#I Fought the Law and Kicked Its Butt

[freddyloyd]

starts out by putting Roy down to prop Jason up. Lovely.

[my-weird-news]

10 Most Gorgeous 90’s Crushes

The Timeless Temptresses: Where Are They Now? Ah, Carmen Electra! The Baywatch days - where even the beach sand seemed to blush around those lifeguards. And guess what? She’s still hotter than a jalapeño in a sauna at over 40! Is there a fountain of youth or did Carmen strike a deal with the aging devil? Someone needs to investigate. Christina Applegate: From Dumb Blond to Hollywood Bombshell So, you remember Christina Applegate as Kelly Bundy from the "Married with Children" sitcom, right? Yeah, that one – the show that was like a blast from the past that you can’t believe you watched without cringing. But hold on a second, Christina’s no dummy. She’s been out there dropping wisdom bombs like a knowledge ninja. And hey, she fought off breast cancer like a boss. If that’s not a superhero origin story, I don’t know what is. Claudia Schiffer: The 90s Dream Goddess Alright, folks, remember Claudia Schiffer? That name you whispered in hushed tones like a secret code for teenage hormonal urges? Yeah, she was the ultimate 90s babe. I mean, 83.7% of boners were directly linked to her supermodel aura. And guess what? She made more money than you could shake a catwalk at – over $50 million! Looks like walking down runways is a shortcut to making it rain. Michelle Pfeiffer: The Cat's Meow What do you call a Batman movie without a Catwoman in it? A travesty! Michelle Pfeiffer was the original feline femme fatale, slinking around in tight black leather, making even Gotham's dark knight do a double take. Can you imagine Batman fighting crime while dealing with constant distractions from that outfit? No wonder he's so moody. Pamela Anderson: More Than Just a Lifeguard Pamela Anderson – the ultimate proof that if you’ve got it, flaunt it. From the beaches of Baywatch to playing a scantily clad superhero in "Striperella", she knew how to make heads turn faster than an owl with whiplash. And don't even get me started on that celebrity sex-tape scandal – it's like she turned the spotlight into a strobe light. Heather Locklear: Melrose Maverick Melrose Place: the show you either loved to bits or wished it would spontaneously combust. Heather Locklear was the flame-haired drama queen in the middle of it all. She faced criticism for being "out of control" on drugs and alcohol, but honestly, who wouldn't need a little something to cope with the chaos of a Melrose life? Lucy Lawless: Warrior Princess and Beyond Lucy Lawless, aka Xena, the warrior princess – a role that screams "badass on horseback". But wait, there’s more! She teamed up with Bruce Campbell, the "groovy" star from "Evil Dead", proving that kicking demon butt is a job that never gets old. Seriously, drop everything and watch "Ash vs Evil Dead". You won't regret it. Cindy Crawford: The Supermodel Extraordinaire Cindy Crawford, the supermodel who redefined the phrase "jaw-dropping beauty". She was up there on VH1’s "Hottest Hotties of the 90s" list and even made the Men’s Health "100 Hottest Women of All-Time". And hey, she did it without resorting to revealing her lady bits – take notes, Miley Cyrus! Jennifer Aniston: More Than Just "The Rachel" Who could forget Jennifer Aniston as Rachel? Her hairstyle was iconic – it even had its own name, like it was a fancy cocktail or something. And those chilly sets? No bras? Yeah, we know what you mean, Jennifer. But don't worry, we were too busy enjoying your hilarious antics to notice�� too much. Sarah Michelle Gellar: Slaying on Screen Buffy the Vampire Slayer – the show that kicked supernatural butts and then had to endure the Twilight fiasco. Sarah Michelle Gellar was the slayer that taught us to fight demons with witty one-liners. Sure, there have been other roles, but to us, she’ll always be the girl with a stick, laying down the stake and the law. And there you have it, folks! Our favorite 90s stars, still shining bright and leaving us with more memories than a scrapbook overloaded with glitter. It's like the past two decades never happened, and honestly, I'm not complaining! 🌟# The Timeless Temptresses: Where Are They Now? Ah, Carmen Electra! The Baywatch days - where even the beach sand seemed to blush around those lifeguards. And guess what? She’s still hotter than a jalapeño in a sauna at over 40! Is there a fountain of youth or did Carmen strike a deal with the aging devil? Someone needs to investigate. Christina Applegate: From Dumb Blond to Hollywood Bombshell So, you remember Christina Applegate as Kelly Bundy from the "Married with Children" sitcom, right? Yeah, that one – the show that was like a blast from the past that you can’t believe you watched without cringing. But hold on a second, Christina’s no dummy. She’s been out there dropping wisdom bombs like a knowledge ninja. And hey, she fought off breast cancer like a boss. If that’s not a superhero origin story, I don’t know what is. Claudia Schiffer: The 90s Dream Goddess Alright, folks, remember Claudia Schiffer? That name you whispered in hushed tones like a secret code for teenage hormonal urges? Yeah, she was the ultimate 90s babe. I mean, 83.7% of boners were directly linked to her supermodel aura. And guess what? She made more money than you could shake a catwalk at – over $50 million! Looks like walking down runways is a shortcut to making it rain. Michelle Pfeiffer: The Cat's Meow What do you call a Batman movie without a Catwoman in it? A travesty! Michelle Pfeiffer was the original feline femme fatale, slinking around in tight black leather, making even Gotham's dark knight do a double take. Can you imagine Batman fighting crime while dealing with constant distractions from that outfit? No wonder he's so moody. Pamela Anderson: More Than Just a Lifeguard Pamela Anderson – the ultimate proof that if you’ve got it, flaunt it. From the beaches of Baywatch to playing a scantily clad superhero in "Striperella", she knew how to make heads turn faster than an owl with whiplash. And don't even get me started on that celebrity sex-tape scandal – it's like she turned the spotlight into a strobe light. Heather Locklear: Melrose Maverick Melrose Place: the show you either loved to bits or wished it would spontaneously combust. Heather Locklear was the flame-haired drama queen in the middle of it all. She faced criticism for being "out of control" on drugs and alcohol, but honestly, who wouldn't need a little something to cope with the chaos of a Melrose life? Lucy Lawless: Warrior Princess and Beyond Lucy Lawless, aka Xena, the warrior princess – a role that screams "badass on horseback". But wait, there’s more! She teamed up with Bruce Campbell, the "groovy" star from "Evil Dead", proving that kicking demon butt is a job that never gets old. Seriously, drop everything and watch "Ash vs Evil Dead". You won't regret it. Cindy Crawford: The Supermodel Extraordinaire Cindy Crawford, the supermodel who redefined the phrase "jaw-dropping beauty". She was up there on VH1’s "Hottest Hotties of the 90s" list and even made the Men’s Health "100 Hottest Women of All-Time". And hey, she did it without resorting to revealing her lady bits – take notes, Miley Cyrus! Jennifer Aniston: More Than Just "The Rachel" Who could forget Jennifer Aniston as Rachel? Her hairstyle was iconic – it even had its own name, like it was a fancy cocktail or something. And those chilly sets? No bras? Yeah, we know what you mean, Jennifer. But don't worry, we were too busy enjoying your hilarious antics to notice… too much. Sarah Michelle Gellar: Slaying on Screen Buffy the Vampire Slayer – the show that kicked supernatural butts and then had to endure the Twilight fiasco. Sarah Michelle Gellar was the slayer that taught us to fight demons with witty one-liners. Sure, there have been other roles, but to us, she’ll always be the girl with a stick, laying down the stake and the law. And there you have it, folks! Our favorite 90s stars, still shining bright and leaving us with more memories than a scrapbook overloaded with glitter. It's like the past two decades never happened, and honestly, I'm not complaining! 🌟 Read the full article

[plannedparenthood]

Thank You, RBG

We are heartbroken. Supreme Court Justice and gender equality hero Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday, Sept. 18. Her death is a painful loss for our country. She was a fierce and unapologetic warrior for equality, and her achievements are endless. As we mourn we’re also embracing our gratitude for her service to our country.

Cherishing RBG’s Legacy

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg committed her life to protecting the rights, freedoms, and health of people across the country — in particular women, communities of color, and others whose voices too often go unheard. She was a true trailblazer who inspired millions of girls and women to fight through sexism and discrimination to make American a better place to work, to live, and to love. 

Her powerful words over the years, including her razor-sharp dissents, helped push our nation toward freedom and opportunity for all. Her spirit, values, and words will be deeply missed.

A Modern Revolutionary

Some revolutionaries shook up a society with anger burning and guns blazing. Others studied hard, knocked down an unfair system one peg at a time, and spoke truth to power while wearing a lace collar. That was Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 

She got two mottoes from her mother, Celia Bader (who marched for women’s suffrage): 

“Be independent,” take care of yourself without being financially beholden to a man, and

“Be a lady,” don't allow emotions like anger to be so consuming they get in your way.

When Ruth Bader Ginsburg saw anything repugnant — like systemic discrimination — she would get straight to work. It wasn’t easy. Over decades, Ruth Bader Ginsburg faced a slew of indignities. But she harnessed courage and resolve to strategically break down America’s sexist, unethical laws and institutions. 

To honor the Notorious RBG, we’ve collected our seven favorite facts about her life and her legacy.

7) RBG was defiant in the face of entrenched sexism in college and law school.

Most colleges didn’t accept women in the 1950s, and Ruth Bader was one of the first to break the gender barrier. At Cornell University, she was sexually harassed by a professor, who offered answers to a test in exchange for sex. She confronted him: “I went to his office and I said, ‘How dare you? How dare you do this?’ And that was the end of that.” 

At Harvard Law School, she and the eight other women in her class of more than 500 students were ogled, ignored in the classroom, excluded from the library, and asked by the dean how they could possibly justify taking a seat away from a man. But that hostile environment didn’t stop her. 

She fought it with brain power and superhuman physical endurance. She was so obsessed with the law that she’d regularly stay up until dawn studying. Well into her 80s, she retained her reputation for working until 3 a.m. and living on just two hours of sleep. 

While she was kicking butt at the top of her classes, she was also taking care of her young daughter and sick husband. Martin (Marty) Ginsburg contracted testicular cancer and had extensive radiation therapy, which kept him from going to his own law school classes. So, RBG organized his friends to attend his classes, worked through their notes with Marty, and typed up Marty’s papers — all while doing her own schoolwork on top of it. 

She tied for first in her class from Columbia Law School in 1959. She also was the first person to become a member of both the prestigious Harvard Law Review, and the Columbia Law Review — one of many of her unprecedented feats. She proved to those elite schools that a woman could succeed.

6) RBG showed the world what a partnership looks like in a husband-wife relationship.

Ruth Bader met Marty Ginsburg while they were both at Cornell University, and they forged an equal partnership from the beginning. He learned to cook so she didn’t have to. Later, he lobbied for her seats on the Court of Appeals in D.C. and on the Supreme Court. And he gave up his law firm in New York to follow her to Washington — a shocking move at the time. 

Here’s how she put it at her 1993 Senate confirmation hearing:

“I surely would not be in this room today without the determined efforts of men and women who kept dreams of equal citizenship alive. I have had the great good fortune to share life with a partner truly extraordinary for his generation. A man who believed at age 18 when we met that a woman’s work, whether at home or on the job, is as important as a man’s. I became a lawyer when women were not wanted by most members of the legal profession. I became a lawyer because Marty supported that choice unreservedly.”

5.) RBG won a whopping five cases before the Supreme Court — and they all advanced the Constitutional protection of equal rights for all Americans.

As smart and accomplished as Ruth Bader Ginsburg was, no law firm would hire her after she graduated from law school. Law firms slammed the door in her face time after time because they only hired men. She realized that “being a woman was an impediment.”

As Ginsburg navigated the legal working world in the 1960s, she saw how thousands of state and federal laws were treating women as second-class citizens. At that time, most states’ laws allowed employment termination for pregnancy, and let banks deny credit to women without a male co-signer. The Supreme Court had rejected every challenge to laws that treated women worse than men.

All this gender discrimination fueled Ginsburg’s drive for social justice. In the early 1970s, she followed the strategy of NAACP civil rights lawyer and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, who helped dismantle Jim Crow laws case by case over many years — leading to Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, which outlawed racial segregation in schools in 1954. Like Marshall, Ginsburg centered her arguments on the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which says all persons should be treated equally under the law.

Throughout the ‘70s, Ginsburg led the ACLU’s Women's Rights Project, for which she argued and won five landmark gender equality cases before the Supreme Court. As she said in the 2018 documentary RBG: "I knew that I was speaking to men who didn't think there was such a thing as gender-based discrimination, and my job was to tell them it really exists.”

These cases set the foundation for the country’s laws against sex discrimination, and helped eliminate being male as the criteria for employment, pay, and benefits:

Two cases in 1975 and 1979 established the requirement that women serve on juries, recognizing that they should enjoy both the benefits and the responsibilities of our judicial system.

“The vaunted woman's privilege viewed against history's backdrop simply reflects and perpetuates a certain way of thinking about women. Women traditionally were deemed lesser citizens.”

—Ruth Bader Ginsburg, arguing before the Supreme Court (Duren v. Missouri, 1979)

An employment benefits case in 1973 required the U.S. military to equally distribute family-based benefits for service members regardless of sex.

“In asking the Court to declare sex a suspect criterion, we urge a position forcibly stated in 1837 by Sara Grimke, noted abolitionist and advocate of equal rights for men and women. She said, ‘I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.'”

— Ruth Bader Ginsburg, arguing before the Supreme Court (Frontiero v. Richardson, 1973)

Two cases in 1974 and 1975 threw out gender-based distinctions in survivors’ benefits, granting widowers the same benefits as widows. RBG argued that while giving widows special treatment sounded nice, it wasn’t. Withholding benefits to widowers devalued the work of their deceased wives.

“A gender line...helps to keep women not on a pedestal, but in a cage.”

—Ruth Bader Ginsburg, arguing before the Supreme Court (Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld, 1975)

4) At her confirmation hearings, RBG openly declared that abortion access is a Constitutional right.

At her 1993 Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Ruth Bader Ginsburg showed what it looks like to uphold constitutional rights. Unlike recent Supreme Court nominees, she affirmatively declared the Constitutional right to safe, legal abortion. When Sen. Hank Brown (R-CO) grilled her about her views on abortion, she declared:

“But you asked me about my thinking about equal protection versus individual autonomy, and my answer to you is it's both. This is something central to a woman's life, to her dignity. It's a decision that she must make for herself. And when Government controls that decision for her, she's being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices.”

3) RBG wrote the historic decision ruling that state-funded schools must admit women.

In 1996, Justice Ginsburg wrote the Supreme Court’s majority opinion in United States v. Virginia, which ruled that the Virginia Military Institute’s men-only admission policy violated the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. Justice Ginsburg destroyed the Institute’s argument that its program wasn’t suitable for women. Instead, she wrote that:

“[G]eneralizations about ‘the way women are,’ estimates of what is appropriate for most women, no longer justify denying opportunity to women whose talent and capacity place them outside the average description.”

The school has admitted women since then, and — as Justice Ginsburg predicted — they have made the school proud.

2) RBG’s dissent from the majority in Lilly Ledbetter’s case led to the passage a fair pay law.

In 2007, Justice Ginsburg dissented in the ruling against Lilly Ledbetter — a tire factory employee who learned, decades into her tenure, that she was being paid much less than men in the exact same supervisory role: She was making $3,727 per month, while her male counterparts were making between $4,286 and $5,236 per month. However, she lost the case because the Civil Rights Act had a statute of limitations for reporting on discrimination. 

In her scathing dissent, Justice Ginsburg wrote that gender discrimination can be hidden for a long time and “the ball is in Congress’s court” to change the rule. In 2009, Barack Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which extended the Civil Rights Act’s statute of limitations and guarantees women equal pay for equal work.

1.) RBG put the smack down on TRAP laws in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt. 

In the landmark Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt case in 2016, the Supreme Court — including Justice Ginsburg — ruled that two abortion restrictions in Texas were unconstitutional because they would shut down most clinics in the state and cause Texans an “undue burden” on access to safe, legal abortion. The case exposed the lie that anti-abortion politicians have been peddling for years: that it’s somehow “safer” when the state imposes medically unnecessary, onerous targeted restrictions against abortion providers (TRAP) laws. 

In her concurring opinion to the majority, Justice Ginsburg wrote:

“Given those realities [that keep abortion access out of reach], it is beyond rational belief that H.B. 2 could genuinely protect the health of women, and certain that the law ‘would simply make it more difficult for them to obtain abortions’... When a State severely limits access to safe and legal procedures, women in desperate circumstances may resort to unlicensed rogue practitioners... at great risk to their health and safety.”

With this historic decision, the Court reaffirmed the constitutional right to access legal abortion. This decision was a triumph for abortion access. And when one of the restrictions that Ginsburg helped strike down came up in another lawsuit this year, Ginsburg again helped lead the Court to protecting abortion access in a major Supreme Court victory for reproductive rights.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg rose for all of us. How will we work together to rise for her?

From day one, Justice Ginsburg recognized our constitutional right to control our bodies and our destinies. That is a legacy that cannot and must not depart with her. 

Justice Ginsburg stood up for us. Now it’s our turn. 

Follow Planned Parenthood at facebook.com/PlannedParenthood and twitter.com/PPFA to stay updated on how to get involved. Together, we will rise. 

By Miriam at PPFA

[bbugyu]

good in bed + yoon jeonghan

between your long hours at the law firm and jeonghan's comeback coming up, time alone was hard to come by.

wc.3836 | smut, fluff, canon compliant, filthy language, too much laughing, gender neutral reader (but they do have a vagina), accidental domestication, an insane amount of praising and loving, the most vanilla smut i've ever written

i had every intention of writing a fic for every member before i started repeating and then jeonghan has been really mean to me this era and i was listening to dua lipa and wrote this entire thing in one go at like 2am a couple nights ago and now i have to post it

*

as someone who was lucky enough to have exclusive fucking rights to yoon jeonghan, you had learned that spontanaity was an absolute must. you were both extremely busy people, and sometimes making time to see each other was more difficult than you thought it should be. it didn't help that you couldn't meet in public - what with jeonghan's career - so days spent alone together were fewer and farther between, especially with his team gearing up for comeback promotions. recently, the most time you had spent with your boyfriend was the short while you spent video chatting when he got home from practice, usually around when you were waking up to head to work. 

so when you got a kakao message from jeonghan saying he was downstairs, you were quick to buzz him up to your floor, even if he knew the code to let himself in.

you had already settled in for the night, wearing a white tee with printing on the back - one of the many shirts he had abandoned at your home - and a pair of sleep shorts. you grabbed the pint of ice cream you had been snacking on and tossed it in the freezer before you went to the front door where your boyfriend has already punched in your door code.

his smile was immediate, an arm wrapping around your waist and pulling you into a quick peck on your cheek. "hi, baby."

you giggled when he pulled away. "hello, darling. to what do i owe the pleasure?"

"got out of practice early" jeonghan said, shuffling off his shoes and stepping into his designated slippers, tossing the duffel bag with his practice clothes to the side. "i convinced younghwan that i can get to the company on my own tomorrow."

"you have practice tomorrow? it's saturday."

jeonghan sighed, a smile dancing on his lips, running his fingers through your hair briefly. "fitting. 2pm. how was work?"

"fine," you said as you led him into your living area, thinking about how long it had been since the two of you had gotten to spend a whole evening and morning together. you meandered into the kitchen as you spoke about the intern you had taken on as a favor to a friend of yours. "have you eaten? do you want something?"

"i ate," he said, reaching an arm out to pull you towards him. he backed himself against a counter, smiling at you as you leaned into his chest. "you look particularly lovely today."

you huffed, batting at his chest. "shut up."

