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cabinofimagines · 4 years

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Lercy ABC’s

a/n ; this is the first time i’ve posted without being reminded ahahaha. anyway here’s this, give me feedback bc i’ll be at work and will most likely want to yeet myself into some adult beverages. so send positive vibes pls

pairing(s) ; leo x gn! reader x percy (poly)

requests ; holy shit this was actually requested : “Can I request lercy abcs please ? Thank you !”

wc ; 2198

Activities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

Leo is just happy to be with you at any point in the day. He finally has someone to talk to that isn’t preoccupied thinking of someone or somewhere they’d rather be. Percy is most content when his hair is being played with. He gets that dumb smile on his face like :] and likes to stare up at you while he listens to Leo’s ramblings.

Beauty - What do the admirer s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

Percy personally loves staring into your eyes. He finds something new each time he looks at them in different lightings, even though you swear up and down that your eyes aren’t special. Leo likes how pretty your hands are. No he doesn’t have a fetish, but he’s just amazed at how pretty hands could be. I mean they’re hands.

Comfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

Breathing exercises is something that Percy is really good at, so he’s the go to in the relationship when you’re having an attack. He can calm you down within 10 minutes or so depending on the severity. Leo makes it his personal mission to cheer you up after or when you feel down, often using Percy as a sacrifice to humor. But he likes tracing patterns on your skin, it helps both of you in the sense that you calm down faster and his heart stops clenching in worry.

Dreams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

You and Leo are scheming constantly about your future, always making absurd plans about your futures together, but they’re never set in stone. Percy will join in occasionally to add his own ideas, but mostly he’s just admiring the two idiots he plans to spend the rest of his life with.

Equal - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

Leo tries to adapt depending on where he is and often that’s a pretty submissive/passive position. Percy naturally takes on the dominant role, but more of a passive dom presence. He doesn’t mind taking orders, but he’s not to be pushed around either. I think either of them wouldn’t be too pressed if you or the other wanted to take the lead for something.

Fight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

Loyalty is Percy's fatal flaw so it’s hard to imagine him holding a grudge for longer than an hour at either of you. Leo will skirt around the subject until someone addresses it, but he’s not actually upset. He tries to avoid the problem which will rub Percy the wrong way since he likes resolving things when they happen, but usually the issue is dropped.

Gratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

Leo is capable of taking care of himself… mostly. But he still greatly appreciates and enjoys when Percy and you baby him sometimes because he loves the attnetion. While he is the only one that’s really babied, each of you make sure the others are taking care of themselves too. They both notice when you do small things like making their favorite foods or gifting small things that remind you of them so they try to reciprocate that energy as well.

Honesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

Percy is fairly open with everything that crosses his mind once he’s comfortable and he loves that you feel comfortable enough to tell him most– if not everything too. But he has his moments where he’s not comfortable sharing everything. Leo is the same, but he still doesn’t like to talk about specific things. If you mention it, he physically will flinch at your words and you’ll know to drop it.

Inspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

The most you have changed Percy is how often he picks up after himself. He’s not a messy person, but he does forget to put things away after he’s done with them. You’ve had a few choice words with him after the first few times, but after you nearly twisted your ankle by slipping on a sock of his, he surrendered and swore to never leave a sock on the floor again.

Leo’s fatal flaw is his inferiority. He often feels like he isn’t good enough, but with both you and Percy wrapping yourselves around him constantly, he’s learning that he is the shit. This is why he doesn’t object when you two baby/ take care of him, because he thrives off of words of affirmation and physical touch.

Jealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

They both trust you enough to not get too jealous, but if someone is being persistent, Percy won’t hesitate you wrap both you and Leo up in an embrace of some kind. Leo can get pretty jealous, but usually hides it by amping up the pda and confidence. It can be embarrassing but no matter how much you scold him for it, you always wind up laughing and kissing away his jealousy.

Kiss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like? Percy has one of those “leave you wanting more” kisses. He never kisses long enough. Leo is either playful and spontaneous or a deep kisser. They do mix it up to keep things exciting, but both leave you breathless no matter how they kiss.

Love Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

(so i kinda wrote something already but i’ll explain how you and leo started dating since that’s not explained.” It started with just you and Leo dating, as you two had kissed multiple times before battles and late at night, and Leo just had to bring up the “what are we” comment. It wasn’t long after when you noticed how much he was staring at Percy Jackson. You were also staring, I mean who wouldn’t, but you teased Leo about it and he eventually admitted that he was interested in a polyamorous relationship… with Percy. (hence the fic)

M = Memory (What’s their favourite memory together?)

For Percy, it was the day he met you and Leo at the ice rink. You three had gotten hot chocolate together before he had to leave, but he took a last glance into the shop window before walking away and the image had been stuck in his mind ever since. You both were squealing over the promised date he agreed to the next day. He wished he had a camera to take a picture, but he decided to commit it to memory instead.

Nicknames - What do they call their s/o?

Percy most likely will use variations of your name or even stupid names correlating to your godly parent. He’s not against using pet names, but you’re one of his best friends and it’s weird not to tease you even if you guys do kiss sometimes. Leo is a little more cheesy, but still kind of creative. He may call you an endearing nickname that correlates to your godly parent as well (ex. sunspot, flower) but he also likes using spanish pet names as well.

On Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

Percy shows it and does it know it. Although he can be romantic, he doesn’t spout that he’s in love to everyone, but it’s not like he’s hiding it either. Leo on the other hand is LOUD about it. If someone inquires about your relationship, he’s got a whole monologue prepared.

PDA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

If you don’t like PDA, you are so unfortunate in this relationship. Fortunate in the aspect that your partners are not afraid to show you off, but unfortunate that they show you off. Leo mainly does it to tease you, but also because he really likes staying close to you. Percy is very casual about it, usually wrapping an arm around one of you while holding the hand of the other.

Quirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

Percy has such dad energy in this relationship. He’s pretty lame sometimes, but in the end you wouldn’t want to go without him. He can usually dissolve any petty spats you and Leo had started out of boredom, and he does with fluffy blankets and a pillow fort too.

Leo is mr. fix it. Not just when it comes to objects in the house breaking, (the poor sink has erupted one too many times thanks to Percy) but also when it comes to sickness or bad days. This boy has a solution for everything and he comes up with it in no time. Most of the time the solutions are good, very rarely do you have a bad option when it comes to Leo.

Romance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

Both them are romantics. It's disgusting how sweet they can be. When those two put their minds together, they could set up a date worthy of a pinterest board.

Support - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

Percy is like your right hand man, giving you advice and lending an ear to listen to your plans of success. He’s really there for you to bounce ideas off of when you need to, and also because he thinks you look stunning while talking about your ambitions. Leo, on the other hand, is your biggest cheerleader. He’ll show up to your events/work with a big smile and your favorite thing to snack on. If you feel like something went wrong, he was there to assure you that you looked hella badass.

Thrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice up your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

Living as a demigod is already pretty dangerous, so I think that thrill is already met for both of them. However, if you want to travel somewhere, both would be down to go with you. As long as there is some sort of foundation of a routine there, they both wouldn’t mind leaving home.

Understanding - How well do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

Both are SUCH empaths. Leo can tell if you’re upset just by looking at your eyebrows and how scrunched up they are. Percy knows you’re stressing over something because he can feel the tension in your shoulders from across the room.

Value - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

Leo has been searching for some type of affection most of his life and was shot down various times. He is not going to let this slip away after he found not just one, but two people who cherish him and lift him up this much.

Percy as we know is super loyal. He’s already planned out your lives together in his head and he doesn’t feel like changing that anytime soon. He will do anything to keep you two beside him until his last breath.

Wild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

It seems unfair, but if no one can decide on who gets to sleep in the middle that night, you play rock, paper, scissors. It’s unfair in the sense that you had gotten way too good at the game which would provoke whining from Leo that you needed to change the game next time.

XOXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

Percy is super cuddly and so is Leo, but when Percy has his bad days, he prefers to refrain from cuddles. After awhile, Leo and you learned that cuddling with two people was okay, but always looked forward to later when Percy would squirm into your warmth, a smile on his face like :]

Yearning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

Percy distracts himself with chores and training, maybe he bugs Leo into joining him just so he doesn’t completely go mad. Leo usually tries to stay in the midst of chaos, if it’s loud then he has no time to miss you. If it’s possible, they might even try to plan a surprise visit to you.

Zeal - are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

With Percy’s flaw and Leo’s massive amount of love and obsession of not losing you both, this relationship is just full of people who are like, “I’ll die for you.” “Not if I die for you first.”

