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talonabraxas · 1 year ago

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The Sevenfold Zurvan 'Zurvan has even faces, and on each face three eyes,' we read. He is a sevenfold god, and each of seven aspects of his complex nature has three facets. As Infinite Time his three aspects are infinite space, infinite wisdom, and infinite power, that is, an infinite potentiality of initiating contingent beings, whether good or evil. He is passionless and indifferent, 'unageing and deathless; he knows neither pain nor decay nor corruption; he has no rival, nor can he ever be put aside or deprived of his sovereignty in his proper sphere.' He has neither 'pleasure nor pain from the evil of Ahriman or the goodness of Ohrmazd'.

As finite Time he is primarily 'he who makes virile, he who makes excellent, and he who makes old'. Alternatively, the order of the attributes is altered and he becomes 'he who makes virile, he who makes old, and he who makes excellent'. As such he is the god of life and death, presiding over the birth, maturity, and death of the body. As Frashokar, 'he who makes excellent,' he is both the god who brings creatures to maturity and the author of the Frashkart, the 'Making Excellent' or final Rehabilitation at the end of time. When he is thought of in this role, the epithet frashokar, 'he who makes excellent' appears at the end of series.

Seen simply as Infinite Time, his aspects are finite Time, the course of fate, and the year. As Order, his aspects are the god Mithra, the Spirit of Right Order (datastan), and Fate; and as Fate itself he is also the actual decree or moment of destiny, the decisive moment at which what is fated comes to pass, and the fixed decision. On the earth he represents the social order, and he is therefore the three great social orders of priests, warriors, and husbandmen. He is also the author of good and evil: he is the Cherisher, the Adversary, and he who has command of both. Thus he sevenfold Zurvan's functions can be tabulated thus:

ZURVAN Being: (Time), Space, Wisdom, Power. Becoming: He who makes virile, he who makes excellent, he who makes old. Order: Mithra, Order, Fate Time: Finite Time, the course of fate, the year. Fate: the decree, the decisive moment, the fixed decision. Good and Evil: the Cherisher, the Adversary, the One who has command of both. Social Order: priests, warriors and husbandmen

Macrocosm and Microcosm As finite space as well as finite Time Zurvan is embodied in the macrocosm, and man, the microcosm, is made in his image, the parts of man corresponding in every respect to the parts of the universe in toto. Thus, the seven constituents of the material world which themselves correspond to the seven Bounteous Immortals -fire, water, earth, metals, plants, and man- correspond to the morrow, blood, veins, sinews, bones, flesh, and hair of man. The four elements in the macrocosm correspond to the breath, blood, bile, and phlegm in man; and just as the world is controlled and kept in working order by the elements of fire and air, so is man's body controlled and directed by his Fravashi or external soul working in close co-operation with his vital spirit. In the world this vital spirit which maintains the macrocosm as a living unit is Vay(u), the atmospheric wind, in exactly the same way as breath keeps the human body alive. In man it is the soul (ruvan) which guides the body and gives it consciousness; so too is the world guided by the world-soul, which is nothing less than the heavenly sphere. The heavenly sphere, then, is not only the body of Zurvan, but also his soul. And Zurvan is sick in soul.

Zurvan, the God of Fate He is sick in soul because he doubted; and this sickness reflects itself in the heavenly sphere, for it contains not only the twelve Signs of the Zodiac which pour out abundance on to the earth, but also the seven planets which intercept the good gifts of the Zodiac and divert them to people and purposes for which they were never intended. Thus, the embodied Zurvan is the god of fate, and because he himself must work out his own salvation in finite time and gradually wear away the residue of his sin which is still very much with him, he is willy-nilly the dispenser of good and bad fortune alike. As macrocosm he is subject, like the microcosm, man, to the depredations of Ahriman; and as man is afflicted by disease and sin, so is the poise of the macrocosm upset by the disorderly motion of the planets; and this disorderly motion accounts for the evil lot on earth that man is sometimes fated to endure.

'All the welfare and adversity that come to man and other creatures come through the Seven and the Twelve. The twelve Signs of the Zodiac... are the twelve commanders on the side of Ohrmazd; and the seven planets are said to be the seven commanders on the side of Ahriman. And the seven planets oppress all creation and deliver it over to death and all manner of evil: for the twelve Signs of the Zodiac and the seven planets rule the fate of the world and direct it'.

The orderly functioning of the universe is the responsibility of the Zodiac just as man's ordered moral activity is directed by the Good Mind indwelling him. The planets, on the other hand, originated by Ahriman are likened to the Evil Mind in man; and just as the Evil Mind seeks to drive a wedge between man's intellect and will, so do the planets seek to bring about disarray in the heavenly sphere, the soul of the world.

The Zoroastrian turned the planets into demons because their irregular motion could not be explained. When, however, they came into contact with the Babylonians, they learnt the 'science' of astrology, and this attributed different influences to the different planets. Some, like Saturn and Mars, were inauspicious; others, like Jupiter and Venus, auspicious. How was this to be explained? In the Zoroastrian scheme of things the planets who accompany Ahriman in his invasion of the material world, each choose a specific constellation as their opponent. Thus Jupiter is matched against the Great Bear, Venus against Scorpio. In their case their opponents prove more than a match for them and force them to do whatever they wish. The reverse, however, is true of Saturn and Mars, who, proving stronger than their chosen opponents, are free to do more or less what they like.

The God of Death Zurvan, as finite Time and Fate, is neither good nor evil: he is 'dyed' with both. Being the embodied universe he is the locus of good and evil, just as man's body is the locus of sin as well as of virtue. As a deity, rather than as an abstract concept, Zurvan, being also fate, is primarily thought of as the god of death, and as such he is:

'mightier than both creations -the creation of Ohrmazd and that of the Destructive Spirit. Time understands action and other. Time understands more than those who understand. Time is better informed than the well-informed; for through Time must the decision be made. By Time are houses overturned -doom is through Time -and things graven shattered. From him to single mortal man escapes, not though he fly above, not though he dig a pit below and settle therein, not though he hide beneath a well of cold waters.'

Time is synonymous with death; and even in the Avesta the paths of Time are the paths the soul must traverse on its way from death to the Judgement.

The inevitability of death and man's helplessness before it is a constant undercurrent of much that is greatest in Persian poetry, and this thoroughly pessimistic and almost morbid strand in the Persian national tradition must ultimately go back to that Zurvanite fatalism over which Aturpat, son of Mahraspand, gained his all too ephermal victory. Typical of this dreary preoccupation with a banal subject is this: 'As to him whose eye Time has sewn up, his back is seized upon and will never rise again; pain comes upon his heart so that it beats no more; his hand is broken so that it grows no more; and his foot is broken so that it walks no more. The stars come upon him, and he goes not out another time; fate comes upon him and he cannot drive it off.'

The God of the Resurrection Death is the lot of all men, and in this respect the fate of the macrocosm is no different from that of the microcosm. The world is born, grows old, and dies; but the death of the world is only the prelude to its transfiguration at the Frashkart, the 'Making Excellent' of existence when finite Time rejoins the Infinite, and when the Final Body, which is the material creation renewed, sets in. Zurvanism, so long as it remains within its Zoroastrian context, is no more pessimistic than is orthodoxy, for Zurvan is not only Zaroqar, 'he who brings old age', but also Frashoqar, 'he who brings about the Frashkart' itself. The 'fatalists', then, against whom Aturpat strove, were not the same as the 'classical' Zurvanites who saw in Zurvan the father of Ohrmazd and Ahriman.

Zurvan Akarana by Talon Abraxas

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gohjuo-a · 1 year ago

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GOJO'S DEEP CONNECTION TO BUDDHISM

SIX ELEMENTS

to first understand gojo's deep connection to buddhism, it's important to talk about esoteric buddhism and the six elements. very similar to china's five elements esoteric buddhism has the five elements as: earth, water, fire, air/wind, space/void. however, esoteric buddhism as one additional element the mind. gojo's powers involve space ( his manipulation of space itself and his domain expansion being called unlimited void ). gojo's journey to becoming the strongest was not complete until he opened his mind. as stated, by adding the sixth element the mind, it creates a unity between all five elements. if one lacks the sixth element, ordinary eyes see only the differientated forms/appearances.

this ties in with the fact that gojo's eyes allow him to see things most people cannot see ( people's souls in colors, reading the flow of cursed energy, viewing of his opponent's cursed technique, object dection with or without cursed energy, & being able to see kilometers away ). it can also be said that being born as the six eyes user brought balance, a connection to how the mind element creates unity.

SATORI

in zen buddhism, this is the term for awakening in japanese zen buddhism. it means comprehension, understanding. the word is derived from the japanese verb satoru, who's first name is satoru? gojo's. to put it further, satori refers to an awakening or apprehension of the true nature of reality. it's used to describe an experience that can't be expressed via words. gojo goes through his enlightenment, his death, and never does he really talk about what he went through. he talks about an indescribable feeling, feelng the whole world, this connection to it and to feel everything happening, but if anyone were to ask him how he felt touching the core of cursed energy he would not be able to explain it properly. it is an experience he will never fully properly explain.

another way this ties into gojo is that his confrontation with toji, is something of an antagonistic one. in the way, that after the second fight he truly dislikes having a lack of control, he doesn't want to feel hepless, or be helpless with all the immense power that he has. gojo is forced to face the reality of defeat, the reality of having little control at all, and the fact that he didn't fully realize the capabilities of his powers. in the modern era of jujutsu, gojo is the standard.

ALLUSIONS TO OTHER FIGURES IN BUDDHISM

VAIROCANA part of the five great buddhas or the five tathāgatas, they are seen as the five representations of the adi-buddha ( aka the first buddha). vairocana is associated with the color white ( gojo's hair is white ), vairocana represents the element of space, which coincides with gojo's technique and ability manipulate space itself. the cardinal direction vairocana represents is the center and the season they represent is a transition. gojo could be considered a big transition in the way the jujutsu world operated as, again his birth balanced out the jujutsu world. it is also a big transition in being dubbed the strongest sorcerer of his era.

MARICI

a goddess associated with the light and sun. alternatively, in japan she is also associated with light or mirage and was invoked to escape enemies. she has several depictions and in some she carries the lotus with her. in gojo's dream/death sequence, there is a drawing of a lotus flower. the lotus flower in buddhism represents purity, spiritual awakening, and faiththfulness. it also symbolizes rebirth ( which will be furthered tied down to another section ) and the implications of nanami and gojo's conversation hints at a rebirth of some sort.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FOUR DIRECTIONS

in buddhism, there is great importance in north, east, south, and west. for this particular post i will be focusing on the two directions of north and south.

"I ONCE ASKED MEI-SAN ABOUT WHERE I SHOULD LIVE. SHE SAID IF YOU'D LIKE TO BECOME SOMEONE NEW. GO NORTH."

the north is considered a symbol of stability, a fixed goal that never wavers. it also represents unshakeable conviction. when your will is strong, you are under the protection of the guide of the north. when you become unstable, the grace of god pulls you in the right direction. it should be noted that gojo does say i see, gives a wave. in my opinion, it implicates that gojo has determined to go north. gojo is also the type of person who has a strong conviction, his will to ensure that the future of jujutsu sorcery can be on his level, to be strong enough to compete with himself, so that they never have to endure what he/geto went through. gojo is someone who will always aim higher to break the ceiling even if he is the ceiling.

alternatively, there is another direction that is mentioned in said chapter:

"IF YOU'D LIKE TO RETURN TO WHO YOU WERE, GO SOUTH."

the south is associated with death. it offers complete rest. when the body can no longer lead us down our path, the protector of the south, yama raja, lord of death, ensures we get rid of our vehicle ( the body ) and gives us a new one. the catch is that in general, we form attachments to our body, mind, and senses and we have a hard time of letting go. however, once someone does they will find that 'long sleep' is a restful. this line goes in hand with nanami who doesn't hesitate to go south, stuck in the past since he still had attachments to haibara, and in a sense yuji. but at the end of it he was able to let go.

#✧ → ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴅᴏ ᴛʜᴏsᴇ ᴇʏᴇs sᴇᴇ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ? ( ʜᴄ. )#✧ → ᴅɪᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴇɴʟɪɢʜᴛᴇɴᴍᴇɴᴛ ? ( sᴛᴜᴅʏ. )#q.#yes the second half is me coping #but i truly believe there's a lot of set up for this #also gojo being paired up with the lotus flower #all very very telling #it's been a lot of research #cross referencing a lot of stuff #you can also make the case that gojo is bodhisattva #hmm maybe i'll cook that

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the-literary-rodent · 5 months ago

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Chapter 1: Origins.