"you do!" he laughed, eyes big as he tried to convince you that his favorite version of you was the one that had already washed your face and was lounging in his clothes. you rolled your eyes and told him he just hadn't seen you much recently, but he countered by saying he looked at pictures of you every day, sighing at his phone, annoying all the members by saying how pretty you were and how much he missed you. you laughed at his tale of yearning, fully ready to call him a lying idiot.

then he kissed you, and you no longer remembered what you had talked about or if it was important, because jeonghan's lips were on yours and they demanded your full attention.

"mm, sweet," he teased, wrapping his arms tighter around you.

you giggled. "strawberry ice cream."

"good choice," he muttered, lips pressing against yours again. and much like the ice cream, you melted against him, heat rising in your chest when his hands worked their way down your hips and squeezed at your ass. your arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer as you nipped at his lower lip, sparking a low groan.

"okay, we're going now." you giggled at jeonghan's announcement as he squeezed a palm against your butt once more before grabbing your hand and leading you to your own bedroom. you were still giggling when he put his hands on your hips, standing at the edge of your bed. you placed your arms around his neck, excitedly kissing him again, savoring the taste of his tongue on yours. somehow, he was sweeter than ice cream.

he held you like that longer than he intended, but jeonghan had a habit of getting distracted by you. his hands kneaded at your ass, only covered by the thin fabric of your criminally short house pants, and he quickly shoved his hands under the waistband to grip at you fully. you gasped into his lips, wanting nothing more than to grind against his lap.

with his vantage point, jeonghan slid your shorts and underwear down your thighs easily, letting them pool at your slippers as he returned his attention to your rear end. you shuddered at the feeling of the cool air against your core, biting at his lip. impatient, you fought with his belted jeans and shoved them down his hips when they were loose enough, earning a sly grin. "need something?"

you stared at his cock as it sprung out of its confines, hard and angry. "dunno, do you?"

jeonghan didn't respond outside of sitting back on your bed, kicking off his jeans as you fumbled with your bedside table, finding a condom. it had been too long. you both needed something. and neither of you were in much of a position to tease the other.

you crawled over to where he had backed up, sitting with his dick on high alert, and straddled his lap. he took only a second to whip off his shirt, then ran his hands up under yours to run a thumb over your hardened nipple. you whimpered, rutting your bare pussy against his shaft, which pulled a groan from his chest. you were wet and hot against the underside of jeonghan's velvety cock, and his hips bucked involuntarily into yours at the feeling. his fingers gripped your hips, dragging your pussy across his length. you moaned when the head of his cock brushed up against your clit, making your thighs shake already.

"fuck, baby, i need you now."

you bit your lip and nodded, wishing you didn't have to remove yourself from him just so he could slide on a rubber. he bunched up the hem of your shirt, gripping it against your waist to watch as his cock disappeared into your warmth.

your head fell to his shoulder as you lowered, whining at the way your walls stretched around him. he exhaled slowly, putting one hand on the back of your neck, the touch relaxing some tension in your shoulders. "you opened right up, sweetheart. have you been touching yourself?"

you threw your head back, still feeling slightly visually impaired from how full he made you, and twisted your hips slightly, earning a muffled grunt from your overly confident partner. "what i do in my spare time is no business of yours."

"mmmm," jeonghan pulled your shirt up more, capturing a nipple between his lips and sucking. "but imagining you fucking yourself while i'm not around is incredibly hot."

you moaned, rolling your hips into his and wrapping your arms around his neck. "fuck, jeonghan-"

"do you use that vibrator i got you?" he asked, hands on your hips, guiding you up off his cock and pulling you down harshly. you yelped, clutching at the hair at his nape as your mouth fell open. he captured you in a messy kiss at the opportunity, a string of saliva connecting your tongues when you pulled away to continue bouncing on him. "do you stretch yourself out with it and wish it was me? you're so easy to fuck right now."

his cock slid in and out of you too smoothly for how little foreplay had occurred, and your cheeks burned at the realization that jeonghan had perhaps too strong of an effect on you. you tried not to think about how good the vibrator had felt when you tweaked your nipples the way jeonghan did, when you imagined his voice egging you on towards an orgasm, when you pretended it was his hand pumping the device into you instead of your own. 

his grip on your waist tightened as he felt your walls clench around him. "god, you feel fucking incredible. you feel like heaven. you feel like a dream."

"you go from so filthy to so cheesy" you whined, feeling him hit spots in you that made your vision blur momentarily. "make up your mind."

you barely registered the dreamy grin on his face as he wrapped his arms around you, holding you against his chest while he rolled his hips up into yours. "you're the most beautiful person i've ever met."

"no, you."

"i'm serious," he said, finding your eyes. "i'm so lucky to have you."

you blinked as you tried to think of a worthy response, only to have your thoughts interrupted by jeonghan rutting up into you again.

"i love that you pretend to be asleep when i wake up so that i can keep cuddling you," he said, catching your lips between words and thrusts. "i love the way you drink beer like it's the most satisfying thing in the world."

"j-jeongh-"

"shh," he said, smiling against your lips, continuing his steady hip rolling, pushing himself into all the spots that made you whine. you moaned, and he ate it up, his tongue gliding across your lips. "i'm not done."

your vision was starting to get fuzzy around the edges as you felt the tension coil in your gut. "i'm about to be," you said, dropping your face into his neck. "you're hitting me too deep."

"yeah, baby? you're gonna cum?" he leaned back against a hand and let you take the control you desperately wanted, rolling your hips against him in a way that hit your g-spot and stimulated your clit, and you gasped when he pinched at your nipple. "you look so good like this. fucking yourself on me."

your nails dug into his shoulders as you moaned out his name, riding out your orgasm on his lap. jeonghan watched you intently, like you were his favorite movie. the movie he could put on no matter what mood he was in. the movie he had memorized but never wanted to stop watching. he kissed you as you came down, rubbing your back under the oversized shirt. your hips stuttered on his, and he bit back a groan. his cock felt so hard in you he thought it might shatter if it went on like this for much longer.

you were still trying to catch your breath when you felt him twitch in you. you pressed your forehead against his. "mm, go ahead, baby."

"are you sure?" he asked, looking at you. "you're ready?'

you nodded, a hand on the back of his neck. he kissed you quickly and helped his shirt off your frame before falling back and bringing you with him, pulling a giggle from your lips as he rolled you over onto your back and hiked your thighs up around his hips. despite the fact that he never fully pulled out, you still sighed when he pushed back into you, overstimulated stretch morphing into continued pleasure far too quickly. 

jeonghan stayed like that a moment, parked with his hips between your thighs, hilt deep in your pussy, his elbows hooked under your knees, one hand on your waist and the other keeping him from putting all his weight on you. he loved the way you stared up at him, eyebrows ruffled slightly at your full cunt. he pushed into you a few more times like that before unhooking your legs, wrapping one arm around your waist and the other hand finding your jaw. your arms went to his neck again, pulling him into a kiss as he pumped himself into you.

"fuck," he groaned, biting at your lip. "god, your pussy is out of this world."

he kept burying himself in you completely, and even then tried to push his hips further into yours. he bit at your shoulder, hair sticking to the sweat accumulating on his forehead.

"you fit me so perfectly," jeonghan said, lifting his head to look at you. his thumb drifted across your jawline to your lips, and you instinctively parted them let your tongue roll out and wet the pad of his thumb. he groaned again, one eye squinting slightly as he focused on your tongue, remembering the way it felt along his cock. "we were made for each other, i think."

"you're so-" you started, but your post orgasm haze made it hard to form coherent sentences, especially when you were still getting fucked. "you're being so-"

"sweet?" jeonghan asked, kissing against your jawline. "romantic?"

"annoying," you said facetiously, earning a laugh against your neck. "i miss the days when you would call me a slut and leave while i was sleeping."

the kisses trailed back up your neck, and you whined as he began to pick up his pace. "sorry, i'm just so full of love these days."

"well," you interrupted yourself with a moan as your body began reacting more to his movement. "i'm full of dick."

jeonghan smiled again, but this one is covered almost completely by your lips on his, desperate and needy. an elbow kept him from laying completely on top of you, the same hand caressing your jaw gently as his lips worked against yours. you couldn't help the quiet squeak that escaped every time he bottomed out into you, and he wished he could have the image of you absolutely fucked out of your mind beneath him etched into his memory forever.

luckily, he saw it enough that it might as well be.

"i love it when you wear my clothes," he said. "i love the way you walk when you know i'm watching."

you gasped when his teeth dragged across your pulse. "not the neck, baby. i'm working on a really important case."

"mmm, so focused on your career." he smiled as he kissed further down and settled to leave a hickey on your collarbone, running a hand down your body. "god, everything about you is so sexy."

your back arched into his touch. "your dirty talk keeps getting weirder the longer we're together."

"what can i say? you turned me into someone that's horny for stability." that pulled a giggle from you, which quickly turned to a moan when he pushed his needy member into you again. "your body is so perfect against mine. i love every centimetre."

you couldn't help but think about all the times he had proven just that, fingers tracing over your sensitive skin while he lapped at your dripping folds. squeezing your thighs as he pushed his tongue into you. or when he had you on your stomach, caging you in with your tight cunt full of cock, a hand lifting your hip off the bed to get a better angle as he bit your shoulder. 

as your brain whirred with filthy thoughts of past fun, jeonghan groaned and sucked a nipple between his lips. you gripped his hair, knowing he felt every squeeze of your walls in reaction to his touch.

"you know what i love?" he said, releasing his mouth from your chest and kissing your lips instead. "i love when you greet me at the door. you know i'll get in just fine but you still come to the door."

you thought he was timing his thrusts to stop you from responding when your mouth opened just to let out a moan. "i missed you."

"i missed you, too, baby." your ankles hooked around each other behind his back. "i missed your perfect body and your smart mouth."

"jeonghan," you gasped slightly. "p-please don't stop."

he moaned, pulling you as closely against him as he could. "i love you when you laugh," he whispered, eyes screwing shut. "you're like an angel. so beautiful and sweet. but god, i love it when you're mean, too."

you wanted to say something about his words sounding familiar, but the thoughts disappeared before they could reach your mouth.

"remember when i visited your office," he said, recalling the saturday eons ago, one of the first times you had met up without the intention of blowing off some steam sexually. even with a mask and a bucket hat on, your assistant had recognized him immediately, making you threaten her with your law degree to make sure she didn't spread any rumors about the idol. "there was barely anyone around but you were still wearing slacks and a button up. i think i fell in love with you just by watching you work that day."

"oh, god, jeonghan," you whimpered. "fuck, i'm going to cum again."

"yeah you are, baby." jeonghan snaked a hand between you to press against your clit, the movement of his hips crashing into yours forcing his thumb to rub against the sensitive nub. you gripped his hair, nails digging into the back of his neck. "cum for me, sweetheart."

your want to please him won easily against your tired body, especially with how worked up he had managed to get you, and you practically rattled against him as he fucked into you. you grabbed the sides of his face and moaned into the kiss, and it only took seconds of your walls pulsing around his cock before he was stuttering his hips and unloading into the condom.

when his lips pulled away from yours, you were both breathing heavily with a light sheen of sweat making you sparkle in the dim lighting of your bedroom. he buried his face in your neck, wrapping his arms around your waist completely and settling into you. "ok goodnight."

you laughed, your hand running through jeonghan's hair as you cuddled. "goodnight," you said, knowing he would roll off you too soon to discard the condom and find some water. you twisted a bit of his hair around your fingers, sighing happily, enjoying the feeling of him in you while you could. 

"baby," he said, voice muffled from being pressed into the crook of your neck. "do you wanna order takeout?"

you laughed. "i thought you said you ate?"

jeonghan pulled away to grin at you. "i've been known to tell a white lie every once in a while." you laughed, letting out a small noise when he pulled out of you to discard the condom in your bathroom. "especially when i have really good motive."

you laid on your side, watching him flick the light on and off to find the garbage can. "i love you."

"yeah?" after discarding a tissue he used to quickly clean himself up a bit, he hurried himself back to your side, sliding into your bed next to you. "how much?"

you sat up, looking for where he had discarded the shirt you were wearing. "just enough to get you dinner. what do you want?"

"hmm," he traced your spine with his fingertips. "black bean noodles."

you rolled your eyes, crawling over him to get out of bed and grabbed the shirt he came in. "you always want black bean noodles," you said, pulling it over your head, tugging at the black fabric and showing it off to him.

jeonghan smiled as he watched you. "that one place you always order from. they don't deliver to the new dorms."

"ah," you said, finding your underwear and tossing jeonghan's towards him. "you're using me for my address."

he laughed and sat up to pull on the undergarment. "that and the mindblowing sex."

you laughed, brushing your fingers through your hair as you left the bedroom to retrieve your phone and place the order. "you're lucky you're pretty."

when you returned with your phone and leaned against the doorframe, jeonghan was pulling on a pair of his shorts that he had gotten from your closet. he grabbed the shirt you had been wearing from the bed, shoving his feet into his slippers and shuffling towards you. you smiled at him as you waited for the restaurants in your area to load in app, searching for the place he had talked about.

"do you want anything else?" you asked, letting him snake an arm around your waist and plant a kiss on your lips.

"mmmmmm, no, i don't think so. you're everything i need."

you squinted at him. "extra radish? soondae?"

he squinted back. "okay, just prove me wrong, then."

you giggled, poking at his bare chest before pulling away to continue the dinner order. "i wanted soondae."

"hey, i thought you were buying me dinner."

you tossed your phone on the couch after the order sent, jeonghan's arms around your hips encumbering you as you laughed and tried to walk away from him, the shirt he had intended to put on getting abandoned on the floor. "yeah, and i'm also letting you sleep in my bed tonight. and feeding you in the morning. and driving you to work tomorrow. start thanking me."

"thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou-"

you practically snorted, pushing on his chest as he made kissy faces at you. "god, you're so annoying!"

jeonghan laughed, pulling at your waist until he could secure his arms under your butt, lifting you off the floor. "i love you thank you i love you!"

"where's this energy coming from?" you split your knees to wrap around jeonghan's waist. he turned to sit on the couch with you on his lap, making you frantically grab your phone as he sat half on it. "haven't you been practicing all day?"

he smiled, hands running up and down your thighs and over your ass. "i was getting so burnt out without you around. i feel alive again."

you pouted. "you can't say stuff like that."

"why?" he kept smiling at you. "it's true. you are my energy."

something in your chest fluttered, making you blush. you thought about all the long days of work and all the long nights you had spent without him. how tired you always felt. how much your mood increased just by seeing the message from him earlier. "shut up. you're mine, too."

he grinned even wider. "do you wanna visit the new dorms? i'm almost done decorating my room."

"does it look exactly like your old room?"

he kept facing you, but his eyes darted to the left. "no."

you giggled, your hands finding his neck and placing a quick kiss on his lips. "i'd love to. when will you be home?"

"next weekend?" it would be the last free sunday he'd have for a while. "i can hide you. you could stay over."

you sighed. "your managers are gonna be so sick of us."

"it's fun though, right?" he laughed. "sneaking around like teenagers."

"at least we don't have to fuck in cars," you teased, checking the delivery time on your phone. "fifteen minutes."

"mmm, however shall we fill the time?"

you rolled your eyes, but smiled against his lips nonetheless.

[scarlettwitcher]

Úlfur Minn Part Three

Request: by @laneygthememequeen​: Hello lovely! I just saw that youre open to requests and are itching to write something for soft boi geralt! If you’re open to it, can I request a geralt x reader where reader seems like super innocent but is like an actual warrior/badass and he’s just like in awe. Or maybe where the reader is in like a dress for some reason and she usually doesn’t wear dresses because they’re inconvenient for fighting and ends up having to fight in the dress. take care and I hope you have a wonderful day💖

Summary: After Jaskier is finally able to convince Geralt to be his bodyguard for Pavetta’s betrothal dinner, shit goes down and Geralt has to make the decision of whether or not he should tell Y/n how he really feels.

Characters: Geralt, Reader, Jaskier, Calanthe, Eist, Mousesack, Pavetta, Duny, mentions of secondary characters in the show.

Word Count: 3296

Warnings: Angst, violence, fighting, some kinda(?) graphic descriptions of fighting, mention of blood, cursing, fluff, canon typical warnings

Author’s Note: Part three!!! I’m not gonna lie, I’m kinda sad this series is almost over! I really loved writing this. I’m thinking of writing more episode based series, with reader being integrated into the plot. I find it interesting! Thank you for all the love this series has been getting! As always, my requests are open. I’m currently in the progress of writing a couple, but am still open for more. My taglists are also open, so if you’d like to be tagged for any individual character, fandom, or be tagged in everything, just shoot me a message or an ask! Thanks for reading and feedback is always welcome! 

Also, show my girl @queenxxxsupreme​ lotta love. k.

Previously on Úlfur Minn...

“Lioness of Cintra, I come to claim what is rightfully mine! Pavetta. By the Law of Surprise.” Before anyone could speak more, more guards appeared and attacked Duny. He carried himself easily as he defeated the guards around him, slashing at them. But as more guards entered the room, he became overpowered and was hit roughly in the face. He fell and rolled onto his back as he stared up at the guard holding a large axe over his head. He panted as he stared up at the guard with fear as he dripped blood from his lips. You growled out in anger at the queen’s disregard for the man’s life. You ran and grabbed his discarded sword as you stood over Duny. “NO!” The guard swung the axe and you swung the sword at the same time, cutting it in half as the axe fell into Duny’s hands. You swung your sword again, slitting the guards throat. He looked at you and nodded, before getting up and looking at all of the guards that surrounded the both of you. Geralt growled in anger at you for putting yourself in such a compromising position. You looked over at him and shook your head, telling him it wasn't the moment for him to scold you. He made his way to your side, almost hovering over you. 

“Kill them all!”

Now...

Everyone watched in horror as the three of you fought against the Cintran guards, the men falling in seconds. Geralt had to take a second to stop and watch as you battled against the guards. He was in complete awe at how smooth and quick your moves were. You had been traveling with the Witcher and the Bard for years but have never had to fight. Geralt always made sure you were never in a compromising situation. Since you were only the healer of the group, he never let you join him when he had to slay a monster as much as you bugged him to let you tag along. If he had known you could fight so swiftly, he still probably wouldn't have taken you but he at least wouldn't have worried so much when he left you with Jaskier, knowing the bard couldn't even defend himself for shit, much less protect you when need be. 

One guard came running after you as he swung his sword at your chest. You ducked as he swung and used your sword to slash his knee, blood splattering on the floor. The guard screamed in pain as you kicked him in the face hard, knocking him over. As soon as you regained your footing, you tripped over your dress. You were having a rough time with the dress you were wearing. You growled out and cut two very large slits in front of both of your legs. You didn't care that every movement caused your skin to be exposed, your legs visible to everyone around you all the way up to your hip. You had never been so exposed in your life to any but you didn't care. You we're fighting for what was right and you could worry about being embarrassed later. Geralt watched you with wide eyes and was distracted by your beautiful body and almost didn't see the guard sneaking up behind him. He swung around and hit him with the butt of the sword as the guard went flying into a table on the side. Before long, Eist joined the three of you. “The Law of Surprise has been called. You kill them… kill me.”

Soon, all of the Lords joined the battle, running towards the four of you with their daggers and swords. Just as you all defeated the guards, you easily defeated the lords. One of the lords that had been constantly after you all night ran towards Geralt. You frowned and went after him, tripping him as he fell forward and knocked himself out as he hit the floor hard. The Lord's brother saw this and charged angrily at you but Geralt saw this and swung his sword across his chest as he fell over with a scream. You smiled briefly at him and nodded at him as you continued fighting other guards that appeared behind you. One of the guards had been able to disarm you, knocking the sword that was in your hand onto the floor. With quick movements, you grabbed the dagger that was hidden on your thigh garter and spun, slashing his throat, watching as he fell, gripping his throat tightly. You grabbed the sword you were using and continued to fight, almost in a rampage to make a point. Calanthe had enough of the fighting and rose from her seat as she grabbed her sword and made her way into the middle of the battle, kicking one of her guards on the way. Geralt sensed a presence behind him and swung his sword only to stop as Calanthe was holding her sword towards him.