- - -

taglist ; @bandshirts-andbooks , @beneaththeiceandsnow

#lercy x reader #leo valdez x percy jackson #leo x percy x reader #percy jackson #fluff #valentines 2021 #leo vladez #Percy Jackson and the Olympians #percy jackson x reader #leo valdez x reader #hoo x reader #pjo x reader #Heroes of Olympus

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jade-it-queen · 3 years

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Jade. The fate of female character in Mortal Kombat

It’s been a while since I posted anything on my blog cause I’ve been busy with my life and rapid changes in it. During this time, I’ve watched the new 2021 Mortal Kombat movie as well as the new animation Battle of the realms and also rewatched the Story Mode of MK11 a few times. As you probably can tell, I have a lot to say.

JADE. MILEENA. KITANA. SONYA.

Skip this if you don’t want to read my very important (and long as sh*t) rant about female characters in MK.

DISCLAIMER. This thing is going to sound extremely feminist and women-supremacist or whatever. By saying things that I’m going to say, I by no means think that male characters should be weak or lacking. If anything, it would be nice to have some godforsaken EQUALITY. I’ll explain further later.

Part One: Mortal Kombat (2021)

There’s no Jade in this movie.

The end. That should be the sole reason I dislike it.

However, it might be better this way since the Nitara and Mileena portrayals in this movie are... questionable to say the least. Okay, y’all been robbed. If MY JADE would be brought into this movie to BE THERE for like 4 minutes of screen time only to get absolutely brutal FATALITY I. would. be. pissed.

More than I already am and that means something.

Sure, there’s a possibility that she’s going to be present in some of the upcoming movies because this one is definitely not the only one they’re going to make. But do I want that? Yes. And no.

Mortal Kombat movies (and Mortal Kombat in general) have a problem with women portrayal in general. The target audience for them are MEN, potentially heterosexual men, who want nothing more than bloody gorey fighting scenes with occasional sex scene here and there. To achieve that, they need a female lead, an attractive, kinda kick-assish but not too much, to not overshadow the absolutely badass men characters. Girls tend to be “independent” (because God forbid they’d want to express interest in the male leads before the time is right), sarcastic, laid back and sometimes even bitchy. Because, you see, they are fighters. And they are Sonya Blade. They need NO MAN. They just need plot armor, bigger than America itself. And if they’re not Sonya Blade, they are... non existent. They are there, but they are never really there. Here, let me walk on screen for a couple seconds. Let me sit beside Very Important Male Character (aka Shang Tsung) for a couple of seconds, looking absolutely gorgeous. Let me have a fight scene in which I make choices so f*cking stupid there’s no potential explanation to it. I exist in this movie to make people that love me (this character) to come into theatres in hopes to see some good action and interesting plot.

Now, I wasn’t born yesterday, I know how the world works. It’S bEeN LiKe ThAt FoReVeR, gEt OvEr here iT. Yeah, it’s been like that forever and the result is a mediocre movie that pleases neither the casual viewer, nor the actual Mortal Kombat fan. I don’t know, there might be guys who just saw Kung Lao’s fatality on Nitara, thought to themselves “Neat” and went on with their lives. But I exited the cinema with a sour taste in my mouth, feeling like I’ve watched one of the “fighting genre” films based on video games that had nothing worth remembering. Well, besides Kano. He was my favourite part of this movie and I normally can’t stand the guy :’D

Would it really help if they changed the way the women were portrayed? I mean - is that the ACTUAL problem of the movie? No, women being the eye candy and barely something else (if they’re not Sonya Blade) are not the only problem it suffers from. It’s that MK has been going the same route, retelling the same goddamn story for the millionth time. It’s always THE SAME. The only thing changing is who’s gonna get brutally killed. But - of course - out of the “disposable” character pool. It’s never Sonya (because you need our female lead or else there would be no female characters in the story), who ya know could be killed by Mileena but magically WASN’T. Because Mileena FOR SOME REASON was like: Ya know what? Naaah. Even though Sonya’s from Earthrealm and is actively trying to stop you. If anything, kill her because she annoys you. BUT NAH. It’s never Liu Kang because he’s the Chosen One. But killing Kung Lao is fine, he can die so Liu can awaken or smth. It’s not the main character because how else can you portray THE MAGIC OF LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP? Ya, that’s what I thought, don’t even think about it.

You have an amazing universe, filled to the brim with SO. MUCH. POTENTIAL. Let go of the same boring plot line and show us Kombat from another perspective. Change something. F*ck, go all feminist route and make a story center around Mileena dominating the world. Try with different versions of the same story, making it center around different character each time.

SURE, YOU’LL PROBABLY LOSE SOME VIEWERS BUT TIMES ARE CHANGING, AND MOST OF US ARE TIRED TO PAY FOR THE SAME STORY OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

Part Two: Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms

Jesus f*cking Christ.

To say this film was rushed is an understatement. While I was watching it, I was like: TF? Everything happens all at once, we have Kuai Liang-Scorpion story line, we have Outworld’s attack, the tournament, not to mention the final fight that should be whole another movie. I felt like no story line was properly laid out, some of the characters died before I got to even know them and the battles were... disappointing. I believe they needed to push this movie out so they squished in everything they had and just went with it.

But, again, this movie just repeats the same things as its live action version. Let me lay it down for you:

Kung Lao dies (because yes)

Sonya Blade lives (because yes)

Jade is just there (more of it later)

disposable characters are disposed of

Liu Kang is badass and always wins

You watch it and feel like you’ve already seen it before. Sure, gore is fine, human Raiden is precious and need to be protected at all costs and adrenaline is pumping (I guess).

BUT NOW.

You know what’s coming.

JADE.

My f*cking piece of sunshine, the gorgeous goddess of beauty and kombat, the woman who owns my heart.

She’s there for like not even a minute.

Words can’t describe how f*cking PISSED I am by this portrayal. These motherfrickers put her in EVERY SINGLE POSSIBLE SNIPPET OF THIS MOVIE. HER BATTLE WAS IN THE TRAILER, ONE OF THE SNEAK PEEKS WAS A SCENE OF HER AND KITANA.

TURNS OUT EVERYTHING I SAW BEFORE THE MOVIE WAS RELEASED... WAS EVERYTHING I WAS ABOUT TO SEE OF HER!!!!

THEY MADE ME HYPED UP FOR NOTHING!!!!!!

I know I’m not the only one riding this trolley. Li Mei was there just to be killed. Kung Lao had a f*cking single dialogue line and then BAM, fatality, buh-bye. But I was watching everything of this movie, being so enormously happy that I will finally see Jade in the movies, FINALLY! Only for her to be present in a single scene, get her ass kicked by Liu Kang (what’s new) and then she’s never seen again, even when the whole f*cking world is breaking apart.

Again. She’s just there. Ladies and gentlemen, one of the best Shao Kahn’s assassins, gets her ass kicked in fourty seconds. They NEVER let her speak ffs. She just spews some general villanous sh*t and proceeds to step on Johnny. Then, she just goes Observer mode as Kitana “betrays” Shao Kahn, gets tied to the column and then the world is ending.

WHERE THE F*CK IS SHE?!

If you hype me up for her every chance you get, at least GIVE ME what you’re advertising. This is a scam. This is criminal offense. And homophobic. She is more than a revealing outfit and Liu Kang’s punching bag. I’m SO. F*CKING. TIRED. OF THIS. SH*T.

Kitana. The rebellious princess of Outworld... turned damsel in distress in this movie. Her role is so effing bad it hurts me to my core. You see her as a general being so badass and independent... oh right, we need Liu Kang to save her because he needs to maintain his hero look. And we need two kissing scenes. How do we get there? Oh, right, let him save her, because you know - that’s what makes wahmen kiss you.

ARE YOU NUTS?!

The movie started just fine, with Kitana being in charge with her right hand, Jade. Then, obviously, they water her down and soon she is a princess in a tower (in this case, princess on a column) that needs her buffy sexy man to save her. Oh, and she can’t resist him - you know, every normal girl’s reaction to getting untied is to kiss a guy you’ve known for like a few hours but seen before and you’ve talked like three dialogue lines in total. Sure.

Kitana just gets the unfortunate role of a female main character. She’s Liu’s love interest and that makes her take the role of a strong (but surface level, only) woman who still needs her hero to free her. Classic damsel in distress story, with Kitana being the princess, Liu being the Prince charming and Shao Kahn as the dragon (lul). Of course, they try to cover this up by making Kitana a general, letting her win a few fights but it won’t matter in the end. Some say that women want to believe in fairy tales but the more I see fighting games’ lore, the more I say it’s the men who want to believe them.

Is it necessarily bad? No. But it’s boring as fuk.

