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chemicalarospec · 1 year ago

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My Death Note Playlists (prt 1 of my fav lyrics)

They're basically all "emo" btw.

I have two: the full playlist

and the "canon compliant" version -- which does NOT mean the songs support a canon-compliant interpretation, but that they were released before 2010. Canon timeline, you see, ignoring the 9/11 thing. (I'm a little more picky with this one in general.)

Okay now I'm just going to highlight my favorite lyrics that I blorbo brain all over (predominantly Light, and lots of Lawlight ranging from platonic murder to romantic lovers to romantic murder). It will be long, so here's a cut!

I'll pick out songs going down "full playlist" in order.

"Liar (It Takes One to Know One)" by Taking Back Sunday

Obvious, but "we're all choir boys at best" deserves attention. "It takes one to know one" shouted at the end -- all of Light and L knowing each other better than anyone.

"Juneau" by Funeral for a Friend

"I'm nothing more than a line in your book." Hey, I didn't say all these connections were good.

"Spin" by Taking Back Sunday

The whole thing is very Light to L.

"Looking for a Tornado" by Chiodos

Maybe I got a little lost while searching for my faith stuck to your cross You set fire to everything around [...] Do I believe in love; do I believe in heaven? (At the sound of church bells, they come running) All my clocks stuck on eleven; afraid if I hit my knees, I might get nothing

^ Lawlight /romantic intent /sexual intent

This is the sound of your savior running in need of anything to save you from nothing

^ bonus God/savior complex Light

"Always and Never" by Silverstein - "Don't have a heart attack"

"War Crimes" by Waterparks

kinda Light and Misa. "I wear a smile that's about a mile wide" lol. and "My death will be the fandom [sic]" for L.

"The Words 'Best Friend' Become Redefined" by Chiodos

The title as their fake-friendship-with-murderous-intent. Lyrics as romantic dying Lawlight. +"To hide from our twisted ways/I've been hiding in this bed"

"Fist Wrapped in Blood" by Silverstein

I love toxic couples. Cannibalism couples. Violence couples. (Some tntduo vibes in this one too, xoxo tntduo, still kinda my OTP.) "A Midwestern State Of Emergency" for similar reasons (we got the wild line "Bound and gagged but I enjoy it") + "Your saving grace, my final rites"

"One Day All Women Will Become Monsters" by Chiodos <3

That title but also "Always being the blind villain" -> Blind Lady Justice Light Yagami!!! + "Rip the haunting smirk from his face"

"Thank You for the Venom" by My Chemical Romance

Now I want to listen to Three Cheers looking for Death Note songs. (If I wasn't still finishing tntduo demolition lovers, Death Note demolition lovers would be sooo in.) Anyways: "I keep a gun on the book you gave me."

"Hard to Breathe" by Hawthorne Heights

"I spent my whole life lying/I just got caught." This one gets a big heading b/c that line is still the working title for my Light fic (yeah, it'll get posted. one day).

"There's no Penguins in Alaska" by Chiodos is a rare Misa moment on the playlist.

"Timberwolves at New Jersey" by Taking Back Sunday

"Literate and stylish/kissable and quiet/that's what girls' dreams are made of" and "This is you trying hard to make sure that you're seen/With a girl on your arm and your heart on your sleeve" = Light. Plus, the "me at my worst (committing murder)" theme of second half of the song

"Where Can I Stab Myself in the Ears" by Hawthorn Heights - "This is the ending, here's my surrender" & the complementing each other bridge theme. and lying.

"Why the Munsters Matter" by Chiodos

"I don't want to fit into your world/your heart/I hope I scare you"!!!!! It's NOT what happens in Death Note but it IS what Light and L are about IN MY HEAD.

"Ole Fishlips is Dead Now" is another rare Misa song. The "she's in love with herself" line but the subject is Light.

"Goldmine" by Paper Tigers

(link leads to song b/c the band is pretty indie)

Maybe that's something I admire Maybe you've made another enemy of me ... You goldmine Every little thing that you say It blows away my mind ... They say that pride proceeds the fall And that the sword is weaker than the pen

rare L to Light song on the playlist

"Your Sword Versus My Dagger" by Silverstein

Another Discovering the Waterfront track. "I'm cutting through, you're bleeding out/And I would tell the truth, but I can't help myself" + "I wasn't asking for the world" as another Light inverse/lying line (or kinda Misa) + "And I can see your face, and I can hear your name" in reference to Death Note rules lol.

"Is it Progression If A Cannibal Uses A Fork?" by Chiodos

"Listen up, sweetie!/We all know that you're a beautiful girl in this horrible world." - Light lol

"The solemn tolling of the funeral bells. I want to know what's going on in that pretty little head of yours where everyday's a Bone Palace Ballet."

"Divine Intervention" by Taking Back Sunday

rare soft song -- cutesy by Lawlight standards

Despondent, distracted You're vicious and romantic These are a few of my favorite things ... Something real, make it timeless An act of God and nothing less will be accepted ... We're stubborn and melodramatic A real class act

~a little skipping ahead to songs I wrote up out of order... part two will probably come next week!~

"The Brothers Karamazov" by The Used

all of it. but especially "I'm more than just my father's son" as an inverse of Light who is so little more than the son of a cop, "I see myself in everything I hate about you/I shut my mouth to stop myself from sounding like you" as him and L, and "Take me away from who I could become" as the conflict between Light and the influence of the Death Note.

"Chemicals" by Armor for Sleep

Lyrics about "you" dying ("I can picture your coffin"!!!) and the general vibe and:

And I’m on my back, on your floor. Tell me how you fooled the world again, I like how you laugh when you tell it

^ both L and Misa work. Light's evil laugh.

Play dead, cause I’ll be playing dead with you. I’ll play you when you’re dead in a year or two.

^ Light pretending to be L after he's dead.

"Three Simple Words" by Finch

"My hand's around your throat/who will stop me now?" !!! throwback to "Until the Day I Die", which I didn't highlight but also has "hands at your throat". I like the aggressive & repetitive usage in this song better. Light to L, of course.

Tune in next week for more of the same! (btw I had a lot going on so it's still not up but will edit this when I do it)

#death note #light yagami #lawlight #light death note #lawlight songs #yagami light #chem's death note arc #I said this #music #playlist #this is almost half the playlist and i'm pleased with how short i've gotten the post to be hehe #made the tough descision to take off Call it Karma #just didn't have strong enough vibes at the end of the day.

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plan-d-to-i · 3 years ago

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Hello, plan! Iirc, you're somewhat familiar with SVSSS, right? Can you answer these questions of mine: Did QJL r**** SJ? Is it true that in PIDW, SJ and OG!LBH was supposed to be the main cp Airplane planned and end up together or is it just a headcanon?

We're only told about Qiu Jianluo beating Shen Jiu in the novel. I think that's a mix of fanon & conjecture based on Shen Jiu's subsequent repulsion towards men and seeking safety around women. But that can be explained in canon by the violence he endured at QJL hands and the fact that QJL behaved around his sister.

“Back then Qiu Jianluo would often beat him up, so much so that at a certain point Shen could sense when he wanted to do it, so he would crawl away and hide trembling inside Qiu Haitang’s room. Qiu Jianluo didn’t want his younger sister to see his depraved side, so it was the only place Shen could hide and be safe.

At some point he had someone else he had trusted, an older girl whom he saw as a big sister. But, once she got old enough, she was sold to a shrivelled up old widower who had plans to marry her. And not so long after that they left the city and Shen Qingqiu never saw her again.

It wasn’t shameful at all to like women, but Shen Qingqiu knew very well how shameful it was to treat women as saviors and shrink into their arms looking for self-assurance. He would rather die than let others know about it, much less let Yue Qingyuan know about it.”

I mean this sounds horrific enough to justify his repulsion. In other words what you asked about is not canon. no.

As for the second item I wonder if this is what has people confused :

“Shang Qinghua spread his hands. “You think that I always wrote shameless content that lacked any integrity from the very start? I’ve also written belles-lettres before, but they were all unpopular, so I had no choice but to go down a path that catered to the masses. It must be said that writing novels is a very lonely undertaking. Rather than writing a stallion male protagonist who’ll be stereotypical in the end, it’s more in line with my philosophy for writing to create the current Bing-ge━this kind of weirdo male protagonist whose character is a bit more complicated, has contradictions and conflicts, and has a rough destiny.”

Shen Qingqiu concluded, “So, your philosophy for writing is to write about gay guys?”

Shang Qinghua: “Do you look down upon gay male protagonists? Works of art and artists all like to create gay guys. Belles-lettres favors gays, do you know that?”

“He waved his arms wildly and passionately. “Cucumber Bro, if the System hadn’t chosen you, this faithful die-hard reader, perhaps the plot wouldn’t have deviated so thoroughly, thoroughly to the point that it deviated all the way back to my original scrapped outline. Even though the me back in reality━who couldn’t endure the loneliness and was under financial pressure━chose to finish writing 《Proud Immortal Demon Way》 according to other people’s preferences and what they found cool… now, all thanks to you, essentially everything that I wanted to write has already unfolded in front of my eyes. Cucumber Bro!”

He patted Shen Qingqiu’s shoulders with deep sentiment and solemnity. “You… are the chosen one; as for my career, I have no more regrets!”

… why did it sound like the System and this world were both products of Shang Qinghua’s resentment over scrapping that outline and going with what was mainstream?” (Chapter 81)

Haha I didn't take it to mean that og Shen Jiu and LBH were canon cp, just that Airplane Bro would have preferred to write the Luo Binghe from this story instead of the OG LBH and he's not opposed to him being gay. There's a lot more that happens differently in the new story aside from the romantic relationship. Like Tianlang-jun and Zhuzhi-lang being the villains [fondly] of the story. Even if Shen Jiu's unfortunate background were revealed OG Shen Jiu still abused OG LBH & vehemently resented him. The one man OG Shen Jiu was different about was Yue QingYuan. Shen Yuan is the one who changed the dynamic between SQQ and LBH and then the story/system followed not the other way around.

#I like Shen Jiu #No i don't want to argue about him #svsss #Shen Jiu #Shen Yuan

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jackassbroadcast · 3 years ago

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Hello im a Tommy enthusiast who watched that one stream where he monologued to foolish for like hafe an hour bc i heard it was a cool stream or wtv to realize how much amazing character moments it had that barly anyone in this damn fandom is talking about so ill fucking do it

(Only after finishing this i realized i wrote 1.7k words LOL OOPS)

If u dont know what in talking about its this stream (apologies for linking a clips channel the actual vod on foolish's channel is deleted by now)

Also heads up /rp /dsmp every time i refer to someone here by name is their character unless stated otherwise bc writing c! Before every name Is tiring LOL

Also // suicidal idealization , death mentions

The conversation starts off with foolish and tommy mining for Wilbur, and foolish questions how simply mining will solve the problem to which Tommy reponds with "they dont get solved, do they? It just ends uo with some madman screaming 'Hes solved it!' And now look at him." And how he wants to "prevent the problem before it goes outta hand" something that clearly references Wilbur and his destruction of lmanburg, which paired with him collecting stone for Wilbur as the way to stop said problems he believes if he does anything he can for Wilbur and support him by his side enough this time around, that he wont do anything like thay again, which as im writing this makes be realize by doing that we learn hes blaming himself for what happened to Wilbur in November 16th and pogtopia and a whole, by not being enough for Wilbur in his mind.

The conversation continues, foolish off hand asks why would tommy want to stop Wilbur? Weren't they friends at some point? To which tommy leads foolish to lmanburg and tells him the story of the nation (how it was him and Wilbur's nation, how they made it to espace dream's iron fist and how they held an election "which puts your life on the line, which is good- if you're confident but- perhaps we were too confident", how they lost)

Tommy: "You know the phrase: 'treat other how you wanna be treated', foolish? People dont ever listen to it. Wilbur- he decided he wanted to be treated poorly so he treated everyone around him poorly "

This Tommy quote, to me at least, so so amazingly strong in conveying how understanding he is? To the world around him. Like-

I have not seen one person bring this quote up, and yet its (at least to me) shows such growth and understanding in Tommy i saw little to nothing like it in other streams. It shows he understands, he knew Wilbur didnt change just because, he knows he was struggling, that he thought everyone around him were againt him, were going to abandon him the first chance theyll get- and he thought he deserved it. So he, as a last way to defend himself against that, hurt them first, abandoned them first, so theyll see how much of a 'bad' person he was and take him out- and tommy saw right through that, possibly understanding it more after exile.

This next qoute was talked about much more but i still wanna bring it up

Foolish: "Do you believe in second chances?"

Tommy: "Oh, no I don't really believe that its not really a thing for me foolish its just that-" *sigh* "- i believe everyone has a little bit of good in then and this is not about giving him a second chance or a third chance- its not about *chances* foolish. Its about not giving up on the poeple you care about. "

Which. I mean. I dont know how healthy that mindset is, but comign from Tommy it makes so much sense.

Techno, tubbo, eret, sapnap. These are all people Tommy used to be extremely close to, had either a war or had been betrayed by them, and yet still found it in his heart that he still cares for them, with all of these, they did horrendous things, that hurt tommy physically and mentally, while also not being once or twice, but a contentious thing, but while tommy is to this day still effected by their actions he still found it in himself to forgive, because he knows he fucked up too, a lot, and he knoes they learned from their mistakes just as he had (except c!techno FUCKKK c!techno mf doesnt learn SHITTT) and he knows, when the time comes he knows hed want the people he hurt to forgive him too. (And he wants Wilbur to do the same)

Next qoute i will cut to a couple parts because its really so good and full of character i had to bro

Foolish: "Do you consider yourself to be the good guy or the bad guy?"

Tommy: "It really depends who you ask, isn't it? Yknow? If you asked dream he'd say im *his little toy that he plays with* you know? It doesnt.."

This part really stunned me when i first heard it because, and correct me If im wrong, but i dont think tommy ever acknowledged how dream sees him, and how right he has his viewpoint too. Just the fact tommy is so *painfully* aware of how dream doesnt even see him as a person anymore but just a toy to mess around with for a while than just throw it away when it get too boring really hurt me. Someone give this kid a hug

(Continued) Tommy: "...foolish, honestly? I used to consider myself 'the good guy', you know? The fuckin'- second in command! But these past- these past like six months or so, foolish, everything got so much harder than it was before. Because before it was just us vs bad guys, it was all so clear! But- its not been 'clear' for so long, right? It wasn't; 'these are the bad guys! These are the good guys!' Now it's : 'he's doing this and it makes him a bit worse-' i mean, it all got so complicated, so- i don't know. Depends who you ask."

He says this, in response to foolish asking if hes a good guy- but its awfully similar to if Wilbur asked him if they were the bad guys. Because foolish just asked about him, and yet in his answer tommy made sure to keep using the words "us, he's, guys" as if hes not really talking about himself, as if hes explaining how Wilbur was wrong. Which he was. Also something interesting ive noticed, he says "the last 6 months or so", which indicated that with Wilbur he knew better to follow his word and leadership- with Wilbur he was always on the right side but when he lost him he felt much more lost alone, and couldn't trust himself enough to be on the "right side" .

Foolish: "I dont know, it all seems strange because just from, you know- hearing from others and, you know, learing a little bit, its seems like you've been the hero, you've been the villain, the conqueror, the savior, and, even now, i have no idea what you exactly are."

Tommy: "that's up to you to decide, isn't it? Im just- *uh* i dont know. These days, foolish, I'm a little weaker than i used to be"

Foolish couldn't be more right with what he said, another example of this we see where a character acknowledges tommy never sticks to one thing us Charlie when calling him "tommy fron nowhere" which shows more how he cant stick to one thing, during the course of him on the server he had been friends and enemy with nearly everyone, been on pretty much all sides, and while never really intentionally, being in the center of conflict. When foolish says he doesnt know who tommy is anymroe at this point and all Tommy says in return is that "hes a little weaker than he used to be" does to show he misses who he used to be, with lmanburg, with Wilbur, when he knew who he was, now he doesn't know who he is anymore, but still so desperately want to be more demonstrated by the lines coming rigth after that one:

(Continued) Tommy: "..I'm not- I'm now who i want to be, but-"

Foolish: "Being honest with you, Tommy, that's the same case for me as well."

Tommy: "...heres the thing, foolish, unlike you i dont really have a choice. I have to try and be who i want to be, because if i dont, very bad things are gonna happen in this server. And now that Wilbur's back i can't- quite frankly *no one* can risk that. So i dont really have a choice."

Tommy want's to change- he wants to be better than he is now, to be closer to who he used to be, no matter how impossible that might be, but he also sees it as an immediate thing, he wants to change now, or asap, which is why hes collecting stone for Wilbur in the first place- old him would've done that with ease just because Wilbur asked and he wants to have that back so badly, asap. The way he talked about this reminded me of when he tried getting over his trauma stream before he went in the prison to kill dream: he knew he wasnt the best but he tried getting over that asap to go kill dream asap. He didnt wanna take the long road of years of healing and instead thought he could get over it just like that, and that experience clearly didnt teach him anything because now hes trying to slide back to the relationship he and Wilbur used to have and ignoring the drastic changes they both had plus the bad moments that were the reason they feel out in the first place, or maybe he knows, but at this point, after everything that happened to him and the server, he doesnt care anymore? He knows hes not the same he was and he'll never be the same, because thats not how it works, but his mentor, president, big brother is back after so long tommy felt so lost and alone he thinks maybe, this time around, with Wilbur, he could try and be better again.

#mcyt #dream smp #dsmp #dreamsmp #tommyinnit #mcyt foolish #dsmp foolish #dsmp tommy #analysis #character analysis #tommyinnit analysis #dsmp analysis #analysis post #long post #long

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skyhopedango · 3 years ago

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Episode 12! The end! Oh no! ;_; )

I hate it so much that it has to end... At least it got a pretty good ending - a surprisingly good one, actually - with most plot lines wrapped up neatly. Also, I may or may not have teared up at some points. Or even right now. Daaamn this stupid franchise making me so emotionally invested. GAH.

Anyway, the rundown... as soon as I find another package of tissues...

Story makes short work of Boss Man courtesy of Kimie, we knew this was coming, no point on wasting time on it. Bye Boss Man. It was funny though that after a huge psychic superpower fight he went out by getting shot in the back. :D

BABY BROTHERS ARE CRYING, HURRY UP AND SAVE THEM!

I suppose this is where knowledge of the original comes in handy, because I think during Naoto & Takuya's journey to their brothers we were supposed to learn about how the Kiriharas ended up where they did, but well, I guess there's a limit of how much you can pack into 23 minutes. So let's just say that even in childhood Naoto & Naoya had it far worse than their counterparts... having had their powers awakened from birth (as opposed to the Kurokis, it seems), and all the shit that came with that. Plus even after being taken away from their parents, the Kurokis grew up having friends and whatnot, while the Kiriharas had like... Mikuriya. In the original at least there were some other people around in the lab, but in 2041 it doesn't seem like there was anyone, really, other than Mikuriya, so all the boys had was him, and each other.

THIS WHOLE SCENE IN THE SPIRITUAL ENERGY BEAM OR WHATEVER. SO PRETTY. ;_; )

And OH DAMN, so the Kurokis are basically the Kiriharas' reincarnations! HOLY SHIT. I'd been expecting like something since Misaki mentioned Akiko having been reincarnated (and at this point I have a pretty good guess who is her reincarnation... ....c'mon it's Kimie, it's got to be Kimie! and why that didn't create a paradox, well, that's because-- LOOK OVER THERE!!!)

Oh, so that was the symbolism with the game they'd been playing. Ooohh. I like that. Also: observe the Ark behind Naoto on that shot. Nice.

AAHH NAOTO IS SMILING, HE'S GENUINELY SMILING!

I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING

AHAHAHA lol Takuya surprise hugging Naoto, and Naoto giving "omg what to do, I'm too emotionally repressed for this" vibes. :D Also, Naoya doesn't get a hug. Takuya may be dumb but he's not that dumb.

Naoto. OH NAOTO. OH MY HEART. Don't feel guilty Naoto, you've done all you could. I mean he's just a guy, really, and especially 2041's Naoto is a lot more sensitive and has way less of an edge than the Naoto in the original. That one was more pragmatic, even if he hated himself being able and willing to do things like killing people even if it was to protect Naoya. This Naoto is different - he's less hardened, more gentle, and also different in how he processes his feelings, he represses them more but I guess angsts over them harder.

