#For some reason I couldn’t capture that horrified look he has on

[guess-i-do-art]

*BMO voice* I know that look. You just killed someone!

Redraw of this frame from the IDW comics: (can’t remember which volume whoops)

I’m not good a backgrounds :P

[fashionteahouse]

Can you pretty please please please make a Paul x reader but reader has the powers that Benjamin has where she can like control or manipulate the elements but she doesn’t find out about it until after Paul shifts for the first time (like a while after) and the first time she really like uses it without knowing is when there at a bond fire and it js keeps getting stronger and stronger but reader is like zoning out and can the reason for the bond fire be like old quil talking about the supernatural people (besides wolfs and vampires) and how they don’t exist anymore (side requests:I don’t really want her to be a vampire or related to Benjamin 😭😭) but if you could make this I would be so happy lol I love ur “out of your league” series sm honestly a lil sad it ended 😭but I love your stuff sm 💕💕💕💕if you write this ill be so happy❤️❤️

yes yes yes btw the out of your league series didn’t end bb im making a new part that’s coming out super soon ;) super glad you liked it lol 💜 thanks for the kind words ! much love to you hope you enjoy :)

hold that heat - paul x reader

The door closes with a slight click. You nod at Sam and Sam nods at you as Old Quil speaks in his ancient tone. Books of old handwriting were in display on the wooden table.

“It’s something we should talk about, Samuel.”

Sam nods.

You move past the dining room table and go further into the living room and run your fingers through Paul’s hair. He was sleeping.

You then grace his cheek with your finger. He blinks awake, his eyes bloodshot red.

“Oh, hey.” he says tiredly. He pulls you in closer and he’s trying to make you sit on his lap but you suggest, “Get some sleep.”

“I was awake.” he says, still making you sit snug on his lap.

“Yeah, sure. And I grew wings.” you say with a chuckle. He smiled a bit.

“What are they talking about in there?” you ask Paul in a hushed tone.

“I don’t know…I guess I was asleep.” he says.

You held tightly to Paul’s hand as you both make your way to the beach.

“Who shifted?”

“Nobody…”

“So, why are we having a private bonfire?” you ask.

“I don’t even know. Something about newfound journals or something. Sam didn’t really get into details.”

“You couldn’t peak in his mind?”

“He told us while we weren’t shifted.”

“Oh.” you say as the logs became closer in your view.

“Are you cold?” he asks as you both sat down. You weren’t but it was an excuse for him to touch you. You smile and nod. He pulled you close.

Old Quil and the elders were watching the fire as Old Quil’s soothing voice speaks to all of the imprints and wolves circling the fire.

“We discovered that our ancestors had came across beings who had lived amongst them. Beings who were not just shifters and cold ones.”

People hummed responses and noises of confusion. That’s all that they have known to hear about. Even as children.

“We found the old journals that were hidden, that captured the beings who lurked.”

“Are they still alive, grandpa?” Quil asks.

The elder man slowly shakes his head.

“No, they cease to exist, grandson. Now, it turns out mythical creatures aren’t limited at least in our world.”

You watched the fire. Your mind started to question what creatures could have existed.

The thought of them not existing anymore and how much of a relief it was. If any of them were to come back, you didn’t want Paul to be in danger. Just the thought of Paul being in danger made you upset inside. A rage began to build. You didn’t like the thought of Paul being hurt. If Paul was hurt, that meant that you would be hurt.

Paul shakes you, “Y/N!”

“Hm?” you say as you blink at him.

His face looked almost horrified.

“Are…Are you alright?” he asks.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t…” you start and your lighthearted smile faded when you realized that nobody was sitting down. They were all watching the flame of the fire simmer down. They stole glances at you and the fire.

“…I be..?” you trail to finish.

“You mean to tell me you didn’t notice the fire? You never moved even when it was growing.” Paul says to you.

“The fire grew?” you ask. Paul sighs a bit to himself before he nods at you.

“You were zoned out. You wouldn’t even respond to any of us calling your name.”

You raise a hand to your head, “Maybe….Maybe I was just tired.” you say but you had gotten your full rest the night before. Paul slowly shakes his head as he knew that wasn’t what it was.

Paul walks you both back to the car. The car ride home was quiet. He didn’t want to leave you alone, scared of what would happen.

Paul eventually had to leave, he kissed your forehead before he left out for patrol.

“Hello?” you answer the phone. Old Quil barely called you, you felt he must’ve been checking up on you.

“We need to talk.”

He hangs up and you stare at the phone.

You make your way to Old Quil’s home. You knock on his heavy door.

“Enter.”

You open the door and his house is dark.

“Old Quil?”

“In here, child.”

You come to where he’s sitting at the table. The only think that’s accompanying him besides the cane that was next to him, was an unlit candle.

“Yes?”

“Have a seat.” he invites.

You slowly sit down.

“Do you know what happened last night?”

“I have an idea…”

He silently encourages you to go on.

“All I knew was when you were talking about the mythical creatures that were documented in the old journals you have found, I started thinking hard. Next thing I know, Paul told me I zoned and..We went home.”

“What were you thinking about?” he questioned carefully.

You shrug a bit as you think back, “Just…Just how upset I would be if something were to happen with Paul.”

“Did you feel these emotions…Strongly?”

You mused as you were about to say your answer before finally nodding.

Old Quil then brings out a lighter, he clicks it on and lights the candle. A small flame dances steadily on the candle.

“Now, Paul being hurt? What would you have done?”

“I don’t want to imagine him being hurt.”

“But, you were thinking about it. Paul is a shifter. There isn’t much you can do.”

“There is.” you say and the flame in front of you acted as if you were trying to blow it out, but it still flames up strong.

“Why could a human like yourself, help Paul who is a shifter? Hm?”

“I would do something! Alright?!” you say getting irritated and the flame grew bigger than it was. You’re in shock as you never seen something like that before.

Old Quil blows it out.

“That’s what happened at the bonfire.” he says, there wasn’t any taunting in his words.

“Wha..?” you ask in stupor.

“We thought people were going to catch on fire. It kept growing and growing.” he says.

“So…What are you saying?”

“You zoning out as the fire grew, could’ve been you..Controlling it.”

“Me controlling fire?” you shake your head in disbelief, “No way.”

“Me and my grandson are going fishing tomorrow. You should join.”

“Ugh, fishing is boring.” you tell him.

Old Quil chuckles deeply, “I’m sure after tomorrow, you will disagree with your claim now.”

“See you tomorrow.” you tell him as you’re leaving out the door.

You let Paul do most of the talking, taking your time to eat your food.

That next morning, Quil knocks and Paul looked at you both.

“Since when do you fish?” he asks you with one eyebrow raised.

“Now.” you say with a slight shrug.

You help Quil help Old Quil get on Billy Black’s boat. Quil tells you to get on and he pushed you both into the water before hopping in himself.

You all row in the water and you notice that there’s no fishing equipment.

“I thought we were going fishing?” you say as the boat rocked softly.

Old Quil grins.

“So, we just came out to the water for no reason?” you ask in boredom.

“It’s for a reason.”

“What’s the reason grandpa?”

“Because of Y/N.”

“What?” you look to him.

“You told him we were going fishing?” Quil asks you.

“No.” you shake your head, “Tell him I didn’t.”

Old Quil only lets out a soft grin.

“Ugh.” you groan with a frown.

The boat rocks slightly and Quil gripped the boat. Old Quil sat steady.

“There isn’t even wind.” Quil says.

“It’s Y/N.” Old Quil says.

“Would you quit it?” you say getting frustrated. Mini waves rocked the boat which made Quil say, “Whoa. This is really weird now.”

“You controlled the fire. Now, it’s time to hold that heat and control the sea.” Old Quil says.

“What’s wrong with me?” you whisper.

“Wait…The fire was you?!” Quil asks in exclamation.

“I guess? I don’t know!” you say in panic and the boat rocked harder and you gripped on the boat.

“Control it Y/N.” Old Quil says.

“You’re saying it like I know how to! I don’t know how!”

The wind was starting to whirl.

“Y/N, make it stop!” Quil tells you.

“I don’t know how!!” you yell.

A large wave was coming in your direction, you and Quil widened your eyes and Old Quil was sitting in an eerily calm position.

You squeezed your eyes shut as you chant.

“I’m in control. I’m in control. I’m in control.” you let out a slow breath.

“Dammit, it’s getting closer!” Quil says.

You squeeze your eyes harder before blinking them back open and think back to the fire. It didn’t get bigger until you became upset. You think it’s the same for the wind and water.

You think of Paul and only Paul. The fun times together. You think what would’ve happened had Paul came. He would’ve cracked jokes. He would’ve-

“Y/N. Look.”

You snap out of your head, the water was still. The wind was still. It was as if nothing ever happened.

Old Quil sat there with a smirk.

“Let’s go back to the land grandson.”

“A-Alright”. Quil says and he taps you to let you know to help him row the boat.

You help Old Quil off of the boat as you all reach the shore.

“Well, that was fun.” Old Quil says.

“Well, that was freaky.”

“You turn into a wolf. Let’s not talk about freaky.” you tell Quil.

You had to strain to hear, but you heard the quiet chuckles of Old Quil.

[hopefulartandwriting]

Has Terry been manipulated since the very beginning?

I’ve had this theory for a long time now, ever since Terry entered the narrative. He’s an interesting and charming character, but his sudden inclusion in the story was jarring and an usual choice for the elf-hating Claudia. She may have caught genuine feelings, but I suspect Aaravos is the reason she began traveling with him in the first place. Here’s some evidence:

1. Time Skip/Aaravos whispers: After the time skip, we hear a vague explanation of the past two years from Claudia herself. She says that she had to ‘do things she never imagined she’d be able to do.’ The audience doesn’t get told what these things are, but we already know she’s the kind of person that will manipulate a child to find a baby deer, never revealing her plan to kill it and use it in a spell. Just like Aaravos, she does not lie, only omits important facts. She tells Viren that Aaravos is speaking to her, but we don’t know what he has been saying. All we know is that he sent her on a quest. Could it be that Aaravos knew an Earthblood elf like Terry would be the only person who could help them in the future? We know Aaravos is a manipulator, one who would not reveal that Terry is a spell component until the moment of truth. But is Claudia the kind of person who would do such a thing? Maybe she’s a victim too, but she does introduce Terry after saying ‘things couldn’t get any worse.’

2. Hatred of elves: It is no secret that Viren and his family start the narrative with a deep hatred and mistrust towards elves and dragons. Could this hatred be so deep that Claudia would manipulate the feelings of one to such a degree? Even after partnering with Terry, she expressed this hatred when her brother captured her in the uncharted forest. When Soren says he’s friends with elves, Claudia asks if they are really his friends or are they just “taking advantage of him.” Soren looks concerned and confused about this turn of phrase, because in his case, it is simply untrue. Could Claudia be speaking from her own truth, revealing her guilt at taking advantage of Terry?

3. The usefulness of an Earthblood elf:

Earthblood elves have helpful powers, and know how to reach the lair of Rex Igneous (where Claudia found the map). In this same lair, Terry scolds Claudia for her cruelty for the first time, revealing his boundaries. She listens to him, but soon shows she has not relented her cruelty completely. After the mission is over and Viren leaves, a grief-stricken Claudia leaves Terry behind, in an angry way that makes us think she’s going to hurt him. She leaves, only to come back soon after, looking weak and in pain. Claudia realized at some point that she can’t make it through the wilds of Xadia without him, especially if she’s injured. Her subsequent desire to stop dark magic may also reflect her desire to be with Terry in a real way, a way that’s only possible without Aaravos.

4. Viren’s nightmare/Going too far:

In his dark magic induced nightmare, K’ppar spoke to Viren, saying “I always knew you’d go far, but never knew how far you’d go to get there.” The image of a blue flower is significant in this dream, as it mirrors the blue flower the real-life Terry gives Claudia after building the dream-raft. Viren watches the flower wilt and die as Claudia steps further into the river of blood. This imagery reflects Viren’s fear for his daughter, that her desire for power will overcome the great love she has found. He was cold to Terry at first, but developed a warmth and connection to him throughout the journey. The theme of going too far for power permeates the narrative, and eventually Viren finds his limit. His story ends with a horrifying crossroad, where he’s asked to kill the innocent homunculus (and technically his son) to complete his own resurrection, a task he rejects. The task then falls to Claudia, who evidently has a higher threshold for vile things than her father.

5. Terry’s unfinished business:

Finally, I was pretty sure this would be the final moment of this theory, but it didn’t pan out exactly as I expected. After the scene where Aaravos kills the mother bird, Terry realizes he’s been used to read to map. He confronts Claudia about this deception, and then claims “she’s never done that before.” The speechless guilt on her face suggests another lie, that she has done this before. She’s been doing it since the start. The story didn’t end with Terry being used as a spell component, but some unusual choices make the intention of Aaravos unclear. For example, there was no need for Terry to witness the death of the bird, yet Aaravos makes sure he does, and then proceeds to confess more of Claudia’s deception. Maybe he just wants Terry out of the picture, but Claudia’s claim that he left due to ‘unfinished business’ gives me pause. I was certain he was the true key, the bigger feather. In the end he was not used in this way, but I think there is still more to Terry’s story.

What do you think?

[lovebitesandcrosses]

I have got to talk a little bit about S2 E8 and the insane end of season that was.

Spoiler warning obviously so scroll now if you don’t want that //

First of all the parallels between the beginning and end of episode, right? Start of episode, Louis considers himself as good as dead. Claudia is gone, he’s resigned to his fate. The rocks being still embedded in his feet is kind of an obvious metaphor to me and the way Armand dismisses it as a dramatic gesture and nothing more because he could remove them any time. End of episode Louis, circling his feet in his stone garden, almost like they’re still ‘circling round the insulating rocks of my death bed’, didn’t he say??? And are we forgetting that they slap you in the face with the fact that he considers this apartment basically a coffin? When he’s doing the end monologue I wonder how much of himself he feels died with Claudia, maybe he doesn’t care what any of them could do to him, maybe it all circles back to him still being mentally trapped in that coffin. But I think it goes deeper than that. We have hints of Akasha now and Lestat directly references having her blood, not being capable of dying if he doesn’t will it. It’s technically possible he was fully just fucking with Louis, it’s also possible the blood Louis got was a lot more diluted so it didn’t pass to him, but what I wonder is whether, during whatever reunion Louis and Lestat had that we didn’t get to see, Lestat gave Louis the information he’d been hiding from him. Some of it, anyway. Whether Louis also has this power, and that’s why Louis is completely fearless. He knows they couldn’t do shit to him. I imagine none of my theorising is super unique on this.

What I really want to point out from the beginning though, is what Daniel says in response to Armand’s comment to Louis. ‘And he’s been lying to you all these years for effect’. Daniel knows, and he knows what he’s doing. We know he had the script at this point, we know he’s put the pieces together that Louis didn’t and is waiting to drop the bomb. Just like Armand calls out after it happens. (And the acting is fucking incredible because the look Armand gives Daniel??? So many layers to this. How does he say so much.) This is the exact weird game playing chess move only makes sense hundreds of years later with hindsight shit that all the vampires in this god damn show seem to get off on more than actual sex. Moreover, Armand gets off on it and I think especially when he sees it in Daniel. Daniel has been doing the vampire shit before he ever fucking turned, he knows the game. He delights in getting to play it. I think this is a lot more of the reasoning behind Armand’s decision to turn Daniel than keeping his word to Louis but I want to talk more about all that in its own right at some point.

The cinematography/direction as the whole thing is unraveled at the reveal is absolutely brilliant to me. It kind of flawlessly captures the absolutely horrifying and creeping feeling of finally putting something together, watching it sneak up on you until it clicks and everything shatters. Seeing Daniel in dead silence staring at the ‘GET OUT. GET OUT NOW.’ message as Louis and Armand leave the room, realising he dropped this bomb on himself. When we look to the beginning of the episode right before this, Daniel is telling the agent he wants to survive this. The agent tells him he should be fearing Louis, not ‘the other one’. Ironically Louis clearly wants Daniel protected and would not harm him now, maybe purely out of desire to get that damn book out though, knowing Armand would hate it, I don’t know. Still, he turns Daniel anyway. I cannot wait to see more vampire Daniel btw, I always wonder how much more chill vampires would be when they turned after living out a more natural length of human lifespan first. In vampire media we don’t get to see a lot of older looking vampires that are just regular people who got turned after aging, we just see completely smooth looking young adults or completely shrivelled and withered up unwell old world monster vampires. We see some of how this has given Daniel more confidence possibly, he’s being completely himself he’s just going for it a bit harder I guess. It’s gonna be really interesting to get a more in depth look at his experience though, because wouldn’t it be the best possible time to turn in some ways? The power dynamic between him and the vampires is super weird because you can tell he knows he’s in over his head but is refusing to show it and he’s able to play their games on their level, until they get into the powers and shit and he’s forced to remember he cannot be in control here. But now he’s a vampire??? Shit is gonna get interesting.