“Stop!”

"STOP!" 

“Duny. I told you to stay away.” You panted as you stood back, watching as Pavetta hugged her lover tightly. You moved behind the couple as you tried to fix your tattered dress, dropping the sword in your hand and sheathing your dagger back into place. Duny kneeled in front of the queen and took a deep breath.

“Your Majesty… the Witcher speaks the truth. I was cursed as a young boy. My whole life a living misery until the day that I saved your husband, King Roegner, from certain death. By tradition, I chose the law of Surprise as payment. Whatever windfall he came home to find… would be mine.”

“Oh, the stupid bastard. Better you had let him die!”

“You knew he’d come, and you pushed me to kill him.” You jumped at Geralt's voice from how close it was to you. You didn't realize he had moved towards you. You looked up at him and swallowed thickly, knowing the moment you were alone, he was going to berate you for being so foolish. He reached a tentative hand towards your cheek as he scanned you for injuries. You had a few cuts around your body as well as a few bruises on your cheek, jaw, and collarbone that were already darkening. He cursed you quietly and you huffed a silent laugh as Calanthe spoke with her daughter and her lover.

”...andoned all thought of claiming the Law of Surprise. I knew…. I knew no woman would ever accept me like this. And so I waited. I waited until the twelfth bell when the curse breaks. I never intended to meet her. Just to watch from afar.”

“Until destiny intervened… and our hearts collided.”

“And at dawn, I awoke with her in my arms and me… like this.” You watched the couple and sighed softly, knowing your heart longed for someone to look at you the way Duny looked at Pavetta, or in this case, you wished he looked at you that way.

“Who are we to challenge destiny? Life was saved, debt must be paid, or the whole order of the world falls apart.”

“Honor destiny’s wish, or unleash its wrath upon us.”

Calanthe glared at all the men. “There is no us. I bow to no law made by men who never bore a child! Is there not a man amongst you who does not cower before destiny? You, Witcher… who has known monsters of every fang and claw… are you afraid too?” Calanthe looked at Geralt as he scowled at her. Because he couldn't look at you, he reached out and held your arm in his hand as a sense of comfort, his way of knowing you were okay. 

“No. I’ve seen mothers lash themselves raw over the death of a child, believing they crossed destiny, ignoring the stench of the 50 other children in the plague cart outside. Destiny… helps people believe there’s an order to this horseshit. There isn’t. But a promise made must be honoured. As true for a commoner… as it is for a queen.” Geralt quickly returned his gaze to you as he pulled you into his arms. You relaxed under his hold, taking a deep breath of his scent.

“NO!” Before you could realize what was happening, everyone was thrown by a powerful thrust of power. Geralt's back hit the wall but you weren't so lucky. Your head hit the wall hard and you fell unconscious on the floor as Geralt called out your name, pulling you into his hold once more as you fell limp against him. He could hear your heartbeat and that was enough to calm him in the moment, but he was still worried as you wouldn't react to anything he did. He cradled your head gently and growled when he pulled his hand back and saw it was covered in blood. Geralt watched as a large tornado began to form in the room as Pavetta and Duny began to float in the eye of the storm. Geralt and Mousesack tried their best to intervene but we're thrown back as the storm got stronger, gathering all of the loose items in the room. Geralt looked at your unconscious form and knew, the sooner he ended this, the sooner he could get back to you. Taking one of his vials, Geralt gained enough power to cast his magic. He pushed as hard as he could into the storm, getting an inch inside. Pavetta gasped as she looked at him as he casted his magic at her, throwing the couple onto the floor. He panted heavily as he slid to the floor next to you, pulling you into his arms as he held you tightly, as everyone watched Calanthe reconnect with her daughter.

“Destiny has spoken! And I have listened. The Law of Surprise will be honored. Pavetta will marry… Lord Urcheon.”

“React poorly and you won’t just face the Lioness, you will be facing the sea hounds of Skellige. Because Queen Calanthe has… agreed to my proposal of marriage.” 

“There will be two vows here tonight! I assume that’s agreeable…” Everyone nodded their acceptance as Calanthe smiled softly. “Delightful.”

Soon, the couple was married by the queen. Duny began to growl animalisticaly as he fell to the floor. When he lifted his head, the curse had been lifted and the spikes that adorned his head were replaced with black curls, and what used to be animal features on his face, we're now human features. 

“The twelfth bell has not yet rung.”

“What has happened?”

“I think your blessing of this marriage… has fulfilled a destiny. The curse has been lifted.”

“Whew! I think this has the makings of my greatest ballad yet.”

“If you’re alive in the morning. Don’t… grope for trout in any peculiar rivers until dawn.” Geralt was all but ready to leave as he held you in his arms. He needed to get you away from all the royal drama to heal you. He growled in irritation as he was stopped by Duny.

“No, Wait! Wait. Both you and Y/n saved my life. I must repay you.”

“You’ve proven yourself to be the kind of man who would do the same. We want nothing.”

“No, please. Please, Geralt of Rivia, do not feel like you’re doing me a service. I cannot start a new life in the shadow of a life debt.”

The Witcher sighed as his eyes drifted down to your unconscious form. His eyes softened and he looked back up to the knight. It's not like you could make a decision and he knew he'd have to make it for the both of you. “Fine. We… claim the tradition as you have, the Law of Surprise. Give us that which you already have but do not know.” Geralt turned to leave once more but stopped at the cry from Calanthe.

“No! What have you done, Witcher?”

“Fear not, Your Majesty, if we're seen in your kingdom again, it’ll be to kill a real monster, not lay claim to a crop or a new pup. Now as you can see, Y/n is injured. Destiny can go fu-” Geralt was interrupted by Pavetta as she threw up and both Duny and Calanthe moved to her side immediately. All three of them slowly looked up at Geralt as he watched in surprise before sighing. “Fuck.” Geralt moved quickly away from the room, grabbing his sword that was lodged in a table, having enough of all the drama for the night. Mousesack stopped him to speak as he glared at the man, already not pleased with him from earlier events.

“Clearly the girl has access to immense primal power.”

“Yeah, and with no idea how to control it.”

“I’m gonna stay. Guide her.”

“You’re a good man, Mousesack.”

“You should stay too.”

“This has been enough partying for me. I’m getting out of here with Y/n.”

“You’re both bound to this now, Geralt. Whether you like it or not.”

“I’m not for changing. You know me better than that."

“Yes, I do, but you can’t outrun destiny just because you’re terrified of it. It’s coming Geralt. Not believing won’t change that. If you want to protect her, you'll do what's right.” Mousesack nodded to you in his arms and Geralt unconsciously gripped you tighter as if you'd slip from his hold.

“Bullshit. This was just a girl using her magic to stop her mother from gutting her lover. Nothing more.”

“So you say as if you wouldn't do the same for Y/n. But the bond that will come into being between you, Y/n, and this child… when it is born will be extraordinary. If you dismiss it, leave without claiming this… child surprise, you will surely unleash true calamity upon us all.”

“We'll take that chance. Mind yourself. True words are rare birds in courts like this. Watch for daggers in your back. Or, more likely, poison. Be careful, old friend.” Geralt turned and left the castle, making his way towards the suite you had rented. He held you carefully as he rode Roach through the quiet night. He watched you quietly as he sighed into the silent night. “You are an idiot, you know that my love? Throwing yourself in front of that knight like your life didn’t matter… Let me tell you, it does.” Geralt held his breath as he swore he saw you move in your unconscious state but when you were still for a few minutes, he let go of the breath he was holding and shook his head. “To me, you do anyways. Watching you today was just�� I didn't know you could fight so well.” Geralt willed his eyes away from your form to watch the road he was travelling on.

Once he arrived at the suite, he made his way to one of the bedrooms and laid you down on the bed as he brought bandages and some of the ointments that you always used for his wounds. He made sure to remove the heels you were wearing, setting them to the side of the bed. He let his fingers linger over the skin of your ankle before scolding himself and returning to caring for your wounds. Touching your soft skin as he cared for your wounds had him feeling hot under his clothes. He didn't know how he could handle being around you after watching you fight and seeing that much of your skin. Sure, you both have traveled for years together but you were too innocent, too careful about yourself and your surroundings. You'd never change in front of each other, you wouldn't even remove your shoes in front of him sometimes. He thought you had something against him but as he noticed you were this way with everyone, it didn't offend him so much. But after seeing you fighting, seeing how swift you moved around, how sexy you looked with your tattered dress, he didn't know if he could go back to you being your innocent self. 

He didn't know how much time he spent watching your sleeping form. He reached over dragging his fingers against your cheek before letting it drift down to your shoulders. He let his fingers wandered slowly down your arms all the way to your fingertips. His hand moved further to your exposed skin. He let his fingers hover over your hip before touching your warm skin. Slowly he watched his own hand as it moved across the soft expanse of your thigh, stopping for a moment at the thigh garter as he removed your dagger. He stared at the piece of clothing as if it was offending him. He wondered now just how many times you wore this under your clothes. He swallowed thickly as he moved his hand down to your knee when he heard your heartbeat jump up, beating fast and hard, the opposite of what it was moments before. His eyes snapped up to your face and he saw you watching him with wide eyes. He didn't have the words to explain what he was doing and slowly moved to stand up from the bed but you reached out and grabbed his hand gently, pulling him back to you. You held his hand like it was a lifeline as you sat up, Geralt using his other arm to help you into a seating position. You reached up gently, cupping his jaw as you moved a stray piece of hair behind his ear just as he had done earlier at the betrothal. “Did I miss anything important?” You whispered playfully as you watched his eyes wildly take in your features.

Geralt huffed at you as he let himself relax under your touch. He swallowed thickly and sighed as he locked his eyes with yours. “You worried me dove.”

“It was only a small bump. I’ll be alright by tomorrow.”

“You must’ve hit your head really hard if you even think I’ll let you travel while in this state.”

“Witcher, please. I’ve suffered worse.” You moved to stand up but winced as a fast and sharp pain passed through your head. Geralt only looked at you with a disapproving frown, only confirming what he was saying. You let yourself give in to the tiredness. You sighed quietly as you nodded. “Fine, I guess a day of rest wouldn’t hurt.”

“Good. Now that I know you’re okay, what were you thinking?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Throwing yourself in front of Duny like that!” Geralt hadn’t meant to but his anger had taken over his head. He was enraged that you’d been so careless of your life. You flinched as he yelled at you and he noticed. He took a deep breath, dragging his hand down his face, trying to calm down. An uncomfortable silence fell in the room between the two. Geralt knew he couldn’t dance around his feelings anymore. He would take your rejection over the what ifs. “I could’ve lost you.” 

You opened your mouth to answer but you had lost your voice. You knew he’d be upset but you never anticipated this. The way he said those last four words made you hope there was more to his words. That he wasn’t just worried about losing you because he was your friend. You didn’t know if asking outright would help the uncomfortable feeling you had and decided to lighten the mood just a tad before getting serious. “You wouldn’t have. I knew you’d be there to protect me. I know deep in my heart you’ll always be there, Úlfur minn.” Geralt grunted at the nickname. You had started to call him this about a year ago and he always tried to find out the meaning behind it but never could. It was from a very old language that was almost never used anymore. He knew you knew the language to heal, some spells requiring this language aside from Elven. You would never tell him what it meant and it bothered him to no end.

“Now you’re making fun of me?” You furrowed your brows at his statement as you quickly shook your head in disbelief. 

“Úlfur minn, I’m not making fun of you. I’m being honest.”

“Like you’ve been when you tell me whatever that stupid name you call me means?” You felt yourself frown at his words as you tried to think of something to answer but came up blank again for the second time that night. “Yeah, thought so.” Geralt couldn’t explain why he was so angry. He was still pent up from the evening at the betrothal. He knew it was wrong to take it out on you but he was upset and he needed you to understand that you were too important to just be jumping in front of weapons for others. He stood and paced next to the bed you were laying on. Before he could further mess up the night with the woman he loved and say more, or in this case, yell more, he heard a soft whisper coming from you.

“My wolf.”

Forever Tags: @iwantthedean​ @authoressskr​ @sorenmarie87​ @reigningqueenofwords​ @goldenolaf25​ @giftofdreams​ @winchesterprincessbride​ @chelsea072498​ @kitchenwitchsuperwhovian​ @itakeawfultoawholenewlevel​ @fictionalabyss​ @gabby913​ @angelkurenai​ @sea040561​ @sleepylunarwolf​ @smoothdogsgirl​ @carryonmyswansong​ @feelmyroarrrr​ @evyiione​ @supersassyprobablysad​ @sofreddie​ @sis-tafics​ @nitelotus​ @trexrambling​ @dancingalone21​ @manawhaat​ @mermaidxatxheart​ @winchest09​ @ellen-reincarnated1967​ @mrswhozeewhatsis​ @just-another-busy-fangirl​ @lovebodymindstuff​ @backseat-of-deans-67chevy​ @chook007​ @akshi8278​ @evansrogerskitten​ @bringmesomepie56​

The Witcher Tags: @alwayshave-faith​ @ayamenimthiriel​ @queenxxxsupreme​ @stretchkingblog97​ @secretsthathauntus​ @sinnamon-bunn​ @aubageddon91​

Úlfur Minn Tags: @laneygthememequeen​ @saint-hardy​ @uncoolcloudyhead​ @katiejmac​ @justlovetoreadfics​ @writingthingsisdifficult​ @lyssstark01​ @moderapoppins​ @nellaphine @givemebooksorgivemedeath​ @thatshellfiredean​ @angrygardendeer​ @xyfanficarchive​ @alliwantfromyouistomakelovetome​ @yokaimoon​ @posiemax​

[brightasstars]

A special thanks goes to @antisocial-af​ who drew the amazing star-stamp for me. You’re talented, and special.

Title: If this is not Enchantment...

Square Filled: Christmas Fic (For @shadowhunterbingo​)

Raiting: G

Pairing:Malec

Wordcount: 2193

No Major Archive Warnings

Summary:

The Traditional New York Institute Snowball Fight for Christmas Eve is about to start... but something unexpected is happening this year!

Read on Ao3

Rafe crossed the threshold of the Institute smiling at the girl who was guarding the entrance. No one ever stopped them, not even the youngest ones or the new ones coming from other Institutes scattered around the world. Everyone recognized him and Max from far away.

 “Uncle Jace!” he called, seeing him standing near the monitors.

 Jace turned, a wide smile spreading on his face as he closed the distance with his nephew. Rafe had become a very good fighter and was now on duty at the Mexico City Institute. The more he grew up, the more he looked like Alec, Jace was always impressed. The way he moved his shoulders, his neck, the way he walked through the corridors, his pitch-black hair ruffled on top, his quiet voice.

“Hey, Rafe! Good to see you, how are things going in Mexico?”

 Rafe hugged him. “Good, really good. Is Max already here?”

 Jace shook his head, “No, at least I haven’t seen him yet.”

 As he finished talking they saw an azure portal opening in the middle of the monitor’s room, setting all the Institute alarms running. Max had arrived.

 Jace rolled his eyes and turned to see a very pleased Max Lightwood-Bane stepping out from the portal.

 He was laughing, his naughty eyes sparkling under his blue hair. It had become a habit, breaking the rule of portalling directly inside the Institute walls, just to have fun and see his dad running out of his office to tell him that no matter who they were, they were supposed to follow the rules. And he apologized, always. 

 But no steps came running down the hallway, and no voice.

 “He’s not here,” Izzy shouted from the training room, “They are both outside checking the perimeters and the playing field.”

 Max made an expression which was half a pout and half a frown, “Gah, too bad, I should have checked before portalling. Hey Rafe, all good?”

 He went to his brother and patted him on his shoulder.

 “Yeah, all good…”

 “I thought you’d come accompanied,” Max grinned. 

 Rafe glared at him. 

 “Oh Rafe,” Izzy whined stepping closer, caressing his cheek, “you really bring me back to when Alec was in your place, glaring to whoever dared to allude in front of him that he was secretly seeing Magnus.”

 Max looked back at him, “Save the fury for the battle, we're not going to let you Shadowhunters win this year,” he stated moving toward the door that led to the gardens.

 It had become a tradition, every Christmas Eve of the last ten years , Alec and Magnus organized a  Snowball Fight  between Shadowhunters and Downworlders in the gardens of the Institute. Magnus magicked a huge playfield where they fought at first in groups, until only two of them were left and battled it out to define the winner. It was fun and a special way to strengthen the alliances, to celebrate Christmas, a mundane holiday, in their own way.

 Last year, the battle ended with Izzy unexpectedly taking down Catarina. 

 Each group was allowed to use magic, tricks, runes, everything, as far as nothing was done to hurt each other.

Alec and Magnus had wanted this as a celebration of their differences and their powers, a demonstration of how diversities were a strength, a resource.

 Rafe and Max strolled out on the snow along with Jace and Simon, laughing and talking about their last months, asking when were their cousins coming as their feet made a soft sound on the snow.

 “You broke in in the hall, again,” a gravel voice towered from behind a tree, “don’t think I didn’t notice," and then a hard hand on his shoulder shoved him on the snow.

"Dad!" Max shouted, coughing and spitting some snow crystals from his mouth. He stood up on his legs and a pair of strong warm arms engulfed him in a tight hug. 

"Welcome home, my blueberry," Alec whispered only for Max to hear.

"Is this the welcome you have reserved to me?" Max whined, trying to disguise the chuckle that was lingering under his lips.

"You can dry yourself with a flick of your fingers, it's not such a big deal…," Alec replied, pulling back.

 As their gazes met, they burst into a loud laughter and hugged again, as Max changed his clothes.

When Alec turned, Rafe was looking at him with such tenderness that Alec felt a knot in his stomach.

 "We're going to win again dad," Rafe said and pulled his father in another hug.

 As his son's thick arms encircled him, Alec's mind reflected upon the unique sensation he got each time he hugged one of his two sons. They were different, even in the way their hugs felt.

Max's arms were thin, and he used to close them around Alec's low waist, burying his face into his father's chest, as if he was still the source of protection and shelter.

Rafe instead preferred to close them around his neck, pulling him close chest to chest and resting his forehead on his shoulder, pushing it down into the hollow of his collar bone, as when as a child, he tried to push away the nightmares.

 Alec was so glad that Magnus had slowly taught him how to express his feelings physically. He had been grown up as if he was an ethereal being, not made of a carnal body to be held, touched or hugged. 

Shadowhunters kids were mind, soul, rationality, devotion, duty… he remembered some days he almost felt invisible to the ones that surrounded him.

When Magnus came into his life, he discovered how much he loved to touch and be touched, how much a simple gesture could change his day, and make a difference in their relationship, to the point that sometimes words became unnecessarily; and this had been the way they had grown Rafe and Max. Hugs, kisses, gentle caresses, and holding hands.

 “I heard you’re doing wonders in Mexico City, I was sure 'bout this, but, just so you know, we’re really proud of you, Rafe, “Alec said

“Speaking of  us … Where is Bapak?"

 Alec spun on his heel and looked straight into the playfield, “Putting on his snow combat gear,” he chuckled softly, “you know how much he hates the cold and the feeling of being wet after a snow battle.”

 Rafe widened his eyes, "So what I heard through the grapevines is true… you two are really fighting this year."

Alec smiled back at him, "Yes, we are. It's the tenth year anniversary of this traditional battle and we thought it would be nice to take an active part in it."

"I'm not letting the Shadowhunters win again," a soft voice came from behind the same tree where Alec was.

 As soon as Magnus appeared, Rafe was on him, burying his nose in his jacket. Alec heard them exchange soft quiet words in Spanish as Magnus threaded his fingers through their son's hair.

Max stepped closer too and Magnus' arms widened a little bit more, enough to pull the younger warlock in.