I would like to ask the directors to stop being so afraid of upsetting the target audience. Target audience can change and sometimes it comes out better than originally planned. My Little Pony was designed as a child’s cartoon but it was the creepy men who made it reach the top. Morally? Questionable at best. But business is booming, right? And that’s what they care for, right?

All I’m trying to say is these days women and gays are the future.

Thank you for today, more to come. I’m going to rant about the Story Mode.

#Mortal Kombat #mk jade #kitana #nitara #mileena #battle of the realms #female #commentary #article #mortal kombat movie

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goldenkamuyhunting · 4 years

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Ogata’s iconic gesture

We’re all familiar with the way Ogata’s caresses his hair...

...to the point it had become his iconic gesture so that even the first time he shows up on a cover he’s shown doing it...

...and he’s also shown doing it in a colour illustration which was used as cover for chap 79

...and in one of the summaries for the skin count.

It’s clear he doesn’t do it just to comb his hair as he had been shown doing it even when he wears a hat so, more than fixing his hair, it’s clear he’s sort of caressing himself, making that gesture a self comfort gesure he might perform in an unconscious manner.

The movement is likely based on how cats groom their fur...

...a not so indirect reference to Ogata’s nickname, ‘Yamaneko’ (“Wildcat”).

While cats groom themselves for practical reasons, they also groom if they feel embarrassed, anxious, or to calm themselve, which would tie well with this being Ogata’s self comfort gesture.

But let’s look at when he does it through the manga.

Note that there are instances in which it’s actually unclear if he’s doing it so I will leave them for last.

The first time is in chap 43.

Ogata thinks Tanigaki might have killed Tamai, Noma and Okada and he’s obviously not pleased. Later, he will hunt Tanigaki in retaliation even though it’s completely useless as, as we’ll discover in chap 243, he’s aware Tsurumi already knows of their rebellion and is hunting them, meaning remaining there to hunt Tanigaki is a mere waste of time, a hint Ogata in that moment felt a deep grudge toward Tanigaki if he decided to spend his time so uselessly. As he pats his hair Ogata’s face is shadowed. It’s clear he’s not in a happy mood.

So the grooming can be a soothing gesture for him. He has to keep calm and not shoot Tanigaki right then or he’ll involve Huci too, whom, he’ll reveal, he wanted to spare.

We continue with chap 46.

In it Ogata does it before praparing himself to face the soldiers Tsurumi is sending against him. As the situation is clearly risky, it makes sense he’s soothing himself with a quick ‘hair grooming’ before facing his enemies.

We move to chap 70.

For who doesn’t remember it the scene happens prior to Ushiyama listing all the skins they got, pointing out the last one was recovered by Ogata...

...but prior to Ogata casually questioning Hijikata.

It’s hard to say why exactly he’s grooming himself, it can be he’s calming himself a bit before having to question someone like Hijikata, who basically doesn’t trust anyone. Of course it can also be tied to the memories Ogata had of how he got the skin in Barato, where another ‘father’ tried to kill his own son, something which clearly reminded Ogata of his own father.

We continue with chap 78.

Ogata, who’s cornered behind a table and some stuffed corpses, pats his head when Tsukishima attacks him, saying he’s betraying them to surpass his father. Again his face is shadowed and his expression somewhat pained. If the purpose is to calm himself down it works as he then smiles, dismisses Tsukishima’s words as Tsurumi using stupid cliches and shoots in Tsukishima’s direction although this is one of the rare times in which Ogata completely misses his target.

So to chap 80 we go.

The situation is clearly unpleasant. Although Ogata survives he claims to have no other choice but to bring Sugimoto’s group along and that’s not even the worst part. He knows Edogai died and Tsukishima might be bringing some fake skins to Tsurumi as they speak. One might need some self confort in such a situation... and if it helps fixing his hair which is likely a mess after his experience in the mine, well, that’s a plus.

And now chap 83.

The image in its own doesn’t tell us much.

For the context Ogata was about to shoot at the woodcooks when Asirpa stopped him saying even if he were to manage to hit 1 the others would fly away and anyway it’s hard to hit them with the rounds Ogata uses, hence they should use an Ainu method to get them.

While Sugimoto is amused by Asirpa’s lack of faith in Ogata’s ability, it makes sense Ogata wouldn’t be pleased. Even the sound he makes seems to point at it.

There’s another scene in chap 83 though where he pets himself.

This time is after he got praised for getting three of them. It’s hard to think at discomfort, unless Ogata is so not used to praises they too make him nervous, so he needed it to later manage to assume a confident pose. Honestly I would say it’s more a self praising move but it’s hard to read Ogata.

Fast forward to chap 88.

Same as the above this is hard to read. Is he praising himself for guessing right or having the confirmation they’re in the hideout of some Yakuza pretending to be Ainu makes their situation worrysome?

At the list I’ll include a cut scene in chap 101.

In the volume version this scene isn’t present, but in the magazine version Ogata grooms his hair when he realizes they’re encircled by bears, a definitively worrying situation.

Then we move to chap 108.

It’s another scene that’s not clear. Is he proud of himself because he figured out why Sugimoto is searching the gold or the thing makes him uncomfortable because he has realized Asirpa has a crush on him and the whole situation reminded him of his own mother?

And then we’ve chap 109.

Is he proud because he was the first to find him? Or it’s just the situation is troublesome because Ogata would still be of the idea of killing Tanigaki for what happened to Tamai and Co (which he will mention later on to Asirpa and Sugimoto), but killing him would be troublesome because Tanigaki is friend with Asirpa and Sugimoto, whcih are part of the group Ogata is in currently.

And then we get the infamous chap 113.

Ogata is teaching Asirpa why Anehata just wouldn’t think to consequences before violating animals. While the scene seems funny, his father was also one of the men who didn’t think to consequences before having sex with Ogata’s mother.

On another side I’ve been told Ogata’s words are losely translated as the sentence was pretty unclear in Japanese so...

‘Otoko tte no wa dasu mon dasu to sōnan no yo’

男ってのは出すもん出すとそうなんのよ

“That’s how a man is when he put it out."

And then we’ve chap 128.

Again Ogata’s parentage is used against him, as Hijikata says due to it is hard to think Ogata might be in this for some gold. And again it makes sense the situation makes him uncomfortable.

So we move to the infamous chap 137.

Is he praising himself because he got Wilk and Sugimoto? Or is he troubled because, although he got Sugimoto, he knows the bullet might not be fatal which is why he has to remain there and try to shoot Sugimoto some more?

To Karafuto we go and to chap 159.

And here it’s pretty clear Ogata is uncomfortable at the idea of having to go and apologize.

Chap 170 then.

We’ve Ogata grooming his hat... because he got praised by Asirpa. Again if he’s uncomfortable (he’s not even meeting her gaze) or if he’s praising himself for his own shoot is up to speculation.

And then chap 180.

More hat grooming. It was interpreted as a stab at Kiro, who also had to move from Russia because chased... but he’s not even looking at him and Ogata was the one sure Tsurumi would chase him so it might be just a jab at himself.

Hard to say.

We continue with chap 187.

And this time Ogata don’t content himself with hat grooming, he moved his hat away that’s much that’s needed to confort himself after Asirpa (legittimately I might add) told him to stay away and that he is untrustworthy.

A big fast forward to chap 222.

And again Ogata is in a clearly discomforting situation as he has to explain Abashiri keeping hidden the role he had in it considering he’s a horrible liar.

And finally chap 257.

Ogata crossed paths with Kikuta but Kikuta let him go, pretending he never saw him. Either something happened between the two, something we weren’t shown, or still this meeting managed to make him uncomfortable, a clear hint they aren’t on the same side, even if they aren’t at war with each other.

And that’s all, or better, those are all the scenes in which we can be confident Ogata is grooming himself.

There are then some unclear scenes.

Chap 5 for example.

It might be a ‘proto grooming’ scene. Ogata is clearly not petting himself, he’s scratching the back of his head, which usually is done to imply the character is puzzled but the scene might have inspired Noda into giving him the habit to groom himself.

Then chap 115.

Some think this is a grooming scene but as Ogata says his head is spinning it makes sense he would touch it (it’s a pretty standard movement), especially since his hand isn’t in the usual grooming position. On the other side having your head spin is clearly uncomfortable so a grooming scene would make sense too but really, I think he’s only touching his spinning head.

And lastly chap 159.

It could be a grooming scene... but it could also be Ogata pulling down his hood as first he had it raised and then he had it lowered.

Hard to say anyway, if it’s a grooming scene it would again fit in the list of scenes of Ogata doing it after hitting something.

And that’s the end.

As you can notice there isn’t a single grooming scene placed prior to Ogata’s hair growing.

Some assumed he groomed himself when he met his father.