And oh poor Naoto, he didn't get a hug. Again. :D;; Doesn't matter, it was such a lovely scene.

Also, who's been cutting onions here for the past ten minutes?! I'm running out of tissues!...

OH NO, the Kurokis' parents?! Oh my god don't do this to me, show...

AAAAAAAH............

Blah blah Kimie, blah blah of course they weren't going to do it, and that didn't happen, and OH DAMN, NAOTO & NAOYA

SO YUUYA'S VISION WAS RIGHT, BUT ALSO NOT CORRECT - THEY BASICALLY WENT BACK AND FIXED EVERYTHING - okay baby Kuroki brothers still had been taken away but that had to be done, and the parents remember and they're reunited, and--

FFS NOT THE ONIONS AGAIN, I'M ALL OUT OF TISSUES ;_; )

Alright, so I guess this is another part where knowing the original puts it all in a slightly different context. Because this whole thing with the parents is exactly the same (minus the Kimie thing) that happens with the Kiriharas in the original, but with a very different outcome. In the original Naoto & Naoya finally manage to track down their parents who run a clock shop, but find that their memories had been meddled with and they don't remember them... and then they can't even get a peaceful farewell, because the villain fucks up the whole thing for the lulz, and it's kind of heartbreaking.

Here, they basically fixed everything - so that the Kurokis don't have to suffer all that shit that they had to go through, from having to live isolated in the lab and growing up suffering from difficult to control powers to having their parents taken away from them forever.

Oh man. Naoto & Naoya are just so awesome. ;_; )

And so they go... to another dimension? to the Awesome Spiritual Place? just disappearing into the spirit universe like Shouko? At least wherever they go now they'll be together...

........please stand by until I finish being overly emotional over the silly woo brocon show........

So anyway, in the end basically Takuya & Yuuya become that world's Naoto & Naoya, doing pretty much the same thing as those two did in the original, being the small change that gets things rolling toward the Awakening - hell, Kimie even called them Saviors, that was Naoya's designation in the original (with Naoto as his protector/knight). Except well, the Kurokis are a ton more well-adjusted, especially at this point in the story. Aside of having a better understanding of everything, better control of their powers and not having the whole world out to get them, at least not seriously at this point- they even have their parents back! Lucky bastards.

The end. *sniffle*

Oh boy. What can I say? The existence of this show has taken me by completely surprise, being a reboot of an old niche franchise I'd fallen in love with and didn't expect seeing anything new for ever again. And y'know, my expectations were loooooooow because the previous anime was, as I'd mentioned a few times before, bad, like, actually really bad.

And then Night Head 2041 turned out to be - actually really good! It had just the right touches, with the animation (surprisingly good and detailed!) and just the visuals in general, and the characters! I love this Naoto and Naoya, from their design to their characterization that is similar but yet still different from the original but in ways that work so well! And I grew to like the Kurokis a lot, too, also Takuya is so pretty it's just not fair! Although the Kiriharas are always going to be the best. Also, I really want Kimie's leggings even though I could never wear them.

And I mean OK, I'm clearly biased, but even with my fangirl glasses off this was a perfectly alright show. And for a fangirl like me, oh... where do I even start. I won't even start, really, it's like half past midnight over here and I'm still running on an emotional high. Will post moe tomorrow because if I tried now I'd just post the whole damn thing.

I know there's still the manga adaptation of 2041 that's going to go on for a while still (and the novelization that I'll read now) but I'm going to miss this show so much. Thank you for everyone involved in it! You made my summer and early autumn, and pretty much my 2021 so far. Bye, Kirihara Naoto & Naoya...

#night head #night head 2041 #kirihara naoto #kirihara naoya #kuroki takuya #kuroki yuuya #WHY AM I SO EMOTIONAL OVER THIS AHHHH

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darklingichor · 3 years ago

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Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir **MAJOR SPOILERS**

So, this is a first, I've never written a revisit this fast.

I do often read or listen to an especially good book, again, right after I finish it. Usually because I can't get into another book until I do.

I did it with Lamb, and I did it with the Martian.

This one is going to be chock full of spoilers, I really want to analyze the main characters in this book, and I can't do that without going into details. This is why I marked the hell out of this.

Project Hail Mary is even better the second time around. This is often the case. Books are like soup. The leftovers from the fridge are often even better than when you had it the first time.

*SPOILERS* *SERIOUSLY SPOILERS TURN BACK NOW IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THIS BOOK* *SPOILERS* *THE REST OF THIS RAMBLE WILL RUIN THE BOOK* *SPOILERS*

Okay, so run down.

The book opens with our main character waking up to an annoying computer asking him basic math questions. This is detecting cognitive function, that's my guess anyway.

Our character quickly discovers a few things. First, he's in a room with robot arms tending to him, including unhooking him from various life support systems as it figures out that he is awake and functioning. He's not alone in the room, there are two others, but they are long dead. And he has no idea, who he is, where he is, or why he's there.

What follows for a little while is what I would call a psychological screwball comedy. It takes him several days to work out that his name is Ryland Grace and he is a microbiologist PhD who had a falling out with the academic community and found his calling as a Jr. High science teacher. Though exploration, experiments, and memory flashes, he works out that he is on a spaceship, the corpses were his crewmates, and he is on a mission to Tau Ceti to save earth from an alien algae like creature, called Astropgage, that is dimming the sun and setting earth on the course to an ice age that will begin to wipe out humanity in 30 years. Tau Ceti, which is 12 light years away from earth, is resistant to this energy sucking algae.

We get all the backstory of how he became a crew member aboard the ship Hail Mary, in flashbacks as his memories return. A big memory that returns? Project Hail Mary is a suicide mission, he will not be going home.

In the meantime, he is slowly trying to figure out how to save earth, while he does this, he sees a very weird spaceship and meets an intelligent alien being. This being (Grace calls him Rocky) comes from a world (Earid) that is in the same situation as Earth. Together, Grace and Rocky have to work out how to save both of their home worlds.

Ryland Grace is a complex character, he’s very very different from Mark Watney (I haven't read Artimis so I can't make comparisons to those characters).

The Martian points out that Astronauts are inherently noble, willing to risk their lives for science and a good cause.

Grace is not an astronaut. That's not to say that he isn't a good person, just that he is an average person. He can be all at once self-sacrificing and selfish.

Early on he is drafted into the research team on what would be called Astropgage as a science expert by Eva Strat, a woman in charge of figuring out what is going on and how to stop it.

Once he was released from his part in this research, he goes back to teaching, only to be struck by the fact that his students would be in their early forties when all hell breaks loose, and that they might die. He then goes back to Strat and demands to be part of the research again.

This back and forth happens a few times in the story. In fact, it becomes a big part of it. See, the crew of the Hail Mary were put into comas to ensure that they would not go nuts and kill each other on the 12 light-year (four years from their perspective) journey, a medical company discovered that 1 in 7000 people have the genes to survive long comas and still function when they wake up. Grace is one of those people, but he is not volunteering for this mission. It's not that he doesn't care, or even that he doesn't want to help, it's that he's scared. And who wouldn't be? But honestly? I think Grace has imposture syndrome and is generally very sensitive. He realized that his kids would suffer, after starting to teach a class, that speed him to become a part of Strat's team again. Events happen that lead him to being the only logical candidate for the science expert aboard the Hail Mary. He refused, Strat basically kidnaps him, sets the computer induce amnesia in only Grace and plunks him on board.

Before she does this, she harshly calls Grace out.

“Do you think I don’t know you, Dr. Grace?!” she yelled. “You’re a coward and you always have been. You abandoned a promising scientific career because people didn’t like a paper you wrote. You retreated to the safety of children who worship you for being the cool teacher. You don’t have a romantic partner in your life because that would mean you might suffer heartbreak. You avoid risk like the plague.” (pg. 392 Kindle Edition)

This all seems to be true, but we don't know Grace's full story. Other than a mention of one girlfriend in college, and brief mentions of friends, There is nothing in the book about his life before he started teaching. This could be because the amnesia has left those things fuzzy, but in my head, it's because he doesn't want to think about it. Maybe he had a bad family life, maybe he had *no* family life, maybe he had an early tragedy. Maybe he realized his short comings and that, no matter his talent, he just didn't have the temperament for acidemia.

He does like being the cool teacher, he does say he likes being looked up to, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. He's a *good* teacher.

I had cool teachers before I switched to home school. They weren't all good. I had one that would literally just let us mess around during class because they didn't want to actually grade papers. Cool to a kid? Absolutely! Good for education? Not on your life.

Grace isn't like that, he loves science, he loves teaching, and the kids are learning.

He doesn't like animal testing, he's emotional at the fragility of humanity. In short, in his quiet way he loves life.

He leaves his comfort zone to be a part of Strat's team because he knows he's good at what he does and he couldn't look at his students and knowing they could die when he could help prevent it. That doesn't mean he thinks he will be Earth's savior, just that he can help.

He's unwilling to die.

Usually in books and movies, this translates to coward, but really? It's not. Most people wouldn't volunteer for a suicide mission, especially one this pressure filled. "So, we need you to go into a coma, go to a different solar system, save your whole species, and then kill yourselves so you won't starve to death. We good? Cool."

You can't fault a living being for wanting to live. Plus, the other crew members had time to think it through, really decide, make peace with the decision and *then* carry through with the training. Grace? He was given the training, but Strat always said it was for the science of the mission. She was a little like Dumbledore, in that she was training him in case he had to go, but never told him it was a possibility. When it became clear that he was the choice for the vacant spot, he was given less than five hours to decide, and then was told he had no choice.

He makes noble choices throughout the book, but that one choice was not his own, because Strat was given absolute power and used it absolutely.

I can't say that Strat is a villain, either. She was elected to save earth and given the power to cut through any red tape. Handed all this authority, she doesn't become corrupt, she uses this power ruthlessly, but always with the only goal being Save Earth, full stop, that's it. And even as Grace, understandably terrified, yells at her she tells him that she likes him, that she knows that he is a good man, that he will give this his all. She doesn't *want* to send this unwilling and scared man on a suicide mission. She *has* to. Strat is also complex, she is not nonsense and is committed to her role in saving humanity. I like the reason she gives as to why, toward the end of the book. She got her undergrad degree in history. She takes to heart the old saying that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

The climate scientists and their models assumed survival based on the idea that all countries will work together for the common goal. However, Strat points out that history shows that that ideal scenario, is not likely to work. She says that most wars, up until very recently, were fought over food, and resulting in famine. As the sun loses energy and crops fail, there will be wars, and they will be over food. And that is what she is desperately trying to avoid – the horror of history brought to the modern day.

I started as a history major, and history is interwoven into anthropology – I understand this perspective.

I am not going to get into politics, but I’ve experienced the agonizing frustration of watching history repeat itself, more than once in the last couple of years. Guessing at how something will probably go due to how something lines up with a similar event in the past and knowing that if someone in power would just listen it might turn out different, or that the eventual problems could at least be prepared for, and watch it happen anyway and everyone act surprised. It’s enough to make you pull your hair out.

Strat has the knowledge and the authority to act on it, I can’t say, that in her position I wouldn’t act the same way.

That is the major difference between Grace and Strat: viewpoint. By necessity of her position and by virtue of her education, she sees the big picture clearly, Grace, however, doesn’t. He’s a microbiologist, his entire career and education is looking closely at the small things and how they would translate to big things. He studies the universe by studying the smallest things in it. It is no surprise that he would need the smaller things to make the bigger things to snap into focus. When he was forced to start research on astrophage, it wasn’t until he was faced with the small scale (his kids could suffer) to make him see his part in the grand scheme of things. Strat is right, he does avoid risk, because he’s avoiding pain, he doesn’t let things in because he feels too much. Yes, the realization about the kids, puts steel in his spine, but not before he narrowly avoids a break down. For Grace, seeing Strat’s point of view, without being able to work it though to his scale, is like yelling at someone standing too close to a mountain for not being able to see the peak. It just can’t be done from where they are.

It makes me wonder, had Strat been up front with Grace, would he have willingly gone? It takes him a while to come around to the idea of helping the project in the first place. If he were told sooner, given some time, had been able to go home, and think, I feel like he would have gone. Something would have set him on the course. Maybe it would have been one of his former students, telling him about their plans for trying out for high school track, or going to college, maybe he would have gone to his usual cafe for breakfast and found out that one of the waitresses had just gotten engaged, maybe he would be told these things and see the fear and desperate need to keep life as normal as possible in the person's eyes, and then he would decide, if, on the off chance no one else could go, he would. Until he remembers his refusal, nearly at the end of the book, he accepts quickly that he volunteered for the mission. Of course, that could have been simply because he couldn't imagine someone forcing someone into something like that, but even as his memories and sense of self come back to him, he doesn't have a sense of terror or blind panic at the fact that he's not going home. I would think that if his unwillingness were something hard wired into his personality, he would know soon after remembering who he is, that he would have never considered being a part of the voyage.

So, I think, had Strat told Grace early on that he had the coma resistant genes and that there was a small possibility that he may have to be the backup for the backup, and then allowed him to come to terms with it, he would have gone without the drama. Don’t get me wrong, there is the possibility that he would have run off and had to have been hunted down, but I think, just like when he went to his class and saw his students, something would have made his conscious kick in, and he would have come back.

That might have been interesting, him running scared for a little while and then coming back? Might have given a little more background into why he is the way he is. But that’s not really what this book is about, I think it’s a forgone about conclusion that Grace would have helped, but what’s really interesting is how Grace and Rocky work together.

Rocky is cool! I love that Weir didn’t go the easy route with the creation of an alien character. Rocky is no Roswell gray with a humanoid form. No no, for our sympathetic alien, we have a spider like creature with liquid mercury for blood who “sees” with echolocation and speaks in musical notes. And it works!!

Rocky is expressive and funny and is great with Grace. It’s hilarious, other than the Russian scientist on Project Hail Mary, he doesn’t get along with anyone as well as he does with Rocky, out of everyone in the book, Grace connects most with a spider shaped rock being, he has to make a computer program to speak with.

Rocky is a tad steadier than Grace, but that makes sense simply because of the two, Rocky knew what he was getting into, and Eridens not only have more time before their star dims to the point of causing a problem, but also, they live a long long time, so, Rocky knows he is going home. But the steadiness is also built into his personality. He and Grace are both analytical problem solvers, but seeing that Rocky is an engineer, his focus is to fix things. A problem arises, and his first reaction is “I will fix that.” He won’t be dissuaded until he has all avenues exhausted.

Grace has a habit, early on, of moping for a little while before rallying and getting to work. His interaction with Rocky brings that pouting time down a bit, and he even pulls Rocky out of a slump a time or two.

The relationship between these two is interesting because Grace says flat out that he is not a social person, he feels awkward in groups with people. But he easily communicates with his students, and he easily communicates with Rocky. Rocky is not childlike, but he does have something in common with the students, Grace, like any teacher, teaches his students, and learns from them. Grace teaches Rocky and learns from him. Grace is comfortable with this sort of interaction; with his students this is where the relationship stops. With Rocky, it doesn’t have that boundary. By virtue of the fact that both are alone in space and crave interaction, they talk a lot. Also, activities that Grace is use to doing alone, Rocky’s culture requires to be done in pairs. The biggest: Sleeping.

Eridens do not sleep without another person watching them. So, he insists that he watch Grace sleep and that Grace watches him. It is not expressly said what other things Eridens don’t do alone, but it is implied (at least to me) that they work better in pairs or in groups. This is true of humans as well, but Grace in particular is a loner, even as he complains that science doesn’t happen with one scientist doing the work (and he’s right) but he does work alone even when the astrophage project opened up to more people, the feeling I get is that he still does most of his work alone unless asked to teach others, or forced to come along by Strat.

Grace quickly becomes acclimated to Rocky’s way of doing things, in an odd way, Grace is more comfortable being Eriden, than he is being human. And I really think that this is the crux of their relationship.

I read somewhere recently that family isn’t necessarily blood, but who you would bleed for.

I feel that Rocky and Grace would sacrifice themselves for their respective home worlds, but they will bleed for each other. Grace must go to a different star system to find family, which is actually really cool to me, because the story manages to have Grace have a story of growth and even a quiet redemption arc all with the background noise of a potential double Armageddon, and we manage not to lose sight of any of these elements. Add to this that the book will make you laugh, cry and think all at once. I love the Martian, but I honestly think this one is better!

#project hail mary #andy weir #book #books #revisit 21 #spoilers #major spoilers #book blogging 2021

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jubilantwriter · 3 years ago

Text

Of Blood and Static

?̩̲ͯ̚ͅC̉̏̿̒̓͐ͮ͝͏̢̫̭̫͚̜h̦̩̼̝̳͎̹̎̊̿́͐ͮͬ͑̚4̩̞̮̝̊̂͊̈͗ͨ̚͡p̲̻̯̏̃̀t̰̦̙̥̟̺̥̤̓̔͆͛͢͜-̦̠̹͎͎͖̾̂͊?̙̼̱̩̬̏̅ͫ̐̂P̜͉̦͉̲ͨ̃̇ͥ͠r̫̲̰͚̙̫̔̂̒̅͋̐̎̄͟͟0̮̱̅̑͟l̡̘̭̤̹̝̪̱̹̑̈-͉̙̣̘̬̮̗̱̌̆͛ͪ̾ͯ̇̀̕͠?̸̜̩ͭͪͮͭͧ͟͝E̙̤͈̲͋̋́p̨̭͕ͬͪ̕1̺̰̳̣̌̀͝͠!͕͔̘̯͎͍̈́g̼̳̙̯̱̟͉̀̄ͫ̈̋͌̏͝-̜̖͉̰ͫ͡?̩͚̍̀͝: All my love, your Dearest Friend.

(AO3) (First) (Previous)

...Summary?: (He rolls the sheet of paper back up and smiles, stowing the message away in his pocket. Perhaps it was meant for him. Perhaps not. But there's only one way of knowing for sure.

The screen reveals to him the distant figure of a rowing man approaching the beach much sooner than usual. So the march of time continues. A new beginning? Or the end of the line?

Perhaps, he thinks as the screen shuts off, perhaps those questions are best left unanswered.)

Word Count: 2712

////

The Lady is used to the loops. The pieces fall together in her hand, the puzzle complete as she sets it aside to focus on another one. The mirror in front of her, pieced together by all the broken shards from all her past lives, reflects back a her that looks nothing like the monster she often sees reflected back in her quarters. Instead, the her she sees is of a young girl in yellow, defiant, desperate, but hopeful. The Shadow stares at her in the mirror and nods. She nods back, and the mirror is put aside, whole and complete.

They are so close. So close to completion. The Caretaker joins her side as they both gaze over the crowd of Guests. Her hand hovers over the crowd of gluttonous monsters as he takes her other hand and squeezes. The Ferryman had whisked away all the children from the Maw, taking them to a new haven where no one can harm them. The nomes had already gotten a head start in building the start of a settlement.

She never got to see a blur of a blue boy in this loop.

A smile hides behind her mask as the monsters below her scream and screech in terror as she culls them for all their worth. The Maw groans as it creaks, but she pays it no mind.

As they fall over one by one, she looks up towards the entrance of the Maw.

Soon, she thinks. Soon. They'll see him again.

(-)

The Thin Man is tired of the loops. So tired, in fact, that when he finally breaks from his spell the Tower had over him (for so long, so long he had been hurt, pulled apart, ripped apart, smothered, made a monster, a horrible, real monster), the first thing he does is reach out to his beloved friends. The Lady had sobbed - it truly had been that long, hadn't it? - showing a weakness he hadn't seen since the very first loops when they were still completely new to this. Then the Caretaker followed, his appearance a welcomed one as he recalled the mumbled conversations between them when the Caretaker called for him without the presence of the Lady.

There was no real expectation that the Caretaker would remember him, given the lack of contact they've had. But alas, the man in blue cried as well, placing his hand on the glass and whispering out so very tenderly:

"It's about time I got to meet you again. How lucky I must be to be the one who lives to see you once more?"