Man I didn’t even get onto discussing the Louis/Lestat reunion we got and the insane amount of shit to read into there. This is already crazy long and it’s from my thoughts on literally just a few minutes, I have like 20 more paragraphs on this episode alone in me easily, so I’m probably going to tag these under ‘vamp analysis’ so people can filter them out or go find them easier.

[sabo-has-my-heart]

Haloo yellow helllloooooo

Is it alright if I ask for like Trafalgar Law x reader? It's up to you if you wanna make them male or female, I'm thinking of having a reader that can summon wings but with a price. Like the wings would literally rip out of their back, leaving a big scar and lots and lots of blood. It's not bad enough? The feathers are made of light steel but has sharp edges at the bottom. Making it more than painful... And I think it should be a curse so that you wouldn't have to think of a devil fruit? It's alr if you did, tho.

omg, this almost made my cry while I was writing it! As a note, Noroi means curse. I will also likely be creating the devil fruit I used in this as well as one based on her transformation (it sounds interesting to me). I made it more than just the wings, but there's reasoning for that... I'm gonna go cry now! (not really, but holy shit, this fic!)

Warnings: graphic depictions of injuries, blood, curses, angst, pain, hurt/comfort, GN!Reader

Word Count: 1675

     The first time he saw the scars, he was horrified. Two long, vertical lines down your back about where your shoulder blades were. Starting just above the shoulder blade and running down to your mid back. He wasn’t sure if the scars looked more like tears or cuts. You hadn’t answered him when he asked what they were from, you’d refused to tell him. After asking again and again, he began to assume that something horrific had happened to you, something you were afraid to talk about. Had you been captured and tortured? Had someone betrayed you? Had it been an accident of some sort? Did you even remember what had happened? Maybe it was so traumatic that your mind blocked it out, perhaps it was painful to remember. So he stopped asking, if it was traumatic, he didn’t want to risk an outburst or break down. 

     You remembered how it had happened, how you’d gotten this curse. A devil fruit, yet it wasn’t you who’d eaten it. The Noroi Noroi no mi. It allowed the user to bestow curses upon other people. Some minor, some… some like yours. Large metal wings, sharp blades that cut through your skin as they tore out of your back. Light weight yet strong, capable of propelling you hundreds, sometimes even thousands of feet in the air. The pain was like nothing you’d ever imagined before, the first time they’d sheared through your skin, you’d screamed in pain, falling to the ground. You’d lost consciousness, the pain too much for your mind to handle. You didn’t pass out from the pain anymore, but it still made you cry out in pain, it was still a blinding pain that left you shaking. With your wings fresh from your back, you looked like an angel of war, metal wings glinting in the sunlight as fresh blood dripped from the sharp tips of the ‘feathers’. Yet the curse didn’t stop there. With each activation, the curse progressed, as if to make your life an endless hell, maybe to ensure that you’d never just learn to deal with the pain. Metal that ripped out of your hair line, forming a beautiful silver circlet, yet dripped with blood, the red liquid running is streams down your face. A burning in your eyes, like acid, as they changed into an unnaturally bright blue, the whites turning a a lustrous ivory, like pearls. With each activation of your curse, you looked more and more like some sort of twisted, bloodstained angel of war. All you could think was it was only a matter of time before armor sprouted from your limbs, a cuirass of steel protecting your chest, until your body dripped with blood and you became a ‘true angel’ of blood and steel. Your worse nightmare. Horrific pain as the metal ripped through every part of your body, dripping with blood as people looked on in fear. What would the others think? What would Law think? Would they push you away? Or perhaps they might comfort you? Would they look at you in horror? Or would their looks turn to ones of sympathy? You couldn’t take that chance. You couldn’t risk losing those you loved most. 

     Now, however, you risked losing them anyway. Should you transform, you risked losing them as they pushed you away; but if you did nothing, you risked them dying and losing them for good, risked knowing that they died when you could have saved them. So with a pained cry, you allowed the metal to tear from your skin. Once more dripping with blood, you faced your enemies. Everyone’s eyes were on you, the scream, the transformation, drawing their attention. Pauldrons of metal covered your shoulders, your blood covered circlet dripping with blood, your wings glinting in the sunlight as the red liquid dripped from the tips to the ground. Unnaturally blue eyes glared at your enemies as the hilt of a blade formed at your waist. You could feel the metal springing from your skin in the same horrific fashion, yet this time, you didn’t care. This time, you took hold of the metal willingly, this time, you pulled it from your body as if the pain didn’t matter, as if what you had become was trivial. It left a gash in your hip, the hilt burned like red hot fire against your hand as you charged forward. An angel of war? No. A demon of blood, steel, and fury as you cut your enemies down. A metal blade, sharper than any man made sword, sharper than even Law’s scalpels or feather blades. Piercing and slashing through your enemies and suddenly, you were covered in blood once more, yet this blood was not your own. Chest heaving, you dropped the blade at your feet. All around you, bodies littered the ground, blood watering the earth and pooling at your feet. You closed your eyes as tears burned behind your eye lids. It was time to face the others, time to face their horrified stares and terrified faces. But you refused to do so as you were now, refused to face them as the demonic creature you’d become. The wings retracted, the blade on the ground seemed to gain a mind of its own as it turned into liquid metal and shot into your calf. Pauldrons pulled back into your skin, and circlet slipped back into your head. But more had formed during your battle. Blood stained vambraces folded back into your forearms and a gold trimmed tasset slipped into your waist. Your clothes had been shredded by the metal that had sprouted from your body and was covered in your blood. The wounds caused by the curse quickly healed, leaving more scarring. It was a bitter sweet ability of the curse. It allowed you to heal quickly, making wounding you difficult. Because if you bled out, the curse could no longer take hold of you. The palm of your hand now had burn scars and your eyes still felt like they were covered in acid. Still, still you turned to them. Their looks were ones of horror and sympathy, they cradled their own wounds, yet they stood up, hurrying over to you. Bepo was the first to reach you, pulling you close and wrapping his large arms around you, sobbing as he tried to say something that was lost in the sounds of his crying. Penguin and Shachi were soon wrapped around you as well, muttering apologies and words of comfort. Soon the entire crew minus Law was holding you in a group hug, words of comfort surrounding you. Tears ran down your cheeks, yet these were not tears of pain. They were tears of relief. They didn’t hate you, they weren’t turning you away. They were pulling you closer. You lost track of how long they held you before you all returned to the Polar Tang, the crew offering to cook, help you clean up, let you rest, whatever you wanted. It was shortly after you’d entered your room, before you got a chance to shower that Law appeared in your room. The two of you simply stood there in silence. He was the one you were most afraid of right now. Would he leave you? Would he hate you? Would he be angry at you for keeping it a secret? Law walked over to you in silence, gently taking your arm and examining the new scars.

     “Now I know why you didn’t tell me… are you… are you still in pain?” he asked, eyes looking at you in concern. 

     “They’re… tender. They will be for a few days.” you admitted, looking away from him. Law gently wiped some blood away from your arm with his sleeve before pressing a soft kiss to the new scar that ran up your entire forearm.

     “From now on, I’ll take care of you, You’ll never have to use this ability again. I… I won’t let you. As your captain, I forbid you from using it again, no matter the situation.” he said sternly, yet you could tell that his words were simply out of worry for your well-being. You could only nod as you stared into his eyes. While they were filled with sympathy and concern, they also shone with love. He loved you too much to let this happen to you again.

     “Let me help you.” he said softly, gently pulling the remains of your blood soaked clothes from your body before gently carrying you to the shower. He was more gentle with you than ever as he carefully washed the blood from your body, almost as if he was afraid his touch would tear your skin open again. Once you were clean and in fresh clothes, he ‘shambles’ed you to the dining room, the crew already having made your favorite. While they wanted to be there for you, they’d all agreed to leave you be, not wanting to make you feel like a freak by standing there and staring at you or asking you questions. They had questions, they wanted to care for you, but they knew it would be best if they treated you like normal, as if nothing had happened. To treat you like always so that you knew that nothing had changed, you hadn’t changed in their eyes. In a way, it was true, you hadn’t changed in their eyes. You were still you, still the same person who cared about them, still the same person they’d always cared for, who was part of their little family. They’d let you rest more often, they’d treat you with more care, they’d protect you more, but you were still you, even with your curse. Law would be the same. He’d treat you like he always had, yet at the same time, he’d be more careful with you, be softer with you. But you knew it was only because they didn’t want you to have to suffer that pain again. Only because they loved you. They still loved you. 

[uni-writes-things]

Whumptober Day 2! Prompt: “All the light’s going dark and my hope’s destroyed.” Animal trap | Captivity | “No one will find you.”

Legend was a bunny. He was in his bunny form. How though, he has no fucking idea. One minute he was in his bedroll, sound asleep (for the first time) and then the next his feet were paws and he was pink, sitting in the middle of a road. His initial thoughts were of course, panic, and how did this happen? The chain weren’t there, only the bunny and the crisp air. His ears twitched and picked up footsteps but when he checked his surroundings there was no sign of a living thing. An arrow slid into the ground beside him and he startled. A profound fear gripped him and wouldn’t let go no matter how many times the veteran had attempted to reassure himself. He was a hero of courage not a bunny goddess-damnit. A sweet smell caught his attention for no reason. Legend was trying so hard not to let his bunny side take over, but the smell was just so good.

He saw a fucking apple and then realized that was what his bunny side was yearning for. He tried to walk away, he really did, because it was blatantly obvious that it was a trap. But his bunny form had a mind of its own and he found himself leaping towards the fruit. The vet picked the apple up and resisted the urge to bite into it. What was he doing? Why was this apple so tempting? It’s just an apple. Suddenly there was a sharp pain in his back and he flopped to the ground, a red liquid pooling below him. Damnit Legend, what were you thinking?! “Heh heh, this ones quite th’ catch. Never seen a pink rabbit before, maybe it’ll sell fer a lot!” A gruff and cold voice chuckled deeply.

“I bet so. I betcha no one’s eva seen a pink one like dis!” Another voice sounded and clammy hands scooped him up.

Legend was horrified. No, no, no this couldn’t be happening! He hasn’t even figured out why he got into his bunny form, or where his brothers went, he had no time to get captured! He struggled weakly against his captors, trying to ignore the agony that was spreading through him. “Yer okay little bunny, we’re doing ya a favour, gettin’ ya a home!” The one that was holding him tried to assure.

The vet did NOT want a home. He was not a bunny! “This one’ll sell fer 1000 rupees, guaranteed!” The gruff voice cackled.

Black spots danced through his vision as he fell unconscious. His last thoughts were that he wasn’t going to make it back to his fellow heroes. He had failed.

-/-

“Andrew don’t be too hard on th’ little lad. We want ‘im ta live.” The gruff voice from earlier, was the first thing Legend heard when he awakened.

Looking around he was in a small cage, a very cramped one. Glancing through the bars he was able to see that he was in a room. “Yeah, yeah I know Charlie.” The one called Andrew responded.

“Oh he’s awake! We should git ‘im that apple. We want the creature to trust us, ay?” Charlie grinned.

“Yup, let’s show ‘im how kind we can be.” Andrew sighed, not really sounding sincere.

Legend wouldn’t deny it, he was anxious. He was powerless in his bunny form, he hadn’t kept the ability to talk, and he didn’t have the chain to help him. Last time he was a bunny, he had Sky and Twilight, and he is very grateful for them. But, now, he was in a dangerous situation without anyone but the jerks that took him. The veteran didn’t know Andrew or Charlie, but he just hoped they wouldn’t hurt him. If Legend was sold, then he might be able to run away and find Sky, get the Master Sword. But right now, he couldn’t do anything but listen to the men talk. “Here ya go little thing.” Charlie shoved a little slice of an apple through the cage.

The vet didn’t know if he trusted this apple to just be an apple. He warily sniffed at it, sensing some sort of thing injected into it. Of course. “C’mon lil guy! It’s food!” Andrew urged.

The veteran did not want to get poisoned, no thank you. He leaned as far away as he could from the apple slice, even though his bunny side was again yearning for an apple slice. “Does it not want ta eat?” Charlie frowned.

“Agh, just eat th’ damn thing already bunny!” Andrew shook the cage violently, frustration clear in his tone.

Anger issues. That caused the hoarder to slide down and his mouth slammed into the apple slice, making him inhale it. The veteran was chanting ‘no’ in his head, trying to stay awake as whatever was in the apple slice attempted to make him sleep. But eventually he had to give in, no strength left whatsoever. His vision was darkening, and he felt like he had no hope. If he was sold and managed to escape, he had no idea where the chain were. There was that voice in his head that kept nagging at him, saying that no one would want him anyway.

‘No one will find you’

-/-

When the veteran woke once more he was still in that cage, but the cage was moving in a wagon. Little bumps in the road rang through his ears and he felt nauseous. What was he—oh right. That food that he had unintentionally digested, put him to sleep. Why though? Was the question perturbing him. “Who wants ta see a pink bunny? He’s intelligent!” Charlie shouted, startling Legend.

Who would fall for that? What kind of business skills were those? Legend scowled, even a rock could sell stuff better than this man. But still there was a little girl that walked up with her mother. “Mommy look!” The little girl ran up and peered in the cage.

The mother looked extremely tired as she walked over. “Kassie, we don’t have time for this.”

“But Moooooom~” The little girl, presumably Kassie, whined.

“Are ya sure this ain’t worth yer time? This lil’ guy is pretty cheap.” Charlie grinned, slamming his fists on the cage for no real reason, making Legend flinch.

“Can I get him, please Mom? Pleeeeease?” Kassie begged.

The mother sighed. “How much is the bunny?”

“Well, 1000 rupees ‘f course! Ma buddy and I worked very hard ta get ‘im settled.” Charlie answered.

Legend wanted to growl, but it would likely come out as a squeak or something stupid like that. “That’s not cheap…” The mother scowled, rightfully upset at the mislead.

“Well ya won’t find anythin’ cheaper then this! Plus, it’s goin’ to a good cause, fer uh…findin’ animals homes!” Charlie shrugged.

“Kassie, how much rupees do you have?” The mother turned to the little girl.

“Uhmmmm…I think 15 green ones.” Kassie responded.

“Hmmmm…if we get this you will have to take care of the bunny, and do some extra chores. You hear me?” The mother considered.

“I will Mom, I will!” Kassie promised.

The mother sighed again and handed over the rupees, as Charlie nodded along. “Here ya are, he’s a lil’ feisty by the’ way.” Andrew picked up the cage, jostling the veteran a lot before deciding to hand it to Kassie.

The little girl opened the damned cage and Legend saw his chance. He leaped out and began running feeling his back sting a lot, but kept going. He ignored the shouts of Charlie as he heard footsteps behind him and ran even faster. But soon there were arms wrapping around him, and he wrestled with the arms that were restraining him, but his struggling was in vain. “Nice try bud, but we got 1000 rupees, we ain’t gonna let you run away.” Andrew’s voice thundered in his bunny ears.

He felt tears pricking at his eyes, so badly wanting to sob into one of his’s brother’s shoulders. He hated being trapped, and the veteran knew that little girl’s didn’t play nicely with things they used as toys. He was so terrified that this Kassie would hurt him. Andrew handed him off to the mother instead, where the hoarder desperately tried to worm his way out of the situation. He even tried biting the woman, but the mother held on tight and carried the pink bunny away. He slumped and took with a bitter understanding that he would be stuck as a bunny for the rest of his life, as a pet. He had no hope left as he closed his eyes shut.

[nagito-kissmaeda]

Mother May I Sleep with Danger - Servant!Nagito Komaeda x Reader

ミ☆ not a request, I’m just really horny for servant asjdkfkflddj

Summary: future foundation reader is kidnapped by the WOH and figures if they’re going to die anyway……..

Contains: Explicit Sexual Content, Fem reader, no pronouns used

Word Count: 3589

The foundation is not going to be happy with you.

Not only did you balls up your mission into Towa City, but now your uniform is ripped all to hell, basically slashed to ribbons by the Monokuma who managed to overpower you. It was your new set too, all fresh and clean. This mess is going to get you seriously mocked by the men in operations when you get back.

That is if the foundation even lets you back onto the helicopter after this disaster of a mission.

You huff and turn to face the man lurking in the far corner of your cell. He’s been standing there for the past 20 minutes, just shaking and staring at you with wide grey eyes. You had been planning to just ignore him until he left, but he isnt leaving, “What do you want?”

He doesn’t answer, just wraps his arms around himself and starts giggling.

“Are you just going to stand there all day?” You snap, crossing your arms and glaring up at him from your seat on the floor, “If you’re going to kill me just get it over with, the anticipation has all but worn off and I'm just starting to get angry.”

“Ah...kill you?” He giggles again. His voice is a lot gentler than you had been expecting. What with the manic eyes and tangled hair. You were prepared for him to be downright menacing. He sucks in a breath and levels his gaze with you, “I wouldn't kill you. That would be waste.” The chain around his throat jangles as he gestures at you with his mitted hand, knees wobbling like they are barely strong enough to keep him upright, “Honestly, a bug like myself killing you would help no one. It would be utterly disappointing for both sides, and what is the point in that? No despair...no hope...ahhhhaaaa…” he brings the cuff of his jacket up to his mouth and starts gnawing on it, “it would be completely pointless...mm?”