Truth is it’s hard to say as it can be he was merely covering his eyes, as when Ogata grooms himself, Noda usually draw his hand in a higher position and with the fingers touching each other.

It’s hard to say but it’s still interesting.

Of course his possible Ogata merely started doing so because his fur... ehm... I mean hair, got longer... I mean... the short hair he had previously might not have been the most pleasant thing to pet... but maybe there was a starting factor. I don’t know, we’ll see.

Well, and that’s all for GK resident kitty. We’ll see if the future will gift us with more grooming moments.

#Golden Kamuy #Ogata Hyakunosuke #Golden Kamuy Pondering

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lureofthegallowsgame · 4 years

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This is relating to a relatively old ask I think but I wanted to put a spin on it if it hasn't been asked before. How would the ROs handle a situation where a doppelganger of the Seer came after them? Either trying to integrate themselves into the ROs lives while the real Seer is missing or just straight up attacking and insulting them?

Oh, I definitely remember that ask! This is a fun twist, though, so let’s see...

Leo: They know the Seer’s presence better than any other creature ever could, and the way the doppelganger moves is eerie in its false likeness. They fear the worst, instinctively - their Seer has been replaced in a cruel, fatal encounter - and it inspires the sharpest violence from them. They feel angrier if the doppelganger tries to act as Seer; it’s more merciful to have the fight to relieve the itching agony underneath their skin.

Eli: It’s a slow realization only because it is a dreadful one. Seeing the Seer’s face spit insults or act far too casually about Eli’s unnameable unease nearly unravels them. They’re cold and distant, watchful in the way a predator seizes up prey, and they know by the way the Seer reacts to this pulling away, the way magic fizzles and dies in their hands, and Eli strikes fast. They don’t wait long for answers, though, since their fire is born of fury and impatience and pain, and they feel it all suffocating them as they consider what happened to their Seer...

Warren: He knows something is different by touch alone, the way his fingertips don’t sizzle and electrify every nerve of his body when he traces the line of their jaw before he kisses their cheek. The Seer set him ablaze, but not this creature, not in the way he has come to suffer from in its absence. He tries the smallest spark of power - ignoring the guilt for trying it without consent, he feels wretched but desperate - and he knows by the way they look at him that this is not his Seer. Unfortunately, this creature has stolen the wrong face; this face has possession of Warren’s heart and soul, and he does not take kindly to its theft.

#ask #leo #eli #warren #this was fun thank u anon #it brings up a fun idea though.... hm.#Anonymous

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zangyo · 3 years

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@tenkoseiensei said (inbox):

is his disobedience disloyal? no matter what nanami says, yan qing just can't stay put. so long as he kept his distance and watched the other go about their exorcisms he should have been safe and ready to rescue, a thought proved wrong in an instant. he doesn't know what suddenly digs into his shoulder and draws flesh and blood; doesn't know even as his back hits the ground in a hard thud and he greets it face to face, a grotesque creature shrieking and chittering some sort of asinine repetition, teeth mere centimeters away from clamping down fatal on his head. aside from the bright red agony flowing from his wound prodding him to tears, it's funny enough that he could burst out laughing. so this is what the kento was referring to. too late now. yan qing was going to die, struggling for just a few more seconds of life, refusing to as much as scream when he didn't have the right to. he was only in the way, a raw insult right now just as it was a bare truth.

even if nanami took notice already, even if they were running, sprinting to the rescue, yan qing might have rather died on the spot for the sin of his shame. but the loathing and terror saves him. it changes him, and for an instant, his sukeban jacket is a suit, his shirt is collared by a spotted tie, which slips off and wraps about a fist with an inherited ease and readiness. a shout reverberates and in the next instant the curse bursts. but so does the doppelganger's tenuous stability, the duplicated identities writhing and thrashing into a seat upwards, clutching their heads, one body flickering in between forms, overwhelmed with what frantic panic and spilling viscera that had yet to subside. inside of themselves, there is so much noise, and not a single unraveling name to calm and coax it back to a single self. the leftover, formless shadow that had once been yan qing only screams, cowering. the doppelganger's horrible, vulnerable cry sounds like a wail of mourning.

ANOTHER DAY OF CURSES dealt with, but thankfully these were quite weak and were hardly an issue for him. It was rare for curses to group in an area to this extent, and so it made him wonder just what had happened here for such feelings to linger and fester like an oozing wound. No matter. He had exorcized them just as he was meant to do, so there was no point in him mulling over something that did not quite need answers. Weapon hooked back onto its holster, he slipped his suit jacket back on, covering it from view with a casual ease that came from the repetition of his work before turning to take his leave. He had just pulled out his cellphone to let Ijichi know the area had been cleared when suddenly he came to a stop. Wait…was there another curse here? He could have sworn that he had got rid of all of them. Perhaps one had slipped away?

Taking a deep breath, he slipped jacket from himself once more, his hand tugging forward the wrapped blunt sword in preparation for the gore that was to follow. ❝It’s almost time for me to get off work and I still have something holding me back. How aggravating…❞ Twenty minutes remained on his ‘shift’, yet even still, those were twenty minutes that could have been spent elsewhere. As he made his way down cobbled road, there was another flash of ‘something’ that gave him pause. What was that? That cursed energy…

It was HIS own.

How, though? Without another thought, he ran towards the location he had felt that flash of energy. All sorcerers had their own signature that could be sensed or suppressed if necessary, but there was no attempt at doing so just now. It felt as if it was all released at once. How could he feel himself when he was right here? No, it wasn’t just himself he sensed. There were…others? It was hard to make sense of anything and though it was risky to rush off to see what this oddity was without notifying another, he had very little time to sit and think. Speed has always been his forte among other things, so it had not taken long for him to reach his destination. The curse in question was a mess upon the ground, not yet dissipated as they often did upon bloody defeat. And then…there was…another. Forms shifting into different individuals – morphing with such speed that Nanami could scarce keep up with them all.

A man, a woman, a child, old, young – there were various faces that appeared as if one were looking upon generated images flashing across a screen. The whole situation was so surreal that he could only stand there, mouth open and eyes wide behind green lenses. Then just like that, all that was left was a formless black mass; writhing and screaming upon the ground like a frightened child. This felt like a curse, though at the same time, not quite. In truth, Nanami did not know what to make of anything he saw or felt. Most sorcerers would not have hesitated to attack, ready and prepared to slay this…whatever it was…just as viciously as they would the beings left unseen by most of the masses. ❝And what are you?❞ he finally managed to say, tone level despite his confusion and disbelief.

#tenkoseiensei #;v: purify the impure #answered #;;inbox

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greekgeek21 · 4 years

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Percy Jackson & The Avengers: Convergence - percy is taken by the men (women) in black

Ok, so by what I've been hearing, there has been some confusion regarding the timeline, so here's the full explanation: figure it out for yourselves. My beta reader and I have already discussed this (MONTHS AGO IN FACT!) and we ultimately decided to not go into any specifics because it wasn't important to the story and the only thing you guys needed to know was that Percy and Annabeth were 18 now, and it's after the first Avengers movie and that Thor's not there. Got it? Ok, now to the real good stuff!

Thank you to all the people who have responded kindly to this story. Honestly, it made my day to find that I had already received 3 reviews on ff before it had even been out an hour. So, thanks so much guys.

THIS IS STILL CANON I JUST HAVEN'T HAD THE CHARACTERS MENTION MAGNUS CHASE OR THE KANES YET YOU MONGRELS!!! Ok. I think I covered everything. Stay safe and happy reading!

- your author

PS hopefully these will start to get shorter cuz I hate reading long A/Ns on other fanfics so I don't want to be THAT person.

Ω ♆ Ω

Knock Knock

"Come in, Hill," Fury said, already knowing it would be his second-in-command.

As she entered, Fury noticed a slight change in her attitude. It wasn't large, but it was noticeable to the experienced spy's eyes. It was almost- confusion? What could she have discovered that caused her to be confused?

"Sir, I found a possible suspect. He's...not what we expected," Hill told him, placing a file on his desk.

The file included a single piece of paper. A SINGLE PIECE OF PAPER!!! Who was this guy that could evade SHIELD's suspicion for so long? Surely, someone smart. Very smart.

"What do you mean, Hill?" he asked, picking up the paper.

The woman in question cleared her throat before responding, "See for yourself. He's just a kid."

