#I'LL KILL A THOUSAND MORE WILL THAT PLEASE YOU FATHER

[utterlyotterlyx]

The Goddess and The Reaper

Summary - Azriel can't help but find himself needing answers after a haunted male enters the Night Court

Warnings - mentions of haunting, mentions of suicide, fluff, memory stealing, mentions of death, mentions of torture, angst

There were many things that kept Azriel up at night.

The safety of his court. The worry that something might happen to his family if he switched off. The nightmares that plagued each one of the seconds that sleep did find him.

Many wondered how the illustrious Shadowsinger hadn’t gone mad yet from the exhaustion. Truth be told, Azriel had his own methods of ensuring his mind and wits were always sharp. The most unusual tool in his arsenal being the acts he conducted upon the enemies of the Night Court within his tower that was shrouded in a veil of shadow.

Something about torturing his enemies brought him a life and energy that nothing else ever could.

There used to be a time that he believed in the fantasies he was told as a child by his mother, stories that he never knew if they were real or not, or if they were somewhat laced with truths of a time long gone.

Before his brothers took his hands, Azriel believed. He believed in the Veiled Woman that drifted through the world, taking away the pain from the innocent and inflicting it upon those who truly deserved it. His brothers had always been afraid of that story, curling up in his mothers lap or running to their father whilst Azriel would listen to every morsel that fell from the lips of the most perfect storyteller there ever was.

Perhaps they were afraid that she would come for them.

A woman. Wise and true. Vengeful. Ethereal in ways that would blind all who would dare to believe they were deserving to gaze upon her face. That was why she wore the veil you see, so that no one would be able to see her. Azriel had always liked to believe that she was doing the continent a kindness by hiding her face, that hiding under a veil of darkness was easier for everyone.

But he couldn't help but wonder how lonely she might have been.

Azriel's hands were bloodied, the substance dripping from his fingers unto the stone cold floor of his tower placed so far from the city so that no one would be able to hear the screams of his victims.

Within the chair before his wickedly darkened orbs, a man panted and squirmed against his restraints. A spy from Hybern had slipped beyond the boarder, and Azriel's shadows had alerted him to the fact immediately. He had propelled himself into the sky, leaving his dining chair in pieces on the floor and his family glaring at him with wide eyes as his wings flexed and swooped him upward into the starry night.

The male wasn't difficult to catch. Not at all.

"I will ask you one more time." Azriel leaned down, the cold of the room settling into his veins and the only sound being the rushing of his victims blood in their veins. The wooden arms creaked under the added pressure of his hands, Azriel leant down, almost bringing himself nose to nose with the bruised and broken male before his eyes. "Why are you here?"

The male began to blubber, soft sobs falling from his lips, and his head fell back, exposing the ice blue of his eyes and self-inflicted nail marks over his sockets. "Please kill me. Kill me before she does."

Azriel frowned, unsure whether to trust the words, but the better part, the more inquisitive part, of him pressed on. "Before who does?"

"The nightmare," the male whispered, eyes opening slightly and sweeping across the room with fear, as if his stalker had followed him all the way to Azriel's tower. "The darkness. The one who brings the pain of a thousand sins and leads you to your death."

Azriel considered himself intrigued. "Tell me about her and I'll make this easier for you."

The male inhaled, his bones shaking beneath his skin, but he nodded, and Azriel knew then that no lie would fall from his lips.

"She appears to you cloaked in darkness with a voice as soft as a lovers sonnet," he began, straining in his seat whilst he recounted, "She speaks to you, she seems to know all the wrong you have done, she knows every awful thought you've ever had. You feel like she understands you, that she's there to wash it away so you can finally rest," his blue eyes clouded and his bottom lip wobbled furiously. "But then she shows you that face, that wickedly beautiful face that lies beneath a veil of black and gold, and gifts you all of the pain you've inflicted on others, and guides you to the grave. Most of her prey take their own lives. I thought that I could outrun her."

"But you couldn't?"

"No one can," his gaze flickered upward to Azriel's, "She was at the boarder of this court, ushering me inside. Now I know why. She was leading me to this place so that I would meet my end."

"Why would she not kill you herself?" Azriel tilted his head at the man, examining his face, drinking in his pain and fear and whatever else was written into the contours of his skin.

"It goes against everything that she is. We call her the Angel of Death where I'm from, a guide to the end. In your land I believe she's known as The Veiled."

The Veiled.

Azriel took a step backward, noting how the male's head swung back downcast. "She led you here?"

"Yes," the male rasped, throat raw despite the blood and bile rising through it. "And she's here now. I can feel her in the air. I can feel her in my bones, in my blood. Please make it go away. Free me of it."

Without comprehending his own movement, as though a phantom limb had curled around his hand and led it to the hilt of his beloved dagger, Azriel slit the throat of the haunted male and listened to his gargles in a haze, only coming to when silence had befallen the room once more.

He couldn't tell anyone about the words, not because he was afraid that they wouldn't believe him, but because he had to find this woman before anyone else found out about her.

Azriel scoured the skies for three nights, trying to follow the pull in his gut that had been leading him further and further from the confinements of the Night Court. Each time he ventured beyond, he would always find some vile creature inflicting pain upon something innocent. One night it was a poacher torturing a trapped doe. Another night it was an Illyrian following a young woman home with nothing by hatred and desire in his mind. And on the final night, the soul Azriel vanquished from the earth was a criminal so foul that he had a bounty on his head placed by Rhys himself.

It was as though whatever was pulling him from the Night Court was doing so for a reason.

On the fourth night, Azriel found himself walking through a woodland so dense with trees that the only light that found him was that from the small gaps between the branches that the moonlight could stream through. The ground was soaking up that moonlight like the last breath before it drowned and wept to the depths of the earths core.

From his hunt, the Shadowsinger understood what the male in the tower meant, the feeling of this creature seeping into the very essence of his being. He had tried to ignore the pull, he had tried to ignore the siren-like coo that would find his ears no matter where he stood, causing Rhys to become somewhat suspicious of the absent mind of his Spymaster.

It was mostly silent save for the occasional hoot of owls and the scamper of night foxes along the forest floor, and further away, the soft rushing of water babbling along a secluded stream.

Azriel was waiting for something, another victim led to him or a rare eventless night, he wasn't exactly sure. Nothing could shake the feeling of her. It was as if he had been curled within an ice cold blanket, and he should have felt threatened, he should have been thrashing and fighting against it, but in all honestly Azriel had never felt more safe, or secure than in that moment.

Idly he found himself following the sound of the flowing water, eager to see where it led with his wings tucked behind his back and fingers not even twitching to his dagger as he ascended a mound, eyes widening when he took in the scene before him.

A large clearing lay at the foot of the mound where he stood, moonlight illuminating every strand of grass and bouncing off the lights of the plethora of fireflies that silently waltzed in the air. Even the water sparkled, like pure, untainted starlight, reflecting against the bark of trees and only adding to the mysticality of the place.

And in the centre of it all stood the woman he had been searching for, he didn't need to ask to know it. The way his heart sang confirmed it for him.

Her veil of black and gold fell over her entire body, though he could make out the point of her nose and the length of her eyelashes beneath it as well as the magnificent shape of her body in the thin black silk gown she adorned. She stood with her back to him, crouching down slowly to run her fingers just below the surface of the water, and all he could do was watch.

"It's about time you found me," she spoke, voice low and sultry, and he could tell without even seeing her face that she was smirking beneath that veil.

"How long have you known that I've been standing here?"

The Veiled Woman scoffed softly, turning on the balls of her bare feet to face him, "In this clearing or my domain in general? Because the answer is since the moment you stepped foot into it."

In all of his years serving Rhys, Azriel had flown over that exact clearing more times than he could count, and he had never seen it the way it appeared to him now. Noting the small cabin at the far side of the clearing, glowing gold and exuding warmth, Azriel took a singular step forward, "You glamoured this place?"

"I am the one who finds people, not the other way around."

"Then how did I find you?"

He couldn't help but hold his breath as she approached him, feet not even flinching as they stepped on jagged rocks and broken twigs until she came to a halt direct in front of him.

Azriel could have sworn that he could see the wordless wonder in the eyes that he couldn't quite see.

The woman tilted her head slightly, fingers reaching up to brush against the sharpness of his cheekbones like a rogue feather in the night.

Isn't it obvious? You're here because I wished it.

Her voice echoed in his mind, in the very depths of his consciousness whilst her hand lay still against the silk of his cheek and her lips curled upward into a smile beneath the lace of her veil.

It was strange how familiar she felt.

But then her touch vanished, and she began to walk away, and the void of ice coiled around him once more, destroying the blossoming sun that had been growing within his chest.

"What's your name?"

She stopped in her tracks, appearing like a fallen angel in the moonlight with wisps of fog parting around her body. A fox cub went to scamper by, but stopped when it saw her, and it tentatively moved closer and closer until it was perched atop her feet, and let out a chipper when she scooped it up into her arms and held it there for a moment.

"It's y/n." Azriel couldn't help but smile at the sight of the fox cub nibbling on her fingers, and she reacted in a way that made him believe that it wasn't an odd thing to happen. "I knew your mother," and with that his blood ran cold.

"You did?"

Y/N hummed in agreement, pitiful and angry agreement.

"Yes," she said, "I'd go as far as to call us friends, but that friendship died long ago."

"She used to tell us stories of you. Of a woman veiled from a the world who took the pain of the innocent and bled it onto the minds of the guilty. She called you Vengeance. My brothers were absolutely terrified of the stories, but I never was."

The brief truth seemed to make y/n smile, she lowered herself to the ground, setting the small fox free into the depths of the woodland before rising once more. "I offered to kill them for what they did to you. Your mother disagreed."

"Is that why your friendship died?"

Silence.

Azriel took another step forward, finding himself needing to be surrounded by her. "No. It ended because she found out what you were destined to be, and she wished to save you from it. I understood, of course."

He wanted nothing more than to lift that veil, to lay his eyes on the face that had always haunted his rarity of dreams, but he knew that no one was worthy of such an honour.

"What I was destined to be?"

Y/N stumbled back a step, eyes scanning him head to toe from behind her veil, "She never told you?"

"Told me what?"

Azriel could sense the confliction.

"You walk alongside death every day and it doesn't fear you, nor you it. Do you remember a time where the idea of death and the life after it didn't terrify you?"

The Shadowsinger contemplated the question, but he answered truthfully, "No."

"Our fates are entwined. They always have been. You have seen my face before but you don't remember it, I had to erase myself, I had to let you live your life until you were ready," y/n told him, she turned away, slowly walking further from him but Azriel couldn't let her, and perhaps he made a mistake when he reached out and curled his fingers around her wrist.

The world tilted. Azriel felt energy course around their bodies, bright but oh so dark and delicious.

Y/N was stuck in her place, black silk kissing the ground and intricate lace flexing over her mouth from the rapid breaths that she was releasing into the air. Azriel moved round her, not letting her go for even a moment, and found his marred fingers grasping at the hem of the veil, slowing lifting it so that it slowly revealed her to him inch by inch.

Soft skin.

A body that could make even the most holy of men crack.

Thick, luscious hair.

A neck carved by the gods.

A pointed chin.

Perfect nose.

Feline eyes.

Azriel suddenly understood why her victims went so mad that they took their own lives. Y/N was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, the most beautiful thing anyone would. Perhaps it was a final mercy that the last thing her victims saw was that face.

The veil fell to the floor in a puddle.

"You have lived in my dreams for centuries, since I was a little boy. Why?" Azriel whispered, his fingers booking beneath her chin and lifting her captivating eyes to meet his.

"I am the Goddess of Death, and you," she reached up, taking his face in her perfectly carved fingers, "Azriel, you are my Reaper."

You walk alongside death every day and it doesn't fear you.

"I cannot kill those that I hunt which is ironic, I know," y/n chuckled gently, hand still caressing the sides of his face, "You were brought into this world to protect those you love, to avenge all pain and threat. You know the stories, you know of the prophecies."

The Goddess and her Reaper.

There was something festering within his soul, begging to be released, asking to be unlocked so that it could run free. It was something golden and bountiful, something that had been suppressed for too long.

"I erased myself from your mind. I have lived eons keeping an eye on you but not allowing myself to get too close apart from on the odd occasion when I just couldn't stay away." Y/N pulled his face to hers and ran the tip of her nose along the bridge of his own. "You have a family, and life with me is as complicated as it gets. I'm not exactly accepted."

"What are you saying?" Azriel asked breathlessly, feeling his soul slowly cracking open and slits of golden rays peering over the shadow that had shrouded him always.

"We are mates, Azriel. I saw you 400 years ago and I knew, but you were hurting," y/n frowned, but then it vanished and became replaced with a smile, "And then you were building your family. You were in love with Mor, and you were training with Cassian and protecting Rhys, and poking fun at Amren. I couldn't take you from that, not when you were feeling the most loved and appreciated than you ever had."

"So you dragged yourself in and out of my life as you pleased, and forbid me from remembering this face?" Azriel traced the pad of his thumb over her lips.

"I thought that I was protecting you by staying away."

A swelling breeze danced around their bodies, sweeping sleeping leaves from their beds and rustling branches overhead. "Let me remember you."

It took a moment, but then it happened. A key slid into the lock around his soul and the force of his essence burst through it like it was some kind of exploding dam. Images flashed in the forefront of his mind, of secret meetings, of cabins at night, of bodies entwined, of promises and wishes, of loudly declared words, and of a love and passion so deep and powerful that Azriel knew that it took something equally as powerful to cloak it.

After the images subsided, all Azriel could do was hold his y/n closer, pulling her tighter to his chest and commanding, "Don't you ever take those away again. I will steal any soul that you wish, I will vanquish anything from this earth that you order me to, I will serve you until my last breath, but don't you ever take those away from me. Not again. Not ever."

"I vow it. If I do then I will meet my end, I swear it."

And with the magic that ran through the veins of Prythian, Azriel and Y/N felt a burning in their flesh, embedding the vow into their very bones.

When they both peered downward at their forearms, all they saw were two twin ravens flying in a circle before the eyes of a starry night.

Author's Note

WOOOOOOOO

I'M BACK BITCHES

[appleblueberry-pie]

How would Yan Miguel feel with an S/O who's pregnant with Gabriel's baby, Miguel thinks that the baby is his but it's his brother’s child. Miguel is furious, sad and upset that she decided to have a baby with his younger brother, so instead of taking his anger out on her, Miguel takes his entire anger out on his brother. Because Miggy wanted so badly to be a father again.

I love your work!!

and i love your ideas

You watched him pace back and forth in front of you while you sat on the couch. You didn't know how to tell him. But now that the elephant in the room was addressed, you didn't know how to stop him from destroying everything around him. He looked so fucking pissed and you were so goddamn scared. You tried to rub your belly to soothe yourself, but you still ended up with nausea from stressing yourself out.

You couldn't bring yourself to make eye contact with him as he cussed to himself, asking a million questions that would never get answered because he would just get more mad. Suddenly, he disappeared into the bedroom. You watched him with weary eyes, wanting to get up and follow him to stop him from doing something stupid. But by the time you got to your feet and was waddling towards the bedroom door, he was storming out with a jacket on and his keys in hand.

You looked up at him and tried to stop him, but he just slid passed you. "Where are you going?" You ask. He mumbles something about you needing to sit back down. You just wanted him to talk to you. Was he going to leave you? Was he gonna hurt you? Was he going to hurt Gabriel?? You just wanted emotional comfort and he was acting like you weren't even here anymore.

"Miguel?" He begins making a phone call and you try your best to reach him. Time and time again, he slips through your fingers like every other time you want his eyes on you. When you want to matter to him. When his phone goes to voicemail, he hangs up and turns around, only to see you struggling to make ends meet and sighs heavily.

"Amor...." He sits you on one of the kitchen chairs close by. Your face flushed with emotions he couldn't really decipher and concluded you were overwhelming yourself. His hand automatically wipes the tears from your face, his heart breaking with yours.