“Why haven't the children killed you?” Your brows draw together, watching his balance shifting from foot to foot, “You must be at least eighteen, right?”

He wheezes, throwing one shoulder up in a haphazard shrug, “Older. I think. I honestly can’t remember.”

For some reason. A terrible little voice in the back of your head whispers - Hey, at least it’s legal! You balk at your own lack of decorum. The man is still currently chewing so furiously on his sleeve that drool has started rolling down his chin, his hair is so matted that if you dug your fingers into it you would probably never get them out again. You are smart enough to take one look at this wheezing, sweating, drooling mess of a man and think: gross.

Unfortunately, your cunt is dumb enough to disagree.

Maybe it’s because you’re going to die anyway. Maybe it’s because his black jeans cling very tightly to his thighs. Maybe you just have terrible taste in men. It doesn’t matter why, but for some godforsaken reason, you are attracted to him.

“So. Are they just keeping you around as a--” you examine him again, eyes locking on the chain dangling down by his knees. (why does looking at that make you want to rub your thighs together?) “--a...pet?”

He laughs again, finally letting the sleeve he was chewing on drop back down to his side, “A fitting position for someone like me, but no. I am their servant.” The man takes a step towards you, the chain jangles in ways that your insides apparently find arousing. You swallow, “I came to this town to seek refuge, but...well...you can see how that turned out.” he laughs again, shoulders quaking with the noise. You can help but notice the stiff way the hand obscured by his mitt is moving. Like he doesn't have any real control over it.

“Ah.” You say, eyes still focussed on the hand you cannot see, but can imagine perfectly well. That hand, along with his age, seem to only lead to one conclusion, “You’re one of the remnants of despair, aren’t you?”

He grins at you, manic, all sharp teeth and wild eyes, taking another step closer to you “Oh! I didn’t expect you to recognise common garbage like me…” he makes a noise that is dangerously close to being a moan, before exclaiming, “you’re right, I am!” His grin turns syrupy in a way that you find yourself enjoying much more than you should. His eyes hooded as he breathes, “does that disgust you? Does my very presence make you want to spit in my face?”

The way he speaks, his soft lilting tone. It almost sounds like he is crooning, purring. You shift on the floor, trying to ignore the wetness pooling between your legs. You have gone from wanting to fuck a regular crazy man, to wanting to fuck a crazy man literally out for capture by the company you work for.

“Listen.” You start, suddenly nervous, “The foundation is looking for you, all of you. But Togami in the other cell and I are working with-”

Your words catch in your throat when he comes barreling towards you and claps his bare hand over your mouth. His eyes are wild when they meet yours, pupils little more than pinpricks in dark swirling circles that dig deep inside of you, his voice drops to a terrifying whisper, “No. Not yet...I have important work I must do and you will not keep me from it.”

“We want to help.” You hiss into the meat of his palm. Horrified at how you feel the jagged grin that tugs at his mouth deep in your stomach. His mouth pulls so wide that his lips tear and bleed, drool pooling at the corners of his mouth and dripping over his lips when he starts laughing again, loud and manic, wheezing and decrepit.

“You truly are an embodiment of hope. You think you can...ah...haha…” He wheezes again, tangled white hair falling over his face and he tries to hold in a laugh, “You truly think you can help me? What a feat that would be! Endlessly impressive I’m sure” He leans in closer to you, eyes calm once again, hooded and piercing, “Thank you for your kindness, but I assure you. It will not be so simple.”

His face is so close to yours now, you can feel his breath on your face, see the bags under his eyes and the way his papery skin has wrinkled around the corners of his mouth. He looks half dead, but under that. You see soft skin, pretty long eyelashes and what are undoubtedly the most stunning eyes you have ever seen. You are going to die soon anyway, so you dont stop yourself from whispering, “You were very pretty once. Weren’t you?”

His lips curl into a smile, but his eyes look almost sad, “Most would disagree.”

“Hm. That’s a shame.” you whisper, trying to ignore the seductive tone you have adopted, “I think you’re still quite pretty now.”

He lets out a wheezing giggle, dropping down into a crouch in front of you and resting his hands on his knees, “Are you trying to win me over with words of kindness? With sharp lies wrapped in goose down?”

They aren't lies, but you can tell he won't believe you even if you try to convince him, “Just tell me what you want with me.”

“What do I want with you?” He breathes, reaching out a shaky hand and running his knuckles down your cheek. One side of his mouth quirks up in a smile at the feeling of your skin, “I don’t want anything...eheh...I just...I just want to watch. I want to see what you will do, I want to see you fight.”

“I’d be able to fight better if you let me out of the cell.”

“Aha. Cute.” He drags his tongue over his lower lip, “But wouldn't it be so much more satisfying to watch you overcome impossible odds? For your hope to overcome the utmost despair?” His head tilts to the side and he smiles, “I have faith in you. I’ll be cheering you on, just dont expect my help.”

The more he talks, the less you understand him. At this point you're barely even listening to his words and are just letting the soft tones of his voice wash over you, his eyes are blinding, it feels like he is staring straight through you. The door of the cell is still locked, Togami is still far enough away that he couldn't hear you if you screamed. Help won't be coming for a long time if it is even coming at all.

And you want to fuck a remnant of despair.

“What’s your name, pretty boy?” you whisper, reaching out a hand to push some of his tangled hair away from his face.

He stills, for a moment. The panic in his eyes is so powerful that even his ceaseless shivering stops. He blinks slowly, unsurely, and his lips pull up in a smile, “My pathetic name isn't even worthy of being heard by someone like you.” he breathes, leaning into your hand as it comes to rest on his cheek, “Servant will suffice.”

You make an upset noise, sitting up on your knees and leaning in closer to his face. His eyes aren’t grey, you realise, they’re green, “Are you sure? I was hoping for something a little more...intimate.”

“Intimate…” he whispers, almost like he is testing how the word tastes on his tongue. His face is so close to yours now, your hand reaches around and curls into the mess of hair on the back of his head. He starts shivering again, a wheezy laugh escaping his mouth almost breathlessly as he (with a surprising amount of tenderness) lowers you down to lay on the hard concrete below, “Is...this what you mean?”

Your heart is racing. He looms above you, knees planted firmly on either side of your hips. His hair tumbles down over his face, obscuring his beautiful green eyes in shadow and you feel your hips twitch upward at even the anticipation of his touch.

“Exactly what I mean.” you purr, slowly sliding your hand down the length of his chain. He quivers above you, a broken moan leaves his mouth when you give it a gentle tug. Your lips curl into a predatory smirk, and then you tug it again, hard.

His mouth collides with yours and a shocked gasp escapes his throat, his arms shake at your sides, desperate and almost panicked. It only takes a moment for him to soften, returning the kiss with a newfound passion, moaning deep and loud into your mouth and leaning into you. His kisses feel a little messy and unpracticed, but he makes up for it with enthusiasm. Choking on a groan when you bury a hand in his hair and pull tight on the strands.

He moves away from your mouth, trailing down the side of your throat and sucking hard on your skin. You can feel his breath hot and heavy in your ear as his tongue lathes over your flesh, teeth sinking in hard into the join between your throat and shoulder.

A moan breaks free from your mouth, and your hips buck upward high enough to meet Servant’s and you can feel his gasp against your skin. He grinds his hips down on yours in response, sucking in a breath at the friction.

“This…this really is my lucky day…” he whines, leaning back on his heels and undoing the few surviving buttons on your shirt. Your bra is conservative, skin toned and unflattering. It’s designed for missions out into the wastes of the world, not for whatever is happening right now.

Servant doesn’t seem to mind, running his tongue across his chapped lower lip, eyes blown wide as he drinks in your form. A shudder runs through him, and he swallows, “may I?”

You nod, “please…touch me…”

He giggles, gripping your breasts in both of his hands (though the hand hidden by the mitt is only really able to press down, but he is trying his best.) before burying his face between them, sighing happily against your skin. You choke on a moan when you feel his tongue run up your cleavage, hands squeezing almost desperately.

“Servant…” you whisper, “my bra, take it off…”

He leans up, a shy smile on his face, “Ah, I would like to! But uh, as I’m sure you know-“ he waves at you with his mitted hand, “-I can’t really use these fingers”

The thought of the dead hand attached at his forearm should deter you, but it doesn’t. You sit up just enough to unclasp your bra, chucking it off into the corner of the cell before grabbing Servant’s bare hand and pressing it to your breast. Servant chokes, brushing his thumb over your nipple.

Your breath hitches, and he is emboldened enough to take the other into his mouth. Your back instinctively arches upward, chasing the warmth of his mouth encasing your nipple, the finger and thumb on his bare hand pinching at twitching the other. His tongue is wet and sloppy, this is no precision to his licks and sucks. The servant is running on animalistic desperation alone.

Luckily, that doesn’t bother you much at all.

The cool metal of the chain presses down hard on your bare stomach, his mitt is scratchy where that hand is pressed firmly to your waist, not able to grab, but it still reads as possessive. You can feel him panting and moaning against your breast, his tangled white hair brushing against your skin in a way that makes you shiver. Your sex is aching, the way he furiously circles his tongue around your nipple feels almost feral and it makes you want more.

You hook your leg around the back of his knees, and use the leverage to flip the both of you over. Servant gasps when his back hits the ground. You grin, physical training at the Future Foundation is finally coming in handy.

Servant looks like a perfect ruin beneath you. His hair spread out on the hard concrete, eyes glassy with desire, cheeks bright red and mouth wet with saliva. You laugh, you can feel him quivering below you. The quivering grows worse when you tug his black jacket down off his shoulders and start working his shirt up and over his head. He is so thin, sickly, shaking, barely even there. All jutting bones and paper thin skin.

“Are they feeding you?” you find yourself asking quite seriously.

Servant giggles, “They’re children. I feed myself when I find the time.”

“You don't often find the time, do you?” he sucks in a breath when the tip of your finger runs up over his exposed ribs. You lean down and press a hot kiss to his collarbone, “Are you sure that you’ll have enough energy for this?”

“Ehehe...Don’t concern yourself with that-“ he leans up enough to lick all the way up the length of your throat, “I can be quite tenacious when required”

You don't doubt it. Leaning back down to kiss him firmly, licking into his open mouth as your hands trail down his torso and to the button on his jeans. He whines loudly when you undo the zipper and wrap your fist around the hardness in his boxers. His hips stutter up into your grip and you smile against his lips. He’s cute. It’s cute how desperate he is. You sit up, grinding your hips down against his, moaning aloud at the feeling of his cock pressing firmly against your clit through your panties.

Servant breaks out into a breathless giggle, panting and moaning as he pushes his hips up to meet yours, shivery and insatiable. The only light in the room is a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling, just bright enough to catch on his teeth when his chapped lips curl back in a grin.

“Yes~” He whines when you grind down again, pretty eyes fluttering closed and white hair spreading even further across the concrete, “use me use me use me!”

You like that. You like that a lot, “You want to be used?” you breathe, sitting up just enough that you can wriggle out of your panties, hiking your tight pencil skirt up over your hips.

“Please...please…” he whimpers, hips stuttering up even though there is nothing to meet them. Drool trailing down his chin, “I want you to use me for your pleasure��” he gasps out a moan, like even the thought of it is too much for him, “...cum all over me...please...ruin me…”

“Okay…” you whisper, pulling his boxers and jeans down his thighs to expose his cock, he hisses a breath in through his teeth that turns into a moan when you grab him, “Can you be a good boy and stay still for me?”

He nods furiously. Thighs and stomach tensing as he forces himself not to move. It becomes even harder when you slowly slip yourself down on him, letting your head loll back in a moan at the feeling of him filling you. He cries out, hands jumping up to grab at your waist, trying so hard to keep his hips still when all he wants is to chase your warmth.

A smile crawls its way across your face when you lean forward, placing your arms on either side of his head. He stares up at you, enamoured with you, face flushed red and mouth hung open, “You feel so good, Servant.” you croon, slowly licking up the shell of his ear.

He mewls, thrusting up inside of you just a little. He just can't resist.

“I’m...I’m sorry, I'm so pathetic ehehe” he pants, “Can’t even follow such a simple order.”

“Well, hopefully you will do better with this next one.” You start, adjusting yourself so your bare breasts are now right in front of his face, “suck.”

He doesn't waste one second, licking up under one of your nipples and then pulling it into his mouth. Peering up at you through his pretty eyelashes as he sucks languidly on your tit, swirling his tongue around and moaning so deeply that you can feel the vibrations.

“Ahh…ah! You’re such a pretty boy, aren’t you?”

He nods

“Such a good boy.”

He nods again, moving his hands from your waists to your breasts, pressing them close enough together that he is able to suck on both nipples at once.

“Oh! Ohhhhhhhhh fuck- I…hng…” you rock your hips forward, keening loudly when the head of his cock meets your g-spot. Servant is still trying to stay still. Panting loudly as he furiously licks and sucks on both of your nipples. Wet and sloppy with little to no precision, so desperate to taste you, to devour you. The pleasure in your stomach is curling and twisting, the feeling of him so deep inside you, quivering as he resists the urge to move. It’s so much and not enough all at once.

“Servant…” you groan, hips twitching forward enough to grind your clit down on his pelvis, “you…you can move…”

His hips snap up immediately. He doesn’t waste even a second to drill himself deep inside of you, almost sobbing against the flesh of your breasts when the desperation he has been holding in finally gets to escape. He is animalistic, he is hungry. His hands move from your breasts to grip tightly to your hips, encouraging you to bounce up and down on his cock.

Luckily you don’t need much encouragement. Sitting up enough that your breasts leave his mouth with a lurid pop, throwing your head back and riding him like your life depends on it. Underneath you, you can hear the sound of his chain jangling with the force of his upward thrusts, along with his staccato breathing as he loses himself deeper and deeper within you.

Sweat drips down your forehead, down between your shoulder blades, it feels so good, it feels so wrong. The ever present itch of his mitt presses against your skin, a grim reminder of everything he is, everything he has done. It only turns you on more.

“I…I…AHAHAH! I’m…close.” He stammers, eyes wide when they fixate on the spot where you are joined, sharing himself disappearing inside of you again and again. His bare hand slides down your side and around to your clit, rubbing fast, messy circles that make your hips jump forward.

It’s too much, you can feel your insides growing tighter and tighter as his fingers bring you closer to the release you need so badly. Tossing your head back with a strangled moan as you finally cum, clenching hard around his cock and almost sobbing with how good it feels, how good he feels.

As Servant chases your release with his own, breaking into a breathless laughed as he pounds you with reckless abandon, cumming deep inside of you-

You can’t help but think that the foundation is really not going to be happy with you now.

But as Servant comes down from his high, his grip softens, his eyes grow sleepy, and he gives you a gentle smile that makes you heart race just a little-

And you realise that you don’t really care anymore.

[arty-shadow-morningstar]

A Failed Betrothal (5)

This is going to be the last part I am going to post in a while. My school is finally starting up again and I am sure to be swamped with homework. Without further ado. Enjoy ❤

[Masterlist]

(Part 1)(Part 4)

-----------

Damian laid in bed, thinking about the recent turn of events. Lady, who told them that they can call her Marinette since they might as well get acquainted while the Waynes were in Paris. She had found out Jason’s identity after a few google searches and by extension, the rest of the Bats while they both were taking a shower. It had taken a few arguments and one sentimonster attack that cut one of the arguments short to trust the Dupain-Chengs with their secret identities. His bride was apparently a superhero too. Has been for a few years. In a different world, he might have actually dated her out of his own free will and fought crime with her together.

Damian shook his head at that thought.

That was the curse talking. Get a hold of yourself, Wayne. Resist. Don’t think about Marinette and her blue eyes.

Back to the akumas, Paris had been under the control of a magical terrorist for years. Lady Noire, formerly known as Ladybug, formed a team to battle against him. He also found out about the Guardian who chose Marinette and someone else, who wasn’t spoken about much except that his name was Chat Noir and she now wields his ring temporarily, to fight against Hawkmoth as partners. The same Guardian that promised her hand-in-marriage in exchange for protection from the League of Assassins. Sabine, the Blue Reaper, had to be restrained from killing the old amnesiatic man by her bear of a husband who was reluctant to do so and also wanted to help her.

Hawkmoth also had a partner who went by the name, Mayura, with a power similar to his and could create sentimonster out of negative emotions. Their top suspect was Gabriel Agreste, with much evidence pointing his way but they had difficulty trying to confirm it and had the time to gather evidence to do it. The local authorities were helpful but getting a search warrant for a famous, rich designer who was a known recluse with circumstantial evidence is not possible.

After informing their father of their kidnapping and the situation in Paris (and racking up the Dupain-Cheng's phone bill), they were told to stay there and help as much as they can. Tim, who was coming to Paris for a vacation (suspicious), got his plans hijacked and was now going to help uncover Hawkmoth’s identity.