Not displaying any surprise, though there was some going through his head, Fury read the information on the sheet:

Name: PERSEUS "PERCY" JACKSON

Gender: MALE

Age/DOB: 18; AUGUST 18, 1993

Status: ALIVE

Last Known Location: MANHATTAN, NY

Place of Birth: MANHATTAN, NY

Race: CAUCASIAN

Height: 6'1"

Hair: BLACK

Eyes: GREEN

Disabilities: DYSLEXIA, ADHD

Family: Sally Blofis (Formerly Jackson), Mother - ALIVE

Paul Blofis, Step Father - ALIVE

Estelle Blofis, Maternal Half Sister - ALIVE

Gabe Ugliano, Step Father - MISSING

BIOLOGICAL FATHER UNKNOWN

Education: GOODE HIGH SCHOOL - EXPELLED

YANCY ACADEMY - EXPELLED

...6 OTHER EXPULSIONS

Abilities/Weapons: CLASSIFIED

Other Info: Was involved in a nation-wide manhunt at 12 years old; Pushed class into shark tank; Blew up school bus with colonial cannon; Flooded an Aquarium; Seen traveling Greece with six other teens after missing three months of school (wasn't reported missing by parents);Suspected abilities; Was seen at Brooklyn Bridge explosion

Fury sighed. Just great. Another troublemaker to give him a headache. And what was with the Classified stamp? Nothing is classified to the director of the company who created the file, so why was this?

Deciding to put it off for further thought, and steeling himself over again, Fury gave his orders to Agent Hill, "Find him. Bring him in for questioning. Don't make a scene."

They were simple orders in themselves, but Fury knew better than to expect everything to go smoothly. Any second grader could figure out that Perseus Jackson was not one to do things smoothly. Hell, it would be a miracle if they even got the chance to talk to the kid before he did some crazy stunt that would most likely get someone hurt. That's just how Fury's luck was.

"Understood, sir. I'll let you know when we have him in custody," Hill answered before briskly striding out the office door.

Fury sighed once she was gone, running a hand over his face. With nobody watching, he could truly let the stress on the inside seep into the outside. It wasn't just this one case either, there had been a couple other bombings popping up around the US, and they weren't any closer to finding the source. All they knew about them was that they were connected and that they were seemingly random attacks. Add finding Jackson to the mix and his mind was about ready to implode.

But unfortunately, the director of SHIELD didn't have time for breaks, so he went back to work on the multitude of information residing on his desk.

Ω ♆ Ω

Percy and Annabeth were back at home, which was currently the Blofis apartment, and they were enjoying every minute of it. With his sister Estelle around, there was always something to do. Percy absolutely adored his sister. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her. Just another side effect of his fatal flaw.

He hadn't told his mother or Paul what had happened during their trip, not wanting to worry them, but he had given Annabeth the simple explanation when he got back. He made sure to stress that he had been discreet, so she had eventually given up the interrogation. That's why it was such a surprise when they were sent a visitor not a week later.

When it happened, Percy was playing with Estelle in the living room while Annabeth studied in their room. Even though she had graduated from high school early, and they weren't due to start at New Rome University for several months, she insisted on keeping up with her studies. He, on the other hand, couldn't have cared less about school. The only reason he was going to college was so he could stay near Annabeth.

Sally was cooking lunch in the kitchen, and Paul was at work. There wasn't much the man could do for the case of Percy's expulsion from Goode, but he still worked there as an English teacher. And Percy used the powers of being a savior of Olympus to get a diploma for himself from the gods anyway. Annabeth still made him study sometimes, but he figured it was the least he could do after practically giving his girlfriend a heart attack when he announced he wasn't planning on finishing mortal high school.

Just as he was about to let Estelle win their game of cars, there was a knock at the door. Since his mother was closer to it, Percy didn't feel the need to interrupt his playtime with his baby sister. A year ago, Percy would have bolted to the door to make sure it wasn't a monster, but ever since the end of the Giant War, monsters tended to steer clear of the smell of the sea. Besides Kelli, of course. She was a perpetual nuisance for Percy.

And just as he was about to make his car lose, his mother called him, "Percy! There's someone at the door for you."

He was immediately on alert. The way his mom's voice sounded made it seem like she was trying to warn him, so his mind went straight down monster lane. Gripping Riptide in his pocket, Percy made his way to the front door, trying to act casual, but his muscles were tensed for battle.

"Coming, Mom!" he answered.

What he found was certainly not what he was expecting. Sure, it wouldn't have been a surprise to find that it wasn't obviously a monster, but his eyes weren't completely masked by the Mist. He could still tell when in the presence of something related to the divine, and he most-certainly was not in that moment.

As he got to the door, he noticed that his mom had positioned her body to block the entrance to the apartment. So not a monster, but possibly a threat, he concluded.

"Who's this?" he asked his mom, taking her place in front of the doorway.

"I'm Agent Hill with the FBI, and I have a few questions to ask. Would it be alright if we stepped inside?" the woman introduced herself, flashing a badge.

Percy wished he could have checked the badge's authentication, but his dyslexia prohibited that. He did his best to keep a cool persona as he acted like he could actually read what was on the badge. Given that his mother hadn't made any protests, he passed it off as good enough.

He narrowed his eyes at the agent, assessing her threat level quickly before deciding that saying 'no' would cause more trouble than saying 'yes' and answering with a simple, "Sure."

He and his mom backed away and let the women enter before shutting the door behind them. As the woman walked inside, Percy and his mom shared a silent conversation. He told her to take Estelle to her room and stay with her after alerting Annabeth of their visitor. He was sure that his girlfriend had already figured it out, but better to be safe than sorry.

"Take a seat. Do you want anything to drink?" Percy gestured to the kitchen table and went to grab glasses out of the cupboard.

The woman took a seat before saying, "Some water would be great, thank you."

Percy mentally noted that the woman was keeping a professional front while trying to still be friendly.

After he had gotten the water and sat himself down across from Agent Hill, he said, "You said you wanted to ask some questions. I'm not sure why, though. I haven't done anything."

Hill took a sip of her water before responding, "Well, we are just going over some of our older files and wanted to fill in some blanks on yours. For instance, where were you when you disappeared? We have a record saying you were spotted in Greece."

Percy had been prepared for this question. Annabeth had ingrained it in his head after he had run into his old swim team and had fumbled over an answer. After that, Annabeth had come up with a whole explanation for what seemed like every possible question out there.

So, he quickly answered, "I was with my dad."

He had been told that it was best to answer with short sentences. That way there was less room for confusion. Honestly, he was surprising himself with the calmness he exhibited. Annabeth had suspected he would end up needing her to rescue him if the need for these explanations ever arose.

"I thought you didn't know who your dad was," Hill countered smoothly, gaze becoming almost snake-like.

"We recently connected. He lives in Greece," Percy said.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could make out some blond curls peeking out from the edge of the hallway leading to the bedrooms. His mind let out a sigh at the knowledge that his Wise Girl was here to save him from whatever inevitable mistake he made.

"Ok, then could you please inform me of his name?" Hill asked, "And then maybe we could travel somewhere more private for the rest of my questions."

She could tell that they were being spied on, then. That seemed like a little above the average skill-level of an FBI agent to Percy, but he was just basing his thoughts off of movies, so he wasn't too sure.

Whatever the case, there was no way that he was going to go anywhere with Agent Hill. Here at home, he was on his turf. Wherever he was taken would be unknown territory, and it was common sense to not go into there.

Trying to dodge the name question, he said, "I'm not going anywhere with you without a warrant. I have rights, you know."

He was just saying what sounded right. Honestly, he had slept through US History. He barely knew who the first president was, let alone his constitutional rights.

"Those are irrelevant with probable cause, and we're only going to ask some more questions. I promise that if you come calmly, there will be no record of it anywhere," Hill said, standing up and brushing off invisible dirt from her clothes.

Percy thought about it, he really did...for a whole three seconds. I mean, what would one expect from the most irrational person on the planet?

"Yeah...sorry but I'm not going anywhere with you, especially not calmly," he said, standing up and reaching into his pocket again.

Even though he knew that the Agent was a mortal, and that Riptide would be useless in a fight against her, he still had an instinct to go for his most-trusted weapon when endangered. And in the moment, he felt extremely endangered.

Hill seemed to be trying to inconspicuously reach for her gun, but he saw it. His ADHD had kicked into overdrive, and he was noticing every little movement the woman made. ADHD could come in handy sometimes.

"Mr. Jackson, I highly suggest you stand down and let me take you in. I don't want this to get messy," Hill said smoothly, holding a hand out in a placating gesture.

"Too bad everything I do gets messy," Percy said, trying to simply swipe Agent Hill's legs out from under her, but she jumped over it and threw a punch to his temple, which is swiftly dodged.

Percy may have been taught to never hit girls when he was younger, but when he became a demigod, he learned that a threat could come from anywhere, and more often than not, it came from the female gender (or something resembling a female).