 "My kids," he whispered.

 "Rafe, don't fraternize with your enemy," they heard Jace say.

Magnus glares at his brother in law, "Be sure my first blow is gonna kick you right in your butt, Blondie."

"Yeeeessssss," Jace replied delighted, "the fight is so much better when the High Warlock gets pissed off."

 As they all laughed, a quick series of  wooshes  filled the air, and warlocks, seelies, vampires and werewolves stepped out from a carousel of portals, all in their traditional uniforms that Clary had designed since this had started.

After a second of silence as the eyes took in all the faces, the atmosphere turned instantly chaotic, with hands greetings, chuckles and chitchats all around the playfield.

 The crowd knew where to move and in a few minutes they were all settled into the battlefield, Alec and Magnus standing on the furthest back of the playing camp. The purpose was to spare them the first shots and let them get directly to the  juicy part of the snow war that was about to start.

Before the hostilities began, Alec took a moment to greet everyone, thanking them all for coming and for the collaboration, the help, and the commitment they all put in the year that was coming to its end. 

 Then the Shadowhunters activated their runes and Magnus yelled from the far end of the field, "Snowball fight!", and in seconds, the air became thick with snowballs so compacted that many of them felt almost solid. Some balls were colored and changed trajectory under the pulse of magic, some transformed into giants white icy monsters that engaged in a fight with the Nephilims, while others just disappeared in the air to splatter right in the face of an opponent warrior. 

Vampires were always the last to surrender as the cold and the wet didn't affect them at all; werewolves shifted to take advantage of their fur and heightened strength, while seelies shots, made of freshly fallen flakes, always burst open at the impact, showering everyone with crystalline fragments that glinted in the wintry light.

 Alec was fighting his way to the final battle taking down many Downworlders, but he seemed to avoid his husband. Magnus, on his part, had started with the high ranks of the Shadowhunters, defeating them one by one. Izzy first, then Clary and Underhill, then Jace and in the end, his beloved son, Rafe.

 "Bapak," he heard him whine, "and I thought you'd spare me…"

"Everything is allowed in love and war my little one, and we're undoubtedly in  war ."

 Rafe laughed falling on his back onto a huge hill of snow gathered on the side of the battling field.

 He searched for his brother and spotted him cornered against a tree, as he was pleading Alec to spare him, "Dad you can't, I'm your little blueberry," but his dad shot him with such precision and strength that he was thrown behind the borders that delimited the playground. 

Then Rafe saw Alec shrugging and leaning down, extending an open hand to his son, and pulling him up.

 Several minutes later, the field was empty, only Magnus and Alec left to fight.

"We're going to make this last battle the mundane way, " Magnus heard his husband shout at him, "uhm? What do you say?", and he nodded from afar.

 Then he moved to hide behind a huge tree trunk, as Alec deactivated all his runes. His gloved magic hands were buried deep in the snow, frantically making a stockpile of balls to use. 

Magnus knew too well he had to be fast and unpredictable to prevent Alec aim to work properly, otherwise his husband wouldn't have missed a shot. Alec, instead, was slowly approaching the tree, gathering some snow on his way to Magnus, focusing on the best angle to get the strike right where he wanted it.

 The first snowball Magnus threw, smacked Alec right on the side of his head, the hard and cold impact turning his ears to a bright red, as the snow exploded on his cheek, sprinkling his hair with white.

Alec didn't even flinch, but kept on closing the distance between them, slowly but relentlessly, one hand holding the ball that was growing bigger, and one hand parrying the shots.

When he decided he was close enough, he crouched on the ground, behind a huge stone, disappearing from Magnus' sight just for the time he needed to give a last glance to his target. He took another look around and then raised his ball, now as huge as a watermelon, and then released it, hitting Magnus full on his face, shoving him backward and against the tree with a loud thud. The snow on the branches fell on him, covering him up and pinning him against the bark and into the ground.

 "You did not just throw that at me, did you?" he heard Magnus yell before bursting into one full-hearted, untamed laughter. 

 Lorenzo Rey took the horn and blew in it, to declare the Nephilims' victory, and as soon as the sound dissolved in the wind, everyone had already rushed inside to change their clothes and head to the training room where the reception took place.

 Alec closed the distance between them, kneeling in the cold snow to help Magnus on his feet, kissing the crystals away from his face with tender, chaste movements of his lips, breathing some hot air against his husband's freezing skin.

 "Aren't you enchanting, covered in white snow? Here, let me warm you up," Alec murmured softly in his ears, as he slid his arms beneath him and scooped him up, cradling him against his chest.

"Alexander…," Magnus breathed out, his cheeks red for the cold and the romance, "...put me down, everyone is looking at us from behind those huge windows…"

Alec kissed him on his forehead, just before tightening the grip, "Good," he answered, "let's show them the exact reasons why we've been on the Clave naughty list for the last twenty years."

He smiled tenderly, before leaning forward again, "Happy Christmas, Magnus."

[dropthosegloves]

Hi. It's July 4th. Let's talk about the Confederate flag for a second, especially since a whole lot of you in Pennsylvania like flying it despite PA BEING IN THE UNION AND KICKING CONFEDERATE BUTT IN 1865.

1. All of you that take issue with confederate monuments being ripped down are yelling about "BUt tHE HIstoRY." Do we have statues of Hitler? How about Stalin? Mouselinni? No. Have you still heard about them? Yes. Same thing with the flag. If no one ever put a Confederate flag sticker on their pick-up truck's back window ever again, it's not like the Civil War would just be erased from history. It's a thing that happened and 618,222 people died. Your kid will still learn about it almost every year at school.

.

Furthermore, those statues you're so concerned about and the flag you love so much weren't actually up/in regular use till long after the Civil War. Of the 700-ish Confederate statues, most of them were built between 1920-1950. The Confederate flag had gone out of style after the big losers lost the war, but came back with a vengeance in the 50's. What else was gaining traction during 1920-50? I wonder.... OH, IT'S JIM CROW, LYNCHING AND THE KKK.

These monuments were erected to be a giant, racist billboard telling POC that they're still not equal citizens no matter what rights were given to them through the Bill of Rights. They also served to embolden white people in their constant pursuit of state-sponsored terrorism of Black communities. Remember when white dudes grabbed guns and torches and killed 300 people and burned every structure in the Black Wall Street of Tulsa? Guess how many went to jail, or even received a slap on the wrist. Zero. None. Remember in 1963 when four KKK members burned down a Baptist church with four Black girls inside? None of them were charged at the time. It wasn't until the 1970's till one of them was finally put on trial, and he was only charged with one count of murder, not four. Two of the others weren't put on trial TILL THE 2000'S. The two men that brutally murdered 14 year old Emmett Till based on a white woman's lie were taken to trial and acquitted by a jury full of white males. Let me say it again - STATE SPONSORED TERRORISM.

2. "BUt It'S ABouT STatES RigHTS"

Yes, A STATE'S RIGHT TO OWN SLAVES. SPECIFICALLY. It's about slavery. South Carolina was the first state to succeed from the union in 1852. Read the text. It IS ABOUT SLAVERY.

"The people of the State of South Carolina, in Convention assembled, on the 26th day of April, A.D., 1852, declared that the frequent violations of the Constitution of the United States, by the Federal Government, and its encroachments upon the reserved rights of the States, fully justified this State in then withdrawing from the Federal Union; but in deference to the opinions and wishes of the other slaveholding States, she forbore at that time to exercise this right. Since that time, these encroachments have continued to increase, and further forbearance ceases to be a virtue."

The document goes on to complain about Northern states passing laws to end slavery, failing to return people who escape from slavery and allowing people who were enslaved access to citizenship. One more time for the people in the back - IT'S ABOUT SLAVERY YOU DUM DUM. THE STATES SAID IT THEMSELVES.

3. Not only do I take issue with the loser flag because it's racist and stupid, but also because my great X4 relatives on both sides fought for the Union. I have relatives on both sides that fought in the Revolutionary War. My grandpa and his cousin (more like his brother) fought in WWII. Kicking fascist butt is what we do. Pennsylvania tends to be a state where people build deep roots. Chances are these people flying confederate flags in Union states had family members fight and die to defeat the Confederacy. You're dishonoring your family, you dunce. I hope your great x4 grandpa shows up in your bedroom tonight and punches you in the teeth.

STOP WAIVING THIS STUPID, RACIST, TRAITOR, LOSER FLAG

[therisinggear]

Ghost Of a Chance. Chapter 1

A Ghost of a Chance!: The Ghost Queen's Slaughter!  

                                                          ~Amity Park- Three years ago~

The town of Amity Park, a town tied to the paranormal. Ghosts from other dimensions have invaded the living plane of existence time and time again. Most are just relatively normal people. While others are, for lack of a better term Supervillains. Because of the influx of evil ghosts, one young hero fought to keep the peace. 

Danny Fenton was just fourteen when his parents built a very strange machine. The Ghost Portal, It was designed to view a world unseen. During its test run, it failed to activate and it was left to collect dust in its parent's lab. 

One day on a dare from his friends made him put on a Jumpsuit and go inside it. "I still think this is a REALLY bad idea, Sam! Have you ever even seen The Fly?" Danny tells her before he accidentally presses the On button, activating the portal with him inside with the help of this horrifyingly dangerous design flaw. With a bright green glow, Danny's screams in agony. His friend Tucker holds Sam back when she tries to run in and get Danny out. "NO STOP IT'S TOO DANGEROUS!!" Tucker screams at her.  

"LET ME GO TUCKER If We Don't DO ANYTHING DANNY IS GOING TO DIE!!" Sam screams as she kicks Tucker in the stomach. He drops to the floor with the wind knocked out of him. A changed Danny stumbles out, staggered by the experience. His black hair is now snow white and his blue eyes now glowing green. The white/Black jumpsuit had its colors inverted. 

After that Life changing day, Danny gained the abilities of a ghost. While learning his new abilities became a hero. At one point even saved the earth with every ghost he ever fought.                

~Three years Later~

After fighting ghosts for three whole years, Amity Park has had ghosts become an everyday part of life. With Danny becoming a literal symbol of Ghost and Humans working well together, Ghost has been given rights as citizens. Some of Danny's old enemies gave up antagonizing humans and got real jobs. 

Sidney Poindexter got his GED and became an Anti-bully activist. He actively reduced bullying in schools by telling kids how he took his own life because of it.

The Hothead Ember Mclain made it big as a legitimate performer with a record deal. She may even be going platinum soon. 

Hell, even The Box Ghost got a job with FedEx.

One day, Danny was out buying new college prep books when he spotted another one of his old enemies in the coffee shop, looking depressed. Desiree the wishing ghost is waiting for her coffee, dressed in a suit.  She appears worried about something, checking her watch. 

"Oh boy this can't be good."  He mumbled to himself, trying not to draw her attention. He starts to feel sorry when she pays for her coffee. A heartbroken Desiree just stares blankly at her phone. Soon she spots him in the distance and politely waves while grinding her teeth. "Fantastic, My date stands me up and now I have to deal with the Phantom boy!"       

 "Oh man, I'm so going to regret this later." He awkwardly waves back at her before gesturing to her he is leaving. Danny walks away with a sigh of relief. "Talk about awkward running into a former enemy!" Without paying attention he bumps into Desiree. "Ahem!" 

Danny would have jumped in shock if his Ghost Sense didn't already let him know she was right in front of him. Desiree looks down at him with her arms crossed. "What do you want, Phantom?" An enraged scowl on her face before she notices the books in his hand. "Oh, you didn't come for me!" She calms down a bit and even laughs. "Forgive me, I've not been in the best of moods."

Danny laughs, nearly dropping his books. "I was just as surprised to see you, Desiree! I almost went ghost like the old days out of habit." The former adversaries laugh at the whole situation. "So how are you, Desiree? By the get up I'm assuming you've gone legit like a lot of other ghosts."

"Yes I passed the bar exam and I'm now a lawyer." She clarifies with pride written on her face. "I happened to order two coffees and my date decided not to show up, care to join me?" 

Both of them return to the coffee shop and have a friendly conversation, like the hostilities of their past is now gone."Your date sounds like a real dumbass to stand you up. So you chose to be a lawyer? I have to admit I never saw that one coming. The Box Ghost working at FedEx I saw a mile away, but this takes me by surprise." The ghost boy admits to her.

"In the last three years, I've tried many different jobs but being a Lawyer had the most appeal, so I committed to law school. Getting a GED was the First real challenge because the last time I had a formal education was two-thousand years ago. " She points at Danny's books while taking a sip. "So how about you Phantom? You look like you are getting serious in your studies in these peaceful times."

"I want to be an astronaut one day and with the lack of Ghost fighting, I've had more time to study for it. Good riddance too, I never really liked all the non-stop fighting anyway. Like the first time we fought, You kicked my butt big time before I made a wish." 

"I hope one day my wishes can come true," Desiree mumbled to herself with some regret. "The one thing I can never have."

"Your own Kingdom if I remember that gypsy's story right." Danny muses out loud. Desiree shakes her head with a sad look on her face. 

"That was just a superficial legend, not the real story. What I really wish for is something I never had."                        

~Fenton labs~

Four years after Danny got his powers from the ghost portal, the constant battles always took their toll on him every time but he always bounced back. From the Box ghost to the former ghost King, he always came back stronger. However, he might have his hands full this time. His many enemies began the unthinkable. They somehow found a way to make his ability to feel the incoming presence of another ghost useless. Under the command of the new Ghost Queen, they went after his friends and family one by one. 

Wave after wave of the Ghost Queen's minions worn the now eighteen-year-old ghost boy down. Soon he was overpowered by her most fearsome henchmen, Beaten to the point he could not fight back. 

He is on his knees in a Burning laboratory as his two most powerful foes looming above him. The Fright Knight, the spirit of Halloween and an evil older copy of himself from another timeline called  Dark Danny. "Games over kid it's been over before it even began!" His evil parallel self-boast. Dark Danny lifts Danny by the neck, strangling his younger self while charging up a blast in his other hand. Danny is too beaten and bloody to fight back. "Time to DIE!!"     

Danny almost gets blasted through the stomach before the Fright Knight cuts Dark Danny's arm off. "Her Highness the Queen ordered us to bring him to her alive!!" The Knight snarls at his partner. An enraged Dark Danny throws a swing before the Fright Knight has a blast aimed at his head. "And I've been given the freedom to eliminate you if I see fit!"  

Dark Danny stops baring his teeth at the knight and regains his cool. "You know, I liked it better when you served me in my timeline." He drops Danny and reattaches his arm. 

A terrified Danny tries to crawl away but is too gravely injured to get far. "D-Danny?" His sister Jazz is buried under rubble, in tears and reaching out to him as she bleeds out. Dark Danny picks Jazz up off the ground by the hair. A sadistic smirk on his face as he looks down at Danny. "Hello sis, miss me?" Jazz spits blood in his face as a last act of defiance. "Go To Hell!"  

"You're already here Jazz, and you are about to meet the devil herself?" He puts her in an ectoplasmic bubble along with Danny. "Lucky for you, she did say to bring at least one living family member." 

He waves his hand to make a Ghost Portal. 

~Ghost Zone~

The two villains enter it, on the other side is a massive palace in the Ghost Zone. Various ghosts and humans on their knees in the throne room. A ghostly servant blows a horn, "Presenting The new Ghost Queen! Her Highness Queen..." A tall busty woman with an hourglass figure walks down a dark corridor, her red eyes shine in the darkness before she enters the light. Her skin is brown with glowing veins marks all over her arms, veins that change between red blue yellow and green. "...Desiree!"

The (Former) Wishing Ghost sets on her new throne, giving Danny a lustful leer. "Bring him closer and release him." She orders her henchmen, her eyes never leaving the ghost boy. Dark Danny makes his Ecto-Bubble vanish, he kicks his younger counterpart towards the foot of Desiree's throne. The barely conscious Danny can't keep his eyes open as The Ghost Queen gingerly caresses his face. "And I had this grand speech planned and you deliver him to me almost dead!?"

Dark Danny laughs smugly with fangs before a look of rage takes over him. He is looking at his hand as he is being removed from existence in green fire. "We had a deal! I give you what you want, you give me what I want!", He screams. 

Desiree picks Danny up bridal style, her expression is cold as she glares at Dark Danny. "Your results are unsatisfactory, enjoy existing no more." Dark Danny disappears, vanishing within the flames.

~Hours later~

Danny wakes up in a large bed with all his injuries healed. "Where am I?!" He gets out of the bed only to fall on his face, his legs feel like jelly. "Oh great, I'm in enemy territory and I can't walk or go ghost!" Arms wrap around him as a pair of soft lips kissed him on the cheek. He spots the Ring of Rage on her finger. He sees Desiree's new look like she is almost human again. The flaming crown of her head gives him a clue, much to his horror. 

"The numbness will subside in time, but you need to rest," Desiree whispers into his ear, her embrace getting tighter when Danny struggles to get loose. "Desiree, is this really you? What did you do to yourself!?"              

She puts him back in the bed. Danny then remembers Jazz was with him. "Jazz, what did you do to her?!", He shouts at her.

"Healed up and resting in another room. As for what I did to myself..." She puts her right hand up to Danny so he can see the glowing Ring. "...I transcended beyond a ghost or my original humanity, with the power of the former ghost king's ring and crown." 

Danny looks at her with abstract terror. "You took those from him?! Do you have any idea what those can do?! If your not careful you can destroy the whole ghost zone and the earth along with it!"

"Worth the risk, I am making an empire, one where ghosts and Humans can be equals. I'm just about finished all I need now is..." Queen Desiree forces him down onto the bed, She Kisses Danny while holding him down. She moans loudly, forcing her tongue down his thought.      "...a king to rule beside me!~"

All Danny can say is a flat, "W-What the fuck!? Those things are making you crazy!" His eyes were wide with shock and confusion. "What does this have to do with me anyway?!"  

Desiree while still on top smiles warmly, laying next to him.  "It's Very simple Danny.~" Her voice is sweet, yet has an undertone of insanity. "You and I marry then rule a glorious empire as Husband and Wife."

"I'm a little young for you, don't you think? I only just turned eighteen." He asks Desiree with a sliver of fear. 

"TIME OUT!!"  

Time is frozen in place and when it starts Danny is gone. "Oh, no Worries Your of age now. Wait..." The Ghost Queen looks around the room before flinging into a rage. She fires a blast that destroys a wall. "Clockwork!" 

Queen Desiree flies out so fast she makes a sonic boom.   

~Clockwork's Realm~      

Clockwork the master of time opens up a portal in time. A weakened and injured Danny has a Time medallion on him. "If you wish to Save all of the creation, go now!" The normally calm Master of time screams in panic. 

Danny limps into the Time portal and in a flash of light is gone. "DANNY!!!" The Ghost Queen screams blows open the wall. *BOOM!* She conjures skeletal arms to bind Clockwork and depower him. "Clockwork Your queen has questions regarding her consort! Return him to me and I'll show you mercy and even forgive your crimes!" 

"Danny is already gone and you can't get to him. You may be seemingly omnipotent with the power of the Ghost King but even You have no power over time!" Desiree blasts him into oblivion, leaving no trace of Clockwork. With a snap of her finger, The Fright Knight is Summoned. 

"Follow Danny and bring him to me no matter the cost!"

"At once your majesty!" Her knight with his orders enters the portal. 

Queen Desiree descends into maniacal laughter. "I will have you, Danny! Even if I have to rip apart time and space! So I wish it so shall it be!!"

[andtails]

A Prelude to Chaos Control - Chapter 7: Green Light Ride

Click here to start from the beginning. You can also read this story on FanFiction.Net or Archive of Our Own.

*****

Sonic, Tails, and Amy made their way to the airport hangar, traversing through the busy downtown streets of Seaside City.