When the Justice League had reached out a few years ago, they were rebuffed by the Mayor. Nightrunner got into contact with the one of the heroes, Ladybug who asked for a meeting outside of Paris with Wonder Woman and Batman came along, to assess her. They didn’t expect a young girl to be Paris’s heroine.

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

3 years ago…

“Bonjour, Princess Diana of Themyscira, daughter of Hippolayta, it is an honour to meet you. And you too, Batman.” The spotted heroine greeted both of them with Nightrunner besides her. Their meeting point was in the gardens in the Palace of Versailles.

“The pleasure is all mine, Ladybug. But I am confused as to why you have refused the Justice League’s help.” Wonder Woman was worried that the Ladybug Miraculous was active again and for many good reasons.

“I would be glad for some help but Paris is run by an incompetent fool. He wants no one outside of Paris to think that the city is unsafe due to Hawkmoth and keep the tourism numbers high. The other reason is that my Miraculous Cure can restore any physical damages done during a fight and involving you might result in more damages than I could cure. But I also think it would be better if there were less powerful heroes in Paris, akumas amplifies one’s power and I don’t want to fight you after you had a bad day.” Ladybug explained. Nightrunner murmured in agreement.

“Do you know how Hawkmoth operates?” asked Batman. He had read reports of the situation but wondered the true extent of it.

“Have Wonder Woman explained to you about the Miraculous?”

He nodded.

“Hawkmoth has the butterfly miraculous, and it has the power of transmission. In the right hands, they would be used to grant ordinary people powers as the user’s champions. But in the hands of Hawkmoth, he targets people with high negative emotions, a girl after a bad break-up or a student with a failed grade. He grants them powers to use for revenge or some obscure version of justice. In return, he asks for mine and Chat Noir’s miraculous. With our two miraculous, he can make a wish but wishes always come with a price so it is best if we keep it out of his reach.”

“How have you not captured him yet?”

“Hawkmoth is a coward who rarely comes out to face us. I have never met him face-to-face. He uses people to get what he wants. Not very honourable. The Mayor has refused to help my attempts to stop him or prevent more akumas because his bratty daughter isn’t given a Miraculous to be a hero. I don’t have the time or resources because I am still in school and have other obligations outside the suit. I can’t tell my family and ask for help because the Guardian’s ,the one who gave me the Miraculous in the first place, secret identities rule and some magic thing that makes me unable to tell them.”

The adults were all horrified at what the girl was going through.

“We could help in other ways. Not fight the akumas but provide you the resources to track down and capture him. Do you have any training? From the footage we have seen, you know martial arts and how to use some weapons.”

“I was raised in a forgotten temple somewhere in Asia with brutal training everyday before I ran away. I met someone on my way out who took me in and adopted me.” She said it seriously enough that they have no room for doubt.

“Batman, she just said she was adopted. She may have the features but the answer is no.” Wonder Woman said with a knowing look in her eyes.

“I wasn’t thinking about it. She has a duty to Paris right now and I am not going to take away from her life here. I don’t adopt every black-haired and blue-eyed child I see.” Batman denied.

“I am confused.” Ladybug said, tilting her head.

“Batman here has a bad habit of adopting kids with a tragic past, especially kids with black hair and blue eyes.” Nightrunner explained to his fellow Parisian hero.

“Well, Mousier, you will have to fight my parents for custody. While I have training, Chat Noir doesn’t and he hinders the battles with his ‘help’. I would give him some but he sees them as dates even though I have told him it’s not.”

“His incompetence is a liability. Why is he your partner?”

“The Guardian chose him too like he chose me through some stupid trial I somehow passed the requirements for. I am just hoping that there is a really good reason for choosing Chat Noir. I have some questions on how you are-”

“Ladybug, what are you doing?” A sharp voice cut in. An old man who appeared to be dressed as a tortoise landed in front of them.

“Master Fu, this is Princess Diana of Themyscira and the world’s greatest detective, Batman. I am asking for their help in finding Hawkmoth.” Ladybug explained, confused why Master Fu looked upset.

“Ladybug, that was extremely foolish of you. This is a matter of the Order. You shouldn’t have involved other heroes in it. We can resolve this on our own. I apologize on behalf of her for wasting your time.”

“But, Master-” “We will talk about this later, Ladybug. You are young and don’t understand things yet.”

“Guardian, with all due respect, my mother was a Ladybug wielder herself and the Amazons will lend a hand to any miraculous holders in need.”

“It is appreciated but Ladybug, Chat Noir and I can do it on our own. Come along, Ladybug.”

“Let me at least apologize for my mistake, Guardian.”

“Very well. Meet me later.”

“I am sorry but it looks like I have to fight Hawkmoth without your help. That being said please don’t try to look further into Hawkmoth’s identity and leave any notes of your leads in the mouth of the gargoyle on the northside of Notre Dame where I usually rest after I finish patrol. Salut, Princess Diana, Batman, Nightrunner.” She left using her yo-yo to swing away after giving them a wink.

Batman smirked. He had to give it to Ladybug, she was clever and resourceful and Diana was right, he wanted to adopt her.

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

Present time…

(Words in bold are French)

Now that the previous Guardian was out of the picture, the Miraculous team would gladly accept any help they can get.

Damian and Jason had picked up Tim from the airport and they had already set things up in one of the Wayne penthouses in Paris. Less chance of nosy maids than in a hotel.

Bilal had already handed over all the evidence he could find. He was also one of the Miraculous team’s trainers when Sabine couldn’t make it. Jason and Damian were going to help in training and be back-up heroes when needed. (Bilal wore a miraculous once to help out. And that one time was weird enough to last him a lifetime and he was never doing it again.)

Sadly, all the magic users who were allies or part of the JL were busy with other missions or MIA so they couldn’t break Damian’s curse yet. Bruce didn’t see the problem with the curse so unless it causes major problems or someone is free to break it. They couldn’t go back to Gotham until they got the necessary things in order so it looks like they were going to be in Paris for a while.

The next morning, Tim was nowhere to be found. Because they were paranoid Batboys, they tracked his phone to see him at the Dupain-Cheng’s bakery with Marinette and a group of other people, having breakfast.

“There you are, Replacement.” Jason shouted as he entered the bakery, “So, this is where you were? I see you have already figured out who Ladybug is and met her.”

Marinette looked at Damian and Jason, then at Tim and back at them again.

Oh.

Oh.

She face-palmed as she connected the dots and realized what the nagging feeling she had around Tim was about.

“Oh my Kwamis, you are Tim Drake, adopted by Bruce Wayne aka Batman. Jason and Damian are your brothers. And judging by your build, you are Red Robin. I feel so stupid.”

Thankfully, there were no customers around yet to hear some of the world’s most important secrets being out.

“I am- We are not- Bruce isn’t- How?! How the hell did you find out? And you are Ladybug?!” Tim was floundering at Marinette’s words and the caffeine from his first coffee of the day hadn’t kicked in yet. He looked at her friends, who were looking at the Wayne boys with shocked expressions….and looked similar to the rest of the Miraculous Team.

The caffeine finally kicked in.

“Oh my God. I was talking to the entire Miraculous Team and I didn’t know it. That means Chloe Bourgeois is a hero. That bratty blonde I met as a child is a hero.”

“Speak for yourself, Timothy, my childhood friend is a hero too. I can’t believe we are all heroes.” Chloe said in total disbelief.

Introductions and alter egos were exchanged.

Nearly everything went swimmingly if it weren’t for Chloe jokingly elbowed Marinette and said, “You get to date a hero too. No need to worry about flaking out on dates.”

“What do you mean dates? Dupain-Cheng and I aren’t dating.” Damian said, “My mother wanted us to marry each other, not date.”

“Mari, looks like you need some explaining to do.”

Marinette gave the short story on how she met Damian and Jason.

“So you guys are absolutely not dating? Cool. Tim, are you still open to being Mari-bug's fake boyfriend?” Chloe asked. Tim looked at her incredulously.

“You called me all the way here to fake-date your friend. Why? Not that I am complaining about her or anything.” “There is this boy in our class, Adrien Agreste and he has a little obsession with Marinette.” Chloe explained. “Romantic Soulmates.” Nathaniel chimed in, doing air-quotes.

“So I volunteered on your behalf to be my best friend’s long-distance boyfriend in America who has video-call dates with her once a week. You are going to have little romantic dates coincidently where our classmates are going to be, especially Adrien. It might put him off from pursuing Marinette for a while. After you leave, we are just to mention you every now and then to prevent him from getting any ideas.”

Damian felt a hot, burning sensation in his chest and clenched his jaw at the thought of Marin- Dupain-Cheng holding hands, cuddling and doing all those romantic actions with Drake of all people. (No, he wasn’t jealous. Not at all. Don’t be stupid. )

“Tch, Drake is going to be busy trying to find Hawkmoth. He can’t go around Paris, being Dupain-Cheng’s boyfriend. Besides, he can’t be a proper boyfriend even in his most lucid moments. I will be her boyfriend instead.”

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

Tag list: @alysrose-starchild, @buginetye, @lookatthestars1, @blackroserelina, @macncheesemonster, @mochinek0, @myazael, @tonicxworld, @thewitchwhowaited, @t1dwarrior-of-earth, @kissa-chan, @iwantasecretidentity, @theymakeupfairies, @user00000003, @woe-is-me0, @kashlyn, @mochegato,@moonlightstar64 , @greatcatblaze, @moongoddesskiana, @tazanna-blythe. @tonicxworld, @toodaloo-kangaroo, @frieddonutsweets, @local-witch-of-mn, @lady-bee-fechin, @iglowinggemma28, @indecisive-mess-named-me, @k-tea-and-coffee, @jayjayspixiepop, @all-mights-asscheeks, @idk-j-go-with-it , @loysydark, @thenillabean, @lolieg, @zalladane, @silvergold-swirl, @henie04, @blueblossombliss, @khneltea, @mochegato, @itsmeevie01, @roguishredaxion, @alyssadeliv, @steph-hearthlight, @adrestar, @eliza-bich, @abrx2002, @hikari55ttva, @doglover82, @daminette5074

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

(PART 6)

[amethystpath-writes]

A Lesson Learned

(NOT A PROMPT)

Hello :) Could you write a piece where the extremely flirtatious villain notices that the hero isn’t taking care of themselves and tries to get them to and promises not to do anything (capture them, etc), but (surprise!) then they do? Haha sorry if it’s a bit specific, adore your writing!

******

“Why, doll,” Villain cooed from behind the bench which Hero sat upon. The bench was old, wood in the process of rotting. Speaking of rot- Villain rounded the park bench, coming face to face with that once-handsome, now-perished face. “Don’t you just look like you sprang from Hell? Yeesh.”

Hero shrugged, not even caring that Villain was here to taunt him yet again- to pick at him with compliments. Usually, anyways. Now, she was insulting him. Did he really look that out of it? Hero felt like it, so it shouldn’t have been so surprising to him. “Don’t feel great- get out of here.”

“And do what? I’d miss the grumble in your voice too much. Come now, my dear, tell me what has that pretty hair of yours so tangled.” Villain’s hand grazed the locks atop Hero’s head, fingers skimming his scalp. She hummed her delight. “How pretty,” Villain whispered into Hero’s ear. “Even if it is greasy.”

“Look, I’m really not in the mood for this.”

Good God, what is that stench? Villain could gag- not could; Villain did gag on the smell. “When was the last time you showered, sugar?” Hero certainly didn’t smell like sugar, but it was in Villain’s nature to shoot a flirt at him anyways.

“Don’t know. Would you get your hand out of my hair?”

“You don’t know?” Villain sighed, dropping her hand and rounding the bench until she came to the front, facing Hero and his abnormally large eye sacks. “Oh, darling…” you have jellyfish beneath your eyes. “You should take better care of yourself. I could help you, you know?”

Hero’s eyes grew as wide as they could with eyelids made of lead. “Help me do what? Bathe?”

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t mind helping you do that- think of how close we would be, my sweet doll.” She sat beside the broken-beyond-repair hero, dragging a fingertip along his dirtied pants. Villain sighed, slightly bored of this game of chess. Her flirtations were slipping away like a wet bar of soap. What an ironic comparison.

Villain said, “What I meant is this; I’ll give your handsomeness a break- or your ugliness, rather. You need to regain your looks, hence the break.”

Ignoring the insult, Hero said, dead-panned, “And I’m supposed to believe you.” A soft tut.

“Have I given you any reason not to? On this pretty night?”

“Beyond the not-so-subtle insults,” Hero thought aloud, and finished with, “I guess not.”

With a scoff, Villain said, “I wouldn’t call those insults. I could have said much worse- and anyways, you know I’m a tease. I feel even more concerned that you’ve forgotten such a vital detail about me. More reason to leave you alone. Right, my love?”

“I still don’t know if I believe you.”

“Why would it matter what I did or didn’t do when you don’t even care to look after yourself?”

She makes a good point. Still… “What would you do then?” Hero didn’t particularly care to have this conversation right now, but- well, he was a hero. Even if he were too exhausted to take care of himself, it was still his responsibility to protect the people. Just because Villain was saying she’d leave Hero alone didn’t mean she’d leave the citizens alone.

“What would I do? Sulk, mostly. I’d miss your pretty little face while I sat alone on my couch.”

“Right. Because I always sit on a couch with you.”

“There’s a taste of that precious fire. You’re beautiful when you’re sarcastic- and healthy.”

Hero sighed. It didn’t matter what he said, did it? He could tell Villain she looked like a horse’s rear-end mixed with a jackal’s paw and she’d continue sticking around. “You said you’d give me a break.” Of course, Hero still didn’t believe Villain’s words. It was her one and only nature to torment him with pointless compliments- and harmful insults apparently.

As if I didn’t already know I look like crap. I’m tired; that’s all. No motivation to do anything but sit on the park bench. He didn’t even feel like getting up to stretch his legs, despite knowing it needed to be done. Hero would rather deal with the aches of standing than to be forced into using so much energy while sitting. How draining it was- standing up from his position now. That’s why he stayed put, even with Villain’s hand circling in his hair once again.

This time, the hand in Hero’s hair was actually soothing. The tender scrape of Villain’s nails against his scalp. The gentle pull through the hair as her fingers caught on tangles, though the larger knots were a tad painful. Hero hummed his delight at the two former feelings, finding himself leaning into the arm which offered such relief.

On a regular day, one not so adorned with absent motivation and sourness, Hero would have slapped Villain’s hand away- would have told her to go find a dog in the park to pet. Naturally, he would have regretted saying it, thinking that Villain might claw its eyes out instead of petting it. Okay, maybe she wouldn’t do something that serious, but she might have stepped on a puppy’s tail, making it screech- if only to horrify the owner.

“Isn’t this a nice break, sugar?” Villain asked, but, of course, there was more to it than this scalp massage. When Hero fell asleep, with his head on Villain’s shoulder, she would give herself a break- not him.

******

Eyes still closed from having just woken up, Hero pulled his shoulder back against the hard- hard? I thought I was in- His eyes cracked open.

White ceiling. Or, mostly white, at least. There was some water damage that Hero could see even through his blurry and freshly woken eyes. The yellow and orange stains did not belong on his ceiling.

He shifted slightly, body still stiff, but he wasn’t willing to stretch yet- just in case there was…a certain someone…paying attention. Damn Villain, Hero thought, because who else’s home could he be in if it weren’t his own?

It was with this thought in mind that Hero sat up. No use in lounging around. Better off to find a way out before Villain-

“Nice to see those starlit eyes of yours.”

Great. Turning his head, he saw Villain casually sprawled across a couch.

Well, one thing was for certain; Hero had the motivation to get up and run again. At least he could thank Villain for something, even if it were simply the desire to escape.

Sitting up, slowly and stiffly, Hero said, “A break. You were supposed to give me a break. It’s what you said, what you told me you’d do. You would give me a break to take care of myself and you would sulk.”

He could almost imagine Villain’s voice answering with an easy lull, ‘I didn’t say what the break would entail, love.’ Love. Darling. Doll. My dear. Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting.

“I gave you a break. Two of them, if we’re being technical. The massage and the shelter. Actually,” Villain smiled at him from her couch cushion, eyes closing just slightly as her cheeks gathered higher and higher. “I might call it liberation- instead of a break. Infinite freedom versus periods of mass depression and showerless nights.”

Hero felt his jaw tick. “What are you talking about?” he asked, voice low- just the way Villain liked.

He wasn’t helping his case any, now, was he? Being all cutesy. It only allowed Villain to enjoy this whole situation more.

“You wake up in your stalker’s home and don’t even think to check your body for modifications? What a pity you are sometimes,” Villain giggled. She meant it as a compliment; it was her way of calling the hero cute and favourable.

Stalker. Well, Villain might as well have been considered as such. She showed up just about everywhere Hero was, only to hold hostages for no other reason than to have control over someone, to hear the fear in their high whines- and to see the fear glistening low in their eyes. Villain was wicked, and she was wicked always in Hero’s presence. Stalker- maybe that’s what the news would start calling her if they, or Hero, ever managed to stop Villain.