The reunion had been sweet, words spoken through tears even if his were silent. A charm lays in his suit pocket next to a sailor's cap and a short message. The energy it exudes steals from the Tower and feeds him just enough that he can keep his mind all his own. It had been a struggle. A fight. An endless scream that resonated in the Tower that only he could hear.

He recalls all the memories he had of receiving that charm from the man behind the door after he delivered that package on a whim.

"I'll give this to Six once I save her. If I can't always protect her, at least this thing might do it when I fail her again." Over and over again, he'd repeat that to himself as he wore it on his back like a shield. Funny how it protected him instead of his intentioned Six. But that's what friends are for, huh?

...Friends. There was a time when, as an adult, he thought that the concept of them was nothing more than a lie. How wrong he was back then. How happy he is that he was proven wrong. Loops and loops of fighting, of enacting useless revenge upon useless revenge, of never-ending self-inflicted suffering and anger and regret-

They were always both at fault. It wasn’t always her fault, as much as he so arrogantly used to believe. It’d taken him so long to realize how wrong he was. How the pointless arguing and accusations did nothing to free them. It was, after all, his fault that the loops began in the first place, wasn’t it?

All he wanted was to save her. The Tower twisted his desire and created a never-ending cycle of blame and anger and victimization. Took his desire and twisted it into a desperate vision of wanting to be her hero, her savior - so he became the villain to his hero counterpart. A fantasy created by his own hands in order to forget the origin of why the loops were created in the first place.

(How he failed her over and over and over again and he’ll never forget how she died in his arms because he was too stupid, too idiotic as a child, dragged in by the Signal’s tune and taking the place of the original Thin Man, and it was his fault his fault his fault-)

But now he’s the one being rescued. His fantasy is broken like an axe against a music box, and the one who wields is not one, but two people. Perhaps the real key to their freedom had always been to save him from himself. From his delusions of being the hero, of being the protector of everyone. Because in the end, even a protector must have someone else to protect him.

The door in front of him opens. He knows his part by heart, but this time.

This time it will change.

He smiles as he breaks out of his prison and into the open air. Two children cower just beneath where he stands.

One final chase before the finale.

He slows time and begins his slow walk towards the doorway.

His final chase, and he gets to pick where the finish line is.

(-------)

The Caretaker is aware of the loops. Not quite at the level of the Lady or the Thin Man, but aware enough that he can feel the weight of them on his shoulders. He knows that he was never meant to live. That much he can be sure, the phantom pains of something tearing his neck apart spiking up every once in a while, the nightmares of a child in yellow tearing him apart still plaguing him through his years. He used to question why he's suddenly a part of the loops in this way, but he figures that the knowledge is long since gone, or at the very least, very buried in the recesses of the Lady's mind. A part of him wants to know, to understand why he's suddenly here when he wasn't before. But the other part of him wants to leave it be, knowing that unburying that truth may lead to unsavory discoveries.

At least, for now.

Whatever curiosity he holds has to be put aside for another time, for when they're all away from this horrible hull of a boat. His dream of fully running away from this accursed place is finally coming to fruition as they walk past the deceased Guests and down to the drop-off area. The Ferryman has one last delivery to the Maw. One last visitor before they can finally leave this wretched place.

Dying in the Maw is the last thing he wants, after all.

The Lady fidgets besides him, all elegance tossed to the wind as she waits for a boat to dock. He nudges her gently and smirks when she sends a glare back at him. The mask on her face always felt disingenuous to him, but he never remarked on it despite all the times she wore it. Perhaps it was to make her feel safe, or to hide whatever ugliness she saw in herself. But after all they've been through, it's only a matter of time before she takes it off.

Quietly, he takes her hand and gives it a squeeze.

Just like when they were children. Like when she would look up at him from under her hood, eyes barely shadowed as they shimmered with something unspoken. She was undoubtedly annoying when they were younger, always causing some sort of trouble that he had to drag her out of, but there was something about how she held herself as a child that always had him wanting to protect her from things she couldn't fight back against. Maybe it was how she clung to him after waking up from a nightmare, silent as she stared at a wall wide-eyed, seeing something that he could never. Or maybe it was how she screamed the first time she saw him jump into the water when he first showed her the depths of the Maw. Terrible things happen to children all the time, but having her sob and pound at his chest after he swam out of the water made him wonder just what happened to her that she became this way?

Maybe that's why he stuck around so long. He could have left long ago, but...

She squeezes back, tight and desperate with a smidgen of fear.

If he'd left, she would have been left with no one once again. Thin Man or no, she'd be the same little girl who was hunched over the body of the previous Lady, so full of hurt and desperation and hunger, so ready to make all the wrong choices that he couldn't help but reach out and take her hand.

Everyone needs a little guidance every once in a while.

The sounds of chains hefting a boat up grabs their attention.

Steadily. Without pause. The Ferryman with his sagging face appears, and a man in a sharp suit and fedora is seated just behind him. Long limbs carefully remove themselves from the boat, and he bows slightly to keep his head from brushing the ceiling. The Ferryman nods and makes his descent silently as RK looks up at the man with stolen breath.

Oh.

So this is how he looks from beyond the screen. All the entries in his notebook failed to prepare him for actually meeting the Thin Man in person. He’s impossibly tall and thin and absolutely towers over the two of them, but he holds himself in the most docile way possible. The way he holds himself is completely different from Six - all soft around the edges and nervous to be judged. RK nearly reaches out to take his hand and comfort him. Absolutely amazing how a tower of a man manages to give off the least threatening aura between the three of them.

Almost shyly, the man removes his hat to reveal a full head of hair and an awkward expression. He looks to Six and then to RK with a small smile.

(Ridiculous! To think he’d been locked away in the Tower for so long, twisted and broken into something that didn’t resemble him for loops - it makes RK’s blood boil. But also- he gets it now. Oh, does he get the numerous entries about the Thin Man now. Oh, how he gets it now.)

Never has RK been so happy to be alive to see this day. It was all worth it. A small smile graces his features as his vision blurs happily.

Finally.

(------)

Six doesn't care for the loops as she removes her mask, finally, tears streaming freely as she returns the little smile that Mono had given her.

He looks younger than she expects - true, there are a few wrinkles here and there, but with how he spoke and how he presented himself in the past, she imagined a weary, beleaguered old man to appear before her. He must be as old as them, but he looks just as young as Six parades herself and RK to be. An inkling for the cause is at the back of her mind, but she truly does not care for it. Instead, she reaches out a hand and takes his.

So warm and familiar. A comfort she once took for granted, but will no longer. Fingers longer than her hand squeeze hers in a grip she'd nearly forgotten.

"...Hey," he whispers, voice crackled by the static as a sob breaks her voice. It's deeper than she expected, but the smoothness of it comforts her like a soothing lullaby. She smiles through her tears as she looks back up at him.

"Hi," she whispers back, and the corners of his eyes crinkle up with how bright his smile is. "You must be hungry. Why don't we get a meal ready for you?"

Mono nods back, his other hand already taken up by the warmth of RK's as they lead him through the Maw.

It will be the final meal this Lady of the Maw will ever serve, but it will be warm, and filling, and everything unlike the previous meals she's served before. And they will laugh, and converse, and enjoy each other’s company. Maybe she will take some meat off of RK’s plate, and he’ll act like he’s upset, but he’ll be secretly glad as he focuses on the fish instead. Mono will undoubtedly be confused but entertained by the bickering as RK will try to convince her to eat vegetables, to which she will aggressively decline. And then RK and her will press him to eat more, enjoy more, as they scoop more onto his plate than he can possibly eat, and he’ll try to decline, and maybe he’ll cry a little bit, but he’s happy, he’s happy and not alone and surrounded by warmth as they care for him.

Perhaps the Chefs will be happy to cook a real feast for once, even if it may be the last they will ever cook. Perhaps Roger will be able to bask in the sounds of happiness on the Maw, never to have to clean up after sobbing children or disgusting Guests ever again. Perhaps perhaps perhaps.

And when they finally finish their meal, they'll be able to step out into the warm sunlight together as nothing more than friends with names rather than titles. And it will be the last of the loops they'll have to face.

Their ends mark the beginning of a new start. With hands warm and never empty, they look to the sky together and bask in the sunlight of their newly gained freedom. For however long their existence may last, at least they’ll be able to share their final moments together with a smile and a laugh.

(000000)

Six wakes up on a beach, a body curled up beside her. Nothing of consequence plagues her mind as Mono gets up and stretches beside her, paper bag stowed away in his pocket. A different hat sits atop his head, its tattered ribbon flowing down between them.

"Oi ," says a voice, one that was introduced to them last night when they first arrived, "you guys okay?"

"Yeah," Mono says with a smile, still bashfully hiding his face away from RK. The boy in blue hugs a nome to his chest and nods in response.

"Okay, well, there's food if you guys want any." He jabs a thumb in the direction of the other children. Six nods in response, and watches as he trots off to meet with the others, stopping only once to look back at them curiously.

"So, Six," Mono begins, already standing up and dusting himself off, "what do you wanna do today?"

She grins, because there's nothing to worry about for now. Her mind is free of those haunting feelings, those weird senses of deja vu, of familiarity when familiarity is not warranted. The boy in blue is the last of the familiar feelings, but it is a warm one, one she doesn’t want to let go of. Hopefully, they’ll cross paths soon enough for her to explore this feeling.

Her stomach growls, but nothing of consequence follows.

"Eat."

"Sounds good to me!"

Mono offers her his hand and she takes it. Not once does she have to fear letting him go. She squeezes his hand, a familiar reassurance as he squeezes back.

Nothing of consequence plagues her mind.

She smiles, blissfully unaware of what the future has in store.

And for once, she feels as though she's allowed to be happy.

#little nightmares #little nightmares 2 #ln lady #ln thin man #ln runaway kid #ln six #ln mono #AAAAAAAAAA IT'S FINALLY DONE #ALL THESE WEEKS AND THE TITLES FINALLY CULMINATE INTO THIS #WHO IS THE SENDER??? WHO IS THE RECEIVER??#THE HINT MAY BE BURIED IN THE CHAPTER TITLES THEMSELVES!!#PERHAPS EVEN IN THE... FINAL CHAPTER CHAPTER??#oh and lmao the story is done too #SERIOUSLY THO #thanks all who stuck with this long tale!!#can you beLIEVE this was originally supposed to be a compilation of silly moments only between the lady and thinny?#can you BELIEVE i almost posted this as one whole oneshot???#i would have been skinned alive LOL #but seriously thanks everyone for sticking by me!#i have a couple other fics up my sleeves for this au #duno when they'll be finished but #i hope i do finish them! the adventures of the adults and kids are not over yet!#not completely at least #thanks for everything once again everyone!

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inmyownlaine · 3 years ago

Text

Cages: John Murphy x OC Fanfiction

GIF//

SPOILERS: If you have not finished the series proceed with caution!

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1664

Chapter: Two

Summary: After falling asleep, Aerie wakes up to a foreign source of light. The sudden disturbance of peace causes underlying issues to come to the surface. Murphy steps in, making matters worse.

────────────────────────────────────────────

Aerie didn’t remember falling asleep. Murphy was rolled up in a ball, turned away from her. She rubbed her eyes carefully, trying her best to keep the sand out. It was still dark, the sun nowhere in sight.

She loved mornings like these. The ones where it seemed like everything was asleep, even the earth itself. Where she could disconnect from reality and imagine herself in another universe. Aerie could encounter a million mornings like this and still feel the same exact way: completely at peace.

Aerie began to stretch out, her back craned with her chest pushing towards the stars. As she tilted her neck back, preparing to loosen the cramped muscles, a sudden flash of light exploded against the indigo sky. She straightened herself immediately, leaning forwards and scrambling to her knees.

She was no astronomer. She wouldn’t even consider herself knowledgeable about space. But she knew enough to reasonably conclude that this was no shooting star. It’s lasting glow remained in the sky as it slowly traveled to the ground, dipping and diving over the uneven terrain.

It was something foreign. Maybe even magic.

Eyes wide with horror and mouth clamped with fear, she nudged Murphy awake.. He groaned aloud and flopped on his back, sticking his arms straight up in the air. “What?” he grumbled, sounding eerily similar to a moody teenager.

Aerie didn’t even have to reply. Through closed eyelids, Murphy saw the incoming brightness. He threw his arm over his face, providing very little shade from the beam. “Aerie?” he yelled, almost as if he expected her to have any answers.

Of course, she didn’t. Rooted to her spot, she squinted in the light’s direction, curiosity taking over her better instincts. Though she had never seen anything like this, it felt familiar to her. As if she had experienced this herself.

“What are you doing?” Murphy’s arm latched onto her forearm, tugging with enough force to move her a couple inches in the sand. It was then she realized how dire the situation was, clambering to her feet and retreating with Murphy back to the huts.

The commotion caused the rest of the group to come outside. They were clearly feeling the same way as Aerie: frightened, yet curious. Just as things were feeling safe, another freak phenomenon had to ruin what they were building.

“What’s going on?” Raven questioned, ponytail swinging from side to side as she frantically tried to look at everyone at once.

“Run!” Clarke replied, ignoring Raven completely and entering survival mode.

They had only gotten to the edge of the sand when the light stopped above the sea foam. It levitated before slowly descending to the ground. Everyone stopped, clinging onto one another for support. If this was going to end in war, they were going to fight it together.

The beam started to dissipate, resembling that of a tamed firework. Sparkles of gold and yellow swirled in a cylindrical pattern before finally coming together to form a silhouette. They started disappearing at the top, moving downwards as a body took its place. First a mop of curly brown hair, then a dark pair of eyes, warm enough to thaw the heart of any villain, outsider, or wrongdoer.

Aerie watched in awe as a man with a white robe stood in front of them, seemingly calm and inquisitive. It was a look she didn’t get to see much. He was always worried about protecting his friends and being the perfect leader. It was nice, for a change, to see him in a state of tranquility. No matter how anyone felt about his newfound beliefs.

“Bellamy,” Octavia whispered, face contorting into disbelief and sadness. Echo took a step towards him, but stopped herself after the first one.

He gave a small smile, nodding in her direction. It had been a long time since any of them had seen Bellamy. Aerie could sense the tension radiating from Clarke. The last time she was with Bellamy, she tried to kill him. Aerie questioned why he would return to a group of people that was so hostile towards him.

“Why did you come back?” Echo asked.

“Now you can’t transcend,” Aerie added. She knew that he wanted it more than anything. She remembered the look in his eyes when she left him last. It was full of hope that had been drained from his body long ago. Aerie was one of few that decided not to take that away from him.

“You can’t,” he corrected, hands folded patiently in front of his stomach. “You were saved by grace. But I believed.”

“So, what? You’re going to come here and rub it in our face?” Clarke retorted, arms crossed across her chest.

Bellamy wasn’t fazed. Instead, he stared at her deeply with his dark brown eyes. Lips pursed together calmly, studying the nature of a person that had lost everything. He knew it wasn’t personal.

“Madi is fine.”

Clarke’s lower lip began to tremble as she fell backwards, grabbing onto Murphy’s shoulder. He placed his arm around her lower back, eyes wide with surprise. Carefully, Murphy lowered Clarke to the ground as tears fell from her eyes.

“In fact, I would say she’s thriving. No more war. No more fear. It’s the perfect place for her.”

Aerie knew Clarke disagreed. The perfect place for Madi, in Clarke’s eyes, was with her. Yetshe couldn’t afford to be selfish. Madi didn’t have a life on Earth. There were no children for her to socialize with. There was nothing to help her grow. She would be the only human her age in a world of terror.

“And I forgive you,” Bellamy spoke, nodding towards Clarke.

“I don’t need your forgiveness,” she spat, the corners of her mouth pulling down towards her chin. “If anything, you are the one that needs redemption. I lost everything because of you. Everything!”

The birds scattered from the trees as she wailed aloud. Everyone standing had a story to tell. No one’s life was easy. But Clarke’s seemed to trump them all.

Aerie lost her parents in seconds, along with most of Skaikru when the Ark fell from orbit. She still wasn’t over it, and never truly would be, but at least her father wasn’t floated. And at least her partner wasn’t murdered. And at least her mother’s body wasn’t stolen. And at least she was able to transcend. The atrocities continued on for Clarke Griffin.

“Whether you do or don’t, just know you have it.”

“Out of all the things I want to have,” Clarke scoffed, “your good graces are not on my list.”

With that, she pushed herself off the sand and headed towards the forest line. Bellamy’s fingertips pulled towards her, but the rest of him remained. Raven chased after Clarke, calling her name as they disappeared into the trees. Silence fell as the rest of the group shared awkward glances with one another.

“Why are you here?” Echo finally asked. The sockets of her eyes were flushed pink, holding back a flurry of emotions. She made it perfectly clear how upset she was with Bellamy the first week Skaikru spent together. She couldn’t believe how he could betray the people loved.

But beneath all that rage, she was mostly hurt. Hurt that he chose faith over her. That she wasn’t his main priority in a world where everything was uncertain. In a time where everyone needed each other to get through. She felt used.

“I have unfinished business,” he stated simply. Bellamy’s head dropped, but beneath hooded lids, his eyes fixated on Aerie. Octavia noticed this immediately, a cackle escaping her lips.

“Of course,” she jaunted, throwing her hands in the air. “You came for your savior. Not your sister. Not your girlfriend. Her.”

Aerie scoffed in response, insulted by the obvious venom Octavia was spitting. She had every right to feel upset, but not at Aerie’s expense.

A tear trickled down Echo’s cheek as she bit the inside of her cheek. Fearing loss of control, she spun around and ran to her hut. Bellamy’s mouth opened, a silent battle raging in his head. He wasn’t allowed to love. It made him weak. It clouded his judgement.

It didn’t matter. The door slammed behind her, shutting him out for the time being.

“Save it, big brother,” Octavia grumbled.

“Knock it off, Octavia,” Murphy spoke up. It caused Aerie to tense up. She forgot he was standing beside her. Come to think of it, she forgot there was a whole crowd of people watching the dramatic scene.

“What? My own brother comes back to earth and instead of wanting to see me, he wants Aerie.”

“Well if I were Bellamy I would probably avoid you, too,” Murphy countered. “Who was the one that supported Clarke’s decision?”

She charged at him, but Levitt wrapped his arms around her torso, pulling her back as she yelled profanities at Murphy. He wasn’t the least bit fazed. Instead, he stood in front of her, arms crossed defiantly across his chest. Octavia continued to kick around in an attempt to free herself.

“Are you done yet?” Murphy asked, unamused.

Octavia let out a blood-curdling scream. It was something she had gotten particularly good at after becoming Bloodreina. There were a lot of awful events that spawned from that moment in time, but she did learn how to let out a gruesome battle cry.

Indra stepped in between the two, signalling for Gaia to help Levitt take her away. She did so immediately, trying to comfort her in the process. “It doesn’t matter!” Octavia yelled. “Bellamy died a long time ago! He died!”

Bellamy’s face scrunched together, an expression of anguish easy to see. He didn’t let it linger, relaxing his muscles quickly before addressing Aerie. “Is there somewhere we can go? To talk?”

“Yeah,” Aerie answered, already leading the way. Bellamy trailed behind, leaving the others to gossip among themselves.

“You and I have a lot to discuss.”

#john murphy #writing #the100 #love #john murphy fanfic #the 100 #the 100 fanfiction #john murphy imagine #john murphy x oc #john murphy fanfiction #john murphy fic

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purplerose244 · 4 years ago

Text

I don’t care

Hi!! This is my fic for the @ninjago-valentine-exchange!! Thank you so much for organizing this, I really had fun writing this! 🥰

Special thank also to @nightlybirdie for the lovely fanart I got to respond to! It’s such an adorable little comic! 😍 I thought making a songfic about the same song you choose would have been fitting, since it really is very Lava like ❤🖤❤🖤

Here we go! Enjoy!! 😊

Summary: It's just another celebration party after all, Cole should be used to feeling left out.

Turns out, someone is very not okay with that.

Also on the AO3

We’re at a party we don’t wanna be at

Trying to talk but we can’t hear ourselves

Red your lips I’d rather kiss ‘em right back

With all these people all around I’m crippled with anxiety

It wasn’t that Cole hated parties.