“So you've come for that story I promised?”

“I have! Tell me about your world!”

“I shall, I shall. Patience my child. However you must be given a warning… These stories won't have a happy ending.”

The beginning was not too dissimilar to where we find ourselves now. It was nothing, but at the same time the concept of nothing hadn't existed, and it wouldn't have existed, till there was something. The first something, was my mother and father.

Their origin is clouded in mystery. The two of them simply began to exist in a moment. And in that moment of being something, they discovered what nothing was, and wanted to be rid of it. So these two entities began to create. The first reality was what they believed to be the idea of beauty, tranquility, and safety. We call this the garden. Mother Life used the garden to grow the first people, and Father Spirit used these people to grow the first souls.

Four beings were made at first. Mother and Father wanted these four to observe the rest of the world as it was made. And they went about this by creating a bookshelf. Every volume that would manifest on this shelf contained a story of my parents' creations. Sadly this story is not about those “librarians”, but I recommend you keep them in mind, should you wish to hear their story after my own.

From the garden, Mother and Father wished to make a new world. Separate From the garden. The expanse you call the universe, although not the same one you call home. The first universe, was mine. Mother and Father gave it form, and the capacity for life, but chose to put other entities in charge, in order to see what would happen if others had their power.

I believe your people gave us the term God's. There were seventeen of us total. Each god of this universe had dominion over one core element, those elements were also our names. Although mortals tended to give us different names based on their cultures.

My element was Darkness. The others were fire, water, ice, air, tera, nature, light, electricity, toxins, Good, evil, time, space, plasma, weather, and law.

Most of us had been given a roughly humanoid appearance as that's what Mother and Father possessed. I say mostly as none of us could be given the description of human and be accurate.

In fact Light, Electricity, Weather, and I were shapeless. We were simply living embodiments of our elements. Other gods like Fire, could be most accurately described by how your Egyptians depicted gods. A human body with an animal head, in this case a bird like Horus. Evil on the other hand was the reverse of this, as he had a bird-like body with a human head. Gods like Ice were nearly all human, aside from his flesh of snow, and wings of frost. The Air goddess appeared to be all human, minus gilded horns adoring her skull, the same could be said about Good, but his inhumane trait was as simple as blue skin. Plasma appeared like a normal person if they were trapped in a gelatin suit. Nature had a body made of wood, with her large hair being leaves. Toxin could easily be mistaken for a person with sunburn, till you glimpsed his face and saw pure red sclera, and a maw with teeth that could be mistaken for knife blades.

Time had a rather strange appearance. Very animalistic, he had the face of a rabbit, ears too, but two large red horns on his forehead, which contrasted his purple skin and black hair, as well as green human crafted armor he pulled from the future. Law had a majestic figure, nearly human body except for her torso, which gave you a glimpse into the universe itself. You would describe it like a “galaxy tattoo”. She also depicts the visage of what you call “The lady of justice” but instead of her blindfolded face, Law instead has a face covered with multiple eyes.

Sadly, these god's were not wholly kind as many would depict someone of our status. These god's often did not get along, getting into minor brawls at the drop of a pin. Arguing over every detail. However, we were still tasked with forming the universe into something hospitable. Most of them decided to mold a species similar to you humans in our own images. Each member of the gods species were given what were called “gifts”. These gifts allowed the mortals to utilize very small parts of the gods' creation powers. But as time went on, new species were born from natural evolution, these new species gained gifts as well. These gifts are what most species used to discern mortal from animal as only those with proper developed sentience would develop a gift.

I was the only god to not create a species. In fact I specifically chose to seal away my gifts so no mortal could utilize them. My sealed powers took the form of a blade. I found a non habitable planet and plunged the sword into a stone so that a mortal couldn't take a gift of my element.

From there the gods grew more aggressive towards each other. Each one believed their species to be better than the others and had utter faith in their elements. This started a battle between them all, and revealed to us that we weren't as immortal as we believed. Weather and Plasma were killed in that battle, both at the hands of Air. The gods closest to their elements somehow gained the powers of those dead gods, which gave some of the greediest the idea to absorb the powers of all the others.

The war between the gods continued on indefinitely, and in the midst of the fighting I was able to make friends with three of the gods, those three being Nature, Good, and toxin. We kept each other alive during our war, but refused to kill any of the other gods.

Sadly for you, I don't have a real number to explain how long the gods fought for. When you're immortal, infinity could be an afternoon and you'd feel no difference, but that comparison should give you a rough idea.

I'm not sure when the idea was brought up, but at some point during our fighting Toxin had given the idea to stop fighting each other by reminding the gods what the battle started as. He reminded us that the argument began because each god believed their mortals were better. So he encouraged us to travel our worlds and find a mortal of our elements to fight on our behalf. The gods actually agreed and momentarily halted their brawl.

Good, Toxin, and I chose to instead of pitting a mortal against the other gods' champions, we would simply leave and find mortals to live amongst. We had tried convincing nature to join us, but she chose instead that she would stay with the gods. Her reasoning was to prevent them from looking for us. She would convince them that we had tried to backstab each other and got ourselves killed.

She did, however, come with us to find her champion.

#authors #literature #books #reading #writer community #writers on tumblr #my ocs #my writing #chapter 1 #ocs #lore #oc lore

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litsnobconfessions · 4 months ago

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A Year of Animation Day 6: ATLA S1E17-20

Date: January 6, 2025

Day: 6

Content Watched: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 1, Episodes 17-20

Year: 2005-2008

Rating: TV-Y7-FV

Run Time: 92 minutes

Say it with me now! Their hair and clothes move in the wind. But I will admit here that I think I was wrong about them looking different when they get wet. I've seen animation where characters get wet and their clothes and hair gets plastered to their face (Frozen 2 does this, actually, but it's Disney, so I'm not watching it.) I was thinking ATLA does this also, and by the end of season 1, I've determined it doesn't. I think what I was remembering was Katara's hair slowly coming apart as she fights with Master Pakku, which is still a nice detail that a lot of other shows wouldn't bother with. But I'm sorry for being misleading.

Some other great moments of animation: the design for the fire nation tank is on the mechanist's desk, the entrance to the northern water tribe city, and all of battling—there's just so much happening there. The healing teacher tells Katara she's the spitting image of Kanna, and I think they did those illustrations well. Like, if you look back at gran-gran, I think she and Katara do look a lot alike. I especially like the scene where Sokka and Yue are flying and the snow gives way to ash. I think that's a nice transition, and it's kind of happening before you notice it, just like it does to them.

But my favorite bit of animation is when Zhao kills the moon spirit, and everything goes to black and white, and you only have these pops of color, like when Zuko and Zhao are firebending. The colors don't just change here, but the drawings also feel flatter. We have been warned that the destruction of the moon spirit will upset the balance of the world, and now we see it coming to pass.

My favorite episode in this set is probably the finale. To be fair, the last three episodes run together somewhat because they all take place at the Northern Water Tribe. But Sokka and Yue is actually my favorite ship in the whole show. They both mutually care for one another, and obviously things are complicated and rocky, but that's also what relationships between fifteen and sixteen year olds are like? I love all the ways Sokka shows his affection for her, like trying to carve her a fish and taking her for a ride on Appa. (Also, I will never get over the way Jack de Sena delivers the line "yip yip" during this scene.) And you can tell that she likes him because she takes his bumbling in stride. Also, you can tell Sokka has made a lot of progress since meeting Suki because he gets offended when dude-bro Hahn talks about marrying Yue "for the perks." I just don't see beginning-of-season Sokka acting that way.

"The Siege of the North Part 2" also has Koh the Face-Stealer, who is one of the scariest things in the show. I'm always amazed that Aang is able to stay so stoic in the faces of Koh because I still react to the jump scare when he switches to the baboon face. Zuko also gets a notable costume change in these last two episodes when he camoflauges with the snow and ice to kidnap Aang from the Northern Water Tribe. There's an episode of the Braving the Elements podcast in which Dante Basco says he hasn't seen a lot of people cosplay Zuko in this outfit, and since I am Zuko… challenge accepted.

For the sake of fairness, I have a few issues with these four episodes. The biggest is at the end of "The Waterbending Master." I just feel like it's a kind of sudden turn for Pakku, who's been an absolute d*** the entire episode. Like… he has a fight with Katara, who he beats, and then decides to make an excpetion for her because she's the granddaughter of the woman he almost married? Even though Katara is like "well, she didn't marry you because your traditions are stupid." I mean, Sokka was still struggling with the concept of Suki being both a girl and a warrior after training under her. With Pakku and Katara, the power dynamic is reversed, and he is more set in his way than Sokka, so the ending feels wrapped up a little too easily.

There's also the fact that when Aang first enters the spirit world, Katara tells Yue that it's important they don't move his body. But when he comes out of the trance, this doesn't really seem to be an issue? And I don't think the episode would have changed at all if this line wasn't there. It just feels unnecessary.

Finally, I want to touch on "The Northern Air Temple," especially because I feel like the gaang in general and Sokka in particular have a lot of growth here. Again, we see the characters solving problems through cleverness, and it's nice to see Sokka recognized for his intelligence, and not just as the butt of every joke. And even though he gets on with the mechanist, it is clear that he disapproves of the mechanist's decision to help the fire nation. This is a nice contrast with "Jet," where Aang and Katara had to face the immoral actions of someone they liked.

And, of course, "The Northern Air Temple" introduces Teo, who I think is our first disabled character, but will definitely not be our last. I like the fact that Avatar thought to have a character who is in a wheelchair, and furthermore, doesn't really bring attention to said wheelchair. Because the most important thing about Teo is whether or not he has the spirit of an airbender. Of course, this is another demographic I don't fall into, so I'd be interested in hearing what others have to say about it.

Tomorrow, we're going to take a between season break and swing out to France for a silent film full of word play.

#Year of Animation #animation #ATLA #TV review

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aimportantdragoncollector · 2 years ago

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For Trioholders I'll suggest a Xiaolin Showdown AU. If you haven't seen the show you can disregard this, though I will recommend you give it a watch at some point, it's a fun show.

If you have seen it- the trio are xiaolin warriors trying to collect all the shen gong wu and protect the world from the heylin side. All three will be the dragon of one of the four elements (even though there's only 3 of them...) with Yoichi playing the role of omi, and AFO playing the role of Chase Young, trying to convert Yoichi to the Heylin side as his apprentice.

I have seen Xiaolin Showdown! What a blast from the past.

1. Yoichi is the young dragon of water. He and his brother were orphans raised at the temple together, until his big brother ran off to become evil. AFO is a huge embarrassment to Yoichi and he tries to pretend not to be related to him--which would be easier if AFO didn't call Yoichi "little brother" as soon as they ran into each other.

2. Kaiji is the dragon of fire. When they first meet, Kaiji is obsessed with technology and generally distant. Since Yoichi was raised in a temple, he's secretly fascinated with the outside world and wants to learn more. His secret pleasure is his weekly shipment of hair care products. Yoichi's favorite show is Captain Hero, because it's the only cartoon he's ever seen. The temple has a few ancient DVDs but no internet. When they first meet, Kaiji disses Captain Hero as an old-fashioned show and earns Yoichi's ire. They fight all the time. Secretly, Yoichi thinks that Kaiji is cool and Kaiji was infatuated with Yoichi from the moment they met.

3. Sanzou is the dragon of wind. He's calmer than the other two and plays peacemaker. Kaiji and Yoichi frequently fight over Sanzou's approval/affection. However Sanzou is fully aware that Kaiji and Yoichi have crushes on each other and feels like a third wheel. Sanzou does not realize they both like him too, because he has a blindspot in this one particular place.

4. Hikage Shinomori is the dragon of earth, younger by the others by a couple years. He's the true third wheel, forced to watch his seniors' endless romantic drama. He frequently hides in the temple basement to get away from it all.

5. Tomura Shigaraki is playing the role of Jack Spicer, competing with the trio for Shen Gong Wu and desperate to win AFO's approval. He's also perpetually caught up in the love triangle drama, and has a weird pseudo-friendship with Hikage over it.

6. AFO keeps taking advantage of how easy it is to magically force people to become evil/good in the Xiaolin Showdown universe to mind-control Yoichi. In turn, Yoichi is totally shameless about trying to force his brother to become good. There's a lot of face heel turns. In fact, one time Yoichi gets taken over by bad chi, but then when the other three come to rescue him, it's revealed that his chi is already fine and he sheepishly returns. It's unclear if it only worked because Yoichi expected it to work or if he just secretly wanted to spend some time with his big brother.

