenger Angel, Belphegor; I commend you for that.  But, I cannot overlook your slothfulness into the work that I assigned to you.  I gave you the title of Angel of the Sabbath for a reason, and I expect you to go back and continue to fulfill it.  The dismissal of your actual work comes off as laziness, and I cannot tolerate My day of holy rest being made into a day of indolence on your part.”

“But, Father, I—” Belphegor knew better than to argue with God, but he had spoken without thinking.

The brightness of his Father’s glory flared irritatedly at his act of insolence, and He spoke over Belphegor as if he hadn’t said a word.  “My son, I will withdraw my original punishment from you, provided you understand the error of your ways. Answer Me, Belphegor, do you regret what you did?”

For a moment, Belphegor was silent, as he thought back to the moons that he had spent on Earth.  There were no words to describe just how much he had enjoyed his stay there, despite the overwhelming agony of going without Beel.  Every day was a new adventure as he trotted from village to village, delivering messages that his Father had decided was necessary for certain humans to hear from his underlings.  Sure, not having the actual wings of a Messenger Angel made the role significantly harder, but he was so fully dedicated to this job that it made little difference to him. Even the miserable moon he had spent in frigid hell, no matter how torturous, was worth listening to the fascinating stories that he had heard from the humans and the experiences he had gleaned. 

So that is why, Belphegor blinked through the tears that came with looking straight at his Father’s glowing presence, and declared, “No.”

[lycorogue]

Love Square Fluff Week: Part 5 - AU Day

That’s right, folks. I’m still stubbornly working on those @lovesquarefluffweek​ prompts. It kept me nearly an extra week to decide what I wanted to do with the prompt ‘AU Day’, and only finally figured it out after thinking of an episode of Ouran High School Host Club.  It then kept another week - and about 5 different rewrites and major storytelling shifts - for me to actually get the darn thing figured out. I wanted to have the final 3 prompts completed before the end of February, but Life sucks, doesn���t it? I AM still going to work on those final 2 prompts - ‘Your Voice’ and ‘Reveal’ - and I hope to get at least one more up this upcoming week.

UPDATE (3/1/2020): You can now read this story at my other three normal locations: on AO3, on FFN, and on DA.

Without further ado, I revive my Fluff Week story for chapter 5: 

Making the Complicated Simple

Summary: The Love Square is as complicated as it’s always been, with Marinette only in love with Adrien, and Adrien only in love with Ladybug. Tikki confesses that she might have a solution to the whole problem, but it ended up making things even MORE complicated. Marinette just wants a simple solution to everything.

Word Count: 4881 Rating: General Audience Spoilers: Major - Rena Rouge and Carapace in Season 2, Puppeteer 2, and Zombizou  Minor - Frighteningale, Felix, and Dark Cupid Love Square Side: Adrienette and MariChat (sorta) Romance Level: Collapsing Love Square; attempts to woo

WARNING: This story is probably going to feel trippy until you “get” it.

There he was: Adrien. The love of Marinette's life, although she could never find a way of letting him know, despite her many attempts to do just that.

“Marinette?” Tikki chirped from Marinette's purse.

The teen kept staring longingly at the street poster of Adrien, debating how much trouble she'd be in if she swiped it. Adrien was posed a little seductively, his elbow resting on a counter just behind him, and his other hand running through his hair as he gave a cheeky grin to the camera; his eyes a little heavy. He filled the full poster, meaning he was also life-size. Marinette felt the temptation to lean into the public advertisement board outside their school and just place a long kiss on Poster-Adrien's lips. Germs and embarrassment kept her from following through.

“Marinette!” Tikki tried again. “Just go to him and tell him how you feel.”

“You mean like I did at the wax museum?” Marinette snarkily replied.

“Um.” Tikki sheepishly tucked herself further inside the purse. “Maybe not so dramatically? I'm sure a simple 'I really like you, Adrien' will work.”

“You know I can't do that.” Marinette slumped against the poster so her head was nestled against the arm Adrien was leaning on.

“Just try. Use the poster. Tell him how you feel, but, maybe keep it simple. Like you did in the Valentine, or when you made that video to try to cheer him up.”

