#Not enough done with Sapphires being able to heal people

[autisticrosewilson]

Star Sapphire Jason is so real but also I'm imagining a scenario where he happens to run into one and they just stop dead in their tracks, stare at him in silence for a minute, and then start calling for reinforcements. Every new Sapphire that shows up does the exact same thing and they all huddle and whisper and after the sixth one Jason finally asks them what the fucking problem is.

And then Carol has to explain in the simplest possible terms that there's enough love in his heart to stitch the whole universe back together but he's so sad and so much of that love has rotted into grief. Luckily, it's possible to heal! They just have to mend Jason's previous relationships.

...all of his previous relationships are dead or bad for him.

Well they could always find more! Being Red Hood doesn't allow him to connect with civilians in a meaningful way and most of the hero community dislikes him.

The girls are really running out of hope, but they scavenge the archives and- ah ha! There's a handy third option. Jason just needs to mend his relationship to himself, the Sapphires can be all the support system he needs.

Doesn't look like that's gonna happen on earth though, so naturally their next course of action is to bring him back to Zamaron. Whether he likes it or not. It's NOT kidnapping if it's for his own good! And they'll maintain that no matter who comes knocking at their door to get him back.

[scarofthewind]

The Lone Wolf || Werewolf!Thomas x Reader

A/N: Part three out of four to the slasher boys AU, link down below! I hope you are all doing well and yes requests are open for those who would like to throw something in there! I was today years old when I realized that Thomas Hewitt has blue eyes.

Warnings: NSFW, R18+, blood, gore, biting, breeding kink, wet & messy, squirting

word count: 3.1k Tip Jar (every bit helps!)

Series Masterlist

“You should eat something now that way it’s easier during the shift.” You spoke calmly to your lover who was busy testing out the chain that lined the basement; the chains that would prevent him from hurting you. His warm eyes looked over to you and he nodded, laying the metal links on the ground and following you upstairs. You watched him eye the locks on the door, checking to make sure they were strong enough, “You’ve checked them four times since this morning.” He looked at you and sighed, you could tell he was nervous, he always was on nights with a full moon. 

“If I get out and hurt you-” He started but you shook your head and cupped his face. 

“We’ve done this a million times and nothings happened.” He leaned into your touch, a glint of worry in his deep brown eyes. “Who knows, wolf you may not even try to eat me if you happen to escape.” Patting his cheek lightly, you turned and walked to the kitchen to make something to eat. Thomas mumbled something to himself before checking to make sure he had everything ready for the night. His senses were heightened and it was hard for him to not jump clear across the room and take you against the counter; balling his hands into fists, he went outside to calm his nerves, also making sure he had the backup trap ready if he happened to get out. You watched him from the kitchen window with a sorrowful look in your eyes. Before he met you he didn’t need to do this because he didn’t care what happened to the people around him; but you were different. 

When you met, he was shifted, dark brown wavy fur and sapphire eyes staring at you intrigued by what it saw. You were a mortified lone hiker that just witnessed a group of people being torn apart by something inhuman. But there was something, some force of fate that drew you together. He never hurt you in wolf form that day and you doubted that he would ever, but you didn’t want to take the slight chance that he might. 

When you both sat down for the early dinner, it was quiet between the two of you. The nerves and impulses emitting off of him made you chew your food quietly across the table. You barely had time to put the dishes in the sink before he went to the basement and you followed knowing it was you who had to chain him down. Thomas hated making you do it but the chains being made of silver burned him a lot less if he wasn’t the one handling them. No words were spoken as he stripped out of his clothes, throwing them in a heap across the room, and sat down in the middle of the cold floor. 

“I hate this,” you said quietly, locking the chains around his feet, moving towards his hands. He cupped your face gently, giving you a knowing look. Continuing with his restraints, you cuffed his wrists and then put the last one around his neck. “This is animal abuse,” you joked and he quirked a lip at your comment, hiding a smug smile. 

Before he could open his mouth, he grimaced, grunting in pain as it ripped through him, something was off about this shift and it bothered him. Thomas quickly looked at you, “Go to the guest house.” 

You frowned, “Why? Is everything okay?” He wouldn’t look you in the eye as you asked and you bent down in front of him. His eyes were already that bright golden color you secretly loved. 

“Go, I’ll come get you in the morning. Make sure to hide your scent just inc-” He stuttered when a loud crack came from his back and he clawed at the ground in pain. “Go now!” He yelled and you jumped, pressing a quick kiss to his lips before running out of the basement. Thomas could hear you running around upstairs and then the front door slam shut as you left the house. Everything in him burned with a fire he didn’t recognize and it scared him. 

“This isn’t right,” he groaned as another spike of pain rushed through him and everything started to go black as the beast took over. He could only pray as he was closing his eyes that you would be safe.

Of course as you were in a rush to leave, you forgot to wear stuff that smelt like him. You didn’t realize your mistake until you reached the guest house, locking the door behind you and hiding in the bathroom. You could hear loud howls coming from the house and it made you shiver, knowing that he’d somehow gotten out. You tried to think of how he could’ve but the longer you thought it over the more confused you got. You’d locked every door and chained him up; the shift had happened quicker than before though and he had a look in his eyes that told you something wasn’t right. 

A howl echoed through the woods near the guest house and you held your breath, sinking down into the bathtub and turning the lights off. The sound of the front door crashing open had your heart racing in your chest. You could hear the scuffling of paws on the floor as they neared the bathroom, a sniffing sound coming from under the door followed by a low growl. Everything went quiet for a second before a large hole was scratched through the door and you scooted far away in the tub. You whimpered, hearing the beast growl, it’s eyes meeting yours from the other side of the door. That’s when your heart stopped and everything you thought you knew about what he was flew out the window. 

His eyes were blood red and glowing through the opening. The beasts mouth and snout were already covered in blood and the way it licked it’s lips you knew you were next. The window to the bathroom was already opened a smidge and before you could blink, your body moved on its own to get there. Your mind raced as you heard the door being ripped apart behind you, your feet pushing you to climb up onto the roof above you. You knew he wouldn’t fit through the window because of how big he was so you had an advantage getting up there. Just as you were about to climb fully onto the scratchy roof, a searing pain came from your leg and you tried your best to kick him off. 

Tears welled in your eyes and you pushed yourself up, getting your leg away from the beasts mouth and limping over to the chimney, sitting against it for a second to examine the wound. A sob escaped your lips as you looked at it, knowing damn well what it meant. You tried your best to stop the bleeding but the moment you put pressure on the wound you cried out in pain. You could hear him down below, tearing everything to shreds and growling loudly. You knew if you didn’t fix the wound soon you’d have more bad damage than good by morning but going down to face that monster was not something you wanted to do. 

A loud scratching came from the end of the roof behind you and you froze mortified that the creature was able to simply jump that high. There was a huff behind the chimney you were leaned against and a deep growl made the hair on your arms raise. “Thomas,” you cried, the wolf sniffing around the corner towards you. “Thomas please don’t,” you winced trying to move your leg towards you. “You’ll never forgive yourself,” you closed your eyes for a second, trying your best to calm yourself as the wolf came to stand in front of you. 

When you opened your eyes to look at the monster, you let out a sigh of relief seeing those sapphire eyes staring at you softly. There was a sense of guilt behind them and before you could open your mouth, your wounds were being treated to as the animals licked them carefully. “You didn’t recognize me,” you stated, realizing that was why it attacked. Maybe your scent wasn’t enough for the wolf to remember you; you were thankful your voice was what clicked for him. 

A soft sound of bones shifting made you look up to the man in front of you. Thomas’ eyes were wet as he faced the one thing he always feared; he’d hurt you. “I did this,” he frowned at his own words, examining your wounds and setting your leg down gently. His eyes met yours and you felt your heart ache. “I would’ve killed you, (Y/N),” he tried backing away but you grabbed him and used his sturdy body to pull yourself closer to him. 

“You didn’t realize it was me, Thomas. I’m fine,” You replied, cupping his face gently and watching his eyes flicker before settling with their natural color. 

“Don’t do that,” his voice broke, “Don’t act like this is okay, I bit you, you know damn well what that means.” He groaned, moving out of your grasp. 

“I do but I don’t care. Something was off about this shift, we both felt it but we couldn’t predict this would happen-”

“It wanted to kill you, even after smelling that it was you. What the fuck is wrong with me?” He grimaced, moving away from you. 

“Thomas stop,” you hissed when you tried to move, catching his attention for a second. “We’ll figure out what went wrong in the morning,” your heart ached when he shook his head, pulling at his roots. 

“I love you,” you cried, your heart breaking in your chest for him and the fear of him pushing you away, “Don’t force me out, I don’t know what to do without you,” Thomas whined at your words and seeing the tears fall from your eyes made him pull you against his chest, rubbing your head softly as he hugged you. “Don’t tell me to leave because I won’t.” You sniffled, gripping is shoulders tightly as he helped you stand. 

His chest rumbled with a growl at the thought of you leaving him, the possessiveness of the wolf inside him coming out. When he looked down at you and pressed his lips to yours, you could almost feel the grief inside him; you knew he’d blame himself until the end of time for hurting you. With ease, Thomas helped you back to the comfort of your home, making sure to take good care of your wound. He spent nearly an hour on it, being sure that it was clean and that it would heal nicely. When he was done wrapping it in gauze, he watched the way your eyes slowly closed, sleep starting to take over your mind. 

Shuffling you around on the couch, he laid with you pressed into his chest, not daring to turn again for the fear of his other half going rogue. 

He didn’t sleep.

***

You woke up around four in the morning, the small amount of light in the sky starting to brighten the living room. You could feel Thomas’ grip on you tighten when you moved your head up to look at him. His eyes were on yours in a second and he frowned, “Is it hurting?” He referred to your leg. Shaking your head you nuzzled his neck, breathing him in. 

“You didn’t shift again?” Your fingers danced across his bare skin, reminding yourself that he was nude. “You were stronger this time if you managed to break through all those chains and get past your traps outside,” you said quietly. 

“I didn’t recognize you, that’s not right, something had to have been off.” He replied; you could feel his heart ache. “I don’t know what to do,” he sighed, moving to sit up and rubbing his face with his hands. 

“Hey,” you sat up with him and cupped his face in your hands. “We have a month until the next turn, we will figure it out before then. Don’t worry about it,” his eyes stared into yours and he nodded, resting his forehead against yours. “Love you,” you said softly, watching his eyes crinkle as a small smile formed on his face. 

“Love you too.” Thomas pulled you closer and pressed a kiss to your lips, a familiar feeling buzzing through him at god-speed. If there was one thing you both enjoyed about his shift, it was the sex. It was hot, messy and always left you bedridden for a couple of days; the last time it got out of hand and the bed broke, much to your genuine shock. Before he could pull away, you wrapped your arms around his neck, moving to sit in his lap. Thomas’ hands went to your waist and he groaned at the feeling of you grinding down on his slowly hardening member. “You’re hurt,” he grunted against your mouth as he moved to lay you on your back, moving between your legs. 

“I’m fine, I need you, Thomas,” you moaned when his lips went to your neck, immediately finding your sensitive spot and sucking on it. Your hands ran through his dark, curly hair, tugging gently on the roots as his hips worked against yours. The feeling of his hardened member against your thigh made you shiver. You paused to sit up and rid yourself of your bottoms, eager to feel his cock deep inside you. You made sure to be careful around your leg, slipping your pants and underwear off and letting them fall to the floor. 

Thomas made quick work of your shirt and bra, leaving your breasts open for him to fondle. Your nipple hardened against his touch and he brought one into his mouth, lightly nipping at it. The feeling of your bare cunt dragging across his cock made you moan lightly, your juices already spreading along his shaft. The side of your neck where he’d bit you to show that you were bonded to him for life, slowly burned with a feverish desire. Thomas’ hands left your chest, moving between your lower halves and tapping your thigh for you to sit up for a second. His hand gripped the base of his cock, directing the tip to your entrance before you sunk down on him. Your legs shook by the time you were fully seated on it, he was far deeper than you were used to and the feeling made your head buzz. 

Any other time of the month, Thomas was usually quiet when having sex. However, the minute his shift appears, he’s much louder. Possessive growls and rougher grips on your body, make it that much easier for your pussy to spasm around his cock multiple times. A sharp buck of his hips made you grip onto him quickly, rolling your hips in time with his movements. Tilting your chin up, Thomas pressed his lips against yours, swallowing your cries of pleasure as he moved faster, pushing you down on your back before leaning over you and thrusting like a mad man. 

His mouth never left your skin, littering it with bruises and small bite marks that you knew would heal over time. When he moved to your neck, his teeth grazed the bite mark that bonded you, the scars were pale against your skin. His tongue laved over them, easing your mind before his teeth pressed into the wound. You winced, a small whine escaped your lips but the way your cunt tightened around his cock gave him the okay to keep going. Sinking his teeth in further to re-puncture the old scar, he fucked you deeper, moving your legs around to hit that one spot inside you that had you seeing stars. 

The obscene amount of noise that was coming from your lower half made you flush, your juices running down the curve of your legs and ass, onto the couch below. A low growl came from the man as he removed his teeth from your mark, licking the blood off his lips and your skin before hiking your legs up to the one position that really made your pussy drench his cock. Your knees were practically by your ears as Thomas split your open, his cock thrusting into you at a steady but rough pace. “Cum inside me please,” you begged, looking up at him through watery lashes, the pleasure making everything intense. “I want your children, Thomas. Please, cum inside me,” you whimpered when he groaned deeply, his cock twitching inside you. 

The simply thought of you being pregnant with his children made his heart flutter. His eyes focused on the way your pussy was creaming around his cock and the sight of his member bulging your stomach every time he moved. With rough fingers, he moved his hand to your clit, rubbing tight little circles around the hardened bud and watching you squirm. 

It didn��t take long before the white hot pleasure of euphoria shook through you, your body convulsing for a second as he fucked you through your first orgasm of the night. “That’s my girl, can you cum again for me?” His voice made you shiver and you nodded as your thighs shook. He leaned his weight down a bit more and you knew exactly what he was trying to do the minute he did that. 

“It’s going to make a mess,” you warned, looking at him as he smirked cheekily. “You’re cleaning the couch then,” you moaned as a particularly hard thrust made your cervix throb in pain. The way Thomas’ voice grew louder made it a sign to you that he was close and you wanted nothing more than for him to pump you full. Pressing his mouth to yours, he growled at the feeling of your gummy walls sucking him in. He moved his fingers back to your clit and worked his magic, leaving you a trembling mess as he brought you close to the edge again. 

“You ready, pretty girl?” He asked, watching you nod before he rubbed your clit harshly, your walls tightening around him to the point where he was cumming within seconds. The feeling of his cock being drenched by your quivering little hole made him pull back for a second and watch as you squirted around him. Thomas let out a groan as he let out everything he had, watching your stomach bulge slightly before he let you move your legs down. 

“I hope this time it works,” you panted, referring to the cum sticking to your inside walls. Thomas chuckled, pressing open mouth kisses along your face before connecting his lips with yours. “I love you, Thomas.” You said gently, looking up into the deep blue eyes you adored so much. 

“I love you too,” He replied, kissing you once more.

[sapphire-knight]

Welcome to a new episode of Sapphire Rambles, today's topic being:

Just as c!Tommy is a simbol of Care, c!Fundy is a simbol of Love.

Let me explain.

(There are going to be 3 principal points to this rant, and each of them is gonna end with a Tl;dr in purple, so it's easier to follow)

If you're a regular in the Fundy tag (or in the Ranboo tag since this argument gets often brought up in relation to C!Ranboo), you might have already seen some rants talking about how C!Fundy is an incredibly loving person, willing to chase after the people he care about if he sees the tiniest hint that mending their relationship is possible, even if they hurted him in the past.

Yeah you are going to see the same argument again here in the first part, but I promise this gets interesting

This became more clear after the Break, when he decided to try and mend his relationship with Philza and Ranboo even if they weren't at all on good terms at the moment, but he thought it was worth it so he tried and will keep on trying anyways, but we have examples of Fundy's really loving and forgiving nature back to the Revolutionary era

Everyone knows about Eret's betrayal I'm sure, but one thing people seem to skim over is how it effected Fundy, because there's the really high possibility that he was the one who was hurted the most by it.

For everyone who has some spotty memory (me too sometimes fam), Eret was the closest person to Fundy at the time, the two being really close friends, so the betrayal must have had a terrible effect on his emotional health, but you know how it went?

It went that Fundy was the first person to reach out to Eret and start to forgive his actions. Fundy always valued his friendships above the side he was in. So even tho he was a L'manburg abitant, he still thought of Eret as a dear friend to him and did his best to not make them feel alone or isolated

There are really few examples of people Fundy actually has an issue with, but even here Hate is a strong and mostly wrong word to apply, for example:

- Wilbur: as we are shown in the interactions with Ghostbur, Fundy didn't hate Wilbut for how he neglected and patronized him, it made him upset (as we saw when Ghostbur called him "his little champion" and he ran away) but he never hated Wilbur for that. The only thing he didn't forgive him was deciding to die, leaving him. And his issue with Ghostbur is not aknowledging or taking responsability. But he doesn't hate Ghostbur, he can talk to him in a civil manner even if the Ghost pretty much upsets him. And about Wilbur? Fundy loved Wilbur, the thing that hurted him was he taking the decision to definitivly leave him.

- Technoblade: even before Doomsday, the correct word of Fundy's feelings towards Techno has never been Hate, but Fear. A lot of people seemed to miss this point about the Butcher Army as a whole, but they weren't move by hate, even if they tried to make it look like they were. They were terrified. On their way to Techno's house, it was more clear than ever that they were TERRIBLY afraid of Techno. The Butcher army was never a movement of hate, but a bad reaction to a traumatic event that scarred them with fear. Also, after the Break? Fundy understands why Techno wanted L'manburg gone, so he doesn't hate him for that.

- Jschlatt: if you followed Fundy's pov, it won't be a surprise me saying that Fundy doesn't hate Jschlatt, but it may be news to other people, since one of the last interaction between the two was... anything but positive. I still shiver at the caravan scene. But even after all he's done, Fundy can't bring himself to completly hate Jschlatt, even if he did a lot of horrible things and was a horrible person, he still doesn't hate him. Fundy took with him Jschlatt's sword, keeping it as a relic and a memory of the man.

There is no one in the server, probably not even Dream Himself, that Fundy full-on hates. No matter how much they hurted him and everyone else, he just. Doesn't hate them. He's able to see the humanity in everyone, even if he wishes he could just hate people that wronged him. He was always forgiving and loving, these two aspects of him becoming even more prominent after his Break.

Tl;dr: Fundy is a character incredibly full of love and almost always willing to forgive and mend relationships with people he cares about at the moment he sees the possibility.

Now that I got the part most talked about out of the way, I'm taking the second tangent. Let's talk about Self-love.

It's not news the fact that there are really few characters, if not actually none of them, who love themselves. Might it be for trauma or for guilt, none of the characters actually love themself and act out of self-love.

Sometimes there are characters that act for themselves, but that is different from acting out of self-love.

Acting for themselves means doing something to achieve an objective that you want, for example: Eret's betrayal.

Eret betrayed L'Manburg becayse he was promised the role of King of the SMP by Dream, she acted out of her wish for power and control. That's an example of acting for yourself.

Acting out of self-love means doing something with the only cardinal reason being that it's good for you, taking care of yourself doing something that makes you feel better and healthier. That is acting out of self-love.

And, if you look at the server, you can easily see that no one has ever done that, expect for one single time.

The closest wrong thing you might be thinking off right now is when Tommy escaped from exile, but that was not an act driven by self-love. Sure, Tommy saved himself and went towards a healthier mindset, but what drove him towards that direction was not a desire to be better and good for himself, but rage towards Dream and a desire to be back to his family and friends.

You know what the only act that could possibly be out os self-love is?

Fundy going away for a years and a half, taking a break from everyone

Think about it for a second. Why did he do that? Let's start putting away the wrong possibilities:

- Doing it for someone: Fundy at the moment was heavily spiraling towards paranoia, wanting to be a villain to make everyone hate him. If that was his mindset at the time, why would he even want to get a break for anyone?

- Having a second cause: what second cause could there be for a choice like getting away from an unhealthy situation to heal? The only second reason a choice like this could have is healing to help someone else heal when you're feeling better, but refer to the last point

- ... that's virtually it

The only reason that could have caused Fundy to decide to take a break from the whole situation because it was unhealthy and heal was because he wanted to heal. For himself. He genuinly wanted himself to feel better for the only reason being, simply, feeling better.

Fundy is the only character for now to have ever taken an important choice for making himself feel better and letting himself heal.

Tl;dr: Fundy taking the year and a half break was the only decision on the entire SMP taken only out of self-love and genuine desire to feel better for the sole reason of feeling better.

Fundy is a representation of love, in any shape or form. He is unapologetically full of love and care, both for himself and for the people around him.

Anyway, the third part is a theory, if younwill kindly follow me:

The above analysis is the exact reason why the Egg causes Fundy an extreme repulsion.

Since both Fundy and Tubbo said that the Egg seems connected to Dreamons, I'm going to roll with that idea in mind.

As we all know, one of the only known weaknesses of a Dreamon is Love and this Dreamon seems to be acting and controlling people out of wishes and desires.

Fundy should be a perfect candidate for the Egg to manipulate, isn't he? One of Fundy's most known characteristic is his research for love, affection and appreciation from people, and we know the egg has no problem using love to manipulate someone, because he is manipulating Bbh using his (platonic?) love for Skeppy against him.

So why the egg would cause a repulsing reaction to Fundy?

Tommy seems immune because he doesn't wish for anything right now, he has everything that he wants

Tubbo also has a repulsive reaction, but is not a hateful reaction but one driven by fear and sadness, the Egg purposefully trying to scare him away, probably to make him unable to fight against him

But why Fundy's reaction would be full-on hate?

I think the egg was trying to do with Fundy the same thing he's doing with Tubbo, scaring him so badly to drive them to the point where they cannot fight back out of complete fear, but it's not working.

It's not working because the Egg fears Fundy, fears how full of pure, unfiltered and unapologetic love his heart is, fears how he's the living representation of the fact that love, of any kind, is the strongest emotion out there. Fundy already was able to defeat a Dreamon because of his own love, and now that he's more emotionally stable and has decided to follow his heart more, mending relationship with people he loves even if they hurt him?

Fundy is an incredibly dangerous threat to the Egg.

So fear is not enough to keep the fox away, he cannot let him anywhere near his plans.

He fears that if he tried the fear treatment on Fundy, Fundy would be able to break out of the web of terror as soon as someone he loved was caught in the crossfire

So he tried pushing him away in a different way, using hate instead of fear, because since Fundy is such a love-driven person all around, the best way to keep him away is to use hate, just like Tubbo is often driven by hope and optimism, so the best way to keep him far fron where he could be a danger is to use sadness and fear.

Tl;dr: The Egg is making Fundy hate him because that's the only emotion that could actually keep Fundy away from him, because he, being a Dreamon, fears how full of love Fundy is.

[themadauthorshatter]

This ball is rolling, and I want it to pick up speed.

PREVIOUSLY: While General Galeforce makes plans to save Charles, Henry makes his own plan to ensure he keeps his prize, which leads Charles to face the truth.

Synopsis-ing getting better and better, but I still recommend you read the previous parts for better context:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4 and revision

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

With all that done, LET'S KEEP GOING!!!

We're checking in on Charles this time, who's still hanging out in his suit and is staring out the window of his cell, at Earth. He's tired from a rough night's sleep and reeling from both dinner and the kiss from Henry, and the fact that he really might not be leaving and just snagged a knife for nothing(sorry for the lack of a shock moment, but, trust me on this).