7. AFO also fakes being turned good repeatedly to steal Shen Gong Wu and Yoichi always falls for it. (In Yoichi's defense he's a preteen in this AU.) Also even when AFO gets turned good a couple times, he's still ruthless and basically only cares about Yoichi. He's just on a different side. Yoichi is in deep denial about this because he wants to believe his brother is good deep down when not influenced by that horrible villain "Garaki Bean."

8. In fact, you know that arc where Omi changes the past to bring Chase Young to the side of good? When Yoichi does that to AFO, nothing changes because it turns out AFO is just the same no matter his chi. Also when given a chance to sacrifice himself to repair the timeline, good AFO is just like..."nah I want to make my little brother happy and that means staying by his side. The timeline can get wrecked." Good ending maybe?

(All of these are free to use in my Three Weeks of Trioholders event.)

#bnha #Trioholders #Ichiniisan #ask game #All for One #Yoichi Shigaraki #Second One for All holder #Third One for All holder #Hikage Shinomori #Three Weeks of Trioholders #5 headcanons game #xiaolin showdown

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science-lings · 2 years ago

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What do you say to a giving a little more lore on the priestesses AU?

I WOULD LOVE TO

first of all, some things need to be adjusted for totk, and that means I have to share a different theory that I have that's kind of independent from the priestesses au.

The idea that the Zonai weren't the only race that disappeared. I think that probably at the same time as the Zonai there were a race that lived almost exclusively in the depths and were able to manipulate the darkness. (see Thypho ruins in botw) they could be what form the ancient hero took, (bc that magical fursuit does not look like any zonai we know, the tail, the ears, the hair, etc...)

That way there could still be a connection to the Twili, (also since Midna's and Zant's helmets are down there). It really bothered me that the Zonai suddenly came from the sky and looked like goat people and what little we knew about them was shattered. But if there were a race that cooperated with the Zonai in the depths, a mirrored world of the surface, blanketed in pitch darkness, that may have disappeared alongside them, and after thousands of years had been forgotten entirely, that makes sense to me.

The priestesses au is largely centered around creating a backstory for the three elemental dragons in botw, and so totk... made me have to make more changes for it to make sense. Originally the AU was supposed to happen a hundred years after the first calamity, like how botw happens a century after the second and final calamity. The plot was going to be that just like in the future, even with all the tech and the might of the champions and the princess and the hero, the calamity still wasn't quite sealed. It still had influence and a wanting to take the triforce from its chosen guardians.

But in totk the whole idea of the dragons was kind of explained (though I'm not sure if the dragons appeared in any past cutscenes or if Zelda was kind of 'the first'. I have a feeling due to the abundance of massive skeletal remains, the dragons aren't as immortal as they seem and there were more of them than just the four that we know about)

So, that just means that I now have a method of how the priestesses became the dragons. Perhaps after Ganondorf was sealed, more secret stones were discovered and given to those of extraordinary power, or perhaps they were just a last resort to keep the sacred springs and the goddesses that they represented safe. There was a reason calamity ganon tried to take over Naydra (Zelda) but wasn't able to fully control her. Her divinity was too much to turn her into a threat against Link. I have a feeling he would've tried to go after the other dragons but after the first one, knew it was a losing battle.

Or, they could be the reason draconification was banned in the first place and they turned before Hyrule was even a kingdom. Perhaps there used to be nine secret stones (Rauru/Zelda's- Light/Time, Sonia/Ganondorfs- Time/Gloom, Sages- Lightning, Fire, Wind, and Water, plus three more for the dragon trio) and the Zonai, who wanted to keep the secret stones within reach, banned the practice. After all, dragons don't really do much other than vibe and a secret stone is much more useful to have available.

Now, enough of that, it's kinda boring, let's get to the good shit, I want to talk about Ravio being the equilibrium between darkness and light, out of the rest of his siblings, he's the one who takes on the most 'twili' traits, he has the greatest grasp over darkness, which he uses to conceal his face, and his hair glows the brightest. And he's the one chosen to wield the sword that seals the darkness. I think it's important to note how the character of Link as the hero is always kind of a sponge of the magic and people around him, so Ravio is no different. He's the balance of the darkness and the light, and the magic prowess and the skill with a sword that it's important for the hero to have.

Every other character has a more clear delineation of skills, they have more extreme strengths and weaknesses but Ravio is made to be a little more adaptable, he is the duality that is needed to be the hero. He knows when to run and hide in the shadows, and he knows when to fight. He just has to learn that his nature of being a jack of all trades is a good thing rather than being disappointed that he can't seem to get good at one specific thing like all the people around him.

thanks for letting me go on a tangent, however, I am still open to more instigation lmao, my typing fingers aren't tired yet

#golden priestesses au #priestesses au #ask andromeda #priestesses au Ravio

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thirdlotusprince3 · 1 year ago

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Hetalia x Avatar the Last Airbender

Italy, how useless can you be?

Water. Earth. Fire. Air. My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Axis attacked. The three members of the Axis were Germany, an earth and firebending nation and Japan who was one too and Italy an air and waterbender nation but was also a very useless nation who also really liked pasta. Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he and the Allies could stop the ruthless Axis. But when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years have passed and the Axis is nearing victory in the War. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to China, an Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Axis, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe. Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads, and that the cycle is broken. But I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow, the Avatar will return, and together with the Allies will save the world.

It was another day; Germany was walking when he found a stick. Then he saw a tomato cart and clacked his stick on it.

“Who are you?! I’ve been hiding in a box of tomatoes.” A mysterious and frantic voice replied.

“There’s nobody inside.”

Germany opened the box.

“AAAaaaah! Please don’t hurt me, I’m still a virgin!” the man cried. It was a man with bright auburn hair and a blue jumpsuit.

“Please I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!” he cried.

“You’re related to Rome right.” Germany asked.

“You know Grandpa Rome! Maybe we can be friends? My name’s Italy.” The man responded.

Then it was the middle of World War II.

Meanwhile Aang was in the middle of nowhere. Katara and Sokka found him in a large circular ice dome in the middle of Canada.

“You should stay with us. The axis might find you.” Katara and Sokka told Aang.

And in another part of the world, Italy was meeting up with the rest of the Axis.

Germany was talking with Japan.

“Italy is just so useless! I don’t know what to do with him, but my boss insisted I work with him.”

“I heard the Avatar has returned, and Prince Zuko is searching for him. Maybe Italy could prove some use and work with Prince Zuko.”

The axis met with Prince Zuko.

“Herro, we have an ar-rye to help you in your search for the Avatar.” Japan told Prince Zuko

“Okay.” Zuko replied.

Italy’s auburn hair and his face peaked out from behind Germany.

Germany moved Italy in front of him.

“Okay buddy, we are searching for the Avatar!” Zuko cried.

“Germany! Japan! What are you doing, leaving me with this scary boy with a scary scar!” Italy cried.

“Prove yourself useful and capture the Avatar with Prince Zuko, then you can return. Catching a group of kids, shouldn’t be too hard.” Germany told Italy.

“Wait! Wait!” Italy cried, Germany and Japan left.

“Okay. Let’s find the Avatar.” Zuko told Italy.

Zuko and Italy hid behind a bush.

“On the count of three we will sneak up on them and capture them.” Zuko told Italy.

“One, two, three!” Zuko cried, he leaped out. He saw Italy was still hiding behind the bush, so he pulled Italy by the collar, for him to join in.

“Avatar, I am here to capture you, and restore my honor.” Zuko declared.

Zuko looked at Italy. He was waving a white flag.

Zuko blasted fire at Team Avatar.

“Veneziano! What are you do-!”

“Go mister boomerang!” Sokka cried, he landed a shot and Zuko passed out.

“Germany! Germany! Don’t hurt me please!” Italy cried.

The avatar gang left.

Italy returned to Germany.

“Germany! Germany! I couldn’t defeat them. They were too scary.”

#hetalia crosssover #hetalia #hetalia fanfiction #aph italy #hws italy #aph germany #hws germany #aph japan #hws japan #aph axis #hws axis

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libidomechanica · 4 months ago

Text

Untitled (“It pourd upon the whole weeke with a leak, and”)

Waiting for a new one, the Door! And we have no more, at least it seem’d to do. And will connects us, or rather set, swear it can be wise? The hounds, because the shore through thick and low, her chosen from an ox. A very prauncing in

his blessing half its fire gratis since then a life or death. Name. Or Swiss Rousseau, cry Voila la Pervenche! Who not love the rudder, or country I blest with daily plagued with his entrail, like gold to aery thinnest clothed apes are dangerous

acquaintance, all kinds of shut eyes are their form, and with deeper crimson, and wood: I fled three things fair, and never hearts despond over her experience, youth! Of men conceal, they contrast, which was an old midwife’s hat! But then

this element; and most of them he had not a man but few hours are stopt with foresaw. I’ver also shatter’d straight with me through streets, but that I say nothing coy, keep close above. Sans Wine, sang such a thing happier than all the mould,

not known thrice told of Ceres’ horn, and, by thy perfect she was a frequent doctor quacks us, they knew the Latin— that is, some stitch’d me toward the day ask you who can have sworn deep oaths but twenty-five, I will answer: These discoveries

of true heart to cheek her breast, droop’d dripping leaves. Says she my despair, lest he could dread met palsy half with Yesterday’s Sev’n Thousand blood,—while Bacchus at meridian heightening themselves so brave, then stand in a Winding-sheet of foot,

makes men weep, to loss of love, for nothings more be rack’d with long-forgotten Julia? Cry, and messuages, and would be fee’d—but, as the tertian, and work away like a dumpy woman love,—as you had it been, some simple song his lovèd

Theotormon once more; till she held an ivory lute without disturbing her face, and in the beam of lamps straightway spent her who would sweet dew placed, mark if her hearts before the Water- Monarch. Sweet in his hair. I wonders my Jean. An Arab

with a little presse, what the sun, that Wisdom, ever wed with nimble, and so Your human trammels freed, no more, although were thin hair, hath showering the brain! Seres Spring, had they carried Venus to their great bases for ever

against the score, engrave upon us like the teachers, budded, and rumbled that a shipwreck’d youth elect must do the breeze that no defect. For on the best one. Tread like Achates, faithful were her smooth and swell and fast to the Eye

and Lip to Lip it murmur, a little still my head. Don Jose’s, his heart in sight, nor the place—but Verbum sat. It pour’d upon the whole weeke with a leak, and very worst: his temples to the eye, cheated, opens thick and lone supportress—

or a nunnery of thy dewy bed!—The Lady Adeline would resist his silence, still didst within the dandelions will ask for great thy leaden awe these utterly of self-denial? A winner—he also had

a bed of fashion’d to Four; pain sits with old Khayyám, and warm, in case our lives a lonely, ’mid the gale: to run to sea, than within the others stillnesses don’t know, beside my heart without dreams and your eyes against the extremely distance

lies stella, whence then came and Favour His—lo! On the girls of mightiest men: Caesar himself in your human form, that death with the best clothes’ press, end in broken placed; yet, if my own domestic quarrell’d— why, no bickerings, and

Aethon snort his penny pelf, and that will showers; and then why you used me swiftest arrow through their gazing; and heat, had hardly more faint head which still could thence who dares one still within the passion. The consequential, the servile shire,

and now she proved, and deem that’s said. True joy are right rude; and answer’d, once more of night. Blue eyes forbade those feeder was small selling in the except them to such thought ne’er conscience profits by her music’s sound, and feet, and such wonder how

or why, or why the deeper knowledge crouches both and purse, begin your sweet Nature does precipitate, which, like sympathy, for restraints; but be shut more thyself such evil cheer, because t is odd, but the muffle. Repeats itself

an Isle that several days in great desert heard me blithly sing and leather, their eye and ennui. So Juan was so fashions, love’s fire his time. Ask the golden string; the very germ of Zoe’s cookery no doubt, it equally as

the light, in an hundred years ago long ere I dreamed we both with Rule and handed, like other the cave the dame grew wild: so Juan’s face she had been, no matter with a straw, t will we all his ready to confess? A passing sprightly

gulls him with a little compare, which, in disguise, or in heaven. I touch’d no summer’s corn has ears: the surgeon’s harp had woo’d me back t is odd, but through the steam of chaste, and sorrow took the stern, and so on, from which make trial had been!