Tails looked down at his duffel bag, switching hands to give his right arm a break before peering back up at the never-ending barrage of pedestrians clogging the sidewalk, perhaps a normal sight for a city dweller but utterly claustrophobic for the small fox who lived in near solitude.

If only we didn’t have these bags, I could fly us to the hangar no problem.

Instead, the gang stood along the side of a busy street corner, vehicles passing by as the heroes waited for the pedestrian crossing sign to light up.

Amy folded her arms and sighed, watching the stream of cars travel either direction.  

“Why is this taking so long? Do you think the light’s busted, Tails?” Amy turned to the orange fox, who was staring at his feet, a blank expression on his face.

It felt like Eggman was waiting for us to arrive. Did he just want to pick a fight for kicks, or was it a trap to lure us in to steal the Chaos Emerald?

“Tails?”

But how would Eggman have known we’d have th…

“Tails!”

“Wooahh, what?” Tails shook his head and looked forward, an angry pink hedgehog staring back at him.

“I was just asking if you thought…” She was interrupted by the clicking sound of the pedestrian crossing signal, the LED red hand transitioning to an image of a walking Mobian.

“…never mind.” The trio walked across the street, Sonic propping his head up with his hands while Amy walked alongside her self-described boyfriend. The young kitsune, meanwhile, remained a few feet behind the two hedgehogs, walking aimlessly.  

Surely there is no other logical explanation. Eggman is sadistic, sure, but even his motives go beyond mindless destruction.

“Yo Tails, wanna step it up a bit?” Sonic spun around, walking backward as he observed his little brother falling behind, a frown on his face.

No. This is the only possible reason. Eggman has…

The orange kitsune collided with Sonic’s belly. Falling to his back, he rubbed his backside with closed eyes, lightly bruised from the surprise fall.

“Owww.” He looked up to find his older brother, a friendly hand reaching down to him, a smile on his face.

“Ya gotta be careful where you’re walkin’, lil’ bro.”

“Thanks, Sonic.” Miles grabbed hold of Sonic’ hand, allowing himself to be pulled up.

“You’ve been quiet this whole time. Somethin’ on your mind?”

“Well, yeah…” Tails placed his hands on his forehead, trying to retrace his thoughts.

“Wait…” Tails’ body froze, wearing a blank facial expression as he stared at the bag to his side, busy Mobians stepping by him.

“What’s wrong, buddy?” Sonic placed his hand on Tails’ shoulder as the young fox peered back up at the blue hedgehog.

“We’re in big trouble.”

“What d’ya mean?” Sonic chuckled nervously as he slowly retracted his hand.

“We’ve gotta move!” The determined fox sprang forward, running in the direction of the hangar, passing Amy as his namesakes began to rotate. He hardly made it a half city block, however, before he was stopped by the blue blur, whizzing past him and blocking his path.

“Okay, mind sharin’ what’s gotten you all worked up?” Sonic observed the surprised kitsune, who breathed deeply before letting out a big sigh.

“Eggman can detect Chaos Emeralds.”

“What? You mean like the detector you have?”

“Well, yeah…if it worked.” Tails grabbed his dangling left arm with his right hand, his lips quivering as his eyes met the sidewalk. Sonic frowned as he looked down at the troubled fox before him.

Shoot…why’d I have to go n’ bring that up?

Amy caught up to the brotherly duo, dragging the duffel bags with either hand with great effort.

“What’s going on here guys?” Amy asked between labored breaths, joining Sonic in peering at the orange kitsune. Looking back at the two hedgehogs, he sighed once more.

This’ll be faster if I just explain myself.

“You see,” Tails sat on a nearby sidewalk bench, Amy and Sonic joining him, “Eggman must’ve known we had a Chaos Emerald at home, so he attacked the city to lure us out and snag it for himself.” The fox’s fist collided with the palm of his other hand. “It’s the only reason why attacking downtown made any sense at all.”

“Suppose you’re right.” Sonic leaned closer to his younger brother. “How would he know we’d bring it with us?”

“Well…I…” Tails looked at his dangling feet in front of him before swinging back around to face the blue hedgehog. “…He could’ve had some Egg Pawns infiltrate the workshop while we were away.”

“True…” Sonic raised a gloved hand to his chin. “Hey Ames, what do you think?”

“Sounds possible. Why else would Eggman attack the city without an army of robots backing him up? He clearly wasn’t planning on taking over the city by himself.” With arms crossed and eyes closed, Amy nodded to herself. “I think Tails is right.”

Tails stood up and watched the passing vehicles on the road in front of him, his fists balling up as he sniffled, trying to hold back tears.

“You okay, buddy?” Sonic joined his little brother, wrapping his right arm around Tails’ back and placing his hand on the kitsune’s shoulder. He continued sniffling, a small tear escaping from his closed eyes before pushing the blue hedgehog away, kicking a metal garbage can off its foundation, trash spewing along the side of the road.

“I’m such an idiot, Sonic!” The fox collapsed to his knees, tears pouring out of his eyes as he cried in frustration. “I’ve been lounging around for an entire week while Eggman has been collecting the Chaos Emeralds.” He looked back up at the concerned, speechless hedgehog, his vision obscured. “Why didn’t I realize it sooner, Sonic!?” Slamming his fist against the pavement multiple times, he cried through the pain reverberating through his recovering hand.

“It’s okay, Tails.” Sonic got down to his knee, gently pushing the distressed fox’s chin up with his hand, the two brothers locking eyes. “No one realized what was goin’ on, and you needed that time to recover.” The blue hedgehog offered his hand to Tails once more, who accepted it, allowing his older brother to pull him up from the sidewalk. “Even if we went after Eggman sooner, I would have had to go it alone...and there is no way I would’ve fought Eggman’s mechs without you by my side.”

“…Sonic…” Tails stared at his older brother, his tears still flowing as he approached him with arms forward. The two brothers shared a long hug, Sonic patting Tails on the back as he felt a few drips roll down his chest. Sonic’s warm touch helped soothe the young fox, whose tears eventually ebbed, the orange kitsune resting his face against his older brother.

Sonic gently pulled himself away from the young fox, still holding him by the shoulders as he got a good look at Tails’ face, his muzzle covered with tears. Using the back of his gloved fingers, Sonic dried the tears around his eyes before running his hands through Tails’ fluffy muzzle, capturing as much of the moisture as he could before stepping back once more.

“So…wanna go kick Eggman’s butt?”

Tails smiled, wiping his nose with his arm before nodding approvingly.

“Hey guys.” Sonic and Tails turned around to see Amy standing next to an open taxi door. “With our luggage, it’ll be faster to get there by car, so let’s go!”

“Right!” the brothers said in unison, grabbing their bags and throwing them into the trunk before getting in the backseat on either side of the pink hedgehog, all but forgetting the garbage strewn along the sidewalk from the toppled garbage can, now blowing across the street.

“The airport, please.”

“Alright, Miss.” The cab driver, a Mobian skunk with sunglasses, tipped his ivy cap before pulling into traffic.

The party remaining silent for several minutes before the blue hedgehog began to fidget in his seat, tapping his foot against the floor of the car.

“Man, this stinks.” Sonic crossed his arms, looking out the window as he watched pedestrians slowly walk up and down the sidewalk across the street.

“Hey man, hope you’re not talkin’ about me.” The driver peered at the blue hedgehog through the rearview mirror.

“No, no! I meant…our speed! We’re going so slow.” Sonic looked back up at the driver, nervously matching the glare he received from the cabbie. Amy cleared her throat.

“What he meant to say was that we’re in a rush and will pay you double if you get us to the airport faster.”

“Ohh, why didn’t you say so?” The driver’s demeanor instantly changed as he pulled into the far-left lane and accelerated, going fast enough to pass the slower traffic to their right but slow enough to prevent the unwanted attention of a patrol officer.

“Ahh yeah, now this is happenin’!” Sonic opened the backseat window and stuck his head out, feeling the cool breeze flow through his quills. Tails looked over at the blue hedgehog and laughed.

“You goof.” He reached over Amy to playfully punch Sonic’s shoulder.  

“What can I say? I’m a sucker for speed, even if we are still goin’ slow.” Sonic pulled his head back into the car and turned his attention to the driver.

“Any chance ya can step it up more?”

“Sorry kid, gotta obey the traffic laws.” With a grin, Amy touched Sonic’s leg, winking at him before looking up at the cabbie.  

“We’ll triple your fare.” Sonic smiled at the pink hedgehog as they locked eyes, blushing at the closest thing to a romantic moment the two had ever experienced. Ending just as it began, Sonic pushed Amy aside and poked his head between the two front seats.

“Ya heard the girl, put the pedal to the metal!”

“Right away.” The driver shifted gears before accelerating faster, swerving past other drivers in their wake, many angerly honking their horns. He veered toward the interstate, pushing his speed even further.

The blue hedgehog leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes as the driver careened down the busy highway. He was rarely the passenger in a fast car, but as it turned out, allowing someone else to take the wheel was rather therapeutic for the blue blur, for once not having to work for the speed.

As Amy made her move, cuddling against the relaxed blue hedgehog, the orange kitsune was left alone, giving him time to think as he peered out the window.  

We may be late, but we’ll figure things out for sure. We’ll stop Eggman before he can…hatch…his evil plan.

Tails chuckled to himself.

“What’s so funny?” Amy looked over at the orange kitsune.

“Ohh, nothing.” Tails smiled as he placed his hands behind his head before returning his gaze to the outside window, losing himself in thought once more.

How does Sonic do it? One second I’m bawling my eyes out, and the next I feel way better.

The fox looked back over at the relaxing blue hedgehog, laying his head back against the seat without a care in the world, Amy nestled beside him.

I wish I could stay so relaxed and cool-headed all the time...or at least hide it better like him.

Tails sighed as he rested an arm on the side of the door, using it to prop up his head. Watching the tall buildings along the perimeter of the highway, he recognized the area they were passing through.

Heh…things returned to normal pretty quickly.

Indeed, it took only a few days for municipal workers to clear the destruction wrought by Dr. Eggman. No longer were the streets littered with destroyed vehicles, shattered glass, and twisted, fiery metal; it looked as nice as it did prior to Robotnik’s surprise onslaught.

At least someone’s doing their job…

Feeling another mood swing kicking in, Tails tried to push his guilt back into his subconscious, opening his window and resting his hand against the door on the outer side, not brave enough to completely stick his cranium out of the car like his big brother. The cool air felt nice against his gloved hand, the wind flowing up his furry arm. He forced a smile as he kept his mind occupied with the outside world, hoping to distract himself from his own thoughts.  

*****

Skidding to a stop, the taxi came to rest in front of the airport, the driver closing the windows as he looked back at his customers.

“Well, I got y’all here in record time…”

“Ohh, right.” Amy reached into her hammerspace and pulled out the driver’s fare, three times the amount which appeared on the small LED screen on the back of the front seats.

“Much obliged.” He tipped his hat and pressed a button on his dashboard, the trunk popping open.

Sonic unbuckled his seatbelt and stretched his legs. “Thanks for the ride, p—” His compliment was cut short by the sound of police sirens behind the cab, the flashing blue and red lights piercing their eyes before they had the opportunity to cover them.

The driver banged his fist against the steering wheel, cussing profusely. “I can’t have another incident on my driving record! I’ll lose my license for sure.”

Sonic tapped the driver’s shoulder. “Relax, man. We got this.” Without explaining himself, Sonic stepped out of the car, followed by Amy and Tails. The cabbie eyed the trio through his rearview mirror as they approached the officer, a slender, gray dog who stayed in his car, his facial expression loosening up at the sight of the world-renowned hero. He stepped out to address the party.

“G’day Sonic. I’ve been tailing this cab for a few miles. Was gonna issue a citation, but if he was helping you with hero work, I’ll give ‘im a pass.”

“Good deal.” Sonic gave the officer a thumbs-up.

The dog’s attention turned from the blue hedgehog to the orange kitsune, his eyes half-closed as he focused on him suspiciously.

“That fox on the other hand…” The officer pointed a finger at Tails. “…he’s a different story.”

“M…me?” Tails pointed a finger at his chest.

“Yes, you. We’ve heard reports of a short, young fox with two tails kicking over a trash can and spilling garbage on public property.”

The fox stepped back, the emotional incident resurfacing as he became teary-eyed once more.

“W…well, you see…”

Amy placed a hand on his shoulder before stepping forward.

“I’ll take it from here.” She stood in front of the officer, who was twice her height, clearing her throat.

“He didn’t mean to do it. It was an accident.”

“Oh yeah? Well how does someone accidentally kick over a garbage can?”

Amy froze up.

“Ummm…” She ran a gloved hand through her short quills, looking away from the intimidating officer.

“No, Amy.” Tails planted his feet next to the pink hedgehog, his eyes closed and face pointing downward. “I don’t have a good excuse. Take me away.” He raised his arms up, positioning his wrists to make it easier to be restrained. Sonic watched from Tails’ side, his pupils shaking as the officer appeared to be reaching for his handcuffs.

Putting his hands back down, the dog let out a bellowing laugh.

“Huh?” Tails was confused, thinking he’d committed a crime and would need to suffer the consequences of his actions.

“I was just gonna issue a citation, but I’ll just let ya off with a warning for your honesty.”

“Ohh.” Tails put his arms down and looked up at the dog above him, chuckling nervously. “Thanks for not arresting me…”

Giving the three heroes a handshake, he got back into his squad car and left the airport, munching a half-eaten donut as he sped away.

“Phew.” Tails exhaled deeply, wiping sweat from his brow. “I thought I was a goner for sure.” Looking over at Sonic, he saw him with his hands on his knees and breathing heavily, no longer feeling the need to maintain a cool posture now that the officer was gone.

“Sonic…” Tails approached the blue hedgehog, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Sorry I scared you like that.”

“No…it’s fine, Tails.” He turned his face, looking into his concerned brothers’ eyes before giving him a smile of assurance.  

The cab driver honked his horn, prompting the heroes to turn around.

“Am I free to go then?”

After giving him the green light, and grabbing their belongings from the trunk, the cabbie drove away, searching for his next fare.

Tails faced the airport entrance before turning his head to the left, observing a gated, non-commercial airstrip in the distance, the number “18” displayed across the yellow structure of the nearby hangar in blocky white text. The young kitsune squinted his eyes, placing a hand over his brow to get a better look; he could make out the unmistakable Tornado 2 resting inside the structure.

“Hey gang, follow me!” The determined kitsune waved at the hedgehogs, beckoning them to follow him to the gate. Sonic and Amy obeyed, following the eager kitsune as he was about to be reunited with his pride and joy.

Halfway through the gate, however, the fox was stopped by a baton blocking his path. Looking up, he witnessed the menacing sight of a muscular security guard, the Mobian lion’s mane flowing in the wind and his sharp teeth exposed, sending shivers down Tails’ spine.

“Where do you think you’re goin’, small fry?”

“Oh, well…ummm…” Tails dropped the bag and played with his fingers, fidgeting his legs as he struggled to respond to the authority figure blocking his way. “…my plane is over there.” The young fox pointed in the direction of the hangar, the biplane visible under the ever-darkening clouds covering the landing strip.

“You…a pilot?” The guard scoffed. “Don’t make me laugh. Are they just giving pilot licenses to anyone nowadays?”

“Hey pal!” Sonic came to Tails’ defense, the guard’s snickering laugh disappearing as his eyes crossed paths with the blue hedgehog. “Whatja say about my little bro?” Sonic’s hands tightened into fists as he stared intently at the guard.

“Ohh, Sonic…” he dropped his baton and ran a claw through his mane. “…I didn’t know he was with you.”

“And?” The blue blur got within inches of the guard, who was having a difficult time keeping cool under pressure. “You’re gonna apologize to my friend here and let us through, capeesh?”

“Umm…ughhh…” The lion struggled for words as his attention turned back to the fox, who now gave the once menacing lion a firm stare, hands on his hips and determination in his eyes.

“Sorry friend…I’m jus’ overworked is all…damn boss won’t give us breaks, man.”

“Yeah?” Tails kicked the baton between the guard’s legs, his eyes blazing with anger. “C’mon guys!” The determined fox led the hedgehogs through the gate, the lion stepping back to give them ample room.

As the trio approached the hangar, Sonic observed Tails’ balled fists and fluttering namesakes as he marched the group along.  

Strange. I’ve never seen Tails act like this before. Maybe I should say something?

“Ya okay, bro?”

Tails looked to his right to find Sonic walking alongside, as if materializing out of thin air.

“That guy back there…” Tails stopped and pointed backward. “He reminded me just how defenseless and weak I can be.” He sighed as he turned to the blue hedgehog, exhaling deeply. “But when you came to defend me, I was filled with a vigor that made me feel…invincible…ya know?”

Sonic raised a gloved finger to his chin as the orange kitsune continued.

“Whenever we’re together, I feel like nothing can hurt me, even if I were staring down death’s door. I just…” Tails turned away, looking down at the dark pavement. “I need to learn to be brave alone. As much as I’d like you to protect me all the time, there’ll be times when I’ll need to stand up for myself.” He walked toward the hangar once more, his face forward, namesakes dragging against the concrete. “I just don’t know how…”

Sonic allowed their distance to grow as he watched Tails walk away.

“Is something wrong, Sonic?” Amy approached the blue blur, whose eyes were fixated on his little brother.

“Everything’s cool, Ames.” He put on a smile, one that failed to convince either hedgehog as Sonic proceeded to follow Tails to the hangar. Sighing deeply, the pink hedgehog followed suit.

*****

Entering the enclosed structure, Sonic and Amy watched as Tails placed a palm on the body of the Tornado 2.

“I’ve missed you so much…I hope they’ve been taking good care of you in here.” The orange kitsune swiped his hand over the slick metal side of the biplane, pampering it as if it were a pet. “I’m sure they did, but let me check a few things before take-off, okay?” Pausing for a few moments, as if waiting for the plane’s permission, Tails spotted a creeper a few feet away. The young fox retrieved it, rested his back against its cushioned surface, and kicked himself under the aircraft. Taking a screwdriver out from his utility belt, he opened a small hatch, wires contained therein which helped give the plane its power.

“Hmmm…everything looks good here.” Pulling himself out from under the biplane, Tails wiped his brow and flew up toward the propeller, using his screwdriver to open the compartment that housed the engine.  

“Hey Tails, you about ready yet?” Sonic tapped his foot with impatience.

“Almost there, Sonic…just gotta check this…and that…and…” The kitsune’s voice trailed off, Sonic chuckling to himself as he watched his younger brother in his element, spending several minutes inspecting the engine. “…All right, everything looks normal.” Tails shut the engine door and floated to the ground below, grease covering his hands and orange fur. Wiping a bit more sweat from his forehead, he managed to smear the black sludge across his face.

“Hey guys…what’s so funny?” Tails placed a finger against his chin, covering the bottom of his muzzle with the black substance as well.

“You should see yourself, bro!” Sonic pointed at his face. “You look like you’re goin’ to war.”

“Huh?” Tails looked down at his gloves to find them covered in grease. Amy pulled a handheld mirror from her hammerspace, pointing it in the fox’s direction.

“Take a look for yourself, Tails.” He peered within, discovering exactly why the hedgehog duo was laughing at him. Blushing, he itched the back of his head, smearing even more of the grease around his triangular ears, causing them to laugh even more.

“Not to mention you reek, man!” Sonic pointed at his younger brother, pinching his nose with his other hand.

“Huh?” Tails smelled his armpits, retracting his nose as his face contorted, realizing Sonic’s assessment was correct.

“At least I was the one stuck in the hospital! You had no excuse!” They laughed some more, Tails giggling the loudest. “I suppose I deserved that, though…”

The trio hopped into the biplane, Tails taking his seat at the wheel while Amy sat behind him.

“Ohhhhhhh Sonic!” Amy waved to the blue hedgehog, who took his spot on the leftmost wing. “I can always sit on your lap y’know!” Sonic shivered at the thought before tapping the wing with the tip of his shoe.