Villain grew impatient with Hero’s procrastination of observation. “Explore yourself, won’t you?”

And Hero did now. He looked down his arms, torso, legs, anything that was in his perspective, but there was nothing out of the ordinary, except- “Do not tell me you actually washed me.” His arms were speck and dead-skin cleaned.

“A wet rag against your arms and legs, nothing else.”

Hero simply took her word for it, trying not to imagine how he’d feel if she were lying. How horrendous.

Then what is it? Nothing- absolutely nothing- was irregular, so why was Villain going on about…Hero’s fingers skimmed something along his neck- one of the few things he couldn’t see with his own eyes.

No…no. Not just along his neck. There was something inside of Hero’s neck. “What did you do to me?” His voice came out as a horrifyingly quiet whisper, one that squeaked in the back of his throat.

“You wouldn’t take care of yourself, Hero. I had to step in.”

“I don’t- no. No. Whatever you’re doing, you- you need to- I need to go home. I need you to stay away from me and I need- I need-” Oh no. Was he hyperventilating? He couldn’t- God, he couldn’t breathe. Hero was panicking, scratching at his neck, at the irregular shaped lumps. Get out. Get. Out. Getout. Getout. Getoutgetoutgetoutgetout.

A gasp sounded in the room as Hero’s head hit the ground, trying to dodge the zap that occurred at the front of his throat, right where he was scratching so madly.

“Well, I guess that’s a lesson learned rather quickly. Darling, you didn’t even know what those were, and yet you were trying to rip them out. It might have killed you.”

“Uhah.”

Villain quirked her head to the side. “Didn’t get that, sorry. Must have fried your vocal cords- better that than you build up a bunch of infectious bacteria.” Truth be told, the zap wasn’t so bad that it would permanently damage Hero- only give him little tics and make him fret.

“You’ll be so very happy that I took that rag over your skin- otherwise you’d have woken up to your own stench while I was injecting the little stun rods. That would have been difficult,” Villain laughed, legs extending until they laid on the arm of the couch.

“Now,” Villain piped, “there is an outfit laid out in the bathroom- down this hall here”- she pointed- “and second door to the right. Get a shower, bath, whatever you want, and get dressed. I have plans and I’m not leaving you here alone.”

Swerving her legs over the arm- despite having just put them there- Villain planted her feet on the ground and placed her elbows near her knees, leaning forward, all amount of humour aside. “I’m the only one who gets to torment you, you hear me? Not even you have my permission to do harm to yourself or otherwise slack in personal healthcare. If you are in any kind of bad condition, it will be because I allowed it. M’kay?”

She stood, walked several paces to where Hero still sat on the floor and patted his cheek. “I’m making myself food before we leave and while you take a shower. Don’t disappoint me by trying to escape, my dove. You’re in my cage now.” Villain gave Hero a tap on the head as she pulled a remote control out of her pocket with her other hand. For extra measure, she held one of the buttons for three seconds, sending Hero onto his back once again, writhing on the floor- though avoiding scratching his neck.

A lesson learned indeed.

“Believe it or not, I do intend to be kind to you. I just wanted to show you what happens if you decide you’re not worth taking care of again.”

One last click of the button and she was gone, leaving a panting hero behind in the dust.

[wanderinginksplot]

Hi! Coul you do a Hunter x Jedi FemReader fluff. Myybe They are reunited after a long time and they hang out in secret.

Hey! It took a few days, but here’s where this prompt took me:

Hunter + Jedi F!Reader + Fluff

“Steady!”

“Watch the far side - it’s tipping!”

“We need another few troopers over here to help balance it!”

“It’s too heavy!”

“Stop, men,” you ordered, your calm voice cutting through the clamor with ease. “Let me get it.”

Lifting the heavy crate with the Force was simple, one of the first things you had learned to do in the Temple. From there, transporting it to the correct section of the hangar wasn’t any more difficult, and you accomplished the task with ease.

“Still showing off, General?” a rough voice asked from just behind your ear.

You turned around, already smiling at the familiar face. “Sergeant Hunter,” you greeted. “I had no idea you were on-planet.”

He shrugged, the movement flowing with grace that would have made even a Jedi jealous. “We picked up a new member for the Batch. We needed to have him cleared on Coruscant before we could risk taking him into action.”

“And?” you asked, already thinking about how you could help. Force-healing wasn’t your strong suit, but you could pull a few strings to get the right padawan to the GAR headquarters. If Hunter needed something, you would do everything in your power to get it for him. He had saved your life often enough to deserve that dedication from you.

“And he’ll be fine,” Hunter reassured you. Gesturing to the flurry of men working to unload your gunships - each one painted with a flattering caricature of your profile with a lightsaber held out in front of you - he asked, “How did the mission go?”

You shrugged. “It went as well as can be expected, I suppose.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means- Well, it…” you sighed. “This war never seems to have a true victory. There are always losses, and those sacrifices don’t always make sense given what little is accomplished in return.”

Hunter raised an eyebrow. “That’s what we’re made for. Sacrificing.”

You hated hearing that, no matter how often it had been repeated by the Kaminoans, the GAR, and the Jedi Council. These men weren’t a product and their lives weren’t something they should expect to lose simply because they had been created rather than born. They had names and personalities, painted their armor with patterns in your favorite color, and some troopers even asked for permission to use your handprint in their designs. Hunter’s casual defense of what you saw as the fatal flaw of the Jedi Order made your stomach lurch and your spirits drop.

“So they keep telling me,” you agreed, mustering a smile for Hunter. “It was a pleasure seeing you, Sergeant. It has been far too long.”

"Wait," Hunter called and you paused in turning away. "What did I say?"

His earnest question only served to make you feel worse. "Nothing, Hunter. The problem seems to be with me. I just need some time away from the war, the loss."

Hunter's eyes cut a neat contrast against the darkness of his tattoo. "I can't help much, but how about some time spent with an old friend?"

"I have to go make my report to the Council," you hedged.

"After that, then," Hunter suggested. "I'm not gonna twist your arm about it, but you're the one who said it's been too long since we saw each other."

You gave a small smile at that. "That's true. Meet me at Dex's Diner tonight?"

"Comm me when you're leaving the Temple," Hunter instructed, giving a respectful nod as the two of you parted. 

As soon as you had finished with your report and washed the grime of a long mission from your skin, you contacted Hunter and started your journey to Dex’s Diner. The small restaurant had been a Coruscant staple for years, but it had recently seen a huge surge in business. Not only did Dex make fantastic food, but he served meals to anyone who wanted to buy them. The Besalisk had a firm open-door policy, especially where clone troopers were concerned. Off-duty clone troopers were a common sight in the diner, laughing and mingling with Coruscanti civilians.

Hunter was already inside, having secured a booth tucked away in the corner. While clone troopers were far from rare at Dex’s Diner, Jedi were seen less often, especially since the war had begun.

Still, you slid into the booth across from Hunter and gave your usual order to the serving droid. Surreptitiously, you input your credit information as well, paying for the entire meal before it had the chance to deliver a total.

“What is that smile?” Hunter asked, offering one of his own.

“Nothing,” you said, waving off his question. “So, what have you and Clone Force 99 been up to since I saw you last?”

Hunter blew out a breath. “It’s been - what? A year since we saw you?”

“Yes, nearly that,” you agreed, trying to keep the edge of sadness from your voice. Early in the war, you had been on a series of missions with the Bad Batch and had planned to keep working with them, but a member of the Jedi Council had sensed your attachment when you returned planetside. You had been reassigned and ordered to cut ties with the enhanced troopers before the attachment grew stronger.

You had reluctantly done as you were told, but saying goodbye to Clone Force 99 had been difficult. In retrospect, that was likely a good sign that you were indeed getting attached to these troopers. However, that hadn’t stopped you from meeting Hunter today, the first time you had ran into him since following that order. It was with a surge of guilt that you realized you had taken care not to let any other occupants of the Temple see you leave. You hadn’t wanted them to ask where you were going…

“Hey,” Hunter said sharply, drawing your attention back to him. “Where did you go?”

“Nowhere in particular,” you excused yourself. “I’m sorry, I missed what you said.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Hunter told you. “I just sat here and watched you get lost in your own head. Stay out of there. After all, I don’t get to see you every day.”

“Fair enough,” you conceded. “How have things been going for you out there?”

Hunter shrugged. “Pretty well. We haven’t found another Jedi who works with us as well as you did, but the few we’ve been assigned to have been competent.”

From Hunter, that was high praise indeed. “And who have you been assigned to?”

“Well…” he mused, “We did a few missions with General Unduli and you know we usually work with Commander Cody and General Kenobi. We did just finish a mission with General Skywalker, though.”

“And how did that go?” you asked, smiling at the thought of the GAR’s most unorthodox squad working with the Jedi Order’s most unorthodox Knight.

Hunter rolled his eyes dramatically and launched into the story of rescuing one of Skywalker’s troopers who had been captured by the Separatists. It was horrifying to think of one of the Republic’s soldiers in enemy captivity for so long, but Hunter nearly had your sides splitting when he talked about Captain Rex brawling with Crosshair, Tech leaping onto the back of some winged creature, and Wrecker demolishing an entire Separatist fleet.

“I bet Wrecker was thrilled!” you said to the last point, still laughing.

“He was, of course,” Hunter agreed, sending a soft smile your way. “He’ll forever be looking for ways to top that mission, so I guess I have Skywalker to thank for that.”

“Oh, I needed this,” you sighed, wiping a tear from the corner of your eye.

“Want to talk about it?” Hunter asked. “I get the feeling you haven’t been happy about much lately.”

“Oh-” you stammered, his insight stunning you for a moment. “I don’t know if there’s any particular reason…” 

“If you had to think of one, then,” Hunter suggested. 

You blew out a thoughtful breath, trying to gather a year’s worth of abstract thoughts and quickly stifled smiles into a cohesive summary. “It’s… hm. It doesn’t feel… right, to laugh and joke when soldiers like you and your brothers are working so hard and so seriously to win battles. It seems- seems almost like ignoring their sacrifices. People are dying every moment, and being happy feels… frivolous, somehow?”

“You aren’t sacrificing people, if it makes you feel any better,” Hunter told you consolingly. “Just clones.”

You had stood from the table before you knew what had happened. Hunter stared up at you in surprise, a rare expression from a man whose senses allowed him to predict behaviors so well. 

“I don’t think this meeting was a good idea,” you told him bluntly. “I’ll see you later.”

“Wait-” Hunter started, trying to rise from the table, but he was interrupted by the arrival of the serving droid. The droid, oblivious to things such as tense silences, began busily unloading its tray of food onto the table, its position trapping Hunter in his seat.

You watched in silence as the table was set to the precise specifications that the droid had been programmed to deliver. Hunter, avoiding your gaze, fiddled with his silverware, ruining the droid's perfect symmetry with only a touch.

When the droid had finished and rolled away, Hunter looked up at you, confusion and guilt mingling on his face. He gestured to your plate. "Please?"

You eased back into the seat after a moment of thought. Hunter couldn't know why you were upset if you didn't give him the benefit of an explanation.

To give yourself a moment of thought, you unfolded your napkin and spread it across your lap. When you were done, you made direct and unblinking eye contact with Hunter. "It hurts me when you talk about the troopers like their lives have less meaning. Like they deserve nothing more than death to achieve a goal."

"That's what we were told all our lives," Hunter countered carefully. "At least the regs were told they could die in sacrifice for the Republic. We were told that we deserved to die because we were different."

The disgust and self-loathing in Hunter's last word made you reach out and cover his hand with yours. You made no effort to influence him - you respected him far too much for that - but you tried to convey your sympathy with a touch.

"And now you know that isn't true in the slightest," you reminded him. "I can't change a moment of your past, but we can all impact our shared present to create the future we deserve."

Hunter's warm fingers flexed under yours as he flipped his hand over to weave your fingers together. 

"That's why you're the Jedi we keep asking to be assigned to," he said with a fond smile. "You don't see us for what we can do for you, for the Republic. You just see us."

You raised your eyebrows at that, your heart feeling lighter than it had since the early days of the war. "As if the Bad Batch could be tied to a single Jedi…"

"For you?" Hunter pretended to think about it. "I think we could give it a try."

With a shared smile, the two of you turned your attention to the food you had ordered. Neither of you commented on your hands, still intertwined on the table between you.

---

A/N - I originally had a different ending in mind, but I liked this one too much to change it. I’ll leave it up to you to decide what happens when Hunter realizes that you’ve already paid for your food! 

Thanks for the request, @dreamingofclones! I hope you enjoyed!

[arashikitten]

Dark Danny Should’ve Come Back at Least Once

I think most of the Phandom can agree that The Ultimate Enemy was one of the best Danny Phantom episodes ever made, and for good reason. It was incredibly dark of a kid’s cartoon, especially one made by Bitch Hartman, and on top of that, it provided some very interesting lore and characters. We get to see Danny pushed to his absolute emotional limit in a way that I don’t think the show ever did before, save maybe for My Brother’s Keeper in season 1, and we get our first glimpse at Clockwork, who thanks to @five-rivers fanfic Mortified, has become one of my favorite DP characters. And of course, we get to see Dark Danny, or Dan.

But there’s one little thing about this episode that’s always bothered me: the very ending.

Because at the very end of TUE, we get a shot of the Fenton thermos that Dan is sealed away in rocking back and forth, before Dan’s face forms a massive dent in the side, his laughter echoing as the screen fades to the end credits.

You would think, with an ending like that, that Dan would come back in a later episode. That he would return in the series finale is this last big bad, this final demon for Danny to confront once and for all. 

But that’s not what happens. And it kinda pisses me off.

Dan should’ve come back. We should have gotten at least one more episode with this guy, exploring more of his character, more of his side of the story, anything at all. And you know what would be a great way to do this?

Vlad.

Imagine this, if you will.

Dan makes his escape from Clockwork’s lair, dead set on finishing what he started. Eventually, he discovers Vlad’s portal (let’s say that Vlad decided to rebuild his here) and, upon coming face to face with the man who made him like this in the first place, freaks out. Dan makes an attempt on Vlad’s life, and Vlad just barely manages to escape.

Once Vlad is sure this strange new ghost won’t find him so easily, he realizes that this new ghost had Danny’s insignia on his chest, and puts it together that Danny must be involved in this somehow. 

So Vlad makes his way to Amity Park to confront Danny about this new ghost. Danny assumes that Vlad is there to try to kill Jack or whatever, the two get into a massive fistfight, before Vlad finally tells Danny that he’s only here because a strange new ghost wearing Danny’s insignia popped out of his portal this morning attempting to kill him a second time.

And Danny freezes. He goes from snarky and flippant to sheer, raw terror that has Vlad actually worried. Danny demands to know what this new ghost looks like, and Vlad’s concern turns to fear when Danny’s face goes white with horror because this is the same kid who went up against Pariah Dark without a second thought, who has faced countless ghosts who’s powers could be considered godly with a fearless smile on his face, and Vlad may not have much respect for Danny but he knows what the kid lacks in intelligence he more than makes up for in bravery. 

Meaning that whoever this new ghost is must be incredibly powerful, incredibly horrific, and incredibly dangerous.

Danny tells Vlad to go to Danny’s house and tell them to put the ghost shields surrounding the town up, to not try anything funny, and don’t. Leave. The Shields. No matter what.

For once, Vlad decides to take Danny’s lead. He appears on the Fenton’s doorstep, Armani suit ruffled and hair disheveled, telling them that there is a very powerful ghost making it’s way toward Amity Park and they need to put the ghost shields up now, or risk a Pariah Dark-level threat again. 

Then Vlad makes his way toward the edge of town, because he still hasn’t gotten an answer from Danny as to who exactly that ghost was, and he’ll be damned if he can’t get an answer.

Meanwhile, Danny is just outside the ghost shields, waiting for Dan to arrive. He’s absolutely terrified, because what if Danny isn’t strong enough this time? What if he fails again, like he almost did before Clockwork turned back time? Would Clockwork do that for him again? Would he have to watch his future burn down this present that he’s taken so long to keep up?

Then Dan arrives. Right as Vlad makes it to the edge of the shield. 

And Vlad watches with awe as the two fight. He watches as Danny holds his own against this ghost that had almost decimated Vlad barely 2 hours prior, watches as Danny outmaneuvers, outsmarts this menace, watches as Danny fights tooth and nail in a way that Vlad is sure he’s never seen before, and he realizes that Danny has been holding back. Maybe not at first, maybe not during those first few months, but definitely for a while now, because Danny is holding his own now when Vlad couldn’t.

But then that leaves the question as to why? Why is Danny going all out now? Why was he so scared of this new ghost? More importantly, when did Danny encounter this guy? 

Because he had to have fought this ghost at least once before, to have had that reaction to Vlad’s description. 

And then, he hears the other ghost’s voice, one that sounds like a strange mixture of his and Danny’s, and he hears him say “It doesn’t matter what you do, Danny. You might’ve stopped that explosion, but there are still so many other things that lead to me. A car crash, an unlucky ghost attack, the ecto-filtrator, Vlad getting lucky, all of them could still happen. Your friends, your family, all gone, and you still turn into me.”