"Try not to stress yourself out too much, okay?" Because it's bad for our the baby, is what he wanted to add. His heart panged in his chest when he remembered the child wasn't his and he got pissed all over again. He doesn't know where he went wrong.

Where you both went wrong. Wasn't what the both of you had enough for you? Was Miguel not enough? Was he not as available as you wanted him to be? He was stupid to think he'd ever be enough for someone like you. But for you to go to his brother instead just made a feeling rot his heart in the most irrational of ways. He was ready to get rid of all possible competition if it meant he could have you to himself. He loves you. He fucking loves you and he'd repeat it a thousand times while killing a hundred men if it meant getting it through your hard head.

And he'd kill his own fucking brother to prove the point. No one was safe.

He couldn't say that to you right now, though. Not when you were like this. "I'll be back, baby. Please take care of yourself."

"Can you just tell me where you're going?"

"I need to take care of something."

"Are you going to hurt him? Are you going to see Gabriel? Please don't kill him, he didn't do anything. It was all me, please. Please, not him, wait! Just hurt me instead." You slurred your words, in complete tears as you continued to block his way to the door. Each time he looked down at your puffy crying face, gripping his arms tightly, reluctant on letting him go, the more he was against the idea of leaving in the first place. He didn't want to hurt you like this. He didn't want to fucking hurt you at all.

He just felt nauseous as you continued to throw yourself at him to take out his anger on. "Jesus fucking..."

You couldn't compare to his strength, but you put up a battle when trying not to get him to leave. Only to end up crying against the door while he pulled out of the driveway. He told you food was in the fridge, knowing it would be hard for you to eat knowing the man that helped you give life was going to die tonight.

You didn't know what to feel as it all came crashing down on you all at once. You felt so fucking useless and your stomach hurt. Miguel wouldn't answer your calls and knew he would be your only source of comfort once he came back. Maybe that was his plan all along.

Idk how i feel about this one lol. I was confident going in and nowww idk how to end it. but anyways.

[zephyrrr101]

Take me away

Pairing: Robert Baratheon x Named Targ OC

TW: Abusive words, Harrasment, Talk of murder, Robert Baratheon being an angry chihuahua, all the ASOIAF world warning.

Part Two

Cries echoed in the silent halls of Red Keep. Ned Stark frowned at the new sound that had tore through the almost deafening quietness. He turned to look at his companions in the throne room.

His friend, now King Robert Baratheon sat at the Iron Throne.

The same throne that sat many Targaryen kings on it. The same Targaryens that the now King had swore upon killing. Each and everyone.

He did not agree with his friend on this.

Rhaegar Targaryen had taken his sister.

Aeyrs Targaryen had killed his father and brother.

He had felt the fire of vengeance run through him until they were alive but it was quelled the moment he met his dying sister.

And then he had felt disappointed and regretful.

Thousand people lost. Innocents put to sword.

The only good thing he thought came out of it was the end of the Mad King, albeit he didn't like the way he was killed by the Lannister White Knight, but still was a relief.

Another cry shook him out of his thoughts, now much louder, and he then turned to Jon Arryn, his mentor and now the Hand of the King. "What is this? Who is it?"

Jon Arryn did not answer. Even he wasn't sure what was happening. It was clear from the confused look on his face.

His eyes then found that of the new Commander of Kingsguard, Ser Barristan. He looked terrified at the best. He could not think of what could leave the man such as him so struck with fear.

The door of the Throne Room opened.

Now he understood Ser Barristan's horror.

Stannis Baratheon, King Robert's younger brother, marched in. His arms wrapped around silver tresses, he much more of dragged the woman he had come to know as Princess Alyssanne, cries leaving her mouth along with words of pleads to let her go.

What in the name of Gods' was happening?

Stannis came closer to the steps of the throne and pushed the silver haired princess to the floor, left of mercy of all the men in the room.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ned asked and he quickly moved over to the princess.

Her hair dishevelled, her dress dirty and almost seemed to falling off her shoulders. He did the quick work of pulling his cloak off him and covered the princess. Her eyes raised from the ground to meet his. Purple eyes filled with tears and her cheek wet and red.

"The boy escaped with the new born girl," Stannis started, "the Queen was dead. We only got in time to capture her. Dragonstone is ours."

"And you this needed you to drag a woman in such state?" Ned glared Stannis. He had known him almost as long as he knew Robert. He was like his own brother too. But this man he did not recognise.

Stannis opened his mouth, anger surging in his blood. But before any words could leave him, Robert yelled at the top of lungs. "What do you mean they escaped?! What else did I sent you there for!"

Stannis looked at his brother in shock. How could he even say such thing. "It was not in my hand! Willem Darry looked as if he had it already planned. He quicked the younger ones out. It was fortunate we could capture her!"

"You could have gotten there faster! I sent you there to killed them all! Not to bring the bitch back!" He glared at his brother for a moment before his anger took it's turn to Alyssanne. "Where did they go? Where did those runts run off to!"

Alyssanne flinched seeing him stand. Robert was always a tall man with broad shoulders. It intimidated anyone who didn't know him dearly. And not know him, the princess did. She whispered out some words in terror, her hold on the grey cloak of Stark was deathly. And Robert roared his question again, making her crawl a little back.

"I don't know! Please! Robert, we are kin!" She cried out, her voice broken from screaming some moments before.

"Kin? Kin! You are no kin of mine!" Robert sneered, "I'll find each and every one of your filthy white haired bastard and kill them just like I killed that son of whore of your brother! Just like I'll kill you!"

"No! Please! Robert!" Ned had never quite seen any woman in such a distress. He didn't even know what he was to do. "They are but children! Please just... Let them be. Let me go. I will find them and make sure we never return to Westros. I swear it! Please!"

"Let you go!" Robert looked disgusted at the thought, he started treading down the stairs, "You want me to—"

Ned stepped in Robert's way just when he was about a few steps away from Alyssanne and he caught Ser Barristan beside him. The princess had started fo move behind, draging herself back, trying to make distance between the enraged man.

"You grace, despite your anger she is your kin. An honourable man and king does not harm their kin or a woman," Ser Barristan said, trying to stop the enraged man to get his hands on the princess.

"Robert, she is a woman, a lady," Ned glared at his friend and Robert for a moment calmed.

For a moment they were not in the Throne Room of Red Keep but in Vale, fighting boys who tried to pick a fight with them.

Jon Arryn mean while had too moved. He approached the princess as one would a frighted and injured predator, who was actually contemplating the last moments of their life. He helped the princess get up, he eyes moving warily around, it didn't take anyone to be too wise to see the distance she tried to keep from Stannis and his men.

"Let us talk about this after tempers have cooled." Jon said. And he could say everyone agreed, even the Baratheon's, reluctantly, but they did.

Alyssanne had not slept for even a second in the following night. And it was not an understatement.

She had been far too worried about what was happening. From what she could tell, there was a storm forming across the Blackwater Bay which was streched all over the Narrow sea she could see from her room.

Yes, her room.

Jon Arryn had done her the courtesy of letting her be in her room. Something about finding calmness in familiarity.

She could bet whatever she had that she would never find calmness ever again.

She could not get her mind off anything. Her worry for her little brother and sister who had sailed just a day before. A storm on their flight would not do them good, specially the baby Daenerys, what her mother had named the babe with her dying breath.

Alyssanne had promised her mother to protect Viserys and Daenerys. How was she supposed to keep them safe, protect them when she was locked in the highest floor of the Maegor's Holdfast. Curse her father for giving her this room. What the hell was that mad man thinking! What was Rhaegar thinking? What was anyone thinking?

Another reason for sleep fleeing her was fear for her own life. She trusted Ser Barristan posted outside her room. The man had been their when she was born and had seen her grow up. Seven Hells, he was the one who had sent for her mother when she had her first moon blood. But even after all that, she could not sleep. Ser Barristan may have been another father figure in her life after Rhaegar, he was still a man who followed his King's command. And unfortunately, her cousin who was hell bent on having all of her family annihilated, including herself. Her father's Kingsguard had drawn the sword through his chest. Her father may be been the most horrible man to breath but she would not trust anyone now. Specially now.

"Princess," She flinched at the slight graze at her hand shuffling away on the opposite side on her bed. Alyssanne blinked, her wide eyes found a terrified woman standing across her.

"Princess... I—we are here to bathe you," The maid said. Yes, a maid, it was only a maid, Alyssanne sighed and looked around the room, there were three more women, all of them older than her, two bringing hot water in one putting a dress on the dressing screen and the last one was the one who had scared her.

"Yes, yes," she nodded and got off the bed hesitantly. None of the women seemed familiar. She was sure they didn't work here.

The maid who had scared her made a quick work of taking off her dress, if there was much left of it. There had not much left of her clothes in her room when she had tried to look in her dressers.

She wasn't even sure what happened in King's Landing. All her mother had told her was that her father, good sister, niece and nephew were dead and had then crowned Viserys King in Dragonstone. Now she was starting to wonder if asking for details may have been a good idea.

Why do good ideas never come at the right time?

Alyssanne couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as she put her leg in the hot water. She could thank whoever had to the maids to have the water almost boiling hot. Her skin tingled as warmth started to seep in her body. It almost felt like she was back in time when nothing was wrong. That her mother would be bringing Viserys in her room to spend time with, Elia following her with little Rhaenys and Aegon.

Alyssanne sighed, biting her lip as she let the maids wash her. She had to control herself. Her eyes cautiously moved around her. Even when the maids were just doing their jobs. She couldn't let her guard down.

She sent a prayer to whatever Gods would listen her. Please keep my little brother and sister safe. She whispered. Keep them out of Robert's reach, please.

[respectthepetty]

Pit Babe Colors Finale

I'm challenging myself with this show and seeing how good my color skills really are, so I'm doing my normal thing of watching it double-speed on mute, but now, the captions are off also.It's just colors and vibes here. It's been a chaotic journey, but it finally ends today, most likely with a character death, so . . .

Disclaimer: I'm just screaming this entire post.

Surprising absolutely no one, Barbara immediately forgave Charles. Like I wrote last week, I'll hold this grudge for both of us, Babe.

If this bastard is still alive by the end of this, there is no justice in the world.

Did he just give them a key to get out? They could just walk through a door, but . . . I'll take it. Kentana is trying to redeem himself. Now, KILL YOUR SHITTY FATHER, and you will earn the top place in my heart.

Don't do it, Way Way. Don't. I see you eyeing that man, but you will take zero bullets for Pete or Babe. Am I clear?! NONE! I don't care if you are wearing white compared to everyone else's black. You will not die. No.

I'm not even going to say shit about these two's colors because BIG RED JUST KILLED A KID!

OH FUCK! HE IS KILLING EVERYONE!

KIMBERLY! I LOVE YOU!

And this is why you deserve to die. Who does something like this? It's not a porn, sir. This is a murder. You're about to die. Not get laid.

WAYMOND, NO! I TOLD YOU NOT TO FUCKING DO THIS! NOOOOOOOOOO!

I know it's blood, but the 'smoke' being red too is great and I need more of it as BIG RED DIES FOR KILLING WAY WAY!

Y'all are letting Big Red talk too much while Way Way is just bleeding out on the floor, and I just need one of y'all to apply pressure to the wound so Way has a fighting chance. Please for the love of God. PLEASE! LET WAY LIVE!

Oh, shit, this is awful. Do NOT think about any good memories with this man who wore red in the past but no longer does for some wacky reason. Those memories are all tainted. He is awful. KILL HIM ALREADY AND GET WAY WAY TO THE HOSPITAL!

I HATE HIM! Barbara, don't you trade your life for Charles. Don't fucking do it. Charles came back from the dead once. He can do it again. KILL BIG RED ALREADY!

OH MY FUCKING GOD, YES! I LOVE KENTA! KILL HIM!

YOU KILLED YOUR SHITTY FATHER! YOU'VE DONE WHAT NO OTHER BL BOY HAS EVER DONE!

YOU WON MY HEART!

Now, someone go hug him! Pete what the fuck are you doing?! One boyfriend is dying and another is breaking down. DO SOMETHING, PETER!

I knew this was going to happen! I knew Way was gonna die taking a bullet for Babe. I knew it, and I'm still upset! WHY?! Why can't Peter have TWO boyfriends?! Why do we always have to kill someone to redeem them and to cancel them out of the poly plot equation. LET POLY HAPPEN!

Fuck, Alan is crying.

FUCK!

I will not be pacified with Jeffrey finally being consumed by blue. I'm still very upset about Way Way having to die instead of Peter just having two boyfriends.

Vegas' Hedgehog, I'm so over your ass! Red flowers?! At Way's funeral?! That is sooooo rude! What is wrong with you?! Read the room, you pretty bitch! RED IS OUT! Way died for the blue! THE BLUE!

I hate this necklace. I hate that Way is dead instead of being taken care of by his two boyfriends. Where the hell is Ken anyway?! Why is he not holding Peter's hand right now? WHAT IS THIS LIE?!

I trust your dad, Barbie, because he is wearing blue, but you have had to cry a thousand tears this episodes, and I pray like GMMTV's First, you stay hydrated because crying can wreck havoc on a thirsty body.

Y'all cannot fuck the grief away in the blue. You can try, but Waymond is still gonna be dead instead of having two boyfriends. This is a real problem, and I want it addressed. RIGHT NOW!

KIMBERLY! YOU'RE BLUE NOW!

Everyone is in blue, and then we have Vegas' fucking Hedgehog in those damn orange pants, and . . . AHHHHHHH *starts throwing clothes around the room and out the window*

Barbie is lighter. He is still black, but now he has the white mixed with it while he looks longingly into the eyes of his Blue Boy (who lied to him several times including lying about his death, pero I'll carry this grudge for both of us, Barbara)

Now why the fuck are you wearing red, Alan?! Why won't this show just let me have nice things?!

So . . . now that this is all over and I, unsurprisingly, did NOT get poly nor Kenta x Pete, I will be unblocking the tags because seeing black boxes on my dash is driving me crazy, and I need to reblog some GIFs of Kimberly, Alan, and Waymond x Peter x Kentana to fill this huge void in my heart where a poly plot would have perfectly fit.

I will never go back and watch this show with subs. Never. Whatever I got from it was exactly what I needed to get from it, and I need nothing else. Because what I got was a boy FINALLY deciding to

KILL HIS SHITTY FATHER

Kenta, you deserve my respect. You loved Pete. You helped all the guys in your own way. You killed your shitty dad. You committed queer wrongs, and I forgive every single one of them. You deserve a happy life, and I hope you are laying in Pete's bed with his arms around you thinking about what y'all will have for breakfast, so he can read your mind and go make it for you.

I like you.

I respect you.

I love you.

And so does Pete.

GIVE ME POLY, DAMN IT!

[lovelettermemes]

MOMENTS FROM THE GROUPCHAT.

💌 a sentence meme collection of comments made in the groupchat collected for roleplay purposes. adjust as necessary!

"how do i choose between horny and violence???"

"task manager please. but task manager is my fingers."

"I am anticipating the noodle."

"liquid alcoholic marzipan, what could go wrong?"

"y'know what? fuck it. quiche."

"if i dont piss on the moon, who will?"

"i thought me getting a sore throat was my voice finally changing but no-- it was man flu".

"i feel like i'm being waterboarded."

"everyday i am teased with a cheese wheel."

"don't autocorrect my oxford comma!"

"you nearly killed me, you have to face the consequences!!"

"little worm little worm. fluffy pink little worm. you can live in my head rent free."

"father, it has been a week since my last sporticus fancam."

"i want to choke you until you DIE. … in the cute way!"

"you said motivate you, not don't lie to you."

"you don't know the wrath you're invoking, i'm on hormone therapy!"

"full offense meant, you're full of shit."

"i make the milk, you drink the milk!"

"so i think i emasculated him. all in a days work!"

"i wouldn't just dab."