“Tikki-” Marinette looked down at her kwami, but Tikki simply waved for her to go on. Looking around, Marinette discovered she was alone. The streets were surprisingly empty for such a sunny afternoon. She checked her phone to see if there was an akuma alert she somehow missed, but all she saw was a white screen with black font reading 'NOTHING WRONG'.

Shrugging it off, she deeply inhaled, plotting out what she'd say. Turning to the poster, Marinette became just as shy and warm as she normally would be around the actual Adrien.

“Adrien,” she started meekly, “I need to tell you something. I should have told you this long ago. I love you. I've loved you practically since we first met. You are amazing, and I hope you know that.”

“That was perfect, Marinette!”

Marinette looked at her friend upon Tikki's encouraging words. A smile slowly grew on her face, her cheeks pinking.

“It was very sweet,” Adrien's voice chimed in.

Marinette jumped, and looked up at the poster. Adrien had shifted in it. He was standing upright instead of leaning on the counter, and his one hand was rubbing the back of his neck instead of combing through his hair. His shoulders were hunched, and his cheeks were lightly flushed.

“A-Adrien?” Marinette squeaked in disbelief.

“It's a shame that I only think of you as a friend, but I appreciate how much you care about me.” Adrien stepped down from the poster, rested a hand on Marinette's shoulder, gave her another soft smile, and then walked over to his father's awaiting town car. He waved her goodbye, and climbed into the back seat.

Behind Marinette, the poster restored to Adrien seductively posing against a counter.

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

“I told you dozens of times already, Chat Noir. I'm in love with another boy.” Ladybug leapt from one roof to another, her partner racing beside her.

“I know, but isn't it hard to never be able to tell him who you really are? Meanwhile, I already know about your superheroing, M'lady.”

“First of all, Ladybug isn't who I really am. Which means it's actually you who doesn't know the real me.” She stopped to scan the horizon. A large dust cloud kicked up from a street about a kilometer away. That was where the akuma must be. She started off in that direction.

Chat Noir quickly followed. “That's very true, Bugaboo, but wouldn't it be better to be able to talk to your boyfriend about how stressful being a superhero and Guardian is? Plus, I would understand if our dates had to be cancelled because of akuma attacks.”

“We wouldn't be able to have dates. We don't know who the other is.”

“I set up that picnic on the rooftop once. We could do that as dates. And I don't mind not knowing who you are under the mask. I like a little mystery to spice up my relationships.” He landed beside her on another rooftop and winked.

She giggled despite herself, then waved him off with a stern arm slash through the air. “We don't have time for this, Chat Noir!” She scanned the area. It was a wreck, but there was no akumatized supervillain anywhere that she could see. She didn't spot any hurt civilians either, so that was a positive.

Behind her there was a loud rumble. She turned in time to see another large dust cloud.

“He moved this way, hurry up! And no more talk about us dating. You need to give that up, Chat Noir!”

Hooking a flag poll sticking out of a nearby building, she swung herself towards the villain. She never actually found it, but saved the day none-the-less.

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

“Okay, enough!” Tikki shouted as Marinette looked longingly at the Adrien collage on her desktop.

“Tikki? You okay?” Marinette pushed away from the desk as she turned to her irritated friend. She had never seen Tikki so riled up before.

“You've been in love with Adrien for months, and nothing has changed. Yet you keep turning Chat Noir down because you can't think of anyone besides Adrien. Clearly you aren't going to move on, are you?”

“N-no. No, I'm not, but-”

“No buts.” Tikki crossed her arms in front of her and shook her head. “That's all the answer I need.” She sighed audibly, hanging her head. “I didn't want to tell you this because I don't like using it, but as the Kwami of Creation, I can even create feelings. I can make Adrien fall in love with you if you really want me to.”

“You can?” Marinette leapt from her chair, scooping Tikki up and practically pressing the little being against her nose. “You truly can?”

“Yes.”

“Then, yes! Please, Tikki? Please? I'll do anything!”

“You do understand that if I do this you can never be sure if it's my magic that makes him love you or if he truly does. Are you prepared for that?”

“Tikki, it's Adrien! Please. I just want him to love me back. Then we can get married, and have three kids, and a hamster. And he'll be my personal model, proudly showing off his wife's amazing work. And then we'll retire to a private island and spend the second half of our lives just cuddling with each other. And-”

“Okay! Okay. I'll do it. You're lucky I love you, Marinette.” Tikki pouted as she gave her holder a long side-eye.