And suddenly, everything makes sense. That ghost that Danny’s fighting, that ghost that attacked Vlad, that is Danny, or it was, before something twisted him into an unrecognizable monster, and Vlad has a creeping suspicion that it has something to do with him.  And he realizes that Danny is so much more than he ever gave him credit for. He sees Danny, fighting his own future with a hope that Vlad would call naive if not for the fact that Danny had already thwarted whatever horrible future lead to this at least once before, and he understands that he was wrong about Danny.

Because this? Fighting against the personification of all the worst parts of yourself not once, but at least twice? It would require a maturity, a strength of will that Vlad knows he himself lacks, and he comes to the stunning realization that for all the childish quips and petty pranks, Danny is far more mature than Vlad ever was, far stronger than Vlad ever was.

And then, Danny does the ghostly wail.

And if Vlad was surprised before, then he's absolutely terrified now. That’s enough power to destroy an entire city, that single wail, and the sound is a bone-chilling scream that rubs the older halfa wrong in every way possible because that sound should not come from someone as young as Danny.

And now Vlad is caught between two realizations: that Danny is so much stronger than Vlad could ever be in every sense of the word, and that the only reason Danny is that strong is because he has to be, because he’s a child being forced to go against all manner of ghostly and cosmic horror all on his own, and Vlad suddenly feels intensely guilty because he should’ve been helping Danny, and instead he’s done nothing but make his life harder.

At that point, Jack and Maddie arrive. They freak out because Vlad is so close to Phantom and this other extremely powerful ghost, what the hell is he thinking!? And Vlad is trying desperately to get them to leave, because Danny looks exhausted and Vlad might be an ass, but he’s starting his redemption arc now and that means making sure Danny’s secret, and by extension Danny himself, is safe from his parents. Vlad knows what it’s like to be on an examination table, knows how terrifying it is to have doctors looming over you with knives and bright lights while you have no idea what’s going on, and he’ll be damned if he lets Danny (who he again reminds himself is very much still a child) go through that with his own parents.

But it’s too late. Danny detransforms right there on the street, in full view of Jack and Maddie and everyone else who’s gathered there (Dan’s been sucked back in the thermos at this point).

Danny turns around, covered in scratches and burns and bruises, blood in his mouth from where Dan punched him in the lip, left arm hanging in an unnatural angle, and he sees everyone: He sees Vlad, icy blue eyes so similar to Danny’s own filled with uncharacteristic worry.

He sees Sam and Tucker, both with wide, scared eyes, and he can just barely see the faint shimmer of tears gathering in their eyes.

He sees Jazz, face pale and her knuckles white as she grips the Fenton peeler with all her strength.

He sees Valerie, her helmet down and exposing a flurry of emotions ranging from shock to anger to horror to pain.

He sees his mom and dad, clinging to each other as they stare at Danny, at their son, and come to the realization that their son is dead, their son is a ghost and he has been for a while now and how did they never notice? How could they not notice that they had been shooting at their own son for at least a year now, that their boy had been putting his afterlife on the line for them while also trying to keep up with school, and evade capture by the GIW, all at the same time?

And Danny is scared, he’s so scared, because his parents look horrified of him and they think he’s a monster, and they hate him, because why else would they be looking at him like that?

He feels his fathers arms wrapping around him and he’s sure, he’s so sure that they’re about to haul him off to their lab to be pinned down and dissected by his own parents, because they saw Dan, they saw what he would become, they saw what he is now, they know now. But then his mom and dad start apologizing, because they never noticed, and they should’ve, they should’ve seen that Danny’s low grades and missed curfews and skipped classes were because he was putting his life on the line for everyone in this town over and over and over again. They apologize for not making him feel safe in his own house, because how many times did they rant about dissecting their own son right in front of him? How many times had Jack and Maddie shown Danny a dissected blob ghost and effectively told him that he was the next one on the list? How much hell did their own son have to go through on his own, because his own parents couldn’t see what was right there?

And Danny finally realizes that no, he’s not going to end up on a dissection table, that his parents do accept him as he is now. 

But there’s still this lingering fear because they don’t know. They don’t know what Danny might turn into, and he can’t keep that from them anymore, because Dan is a secret he can’t keep anymore.

Jack and Maddie are confused when their son pulls away, and for a moment they’re worried that Danny’s upset with them, that he’s angry at them, because why wouldn’t he be?

Then they see this nervousness, they see how he’s shaking and tense, and they might not always be able to read the room that well but they can tell that there’s something else going on here that Danny wants to tell them, even if he’s scared to.

So Jack and Maddie ask Danny if he wants to talk about whatever it is back at the house, and Danny says yes, but Vlad, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz should also be there, because Danny needs some level of support and he knows that Vlad won’t stop pestering him about Dan until he tells him.

Valerie steps in at this point, finally getting over her shock to demand to know what the hells going on, was Danny Phantom the whole time? Who was that other ghost? Why did that other ghost say that Danny would turn into him?

Sam and Tucker, who have been through the emotional wringer watching their best friend fight his evil future self, then reveal his identity to his parents, are kinda pissed at Valerie, because Danny’s already stressed out enough as is, she doesn’t need to be adding on to it. A fight almost breaks out between the three of them, which only stopped when Vlad of all people, steps in saying that while Valerie does have a right to know what’s going on, all of this yelling will do nothing but cause problems.

The three simmer down, and they all head over to the Fenton’s house, where Danny tells them everything: the portal, Pariah Dark (Vlad suddenly finds a particularly interesting spot on the floor), and Dan. He tells them about how Jack, Maddie, Jazz, Sam, and Tucker died in an explosion in that timeline, how that timeline’s Danny turned to Vlad to take him in, how Alt!Danny asked Vlad to remove his human half so he wouldn’t feel that pain anymore. How Alt!Phantom had been driven insane by the separation (he leaves out the part where Phantom fuses with Vlad’s ghost half: he’s not sure Vlad wants him to tell them about his halfa status), killing his human half before destroying most of humanity. How Danny had been forced to fight Dan a year ago, when he had attempted to blow up his friends in family in this timeline to ensure Dan’s recreation here.

When he’s finally done, about an hour and a half later, Danny looks around the room: at Valerie, at Vlad, at his best friends, at his sister, at his parents, and he sees not only acceptance, but respect. Pride. Because they saw that Danny was willing to look his fate in the eye, and say that he would change it no matter what. They saw him fight tooth and nail to protect them, they saw him defend them from his own demons with a bravery most grown adults don’t have, much less a 14 year old boy.

And they accept him.

[waywardconsultingtimelady]

I had a weird dream about Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventures. Rapunzel had somehow ended up in a universe where Cassandra was the Queen and King’s daughter instead of Rapunzel.

Cassandra had gone missing and Rapunzel was staying in Cassandra’s room which was Rapunzel’s own room in her universe, while the King and Queen went looking for Cassandra. Rapunzel and Cassandra shared a birthday in this universe. A bunch of the castle servants came in and sang happy birthday to Rapunzel but then they pinned her against the wall and turned her face into Gothel’s somehow. They were singing something different when they turned her. Rapunzel was horrified and then she woke up. This scene was actually scary in the dream. 

The King and Queen were back and the King asked Rapunzel if she wanted to look for Cassandra with him next him but she said “no, someone has to be here in case Cassandra comes back”. Then they asked her about her family and she said she had no one- I think Mother Gothel didn’t exist in this universe. But then she said that she had no one expect for Momo (I’m not sure what the name is) which wasn’t true.

There was a logo for something called Disney Narbi on screen. The whole thing was a video I had watched on YouTube. I tried looking for more clips from that streaming service on YouTube but somehow my phone kept auto switching to some Disney symbols and changing what I typed to them making it hard to use the search bar. The symbols were all these misshapen marshmallow looking things that looked incredible similar to each other.

Then the scene changed to Homer mentioning the show to Patty and Selma who were at his house but he couldn’t remember the name of it. He tried to find the streaming service but encountered the same problem with the symbols. A women elsewhere tried to fix his problem somehow but she was killed by a guy. Then another woman captured the guy and threw him towards this symbol which killed him. There was another guy there from the same organisation as the first guy. She threw off this chest plate he had on and it created this giant disk with a symbol on it and when she threw him at it he died. Then it was decided that she would take the second guy’s identity and go undercover as him.

She went to this place for kids. Someone at the restaurant was confused as they thought a guy was supposed to be there not knowing that she took his name. Somehow it was decided that it must have been a mistake because she had a masculine vibe, I don’t know what this meant. Homer and Lisa were there. There were people crawling around and popping up while kids in costumes of heroes I don’t think exist in real life where sitting at tables and chilling. Some stuff was said that I don’t remember.

There was a part where Cassandra was taking Rapunzel on adventures in this sky ship. Didn’t get to see what the adventures were. Cassandra had a cool outfit though.

Rapunzel sang something that I think included “are you like me” to Varian who was giant and also trapped in some sort of light purple translucent material. It was to the tune of Am I a Monster? from the Frozen musical. This woke him up somehow, the thing he was encased in glowed, he and Rapunzel were falling from a high distance but Cassandra having somehow gotten wings flew up and caught them. 

The ninth doctor and Rose were at the same cash register buying items together but paying for them separately for some reason. He had wandered off and the cashier charged her for one of his items which was one of those instant mac and cheese that you make in the microwave. She was upset even though this only added an extra dime to what she was paying because this was a boy’s item. How this is a boy’s item I don’t know. The staff were annoyed about this and talked about it after she left.

[nothing-more-than-hot-leaf-juice]

So I was thinking about Zuko and Azula's dynamic and I realized that maybe if he had given Azula the love she was missing from their parents, she wouldn't have turned out a total sociopath. What do you think?

Some of my thoughts on this are related to personal experiences and I want to get that out of the way, but I don’t think it’s right to lay the responsibility of raising and providing all emotional support for a child on a sibling. Just because she endured emotional abuse just like he did doesn’t make Zuko responsible for her well being. Nor do I think him showing her love would have helped her because simple emotional neglect wasn’t the forefront of Azula’s trauma. Zuko was dealing with as much abuse as Azula and part of his journey to healing was cutting himself off from the people that hurt him. Azula happened to be one of the people that hurt him and just because they had the same abuser doesn’t mean that she didn’t hurt him in major ways. That doesn’t mean she wasn’t sympathetic or eventually redeemable, but their relationship was poisoned in a way where I don’t think him offering her love and support would have helped her. 

The problem with Zuko and Azula’s upbringing over anything else was the concept instilled in them that love was conditional over anything else. Ozai’s approval, or what they considered to be ‘love’, was entirely conditional on how well they performed bending-wise. In this case, one of them was always going to be better than the other even by marginal degrees. The fact that Azula was a prodigy just meant that Zuko was falling behind even further in Ozai’s eyes and he was shamed for coming in second (see the backstory scenes from Zuko Alone). They were taught that in order to get father’s ‘love’ they had to be better than the other. Only one of them could be good enough (this is also how Ozai considered himself in comparison to Iroh). Thus sparked a competition between the two that Zuko was firmly losing and it wasn’t until he cut himself off was he able to gain some self-confidence and self-esteem. That scene where we see Azula smiling at the Agni Kai? We think that she would be horrified of what her father was doing to her brother, but no. Seeing Zuko getting publically burned and banished meant that she won and she was better. It meant that their father had picked her. 

But it’s not just Ozai. We also see this to an extent with Ursa. We see just how Ursa damaged Azula’s self esteem with the finale mirror scene. Azula has harbored this idea that there’s something inherently wrong with her. That she’s a “monster” undeserving of love. Ozai treated her as a weapon and valued her for being useful over anything else, and since she was firmly his preferred child, I wonder where she got that idea from? (”what is wrong with that child?”) There is a painful difference in the way that Ursa treated Zuko versus how she treated Azula, and it’s not just reacting to bad stuff Azula said/did. We saw Zuko throw rocks at the turtleducks and Ursa was still comforting and gentle towards him, but she didn’t understand her daughter’s lack of empathy or her fixation on perfection and she didn’t attempt to help her. Ursa just reprimanded Azula for how she was rather than try to help her develop empathy. In this case, Ursa picked Zuko and Azula was the one who was losing. She couldn’t win this conditional love. 

So here we have a teenage girl who thinks the only thing she’s good for is her military and combat ability because, again, Ozai used her as a weapon. And she wasn’t sweet or kind enough for Ursa, so she rejected the notion that she even cared what her mother thought about her. She looked at her situation and determined some things: their mother had left them and now there was only one parent she had to win the love of; she was better at bending than Zuko so she was firmly winning at being the preferred child; because she was the preferred child, a firebending master, and the next in line for the throne as long as Zuko was out of the picture, that meant she was okay. She convinced herself that as long as those things were true, she was okay. But those things eventually weren’t true anymore. Zuko learned to redirect her lightning. Ozai determined that he didn’t want her at the invasion anymore. She lost her crown. 

Azula and Zuko’s relationship was fractured and she was ultimately broken because her entire self-worth was based around being useful to her father because that’s what she was valued for. That’s kind of how she ended up viewing other people too (Mai and Ty Lee) and with their betrayal, it was just a confirmation to her that she wasn’t good for anything but being useful to people and the second they determined that she wasn’t good enough to keep around, they would leave her. This is what Ursa did. This is what her friends did. This is what Ozai did. The whole series she’s trying desperately to prove that she’s better than Zuko. That she’s the one who can successfully capture the Avatar and lock him away for being the failure. But along the way everything she does is rooted in her need to please her father: imprisoning the Kiyoshi warriors, keeping Bumi imprisoned in Omashu, and conquering Ba Sing Se. And in the end, she’s still desperate she’s desperate to prove to her father that she can “be the greatest Firelord in history”. She challenged Zuko to one last Agni Kai to prove to herself that she deserves the crown because she was better. That she had been better the whole time. And the reason Zuko providing her emotional support wouldn’t have meant anything to her because of her view of herself was based around the idea that as long as she was superior, she was worth something. She had to view him as weaker because as long as she was the better bender and Ozai’s preferred child, it meant she was okay.

But in the end, she did lose, and her entire self-worth broke at the seams because of it. Azula’s entire self-image was warped by how she was used as a weapon and simple ‘emotional support’ or ‘love’ from the person she was desperately trying to prove she was better than wouldn’t have gotten through to her. 

[wlw-lovestruck-fiction]

A FMC x Lavinia hurt/comfort fic, where Lavinia comforts FMC or the other way around. I feel really lonely currently.. I'm going through a tough time and I kind of crave some comfort :/ Thank you and sorry for bothering you. Take care :3

Written by @blue-is-the-coolest-color

It felt good to be in the camper again. Between fluffy blankets and surrounded by random books Lavinia has picked up from libraries or bookstores that have interested her. It’s a strange collection, fairy tales and fiction, a few vegetarian cookbooks scattered about the small kitchen area, a few books about animals or fauna. A collection to capture Lavinia’s curiosities of this world.

Speak of the devil. Annisa had to move her arm quickly as the taller woman shifted next to her until she managed to snuggle up close against her, wrapping her arms around Annisa and placing her head on her chest. Annisa rolled her eyes affectionately as she put down the book she had been flipping through in favor of running her hands through Lavinia’s hair.

“You’re very affectionate tonight,” Annisa pointed out, though she really couldn’t blame Lavinia for a bit of clinginess. It had been weeks since they had been able to have a moment alone, but she could tell the ordeal with Rapunzel had caused something short of frustration to play on Lavinia. The girl was distant since she arrived at the camper, deep in thought at moments with her brows furrowed together and lips tight. Annisa had played it off as exhaustion after everything, but now she was a bit more worried as she felt Lavinia cuddle as close as possible.

“Thinking.”

“Ever articulate.”

Annisa teased as she started rubbing circles into Lavinia’s shoulder blades. Soothing the tension that stuck there and causing a soft sound very reminiscent of a purr to leave Lavinia’s lips. The two stayed like that for a moment before Lavinia gently pushed away until she was on her elbows hovering closely. Annisa could see the confusion and frustration in the other woman’s eyes as she waited patiently to see if Lavinia would deflect or if she would say what had been haunting her for the last hour and a half.

“Ranpuzel has killed innocent witches. Simply for being witches, and she wanted to kill me regardless of what it would do to the people of my kingdom. She even threatened the witchling, and yet-” Lavinia’s eyes narrowed slightly in a brief glare as if the reasoning of it pissed her off, “and your friends are really going to let all that go? Even though she’s proud of those she’s slain.”

Annisa listened patiently, not commenting as she felt Lavinia’s arms tense and relaxed with the statements, as if Lavinia was trying to keep from letting the anger consume her more than it has.

“We are not unalike.”

Lavinia admitted reluctantly, as if the statement was acid in her throat.