He doesn't have long to think further on this because he gets a surprise visit from Ellie, who's smarter than Henry and thinks to stay leaning against the wall rather than standing in front of him.

"Sleep well?" She asks. "Behave yourself a little more like last night, and you might get to sleep in a bed. Maybe you'll get to take a little bit of medicine, too."

"Where is he?" Charles replies, tired and on edge.

Ellie simply shrugs. "Busy, so he asked me to check on you for him."

Charles laughs at that, more to himself and at the situation, but Ellie still takes notice.

"Something funny?"

Charles lifts his head and rests it against his arm. "Must be frustrating to be friends, when he's with me all the time."

Ellie laughs back and shakes her head. "Trust me. If you think we're just friends, you need that medicine more than you think."

Charles's grin drops. "What?"

Ellie smirks and gives a glance out the window. "What? You think he cares if you same way he does for you? Or even how you feel?"

"Does he cares about how you feel?" Charles counters.

"Of course he does. Why do you think I'm here-" Ellie points to herself. "-and you're there?" She points to Charles.

"And besides, we're more than friends, more than what you call whatever you've got back on Earth. Well, had on Earth."

The dig hits Charles harder than it should, and he's silent, much to Ellie's delight.

"What did he give you?"

"What?" Ellie asks.

"For joining. What'd he give you?"

Ellie only checks in her nails. "Call it an equal exchange, Dog. He's actually good to his word, you'll see."

Good thing they talk about Henry, because we cut to him looking thorugh Charles's file again, looking deeper for anything he missed. TV perspective, we don't see what he's reading, but we do see that he reads something that makes his eyes widen amd a smile grow on his face; if Charles still thinks about getting out and going back to Earth, what Henry's about to tell him will change his mind for good.

Cut back to Ellie and Charles as he scoffs.

"What word? What could he have promised that makes following him okay?"

"I'll repeat myself: Equal. Exchange. He got me free and let me join, so I make sure his plans actually work and get my fair share, when all is said and done."

Charles and Ellie glare each other, though Charles does the glaring, while Ellie smirks at him, giving him a look of 'Go 'head. Prove me wrong.'

They stay like that for a little while before Ellie tips her hat and turns to leave.

"Oh, and I'm just warning you now." Ellie turns and smirks at Charles. "Feel good at the fact that he kissed you first. Wonder what he'll do next, seeing as you're not leaving and no one likes a government dog sniffing around without a leash."

Charles blanches and Ellie leaves, the door open long enough for Charles to catch a glimpse of Henry who smiles as he meets up with Ellie. That smile only widens, when he spots Charles, waving at him as the door closes.

It leaves Charles in confusion, but Ellie turns to Henry, wearing a smirk that matches his.

"So what kept you busy?"

Henry gives her a look and head shake that says, 'Oh, you're going to love this,' and gestures for her to lend an ear.

She does so, and Henry whispers into her ear.

We don't hear what he's saying, but Henry's words make Ellie's smirk drop, eyes widen, and then smile grow, even when Henry leans back.

"You're joking!"

Henry shakes his head. 'Guess the General has a secret that he doesn't want Charles knowing.'

CUT TO THE GENERAL ON EARTH!

He, Victoria, the twins, amd Rupert are carrying in a crate, which is addressed to Galeforce, for Galeforce.

They all get it inside and set it down, sweating, tired, and panting from carrying it.

"How the hell can glass be this heavy?" Rupert asks as he rubs his forehead. "The thing weighs almost a ton."

"Good," Galeforce sighs. "That means it should keep them fooled for a little while."

Victoria digs around for a tool before finding a tool.

"Are we sure it's really going to trick them?" Calvin asks. "How good is this glass-maker friend again?"

"Professional," Galeforce replies as Victoria hands him a crowbar. He takes it and turns to the twins, Victoria, and Rupert. "You three use glass cups?"

All four nod, hastily, allbeit.

Galeforce gives them a slight shrug. "Fair chance that a number of them where made by my friend. Has this skill to him." He pauses to wedge the bar into the top of the box. "He's got this skill to him, kind of like a jeweler." With a stomp on the crowbar, the lid pops of and Galeforce throws it off. "With that, we'll give this to Henry and he'll give Charlie back."

They all look inside and Galeforce gives a small grin as the rest gasp.

It's a perfect replica of the sapphire and it fools them as they stand around it.

Galeforce lets himself take a breath and smile at the replica.

"Grit? Price? How're the prototypes coming along?"

Victoria snaps out of her amazement and offers a grin. "They should be complete by tomorrow and ready for testing."

"So..." Konrad begins as he and Calvin exchange glances. "Does that mean..."

"We're getting Charles back?" Calvin finishes.

Galeforce, Victoria, and Rupert all smile, though Rupert rubs the back of his head.

"Not to count out chickens before they hatch, but assuming all goes well..."

He trails off, mostly because the twins are grinning at him, barely able to control their excitement.

Being soldiers be damned, the twins glomp Rupert in a celebratory hug. He joins them, in spite of himself, because he's missed his friend.

Galeforce and Victoria watch them, glad everything's moving on course, but not exactly ready to celebrate yet, which we see as Galeforce walks over to a desk and picks up a camera, just in case Henry decides to make contact again.

He also catches Canterbury outside, who practically scrutinizes the crate from where he's standing.

Galeforce mutters for Victoria to keep an eye on the replica and the boys as he goes to talk to Canterbury alone.

"If this goes off without a hitch, you'd better do more than bring the kid back," Canterbury says. "In case you forgot, Henry's still up there. It'd be good, if we nabbed him, too."

"We'll see how it goes. If we can even grab him. If not, they'll always be back down here."

Canterbury stifles a scoff. "Right."

The two are silent for a second before Galeforce speaks up again.

"If that's all, Captain, excuse me. I have a rescue to plan out."

Galeforce begins to walk off, but Canterbury stops him, holding him by the elbow.

"Look. Regardless of how much he's broken rank or... screwed us over, I hope you get him back."

Galeforce's eyebrows rise, shocked by the Captain's words.

Canterbury nods and lets Galeforce go, walking away to let him plan out that rescue.

CUT BACK TO THE ORBITAL STATION!

Charles is still hanging out when the door opens and a perky Henry just about skips in, holding Charles's file behind his back.

To say Charles is not amused is such an understatement that it would be a meme.

"Evening, Charlie. How've you been hanging?" Henry asks, a proud smile on his face.

That unamusement grows and Charles glares daggers at Henry, which makes him chuckle.

"Sorry. Insensitive, I know, but you can't really blame me, can you? With everything that's going on."

"Make it quick," Charles groans. "I'm not in the mood."

Henry sighs and approaches Charles, his hand going to Charles's side, which unsettles Charles.

"How are your ribs feeling? Are they healing well?"

"Don't-" Charles barks as Henry lifts his shirt until he sees the light bandages that are on Charles's ribs.

Henry rubs his hand over the bandage, pressing with his thumb to test Charles.

He's not in pain, but Charles isn't okay with the Henry being close all the time, so he kicks him away. "Stop that!"

The kick sends Henry back into the wall and he drops the file.

Charles and Henry stare at each other, Henry standing straight and Charles glaring at him with his legs curled, ready to kick him again.

Henry only snickers and holds up his hands. "Sorry. Had to make sure you were alright."

"You really want to know?" Charles snaps. "You want to know how I feel about all this?"

Henry notices the file and picks it up, scooping up some papers that fell out. "I just wanted to be sure you weren't injured. Is it so bad that a friend is checking on another friend?"

Charles turns to stare out the window. "Stop saying we're friends. We never habe been and never will be."

"Why not?" Henry asks, playing coy and even tilting his head. "We have enough in common to be.

"We've both been to and are in space. We've both traveled abroad." Henry explains lightly before his smile turns to a smirk and his face darkens as he saunters toward Charles. "We've both been imprisoned. Both stolen something priceless. Both did things to keep ourselves and friends safe."

Charles keeps his gaze averted, even when Henry lightly grabs the side of his face and turns his head so they're face to face.

"We've been lied to by the people we've known."

Charles's glare sharpens. "Stop making things up."

Henry feigns a sympathetic look and holds up the file. "I wish I was."

Henry lets Charles go and flips through the file, reciting what he's learned to Charles.

"Charles Calvin. No middle name listed-odd. Age 25, height 5'8", weight 160 pounds, served the military for fourteen years, having passed through training and flight school before anyone else. Graduated top of his class, youngest of all the students. Mandatory medication for his Attention Deficit Disorder, but is otherwise of able body and mind, as proven by his efficiency in the air, i.e. pilotinga helicopter."

As Charles keeps listening, his glare drops into utter fear.

"Adopted by Hubert Galeforce at age 9, two weeks after the death of his parents, Connor and Raina Calvin, two renowned pilots that died in combat to stop a Toppat Clan attack." Henry closes the file and looks at Charles directly, glad he's got his attention. "Funny how a pair of brunettes with brown eyes and grey eyes had a blond with blue eyes, don't you think? And the General adopted you, so of course no one would question why you look the same."

For context, whenever I imagine Charles in human form, he's got blue eyes, that have a little bit of green in them, and messy blond hair, but it's like a mildly dirty blond; it's not a light brown, but it's not yellow blond, either. True to what Henry said, Connor and Raina both had brown hair, but Connor had grey eyes and Raina had brown eyes.

Back on track, it still makes Charles's stomach hollow. "What are you saying?"

Henry shrugs. "You tell me. Why do Connor and Raina Calvin have blood types A positive and AB positive while you're O negative?"

Charles shakes his head and grins. "Yeah, right. You're lying."

Henry raises an eyebrow and pulls a couple papers out of the file, two new additions to the file that are the medical cards of Connor and Raina Calvin, and taking a third out, before showing them to Charles.

Charles sees it for himself, right in front of him in black and white and he's not only confused, but also GUTTED:

All three papers are medical papers and Connor's blood type is A positive, Raina's blood type is AB positive, and Charles's blood type is O negative(and blood type, like hair and eye color, is genetic).

Henry puts the three papers away and inspects Charles, who's staring at the floor.

"I don't blame them for taking you in. Where some people will throw a child away, others find and take one in. Sounds kind of nice, don't you think?"

"Why?" Charles asks.

"Friends don't have secrets between each other, Charlie," Henry says. "At least I told you what the General couldn't, if you really didn't know."

Charles lifts his head, tears in his eyes. "Why are you doing this?" He barely whispers.

Henry's face drops until it's unreadable as he folds his arms. "Have you ever heard of Terrence Suave?"

Charles doesn't get time to answer before Henry starts speaking again.

"He didn't want me, either. Threw me away so he could continue leading the Clan. Granted, I got picked up and put in an orphanage, but still doesn't change the fact my father left me."

Charles, even in his restraints, clenches a fist as his gaze locks back to the ground.

"They... They didn't-"

Henry lifts Charles's head with both hands, using his thumbs to wipe away tears that roll down Charles's face.

"You're right. Connor and Raina didn't, but what about them? The people who left you?"

Charles tries looking away, but Henry holds him. In his mind, Charles is reeling even worse than Part 10's kiss. He's thinking of the fact that his parents aren't really his parents, which would be shocking to anyone, and the fact that it's about to happen again. His real parents left him, and there's a chance Galeforce is going to do the same, given what Henry told him during dinner and that kiss.

He gets caught on that. Galeforce.

Did Galeforce know? And for how long? Why didn't he tell him? Why didn't his parents tell him to tell him? Why didn't they tell Charles himself?

Henry sees this confusion and responds to it accordingly.

"Hurts to have no one to tell you the truth, let alone something I think would be important. You would think the General would be kind enough to do that."

Charles lets out a mix of a sob, groan, and that exhale people make when their kicked or punched in the stomach.

Henry sighs and caresses Charles's cheek again before leaning close again.

Charles turns his head away.

"Please," Charles weeps. "Just stay away from me."

Henry pulls him back, moving closer until the two are breathing the same air. "I'm not going anywhere. And neither are you."

Another heads up to Toppat!/Villain!Henry or Stickvin stans/fans, even though there is nothing positive or romantic about this whole thing, because Henry kisses Charles again, though it's much more passionate and leaves Charles tense and trying to kick Henry away.

At least he tries until he feels something cold and sharp against his stomach, and freezes and inhales sharply.

Henry pulls away and tilts his head slightly. "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

Charles's eyes dart from Henry to his stomach, where he can see Henry took the knife he stole and is now holding it to his stomach, and back at Henry; 'Go 'head. Try it.'

"You're despicable," Charles spits.

Henry's smirk returns as he presses the knife further against Charles's stomach. "You're too kind."

Henry re-engages the kiss, but this time, with incentive to not get stabbed, Charles plays along and it makes him sick.

After a while, Henry pulls away, and removes the knife.

Charles weakly glares at him as he steps back, and Henry can see that the whole 'telling him he was found rather than born' thing left a mark because his eyes are puffy and red from crying, and from fresh tears that fall, he's trying to keep his breath as even as possible(and failing), and is either fighting back the urge to cry or fighting to try and say something.

Henry doesn't give him the chance and holds his chin, his thumb on Charles's chin.

"You're right. We're not friends, not after that."

Charles quickly dips and snaps his teeth shut on Henry's hand as hard as he can, right between his thumb and index finger.

Henry shouts and immediately tries to pull his hand out, out of pain, before he throws the knife away to give Charlies an upper cut and kick to the stomach.

The upper cut doesn't get the job done, but the kick does, making Charles groan, cough, and gag.

Henry holds his hand close, glaring at him before slapping him in the face with his good hand.

Charles is somewhat seeing stars, but refocuses when he hears tape pulling and braking.

Even though he shakes and leans his head away, Henry still gets the tape over his mouth, making sure it's from one side of his jaw to the other.

Charles semi-glares at him, but Henry pulls him close by the jaw.

"Act like a dog, and I'll muzzle you like one."

Henry shoves Charles back and turns to leave, but not without asking a question:

"The General's coming in a month. If you had the chance, would you still go with him? After I told you what he didn't?"

No way in Hell is Charles forgetting what he just learned and it still hurts.

Henry only raises an eyebrow. "Think about it. "

With that, he leaves, and Charles stares at the knife on the floor, which is way out of his reach, replays what he's just learned in his head, and lets out a shaky breath.

What hurts the most for Charles, about learning he was found by his parents rather than conceived, is that at no point in time did Galeforce think to tell him.

He half wonders if he really should just stay, so then no one in the army gets hurt, and, who knows, maybe heists from the clan will slow. Maybe they'll be slow enough for the government to take care of.

That idea is shot down when he realizes that Galeforce is meeting with Henry, somehow, and there's a chance that either Henry can be attacked or he(Charles) can escape.

With that in mind, and his eyes staring outside at Earth, Charles's breath evens out

He's hurt, he's more than a little upset, he's bound and gagged, but regardless of anything, he's going to find a way out of the orbital station and back in Earth, and no one is going to stop him, not even Henry.

[oathofoaksart]

YOUNG JUSTICE/DC OC: JO “LOVETAP” SHINODA

bio under the cut!

BASICS

Name: Josephine Shinoda 

A.K.A: Lovetap; Jo, Jojo, Jo-Hoe, Tap

Age: 29 [S3]

Gender: Cisgender Female 

Orientation: Bisexual

Occupation: Music Store Owner, Star Sapphire Corps Member 

 Race: Human 

Ethnicity: Japanese-Caucasian 

Location: Santa Monica, California 

Hometown: Hana, Maui; Hawaii

 Skin: Fairly suntanned with visible bikini tanlines, lightly freckled around the nose and cheekbone area

Hair: Naturally black with a blonde ombre gradient, gradient turns dark magenta when powered up. 

Eyes: Red-Brown [civvies], Glowing magenta sclera with white-pink irises [powered up]

Height: 5'4

Build: Well-toned, with strong arms and legs; ample curved. 

Distinctions: Inscription of the One Ring tattooed on her right shoulder blade, fond of yoga pants and loose band muscle shirts combo

 RELATIONS

Parents: Haruto and Tara Shinoda

Siblings: Jack "Daiichi" Shinoda (twin brother; deceased) 

Friends: Emi Homura (deceased), Ghia'ta, Carol "Star Sapphire" Ferris, Guy "Green Lantern" Gardner, Leiko “Inari” Ara [OC], Tora "Ice" Olafsdotter, Shayera “Hawkgirl” Hal, Hank “Hawk” Hall, Don “Dove” Hall, Charlie “Scribe” Jenson [OC] 

Partner/s: Several noncommittal relationships and one-nighters; Bryce "Red Lantern" Richards [OC] (ev.)

Misc.: Queen Aga'po, Gi "Riot/Geode" Flores [OC]

Affiliations: The Star Sapphire Corps, The Justice League  

 PERSONALITY

Personality Type: ENFJ-A [Assertive Protagonist] 

Temperament: Sanguine-Choleric 

Alignment: Neutral Good 

Relaxed | Positive | Idealistic | Sensitive | Stubborn 

 Jo is the poster girl for the coastal surfer babe; laid-back, fun-loving, and friendly. She’s an honest woman, though not scathing, which makes her a go-to for advice and well-placed encouragement. Because of her many interests, she meets and makes friends in all walks of life, often making her the social link between vastly different groups. Her passion rears its head in concern of humanitarian subjects, from LGBTQ+ issues to food crises, and will jump at the chance to lend aid. 

This is especially true as Lovetap, where she feels she has a more hands-on approach in doing good. Her personality doesn’t change in costume as it does amplify, she stays playful and lighthearted in tense situations, but her morals are steadfast. Tap is a loyal and dedicated ally to her fellow Sapphires and friends in the Justice League circle, and a personable hero to civilians she encounters. 

She’s very well-meaning, but she also tends to bite more than she can chew. This becomes a problem when she’s too headstrong to admit she needs a breather and will continue shouldering the weight until someone steps in. It also applies to her emotions, Jo is quick to lend a shoulder to cry on, but struggles to admit when something is amiss in her personal life in fear of bogging down others. Her way of coping with her problems is usually done by busying herself with projects, but sooner or later it becomes too much and she’ll spiral. 

ABILITIES AND WEAKNESSES

Powers and Abilities

Violet Energy Conduit: As part of the Star Sapphire Corps, Jo wields a Violet Power Ring. Like most power rings on the emotional spectrum, it allows Jo the ability of flight, survival in vacuums, manipulation of energy, creation of force fields, creation of light constructs at will, and tap into a xenolinguistic database. Because the Violet ring is powered by love, it also has attributes found only in the Sapphire Corps. 

Love Empathy: Love is the center of the Sapphire Corps and much of the Sapphire’s abilities tie to it. Jo can detect feelings and connections of love from which she can draw power from outside her actual power battery. She can also form connection tethers to people she feels close with, she can use these tethers to know if the other person may be in possible danger and quickly teleport to their side. Being around other Sapphires greatly increases her power as they feed off each other’s love like an echo chamber. 

Crystallization:  Special to the Star Sapphire Corps is the creation of Star Sapphire crystals, often in conjunction to their energy constructs. These crystals can also be used to encase a victim and place them in suspended animation, in some cases able to use the victim as an extra power source by influencing them with love. Jo personally doesn't like to take it up to this point, as she finds it too intrusive. 

Violet Energy Constructs: Jo is able to conjure light constructs at will, her ring being able to create any object. Jo is fond of using mecha-like weapons, classic horror and kaiju characters, and figures from her favorite Kurasawa movies.  

Healing Capabilities: Jo’s ring not only lets her heal at an accelerated rate, but also heal injuries of, or even revive, others provided she has a strong enough connection to share the life energy for such a feat. 

Avarice Immunity: Because Jo’s love is of the selfless sort, Jo is immune to the attacks of an Orange Lantern as long as her love stays that way. 

 Limitations and Weaknesses:

Emotional Instability: The Sapphire ring is a double-edged sword in that while it's formidable in raw power, it can easily turn against Jo with an overload of emotion. If she’s not careful, the ring can influence her day-to-day life from being overly jealous and protective of those she cares for, to being too sensitive of her own feelings. In a worst case scenario, the ring can completely overcome Jo’s mind and force her into a frenzy.

Ring Dependency: Without her ring, Jo reverts to an average human woman, so she is entirely dependent on her ring for protection and offence.  It’s necessary for her to have her ring on at all times or at least on her person should the need arise. 

 HISTORY

Born second of fraternal twins, Josephine Shinoda lived an idyllic lifestyle with her parents and brother in her hometown of Hana, in Maui, Hawaii. Jo and her brother Jack were an especially close pair of siblings, sharing interests from surfing with their father to classic pop culture. Jo was the much more extroverted sibling and had no trouble making friends where she went, whereas Jack had difficulty asserting himself socially; Jo often made strides to make her friends friends of Jack’s. This continued all through their young school life, even as Jack’s social anxiety gave way to depression. Jo and her parents were supportive of him throughout, and continued to be so when the twins finally separated when college came around. 

Jo chose to study in Los Angeles whereas Jack left for Metropolis. Admittedly the distance worried Jo for a while, but college proved to be an overall good experience for Jack, especially once after the introduction of his later girlfriend, Emi. 

Jo spent her college years partying and submercing herself into the music scene, eventually sparking the idea of opening a music store after college. Jack jumped at the idea with Emi right behind, she also being involved in music via playing guitar for an alternative band. Jo and Emi became solid friends in their own right, meeting and sharing even more when Jo would visit on the occasion. 

Not long after college, Jo learned Jack had proposed to Emi and was elated by the news. The three went into making wedding plans, but things were cut short two months into the engagement. Jack and Emi were caught in a fatal car crash, leaving Jo inconsolable. After their respective funerals and some time reflecting, Jo followed through with opening a music shop in their honor, “JJ’s Music and Records.” 

Jo operated in LA for a handful of years before deciding to expand out of her comfort zone and opening another store somewhere else. With an intern in tow, they settled on Bludhaven, where Jo spent another few years. Despite how well her business was doing and that her life was going in a good direction, Jo hadn’t been able to shake off the loss of her two closest friends. She was restless and tried to bury her feelings by distracting herself with anything she could involve herself in, as she didn’t want to set this worry on anyone, especially her parents. Jo was steadily wrapping herself into a depression and refused to admit it. She returned to LA in hopes that the move and reconnecting with old friends would clear her mind. 

With no such luck, Jo proceeded to shell within herself. Her days dulled and she became stuck in routine, spending most of her time in the shop and locking herself at home. While in a particular bad spell, Jo decided to go to the beach to surf and Jo was caught in a minor car crash herself. She wasn’t injured, but the experience was jarring and Jo’s previous experience with car accidents sent her into an emotional break. 

At the same time, Ghia’ta, niece of Queen Aga’po of the Star Sapphires, arrived on Earth with an agenda. The Star Sapphires had experienced a bit of a moral shift, currently spearheaded by Ghia’ta, after she’d met a human by the name Carol Ferris. Carol had been inducted into the Star Sapphires in order to gain the upper hand on the Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, while he found himself on the Sapphire’s homeplanet of Zamarron. But Carol had resisted the Sapphires’ urging and instead gave Ghia’ta an alternate view of what love was, selfless and kind. Moved by Carol’s insight, Ghia’ta began to try to teach the other Sapphires this new view. She was met by rebuttal and while she continued to fight for reform, she knew doing so alone wasn’t going to get her far. 

She’d come to Earth in search for a new Sapphire that could better follow Ghia’ta’s new outlook, as Carol chose not to join the Corps and Ghia’ta had gotten word of Earth’s Lanterns being of a special crop. What she came across was Jo, stranded and crying on the side of the road. Initially Ghia’ta approached her to see if she could be of any help, but to her surprise, her ring detected Jo’s broken heart. Jo’s loss of her brother and friend left a deep hole in her heart and Ghia’ta discovered that this was caused by the love stripped away from her. Sapphires, Ghia’ta included, believed true love to be inherently romantic, but while looking into Jo’s heart she found her love for her brother and friend to be just as true as any. Overjoyed at this realization, she decided to choose Jo as her new champion. 