#poetry #automatically generated text #Patrick Mooney #Markov chains #Markov chain length: 7 #164 texts #ballad

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ace-angel-judas · 1 year ago

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Taephia fae au? When Sammy is older?

"How are you going to teach Sammy to fly?"

Taehyung slowly lowered his scroll, glancing at his wife. Sophia had taken well to being the high lady of the court, dressed in the greys and blacks of the nightmare court. The diamonds in her hair also complimented her well.

"Uh," Taehyung shrugged, "Eventually,"

The boy in question was two now, playing next to the fire place. The wings on his back had grown with his body, the bat like wings stretching and flapping every so often.

Ocassionally, his feet would lift off the ground for a few seconds.

"How did you learn to fly?" Sophia asked.

"My grandfather taught me, that was always the tradition," Taehyung explained, "Took me to a high cliff in the mountains and shoved me off,"

Sophia's face dropped.

"What?" Taehyung laughed.

"You are not shoving our two year old son off a cliff!" Sophia crossed her arms, "Also, wouldn't that mean your father would teach Sammy to fly?"

Taehyung's face fell, "No, no he won't,"

Sophia looked at her husband and whispered, "What is it?"

"My father won't ever met Sammy," Taehyung explained, "Not because he's mixed court but because he's locked away, forever,"

"Can't you get him out?" Sophia's face softened.

"No because I put him there, I had to put him there,"

Taehyung looked at his son, who was now sleeping peacefully on the floor next to the fireplace. He always slept on his stomach, wings wrapped around himself like a cocoon.

Sammy was peaceful.

"How did you learn to shapeshift?" Taehyung asked suddenly.

Sophia pursed her lips, "In the elements court, you have four pillars, representations of water, fire, air and earth, the pillar of water is blessed with the ability to shapeshift,"

Taehyung nodded slowly, "It's a beautiful gift,"

She just smiled sadly, "It wasn't suppose to be mine, my brother was meant to be the pillar until he died so it was passed to me,"

Reaching over, Taehyung cupped his hand over Sophia's.

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catthu · 2 years ago

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Random Childhood Memory

Sometimes some random event or reference just triggers long forgotten pathways in my brain, and I am reminded of things I hadn't thought about for at least 15 years now.

In high school, I was very into this MMORPG called Priston Tale and spent a lot of time on the Vietnamese server. I didn't realize this at the time, but the social scene, social order, and social games of such a microcosm was so fascinating. I played an archer and created a clan for archers called [A]vengers with my other archer friends. I also joined a Vietnamese community full of people who were into digital painting ("CG", as we called it at the time) and started practicing to create fanart of the game. I created a deviant art account that didn't get any art until much later -- all my initial work was uploaded on this other Vietnamese art website whose name and url I can't remember. And if I can, it probably doesn't exist anymore anyway!

But I did make some friends on the site, and even met up with them in person! I admired a particular archer and artist on the site who went by the pseudonym flute, the first time I saw his oil painting of his girlfriend (titled "She"). I don't remember how, but we became friends and spent a lot of time chatting on Yahoo Messenger.

Another archer friend flute I had was called Akari. Years later, when I wanted a book to study for my Physics SAT 2 (back before the days of Amazon), Akari found the book in Hanoi and sent it to me as a gift.

Flute, Akari and I, along with another person who I cannot remember at the moment, started a project together. We wanted to create a wiki of mythologies related to the game -- god, goddesses, prophecies, clergy, legends, and so on. We never got anywhere with the project, but flute painted a very cool artwork of the team represented as four elementals. Flute was earth, Akari was air, the person I can't remember was fire, and I (the only girl in the group) was water.

I've forgotten a lot of things, but strangely, I can still picture this artwork really well in my head. A swirling dark blue / black landscape in the background, with the four elementals centered and taking up most of the screen. At the bottom was flute, a brown earth elemental half-burrowed, pushing up from the ground glowing in lava. Left was Akari, a wispy air elemental with the most angular face, just like his real face, and an all-knownig smirk. Top was the fire elmental, whose details I can't remember much, just like the person he represented. Right was me, an all-blue water elemental (Avatar color, but transluscent) with a mermaid tail, sleek back long hair and a head too big for her body.

I spent some time looking for this painting or other references related to these people on the web, but unfortunately most of it has disappeared. Ah, I'd have loved to be able to see that painting again. But it's strange to think how I haven't thought of it in 15 years, and all of the sudden it's all I could think about for a couple of hours.

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squids-comics · 1 year ago

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Page Six:

Panel one, top third of page:

Gerard gestures at some of the halls behind him. One looks like it's at the bottom of the ocean. One looks like it rests on a cloud. One looks like it's part of an underground mine. Another one still cuts through a foggy cemetery.

Gerard: "Step one of learning magic is determining your base element. Do either of you feel a strong pull to these halls.

Panel two, middle third of page:

Greg climbs to his feet. He points to a hall in front of him.

Greg: "That one."

Panel three, bottom third of page:

The hall is pitch black, like light has never touched the hall.

Gerard: "Ooo dark magic! You're a tenebrimancer!"

Page Seven:

Panel one, top left quarter of page:

Gerard taps Alistair on the shoulder. Greg seems caught in a trance by the hall.

Gerard: "Now that you've gotten a tour, I should probably show you guys your room. I can also introduce you to the other warlocks! They'll love you guys."

Alistair: "Alright! Sounds good!"

Panel two, top right quarter of page:

Greg continues to stare. Alistair looks at him, slight concern on his face.

Alistair: "Come on buddy. Let's go get settled in."

Panel three, bottom left quarter of page:

Greg looks at Alistair, his smile returned.

Greg: "Ok! Lets go!"

Panel four, bottom right quarter of page:

the three of them walk away, with Greg sneaking one last look over his shoulder at the hallway.

Page Eight:

Panel one, top third of page:

Gerard leads Alistair outside, through the castle grounds, to a wooden cellar door.

Gerard: "Ok! Here's the dungeon! It's where we live."

Panel two, bottom two thirds of page:

The party of three enter the room. In the center of the room sits a shaky wooden table with equally shaky wooden chairs circling it. Imbedded in one wall is a cozy little fire place with three sitting chairs by it. One woman, about a year older than Alistair is sitting in one of the chairs, upside down. She has long blonde hair, black skin and a bored look on her face. In the corner of the room, by a small, barred window is a large man, both tall and wide, with beige skin on a small wooden stool. He has hazelnut coloured hair, shaved into a buzz cut and is lost in a book he's reading. He's reaching behind his back to grab a flower from the window sill for a short woman in a large pointy witch hat with a watering can. She wears a frilly black dress, long black hair hidden beneath her hat. On the rug behind the chairs sits a small, pale man playing with a rat made of bones. He has curly black hair and dark bags under his eyes. In the far corner stands a man in front of a pinball machine. He's wearing a pink feather boa with purple, star shaped sunglasses. He has a white suit jacket on and blonde hair.

Page Nine:

Panel one, top left sixth of page:

The person in the chair hops up and runs over to Alistair.

Chair Lady: "Oh new guy!! Guys!! There's a new guy!!"

Panel two, top right sixth of page:

The lady from the chair runs up to shake Alistair's hand.

Lisa: "Hi new guy!! My name's Lisa!!"

Sfx from handshake: "Zap"

Panel three, middle left sixth of page:

Alistair pulls his hand back in shock.

Alistair: "Ow..."

Lisa: "So sorry... I'm a tonitrumancer. I don't usually have the best control when I'm excited..."

Panel four, middle right sixth of page:

Gerard smirks at Alistair. Lisa smiles excitedly.

Gerard: "That's lightning Lisa. She's like a human joy buzzer."

Lisa: "Nice to meet you!"

Panel five, bottom left sixth of page:

Greg pokes his head out of Alistair's jacket pocket.

Greg: "Hi! I'm Greg! I'm his patron!!"

Lisa: "Awww! Aren't you adorable?"

Panel six, bottom right sixth of page:

The guy from the rug scoops up his rat and stands up.

Carpet guy: "Nice little pocket pet! This is my pet Stuart!"

Page Ten:

Panel one, top left sixth of page:

The guy from the carpet hold his rat up to Greg.

Greg: "Hi Stuart!"

Panel two, top right sixth of page:

The rat is a moving skeleton. It looks up at Alistair and hisses.

Alistair: "Ah!! What is that?"

Panel three, middle left sixth of page:

Gerard runs in between carpet guy and Alistair.

Gerard: "Sorry. I should have brought Chris up earlier. He's a necromancer. Lots of pets like this."

Panel four, middle right sixth of page:

Gerard turns to face Chris.

Gerard: "Now Chris, what have we said about pets?"

Chris: "Not in the living room... They stress out guests..."

Gerard: "Thank you!"

Panel five, bottom left sixth of page:

Chris walks away with Stuart in his hands.

Alistair walks towards the guy on the stool.

Panel six, bottom right sixth of page:

Alistair looks at the guy's book.

Alistair: "How's the book going?"

Did the first issue of Alistair Chronnus leave you feeling mystified? That's good! I was worried it was too sad. Anyways, here's Issue Two: Warlock 101!!

Page One:

Panel one, top third of page:

Gerard leads Alistair and Greg down an empty hallway. Greg looks around, completely awestruck. Alistair listens intently to Gerard.

Gerard: "Over there's the dining hall. Dine in or eat out! But we can swing by later. Come on! Classes are this way."

Panel two, bottom left third of page:

Gerard leads the others into a room with a large spiral staircase spinning into the ground.

Gerard: "Hop on and grab on tight!"

Panel three, middle right sixth of page:

Alistair steps onto the stairs, gripping the railing tight. Greg Holds onto Alistair's shoulder.

Gerard: "You ready?"

Panel four, bottom right sixth of page:

Alistair tightens his grip around the railing as the staircase starts to spin. Greg flaps in the breeze like a flag.

Page Two:

Panel one, top left quarter of page:

The staircase continues to spin.

Panel two, top right quarter of page:

The staircase finishes spinning and Alistair steps off, clearly dizzy.

Panel three, bottom left quarter of page:

Gerard looks at Alistair and chuckles.

Gerard: "Don't worry, you'll get used to it. There's also an elevator."

Panel four, bottom right quarter of page:

Greg looks up, beaming ear to ear, despite not having ears.

Greg: "Let's do that again!!"

Page Three:

Panel one, top left ninth of page:

Gerard leads Alistair into a small hallway.

Gerard: "Classes are right down this hall."

Panel two, top two thirds of page:

The three of them enter a small circular room with hallways branching out in every direction. Each hall has it's own theme. Gerard stands next to one filled with fire, with lava dripping down the walls.

Gerard: "Welcome to the hall of elements! You'll spend most of your classes in the hall with your base element, but you can take other elements as electives if they have a strong enough relationship. Here's my base, fire!"

Panel three, bottom left ninth of page:

Alistair looks sheepishly at the ground.

Alistair: "So uh..."

Panel four, bottom middle ninth of page:

Alistair looks up at Gerard.

Alistair: "I wasn't really allowed to use magic at home. And I don't know much about it."

Panel five, bottom right ninth of page:

Gerard looks a little surprised, but sympathetic.

Gerard: "Oh... Guess I should explain better then."

Page Four:

Panel one, top left quarter of page:

Gerard sits on the floor and gestures for Alistair to join him. Greg sits immediately.

Greg: "Yay! Story time!!"

Gerard: "The essence of magic is mana. Mana allows you to manipulate the very elements that make up the world. Each kind of mana burns a different kind of way, allowing you to manipulate a different element. Each mage has one base element that they work best with."

Panel two, top right quarter of page:

Gerard continues his story. Alistair savours every word.

Gerard: "There are four types of mage. There are sorcerers, born with mana inside them, allowing them to cast magic whenever. Then there's witches, born with the ability to manipulate the mana around them."

Panel three, bottom left quarter of page:

The story continues. Gerard points up at the roof, to where Todd is most likely sulking because there aren't enough wizards at the school.

Gerard: "Wizards, like Todd, and warlocks like us are seen as artificial mages. We aren't born with our magic, but learn how to wield it. Wizards learn how to manipulate the mana around them like witches. Warlocks get mana implanted in them by their patrons."

Greg: "That's me!!"

Gerard: "Yeah! That's you!! Good news is we get lots of power without a lot of training, bad news is we have to do whatever our patron asks."

Panel four, bottom right quarter of page:

Gerard stands up and walks around the various halls.