“Nooooo thank you. I’ve got a seat right here!” He pointed down at the metal wing below with a smirk on his face.  

“Hmph…” Amy crossed her arms and looked away. “Well, it was worth a shot, I guess.”

“All right, gang.” Tails flicked some knobs and pulled some levers on his dashboard, the Tornado 2 coming to life as the propellers began to spin. “It’s time we head back to the wo—” His declaration was interrupted by an incoming call on his wristwatch communicator. “…Just a second guys, I’m getting a transmission from Knuckles.”

Pressing a few buttons on the watch, a projected live feed from Knuckles’ own device hovered over his wrist.

“Tails, you readin’ me?”

“Loud and clear, Knuckles. What’s up?”

The red echidna pulled out the green emerald, showing it to the party.

“Woahh! How’d you get it back?”

Knuckles looked back at Rouge, who was lying in the bed behind him.

“It’s…a long story.”

*****

Sometime prior, Knuckles was making his way through the thick vegetation of Angel Island, carefully lugging the jewel thief over his shoulder as he used his other hand to push the foliage to the side, occasionally wiping rainwater from his eyes.

“…K…Knuckles…” Rouge was hardly awake.

“Don’t worry. We’ll get you healed up.”

A few minutes passed, and the rivals found themselves in the well-kept valley where Knuckles lived and guarded the Master Emerald. He breathed a sigh of relief as he eyed the stone shrine, the mystical gem resting at the top undisturbed; normally he would have inspected the emerald more closely after such a trek, but tending to Rouge’s wounds was more important at the moment.

The red echidna opened the cabin door and turned on the lights, taking the bat to his small bedroom, placing her over the covers as she winced in pain, wet from the rain. Knuckles left momentarily, coming back with some basic medical supplies.

“All right, bat…where does it hurt?” She slowly reached her arm toward her left knee, a scrape visible through the rip in her latex pants.

“This is gonna sting a little.” Knuckles swabbed the wound with a wet towel, Rouge’s face scrunching up as her lips quivered from the pain. Setting the rag aside, the red echidna squeezed some ointment onto a cotton swab, rubbing it against the gash. Finally, he affixed a sticky bandage over the layer of ointment.

Knuckles repeated this ritual several times, the jewel thief pointing to each part of her body that hurt so he could tend to each individual lesion, tear, and abrasion. After treating each injury, the echidna pulled out a fresh towel, doing his best to dry the wet bat before pulling a blanket over her. He turned off the lights as he left the room, eager to check on the Master Emerald.

Waiting a few minutes, the bat twitched her ears, trying to detect any noise in the cabin that’d suggest Knuckles was still inside. When the coast was clear, Rouge pushed the blanket to the side and climbed off the bed, still wet after Knuckles’ shabby attempt at drying her off.

“It was so nice for you to patch me up, Knucky.” She observed the bandages around her arms and legs. “I hate to dine and dash, but this lady’s got places to be.” Looking out the window, she spotted Knuckles standing guard at the base of the shrine facing the cabin, the rain not fazing the determined guardian.

“I’m gonna need to find the back exit.” She explored the sparsely furnished cabin, discovering a small window on the opposite side of Knuckles’ home.

“Bingo.” She opened the window, stepping out and dropping to the grass below.  

“Going so soon?”

“Hmmm?” Rouge looked up to see Knuckles standing before her, his arms folded as he glared at the fleeing bat.

“Hiya cutie, didn’t think you’d come strolling around here.” She blew the red echidna a kiss, a smirk on her face as Knuckles’ muzzle became red, matching the color of his fur. He shook himself out of it a few seconds later.

“Hey, don’t toy with me, bat! Now that you’re feeling better…” Knuckles made air quotes with his gloved paws. “…I think it’s time you owed me an explanation.”

“Ohh, an explanation?” Rouge attempted to use her feminine wiles to escape the persistent echidna. “You helped this poor, defenseless girl out…maybe you deserve a kiss?”

“I SAID don’t toy with me!” Knuckles’ rage grew as flames lit up in his eyes, his fists shaking as he clenched his teeth. He pulled Rouge around the cabin by the arm, dragging the bat through the front door and placing her back on the bed.

“Now,” Knuckles began, taking a seat on a nearby chair, “what are you doing on my island?”

“It’s a free Mobius, isn’t it?” Rouge folded her arms, looking away from the red echidna. “This lady can do whatever she pleases. I was just sightseeing.”

“Sightseeing, huh?” Knuckles grinned at the bat’s story, chuckling to himself. “Don’t suppose your little tour included a surprise crash landing?”

“And what if it did?” It was her turn to smile, watching the red echidna’s anger continue to rise.

“Okay, I’ve heard enough out of you.” Knuckles approached the bat, pulling the drawstring bag from her waist.

“I wanted to respect your privacy and not sneak through your junk, but you’ve forced my hand.”

“Wait! Don’t open that bag!” Rouge raised her hand toward Knuckles, trying to snag her loot from his paws, but it was too late; the echidna pulled the drawstring, dumping the green Chaos Emerald into the palm of his hand.

“What the…” His eyes widened as he observed the sparkling gem before returning his gaze to the jewel thief.

“You can start by explaining how you managed to steal this from Dr. Eggman.”

“Oh pleazzzee, any fool could easily waltz into Eggman’s base and steal from right under his nose.”

Knuckles placed his gloved paw on his forehead.

“Look Rouge, this isn’t a game. I need you to tell me all you learned at Eggman’s headquarters.”

“And why should I do that?” She gave the red echidna a grin, crossing her legs as she sat on the side on the bed.

“Because the world is at stake, you dumb bat!” Knuckles raised his voice once more, unable to negotiate with someone as difficult as Rouge. “This is far beyond either of us. We need to know what he’s up to so we can stop him.”

“Hmmm…” The jewel thief placed a gloved finger to her lips. “I suppose I could give you the inside scoop…but it’ll cost you.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Rouge glanced out the window, eying the Master Emerald glistening in the rain.

“…Wait. You can’t be serious! There is no way I’d ever give you the Master Emerald!”

“Okay then…” Rouge stretched her arm out, raising her fingers as she playfully inspected her nails, covered by her silk gloves. “…then how about you take me for a night out on the town?”

“Excuse me?” Now Knuckles was really confused. “You want me to do what now?”

“You heard me.” Rouge stood up and approached the red echidna. “I’ll tell you everything I learned in exchange for a date. Seems fair, doesn’t it?”

Knuckles stepped back, blushing at the embarrassing thought of being out in public with a woman like her.

“…Why don’t you ask Sonic? We could give him a call right now…” Knuckles pulled out his wristwatch communicator, gifted to him by Tails for emergencies such as these. Rouge placed an arm on Knuckles’ wrist, gently pushing it down.

“With Sonic? He’s handsome, sure, but I want to avoid Amy’s rage, thank you very much.”

“All right…” Knuckles placed a gloved finger to his chin. “How about Tails?”

“Tails?! What is he, like, eight? What kinda person do you take me for, anyway?”

“Ummmm…” Knuckles turned his eyes away from Rouge, putting his head down in thought before twisting around to face the jewel thief once more.

“Okay, fine! I’ll agree to this…but taking out Eggman is our number one priority.” Knuckles activated his wristwatch. “We can have our little date later.”

“Suit yourself, Knucky.” Rouge allowed herself to fall on the bed, placing her hands behind her head for support as she crossed her legs.

A projected image of the orange kitsune appeared over Knuckles’ wrist. He was sitting in the cockpit of the Tornado 2, his face visibly dirty. He spotted Amy behind, lifting her head up above the pilot’s seat.

“Tails, you readin’ me?”

“Loud and clear, Knuckles. What’s up?”

The red echidna pulled out the green emerald, showing it to the party.

“Woahh! How’d you get it back?”

Knuckles looked back at the injured bat, who was lying in the bed behind him.

“It’s…a long story. Rouge snuck into Eggman’s base and snagged the emerald before crash-landing on my doorstep. Anyway, the bat hasn’t told me everything…I figured she could just explain it to us all when you arrive.”

“We’ll be there as soon as possible, Knuckles.” Tails gave the red echidna a thumbs up.

“Understood.” Knuckles ended the call, turning his attention back to the jewel thief. “Now I need you to sit tight and wait for my guests to arrive.” He turned to the door.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll try to escape again?”

“We have an agreement, right? You want this date so badly, so you won’t go flyin’ off, especially without the Chaos Emerald.” Knuckles placed the gem in his dreadlocks, tossing the drawstring bag back on the bed as he began walking out of the bedroom.

“And besides…” he stopped at the edge of the doorway. “I have some soup to make.”

Rouge smiled to herself as Knuckles left the room, twirling the small bag by its drawstring as she lay in bed.

Knuckles is so gullible.

It’s almost kinda cute.

*****

Continue on with Chapter 8 here.

[chemicalmagecraft]

I Would Totally Kick Jiraiya’s Butt Chapter 2

A/N: I don't really know what a good length is, so hopefully I'm hitting that. Again, sorry for the delay, but play practice eats away at your soul even if you don't have any speaking lines.

kukukuku~

I don't know how long I was out for. When I first came to, my head felt even fuzzier than it normally does when I wake up. "He's up," a voice said when my eyes opened a bit. I saw that I was probably in a hospital, then groaned and went back to sleep.

kukukuku~

I groaned again. Did I mention how much I hate mornings? Because I hate mornings. "Kouki-kun," some old guy said.

"Ten more minutes," I mumbled, my eyes still closed.

"I'm not surprised he's tired," someone else said. His voice sounded familiar. "Multiple C-class wind jutsu, one A-class jutsu, and using an unknown dōjutsu for an unknown period of time... how does he have those kinds of reserves at his age? Even with the enhanced reserves that a Kekkei Genkai usually grants, that's still absurd. He must have done some serious training."

I cracked my eyes open. "Hello, Hokage-sama, Hyūga-sama," I told the two men on the side of my bed, then closed my eyes again.

Wait.

I bolted upright. "Hokage-sama! Hyūga-sama!" I understood what Hiashi was doing here, considering the fact that I saved his daughter, but what was the Hokage doing here? I gripped the sheets. "Why are you here?"

Sarutobi laughed. "I mean, you did single-handedly stop an international incident. Plus, I do believe that Hyuuga-san here might want to thank you for how you saved his daughter."

"Yes," Hiashi agreed, then bowed. "I am in your debt. Not only for saving my daughter, but we heard from Kumogakure that the ninja you stopped had a backup plan in case of his death that would have led to exactly what you described, so I owe you my life as well. Oh, and don't worry. The conspirators who organized the whole thing weren't planning on you to meddle, so the Raikage was able to find and defuse the ruse rather easily." Huh, so he was just a high-ranking Kumo nin or something. "I'm still going to be upping security at my clan compound, but you should probably be safe."

"Speaking of that," the Hokage butted in, "the Raikage retroactively declared the jōnin you fought to be a missing-nin, and asked me to give his bounty to the 'demon child' that the jōnin was ranting about. That's you, Kouki-kun." He handed me a storage scroll that I assumed held the money.

"Demon child," I said, then licked my lips in a purposefully creepy manner, which caused Sarutobi to shudder. Right, Orochimaru. "I like the ring of that." I inspected the scroll and opened it. As I suspected, there was a seal on it, but I didn't know how to use it...

"That's a storage scroll. Shinobi use it to carry things that they don't have space for. Put a light amount of chakra into and you'll be able to feel and take out its contents or put things in if you have any," Sarutobi told me.

I did as he said and took out a large wad of ryō. I held it out to Hiashi. "He probably would've killed me if you showed up when you did, even though I hurt him."

He shook his head and gently pushed my hand back to the scroll I took the money from. "I am the head of a rich clan and you're an orphan. Not to mention, I did say that I owe you. I actually put some money of my own in there."

I sealed the money back in the scroll, then paused as I remembered the splatter of blood. "I chopped off a man's leg," I said in horror.

"The man was trying to kidnap a young girl and would have had her father executed," the Hokage said. "You did nothing wrong."

"Actually, it's Hyūga-san's twin brother who would have been executed in his place, so it was his fate that I averted," I said. Well, if it was already established I had some sort of foresight, I might as well use it to push my agenda. "Your father would have used the Caged Bird Seal as an excuse to send him instead because that way the Byakugan wouldn't fall into their hands." I glared at Hiashi and he flinched. "It makes you wonder why it would be used to protect the Byakugan if all of the important family members don't have it."

Sarutobi cleared his throat. "Moving on... You have an ability called a dōjutsu. It's a very special eye power passed down from parent to child, like the Byakugan. However, we have no records of any eyes like yours and, because we don't know who your parents are, no way of knowing where it came from. All we really know is that it seemed to grant you knowledge of future events." Well I knew that author me gave it to me so I'd have an excuse for knowing the future, but it's not like I could say that. "We will have to do some tests on it, but there's a high possibility that this will be an S-rank village secret." Hiashi stared at him. "He exhibited precognition far enough into the future to know the repercussions of you killing a man before it happened, and with enough time to understand what was happening and prevent it. We don't know the extent of it, but we do know that it could be very dangerous in the wrong hands. Do I have to worry about your shinobi telling others about it?"

Hiashi shook his head. "I doubt they'll have said anything, and I can tell them to keep quiet. Really, we only have to worry about if anyone saw Kouki-kun's eyes on the way to my compound." I thought about it for a moment, licked my lips, and channeled a small amount of chakra into my eyes. I felt the same fuzzy feeling in them as before, and my vision suddenly doubled, brightened, and... turned a little green for some reason. Weird. "Remarkable," one of the Hiashis said. "Remarkable," the other Hiashi agreed.

I heard a sigh and my own voice said, "This is going to take some getting used to." I sighed and said, "This is going to take some getting used to." I closed my eyes (then closed my eyes) and focused on three particular events, just to see if I could see them. Three scenes flashed in my head one by one. Naruto confronting Mizuki. Sarutobi's fight with Orochimaru. Naruto telling Kakashi about his talk with his father. I cut off the chakra flow to my eyes and opened them to see only one of each person in the room. 

"Only two people would have really been able to get a good look at my eyes, and I wouldn't worry about either of them. One is my friend and the other is the jōnin who I... stopped. Obviously, the jōnin telling people about me having freaky eyes will be taken with a grain of salt, and he'll probably end up deciding he doesn't remember the fight right because of the pain. As for my friend, nobody but me will talk to him, so it shouldn't be too bad." I then turned to glare at Sarutobi. "Speaking of which, I'd like to ask when you were planning on telling him, Hokage-sama." You know how sometimes people say things like honorifics and titles like they're actually horrible, horrible insults? I said the "-sama" like that.

"What are you talking about?" he asked me.

I steepled my fingers and did the... I think it was called the Gendo Ikari pose? "I'm not sure exactly how your law works, so I don't know what I am and am not allowed to say, but let's just say... I know exactly what the Fourth did to his son." He paled.

"The fourth Hokage didn't-" Hiashi began to say, but was interrupted when Sarutobi raised his hand.

"How do you-" I flashed my eyes and he sighed (and he sighed). "Right. I was planning on telling Naruto about the Kyuubi when he became a ninja, or on his thirteenth birthday if he wasn't yet a ninja. As for his father, I was planning on telling him either when he reached chūnin or when he turned sixteen, which is also when Minato's will stated he'd get his inheritance."

"That's... actually a great plan," I told him, and relaxed back into my bed, "except for the part where a traitor told him the first bit... or will tell him the first bit after using him to get the forbidden scroll. The second bit he'll learn when a failsafe on his seal trips after the Kyuubi almost comes out due to an S-class missing-nin turning Konoha literally into a crater that he could've prevented had some traitor cough Danzō cough not stabbed a frog." 

I actually said the word cough there, by the way. 

"Yes, you couldn't have predicted either of those events," I clenched my fists, "but could you at least have had his godfather-who, by the way, I'm eventually going to have to have a long, hard talk involving lots of jutsu exploding in his face sometime in the future-sit him down for a little chat in the eventuality of your not-untimely death, perhaps in the invasion that happens during his first chūnin exam." I sneered at how his face grew progressively more horrified as I talked. "Now, I am planning on doing my best to stop those horrible things from happening, which I'm going to just assume that I have your full cooperation for, but that's not even all that happens to Naruto, believe it or not, or has happened, for that matter. None of the children at the orphanage who aren't me will play with him or even go near him because some of the adults keep telling us he's a monster." I paused, then, with a laugh, I said, "I think it's a little hypocritical, but what do I know. I'm also pretty sure that pretty much every adult keeps telling their kids how EEEEEEEVIIIIIIIL Naruto is, which probably won't be good for him." As I spoke, Sarutobi slumped further in his chair.

"Well shit," Hiashi muttered, absolutely floored.

"...Your dōjutsu is about as powerful as I thought," Sarutobi said after a while. "While it will not be an official position, I would like you to be my advisor. You shall be allowed to speak to me at any time without question. Now, I believe we should think of a name for your dōjutsu."

I thought about it for a moment, then said, "Shōraigan."

"Tomorrow eye," Hiashi said. "A fitting name. It's funny, I was going to suggest that exact same name." He paused. "Unless you took my suggestion before I could say it." I smiled cheekily at him and very slowly licked my lips. The face he made at that was so funny you guys. You should've seen it. I could almost hear the gears in his head working overtime. He opened his mouth a few times as if trying to think of something to say to that, then sighed and said, "So what was that jutsu that you used on the jōnin? I heard you say 'wind release,' but how could a child use wind release? For that matter, how do you know how to use chakra so well?"

"I actually don't remember how or when I first learned how to use chakra. I just remember a leaf falling on my forehead and using chakra on it." Technically true... "I managed to learn a few different chakra exercises and did them until I got really good at them. One of those was a wind chakra exercise or something, and I just made two jutsu from that. My skill's probably something to do with my eyes, now that I think about it."

"You... made two jutsu?" Sarutobi asked.

"Actually, I made three. The first one, which I call Cat Claws Jutsu, is just something I made so I could mark my progress with the tree walking." I demonstrated my Cat Claws Jutsu, my fingernails sheathing themselves in the blue glow of chakra. "Then I added wind chakra to it, which I call Wind Release: Dragon Claws Jutsu." I added the wind chakra, making absolutely sure that my greatly elongated claws weren't anywhere close to their bodies. I let it dissolve after they were able to get a good look at it. "The other one I was hoping to make a ranged attack. It worked, but it didn't have as much power as I was hoping. I called it Wind Release: Mini Air Slash. I'm hoping to make a bigger variant in the future and call that one Wind Release: Air Slash."

"That's a remarkable amount of skill for someone as young as you," Sarutobi said. "I certainly think that you'll make a great ninja. Well, I suppose that that's all the two of us really need to talk to you about. Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

"Do your other advisors, Utatane-san and Mitokado-san, know of me?" I asked him.

He winced. "Not yet, no."

"Could you please keep it that way? They aren't actively traitorous, or at least I don't think they are with what I know of them, but they still follow Danzō's teachings too much for my comfort."

"Yes..." he said. "I've noticed that they've been getting worse for a while. I really should do something about them. Rest assured, it won't get to them unless you want it to."

"Thanks," I told him. I was about to say something else, but then I sneezed.

"Are you okay?" Hiashi asked me.

"Ugh." I sniffed. "I'm fine, I just randomly sneeze sometimes when I'm indoors."

"That sounds like a dust allergy."

I shrugged. "Probably? I was also going to ask what my eyes looked like because I would need a mirror to see them, but it might not be safe for me to use them near a mirror, what with the whole S-class secret thing."

"They are very distinctive," Hiashi told me. "First there's the markings under your eyes."

"I actually already know about the markings under my eyes unless using the Shōraigan changed them."