Although it wasn’t that he loved them either.

“… so thank you again, ninja!” Tipping his hat, the police commissioner finally finished his speech, one that after such a long time spent with them fighting crime and evil beings – like ten years or something? – was starting to sound vaguely repetitive. “Now, without further ado, let us begin this celebration party! To honor our saviors!” The crowd cheered, all the police members bowed at them, and it was finally time to forget about the danger and relax.

… right.

Alright, the black ninja wasn’t a party-pooper – he wasn’t never going to give Jay that satisfaction. There were of course great pros about being here after all, starting from the fact that the very reason there was such a big event in the first place was because they had saved the city once again – he needed to remind Lloyd to bring the sign ‘days Ninjago City wasn’t attacked’ back to zero. This was a celebration in their honor, a thank you for their determination and commitment and for keeping their world safe every time. He could see familiar faces into the crowd, having fun, enjoying the peace that once again so difficulty they had managed to regain.

The music was nice. Nowhere near his usual choice, and he knew he was going to grab his headphones and blast soft rock at full volume as soon as they were back at the monastery, but nice nonetheless – relaxing too… oh… oh, no, no dozing off. His friends were all there, dancing, talking, perfectly in tune with the festive atmosphere.

Oh, there was also a buffet, that was nice. It was also an extremely generous one, with tarts, sandwiches, shrimps and so on, one that could make even Zane’s nindroid mouth water. The black ninja himself had finished his recognition at the table, even though he had ended up with a glass of whatever while standing on the side of the ballroom. All he knew was that it was sparkling and slightly bitter. Not really his taste.

Nothing felt like his taste right now… but that went beyond his beverage choice.

He tried to widen his collar, for the fifth time in the last hour. He should’ve known better than borrowing a suit from his father, besides their obvious different sizes. Even beyond the blatant reality that being the master of earth pulled out muscles that a dancer just didn’t have, it was the most irritating reminder of the time he had spent trying to meet his pa’s expectations by joining a quartet. It had been a while since that matter had been solved, there was no point into sulking over it. There were more important matters ahead.

His finger went to his collar. Sixth time. Great.

Was he the only one holding on instead of having fun? Again?

One impressively loud laugh shook his from his thoughts, and he didn’t have to look to recognize Jay, near their latest used-to-be-enemy-but-now-they’re-our-pal. Great, someone must have asked what happened during their adventure, there was no way Motor Mouth would have missed the opportunity to vent – as long as his obnoxiously talkative nature didn’t bring their new friend back to the evil path. Right next Zane was showing off his dancing skills, that familiar endearing view that probably involved his famous funny switch. Or not, that nindroid was lovable no matter what after all. From the resigned but fond smirk of Pixal, leaning against the wall not far while watching the robot making a spectacle of himself, he wasn’t the only one thinking that.

Lloyd had been kidnapped by a few reporters of the NGTV, although despite the awkward atmosphere he looked like he could handle himself – which wasn’t new, man that kid was indestructible. And even though he was confident that Nya was not the biggest fan of formal clothes just like himself, like the pro she was she knew exactly how to deal both with her dress and the people crowding around her. Besides, she deserved a bit of spotlight.

His friends were having fun, that made the master of earth happy unconditionally. Although he would have liked to share that light-heartedness, or simply being willing to let himself go for once. Well, they were doing fine, he could end this and finally go home by himse-

Wait. No. Something wasn’t right.

Where was that? Where was the crowd of people getting consistently louder and more insistent the closest they got to their red hero? Where was the never-ending flirty attitude that was almost a main characteristic of the master of fire? Where was the improvised meeting of the Kai fan club happening every single time they ended an adventure, like these screaming admirers had been silently waiting for the end to end just to see their diva?

A shiver caught him. Surprise? Confusion? Relief? Cole wasn’t quite sure, he just knew that there was no massive amount of chocolate hair nowhere in the ballroom. A pinch in his chest made his back straighten up. He took the slightest sip of his drink, grimacing at the taste.

Then, someone shouldered him. Wow, silent as a ninja. Then again, it wasn’t hard at this point recognizing his teammates without looking.

Especially someone as warm as him.

“Apologies my good sir, but it looks like we’re in quite the predicament over here.” Yep, he could see Kai’s smirk in the corner of his vision, moving up his mouth with that little dimple on the corner. “This is very clearly a party-fever, non-sulking area. You better correct your behavior, or I will be forced to take drastic measures.” Kai stuck out his tongue as he cracked his knuckles, despite himself Cole couldn’t help half a laugh.

Only half, because this guy could be very irritating when trying to push his reasons on others – the cow yak predicament between him and Jay was never going to be forgotten and was actually brought up again every once in a while. Only half… because there was something mesmerizing at seeing the reckless master of fire getting cleaned up in a classy and refined suit. White immaculate shirt. Perfectly stirred jacket. That little red bow over his neck, because if this guy didn’t like to show off that red was his color on every occasion then the Overlord was a good guy.

You could say a lot about the red ninja, really a lot.

Not having style? Not between that – of course his ego didn’t need to know this.

The black ninja huffed, catching himself before he let his eyes lingering on him for too long – thank you master Wu, poor unaware sensei probably didn’t know his meditation lesson were being used to hide a crush.

“Drastic measures as kick me out? Because first, I would like to see you try.” Kai was strong, but not earth strong, thank you very much. “And second, I can leave on my own, thank you.”

Another shoulder. Much quicker than the other.

“Nah huh, this is also a very restricted non-ditching area.” Now he was cornered. Which wasn’t much because it was only Kai and his mischievous look. Also it was Kai and his mischievous look. “You either have fun and enjoy yourself, or security will escort you to prison in a conga line.”

“Really?” The hothead dared to shrug, like this made-up nonsense was a fact and these ‘laws’ were beyond him. “You don’t have to be a bringer of justice here too, just leave me be a solitary public figure for five more minutes before leaving.” A little frown moved his scarred eyebrows, which looked a little too knowing for some reason. “Besides, don’t you have a fan club to return to? I’m not seeing brown wigs twice your head moving around, that’s worrying.” A third shove, this time the black ninja let out a proper laugh. The red ninja’s hair only got crazier and crazier since they met, and it was always funny.

Endearing, too… dang it feelings!

The master of fire crossed his arms over his chest, pouting yet smiling.

“I can have a party without getting assaulted by my fans, you know? Besides, it’s been a while since we had a proper celebration, I wanna be with my team for once.” It was surprising and also very not. Kai was that much of an egomaniac, he loved the attention; but he loved his family even more, and it was true that they didn’t get much time to enjoy simply be united – trying to survive a villain while experiencing discoveries and development didn’t count as a relaxing bonding experience.

Cole gave a look at the crowd. The others were all still there.

“I’ll give you that, should we call up the others then?”

“No no no, you don’t get out of the radar that easily!” Again with the grin, what was that dangerously pretty head of his plotting? He looked focused too, it was scary. “Cut loose, will ya? You always end up in the corner at these things, you could at least pretend like you wanna be here.”

The black ninja winced.

“Gosh, you sound like my dad.” He definitely didn’t want to think about his dad in front of his crush. “We’re not all social butterflies, okay? I’m fine being myself.”

“Oh that’s not it, you’re okay. You being you is amazing.” Was that flirtatious? Was that a random compliment? Dang it, Cole had known him for too long, he couldn’t tell the difference anymore! “But whenever we get to an event like this one you always look like you would rather go back fighting and it sucks. Not being much of a party person is fine, I just want you to have some fun that’s all.” Ah. There it was. Underneath the mocking, the arrogance and the flirts, was a guy that could fire up a group of ninja with the power alone of his blatantly sincere words. Being against the next reason Ninjago City needed to be rebuilt, or while trying to give a random party some meaning. “Besides, speaking of fans, I know you have some. You could improvise a convention too.” He gestured towards him with both hands, like he was presenting him for a talk show.

The master of earth grinned. His chest felt warm, as always. Curse this guy for being cute. Curse him for being here instead of somewhere else wowing some random guest, blessing him with his company. He was right about not being together enough. Cole did miss having peaceful times with his teammate… he had missed spending time with Kai.

But I’m told it’s where I’m supposed to be

You know what?

It’s kinda crazy coz I really don’t mind

When you make it better like that

He took another sip. Grimacing. He shook his head.

“My fan club is nowhere near as wide as yours.”

“It’s not a challenge you know… although if it was, we all know who would win…” The red ninja flexed his arm. The jacket moved accordingly, showing off results of a training that even without involving massive rocks looked still impressive.

Cole swallowed over a sudden dry throat, only to frown.

“Huh… Lloyd?”

Kai blinked and sulked down altogether.

“Lloyd indeed.” They looked at each other and laughed.

The previous song slowly faded, a new rhythm took over. To Cole’s relief, it was something less ballet-like and more vivacious, capturing a few couple and individuals into the ballroom to enjoy the music. Jay was showing off impressive dancing skills, although him coming out of nowhere with a new ability wasn’t unheard of – roller skating, skiing, how did he even have free time to learn where he would always invent and eat junk food? Nya wasn’t too far behind, crossing path with Zane and improvising something together, laughing all the way. Lloyd was about to shake his head with a snicker and step away, only to have Pixal push him in with a little grin.

It was so peaceful. Them having fun, enjoying themselves, doing something other than risking their own lives and protect the land. They were the moments the black ninja loved the most.

Kai was humming himself, smiling just as widely. Cole chuckled warmly.

“You look like a very proud father.”

The red ninja arched an eyebrow and smirked.

“Wouldn’t you like that, honey.” Oh dang it, was he for real?! Was that a flirt?! Was that a little blush or for the master of fire having red over him was as natural as igniting flames?? Was he going somewhere with this, help, abort, something, anything! “We should chime in and join Zane and Jay, make a reprise of the Blade Cup Tournament! I remember the choreography still, bet we could show it to Nya, Lloyd and Pixal too.” Alright, never mind, false alarm… possibly, again, it was confusing.

Cole took another sip. It possibly tasted worse at every try, he didn’t even know why he was holding the glass still. At least he looked refined… or something.

“No way, I’m not going through that again.”

“Oh come on, I thought you got over your dancing complex with the Triple Tiger Sashay.” Kai shrugged, looking at him right into the eyes. “You dance good too, it’s a waste.” Was he in vain of compliments today or he was silently mocking him through an elaborated plan?

… nah, he wasn’t one to make complicated plans. He was a pretty face, and an airhead.

Cole shrugged.

“I don’t mind dancing, not as much as I used to at least. I even like it nowadays.” Having a hobby besides saving Ninjago was kind of important to not completely lose it – and playing videogames became a little too competitive once Jay or Lloyd got in the zone. “But it’s a little too connected to what my dad used to expect me to be and sometimes I don’t wanna even brush that thought.” They were good now, of course they were. But they spent time apart because of it. It was still hard to think about it. “… I don’t like to think that it would’ve been easier to just bear and go on. It makes me wonder what I would have become in that case, through tedious dancing lessons and failures.” Wow, his insecurities were put under a test, and there was no menace in sight for once.

Urgh, nope, not tonight, not after the mess they had been forced to fix for their city. Tonight it was about feeling light, thoughtless and happy. He needed a joke, a mockery, something, and while their official jokester wasn’t available Kai was the next best thing.

Any moment now… any moment now…

… okay now he was deliberately teasing him with those pretty eyes of his. He looked even sappy now, their shoulders were touching. He was so warm.

“It’s… kind of a scary thought, you know. Thinking of a you in a reality in which we haven’t met.” He smiled, one enigmatic, slightly worried smile that Cole couldn’t remember to have seen before. “But master Wu would’ve found you anyway, right? I don’t want to think of a world where we don’t know each other.” Because he was a precious teammate of his. “That’s not right in my head, I kinda hate it really.” Because they were too close as friends to even conceive it. “I’m just happy to have the strong, kind, incredible Cole by my side for this life.” Because he… cared. Because Kai cared about all the people in his life, all the precious members of his family.

That included him. As a… as…

The master of fire was staring at him, lips pressed tight together, burning cheeks and glimmering eyes. His face radiated heat, beyond the temperature itself; it was like an image so hot it got blurry, yet the beauty of it was nitid and flawless.

Cole was mesmerized. Then he slowly took a step back from his condition, finding the energic music fading away around them, and the red ninja still froze with his eyes on him.

It made him smile.

Having his attention always made him smile.

“Oh my gosh, it’s Kai!!” Because it wasn’t for granted and it wasn’t as easy as it was, back when they had started their legend as the ninja team. Now they were celebrities, and having a group of fans jumping excitedly in front of the brunette was ordinary administration. “Kai! You’re so cool, thank you for saving us again! You are our favorite ninja, can we get a picture? And a photo? Possibly both, if you can!” There were a couple of girls, one guy and a kid jumping from one foot to the other. All looking at ease and confident with their dresses and manners, addressing one of the heroes of this island.

Huh. The party had started to get nicer a few minutes ago, now it was back at being dull. Awkward. Uneasy. Solitary. Once again the too tight suit became very vivid, especially around his arms and chest. Once again the music, that had gone back at being slow and classic, got at his nerves. Once again he was being a spectator, looking at the scene like it was airing on television.

Kai was smiling naturally, he was more than used at that kind of attention. But his eyes were quick at focusing on him, and another little frown moved his forehead.

“Thanks for the support guys, but I’m a little busy right now…”

Cole rolled his eyes. He hated pity, so much. It felt like a slap right now.

“No you’re not idiot, come on, show your fans some respect. They get to see you without the city falling apart for a change!” The group nodded eagerly, eyes brightening the room. The red ninja wasn’t looking at them, his eyes were fixed on his teammate and it was even more irritating. “I’ll be at the buffet if you need me, have fun.” He looked hurt. What right did he have to get hurt? From what even? The master of earth was the one casted aside, for a change!

He walked away from the scene, losing Kai’s voice between excited shouts and squeaks from the group. Like that was new, it was always the serious, uncharismatic, downer of the team the one getting less recognition. He had known that when he had met this band of crazy people that he had started to call family. He had known that when Lloyd had taken charge and lead them towards one victory after the other. He had known that when Nya had been called into action, showing off once and for all that she was the real deal. There was always someone before him, brighter, to capture the attention. Being a robot, being an inventor, being the most handsome guy in existence…

… and it was fine.

Cole wasn’t stupid not unrealistic. He knew who he was, he knew his skills and his pros. He knew there were many people cheering for him too, he knew that Ninjago City loved him. Having less focus didn’t mean he wasn’t going to do his best to give back that support. But moments like these made him feel like it was unfairly easy to be pushed away in favor of something better. This really wasn’t what he was used to. The party, the attention… him.

It wasn’t about the attention after all. It was about feeling inadequate. Unlike others, he wasn’t born for the attention. Others were ready to burn to catch everyone’s eyes through their beauty. Cole only wished the difference wasn’t always this upsetting.

The guests were walking around him as he passed through. He didn’t actually want to go back to the table, he had simply said the first thing that had come to his mind – with that one girl so close to Kai thinking had been very difficult. Then the police commissioner had called the attention upon the impressive cake that was being brought in by a carrier. Shaped like the monastery, with their faces on the base. Wasn’t he the absolute dessert lover that he was, he might have found the cake too cute to even attempt a bite. Then again he really was, which was no secret at all. The chief of the police department was more than happy to give him the first slice.

White chocolate and blueberries. He hated himself for being so irritated, he would have wanted to enjoy his cake without bothering images into his head. He knew it wasn’t that big of a deal. Whenever there was a party, his mind just liked to remind him how uncomfortable he felt. It was only a matter of waiting for it to be over. Then he could share a bag of candies with Lloyd, or pull some weights with Nya, or meditate with Zane, or train with Pixal, or destroy Jay at videogame. Or do anything, absolutely everything, that involved spending time with Kai.

Just for the sake of having him near… ah, dang it, feelings again!

He swallowed a bit harshly, all of the sudden he couldn’t have more. The slice was half eaten – yeah he liked to have that big of a first bite –, and even after spending the night munching over those little snacks that couldn’t contain more than one or two calories each. He felt full. He couldn’t even enjoy his dessert now, might as well leave before anyone noticed him. He had planned on leaving much earlier so it wasn’t a problem.

Cole looked down at that forsaken drink, arching an eyebrow. Maybe it was good with sweets? Maybe that was what made it good? He drank, grimaced and grunted. He moved to put the drink on the table once and for all.

A quick ninja hand snatched the glass. A second later it was emptied.

“Finally, you were driving me crazy with this thing!” Kai, smiley and innocent, almost knocked down another glass as he let the empty one fall over the table. “All night sipping and hating!”

The black ninja’s mind was empty. From nothingness, only one doubt emerged.

“… you’ve been watching me?”

Don’t think we fit in at this party

Everyone’s got so much to say

When we walked in I said “I’m sorry”

But now I think that we should stay

That wasn’t probably the question to ask, no matter how much the master of earth was stubborn over the idea that nothing was a big deal at the moment. Something like ‘what are you doing here’ would have sounded out of place though, and teasing directly about what happened to his fan club didn’t sound better. Besides, the handsome master of fire finished his drink putting those perfect lips right where Cole’s had been just a second ago, and the black ninja’s strategic leader brain that had many times got him out of a bad situation wasn’t working.

Or maybe it was? There were very few things that could really, actively melt his heart like this. The red ninja’s blush was one of them. It had to have something to do with his element, the reddening was absolute and total. Like watching a thermometer reaching the maximum.

“J-Just a little! One or two times!” Liar, Cole had been doing this sip and regret thing all evening. The thought alone was an injection of giddiness. “Not up for cake? That’s new.”

Oh. He felt a little more in vain for cake. Two bites later it was done.

“I was taking a breath.” It was easier with him around. Did he know that? “You’re done with the fans? That was quick.” Kai huffed with superiority, but the black ninja was no fool: he could see the girl from before sighing a little, like she didn’t get nearly as much red ninja as she had been expecting. “You didn’t have to leave them behind for me.” That came out exactly as badly as he thought it. Why did he say it anyway? Why was the master of fire this shocked and fearful? “Kai I’m not some special case that you have to take care of, you know that. You don’t have to hang around me just because.” Huh. It came out like that.

Huh. Kai looked one with his element, burning from his forehead to his neck, looking almost sunburned. Adorable. So adorable, even while Cole was waiting for whatever was going to come from this situation. Which was, beyond his expectations, the red ninja’s rough and long hand slowly reaching for his, holding it tight.

Warm, so warm, so unfairly warm.

“I… I hang out with you because I want to. I want you to have fun because I…” He swallowed, hardly, and it felt like a light was switched on in the black ninja’s mind. “… I like when you have fun. When you s-smile, too.” It was so different from the usual flirty attitude that this guy used. It would have sounded like a mockery to any other. “I like being where you are too, that’s all I need… I-I mean it!” But Cole knew this guy, he knew him too well not to know that flirting was a show.

This awkward, embarrassed, red gorgeous person was the real deal. One that came out only when the time was right, and the person was right.

Cole was right. He was… right?

“I… I don’t know what to say.” He really didn’t and it was the worst possible answer. But it was true. What did you say to someone you harbored feelings for that showed interest back towards you? Thanks? Same here? I love you?? It was true but it was out and everything felt unnecessary and uneasy again.

The hold tightened. Kai was still blushing, but he was smiling with that special energy into his eyes. The one that usually meant a very bad plan coming, or one heck of an idea.

“No need. Just come with me.” Not like he could resist him right now.

Right on cue the music had changed, slowing down. The master of earth had a suspicion the one holding his hand was behind this – not like bribing Dareth currently at the console was particularly hard, especially with a couple of Puffy Potstickers in hand. Then again, the one holding his hand was this handsome fella that was leading him towards the center of the ballroom, between fanciful people and a couple of eyes in awe at seeing their heroes there. It was easier to ignore the comparison, the feeling of inferiority, while feeling Kai’s fingers clenching around his palm, shaking firmly. It was cute. So very cute. Cole could barely see in front of himself between all these people, yet it felt like nothing was really shouldering him as he passed through.

There were lights above them. Were they always there? Cole didn’t notice before, which was silly since it was all dark outside. His head was lighter, he didn’t have control over his strength even if he had wanted to break free from that hold. He didn’t. Not when the red ninja had that familiar determination making his entire body tense. Not while he turned around, smirking.