Jo was thrown for a loop. First by the appearance of this stranger who showed herself to be an alien who’d somehow read into why she felt the way she did, then by her request to join her galactic love brigade. Still Ghia’ta’s ring called out to her and the more she explained the situation of the Sapphires, the more Jo felt a sense of duty. Jo had never been the kind to turn down an opportunity to help, even if the road sounded steep, and so she accepted. 

Jo became the newest member of the Star Sapphire Corps. Her induction was met with heavy scrutiny by the Zamarrons, the leaders of the Sapphire Corps, as she didn’t fit the perimeters in which they chose their new members. In a slight twist, Queen Aga’po allowed Jo to join as a “experiment” partially to show Ghia’ta her claims were being taken seriously and that Aga’po herself was becoming open to her niece’s words. 

Jo still isn’t completely sure what she’s gotten herself into, but plans to make the most with what she was given. And she hopes, if there is an afterlife, that Jack and Emi could be at peace with what they helped aspire. 

 NOTES

For no reason other than personal preference, Lovetap is set on using a surfboard construct as her mode of flight, even during battle. 

Jo is very athletic and a bit of a gym rat, enjoying activities from various sports to yoga. She is also an avid reader and lover of pop culture, reflecting in JJ’s as it doubles as a bookstore as well. She found a fellow Justice League ally with a pop culture store named Charlie Jenson and the two quickly made their store affiliates. 

Jo’s birthday falls on Valentine’s Day and she finds the irony of it funny 

Jo had a hardcore, but thankfully, short-lived, crush on Guy Gardner. It’s a secret she’ll take to the grave. 

Jo learned how to play the acoustic guitar because of Emi and plays outside her LA store on nice days, something she eventually teaches her young friend and eventual mentee, Gi Flores. 

Her father was a gourmet chef and much of what he knew he taught his children, Jo is a wicked cook, but is often too lazy to get creative with her dishes. 

[les8ean]

ALRIGHT OKAY YES THANK YOU

alright so putting this under a cut cause it’s gonna be long fkjdghkdf

The Black Court was one of the first courts on Homeworld, ruled by Black Diamond. So far the gems i have for her court are: Black Diamond, Black Spinel, Midnight Pearl, Selenite, Iris Agate, Silver Aura Quartz, and Black Star Sapphire

Black Diamond was White Diamond’s “sister” (i hc that it’s more common than not for 2 Diamonds to emerge at the same time, and be sorta opposites of each other (see: Blue and Yellow Diamond)). The two ruled in very different ways; while White was very controlling and strict with her gems, refusing to accept any defects, Black put the happiness of her gems first, wanting to see how they would thrive if given freedom, believing that any gem could excel.

But White had resentment for Black. She knew that gems of her court had shown envy for those in Black’s court. She also feared Black, and Black held a fear for her. Each of them had powerful skills, but they were each others antithesis. White had powerful photokinesis, and could use her mind control to take complete control of her gems Black had powerful umbrakinesis, and could use her powers to bring a gems shadow to life, allowing them to be twice as efficient in their job Each feared that the other had the power to destroy them.

White couldn’t stand not having complete control. She couldn’t stand that the gems in her court didn’t see her as the ultimate authority.

So she betrayed Black. She lured Black somewhere private, and poofed her. Unfortunately it wasn’t quite as private as White had hoped. 2 gems saw it.

Selenite, and Black Spinel. Black Spinel retaliated. She was enraged, and attacked White. But what can a Spinel do against a Diamond? White poofed Spinel too, cracking her gem quite badly in the process. The Selenite who saw stayed quiet, hiding in the shadows. She never told anyone what she saw. But she never forgot. She never forgave. Black Diamond and her Spinel were quietly and discretely sent away by White Diamond. White had them sent to an abandoned colony planet millions of lightyears away. She had all connections to the planet shut down. Any warp pads were destroyed. Any records of the planets colonization were deleted. Any gems who had worked on colonizing the planet were rejuvenated. White told all of gem-kind that Black had left Homeworld with only her most trusted gems, and had left to build her own Homeworld, to help expand Homeworld’s reach. White absorbed Black’s court into her own, and continued her now complete rule of Homeworld.

Soon, Black Diamond reformed. She was confused, betrayed, lost. She was angry. Then she noticed Spinel reforming. Her gem was cracked almost to the point of shattering. When she tried to reform, it looked painful. Finally she reformed, kneeling on the ground, head in her hands. When she raised her head, her eyes were filled with static. All Black could do was look on in horror “Spinel...” When Spinel heard her voice, she tried to come towards it. “M- My Diamond? My Diamond I... I can’t see...”

Black Diamond and Black Spinel lived on the abandoned planet for billions of years. At first they tried to find a way to escape. They wandered the planet, testing every warp-pad, checking any ship left behind for a working engine or fuel, searching for some way to get back. Spinel’s crack got worse and worse as time went on, but... she didn’t seem to care. Despite it all, she kept doing her job as a Spinel, always worried more about making Black Diamond happy and making her laugh. She would try to do all the tricks she did back on homeworld, no matter how much it would hurt her gem or make her form suffer.

Black hated it. She hated seeing how much Spinel was hurting. She hated that White would punish Spinel when she’d done nothing to deserve it. After a few thousand years she finally managed to convince Spinel to stop putting herself in danger, and Spinel instead turned to things like jokes and stories. The two bonded greatly while trapped on that planet together, their relationship shifting from just a Diamond and her Spinel, to friends. REAL friends, who confided in each other and relied on each other and cared for each other. Spinel would spend most of her time sitting on Black Diamond’s shoulder as they wandered the planet, and Black would describe the scenery to her in as much detail as she could.

And the longer they stayed on the planet, the scenery began to change. The planet had been colonized, yes, but not completely. It had been abandoned half-way through for lacking certain resources needed to properly incubate gems. So eventually, life began to return to the planet, in places where kindergartens hadn’t been established. Grass, trees, bushes, organisms of all kinds regrew, and they were able to experience the growth of a diverse living biome. Even though Spinel couldn’t see it, she could feel and hear it, and have Black Diamond describe it to her. And they were... happy. Or as happy as they could be, given the situation.

But nothing good lasts. Eventually the crack in Spinel’s gem was becoming too close to shattering her. Black was forced to poof and bubble her, promising that she would find a way off this planet and would heal her, she promised she wouldn’t abandon her or let her shatter.

Black redoubled on her search for a way back. She took apart every piece of gem-tech she came across and took whatever she could find that was useful, and did everything she could to try and build a working ship. But her hope of keeping her promise was fading. Centuries passed and she still couldn’t get the ship to work.

Then Steven’s transmission came through. An old gem message transmitter flickered to life, and Black was welcomed with the face of White Diamond. She was smiling. Black watched as the message played. As White talked about the dismantling of the Diamond Authority (an Authority that now had 3 new Diamonds. 3 new replacements for Black.). She watched as this “Steven Universe” talked about being the “son” of Pink Diamond. She watched as he spoke of “Earth” and his friends there.

And she became enraged. White had betrayed her. Taken everything from her. Cracked her Spinel. Replaced her (not once, but three times). Erased her from history. Destroyed everything she’d worked for. And now she was dismantling the Diamond Authority? The one thing Black had held onto hope of getting back was her Court. Seeing her gems again. Now it was gone. Now she just wanted to make White pay. To make her hurt like Spinel had been hurt. So Black pushed her powers beyond their limit. She connected her own gem’s energy to the ship she’d been building, and powered it with her own energy, needing constant concentration, and the whole time feeling like she was on the verge of dissipating her form. The ship was falling apart in places, and she used her powers for that too, solidifying shadows and using them to hold the ship together. And finally the ship got off the ground. It took her a few years, but she reached Earth, crash-landing in the ocean. She arrived there a few years after the events of SU:F. A lot happened after that. She poofed when she was entering Earth’s atmosphere, which caused the ship to crash. Eventually the tide washed her gem up on the shore, and she was found by a Quartz and taken to the Crystal Gems. She reformed, forced into a smaller form by the size of the room they’d been keeping her gem in, and demanded to be taken to White Diamond. Steven talked her down somewhat, and even healed Spinel, fixing her gem and bringing back her sight. Black and Spinel managed to get away from the Crystal Gems and went to Homeworld to find White. They were overwhelmed by how different everything was. They found White, and Black tried to exact her revenge. She took out all the guards, and even Blue and Yellow Diamond, but Steven arrived before Black could shatter White, and did his usual song and dance and talked her down from it. Black and Spinel fled to the depths of Homeworld, going to Black’s old palace and sulking. Steven talked to them, and convinced them that they didn’t have to forgive White, but they also shouldn’t shatter her, and took them to Little Homeschool so they could find something new to do with their lives. They discovered fusion (fusion hadn’t been discovered at ALL when BD and BS were still on Homeworld, not even same-gem fusion) and were enamored by it, and tried it for themselves, forming Black Star Diopside. Because they’d spent so much time together and had become so close, they had an almost perfect fusion, the only imperfection being that she had 6 fingers rather than 5. A few surviving gems from Black’s original court found her and re-united with her (Midnight Pearl, Silver Aura Quartz, Iris Agate, Selenite, and Black Star Sapphire). And... I haven’t really got much past that point. I think Black probably permanently stayed in that smaller form, since it was more compatible with the size of Earth’s ammenities. She and Spinel couldn’t bring themselves to go back to Homeworld very much because of how much things had changed (plus, Earth reminded them of the planet they’d been exiled on, so full of life). Black did a lot of reading up on the history of gem-kind, and what she’d missed while she was gone (and probably wrote her own book on all the history White had erased about Black and her court. Black and her court’s history came from a time before the first Era, so Black referred to it as Era 0.

aaaaand that’s about it. 3 hours of typing skjhfskhgds. this is what happens when people ask me about my OCs. And i didn’t even get into the other gems in Black’s court! this was just about Black Diamond and Black Spinel! I didn’t write anything about Black’s acceptance of defective and off-colour gems, or how she treated her colony planets, or Midnight Pearl and her relationship with Silver Aura Quartz, or anything like that!!!!

but uh yeah this is probably enough at this point. if you wanna know about the other stuff feel free to send me an ask if fkdjghkdfhgfd

[pkmnsdarkqueen]

The Villain’s as their dnd race and class

From this

that helped inspire all of this

(used hero forge )

-some edits to original design-

Team name: Rainbow

How they got the name: They kept arguing over what to be called and some Npc said they were all so colorful, and should go by rainbow. This stuck, they all collectively hate this npc for being the cause of what they find a terribly lame name.

other teams:

Elite (Kanjo)

Second Gen  (children group)

Dropouts (main group coming soon)

Giovanni-Shifter mountain lion, Fighter: Battle Master

A shifter fighter as before still trying to absolve his crimes for ya know running a mafia that controlled many towns. Instead of uniforms to signify being part of the mafia members where shoulder armor all in the same colors to signify their allegiance. The helmet on the ground is reserved for the leader alone. He still has these in case some of his old ways or contacts are needed by the group. Also in his fighting style he still uses some dirty tactics such as rings since brass knuckles are a bit too obvious, and well the good old broken class bottle his tail is holding. A touch of an orange vest since well, the anime version of him is something my mind will never forget.

(rest below cut)

Archie-Sea elf, Rouge: Swashbuckler

I know sea elves aren’t a traditional race, but the homebrew stuff people have made is so good and I want to keep the elf/dwarf rivalry with Maxie plus someone else is already a triton. So he fights with a giant anchor because of course he does, and no matter what has on his captain hat despite not currently having a crew. The center skull of his necklace is a sapphire, and the skull mask was his claim to fame as a pirate since I can’t make the x pattern he has in the games. 

Maxie-Mountain dwarf, Wizard: Evocation

Ah maxie the dwarf, He came from the mountains fascinated with rocks and that comes into play ash his magic is mostly volcanic. Like most dwarves he wears a helmet this one with a Ruby in it as it is traditional among dwarves to have armor. However he’s very unlike most dwarves in that he keeps a clean face,a nd isn’t terribly rugged which aids to why he left in the first place. His book has spells as well as all of the research he’s done on various land scapes.

Cyrus-Kalashtar, Artificer: Forge Adept

He doesn’t look like he belongs, and he does not care. He’s like the one person in the party who’s hired them for this job, and just wants his answers dang it he doesn’t care what he looks like to them. He sleeps in that outfit and through some artificer tech bs it keeps his body temperature perfect unless the weather is extreme. And he gets 2 angels cause he’s the one guy in the party with a gun, that he made mind you, and will not let anyone touch it. Also has a scanner to find the planar abnormalities and the little orb is like a small spy drone. He’s not as friendly as other Kalashter but has the no emotion thing under control to a terrifying degree, or perceived lack of emotion.

Ghetsis-Human, Warlock: Fiend

Again he has to have a good enough reputation to be allowed to hang around so he looks almost knightly in a way. Heads up the copper sickly green color on the dog’s paws, ANYONE WITH THAT COLOR IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE BBEG (big bad evil guy so final boss). Read plot to understand. He claims the spectral wolf he rides on is a warlock spell adjusted, since they can get mounts, but it’s one of the gifts from the god he is taking orders from since he’s older and it’s colors are somewhat based on his hydreigon. As far as the color I also used it in his magic where the sword he summons has the evil god’s influence. The staff on his back is the cane he uses when the wolf is unsummoned. Also yes he is missing an arm cause I like that more than him having one. Finally the scattered objects around him symbolize the fact he, ye know killed his former party.

Lysandre-Leonin, Paladin:Oath of the Crown

He’s a lion because of course he is, but as he is oath of the crown and royalty much of his armor details are polished in the brightest of golds. Overall his attire has little silver usually a black or gold. His blade would be gives waves like fire, and his abilities would be mostly fire based. He would be the best in the party as diplomatic ventures due to being royalty, despite the disgrace he recently brought on his family, and the fact he’s a paladin thus the quil and paper at his side.

Lusamine-Aasmir, Bloodhunter: Profane soul

Blood hunter another kinda sketchy class, but as an aasmir people instinctively trust her more. Her powers would be ice based if her own, and project some heavenly like light as well. However as she is also helping the main boss powers from him would resonate int hat sickly copper green color as well. Her weapon of choice would be scythes though she’d be able to talk away any suspicious. Better yet the amulet on her neck is how she is able to make sure those who can sense good and evil such as paladin Lysandre is enchanted to throw them off. It also is what holds the mind control on Guzma who got too close. 

Guzma-Bug Bear, Barbarian: Wild Soul

The palest and most BUG of bug bears you’ll ever meet. I wanted to keep the pale look cause it fits with ‘team skull’ and kept the dyed hair as well. Also naturally he’s got some skulls. The blindfold is excused by Lusamine saying he has an injury there when in actuality it hides that he’s possessed and the eerie glow from soem of her and Ghetsis’s magic is in his eyes. Also yes most of his armor is bone based. Now for the reasons as to why he has a thorax and bug antenna. So barbarian wild souls get their powers from another plane of esistence after having come into contact with it. Since Lusamine is well experimenting with merging planes, and has used various races as experiments before why not use now mind controlled bug bear? Yeah so he got kinda merged with another plane’s race of bug people. Lusamine has a whole story about how she saved him, and he’s been left kinda mentally unstable and half bug when it’s all her fault. 

Rose-Loxodon, Cleric: Life

A simple elephant that just wants to know if there is a chance magic can be used up fully or is truly as renewable as everyone claims it to be. Certainly can fight though truthfully doesn’t mind helping out by healing. However if soemone gets hurt from fighting in the party, cough maxie and archie, he’s strict about not healing them till they apologize. I kept him in mostly grays since it matches his suit, and some armor since he’s a steel trainer. I also decided his magic would mostly be a gray with pulses of yellow. I gave him brown details on the skin so that it’s true to form, and also he’s got some colorization past usual gray elephant. He’s high key one of the most vital party members as the healer and uses that sometimes, also the one who buys the most health potions. (If I could give the elephant ears piercings I would)

[rhetoricalrogue]

31 Days of Wayhaven, Day 3

Prompt: Mirror Words: 1,338 Rating: G, with mild descriptions of burn scars, shirtlessness Characters: Cameron Buchanan, Penelope Fisher Summary: Cam’s dislike of mirrors is three decades old. Note: I will take any opportunity to use Michiel Huisman as a FC, and Cameron’s the only one for UC that has one so far, purely because he came to mind first. For the @31daysofwayhaven event

Cameron Buchanan disliked full-length mirrors, especially when he was coming out of the shower.  Normally hotel or safehouse mirrors would fog with the amount of hot water he used, but Facility mirrors were treated to remain clear.  It was a perk that most people liked, but then again, most people weren’t covered in burns that ran across their bodies from the backs of their shoulders all the way down to their calves.  Some places were light and barely noticeable save for some discoloration or texture changes, but other areas were heavily roped in scars, like the line at his hip that went down the side of his thigh.

It happened over thirty years ago: one minute he’d been happily helping haul in a day’s catch, in the middle of delivering the punchline to a joke and the next he was rolling on the dock, writhing in agony and feeling as if he were being burned alive.

Cameron had fallen in love, not only with the remote, sleepy fishing village off the coast of Scotland, but with a woman who had made it her home.  No one other than she knew that he was a selkie, a shapeshifter capable of changing from man to seal, and when they’d married, he’d entrusted both his secret and his beloved sealskin to her for safekeeping. 

He never dreamed that the love of his life, enraged at a crime he hadn’t committed, would have cruelly thrown his skin into the fireplace, fully knowing it was an extension of his body.

It didn’t take long for the older, more superstitious fisherman to put two and two together when deep, angry burning blisters had formed on Cam’s skin almost as if by magic.  By the time one of them had barged into the home he shared with his wife, the damage had been done.  What was left of the skin they managed to pull from the fire and extinguish was beyond healing or repair.

It was later found out that envious of the newlywed’s happiness, some of the women in town had started a false rumor that he had been unfaithful, and his wife had believed the lie.  Instead of coming to him to talk things through to hear his side, she had acted in a jealous rage. 

Cam also quickly found out that as remote as the village was, it wasn’t immune to newspaper clippings and gossip amongst humans who believed in the existence of the supernatural. The headline Selkie Man, Burned Alive! quickly caught the attention of the Agency, who had approached him while he was still recovering from the worst of the burns in the village’s clinic.  The decision to join had been easy: the Agency had skilled medical technicians and healers on hand to tend to the wounds that were slow to heal - Cam was classified as Tier 8 for healing especially, and normally healed from injuries quickly, but he always figured that the burning of his sealskin had severed the magical tie between his two forms had been too great of a strain to properly heal from - and they promised to take him far, far away from the woman who had betrayed him.

He still had what was left of his sealskin, safely entrusted to the Agency and locked away in their vaults.  Every few years he’d go down to unlock the small safe he’d been assigned and hold it, willing (some years praying) for any magic that flowed in his veins to restore what had been burnt away.  Some years he swore he saw the tiniest of repairs, other years he felt as if he were holding onto false hope.  The Agency had offered to use his own cells to try to replicate and replace what had been lost, but he’d declined, not even knowing if that was even possible in his human form.  

Looking out to the sea trapped in one shape was hard enough. Holding onto a hope that one day he’d be able to change form once again was something too painful to cling to.

“Cam?” He started at the sound of Penelope’s voice outside the ensuite bathroom door.  As his unit’s commanding agent, he had the luxury of a private bath, and he was grateful for it. 

“Just a minute!”  Quickly pulling on a pair of sweatpants, he rubbed a towel over his hair and draped it over his shoulders before exiting with a puff of steam.  

“I can come back,” Penny said, jerking her thumb at the door.  Nudity was never an issue with shapeshifters, but it didn’t stop her from looking down and turning slightly to the side to give him some privacy, even if he was only shirtless. 

He waved her off.  “Nonsense.  Anything wrong?”

“No, just wanted to talk with you about the upcoming mission we’re being sent on.  See what your thoughts were.”

Cam’s heart sank.  Ah.  Secretly, he’d hoped that Penny had come to his rooms to purely spend time together.  They worked well as a unit, he in charge of their team as well as any research, she his second-in-command and combat specialist.  She was fiercely loyal, a brilliant tactician, and a good person to have on your side, in a fight or not. Unit Charlie was unbeaten in drinking contests among agents who could get drunk, mostly due to the pair of them teaming up.

She was also incredibly beautiful and his heart did funny things in his chest whenever she smiled. Like his sealskin, he’d locked that part of himself away for safekeeping, not allowing himself the hope to ever openly love again, not after facing such a betrayal.  Being burned - both literally and figuratively - once had been a painful enough lesson to learn.  He wasn’t about to risk a decades-old friendship with the one woman he trusted among all others to have his back on and off the field purely because he was enchanted by the way light bounced off her pale platinum-colored hair, turning it nearly moonbeam silver or how her eyes sparkled like sapphires when she laughed at one of his jokes.

“What a coincidence,” he said, shaking himself out of what could never happen and focusing on the here and now.  “I was going to get with you on that later on, but we can do that now, if you’d like.”  He opened his dresser drawer for a t-shirt, but tensed as one of the particularly nasty scars at his back started to give him a twinge.

“Is it bad today?” she asked, her voice soft.

He shrugged, lifting his better shoulder up.  “Comes and goes.  I’ve gotten used to it.”  He tensed for entirely different reasons when he felt her fingers, cool and gentle, press against where it ached the most.

“If you don’t care for it now, you’re going to regret it later,” she said.  “May I?  We can talk while I work.”

He didn’t even pause to think, just nodded. Oh Penelope, he thought, sitting at the edge of the bed and feeling the mattress dip as she did the same, her touch firm as she massaged circles into his muscles, his back slowly relaxing under her fingers.  Why couldn’t I have met you years before? He knew, had he had met her before, that he would have easily entrusted her with his sealskin.  Leaning backwards, his eyes slipped closed as she moved to a tense spot at the back of his neck.  He also knew without a shadow of a doubt that she would have kept it safe for him.

Then he sighed and focused on mission planning.  Just like staring out to sea and knowing that he’d never swim its depths the way he once had, it was no use holding out hope that one day Penelope would feel the same way about him as he did for her.  And just as the remnants of his ruined skin were locked away, it was best that he kept those feelings for her hidden, locked and safe within his chest.

[detective-with-one-arm]

A Legacy of Vengeance

Thousands of years ago, a woman crawled into this cave. Thousands of years ago, clutching her only daughter, her eyes torn from her sockets and eaten whole. Thousands of years ago, when the white demon ruled this land and took glee in the subjugation of humans, a gorgon woman made this place her home.

All of that taken away by the white demon naga.

He took her eyes and ate them, the one safeguard against a gorgon’s petrification curse. And since this feat, he attempted to send his children to hunt her, the woman taking flight on her white feathered wings.

The serpents on the left of her face tried their best to heal her wounds, but to no avail.

The monster took her eyes, so she took his future.

Upon the land and its inhabitants, she laid a curse. A curse that transcended death and the power of the gods. For gorgons were feared by gods for a reason, and the white devil would regret forsaking this soon enough.

She stipulated this: Should the naga who took her eyes or his kin invite the scorn and spite of a mortal without fear of his kind through sleight and injustice separate their soul from their body through death, all the collective rage, pain and cries for retribution from all those wronged by that naga and his bloodline will permeate and coalesce within the spirit of that mortal. That soul will act as a host for the will of the curse and they will become the Harbinger of Vengeance, no matter whether that soul is consumed or not.