"you have teeth, dipshit, they came free with your fucking xbox!"

"leave my husband's wife alone!!!"

"alright. let's venture forth or whatever the fuck they say."

"i was actually thinking of bringing pocket sand from the desert-"

"i will not be bested by a piece of elasticated string!"

"i can't even kill a vibe!"

"can i give you more money so you love me?"

"i got too cocky with my fists."

"i do it all for the little dissociation laughs!"

"just brand me a slut so i can get on with dinner."

"once more, a white boy changes my vocabulary."

"am i in an enemies to lovers relationship with my cartilage?"

"so, not only was it a crime of passion, it was phallic!"

"abdication. or death. which is a form of abdication, i suppose."

"we got through an entire bag of dirt!"

"when i'm about to die, it will not be a crow that is the omen, but a seagull."

"i will take the wet blanket to mordor."

"please, my self worth is based on grades and academia, the assignment is all i know, all i have."

"wouldn't it be funny if i was an alien?"

"it could have done with another pair of hands, but its a one person job if i'm the only one doing it."

"don't cite the deep magic to me, i'm liam neeson."

"when you look at the big picture, and kitchen witchery, onions are a basic human right."

"no-one's allowed to go to the aquarium without me, i am the fish!"

"i think it should be illegal for your eyes to pulse!"

"i'll be sat, what am i gonna do, faint?"

"i'm the bullet bill now."

"i wanna be mischief, i wanna be a creature!!!"

"frankly if my participation trophy could always be a hot goth death omen i would never miss another sports day again."

"a thousand words being communicated through this stare…. none of them good."

"i can make him worse, and I will!"

"you know, that little bit of RSD that comes with murder?"

"i've done worse things in my metaphors than boil frogs!!"

"whenever someone walks over my grave I always assume it's jesus."

"i said i was a gold digger, i didn't say i was a good one!"

"before i say anything i need you guys to promise not to do this-"

"please don't kill me, im busy."

[baby-alien11]

Y/N Ulrich and Jack Champion instagram interactions pt.2

taglist: @volturi-girl-imagines @dessxoxsworld @aonungsgirlfriend @ethanlandryluver @wenvierismycomfort @aliciacat20 @gabbylovesreading @nikfigueiredo

yn.ulrich, romeosanga, devyn_nekoda, and 231,195 more

jackchampion beach trip

tagged yn.ulrich

yn.ulrich it took us almost an hour to dig that hole in the shape of a heart, but we did it

› romeosanga it was fun to watch how both of you struggle to achieve it

› jackchampion and why you didn't help us?!

› romeosanga because I was having fun watching the scene

user1043 i love them so much

misstrinitybliss can I go with you the next time?

› yn.ulrich anytime you want my sweet child

jackchampion, julrich21, melton, _xochitl.gomez and 102, 374 more

yn.ulrich he got a sunburnt and a smiley face

tagged jackchampion

jackchampion I'll go through thousand of sunburnts just to keep your sunscreen smiles on me

› yn.ulrich you're killing me of love

masonthegooding that is the ugliest smiley face I've ever seen

› yn.ulrich shut up and enjoy Paris or the anime expo

› yn.ulrich or I'll go with Amenah and tell her you are bullying us

user154 mom and dad are so cute

yn.ulrich, tylergillett, camimendes, and 128, 025 more

jackchampion i'm sorry, i found this on the internet and i had to share it

yn.ulrich HAHAHAHAHAHA 💀

yn.ulrich i'm going to print this and hung it in the living room

user158 jack sharing memes of his girlfriend's dad is giving me life

romeo YOU DID NOT 💀💀

user0704 skeet is not going to be too happy about this

naiia this is pure gold

jackchampion, julrich21, bucuaron and 100, 925 more

yn.ulrich i found another jackchampion

jackchampion THIS IS EVEN BETTER 💀💀💀

user819 are they having a meme war?

› user735 if they do, it's fun for everyone

melissabarreram lol

skeetulrich tornado, where did you find this? 😂

› yn.ulrich on the deep ends of the internet, dear father

yn.ulrich, masonthegooding, julrich21 and 107, 491 more

jackchampion Tatum, I love you, but can you please stop biting my laptop and keep sleeping with Butters

yn.ulrich look at my baby, there's nothing behind those eyes

› jackchampion just pure chaos

user838 jack in his malewife era taking care of the cats

baileybass she's absolutely cute, but a menance to society

› user920 the perfect way to describe an orange cat

jackchampion, _hayleyamber, tylergillett, and 113, 960 more

yn.ulrich I had the honnor to have a private class from the awesome Tristan Lucas who worked on one of my favorite movies this year which is Evil Dead Rise, so when dad told me he organized me a class with him I was literaly jumping in excitement

Thank you for teaching me techniques on doing VFX make up and advices on how to work on this part of the industry, and telling me stories about all the projects you've worked on, it was an honor meeting you and learning from you

tagged moments_in_oblivion

jackchampion MY GIRL IS SO TALENTED

› yn.ulrich YOU'RE MAKING ME BLUSH

jackchampion SHE'S LIKE BARBIE, CAN DO ANYTHING

moments_in_oblivion it was a pleasure to teach you, Y/N, you have a great future ahead of you and I hope we can work togheter in the future

user395 this is disgusting and fascinating at the same time

sarah_woods bestie, can you do something like that on me so I can hava an excuse to miss classes

› yn.ulrich just tell me when bestie

jasminsavoy slay little one

yn.ulrich, jackchampion, naiia and 6, 301 more

julrich21 things are bussy at the house, so they sent us to get lunch

tagged jackchampion

skeetulrich boys, that food better be complete by the time both of you arrive

› jackchampion *slowly stops eating fries*

› julrich21 *does the same*

user092 what is going on??

user187 i love how they included Jack and his mom into their family

jackchampion, laurenvalera, jennaortega and 110, 351 more

yn.ulrich here comes a story time: since everyone knows, I spend part of my summers in the Riverdale set, often spending time in the girls trailers and the make up and hair stations, so when the Southside Serpents started to have more weight in the trama and with all the fake snake tattoos involved, I got obsessed and asked dad if I could get one real done, his answer was: when you're older and if you're still sure of getting it, you can

So now I'm nineteen, and still wanting it, so I got it done

thanks to _dr_woo_ who brought this tattoo to life and put up with my cries when the needle made contact with my skin

tagged _dr_woo_

jackchampion that is the most beautiful tattoo I've ever seen

› yn.ulrich I love you everyday, but today more for holding my other hand during the whole process

_dr_woo_ thank you for choosing me to do your first tattoo

willashaw that is the coolest tattoo

› yn.ulrich dude, it looks better on person

drewraytanner from honnorary serpent to oficial serpent

user1272 please tell me her next tattoo will be a little spider or something related to scream

› yn.ulrich 👀

[chiharuhashibira]

Can i make another request? About headcanons of kaigaku,genya and yorichi with a so that has the personality and background of yui komori from diabolik lovers,in case you don't know about the franchise let me explain it to you

Yui is a girl with a very happy and optimistic personality, she is shy, sensitive, kind, usually dense, noble and easy to put into submission. She tries to understand everything that happens around her and adapt to it, but she does not succeed easily since she is often unconscious of various things but she is very sincere and apparently very compassionate towards others.

She has especial blood that is very adictive and give more strenght to the ones who drink from her,i imagine that reader has been through a kidnapping situation(like yui) from demons because of her especial blood and role as "sacrificial bride" to some demons, i think reader would have many bite scars of those years of abuse and mistreatment from the demons before being rescued for her father(a demon slayer).

I hope this is not so much for you and youre Free to decline this,sorry for making many requests!

THANK YOU FOR THESE WONDERFUL PROMPTS @ultravioletqueen 💓

Here is your most awaited HC! So sorry that these took so long, I know you have been so excited for this. I'll close your other request (the screenshot) as I will just merge em here.

But yep, here it is!

For this, I will lean more on your second request which is about the "sacrificial bride" for the demons. Also, I won't be focusing on the sacrifice part, I'll be focusing on the moments that happened after X Character rescued her.

Also, a bit of disclaimer, this is the first time that I will write for Mui and Yori sooooo, please understand if they'll be a bit OC XD Also, I will age up Genya and Mui here to at least 18.

Little backstory: Y/N has a Marechi blood, and because of it, the townspeople started believing that sacrificing her would be the end of the demons' plague in their town. But then, X Character comes just in time before the demons could devour Y/N. She's full of blood and wounds. X Character manages to kill the demons. And with that, he took Y/N and his father away from that town, telling the people that what they did was wrong.

Years later while living together, both fall for each other but Y/N still suffers from the trauma. She lost her father and that added to the reason why she also lost her laughter and her jolly attitude. But with X Character, she manages to bring it all back again.

(So this is an AU where Genya and Muichiro are older but the war with Muzan still hasn't happened)

𝓜𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻��𝓲𝓼𝓽

𝑫𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: 𝐘𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐢 𝐓𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐢𝐤𝐮𝐧𝐢, 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐲𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐳𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐰𝐚, 𝐌𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨 𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐨, 𝐊𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐤𝐮, & 𝐅𝐞𝐦𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐢 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝

Content Warnings: Not NSFW but has Curse Words/Blood/Abuse/Trauma/Angst/Possible Suggestive Scenes

🌸𝐘𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐢 𝐓𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐢𝐤𝐮𝐧𝐢🌸

❥ You've been living with Yoriichi for years, and both of you have grown close. In fact, this relationship you have with him is too close to be called friends.

❥ Yoriichi notices every single detail about you. So you can't hide anything from him, as even the littlest of your motions, he sees it all.

❥ The swordsman isn't the funny type, but whenever you're sad, he makes sure to go comfort you. Eventually, you'll end up opening up about what bothers you. You've told him almost a thousand times how you miss your father and how angry you are with yourself for letting the townspeople in your old town almost kill you just because of your Marechi blood.

❥ Yoriichi won't ever be tired of listening to your litanies of pain, anger, and fear. At the end of it, the man will pull you into his arms and caress the scars on your body, trying his best to calm you down.

❥ There are times when he needs to leave you for his Demon Slayer priorities, but of course, knowing how strong he is and his history, you trust that he'll come back for you.

❥ Whenever he comes back, all he does is kiss you passionately. Surprisingly, Yoriichi is sweet. The man will take you on midnight strides, holding hands while bathing under the moon's rays. "I love you so much. You're my sun, Y/N."

❥ Sometimes, the man would even bathe you, showing you how special you are to him. You will feel bad because of your scars, but Yoriichi will make sure to erase those insecurities as he whispers how beautiful you still are while kissing all those scars on your body.

❥ Whenever you wake up from nightmares of your past, Yoriichi will make sure to comfort you. He will run his hands on your hair, which you liked the most. His calloused fingers against your skin feel so good, as this makes you feel secure.

❥ Yoriichi makes sure that you'll know how much he loves and cares for you. With his gentle words, physical connections, and emotional support You've lost your smile, but now it's back. Yoriichi is like the sun. No, he is your sun, and he guides you out of your dark past, making sure that no hint of darkness will hurt you again.

🌸𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐲𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐳𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐰𝐚🌸

❥ You lived under Gyomei's care after Genya saved you from being the sacrificial bride to a demon who had been plaguing your hometown. With those years together, you decided to be a Demon Slayer, partnering with your saviour. And yes, both of you developed strong feelings for each other.

❥ You may be tough from the outside, but in reality, you are shy and have lots of insecurities and fear because of your dark past. Thankfully, you share that same feeling with Genya. Despite being so stubborn, the guy always makes sure that he is there for you.

❥ Genya takes care of you, and sometimes you think it is because you remind him of his dead siblings and his big brother, who shares the same blood type as yours. But no, he cares about you because you are you and he loves you. But sometimes, it'll be hard for him to admit it, as he always tries to hide his feelings. Of course, the times he is sweet aren't the determiner of his love. Genya just has a different way of showing it.

❥ He always listens to you, but of course, he refuses to share about himself. It's just that he wants to comfort you with his surprise embraces. Whenever you cry on his shoulders, he will rub your back in circles. You have a scar there, so you'll feel tingling sensations. But then, Genya will tell you that he'll never let anything bad happen to you now.

❥ His Demon Slayer priorities aren't an obstacle, as both of you work for the Corps. It's just that Genya is too stubborn; he loves tagging along with you on your missions. As much as he wants you to tag with him on his, he prefers you staying with his master, Gyomei, to train more. He's very protective, but not to the point that he oversteps you.

❥ Whenever he comes back from his missions, Genya's tsundere part is gone. The individual will immediately entice you to a more private area so he can gently caress your lips. Genya loves to caress the scar on your back, saying that it doesn't look bad. Actually, he adores you for who you are so much.

❥ The sweetest thing you can get from your lover is whenever he sleeps beside you and pulls you to cuddle with him. Sometimes, the painful memories will come, but Genya will tell you that those memories are just a small part of what's ahead of you. And you are more than the things that hurt you. Yes, he cusses a lot. "Fuck those villagers! They're bird brains for thinking sacrificing you will stop that fucking demon!" But eventually, he will stop doing that and will just tell you that he'll massage your back, and sometimes things will escalate from that massage.

❥ You don't know if Genya ever sleeps. He's the one who wakes you up whenever you have nightmares about your past. He will make sure to tell you that your captors will never come back for you. He won't let them. You trust Genya with all your heart, so his words never fail to soothe you.

❥ Despite both of your dark pasts, Genya is the light that keeps you on track. He had brought back the part that you had lost a long time ago, and you are happy because of that. You're one of his priorities. Even if he'll never share his feelings that easily, he will make sure to act on his best around you.

🌸𝐌𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨 𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐨🌸

❥ With Muichiro's state, it's quite hard sometimes. But life is definitely better with him than with the townspeople who tried to kill you. Muichiro saved you, but sometimes you feel like you were just a bother. He didn't agree with you coming with him at first; he just kind of saved you because it's his job. But then things changed when you decided to stick with him, whether he liked it or not. You've lived with Muichiro for years now, and you've grown quite comfortable with him.

❥ Conversations? I doubt it. "You want to come with me, right? Bear with it." He'll tell you whenever you ask him why he won't talk to you. But it all changed when he came back from his mission in Swordsmith Village. He was just 14 back then, and that was the first time that you saw his eyes shine bright.

❥ Yes, that change was the reason why you're wrapped with him now on the bed. He is now 19. Five years later, that change happened, but it felt like yesterday. From the Muichiro who ignored your cries and never comforted you for all the pain you've felt since he rescued you. The guy changed into the sweetest being.

❥ He had seen all your scars, and the new scintillate in his eyes shows that they never bothered him. "Just imagine them as maps on your body. Without these, I wouldn't have found you." He'll tell you the first time you told him how insecure you were with those trails of the past that are painted on your body. What he meant was that without you in that moment, he wouldn't have met you. So those scars are nothing to him. You're still the most beautiful woman for him.

❥ Muichiro is serious about his job as a Hashira. But that didn't stop him from showering you with his newfound passion. He's surprisingly sweet. He'll bring home flowers or food from his missions. One time, he was even on a crutch when he went home, but your lover made sure to still bring you the most beautiful kimono that you have ever seen.

❥ Dates are never a problem. Muichiro loves taking strides, especially when it is with you. You'll always find yourself holding hands with him while walking around the estate where you both live. And yes, on those walks, expect that he'll kiss you.

❥ Muichiro learned how to comfort you. When you think of your father, who perished as a result of the demon that was wreaking havoc in your community, he would tightly embrace you and reassure you that it wasn't your fault. Muichiro doesn't like it when you think badly of yourself. So he will do anything to stop you from doing so.

❥ Muichiro will shush you whenever you're crying from your nightmares. He'll assure you that he's there with you. Caressing your face and looking into your eyes, the man will soothe your nerves.

❥ Muichiro is your newfound reason to continue living. Without him, you would have been gone. Your lover taught you that having Marechi blood isn't a curse. It's just that the people around you before were ignorant. He'll always tell you how special you are. And yes, he never fails to make you feel that way.