Still blushing. Still holding his hand. The master of earth looked down. Two pairs of feet staring at each other. Memories of the dance lessons came flooding back.

He looked up. Those glimmering embers made it much better.

“You brought me here to dance?”

“Impeccable deduction, Rocky.”

“Do you even know how? Dancing in couple is not the same as in a group, and we both know you have awful balance.” It was the only thing that made him regret throwing the battle against Jay back at the tournament of elements: losing the possibility of seeing this klutz making a fool of himself on roller skates. Confident Kai? Goofy and charming. Energic Kai? Attractive and brave. Angry Kai? Literally hot. But man, clumsy, adorably unsteady Kai? A wholesome force strong enough to break every single mountain he had ever climbed in his life.

The master of fire huffed with superiority, which was already promising. Around them a few couples were getting together, slowly moving with the rhythm.

“Please, I defeat evil lurking behind our backs on regular basis. I can handle a dance.” His eyes went down on his feet, while he unsurely grabbed his other hand. “You just gotta work with me, first you move the left… right… no left, left!” Left went right over his partner’s foot, and it was gone right away ironically almost as it got burned. “D-Don’t laugh, I got this!” Screw everything, the master of earth was very glad Ninjago had been in peril just to arrive at this specific moment.

Ah, but he was the responsible one, wasn’t he? Snickering right in front of the brunette’s face while he was doing his dang best at not stomping onto his feet would have not been very mature.

… continuously at least, he could take one giggle.

No one could call one giggle immature. Or two.

“I can hear my father’s pleas from here.”

“Shut up, I’m getting there! Right foot, sorry, then left…” Wow, it was almost impressive considering Cole had managed to see him before almost gracefully practicing spinjitzu with them. Then again, it was so like him it hurt. “There there’s the… huh… casket?” Oh dear, he meant the casque? Yep, definitely good pa wasn’t here. The black ninja almost blacked out he was laughing so much – pun not intended –, wiping away a single tear. Then he looked up, embers were staring. So focused and bright they were too much to look at. Kai grinned. “At least your smile is back.” The softest curve ever.

It was impossible not to look at it. It was baffling how many people were attracted to the master of fire solely for appearance and superficial charm. Yet this part, this tender side of him was the most lovely part. The most hidden too, reserved only to those who got close enough to the fire to get burned, without regretting a single moment.

Cole giggled again, stepping forward. Automatically he took charge, assuming the position that had been sculptured into his mind by years of dance lessons. Kai’s hand was still shaking as he took it, his eyes were trembling too. It made the black ninja smile more.

“It’s easy to smile when I’m with you.” Another incredible thing about this guy, it made all the people around him more confident. Stronger. Him included.

Kai gaped. He stuttered, looking down, up, at him and not.

Then he sighed, whining weakly.

“I was trying to properly confess, Boulder Brain.” It would have been such a shameless, anticlimactic moment for anyone. Gosh if it hadn’t dissolved all the anxious anticipation the black ninja had. “Why did you have to one up me right now?” Maybe it wasn’t only Kai that made him feel this at ease, maybe it wasn’t only them knowing each other so well. Maybe there really was one and only, for life, and the master of earth knew it by instinct.

A pretty good instinct too.

Cole grinned, stepping closer because dang if this didn’t feel immensely good.

“Force of habit, you’re just that slow.” Dang if this easiness between them wasn’t the most comfortable feeling he had ever felt. “You should really put your mind into training a little more, prove that you can keep up with me, Fireball.”

Music was changing, people were moving, the party was continuing and neither of them was looking anymore. Who cared anyway? What was important right now?

Warmth was.

Kai’s hand on his cheek was. Kai’s softened eyes on him were.

“I can do that. You know I never quit in front of a challenge.” One blink of an eye later, their noses were brushing. Another blink, their breaths were caressing each other’s lips. One last, the master of fire turned that kind of serious. The one that put everything on the table, because he considered a moment that important. “… I hate when you ditch a party.” Cole held together a little gulp. “And it’s not about you not being a party person, or wanting you to have fun, or even for you to get the credit you deserve. It is in part, but it’s not all.” He smiled, his thumb tracing gently his cheek, so very careful with him. Him, the lifter of their team. Him, the mighty master of earth. Him, the one that could manifest an earthquake with a punch. “It’s just that I miss you every time. You make everything better for me… I want to be with you as much as I can.”

It was never about that after all. It was never about who he was or what he represented, for either of them. It was just about two guys, two friends that had been lucky enough to get closer to each other reciprocally. In comparison to this, everything felt so meaningless.

The room was empty, the music was gone. It was just them.

Cole closed his eyes.

“You could convince me that parties are cool, you know. Then I won’t ditch anymore.” His closeness, his heat, his presence. The black ninja wanted to take in everything about this moment and never letting go. “I feel like I’m on the right path right now…” Wow, they weren’t even together yet and his flirty tendencies were already rubbing on him. Was he really that gone already for not minding it one bit?

Ah, who cared, Kai was so close he could hear him swallow. His thumb was still shivering, and it made his heart flutter. Then he laughed, low and sincere.

“Let’s see if I can be convincing.” He whispered.

Kissing the red ninja was exactly how he had imagined. It was warm, a little clumsy, so very sincere and vigorous. It reflected how he moved, how he acted, how he fought, how he protected. Yet it was nothing like he thought. It was so sweet it made his eyes pinch, it was delicate and even a little uncertain. It was him on the inside, the him that didn’t always want to make an impression, the him that had so much love to give to his most precious ones. It was him. In every possible way, it was him.

Cole smiled, kissing back, holding onto him as he was held back.

He liked parties. And he loved Kai.

‘Cause I don’t care when I’m with my baby, yeah

All the bad things disappear

And you’re making me feel like maybe I am somebody

I can deal with the bad nights

When I’m with my baby

#ninjago #lego ninjago #ninjago kai #ninjago cole #kai smith #cole brookstone #cole bucket #lava #lavashipping #ninjago valentine exchange #nightlybirdie

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bakubabes-tatakae · 4 years ago

Note

Hello darling. Can I have prompt 367 from choice five with Dabi please? Thank you!

Hello lovely. You’re so welcome. I’m ALWAYS happy to write for my lord and savior daddy Dabi. 🤤❤

Those Words || {NSFW} Dabi x Reader

Warnings: fluff, dirty talk, 18+ content, unprotected sex, Dabi’s daddy kink

Word Count: 1.4k

Your phone buzzed on the table beside you and the name that popped up on your screen sent those butterflies through your stomach. You had been staying with the League of Villains for a couple of months now and their resident bad boy had stolen your heart. You could never tell him this tho, Dabi had never been the dating type. He was the hit it and quit it type, you were lucky enough to be the one that he “hit” over and over again.

As you looked at the phone you smiled.

Dabi 💕9:27 pm

Attached Image

We’re just leaving the hideout now, we’ll be back in two hours. I expect you’ll be waiting for me? I need to take out some stress.

As you opened the picture you could feel yourself salivating. His erection stood before you as he sat on the bed of his hotel room.

9:28 pm

I’ll be waiting. Text me when you’re close. I’ve got a surprise for you.

Two hours. You had two hours to get ready for him to show up. You stood from the table and clutched the phone in your hand. Toga looked over at you as you walked away. “Heading to bed already? It’s still early.”

You gave her a sweet smile. “I’m pretty tired. I’m gonna call it a night early today.” She waved to you and blew you a kiss. But as you approached the entrance of the hallway she stopped you again.

“Hey Y/n.” You turned to her and tried not to look so confused. “Have you heard from the Vanguard at all? It really sucks that Shiggy wouldn’t let me go with them on this mission.”

“I’m sure they’ll be back soon.” You knew how much Toga loved being a part of the Vanguard and seeing her not get to go with them was heartbreaking. “Don’t worry so much about them. Dabi is an amazing leader, he’ll bring them home safe.”

You turned and walked toward your bedroom, slowly opening the door with thoughts of Dabi flooding your head. As you closed it behind you you caught a glimpse of the surprise that you had for Dabi sitting on your dresser. You walked over and ran your hand over the lace of the pieces that sat upon it. Just the thought of putting them on had your heart beating out of your chest.

You remembered his message. Two hours. Enough time to lay down for a little while, by the sounds of Dabi’s message you weren’t going to get much sleep tonight. You grabbed the lingerie off the dresser and slowly pulled off your leggings and tank top before pulling the skimpy outfit onto yourself.

When your head hit the pillow you could feel the exhaustion from the day taking over, turning your vision black as you fell asleep.

The familiar, raspy voice entered your ear, drawing you out of your sleep. “Y/n.” You felt his hand running down your body. “Is this what your surprise for me was?” As you opened your eyes you caught his smirk as his eyes wandered your entire body. “I text you when I was close, but now I see why you hadn’t answered.”

His touch had awoken you almost instantly. He slowly climbed onto the bed, already slipping his pants and underwear off before doing so. As he sat down beside you he pulled his white t-shirt over his head. Another smirk pulled at his lips as he patted his lap. “If you want to go around wearing things like that then this is officially on you.”

It was rare that Dabi would let you be the one to take control when you were in bed. You were hesitant, making sure that he didn’t change his mind and take over again. But he grasped his length in his hand and tugged a couple of times before looking back over at you. “Don’t keep me waiting. You know my patience level.”

You slowly climbed onto his lap, placing your hands on the sides of his face. “I wouldn’t want to piss you off, now would I?”

He roughly placed his lips to yours and grasped your hips, his length pressing against your thigh as you leaned over him. His fingers dug into the soft skin on your hips and you winced a little. The staples that riddled his body cool to the touch as they touched your exposed skin. He lifted your hips and pushed your panties to the side, lining you up with his cock.

As he helped you lower yourself onto it you let your head drop back, a loud whine coming from your lips. A smirk tugged at his mouth as a growl sounded from the back of his throat. “God, you’re so tight dollface.”

As you moved up and down his length he couldn’t help the noises coming from him. He had forgotten how much he had loved having someone ride his cock and not have to do any of the work. He had gotten so used to the one night stands that he wanted to finish quickly with and get out of his room that he had forgotten how much he had loved someone else being the one to bring him to his high.

The closer your body came to his the more his fingers dug into your skin. The closer the contact the more grunts came from him. His hips rutted against yours in an attempt to get himself further into you. Your head dropped forward and he placed his forehead to yours. “God dollface,” He placed a kiss to your lips. “If you keep fucking me this good then I’ll have to marry you.”

Your movements stopped at his words. “What’d you say?”

Dabi moved his hands from your hips to your face and placed another soft kiss to your lips. “I like you Y/n.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. The big, bad Dabi had just confessed that he liked you. Something you had never heard of him doing before. Something that you were sure he would never have done. “Are you serious?”

Dabi rubbed your cheek with his thumb. “I’m one hundred percent serious.” His hands down up your sides as he prepared to flip you over onto you back. “Let me show you just how much I like you.”

As you felt his strong arms tip you over and his cock thrust back into you you could barely contain yourself. His pace was unrelenting as he chased his orgasm, knowing very well that you were getting close to yours. Your walls closed around his cock as he slowed his pace, knowing that you were close.

You could feel the pleasure coursing through you as you near your climax. You wrapped your arms around Dabi, your fingers sinking into the skin of his back, digging into him as you let a loud moan escape your lips. Dabi smirked and spoke softly into your ear, not even flinching at the feeling of your nails. “Tell daddy who you belong to.”

“You.” Your words were quiet as you placed your forehead against his shoulder. Your cunt clenched around his cock and you threw your head back. The feeling of your walls suffocating his length caused him to empty himself inside of you.

Dabi collapsed beside you and you couldn’t help but smile. Dabi had actually told you that he liked you, something that he so rarely ever did with people. You rolled to your side and watched him, usually now was the time where he was getting dressed again and leaving, but instead, he wrapped you into his arms and pulled you as close to him as he could get you.

He placed a kiss to your temple and smiled. “I meant what I said Y/n.” You said nothing back to him, just stared at him. “I like you… If I didn’t I wouldn’t have been with you this many times. It’s just an excuse for me to spend time with you.”

“You can spend all the time with me that you want Dabi.” You sat up and straddled him, placing another soft kiss to his nose. “If you’ll have me I’ll always be here.”

“Of course I’ll have you.” He pushed your hair behind your ear and smiled. “Let me call you mine from this point on.”

“I’m yours Dabi.” You leaned down and let him wrap himself around you. “Now and forever.”

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aikrus · 5 years ago

Text

Just Fine

Pairing: Reader x N. Monoma, Reader x S. Todoroki Rating: G Words: 4k279 Warnings: Angst, mentions of panic attacks, emotional affair, kiss, Todoroki’s a little ooc-- but does that really matter in the long run? Requested by: No one, but feel free to request! Request/ Prompt: Monoma has to cope with his loss. Sure Y/n had been upgraded in class level, but that doesn’t mean she’ll upgrade out of him, right?

UA’s annual sports festival was monumental every year, but it seemed like everything shifted after the declaration of winners. Sure the competition itself had been a little weird, the students were exposed to each other and the world-- for better or worse, but it was what came after which would change the future of everyone involved.

For Y/n, it was for the best. The entrance exam had worked against her in many ways. For one, it was against robots, rendering her quirk practically useless. Secondly, she was placed with all of the heavy-hitters. This left her ranking very far down on the scale. She placed twenty third out of all first years in the exams, securing her a spot in class 1-B.

During her time there, she grew extraordinarily close to the students in the class. Tetsutetsu had become like an older brother to her, he trained her tirelessly in hand-to-hand combat until she was one of the best in the class. She knew that he was there for her, and he had earned her respect very quickly.

Pony had also grown close to Y/n. They got on like a house on fire, mostly to them both having not an ill-willed bone in their bodies. They were often seen as ‘the sweethearts of 1-b’ and were protected by their class, even though they were both arguably the strongest people in the class. They’re some of the only people who hang out activities outside of school (i.e. movies, parties, sleep-overs).

And then there was Neito. They hadn’t started out on the best of terms- Y/n had told him to never copy her quirk, “It’s too dangerous”. Sadly, Monoma took this as a challenge. During their first group fight, he copied off of her without knowing what she could do.

Y/n’s quirk is known as “Blinding,” a quirk that allows her, when someone makes eye-contact with her left eye, to blind them or gives them a ‘blinding’ headache. While this is dependent on how long they stare, it automatically stuns her opponent.

Monoma had no clue that, because of this, her left eye can never be used as an actual eye, so he was blind out of his eye for two days, and he blinded Kendo. Lesson learned, he never copied her again. For the two days, he was half-sighted.

From then on, before she trained with Tetsutetsu, Y/n would spend an hour helping Monoma use her quirk, so if he ever had to he wouldn’t be hurt too much by it. Needless to say, they ended up spending a good chunk of time together.

Oh, sweet Neito, who was able to charm and hair-sweep his way into Y/n’s heart. In a month the two were dating, and everything was warm cuddles and hand-holding. Locked pinkies in the halls and ‘I love you’ notes left on their desks filled their lives, and they’ve never been happier.

Y/n had comforted him after 1-A fought the villains, she was the only one able to help him with the inferiority complex that ate away at his head and chained him to his bed every morning. She glared at the other class for reasons they had no control over, and even though everyone held her much higher than that, she loathed them for it.

This class had hurt her wonderful boyfriend who was ashamed of his own quirk, who wanted him and his classmates to have a chance to prove themselves. This class had unknowingly ruined him for days, the class that thought they were famous because of their misfortune- they knew nothing of misfortune.

And then the sports festival came along, and class 1-B made a group pact not to be spiteful towards their partner class, and even though he was very reluctant, Y/n made sure Neito did it as well. They would be humble winners or gracious losers, they would be better than everyone thought they would be.

The first round started all too suddenly. The crowds seemed to suffocate Y/n, her quirk-driven social anxiety was at a high peak, and her only current comfort was the eye-patch that laid over her left would-be eye.

Hyperveteling and shaking, a hand grabbed her waist and pulled her forward, swooping of the wall and sliding to the front. With her eye shut (thank god it was) she hadn’t seen herself glid along the ice that her savior was pulling her on.

“Sorry for grabbing you like that, I just recognized some signs and didn’t want to risk a possible anxiety-attack,”

Finding her grounding, Y/n finally saw the heterochromatic boy who saved her. “Thank you,” she breathed out, before looking forward with the few other people.

At the end of the day, she had finished fifth in the race. Her quirk didn’t help, but her training sessions with Tetsutetsu did. The observers hadn’t said much about her, but they all noticed her appearance and the lack of quirk usage in that match.

The second stage started, and most of Class 1-B flocked to Y/n or Ibara. She had ended up hand-picking her team. Sadly, Monoma had already been a part of a team, so she recruited Shinso, her friend from General Studies, Shoda, and Tetsutetsu to be her teammates.

They faired very well with little drama, and Shinso had been kept in line and only brainwashed Shoda and Tetsutesu, leaving Y/n well aware and able to front the team with Shinso on top. Y/n hadn’t used her quirk during the Cavalry Battle, as she supported her team with strategy and strength.

They ended up in second place, much to three of their’s delight. Shoda had excused himself from the festival, leaving Y/n with one less friendly face going into the next round.

And finally, the one-on-one fighting, and the drama it brought with it. Neito hadn’t passed the calvary battle, but he supported her through her battles. He cheered loudly for her, and he waited for her after her match.

Her first opponent was Ashido, a pink-haired girl from 1-A that always seemed to be yelling about one thing or another. Y/n had removed her eye-patch for the match, and she was prepared to use her quirk if she had to.

It ended quickly, a nice warm up her boyfriend would have called it. The other girl had put up a good fight, but her curiosity got the best of her during the very beginning. The blindness made her easy to maneuver, and her fear only helped Y/n win, but it weighed heavily on her conscience.

Y/n sat with her class during the other battles. She watched the match between her savior and another student in awe. Her eye sparkled brightly and she sat on the edge of her seat. It was the kind of match that left both members and the audience satisfied, but Monoma was less than pleased at her fawning.

Y/n rolled her eyes at his remark, slightly annoyed but unwilling to make more of it than it was. She made her way to her second match- the nerves had eaten at her, and she had hoped her boyfriend would give her words of comfort. That didn’t work out.

The match had gone on for longer. Tokoyami’s quirk was terrifying to her, but he had looked her in the eyes when calling upon it. Her fear may have pushed her to go further with her quirk than she thought she was going to.

He fought with the pain, and he tried to stand after falling to the ground. Tears had started to fall from his eyes, and Y/n started to plead with him to forfeit. She had planned on giving him enough of a headache for him not to be able to tell Dark Shadow where to go, but she had pushed too hard.

He fought, but the pain wore him down to surrender. She was quick to release her hold on him, but she was afraid to look up from the floor after that. Y/n had rushed away from the peering eyes, and tears began to fall to the floor.

------

She collided with a chest in her rush, a hand stabilized her before she could fall back.

“Sorry about that, I don’t mean to be grabbing your waist so often,” a quiet voice resonated above her. She took a step back to see a new familiar face.

“It’s not a problem,” she rushed out before looking back to the floor.

“Hey, I wanted to congratulate you on your win, your quirk is very powerful,”

“Yeah,” she whispered, “I know.”

“Is everything okay?” He placed a hand on her shoulder, but she refused to look at him.

“Your friend, the one I was fighting, I hurt him more than I meant to,”

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” he soothed her shoulder, “his ego’s bruised more than anything else. It’s not your fault, you were doing what you were supposed to do- as was he. This is the one time we, as students, are allowed to use our powers like we’re being threatened. And you had medical on call, it was the safest place for it to have happened. You were just in the festival spirit.”

“I was careless,” she argued.

“You were frightened,” he hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her face up to meet his eyes, “and you have nothing to be ashamed of.”

A blush had betrayed her, and she was quick to put some distance between the two of them.

“I- I’m sorry,” Todoroki was the one blushing now. “I just thought that you- I didn’t mean-”

“No! It’s okay, I’m just in a relationship and-”

“Y/n!” A voice echoed down the hall. Both parties looked to the dark, and they saw Monoma run up to them. “You did such a good job up there! I’m so proud of you,” Neito pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead.