“We both grew up in less than ideal situations, used or thrown away, isolated, forced to struggle for years. We crawled out of it in different ways, killed people, did horrible things in the name of our own selfish justice or reasoned it in whatever way. We both-”

Lavinia trailed off hard and Annisa had to fight the urge to brush the long silver hair out of her face as it slipped from her shoulders. There’s a pain in Lavinia’s voice, on that Annisa hadn’t heard too often from the other girl before.

“Gothel,” Lavinia tried to articulate what she wanted to say, but it’s choked and Annisa feels her heart break at the sound.

“Lavinia,” Annisa pushed herself up a bit as Lavinia hastily rubbed at her eyes and tried to go back to how she was laying.

“Forget it, it’s nothing.”

“It’s not,” Annisa argued as she let her hands move to Lavinia’s face, trying to get the woman to look at her, “it’s hurting you, so it’s not nothing.”

Lavinia looked away, a bit of shame crossing her face.

“I was once a student of Gothel. There was a time, back when I was young, that I wanted to be strong and feared like her. Because then maybe I could hold on to the things that mattered to me, then maybe-” Lavinia’s eyes darkened and she tried to turn her head as to no look into Annisa’s eyes, but Annisa still saw the tears the threatened to spill over, “I was orphaned when I was very young, I couldn’t use magic, I was alone. Gothel had this power and I wanted her to teach me. She didn’t at first, but decided I was amusing and worth playing with. She’d send me on these ridiculous errands and I’d do an insane amount of magical research to try and convince her I was worth her time.

Then my magic appeared, my ice alignment made itself known and suddenly I was the only student Mother Gothel wanted to teach. She taught me spells she wouldn’t utter to the other witches in her coven. It felt like she had taken me under her wing. I would have done anything for her.”

Annisa listened quietly, horrified by the raw pain that had claimed Lavinia’s throat. She had known Rapunzel was a victim of Gothel, but hearing that Lavinia had also been a target caused her heart to ache for the woman in her arms.

“She told me about how she planned to kill the ice king and needed my help. I was important to this mission and she needed me to follow her orders to the T. I was so excited to help her, to make a real difference and to take down the Tyrant who abused his power and caused the mass slaughter of so many magical beings in the ice kingdom. The king liked to set up his own witch hunts where he’d release a witch he had captured into his private woods to hunt down and kill. Our plan was for me to get captured and to wait for Gothel who would come and stage a breakout. During the panic she would kill the king while I distracted all his guards with a permafrost spell I had read about in a book.

So I did my part, I let the king catch me and I lived in the dungeon underneath the castle. I waited for Gothel to appear. I waited weeks, starving in a dark wet cell. I was so hungry, I hadn’t felt hunger that strong since arriving at the orphanage. Eventually it was my turn to be hunted, and when they let me into those woods I decided I would kill the king myself. So I used an old spell Gothel had me test a while ago and I slaughtered almost all of the king’s men in the forest. And then I killed him and sat on the throne covered in blood and announced that the king had fallen.”

“Gothel had left, abandoned me there, then had the nerve to show up two weeks after my coronation and demand I give her magic in exchange for teaching me. We fought and I threw up the magical barrier around my kingdom using one of her spells for spite.”

“I guess that explains how you don’t age.” Annisa interrupted and then almost hit herself for such a sudden outburst, but Lavinia nodded.

“I don’t age because it’s the same spell Gothel uses to steal magic, only my people can refuse to give me their magic, they offer up their magic to keep the barriers around the kingdom, so I guess in a way I’m not giving them much of a choice.”

Lavinia sighed, balancing herself on one arm for a moment to run a hand through her hair.

“I let all my pain get the better of me, and I hurt more people because I was too afraid of losing my newfound power. I wanted to keep everything out, because that’s how everything could stay safe,” Lavinia shook her head, “I sound like a maniac.”

“Lavinia, it doesn’t matter what you did before, all that matters to me is that you’re trying to do better now,” Annisa flashed the other girl a soft smile, “what Gothel did to you was horrible, and you shouldn’t have had to suffer to feel like you weren’t alone.”

“But I always am, somehow.”

It’s so quiet and heartbreaking to hear Lavinia’s voice like this. Annisa’s smile dropped as she tried to process the hurt, pain, and anger flashing through Lavinia’s icy eyes.

“To have a chance like Rapunzel has been given. To actually be allowed to keep writing my story without having to hurt you more to do so. I’d have to bend over backwards to be given a quarter the chance at redemption that she’s been allowed after everything. Why? Because her story deemed her a hero despite her murders and crimes?”

Maybe weeks ago Annisa would have said something to defend Rapunzel, defend why she should be given chance after chance where Lavinia shouldn’t. Lavinia dropped her head back to her shoulder in frustration.

“...You’re mad because they won’t give you that chance,” Annisa commented as she wrapped her arms around Lavinia’s shoulders, keeping her in place when she felt her start to shift, “I didn’t think you cared so much about what they thought about you.”

“I don’t,” Lavinia grumbled into her shoulder, “but I know it would be easier for you if they trusted me to keep you safe at least. Then maybe you wouldn’t have to sneak around to see me.”

Annisa held the woman tighter, placing a firm kiss to her head as she felt her relax into her arms.

“They’re not all against you. Arin wants to give you a chance, and I could convince Oliver to as well. And you have me.”

“As long as I have you.”

Of course the melting queen would sneak in some sweet nothings while they layed there, Annisa couldn’t say she was surprised by the familiar affection in Lavinia’s voice.

“So you're using me as a pillow here all night? I’m supposed to be home.”

Lavinia smirked, wrapping her arms tighter.

“Stay, please?”

“Oh my,” Annisa pretended to swoon, batting her eyelashes, “did her majesty just say please? To little old me. What a blessing that has bestowed upon my unworthy ears!”

“Brat,” Lavinia laughed, a beautiful light sound that Annisa would kill to hear, “you’re not allowed to leave now, punishment for mouthing off to a queen.”

“You love when I mouth off to you.”

“Maybe.”

The smirk caused Annisa to blush, suggesting a far dirtier joke that Lavinia had opted out of saying.

“I wish I could stay here,” Annisa sighed as she looked up at the ceiling of the cabin, the little snowflake fairy lights making her smile, sinking her fingers into unbelievable soft silver hair as she felt Lavinia tilt to head, eyelashes brushing against Annisa’s neck in soft butterfly kisses, “I love being this close to you.”

Lavinia hummed her agreement as Annisa’s fingers scratched at her scalp and wandered through her hair.

“It’s certainly a treat, watching the Ice Queen melt just for me.”

“You’re the only person worth melting for.”

Annisa hated how her mind immediately flashed to a certain snowman character from a Disney movie. She couldn’t control the way the giggles shook her form. Lavinia propped herself up on her arm, trying to look bored but the soft look in her eyes betrayed her horribly as she watched Annisa laugh at a joke she didn’t understand.

“Remind me that I need you to watch a movie with me.”

Lavinia hummed and let her fingertips trace patterns into Annisa’s arm before bringing her hand up to her lips, pressing a soft kiss that caused Annisa to blush.

“Do you really have to leave now?”

“I guess I can spare five minutes.”

Five turned to an hour, but it wasn’t like Annisa was complaining.

[imagine-nation20]

Just Like This

Summary: Capture the flag isn’t always your least favorite camp activity, but sometimes it is.

Requested by: Anon

Request:Hey if your still doing Percy Jackson fics/headcannons can I request Connor stoll x shy daughter of Hecate reader pls

A/N: I started writing this as headcanons, and then I got really carried away and decided to write this, oops. I’m just glad someone requested Connor. Even if I forgot about this request and stumbled upon it very late. Also, not so sure this turned out as a shy reader, since I am bad at writing shy characters.

~~~

Hecate’s cabin was the exact opposite of what you had expected when you first arrived at the camp. Instead of the dark, dreary color palette you had imagined based on the other camper’s cabins, it was surprisingly bright. White walls, with a mix of pale and dark purples. There were various decorations around, only one bed, and different magic bits and bobbles. One wall was taken up entirely by a bookshelf. Most of the books looked far from normal though, and you had only been brave enough to open the most plain looking ones as of yet.

It felt safe. It felt like home.

Still, you couldn't remain inside all day. Someone would notice, come looking for you, maybe make you do their chores. A knock at the door confirmed this thought, and you stood from your bed, moving over to the door.

It swung open to reveal the youngest Stoll brother, Connor, who looked to be in his usual state of disarray. Dark hair looking unbrushed, his camp shirt wrinkled, jeans rolled up to his calves, and his sneakers properly drenched and getting water all over the front steps of the cabin.

You raised a brow, “Do I want to know?”

Connor looked down to his shoes, “Probably not,” he admitted, looking up at you with a toothy grin.

You leaned against the doorway of the cabin, smiling down at Connor who was much shorter than you from his placement down the steps. “And I guess knocking on my door was more important than changing out of your drenched sneakers for some reason?”

“Annabeth ordered me to remind you not to miss capture the flag again,” He shrugged.

You narrowed your eyes, “Ordered? Aren’t you supposed to be some hotshot counselor? When did you start taking orders?”

Connor leaned on one of the pillars, exaggerating a ‘smooth’ aura. “Since those orders allowed me to visit my favorite demigod.”

“Me?” You asked, faking sweetness.

A meow came from behind you, and Connor’s facade shifted into a smile, “No, Mordred.”

Your cat ran out to him from between your legs, jumping right into his arms. You glared at the cat, crossing your arms. “Traitor.”

“We should be going, if we don’t want Annabeth to cut us into little pieces for being late.”

“Do you think we could take her?”

“Ha, no.”

Capture the flag wasn’t entirely horrid. Especially since Hecate and Hermes cabins were both sided with Athena that time. That means that all Connor and you had to do was lounge around where the flag was, and make sure no stray Ares kids got a little too big for their britches. So far, they had no trouble.

“Oh, oh, I spy with my little eye, something green.”

“Connor, I swear to god, if its a leaf again-”

“This is so boring,” Connor groaned, cutting you off. “Maybe one of these days, the Athena kids should get the boring job. Let Anabeth sit as a rock for an hour with nothing to do.”

The small clearing was quiet. You and Connor shared a look. There was nothing innocent in the mischievous glint of his eyes. You began to shake your head, silently telling your friend a blanket no for whatever he was thinking.

“Connor, do-” An arrow whizzed through the trees, catching you in the shoulder. You shouted out in both surprise and the sudden pain that came from the tip embedding itself into your skin. It had cut through the leather armor like butter.

“(Y/N)!” Connor shouted.

The sound of a heavy scuffle met your ears, your eyes staring up at the canopy of trees above. Footsteps, echoing beneath you through the packed dirt. Your eyes drifted over to your shoulder, seeing the arrow shaft sticking up from your shoulder. With a bit to your lip, and a deep breath, you reached over to feel the back side.

The tip of the arrow was poking out from the leather armor. Knowing that pulling it back would just cause more damage, you reached to the shaft, snapping the wooden stick off. This would give more access to movement, and you wouldn’t have to worry about knocking into it and causing more pain.

Slowly, you stood. The sword on your belt was easily drawn with a ‘shink’, drawing the attention of the Ares boy making his way towards the flag. Connor was busy with another, their sword clashing. The Ares kid smirked at you, charging with a hearty yell.

You ducked the blow, kicking out at his shin. The boy toppled forward, groaning. You hit the back of his head with the pommel of the sword, halting his movements. He would have a terrible headache when he woke up, but at least you hadn’t the stomach to repay him for the arrow wound.

“Hey, you good?” Connor’s hand was on your good shoulder, he eyes peering closely into your own. You must have been staring at the knocked out camper for too long.

“Yeah,” you lied, feeling the pain ripple through your shoulder. “I think I should go see Chiron.”

Connor nodded, reaching down to his belt for the emergency horn there. After a few events of campers in danger with no way to call, Chiron had proposed special war horns for the counselors to call for help.

“I think something is wrong,” You mumbled, looking down at the wound. It was festering a dark purple. “That’s not good.”

The horn blew, and you blacked out.

~~~

When you came too again, you were in the Apollo tent. A few other campers were held up in cots, but it was mostly empty. Outside, cricket could be heard. You must’ve been asleep for a good few hours. Your stomach rumbled at the thought of missing dinner.

Every little movement hurt, even tilting your head to look around the tent. Something cloth rustled on your head, and you went to lift your right hand. However, you found yourself unable, as your hand was pinned to the bed by a much larger, warmer hand.

Connor’s head rested on the cot beside you, his dark, curly hair spilling across the linen sheets. Soft breathes escaped his mouth, which hung open. Soft cheeks dampened by puffiness and dark purple circles beneath the lids of his eyes.

“He’s been there the whole time,” A quiet voice whispered. “Will couldn’t get him to leave.”

You looked over, spotting an injured and annoyed looking Nyssa. She looked like she had been hit by a train, and knowing the Hephaestus cabin, she probably had.

“Did he miss dinner?” You whispered back.

Nyssa gave you a weird look, “Yeah, three of them. Will had to shove a plate into his hands and force feed him.”

Your eyes widened, “Wait, three?”

“Yeah, you’ve been out for two whole days,” Nyssa looked out the flap longingly, “At least you didn’t have to be awake for it though. Harley set off an explosion in the workshop, threw me into a wall. Everyone was still scrambling around you when I got here.”

A shift beside you, and you looked down. Connors dark lashes were fluttering, his eyes slowly peeling open. The bright blue looked dulled, like it had lost its shine. They trailed up your arm, seeing you sat up slightly, eyes peering back.

He let out a shaky breath, “(Y/N),” sitting bolt straight, he gripped your hand. “Are you okay?”

“What happened, Con?”

He looked almost annoyed, though not at you, “That stupid Ares kid accidentally loaded his quiver with poisoned arrows. Don’t worry though, I accidentally laced his food with laxatives, and his bed with roaches.”

You couldn’t help the smile that stretched out over your face, “And here I would have thought you wouldn’t have had time, being here twenty-four-seven and all,” you gave him a look.

“Yeah yeah,” he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. “Listen-”

“Oh for gods’ sake, just kiss and get it over with. If I have to sit through one more awkward conversation where you two dance around each other I’ll poison you both,” Nyssa growled out, looking only mildly annoyed in reality.

You shared a look with Connor, both of you holding back smiles, “Should I tell her?”

“What? That we’ve been dating for the last two years?”

You both turned to look at her simultaneously. Nyssa looked almost horrified at the realization. Her mouth hung open, the hello kitty Band-Aid on her cheek scrunched as her face did.

“Oh Zeus’ beard, you two are just like this? May the god’s have mercy…” She muttered under her breath, laying down in bed. She moved her pillow over her head to block you out.

You and Connor shared a laugh, and with both of you stuck inside the tent after curfew, you saw no problem in letting him climb into the cot with you. It was a more comfortable and peaceful sleep for you both.

[ga-yuu]

~Kurama~Dramatic END~

Warning!!! Sexual content below because.....Yes! You guessed it right! Kurama just needs a reason to touch her,

Chapter 26

*

*

*

--------Part 1--------

A few days after Kurama's declaration to learn how to be romantic....

Kurama: "So this hot springs, huh?"

Yoshino(blushing): "Kurama! Your wings! Cover your wings!"

Kurama: "It's alright, no one's here."

Kurama, stretching his wings comfortably in the warm water, says back to me.

(I never thought I'd end up in hot springs with Kurama.)

I hid my body with a body towel in the murky white water.

Then I started thinking about what happened earlier today.

------FLASHBACK-----

Yoichi: "Huh? You wanna be romantic?"

Kurama: "Yeah. What exactly do you do when you fall in love?"

Kurama asks a sudden question as soon as he enters Yoichi-san's room.

Yoichi: "Hmm...it depends on each individual."

(That's right.)

Kurama: "Give me a proper answer or die."

Yoichi: "Scary~"

Yoshino: "Kurama! Don't threaten people..."

Yoichi: "Hehe...It's really unbelievable to see Kurama asking for others' opinions. I don't know what kind of sorcery is this. But don't worry, I'll give you some tips and tricks."

(You're so reliable!)

Kurama: "Then spit it out."

Yoshino: "Kurama!"

Yoichi: "Relax Yoshino. I'm used to it."

Waving his hand in a relaxed expression, Yoichi-san continued to speak.

Yoichi: "How about a short trip? You had a hard time on the battlefield, right? A short trip will help you guys stretch your wings and relax. Start from there."

Kurama: "Is that how all relationships start?"

Hehe....Kurama's cold stare is incredibly cute. Even Yoichi-san is giggling.

Kurama: "I don't see how being in a different place is going to change anything."

Yoichi: "You are a very unemotional person, Kurama. You see, when you fall in love, you'll feel the world around you changing. You'll start feeling different and sometimes end up doing things you don’t usually do."

Yoshino: "....I think I understand what you mean."

Kurama: "You do?"

Yoichi-san nods in agreement as Kurama watched us cluelessly.

Yoichi: "You'll get to know each other better if you go to a hot spring. I know a nice hot spring that you can go to on a day trip. I hope that will help."

------FLASHBACK ENDS------

Kurama: "But I don't see what's the point of bathing in hot springs. If all you want to do is soak in water, then we can do it in an ordinary river too, right?"