🌸𝐊𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐤𝐮🌸

❥ Kaigaku was your childhood friend until he disappeared. But then he came back into your life when he saved you from the demon who would kill you after the townspeople sacrificed you because of your Marechi blood.

❥ Kaigaku sees the littlest change in you. Yes, he fell in love with you after seeing you again after all those years. Despite the flaws that the demon had given you, Kaigaku still made sure that you'd never feel any different.

❥ Kaigaku is hotheaded. He almost punched the mayor of the town after knowing their idiotic reason for sacrificing you. Now that you had lived with him for so long, he had gotten a bit better at managing his anger issues. And yes, you've gotten your smile back again.

❥ Kaigaku definitely loves baby-ing you. Holding hands, kissing your scars—name it. He'll surely do it for you.

❥ Whenever he needs to leave for his Demon Slayer responsibilities, he makes sure that you are alright. He'll assure you that your captors before aren't coming back because... "If they will, I'll kill them."

❥ After those missions, Kaigaku will eventually shower you with his love. Your nights and days will be filled with happiness once again. He makes you feel secure, and that's what you love about him.

❥ He's your childhood friend, so there are times that you'll both remember things. Like the way you played with him on the meadows and how he is nicer with you than other kids. But yeah, he disappeared. Whenever that sad thought comes, Kaigaku will assure you that he won't leave you now.

❥ Nightmares are a common thing after a traumatic past. With those, Kaigaku will make sure to help you go back to sleep once again after he comforted you. He knows you miss your dad, but he'll say that you're in good hands now and your father is proud of you.

❥ Kaigaku isn't an open book, but he's ready to write new chapters of his life with you. He isn't perfect, but with his love, your smile and strength are back. You just love the man so much, as much as he loves you back.

¸¸♬·¯·♪·¯·♫¸¸ 𝓕𝓘𝓝𝓐𝓛𝓛𝓨 𝓓𝓞𝓝𝓔!¸¸♫·¯·♪¸♩·¯·♬¸¸

HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT!

Thank you so much for waiting patiently 💓

Feel free to request, reblog, like, and comment! I would appreciate all the love 💓

~𝓒𝓱𝓲𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓾-𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓷🌸

[pearlofthesirens]

For My Princess Only: Chapter 2

summary: You did not expect yourself to fall for a commoner, that too a bandit out of all the men who wanted you. But what happens when your safety is threatened and your father, the king, learns about your secret lover? pairing: Bandit!Kyle Gaz Garrick x Princess!Reader warnings: she/her pronouns used, reader of arab/south asian descent, slight cursing, historic misogyny and objectification of women mentioned now playing: Nainowale Ne by Neeti Mohan word count: 1283 words(one thousand two hundred and eighty three words)

"How much for a dozen of these apples, brother?"

"36 coins, madam."

"36? I swear you people are raising the prices, last month it was 24 coins."

"These are from the new harvest, dear. They arrived fresh this very morning."

"Fine, fine. I'll take it for 36 coins."

The fruit vendor happily received the payment and handed her the dozen apples in your bag, totally unknown to him that he was talking to the princess. How would he? Her face was hidden by a stole wrapped around her head and face. Women in her kingdom never failed to practice modesty through clothes and to blend in, she had to do the same. It protected her from the immense heat too.

It wasn't until she walked quite a distance from that shop to another one that she heard a commotion. Turning back, she was more than enthusiastic to see the same man from the day she was out with her father. He seemed to be in trouble, the fruit vendor holding his hand which had an apple in it.

"You thief! You think you can just take my fucking fruits and walk off without paying?!"

"Of course, he didn't pay." Princess laughed to herself and walked towards them to solve the issue. Raising a hand, she stopped the vendor from almost killing the man out of anger and took the apple from his hand.

"Don't worry, I'll pay for his purchase."

"Madam, this is a thief you're wasting your coins on!"

"Thieves don't steal something they don't consider a need. Food is an essential everyone deserves. Please add two more of these to the tally."

The 'thief' was dumbstruck seeing someone pay for him. He looked at her in awe, wondering who this generous woman was. Her eyes seemed familiar, he swore he had seen them before. After spending a few more coins on the extra fruits, she handed them to the man and proceeded to walk away, thinking that he will not recognize her since her face was hidden behind all the fabric. But he followed after her, with the biggest beaming smile on his face.

"Wait! Kind lady, please!"

She turned around again to find him tailing after her and this time, she could see his grin up close. He was like a fresh breath of oxygen, like a flower blooming in a desert, like a drink of chilled water in scorching heat.

"How do I repay you? You did more than just help me!"

"Consider it as a kind gesture, sir."

"You didn't just save me from that guy, you got me more than what I needed! I cannot just walk away without any recompense."

She took a deep breath in, hesitating to attempt what she wanted to. But she shook off all her negative thoughts as her fingers slowly rose up to her face, unclasping the fabric which concealed her features. And he saw, eyes wide at her identity being revealed.

"P-Princess..? Your Highness, I-"

She immediately covered her face back, putting a finger against his soft lips. She let her fingers wander up on his face, letting her palm fully rest on his cheek. For a moment, it seemed as if both of you found whatever you were looking for in each other. He found kindness in her and she found liberty.

"Let this remain a secret between us, hmm?"

It was enough to silence him, the only thing he could hear at that moment was her voice and the pounding of his heart in his chest. Every other noise faded away when her eyes scrunched up in a smile. She was just as beautiful in regular attire as she was in royal clothes, draped with the finest silk and jewelry. The lack of glamour did not take away her beauty or her kindness.

"R-Right, yes...I'm terribly sorry for burdening you with my troubles."

"It's nothing. I'm happy to help you."

She continued to browse through shops as he followed her, now with her consent. She stopped in front of a jewelry shop, checking out the trinkets laid in front of them. Her eyes wandered towards a specific jewel, something she thought would fit the rogue she had already made a plan to heal and set on a good path.

"Since you already know who I am, may I have your name?"

He felt the blood rush into his cheeks when he realized he did not even tell her his name. His hands shot up to his chest and he held his head low, earning an inaudible chuckle out of the jewel merchant who thought he was being courteous towards the lady.

"Kyle Garrick, Your High-"

She gave him a quick glare, reminding him that she was still in disguise. He coughed and collected himself before embarrassing himself in front of the princess anymore.

"Ahem- it's Kyle Garrick, madam. My friends call me Gaz."

"Kyle, hmm...got a nice ring to it. I hope to see you often."

"Of course, ma'am. Anyti-"

"Not while you're stealing something. I don't want to see you do that again."

"I-I..of course, yes..."

She saw the way his smile dropped and he appeared ashamed, and let out a brief breathy laugh. He looked adorable, almost like a little boy who got caught doing something he shouldn't have.

"Do you have a job? Anything you do for money?"

"N-No, ma'am..haven't had a stable one."

Nodding, she noted it down in her head before buying a gold chain with a bright garnet pendant from the merchant. With a swift movement of her hands, she swung the chain over Kyle's neck and stepped back to see how he looked with it on. "Definitely handsome", she thought, "but a few changes could do."

"Do you know how to ride horses?"

"I do, ma'am."

"Fend off an assailant?"

"Yes."

"If given a sword or a weapon of sorts, would you be able to safely use it?"

"Of course."

He could only stand with his hands behind his back, feeling her eyes trail from his face down to his abdomen. Her gaze felt scrutinous, as if she was making a conclusion out of his visuals. He definitely wasn't wearing his best, a tattered shirt and dirty trousers. His shoes were on the verge of falling apart, hair messy and unruly.

"Come to the palace tomorrow. I think I can get you to do something that you'd be whole-heartedly devoted to, for a hefty wage of course."

For Kyle, shocked would be an understatement. He was getting a employed at the royal palace? That too because of the princess, Her Highness?

"But I'm just a-"

"You're a man who is competent. And it would hurt me to not fix you with an occupation which could possibly bring you enough money so you won't have to resort to improper ways again."

He opened his mouth to protect, but the sympathetic on her face made him stop on his tracks. It was the princess of his kingdom herself pleading him to become better.

"Please, Kyle...let me."

And who was he to refuse the princess herself? He let out a chuckle, feeling defeated. Running his fingers through his hair, he met her eyes again and nodded. If it made her happy, then he was ready to do anything.

"Then I shall visit the palace tomorrow at your request, Your Highness."

He whispered the last part, making her giggle. She was successful in making a decision of her own which would benefit a man, it was a small step towards freedom. Her eyes, rimmed with kohl, crinkled as she smiled, and he felt as though he could never look at anyone else with such adoration.

proofread ✓ pearly venus, 16:15 240617

masterlist for my princess only series

[mcflymemes]

ASSASSIN'S CREED III PROMPTS *  assorted dialogue from the video game, adjust as necessary

we never took them seriously. maybe we should have.

i'm getting ahead of myself.

we've been fighting them for thousands of years.

i've seen the truth.

it holds the power to change everything.

there's only so much we can do.

if we can't find a way to stop it, these next few weeks will probably be our last.

it worked. we think. we hope.

we're here. let's go.

you must find the key.

here we go again.

do you hear us?

you collapsed and entered into a fugue state.

you weren't in any danger.

i know what i'm looking for, by the way. it's a key.

i'd like to run a couple of quick tests.

have you seen it before?

my father brought me here as a child.

on to business then.

the stairs are watched. you'll need to find another way up.

you should have come to me.

for what it's worth, i'm sorry.

that's why we've called you here.

i am yours to command.

well, then i'd best be on my way.

my research has been stolen. without it, i'm of no use to you.

i'll see if i can't speed things up.

we need to find a way inside.

i believe i've found the solution to our problem.

we'll attack on my signal.

i made a promise to you, [name], one i intend to keep.

the sooner we're done, the sooner we can get out of this cold.

it does not engender peace to cut your way to resolution.

if we applied the sword more liberally and more often, the world would be a better place than it is today.

now i've upheld my part of the bargain, i expect that you will honor yours?

you seem disappointed.

you have shown me great kindness, [name]. thank you.

really? that's your response? it's like dealing with a six year old.

i sense my words cause pain.

do you even know what that symbol represents?

come on. i've got something to show you.

very well. i'll train you.

you're also going to need a new name.

what's true and what is aren't always the same.

you'll be happy to hear there's actually good news for once.

it's silly for us to go back and forth like this.

we cannot give up our home.

do you have a name? do you know who is responsible?

time will tell if you speak the truth.

why are you here? has something happened?

you should have heeded my warning.

perhaps you'll respond better to the sword.

are you threatening us?

i thought it might bring clarity or instill a sense of accomplishment. but all i feel is regret.

such sacrifices must never come lightly.

all of them must be dealt with in turn.

you speak the words, but do you believe them?

takes a true monster to do something like this.

every day i wait, more will suffer.

many who should've died today now live because of you.

we do the best we can with what we've got.

you wield your blade like a man, but your mouth like a child.

there are more important things at stake here.

i do what is right. no more. no less.

i don't even see a stall in here. what if i had to take a dump?

please just mute the microphone if you do.

life is not a fairy tale, and there are no happy endings.

in your haste to save the world, take care you don't destroy it!

our interests are aligned.

perhaps some time together might do us good.

i can kill you now if you prefer.

would you like me to come along and hold your hand, perhaps?

why the change of heart? where is this coming from?

you oppose tyranny. injustice. these are just symptoms. their true cause is human weakness.

you have said so much... but you have shown me nothing.

tell me of your latest exploits.

you have not come this far to throw it all away over misplaced sentiment.

there is nothing more to discuss.

i should have stayed.

now you must hide it.

what once was shall be again.

[things-arent-what-they-seem66]

(Queen Adam AU Part 7)

*Lute watched Lilith in disgust, she wasn’t half the leader Adam was, it was a shock at first when she met Adam and she learned that he was going to be her commander, but she got to know him, she grew to love him, not in a romantic way, but as her best friend, he was funny, talented, loyal, and kind, the only trait Lilith had was being talented, she hadn’t seen Adam in a while and she missed him, in Hell Adam sat by Sera who had just fallen and held her hand, it shocked him that Heaven was doing this, Emily walked in and sat by Adam*

Adam: She fell because she was protecting me from the Vees.

Emily: Don’t blame yourself, it isn’t your fault that Heaven is losing sight of what it was meant to be.

Adam: I know.

Sera: She is right, I would fall a thousand times time if it meant I could save you my Starlight and I would do the same for Emily too. Heaven is meant to be paradise and it became cruel. You should check on Lucifer as well, he is probably sad he couldn’t protect you.

Adam: Of course.

*Adam went to Lucifer, he was shocked to Lucifer sitting in his office sobbing in his hands, Adam went over to Lucifer and held him in his arms*

Lucifer: I couldn’t protect you and I was under their powers as well. I am an archangel and a fucking overlord had me under their control. I failed you.

Adam: You didn’t fail me, I am here because you love and protected me. You have saved me so many other times and you will save even more times in the future because I know how much you love me. Come let me love you.

*Adam carried Lucifer to their room, meanwhile in Heaven Lute was approached by a pair of Exorcists who were twins named Jett and Cobra*

Jett: We have terrible news.

Cobra: There is going to be an Extermination Day and Lilith is going to track down and kill Adam.

*Lute’s eyes widened in shock, Lilith could kill Adam because he wasn’t Hellborn and if she tried to warn him, she would fall*

Lute knew that Adam needed someone in his corner up in heaven. Ever since the incident with Michael the Queen of Hell lost a lot of favour with most of the angels.

Lute: Why are you telling me this when I can't warn him.

Cobra: Because you deserve to know. And also.

Cobra lowered his voice: One of us would be willing to go down to Hell for you. Nothing has been the same since Lilith took over. Even her training is wrong.

Lute: You would do that?

Jett: We would. Heaven hasn't been the same without him. And if saving his life means I'm damned to Hell, then I'll proudly go. But you need to stay. He needs an ear in the sky.

Lute: I'm forever grateful for this.

Jett: You're welcome.

-

Adam worshipped Lucifer's body in the same way his King would do for him.

Adam: I love every inch of you my King. You are perfect in every way. Please never forget how much I love you. How much I will always love you.

Lucifer: I love you so much Adam, my Queen, my beautiful angel. More than you will ever know.

Adam kissed him slowly and sweetly as he got on top of Lucifer.

He made love to his husband, going slow so savor every moment and putting all his love into every movement.

Adam: You are such a wonderful husband and father to our babies. I never want to stop having your babies.

Lucifer: I never want to stop having babies with you either, you're so perfect. Too perfect for me.

They shared an emotional kiss as they both finished, with the prospect of a new addition to the Morningstar family.

Adam laid down beside Lucifer and covered his face with kisses.

Adam: I'll love you forever.

Lucifer: I'll love you forever. You're the love of my life, I'd never love again if I lost you.

Adam: I'm not going anywhere.

[deepfivetraveller]

Moriarty the patriot x sick!child!reader (platonic)

Chapter4

“That girl is a MONSTER.” A sudden pang of rage envelops you. All those years of bottling up the torment you faced, just to lead to your own mother calling you a monster. Thousands of hateful words flooded over your head and all of them were compressed into a single “I HATE YOU!” You knew you were lying the moment you said that.

The men turned around, Shocked at the fact that you were only a few feet away. Your mother became even angrier causing them to shift their focus. A few faint words escaped her mouth while she was struggling to escape Moran's grasp. “How…How could YOU do that to your own father…”

“Father? You mean the man who tried to sell us just for some money to gamble upon? He tried to swell our life, our dreams, our everything just for 16 pounds.” tears were flowing from your face long before you completed your sentence. You were at your limit in speech but that was not going to stop you today.

The men of course were obviously clueless about what you were talking about. They were fully engrossed in this conversation, looking back and forth at both of you which made the situation look almost comical.

“That is no excuse to kill your own father Y/n!”