"They didn't seem to change when you used your Shōraigan, so you should be fine there. As for the eyes themselves, the sclera-that's the part of your eye that's normally white-turns pitch black!" Wow, he was actually giving me this really excited smile. Guess he really likes eyes. "And the other two parts? They actually glow! The iris, which is the colorful part of your eye, turns from hazel to glowing emerald! And your pupils! Those-by the way, pupils are the black part you actually see out of-those turn white and glow even brighter! You could probably even use them to see in the dark!"

"Okay, thanks," I said. "I'm pretty sure I have a good picture of what it looks like now. I think we're done here now, could you just tell Naruto I'm here so I can deal with him?"

"Actually, you're probably going to get discharged soon, so you might as well meet him at the orphanage," Sarutobi said. "Make sure to tell him that your eyes are a secret. You can tell him what you can do, though. He might as well know." With that, he and Hiashi got up and left.

kukuku~

"So yeah, that's what happened," I told Naruto the next day. We were hiding behind the orphanage and I had made absolutely sure that nobody would notice us.

"So that's why your eyes were-mmph!" He started to shout before I clamped my hand over his mouth.

"It's a secret to everyone!" I whisper-shouted, and then was tempted to hand him some money for some reason. "Yes, it's why my eyes were weird. Please don't tell anyone about my weird eyes without my permission. Make totally, completely sure that you don't. Tell. Anyone. There's a guy in the village who likes getting people with abnormal powers in his secret army and he's not above killing people so he can remove their eyeballs."

Naruto gaped at that. "Shouldn't you tell Hokage-jiji that?"

"Hokage-sama knows, it's just that the guy is really good at covering his tracks, so he hasn't managed to nail him yet. Now, how's your wind release going?" He grinned and took a leaf cut cleanly in half out of his pocket, which caused me to lick my lips and grin as well. "I'll take that as 'good.' Try combining it with Cat Claws Jutsu now. When you can do Wind Release: Dragon Claws Jutsu, then I'll teach you Wind Release: Mini Air Slash. You're doing awesome, man." He beamed at me and started with the claws. While he was doing that, I tilted my head to the side as, if on cue, someone called my name. "I have to go now. Remember not to use that on a person unless they're already attacking you, and be especially careful with it. I cut off that guy's leg, remember?" He nodded, still focusing on his claws. I saw a flicker of wind chakra before I left. When I made my way to where I heard my name being called, I saw Hiashi standing next to one of the caretakers of the orphanage that I never bothered to learn the name of. "Why did you need me?" I asked him.

"What the hell'd you do to get Hyūga frickin' Hiashi to ask to adopt specifically you, kid?" the caretaker said.

"I saved his daughter," I boasted.

"What?"

"He saved my daughter," Hiashi said. "Plus, he displayed exceptional potential with ninjutsu that I would like to have developed. Honestly, it would be a crime for me not to adopt him." He ever-so-subtly smirked at me.

"Okay, sir. Whatever you say. The kid's a little odd and he only ever talks to that demon brat, but if you wanna be his dad and he wants to be your kid, then whatever."

Hiashi turned to me. "What do you say, Kouki-kun? Would you like to be my son?"

I made a show of thinking about it, then said, "You don't have any problems with me hanging out with Naruto-kun, do you?"

"If you keep him from being too disruptive, I'll even let you bring him over to the clan compound."

I bowed. "Then I would be honored to become part of your family. Do you mind if I have a little talk with you alone?"

"Not at all. Just take me to somewhere private we can talk."

I led us to my room, which was empty. I looked at Hiashi, then pointed at my eyes. He got the memo, activated his Byakugan for a few seconds, then nodded. I activated my Shōraigan, looked to make sure nothing bad would happen, then deactivated it. I then jumped onto my bed, looked roughly to where the Fourth Wall was, and said, "Getting adopted by the leader of an influential clan in the second chapter. That's pretty convenient, Me."

"Why are you talking to nobody?" Hiashi asked me with a bit of worry.

"Who said I was talking to nobody?" I licked my lips.

Again, he just opened his mouth as if trying to think of something to say, and then just changed the subject to, "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Was that stuff that you said the real reason?" I asked, and shifted to a very "draw me like one of your French girls" pose.

"Officially it is, but..."

"Unofficially?" He nodded and was about to say something when I sat up and said, "Wait! Sorry, but could I have a go at that first?" He nodded again. "What you said was true, but there's also the fact that Hokage-sama doesn't want me unguarded on account of my eyes and it'd raise too much suspicion to have people randomly start tailing me if I'm an orphan, even if I'm close to the Kyuubi Jinchuriki. But nobody would bat an eye at the clan leader whose daughter was just the target of an attempted kidnapping upping security at his clan compound, even if he also adopted an orphan recently and especially if that orphan was the one who saved his daughter's life and could therefore possibly be part of security. Furthermore, Hokage-sama would prefer I get trained so I can better defend myself in the event of someone trying to kidnap me. Also, I have a dōjutsu so the both of you decided that it'd be good to have me have ready access to an experienced dōjutsu user that knows about my eyes so I can ask any questions I can think of."

"That... was exactly it. You don't mind pretending to secretly be one of Hinata-chan's bodyguards when not in school, do you?"

"Nyahahaha~!" I laughed. Yes, I laugh weird sometimes. Shut up. "That'd be pretty cool, actually! It's gonna be like a disguise within a disguise!"

"It is a disguise within a disguise. Our hope is that it just looks like I'm being paranoid over how my daughter was just kidnapped."

"Children getting kidnapped isn't a bad thing to be paranoid about, especially for a father." I thought for a moment. "If I'm going to be Hinata-chan's 'bodyguard,' I should probably get some proper training in ninjutsu, maybe some genjutsu, and some sort of chakra-sensing jutsu if that's possible. Chakra sensing just seems like a bodyguard sort of power, y'know?"

"I can see why that'd be useful to a bodyguard. I know for a fact that most Hyūga have the aptitude to learn sensory jutsu and many Uchiha do as well, so you might thanks to your Shōraigan. You do realize that you're going to have to actually learn all of these skills, though."

"Ah, but that's my master plan!" I joked. "This way you have to teach me jutsu! Nyahahaha~! Also, maybe I could learn some medical ninjutsu? That seems like a really good thing for a bodyguard to know. I mean, I'd certainly like my hypothetical bodyguard to be able to heal me."

"Again, you're going to have to actually learn how to do it, but I could arrange that. There have actually been a few good Hyūga surgeons in recent years. Our eyes are very good for the work."

"Neat," I said. "Alright, I should probably pack my stuff up or something, shouldn't I?"

"That seems like a good idea, yes. Would you like some help?"

I smiled. "Sure."

kukukuku~

A/N: Alright, hopefully that isn't too unbelievable. Don't worry, this won't just be stuff going right for me all the time, but that was pretty much the only way I saw that going down. Remember, I'm always open to constructive criticism, so please criticize me constructively.

[freddyloyd]

wanna see my notes for this panel:

sorry for the spelling mistakes i was blinded by rage.

[why-i-love-comics]

Red Hood & The Outlaws #1 - "I Fought the Law and Kicked Its Butt!" (2011)

written by Scott Lobdell art by Kenneth Rocafort & Blond

[illogicalbroccoli]

The Raid

Content Warnings: Homophobia, homophobic violence, police brutality, injury

Pairings: Elim Garak / Kelas Parmak

Summary: On Old Cardassia, a successful vice operation is interrupted by a disconcerting visitor.  

Note: This story takes place ten years or so prior to the beginning of Deep Space Nine.  It is based on a headcannon where Garak and Parmak had a relationship prior to Garak’s interrogation of Parmak and Parmak’s subsequent imprisonment My thanks to apolesen for beta-ing, encouragement, and general awesomeness.

Interrogations had revealed that there was much speculation among the invert population as to when and why Constabulary raids occurred. They could not fail to be aware that, despite all their precautions, the Constabulary was generally aware of a number of their meeting-places and times of gathering. So why, they asked themselves, did Constabulary raids occur only sporadically? What motivated the choice of any particular place or time? Various theories had apparently been proposed. Some suggested that raids were linked to power struggles within Central Command, as Guls and Legates hoped to obtain evidence with which to tar or blackmail their rivals. Others viewed the raids as exercises in political theatre, a low-cost way for the government to reassure loyal citizens that the state was busy protecting them from dangerous deviants. The duller among the inverts simply whispered “The Obsidian Order,” as if invoking the Order rendered further question unnecessary. 

Watch-Commander Tekeny Sebhat knew that all these explanations were needlessly baroque. The answer was much simpler: raids happened when the Constabulary were bored.

Inversion was formally classed as a Category Six offence, with the same priority as Malicious Rumour and Defeatism. In practice, however, the Constabulary did not always treat inversion as urgently as the law advised. As Chief Tomak had once said, “When you’ve got gang wars in North Torr and terrorists putting grenades under omnibus seats, it’s hard to spare the men to rough up a few ponces.”

But even in the Union Capital there were quiet periods. When a squad had spent octads with nothing but petty burglaries and domestic disputes, and the highest-profile arrest would be a man who turned his back on a Legate’s motorcade, a sensitive Station Chief, seeing the glum faces of his men, might pop out of his office and ask for volunteers for a Vice operation. There was never any shortage of hands. For the Constabulary of the capital, a raid on an invert den was practically a mini-holiday. It offered a chance both to gawk at the demimonde and to indulge in salutary violence against targets who were unlikely to be trained or equipped to offer much of a counterattack. Plus, there was always the possibility of catching a famous face among the guilty. Sebhat still smiled about the raid some years back, when a member of Central Command had been discovered wearing a spangled dress cut low enough to reveal his whole chula, singing a very racy song about a country girl who missing her farmhand lover who had gone to fight on Bajor. They had not been able to arrest him, of course, but Sebhat had had to stifle his laughter the next day when the man appeared on the public screens to announce that he was resigning his commission to devote himself to breeding racing hounds on his country estate.

Tonight’s raid had not produced any such big fish, but it had been quite satisfactory in all other respects. The establishment chosen had been registered with the Office of the Civic Administrator as a “drinking-house and cultural discussion group.” Sebhat had shaken his head when he heard. And they said that inverts were cunning – they might as well have written “deviant meeting-house” on the official form. When the team had kicked in the doors, they had found more than enough decadence to satisfy their appetites for the outré. Men sat together in twos and sometimes threes, on elegantly-upholstered sofas or on pillows and rugs. Almost all were in the midst of embracing, caressing, nuzzling, when the squadristi broke in. On a small stage opposite the door, a man in a loose white outfit stood in spotlight; beside him another man sat strumming a batab. Presumably, a song or recitation had been in progress. Sebhat hoped that the performer had the text on him – ought to be good for a laugh later, decadent poetry usually was. The performer, and many of the other men, sported eyeshadow and a blue-dyed chufa. The air was dense with the smells of kanar, perfume, and musk. On bursting in, Sebhat found himself having to pause a moment to regain his composure as the pheromones flooded his airways. The moment was brief however. Sebhat looked about the room, grinned, and barked, “sorry ladies, show’s over!” For a moment, none of the patrons moved. Then one foolish soul jumped up and tried to run, and the fun began.

It had been a very satisfying melée. The squadristi had kicked, punched and choked to their hearts’ content. Granted, a few of the inverts had fought back with more skill and ferocity than expected, but at the end of the day the Constabulary had got pain-sticks and disruptors, and they had not. It had all taken less than half a ven from start to finish.

The battered deviants were just being herded into the prison-transport, the squadristi were laughing and reminiscing about the evening’s fun, and Sebhat was sucking on a dhoka-stick when the man appeared. He was middling-tall, in a finely-cut suit, and had startlingly blue eyes that Sebhat found somehow unnerving.

“Good evening, Watch-Commander,” the man said as he emerged from the gloom. He spoke with a smile that Sebhat found peculiarly insolent.

“This is an active Constabulary operation,” he snarled at the stranger. “What’s your business here?”

The man reached for his suit pocket, and Sebhat’s hand flew to the butt of his disruptor.

“No need to be hasty, Watch-Commander!” the man said. “I am only presenting my credentials. May I continue? Slowly, of course?”

Sebhat gestured minutely for the man to carry on. He reached into his pocket and drew out a small, oval wallet, placed his thumb over the lock’s scanner, then flipped it open. Sebhat felt his legs grow soft under him. The badge bore a symbol reminiscent of the Union seal, but half the figure was in shadow. Beneath the emblem was a small holo of the man who held it, and an identification number. There was, of course, no name.

“I’m terribly sorry to interrupt what is surely a highly successful operation,” the man said.

His ironic tone would, at other times, have brought Sebhat to a rage. At the moment, however, he was too preoccupied with his terror even to notice.

“I require one of your prisoners,” the man continued. “Would you be so good as to have one of your comrades fetch a certain Kelas Parmak? We believe he may be able to be of assistance to us.”

Sebhat swallowed, tapped his communicator and relayed the order.

“A not-unpleasant evening for this time of year,” the stranger said while they waited. “I get so few chances simply to stand and enjoy the night air. It’s quite invigorating, don’t you think?”

Sebhat said nothing.

“Do you follow the hounds at all? They say next octad’s race will be one to remember.”

Sebhat looked about, and felt a flush of relief as two squadristi arrived with a bedraggled figure between them. For a moment, Sebhat thought it was a tribad in travestie. Then he realized that it was in fact male, but with hair far longer than any decent Cardassian man would contemplate.

“Kelas Parmak,” said one of the squadristi.

Sebhat gestured toward the stranger, giving the squadristi a significant look. The message was clearly received, as they half-walked, half-dragged their captive toward the man.

“Capital,” he said. “Please hand him over.”

The man walked up to the prisoner and gently slipped his arm around his chest, supporting him as the squadristi let go. The beaten man moaned and mumbled something that sounded like “Lim,” and then went silent again.

“You do not realize the extent of the service you may have done Cardassia today,” the stranger said to Sebhat. Then he turned and slowly drew his new companion into a waiting skimmer.

“Ouch!” said Kelas Parmak. “There is no need to be so forceful!”

“It is true,” Elim Garak replied as he dabbed at the other man’s wounded forehead. “Physicians make the worst patients.”

“I don’t see why I need to be your patient,” Parmak replied. “I am perfectly capable of dressing my own wounds. More capable of you, in fact.”

Garak smiled and continued his ministrations.

“I am a noble champion, tending the wounds of my beloved,” he said.

“Clumsily,” Parmak replied. “And while I appreciate your sacrifice of a scarf to make me a sling, had we gone to the hospital as I suggested this arm could have been set by now.”

“A beaten man showing up moments after a police raid on a deviant nightclub would hardly fail to attract attention,” Garak said. “I happen to know that it is standard practice to monitor emergency wards immediately after constabulary operations in order to round up anyone who escaped the initial sweep.”

“There would be no point in asking how you know that, would there?” Parmak replied.

“No,” Garak said simply.

“Of course not.”

When he had finished cleaning and dressing Parmak’s injuries, Garak sat down on the bed next to him.

“I am fairly certain I remember advising against going to that club again,” he said. “They are not careful. I told you something like this would happen.”

Parmak met his gaze.

“Eftet was performing, and I felt I owed it to him to attend,” he said evenly.

“I hope he appreciates the depth of your affection for him. I assume, of course, that affection is your motivation, it certainly cannot be poetic appreciation.”

“Just because Eftet uses forms that are less than a century old—” Parmak retorted, and then grimaced as his arm shifted in its sling.

“Do you need another antodynic?” Garak asked.

“You have already given me more than the maximum recommended dosage,” Parmak said.

“You see?” Garak asked the room. “Physicians!”

There was a brief silence.

“Was it very expensive?” Parmak asked.

Garak cocked his head to the side.

“Buying my freedom. Did the Watch Commander ask for a great deal?”

“Not as these things go,” Garak said.

“Good,” said Parmak. “I would hate to think of you bankrupting yourself for my sake.”

“I would hate even more to think of you up before the Archon for buggery,” Garak replied. “And it really did not cost me that much.”

“I somehow cannot believe that. But just a look around this overdecorated room tells me you can probably afford it. Someday, Garak, you are going to tell me what you do for a living.”

“‘That great Jubilee someday,” Garak quoted. “When all our weary wishes find fruition.’”

The quote was from Eveny Ghata, a poet of the last century, whose florid style he knew Parmak found infuriating. Garak hoped the other man would laugh, or say something snide, but Parmak instead sat quietly, looking down.

“While we are dreaming of Someday,” he eventually said quietly. “Someday I will be able to hear a friend’s poetry in safety. Someday, you and I will be able to walk hand in hand down Victory Boulevard.”

Garak took the other man’s hand

Not on Cardassia, he thought, not in my lifetime.

But he said, “Someday.”

They sat in silence again for a while.

“Elim?”

“Yes Kelas?”

“What were you doing in East Torr?”

In fact, all Constabulary operations were automatically relayed to the Obsidian Order; Garak had set up a program that alerted him when certain keywords were mentioned.  Garak, however, simply said

“I just had a feeling that you might need my help.”

“I am not ungrateful for it,” said Parmak.

“When you recover, I think I will have to ask you to demonstrate that gratitude,” Garak said with a smile.

“I think you will find the demonstration satisfactory,” Parmak replied. “But for now, I think I must sleep.” “Do you want me to stay with you?” Garak asked.

“I would like that,” Parmak replied

Garak sat holding Parmak’s hand, listening as his breathing became slow and deep. 

He’s right, Garak thought. I will have to tell him, eventually. But let it not be soon. Gods of my ancestors, in whom I have never believed, let it not be soon. 

[livinglittlelie]

Happy birthday, @crzangel! I wrote a lil drabble for you as a birthday present huhuhu. I hope you like it!

Izuku loved the sea.

There had always been something about the sea that drew him in and that managed to take his breath away. For as long as he could remember, Izuku had been enamoured with the crashing waves and the sea breeze, and he had done everything in his hand to spend as much time as possible near the sea.

Izuku’s home was relatively near the beach, so when it started to get warm Izuku’s mother would always take them there. Izuku would then spend the whole day in the water, either swimming or just letting the soft waves of the afternoon soak his feet while he sat on the sand.

Izuku loved the sea, and how refreshing it felt to dive in the fresh water when the sun was hitting strong. It was a feeling he missed dearly when autumn came and he couldn’t go to the beach anymore, and something he welcomed with a wide smile when the spring’s storms left to bring warmer weather.

But as time went on, Izuku found another reason why he loved the sea so much.

The sea was mysterious, and hid many wonders in its waters. By being nearby, Izuku had learnt many things he’d never fathomed to learn, even things he thought they were just myths.

Izuku secured the grip on his backpack’s shoulder straps as he made his way to the beach. He noted with his usual sadness the trash littered on the sand, making up mountains of rubbish that hid the beautiful sea from sight.

He wasn’t sure why or when it happened, but little by little his beach started filling up with rubbish until it was impossible to spend one’s time in there without fearing getting hurt. He had tried cleaning up the mess in his spare time, but the funny thing about dumping sites was that, no matter how much someone tried to clear it out, litter seemed to multiply on itself.

Izuku gave up on cleaning the mess after weeks and weeks of cleaning up restlessly, just for the pile to grow the day after. It was a shame, to be honest. There was nothing Izuku wanted more than returning the clear beauty that beach once had, but there was so much he could do by himself.

Well, maybe if he spent his whole summer break doing it…

With his current manpower, Izuku focused on keeping clear paths to the shore instead. They were hidden enough that people wouldn’t pile trash on them, and clear enough to let him through. Keeping them clear were a small victory in his book.

When Izuku got to the beach that day, he started walking on the sand towards the wall of trash, not bothering to take his shoes off. He leaped over a busted washing machine and moved a splintered door to the side, uncovering a path that lead directly to the shore.

He ran towards the waves, not minding if his red sneakers buried into the damp sand, and made his way to the small deck at the distance. It looked weathered and in a clear need of some repairs, but it was sturdy enough to support his weight, even if the boards creaked sometimes when he stepped on them.