“Oh! Thank you, Tikki! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She placed a large kiss on Tikki's cheek and nuzzled her kwami.

“Fine. I'll be right back.” She giggled off the affection Marinette poured onto her, then zipped through the wall.

Almost instantly, Tikki dashed back through, in a panic.

“Tikki? What's wrong? Did someone see you?”

“This is bad. This is very bad. I'm sorry, Marinette. I didn't mean to.”

“Didn't mean to what?”

Above them, there was a tap on the skylight.

Marinette didn't remember climbing to the roof. She was just there, as if she had teleported to her balcony. She wasn't confused, though. She leaned against the railing and looked across the Seine at the Notre Dame.

“Good evening, my princess.” Chat Noir cooed behind her, making her jump.

“Evening, Kitty. What are you doing here?”

“I had something very important to tell you.” Chat Noir knelt before her and scooped up her hand with his left. In his right was a single red rose. “Marinette, I love you.”

“You- you what?” Marinette screeched.

“I don't know why I never saw it before.” He stood up, her hand still in his, and he inched closer. “You have hair dark as night, but eyes as vibrant as bluebells. You're kind and brave. You're amazing, Marinette.”

There was something about the softness in Chat Noir's voice that last sentence. He quickly flickered into Adrien before flashing back into Chat Noir. She blinked a few times, but the image of Adrien didn't return. As Marinette studied the artificially-green eyes hidden behind a black mask, she remembered exactly who it was that was confessing his love to her. It wasn't the boy of her dreams, like she would have wanted. It was her superhero partner. Marinette was baffled as to why he was confessing to her so out of the blue.

Then it came to her.

“You!” Marinette panicked, ripping her hand from his as she skirted her balcony. “You figured out- You discovered I'm-”

“In love with me too?” Chat Noir interrupted as he followed her around the small space.

“Wait. I'm-”

“I'm sorry, Marinette.” Tikki chirped from her hiding space. “I cast the love spell on him instead of Adrien by mistake.”

“He doesn't know about Ladybug?” Marinette didn't worry about whether or not Chat Noir would hear her. Her balcony was empty anyway.

“No. No, he gave up on his love for Ladybug in favor of you. That's part of the spell.”

“Oh.” Marinette wasn't sure how she'd handle Chat Noir's affections towards her civilian self, but at least being Ladybug would be easier.

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

“So what's the plan, L.B.?”

Ladybug was hiding with Chat Noir inside an alley. A red water bottle with black spots was cradled in her hands. She looked around the alley. Nothing. She poked her head out of their hiding spot slightly, scanned, and noticed an abandoned car with the driver's side door open. The nearby light post also looked promising, as did a small patch of sidewalk lining the Seine that had chips and some deterioration already in it.

“Almost got it. I just need to-” She continued scanning. There were a lot of potential pieces to the puzzle, but they didn't quite fit together yet.

“No problem.” Chat Noir took his stick off the small of his back, extended it, and whipped it around himself as he prepared to use it as a weapon. “I'll keep the akuma occupied. How much more time do you need?”

“Um...” She should have had the solution already. She just couldn't get it all to connect. She was distracted. “Spare me as much time as you can. I'll let you know once I've got it.”

“Works for me. Catch ya in a little bit, Ladybug.” No wink. No pun. No pet name. He just did a leaping forward roll out of the alleyway, swinging his stick like a bo staff around him to make sure the coast was clear. He then ran to his right.

He hadn't called her a pet name or otherwise flirted with her the whole attack. Chat Noir was still a little playful and liked showing off his skills, but it wasn't the same level as how he normally acted. He was mostly focused on the akuma. It was weird.

“Pound it.”

Ladybug held her fist out for Chat Noir. The water bottle wasn't in her hand anymore. A woman whose face Ladybug couldn't make out was kneeling in the middle of the street. The magical ladybugs had already returned the street lamp, car, and sidewalk to the way they were before.

“Until next time, Ladybug.” Chat Noir was more attentive of their Miraculouses beeping, and didn't bother trying to stick around despite the time-crunch, unlike how he normally would. He didn't call her 'M'lady' or bow or try to kiss her hand. He simply gave her a quick two-finger salute, then turned to leave.

“Wait!” It was weird. Having him not flirt with her was nice, but also felt very wrong.