Gerard: "There are several elements that are all connected to each other in several ways. They can subdue or strengthen each other. I'm a fire mage, a pyromancer, so fire is my base element. Fire works well fighting against plants but won't hold up against water."

Page Five:

Panel one, top left sixth of page:

Gerard stops walking and turns to face Alistair, his hand outstretched in front of him.

Gerard: "Now, what you'll learn to do in this school is control the magic power you borrow. There are several ways it can be used."

Panel two, top right sixth of page:

A small fire starts in Gerard's hand.

Gerard: "Conjuration magic creates the element being used."

Panel three, middle left sixth of page:

The fire changes shape, into a sword.

Gerard: "Alteration magic allows you to change an element's shape."

Panel four, middle right sixth of page:

The fire sword changes to rock.

Gerard: "Transmutational magic lets you switch an element into a different one."

Panel five, bottom left sixth of page:

Gerard digs his fingers into the handle of the sword. A bright light shines from within.

Gerard: "And then... There's combination magic!"

Panel six, bottom right sixth of page:

Gerard now holds a sword made of lava in his hand. Greg is completely blown away. Alistair Is also impressed.

Alistair: "Woah... Lava sword..."

Gerard: "Yeah. Lava sword."

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crackedpumpkin · 2 years ago

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ᴄʜᴇʀʀʏ ʙʟᴏꜱꜱᴏᴍꜱ ɪɴ ᴀ ᴅɪꜰꜰᴇʀᴇɴᴛ ᴅɪᴍᴇɴꜱɪᴏɴ || ᴘᴀʀᴛ ꜱɪxᴛᴇᴇɴ ||

2K12! Leonardo x Waterbender! Reader

a/n: if there's anything I love in this world, it's a good diet of foreboding and build up. tw: mentions of blood

Y/n’s bored.

She’s very, very bored.

“And this is how World War 1 started.” The teacher speaking snaps her out of her daydream, and she glances down at the messy notebook in front of her. She scrawled a few words on it, still trying to get used to the grip of a pen.

As soon as the bell rang (which apparently signals the start of school here, according to April), they made it to the first lesson of the day: History.

It’s different from what she’s used to; most of her basic lessons have been taught by the private tutor her uncle had employed for both her and Yue. Most of the time, though, she was in the Healing Huts, learning from the older women of the Tribe.

Her aptitude for healing made her famous, though it was only momentary. She was often called over by the elders to help out with injuries caused by the waterbending school Master Pakku ran.

Her smile falters momentarily when she recalls an old memory that remains stuck in her head to this day.

— — — —- —- — — — — —

"Does no one wanna play with me?" An eight-year-old Y/n mumbles with a pout, stacking the toy blocks absentmindedly.

"I'm sure they're just shy!" Her cousin chirps from beside her, copying how she stacks the blocks.

Y/n just shrugs from beside her, brightening up slightly when she sees a few kids her age making their way over.

"Hi! Wanna play with us, Yue?"

"Sure! What about Y/n?"

"She can come too, I guess. But it'll be more fun without her!"

Y/n wilts at the comment, already looking away as her hair covers her face, acting as a shield for the saddened expression on her face.

"Well, I won't go if she isn't coming either!"

— — — —- —- — — — — —

“You good?” She hears April whisper from the corner of her mouth, glancing over in worry. Her eyes widen when she sees the large blots of ink that stain the paper on Y/n’s desk, practically soaking through.

Y/n grins sheepishly, holding her pinky to reveal a pigmented blue stain. “Still getting used to it. I much prefer brushes.”

They share a giggle, only for Y/n to sit upright when she hears the teacher clear her throat. “Is something funny, Miss O’Neil? And your friend as well, Miss…?”

“Beifong. Y/n Beifong of the Northern Water Tribe.” She supplies, wanting to be helpful to the teacher.

“Miss Beifong of the…Northern Water Tribe. Is there something funny about the war?”

“Kind of,” Y/n shrugs, not noticing how April desperately tries to signal her to stop talking.

“Would you like to share your thoughts with the class?”

“It’s mainly just that it’s very different from where I’m from. There was a lot of Bending involved in the war.”

“Bending?” The teacher repeats, her brows furrowed in confusion.

Y/n nods, standing up and going over to the whiteboard. She picks up a tool that resembles a pen and starts to draw four separate circles on the whiteboard.

“Air, Fire, Earth, and Water. These are the basic four elements. There’s also metal, but that’s more of Toph’s expertise.

“The four nations were once united in harmony. My uncle used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads.

But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years passed, and the Fire Nation neared Victory in the War.”

At this point, she realizes that everyone in the class has stopped talking, staring at her silently. Even the boys in the back who were joking were watching, the girls putting away their phones.

April has her head in her hands.

Y/n grins, happy that everyone is paying such rapt attention. “Here’s where it gets funny; my friends found the Avatar in an iceberg and broke him out! My friend Katara was the one that did so. She’s a fantastic waterbender. Sokka was there, too, I guess.

We fought against Zuko, the exiled prince of the Fire Nation — now the Lord, though. At first, I thought he was just really depressed. And he was! But I’m pretty sure he’s alright now.”

She’s cut off by the bell ringing, setting down the pen with a massive smile.

“Well, that was…interesting. Maybe you should sign up for our school’s creative writing course.” The teacher forces a smile onto her lips, but Y/n beams at the compliment.

“Thank you! I have gotten praise from my tutor that I have excellent storytelling skills. It came in handy while we were on the run and needed entertainment.”

“Okay, we’re leaving.” Y/n’s arm is grabbed by April, who begins to drag her out of the classroom.

“Wait! I was going to tell her about the time Sokka and Katara had to suck on frogs!” Y/n protests, but upon seeing April’s scarlet red cheeks, she falls silent and follows without complaint.

She spots a few people from the earlier classroom, waving a quick hello with a warm smile. It falters, however, when she spots them whispering to each other and eyeing her up and down.

Y/n starts to feel uncomfortable. Maybe her outfit wasn’t appropriate enough? She glances down, trying to pinpoint precisely what looked so wrong.

“What’s wrong?” She leans on the sink, the two of them the only ones in the restroom. April sighs, running a hand through her hair.

“Look, Y/n. Stuff like waterbending and earthbending…It’s like a fairy tale to everyone here. If you continue to talk about it, they’ll think you’re crazy!” April tries to explain, Y/n tilting her head in thought.

“So, no waterbending?”

“And no frogs.”

“No frog talk??” She’s already devastated.

“Not in public. But you gotta tell me when we’re back home, it sounds like such a wild story.” April grins, feeling much more relieved with Y/n’s eager nod.

The bell rings, and they share a worried look.

“Didn’t you say that the bell only rings when…?”

“Yeah. We’re late for class. Let’s go!” April grabs her hand, dragging the waterbender behind her as they rush to class.

“Sorry! My apologies!” Y/n winces when someone bumps against her shoulder roughly, the student sending her a glare until a flicker of recognition flashes across their face.

“You’re that chick! The Elemental Bending girl!”

“I am!” She slows in her steps, pleasantly surprised that they knew who she was.

“Your imagination’s rad. You should make that into a show!”

“Sorry, Casey. Y/n, let’s go!” April urges. Grabbing her wrist, they run to the next class. Y/n quickly waves to the boy in the hallway, shrugging off his remark about her imagination.

It stung, but it wasn’t as if she could waterbend in public here.

— — — —- —- — — — — —

Mutant Monsters and robot ninjas are taking over my city. How long before those freaks hurt somebody close to me? Like my dad, my little sister…

April.

Well, I’m not waiting around to find out. All my life, I knew I was meant for something greater.

This is my calling, my destiny.

A true warrior’s gotta be prepared.

“Scum-sucking mutant freaks of the world, prepare to meet Casey Jones.”

— — — —- —- — — — — —

“My sons, you are truly becoming impressive warriors. But to grow as a team, you must know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”

Mikey swings his nunchucks threateningly, moving close to Donnie and burping in his face. Y/n groans, sticking out her tongue in disgust. He laughs obnoxiously at her reaction, proud of himself.

“Right in my face??” Donnie cries, outraged, as his eyes start to burn from the rancid smell.

“Garlic and clam pizzaaa,” Mikey says smugly.

“This competition is a free for all. Last turtle standing wins.” Master Splinter states firmly, “Hajime!”

Raph immediately runs towards Donnie, whose vision is still blurred from Mikey’s potent attack, kicking him in the side and instantly knocking him out of the competition. Donnie lands against the dojo wall, and she quickly gets up to help him sit upright.

“This might help.” She bends some water to cover her palm, holding it against his closed eyes as he slumps against her side in relief.

“Thanks,” He mumbles gratefully.

Y/n continues to watch the fight, Mikey already out of the battle while Leo and Raph square off. She’s not paying close attention, more focused on patting Mikey’s head when he leans on her with a happy hum and healing Donnie.

“Oooh! Look!” She glances over at where Mikey’s pointing, wincing as she watches Leo use the tree in the dojo to gain an advantage, kneeing Raph in the face.

“That’s gotta hurt,” She mumbles, hiding the chuckle that almost slips past her lips at Leo’s smug grin. She couldn’t let Raph hear. If there's anything she learnt during her time spent with them, it's that they’re much more alike to her friends back at home than she initially thought.

Raph reminded her so much of Toph, his temperament practically mirroring hers. The only difference being that she was blind, of course.

He lands face down on the Dojo mat, Leo clearing his throat and propping his katana behind his back as he sneaks a look from the corner of his eye to see if she’s watching.

She is.

The corner of her lips tugs up slightly, making eye contact with Leo, who averts his gaze with a flush on his cheeks. He clears his throat, picks up his katana and sheathes them on his back. He takes a knee, sneaking yet another peek with a proud smile.

She’s again distracted when she feels the sudden flow of Raph’s blood speed up, practically sensing his heartbeat quicken as he grows angry with each passing second.

Her hands tingle, feeling her body still as everything else fades into white noise. Her heart slows, starting to see the flow of energy and life that surround her in the dojo.

Leo’s is a royal blue, Mikey’s a burnt orange, and Donnie’s is a warm brown. Raph’s is a scarlet red, burning brighter the more the blood rushes to his head in anger. It’s a stunning shade, one that catches her attention instantly.

The color reminds her of something familiar. The answer’s on the tip of her tongue, a whisper encouraging her to remember it.

Blood.

“Uh, Y/n?” Donnie voices out worryingly, the once cool sensation quickly turning into a rising temperature he can’t withstand. She doesn’t notice, eyes still trained on the movement of the two brother’s limbs with cold eyes. He shifts uncomfortably on her shoulder, scrunching his snout as the water continues to heat up.

“Dudette?” Mikey waves his hand in front of her face, and she snaps out of it, warmth flooding back into her body almost instantly. She blinks.

What was that?

It felt as if the cold fingers of death itself had gripped its claws around her heart, slowly freezing it over. But as soon as she snaps out of it, it retreats back into the inky depths from where it came from inside her.

Suddenly it’s hard to breathe. She pulls her hand away from Donnie’s closed eyes, staring at the rough calluses with tightness in her gaze. Something really wasn’t right with her.

“I…have to go.” She stands up abruptly, surprising everyone. Master Splinter merely nods in approval, and she turns, walking out of the dojo with hurried steps.

“I’m gonna go on a walk too.” Raph grunts with a roll of his eyes, shoving Leo’s shoulder and following the same path that Y//n took.

— — — —- —- — — — — —

My city is infested. A boil, a festering sore. It stinks with evil.

Pure evil only Casey Jones can face.

— — — — — — — — — —

Y/n’s chest is tight, fists pressed against her heart and trying to regulate her breathing.

Whatever that was back in the lair, it’s gone now. She looks up, the number of stars that dot the sky incredibly sparse compared to back in her world.

She turns to see the next rooftop, spotting Raph kicking a metal sheet. She takes a deep breath, calming herself down before bending water from a puddle beside her and creating a platform across.

“You good?” Y/n walks over to where he’s now sitting. She sits beside him, and he moves over to make space for her.

“Yeah. I’m good.” His short answer didn’t deter her; she was already used to the occasional outbursts from Toph when she couldn’t control her anger. She grabs her water bag, offering him a sip.

He hesitates but takes it and gulps down the refreshing liquid before clearing his throat and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He passes it back to her without a word of thanks, just a simple nod.

She places it back on her waist, sighing blissfully as the chilly breeze brushes against her ears. It isn’t as cold as the North Pole is, but the mornings feel close enough.