It will hunger for one thing and one thing alone and nothing will be able to stop it from achieving it: Exacting revenge on that naga. It will take everything from them. Innocent people - all of them - will be destroyed. Nothing will satiate it but the complete destruction of everything that naga values and has gained throughout their life. It will yearn for nothing but the complete destruction of their life and even their entire self.

Nothing will be left behind.

A gorgon’s curse is meant to be everlasting. Meant to withstand until the end of time itself. Once a gorgon’s curse is cast, there is nothing in this world or any other that can break it. It is eternally binding.

In that same cave, her only daughter, Hashladûn, slept. Her scales were as pale as the white demon who defiled and blinded her mother. Despite her upper body being as gorgon as her mother, with her hair made of white pythons with eyes as yellow as the sun and wings as pure and untainted as snow, her long serpentlike body was entirely naga. Though, if you asked her, she would not call herself as such. In her eyes, she was nothing like the chest-beating prideful brutes that the nagas were.

Within the hidden cave of the waterfall, she stirred, grumbling as the new patriarch of the jungle’s voice echoed throughout her dwelling. “What is that worm bellowing about now...?”

Slithering off of the spot she’d chosen to sleep, Hashladûn peeled her chest up and stretched her feathered wings, feeling the stiffness melt away despite the very rude awakening. The heads of her head of hair all came to greet her, their polished white heads and inquisitive tongues brushing against her face. One particular advantage of being a gorgon was the constant pleasant company. She always preferred the company of snakes to people, regardless. Though, perhaps her negative experiences with people both mortal and otherwise were not good references to go off of. After all, her poor experiences with people were forever immortalized in her secret cave, the stone statues in a perpetual state of inanimation until she had some need for them once again.

Though, in petrifying them, she gained all their memories. Despite her own personal experiences with people being very poor, she held no ill will towards humans. She did not particularly like them, but her overall feelings towards them were rather neutral.

Gently cupping the heads of her head full of snakes, the gorgon woman sighed contentedly. “Good morning, Molurus.” She purred towards one in particular, the snake reaching around to wrap around her head underneath all the others to come around and bind itself around her eyes. After all, the last thing she wanted to do was be careless with her power. One look was all it took to petrify others. While she could reverse the condition, she would rather not accumulate more memories than necessary.

Unless there is no other viable option, she would much rather not turn someone to stone.

With the naga’s bellowing above shaking the water from the stalactites up above, Hashladûn had only one destination. The Pool of Truth.

A late gift left behind by her mother, as her window into the world. To see the world as it was past, present, and future without exaggeration or embellishment. Though, it was a rather fickle thing. “Sir, please show me the naga known as Connor as he is currently.” She requested politely.

Before her, the reflection of the cave ceiling swirled until it showed the gorgon exactly what she needed to see. Like before, it was the dark sapphire naga yelling and berating the woman who had arrived not long ago. The outsider from the north. The investigator.

The Lightningbringer.

Her kindness, compassion, empathy, and generosity was absolutely wasted on the prideful spoiled serpent. Insistent and presumptuous, though she may be, was completely innocent in her motivations and actions. The vile and volatile deity was simply needlessly callous and bitter. She did not deserve this treatment. Perhaps a wave of dismissal or a simple rebuttal, perhaps. But not…this abuse.

Yet, she did not falter in his presence. No, she held no fear. This, the gorgon was certain. She was determined and unyielding. A trait that the woman would find remarkably admirable, were it not for the reality of whom she was dealing with.

She was dealing with a wrathful serpent who chose to devour his own heart. Metaphorically speaking, of course. This naga forsake his compassion when he emerged victorious over his wretched father. Hashladûn had hoped that the serpent who would defeat the white devil would be different. Would be better.

But she was disappointed to discover that over the years coming into his own, he was not. He simply traded his father’s overt subjugation with a more subtle and easily deceptive form of tyranny. Tyranny disguised as prosperity and freedom. Prosperity he could destroy along with all of their innocent lives at a whim. He had no respect for them. None whatsoever.

The people were content, but they did not know better. They were not to blame, of course. How could they be? It should not be their responsibility to appease such a volatile creature as Connor. They were mortal. They were powerless.

It was his responsibility to control his ire and temper his temperament. Not theirs to coddle him. It was unfair. It was wrong. He was the one with the power over them. The imbalance was surely not lost on him, and if it was, then he was an even bigger fool than the gorgon had taken him for.

But what he did not realize was that her mother’s curse applied to him as well. It was not his fault for not knowing it. She did not wish to know him and the people kept him content, all things considered. The only ire suffered by humans was that of outsiders, and it was strictly a relationship between trespasser and guardian. Though, she would hesitate to use such a term to describe the naga.

Continuing to observe the interaction, Hashladûn took note of the fact that the human – Rachel – displayed no such fear before Connor. Even as she left, she maintained her dignity. She would not have her worth defined by anyone else. Her worth was not up for debate by anyone else. She did not have to have anyone else’s approval to have worth. She was worthy simply by existing. Something gods all fail to truly understand.

But this did nothing to quiet the discontent within the gorgon. In fact, as she observed the woman, she only grew more anxious. While she had an incredible amount of restraint and control, and a moral integrity that while it bent a little ways, she held it rigid regardless. But that small amount of spite and scorn displayed for a moment in her lonesome was enough to make Hashladûn curl up and tense. Connor’s callousness towards her was personal. She wasn’t just an outsider hellbent on ripping everything away from him like the threats that lurked just outside his territory. She was an innocent woman.

An innocent woman who was just as stubborn as he was without the pride or ego to show for it.

A woman who would make the ideal host for the Harbinger of Vengeance if Connor continues to act this way.

Despite her mother’s reassurances that it was necessary, Hashladûn disagreed with her vengeance being extended to the innocent people of the village. They had done nothing to invoke her ire and they did not deserve to pay for Connor’s father’s transgressions, though valid her desire for retribution was. But the humans did not have to suffer for it. They did not deserve to pay for his crimes.

So, the gorgon’s life was dedicated to ensuring that this curse would not take hold. Preventing it was paramount to everything. Because once it was invoked…there would be nothing she or anyone could do to stop it.

So, she watched. She watched as the Chief gathered the village before the throne where blood had once been spilt. The Shaman had gone to quell Connor’s ire. But as the Shaman reached the naga, Hashladûn’s tail began to bristle, a hiss escaping her lips. “What is that fool doing?!” She hissed, her snakes hissing in unison with her. Lashing her tail, she leaned back from the Pool of Truth and raised her head high. “No. I have stayed idle in this cave for far too long, watching and waiting for threats to arrive. This time, I must act. I will not allow this childish whelp to bring doom upon and threaten everything I have sworn to protect.”

Turning away, the white scaled gorgon’s wings flared and two of the statues in her secret waterfall cave began to animate once more, their soulless empty stone eyes glowing yellow like hers.

Nagas. The attempts of Connor’s father before him to slay her and finish what he had started with her mother. A reminder that he was not above consequences. That he was not truly immortal.

That there were forces and powers that even gods feared.

“Follow me.” She commanded them, bringing her feathered wings up to try and prevent herself from getting wet as much as possible as she emerged from the cave. “You will stop Connor from sealing his fate and I will speak with the Chief and the Lightningbringer.”

Looking out and hearing the calls of the village from afar, Hashladûn had a reinvigorated sense of purpose.

“It’s time for the sins of the past to be cleansed once and for all.”

[sufeyfolkau]

Kiss It & Make It Better

rating: T word count: 3k

Steven stumbles upon a new power that, just like all of the rest, doesn't work quite like his mother's. It has some negative side effects that he's a bit reluctant to explain to the others.

Part of my “Feyfolk & Fiends” AU. Enjoy!

[Read on AO3]

-

Steven adores Connie.

This is probably obvious in everything he does. What began as a partnership, as a mutual interest in all things magical and fey, has become something so much more. It’s something he’ll always carry with him, forever.

So of course it’s with her that he discovers a new power.

Most of his powers are fairly standard fey stuff. He can summon a shield and disintegrate it at his will. He can summon wings, too; semi-transparent things that are hued an unnatural pink, insectoid and bizarre-looking even to Pearl, who knew his mother best. He can manipulate others, though it is a temporary thing and people are usually aware of the magical interference on their thinking if they’re not already strongly learning that way.

Then there’s this.

Steven presses a joking kiss to the injury on Connie’s finger, so mild that calling it an injury is hyperbole, and insists he’ll make it better. They laugh, both their cheeks blushing at the flirtatious nature of it all. And then they stare at each other in awe as the paper cut on Connie’s finger magically seals itself, the skin suddenly baby-smooth. Connie runs her fingers over it again and again, a “Whoa” murmuring out.

Steven winces at a prickling ache in his own finger. He looks down to see a paper cut there, in what might have been an identical spot to the one on Connie’s.

“I didn’t know you could heal,” Connie whispers.

“I didn’t either,” he confesses with nervous laughter.

Is that paper cut from that, just now? No. It couldn’t be. It’s just a coincidence, though he doesn’t remember how exactly he got the papercut in the first place. That’s fine.

“How?”

Steven shrugs, fingers curling into his palm, and hopes that Connie leaves it at that.

-

Of course, she doesn’t. Connie has always been inquisitive by nature, and it’s one of Steven’s favorite things about her. There’s nothing wrong with it, period, but it makes something like this… well, more than a little awkward.

“Describe what happened,” Garnet says in that stoic way of hers, and Steven feels his face heating.

“Okay, so!” Connie takes Steven’s hand in hers, a grin spread across her face. “We were just joking around, right? And I’d gotten a paper cut earlier today at school. And I complained about it to him, so he said he’d ‘kiss it and make it better.’ And then he did!”

“I’ve never heard of a fey healing a mortal with a kiss,” Garnet murmurs. “You weren’t using magic?”

“Garnet.” Steven laughs, high and awkward and nerves spiking. “You know I can’t.”

“All fey have access to magic.”

“Clearly that doesn’t mean me.”

“The skills you call ‘powers’ are all different forms of—”

“We’ve had this conversation!” Steven waves his hands, wildly, desperate to direct the topic elsewhere. “It doesn’t matter. It was a one-time thing, and it won’t happen again.”

He’s scared of what might happen if it does.

Garnet nods once, and though no expression forms at her lips or in her eyebrows, he wishes he could see past her visor to know what her eyes were saying. “We could ask Mother.”

Connie gasps, excitement bursting at her seams, but Steven pales. The idea of Sapphire finding out — she would take one look at him and know. He’s never been able to hide anything from her. She would probably ban him from every healing anyone ever again. Or maybe she’d be okay with this.

Or maybe Steven’s freaking out over nothing, because who knows if he got that paper cut from somewhere else that he just forgot about?

“I-I don’t know. Maybe this was just a fluke.”

“We could always test that theory,” Garnet suggests.

“Fine.” Steven knows he’ll regret saying it, but he acquiesces. “Let’s test it!”

He words it as a challenge, praying fervently that Garnet will read his mind and see that they should just drop this subject and leave it alone.

Garnet, however, is not, nor has she ever claimed to be, a mind reader.

-

“Ooh, this sounds like a fun experiment. And you are due for another sword-fighting lesson, Connie.”

Normally, Steven is ecstatic when Connie’s up for training with Pearl. She’s very much Pearl’s student, as graceful and diligent as her teacher. The brownie has always been willing to share the things she’s learned — not in terms of the skills she knows inherently, as a brownie, but the skills she learned and trained herself in and mastered. The two of them in the arena together are a brilliant, dazzling display.

But today’s lesson seems like it would be less for Connie and more for Steven.

“Don’t, uh. Don’t beat each other up too hard,” Steven says, as Connie follows Pearl to the fairy circle.

Connie laughs. “Oh, I’m gonna kick Pearl’s ass.”

“Profanity, young lady,” Pearl scolds.

It would get a giggle out of Steven if he wasn’t absolutely terrified.

-

“What are you doing in my room?”

“Go away.”

“This is my room.”

Steven doesn’t move. He stays exactly where he is, curled up behind one of Amethyst’s many piles of miscellaneous paraphernalia. Amethyst sighs, the sound so near a groan that he almost winces, and then he feels the shift of movement and cloth as she plops down next to him. He’s on his butt, knees up, arms wrapped around them and head pressed between, but Amethyst leans over him, almost on top of him. “What’s got you down, bud? What’re you hiding from?”

“Nothing, geez!”

“So you’re telling me that you’re in my room for no reason?”

“What’s the big deal? It’s not a full moon, is it?”

“Stop being obtuse, you dweeb.”

Steven groans. He shifts, pushing Amethyst off of him in order to look at her. “I just… well. Garnet and Pearl are training with Connie because they think it’s going to help me, but I’m pretty sure it won’t. So I’m hiding out in here so I won’t have to face them when they’re done.”

“Just tell them that.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Sounds like it is when you won’t tell me why it’s complicated.”

“I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Amethyst hums, but she sounds almost as if she’s bored. She isn’t; Steven knows her well enough by now, but as always, it makes his nerves spike. As if he’s burdening her by being here, when the very reason he’s here is because he knows she doesn’t see him like that and she never will. “Well, why don’t you ask Sapphire? Maybe her future vision can help out so you won’t have to say anything.”

Steven considers it. He has a feeling that Sapphire would be straight with him about it, but she would spell everything out, word for word. And he doesn’t know if he wants to hear her wise voice articulating the specifics of this strange new power.

-

Which is how Steven winds up in front of Ruby.

“What’s goin’ on, Ste-man?” Ruby asks, burning a Poptart in her hand right before she devours it.

“I gotta ask you for some advice.” The words sigh out him, almost like he’s deflating, as he plops into the seat at the counter.

Ruby blinks, stunned. Yeah, Steven isn’t surprised by that. The last time he went to Ruby for advice, she’d made him swear never to come to her again. “That’s Sapphire’s thing, I guess,” she’d said with a blush and a nervous laugh. But Ruby had lived for eons, just like Sapphire, and just because she didn’t have the korrigan’s future vision didn’t mean her insight wasn’t also valuable.

Especially when it came to said korrigan.

“So… how do you recommend approaching Sapphire when I don’t want to actually talk about something, I kinda just want her to know it?”

Ruby’s expression remains exactly the same. Stunned, bewildered. Steven’s wondering if he’s made some sort of mistake when Ruby says, “Sapphire… can’t read minds, Steven. You know that. Sure, she can see a bunch of different futures, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to know what’s bothering you right away.”

Okay, that makes sense, but that doesn’t mean it’s what he wants to hear.

“What’s up with my fave little man?” Ruby asks, hopping up onto the counter and swinging her legs over the side.

And, honestly? No one else is allowed to be so diminutive with him. If only because Ruby knows exactly what it’s like to be called that kind of thing, and she doesn’t get the privilege of growing up like he does. (Then again, she can choose whatever human form she wants.)

“Uh, so…” He knows Ruby won’t let this leak. Of all of them, she’s probably the most tight-lipped... except in her anger, of course. “Connie and I discovered a new power of mine, but… I don’t really know how to tell her that I think it’s got some pretty negative side effects? But she’s already working on it, so… I just wanna know if I should pretend it doesn’t work, or that it was a fluke, or whatever.”

“Huh.”

Ruby doesn’t say anything for a moment, tapping at her chin with a furrow to her brow. “Mind if I ask what kind of side effects?”

“Um…” Steven bites his lip.

Ruby sighs. “Well, if you’re not gonna talk about it with me, I don’t know how you’re expecting to talk about it with Sapphy. And Steven, we’re all gonna know sooner or later. Might as well rip off the band-aid now, y’know?”

She was right. Of course she was right.

“I guess I have the power to heal people,” he begins.

“Oh, like Rose’s tears!”

Ruby’s starry eyes make Steven laugh, tone high and awkward. “Uh, kind of. But through kisses. And it’s not just healing. I don’t know how Mom did it, but for me, it seems like… I can take on whatever injury they’ve got.”

“Oh.” Ruby’s expression changes immediately from one of excitement to one of concern. “You sure?”

Steven shrugs. “It’s only happened once and it was over a paper cut, but… yeah, pretty sure. Usually once a new power hits, I can kind of tell.” Emphasis on the kind of; they all remember when his wings manifested. That had been…

Ruby nods slowly, gears turning in her brain. “Well, we should probably tell people about this, right? You don’t wanna end up in a situation where you feel like you have to use it, and everyone’s expecting you to, only for that to hit the fan right then.”

“I-I guess?”

Ruby slaps his shoulder, and he yelps. Her touch burns his skin through his jacket. “C’mon, little man!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming.”

-

“This assumption you’ve made is based on one single event.”

Steven nods slowly, though the lump in his throat is heavy. “Um… yeah. I would really rather not test it, if that’s what you’re about to suggest.”

Sapphire considers this. She is at about Ruby’s height — which is to say, she comes up this waist and no higher. He used to think that she used to look down on him despite this, and in hindsight, that’s pretty hilarious, because Sapphire doesn’t conceive of others that way. Korrigans are typically incredibly beautiful creatures, and though Steven would say that Sapphire fits the bill, many fey would not; for Sapphire, somehow, came into being with only one eye. Sapphire has been treated horribly enough by plenty of fey for that sole thing — Steven’s even heard someone claim she has “more in common with the monsters than with fey” — and while that almost made him go off, she insisted it was fine.

She even jokes that her future vision requires two, and her third is for sight. Steven isn’t sure what to make of any that, but he does know that she’s probably the least likely to look down on anyone else.

“We won’t do anything that cannot be swiftly remedied.” Despite the assurance, Steven finds himself hesitating. Sapphire gestures for him to follow her, so he does. “You know, Steven, that your mother’s healing abilities worked differently.”

He swallows. “Yeah.” Hers were perfect, infallible in every way. Her tears would heal injuries with absolutely no casualties. Supposedly she could heal fey on the brink of death — something quite difficult for fey to reach in the first place — and they would resurrect, good as new and fatigue restored.

Steven’s powers are almost always different from Rose’s somehow. Never quite as unique, never quite as special.

“What you may not have known is that they affected mortals differently than they did fey.”

He blinks. He looks up, trying to catch Sapphire’s gaze, but she’s too many steps ahead. He recognizes this path well; she is leading him to the fairy circle. When he was young, they built the house around it. Apparently some of his mother’s magic was able to make it so that this particular circle could only be accessed by those with the proper credentials, though Steven hasn’t the foggiest idea about how any of that works.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that this circle is not composed of typical mushrooms, but of eternal fairy roses. Her namesake.

“Can you, um… elaborate?”

As they come to the circle, she extends her hand to him. He takes it, and together they step into the circle. A moment later their house is gone, their surroundings morphing into strange and new shapes until they settle on a familiar scene:

His mother’s fountain. Its water seem higher than ever as they exist the fairy circle, the statue of her higher still.

“Your mother’s powers were regenerative with injured fey; their heart would cease to beat, and your mother’s tears would inspire it to continue on, as if it’d never stopped. Broken bone would mend, lost limbs would regrow. But with mortals, it was very different. Their limbs would remain lost, her magic only causing the skin to heal over exposed bone. Their stopped hearts, when awoken, would be marching to an entirely new rhythm.”

Unease settles in his stomach.

“I’m curious to see if your power behaves the same on mortals and fey, or if it too finds different purpose in our differences.”

Steven stops.

They’ve come to the edge of the fountain. Sapphire smiles, and with a burst of magical energy, a dagger appears in her hand.

“N-no, Sapphire—”

“Easy, now.” Sapphire presses the dagger into the tip of her index finger. Steven watches, horrified, as her blood pools there, before slowly dripping to the stone floor in red speckles.

His stomach lurches again. He feels bile rise and he pushes it down, down, down. It’s just blood. There’s nothing to be concerned about. It’s just blood. And he can fix this.

The dagger disappears and Sapphire beckons him closer with her uninjured hand. Obediently, he comes to her side, but when she extends the injury to him to heal, he freezes. He stares at the blood, still dripping ever so slowly to the floor below.

 What, you can’t handle a little blood, Steven Universe?

“Let’s… just use Mom’s fountain. Okay?”

Sapphire pauses. Something odd crosses her face and Steven squeezes his eyes shut, begging her to do literally anything else but push her injury in front of him and insist.

“Okay.” His eyes fly open to see that Sapphire has turned from him, already dipping her finger into the pond; he nearly misses the shimmer from the water, and when she pulls her hand away, the injury is there no longer.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“I should have asked if this was something you were comfortable with before I insisted. Forgive me.”

Why does he feel like he’s just failed her?

-

He’s lying face down in his bed, curled up under the covers, when he hears a knock at his door. He shoots upright, untangling himself from the blankets as quickly as he can and ends up on the floor with a thud. “U-uh, come in!”

He’s just barely on his feet when Connie comes in, bruises all over her and a look of concern on her face. “Steven?”

 Oh.

In his haste to throw a pity party, he totally forgot that he’d forgotten he’d agreed to try to heal Connie’s training injuries. He scans her for a moment; she’s got a particularly nasty bruise on her elbow, but otherwise her injuries don’t seem too bad. She’s probably sore — will he inherit that, as well, or will he be spared it? If it’s just this one time, then this is probably fine, right?

“Yeah. C’mon in.”

She shuts the door behind her and comes in. He sits on the bed and she moves to sit beside him. He’s already taking her hand and bending down to kiss it when she puts a hand on his shoulder and pushes him back. He looks up, startled to see that concern still there.

“Steven… Ruby and Sapphire told us about it.”

“Us?” he squeaks.

“Pearl and I. I’m assuming Amethyst and Garnet probably know, too.”

His face burns. “Oh.” Slowly, Steven lets her hand drop, and he pulls his hand away from hers, sitting it back in his lap. He stares at them, fidgeting them while the silence grows. Connie seems to be expecting something from him, but he doesn’t know what it is.

“Steven…” Connie sighs. “Next time, please just tell me. Please just tell me something like this would hurt you, okay? We can always just go to your mother’s fountain. Or not! I don’t even go there half the time after training because these aches and bruises are earned, you know? So I don’t even need healing!”

He nods. “Yeah. Okay.”

Another beat passes. Connie gives a soft, gentle sigh, and she curls her hands around his face, pulling his eyes up to meet hers. “Steven. If healing someone is going to put you at risk, then we’ll just bandage things up and let them heal the old-fashioned way. Okay? Let me care for you.”

Steven presses his forehead against hers and offers her a slow, hesitant smile. “Okay.”

She presses a kiss to his nose, and for a moment, everything is better.

[shaydeoffical]

Bright as a Diamond. Shinso Hitoshi x Fem Reader: Chapter Nine

Chapter Summary: Shota takes (Y/n) and Shinso to the USJ to get some specialized hostage training done. But things rarely go to plan, and (Y/n) gets to play the role of the victim to her dismay. But there is one thing she knows for sure, she’s not a tease. 

Series Summary: When (Y/N)’s co-worker decided to send a picture of her making a diamond to the paper, her life was over. Gemstone based quirks weren’t all that rare, but being able to make a diamond put a target on her back. After years of hiding in the city, it’s time to hide in the countryside with her Uncle Shota Aizawa and his more than ‘roommate’ Hizashi Yamada. With the promise of training her to be self-sufficient, she’s ready to learn.

Author Note: Me updating two days in a row? Unheard of lol. Also this chapter is 5K, so enjoy the fest. I tried to make this some more wholesome, but also...I like to keep some action going. 

Warning: Near drowning, avalanche, flashbacks    

Last Chapter: Eight

Next Chapter:Nine

Hostage Training 

It had been a few weeks since my run-in with Kira, and Hisoka's accident. Despite looking for the animal that hurt Hisoka, we found nothing. Just like the police still hadn't found Kira. It was unsettling but manageable.