“Something wrong, L.B.?”

Yes. Something was terribly wrong.

“You, uh, you didn't flirt or call me M'lady or Bugaboo or anything.”

“You don't like those things.” His eyes narrowed, and an eyebrow quirked up.

“True. I was- I guess I just wondered- You're okay, right?”

“More than okay.” He grabbed her hands, and everything felt normal finally. “Ladybug, I'm in love.”

“I know you are, but-”

“Marinette is just the most amazing girl, isn't she? Thank you for introducing us!”

“Wait, what?” So the spell truly did wipe Chat Noir's love for Ladybug and replaced it with undying devotion for Marinette instead.

“Don't worry, Ladybug. I'll be careful with my identity.” His ring beeped. “Whoops. Gotta go! Take care.” He again saluted her and dashed off.

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

“I fixed it.” Tikki phased through the window and landed on Marinette's lap.

“You what?”

“Adrien. I-”

There was a tap on the skylight, increasing in intensity and pace the longer Marinette ignored it. She glared at Tikki, who cringed as she shrugged.

“What is it, Chat Noir?” She was on her balcony, and he was again kneeling before her. His left hand on his heart, and a small bouquet of flowers in his right.

“For you, my fair princess in the high tower.” Chat Noir plucked one of the flowers out of the bouquet, and tucked it in her hair behind her ear. “Want me to make you a crown with the rest?” He winked. She hadn't realized how much she missed his winks.

“This is very sweet of you, Kitty-cat, but I'm sorry. I can't accept these.” She gently pushed the flowers away as she took a step back. “I- You see, I-”

Chat Noir's whole body slumped, and he studied his bouquet as if he could figure out why they were wrong. He had been so happy a couple of seconds ago, and now he was this poor, wounded thing. Marinette knew she should just tell him she loved someone else, but she couldn't find the heart to break him further.

“I can't date you because you're a superhero,” she blurted out. “I, uh, I appreciate the gift, and it means a lot to me that you care so much, but it wouldn't feel right. Ya know, without us being able to actually date or anything.”

“Who says we can't date?”

“Wait, what?” She thought she already had this discussion with Chat Noir as Ladybug. “I mean, it's obvious, isn't it? We can't very well hang out in public together. What if Hawkmoth finds out? I- I could be used against you somehow.”

“Do you need us to be out in public for our hang-outs to be dates? I can still spend time with you, can't I? And I can still show you Paris without anyone else seeing us.”

Marinette folded her arms and raised her eyebrows at him.

Without a word, Chat Noir smirked, and scooped her up in a bridal carry. He then pivoted, and placed her back on her feet, his hands protectively remained on her waist.

They were on the roof of the Notre Dame, watching the Seine drift around the sides, and the lights sparkle in the waters.

“What do you think of the view?” Chat Noir leaned close to Marinette's ear, sending a small chill across her neck.

“It's gorgeous.” As Marinette watched a small ferry float down the river, she leaned against the golden angel statue on the roof of the Palais Garnier. The impressive vocals of the opera performance permeated the glass dome.

“Amazing,” Marinette sighed.

“See?” Chat Noir playfully purred. “I'm even the sophisticated sort. Bet you weren't expecting that.”

Marinette giggled, and turned to look at Chat Noir. The glittering of Paris spread out before them from atop the Eiffel Tower. She walked around the observation deck outside of Gustave Eiffel’s office. It was certainly lovelier without a horde of kiss-obsessed “zombies” coming after them.

As if summoned, Chat Noir stood firm against the kissing zombies. His stick fully extended across the width of the balcony to hold back the dazed reach of the brainwashed citizens pouring out of the elevator. Chat Noir's cheek had lipstick marks, but he hadn't fallen under the spell yet.

“Chat Noir?” Marinette ran up to him, and cupped his cheek with a gloved hand; red with black spots.

“Don't worry. Everything will be fine.” He smiled at her, and the horde disappeared behind him. The lipstick marks remained, but he now stood tall before her, with soft, heavy-lidded eyes.

“You trust me that much?”

“More than you know.” He took her bare hands in his own.