His signature troublemaker smirk made its way onto his face when he realized that this fight was actually something he had to work for. He wasn't arrogant persay, but he knew what he had defeated before, and a simple mortal isn't usually a comparison to them. But he knew better than to underestimate any opponent. Annabeth taught him that one. Speaking of Annabeth, she was still hiding behind the wall, probably waiting until the prime moment to strike. Always the strategist!

Hill and Percy's fight become a fluid motion. Sometimes they got a hit in, but most of the time it was a game of defend and retaliate. Nobody had the upper hand...yet.

Percy may be better at swordsmanship, but it wasn't like he was completely ignorant to hand-to-hand combat. He knew some stuff, including how to feint and attack. Blame Luke for that one.

So, Percy used the technique. He wasn't actually expecting it to work, considering the obvious skill level of the agent he was fighting, but maybe a simple trick was just the thing he needed to knock her off her game. Even so, when he feinted a punch to her temple, just to pull back and knee her in the stomach, he didn't stop in shock. He let his adrenaline guide him into pulling the woman into a headlock that even Tyson, with all his cyclops strength, would have trouble getting out of.

Hill pulled at his arm a couple times before giving up on that strategy and trying another one: talking, "You know, Perseus, this little display makes it really hard for me to believe you're innocent. In case you haven't noticed, you're holding a federal agent in a headlock."

Percy grip barely loosened, but his determination to defy the agent's questions lessened. She was right. What makes her think that he's one of the good guys if he fought another one of them? Nothing, that's what. Because of this, he let out a large sigh, making eye contact with Annabeth (who's eyes widened in realization and shock), and released Agent Hill. He knew that she had manipulated her, but he also knew that what she had said was true.

As soon as Hill was out of his hold, she turned around while simultaneously pulling her gun out and pointing it at Percy, chest heaving for breath, "Don't move! Get on your knees and put your hands behind your head."

Percy complied, but he could see Annabeth finally slipping into the light, ready to fight off the woman arresting her boyfriend. He met her eyes and tried to convey his thoughts, but she ignored him, instead opting to go ballistic on Agent Hill.

"What do you think you're doing?! Let him go!" she yelled and grabbed Percy as Hill cuffed Percy with some seriously high-tech handcuffs and tried to pull him to his feet.

Hill kept a steel face as she shoved Percy towards the door, "He assaulted a federal agent. I have probable cause."

All of the noise had pulled Sally out of her hiding spot in her daughter's room. Once she saw what was happening, she joined Annabeth in protest. Percy just really wanted them to let it happen. Better it be him than anyone else.

"Mom, Annabeth, let me go. I'll be fine, I promise." Percy said, eyes pleading as they reached the front door.

Annabeth scoffed, eyebrows furrowing, "Like that means anything!"

"Mom, let me go. I'll be fine," After saying that to his mother, Percy turned to Annabeth, "Tell my cousins what's going on. They can help."

He prayed that she understood what he was trying to say. He wanted her to tell their demigod friend's what happened to him, and then they could help her with whatever plan she comes up with. Knowing Annabeth, she already had a plan, though, so there was no doubt in his mind that she had understood what he was insinuating.

Annabeth hesitated before giving him a curt nod. Hill took that as her signal to tug him out the door, but before he was completely gone, Annabeth grabbed his face in her hands and gave him a kiss. They were deepening it as the Agent once again pulled him away. Annabeth and his mom's worried faces followed him until he was inside the elevator, heading down to the lobby.

On the ride down, his entire body tensed up as flashbacks from the Doors of Death shot through his mind. Usually, he could push them away when Annabeth was there with him, but the stress of the previous hour was weighing on his mind, so it became difficult. Hill seemed to think that he was going to try to resist again, so she pulled out her gun again, aiming at his side. For the first time, Percy noticed that the gun looked a little odd; it was glowing blue. Then, before he could react, Hill pulled the trigger and the last thing Percy saw before he blacked out was blue liquid seeping out of his side.

Ω ♆ Ω

How was it? Let me know in the comments! As always, like, follow, and reblog pls!! Thank you to my amazing beta reader, nightskywithrainbows on Ao3! This would suck without you! Go check out their writing!

- your author

other chapters :)

#pjo #heroes of olympus #the avengers #mcu #percy jackson and the olympians #fanfic #writing #superheroes #team up #I don't know what other tags to put so here is a super long one

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capricornus-rex · 4 years

Text

Two Sides of the Coin (20 - End)

Chapter 20: You Fit Right in | Jidné Sheedra x Cal Kestis

Summary: Hell-bent on exacting revenge and retrieving the Holocron, the dreaded Darth Vader is now on the hunt for the young Jedi Knight, Cal Kestis. Under the assumption that he still possessed the artifact, while fueled by the intrigue of the boy’s strength and skill with the Force, the dark lord hires the bounty hunter, Jidné Sheedra, to track him down and have him delivered alive. However, the task becomes a trial for young Jidné, as she faces a conflict that tests her beliefs of a scarred past she had hidden for so long.

A/N: OH MY GOD YOU GUYS IT’S DONE!!! ;;A;; My longest fic to date and my very first fic with my own OC in it!! It’s been a wild, fun ride for me, but I’m really happy to see that many of you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! 💖 I might take another break maybe a day or two before I finally work on the requests in my inbox. My irl workload has been doubled being the temporary stand-in for the absentee assistant 😅 I’m holding up okay in the office so I’m fine, good thing I have good outlets for stress relief so I'm able to cope well ^w^ If you enjoyed the story and went with it until the very end, A BIG, BIG THANK YOU!! I can’t wait to share more of my dear Jidné and new Cal x Reader fics in the near future 😉😊

Also in AO3

Also tagging @berenilion @silver-is-in-too-many-fandoms @stellar-trinity @justtinfoley @peterwandaparker @calgasm @cal-jestis @superwarsofthrones @calsponchoemporium @fallenjedii @sweeetteaa @ayamenimthiriel @queen-destenie

Tags: Fem OC, Jidné Sheedra, Force-Sensitive! Fem OC, Bounty Hunter! Fem OC, Jedi! Fem OC

Chapters: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12 – 13 – 14 – 15 – 16 – 17 – 18 | Previous: Part 19 | Masterlist

20 of 20

Each Jedi blocked either side of the Sixth Sister’s double-edged saber, and—surprisingly so, for someone so lithe and slender—the youngsters were overwhelmed by the gradual weight taking over the both of them. If there was one thing that was both the Sixth Sister’s weakness and strength: it’s her temper. Her strength rooted from the vexation that Jidné’s taunt brought, then amplified by her tapping into the insidious fountain of power that is the Dark Side of the Force.

Gathering all of their collective might, Cal and Jidné finally pushed the Inquisitor away albeit a struggle to do so successfully. When the standing paces away from them, they afforded to catch their breaths.

“You might have hit a nerve right there, Jidné,”

“Go figure,” she shrugged casually.

The Sixth Sister’s entire personality changed—if they knew her initially as the suggestively mischievous Inquisitor, then it took a full 180 tunr for her to become a dark agent of the Sith, oozing with rage while flailing her saber against two redeeming Jedi Padawans.

Cal and Jidné put the tension between them aside just so they can properly work together in fighting against the Sixth Sister—whose strength was obviously better than theirs combined. This is where Jidné finally realizes what the Inquisitor meant by having better fights than them combined; tapping into the Dark Side of the Force could lead one to a path of many abilities some consider to be unnatural—and this mismatch of brute strength inside a lithe body was one of the many examples.

“Come on now, surely you can do better!” the Sixth Sister roared.

The pair of Jedi—as the battle against the frenzied Inquisitor dragged on—studied carefully her movements, strategized on how to exploit her weakness or her falters, and finally find an opening. While she’s still overly-strong for someone of her stature, the two Jedi studied the enemy’s form—from the widest swing down to the minutest flick of the wrist or change in the grip.

It was clear that the Sixth Sister isn’t bluffing—she never was, in the first place—and she had proven it otherwise through her prowess with her haloed saber.

The seconds felt like minutes as the three exchanged strikes, but the two Jedi held fast. They were especially persistent in getting the upper hand. Gradually out of steam rooting from the rage she uses as energy, the Sixth Sister’s movements have become sluggish—while Cal and Jidné afforded momentary breaths whenever they distanced themselves. Eventually, they got their own hits on her: Cal had jabbed her shoulder, thus leaving a red, burning crater on the flesh, and Jidné produced a searing gash from her abdomen to her thigh, cutting through the fabric of her right pant leg.

The Sixth Sister turned to the ring of Stormtroopers and Purge Troopers that surrounded them. She didn’t like the way the blank faces of their helmets stared at her. It’s like Vader had another set of eyes to watch over her every move, judging her, condemning her—and she had felt such a presence always looming behind. The fear that she’s been turning her back to has come to chase after her.