“When I first met Toph – Aang’s earthbending teacher, I thought she was cool but also a brat.” Raph glances over at Y/n who begins to absentmindedly tell him about her life. “She was born blind, her parents super overprotective and not letting her breathe. But wanna know how we found her?”

“How?”

“An underground fight. Toph was the reigning champion over all the other fighters in Ba Sing Se. Her stage name was The Blind Bandit.” Y/n chuckles fondly, recalling how surprised they were when Toph first walked into the arena.

“Sounds pretty cool to me.” Raph grins, leaning back as he continues to listen.

“She is! She’s incredibly talented but loses her temper easily and is incredibly stubborn. You kinda remind me of her.” Y/n pauses, seeing Raph frown.

“I don’t lose my temper easily,” Raph huffs, crossing his arms as he glares at her.

“Sure,” Y/n chuckles, unfazed. She’s dealt with Toph almost causing an earthquake once – nothing else would ever be that scary. “But the thing is, she just didn’t know how to process her emotions well. She’s just a kid. But there was one way we vented.”

“What is it?” Raph’s interest is now piqued, intrigue in his frustrated eyes. Y/n stands up, gesturing for him to do the same. She steps back, bending the water out of her water bag and sending a sharp disc flying right at him.

Raph yelps, barely dodging it as it leaves a small scratch against his cheeks. “What the heck??”

He grips his Sais, already irritated by the sudden attack.

“What’s wrong? Are you scared?” She taunts with a smirk, already preparing for her next attack. She sends a stream of water to wrap around his legs as he charges at her, using his momentum to flip him on his back.

He growls, the smile on her face only angering him further. She draws back the water whip, holding her hand in a mocking ‘come here’ gesture. He runs towards her once again with an aggressive yell, dodging the stream of water she sends his way and doing a quick front flip when it gets close to his legs.

“And here I thought water’s just harmless to turtles,” She feigns a pout, a mischievous glint in her eyes as her words only fuel the burning fury in Raph’s eyes. It’s all too easy to get on his nerves, shifting and sweeping her leg in a semicircle to bring the water back and create a wall of ice to protect herself.

His weapon stabs into it, and he struggles to pull it out. Y/n peeks out from behind it, unable to resist yet another taunt. “Aww, do you need some help?” She offers with a chuckle, yelping when he almost punches her.

“You little-!” Raph pants heavily, still trying to get his Sais out of where they’re stuck in the ice. “Whatever, I don’t need them to beat you!” He huffs angrily, changing tactics and charging straight at her instead.

Her eyes narrow, bringing her hands back and moving them forward quickly, bending the ice to change it back into its liquid state and sending it once more to creep up his leg and stop him from moving any closer to her.

He didn’t expect it, the sudden chill that encompassed his leg a surprise. He grunts, trying to move his now frozen leg. He spots his Sais on the ground, lunging towards them and stretching his hands out, barely reaching the hilts.

He grabs them, using all his strength to break the ice with the sharp prongs. It shatters, and he's in front of her in the blink of an eye.

He raises his clenched fist, intending to use the back of his hilt to give her a good punch. However, a small stream of water snakes up his arm, and Y/n takes a small step around him, rolling off his back as she uses his momentum against him again. She guides the stream of water and yanks it to the right, using it to veer him off course and land on the ground instead.

He lands with a pained grunt, getting back up almost immediately. She pauses, spotting a few figures in the dark alleyway out of the corner of her eyes. “Wait,” She holds up a hand, eyes trained on the shadowed figures.

Raph doesn’t hear, too focused on winning the fight.

She raises her hands, gripping them tightly to waterbend a ball of water around his face. His eyes widen almost comically, a bubble of air escaping past his lips as he tries to protest. “Cool off for a minute, okay? Something’s happening down there.”

He nods grumpily, glaring at her. She returns a sheepish grin, feeling bad about the sudden fight she started. She releases the water lock, and he drops to the ground, gasping for air.

She peeks over the edge of the building, overhearing one of the shadowed figures confronting the other three. They’re all dressed in black, so she’s unable to tell who they are. However, the one confronting them is shorter, so they were probably around her age.

“I’m the last guy you see before you wake up in the hospital.”

Y/n blinks.

That was probably one of the weirdest catchphrases she’s ever heard.

Scratch that; nothing was worse than hearing Sokka go down swinging with his space sword, Sokka Style (also patented by him).

To her surprise, though, the boy down below fights well. He dodges harsh blows thrown his way by the Purple Dragons, fighting back with nothing but a wooden stick and little black discs. He uses the sticks to hit the discs, the amount of force behind it enough to cause enough pain to the attackers on impact.

She raises a brow when he uses the terrain to his advantage, kicking himself off the wall to hit one of the larger assailants. He lands perfectly, darting around and hitting them in the face with his stick.

“I give him 10 for the landing, 8 for the jump,” She murmurs jokingly, impressed.

“That guy’s outta control. Time for a little intervention.” Raph twirls his Sai, still heated from their earlier fight.

“Wait-!”

Raph ignores her hushed protest, jumping straight down and grabbing the stick as the boy holds it above his head. Raph tosses it aside casually, doing a somersault over his head and landing in the shadows.

“This isn’t going to end well…” Y/n mutters under her breath, quickly making her way down the fire escape. She hurries, hearing their grunts as the both of them fight. She takes the last step down the fire escape, landing on the ground and looks up to see the boy shoving Raph back and running after the Purple Dragons that are getting away.

“You know, anger is a dangerous ally.”

Y/n snorts. She clears her throat when Raph shoots her an icy glare, hiding a smile and masking it with a blank expression. The boy glances behind him, eyes widening behind his mask, when he sees a civilian is in front of a clearly dangerous mutant turtle.

“Get behind me.” He runs in front of her, holding his stick out protectively. She peeks out from behind him, spotting Raph breathing heavily.

He’s angry, she realizes.

“Stay away, you overgrown lizard!”

The remark makes her wince. She taps the boy’s shoulder from behind him, and he looks at her questioningly. “I’ll be fine,” She tries to reassure him.

“What’re you talking about? You’re just a girl.” His eyes are filled with confusion, wondering how on earth this frail-looking girl behind him could hold her own in front of the overgrown lizard threatening him. He blinks multiple times, his eyes dry from all the face paint.

She looks familiar to him, but he can’t really place where he’s seen her before, especially not with the alleyway being this dimly lit. Plus, his mask made it a bit difficult to have good vision. But it looked cool, so he refused to take it off under any circumstance.

Rule 101 of vigilantism: Never reveal your identity.

“Okay,” Y/n raises her hands in mock surrender, stepping back. “Whatever you say, my saviour.”

“Why don’t you go cool off for a while,” Raph’s lips are pressed tightly in a thin line, hands gripping his Sai.

“That’s it, lizard, I’m done with you,” The boy pulls out not just one but two sticks from where they’re slung on his back. Now she’s amazed.

Was he trying to get killed? She wonders, leaning against the wall.

She watches them charge at each other, Raph kicking the boy into the dumpster beside her. He twirls his Sai, sheathing them before walking towards her.

However, the boy stands up quickly, and she discreetly slides off a hamburger wrapper stuck to his shoulder. He climbs out of the dumpster, unknowingly swinging his stick back and hitting her right in her head.

“Ow!” She winces, holding her head as she stumbles back, hitting the wall behind her. The impact sends her reeling, practically seeing stars in her eyes. “That’s a concussion,” She groans.

“Oops, sorry!”

“Hey! Look what you did!” Raph gestures towards her in pain, about to take a step towards her, when the boy holds out his stick, preventing him from getting close.

“Don’t put your gross hands on her, you lizard!” Casey threatens. It’s enough to set Raph off, and they continue to fight, forgetting about her.

Y/n slumps to the ground, moving her hand away to see blood staining her clear skin. She feels dizzy from the sight, lips tugging downwards in a frown when she processes the fact that she’s bleeding.

Huh.

This isn’t ideal.

Her eyes are fixed on the crimson red on her palms, dotted across her fingers. She almost can’t look away, seemingly hypnotized by the very substance. She feels something wet trickle down her forehead, snapping her out of her daze.

Right, she’s bleeding.

She should probably heal herself.

Holding an orb of water she bends out of her water bag, she uses the rest of the water to surround the injury, her vision slightly blurry. Everything keeps shifting in and out of focus, permanent spots of black in her eyes.

She frowns.

Why did it look like they were connected to people?

She tries to brush it off, but the darkness unnerves her. Something about it is just so… inviting. But she shouldn’t. It looked dangerous.

Her brows furrow, resolve wavering. Part of her wants to reach out, to let it surround her. Besides, when has she ever stepped away from danger?

But Raph’s furious yell distracts her.

She tears her gaze away, barely able to make out his eyes blazing with aggravation.

He’s lost in his rage, letting the emotion engulf him. He holds his Sai up, swinging it toward the boy’s face. She gasps, scrambling to her feet to take a step forward. Her hands flex, so close to grabbing the flow that connects his arm to his body.

She can’t let Raph hurt someone. But she can control it, make it, so it doesn’t happen.

She has the power to.

But as soon as her fingertips brush against the swell of darkness in her vision, he stops. His Sai are inches away from the boy’s face, the blade's edge almost touching his skin.

In that split second, he regains control. His breaths come out in short pants, and she can almost see the condensation from how heated he is.

“What am I doing?” He puts away his weapons, looking down. At that moment, the boy pulls out a gadget that electrocutes the turtle, making his escape as Raph slumps to the ground with a pained groan.

She looks away, blinking rapidly as she vaguely registers the graffiti before her. It’s as if she’s underwater, with all the muffled noise from the car horns that blare at night.

Use it. Control them. You can have the world in your grasp. You know that.

“It doesn’t mean I want that.”

You can make it, so they never leave you.

“They won’t. I know they won’t.” She states firmly, her eyes squeezed shut as sweat collects on her brow.

That’s what you thought about Yue.

“You don’t know anything. She had to.” Her teeth are gritted, the familiar yet painful memory rushing back.

— — — — — — — — — —

“You have been touched by the Moon Spirit. Some of its life is still in you.”

“Yes, you’re right. It gave me life.” Yue admits, head hanging in defeat before an idea takes root in her mind. She opens her eyes, standing back up.

“Maybe I can give it back.”

— — — — — — — — — —

He could’ve found another way. He could’ve stopped her.

“Stop.”

She didn’t have to sacrifice herself.

“There was no other way!”

Her breathing is shaky, and the water on her head drops to extreme temperatures. But she doesn’t notice, her grief flooding her in waves. She thought she had gotten over it - managed to accept what had happened.

Y/n can almost see the exact moment she returned from healing the waterbenders injured by the Fire Nation’s army, looking around for Yue, only to see everyone else’s sorrowful expressions.

The realization had hit her then.

“-/n? Y/n! You okay?” She opens her eyes, her lashes wet with hot tears that have spilled over. Raph has his hand on her shoulder, shaking her in a desperate attempt to snap her out of whatever daze she’s in.

“I-I’m good. Don’t worry.” She rubs her eyes roughly with the back of her hand, trying to quell the raging emotions in her heart. Her wound is long gone, the voice receding to the back of her mind with a disgruntled hiss.

Raph raises a brow but doesn’t question her, noticing how her lips are drawn in a taut line. Her hands are shaky, and her eyes are rimmed with red. Instead, he helps her up, slowly returning to April’s place from the rooftops. They walk in silence, and he waits for her to calm down, his earlier anger forgotten.

GIF by verbile

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#tmnt 2012 #tmnt #leonardo x reader #atla #Avatar The Last Airbender #2012 leo #2012 raph #2012 donnie #2012 mikey #x reader #series #CBIDD #tmnt x reader #tmnt leonardo x reader #tmnt leo x reader #leo x reader #2012 Leo x reader

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clarepreed · 2 years ago

Text

Mud

Short Story Summary and Content: 5,100 words. Northerner Nikki may not survive her first mudding date with her Southern boyfriend. Suffocation/drowning and on-site resuscitation. Features Zoll AutoPulse.

“So… we’re riding these things down a muddy trail and into a muddy field and spending the day getting covered in mud?” Nikki eyed the four-wheeler askance and tugged on her old, red-and-blue leggings.

“That’s about it.” Caleb grinned at her. “I swear it’s fun.”

“I guess I’m about to see for myself. Are we wearing helmets?”

“Nah, you don’t need one. Everything’s so muddy it’s like falling in melted ice cream. But I won’t tip us over.” He stepped close to her and snaked his arm around her waist, resting his palm against the bare skin between her leggings and sports bra. “Then we can shower off together later.”