“Probably.” She squeezed his hands, and waited to feel him squeeze back. “You're also a lot sweeter than I give you credit for. You're one of my best friends, Chat Noir, but- but I think you're more than that. I love Alya and Nino and all, and I trusted them with Miraculouses-” Marinette didn't care about identities anymore. This needed to be said, and nothing was going to hold her back. “-but I don't have the same bond with them as I do with you. I'm completely lost without my kitty. Even when I do have to fight alone, it's usually with the resolve to do whatever it takes to bring you back to me.”

She stepped towards him, and he to her. They pressed their foreheads together, each closing their eyes to fully experience the touch. The gentle rumble of the Seine beneath their feet accompanied the soft rattling of the Lover's Locks along the wired fencing of the Pont des Arts.

“So let me stay with you.” Chat Noir whispered. His voice was pleading, but with a strange bravado to it that nearly caused Marinette to whimper with yearning. “I just proved I can take us on dates without anyone else knowing. We have other ways of announcing our love to the world.”

They pulled away from each other, and Chat Noir held out an open padlock on his palm. 'CN + MD-C' were carved along the side. Her hand shaking, Marinette grabbed the keys to the padlock, and hurled them into the Seine. She turned back to Chat Noir, but the initials on the lock now read 'AA + MD-C'. His gloved hand was bare. Marinette hovered her hand over the lock, wanting so desperately to attach it to the fence.

Instead, she quickly closed Chat Noir's re-gloved fingers around the lock, and gently pushed his hand away. The sound of rushing water was replaced by gentle traffic. The Notre Dame was behind Chat Noir. They were back on Marinette's balcony.

“I'm sorry, Kitty. I can't. It's- it's not just about the dating. I should have just told you before, but- but I love someone else.” She screwed her eyes tightly shut. She couldn't bear to watch him get hurt again because of her.

“You- but-” His gasps choking down tears forced Marinette's eyes open. Chat Noir's cat ears folded low against his head, and his belt tail hung limp behind him. “But, everything you just said.”

“I know. If- if I didn't- If I hadn't already-”

Chat Noir's shoulders curled forward, and he wouldn't hold eye contact with her. “I wish you would consider me, just once.”

She reached out to cradle his face, and he leaned his cheek into the touch. As she raised his head, his mask and cat ears disappeared, and his bangs swept out of his face. Adrien looked at her with hurt, piercing eyes. Begging her to love him. She jumped, and dropped her hand from Adrien's face. His head lowered again; once more Chat Noir.

“Who?” he choked out, “Please at least tell me who it is you love.”

“It's not important-”

“It is to me. Please.”

Baby-doll eyes. Who taught him that she was weak to baby-doll eyes?

“Adrien Agreste,” she breathed. “But before you say anything, it's not because he's a model or rich or the son of my favorite fashion designer! It's because he's sweet, and funny, and cares for his friends.”

Chat Noir's cat ears shot up, and his belt tail prickled behind him. “But I- I saw him with Kagami. He loves her, not you! I'm the one who loves you!”

“That doesn't matter, Chat Noir.” Marinette's voice had a bite to it. “Of course all I want is for Adrien to love me, but whether or not he loves me back doesn't stop me from loving him.”

“Marinette?” A sweet voice called up from the street below.

“Oh, no.” Tikki muttered, and hid further inside Marinette's purse.

Marinette leaned over her balcony railing. Standing a few meters below, Adrien's face brightened upon seeing her.

“Marinette! Love of my life! Girl of my dreams!”

“I- uh- what?” Marinette held herself upright against the railing.

“May I come up, my love?” Adrien gestured towards the railing. When Marinette numbly nodded, he easily vaulted up and over the railing, landing beside her on the balcony.

“Hey!” Chat Noir snarled behind Marinette, reminding her that he was still around. “What are you doing here, blondie?”

“Why, confessing my undying love for Marinette, of course. What about you, you stray cat?” Adrien spat back at the superhero.

“Um...” Marinette tried to interject, still trying to process Adrien calling her the love of his life.

“I confessed my love for her already! You have Kagami, so give up on Marinette.”

“Uh, Chat Noir-” Marinette attempted to intervene again.

“And what about your love for Ladybug?” Adrien demanded. “We both know that Marinette truly loves me, so you stick with your partner and leave Marinette for me.”

“Actually-” Marinette ventured.

“I have no love for Ladybug! Who could be more perfect than Marinette? You need to stop pulling her along, Agreste, so that she can move on to a real man!” Chat Noir stepped closer to Adrien, who didn't flinch.