Everyone's heartbeat drops for a moment. Their lungs start to feel heavy as if they were being stuffed in sand. All of them were barely able to process the words your mother just said. You, an innocent girl, killing her. Somehow Moran got over this fact immediately. “Okay times up crazy lady you're leaving.” Your mother although clearly inferior in strength, tried to stop him.

“Why doesn't anyone believe me?! She killed her father not me, she-” One hit on her face by him and she went silent. While Moran dragged her unconscious body out of the manor William steped forth and asked you camly “Y/n, is it true?”

His stare felt so pointed for some reason even though his voice converted the opposite meaning. Infact all of their stares felt the same way.

“You all think I'm a monster too right? For killing him?” Blood oozed from your mouth when you said this. Albert cuts you off “Y/n thats not-”

You can't handle any more harsh words from anyone. You ran towards the mansion with all the strength you had left , chanting ‘I'm sorry’ over and over again as Albert chased you down . At last your body couldn't handle any more of your antics and dropped onto the floor with might. The last thing you heard before your body went unconscious was him calling our your name several times.

A groggy vision was all you felt when you woke up. Vision was a bit blurry but you went back to normal after a few seconds.

“Ah, you're awake!” You turn around to see the owner of the voice. It was Herder.

“Sorry for making you lie down on the table, your back must hurt. I don't have many furniture other than that and shelves you see.” You didn't realize you were even in one until he said it.

You opened your mouth to say something but it came out as voice cracks fully envelop your sentence, hurting your throat. Herder noticed this and immediate passed your flash cards and pen towards you.

“Oh Philip~

…

PHILIP COME HERE QUICKLY OR ELSE YOUR GETTING A DEDUCTION IN YOUR SALARY.” A man with brown hair quickly approaches you. “Ahem! This is Philip, my personal assistant. He shall dictate what you write in the cards. Don't worry about sharing personal information with him because he has short term memory loss, that being said don't ask me why I keep him here either.”

Both of you look at Herder irritated.

“.. I'll stop. Please write….”

‘When I fainted, Albert was chasing me. Is he the one who put me here?’

“Nope! I found you when you were unconscious and alone. Although that does explain why I heard him screaming your name. I thought you guys were playing tag. Were you? Care to elaborate on the situation?”

NO NO NO! He'll start to hate you too! You vigorously shake your head. “Hey come on I'd love to know some drama about my boss! Please do tell!” He takes one of his tools and continued to fix an object.

He needs to know the truth. No matter how painful it is for you.

‘I killed a man. My own father actually’

Philip takes one look at the card, dictates it and faints, causing you to yelp. Herder too stops fixing the object and zones out

Oh God they really hate you.

But exactly after 6 seconds pass Herder continues to fix his object. “Yes, and?”

Huh? What does he mean by that? Is he not scared??

“I'm pretty sure you're wondering ‘WHy iS hE nOt sCaRed????’ I'll tell you why. Albert did the same thing when he was a little older than you. He killed his father, mother, is other brother and yeah… all of his family really”

“WHAT?” Miraculously your voice is back. Scratchy, but back.

“Do William and Louis know??” Gosh you hate the way your voice sounds.

“They were the one who helped in to do it. A little unrelated to this but did try know William took a man to court and sued him to give ALL of his property away to them when he was like 8 years or something??”

HUH?!

“Herder we've been through this several times, take it gently on her don't dump all of the information on her like that.” Williams voice boomed as the three brothers and Jack emerged from the back of the cupboard.

Wait what?

They planed this???

While the others were scolding Herder, Louis looked towards you.

“Guess we have a lot of explaining to do huh?

Okay so I know this chapter isn't big but that's because I'm planning a BIG lore drop for reader. Hope it excites you all as much as it does for me

Btw I feel like I made Von Herder a bit of a twink-

[neerdowellnarrator]

hi hi hello, my love for greek mythos is being ignited SO strongly and you are a VISIONARY, so this is an open invitation to talk about jace and jaceclones as the women of mycenea! please share any and all thoughts and reasoning you wish 👀

Obligatory disclaimer, I am not a classicist and haven't read the Illiad or the Oresteia trilogy in a hot minute. I do however have a bachelors degree in Jace Stardiamond studies and am working on my vibes-based PhD thesis so actually I'm an expert and everything I say is correct. Now let's talk about the jaceclones:

J2 as Iphigenia:

J2 the innocent, J2 the acolyte, J2 the sacrificial lamb. Iphigenia was a priestess of Artemis, you know, before that same goddess ordered her death. She spent her life in service to her god only to be murdered for her father's fuck-up. What justice.

Iphigenia does not know she is going to her death. She thinks she is going to her wedding. She does not know until the last moment that the alter she stands before is for sacrifice, not matrimony. She's so busy looking into the eyes of her "fiance" that she does not see the knife.

I'll say this for J2. He sees the knife. He saw the knife a mile away and still put on the veil (obscuring his view) and went to the alter. His god has decreed it. Maybe he will get to die a married man. Maybe his blood staining holy stones is the closest he'll get to divinity.

In the kind versions, Iphigenia is spirited away by Artemis at the last second. God says to Iphigenia, to Isaac, to Bluejay: "I was only kidding. I don't want you dead. I just ordered your murder as a test and you passed. I love you."

We tell a lot of stories in our little circle. Very few of them are kind.

J3 as Helen:

J3 wishes his face would launch a thousand ships. He wants to be so desirable he starts a war and so empty that no one asks what he thinks about it. He wants a goddess of lust to declare him her favorite. He wants to be wanted so much that men swear to kill and die for the chance to have him.

He wants to stare at the bodies of soldiers who died for him and say "oh what a whore am I." He wants lustful men to put words in his mouth to degrade him. He wants to be mistranslated in a way that makes him sexier, more alluring. He wants to be so lost in translation he ceases to be a person and becomes only an hourglass silhouette on a much-fingered page.

He wants everyone to want him so badly they hate him for it. He wants them to never forgive him.

J3 wants to be Helen so badly and fails to realize that he is already her in every way that matters: trapped and miserable, with no agency over his own life.

J4 as Electra:

Electra's sister's blood starts her story. She sees her sister, Iphigenia, die with a trusting smile, she sees her aunt, Helen, be stolen and locked away. She sees that the only way out is through. She sees red.

Red as in anger, certainly, but also red as in blood as she murders her mother, who murdered her father, who murdered her sister, who murdered nobody at all and died first anyway. Is this justice? This is the justice the gods will give her.

Electra's brother will suffer for their crime. Electra herself, however, walks away. She washes the blood off her hands. She tries to build a life.

J4 would murder her creator and walk away. She wants to. She wants to kill her god and save herselves. In the good ending, she does. In the bad ending...

J4 as Cassandra:

J4 knows what's coming. She knows they're doomed. She can do nothing. She rages, she screams, she refuses to fall into Porter's bed, she tries to save the others from doing the same. It's not enough.

Cassandra is captured and ensalved by Iphigenia's murderer, and she herself is murdered by Electra's murder victim. An alternate version of herself trying to save her, but, like J4 being too late to save herself.

[creepercraftguy]

My Thoughts on OMNI-MAN VS BARDOCK

Death Battle made its triumphant return today, and I've decided I'm gonna start posting short reviews of each new episode that comes out.

This isn't gonna be a long-winded review, just me sharing my basic thoughts.

And I'll be putting all of my stuff under the cut so that I don't spoil it for anybody. Please, make sure, if you're interested, that you watch the episode first, and don't read on so that you don't get spoiled.

To start off with, the matchup itself did really interest me. I remember around the time that Omni-Man vs Homelander came out that people were trying to come up with ideas for who would be a better opponent for Nolan, because frankly, Homelander was an absolute piece of piss for him.

And everyone, including the companies that own both Invincible and The Boys, knew that going in. So it wasn't really a hyped episode for who would win or not, but more so what was actually going to happen during the fight itself. Creating a spectacle was more important than creating a fight.

Not that Omni-Man Vs Homelander was bad. It is actually one of my favourite DB's from its execution, but the fact was it was not a difficult fight for Omni-Man AT ALL.

So when people started to think of who would be a much fairer fight for him, and one that had a lot of connections, Bardock was a big one, and it wasn't hard to see why:

Both are powerful alien warriors who are known for...kind of being dicks. Nolan is a Viltrumite, a race of highly advanced, powerful beings who conquer and dominate other planets. His mission on Earth is initially hidden but later revealed to be part of this expansionist agenda. Bardock is a Saiyan warrior, a race known for their battle prowess and ability to get stronger after every fight. The Saiyans, under Frieza's rule, conquer planets, wiping out their inhabitants for Frieza’s empire.

Both are the blood-related fathers of their series protagonists, Mark, AKA Invincible, and Kakarot, AKA Son Goku, respectively.

Both characters suffered conflict with their own people. Omni-Man's conflict comes from the fact that he is torn between his Viltrumite duties and the love he develops for his family and Earth, and eventually, he decides to defy the Viltrumite empire to some extent after being confronted by Mark’s humanity. Bardock becomes disillusioned with Frieza and attempts to fight back after learning about Frieza's plan to annihilate the Saiyan race. While his resistance is ultimately futile, he still stands against his ruler in an effort to protect his people.

Both characters are initially presented as being ruthless, unforgiving, and bloodthirsty, but this changes over time (across multiple iterations in Bardock's case) Initially, Omni-Man is ruthless in his mission, killing thousands to assert Viltrumite dominance, showing little regard for human life. However, as he develops a bond with his family, especially Mark, he begins to reconsider his values.And while Bardock begins as a battle-hardened warrior who cares little for the planets he conquers, he undergoes a transformation when he learns of Frieza’s betrayal and seeks to protect his home and his son.

And a few more on top of that, but I'm not sure I need to go through all the connections myself.

So, I start this off with the analysis portions of the episode, and I immediately noticed something when I went through Nolan's analysis.

I know this probably has to do with Death Battle trying to preserve their budget and keep their independence up, but unfortunately, it seems that we no longer have any cutaway scenes showing Wiz and Boomstick. They host the show as always, but we don't actually physically see them at all, not even during the post-analysis.

This is kind of a shame because, while yeah, the cutaways are normally hit or miss, the jokes they try to make land a lot better with them.

But on the other hand, it does make retaining the information a lot better. And to the credit, the analysis really made it clear where each characters strengths lay.

Going into this, I was under the impression that Bardock held an advantage, because I know the Dragon Ball scaling goes way above the scaling of Invincible. However, when I actually saw some of the feats Nolan achieves in the comics, compared to Bardock's...honestly kind of messy timeline, I started to change my tune.

I still held out for hope for Bardock, but when the fight ended and Omni-Man took the win...I understood why.

So yeah, the analysis and post-analysis were good because it really made me understand how the fight went the way it did.

With that being said, this was, to no one's surprise, a much harder fight for Nolan than Homelander was. Saiyan's just ARE stupid powerful aliens, and Omni-Man would actually have to put in the work for a win as opposed to completely stunting on the guy.

Okay, so now for the fight. If I had to rank it on a scale of 1 to 10, I think I'd give it a solid 7.

That's no fault of DevilArtimis, or Death Battle themselves though. Unfortunately, with the respective abilities these guys are known for, there's a severe limit to what you can have them do in the span of a 5 or so minute fight.

Besides Bardock's ki blasts, neither really have any powers of their own that don't just involve beating the shit out of people, tearing them apart, and just sheer brutality, so ultimately, what you are left with is a battle that just shows these two evil daddies pounding each other.

And no, I'm not taking back my phrasing there.

However, while that does limit my enjoyment of the fight, it doesn't do so severely. There's still a lot to love about the clash.

I always like to talk about my thoughts on the voice acting, and in this case, Omni-Man was reprised by Tom Schalk (also previously voicing Kool-Aid Man, Dio, Spongebob, and Megatron) and Bardock was voiced by Kamran Nikhad (previously having voiced Sephiroth, Mario, Boba Fett, Black Adam, and Martian Manhunter)

Schalk is one of the best voice actors that Death Battle have in their cast. He killed it as a sinister, condescending, and stern Omni-Man in Omni-Man Vs Homelander, and though he doesn't speak nearly as much in this one, he does equally well as a despaired, enraged, protective Omni-Man too. He killed it once again. As for Nikhad, he was fine, but definitely not the same sort of inflections that Sonny Strait gives Bardock that make his voice so iconic. Just a minor complaint.

Another minor complaint I have is Bardock's model looks a little weird, at least the mouth movements do, especially when shown from the side, and Nolan's model is kind of uncanny because it's weird seeing Omni-Man in 3D. Sure, he's 3D in Mortal Kombat, but that's also a realistic art style that would have clashed with Bardock, so I'm glad they didn't go that route. Still cool though.

And props to DevilArtemis for doing what he could to keep you engaged with this fight, and capturing both characters behavior, transformations, attacks, and inflections really well with the movements.

Considering, as I already mentioned, this fight would not go as easily as the fight with Homelander did, Omni-Man's attacks feel a lot more damaging, and ferocious than they did in his previous episode. My favourite part of the fight is when he grabs Bardock's tail, brutally tears it off, and then just whip slaps him with it. Definitely in line with the Viltrumites knack for tearing people to bloody chunks.

And for Bardock, considering he's an early Dragon Ball guy, it's really good to see some more recent recontextualization and coverage for classic feats. Also, for some reason, this is the first time we're ever seeing an Oozaru in Death Battle.

If I have any complaints for the fight, Bardock's Death was...kind of flat. It was brutal, but I didn't expect it, nor want it, to be so graceful. But that's all I really have to say about it. The sequence itself was really solid.

And in case I didn't make it clear, while I DO like Bardock more than Nolan as a character, the result did not dissatisfy me because, like I said, it was explained very thoroughly, and very well, in a way that made me understand.

Also, two little side notes, I want to address my take on a few arguments that I kept on seeing in the build up to this episode, and when the episode dropped. The first being whether or not Bardock should have been allowed Super Saiyan, and how it was kind of unfair for Bardock to be given a composite version of his character. To that, I say this.

First of all, if Bardock wasn't given all of his abilities across his iterations, this fight wouldn't have been nearly as cool. If you have the choice between seeing Bardock go Super Saiyan, or not seeing Bardock power up and go gold, why would you ever choose the latter? Death Battle tried to justify their decision, but for me at least, they didn't really need to.

What I wanted to know, in regards to Super Saiyan's conclusion, is this: Would Bardock having Super Saiyan be the edge he needs to win the fight? And would he lose if he didn't have it?

If the answer is yes, then I take issue. Because I don't like it when characters in this series win all because of one minor feat they have, especially if that feat is only semi-canon, like Super Saiyan Bardock is. However, in this case, the answer is no.

Super Saiyan definitely gave Bardock a boost that put Nolan on the ropes, but it wasn't enough to net him a win. So there's no real issue because having Super Saiyan ultimately didn't affect the results, so I'm fine with it.

The second argument I keep seeing is that Omni-Man wouldn't have been able to take down that giant planet without the 2 other characters that were with him. In the comics, he needed the assistance of those two, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to do it.

However, I want to note that the point that DB were trying to make was that Nolan, even if he was a third of the power required to take down that planet, is still VERY CAPABLE of wiping out entire planets on his own, and far more efficiently than Bardock would be. Bardock's own planet-busting feats weren't even his; he was scaled off of King Vegeta, so that's honestly more of a loose connection than Nolan smashing the planet.

And it's not as if that feat alone is what gave Nolan the edge in the fight. He still had all the other stuff like smart atoms on his side.

I will quickly remind everyone that this was not a stomp for Omni-Man. Death Battles usually aren't stomps, and they show off what both characters are capable of by pushing them to the brink. The aforementioned Omni-Man Vs Homelander is only one of few examples of unfair stomp fights.

And the last thing I want to talk about is the music track, though I don't have much to say on it. I know that Brandon kind of struggled with this track, but he did a great job, as he always does. With that being said, I still like Diabolical Invincible Me more than Solid State Invincible, not because SSI is a bad track, but because DIM is just...SOOO good, by a large margin. In fact, SSI even takes lyrics and beats from DIM.