   I was sitting on the porch waiting for Shota to pick me and Shinso up for training. Hisoka was cuddled in my lap, lazily pawing at my exposed thighs. Per Shota's request, I was to wear my paired down training uniform and lose all the camo elements.

   Still, I wasn't a big fan of showing off my body. Lately, I hadn't been so hard on myself about it, after nearly being kidnapped, I was thankful that my body was still my own. Grateful that Hisoka enjoyed my soft thighs and stomach. Thankful that I was able to even move and fight.

   Mom would be happy that I wasn't skipping meals or hiding in my room all day. I should really try calling her, I just don't know what I'd begin to tell her. Maybe about Shinso?

   "Why so contemplative Kitten? Trying to remember how to tie your shoes?" Shinso kneeled and did up my laces, double knotting the bow.

   "No," I puffed my cheeks and pouted when Hisoka ran off to the koi pond. "I was just thinking about my mom is all."

   "What about her?" Shinso sat beside me, leaning back on his forearms.

   "She moved to a care facility around the same time I moved here. Her quirk lets her make burning coals, and for some reason, it's started activating inside her without warning. She lost one of her lungs not too long ago because of it. So she's partaking in a special quirk related illness program." I stopped myself. "That was maybe too personal. Sorry, I just need to call her at some point, that's what I was thinking about."

   "Your mom is the Ash hero?" Shinso raised his brow.

   "Um, yea. She was the ash hero, but she doesn't really like to bear the title anymore." I twiddled my thumbs, kicking my legs out to distract myself.

   "She was pretty big in the underground. She rescued the same civilian twenty-seven times. It's a record."

   "That was my dad." I laughed. "Mom said she married him just so she could find the spare time to breathe. They ran into each other so often, they just couldn't help but fall in love."

   "I didn't know that. Your quirk makes sense, though, the coal mixed with the ability to make gemstones." Shinso hummed, sitting up to match my pose.

   "Yea. I managed to hide my gem quirk till I was a teen, then- then things happened." I pushed my hair in front of my face.

   Shoved in the back of a van. Gunshots. Taking a curve so fast, I bust my head open against the trunk.

   I gripped the back of my head, a small bump remained. "You spaced out again."

   "Hmm," I glanced at Hitoshi, his gaze focused on my hand.

   "I said you spaced out again. You do that during training a lot. I don't want to push it, but you want to tell me why?" He slid his fingers over my scalp, tracing the outline of the bump.

   My fingernails became the most exciting thing in my world. The way they were chewed to the quick, the cracked polish and rough cuticles poking through. "I was kidnapped a couple of times, actually. It turns out that the same people who liked to take my dad thought I would have his quirk too." I forced a laugh, pushing my cuticle down. "Of course I played dumb right up till they threatened to kill my best friend. It was like tv you know, they showed her on a camera and one of their goonies walking right behind her. Needless to say, I got so stressed sapphires started to sprout from my eyes."

   "I'm sorry," Hitoshi scooted closer to me, his arm resting aginst mine.

   "Don't worry about it, Lint ball. That was the easy time around. Besides, my mom saved me that time, and the group was so keen on keeping me a secret they didn't tell anyone. Plus, I never made them diamonds." I sat up and popped my fingers. "Looks like Sho is here, let's go. I'm going to wipe the floor with you today."

   "Thank you for telling me that." Shinso stood, and I suddenly realized how much taller than me he was. His hand rested on my shoulder with a firm squeeze.

   "Yea, like I said, it's not a big deal." I held my hips and smiled the best I could. My eyes stung, but I couldn't let anyone know.

   "Let's go Kitty." He nodded for me to follow him to the car, and I did without fuss. Shinso was a strange man, but he was really decent under all the dry humor and teasing. I could try playing along for now.

   "This place is huge." I gawked at the many different disaster simulation zones inside the vast building. The USJ was a top-notch training facility, and Shota had pulled his strings at the school to let us practice inside today.  

   "Listen closely." Shota walked to the edge of the stairs, turning to face Shinso and I. "Shinso, we're going to be working on search and rescue today. (Y/n), we are going to be working on hostage behavior. Since you are still healing, we'll be focusing on finding the best places to hide and knowing when to run."

   "So, I'm learning how to be a useful victim?" I cocked my head to the side and blinked a few times.

   "Basically." Shota sighed, looking out at all the different zones.

   "This feels kinda sexist for some reason…" I mumbled. "Why can't I rescue Shinso or you?"

   "That will be for another time. Just focus on how you can survive until help arrives today." I knew what Shota wanted from me, I knew it was a good plan, and I knew it was beneficial. But did it have to be a kidnapping scenario? After I confess part of my past to Shinso, now he's just going to be looking for me to zone out. Well, I'm going to rock this challenge.

   "We'll start off with the desert." Shota leads the way. We passed several other biomes and just how vast the building was amazed me. Shinso smirked, nudging me so I'd keep up. I pushed him right back and passed him to walk by Shota.  

   At the desert biome, I got to go out into the sandy hell first. It made sense why I was told to lose the camo part of my outfit now. Shinso needed to be able to see me to "rescue" me. Shota was right behind me as I climbed up the hill. The humid air already doing things to my hair.

   "If you turn your feet when you walk, it will be easier," he instructed, quickly walking through the grit.

   "I'll try," I did as told and didn't slip as much in the sand. "How do I keep the sun from burning me out?"

   "You need to wrap your head in a cloth, and possibly wet it with urine." Shota didn't sound like he was joking. Pausing my climb, I wait for him to say sike still.

   "Noted, don't get caught in a desert." Shrugging my shoulders, I kept walking. Once at the top, I slipped on the dune and skidded down the other side. Rolling fast, hot sand filled my shorts, lighting my skin on fire. I stopped myself at the bottom and spat up the grains in my mouths. Ugh. Jumping to my feet, I bounced around till my shorts were empty.

   "What would you do if that happened with a real villain?" Shota asked me, gliding down the slope. Not once jerking to regain balance.

   "Run for my life?" I offered, sitting up and dusting myself down. Licking my lips, I laid back on the ground, resting my eyes in his shadow.

   "That would be wise." Shota nodded, an underlining message with his words.

   "You want me to run? But you're teaching me stuff?" I cocked my head but got to my feet once I saw him frown.

   "At some point, I want you to run and hide. Give Shinso a real challenge in search and rescue. I can't tell you much about our current case, but if you can really give him a hard time, that would be for the best." He paused to give it some thought. "Really think about how a hostage would act in each scenario. How the elements affect what you're willing to do."

   "Is this how you prompt him?" I asked, going deeper into the desert. While I lost my chance to bolt, I wanted to keep talking. This was not my biome to start getting active.

   "Yes," Shota took my hand and pulled me up the incline. He grinned, tapping my forehead before shoving me down another hill. "Just have fun with it."

   "Wha-"I squealed rolling like a soup can, but with more momentum. Sand-filled my shorts again, but it got past my undies too. After I stopped and got my bearings, I looked at the hilltop, Shota had a captured weapon around his hand. So Shinso had caught us super-fast.

   Trekking back up the slope to help, I resisted the urge to sneak to the exit. I knew I was supposed to give Shinso a hard time, but this wasn't the biome that I wanted to use all my energy in. It was hot and draining; if I was a hostage, I'd be sticking it out with the villain.

   "Oh, Mr. Hero, save me!" I put on my best American accent and waved at Shinso. Having fun, pretending to have been poisoned by the sun. Which wasn't hard to imagine at that point.

   "Hold on-"Shinso tried to offer a comforting phrase, but was distracted long enough to let his guard down. Their fight went on for a while until finally Shinso got Shota down and tied in his scarf.

   "My hero, you are so brave." I pretended to stumble into his arms and whack his chest. "I've been in the sun for three days. I can't remember my own name, surely you can help me find it."

   "How will you handle this, Shinso?" Shota asked, not fighting against his ties. "What should you do with a delirious victim?"

   "Delirium, that's my favorite drink. We should get drinks at some point." I don't know what it was about the accent that made me a flirt, but I was clinging all over Shinso, gripping his arms and making him blush. "Such a strong young man. Oh, how much do you train?"

   "Don't worry, ma' ma, I'm going to get you some help." Shinso grabbed his scarf and my hand, dragging Shota and me behind him.

   I looked at Shota with an evil grin and asked permission to make it even harder. Shota nodded no, and I held back my scheme of accidentally letting him loose. I could try again in the next biome.

   It was the blizzard zone, and of course, I didn't have a jacket with me. Shota offered the bullshit answer that I needed to figure something out if this was real. I knew what he was inferring, but I didn't like it.

   Goosebumps broke out over my arms as we took the ski lift to the top of the mountain. I held myself and followed behind him, using my coal quirk to heat myself. Shota turned and deactivated my power.

   "As my captive, I'm not going to let you waste your energy on coals when I want diamonds." He reminded. "What is your best move?"

   "Follow instructions till I see an opening." My teeth chattered, the snow wetting my socks as I trudged through. "Why did we go from a dessert to a blizzard. We're all going to get sick." I slid down a small section of the hill and grabbed a pine for support. Now I noticed the snow that had piled on top of the branch.

   "I can't move," I pretended to tug on my foot, gritting my teeth.

   "Come on, don't slow me down," Sho was onto my rouse, but I knew I could convince him.

   "Then leave me to die and let my power go to waste asshole." I spat, making small grunts while pulling the large branch down further.

   "Fine, come here, brat." He smirked, once in range, I let the limb go and sprinted down the hill. "Wait, get back here!" Sho yelled, covered in snow.

  Saving my breath, I activated my quirk to create coals. The only place I could make coals was my hands, but that was more than enough heat to keep me warm if I was smart.

   I spotted a small cave and did a few laps around it to cover my tracks. Jumping into the small hole, I slide on the icy bottom finally out of the wind. Wasting no time, I made a pile of coals and started to heat the cavern. This time I was doing really good; maybe I could even save myself in this scenario.

   To be fair, I wasn't in the snow very long, but my socks were soaking wet. Now I was heating up, all the snow was melting and putting me at risk for hypothermia. Sighing, I took my shoes off and lowered the intensity of the coals. Shinso would hopefully capture Sho and be here to 'rescue' me soon.

   How could I make it harder for Lint ball? Hiding was already a challenge, but what else… Maybe fake a broke arm or ankle. Well, I wouldn't want him to carry my big ass off a mountain, that wouldn't be fair. The snow crunched outside. I held my breath and waited.

   "There you are." Purple hair and a faint smirk greeted me, his head poking in the hole.

   "Who are you?" I scooted away from Shinso, picking up coal to 'toss at him.'

   "I'm a hero. You need to come with me." He fumbled for his next words. "It's going to be okay."

   "That's what the last guy said….how do I know you're a hero. You're not on tv." I reasoned, making another coal, and getting in a defensive position.

   "Here's my hero id." He pretended to pull out a badge, and I exclaimed it. "We need to hurry before the villain wakes up."

   "Hey, don't rush me, I've just had the worst day of my life." I reminded him. "Besides I can't go, my shoes are wet and I-"

   "Come on," Shinso grabbed my hand and pulled me out, putting my shoes on. "It's a small hike to the bottom of the mountain. I can carry you, but we need to hurry."

   "I can walk just fine-"I puffed, turning my back to him. His coat was draped around my shoulder, and he tied the sleeves around my neck. "Hitoshi-"

   "We need to move." He used my confusion to his advantage and had me on my feet. He crouched and wedged his hips between mine, quickly catching me off guard.

   Latching my arms around his neck, he adjusted me once and started running. It was dumb to go sprinting downhill with a victim on your back, but I trusted his reasoning.  

   "Why do we have to hurry?" I asked, wondering how cold he must be getting.

   "There's a chance there might be an avalanche." He was panting, the strain of my blubbery body, and the cold stressing his lungs. The fast pace and quick moments made my head spin. My every muscle was stressed, trying to help him keep a good grip.

   A scarf wrapped around my upper body, jerking me into the powdery snow. Shota held the other end and reeled me towards him. Kicking with all my power, I tried to get free. Shinso nose dived but was getting his baring again. "Hero, you forgot to make sure I was bond down." Shota grinned, tugging me back up the mountain. Changing my tactic, I dug my heels into the earth.

   "Don't worry (Y/n), I'll save you." Shinso charged up the hill, ready to take on Sho. Only the mountain top rumbled. In the middle of the two men, I was about to be fucked up alone. I prepared to be at the mercy of the tumbling snow, praying that I didn't crush Sho or Shinso.

   "You failed to keep her safe once, are you going to fail again, hero?" Shota was around four meters from me at this point. The snow working in my sandy shorts. The mountain still rumbling with a panicked fury.

   "Run." I yipped, the snow moving like a wave overhead. Shota seemed startled, as well. Shinso ran up the hill at full speed. The wave already got Sho, but Shinso grabbed me just in time. He undid the binds, cradling me as the snow hit us.

   I didn't know what came over me, but I created a swirling ruby, wrapping it around our bodies like a cage. The snow was able to get through the large cracks, but it kept us from hitting any trees. My stomach did flips, as my world was put through the rinse cycle.

   Shinso had my head pressed in his chest, so I couldn't see if my ruby was breaking or not. All I could do was feel my essence in the gem, and keep pouring energy into fixing any impurities. Waiting for the avalanche to stop, I prayed. This was a simulation, but I knew it was not a joke.

   Shinso squeezed tighter, snow impacting us from all sides. It would be hard to know which way was up or down. Still, we finally slowed down then stopped, the snow kept settling and getting heavier around us. "You okay, Hitoshi?" I mumbled, spitting out the ice. My legs were so numb from my shorts, I had to reach down to make sure I wasn't bleeding; it was so cold.  

   "Are you hurt anywhere?" he ignored my question, using one hand to dig up some headspace. I expanded the ruby, a headache coming on from the large gemstone.

   "Peachy, now which way is up?" I rested my chin on his collar, taking shallow breaths. While training was making me stronger, I didn't have a lot of stamina built up. Even if I wasn't hurt, my body was stressed.

   "This way, I think." He held up a twig and dropped it to test the gravity. With each breath, I brought my life into my palms. With two large coals, I turned up the heat, melting a path. Unfortunately, I had to straddle Shinso, but he was being a good hero and not teasing me.

   I wavered for a moment and crashed back into our little cave. There was plenty of space, but the bottom was still tight. Shinso propped me up and pressed his hand to my forehead. "I'm fine, just worn out…here. Can you dig for a minute."

   "Yea, I got it." He took the coals and used his scarf to wrap his hands before working on the exit.

   With the cold air swirling in my lungs, I took deep breaths. Lifting my palms together, I pushed out even more coals. With the fresh supply, Shinso was able to break out faster. Without his coat, I could admire his toned arms digging through the packed snow.

  Tugging me out of the hole, Shinso adjusted his jacket around my shoulders. "We need to find Mr. Aizawa." He pushed my hair back. "Just stay here, and look for signs of movement." he started looking around where we landed, and a hand popped up in the distance. "Mr. Aizawa." Shinso jogged to his mentor. Finding it in myself, I hobbled over. "You okay?" Shinso asked Sho, checking him over.

   "Yea, I see you two made it out. That's some good work." Shota dusted the snow out of his hair. "Let's get ready for the next one."

   "Wait I'm killed, can't we take a break?" I asked, seeing the exit was just a short walk away.

   "We will, after this next one." Shota opened the door, and we both filed out.    

   I shrugged off Shinso's jacket and handed it to him. "You did a fairly good job at keeping the hostage calm this time. Though maybe lie about the avalanche in real life."

   "Noted." He nodded, and when I followed after Shota, I swore his eyes scanned me up and down. I told him I was okay.

   Still, Shota did let us use the body regulator before hopping into our next scenario. UA was really a top-notch school, I couldn't imagine how much money they floating around to pay for such high tech items.  

"This time, we'll do the shipwreck situation. Shinso, give us three minutes and then come in; however, you see fit." Shota used a small boat to take us to the bigger one in the center of the pool. All I had to do was watch him row, and be a good hostage. It was honestly surprising that none of the training had triggered me yet. Shota was right, I was having fun with it…like I was above the reality.

   Once on top of the deck, he tied me with his scarf till I couldn't move my upper body. "How did I do, Sho?"

   "That's what I want from you. Make it different each time, give him a real challenge. But remember to save energy for the next." Shota looked over the side of the boat. "I enjoyed your little ditzy act."

   "Thanks, I don't know why that accent made me take on a campy flirty character, but it was kind of fun."

   "Here, he comes." Shota got into position and watched as Shinso decided to go headfirst into the fight.

   When he got on deck, he was soaking wet, his hair still fighting off gravity. "Help help help, he's got a bomb on the ship!" I yelped like a child, wriggling against my ropes. "Mister, do something."

   "I got this, don't worry," Shinso was in hand to hand combat with Shota. I noticed he was trying to get him to speak, but Shota wasn't going to fall for his quirk.

   "Watch out!" I screamed, seeing that Shinso was dangerously close to the edge. Of course, he knew what he was doing, but I was challenging a scared kid.

   What would a kid do if they thought a hero needed help? I stood up and ran full force to try to knock over Shota.    

   "Stay back-"Shinso warned, but I kept going, surprising even Shota. Still, Shota dodged and caught me before I could fall from the edge. He tossed me back the way I had come, but instead, I tumbled backward on my feet.

   My ass hit the lip of the guard rail, and I dropped back. Headfirst, I crashed into the water below. Sucked down by my own weight,I kicked till my legs were underneath me. I was twelve feet deep at a guess. At least I had a good breath before going under, but I didn't know how long I'd have to wait. Well, a kid would try to swim up top, but my kicking isn't getting me anywhere.

   Shota would see this as a great training experience. I hoped he knew I was moving at a turtles pace. Changing my tactics, I wiggled like a mermaid with more success, but it wasn't enough. Maybe I was deeper than twelve feet. Why didn't they look over the side, this is just a training.The tension in my throat was building … I wasn't drowning. There was no way that I was drowning. I stayed calm and kicked again to no avail. Seconds ticked by, then a full minute.

Desperately willing my body to the surface, I gasped, the air in my mouth floating above me. Did they not remember I was tied up still? Shit. They are going to wait for the last minute on this, or they just think I can float. Another bubble escaped last my lips. The burning spread down my throat and to my legs. I kicked slower but with broader motions, closer to the top but still too far. Then I put my legs together and did another mermaid kick.

   Nothing. It wasn't working fast enough. Another bubble left my lips, and I took water in. The next gulp was deeper. The burning urge to cough and breath. I swam harder, trying to make the distance—finally, a splash.

   Hitoshi's body was several meters from mine, but we locked eyes quickly. He made frantic motions and grasped my binding once it was in reach. I coughed, taking in yet another mouth full of water, and then another and another till my lungs were almost nothing but water. He clamped his hand over my mouth, swimming up.

   Another gulp in, my vision was blurring, my muscles felt like they were ripping. Hitoshi pushed me up with all his might, and I broke the surface. A nasty gasping, retching, gurgle left me. I needed to retch, breath, and cough all at once. I bobbed under again, but Hitoshi got me in his arms, floating on his chest. He undid the scarf and started to paddle to a piece of the wreckage.  

   Hacking, spitting, and crying wasn't a good look on me, but I was finally calming down once we reached the floating mass. My arm held firmly on his neck.

   "I'm sorry that it took too long." He rubbed circles on my back, turning me on my side so I could expel the water. "I finally got him to answer me, though. Then I lost sight of where you landed, and I figured you could swim."

   I grappled with pulling myself up, then rinsed off my face. Still trying to catch my breath. "Thank you- for saving me. For the record, I can swim, but not like that. I knew you would help me, I just couldn't hold my breath any longer. I stayed calm, but a stranger would probably have flipped out." I flopped back against the wood and coughed up a little more water. "Well, I'm safe now. You should go make sure the villain is tied up."

   "He's preoccupied at the moment." Shinso glanced up and then back at me. "Where are you hurting?"

   "Well, my body slammed the water, so everything tingles. The good thing is the captured weapon must have reinforced my chest. So no broken ribs that I can feel. Though, I don't think I'll be able to donate mom a lung anytime soon. Not that we're the same blood type, but you get my point." I wheezed, rolling over onto my side, and taking a look at my torso… my bra was very obviously visible under my shirt. Covering my chest, I turned.

   "I'm not looking." Shinso countered, treading the water.

   "Then why do you know what I'm concerned about, hmm?" Glaring back at him, I pursed my lips.

   "I didn't think you'd be a pink person." His face went red, he head hanging low.

   "Then it's too late. Damn it." I shivered, a cold breeze from the blizzard biome drifting by. "Come on, hero, I wanna go home." I slid into the water, still holding to the wreckage. "Lead the way."

   "Hold onto my back." He twirled, patting his shoulder.

   "I can swim still." I raised my brow, still covering my chest. Of course, this was all just a drill, but I didn't like touching him so much.

   "I need the practice; come on, Kitten." When he didn't move, I rested one hand on his back and took a deep breath. I assumed he'd bob under or realize that I was too heavy and awkward to swim with like that. But I was able to effortlessly hoover over his back. He used my floatation to our advantage and took long strokes towards the pool's edge. Of course, he was good at everything, that's how he got so smug. Working smarter and not harder, I couldn't blame him.

   "You really are stronger then you look," I complimented, resting my head on his back. "Don't let it get to your head."

   "Is that because you cooped a feel earlier?" He glanced back at me with a smirk.  

   "No, that wasn't me. That was an American socialite that had been kidnapped. Besides, I realized you were strong long before then. I just thought I'd remind you of how weak you look versus how strong you really are."

   "So a backhanded compliment." He slowed his pace.

   "Of course," I answered, biting my lower lip. "It wouldn't have to be so backhanded if you weren't such a tease."

   "I'm the tease?" He reached the edge of the ship and twirled so we were facing each other. He pulled me flush against his chest. "Since when do I tease you?"

   "Nearly every second we're together." I sulked, looking at the ship in the distance. "Like right now."

   "Besides now, when have I been a tease?" His breath tickled my throat, his hair blocking my line of sight.

   "Like when you make fun of me for going red. Or when I ran into a spider. How about when I forgot to turn the rice cooker on." I listed a few, feeling the heat work up my neck…no I wasn't going to turn red now.

   "Don't I kill the spiders? Turn on the rice cooker. And make sure you're not getting sick?" His lips were inches from mine, the heat radiating. Water dripping from his hair onto my forehead.

   "You do," I admitted. "But-" He bit lip his bottom lip.

   "Do you want me to stop?" There were only millimeters between us. The thumping inside my ears clouded out my panting. Sweat pooled down the side of my chin. Fuck. I needed to focus on anything but his lips.

 "No-." His hands gripping on either side of my waist. The smirk he always wore softening to a tender smile.    

"We're going to the swell zone next!" We broke apart as Shota yelled from the top of the boat, dropping a rope between us.

   "Shota, I need a rest," I hollered back, my entire body equivalent to jell-o. Treading water on my own, making it more apparent.  

   "One more." Shota climbed down the side of the ship and back into the little boat.

   "I'll make it fast this time. How about that?" Shinso winked, offering me his hand, and I splashed him.

   "Yea, I'd like to see you find me in under two minutes." I got out of the water and offered him my hand instead, which he took without hesitation.

   "You got a deal," he shook my hand and caught a towel that Shota tossed his way. I grabbed my own towel and cocooned inside it. Shinso had entered my personal space; he made my heart race and got inside my head…He really was such a tease.

   The rest of the training had been to plan. I no longer played the reckless child, and instead settled for a tired businesswoman. True to his word, Shinso found us in under two minutes, but he struggled to use his capture weapon in the windy zone.    