“Chat Noir, that's uncalled for-” Marinette pulled a little on Chat Noir's arm to try to separate the boys.

“I'm not pulling her along! You are, with this claim that you gave up on Ladybug.” Adrien moved closer to Chat Noir, unintentionally pinning Marinette between them. “Why are you teasing her like this? I thought you were better than that!”

“Adrien!” Marinette chided. “He's not doing anything like th-”

“I thought you were better than this! Keeping her hanging on so you can feel better about yourself, knowing that at least Marinette is pining over you.”

“Seriously?” Marinette demanded as she pushed back against both boys. “Are you two insane?”

“Prove to me how much you truly love her.” Chat Noir jumped away from Marinette, took his stick off his lower back, extended it, and twirled it impressively around his hand before taking a fighting stance. “Fight me for her!”

“Excuse me?” Marinette glared at Chat Noir. “What on earth are you thinking? First of all, no one is fighting over me! How archaic! Secondly, you're a superhero, and he's a civilian. What if you hurt him?”

“I accept.” Adrien stood in full fencing gear behind Marinette, his saber in hand, already prepared to lunge.

“You what?” Marinette screeched. “No! Nope! Nuh-uh! Not. Happening. You two need to stop this. Right now!”

“I am so, so sorry, Marinette.” Tikki's soft voice leaked from inside Marinette's purse. “I never meant for this to happen.”

“Yeah, well, now what am I gonna do, Tikki?”

The two boys charged each other, batting away the other's weapon with their own. Sparks flew off the metal clashing. Adrien kept firm footing, pushing Chat Noir back easily. The superhero went more unconventionally with his attack as he leapt onto the balcony railing, then flipped over Adrien's head, and landed behind him. Adrien was too quick, though, and easily countered Chat Noir's attack.

“Stop it!” Marinette screamed at them. “You two are acting ridiculous! Stop this right now!” She whipped her Ladybug yo-yo at each of them, knocking Chat Noir's stick, and then Adrien's saber, out of their hands and over the balcony railing. She then lassoed them together.

“Marinette?” The two asked slightly off sync of each other. It had an odd echo effect to it.

“Enough! I don't want any of this. I would never want someone to literally fight for me. You both should know me better than that! My emotions are mine and I will love whom I love regardless of some idiotic battle.” She released them from her yo-yo's string; the weapon vanishing as soon as she caught it.

“Then which one of us do you love?” Adrien stepped away from Chat Noir, but kept his distance from Marinette.

“Yes. Is it truly him?” Chat Noir stood tall beside his rival, gesturing towards Adrien. “Is there no way you could love me instead?”

“I-” Marinette stared at them both. “I love-” She couldn't say. She couldn't get out the name 'Adrien,' but she couldn't reject him either. “I want-” The world vanished, and it was just a white void with the three of them trapped inside it; standing on an invisible floor.

“What?” Chat Noir stepped closer. His voice was soft and gentle. Coaxing her to continue.

“What do you want, Marinette?” Adrien chimed in, his voice just as gently imploring.

“I just want this to be simple!” Marinette stomped, arms flailing. “Why can't I have both of you? Why can't you just be the same person?”

Both boys perked up, shock on their faces. They looked at each other, and held some silent conversation. In unison, they turned back towards Marinette.

“Your wish is our command,” they said with impeccable unison; their voices matching perfectly, as if only one. They faded together, blending into one person: Adrien with is swooped to the side bangs, but wearing Chat Noir's costume, just as he had for the Clara Nightingale music video try-out. He also had Chat Noir's cheeky grin, but awkwardly rubbed his neck exactly like Adrien did whenever he was unsure or nervous about something.

“Do you think I'm purr-fect just like this, Princess?” Adrien-Noir asked.

“Yes.” Marinette took his hands, and wrapped them around her waist. She then draped her own arms around his neck. “I wouldn't want any other but you.”

“That's all I need to hear.” He leaned down towards her, pulling her closer against him.

Marinette rolled slowly onto her toes, her lips reaching for his. Her fingers snaked into his shaggy hair, and his claws delicately scratched her back. Their eyes closed as their breaths mixed. Their lips brushed. The softness of his skin sending tingles through Marinette. She moved closer to press his mouth firmly against hers-

BZZZZZT. BZZZZZT. BZZZZZT.