So that's about it...A REALLY solid comeback for Death Battle. Not one of my top fights, but definitely a super strong opener.

...

...Although I feel like I'm forgetting something...There was one other thing that I really liked but I can't quite remember-

...

...

...

...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

[aaronstveit]

You briefly mentioned Gale in your post about Lucy Gray being everywhere (🫶🏻) in District 12 and I wanted to ask what do you think of him as a character. It’s been 10 years since I’ve read the books so I don’t remember exactly how things happened in Mockingjay, but I think it’s unfair how people make everything about the love triangle and in order to praise Peeta for everything he does right, they tend to be really nasty about Gale when imo what happened ~ because ~ of him is really heartbreaking and just shows how war destroys people and who they love. Idk if I’m expressing myself well but I think people do miss the point sometimes. Peeta is a sweetheart but there’s no satisfaction to me in simplifying everything that happen by calling Gale a villain or a toxic guy. This sounds so boring sorry, I just loved your post about Lucy okay? Please yes talk more about books here next year! 💌

hi anon!! thank you for your kind words <3 and thank you for your question! i have THOUGHTS about gale so i am soooooo ready to talk about him <3

first and foremost i am & always have been a peeta girlie, he is truly one of the greatest fictional characters of all time and i'll die on that hill. but i actually do like gale, and i think he gets a very bad rap in fandom!

i think the first mistake people make is assuming that katniss/peeta/gale is a love triangle. it isn't. the struggle of katniss choosing between peeta & gale isn't actually about "omg who will she end up with" but about the life she will choose for herself. katniss herself explains it in mockingjay: it's about choosing the dandelion in the spring, or the fire. she chooses the dandelion in the spring because she needs hope to sustain her. she has enough of her own fire; adding someone else's to it will only hurt her in the end. that doesn't mean she doesn't love gale in one way or another. that doesn't even mean that she condemns the fire. she is the fire! it only means that ending up with gale would hurt the both of them.

gale is not a bad character, and he is not a bad person. it's insane to me that people think he's a bad person, actually! he's a traumatized child whose father was killed in the mines and who has spent the formative years of his life risking his life to break the law so he can provide for his family. exactly like katniss. and he's angry about it. but not angry in an abstract way — he's angry in a directed way, in a way that makes him want to change the world they live in. and he should! that's the whole point of the series!

gale spends most of the first games with katniss's family, because he loves her and he loves them and he doesn't want them to be alone. he promises he won't let katniss's family go hungry if she dies. he takes extra tesserae so his younger siblings won't have to, even though they could use the extra food and fuel, even though it puts him at additional risk. he leads 800 scared, hungry, injured people out of district 12 when they're firebombed. when the bombs are coming for district 13, he goes upstairs to check katniss's family's compartment to make sure they're all safe and to grab the things most precious to katniss and her family, risking his own life in the process. he throws himself over katniss when the bombs drop in district 8 and follows her up to the warehouse roof without pause. he lies for her, a thousand times. he follows her across the capitol on the pipe dream of killing president snow. he doesn't hate katniss for her relationship with peeta — he even says that he knows he can't hate her, that it wasn't fair to her. he isn't even angry. he's heartbroken. he's an 18 year old boy in love with his best friend and the world keeps on ending and she was sent to die and the only way she could survive was by pretending to love another boy sent to die — and she might not be pretending, and she doesn't know, and gale is caught in all the middle of it. he's allowed to be upset! everything is so messed up!

katniss doesn't agree with everything gale does. neither do i! i don't think killing the people in the nut in district 2 was the right choice, and i'm glad katniss interrupted. but it's very easy to see where gale is coming from. one of the core themes of the series can be summed up with haymitch's repeated question: "who is the enemy?" over the course of the trilogy, we see katniss begin to comprehend the true answer. she starts off challenging the idea that the richer people in her district are the enemy, even though they don't have to take the tesserae. then she thinks it's the kids from the richer districts who are her enemy, but when she kills marvel from district 1, it feels wrong to her because he's also just a child being manipulated and used as a pawn by a violent government. like her. like rue. the enemy is not any of the people dying in the capitol's mines and orchards and factories and arenas. and in mockingjay, katniss realizes that the normal civilians in the capitol aren't even her enemy. the enemy is the ring of people at the very, very top.

where gale goes wrong is he doesn't reach the end conclusion of that. gale hasn't gone into the arena, he hasn't had to face down other scared children to atone for the "sins" of people they never met. he doesn't get it. he never will, not in the way katniss does. so he doesn't find the same answer as her.

and as for the bombs that kill prim. you see. i really, truly do not believe that they are thirteen's bombs. snow's points in his discussion with katniss don't hold up enough for me personally, and knowing as much as we do about snow, i truly do think he was trying to mess with her one more time. but within the confines of the story, it doesn't matter who dropped those bombs. in real life, yes, it would absolutely matter. but within the books, it doesn't. what matters is that it could have been either of them. capitol or thirteen. snow or coin. the point was they were trading one evil for another, and katniss couldn't be made in a pawn in that, too.

but it doesn't matter, because she will always associate that with gale. it isn't fair, because even if it was thirteen's bomb, there was no way he would agree to that, no way he would help to kill children to prove a point. but she cannot help but associate that with gale. and gale, oh gale. he will always think it, too. he will always wonder if he was the man that killed prim. the little girl he helped to take care of for years, almost another sibling to him. the little girl he helped katniss bring lady the goat home to. the little girl he would not have let starve if katniss died. the little girl he led to safety when the firebombs dropped on district twelve. he will live the rest of his life having to think he is responsible for her death.

i find gale to be one of the most tragic characters in the series. he tries so hard, to take care of the people he loves, to help others, to build something worth having. and he loses very nearly everything for it. and then the fandom vilifies him and treats him like he's worse than president snow. when really, gale was just another exploited, traumatized child whose life was warped and twisted and burned by the capitol.

[howlingday]

InDomitable

Ozpin: DAMN YOU, WHY?! WHY DID YOU KILL THEM?!

Summer: (Pushing Longest Memory off her) I'VE KILLED YOU BEFORE, AND I'LL DO IT AGAIN!

Ruby: ...

Ozpin: You're welcome to try! I won't be killed so easily twi-

Summer: (Grabs his throat, Rips it out) Hah... You always did talk too much...

Ruby: M... Mom..?

Summer: Ruby... We need to talk. It's time I told you the truth. The real truth about who I am and why I'm really here.

===============================

Summer: ...And now it's time for you to join me. Help me prepare this realm for it's time of ascension at the hands of our people.

Ruby: ...

Summer: I... I know this is a lot for you to take in all at once, but soon enough, you'll see... Just give it time and you'll understand why we need to do this. I'm sorry you had to learn this way, but I tried to talk to you earlier. And I know seeing me like this, all covered in the headmaster's blood can be very... unsettling.

Ruby: I... No... No, this... This doesn't make any sense. You love dad. I know you do.

Summer: Ruby, stop. Listen to me. Do you have any idea how long our lifespan as Silver-Eyed Warriors are? The older we get, the slower we age. We're not meant to live among these frail things like humans and faunus. Your father... He's more like a pet. Everything that makes us who we are is so pure, I can create near perfect Silver-Eyes with almost ANY compatible creature. Soon, very soon, you'll be as strong as me. Maybe even stronger, and you'll outlive everyone down there by at LEAST a thousand years! Everyone you know and love down below will die before you even LOOK thirty. You don't belong here. You don't want to watch your friends live and die, do you?

Summer: I know you're confused, and it may even feel wrong, but we... we don't belong here. This world, and these... things are all beneath us. This planet has an invaluable resource sum that would support our race for generations beyond us! With you by my side, we could rule this planet for centuries before we're relocated. Think about it, Ruby; you know this is the right choice. (Shoulder hold) Trust me. This is the only way.

Ruby: (Swats) DON'T TOUCH ME!

Summer: Ruby. Calm down.

Ruby: No, I will NOT calm down! This is insane! You're insane! Just because we're different from everyone else, we're entitled to enslave our friends and families for a bunch of dimension hopping freaks I've never even met?! THIS IS MY LIFE! AND THESE ARE MY PEOPLE!

Summer: Ruby, please. You're not thinking straight. We have a responsibility to our people, to our race. You may not understand now-

Ruby: I DON'T FUCKING CARE ABOUT YOUR SILVER-EYED WARRIOR BULLSHIT! Even if I live for a million, billion years, I won't let you destroy my home!

Summer: Ruby, you don't understand what I'm saying. I CAN'T LET YOU INTERFERE.

Ruby: I know exactly what you're saying!

Summer: ...

Summer: (Clenches fist) So be it.

===============================

One Silver-Eyed Curb Stomp Through Vale, The Black Sea and Solitas later...

Ruby: (Crashes into an icy crater, Bloodied)

Summer: (Gently floats down, Unscathed) Have you had enough yet? (Pulls Ruby up)

Ruby: Ah... I will beat you.

Summer: (Backhands her into a mountain) I'm ready when you are. (Flies close to her) You're doing this for nothing, you know. Humans and faunus will be advanced in both magic and technology beyond their current standing by thousands of years. They'll be brought up to speed with with every other dimension already conquered. In time, Remnant will be better than it ever could have been without us!

Ruby: (Struggles to her feet) Wh... What if... What if they resist?

Summer: Then they'll die. Down to the last one. But that's why we're here! To keep them from resisting.

Ruby: (Rushes in) I won't let you enslave these people, Mom! It isn't right-

WHAM!

Summer: WHY?!

WHAM!

Summer: WHY?!

WHAM!

Summer: WHY DO YOU KEEP FIGHTING?! WHAT HAS THIS WORLD OFFERED YOU THAT'S ANY BETTER THAN WHAT IT COULD?!

Summer: Whatever you're fighting for right now will be gone in just a hundred years, long before you could ever enjoy it! You're fighting so you can watch everyone around you die!

Summer: THINK, RUBY! THINK! WE get older! WE age slower! YOU will outlive everything and everyone frail in this realm! You'll live to see kingdoms rise and fall! Watch civilization itself crumble to dust! EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE YOU'VE EVER LOVED WILL BE GONE!

Summer: WHAT WILL YOU HAVE AFTER YOU LIVE FIVE HUNDRED YEARS?!

Ruby: ...Y-You, Mom. I'd still have you.

Summer: (Raises fist)

Ruby: Mom..?

Summer: (Hand shakes)

Ruby: ...Mom?

Summer: (Gone, Teardrops in the snow left)

[lostonehero]

What remains after eternity

I'm not promising anything

Jonny sighed as he stared out at the desert from his window. New Texas was well thriving. He decided that when he woke up from what was supposed to be his final death on his shitty asteroid planet, he decided to make it better. He was pissed and he really just wanted to die. He was promised an ending, but he could also just be the last mech because there was a fluke, and he's just plain immortal, eternally youthful that death and age can't touch.

It's been a few thousand years, but Jonny had singlehandedly fixed New Texas. They opened their borders, trade between other planets, and women were free to be what they please and not slaves. He even set up a government that worked for the people. Overall, he was viewed as some sort of undying saint.

The assassination attempts were uninspired and lacking any kind of fun. They also stopped trying after a few years.

He was tired. He was so tired and just wanted an end. Even this throne room, which was more of a farce than anything, was exhausting.

"Jonny?" A young man approached his throne.

"Yes? If you're here to kill me, take your best shot or whatever." Jonny looked over. "Never mind, it's just you. Oliver, I told you to find something else to do rather than babysit me." After the first 100 or so years, the people of New Texas decided to find a way to keep him company. He's tired of killing them to stay away, and it never lasted long enough to spill more blood.

"I will not!" The boy's tail stood upright. "There's a woman here who requested an audience."

"Name?" Jonny moved to sit upright.

"Doctor Carmillia." Oliver smiles and motions to the taller woman behind him.

Jonny just frowns. "Hello, Carmillia. If you want to experiment, go ahead. I don't care."

Carmillia seems taken aback. "What don't you want to curse me for true immortality? Come now, I'm sure you've figured it out. Your own mechanism is forever, and the longer you have it the more ingrained it gets."

"Ok." Jonny sighs and kicks his feet up. "Is there a point to this? I'm tired, Carmillia. I'm tired, and I don't want to do this anymore. So either do whatever you want or leave."

Carmillia steps back. Jonny seemed absolutely defeated. She had a trump card. This would kick start the chaos again. This would start the nechs back up. "Your mother was the first. She's still around, and I would love for you to watch me get her to fall in love with me."

Jonny shrugs, sliding down in his throne. "So she's alive eternally. I'm sure she has a nice life without me." He frowns. "It's been eons, I'm sure she's moved on from losing me."

"She's been searching for you for those eons!" Carmillia huffs.

"She's better without her fuck up of a son." Jonny's gaze lazily went back to Carmillia. "Are you going to spread a plague? Take me apart? Destroy, what I built? Just do it or leave."

"Jonny, come on, what's the fun in that? Don't you want to cause some mayhem? Violence? Get drunk? I'm in love with your mother, Valerie. Doesn't that mean anything?"

Jonny looks away. "Go ask her out then. You're better than my father." He looks to Oliver. "Go home, kid."

Oliver sighs. "I told you, doctor. Jonny doesn't do anything anymore except keep New Texas safe."

"How long have you been keeping him company?" Carmillia follows the young man out.

"Oh, I just started. My predecessor, the funeral, was last year. Our people have decided to keep Jonny company. Oh, he's told so many stories about his adventures and violence, but I've read all those books and such. I wonder if I'll get to see him like that before I die, it would be a sight. Tell me, do you know the other mechanisms that Jonny has talked about?" Oliver sighs. "Sorry, I'm rambling. It's just all so exciting. I actually live in this place with him."

Carmillia frowns. "I will find them." She turns and leaves the boy.

.......

Ashes, they were the leader of the most profitable empire in the Nexus galaxy. They got bored after ending up back on their planet, realizing that they really couldn't die, and their final death was nothing but a mockery. They grew their empire, trying to just feel something. Even fire got boring, not to say they didn't still love it, but they missed the others.

They did find Ivy after everything, but she didn't really have an interest in leaving her own prison of knowledge. Ashes gives them new books, and they have tea once a decade now. They tried looking for the others, but they weren't in the same galaxy, and they didn't have a ship strong enough to hop galaxies, and Ivy wouldn't help.

"So this is what you've accomplished?" A voice pulls Ashes away from the fireplace.

"Doc?" Ashes turns around to see Carmillia covered in the blood of their guards. "You could have just asked to see me." They sigh. "What do you want? To gloat? To have a part of this empire? I can get you whatever you desire."

"You've conquered a galaxy." Carmillia sounded impressed. "I just wanted to find you."

"You have, so what now?" Ashes returns their gaze back to the fireplace.

"Come with me." Carmillia smiles. "Don't you want to find the others?"

"I suppose." Ashes sighs. "If you can get Ivy from her, self-made prison. Then I will join you." They light up a cigar. "Try to be cautious. Ivy has gone in her head."

.......

A blue skinned woman held a glowing machine in her arms. It was the ai the one she selfishly abandoned because of basically a new coat of paint. She stares at the scrap heap that was once Aurora. From what she was told, the debris was found floating in space, and whatever couldn't be salvaged was dumped here.

Nastya doesn't understand why she was abandoned. She will take her to a new ship and install her and make her even better. She knows she was selfish, she abandoned the others, and now that she knows the truth, she didn't want to be alone for eternity. Even if it takes her millions of years, she'll rebuild Aurora and beg for forgiveness. She has to find the others.

A few hundred years and Aurora was built bigger and better than ever, ready to face eternity looking for her crew. Nastya sighs as she wipes her brow. "Ready to go?"

A soft beep and chirps.

"Right, well, I'll make it up to you, I promise. I won't ever leave again. I heard about DTTM, but that can't possibly be true. I'll find the new guys, too." Nastya smiles. "To eternity and beyond my love."