“Put those weapons to good use, imbeciles!” the Twi’lek Inquisitor snarled, obviously frustrated that her strength was close to outliving its usefulness.

It was the Purge Troopers who obeyed first—there were only two of them, however, they were the formidable Dual Wielder and the Electrohammer trooper. Finally, the Inquisitor afforded a moment to catch her breath and recover from the pain, stepping away while the Purge Trooper pair step in as her proxies.

“Well, finally!” the Dual Wielder snickered, the indigo electrical currents at the ends of his batons crackled with the same enthusiasm.

The Electrohammer Purge Trooper didn’t speak, instead asserted his dominance in this battlefield by pounding the floor with the pommel of his weapon—sending out violet tendrils of electricity sprawling on the floor and then die out seconds later.

“Dibs on the hammer guy,” Jidné blurted.

“Alright,” in a display of roguish cockiness, Cal rotates the center of his saber hilt—transforming his dual-edged saber into its split variant. “Then I’ll even this one out.”

Jidné stole a glimpse of Cal and smiled to herself, a nasal scoff coming out of her in reaction to his remark. Their arena just got wider as the Stormtroopers—who have a strange mix of admiration, envy, respect, and fear for the Purge Troopers as a whole unit—backed away and continued to watch while being on guard in case either Jedi tries anything—by their definition—bizarre.

“Pheh! You think having the same number of weapons as me would save you?!” the Dual Wielder.

“I can try!” Cal snapped back.

Underneath his dark helmet, the Dual Wielder Purge Trooper smirked—impressed by the Jedi’s snarky determination. He’d make his death as honorable as possible, the fighter in the jet black armor thought to himself as their distance hasn’t shrunk yet.

On the other hand, Jidné is up against the slow yet brutish slugger of a Purge Trooper. The oldest trick in her book would be taking advantage of his slowness, but seeing that this was a specially-trained soldier—particularly much more skillful than the standard Stormtrooper—underestimating his abilities would prove to be fatal for her.

Finally, each fighting pair touched weapons. The right saber would clash against the left-handed baton; the cleaving electrohammer nearly severed the blade of purple light. The surrounding Stormtroopers were actually glad that they have moments to spare by simply watching the fight ensue; however, majority of them were already preparing themselves for the Sixth Sister’s command on them to follow suit against the Jedi.

And speak of the devil, she did.

“Fire at will!” the Twi’lek roared at the white-armored riflemen, nearly straining her throat from her command.

One by one, they raise their blasters at the Jedi—who were excessively moving in all directions. It was difficult enough to get a clear shot, but the possibility of accidentally engaging into friendly fire would result to a beating from the Purge Troopers.

—–

Meanwhile, the Sixth Sister’s fear has been realized. While the Purge Troopers deal with the Jedi youngsters, her eyes wandered around the entire hangar—particularly at the windows of the bridges were commanders would keep post and watch from above. Only this time, it wasn’t an admiral keeping an eye on the Twi’lek.

A pair of Zabrak siblings, stand together in front of the window watching the skirmish below them. The eldest sister subtly kept her gaze on the hunched Twi’lek, anticipating whether or not she’ll return to action. On the other hand, her brother observed the dynamic of the fight—observing the Jedi pair, judging their forms and their coordination together.

“We might have a problem here,” the brother murmured, keeping it only within his sister’s earshot.

“I know,” she chided.

“Shall I inform him?”

In that moment, after the brother asked, by pure coincidence, it feels as though the Sixth Sister and the female Zabrak had locked eyes with one another, despite the tinted gray windows only showing a silhouette. The Zabrak woman’s shoulder flinched but suppressed it quickly by clenching her fists behind her back. The Twi’lek’s eyes remained on the commander center with the tinted window, incapable to see anything from her end but is being looked upon.

The brother verbally nudged his older sister with the same question.

The elder Zabrak sister paused for a moment, she made a quick sigh. Her eyelids dropped as she came to a short yet difficult deliberation with herself. She inched her head to her brother and gestured a small nod to him, prompting him to turn tail and leave the room towards the unspoken yet known destination.

Much later, the Stormtroopers joined the fray—but only at a safe distance—there were brave ones who dared to squeeze the triggers. Some missed, a few found a different mark, whilst a handful got banked by the Jedi—the latter slowly thinned out their numbers as Jidné and Cal traded blows with the Purge Troopers. This tactic of theirs continued until the Stormtrooper commanders donning the red-orange pauldrons motivated their men to continue attacking; the Scout Troopers who wielded batons eventually joined into the very complicated whirlwind of blades.

“I’ve had enough of this!” Jidné bellowed, kicking away a Scout Trooper about to attack her from her 6 o’ clock while waiting to catch her saber she just flung to her Purge Trooper.

Jidné crunched a button on her gauntlet and a tiny light glowed under the keycap. Even though the battle grunts, the threatening snicker from the Purge Troopers, and the blaster fire from the Stormtroopers drowned out any other sound in the hangar—the Crescent Scarab revving and warming up its engines prevailed.

Everybody—even the Twi’lek—stopped to turn their attention to the growing sound of a turbine’s whir. Jidné smirked when she noticed lights flickering in the cockpit—essentially bringing the Scarab to life—and the hydraulic steam sputtering out of the landing gears as they slowly fold into their respective hatches.

“There’s a good ol’ girl when I need it!” Jidné celebrated to herself.

While the enemy was distracted the freighter being remotely controlled by the girl, Cal and Jidné took them by surprise: Cal sent all troopers flying to the ground, flat on their spines, whilst Jidné darted towards the completely disoriented Purge Troopers lying down on the cold, black tile—the girl caught Cal’s second saber in her free hand and then drove both weapons in her hands into the jet-black stomachs of the Purge Troopers.

“NO!!” the Sixth Sister screeched, her mouth stretching into a roundness that showed off her fangs. Her awe-stricken eyes shared the same wideness as her mouth as she watched the Purge Troopers get eradicated by the blades of the supposed bounty hunter.

In the middle of the action, Jidné’s remote had commanded the Scarab’s armaments—an ion cannon on both sides—to turn and aim its barrels at the scene of the fight. At the corner of her eye, Jidné saw this and dashed towards the unaware Cal.

“CAL, GET DOWN!!” Jidné screeched as she tackles him out of the possible radius of the skirmish.

The Inquisitor saw it coming and physically dodged an enormous bullet—two at that—but the Stormtroopers weren’t as fortunate as the three of them.

Seconds after the shots have been fired, Jidné scrambled up to her feet—dragging Cal along with her.

“Come on… Come on!” she urged frantically.

Cal ran in front, Jidné continued to keep herself close behind his back. The redhead sprung from the hangar floor and grabbed onto the door frame of the Scarab’s entry ramp. All the color in his face drained when he saw that Jidné wasn’t behind him anymore.

The Sixth Sister had hindered Jidné in her tracks. The Twi’lek inflicts Force pull on the girl’s legs, causing her to stumble and make a desperate move to crawl away while her hands are still free.

“JIDNÉ!!!”

“MAN THE SHIP!!” cried Jidné as she squirms away from the Twi’lek.

“But…”

“JUST GO!!!”

Cal rushed to the cockpit and witnessed Jidné face off the Sixth Sister one last time before they make their escape. The dashboard dazed him for a few seconds but the redhead pulled it together and began flailing his arms across the control panel before putting his hands on the wheel.

Jidné took ID off of her person, commanded him to join Cal—even though the little droid was vigorously objecting the idea.

“Come on, ID, you have to help Cal and BD-1 in there! Do it for me!”

The probe droid lowed, but his trill was drowned out by the sound of the ship warming up its thrusters. He zipped towards the entry ramp that Cal intentionally kept open and finally rejoined the boy and his droid.

“You think that I’m going to let you go so easily!?” the Twi’lek boiled with a rage as hot as the red of her skin.

Inch by inch, she hauled the Jedi girl towards her and farther away from her own freighter. The floor squeaked as she continues to be dragged against her will, clawing the surface did very little to help her. The malicious grin on her face grew for each pull she made on Jidné.

“Don’t even bother squirming away!” hissed the Sixth Sister, using her other arm to inflict the same ability on Jidné—this time on her upper body. “I will not be the exact same failure as the Second and Ninth Sisters!!”

Halfway in, she brandished her saber with her good arm, closing in on Jidné.

“Now, your Jedi boyfriend’s gonna watch you die—and there’s nothing you can do about it!”

The female Zabrak who continued to watch slightly tensed when she watched the Sixth Sister get the upper hand: her eyebrows furrowed, her hand clutching the other behind her back tightened with anticipation, and held all the air in her lungs awaiting for some sort of satisfaction from this suspense.