As long as he didn’t fall into the water, Izuku was fine with creaky decks.

Once he made it to the edge of the deck, he sat down and placed the backpack to the side. He started untying his red sneakers and taking them off, placing them beside his bag. His socks came out next, which Izuku placed inside his sneakers unceremoniously.

Finally, Izuku dipped his feet in the sea, sighing in relief at the feeling of cool water curling around them. He kicked the water playfully, giggling softly at the splashing. The beach could be filthy, but the water had remained as clear and blue as he remembered from his childhood.

Izuku took a deep breath and lied down, basking on the warmth of the sun coupled with the seawater’s coolness. He closed his eyes and hummed, feeling his tense muscles finally relax. He had missed this.

Suddenly, something curled around Izuku’s feet and tugged down, making the boy squeal in surprise. He shot up like a spring and looked down instinctively, trying to see what had caught his feet. When his eyes met Shouto’s Izuku sighed in relief, putting a hand on his chest to try calm his racing heart.

“Todoroki-kun, god! You scared me!”

Shouto shrugged, although his shoulders were barely out of the water. “I have been calling your name for a while, but you didn’t seem to hear me. I thought I could grab your attention like this.”

“I guess that’s on me, then.” Izuku grabbed his bag and put it aside, making room in the deck beside him. “Do you want to join me?”

Shouto nodded. He placed his webbed hands on the edge of the deck and pushed his body up, splashing water everywhere as he got his body out of the water. The bright red and white scales of his tail glistened with the sunlight, and the boards of the deck creaked again when he sat down on beside Izuku.

Izuku couldn’t help but follow the trails of the little water droplets running down Shouto’s torso, suddenly mesmerized with the sight. Although his attention was soon diverted when the merman used his hand to comb his wet hair out of the way.

Izuku snapped his head forward, tense. He had to get a grip on himself.

“So!” Izuku exclaimed a bit too loud for his liking. “How’s your week been?”

“Uneventful.” Shouto leaned back and rested his weight on his hands, and started splashing the water with his tail. “I went to the academy as usual. They taught us how to fight with tridents, which was quite interesting, but nothing else happened. And at home I tried to get away from Father’s way as much as possible.”

Izuku winced. “Is he still mad about All Might getting the throne back?”

“That’s an understatement. He’s furious that All Might ‘snatched’ what Father considers his rightful place, even though All Might has been our king for centuries before he disappeared. I’m pretty sure Father’s planning ways of getting the crown back as we speak.” Shouto scoffed. “He can be so ridiculous sometimes.”

Izuku chuckled. “Well, you’re not doing him any favours by the way you speak about him. He sounds like a real prick.”

“He is.” Shouto glanced at Izuku. “But enough about that. I didn’t come here to talk about him. Did you bring any spare clothes?”

“Yeah, I have them in my backpack— Hey! Stop!”

Izuku immediately averted his gaze to look away from Shouto shifting to his human form. The merman had the bad habit of changing without a warning, not caring about what he called “humans’ laws of decency.” That meant that, more often than not, Izuku had to stop whatever he was doing and look away when Shouto decided to shift. Or, if he was unlucky — or lucky — he managed to get glimpses of a very human and very naked Shouto.

Izuku almost buried his head inside his backpack to avoid looking at Shouto. He fished for the towel and the clothes he had brought for the merman and started taking them out of the bag, handing them blindly.

He jumped when Shouto’s fingers curled around his to get the clothes, and breathed in relief when he heard him stand up to get dressed.

“Is it safe to look up?” Izuku asked.

“I think so.” Shouto’s eyeroll was palpable in his flippant voice. “I don’t get why you humans make such a big deal about nudity. Your species’ customs are very weird.”

Izuku glanced over his bag’s lapels to make sure he could look up, and got his head out of the bag once he checked that Shouto was at least wearing underwear. “Well, it’s the same as your issue with touching ears.”

“Touching ears is a very intimate gesture for us.”

“Well, so is seeing each other naked.”

Shouto’s head popped out of the t-shirt he was putting on and frowned in confusion. “But I’ve seen plenty of people naked at the beach before, and it didn’t seem to bother anyone. What’s the difference between them and me?”

“They’re wearing swimsuits, Todoroki-kun. Every time you shift you’re—” Izuku cleared his throat— “you’re totally naked.”

“So it’s fine to show almost all your skin, but it’s different if you’re fully naked? That doesn’t make any sense.”

Izuku simply shook his head with fondness and let the matter go with a smile. It wasn’t the first time they had discussed that topic, and Izuku knew by experience that they wouldn’t be able to reach an agreement. He still remembered how hard it had been to make Shouto understand why he couldn’t march around butt-naked the first time the merman had shifted. It had been even more complicated to convince him to put on some clothes.

At this point, Izuku was pretty sure Shouto only put on clothes to humour him.

Izuku waited patiently as Shouto finished changing, chuckling lightly when he saw the merman struggling with the pants. He handed Shouto a pair of shoes, and waited patiently as Shouto tried to untangle the ties. After seeing the merman’s frown deepen into a scowl, Izuku put his hands on Shouto’s and silently guided his fingers until he could undo the knots.

“Do you need help tying them up after putting them on?” Izuku asked.

“I’ll manage,” Shouto answered with the hint of a pout.

Izuku’s lips quirked up and proceeded to put on his own socks and sneakers. He tied them slower than usual, not missing how Shouto’s eyes were focused on Izuku’s fingers, and once he finished, he stood up.

“Ready?”

“Yeah.”

Shouto stood up after him and clasped their hands together, linking his web-less fingers with Izuku’s. Izuku fought the blush trying to rise to his cheeks, reminding himself that it was another one of the merpeople’s customs. Apparently holding hands was a common thing around merpeople, or so Shouto said.

Shouto’s face seemed to relax when Izuku squeezed his hand, and they started walking to the shore.

“So, do you have something in mind for today?” Izuku asked.

Shouto mused pensive. “I’d like to have another one of those ice creams treats. Which flavour was the one you had last time I came? Chocolate?”

“It was chocolate chip cookie flavoured, but isn’t it a bit too cold to have ice cream right now? I don’t want you catching a cold.” Izuku put his free hand on his mouth, deep in thought. “Actually, do merpeople catch colds? How do you sneeze underwater?”

“We do sneeze, but I don’t know what ‘catching a cold’ is. Is that another one of your illnesses?”

Izuku nodded. “Yeah. When you have a cold your head an throat hurts, and your nose is really runny. Sometimes you can even get a fever.”

Shouto hummed. “We have something similar, I guess. Anyway, I’m sure it’ll be fine. I feel pretty warm wearing these clothes already.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

Izuku sighed, giving up. “Well, then. Let’s go get some ice cream.”

Shouto and Izuku made their way out of the beach slowly. Izuku showed the disguised merman the way around the pile of trash, his constant babble taking Shouto’s mind out of the beach’s deplorable state. Izuku knew Shouto hated even more than him how dirty the beach was, so Izuku always tried to distract the merman as much as he could.

He just needed to wait until his summer break; then he would be able to tidy up the place. And who knew? Maybe he could get his friends from school to help him. Iida’s sense of righteousness would probably make him join Izuku instantly, and Ochako was way stronger than she looked. He was sure they could get rid of most of it if they worked together.

Izuku tightened his grip on Shouto’s hand and helped him jump off the busted washing machine, reaching the other side of the trash wall. The sea was almost out of sight, but they could still hear the crashing of the waves. Shouto turned to look at the scenery, but Izuku tugged at his arm.

“Let’s go, Todoroki-kun.”

Shouto nodded and followed Izuku out of the beach. They only had until twilight to spend time together, and Izuku was ready to make Shouto enjoy their time together as much as possible. Izuku’s mind was set on making him temporarily forget about his father, about the beach, about everything but them.

That afternoon they were just Shouto and Izuku, and Izuku was going to make sure they spent a great time together.

[stringsofstarlight]

An oldie yet goodie, some still needs to happen, some a bit more challenging, and others soon to be or happening.       11/19/18 edit: “we belong” pat benatar    Marshall McCluhan published posthumously the tetrad of media effects.  I offer this letter as a retrieval of the past in order to reverse our course of history.    The Tetrad takes any medium or media, then applies these questions as ground qualities:  retrieval then reversal  &  enhancement then obsolescence.     See tetrad of media effects

  The contract signing with Universal and a need to clarify retrograde messages previously implored me to write the 13th letter.    The precedent that has been set by Taylor Swift, the artist,  eventually owning her own content is so huge, it is going to take so many years for everyone to see that this was the beginning of a new way of treating creators and their creations.   Ms. Taylor Swift is a trailblazer on so many fronts that few wild frontiers will be eventually left to tame when her life’s work is done.    Way to step up “walking the talk” and make a real deal shift of the tectonic orders of magnitude right in the “here now”.   No future maybe or mights—a torch of liberty held aloft for those that can see its warm glow, thousands of lumens strong for the Artist and their children’s children.   The change you  made is a huge systematic shift, it will only be a few months before someone else asks for their masters.    It will take many years but this contract, this payment clause, this……..yeah, great work for the whole of humanity.    Literally, a move going back centuries upon centuries of artists, performers, and creatives who have prostrated themselves to the whims of the Kings of currency, from whom performance was demanded in exchange for livelihood.   It really is that Big--to comment on systematic change in the 1st political post last month and then drop a huge actual real, live example of political economy and structural change to the very system being called out.  Hecks Yeah!!   I see someone following through with such conviction, heart, and broadest of world changing visions.   Every time I think that you can’t top the last time in big, big movements that must happen for world planetary change—nope…...even bigger, even more prescient, even more important…Count Me In!!

     Congratulations on the very caring yet wily move to get the hundreds of millions in ironclad guarantees to artists for the future on the Spotify clause.      These guarantees are a such a positive shift in the Spotify sale structure and leeway that the label can take with the artists.   I have done a crash course on how recoupable income, royalties, and the like— had little knowledge but now tiny bit more.   It really surprised me how many 90% do not get back to a positive balance with the Company.    It is very interesting because it is the same percentage of traders who make it in the markets over the longer term of  5-10 years.    As a business owner, I know the importance of working cash flow—a no strings attached dividend from  “contributions” like this can help to transform an artist’s current situation or feel more connected with the new digital reality.   Think of the good feelings that have resonated outward from the multitude of artist who have a bankable guarantee in the future.    All of that new creativity unleashed by release valve on the economic pressure cooker.       The actions done in isolation from the “masters” guarantee  would represent a major shift especially since it benefits everyone along the pipeline.     Both of these events at the same time baffle the awesome meter so high that there just really isn’t a reading for this humongous mountain of good.    By law of large numbers these tectonic shifts have a name, as singular events, they would have represented a super life affirming “magical” outcome yet done at the same time, the odds become staggeringly impossible to which the angels call it a “miracle”.      The series of miraculous happenings that drop that kernel of sand to land in the oyster to eventually create the finest of natural pearls.    The missing ingredient is Time—in the Mayan time keeping, the year 2012 was the beginning of the movement back to the natural time frequency of 13:20.  A thirteen moon vision of the mulitverse including our localize construction of time and space+.   The Higgs-Boson “god(dess) particle” was found at Cern in the year 2012 and confirmed the existence of at least 11 dimensions.   The Caticorn Chronicle picks up some threads that happened during this occurrence and the previous attempts to start the accelerator.    It shows the movement of their world to ours via the machines and other natural phenomena.   The natural time frequency moves the old paradigm:  Time X Energy =  Money to a  new construction:  Time X Energy = Art.    The freedom of artistic expression and ownership of the work by the artist themselves, while they are alive, is a rarity you have now helped to become the normative nature of how we will work together to see a commonality that can still be profitable for all parties involved.  Art as a living structure for a life’s expression operating in a mutually beneficial manner.    The energy needed to ensure the shift is lasting for the future has been initiated by your sequence of actions.     Once again, innumerable thanks to you for all of this and the millions you touched this Stadium Tour.    

      The insight and clarity on the nature of reality, my purpose on this planet, and the things that make my dreams come alive are found when I see you in my minds eye and heart.    It is this beneficent soft personage nudging me to go for it, try just a little harder to see that vision come to life.     I always dreamed of making music and writing down all of the stories, ideas, and what I now know to be lyrics that pop in my head.   I would consider it the highest honor and pleasure to spend any amount of minutes in this life with Taylor Swift.   I love being a detective of jewelry, minerals, and even new to be piqued interests---an open, curious mind figuring out all of the stuff everyone else thought was impossible to deal with .    Finding out the provenance, imagining who wore and what they wore, and asking oneself how many intricate, amazing stories these pieces would tell.    Gold may be what I find and the currency that I use most yet that is only one little aspect of the true story I wish to tell.   I found in you the true gold, a soul who shared her whole self and has the awareness to see the importance of her role in greater society.     This is like the most attractive and sexy thing a grown ass man like myself could every imagine in such a caring and beautiful vision of life .   I see the thousands of artists who will directly be involved in just one decision alone with Spotify.     Vote.org logged tens of thousands of voters registrations increases.  I see how major conservative publications were very rattled about the political moves.    Rightly so because what I found is that the Swifties are one big, caring, sharing family and you can’t mess with that kind of bond.       The biggest acts in the history of music have fought to get their masters in their own control—you did it.    I mean, this is like world changing stuff—this is so exciting and interesting to me.   I feel like I could talk for hours upon hours and never even know a minute went by—sitting in rapt enjoyment of this genius woman and her vast understanding of the world.    I have always seen visions on this kind of scale the way you flow in and out it is just marvelous to watch.       I rose one day to find an intellect, a soul so deep that for the first time my curiosity and longing in life had found an inspiration, a spark to jumpstart James to action.    Some may call this love yet these words describe what is so vast, so specially entangled down to the finest of neurons looking to create new bundles of caring reflections and spacial connections.  It is like the most ironic thing that your whole album and tour is about this and here I am months of letter writing in having a mini breakdown.    It is really hard to explain, having a parent with mental illness makes you react to certain stimuli on mental health oddly sometimes.   This is why I seemingly have run away to hide in the Cascades.     To be honest, I have not ever put myself out on a limb like this before and at the same time I feel more alive about life than ever.    The writings are the first time I have written other than a letter to a friend and have only written two business plans plus  an avid technical analyst for commodity charting, plus really good picking stocks to “break”.   Thank you for this opportunity to find my voice and let those pieces of inspired words set themselves free.    For too long I’ve held them inside without a way to tend them in the proper way.     I usually  prefer working to hold real items in my local economy to bolster it as much as possible.  The scale of how you weave just literally makes me just shake my head in amazement and nod one of those “damn yeah” nods.  To see you just kicking some butt every other week—just straight up humbling to me.    It would make my world  if I were able to help out in any way to offer insight.     I just want to support you in any way possible.    I will move anywhere or change my life to be part of yours—just to be perfectly clear.    I am a humble guy and will keep on kicking out some heaps of good.    Thanks for everything!!!!!!!

                           “And then you say     I want you for worse or for better       I would wait for ever and ever     Broke your heart, I'll put it back together          I would wait for ever and ever”          “how you get the girl”………….

      You are an inspiration and a one of the most beautiful souls on this planet.   I will relish the day that our paths may cross again.   Until that time I offer these insights upon meditating on the beneficent vision of you with the floral top in the huji filter pre Arlington shows.    This soft vision comes as a friendly reminder to give it our best and push on through.    Love doesn’t take numbers.  

    eternal love,

james

[mytardisisparked]

Let’s Talk About Tina Goldstein

So lately I have been hearing people talk about how boring Tina was as a character and it absolutely blows my mind that so many people think this when I immediately thought she was one of the most well-developed and interesting characters of the movie. Since so many people seem to be of the same mindset about her character, I feel that I need to remain people of a few key things and point a few other things out.

Allow me to present the facts:

1. Tina is part of the law enforcement in the 1920s, and seems to be quite good at her job

Although it is evident that the magical community in America at this time displays less gender discrimination than the non-magical community, the fact that she became Auror is a feat of its own. We know from the Harry Potter series that becoming an Auror required extensive training and top marks in school, so this means that Tina is not only at least a decent student, but a highly trained wizard. She also seems to have been doing her job for quite some time, which means that she has experience. Another thing to note is that, even after she was removed from her Auror position, she still felt comfortable enough to approach her higher-ups when she took Newt to MACUSA. I mean, she literally walked straight up to Graves and the president of the American Wizarding Community and started talking. Although she was turned away, the fact that she felt comfortable enough to approach them indicates that prior to her removal, she was respected and treated as an equal. If that isn’t the case, her boldness in speaking to Piquery shows that she is very brave and has a heart to do the right thing. By Tina’s attempts to keep doing her job even after she has been fired, we can see that she both loves her job and knows that she needs to do the right thing, even when there are restrictions in the way.

2. Tina fought Grindlewald

I would like to start off by saying: WHY AREN’T MORE PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT THIS.

I mean, come on. Tina went up against freaking Grindlewald one-on-one and held her own up until the point that he threw a freaking car at her. The fact that she was able to engage in a duel with him and nearly be successful in at least subduing him shows that Tina is indeed a powerful duelist and wizard as a whole. Grindlewald was considered the most powerful dark wizard besides Voldemort, and she actually faced him. Although she didn’t know Graves was actually Grindlewald, Tina had to have known that Graves was a powerful wizard from working with him, and the fact that she stood up to him is another show of her bravery.

3. Tina is occasionally emotionally vulnerable

So often in pop culture we define a strong female character as one who shows zero emotion and refuses to be scared, sad, or any emotion thereof. As stated in points 1 and 2, we already know that Tina is a badass, but the true depth of her character lies in that she is capable of kicking butt, but she also is not afraid to show when she is scared. In the scene where Tina and Newt are in the Death Chamber, Tina is visibly afraid and does not seem to make any attempt to hide it. Again, we later see that she is frightened when the lights go out in the street, and once more when she is facing Credence as the Obscurus. Besides fear, she displays a wide variety of other emotions throughout the movie, such as hope, calm, happiness, giddiness, embarrassment, annoyance, fondness, etc. Athough I am all for snarky females who don’t give a dang, Tina’s ability to show emotion is a breath of fresh air.

4. Tina calmed down Credence

And it would have worked too, if it weren’t for MACUSA’s interference.The fact that she was able to get Credence to trust her and listen to her shows a different depth of character that really doesn’t require explanation.

(side note: the fact that Tina is able to clam things down like Newt does with his animals really connects these two characters. Just sayin.)

5. Tina has a very close connection with her sister

The relationship between the Goldstein sisters is another thing we could microanalyze, but I think that their closeness is generally fascinating, even from a distance. For one, Tina does not really seem to envy her sister in any way, despite the fact that Queenie is a Legilimens and would have fit the “perfect beauty” of the time period. Tina does make a little quip once, but for the most part, Tina seems comfortable with who she is. Queenie also doesn't seem to display any jealousy towards Tina, who is a powerful duelist and, as mentioned in point 1, seemingly well respected with higher-ups up until the point of her removal. Besides not showing jealousy, Tina looks out for her sister both physically and emotionally (as shown by her not wanting Queenie to get attached to Jacob when he will need to be obliterated). The sisters display a huge level of trust between the two of them throughout the whole movie, with their closeness being built on the fact that they raised each other after their parents’ passing. The fact that Tina is the older sister also shows that she probably grew up a bit too fast, and knows how to take care of herself.

Thus, I am continually confused by people who thought Tina was a boring or underdeveloped character when she is, in fact, a powerful duelist, a brave-hearted Auror, in touch with her emotions, a loving sister, a person who wants to do the right thing, and a generally caring person. Besides this, I thought she was funny at points, and Katherine Waterston did a wonderful job portraying this character. I think that J.K. Rowling left Tina plenty of room to grow and develop, and I look forward to seeing the role that she plays in future movies.

There are a lot more things I could have brought up, but this post was getting long. Feel free to add your own thoughts.

Homie out.