   Once that was done, we hit the showers at the gym, then loaded the car and headed home. Shota went over our strengths and weakness and made a remark that I should be paid to be a crisis actor. It wasn't a bad idea, the preliminary hero license was coming up, and I could use the cash since my jewelry gig was up.

   "I could look into it," I mused, kicking my legs out in the back seat. Thankfully there had been a few old sets of school uniforms in the gym, so I was wearing a comfy jumpsuit home. "I gotta keep my payments up for school, and after the whole fake jewelry shop incident, I don't think I'm ready to face that industry for a while." I twirled the gem around my throat and chewed my lip.

   "We should look into less dangerous lines of work first," Shota nodded, "it would be best for you to lay low till Kira is caught, but if you want to rush things, we can ask the school."  

   "I think I will start applying around, what the worst that can happen?" My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I saw a message from an unknown number. It never failed; every day at three, I'd get a cryptic message with a blurry picture.

   I knew there was nothing I could do to prove it was or wasn't Kira to the police, but it was unsettling.

   Shinso was watching me in the rearview mirror. As soon as we locked eyes, I turned my phone off and closed my eyes. Today it was a picture of a pomegranate and the letter C. There was no way I was going to change my number again over this. It would be the third time in three months, and that just makes life that much harder.

[megaguardain]

Name: Harold ‘Hal’ Jordan

Nickname/Alias’: Green Lantern, Parallax, Spectre

Species: Human (formerly), Ghost (formerly)

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Eye Color: Brown, White (when GL)

Hair Color: Brown (formerly), Brown with grey streaks in temples (currently)

Height: 5’ 6” (1950s), 5’ 11” (currently)

Weight: 180 lbs

Gender: Male

Orientation: Heterosexual

Birthday: February 20th, 1937

Timeline

1937- Hal Jordan is born to Martin and Jessica Jordan

1955- Hal Jordan joins the US Air Force

1959- Abin Sur, attempting to figure the Blackest Night prophecy, takes Atrocitus to Earth. Atrocitus fatally injures Abin on entry and they crash. A dying Abin sends out his ring to find a replacement. It chooses Hal Jordan. First public sighting of Green Lantern II

1960- Hal Jordan teams up with other heroes in stopping the Appellaxians from invading Earth. He forms the Justice League with the other heroes.

1961- Hal Jordan discovers Thaal Sinestro, his mentor, abusing his status and power as a Green Lantern to rule as a dictator over his sector, in particular his homeworld of Korugar. He is able to bring Sinestro to justice before the Guardians.

1962- Hal Jordan battles Star Sapphire, who is Carol Ferris possessed by a Star Sapphire Gem.

1968- Hal Jordan discovers Guy Gardner, the other potential replacement for Abin Sur, and the two become fast friends.

1971- Hal Jordan meets John Stewart, his new backup after Guy is injured while rescuing one of his students.

1979- Hal Jordan discovers Guy Gardner is alive in the Phantom Zone, and rescues him with Superman. Guy Gardner is rendered comatose after being rescued.

1981- Hal Jordan meets Arisia Rrab. They develop a big brother/little sister dynamic.

1983- Hal Jordan travels with Oliver Queen across America.

1984- Hal Jordan quits the Green Lantern Corps, choosing Carol Ferris over the Corps.

1985- Hal Jordan is recruited back into the Corps after the Crisis.

1993- Returning from a mission in space, Hal Jordan finds Coast City has been destroyed.

1994- Hal Jordan is chastized by the Guardians of the Universe to attempting to revive Coast City. He goes mad with grief and slaughters his way to Oa. Hal Jordan kills Kilowag and Sinestro before absorbing the Central Power Battery. Hal Jordan dubs himself Parallax before leaving the ruined Oa. The Zero Hour Arrives. First public sighting of Parallax.

1996- Hal Jordan heals John Stewart’s paralysis. Hal Jordan gives his life to reignite the Sun.

1999- The Spectre bonds with the soul of Hal Jordan with the pretense of it being a punishment. Hal Jordan’s old friend, Tom Kalmaku, helps rebuild Oa.

2004- Kyle Rayner discovers Hal was influenced by the Emotional Entity known as Parallax, a being of Fear. He, Jon and Guy purge Parallax from Hal’s soul and he separates from the Spectre, passing into the afterlife.

2010- The Blackest Night falls from the sky.

Powers and Abilities

Aviation: Hal Jordan is a natural and highly skilled pilot, able to fly a wide variety of planes and jets due to his job as a test pilot for Ferris Air.

Amateur Martial Artist: Hal was trained in martial arts during his days in the Justice League. Though he isn’t particularly skilled, he can defend himself without using his ring.

Indomitable Will: Hal is incredibly willful, which made him a candidate to be a Green Lantern. He is highly resistant to mind manipulation and control, though he isn’t completely immune.

Equipment

Spectre Enchantment (formerly): Hal was once possessed by the Spectre, God’s Vengeance. This gave Hal powerful abilities to strike vengeance on sinners. Although, Hal attempted to turn the power into acts of Redemption on sinners.

Immortality: The Spectre makes its host immortal, they cannot be killed by conventional means. Even most technology and magic cannot kill them.

Nigh-Omnipotence: The Spectre is one of the most powerful beings in the Universe. It has seemingly limitless power.

Reality Alteration: The Spectre can change reality itself on a whim, enabling it to punish people appropriately.

Nigh-Omniscience: The Spectre is always aware of what is transpiring in the Universe, enabling it to know if it is needed.

Divine Law: The Spectre is bound by the Laws set by God and Heaven. The Spectre is bound and limited by God if it needs to be. This can also extend to those who carry God’s Word.

Weakness to the Spear of Destiny: The Spectre is weak to the Spear of Destiny, due to it being used to kill Jesus, God’s Forgiveness.

Green Lantern Ring (Pre-Ion) (formerly): The User has the ability to overcome great fear. This has earned them a Green Lantern Ring:

Green Energy Constructs: Users of a Green Lantern Ring can create energy constructs by willing them into existence. The User’s constructs are influenced by the User’s personality and mental state, an artistic User will have more stylized constructs while a soldier would have more militaristic constructs. Constructs are limited by the willpower and imagination of the User. Constructs can be manipulated to allow certain people or objects to pass through them, become transparent or opaque, or radiate certain wavelengths like Kryptonite. 

Kryptonite Generation: Green Lanterns can have their constructs generate Kryptonite if they know the proper wavelength.

Force Field Generation: A Green Lantern Ring can generate a force field around the User to protect them from harmful environments.

Energy Blasts: A Green Lantern Ring can fire blasts of energy. The energy are typically lasers or plasma in nature. The Energy blasts can be attuned to different wavelengths.

Phasing: A User can phasing through objects they normally cannot pass through, this takes considerable effort and energy from the Ring’s battery.

Universal Translator: Green Lantern Rings will automatically translate spoken word into language the User can understand and translate the words of the User.

Energy Absorption: The Green Lantern Ring can absorb a variety of energies; from technological, magical and alien.

Scanning/Playback: The Green Lantern Ring can scan the environment in a variety of ways and playback recent events as energy constructs.

Wormhole Generation: The Green Lantern Ring can allow the User to enter hyperspace to travel great distances in little time, this takes concentration to maintain the wormhole and emerge unscathed. If multiple Users use the same wormhole it becomes easier to maintain.

Limited Cellular Regeneration: The Green Lantern Ring will automatically attempt to heal it’s User if they are damaged. However, it can only do so much.

Pocket Dimension: Green Lanterns can access a pocket dimension inside their rings to store items. Living beings cannot be stored here.

Yellow Impurity: Users of this Green Lantern Ring cannot affect the color yellow, save for dire circumstances where their will is strong enough.

Recharge Protocol: A requirement of this Green Lantern Ring is charging it every planetary rotation. On Earth, this means charging it once every 24 hours.

Earth-96 Story

Hal Jordan. He is considered by most to be THE Green Lantern. Mostly because whenever there’s a new Green Lantern thing, it’s more than likely Hal taking the lead role. Granted, it’s not farfetched. Hal is the one who introduced us to the Green Lantern Corps, he is the one who helped founded the Justice League with Flash, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman and Black Canary (and maybe Batman and Superman too. Retcons are weird).

In MY OPINION, Hal is kinda oversaturated. And too cocky nowadays. At least for a main character. I will admit, him descending into madness and becoming a supervillain was a nice change of pace. Better than completely killing him off for a year and then reviving him. This is what I want to focus on for Earth-96. 

Rather than having the blame shifted from Hal because of a retcon saying Parallax possessed (which doesn’t really make sense if you think about it), Hal is definitely the one who came up with and attempted the Zero Hour. Now, this doesn’t mean he can’t have a redemption arc, that’s kinda what Final Night and him bonding with the Spectre was for. 

Now, you may be wondering, ‘why do you think Parallax possessing Hal doesn’t make sense?’ The reason I think that is because it’s not consistent with how we’ve seen the Emotional Entities use hosts. Yes, Parallax has possessed Kyle during the Sinestro Corps War and Ganthet in Green Lantern: Rebirth, but Sinestro was Parallax’s host for a time and still could control his actions. Why can’t Hal? It makes more sense if Parallax simply influenced Hal, whispered in his ear about what to do and how do things. Like remaking the Universe?

Parallax would remain bound to Hal even in death, having latched onto his very soul. This would forbid Hal from entering any afterlife, he would be stuck in Limbo until he is needed to be the Spectre’s new host. This would allow him for a redemption arc as the Spectre would attempt to purge Parallax from Hal’s soul. After Parallax is sealed back in the Green Lantern Central Power Battery on Oa, the Spectre’s job is done and he leaves. Hal would get a moment to say good-bye to his friends and loved ones before going to the afterlife, due to my ‘Characters Stay Dead, Mostly’ rule.

[alexanderlightweight]

like real people do - pt1

ao3 link

Alicante may have been glorious to behold, with tall, cold steeples and looming grey arches, but it was a desolate place.  It stood alone, uncaring of the world that had left it behind. A mighty fortress untouched by the destruction that had occurred outside it’s hallowed grounds and untainted by the blood spilled on the edge of it's wards.

Magnus took a moment just to look at it.  

Many had come on this journey but few survived, and those that did live to pass on their warnings had never seen more than a glint of grey stone through thick mist.  To be here, standing before it’s gates and able to laud it’s glory and might, well it was a humbling experience even for a Warlock of his power and age.  

With that in mind he opened up his senses and let his magic guide him, knowing that it would take him safely through twists and turns that had ensnared and devoured others.  Even with his magic and knowledge the path was still treacherous. It was a seemingly never-ending hike through waist deep snow and while his magic kept him warm and dry, it did nothing to buoy him or keep him from sinking into the deep drifts that sought to bury him.  

Eventually he made it close enough to touch the rough hewn walls and the shiver that racked his body had nothing to do with the cold and everything to do with the ancient and powerful magic held within those walls.   

It made him grateful that he had denied the children who had wanted to come with him.

Clary and Jace, for all that they were fierce warriors of their race, were little more than infants when faced with the larger reality of the world.  They trained ever so diligently with their weapons but were currently lost in the euphoria of being the best in a very small pool of applicants. They’d never truly ventured into the world and if they’d joined him they would be no more, lost somewhere in the snowy wake behind him before they could ever fully come into themselves.  No, it was better that he’d refused their aid.  

Curiosity caused him to turn and look behind him and Magnus found himself unsurprised that the path he’d made was already gone.  Whether by wind or by magic, the thick path he’d carved from the snow had been smoothed over, once again creating an untouched and crystalline wasteland for as far as the eye could see.  There were shadows in the far off distance and while he knew them for the forest they were, they seemed little more than the night coming early to swallow up what little light peered through the thick, grey sky.  

Around him, the storm continued to rage and Magnus wondered just when the last time Alicante had been seen was.  

Near the main gate a garden of ice had grown, with delicate flowers protected by sharp decapitating thorns that could freeze a heart before the cold, moving vines had finished strangling an intruder.  Yet through it all, Magnus passed unharmed, almost as though he belonged there.

When he finally them, he found that the main doors of Alicante itself were broad, gloriously sturdy openings but Magnus ignored them.  There were smarter and safer ways to enter a fortress than the most obvious ones. Magnus had no desire to see just how Alicante greeted her visitors, no matter that his welcome had been much warmer than anticipated thus far.  

Magic led him to an alcove, above eye level but not so high that he couldn’t have climbed to it even without magic.  It was a smaller door, less ornate but no less sturdy than the main entrance. 

Fire arched across the wood in decorative shards of amber and blood hued glass.  The wood itself was deceptively warm to the touch, inviting and Magnus’ hand fit to the handle as though it had been made for him.

For a door that had assumedly, not been opened in centuries, it swung open easily.  The hinges smooth as if they’d been freshly oiled in preparation for his arrival.

Magnus stepped inside and let out a quiet breath, for the halls of Alicante were warm compared to the frigid temperatures of the landscape.  The wind tried to sneak in with him, brisk and hungry in it’s journey yet it reeled back as if struck, unable to descend down the hallway and into the fortress of knowledge.

It gave Magnus hope that the spells and ancient magic that kept Alicante intact, much less thriving, would mean that it’s hoard of knowledge was safe and unharmed from both war and the elements of the land.

Despite the ease of his journey thus far, this was no fairytale.  

The torches that lit his way were fed by Magnus’ magic.  His feet left no noise on the solid stone floor because he willed it so.  The lack of dust and decay was not his doing, but he made sure to cloak himself in a cape of magic that would keep himself from adding any signs of his journey.

A wraith in the night, that was his mission.

-

An hour into his arrival at Alicante and Magnus was beginning to think that the true protective magic of the library was its ability to confound and confuse him.  It hardly needed to use outside elements to kill intruders when it’s deceptively warm and inviting halls continually led them astray from their goal. Every turn he made simply offered a new path and a doorless corridor that seemed to go nowhere.  

It wasn’t until he lashed out with his magic, its normally soothing blue turning a dark and impatient red, that Magnus was led from the outer battlements of the library to it’s inner sanctum.  Beneath his magic and before his eyes, the grey and silver walls of Alicante melded to form a hidden, insignificant doorway and Magnus’ breath snared as he opened it.

Warm, rich tones of wood made up the floors and was so richly imbued with magic that he doubted it could be scratched, even from a diamond-tipped implement.  The walls here were full of color, made from smooth and vibrant stones that crossed patterns naturally. All earthen colors and inviting in a way that he would never have imagined from this particular library.  

The furniture he came across echoed the pattern.  Large cushions and polished wood and then the books Alicante was known for started to appear.

At first they were sparsely placed across his path.  The shelves that lined the halls held both trinkets and scrolls and tomes but never more than a few of each and none invited his magic.

Once, out of mere curiosity, he browsed through a shelf, flicking open a book to find an encyclopedia of all things.  Rare and old to be true, but hardly an ancient magical tome of wisdom, nor half so priceless as the sapphire helm it lay beside or the scroll holding a long forgotten potion that healed the body of blight.

It was with a deep and tragic wistfulness that Magnus forced his fingers to do nothing more than trail gently along the edges of the scroll as he set it down and left it behind.  

The amount of knowledge he could gain here, the temptation that wore on him to settle into these hallways and simply learn could easily consume someone and it was no wonder that none who made it to Alicante had returned.  Or perhaps, this was more Magnus’ folly than anyone else's.  

-

Magnus wasn’t sure how long he searched before the silence that had haunted his footsteps disappeared, interrupted by an eclectic staccato dance of crackling pops and arching snaps.  He followed the noise around a corner and found himself at an open door. It was made of solid oak and so expertly designed that Magnus had to reach out and run his fingertips over the carvings on it.   

The room itself was warm and already lit by a steady fire that roared in an ornate hearth.   Magnus’ gaze skimmed over the shelves that lined the walls but his attention was pulled to the fire and a dark bundle there.  At first, he thought it was merely a lump of blankets or cushions and it wasn’t until he drew closer that he realized it was someone and not something.  

It was no wounded adventurer or antiquated skeleton, instead the sleeping figure embossed on a thick fur rug seemed hale and timeless in the warm glow of flame.  His hair was dark and his features so stunning that Magnus had to first check himself for enchantments and when he found none, wondered at the sight before him.  

In that moment, Magnus forgot about his goal and all the hope that rested upon his shoulders.  Everything in him narrowed down to focus on the sleeping vision before him and his magic flared, automatically checking the room for traps as though it knew Magnus would suffer nothing that tried to distract or detain him.

“Who are you?”  Magnus asked the silent room, awe that had no business being there sneaking into his voice.  “Never-mind that,” he quickly murmured to himself, gathering his wits and magic as he knelt by the sleeper’s side.  Blue flames flickered from his fingertips and kissed the man’s face as Magnus tried to heal any unseen injuries and check for curses.  Magic was thick around him, like a heavily weighted blanket laid casually about the sleeper’s form, but it was not malicious.  

In fact there was nothing overtly dangerous at all and Magnus’ magic was silent in return as he wondered just what Alicante had done to the sleeping figure for him to be so still, like a statue carved from flesh but never gifted life.  Despite his worries, the man was definitely alive and Magnus could feel soft little puffs of breath tickle his hand and the delicate jump of a pulse as he pressed his fingers to the man’s throat. Unsure exactly what he was doing or if it was helping, he added more magic to his touch and finally rested his palm over the other’s heart, feeling it’s gentle but steady beat and echoing the tempo with his magic.  

It took a moment for the foreign magic to respond, opening up just enough for his own magic to slip through and begin the delicate process of waking the man up.  

“Here,” Magnus said when he caught the first twitch of lips and the flutter of an eyelash.  “Don’t open your eyes too quickly,” he murmured, keeping his voice soft. A twist of his wrist and a gentle flare of his magic summoned a glass, “sip slowly now, I’m not sure how long the spells would have kept you asleep.” 

“Spells?”  The man murmured against the glass and Magnus pulled it away, unthinkingly reaching out and brushing away the lingering drops of water from the man’s lips before they could fall.

They were soft under his touch.  Unparched by time and Magnus found a part of him grateful that at least whatever spells had bound this being here, wrapped in magic and entrapped by slumber, had been kind to his body.  

Eyelashes fluttered again and a confused grimace pulled tightly on the corners of his eyes before wide, hazel orbs were revealed and Magnus nearly stumbled over in his delight to see them.  

“Oh, hello.”  Magnus said, breathless from the sudden punch of affection that had mistakenly torn into his heart.  He’d expected some relief perhaps, it would be only natural to feel excitement at meeting someone else who had survived mostly intact from Alicante’s perils, but he found that his heart beat for quite a different reason instead.  

“Hi.”  

“How are you feeling?”  Magnus asked and then mentally reoriented himself, “I’m Magnus by the way.”  

“Alec, I’m Alec.”  Alec’s voice was a surprisingly smooth rumble and the firelight flickered a warmth over his face that tinted his eyes and shadowed his lips.  Magnus unconsciously reached out, hand hovering by Alec’s mouth.

“The magic on you was-” Magnus hesitated as he struggled to find the words to explain.  “It wasn’t anything harmful, but it was a very deep magic. I’m not sure how long you were asleep for.”

“Don’t worry,” Alec, whose name was no doubt Alexander, told him.  A strong hand caught his wrist, thumb soothing circles against his pulse, “it hasn’t been all that long.”

“How do you know?”  Magnus asked, unable to not feel worry as he pressed his other hand to Alec’s brow.  It was thankfully cool but that didn’t mean there weren’t hidden ailments in Alec’s body.  “It could have been tens of years or even a few centuries that you were trapped here. Stasis magic like that often does a great deal of hidden damaged."  He explained but this time he kept his hands to himself, however much he wanted to reassure himself with touch.  

“It hasn’t even been a decade,” Alec said and his eyes softened.  “I appreciate the concern, really. But I’m fine. I was just napping and slept a little deeper than I realized, that’s all.  Honestly, I’m surprised I didn’t wake up when you made it through the wards.”

“Napping?”  Magnus asked, wondering what element of the curse made it’s bearer think that such a long sleep was akin to a nap.  Even immortals exhausted with life didn’t just take a nap that stretched out for years. “You don’t... forgive me, but you don’t seem surprised that you slept for so long.”

“Mmm, no.  If you hadn’t come I would have slept for at least another decade.”  Alec stretched as he spoke, arms up as rolled his muscles and spine. “I was tired and the storm had been giving me a headache with all that hail so I took a nap.”

“The storm was giving you a headache?”  

“The wards send empathic feedback to me.”  Alec said, as if he were commenting on the dreariness of the weather rather than the fact that he was intimately affected by it. 

Whatever thoughts Magnus was having were snipped in the bud as Alexander’s knowledge of social niceties had clearly been left back in dreamland.  Not that Magnus was in any opposed to suddenly having a gorgeous being try to climb into his lap, merely confused by it. He reached out and whether it was to stop Alec or help him he didn’t know.  What he did know was that he found himself with his hands firm on Alec’s hips as he helped to steady a sleep-muddled and beautiful man who seemed very content with his new position.  

“You’re really beautiful,” Alec said as he peered closely at Magnus’ face.  

“Thank you Alexander.”  Magnus managed through a dry mouth and he found himself staring somewhat bewildered into large, luminous eyes that blinked happily at him.

Alec’s shirt was vintage -of an outstanding quality that Magnus remembered from centuries ago- and unfastened which was suddenly much more obvious with how close he was.  If Magnus were a lesser man he would probably have lowered his hand and petted at Alec’s exposed torso, to feel the warmth of his skin and see if he purred.  Alec looked like he would and Magnus was more tempted by that possibility than he’d been by any of Alicante’s treasures.

In an effort to control his wandering thoughts and hands, Magnus cleared his throat and put his hand on Alec’s arm instead, “maybe we should try getting you up.” 

After a moment Alec nodded and placed both of his hands on Magnus’ shoulders for balance before pushing himself up with fluid roll of his hips that Magnus felt was honestly, completely unnecessary and more than a little unfair.  The motion made his breath catch in his throat and he coughed again, hoping that he’d gotten sick on his journey here and this was just a symptom of a cold.  

Alec swayed for a moment, looking curiously down at his own feet as if surprised by the sight of them and then offering a hand to Magnus.  Magnus felt weightless with the ease that Alec pulled him up and found himself looking around the softly lit room, trying to distract himself by looking for clues.

“Alexander, have you been here very long?”  He supposed that it was entirely possible -though quite unlikely- that Alec had been a caretaker of the library.  Kept alive and young by magic and sleep, either a remnant of the library when it had been first lost, or a traveler who’d found it by accident and since been trapped.

“All my life,” Alec told him, “I took my first breath here”

“This, well,” Magnus paused diplomatically, “it’s a very interesting place to be born.”

“Hatched.”  Alec said, as though it were an important distinction and Magnus supposed in a way, it truly was.  “My mother’s nest was deep below, where the frost lingers even in the summer and ice crystals form as perfectly as the crystals that are mined.”

“Oh, how lovely.”  Magnus said, for lack of a better response and Alec smiled at him, a beautifully gorgeous turn of his lips that Magnus’ couldn’t quite appreciate when his brain was somersaulting frantically.

AN - this is my long awaited DRAGON AU AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HAPPY I AM TO START SHARING IT

[realityhelixcreates]

Lasabrjotr Chapter 60: For the Lazy Mornings

Chapters: 60/? Fandom: Thor (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: Mature Warnings:  Relationships: Loki x Reader (There We Go) Characters: Loki (Marvel),  Additional Tags: Post-Endgame: Best Possible Ending (Canon-Divergent), Bad Dreams, Loki has Unresolved Issues, Reader Contemplates, Walk Walk Fashion Baby, Lol Yes I Did Write A Whole Chapter That Takes Place Within Like Thirty Minutes

Summary:  You miss breakfast.