......

Tim ended back on earth, and he now sits in a nuclear waste. He watched the world implode, now it's post-apocalyptic, and he helped out the surving groups. He was tired. He just wanted to die, but even he grew immune to the radiation. Maybe he was slightly mutated, but that didn't really matter. He became a messenger between new towns and even a city.

The earth was long abandoned by the majority of humanity who went to conquer other planets they didn't destroy. However, what was left behind grew like weeds. Tim watched the earth heal it was still mostly a wasteland, but there was life in the waste. He liked the peace of it.

"Timothy." An elderly woman smiles, hobbling over with her cane. "Are you coming to tell some tales? The cold will come soon."

Tim nods. "Yeah, do you want me to tell about the moon again?"

"The children will love that." The woman chuckles.

"I remember when you were that age, with your eyes bright and you could sit in my lap." Tim smiles. "How time has passed."

"Of course, watcher, and I hope you watch over the youth of tomorrow." The old woman moves forward. "I'm grateful I lived long enough to see these trees you talked about return."

Tim nods and follows behind. "And may the next generations witness the oceans turn blue and flowers bloom."

"You speak of such wonderful things, Watcher. May eternity bless you."

Tim doesn't really do names anymore. All the people he's watched and guided blend together as the earth recovers. Rivers flow mountains grow, and land returns. Civilization grows, and he becomes a myth even though he remains. Maybe he'll remain long enough to see another war or apocalypse. For the moment, it's peaceful as populations grow and seasons change. The changes from the radiation haven't gone away, but he can't seem to mind.

A voice so familair breaks through and Tim watches as the familair man approach. His voice was long gone to being silent for so long. He just smiles at the man.

"Gunpowder Tim." The shorter man tilted his head staring at Tim.

Tim nods, and as he tries to speak, only a rasp escapes his lips.

"It's me, Lyf, the inspector?" Lyf furrows his brows. "My ship malfunctioned, and I honestly don't know when or where I am, Yog Sogoth decided to be a bit extra helpful after that fight during DTTM. Have you seen Marius? Or like everyone else? I'm surprised I found you."

Tim tilted his head, seemingly confused.

Lyf huffs. "Whatever, come on." He grabs Tim's hand and drags him to his ship. "You'll be great leverage when it comes to the others. He doesn't notice the roots grown into Tim's feet or the changes in his body, or even the fact he gives off radiation.

Tim can't protest. He is unable to speak.

.......

Marius found his home planet. He knows whe he is now. He became a doctor and a baron and everything else he could think of ever wanting to accomplish. He plays his violin now, for hours and sometimes even days as he watches time pass him by.

Wars came and went, and he remained. Rebuilt, his old mech found his parents' graves and just did everything he could possibly think to do with the infinite amount of time he had.

He wanted to die. He wanted to... he couldn't remember what he looked like or what his name was, but he loved him. It's been far too long, and his mind wasn't keen on letting him recall what he had forgotten. He was a part of a group, a family he thinks.

His violin carries the tune over a barren planet, a virus wiped out his people and left him as the last of his species. Destroyed the plants and animals. He can't recall the last time he ate. Water is plentiful. It's the only thing that remains. He thinks it's water, he isn't sure.

Maybe it will come back to him. He'll just keep playing, and it will come back to him. Another song, and he'll remember something.

.......

Brian scowls, and dieties gathered around him. "Are you quite done? The biometal is enough, but I must leave."

They pamper him, they treat him like a pet.

He sighs. He's been trying first eons to leave this lavish spoiled life. He misses the others. He would even take being back on that sun again. He got what he looked like before the metal body, but what's the point he knows the mechanism is still there now biometal, but it remains. He hated this he wanted to kill something. And he wanted his family back.

A rainbow diety came by, and Brian scowls. "Leave me alone."

"My acolyte is searching for you." The deities' voice is incomprehensible, but Brian has gotten used to the spoken words of gods. "I wish to reunite the mechanisms, I have missed your songs and adventures, and I do not wish my acolyte, my child to be alone in eternity."

"Get me out of here." Brian just responds as he always does to any passing diety that wanted to have him as a pet.

A rainbow static enveloped him, and Brian vanished from the world of gods.

........

Lyf cursed as a rainbow static appeared, and something heavy fell on him. "Fucking shit! Fuck you Yog Sogoth."

Brian could cry. "Inspector!" He scrambles to his feet, embracing Lyf.

"Brian?" Lyf pauses. "Why are you soft?"

"Doesn't matter now." Brian smiles. "I'm bio metal, and I have the stuff I had before I was mechanized." He turns and spots Tim. "Tim! You're... you're...." He frowns, looking Tim up and down.

Tim's long hair was freshly buzzed in a military cut. There seem to be various vines and plants growing on his skin. His eyes remain the same, almost more ingrained into his face. His beard was cut short, and he had this odd look on his face like a pleasant curiosity. All that comes from his mouth as he attempts to speak was a wheeze of a rasp. He settles on waving.

Brian frowns. "What happened to him?"

"I really don't know, but it's been like six months since I picked him up, and he hasn't said a word. He also refuses to wear shoes. I also tried to cut the vines, but they just grew back. They also bleed, which is kind of terrifying." Lyf shudders. "He kind of reminds me of TS minus the talking."

"We need to find Raphaella. She'll be able to figure this out." Brian sighs. "But I am very happy to see you again. Where are you heading?"

"Oh well, I found Tim by accident, so I might as well look for Jonny next." Lyf crosses his arms. "What happened to everyone?"

"We were supposed to have our final deaths. I saw it. I had a vision, and they happened, but... well, it didn't happen. I don't know what happened to everyone else." Brian's large fox ears pin against his head. "I don't know how they handled it."

"They'll be fine." Lyf smiles. "See, Tim's fine he just can't speak."

Tim wasn't paying attention he was growing a flower in his palm.

........

"Now that I can feel again, I hate the heat." Brian adjusts his hat as they wonder through a desert asteroid.

Tim had a content smile on his face, and a trail of grass seemed to follow in his footsteps. They were carried by the sands and died, but it was still unusual.

"We really have to find Raphaella." Lyf watches Tim continue forward without a care.

"I... yeah, you're not wrong." Brian sighs.

They walk for a bit longer to the modest capital looking building, and the people say that Jonny should be in. They landed on New Texas about a decade into their journey.

An older man was at the entrance. His horns were sharpened, and he was in a uniform. He raised a brow as if he wasn't used to foreigners making their way here. "What brings you guys here? Assassination attempts? Proof of immortality? Wisdom? A story?"

Lyf and Brian exchange a look.

Brian blinks. "Um, we're here to talk to Jonny. I'm Drumbot Brian, and this is former inspector Lyfrassir Edda. Well, Gunpowder Tim is also with us but he lost the ability to talk."

Tim waves as he blooms cactus flowers on his feet.

The man looked shocked. "I'm sorry you're..." He frantically motions for them to follow. "Jonny! Jonny! You have guests!"

Jonny looked tired, and his horns were fully grown out along his scalpe that curved up at the ends. His hair was long tied into a braid. He was in a handmade outfit that was very casual. He was more muscular than they were used to, and his tail lazily flicked back and forth. "Oliver, what has gotten you so excited?" He doesn't even look over.

Oliver runs up to the throne. "Jonny, are these... are they who they claim?"

Jonny flicks his gaze over and puts on his goggles with prescription lenses. His breath catches in his throat. "Tim?"

Tim smiles and waves again, trying to speak, but a rasp escapes his lips.

"Yeah...." Lyf frowns as he approaches with Brian. "We really don't know what happened to him, but he can't talk anymore and is radioactive. He also can spread plants like a virus. Well, not like a virus, but his plants bleed."

"Brian?" Jonny hopped out of his chair. "What happened to you?"

"I became a pet to a bunch of deities." Brian sighs. "Dunno, how long it's been, but I'm biometal now. Time doesn't exactly work where I was."

"You guys just vanished." Lyf crosses his arms. "Yog Sogoth fucked with my ship and I ended up whenever this is. I found Tim by accident, then Yog Sogoth dropped Brian on me. We're looking for Marius or Raphaella to fix Tim. Do you know where they are?"

Jonny pulls the three into a tight hug. "Fucking I thought I was the only one save for Carmillia and her lies."

"Carmillia visited?" Brian furrows his brows.

Jonny pauses. "Oliver, when did the doc show up?"

Oliver hums and scratches his beard. "I couldn't have been more than 16, I just started here. A lifetime ago, in a sense."

"Well, I suppose I can say this is the end to your watch." Jonny walks over and holds out his hand. "I think I'll head out with them."

Oliver's eyes widen, and he hugs Jonny tight. "May you tell the future generations new tales. I will spread the word."

Jonny hugs back just as tight. "Give the old guard my regards. Let this place fall to ruin as time sweeps by."

"May I return to nothing but dust." Oliver finished. "May the universe embrace you to eternity."

Jonny nods salutes and leaves with Brian, Tim, and Lyf.

......

"I have to ask, but were you a god to them?" Brian finally breached the subject a few decades into their travels.

Jonny shakes his head. "No, not even close. I was just another one of them who couldn't die, and I told stories." He shines the harmonica in his hands. "I was just someone who wanted to change things, nothing special."

"How long was it?" Brian tilted his head.

Jonny paused. "I don't know." He chuckles softly. "I don't care, though. I made a happy ending."

"A..." Brian's eyes widen. "Jonny, are you ok?"

"A bit tired." Jonny smiles sadly. "But their ain't no rest for our kin."

.......

Nastya frowns. She found Marius by happen chance. A barren wasteland destroyed by a bio weapon virus. He was skin and bones, and his violin melody was haunting. His memory is bad to say politely.

"Oh, hello, did we meet before?" Marius smiles, holding a bowl of broth in his hands. He's shaking and looks deathly thin.

Nastya gives a sad smile. "Why, Marius, we have." She started to play along after the 59th time he did this. "And you promised me to finish that bowl of yours."

"I did? Yes, yes, of course." Marius drinks greedily from the bowl till it was empty. "Could you tell me where I am? I seem to be waiting for some friends, but I can't recall who they are."

"You're on the spaceship, Aurora, and your friends will be here soon. I'll pour you another bowl why we wait." Nastya swallows the lump in her throat.

"I don't think I'm hungry." Marius summons a violin out of nowhere. He begins to play a haunted melody as his eyes become unfocused and he just plays.

Nastya's smile drops. Maybe when he isn't so malnourished, he'll remember. It's been a constant cycle since she brought him on board. She even got his old clothes. Well, Aurora helped her make them. They hung on him like a tent.

Aurora flashes suddenly, and a screen opens up. A communication from another ship.

"Aurora! We can't just accept all hails." Nastya pauses as video comes through.

"Is this Aurora? This is Drumbot Brian. Everyone else is asleep for the night." Brian pauses before his eyes widen. "Nastya?"

"Brian?" Nastya gasps. "Aurora, take them on!"

A metal hand pops out with a thumbs up.

.......

Jonny yawns, rubbing his eyes. "Why did you wake us?" He shuffles forward following Brian. "Is it my turn to stand guard?"

Lyf stretches. "No, he wouldn't have woken all of us up." He stretches his tail.

Tim whistles the only noise he could make from his mouth at this point as he marches forward.

Brian nearly pushed the three out into a metal hanger. "Welcome back!"

Jonny yawns again. "Welcome back where?"

"Jonny?" Nastya gasps.

"Nastya?" Jonny's eyes soften. "I'm glad to see you again."

Tim waves he knows of her but never met her.

"O-oh, you left before I ever met you." Lyf holds out his hand. "I'm Lyfrassir Edda, the one Bifrost survivor, acolyte to Yog Sogoth. I think, honestly, don't really know what they want to do with me."

"You know Marius." Nastya's pupils widen.

"Yes! We were looking for him to help with Tim. He can't talk, and we really don't know what's up with the plants or radiation." Lyf pauses. "I also miss him."

"Follow me. All of you, please." Nastya smiles as Aurora chirps.

The soft haunting melody from a violin gets louder as they get closer to the med bay.

"Of course he's playing that stupid vio -" Lyf chokes on his words as the door opens, and he can see Marius.

His hair was long, barely moving, and his clothes hung off of him. He was like a skeleton with skin. His eyes were sunken in, and he was smiling. His hands were bleeding slightly as if he had been playing for days straight. The bandages that were new were stained. His tail hung limp off the table. Even his ears drooped.

Nastya swallows. "He was on a planet that was destroyed by a bio weapon virus, wiped out every living creature and plant. I have no idea how long he was there."

Marius stops playing, putting the violin to the side. "Hello! I'm Marius Von Raum. Who are you?"

"You... you know who I am." Lyf sucked in a breath.

"Do i?" Marius smiles. "I think I'm waiting for my friends to find me. Would you like to wait with me?"

Brian's silverish goldish hue paled.

Jonny had a stricken look on his features.

Tim for the first time since he was found frowned.

Lyf could feel pain try to steal his voice as tears tricked his eyes. "Marius, it's me, Lyfrassir, Lyf. You know me."

"Do I?" Marius continues to smile. "I'm quite sorry I seem to..." his eyes lose focus as another violin appears, and he begins to play again.

Nastya covers her mouth. "I've been trying to get him to eat more, but he can barely drink the broth I give him. If I could just get some weight on him, maybe he could remember something." She sucks in a breath. "He goes around like this every time. Please play along."

Lyf was crying. "N-no! This... this.... Marius." He pushed the violin away and sat next to him. "I'll wait for you. I'll wait with you."

"Aurora will bring the broth every hour for him. Also, some mashed vegetables." Nastya turns away. "We can only guess how long he was there, but the planet has been dead for tens of thousands of years at least."

Jonny reaches out and holds Nastya's hand. "Come on, show me where my new room is."

Nastya nods and leaves, Brian follows, and Tim wanders behind them but doesn't exactly follow.

......

"Don't you want a belt?" Nastya smiles.

Jonny shrugs. "I don't really need one. I made these clothes."

"What about your gun? I restocked the armory as well, Aurora even revamped the shooting range." Nastya smiles a bit wider.

Jonny shakes his head. "I'm ok. Thank you for the offer. Did you rebuild Ivy's library?"

"O-of course." Nastya frowns. "Why?"

"I think I want to read right now." Jonny hums. "I want to read something with a happy ending. Will you join me?"

Nastya freezes. "Jonny, are you ok?"

"Just a bit tired." Jonny hums softly as he walks down the hall, and Nastya follows with concern.

.......

"Why the fuck should I even let you on my ship?" A woman with horns that curl around her cow like ears. "I will accept everyone but you."

"Hello, Doctor Carmillia." TS waves from behind the woman.

Carmillia smirks. "I can tell you where your son is."

The woman didn't look impressed. "I can and will track him myself. Try again."

"Valerie, please, I promise to behave. I'm just trying to get them back together. The Mechanisms come on you want to help." Carmillia smiles, showing off her fangs.

Valerie narrowed her gaze and looked at the people behind her. "Names?"

"Raphaella, ma'am." She seemed less confident and deranged. "I want to try science experiments again. I... I...." She shakes under the gaze. "I don't want to be used anymore."

Valerie motions for her to come inside. "I'll keep ya safe." She watches Raphaella run inside her wings folded tightly against her back. "Who are you?"

"Ashes O'Reilly, quartermaster." Ashes crosses their arms. "You look like Jonny."

"That's because I'm his mother." Valerie hums. "As long as you don't fry the circuits, you can come on. However step out of line and I will leave you."

"Understood." Ashes nods and heads on.

"Ivy Alexandria." Ivy frowns. "I would like to return to my library. Books and records don't leave, time passes, and they will remain and grow."

"I've got a library on board, kid." Valerie sighs. "TS bring her on."

"Yes, Ma'am!" TS picks up Ivy and brings her on board.