“Thank’s babe,” she said back, awkwardly patting his back. “Hey, babe? Meet uhh...” she scratched the back of her neck.

“Todoroki Shoto, It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he stuck his hand out towards the blond.

“Monoma Neito, and I’m sure it is,” he shook his hand.

“Babe!” Y/n slapped his chest. “Remember the deal?”

“Right, right,” he sighed at her, “The pleasure is mine.”

“Thank’s again Todoroki, it meant a lot! I’ll see you around, okay?”

“Yeah,” he waved at her as the pair walked away. “I’ll see yah,” he whispered to an empty hall with only their bickering echoing back at him.

---

That was her first actual conversation with her savior, and to their words they did meet again. Y/n had fought one Iida Tenya in the semi-finals. He was quick and learned to not look her in the eyes, but after spending months training more than anything else, Y/n had gained enough muscle mass to prove herself worthy.

She had managed to trick him out of the match- he was too distracted at not looking at her eyes to look where he was running. She felt a little dirty, but she won the match. He was gracious and shook her hand after it. He was a little embarrassed, but he wasn’t hurt.

The other semi-final match had started by the time she made it back to her seat. She was rushing, but it was futile. She didn’t miss much, however, as the first punch was thrown but nothing else.

Going back to her awe-struck position, she watched the match like it was the only other thing in the world. Class 1-B showered her with praise, but some of them had started to grow weary of their friends' popularity. They saw where this was going.

Class 1-A watched the match with eager eyes, and they commented on Todoroki returning to only using his ice-side. They also seemed to notice that he fought much harder than he usually did. He was thought out- calculated. The complete opposite of Bakugo. And for this, he ended up scrapping his way to the winning position.

And then the finals. The last fight in the tournament and Y/n wasn’t sure if she was able to face him. Todoroki had started to consume every thought she had, and clearing her mind was too difficult of a task for her.

In a blink of an eye she was standing across from him. “Hey, Todoroki!” She called across the small arena.

“Yes?”

“Promise me you won’t hold back, okay?” She smiled at him, and Monoma glared from the stands.

“Only if you do the same,” he agreed before getting into his fighting stance.

----------

The match had ended with ice scattered around the stadium, and charred marks up and down the walls. The fight felt like it wasn’t going to come to a close, but they promised each other not to hold back. So, of course, Y/n would stay true to her word.

The first was his sight that she took away. He responded with an ice dome surrounding himself- blocking her from any way to get to him. She knew that they didn’t look him in the eyes long enough for her to use a special ability- well at least not the one she was planning on using.

Instead of Mealt-Down, she settled on using Nausea- by rapidly changing the severity of his blindness, she would cause server fatigue and pain, not to mention the distortion he would feel.

He still fought back, slowly pushing his ice out trying to force her from the arena. She had made her way on top of the ice, slipping the entire way up. She continued to re-adjust her position, trying to wear down on him until he couldn’t do anything.

After what felt like all too long, he had passed out from the vertigo that she inflicted on him. She was anything but proud of herself, as she made her way through his ice to carry his sleeping figure out of the arena.

Crowds cheered for her, even though she never actually fought fought someone during the games- she had won, but it didn’t feel right. It felt dirty to take the win, but she knew that if someone had let her win after she passed out it would feel the same.

The migraine that hit Y/n stayed for the rest of the day. Even on the podium getting the medal she didn’t deserve, she squinted at the sun. Her eye-patch in its place and her pride on the ground, she accepted what All-Might presented her with, but she never looked up.

----------

Y/n never had a formal chance to say goodbye to class 1-B. She had been called into the principal's office before school two days later. She knocked on the door, anxiously waiting.

“Come on in Y/L/N,” Principal Nezu’s high-pitched voice called her in.

“Senai Sekijiro?” Y/n questioned, before sitting across from her teacher at the long desk.

“Y/L/N, you fought extraordinarily well during the sports festival. Your control over your quirk has improved greatly over your time with me, and you have become physically stronger as well. Sadly, my time as your homeroom teacher has come to an end,” he sighed and looked down. The pain in his eyes was too visible for him to look at his prize pupil.

“Sensai? I don’t understand, am I being expelled?” She looked rapidly between the three men sitting across from her.

“No, Y/l/n, you’ve misunderstood us,” Nezu voiced out.

“Quite the opposite, after much deliberation, you have been transferred into class 1-A,” a man who she hadn’t met before spoke for the first time.

“Y/l/n,” Sensai Sekijiro said, “I would like you to meet your new homeroom teacher, Sensai Aizawa. He is very skilled and I have the utmost faith in his ability to help you grow,”

Y/n had decided that if she were to say much she would begin to cry. She had grown attached to her teacher, he had supported her through a lot. Sure it hasn’t been more than a year, but he had helped her when her quirk became too much, when she couldn’t look from the floor, and when she couldn’t open her eyes.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you sir, and it’s an honor to be taught under you,” Y/n’s y/e/c eye didn’t look up from the dark-oak desk that held her full attention.

Yes it was rude, and yes Aizawa sent her previous teacher a look for it, but with the stress that the situation Y/n couldn’t guarantee that her quirk wouldn’t activate by itself. There were many precautions, but the eyepatch didn’t always work during extraordinarily emotionally taxing times.

It took weeks before Y/n could look Sensai Sekijiro in the eye after she accidentally triggered her quirk during a science lab and gave him a slight headache.

“Y/l/n,” Sensai Aizawa voiced out. “You can look in my eyes, I promise that you won’t hurt me. If t would make you more comfortable, I will erase your quirk when you do. Just for a handshake,” he nudged her.

The two teachers had talked before the meeting. Kan was very attached to his best student, so he wanted to make the transition as easy for her as possible. So, he gave Aizawa a few pointers. Like for one, seat her at the back of the room. Y/n likes to control who she looks at and when, and if she’s in the back she can easily advert her eyes if she has to.

For another, she is very ashamed of her quirk. He told him that she has hurt many people by accident, and her insecurities are plentiful. For her to grow, she needs to be reassured that there is nothing wrong with her ability.

A third, the easiest way to establish a trusting relationship with her, is to have her look him in the eyes early on. If she’s looked into his eyes early on, she will feel more comfortable doing so in the future.

And his last tip when handling her is to sit her near the students who aren’t too loud. She takes time to trust, and she’ll need a quick friend, and those with loud personalities can easily trigger her into a flight or fight response.

At the time Aizawa thought his pointers were stupid. This is a person who is going to be a hero, not a toddler. But now, as he sits so much higher up than she is, he understands. It’s not about how old she is. This is a girl who clearly has seen things that no one should, let alone a child. He knew nothing of her world outside of school, but he had his doubts on how kid-friendly those around her were.

So here he was, coaxing a girl afraid of her power to look him in the eyes. Once she lifted her head, he activated his quirk.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, I have heard incredible things from Sensai Sekijiro, and I witnessed your abilities and the tournament. I look forward to teaching you,”

-----------

And then she was thrown into a new class. Sensai Aizawa had been very kind to her so far. He told her that she could introduce herself if she would like, and she will be sat in the middle of the back row, with his best students on her sides to help her if she ever needs it.

Y/n stood outside as class began until she got the signal to come in. Introductions had gone seamlessly, and she had started to answer questions.

Her first one was from one of the runner-ups in the festival, the one with green hair. “I was wondering what your quirk was, I mean we saw it at the festival, but it would be nice to know a bit more,”

“Of course, My quirk is called Blinding. I can give an opponent anything from a minor headache to taking away their ability to see or process sound.

“What did you do to Todoroki?” A girl with long hair in a ponytail asked from the back, next to her empty seat.

“I used one of my ultimate moves, Nausea. I worked on it for a very long time, but it’s kinda hard to explain,” Y/n scratched her neck embarrassed.

“I have a question,” Todoroki raised his hand.

“Yes?”

“Do you still have a boyfriend?”

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

Transitioning went over very well. After a few weeks, it was like Y/n had always been a part of 1-A. Sure it was a little weird for the rest of the class when a few random members of 1-B would join them at lunch is Y/n sat at their table, or when they walk into homeroom to see a group of them at her desk, but they couldn’t expect her to just abandon all of her friends from her old class, right?

Slowly the crowds wore down, and only three or four people would be at her desk until the warning bell. Pony was always there, smiling and sweet and talking about everything that crossed her mind.

Testsutestu was always there as well, he held constant arm-wrestles with Y/n every morning, and he always waited for her after class so they could continue to train together.

A few others would rotate through in the morning, but not once did Neito walk into classroom 1-A. He would almost, every morning he would almost walk in to say hello, but he never could. Just like he could never sit with her at lunch if she sat with them. It was petty, but that was just how it had to be.

After a while, class 1A won over Y/n. She spent a lot of her time with them. Whether it be with Mina, who always wanted to brush through her hair, or Tokoyami (who she never stopped apologizing to). She hung out with Midoriya and Yaoyarozu, and soon they all understood exactly why class 1-B was spending their free time with her.

Even later though, Todoroki always seemed to be the one to catch her when she was falling. He told her on her second day that he still wanted a chance with her, and if anything ever changed with her and Monoma to tell him.

He wasn’t a bad guy, Y/n was well-aware that Todoroki was smart, strong, dedicate, very hot, and a guy that most girls dream about. But she already had her prince (maybe-not-so-charming), and she couldn’t cheat on him.

But with every ‘almost’ Y/n grew closer and closer to Todoroki, and she drifted further and further away from him. It was only a matter of time, he knew. He could feel it.

----

“Monoma,” Y/n smiled at her boyfriend before sitting across from him in their booth at the cafeteria. It was after school and empty, the perfect time.

“Y/n... I missed you,” he whispered, looking in her eye.

“Yeah,” she sighed, “I missed you too.”

“I’ve been wanting to see you- I’ve been meaning to ask-”

“Monoma, I’m so sorry,” tears had gathered in her eyes before she even had the chance to say what she was apologizing for.

“Sorry? I don’t-” he stopped talking when he understood. “You’re leaving me.”

“I’m so sorry love,” she sniffled, “I love you so much,” her tears became sobs as she looked down. Her hand reached out to grab the back of his. “I never meant fo this to-”

“Who was it?” His cold voice was leveled, and it almost hid his sadness with anger.

“I don’t think that ma-”

“Who took you from me damn it!” He flung his hand away from hers.

“Monoma, I-”

“FIrst that awful class steals you away from me, and now one of those students took your heart, and I need to know who to blame,” he’s yelling, but he knows it won’t fool Y/n. She always saw right through it, right through him.

Y/n stood up from her seat to face Monoma. He had stood during his yelling, but now he was shaking. Whether from his anger or sadness, he didn’t know, but Y/n did.

She pulled him into a hug, and he collapsed against her. Tears soaked her shoulder and his full weight slumped against her. “It’s okay, love. It’ll be okay,”

All he could do was ask himself what he did wrong, where he messed up. He finally scored the love of his life, and now she was gone- slipping through his fingers- into the arms of another.

Her phone rang from its place on the table, pulling their hug apart.

“Yes?” She answered. “Yeah, I remembered. Don’t worry about it! Alright, I’ll be right there, see you soon,” she ended the call and slipped it into her bag.

“I have to go,” she put her arm through her bag and stood up straight. “Will you be okay?” She walked right up to him, putting a hand on his cheek.

He closed his eyes on instinct and leaned into her touch. She smiled softly at him, this would be the last time they saw each other like this. He opened his eyes and lifted her head up. Slowly, he leaned in, his eyes flickering up to hers once their lips are almost touching.

With a broken breath, she leaned in, kissing him harder than she ever has before. She traced her name into his lip with this kiss, and he poured all of his emotions into it, pulling her close with his left hand while his right tugged lightly at the base of her hair. Her lips felt a loss when they pulled away for air- their world had ended.

“I’ll be just fine.”

359 notes · View notes

pinkiepiebones · 3 years ago

Text

I and this Mystery here we stand.

Equal opposites

Shadow and Light

Born and Born Again

Both of us, we two, the core of us

We needed no Divine intervention.

We Make Ourselves

whole.

Saviors

Cast as Villains

Cast out of Paradise

Cast out to Lurk and Watch and Seek and Salvage

Lives in Our hands

One hand squeezes, one hand pulls.

This, I cannot fathom.

This Mystery and Me.

Not Two sides of a Coin, but a Coin itself, you see.

...

Doctor Craven studies the paper. The hanging bits, the remnants of the page being pulled from a spiral of metal, had been meticulously removed. There are no errant tears or crumples, just the straight crease right down the middle of the paper, bisecting the pale blue lines. Upon the lines sat smooth, flowing cursive, written in safe, non-lethal marker pen.

Renowned serial killer Victor Zsasz sits in a stiff metal chair at a small desk bolted to the floor, his legs chained to a metal hoop jutting out of the floor, his right hand strapped to his side. His left hand, mishapen with vertical and diagonal scars, is free. His long thin scarred fingers twirl the marker pen. His face is a mask of scars and an uneven, predatory smile. His eyes are impossibly dark.

”A, mm, a bit of an homage to Whitman,” the patient purrs. “I’ve always liked Leaves of Grass, you know, his sentence structure and generous use of the ellipse...” Victor taps the marker pen on the desk, tap tap tap, to produce his own ellipses.

”I told you to write about your killing.”

”But I didn’t want to,” Victor sighs, petulance staining his voice. “I wanted to write a love poem- Lord help me, Doctor Isley must have snuck a little, ah, friend into my cell.”

”Mister Zsasz-“

”Now, I’m not saying I love anyone,” Victor continues, thoroughly finished engaging this weak opponent, “but I feel such a turbulent je ne sais quoi for him, you know, Doctor?” He moves the marker pen in his hand, conducting an orchestra only he can hear.

“What is it the Greeks would call this, hmm? This non-romantic sort of love that makes you want to, oh, I don’t know, feel every drop of blood leave their body and run over your skin? It’s hell to clean off, but nothing quite compa-“

”MISTER ZSASZ.”

Doctor Craven crunches the paper and throws the ball over gis shoulder. He slaps another clean piece down on the desk.

”Your killings. The most recent ones. Now.”

Victor groans and stares through the doctor.

”You’d best work on your bedside manner, Doctor.” He uncaps the marker pen without assistance. “I always have places for the recent hires who need salvation.”

tbc??

#victor zsasz #zsasz #mister zsasz #zsasz loves batman and loves being a talkative shit

3 notes · View notes

chaniters · 5 years ago

Text

MOTHER’S DAUGHTER

________________________________ Sorry about the long delay, writing comes and goes for me and last time it went away for quite a while. I’m trying to get back into the mood and finish amazing @kruk-art‘s Awan Cormac fic! It’s been a long time so here are the previous chapters.

1 https://chaniters.tumblr.com/post/185591914314/only-human

2 https://chaniters.tumblr.com/post/185662034909/crisis-control

3 https://chaniters.tumblr.com/post/185824503359/reaper

4 https://chaniters.tumblr.com/post/186475284144/sunken-town

Hope you like this, and as always there might be spoilers for Fallen Hero ahead.

Added a new villain in this.

_________________________________

“Seriously?”

“This tunnel’s the best way to get inside unseen” Elyise answers.

“Best way to get crushed to death you mean!“

“The other side is safe” she replies as her powers methodically remove the debris pieces blocking the tunnel

“You know there’s not a single safe thing in here!” you say amazed that it’s you concerned about safety for once.

“Well we could always go back to the main entrance and knock,” she says smiling.

That’s a no-go. You took a brief peek at the facility, and the place is swarming with guards and cameras. Someone took the time and money necessary to restore most of the ruin and turn it to a death trap to infiltrators such as yourselves.

“This is a bad idea” you concede walking trough.

“Well it’s the only idea”

“Not sure if suicidal ideas count”

“Oh, they totally count believe me”

You have to turn back the night vision mode since the way ahead is pitch black. The tunnel Reaper’s console detected goes through several sections of different collapsed buildings. As you advance you go trough a ruined subway tunnel, then to a cracked apartment building corridor, then a set of bent scaffoldings on top of a seemingly bottomless pit and finally a collapsed staircase.

Advance is slow, as the way is littered by all manner of obstacles, random debris, furniture, and even some rusted cars. Elyise goes on ahead since her powers can clear the way.

“So how did you get involved in this mess?” you ask breaking the silence

“What do you mean?” she says

“You must have been following a different lead into the kidnappings?”

“Oh. Yeah, I have” She nods

“...so?”

“So what?”

“You’re not going to tell me?”

“Alright, hmm... Let’s just say I'm mostly interested in finding the villain behind this”

“Void or Psycopathor?” you ask

“Neither. Those two don’t normally assault hospitals for a living. They’re working for someone”

“And you know who that is?

Elyise doesn’t answer, focused on clearing out a broken wall. You have to get into it and aid, pulling some rocks by hand to create a passage wide enough to come through.

The other side seems to be a store-room, pitch black, but relatively clean. Several boxes are piled up against a wall, bearing logos of pharmaceutical companies.

“We’re in” she states, hopping trough the crack and landing on her feet. You follow closely, studying the room.

“Ah, there she is” she says pointing to a graffiti on one of the walls. IT looks like a masked nun holding both hands together in prayer, in red paint. Some melted remains of candles lying on the floor next to it.

“What.. is that?” you say walking closer.

She takes a few seconds to answer that.

“Have you ever heard about… Mother?”

“Mother Superior you mean?” suddenly remembering the urban legend

“Same one,” she says walking on

“Yes, I’ve heard about her. Mostly that she doesn’t exist.”

“She exists,” she says pointing at the graffiti, which on closer inspection looks more like an improvised shrine ”And I’ve been after her for a very, very long time”

You struggle to keep up her phase as she turns and walks avoiding piles of boxes towards the door

“Alright. Let’s say she’s real. They say she has the power to save people from hero drug secondary effects. That she’s created of a lot of villains. And that her costume looks sort of like a nun.”

“You got two of those right”

“Which ones?”

“Her outfit does look like a nun. And she’s generated a lot of villains. But she doesn’t have powers”

“What? So how does she do it?”

“She’s a scientist. And she’s figured out how to calculate the odds anyone has for surviving hero drugs. All she does is find people with good chances and use them, then pretend she can do the same for everyone else ”

“If she can do that, why aren’t the pharmaceuticals doing it too?”

“What makes you think they aren’t? They just can’t talk about it, because hero-drugs are illegal outside labs and the military, and no one can be 100% accurate either.”

“Alright… so what is she to you?”

“It’s personal”

“So It’s all about her then? That’s why you contacted Reaper?”

“That, and Reaper is one of the few people who actually knew her”

“What? How?”

She sighs looking at you. “You ask a lot of questions, you know?”

“Well, I like to know what I'm up against”

“Alright fine. She’s been active since the ’70s. She worked on the original drug, became the pharmaceutical’s scapegoat and then pariah in the scientific community. So she went into the black market, providing aid to anyone wanting to take the drugs. Claimed she wanted to atone and end all hero-drug deaths with her illegal research. Lots of powerful people saw her as a saviour”

“So when did she meet Reaper then?”

“Rich guy wanting to take hero drugs? What did you think he just bought some in a dark alley? No way. He paid her a small fortune and she tested him in every way possible before he took them.”

You can sense her mind’s holding back something else. But now ‘s not the time to push.

“What’s your interest in this?”

“It’s personal too” you answer drily. They attacked the Hauswald hospital.”

“Oh. I saw those promos. Didn’t think it was more than publicity”

“Well, it is. They do amazing work there. I’m going to rescue those patients.”

“We are going to rescue the patients” she corrects.

“Hold!” you say in a hushed voice pulling her back behind a corner.

“W…” she mumbles before a pair of masked, robed figures, a man and a woman walk through the corridor you were about to go through.

“Hurry up! Mother needs these samples right now” the woman says moving forward as the man struggles to follow carrying several vials of fragile chemical samples

“What are they wearing?” you whisper. Dark robes, hoods, masks, metal necklaces…

“Sorry. When I told you she’s seen as a savior I should have actually said “Big and crazy cult-leader. Wherever she goes these guys follow. I’m not sure how are we going to get close enough to...”

“Hm... that’s going to be the easy part. Take this and follow me” you say before handing her a metal pipe from the floor before rapidly closing the distance towards the two cultists. You know your infiltration techniques well.