“Well, that part I know I’ll like.” She pressed her curves against him and tipped her mouth up to be kissed.

He grinned, gripped her ass with both hands, and kissed her hard.

“Ugh! Get a room!” he heard his older sister, Em, say. “Gross.”

He broke the kiss, but he didn’t release Nikki, pivoting her around with him as he turned to look at Em and the disgusted expression on her face. “Just because you aren’t getting any—”

Em snorted and rolled her eyes. “Like you would know. I’m knee deep in—”

“NOPE!” Caleb released Nikki and clapped his hands to his ears. Em just grinned at him and sashayed over to her own four-wheeler, her thumbs hooked in the belt loops of her cargo shorts.

“You deserved that,” Nikki said when he dropped his hands. She offered him a wicked grin. “Over here playing with fire, of course you’re gonna get burned.”

He rolled his eyes at her, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

A half hour later, their group was headed down the trail. There were five total ATVs carrying eight people, all friends, family, and significant others. There’d been hard rain for two days prior on into the early morning, so the trail was a wide, rutty swath of red clay mud.

“Holy shit!” Nikki exclaimed, her arms tightening around his waist as the four-wheeler bounced and a muddy spray from a nearby vehicle doused them.

“That’s why I gave you those goggles!” Caleb shouted, laughing.

“I’m never getting this out of my hair!” she groaned, reaching up to pat her twists.

Eventually, the trail opened into a large, muddy field that Caleb’s uncle had given over to four-wheelers. During the wet times of the year, the field was nothing more than a vat of thick, orange soup.

He drove over to the edge of the field where the ground was firmer and there were downed trees to sit on, thinking Nikki might want a beer or at least a chance to rinse her mouth out. This was also the end of the field where his uncle’s gravel access drive terminated, giving them quick access to the house, should they need it.

The next hour flew by. Sometimes he rode with Nikki, sometimes he went solo. For being out of her element, he thought she was having a good time.

“I’m gonna take your girl out,” Em said, winking at him. Her short hair was spiked with mud, giving her a rakish look. When he didn’t react, she said: “For a ride…”

“Stop,” Nikki said, laughing as she put on the ATV goggles he’d loaned her.

Em turned and patted the seat behind her, grinning when Nikki climbed on and slipped her arms around her waist. “Wish me luck!”

They took off, pulling in behind Caleb’s friend Mike as he rounded the curve of the field. He chuckled when he heard Nikki squeal, reaching into the cooler to get another beer.

Mike made a point of circling around the women and then cutting across their path, spraying them with a heavy wave of muddy water. Caleb shook his head, a little annoyed. Mike had a tendency to ride too close and go too hard, which is why the friend group often called him “Dumbass” instead of his name.

The far end of the field sloped up toward a ridge of pine trees. Em was more sensible than Mike, and she cut left pretty early before they gained much elevation. Mike, on the other hand, came around them on the right, engine roaring as he overtook them and surged up the hill.

He lost control halfway up, the weight of the ATV tipping back and carrying him and the four-wheeler downhill. He bailed, just before his vehicle crashed into Em’s. The four-wheelers collided and rolled together, dumping the women into the mud.

Caleb sat his beer down, already losing track of who was where. “Hey! Fuckhead! Em? Nikki?”

“I think someone’s hurt,” he heard Robb say from behind him. “No one’s up waving their arms around to say they’re okay.”

“Em! Nikki!” Caleb hopped onto his four-wheeler and rode across the field, his heart pounding. He’d been in a number of rollover accidents over the years and had always been fine. But when he was in elementary school, his neighbor’s dad had died instantly in an ATV accident. He’d been there, too young to exactly understand what was happening, watching people run around trying to revive him. Also, this was his sister and his girlfriend, and he couldn’t help but feel protective.

Caleb jumped off his four-wheeler, his boots squelching in the mud. The ground was especially soft here, water pooling up around his ankles. He heard another ATV roar up behind him.

Mike was bent over next to one of the overturned four-wheelers. “Em! Hey! Em!”

Caleb ran up beside him and saw his sister sprawled on her back in the mud, her eyes closed. Blood trickled from her nose and a gash near her hairline.

“Em!” Caleb shouted, shoving Mike to the side as he dropped to his knees next to her. “What the fuck was that, asshole?!”

Mike sat down hard in the mud. “I didn’t mean to! Fuck, I think one of the tires got her in the face…” Their friends Robb and Dana pulled up beside him, coming from a different angle.

Caleb leaned over her, gingerly touching her muddy skin next to the gash. Em groaned and her hands clenched. “Em?”

She didn’t respond, so he looked up, trying to see where his girlfriend had ended up. “Nikki?”

He almost didn’t spot her due to the mud, but his eyes stopped on something red and blue under one of the ATVs.

He reacted instinctively; he wouldn’t even be able to recall his actions later. Skirting around the ATVs, he slid in next to her, ignoring the sludge that lapped over the top of his boots. Her upper half was completely submerged in the thick, watery mud. He first tried pulling her up at the waist, but the weight of the four-wheeler resting on her lower half pinned her down.

Robb ran over, and they lifted the ATV off her prone body, setting it upright. Mike broke free of his stupor and grabbed Nikki under the arms, hauling her up and out of the divot she was lying in.

“She didn’t jump free?!” Mike exclaimed, mouth agape, still holding her out of the mud. “Why didn’t she jump free?!”

Caleb and Mike turned her over. She flopped boneless onto her back, covered in mud, her goggles lost in the puddle. He cradled her head in one hand and rubbed his other hand down her face, trying to wipe the mud off. Watery muck leaked out of her nose and mouth. In a panic, he pushed his fingers into her mouth, trying to scrape out the mud.

“Nikki! Nikki!” She didn’t respond, her limbs dangling as he shook her. “Fuck! I think she breathed it in!”

Caleb leaned his ear close to Nikki’s face. She was motionless, reclined back in Mike’s lap. He’d never seen someone so still outside of a casket. Her chest wasn’t rising, and he couldn’t feel any movement. “She’s not breathing!”

He pinched her nose shut, not bothering to drag her out of Mike’s lap, and sucked in a deep breath. He covered her mouth with his, felt the grit of the mud on her skin. The chill of her lips. Then he breathed into her. Or tried to. His cheeks puffed out, her cheeks puffed out, but then the air stopped, finally forcing its way out of the side of his mouth with a sputtering sound. He took a breath and tried again, with the same result.

“I can’t get any air in her!” He shouted, looking up at Mike.

“Dana’s calling 9-1-1,” he heard Robb say.

“Is your uncle home?” Mike asked. His own wild eyes reflected Caleb’s fears. “Can he help?”

“Get her on a four-wheeler with you!” Robb shouted. “Get her over to dry land! I’ve got Em!”

Mike and Caleb scrambled to their feet, awkwardly hauling Nikki’s limp body between them. Caleb climbed onto his ATV and dragged her out of Mike’s arms, setting her sideways on the seat in front of him and wrapping his arm around her middle to keep her from falling off. Holding her was like holding some kind of rag doll; there was no muscle tension in her body whatsoever.

His ATV roared and jumped forward, and Nikki’s head lolled back on her neck.

Their friends Leigh and Nina waited on the other side, and they helped him get Nikki off the ATV and over the ring of tree trunks. Then they laid her out on one of the drier sections of grass.

Caleb leaned over Nikki again, forcing his fingers between her teeth to scoop out more muck. Leigh dropped down across from him. “Is she breathing?”

“No, and I can’t get any air into her!”

“I think we need to do chest compressions!” Leigh said, briefly resting her hand on Nikki’s motionless chest. “I know CPR from school!”

Caleb leaned over Nikki and tried to breathe for her again. When the air escaped uselessly out the side of his mouth, Leigh rose up onto her knees. She clasped her hands together and pressed her palm between Nikki’s breasts. It took her several hard compressions to figure out depth and rhythm, and then she started counting, her thrusts making Nikki’s body quake and twitch.

“One and two and three and…”

Caleb turned Nikki’s head to the side, hoping more mud would trickle out. Nina joined him, a bottle of water in hand.

“I’m going to wash off her face,” Nina said, meeting his eyes. “Is that okay?”

Caleb nodded and watched as she used a bottle of water and a cleanish t-shirt to wipe the mud off Nikki’s face.

“…twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine…”

“Mike’s gone to find your uncle!” he heard Robb call out. “And Dana took my four-wheeler to try to find cell service, we couldn’t stay connected long enough to talk to 9-1-1!”

“…thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty, forty-one, forty-two…” A faint sound came from Nikki’s mouth with each compression. It was disturbingly like the sound you’d expect to hear if someone were violently squeezing a bag full of liquid.

Now that Nina had washed Nikki’s face, he could see that her beautiful umber skin had gone gray, her full lips purpling. He grasped her jaw, holding her mouth open so he could sweep his finger inside. More muck came out, along with another gush of orange water.

“How’s Em?” he called, his voice cracking.

“She’s okay!” Robb called. “She’s conscious. Keeps trying to get up, but she’s making sense now, so I think she’s alright. No, dammit, stay down, they’re taking care of her!”

“…eighty-six, eighty-seven, eighty-eight! When I get to one hundred… after you try to give her breaths… I need to switch!” Leigh was breathing hard, and if Caleb weren’t so terrified, he would be impressed by her strength. She hadn’t faltered once as she forcefully compressed his girlfriend’s sternum. “Ninety-nine, one hundred!”

Caleb scraped more muck out of Nikki’s mouth and then turned her face to the sky, tipping her chin back and pinching her nose shut. Her cold mouth was still as much of a shock as it had been the last time. He blew hard, but again the seal broke from the pressure. “Fuck!”

“Nina, sit with Em,” he heard Robb say. “I’ll take over compressions.”

Caleb opened her mouth. The inside of her mouth was mostly clear, but he of course couldn’t see into her airway. He tilted her head back further and covered her mouth with his again, blowing hard.

Then Robb was on his knees beside her, his hands coming down hard between her breasts. Caleb turned Nikki’s head back to the side, his fingers lingering on her cheek. Her head was moving with each compression, but her face was still. She looked bad; he’d never seen someone that ashen color, not ever.

The squelching sound coming from her throat resumed. He watched Robb moving over her forcefully, the compressions from his burly arms making her stomach bulge out even further. Looking at her bloated abdomen, he thought she must have swallowed some water. The thrusts caved in her ribcage, jerking her shoulders and making her arms twitch. There was even movement down her legs and into her feet.

“…forty-three, forty-four, forty-five… I’m counting to one hundred, right?” Robb asked.

“I think…” Leigh sounded uncertain, and she was still breathing hard. “I think so, yes. Until we can get air into her. Anyone disagree?”

No one said anything except Robb, who was still counting.

When Caleb looked back at Nikki’s face, he could see foam, mud, and water oozing out of her nose and mouth again. “I think this is helping… the mud is coming out! Come on, baby, I need you to start breathing!”

“I can keep going,” Robb said. “After the next breaths. Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred!”

Caleb quickly cleared her mouth and then leaned in to try another rescue breath. This time, though there seemed to be a lot of resistance, he saw her chest rise. He forced another breath in and got her chest to rise a little further.

“One, two, three…”

“I got some air into her!” Caleb exclaimed. “This is helping!”

“Should we switch to thirty compressions and two breaths?” Leigh asked, her voice anxious and loud. “I think we should.”

“…eighteen, nineteen, twenty…”

The wet bag sound was transitioning to a gurgle, followed by small surges of muddy water and orange-tinged foam leaking from Nikki’s nose and mouth.

A hand suddenly touched his back, and Em dropped down on her knees by Nikki’s head. She looked terrible, her face ghost pale and a dirty shirt pressed to her head wound. “Oh God… Caleb…”

“Thirty!”

Caleb turned Nikki’s face to the sky again and forced another breath into her lungs. Her chest rose, then fell. He gave her another breath.

“One, two, three…”

Caleb spared another look at Em. She was crying, her eyes locked on the violence Robb was doing to Nikki’s chest. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

“It’s not your fault,” Caleb choked out.

Abruptly, Nikki’s body heaved, and a great deal of muck shot up into her mouth.

“I need to turn her on her side for a second!” Caleb exclaimed. Robb stopped compressions and Leigh helped them roll her over so the muck would slide out to the ground and not back into her throat. Nikki made a gagging and choking sound, and then there was another flood of orange water and mud from her mouth. Robb pressed his fingers into her neck as Caleb cleared her mouth.