Valerie returns her gaze to Carmillia. "You can come until I decide against it. If you try anything, I will make sure you never find us."

Carmillia smiles wide and runs on board.

........

"I am Marius Von Raum." Marius smiles. There's a bit more meat to his bones. "You are Lyfrassir Edda, and you are waiting with me."

Lyf nods, feeding Marius another bite. "Yes, that's right. We're going to not wander away from Med Bay today."

Marius has a bit of trouble swallowing, but he gets the stew down. "We are waiting together for my friends."

"Yes, we are." Lyf smiles. "Almost done, just one more bite." It's a bit of a struggle, but he gets Marius to finish. "We did it all done."

"I'm a doctor." Marius says while he gets up. "My friends don't believe me."

"Oh really?" Lyf puts the bowl down and follows Marius. This was new, and it lit a flame of hope in his chest.

"I went... I went." Marius furrows his brows, and the light flickers in his eyes. "I think I think...." He frowns, which was new. "Another... there was another war." He stops talking as his eyes lose focus, and he summons a violin. A haunting melody begins to play as he stands still and plays.

Lyf sighs. "You'll get there, and I'll be right here when you do." He guides Marius back to his bed, who keeps playing. He smiles softly and reaches out to pet his hair, which slowly reaches back out and wraps around his finger. "Yeah, we'll get him back."

.......

Jonny spent more time in the library, or the gardens than anywhere else. He seems to keep his mind busy, and violence seems to be the last thing on his mind. Eternity weighs on him.

Brian was in the gardens with Tim when Jonny walked in. "Good afternoon, Jonny."

Jonny nods in acknowledgment as he approaches Tim, who is growing new trees from his own vines. "Would you like to read with me?"

Tim paused as the flowers bloomed. He smiles as his new norm lets out a rasp and follows Jonny to the bench.

Jonny smiles. "This is a new one. We just picked up planet side, I've been told it ends very sweetly."

Brian smiles as he works on the vegetable garden. Jonny and Tim have always been close, and it seems they were trying to rebuild that even if both men have changed so much. Nastya was still trying to get Jonny to be violent. It wouldn't work.

Tim's gaze drifts as he leans on Jon. This was normally the sign that he was about to sleep. His behavior was random at best, but you pick up cues on what he is doing.

Jonny hums softly, closing the book. "You're right it is better to take a nap. I am a bit tired."

.......

Valerie hums softly as she leans back. "What is it?"

"I um well..." Raphaella walks slowly towards Valerie. "How have you not... I mean, it's been just as long for you."

"We found her again." Audrey smiles she appears.

Valerie shakes her head. "I've already changed, but I've accepted my reality. I know each of you has suffered, and I understand that it wasn't easy being alone, but it takes time. You'll never be who you were, but you'll just be different, and that's ok."

"I want to be me again." Raphaella shakes. "My experiments won't ... haven't worked."

"You're already you." Valerie smiles. "You just have to accept you changed."

Raphealla sighs but relaxes. "Can I have some blood?"

"Mine or in general?" Valerie smirks.

Raphealla smiles shyly.

.......

Lyf hums softly as he mixes the batter. He was humming "Tales to be Told." Marius was playing the violin part he wasn't all there today, but he was still good company.

Marius finally looked healthy, but his mind was still not together. He was beginning to have lucid periods, but nothing concrete enough to recognize anyone.

"So what will it be today? Muffins or cake?" Lyf smiles, breaking his humming.

Marius continued to play, not noticing anything.

"Hmmm, you're right. Muffins are better because Tim hates cake. Afterward, we can cuddle and watch a movie." Lyf chuckles softly, pulling out a muffin tin. "Never understand why Tim hates cake. It's a perfectly fine dessert. I suppose pie is better, or a nice custard, or whatever that cactus stuff Jonny grows." He doesn't notice Marius had stopped playing.

"I like sweet breads." Marius blinks seemingly confused.

Lyf drops the pan out of shock, making a mess of the floor. "Shit shit shit. Fuck."

"I didn't know you could bake Inspector." Marius smiles.

Lyf freezes staring at Marius. "Marius?" He barely whispers.

"Yes?" Marius seemed confused as he looked around. "I don't.... I don't... where am I?"

"Aurora! The starship Aurora! We're in the kitchen." Lyf abandons the mess and rushes to Marius's side.

"N-no, that isn't.... that isn't possible." Marius started to look frustrated. "It's gone. I... I..." He tugs at his sensitive hair, trying to shock himself with pain. "N-no I went.... I didn't.... I..."

Lyf pulls Marius into a hug. "Breathe."

Marius shudders, and he stills. "Hello, Lyf, why are we hugging?"

Lyf sighs and pulls away. Progress isn't linear. He would say that all the time. "Because I like you."

"You do?" Marius tilted his head unsure. "You don't like me or my violin, though."

"I... um..." Lyf takes a breath. "You've grown on me."

"Like a mushroom?" Marius smiles.

"Yeah, like a mushroom." Lyf smiles back.

"Do you know when the train is coming?" Marius blinks as Lyf grips his shirt.

"I think it already has." Lyf swallows.

"That means we have to go." Marius smiles. "I think... I think..." He pulls away and summons a violin and begins to play.

"I don't want you to go." Lyf wipes his eyes. "Ok, it's time to clean up and try again. I'm thinking sweet bread." He smiles as Marius is playing a happy tune. "Yeah, sweet breads for you."

.......

Tim observed. That's what he does. He's the Watcher. It's hard to think of a time before that. Jonny is a familiar comfort, but he couldn't recall why. It hurts to think sometimes. He just wanted to be good. This place was very clean and he had his own room. He let his plants grow in his room. He was safe and not forgotten.

He feels as if he's missing something. The blue skinned woman keeps putting him in a room with weapons, but he doesn't want to be in there. He thinks her name is Nastya, and she seems sad all the time. He has tried to give her flowers and fruits, but it seems to just confuse her. He doesn't like being confused either. They call him Tim or Gunpowder, all of them do. The name is Familiar, and he will respond to it, but he's the Watcher. He's been that for a long time.

They keep asking him to speak, but he knows he can't. He forgot when he stopped, he forgot when he was able to. Marius is nice he doesn't ask him to speak. They play music together, Jonny gave him a guitar, and he knows how to play, but can't remember why or how he knows. Marius is nice he tells him secrets about war and survival. He's confused and scared like he is.

He liked to work with his hands. He can grow his plants with his hands and dirt. Brian was also nice with his hands. He always seemed to help him clean up like the others. It's not like he tries to be dirty, but his plants need soil, and the bad, painful thing inside of him always hurt others, but he didn't seem bothered. Brian always said he was warm, but that's it, and that made him happy. He thinks he is making Jonny sick because he's always tired, but he doesn't complain.

He doesn't like the heavy clothes Lyf gives him. They are familiar, but they cover his plants and weigh him down. He doesn't want to get them dirty either. They seem important because everyone gives him the coat back. Lyf talks about his eyes a lot and asks him to look for things. He likes Lyf, he asks him to do his job and he likes that. He's a bit weird with his colors and static, but he makes Marius very happy.

Everyone asks him about violence or guns. He can't tell them the truth. He doesn't want to be a weapon anymore. They can't know he was a weapon, but he thinks they already do know. He likes Aurora, she is very nice, and helps him when he gets lost. She doesn't let him spread his roots anywhere, but the garden, she said it hurts. He apologized for it but still didn't quite understand how it hurt. It used to hurt him. He can remember when they used those weapons again on earth. They just rebuilt, too.

He can remember the burning, and he was trying to save something, or was it someone. He didn't really know anymore, but he thought the fighting was over something dumb. The bombs were loud and dirty, and they didn't leave anything but radiation. The first time, if he could recall properly, they recovered and regrew. They were thriving, and then someone got upset and built them again.

He wanted to tell his story, but his hands shake really bad when he tries to write. Jonny is really patient with him. They nap together a lot. Maybe one day he'll remember why Jonny calls him his amazing destruction and why he loves him so much.

.......

Nastya nearly jumped when Aurora was suddenly hailed. They've been peaceful, and nobody should even bother them. She sighs and takes the video call. "This is Nastya of the starship Aurora and pilot Drumbot Brian."

Brian nods, adjusting his hat.

"This is Valerie of well Audrey you aren't bothering me today, so Audrey." The woman leans back as a familair doctor is handcuffed to the side. "We've been looking for you."

"Carmillia?" Brian blinks stunned. "Jonny mentioned something when we first found him. Guess it was true." He shrugs and begins to brush out his tail.

"What happened to the body I made you?" Carmillia leans forward, tugging on the cuffs.

"I became a pet to a bunch of deities." Brian shrugs.

"Is the inspector with you?" Valerie smiles softly.

"Lyf?" Nastya pauses and nods. "He is with us, Aurora?" She pauses. "He's making lunch with Marius. As for Jonny and Tim, they are in the gardens taking a nap."

A familair figure rushed in. "Nastya?"

"Ashes!" Nastya smiles wide.

"Are you alright? We've been looking for a long time." Ashes grins. "You've got Jonny and Tim, I've missed them. Are they up for drinks?"

Nastya's face falls. "It would be easier to explain if you saw them in person." She can see the frustration grow on Ashes face.

"Ashes, that's enough." Valerie sighs and holds her hand up. "May we board?"

"Aurora, let them on." Nastya cuts the feed and covers her face

......

They were loud the moment they returned to the Aurora. It was like coming home, but everything was wrong. Nastya was alone to greet them.

"Where's everyone? What's with this lack luster welcoming party?" Ashes huffs and crosses heir arms. "Not that I'm not happy to see you. I expected a bullet to the brain or fire." They pause. "I can set something on fire."

Nastya looks at the others who come out. "Raphaella, TS, and Ivy. It's nice to see you."

"Where is everyone?" Ivy frowns. "There is a 65% chance Jonny and Tim are causing damage to the Aurora. A 45% chance Marius and Lyf are having sex somewhere, and an 85% chance Brian is in the gardens."

"You wouldn't be right." Jonny sighs. Tim was behind him. "It is nice to see you guys again." He looked exhausted. "Have you guys been having fun?" He's wearing his goggles and had a book in his hand. His signature belts were gone, and he was in casual, comfortable clothes.

Tim still had shirt hair and a perfectly trimmed beard. He was in a plain t-shirt with dirt stains. He was in shorts, and vines traveled his arms and legs and into his skin. He smiles and waves opening his mouth to produce a rasp.

"Tim can't talk anymore. He's also radioactive. You can find him by following the dried plant footprints." Nastya sighs. "Jonny, have you seen Marius?"

"He's not lucid if that's what you're asking." Jonny frowns. "Lyf is doing some chores while he plays. It's a happy tune, though."

"What do you mean by not lucid?" Raphaella cautiously moves forward. "I don't think... actually, I don't think Tim knows who we are."

Ashes stomps forward, startling Raphaella, and Jonny stops them from touching Tim.

"Leave them be." Jonny sighs. "There isn't a point to hurt him."

"What happened to you?" Ashes stares at him.

Jonny shrugs. "I'm just a bit tired."

Valerie steps forward. "Of course you are." She smiles sadly and holds out her hand. "How about a walk?"

Jonny nods and takes her hand. "May I take Tim with us?"

"Whatever you wish, Sand Skipper." Valerie takes his hand, and they go down the halls. Tim follows behind without a word.

Ashes are fuming, and Ivy stops them from shooting. "What has gotten into everyone one? This isn't right. We've been seporated before, for eons, and we never ended up like this. We aren't supposed to be broken. We've been through worse, so what if we didn't truly die?"

.......

The faint violin music alerted Ivy from her library. It wasn't Nastya she didn't have her violin. Well, it was still in here. They said Marius is here, but none of them have caught him in the halls of Aurora. At least Lyf has made sure of that. Curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she might as well see what had happened to him.

Marius looked the same, except for his clothes, they were purposely soft, it seemed. He was walking around playing.

Ivy clears her throat.

Marius seems to pause and drop his violin to his side. "Hello!" He turns and smiles.

"Hello Marius." Ivy keeps a neutral expression.

"You know me." Marius tilts his head.

"Of course I do. There is a 57.92% chance this is a game." Ivy's voice was emotionless.

Marius pauses no look of recognition in his eyes. "I'm waiting for my friends to find me. Would you like to wait with me?"

Ivy's face morphed to confusion. "Marius, you know me. I'm Ivy. You spend hours in my library looking at romance novels and bad poetry."

Marius seems to lose focus. "You seem very nice, miss, but I have to get back to waiting. I'm sure my friends will be back here soon." He brings the violin back up.

Ivy slaps the instrument out of Marius's hands. "No! NO NO NO!" She can feel sparks fly from her head. "You are Doctor Baron Marius Von Raum, who is neither a baron or a doctor, and my friend. You are my friend." She felt emotions swirl in her head things she can remember truly feeling since before her mind was mechanized.

Marius's eyes seem to lose their hue. He summons another violin and begins to play. He slowly starts to walk in a random direction. The music is haunting.

Ivy is shaking. "Don't just walk away! Don't... Don't.... I didn't mean to leave." She begins to follow Marius. "I think my mechanism is malfunctioning." She can feel something leak from her eyes, and she didn't know her species could cry. She didn't know she was still capable of crying.

.......

Jonny was reading to him in the garden before the sound of a gunshot, and he was splattered with bits of blood, bone, flesh, and brain. Jonny was reading to him, and now he slumped over, and his head was gone. Jonny was ready to him, and now they were talking, boasting about how finally this would get fun get normal.

Tim reached out like a child who didn't know any better and gently shook Jonny in vain. They were still laughing and talking. Jonny didn't move, Jonny was gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. He watched. That's what he did he just watched. Why did he watch? Why? Why?whywhywhywhywhy? He was good. He had to be good.

Bad gets replaced.

Bad gets punished.

Bad loses.

They stopped making noise when the roots settled. They made a very good trophy. They had useless metal. They didn't need it. They were taken care of. He did good. He will watch now. He is the watcher, that is what he does, and he is good.

"Tim?"

He stared at the tree twisted red roots, and fruit bloody dripped from the thick branches.

"Tim."

The leaves were white like bone, and the thorns were sharp teeth. The veins pulsed as the tree flourished.

"Tim!"

He stumbles back as Jonny pulls him from his roots and his feet bleed. It hurt. Aurora asked him not to make roots. He frowns, staring at the tree, red dripped from the massive towering twisted thing.

"Tim." Jonny's voice was soft. "Tim, can you hear me?"

He adjusted his gaze. Jonny was back. His head grew back. He forgot something important. He... he didn't know who Tim was. He should know who Tim is. He wanted to listen to a story. A story about the moon. He opens his mouth as a silent rasp leaves his lips.

Jonny pulls Tim into a tight hug. "I'm ok. I'm always ok. We have eternity, don't you remember?"

He rasps again, trying to ask for the story about the moon. Jonny knows it. Jonny can tell him who Tim is. His eyes... his eyes grew deeper roots.

Jonny smiles. "Ashes is fine, too. They left, and they went to get Raphaella. She'll be excited to experiment with this." He pulls Tim along. "Come on, I'll help you clean up. We can take a nap after, and then I'll find a better story to read to you."

He follows along, holding on tightly to Jonny's hand. Jonny will tell him. Jonny always had stories to tell. He'll know who Tim is.

.......

New rules were written. New rules bathed in blood and pain.

Ashes stared at the new rule list nailed to the wall of the commons. Their limbs still felt wrong. They didn't understand what happened, that... that tree was still there. A stark reminder of change. They didn't find them fast enough. They turned their gaze to Raphaella, who was watching them.

"Did it hurt?" Raphaella almost sounded innocent.

"Of course it did." Ashes sighs. "You can test it if you so desire."

"I think I want to give Tim his voice back." Raphaella was nervous. "Human vocal cords can recover disuse. His has not. I want to know why. Will you.... will you help me?" She held an old spark in her eyes.

Ashes smiles softly. "I would love to."