Loki awoke to darkness; velvety, silent, and comfortable. A slight chill had crept into the room, the sensation familiar on his skin. The sun must be setting fully again, finally. The seasons on this world were so strange, foreign.

You shifted next to him. The chill might be soothing to him, but your fragile, precious human body might not take to it well. He should probably get an extra blanket for you.

Of course, there were other ways to keep you warm. Lust stirred in him, recalling your clumsy, insistent hands and hungry, determined expression. It wasn't the first handjob of his life, but it was certainly the most earnest.

For some reason, you hadn't wanted him to return the favor at the time. But now...

He placed his hand on your thigh. You rolled over to face him, bigger than you should be, twice, three times bigger than you should be. The bright, rainbow-scattered light of the old Bifrost Loki remembered lit up the room, highlighting your sapphire skin, your bright red eyes looking down at him fondly. Loki shouted, recoiling in revulsion, but the roar of the Bifrost drowned him out, the light overcoming him.

Loki sat up in bed.

It was dark, but to his eyes, faint light escaped from the edges of his blackout curtains. You stirred, and his head whipped around to stare. You were your normal, adorably compact size, and thankfully devoid of blue. He let out a relieved breath.

“Well.” You muttered. “That was weird. Is that what it's like, when you look down at me? What was that loud light?”

You must not have been able to see yourself in the dream, the way he had.

“That...that was the old Bifrost. It used to be like that, when it was fully functional and powered up. Brighter. Bigger. More color, more range, a louder roar. Just more powerful.”

Powerful enough to slice through the mile thick ice crust of a tiny, helpless planet, creating a canyon a quarter of the way across the equatorial region, exposing the water far below, and causing Norns only knew what kind of havoc.

You had still been beautiful, in the colorful light, in the wrong skin, the wrong size. Still beautiful. Somehow, it repulsed him.

But the dream was gone now, the shock fading away into the warmth you brought to his bed. He settled back down into your waiting arms. It was so comfortable here. Though not yet lovers exactly, you fit so well into his bed, and he fit so well into your arms, his head resting between your breast and jaw, so he could hear the steady pumping of your heart.

“Sleep, okay?” You encouraged. “Everyone's leaving tomorrow. Then you'll have peace again.”

“Hm? Whatever do you mean?” Loki said. He knew what you meant, but was surprised that you'd thought of it.

“Well, it's stressful, right? Having all these enemies around, pax or no.” You said, absently stroking his hair.

“Not enemies. Not anymore.”

“Not friends either, though. Bad blood.”

“Some of them.” He admitted.”Some of them weren't even there at the time. Many of the others have...well, not forgiven me precisely, but accepted the reality of me. Or simply moved on. But then, there are those who can't.”

“Tony.”

“It isn't his fault. My actions fundamentally changed him. How many others like him? I wonder sometimes.”

“You regret what you did?” You sounded...not surprised, but curious.

“I regret the lives lost. Though my actions actually brought some benefit to your world-forced your governments to realize there were threats from outside, to at least try to prepare for further incursions, revitalize your space programs, recognize your heroes...but it is terribly unbecoming to attack civilians.”

“Huglausi?” You ventured.

“Very.” He sighed. “I compromised my honor very severely. Obliterated it, really. I've done many unseen things to try to restore it. In the end, it's really all I have.”

He wrapped one arm around you and snuggled up as close as was possible without actually being on top of you.

“I've seen how superficial so many things really are, how easy it is to be stripped of them. Title. Wealth. Name. Home. Identity. The only thing that truly lasts, the only thing that has impact, is deeds. And mine have been...reprehensible.”

“But it wasn't entirely you.” You pointed out. “You were being controlled.”

“Not entirely. I told you, it was still me. I know it's tempting to attribute everything to some behind-the-scenes puppetmaster, but it wasn't like that, it was...” He trailed off, squeezing you.

“Like what?”

He held his breath and shook his head a little. If he told you too much, if he told you everything, you would never lie next to him again. He would lose this as soon as he had gotten it.

But didn't you deserve to know what kind of creature you slept next to? Didn't you at least deserve to know what was behind his actions on Earth? Maybe not the rest of it, but the things that impacted the world you lived in?

“You know how you hate the man who hurt you during the Sn-the Event? But you wish you did not, and you wish you could forgive him, but the anger and unfairness of it just hits you sometimes? And you feel guilty about it, and that makes you angry too; bitter, resentful. And that makes you feel even worse, and it just builds on itself, until it finally goes away, but you're miserable the whole time, and a while afterwards?”

“Uh...yeah. It's exactly like that, actually.”

“I too, have things that make me feel that way. And the influence of the Mind Stone was such that it made those thoughts, those angers and resentments come to the surface, and then it kept them there. It kept them fresh and constant-no healing, no overcoming, no acceptance or moving on, and, most importantly, no relief. It was neverending. A great font of anger and bitterness as fresh as the moment it was inflicted, and sustained, indefinitely, by the stone's power over me.

Thanos didn't put a ring in my nose to lead me around by; he didn't have to. A smidgen of psychological manipulation, and I was his. A nearly willing slave. I wanted the havoc I caused. I reveled in the chaos, the fear. I bathed in the sounds of screaming and destruction, lusted after the blood and terror.”

His breath had grown heavy. You fingers paused in his hair.

“I wanted it because I felt I had nothing else. No future, no identity. Only deeds. And I was determined to make them the biggest deeds I could, for good or ill. I was an avatar of the worst that a being like me could become, and the greatest I had ever been. I enjoyed what I was doing, because it was the only outlet, the only respite from the hate and anger that I had.

For all my plans, I could never have ruled like that. It's a lie the Mind Stone told me, that I tell myself, again and again. I could have done it. I could have made it work. But I could not even master myself. It was all lies, upon lies, upon lies. Lies built me. Lies define me, and that entire experience just proved it beyond any shadow of a doubt.”

“Loki...”

“Shhh.” He lightly brushed your mouth with his fingertips. “I committed great deeds. Great and terrible. And now, now that I control myself, now that the malign influence no longer hangs over me, I can no longer commit deeds so great. I cannot rebuild your city. You have already done that. I cannot show generosity in equal measure to my destructiveness. Asgards budget is too tight. Somehow, on the other side of madness, I am incapable of doing good in equal measure to ill. Why must it be so easy to harm you, but so difficult to help you?”

“Maybe because we all need different kinds of help, but we all die the same.” You said, and he grew quiet in contemplation. “ Loki, you have a lot you want to do, right? Rebuild Asgard, fix your reputation, help the people around you, be a good ruler. And on top of that, you have responsibilities to your family, and your people, and...well, to me too. As your...”

“Paramour...” He breathed. “Yes. I have...responsibilities. You...you need me.” It was almost a plea. “You want me...You want to be near me...I've been good to you...haven't I? Is there anything you need? Anything at all?”

You seemed to sense the tendrils of desperation that wound inside of him as he had explained himself, as he sought something to expend his energy on, and you resumed stroking his hair.

“Yes.” You said. “I need you to hold me for the rest of the night. I need to feel you close to me. I want to fall asleep next to you and wake up to you first thing in the morning. That's all I want right now. Can you give me those things?”

He didn't move, just remained molded to you, head tucked under your jaw. Purpose. Simple, attainable purpose.

“All those things and more. Thank you, _____. I needed to say it. I knew you would listen. Without the stone, I would have healed, at least a little. Without the stone, I have healed. A little. There was time to mourn, time to accept. Time to look forward. I...I wish I was already the man I could be for you. I will be though. If you will but be patient with me.”

“Sleep, Loki.” You said. “I want to get to that waking up with you next to me part.”

                                                                               *****

And so you did, slipping gently back into consciousness, with the comfortable weight of Loki's arm across your chest. You turned your head to find he had tucked you under his chin, cuddling you like a plush doll.

You kissed his throat until he shifted and his breathing changed.

“Darling...” He mumbled sleepily. “Blessed maiden of comfort. Good morning.”

“Mornin' sweetie.” You said, and he scoffed at the pet name.

“I am a god.” He said

“You are a grump.” You answered, kissing the tip of his nose and shimmying out of bed.

He slithered out after you. “Am I really?”

“Only sometimes.” You teased.

You didn't join him in the bath this time, opting to take one in the evening instead. Your clothes had been left in a neatly folded stack just outside the door to Loki's bedroom rather than outside of yours.

Oh yes, everyone knew what was going on.

You reflected on how easy that acceptance seemed to be, as you slipped into your clothes for the day. Aside from a few loud, unpleasant, and downright dangerous individuals, the people of Asgard seemed perfectly fine with you.

Even though you'd been told several times that there was a struggle between human-friendly and human-unfriendly factions, it was really being treated as if the eventual failure and disappearance of the human-unfriendly groups was a foregone conclusion. As if it had all happened before, and had turned out the same every time.

Well, hadn't it?

The war with the Vanir had ended millenia ago, possibly before the first human civilizations had even begun. You could see the influence of their heritage in Saldis' features, and knew there were full Vanir here in Asgard who were trapped away from Vanaheim by the events of Ragnarok. Nobody cared anymore. The former queen of Asgard and the guardian of all Asgard were both raised by Alfar. Heck, with the strangeness of Heimdalls eyes, there might actually have been Alfar in his family tree.

Once you thought about it, there might be a little Jotun mixed in as well. Probably not Frost Giants, since they still seemed to be a point of contention among Asgardians, but other kinds of Jotun they didn't seem to have much trouble with. You knew the Vanir didn't have any trouble with intermarrying with them, and neither Loki, Brunnhilde, or Saga seemed to think they idea of marrying a Jotun was all that strange. Freyr was married to one, and they didn't act like he was a freak or anything. In fact, since Jotun were so genetically flexible, it was possible that any Asgardian could have a Jotun ancestor, and it might not even show at all.

You knew absolutely nothing about the previous queens of Asgard, save for where Frigga was raised...

Nah. You didn't actually want to go fishing for more royal scandal. You technically were one, even if the majority of Asgardians had accepted that you were but a harbinger of what was to come. They had survived intermingling with others, and they would survive humans too. Probably come out even better for it, if the history Saga taught you was accurate.

The real problem might just be other humans reactions to the idea. Humans were far too proficient at focusing on the differences between people, and dividing themselves up into groups that weren't supposed to be allowed to mingle...but still definitely did, even if the consequences were terrible. That was the problem. There shouldn't be those kinds of consequences, but there would be.  For the longest time, humans only had other humans to define as 'outsiders'. Only very recently had extraterrestrial intelligent species come to their attention, and almost every time, it was in a very negative way.

Part of the world was very on board with the Asgardians, but it was because of a shared cultural history. They regarded the Asgardians as partially 'theirs' somehow. But the rest of the world had no such ties, and some countries had a definite-and admittedly justified-beef with certain prominent Asgardians. One of which you happened to be actually dating.

Okay, but what could they actually do to you, aside from troll you on the internet? Asgard was on the lookout for assassins now, and you had committed no crimes. Besides, being with Loki was a good thing, right? It was a symbol of friendliness and good will between Asgard and humankind, right?

That was definitely not why you were doing it though. You just really liked him. Loki was a man of many virtues. One of them was how he came back from the bath, shirtless, and with his hair still damp.

That was a very good one.

Loki gave his hair one last scrub with the towel, dropped said towel over the back of his desk chair, and opened the carved wooden doors to his huge wardrobe. He stood in contemplation of the perfect thing to wear.

“What do you think...” He murmured. “What's the best combination for saying goodbye to a group of not-quite-enemies?”

“Peacefully?” You asked.

“Of course! I can't let it be known, but I actually like some of them, just a little.”

“So you want the 'lady who has just divorced her jackass, loser husband, and is past ready to mingle' look.”

One perfect eyebrow arched. “Do I?”

“Yeah.” You ducked under his arm and peered into the wardrobe. “So you wanna show off, but not your very best, because that's trying too hard, right? All black is dramatic, and looks so good on you...”

He preened.

“...But I think it might make you fade into the backdrop. How about this one though? The green matches mine, so we could present as a unified front. Also I like this little short cape.”

“This is a capelet. Would you like one? They are not difficult to make; I can order some for you.”  

He held up the tunic; a quilted thing of rich pine green and gold piping, knotwork designs at the stiff cuffs and mandarin collar.

“You like this?”

“It looks very...touchable.”

Both eyebrows went up this time. “Is that the image we want to project?”

“Put it on, and lets see.”

The tunic molded to him, so tight that you would have though it simply didn't fit. But he seemed to be able to move in it just fine. You ran your hands up his chest and over his shoulders.

“I was right. Very touchable.”

He caught your hands in his and squeezed them gently.

“I'm glad you like it, but I don't think so. Not this one. It is actually part of a matched set made for myself and Thor, when we were younger.. It doesn't feel right to wear it, if he is not wearing his. I doubt he still even fits into his.”

He removed the tunic, and searched for another.

“I do like the color matching idea though. Perhaps this one? It is similar.”

This tunic did not fit him quite as tightly, but was still expertly tailored, and still the same color of green. It fell all the way to his knees, split to the hips in four places, and the sleeves terminated in sharp points over the back of his hands. It was quilted as well, but the pattern was more like scales, and you noticed that the metallic thread was gradated; starting out black at the bottom, then shifting to green, then gold at the collar and shoulders.

“Wow.” You breathed. “You look like a dragon!”

“Well,” He said. “I did steal you and fly you away to my lair full of riches, did I not?”

“That you did. Speaking of riches...can you help me with my brooches?”

“Of course, my dear.” He plucked the oval brooches from your palm, very carefully pinning them in place, so as not to prick you. As you had thought, he got them perfectly centered, their strings of beads cascading over the top of your breasts. They drew his eyes. “But you know how to pin them yourself, don't you?”

“Yeah, I do.” You said, a little sultriness slipping into your voice. Loki's eyes flicked to yours. He licked his lips.

You were in his arms barely a moment later, drowning in his mouth.

“I wish I was the man I could be for you. I will be.”

No man had ever said anything like that to you before. Never expressed any desire to be better for you. It was usually the opposite.

Loki, prince and god, wanted to be better. For you.

You were going to miss breakfast.

[marinaaniseed]

Dark ‘n’ Stormy Pt. 3

Hilariously, it is thunderstorming like a mofo right now, so I’m going to pretend that Thor is giving his approval on this utter trash. Many thankings to @mindthelspace for reading an early version of this drivel around the campfire.

Around 3,600 words. Follows on directly from Pt. 2. Some unhappy discussion of y/n’s past, some feeding, body worship, and sexy shower shenanigans, but no actual sex, because I am the worst. That’s planned for Pt.5. Or Pt.4 if I decide to stop teasing everyone.

Hand in hand, the two of you sauntered from the bedroom, Thor’s large paw completely enveloping yours. You spied the Pop-Tarts spread forlornly in pieces and moved to tidy them up. Bending over, you offered Thor an excellent view, and he could feel himself become aroused imagining you face down, arse up on his bed.  

The smell of the Pop-Tarts hit his nose as you walked past him to the kitchen and his stomach let out a thunderous rumble.

“You go ahead and get cleaned up, I’ll have lunch ready when you’re done,” you offered.

“I was rather hoping you’d like to shower with me,” Thor said with a shy smile.

“Alright, so food first, then a shower?”

“An excellent plan,” Thor agreed. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Oh no, I’m fine, thank you. You can just talk to me keep me company.”

You filled a pan with water and set it on the hob to boil. Lunch was going to be macaroni cheese. Nothing fancy but enough to keep Thor satisfied. Not that he was willing to wait. He busied himself laying the table and taking the pitcher of water from the fridge, before settling down with the remains of last night’s pizza. You were surprised he’d grabbed the water instead of a beer but chose not to comment.

“Tell me about yourself, y/n,” he said through a mouthful.

“What’s there to tell? I’m a person and I’m here,” you responded guardedly.

“You know. Where are you from? Why did Valkyrie find you wandering along the road?” Thor pressed, seemingly oblivious to your tone of voice.

“Why do you want to know?”

“I want to know who I’m going to make love to.”

“Bold of you to assume I’m going to let you.” Then, seeing Thor’s face fall, you added. “You’re right, of course. I am going to let you but I think we need to address the problem of protection. I don’t think my condoms will accommodate you.” You nodded your head towards his crotch in emphasis.

“That’s not a problem. I’m a god of fertility as well as thunder. I won’t give you a child unless you desire one.”

“That’s an...interesting combination of powers. But what about infections? Diseases?”

“Asgardians are immune to all terrestrial diseases.”

You added the pasta to the pan and looked at him, trying to ascertain if he was serious or if this was an elaborate way of getting out of wearing a rubber.

“You have my word,” he assured, sensing your thoughts.

“Fine. But,” you said, waving a wooden spoon at him, “I will find several interesting ways to exact my displeasure on you should I find out you’ve been bullshitting me.”

“I have no doubt about that,” then, he added ruefully, “My brother would’ve liked you.”

Turning back around, you saw the time. You were late taking your meds. That would explain your tetchiness.

“Sorry Thor, I get a bit arsey when I don’t take my tablet on time. May I have a glass of water, please?”

Wordlessly he brought you a glass and gave your shoulders a gentle squeeze as you swallowed your tablet. You continued cooking in silence, using Jarlsberg to make the cheese sauce.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t answer your question. Like I said to Brunnhilde, I’ve just been travelling around pretty much since the snap, doing odd jobs and trying to see the world.”

“Why?”

“I couldn’t stay as I was, it was too painful. Maybe one day I’ll tell you.”

“What did you do before the Valkyrie picked you up?” Thor asked as he sat back down at the table.

“I worked in a bar in Oslo.”

“Ah! You were a serving wench.”

“Something like that. The landlord tried it on with me. Tried to take liberties,” you clarified for Thor. “So I left.”

Thor’s blue eye darkened from aquamarine to sapphire, as a storm seemed to gather across his face.

“That’s no way to treat a lady. I should go there and teach him a lesson,” he growled.

“Easy there. I appreciate the sentiment but I don’t think it’d be good publicity for New Asgard if the king went to Oslo to beat up a publican.”

“I’m not king,” Thor insisted.

“Ok, but you’re still the face of your people.” A very handsome, comfortable-looking face, one that would be fun to sit on, you thought. “Besides, I gave Soren a swift kick in the knackers on my way out, so hopefully I bruised more than just his ego.”

Thor roared with laughter at this. You were so small and delicate in comparison to him but he had no doubt that you could defend yourself ably if provoked, like a cat whose tail’s been pulled.

“Sorry this isn’t very interesting,” you said as you brought the hot pan of pasta to the trivet on the table. “I was aiming for something easy.”

“Don’t apologise,” Thor replied. “It smells delicious.”

He scooped some into a bowl and handed it to you, before serving himself.

“This is the best macaroni cheese I’ve had,” he said after inhaling a large mouthful. You couldn’t understand how he could eat it when it was so hot - you were blowing on your fork, trying to avoid burning your mouth on the cheesy lava.

“Have you had much macaroni cheese?” you asked.

“Oh yes, Rhodey made it all of the time at the base.”

“Well, next time I go shopping, I’ll make sure I get some sweet chili crisps. Growing up, my dad used to make macaroni cheese but instead of cutlery, we used to scoop it up with sweet chili crisps.”

“I think I’d like that.” It was the first time Thor had heard you offer some kind of information about your family, so he decided to press to see what more you’d tell him. “Is he still around, your dad?”

“He is now.”

Ah, so he’d been dusted. You didn’t seem too happy about the fact that he was back. Thor would dearly love to have one of his parents or his brother here. They’d know how to help Asgard.

“Have you seen your father since...you know?”

“Only via Skype. It’s been hard to adjust. For five years, I thought my family was dead. And then they were back, like nothing had happened. They know I’m in Scandinavia but I don’t like to get into specifics. They’d try to visit and I’m not sure I can face them.”

“But they’re your family.”

“Yes, they are. But I lost them, I mourned them, I tried to move on with my life. Dead people should stay dead.”

“I’ve watched my brother die a couple of times.It never got any better but I was always so pleased to learn that he wasn’t really dead. I keep praying to the Norns that he’s still out there somewhere.”

“I can understand that but it took me a long time to get to the point of being able to accept what happened. Some days I still can’t accept it at all. I lose the love of my life. Even now there are things I see, jokes I think of, that I think ‘Alex would love that’ but then I remember that Alex is dead. It’s selfish and it’s greedy but Alex was my world. All the other losses and problems I could’ve coped with, maybe, but not that one. My parents didn’t live through it, it hasn’t sunk in for them. They’re forever asking me how Alex is. Dead. That’s how Alex is. I went through that alone. And now other people are reunited with the love of their life and I’ll never have that. I’ve got a bunch of people I mourned, who today, next month, ten years time - whenever - are going to die again. It’s easier for me not to acknowledge that they’re alive again.” You rubbed your ring finger throughout, shame flooding through you at how you’d tried to forget it all with strong booze and meaningless fucks.

Watching the tears and snot running down your flushed face, Thor didn’t think he could feel any guiltier. You’d lost the person that meant everything to you because he hadn’t gone for the head. He’d thought that after the second snap, everything would be good again. Apparently not.

“It’s not your fault, Thor,” you choked out. “I’m not ungrateful to have some of my loved ones back, but it’s hard to pretend that everything is great. It’s like I said yesterday, a lot of damage was done.”

“What happened to Alex?” he asked tentatively.

“Lorry driver got snapped. Lorry kept going and hit the front of Snappy Snaps. That always seemed oddly apt. It’d almost be funny if it wasn’t so sad,” you said with a strange smile.

Having seen the beer lorry Brunnhilde drove, Thor knew and average human would stand no chance against that amount of machinery. He desperately wanted to hug you but was aware of the cum crusted onto his stomach.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to upset you. Is there anything I can do?”

You sat for a moment in silence, poking at the pasta. Funnily enough, you weren’t hungry anymore. You slid out of your chair and padded over to Thor, perching on one of his thick thighs. Burying your face in his chest, you let the tears fall. Not the pretty tears they cry in films but horrible, noisy sobs that wracked your entire body. Everything you’d tried to forget over the years rose to the surface, an eruption of sorrow that could no longer be contained. Thor held you close to him, stroking your hair, his softness and warmth comforting you until you quieted.

“We’re a right pair, crying and snotting at each other,” you said, before wiping your nose on your arm. “I know I needed to get it out but I’d rather you hadn’t seen it.”

On the contrary, Thor was glad that it had happened. It made him feel less alone. Of course, he knew other people were hurting but he never saw any proof of it. You were so raw and vulnerable, it was like he was only truly seeing you for the first time. Everything was a mask, and armour you wore to protect slow-healing wounds and prevent new ones. And now you had bared to him. He wanted to do everything he could to ensure your heart was never hurt so much again. He was about to scoop you up and carry you to the bathroom, when you reached for his spoon, shovelled up a heap of pasta, and brought it to his mouth.

“I’d hate for you to miss out on the best macaroni cheese because of me,” you said.

Thor let you feed him. His compliment about your cooking had obviously stuck and he didn’t want to disappoint you. Once you’d fed him all of his bowl, he brought the pan towards you both and let you feed him until it was all gone. Thor felt a little ashamed that he’d eaten so much when you’d had so little, but you seemed content, rubbing small circles on the top of his stomach. For whatever reason, you seemed to like that part of him, so he squashed the urge to remove your hand.

“Shall we get ourselves cleaned up?” he asked.

“I need to wash up the pan first,” you said, shifting away from Thor,

“No, no. I’ll sort that tomorrow. Today is a day off for you. I want you to relax, not worry about work.”

You nodded mutely and this time he did scoop you up and carry you to the bathroom.