Marinette bolted up in bed, flailing around for her phone.

BZZZZZT. BZZZZZT. BZZZZZT. BZZZ-whoomp.

Flopping back in bed, Marinette held her cell phone to her chest. She probably should get up and get ready for school, but she could afford one snooze.

She tried to grab at every image of her dream that lingered just on the edge of her mind. She wanted to thread them all back together. She remembered just starting to kiss Adrien when her alarm went off, but he was also not-Adrien. There was something more. Chat Noir was in her dream too. She vaguely recalled the different places he took her to prove they could still go on dates. She couldn't remember if she was wearing her Ladybug costume at the time, though.

There was a familiarity as well. Chat Noir and Adrien were somehow connected. Marinette couldn't recall how or why anymore, but she knew there was something that pulled them together in her dream.

“Tikki?” Marinette addressed the cork board covered in pictures of Adrien, instead of her kwami directly.

“Hmm?” Tikki sleepily replied.

“Can you make Adrien fall in love with me?”

“No.” Tikki was blunt, but her voice stayed kind and comforting. “Love is something very special, Marinette. Us kwamis can't do anything against such a powerful force. We cannot make anyone fall in love, but we also cannot destroy it.”

“Good.” Marinette ran a hand across one of Adrien's pictures, then she brought up the Ladyblog on her phone. She quickly scrolled to a picture of Chat Noir, and zoomed in to his playful smile. “Something tells me love is complicated enough without you getting involved.”

@discoveringmiraculouswriters

[drkineildwicks]

Eugene the meme, ladies and gentlemen.

Be kind and reblog, not repost, thanks! :)

From BH6/HTTYD: Ghost’s Fury

 You ever have a fic in your head, and it goes zipping along faster than you can get it written down and before you know it your mind’s on the third sequel and you’re scrambling to write everything down before you forget?  Hi.

More from that BH6/HTTYD fic Ghost’s Fury, basically a crossover/fusion fic where Book I kind of follows the plot and general concept of the first How to Train Your Dragon movie, but with some twists.  Start with the fact that our intrepid heroes are the dragons and the bad guys are the mercenary raiders whose village gets targeted on a regular basis by evil alpha dragons.  And that apparently, Book III includes a crossover with Tangled as well.

So to explain—I was working on Book III this week (really need to work on Book I but I digress), got on Tumblr to poke around the BH6 tags, and this thread got started, with the following bits sticking out to me after I had written them:

“And Eugene’s over here being this big ball of sunshine

Only temporarily phased by dragons and refers to Seashockers as Sparky Sea Pancakes

And basically being Hiccup in that HTTYD: Hidden World meme”

Which meant that yes, I had to do him. :D

Did this with my sketch-and-wash style and did the nice soft shading that I love, with the background being a simple gradient.  Had to hunt down an image of Hiccup actually doing that pose (got a gif for my trouble), and referenced the lighting in that scene in addition to the pose.  And then had to have a page of Eugene open, since this is my first time drawing him ever. ^^;  Eugene’s dressed in his captain of the guard uniform here, since that’s his capacity in the fic, with the addition of a sash that I wrote into the fic and didn’t give a second thought to if he actually had one. ^^;  Ah well he still looks fabulous. :D

   As I said in this deviation, this thing has three books and I have been typing like mad trying to get it all down.  Book I might have 18 consecutive chapters, 57+K words, and 124 pages; but Book II has 5 consecutive chapters, 81+K words, and 191 pages; while Book III has 8 consecutive chapters, 104+ words, and 235 pages.  To give a general idea of how hard this fic in particular and BH6 fanfic in general jumped on my head: I started this series last year. 

On the positive side—you can start reading Book I on FanFiction and AO3.  Updates are currently every Thursday until I get The Things We Do For Science rolling again—I need to get the Portal juices flowing…. 

And yes, I am aware of what canon for the franchises did—but being as I disagree with those canons, I have elected to ignore it.

And I seriously need to watch the Tangled series Disney would it kill you to stop showing the same five shows FOR ONE DAY!?!

Anywho--find it on DA Eclipse here, and don’t forget to reblog! :D

 Big Hero 6 © Disney

How to Train Your Dragon © DreamWorks

Tangled © Disney

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