Yoshino: "Wow! Your feathers are falling off..."

He stood up and flapped his wings, sending a huge splash from his black wings.

(Speaking of bathing in a river, when I met Kurama again in Kamakura....he was bathing in a river.)

The memories of that time are vivid in my mind.

------FLASHBACK------

Kurama: “—-What an ‘unpleasant surprise. Who gave you the permission to be in my sight?”

-----FLASHBACK ENDS-----

(I thought you were going to kill me that time....)

Same as that time, I looked away from Kurama's admiringly well-formed body as much as possible....

Kurama: "Why are you spacing out?"

Yoshino: "....!?"

He grabs me by the arm and pulls me up, exposing my body under the sunlight.

Yoshino(blushing): "....What are you doing?"

Kurama: "I don't want to go on like this. You have to teach me how to enjoy the hot springs."

Kurama said, paying no attention to my embarrassment.

(Come on now....!)

(It's no use trying to teach Kurama about the concept of ‘shame’. If this happens...)

Yoshino(blushing): "Soak your shoulders for now."

Kurama: "Like this."

Holding me in his arms, Kurama dips into the hot water...

(Good. Now my body is hidden.)

Yoshino(blushing): "Now keep counting slowly till 100."

Kurama: "That's too much."

Yoshino(blushing): "You have to soak slowly to get warm to the core."

Kurama: "All right."

Surprisingly straightforward in his reply, Kurama hugged me from behind.

(!!!!)

Yoshino(blushing): "W-What is this position?"

Kurama: "You didn't specify how to sit while taking a dip."

I tried to resist, but he held me tightly and his hot breath hit the nape of my neck, making me lose my strength.

Yoshino(blushing): "....Don't talk."

Kurama(evil smile): "Don't you want me to count?"

------Part 2-------

Yoshino(blushing): "....Don't talk."

Kurama(evil smile): "Don't you want me to count?"

Kurama’s voice contained a horrifying and dangerous sweetness.

Kurama: “1..2..3....”

(Ah..)

One of Kurama’s free hands slides over my skin under the hot water.

Yoshino(blushing): "...What...are you...?”

Kurama: “What’s wrong?”

Yoshino(blushing): “Mmm..mm....”

(His hands are going in all directions...not good...)

I felt a sweet numbness at the touch of his hand crawling across my breasts.

Kurama: “I’ll continue. 4..5..6....”

Yoshino(blushing): “Haa....ahh....wai..ahh...”

My skin was softened by the hot water and his fingers played with my pink nipples casually.

Kurama: “7..8..9...”

(No....more....)

Yoshino(blushing): “D-Don’t...do...in...outside like...ahhh....”

Kurama: “10.”

Yoshino(blushing): “Ahh...”

Suddenly a finger moves down between my legs out of nowhere and my body jumped.

Yoshino(blushing): “Nnn....ah....”

Kurama: “I see. The warmed body responds better. Plus...you don’t have anything to cover. So I can touch you as much as I like.”

Yoshino(blushing): “This...is not...have you enjoy the hot springs....”

(I’m pretty sure he knows what he’s doing....)

Kurama: “Keep enduring it, till I reach 100.”

Our tightly pressed bodies and his lips on my neck make me go crazy.

Yoshino(blushing): “Mm...hot....”

Kurama: “Do want me to stop? Tell me if you want to get out of water.”

Yoshino(blushing): “Ahh...too bright....”

Kurama: “You’re so selfish.”

(I DON’T WANT TO HEAR THAT ESPECIALLY FROM KURAMA!!!!!)

Kurama: “Yoshino, it’s annoying. You count from where I stopped.”

(Sure! I’ll count quickly and get out of this humiliation...)

Yoshino(blushing): “11-12-13-14-15-ahhh.....”

Kurama(evil smile): “Count properly, or you’ll have to start from the beginning.”

I trembled as I felt his hot tongue over my earlobe.

Yoshino(blushing): “Because....Kurama gets in the...way....Mmm....”

Kurama(evil smile): “I’m just enjoying the hot spring...or more accurately, I’m enjoying soaking in the hot springs with you.”

(...This is terrible....can’t count...like this...)

Kurama: “Keep counting.”

Yoshino(blushing): “Mmm...14...”

I reflexively obeyed his orders which were given in a low voice.

Kurama lifted one end of his lips when he saw that....

.................

(I’m totally flushed....)

Kurama: “I had a nice bath for the first time in a long time. I completely understood the benefits of hot springs.”

As we walk through the flowery field near the hot springs, I glared at Kurama with my red cheeks.

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

1. Oh yeah...

2. I couldn’t enjoy it..(+4/+4)

3. Good for you...

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

Yoshino(blushing): “Too bad, I couldn’t enjoy it....”

Kurama: “Stop complaining. I treated you well enough. You were so exhausted, that I had to carry you all the way to my room. Be grateful.”

Yoshino(blushing): “Yeah. And WHO made me tired?”

Kurama: “It was me.”

It was so refreshing to hear someone saying that without taking any offense.

(At the end of the day, I couldn’t fight back because of his straightforwardness.)

Kurama: “I heard that the cold weather makes humans sick. Let’s go back now.”

When Kurama takes my hand....

Yoshino: “Hm?’

Kurama: “....?”

(I wonder if that person crouching in front of the bushes is a visitor of the hot springs too.)

(But he looks familiar...)

Kurama: “....! That’s!”

Ibuki: “Hm?”

Yoshino: “Ibuki!”

(No way!?)

When he turned to look at me, all at once blood drained from my face and I backed away.

Kurama: “-----Why are you still alive? Well, who cares? Let’s continue from where we left off, Ibuki.”

Kurama looked at Ibuki with an icy cold look.

Ibuki: “Shut up, Kurama. You’ll wake the kitten.”

(Hm, kitten?)

Kurama: “...........”

Kurama obediently kept quiet and looked at Ibuki’s hands with a disinterested face.

A white fluffy kitten was sleeping comfortably in there.

Yoshino: “Umm......?”

Kurama: “Don’t ask, Yoshino. It reminded me of one of this man’s incomprehensible tastes. He-----has a strange obsession with cats.”

Ibuki: “What’s so hard to understand? They’re the cutest thing in the world.”

Despite his complaint, his palm was moving back and forth across the kitten’s back lovingly.

(That was unexpected!!)

Kurama: “Still, die.”

--------Part 3-------

Kurama: “Still, die.”

Yoshino: “Wait! Not here....”

I felt the wind around us start to blow unnaturally and hurriedly grabbed Kurama’s arm, which reluctantly stopped moving.

Ibuki: “You have a woman with you now, Kurama. Learn to settle things through talking than using violence as a solution for everything.”

Kurama: “All right. Would like to have a blood bath or be completely mutilated?”

(This is not how you do it!)

Yoshino: “I think you need to calm down....Ibuki doesn’t seem to be in a mood to fight, right?”

Ibuki: “You’re right. After that war, I lost a lot of my magic power. Thank you, Kurama.”

Kurama: “You deserved it anyway. And  you, Yoshino, why are you talking to a man who tried to slaughter you?”

(You’re right, but....)

Yoshino: “I’m curious about Ibuki too....”

Kurama: “Ha?”

Ibuki: “....Ohh.”

Then Kurama glares at Ibuki.

(Oh, I know now!)

Yoshino: “I think it’s because he’s similar to Kurama.”

Kurama: “I and him are SAME!>”

Ibuki: “How are we similar?”

(Hmmmm.....)

Yoshino: “------I think it’s the aesthetics of it, even though it looks like  it’s driven by crazy logic.”

......It was just after I was captured by Ibuki and subjected to Yasuchika-san’s manipulation spell.

-------FLASHBACK------

Ibuki: “You must be in a lot of pain, but you’re strong. I like you. I can’t wait to see your face when you cry.”

Yoshino: “I….will never despair in your presence.”

Ibuki: “What?”

Yoshino: “I will prove to you the strength of humans that I believe in.”

Ibuki: “……………… Interesting. Then let’s play that game. Show me what you’re really made of.”

------FLASHBACK END-----

(Yes, when I saw Ibuki’s eyes at that moment...for some reason I felt like it resembled Kurama.)

Yoshino: “I still can’t forgive you for what you made me do. But I also think that somehow I accepted his way of life because he and Kurama came into contact with each other’s values on the very edge like that.”

(So maybe that’s why I couldn’t really hate Ibuki.)

Kurama: “..........”

Ibuki, who had been listening with his mouth agape, muttered quietly.

Ibuki: “----You’re a woman with good instincts. No wonder you won Kurama’s heart.”

(Eh?)

Yoshino: “What?”

Ibuki: “Nothing.”

Then a soft smile came across Ibuki’s lips.

Ibuki: “I shouldn’t have given you to Kurama. I should have noticed you earlier on and have played with you instead.”

(Ibuki....?)

His voice was calm and clear, with a hint of emotion.

When I was standing there confused-----

Kurama: “It’s unpleasant to see you imagine an impossible future.”

(Wow)

As if to break Ibuki’s gaze, Kurama hides me behind his back.

Ibuki: “I’m possessive too, just like you.”

Kurama: “I’ll pull out that tongue of yours if you say one more time that we’re similar.”

Ibuki: “Oh dear, why do you want to deny the similarities between us, Kurama? I’ve had so much fun raising you, don’t you know?”

Kurama: “More of the same nonsense.”

Ibuki: “I’m serious. I wouldn’t have carried around cute little boy like you for all those years.”

Ibuki giggled as he reminisced about the old days.

Ibuki: “Seeing you again at the battle that night, reminded me of our first meeting.”

(I’m sure Ibuki is a distorted person....)

(But I think he really likes Kurama.)

Kurama: “The words you speak are toxic. I will not ask you to mean it now. But your power, which I have longed to surpass, has not faded with the passing of time.”

Ibuki: “......!”

(Kurama...)

It was the first time I had ever heard Kurama say anything close to praise for Ibuki.

Ibuki: “Heh, jealous?”

-----Part 4-----

Ibuki: “Heh, jealous?”

Kurama: “Stop joking. I’m going to take the strength I’ve developed under you and go further.”

Ibuki: “-----See. You're being cute again.”

(Kurama was so disgusted by Ibuki’s habit of playing with others and the stupidity of those around him that he had to say goodbye.)

(But if he hadn’t recognized Ibuki’s strength, I think he would have given up on him much sooner.)

It was probably inevitable that their paths had diverged, but I couldn’t help thinking of a future if they hadn’t parted ways.

Ibuki: “You’re getting stronger, my son.”

Kurama(glares cutely): “Who’s your son? I’ll kill you.”

Yoshino: “No bloodshed here!!!!”

In response to Kurama’s death threat, the kitten in Ibuki’s hands woke up.

Ibuki: “Yosh Yosh. Don’t be scared.”

Kitten: “Mew.”

Ibuki: “....Oww.”

The kitten clawed Ibuki’s finger, jumps off his hand, and runs away.

Kurama: “Such an interesting little animal.”

(Is Ibuki mad.....?)

Ibuki was silent for a moment, but then-----

Ibuki: “He has a good temperament. A cat with a bright future.”

Ibuki, muttering with a straight face, looks at the kitten’s regretfully and stands up.

Ibuki: “See you, Kurama. And you too, Yoshino.....I’ll play with you sometime when I feel like it.”

Yoshino: “Eh?”

Ibuki turned and walked away, not caring that I shouted in surprise.

Kurama: “Yoshino. We’re going to go to the hot springs one more time to get rid of Ibuki out of our minds.”

Yoshino: “One more time!?”

Kurama pulled me by my waist and urged me to walk.

Kurama: “What the hell was that man even doing here?”

.....................

After part ways with Yoshino and Kurama, Ibuki went outside the inn only to see------

Ibuki: “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Yasuchika: “I want to kill you for making me wait for this long.”

Akihito: “Unforgivable, right? I wish I could have been in the hot springs.”

Ibuki: “Brats.”

Akihito looks at Ibuki, who shrugs and joins.

Akihito: “So? Did you get the point of having Yasuchika find out where Kurama and Yoshino are?”

Ibuki: “.......... It made me realize the value of what I’ve lost. Life is bittersweet.”

Yasuchika: “Wow! When Ibuki talks like a human, it makes me want to puke!”

Akihito: “Look, I have goosebumps too.”

Ibuki: “Are you just here to tease me?”

Akihito: “Actually, it’s rare to see you like this, Ibuki. It’s refreshing.”

Giggling, Akihito started walking.

Akihito: “It’s a miracle to see you having a change of heart for the first time in 1200 years. The fact that there are miracles in this world is a joy for people like us.”

Both Yasuchika and Ibuki walked along with him through the trees.

------While also hoping for a miracle like that to happen deep in their hearts.

...................

That night.....

Yoshino: “I really enjoyed our trip!!”

Kurama: “Yeah. But, there were few interruptions along the way though.”

When we returned, we huddled together in the warmth of the cushions in Kurama’s room.

Yoshino: “I was also surprised to see Ibuki. But I’m glad nothing bad happened.”

(Ibuki’s magic is yet to return and the Imperial Court is unlikely to make any major moves...so we can enjoy our peace for the time being.)

The Shogunate and The Rebels are still on a temporary truce and also keeping an eye on the Imperial Court.

Yoshino: “When the Court’s plans are revealed and resolved then....the Shogunate and the Rebels will fight again, right?”

Kurama: “The feud between Yoritomo and Yoshitsune is deep. It is not easy for a human to forget his hatred. When the time comes to fight again----you’ll be sad, right?”

Yoshino: “Mm.”

When I imagined it, my heart hurts like it’s being torn apart.

Yoshino: “I’m sure I’ll suffer a great deal.....but I’ll never leave Kurama.”

(Because I didn’t choose to live with Kurama half-heartedly.)

Kurama: “I see.”

-------Part 5------

Kurama: “I see. Your suffering is yours and yours alone. No matter what I do, I will never be able to take that away from you.”

Kurama murmured with a deep voice.

Kurama: “But I promise, as a man who loves you, I will give you peace of mind until you stop crying.”

(Kurama.....)

Again and again, I am overwhelmed and swallowed up by the magnitude of his feelings.

Yoshino: “Mm....thank you.”

(Kurama always keeps his promise.)

(I know that....so I’m not scared anymore.)

Kurama: “You have beautiful eyes. I remember being irresistibly drawn to those eyes even before you and I got together.”

(Ah.....)

Kurama gently pushes me down and his face comes closer.

Kurama: “It’s that look that shines so strangely in the dark of night.”

Those words bring back memories.....

-------FLASHBACK------

Kurama: “—-What do you even know about me? I gave you the right to speak and now you’re getting on my head.”

Yoshino: “…..I certainly don’t know anything about Kurama. But still, the weak observe the strong.”

Kurama: “……………..”

Yoshino: “At least it’s faster for me to get to know Kurama…. than for Kurama, who has no interest in humans, to get to know me.”

Kurama: “—–Those eyes.”

Yoshino: “hmm?”

Kurama: “I don’t like your eyes. I hate the way how it’s shining so strangely in the dark night.”

------FLASHBACK ENDS-------

(It was the night when Ibuki kidnapped me and gave me to Kurama.)

Yoshino: “I know a lot more about Kurama now than I did back then.”

Kurama(blushing): “It’s still not enough. After wanting all of you, I’m still want more and more....I’d rather force myself to conquer all of you than hiding you from the rest of the world.”

(.....Mm.)

Kurama(blushing): “And the brilliance of your eyes.”

His red eyes approach with an insatiable heat.

Along with that, Kurama’s palm covers my eyes.

Yoshino: “Mmm.....”

In the darkness, I feel my lips being robbed.

A sweet sigh leaks from my mouth and his tongue invites itself in.

Yoshino: “Haa....ahh...Ku...ra...maa....”

(Mm...no more...)

I was even more sensitive now that my eyes are covered and I was easily overwhelmed by Kurama.

When my head was in a haze, he removes his hand.....

(.....Beautiful.)

I see Kurama looking down at me defenselessly.

Kurama: “Yoshino.”

His deep voice calls my name and softly bites my neck.

Yoshino: “Nnn....Ku...rama...”

Kurama: “Why are you keeping your voice down....? I like the way you resist, but you don’t have to fight greed, do you?”

Yoshino: “Nm...because...”

(Because it’s so embarrassing that I’m the only one drowning so much.)

Kurama: “I’m the only one who has the privilege to hear your sweet voice.....leave yourself to pleasure and accept my heart with your body.”

I can’t resist anymore. Everywhere he touches, just melts.

Yoshino: “Ahh....Ku...ra..ma....Mm...too....”

I put my arms around his neck and beg for him.

Kurama: “Finally gave up resisting?”

Yoshino(blushing): “How can I not...when you’re being so romantic...”

Kurama: “....Cheeky woman.”

(We will deepen our love as often as we can. In our own way...and fast.)

Kurama whispered to me and held me down, forcing his body in mine more roughly than usual....

On that night, I received the love of a lone demon who never belonged to anyone.....

fin.

Main Story Masterlist