“Oh wow,” you gasped when you saw yourself in the mirror. Your face was a mess but it was nothing compared to your neck. Thor had well and truly left his mark. Good thing you had a scarf at the hut. The marks you’d left on him weren’t quite as impressive but he looked pleased as he stood beside you, trying to remove cheese sauce from his facial hair.

“I fancied a shower to wake myself up more, I hope that’s ok?” he asked, extending his hand. You took it and followed him, grabbing a bottle of body wash from the cupboard. Much like the bath, the shower was far larger and grander than an average one. Thor stepped in and turned on the powerful rainfall showerhead, turning his face up towards the spray.

“C’mon,” he said, beckoning you in. You copied him and let the water hit your face, flowing where the tears had flowed not that long ago. Thor took your hands in his and you stood there in silent reverie, as though the steamy shower could cleanse not just your body but your soul.

“I believe I offered you some more worship,” you said, at last, the smirk returning to your face.

“You did, yes,” Thor replied, mirroring your smirk. You poured a generous amount of the body wash into your hand and began to clean down the length of his body, working out the knots in his back and down the backs of his thick legs. Thor shuddered, despite the warmth of the water, as you pressed yourself against his back. He could feel your nipples running over his damp skin, could feel the warmth building between his thighs. You slide around him to clean his front, feeling the buried muscles of his arms and lavishing attention and kisses as you worked your way down his torso. Your lips pressed against the plum bruise on his thigh elicited an excited moan and he cleaned himself as you worked down to his feet.

“I’d like to return the favour, if I may?” he said, as you stood back up. You nodded and passed him the body wash.

Although his hands were more used to handling an axe, he was amazingly gentle and attentive, running his fingers with care over the evidence of this morning’s passion. When he got to your breasts, it was like he was lost in a trance, cupping and kneading, coating them in a thick lather. Eventually, he stopped cleaning them and just held a breast in each hand, looking at them like they were the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

Realising he was lost in thought, you moved away, bending your knees so that your chest was level with his aroused cock. You guided him between your breasts, slowly sliding him between the soapy flesh you held together to grip his erection.

“Fuck,” he moaned, pressing a hand against the marble tiles to steady himself as you literally made him weak at the knees. You let him have a couple of thrusts before standing back up. Thor pursed his lips, trying to swallow his frustration.

“Did you like that, bear?” you asked in mock innocence, languidly rubbing your breasts against his belly, hard nipples dragging across his soft flesh.

“Uh-huh,” he whimpered, wondering if he should pin you against the tiles and take you just to end your teasing.

“I think you’re going to like this more,” you said, sliding down to your knees. You washed the suds off Thor’s cock, and with a quick prayer to any god apart from the one in front of you to not choke, you slowly eased him into your mouth. You teased his head with slow sucks before flicking your tongue across the ridge between his head and his shaft. You could hear him wheezing above you and decided to press on, taking more of him into your mouth, your tongue trailing up and down in firm movements that drew further gasps. You didn’t focus your attention in any one particular place, although Thor seemed to especially enjoy it when you licked the underside of his shaft, growing noticeably louder when you strummed across his frenulum. Your childhood penchant for Twister lollies certainly had its uses.. His soft stomach was a welcome cushion but it impeded what you wanted to do. You pursed your lips around him, pressing your tongue firmly against his shaft, slowly withdrawing with a teasing flick over his head.

Looking up, you could see Thor was bracing himself with one hand still, other stroking his nipple. His face was flushed, not just from the heat of the shower, and he opened his blue eye to look down at you. You gave him a mischievous grin before lifting his stomach with one hand and returning to pleasuring him. It was going to take some work but you were determined to have him. All of him. Wisdom teeth had made it harder to accommodate larger guys but you could still do it. His thickness caused your jaw to ache but you continued your journey, lubricating your path with insistent swipes of your tongue. You knew you were getting close and took one large breath through your nose, before taking the rest of him.

“Oh fuck,” you heard Thor roar, his legs trembling as your buried your nose into his soft, sandy pubes. Fighting back the urge to gag and feeling your eyes begin to water, you knew you couldn’t stay here for long. You ran your tongue clockwise around the base of his shaft, then back the other way. Your free hand cupped his balls and you ran your thumbnail over them, your fingernails dragging down his inner thigh. You weren’t sure if it was the pressure building in your ears, the shower or Thor, but everything was very loud. You pulled back just enough for some air then moved back for more. Each time you retreated a little further for air before taking him deeply again.

Thor desperately wanted to fuck into your mouth but he was so impressed by how well you were taking him, he didn’t dare disrupt your rhythm. He could count on one hand the number of people who’d achieved that particular feat. He chose instead to stop playing with his nipples and moved his hand to the back of your head, fingers gripping onto your hair, possessive but not forceful.

You could tell he was getting close by the trembling of his thick thighs and the increasing shortness of his pants.

He tried to warn you, he really did. But instead of words, all that came out was an incoherent roar and that was drowned out by an almighty clap of thunder. You swallowed him with pleasure, licking him clean and sending a tremor through his body. You sat back and let go of his tummy, wiping your eyes with the back of your hand.

Came to the shower to get clean and ended up even dirtier, you mused, as you looked up at Thor with heart eyes and a saccharine smile.

Nobody had looked at him that way in years. His heart was hammering like a mini  Mjölnir in his chest. The Norns only knew why you liked him so much but he was grateful they’d brought you to him. He scooped you up and pressed you against the tiles, one hand supported you under each thigh. He pressed against you, tasting himself in your mouth.

You wound your hands into his hair, enjoying the weight of him constricting your breathing, a warm, hairy man-corset. Eventually, you had to come up for air and gave his braid a sharp yank.

“Oh, oh sorry. I forgot my size. Did I hurt you?” he worried as you gasped against his shoulder.

“No, no. I was rather enjoying it, I just sometimes need to breathe.”

“Perhaps we should continue this in my bedroom?” he suggested, setting you back down and turning off the water.

“Sure,” you said, slapping his ample arse on the way past.

You began drying yourself when you realised Thor was loitering behind you.

“May I?” he asked and you handed him the towel. He gently patted you dry, lingering on his favourite areas, before letting you return the favour. He was so soft and fluffy, a giant teddy bear grinning goofily down at you.

“Shall we?” he said, extending a hand to you. You slipped a hand into his massive paw and began to leave the bathroom, trailing slightly behind him.

Lucky for you that Thor was so big. He’d barely made it through the door when he stopped dead in his tracks

“Thor! Cool thunderstorm bruv. Ready for some Fortnite?” came the unmistakable voice of Korg.

Thor’s hands shot forward to cover himself.

“Er, this isn’t really a good time buddy…”

You can’t see what’s going on but presumably, Korg has now turned to look at Thor because the next thing you hear is:

“Woah! Where are your clothes? And what happened to your neck? Was it y/n Do I need to fight her?”

“I just had a shower. And no, please don’t fight her.”

“Well, where is she?”

“I’m here,” you said, peeking your head around Thor, hugging him from behind.

“Oh my god. Were you two…? Well, good for your bruv. Y/n, do you want to play Fortnite too?”

This is ridiculous, Thor thought. For the first time in years, I have the chance to fuck a beautiful woman, and being cockblocked by a guy made of rock.

“Uh, yeah. Like I said, this isn’t really a good time...I was hoping to spend some time with y/n. Alone. Maybe you and Miek could go to the beach, or the tavern or literally anywhere that’s not here for a bit,” Thor suggested.

“Aw man, ok. But you’ve got to make it stop raining first.”

“Oh yes, of course.”

Korg and Miek lumbered off and once the front door was shut, you burst out laughing. Perhaps Thor might want to start locking his door after all.

@morganhoran1671 @innerpaperexpertcloud

[your-high-lady]

Realisation

Summary: This story is about Feyre. She has a couple of small dreams she wants to achieve but turns out it isn’t as easy as she imagined it would. Trust me, the story is better than the summary. Modern AU. Feysand.

Chapter 1  Chapter 2   Chapter 3   Chapter 4  Chapter 5   Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8  Chapter 9   Chapter 10   Chapter 11  Chapter 12  Chapter 13  Chapter 14  Chapter 15  Chapter 16  Chapter 17   Chapter 18

The Epilogue series...Their Ending

(Part One)

Five years later…

Rhys's POV

I stared at the ring in my hand. I'd called Mor over to my house. Feyre's house too. We'd been living together for more than four years and I'd known her for at least two years longer than that. I still couldn't believe that after six years of being with Feyre, I was finally doing it. I was, though. She deserved it. She deserved the world. And as hard as I might've tried, I'd failed at giving her that. It had never felt enough. And because of that, I'd concluded that the only thing I could give to her was…me. It was as simple as that.

But I needed to show the ring to Mor first. I need to know that it was enough, that Feyre would like it. That Mum would approve. The ring had been in my family for generations, passing from one female down to the other. The ring had been for her, my sister. My beautiful, beloved sister. But she was no longer here. I knew if Mum had had the chance, she would've told me to only give this ring to a girl who would be able to stand equal to me. To know when to show compassion and love but also bravery and her steel-will. Whoever got the ring had to be worth it.

Feyre was worth it. I was sure of it. But I still wanted to show Mor.

When I brought the ring out, Mor gasped. She looked up at me, eyes wide, and then back down. And back at me. And then back down. Up and down her head went a few more times, before finally stopping. A slow grin spread across her face. "Really? Are you really doing it?" I nodded. "Oh, Rhys. Oh my god, Rhys! Oooooh, my god!" She hugged me, tears streaming down her face. "Oh Rhys, I'm sooo happy for you. You two are perfect together. You're going to be so beautiful together." She hugged me again, and I knew that she was right. Feyre and I were beautiful together. Perfect.

—

The next day…

Feyre's POV

"It'll be okay, alright. It'll be fine!" Sarah said to me. I was panicking. She'd already helped me with the organisation of the whole exhibition. Exhibition! Our very own, first exhibition, ever! I'd been working on it for so long now and it was finally coming together. We'd spread the word and were expecting a fair amount of people to walk in, in exactly one hour.

All the money generated would go toward Heal By Art, the organisation Rhys and I had established together. It was an organisation that helped anyone and everyone with any mental issues or trauma they were going through, by way of art. It wasn't just my paintings here on the display. Every single person who came to even one of my weekly classes had at least one painting on display here. Heal By Art wasn't just about overcoming your own turmoils though. I liked to think of it as a place where anyone who needed the help or friends could come in and have fun. They were safe from the outside world and for just one hour, they could forget about everything in the world—work, school, family, friends, deadlines to meet, things to do—and just be. They could lose themselves in their paintings and have fun doing it on their own or with the friends they made at each class.

I loved my work. I loved what I was doing. I loved to see the first time a person came in, all sombre and unsmiling but left with eyes slightly more bright and aware, skin glowing a little more. And with each class, they attended the glow intensified. They smiled more, laughed more. They got out of their comfort zones and tried something new. They could put all their emotions into their paintings.

It was heaven. Everything I'd ever dreamed of doing.

The exhibition started and the first hour passed sluggishly. Rhys wasn't here. After he'd helped me with the founding of Heal By Art he had moved into finance. He helped multiple companies, as well as Heal By Art, and was always moving from one meeting to another. I helped him when I could, and I didn't mind. We both loved our work and always made sure to get home on time no matter what so that we could have those few hours together every day. He had another meeting today which meant he couldn't come to the exhibition. It was disappointing but he had promised to make it up to me. I was holding him to it. A few more hours passed as I talked to people, explained to them what Heal By Art was and just watched as everything went perfectly. The exhibition was doing what it was meant to do—get the word out that we were a thing and anyone could come in and join. They could make some friends, get some help, and learn the skill of painting as an addition.

Around three in the evening, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Sarah. "Rhys is here." She told me, smiling. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Really! Where?" She pointed in the direction of the door and I turned to find him there, standing in the doorway, looking at me with a wide smile on his face. I ran up to him, throwing my arms around his broad shoulders. "Rhys! You made it!"

"Of course I did, Feyre Darling. How could I have not?" He said, tightening his arms around me.

"But what about your meeting?" I asked, pulling away to look at his handsome, tan face.

"Finished early." I smiled. He carried on. "And can I just say, you look absolutely stunning in this dress." He held me at arm's length and I blushed. In the five or six years, Rhys and I had been together, I'd gotten a lot of confidence. I no longer shied away from male contact and often wore sleeve-less or knee-length dresses. I enjoyed wearing these type of things. I knew Rhys found them to be very flattering on me, and I loved how beautiful I felt in each one. Today, I was wearing a thin-strapped dress that came down to my ankles. A slit ran up my right leg and the neck cut straight across my chest. The print was floral, all pink, purple, blue and green colours. I utterly loved it, but hearing it from Rhys made it that much better.

For the next couple of hours or so, I showed Rhys around the place, just like I had with the people who had come in. We talked with others, discussed the paintings and accepted praise about the organisation itself, the artwork hanging around the place and other things too.

In the end, I thanked everyone, with Rhys's arm around my waist and mine his, for dropping in and told them all their donations would be very helpful and that they could drop into the studio, where I held the weekly classes, any time they liked if they were considering joining or even just to look around. Once the building had been cleared of all the paintings and taken back to the studio, we came home and I was taken aback at finding dinner already made. When I expressed my surprise, Rhys said he'd come home first to do all this before coming to the exhibition. "Did you really make it though?" I asked incredulously, aware he was not telling me everything. He stared at me, his eye narrowing slowly before he grudgingly shook his head and said "Takeaway."

I laughed, and kissed him. "Well, thank you, anyways." He smiled. We settled in for dinner and quickly finished it. I was just getting out of the bathroom, ready for bed, when I noticed him. He was sitting right there at the foot of the bed, head down. He was rotating a small box in his hand, nervously, his knee bouncing up and down. I paused. As the night progressed, he'd slowly been getting quieter and quieter, as if lost in his thoughts. I'd just put it off to exhaustion or something from work, but now, seeing that box in his hands, I wondered if he quietness had been for some other reason entirely. Suddenly his head snapped up. "Feyre." He said, gulping. I stared at him. He stood. Crossed the small distance between us. And then he started speaking. "After some time, the idea of spending the rest of your life with someone else can become very daunting or the best feeling in the world." The room around me disappeared. "It would have to depend on your partner. I've thought about it for so long now, that the idea of spending the rest of my life with you seems like a given. I don't know anything different." My eyes widened. "I would need your acceptance, of course, for that. But don't worry, I know you're stubborn so I've prepared a few reasons why you should say yes to me." I gulped. He wanted a yes? "I love you Feyre. I have since the day I saw you for the first time in that class. I often find myself looking at you and thinking that I feel like dying. Like I can't breathe. I think that I want you so badly, I can't concentrate half the time I'm around you. You were my salvation, Feyre. You saved me from myself." I sucked in a breath. "You were my friend through many dangers. My lover who had healed my broken and weary soul. You waited for me against all hope, despite all odds." Tears dripped down my face and I wondered if love was to weak a word for what he felt, what he'd done for me. For what I felt for him. And slowly, so slowly as if the world was moving in slow motion, he dropped down to his knee. Took my hand and placed the box, open now, in my hand. I gasped. Inside was a sapphire ring, the stone so deeply blue. Put in the right light, the six points off the star would radiate across the round opaque surface. The ring itself was twisted strands of gold and silver, flecked with pearl. I started nodding before he even finished the words: "Will you marry me, Feyre?"

"Yes," I whispered. Tears slip down his face. Tears were slipping down my face, I realised now. His expression said he couldn't believe my words, so I said, "Yes," louder, but still, softly. "Yes. yes, yes, yes I'll marry you." My voice got louder and clearer with each yes, and he smiled, more widely than I'd ever seen him smile. He took the ring out of the box and pocketed it. I watched as he took my hand again and slipped the ring on to my finger. His eyes were on me the whole time, and as he stood to his feet, I threw my arms around his shoulder, and legs around his waist. He laughed, twirling me around the room, and kissing me everywhere he could. "I love you, Feyre," I heard him say, "So much."

"I love you, Rhys." I whispered back.

(Part Two)

A year later…

I carefully set the tiara on her head as she stared at herself in the mirror. Nesta. It was her day today. Exactly one year after mine. Elain and Azriel were going to have their day too, in only six months or so. I helped Nesta into her dress and she nervously fixed up the baby hairs that had escaped her hair which was groomed into a crown. I touched up her blush and made sure she looked perfect. She did. She was finally ready. I kneeled in front of her so that our eyes were at the same height. I could hear her breathing deep with nervousness. "He loves you, Nesta. I know that in my heart, and I know you do too. Don't be afraid. Be happy. Together." She looked at me, tears in her eyes.

"Thank you, Feyre." She said and I smiled before helping her to her feet.

—

I half ran-half walked up to the left side of the altar, giving a small smile to Rhys in his black and white suit who's standing on the other side with Azriel, and put my hand in Elain's. I felt her squeeze mine and I squeezed it back quickly before bringing my attention to the aisle. There, at the back, Nesta stood in her regal white-laced gown, an arm linked with Father's. A Thousand Years on the piano filled the small garden area where Nesta and Cassian had decided to get married. They walked slowly, in time with the music, Nesta's gaze never leaving Cassian's. He looked stunning in his simple black and white suit with a light grey tie and had an amazingly wide smile on his face. I could see his impatience and excitement just looking at him bouncing on the balls of his feet. I smiled.

Nesta reached the altar, and Cassian took her hand. They spoke their vows and then each said, "I do." And kissed. The audience broke out in cheers and applause and I smiled, remembering my special day and Elain's upcoming one.

(Part Three)

6 months later…

I dry heaved into the toilet, gasping. The third time this week. I'd been due for my period a week ago.

Rhys was at work, and I'd taken the day off, instantly feeling sick and bloated when I woke up. I quickly brushed my teeth and washed my face, before changing into some sweatpants and a t-shirt and driving to the nearest pharmacy. I quickly picked up a random pregnancy test before coming home. Ten minutes later, it was confirmed.

That night when he came home, dinner was already made. He kissed me before going to the bathroom to freshen up while I made him a plate and put a DVD in for us to watch together.

Once dinner was finished and we were ready for bed, I pulled Rhys into my arms. "I have something to tell you." I say slowly. He silently cocked his head in question and I swallowed, biting my lip. I hesitated, taking some deep breaths, and he frowned. "What is it, Feyre?" He said bringing me down to sit on the bed, beside him. I swallowed once more before speaking. "I'm pregnant." His eyes widened and I instantly worried that he didn't want this, not now, not ever. But then Rhys's lips curved into a giant smile, laughing, and I realised he did. He did want this. He wanted this with me. His laugh was like music to my ears and I was stunned as he kissed me, sweetly, softly, as if we had all the time in the world. And that was the magic of it. We did. We did have forever. "I love you Feyre. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you so much."

(Part Four)

Five years later…

"Come on, Isa!" I shouted as I left the door open behind me. My hand was on my belly, as I got into the car, making sure I didn't bang it anywhere. I didn't think the babe in my stomach would enjoy that. Seconds later, Isa came out too, closing the door behind himself. As he got in the car I asked him to if he had everything. "Books?" A nod.

"Lunch box? Drink bottle?"

"Yes, Mama."

"Pencil case?"

"Yes, Mama!" He exclaimed, stretching out his yes. "Let's go! We're gonna be late." I ruffled his dark, shaggy, hair, smiling.

I drove him to his school and before he could get out of the car, I kissed him on his forehead. As he got out of the car, I said, "Bye, Is. Good luck!" But he was already lost in the crowd of kids before I get my last words out. I drove away with the memory of his crushing blue eyes, that resembled Rhys's so closely, shining with excitement for his first day of school, and his mouth, just like the one I had, stretched in a wide smile.

(The last part…I think)

Forty-five years later…

"Rhys." I croaked, worried. He was on the bed, his skin pale, hair streaked grey and silver. He was having a coughing fit and I shouted to Nia, telling her to get her father a glass of water. She came in seconds later with a glass and he thankfully took it from her, smiling even as he choked. After drinking a few gulps he put the glass on the bedside table with shaky hands. His head thudded down onto his pillow, sighing as if that small action alone has exhausted him. His mouth opened in speech but I couldn't hear what he's saying with my deaf ears. Nia took her ear to his mouth and told me that he wanted to speak with me in private. I nodded at her and she left the room. I slowly walked up to him, grunting as I sat on the edge of the bed, beside him. I sighed, before looking to Rhys. His face was crinkled and paper-thin. I laid my hand against his cheek. His skin was dangerously warm. "Rhys?" I said.

Smiling, he said, "Feyre." Even after all these years, I could still hear the love he felt for me in his voice, even in the one simple word, and as he spoke, I thanked whoever was out there for having brought us together. "I'm dying, I think." He chuckled and tears escaped my eyes as I scrambled to wipe them away. His smile didn't leave. "I love you, Feyre. I have always loved you. You made me happy. You brought Isa and Nia into my life. You brought yourself into my life. And stayed. I will forever be thankful for that. Thank you Feyre, for giving me the best life I could've ever imagined living." He coughed, spitting out some blood. I looked at him with worry as he quickly tried to wipe the blood away, not wanting me to see it. Rhys didn't have long left. As he wiped his hand with a tissue, I knew he was thinking the same. He looked back at me, tears glimmering in his violet eyes that still shone bright, untouched by the years that had passed since we met. "I want everyone to be here. I want to tell them that I love them before I leave." Tears streamed down his face and into his hair. I wiped them away, kissing him on his forehead before nodding.

It took a few days for all of them to arrive. There wasn't a lot of us. Nia and Isa's families were already here; Mor, Elain, Azriel and Varian, Amren's partner, had already left us.

Nesta, Cassian, their kids and Amren came in, my kids following behind them. Isa helped Rhys upright on his insistence before he addressed all us. "You all have been so wonderful to me. I will forever be grateful to all of you. Every single one of you brought light into my life and I will forever remember that, even when I'm long gone. Thank you for every single laugh, smile, hug, kiss, each and every one of you gave me." Each of us hugged him, tears falling down our faces.

Nesta's family didn't stay the night but Amren did as she'd had to fly in while Nesta's family had driven here. While Amren and I worked making breakfast the next morning I asked Cara, Isa's youngest daughter, to go and bring her grandfather into the dining room. Not two minutes later, I heard her shout. "Gran! Gran! Mom!" Spotting me in the kitchen, she ran up to me and said in a low soft voice, "He's not waking up. He's gone, Gran." I stared at her for a few seconds before giving her tight hug. That day, I spent the whole time crying at Rhys's side.

(The last part…actually, now)

Three years later��

"It's my turn now," I croaked out to Nia and Isa. They sat on either side of me, eyes swollen and gaunt. A sob escaped Nia. "It's okay, Nia. It's time for me to go now. Everyone has to go at one point." She shook her head, unwilling to accept it. I laid my hand against her cheek, and Isa's. "You two were one of the best things that happened to your father and I. We never regretted either of you. Thank you for all the joy you bought into our lives." A cough racked my body and I felt blood at the back of my throat. I swallowed it before saying, "Be happy, alright? After I leave, don't mope about it. Instead, remember the fun times we had together. Be happy." I smiled at them.

That night before I closed my eyes for the last time, I thought of Rhys. The first time we met, the banter between us, our kisses, our wedding, when I'd told him about Nia when we held our first grandchild in our arms. Such sweet memories, sweet times. The sweetest of them all.

I fell asleep with a smile on my lips and a peaceful mind.

AN: *sigh* The end. I've already said most of what I wanted to say but thank you so much for reading. I felt the last few chapters were necessary as I wanted to give Feyre and Rhysand the ending they deserve. This was it for me. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I loved writing it. Let me know what you think. XOXO

@everything-that-i-love