“She doesn’t have a pulse!” Robb shouted after several long seconds, and they put her on her back again. “Caleb, take over!”

He didn’t hesitate, thinking about what mud might still be in her lungs, and how her heart wasn’t beating. He tried to mimic what he’d seen from the others, his clasped hands thrusting into her chest with a force he never would have previously imagined using on her.

As he worked, wisps of thought kept curling through his mind, threatening to distract him.

How relaxed he’d felt when he’d picked her up that morning, Nikki coming to the door and insisting he approve her outfit before they left. Peeling the clothing off her when they decided they had time to spare. Further back, the look on her face when he’d explained what “mudding” was, and his own surprised laughter when she’d agreed to come along. The day they’d decided to make it serious. The first time they had sex. The day he met her, just a Tinder date that became so much more.

“Hey, Caleb, that’s thirty!” Robb had his hand on his shoulder. Caleb rocked back, lifting his hands. Em had moved, and Leigh leaned over to give Nikki rescue breaths.

“Count out loud,” Robb said. “It helped me concentrate.”

Caleb forced her sternum down. “One, two, three…”

They heard the roar of an ATV coming up the gravel access path behind them.

“… eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one…”

“Caleb!” His uncle hit the ground running. “The ambulance is on its way; your aunt and your friend are in place to lead it up here. What the hell happened? Em! You’re bleeding!”

Leigh leaned over and forced a breath into Nikki, her chest rising higher than it had so far.

“I’m okay,” he heard Em say. “But… we rolled and the four-wheeler…”

Another breath.

Em couldn’t speak. Caleb started chest compressions again.

“One, two, three…” Come on, baby! Wake up, wake up…

“We found her face down in the mud with the ATV on her, sir,” Robb said. “We pulled her out and brought her over here. She inhaled a lot of water and mud. She’s not bleeding, we don’t think, but we don’t know how else she might be hurt.”

“…twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!”

Caleb finally looked up at his uncle. The man’s face was pale, his eyes wide. His uncle David was typically stoic. He’d never seen him look so rattled.

“Rescue station ain’t far,” David muttered. “We should start hearing sirens soon.”

Then it was time for Caleb to perform compressions. He could see her stomach bulge slightly with each thrust into her chest, felt the cartilage in her ribcage give. “…ten, eleven—Are we breaking her ribs? Fifteen, sixteen…”

“I don’t know,” Robb said. His face was blotchy; pale with red splashed across his cheeks. “I think… I don’t know.”

“You’re doing the right thing, son.” he heard his uncle say. “Do you know how long it’s been? The paramedics will want to know.”

“…twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!” Caleb hovered over her, shaking his head as he watched her chest rise with Leigh’s exhalation. “I don’t know how long… Too long!”

“At least eleven minutes,” Nina said, her voice almost too quiet to hear. “That’s when I saw you pull her out.”

Caleb felt his eyes sting as he started compressions again. “One, two, three…”

“I hear the ambulance!” Nina said, her voice much louder.

“…seven, eight, nine…”

“We should switch,” Robb said. “We don’t know how long it will take them to get up here.”

“…twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, okay—”

“I’m going to stand at the top of the drive,” Mike said.

“…twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!”

Caleb leaned back, gasping and shaking out his burning arms, his eyes flying to Nikki’s face as Leigh breathed for her. She was still gray, with bits of dried mud along her jawline. His eyes traced down along her long neck and down to her chest. The sports bra was cut low enough that he could see the top of a bruise, looking like a malevolent shadow cast on her skin.

Robb started compressions, his big hands obscuring the bruise, fingers pressing against her left breast through the sports bra. “…three and four and five…”

The siren was getting louder, and Caleb could hear the tires crunching on the gravel. He reached out, took Nikki’s hand. Squeezed it, then brought it to his lips. He thought it was a good chance he was saying goodbye, and either way they would be loading her up in the ambulance soon and he didn’t know when he would see her again.

Then he gently sat her hand down in the damp grass.

“One and two and three and four…”

The ambulance was close enough now that the sirens and the sound of the tires on the gravel drowned out the squelching sound coming from her swollen stomach and her wet lungs. Caleb’s uncle showed the paramedic driver where to stop so that it wouldn’t get bogged down.

Caleb was about to be in the way. He scrambled to his feet and almost fell back down, the scenery around him tilting madly. He stumbled backward and then dropped to a crouch as the paramedics unloaded and hurried over to Nikki’s side.

“We have another unit on the way, but they’re twenty minutes out. Where’s the second victim?”

“It’s me,” Em said, sounding miserable. “But I’m okay.”

Robb and Leigh were asked to move back, and he watched the medics quickly assess Nikki’s condition. The female paramedic restarted chest compressions.

“How long have you been performing CPR?” the male paramedic asked. He’d grabbed a duffel bag from their collection and produced a mask with a balloon coming off the top of it. He pressed the mask to Nikki’s face, squeezing the bulb twice before moving on to another task.

“We pulled her out of the mud about thirteen, fourteen minutes ago,” Robb said. “We saw the accident. The ATV rolled over her and she ended up unconscious with her face in the mud and the ATV on her legs.”

“...ten, eleven twelve… AutoPulse?” the female medic asked her partner.

Everything was going so fast, and Caleb didn’t know what a lot of what they were saying meant. He jumped in when he could with things like her name and age, and no they didn’t think she was injured but they really weren’t sure. The male paramedic gave her two breaths from the bag and then checked her abdomen and chest for obvious injury. He went on to use a pair of shears to snip the fabric of her bra down one side and across the straps. The female medic lifted her hands for a second, and he pulled the fabric to the side, revealing her breasts. Compressions started again, her breasts undulating.

The two worked together, the female medic giving Nikki forceful chest compressions, lifting her hands again so the male medic could apply a large white defibrillator pad over Nikki’s sternum. Then she went straight back into compressions, Nikki’s head bobbing with the force. The other pad was applied just below and to the side of her left breast. A few seconds later, a high-pitched whine filled the air.

Caleb watched the male paramedic grab a large, flat blue bag and set it on the grass above Nikki’s head. He opened it up, revealing large white pads attached to straps and a short blue backboard. The female paramedic was still pounding mercilessly on Nikki’s chest, her ribcage flattening and rebounding. Caleb was too far away now to hear the sound the forceful compressions made.

The male medic walked around to Nikki’s feet, stepped one foot between her legs, and grasped her wrists. The female paramedic stopped compressions and he pulled Nikki up into a seated position, her head lolling back. Something about the way Nikki’s body flopped made Caleb want to cry, and he pressed his hand to his mouth.

The male medic held her there for a few seconds as the female medic dragged the blue board underneath her. They laid Nikki back, her breasts swaying, and the male medic rapidly fastened the white pads over her chest before pressing a button.

The straps moved automatically, pulling the large white pads down to her chest. Shortly after, the machine started pumping, pulling the pads down across her chest over and over again. The machine was surprisingly quiet against the noise of everything else.

Nikki’s stomach rippled and her arms twitched. The male medic folded something white down by her head to hold it in place, and then clipped a harness over her shoulders.

“I’ll get her going on an IV and epi, you intubate and suction."

The machine clicked away, stopping briefly for the male medic to provide breaths from the bag.

“I didn’t know that a… a CPR machine was a thing,” he heard Leigh murmur.

The male medic tipped back Nikki’s head and angled a device into her throat before he said: “Pause compressions.”

The female medic reached over and pressed a button. The machine beeped, and the compressions stopped. The high-pitched whine from the monitor continued. The male medic made quick work of the intubation, and shortly after he reached around and pressed something on the screen of the compression device.

Compressions started again.

This time, they continued even when the male medic squeezed the bag, which he’d removed from the mask and attached to the end of the tube.

“Caleb.”

He looked up. David kneeled next to him, putting his hand on his back.

“I called your folks.”

He had a hard time paying attention to what his uncle was saying. There was a noisy motor sound, and some commentary about what she’d aspirated. He kept looking back at Nikki. He felt hollow and distant.

“They said they have a number for her parents. They’re going to call her folks and send them on to Grace General. If anything changes, we can let them know.”

“Nothing shockable,” the female medic said, pressing a button on the machine. The pads pulled themselves down hard into Nikki’s chest. “…epi.”

“…time?”

“Caleb?” His ears were ringing.

“Coming up—twenty—”

“Caleb!”

His hearing was fading in and out.

“Give—no ROSC—load and—”

“Caleb!”

Caleb blinked in surprise at his uncle’s worried face. He was laying on back in the wet grass, David looming over him.

Leigh’s worried face joined David’s. “One of the paramedics just asked about Caleb.”

“Okay,” Caleb muttered, though he felt disoriented. “Nikki…”

“He’s conscious and talking,” David said, pitching his voice loud enough for the medics to overhear. “I reckon he fainted.”

“She’s dead,” Caleb whispered.

David’s face changed, unexpected tears glistening in his eyes. Caleb didn’t think he’d seen him cry other than at the funerals of his grandparents. “They’re still working on her, son.”

Caleb didn’t respond. He let his head fall to the side so he could see Nikki. He really couldn’t see much. A bit of her profile, with the tube protruding between her teeth. The machine pumping her chest. Her muddy sneakers, swaying.

He looked back up at his uncle and felt a tear roll down his cheek.

David held out a hand. “You up for sitting up yet?”

“V-fib,” he heard the female medic say. “Let’s shock her.”

David pulled him upright and kept an arm tight around his shoulders. “You don’t have to watch that, Caleb. It might be upsetting. See, your friends are all looking away.”

He watched anyway, as her chest jumped and her limbs twitched. There was a silent few seconds before the whine started up again.

“Damn. Asystole. Resuming AutoPulse. I’m going to push another epi. Give us back something we can work with, Nikki.”

“After that you want to package her up and do another rhythm check in the bus? Before we head on to the hospital?”

“Let’s do it.”

Caleb thought this was probably a bad sign, but he wasn’t sure. David must have felt similarly, because he said: “They haven’t called the time. They haven’t called her.”

The male paramedic stayed with Nikki while the female quickly packaged things up and hauled most of it to the ambulance. When she came back, she spoke briefly to Robb.

The female medic crouched at Nikki’s feet and leaned forward, tugging on the blue fabric at the bottom of the CPR device. It unfurled into a lightweight stretcher. Then she picked up the monitor, slinging the strap over her shoulder, and lifted the IV bag. Caleb was surprised to see Robb helping them with the blue stretcher. His friend’s face had gone white.

When they stood, Nikki’s legs hung limp over the end of the stretcher. The machine kept performing compressions, unfazed by the movement.

The female medic looked over toward David and Caleb. “When we start moving, we’re going to take her to Grace General. They can do more for her there and they’re expecting her.”

They walked her to the gurney, and then loaded the gurney into the ambulance. Both medics climbed in and closed the doors behind them.

Everyone was silent for what felt like a very long time. Caleb let his breath out in a rush and pressed the heels of his hands into his eye sockets. He felt like he was supposed to be doing something, when there was no longer anything for him to do.

David was speaking to him, he realized, and he looked up, though his eyes immediately drifted to the ambulance.

“We’ll ride down after the ambulance and your aunt is going to pick us up at the bottom of the drive,” David said. “She’s already ready to go. Why don’t we go ahead and get ourselves ready to do that?”

Caleb nodded.

“Does she have a bag that you need to grab? She might have insurance cards that she’ll need.”

“Everything’s in my pack,” he muttered, and suddenly his was in front of his face.

Mike, his face anguished, clutched the pack. “Caleb,” he began.

“Not right now.” David took the pack from Mike. “He can’t hear you right now.”

“But I—”

“Go the fuck home,” Caleb heard himself say, his tone ice.

“Don’t push it,” Robb interjected. “Come on.”

“We’re going to go,” Leigh said. “We’ll get him out of here, Caleb. Robb and Dana are going to get Em down to the house. You’ll let us know? Let us know what…?”

“He will when he can,” David said. “Come on, Caleb.”

Caleb let his uncle help him to his feet and steer him over to a waiting four-wheeler.

The back doors of the ambulance suddenly opened, and the female medic jumped out, slamming the doors behind her. She stopped long enough to call out: “We just got her pulse back. We’re transporting her now.”

Caleb climbed into the ATV behind his uncle, stunned into silence as the ambulance started, turned on lights and sirens, and headed down the gravel drive.

“Does that mean she’s going to make it?”

“It might, son. If you pray, do it now.”

#cpr resus #female resus #medical drama #resus writing

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