………………………………………………

“I think I'm allergic to this fabric” Elyise complains whiles scratching her neck under the stolen robe “And it smells funny too”

“Shush,” you say while scratching your own arm. You’re pretty sure you’re insulated under your nanomesh but somehow you’re feeling itchy as well.

Cultists seem to be wearing their own individual masks, so you and Elyise are just keeping your own costumes under the hoods. Your powers are making up for anyone noticing something odd, and this plan can actually fool the numerous security cameras as you go deeper into the facility. If you had known about these costumes before, you could have just walked through the main door.

Black curtains cover the next tunnel and a couple of guards wearing the powered suits stand at each side. They let you pass as soon as you present the samples they were expecting.

A stair opens up into a huge open room, probably the lunch area for the workers that used to work in the plant. Unlike the rest of the facility, it seems to be pretty much intact. It’s been refurbished as a small amphitheater, with numerous robbed figures attending some sort of event.

You instinctively raise your shields as you notice the giant standing over the improvised stage.

Psycopathor, talking to a few guards. He briefly looks your way but his gaze doesn’t linger. Whatever is going on it hasn’t begun yet and the audience is scattered talking among themselves.

“Let’s split… I think there’s a small bathroom there” she points to a line “I’ll get in and try to contact Reaper again, see if he could call the rangers You see if you can find the hostages?”

“Alright, we meet here in 15’t” you whisper back before walking into the crowd.

Performing a scan with so many people around is awful, but on the bright side, there’s little chance of Psycopathor noticing anything wrong since he must have the same problem. You end up sticking to a corner next to a chatty group after implanting the suggestion that you’re part of their clique.

Only as you wander through the minds of those around is that you begin to understand the scope of this “Cult”. THere’s not only the desperate but also the super-rich. Fanatics and working people looking for some excitement. The disillusioned mix with the optimists in Mother Superior’s cult as they all look up to her to do something that will change the world.

No. Not something. They want her to change their lives. Change them personally. Make them better… make them… the idea reveals itself as you dig deeper...

Boosted. The realization comes as a bucket of cold water. Every single person here hopes that Mother Superior will give them boosted powers without having to take any risks. That somehow she’ll magically make hero-drugs safe and let everyone realize their dreams. They have absolute faith in her plan.

All of their thoughts go in the same direction, and simply following the flow lets you find the mind you’ve been looking for. The cult leader.

“Found them?” the hand on your arm startles you bringing your mind back inside your skull as hard as a rock. “Sorry! Are you ok?”

“Yeah... I'm alright,” you mutter struggling to recover. Now’s not the time for a migraine. “Mother Superior’s behind the stage, and the hostages too. She’s about to start the show”

Mother Superior is behind the curtain on the stage where Psycopathor’s standing. Ready to start the show. The hostages are with her”

“The rangers are in the area but they’re having trouble tracking our location inside the facility and they don’t have Reaper’s tech. There must be some sort of jammer working here. We need to…”

“Everyone, be seated” Psycopathor interrupted her with a commanding voice aimed at the audience.

“This way,” Elyise says pulling you to the side behind a few columns and out of immediate sight as everyone heads for the stands.

The curtain opens, revealing a tall, thin masked figure. It is wearing a powered suit, but unlike the guards, Mother’s power suit looks really advanced. Behind her, in a semi-circle facing the audience are the hostages, tightly secured to rectangular slabs with medical tubes attached to each of them. All of the devices are connected to a central machine at Mother’s right side.

A large table stands by her left, full of… syringes with a blue transparent liquid. You almost choke as you realize what it is.

Hero drug doses. Hundreds, ready to use. You can sense the crowd looking at them as well, in anticipation.

She steps forward, up to Psycopathor. Her suit seems to include a pair of mechanical arms with claws that seems deadly to anyone with skin. A faceless white mask with a golden crown on top of it looks onto the audience. The rest of the armor is covered by an elaborate black dress over it, though it’s layers are still revealed where it’s bare. You can tell high tech from miles away and this is top-notch. She has clearly spent a fortune on it.

She taps something in her mask -possibly activating the mic- and speaks in a clear, warm voice. A distorter is clearly at work.

“My brothers and sisters! Thank you for joining us tonight. I know it is difficult to reach this spot, but it is what the government has reduced us to. Hiding in the shadows, while we struggle to perform the work that they have refused to do for decades. But we never surrender!”

The crowd cheers loudly at that.

“Thank you… thank you” she goes on as the cheering dies out. “Tonight, as was foretold by our precognitive allies, we take the first step towards a new beginning as a species! Yes, my brothers! The time for ascension has come!”

You’re not sure what “Ascension” means but when a madman speaks about it to a room full of fanatics over tables full of hero drugs it sounds really concerning.

“This…” she says motioning to the machine “...is the culmination of three decades of study on one particular problem. How to materialize a boost without risk to human life.” you can sense every single mind enthralled by her words “For a long, like others, I worked in perfecting the drugs themselves. It took me a long time to realize, there is nothing wrong with the chemistry of it. It is not the drugs, but the human body which is at fault. Only now, I have the means to correct this injustice!”

Two women whom you can only assume to be her lab assistants walk on stage and begin operating the device.

“Not every individual exposed to our holy drugs can produce every power. Each strand of DNA is unique and will react differently, we’ve known that for a long time. These individuals…” she now focuses on the hostages to her left “... each of them possesses unique DNA strands that prevent them from developing dozens deadly boost, the kind that would cause immediate death. These others…” she turns to the other half of them “...have each developed antibodies that make them immune to different hero drug reactions that would poison their bodies in a matter of hours. However, individually, none of them stand a chance to be immune to hero-drugs. They just have a better chance than average, that’s all.”

Your mind finally grasps the reason behind Void and Psycopathor’s kidnappings. They weren’t taking boosts at random... they only wanted ones with complete medical records for Mother’s crazy experiment. She’s truly the one behind this all.

“Oh no,” you whisper realizing what she’s about to do. Elyise frowns as Mother Superior’s exposition reaches its high point.

“However, if all of their uniqueness was to be combined into one individual,” she says as she approaches the seat by the central device “... then complete immunity would be achieved.”

“Shit,” Elyise says. She now realizes it too. The crowd has gone completely silent by now.

“You shall all be witness to my ascension. I will drain what I need from them, produce a hybrid DNA infusing their life energy with my own. I will make my body a temple ready to receive the gifts of our greatest evolutionary science! Once I undergo Ascension, I will be Immune to the danger of our sacred Drugs. I will become more than human! I will be an angel from the heavens, able to take on as many powers as I choose to boost myself with… and I will invite everyone here to drink from this chalice after me!”

The crowd erupts in deafening, fanatical cheering of their self-proclaimed savior angel.

“We, are made of light, and today, we all become better! Today, we all shine together! Today, we become gods!” she cries out to her followers.

Psycopathor seems interested as he observes… maybe he’s even considering it as well. Just what the world needs.

“She’s gone completely nuts. We need to stop her long enough for the rangers to get here” you say bringing Elyise back to earth.

“I’ll distract her. You just find a way to show the rangers the way.”

“Distract her? How are you going to…”

But she’s already walking towards Mother Superior, making her way through the crowd.

“You are not a prophet or an angel. You’re no savior! You’re just lying to all of these people! You will only bring death!!”

Mother stops her speech turning towards Elyise as she climbs the stairs onto the stage.

“So you wish to interrupt me, young one. Why don’t you tell us all your name?”

“Gladly!” she answers, removing the robes in a swift motion letting the crowd gasp at the reveal.

The villain studies her up and down.

“Elyise… I should’ve known. You’ve been tracking me and my church for years now.”

“Let me take care of her” Psycopathor says walking forward, ready to take her down right there. Elyise raises an arm preparing her powers, but Mother motions for Psycopathor to stop.

“Stop. Let the fool say her piece. This ought to be interesting” she says with soft laughter, the crowd focused completely on the stage. “I’m attempting to stop the killing and bring a new age of free access to boosted powers to mankind. What right do you have to stop me?”

“You’re insane, and you’re dangerous. You are making everyone believe they can be boosted when you know it’s a lie! You hear me?” she speaks to the crowd ”She’ll just get you all killed!”

The crowd doesn’t respond the way she expects tough, eyeing her with hostility. They’ve bought Mother’s lies for a long time now to trust a complete stranger over her.

“You’re wrong, hero. No matter the lies of the government, I know everyone CAN be boosted, and I’m the one who will make it happen. Lead mankind into its next stage! It is the only logical consequence of human intellect. Artifical, endless, precious evolution”

“You’re killing people! Is that part of your vision too?”

“Necessary sacrifices! So-called Heroes like you have far more blood on your hands, and you will bring no end to the scourge of boosted deaths. Only I can make hero-drugs safe for everyone!”

“Your vision? Don’t make me laugh. You’re just a fake, a liar, and you are… you are...“ her voice breaks.

“And what.? Can’t even finish your own insults?” she says laughing again

“... you are a murderer! A terrible person. And a horrible mother!” Elyise says defiantly, removing her mask.

Mother steps back clearly shocked, and uncomfortable silence lasting for a few seconds. “R.. Riley?!”

Wow. You knew something was up between those two but you didn’t see this coming... A second reveal?! And she’s her daughter? That’s just nuts.

No one stops you as you make your way to the control booth since as far as distractions go, Elyise has gone above and beyond.

“Elyise… Riley… Was that some sort of failed attempt at an anagram?” Mother seems to say finally regaining some momentum. “Nevermind child… It doesn’t really matter. What do you expect to accomplish?”

“You know precisely what I’m doing. I’m ending this madness!”

“Selfish brat! Can’t see beyond yourself and your misguided feelings! You should be helping me! You know the importance of my work! Why I have to do this!”

“The only thing I ever learned from you is that you need to be stopped!”

“Stopped? You can stop me, ingrate! I’ve almost delivered my dream! After tonight, boosted deaths will be a thing of the past!!”

“And how many will you kill for this?” Elyise points at the hostages behind her “How many will it be this time Mother? Have you told them about your OTHER experiments? Have you showed them how many of them failed?!” she says turning to the cultists who look like they’re caught inside some sort of soap-opera dimension. Some do actually seem a bit unsure now.

“All will be will be worth it after tonight!” she says in a confident, reassuring, angelical voice.

“You experimented on me! Your own daughter!”

“I made you BETTER! That is what everyone wants. You just can’t appreciate the gift for what it is! If anything you’re proof of my abilities! You have some of the strongest powers i’ve ever given to anyone!”

You finally reach the tech-booth. As fascinating as this is, you need to actually tell Ortega where you are Elyise’s family reunion will go badly.

“Move,” you say holding a hand over the guy’s shoulder. Your tone is soft, but the mental command is irresistible. He simply stands and joins the others as they watch the scene, Elyise (Or Riley) and Mother throwing barbs at each other.

It takes a few moments to find the Jammer controls and deactivate it, setting up a beacon instead, hoping the rangers will find it. You manage to turn off the alarms too.

You focus on the rest of the systems and realize you can access Mother’s DNA machine from here. The computer shows the status of each of the hostages' slabs, and the patient's life signs are indeed dropping as the process has already begun some time ago. The devices must definitely be extracting something out of them and concentrating it on the central device for Mother’s “Ascension”. You have to be quick, yet you’ve no idea how this. The first few attempts at canceling the extraction fail, as prompts immediately pop up stating that it can’t be done at this stage.

Your fingers race trough the keyboard exploring alternative routes and nothing seems to work until…

You can sense the mind standing behind you. Masked among the crowd, he approached knowing you’d be distracted. Your hand reaches for your targeting scrambler but he is faster, holding your wrist.

“Stay still and don’t do anything stupid. Nobody knows you’re here, at least not yet”

“Void” you grumble.

“Oh, not calling me Nath anymore Sidestep?” he says mockingly.

“Why are you helping madmen? I thought you were in it for the money”

“There is money in this. More than you’d possibly think”

“Well I'm stopping it,” you say ready to rain fists upon his face

“You’re too late. I’ve already done that” he says tapping the screen. Your gaze turns to it, and you can see one of the pods is reporting a critical error… and then another.. And another. All of the patient’s slabs are failing, one after another as the process reaches 50%. “I set a virus to shut it down after half of it is complete so Mother won’t be able to tell the difference. It’s going to be a blast when she fucks up her own DNA up on that machine for all her followers to see.”

“You sabotaged this?” you say incredulously “What’s your angle?”

“So many angles. I’ve been paid by Mother to help keep her base secure, I got paid by Psycopathor to help him on the kidnappings. Also, I'm getting paid by three different lobbies that want Mother’s illegal research into hero-drug immunity to fail publically. Big-Pharma shares would crumble if suddenly anyone could get boosted without risks And I’m keeping a copy of her research too, in case I need a bargaining chip later, so I might get paid again later If I find the right buyer. All in all, it’s been VERY good business to visit in this hell-hole.”

“So you’re betraying everyone at the same time. For an asshole, you’re really consistent. And you’re telling me this why?”

“Because I’m going to be extremely rich. So, rich, I could even afford to forgive you. One last chance. We could be a team again. Join me, we get out of here together, and forget about all that nonsense” he says motioning to the escalating confrontation

Your gaze falls upon Elyise, who’s keeping back a few cultists with a telekinetic shield as Mother commands them to capture her, then back to Void.

“You know I won’t do that”

He sighs and pats your back, which makes you cringe on the seat.

“Suit yourself. When you realize your mistake it’ll be too late... Anyways, I’m leaving. Between you and me, I don’t think Psycopathor will the patient once Mother’s big experiment fails, so if you want to save anyone I'd hurry up,” he says turning and walking away before disappearing as his cloaking device activates.

As he goes out of sight, Psycopathor steps forward, going through Elyise’s telekinetic barrier and punches her chest while Mother simple observes how her own daughter is sent flying into the crowd.

She sits on the central device’s chair, steepling both pairs of hands in a decidedly diabolical gesture.

“Beggin Ascension” she orders her assistants who promptly remove a piece of her armors back, needles coming into her exposed skin while Psycopathor jumps down the stage approaching the fallen hero. The crowd moves out of his way.

“Shitshitshitshit,” you let out before rushing to stand in his way, taking off your hood and robe, not very sure about what to do next as he stares at you with incredulity before giving you a murderous smile.

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

My fanfics: https://chaniters.tumblr.com/post/181692759294/my-fanfiction-for-fallen-hero

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction using characters and the setting of the Fallen Hero: Rebirth and upcoming Fallen Hero: Retribution games written by Malin Riden. I do not claim ownership of any characters from the Fallen Hero wold. These stories are a work of my imagination, and I do not ascribe them to the official story canon. These works are intended for entertainment outside the official storyline owned by the author. I am not profiting financially from the creation of these stories, and thank the author for her wonderful game/s, without which these works would not exist.

#fallen hero: rebirth #fallen hero fanfic #spoilers!#Awan Cormac #Psycopathor #Elyise #New villain

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blackleatherjacketz · 5 years ago

Text

My Brother’s Keeper: Chapter 9

Negan x Reader

Summary: Your brother runs away from the Sanctuary and you pay the price. This Chapter: Or do you?

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Negan’s Mouth, Talk of Sex, Lucille

Featuring: Alden, Alex

Notes: I took some creative license with what little we know about Alden’s brother.

Word Count: 2145

Read the rest of the story HERE!

Three hearts beating. Pumping, thumping and pulsing in time as they slowly lowered themselves to the ground. Three tribal drums composing a rhythm that would only increase as the man next to you approached them; only they weren’t the three instruments you’d expected to hear. Your brother and his wife were there, but the third person wasn’t your mother. Instead a young man took her place, his weathered face full of fear as he got down on his knees before you. Who was he? And where was she?

“Alexander the Great! Do you have ANY idea how much time and manpower you just cost me?” Negan started the show, walking past you without regard.

“N...nno,” your brother stuttered, looking up at him with heavy lids. He was covered in dirt, the green in his hazel eyes sticking out more than ever against the earth that painted his skin. He looked like he had all those years ago on the road before you found the Sanctuary, his cheeks sunken in and clothes wrinkled with travel.

“Hmm,” Negan laughed, leaning back as he set Lucille on his shoulder. “I bet you don’t, because you only think about yourself these days, now don’t you?” He swung the bat off his shoulder, letting it dangle by his side in front of your brother’s face. “Do you mind telling me why there’s only two members of your family here when there was three of you that left? I mean, I know I’m not the best with numbers, but I can still see that the math just doesn’t add up!”

You held your breath as you waited for your brother to respond, to tell Negan that they had left her back at the Kingdom or maybe even back at the Sanctuary somehow. You waited for him to tell you that she was okay, that only the two of them were braving the elements after all.

“She got bit.” Alex confessed, giving you a solemn look.

What? What did he say? Did he just say she got bit? By a walker? Out there in the… no, no, no, no, she couldn’t have gotten bit. She wasn’t very fast, but she was always very cautious. With Alex and Bethany to look out for her, she surely would have been safe… right? Maybe Alex just lost her on the road and got confused when he was trying to escape. Maybe he had it all wrong.

“She got bit?!” Negan gasped, clutching his chest with his free hand to feign compassion. “There’s a surprise!” His laugh moved through the air like molasses, blanketing you in an emotional black tar. “Let me guess, you decided to take her to the Kingdom for some medical attention, huh?”

“The thought crossed my mind.” He was serious. She’d been bitten. Alex had taken her out there when he knew well enough she wasn’t used to being out there with the dead. Why would he let her do that? Why didn’t he make her stay behind? Why didn’t Bethany stop her?

“But you didn’t get there in time, did you?” Negan prodded.

Your brother shook his head, tears falling from his cheeks onto the dirt by his knees. “No. She’d already turned. She was too slow and got caught in the mud after the rain, and...” He couldn’t finish his sentence. He didn’t have to. “We were going to try for the Kingdom, but we saw all the trucks and tried to circle back and well, here we are.” He swallowed hard and gave you an apologetic smile.

“So, what you’re telling me, Alex, is that you got your mom killed because you couldn’t hang with the Saviors, is that it?”

Alex nodded.

“Huh.” Negan rolled his tongue along the inside of his mouth. “And now Tommy here’s roped into this. That doesn’t even count all the wasted resources I spent sending my men to Hilltop, Kingdom, and the Garbage People…”

The Garbage People?

“You almost ruined years of peaceful agreements we have with those communities because of your weak fucking stomach. Now, it only makes sense that someone pays me back for the lost time and resources we spent on this little outburst of yours, don’t you agree?”

Alex nodded, more tears welling up in his eyes.

“Good.” Negan started pacing in front of them, his bat hovering over each of their heads before stopping in front of the unfamiliar face. That must be Tommy. Negan paused and whistled quickly, motioning for Simon to bring someone out from the crowd. “Bring me his brother!”

His brother? You looked over to see Simon push Alden through Dave and D.J., a confused and angry look on his face as he stopped just beside you. Oh no, why was Alden here? Was he Tommy’s brother? Why didn’t he ever mention him before? Why hadn’t you ever met him?

“Look familiar, Alvin?” Negan chuckled as Simon pushed Alden out in front of you, a hand on his arm and a gun to his head.

“It’s Alden,” your friend corrected him, immune to the fear contagion that infected the three people on their knees.

“Alden, right,” Negan’s lips curled into a dangerous grin, the skin around his eyes wrinkling as it widened. “You got a weapon, Alden?” His tongue ran across his teeth, the tension of the moment fueling the fire of his charisma.

“Yes, sir.” Alden glanced over at you, a shared anguish weighing his eyes down in dark circles.

“Well?” Negan held out his hand, beckoning him with his fingers until Alden finally surrendered and unlatched his holster. “That’s right.” He smirked as Alden handed it over, his mirth all but consuming him as he watched the younger man place the firearm in his hand. “What is it?”

“A gun.” Alden swallowed hard as Negan stepped between his feet, forcing his jaw to clench and his legs to part.

“‘A gun’?” He repeated back mockingly. “I know that, asshole, what kind of gun is it?”

“It’s a ten millimeter Smith and Wesson revolver.” Alden’s fingers began to twitch as he stared into the abyss of Negan’s eyes, somehow staying upright as he leaned into him.

“Good! It’s important that a man knows his weapon.” He paused and sucked in the night air through his teeth, clicking his tongue as his eyes darted over Alden’s boyish features. “Is it loaded? It feels loaded.” His eyebrows jumped up his forehead, glancing over at the three people on their knees.

“Yeah, it is.” Alden answered, looking at the gun expectantly.

“Are you sure? A hundred percent?” Negan asked. “Let’s see.” He pulled back the hammer and pointed the gun at the third man, shooting him right in the head. He smiled and laughed as his body dropped forward, his skull exploding in shards of pink and red all over your brother’s face.

“Tommy!” Alden screamed, attempting to run over to the dead man’s body. “Tommy, no!”

Negan stopped him with the same hand that held his gun. “Bet ya didn’t know it could do that, huh, Alvin?”

“You didn’t have to do that! He didn’t do anything wrong!” Alden pushed against Negan’s palm and his own revolver, tears streaming down his face as he stared at the man’s body. “You didn’t have to…”

“You see, Alden, that’s where you’re wrong!” Negan addressed the crowd, his voice bellowing loudly enough for everyone to hear. “I DID have to do that! Tommy DID do something wrong!” He tossed Alden’s gun to Dwight and continued walking down the line. “He had one job, and that job was to be the lookout between us and them, the Sanctuary and the Kingdom, and he failed that job like the sack of shit he is now!” He kicked Tommy’s stiff body. “He’s the one who let Alex run off in the middle of the night with my favorite chef!” He ran a hand over his beard and shook his head. “No more of those chocolate chip cookies we all love so much! Thanks to Tommy, here!”

“We snuck past him, he didn’t let us go!” Alex interjected, glaring at Negan.

“You snuck past him, huh? So you’re saying he was just really bad at his job? That he had one fucking job and he couldn’t even do that right, is that what you’re saying?”

“It was my fault. It was my idea. My mom found out and she wouldn't let us go alone.” Alex admitted.

“Your idea?” Negan knelt down in front of your brother, his leather jacket squeaking with movement as he held Lucille parallel with the ground. “You see what just happened to Tommy, there?”

“Yes.” Alex shivered in fear.

“That was nothing. He got off easy.” He spat on the ground. “What you did…” He grabbed Alex’s chin, squeezing his emaciated cheeks as he pulled him in close. “Was way worse. I mean, a part of me should be thanking you.” He ran his thumb over a cut on his bottom lip. “Instead of burning your dad’s face off, I’ve been taking my frustrations out on your sister’s pussy.”

“You leave her alone!” Alex barely muffled as he looked at you.

“Me?” Negan laughed. He pulled him in closer so that his center of gravity changed and he fell forward onto his hands. “That was you. All you. Every cut and bruise and scrape was just for you. Every minute of every hour of every day that you were gone she took it like a fucking champ to save your dad from the iron, and you wanna know the best part, Alex?” He paused for effect, glancing back at you for a second. “She loved every second of it. I mean, shit, you should have heard the noises coming out of her a few minutes ago. Oh, wait, that’s right!” He let go of his face and pushed him onto the ground, standing up with ease.

“You DID hear every noise that came out of those sexy little lips. I hope you enjoyed the show as much as I did! Bet you didn’t know your sister was such a goddamn freak, huh?”

Alex couldn’t even look at you after that, his scarlet eyes dripping in sorrow as he kept them on the villain before him. You knew he didn’t mean to cause all this trouble, that he only wanted to escape to a better life with his wife and your mom, but you also knew about the potential repercussions, and so did he.

“Yeah, well, we’re all finding things out about each other we didn’t know before.” Negan swung his bat in a circle, walking around you and Alden before stopping back in front of your brother and his wife.

“I’m sorry Negan, I’m so sorry,” your brother whispered, snot running down his nose as it mixed with his tears.

“Your sorry?” Negan turned to look at you, a wild confidence filling his eyes before facing your brother again. “Not as sorry as you’re about to be.”

After that, what happened next was all a blur. You remembered falling down to the ground, your screams mixing in with the sound of Lucille crushing your brother’s skull once, twice, three times before his body finally fell over. You heard your sister in law cry out, the fear numbing her throat as nothing more than a whimper escaped her lips. You couldn’t look, couldn’t bring yourself to watch as Negan beat your brother to death with the same fervor he’d fucked you with on the hood of his car mere moments ago.

Your body shook on the ground as Tommy and Alex’s froze up, their blood pooling around them in perfect circles as you slowly opened your eyes to the horror show in front of you. Negan was talking again, his voice muffled by the pulsating blood as it swished through the veins in your ears like a washing machine. He swung Lucille for the last time, splashing blood all over your hands and arms before talking about ‘examples’ and ‘lessons’.

Brain-splattered boots appeared before you as his gloved hand lowered down to help you up. You didn’t want to take it, didn’t want to stand where you could see the consequences of your actions right in front of you, but you did. You let him help you up as Alden’s face hardened despite the tears that fell down his cheeks.

Neither of your could speak, but neither of you needed to as Negan left you to mourn along with your sister who was now your only living family member there. You felt Alden’s hand softly rub your back, his palm warm and small as it rested between your shoulder blades to help keep you upright. This was as close to a funeral as you could get. Where three hearts were beating, there were two, now only one.

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

Tags: @annablack1102 @genevievedarcygranger @negansdirtygirl22 @negans-network @irrelevantwriter @letsby @rasa1945 @chamberofsloths @flames-bring-a-ton-of-ash @sherrybaby14 @namelesslosers @collette04 @bishsposts @haleyea @bodhi-black @mblaqgi @ptite-shit @jamiekingofmen @ibelongtonegan @chloejanedecker1 @divadinag @you-are-electric-tempation-girl, @dxloverpunk @tylersblurrylittleface

#negan #negan x reader #negan fanfic #negan's thirst squad #negan twd #alden twd #the walking dead #twd #twd fanfic #Jeffrey Dean Morgan #callan mcauliffe

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lassluna · 5 years ago

Text

Let the Stars Remind You (18/20)

“It’s ok Papa, you don’t have to worry. We can trust her, she’s just like me,” She says holding his hand. “She can hear the stars. She’s just like me.” she repeats, a look of wonder on her face, pure belief in what she’s saying. Killian looks down at her. His little girl, his Starfish, and isn’t sure. He still isn’t sure if rescuing Emma Swan is the best thing he’s ever done, or their undoing.

AN: Sorry for the delay, running away from a hurricane. Thank you, @ultraluckycatnd for proofing this. I really appreciate it.

AO3 FFN

Zelena is having a blast when they arrive. She’s positively drunk.

But the moment she got out of the car in the middle of nowhere, the moment she saw the tree line, green electricity sparked all along her body.

Emma doesn’t understand why Zelena’s tracking spell led them here, not at first anyway.

Then red head smirks, then she reaches up into thin air and tears.

The illusion the coven was hiding behind rips like tissue revealing what looked to Emma like a summer camp. Wooden cabins of various sizes in a semicircle, women in robes doing magic freely with smiles on their faces. Lighting herbs and turning cauldrons of various sizes.

Ok, maybe not a traditional summer camp.

“Bloody hell.” Liam says in a curse, getting out of the car with a gun strapped onto his chest. Emma glares at the weapon.

“You’re not going to use that right?” She asks. “These are kids. People manipulated to be here, not actual villains.” She insists.

Liam glares sharply at her. “I’ll do what I need to do to rescue my brother lass.” To say they were on better terms would be an understatement, but they had an understanding.

“Do you think Alice is going to stay with your friends’ house like we agreed?” She asks lightly, trying to get her magic to spark before they advanced.

“She better.” Liam grumbles uncertainly.

Zelena however does not wait for them to advance she blasts the first house she sees with green fire, making the earth rumble.

They all turn towards them, about thirty witches looking ready to defend their home. Emma hesitates for a moment, wondering if they should have called reinforcements or something. “So what’s the plan here?” She says towards Zelena.

“I’m burning anyone who stands between me and my daughter.” She says.

“Even if it’s all of them?” Zelena rolls her eyes.

“Please, I’ve been trained by the Dark One himself, they have been trained by a Hogwarts wanna be.” She sneers. “But when you find her, my Robin…” Zelena says longingly. “Tell her, that wicked always wins alright?” But she doesn’t wait for a reply, instead she rushes forward in the thick of things.

Then she screeches in some obvious witch like war cry, lighting the ground on fire as she advances. Emma just stands bewildered as the older witch moves, mowing down anyone who stands before her.

“How about we let her do the heavy lifting and we go in and find where they’re keeping Killian?” Liam asks. Emma nods in agreement.

“Should we check house to house?” Liam says once more, but Emma has a feeling, a gut feeling as she looks at the largest grandest house in the middle of Zelena’s war path.

“Let’s start with that one.”

It’s a home like any other, couch in front of a fire place, small dining room in front of a modest kitchen, staircase that went up to where Emma imagines bedrooms might be. It doesn’t seem at all the evil lair Emma pictured.

“Bloody hell.” Liam curses. Emma turns towards him not sure what he’s cursing about. “It’s exactly how he described it...” He says trailing off.

Emma somehow knows Killian is here, or was her. She can feel it in her bones.

“Let’s find him and get out.” Emma agrees, poking around. Liam heads upstairs, while Emma finishes looking around the ground floor.

There’s a door. Emma’s instincts scream, pointing her towards an empty wall. She narrows her vision. There isn’t a door. But then she remembers Zelena how she ripped away at the illusion before, she just reached forward and-

“What the hell are you doing?” A voice snarls. Emma barley moves before something slices through the air and implants itself where her head used to be.

“Gretel,” Emma snarls, recognizing the blonde. She stands here once again coming between Emma and rescuing Killian, armed with her jolly rancher daggers.

“I disappointed Mother when I let you get away last time,” she says, tightening her grip on her weapons. “That will not happen twice.”

Emma flexes her hands, feeling energy rippling. It comes easy now, after her lessons with Zelena, after realizing what exactly she has to protect.

“Trust me; things are going to happen much differently than last time,” she assures the younger woman. “Just not how you’d expect.”

Gretel dashes at her, armed and ready, but Emma’s ready for the attack. She reaches out and blasts her with a magical blast. It knocks the attacking blonde flat on her back, but she doesn’t stay down for long. Gretel growls angrily under her breath before throwing one of her piercing sugar blades at Emma.

She raises her hands, shielding herself, making the projectile bounce harmlessly off her.

“Someone got better,” Gretel sneers. Emma shrugs.

“Let this go Candy Striper.” Emma insists.

“Never,” she hisses rushing forward once again. Emma’s too slow to blast her again, letting Gretel get in close. She dodges the fierce slashes Gretel tries to dish out. They are furious and maybe a bit manic. Emma clenches her fist and bam, punches Gretel right in the face.

Gretel tumbles down falling still.

It feels good.

That is until Emma hears someone behind her. She whirls around, magic at the ready.

“Bloody hell!” Liam curses gun raised. “Don’t shoot!”

“I should say the same to you!” she shouts at him, glaring at the weapon. Liam puts it down.

“What the hell happened?” he asks, gesturing to the piercing sugar blade in the wall. “Have yourself a little treat?” Emma rolls her eyes.

“Remember jolly rancher girl I mentioned?” Emma says, gesturing to where Gretel is laying.

Or where she was laying.

“What the-“ she curses, then something wraps around her ankles and pulls, pulling Emma right off her feet and dragged away from the wall and Liam.

“Never turn your back to the enemy Savior,” Gretel snarls, candy necklace in her hand. Liam looks towards her and raises his gun. Gretel laughs and swings her hand.

Instead of bullets, mini marshmallows hit her in the chest. Liam looks down and his gun is chocolate. She laughs once more, giving another swipe of her hand and knocking Liam against the dining room tables.

Emma tries to move, tries to get her feet free but the candy necklace feels like it’s made of steel.

“Why are you even listening to her? You do see Gothel is just using you right?” Emma snaps. “She doesn’t care about you.”

Gretel tilts her head.

“Mother Gothel cares about her sisters,” she insists. “She shows us how we can be our best selves.”

“She wants to sacrifice a six year old.” Gretel’s face is unchanged.

“Sometimes our best self is how we can help Mother.”

“You’re insane,” Emma hisses, blasting at her, but it’s Gretel’s turn to shield herself. Gretel drags her across the floor, making Emma lose her concentration on her magic. She can’t get another burst off, nor can she aim it once she does. Gretel makes a loop and instead of the necklace being wrapped around her feet, it’s now around her throat.

No! Emma thinks frantically, feeling it like a noose around her neck.

They can’t win! Gretel…Gothel…they can’t win! Not like this.

The inability to breath makes her panic and thrash, trying to pull against the binding, trying to get oxygen back in her lungs trying-

“Stop it!” cries a voice and the force around Emma’s neck immediately loosened.

Gretel is thrown back and Emma is freed, coughing and spluttering, trying her best to get herself under control. “Don’t hurt Emma.” Emma recognizes the voice.

“Alice-“ Emma coughs, her throat soar. “What are you-“ But Alice doesn’t look at her, her eyes are on Gretel.

“Alice.” The woman says uncertainly. “Mother Gothel has been looking for you.” She says with a too wide smile. “Come I can take you too her and-“ But Alice stomps her foot.

“I want you to stop hurting people.” She demands. “I want you to go home to your Papa and let me go home to mine.” She demands as if she were demanding a sweet treat.

Something far away takes over Gretel, like a memory long forgotten. “But I don’t-“

But Alice doesn’t have time for that, she gives another stomp and then Gretel is surrounded by glittery silver smoke and is just gone.

Emma looks at Alice in amazement. “Alice-Alice, what are you doing here.”

But Alice isn’t done yet. “He’s my Papa. You have to let me help!” She insists. “He’s only here because of me! I-I can help!” She insists stubbornly. Slowly Emma gets to her feet.

“Alright Alice, but you have to do exactly what Liam and I say alright?” She asks. Alice smiles; nodding excitedly.

“Speaking of Liam…” She says trailing off, eyes darting to where Liam was thrown earlier. She hears a groan.

They make their way over there just as Liam shift, getting to his feet from the harsh toss. He’s holding his arm and his head is bleeding slightly.

“What the devil?” He curses, blinking at Alice. “Alice! You were supposed to be at Scarlet’s!” The little girl shrugs.

“We already decided that Alice is coming.” Emma declares.

“I don’t think that’s your decision-“ But Emma cuts him off because they just don’t have time to argue.

“What do you suggest we do?” Emma hisses. “Drive her back then come back for your brother?” Liam doesn’t respond. “Come on, let’s just be quick.”

She approaches the wall that she’s pretty certain is not a wall and reaches forward. It feels like tissue in her hand, light and delicate but all encompassing, and she rips it.

The wall is not a wall, it’s a door. She’s more convinced than ever that they are down here. Killian is down here.

“Watch my back Liam.” She says firmly. “Alice, stay right behind me.”

“This would be much easier if we could just remove your heart a lot of our problems would be solved.” Emma hears as they get towards the end of the impossibly long staircase.

She feels more like she’s descending into hell than into a basement.

With Gothel it’s probably the same thing.

“But where would we hide it if we could?” She hears a familiar accented voice say. It makes her heart skip a beat, barley containing her gasp back.

She stops at the end of the steps and stares.

It’s him.

It’s Killian.

He’s laying towards the back of a cell, against the wall, a small child pacing next to him. He looks tired, just looking at him so impossibly pale. She sees the moment he sees her, his eyes widened considerably.

“Swan?” He gasps, moving slowly to get to his feet, it takes a considerable time for him to do so and God, what did she do to him? “Emma?”

“Killian.” She breathes, racing towards the cell, hands around the bars. He does the same thing and just smiles. His eyes are so impossibly blue, even considering the circumstances.

“You found me.” He says. She smirks.

“Ever doubt I would?” Emma snickers.

“The cell and the magic gave me pause.” He admits lightly. His eyes flicker, towards movement behind her. “Liam?” He says surprised. The older brother Jones moves towards him.

“Brother, looks like you’ve got yourself in a pickle.” He teases. For all Liam’s ass-like behavior, she can tell how much the brothers adore each other just by the shared expressions. “How do we get you out of here?” He asks

“I can do it.” Alice pipes up. Emma almost forgot about her, standing behind her. She smiles at Killian “Hi Papa.” All the color drained from his face.

“Alice…” He breathes. “You brought her here?!” He gasps. Pure terror takes over his expression as he looks between Emma and Liam. “Are you both bloody insane?” He curses. “I told you not to come for me! I told you never to bring her here!” She practically feels his panic radiating off of him, his heart beating so fast it’s practically beating out of his chest.

“They didn’t bring me here, I snuck along!” The little blonde insists. “I wanted to help! You’re here because of me and I couldn’t let anything bad happen to you anymore.” Her words seem to calm him slightly.

“Alice…” He trails off.

“Watch what I can do Papa.” Alice says. “The Stars taught me-er, I guess since I’m the Stars I taught me…” she claps her hands and the bars that once held them separate vanish as if they never existed.

Alice smiles brightly as Killian moves to embrace her, falling to his knees in front of her. The little blonde, in tears, hugs her father and for a moment everything feels ok. It feels like everything is just going to work out.

“Come on.” Liam says after a moment; firm hand on his shoulder. “Let’s get out of here.” It takes a moment for Liam to help Killian back on his feet, his arm swung around Liam’s shoulder.

“Wait.” Says the girl, everyone freezes. The girl looks quizzically at them. “How do I know I should be going with you-any of you?” She asks.

Killian gives her a sharp look. “Little lass, I assure you they are to be trusted, now-“ But she shakes her head and stamps her foot impatiently.

“My mom is here and if you’re not with her-if I get this close and am still not back home then-“ The girl trails off, saffron eyes glittering vibrantly.

Emma recalls another pair of those eyes. “You’re Robin right?” The girl’s eyes snap towards her; telling her that Emma is right in her guess. “Your mom gave me a message for you…” She says. “It’s a little strange, but…she says that ‘Wicked always wins.’”

There’s a moment of hesitation, then the girl, Robin smiles brightly.

“Alright let’s get out of here!” The little girl says excitedly, bonding towards them stopping next to Alice.

The two kids look over each other. Emma can barely make out their conversation as the group ascends the long staircase.

“Hi. My name is Alice.” She says extending her hand. Robin gives her a look.

“Killian’s kid?” She says sounding like she expected someone younger. “You don’t look anything like someone who grew up in a lighthouse.” She replies. “I’m Robin.”

“Not the first Robin.” Alice points out.

“No, my dad was the first Robin, I’m the second.” She says.

“So…Nobin? New Robin?” Alice asks a curious tilt in her expression. That seemed to tick off Robin.

“It’s just Robin.” She points out.

“But you’re the New Robin?” She insists.

“Then you’re Lighthouse girl.” She snaps back by the time they are on the ground floor.

The two dissolve into some combination of bonding and arguing.

“Both of you, hush.” Liam snaps at them. He might have been a bit harsh, but Emma understands it, he’s helping support Killian who hasn’t said much of anything. She can see the way he’s looking at this place, the way he looks with the hope of it not staring back.

No color has yet to return to his face and Emma can see by their stance that Liam is shouldering a majority of the weight.

“Only a little farther.” she assures Killian, trying to get him to look at her. He only manages a glance before he’s back looking at ghosts.

“Don’t listen to her Killian.” Liam snaps.

It takes Emma aback for a moment, she’d thought she’d had an accord with Liam, or at least an agreement that they’d wait until everything was at ease before they’d start going at each other’s throats.

“Whatever lies and tricks Eloise has put in your head, you’re going to need to forget about.” Liam says sternly. “Alice needs you in your own head if we’re going to beat this.”

Gothel. Emma realizes, her hand goes to his shoulder, trying to comfort him. He doesn’t seem responsive to her, but it’s the least of Emma’s concerns, not when they still had to get to the car, get Zelena and hope and pray they don’t run into-

Right there in the middle of the clearing right outside is Gothel.

And she is mad.

Tagging: @hollyethecurious @therookshiningthrough @branlovestowrite @celestial-fire-writer @winterbaby89 @kmomof4

#mentions of gothel #let the stars remind you #Captain Swan #knightrook ff #captain swan au

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