“Come on, Jidné!” Cal spoke through the clench of his teeth.

But both the Zabrak spectator and the Twi’lek were caught off-guard by Jidné’s next move.

Jidné headbutted the Inquisitor hard on the forehead, disorienting the enemy and consequently losing her focus on the girl—who has afforded enough freedom to move around and retaliate with a Force push strong enough to stagger the enemy.

“What?!” the Twi’lek gasped upon witnessing her would-be victim break free.

Without wasting a single second, Jidné called her lightsaber to her hand and the purple blade obediently emitted out of the hilt by the touch of the switch.

“I don’t plan on dying—not here, not now!!” declared Jidné.

The Twi’lek snickered, “My, my, you have the pride of a bounty hunter but not the grit of one.”

“No,” Jidné slightly shakes her head. “I have the grit of a Jedi!”

The Sixth Sister and Jidné engaged in one last duel. Cal had already prepped up the ship and kept the Scarab warm, he carefully maneuvered the ship to face the exit of the hangar, but maintained a hovering altitude for Jidné until she makes a run for it.

Jidné did not spare any ounce of her might in battling the Twi’lek.

The rough-and-toughness of a bounty hunter manifested within Jidné as she cleaved her way through the Inquisitor’s defenses; but her elusiveness had the fluidity that of a Jedi, denying her enemy to deal a single hit on her and instead overwhelming the Twi’lek with attacks. The latter has started to regain her strength and finally equal herself to the young Jedi she’s fighting, but Jidné already has gotten a headstart in stealing the upper hand.

With their blades locked on to one another, the Twi’lek was taken aback by Jidné’s strength—it was something that she had never witnessed from any Jedi before—but the pain of her injuries had kicked in and betrayed her once more, slowly bringing her to submission as Jidné shifts all her weight on her blade.

The Inquisitor staggered as she receives a kick in the abdomen from Jidné, in the next blink of an eye—she didn’t feel its first moments—she felt the searing sting birthed by a lightsaber’s edge, cauterizing her flesh into an ugly curdle of dried blood on the wound’s surface. The pain caused her to submit to her knees; for good measure, Jidné pushed her away using the Force.

Before she was able to make her escape, the door behind the Sixth Sister whipped open and revealed Darth Vader—who has decided to take the matter into his own hands. Jidné felt her stomach drop to the soles of her feet upon seeing the Sith lord appear and take the Sixth Sister’s place in the duel.

“JIDNÉ, COME ON!!!” Cal barked, standing at the edge of the entry ramp waiting for her.

Cal’s cry to her snapped her out of frozen state caused by the fear of Vader who was seething with an immeasurable fury and unquenchable ferocity.

Jidné ran—as fast as her legs can carry her.

Her lungs felt sore as she caught her breath in every step. Never has she ever been so afraid to look back over her shoulder. Cal had reached out his hand for her and she extended her hand. Their fingers joined flimsily but unlatched as the Scarab continued its fly-by. Jidné pushes herself one last time and Cal caught her arm, gripping it tighter than never before and pulled her into the freighter.

“LET’S MOVE!!!” Jidné threw herself of the pilot’s seat and maneuvered the ship out of the hangar. Cal joined her in the co-pilot seat by her side.

The Scarab darted out of the hangar, the remaining Stormtroopers, maintenance crew, and deck commanders threw themselves out of the freighter’s path for their lives. Their departure was salt to the Sixth Sister’s wounds, watching them fly out of the volcanic wasteland greatly frustrated her—but also made her fear for her life.

Complete, sheer silence was the only thing that the Scarab seems to have left behind when it disappeared in the sky as it made the jump to lightspeed. Darth Vader’s cape billowed in the hot breeze that the Scarab’s mufflers blew as it left. Meanwhile, the Sixth Sister’s heart was rapidly beating—as if savoring its last few moments of doing so, because she knew perfectly well that there’s no escape from the Sith lord’s wrath.

“I almost feel sorry for her,” the Zabrak brother halfheartedly sighed, his older sister didn’t take kindly to the remark and decided to ignore him.

“My lord…!!” she cracked, disposing all of her pride and bringing herself further to the ground, as if praying to a deity. “Forgive me! Let me pursue them! I am perfectly fit to—!”

Vader raised a hand partially clasped. Her terrified stammering annoyed him; however, her voice persisted in uttering the words “Forgive me” through her gagging until a single crack of bone silenced her fully.

“You are forgiven, Sixth Sister.”

The dark lord of the Sith gazed at the now empty hangar, following the trail of the Scarab upon its departure. He stares at the grey sky that watches over his stronghold. Beneath that blank, emotionless demeanor is an anger that boils hotter than the magma that flows under the foundation of his castle.

—–

The Crescent Scarab cruises through the system where the hyperspace jump has led to.

The two Jedi finally had the opportunity to relax and catch their breaths. The lone captain of the Scarab sets the ship on auto-pilot mode as she waits for the adrenaline to subside.

Machine hums, droid trilling and beeping were the only sounds that filled the ship. There was still an awkward silence between the two Jedi. The girl was still unable to explain herself—the negotiation, her motives before and after she had the change of heart—even though she’s got a thousand words to say.

Jidné slouched on her seat, elbow propped on the armrest, and her forehead resting on the palm of her hand. Cal watched the slow rising and falling of her shoulders, the subtle shifts of her position in the chair, and watched how her eyes shifted while staring at the ceiling of her vessel.

Her arm reached out to the navigation computer on the dashboard and encoded a combination of numbers and letters. Shortly after that, the screen flashed a miniature preview of the planet that represented the grid coordinates she’s typed.

“Where are we going?”

“I’m taking you home,”

“You mean, we are going home?”

Obviously taken aback, Jidné turned her head to Cal to reaffirm what he meant with his emphasis on the word. She dismissed it when he didn’t get the hint in the first moment and resumed control on the ship. Cal volunteered to co-pilot with her and discovered that it was not really that different with the Mantis’s own controls.

ID-3 and BD-1’s collective beeping startled the Jedi youngsters and broke the silence. Jidné and Cal listened to their excited droids.

“From where we are now, we’re just an hour away from Ombari,” Jidné translated. “Wouldn’t want Cere and the others worry about you, huh?”

Cal detected a melancholic tone in her voice, the smile that she flashed in front of BD-1 quickly melted as soon as she faced the windshield again. He easily felt the bittersweet aura that she emitted as he studied her staring into space and the planets that they flew by. The redhead recalled her words when she set him free.

“Escape now, hate me later.”

He wanted to prove her wrong—prove that he doesn’t hate her anymore. How could he hate her if she’s practically saved their lives from a new Inquisitor and Darth Vader himself?

His eyes trailed to her fingers fiddling on the dangling accessory strand strung on the saber’s pommel. He notices that her fingers were staying on strand that he crafted for her, her thumb pushed each bead as if counting them one by one.

“Jidné,” he uttered, breaking the silence between them.

She turned to him, waiting for him to finish. Her fingers still playing around Cal’s flower beads.

“I want to thank you again,”

Forcing a weak smile, she sighed. “No need to thank me.”

“No, really, you saved my life. I was trying to make peace with the fact that I’ll die once they start trying to get anything out of me about the Holocron… until you came along.”

Silence again. There was nothing Jidné could think of to say back.

“Did you mean it?”

“Mean what?”

“When you said that you were gonna hand me over, until you decided not to anymore,”

She looked away, searching for the right words in the stars.

“Yeah, I did mean that. I simply didn’t think it was right anymore because, well... It’s…” she trailed off, tucking herself in her seat and drawing her leg up to the chair for her to hug it. “It’s a feeling I can’t explain. But you’ve every right to hate me because I didn’t tell you the truth sooner—I hate myself for the very same reason too.”

“No, Jidné, I don’t hate you,”

Her lips parted and she bit them, her grip on the steering wheel made the skin over her knuckles turn white as bone to hide the trembling. Cal’s only response was a deep sigh—he sensed relief wash over her, but it wasn’t enough to ease the guilt anchoring her heart.

They eventually arrived back in Ombari. They did so with the same awkward silence that never seemed to leave them until either of them swallows their pride. When they’ve cut through the atmosphere, the first thing Jidné did was search the Mantis’s signature on her radar; when a ping appeared on her screen, she steered the Scarab close to the other ship’s location. From the windshield, both of them saw Cere, Greez, and Merrin standing outside the Mantis as they watched the Scarab commencing its landing cycle.

When Jidné’s freighter touched Ombari’s soil once again, the crew’s gazes pierced through the thick glass of the windshield and Jidné couldn’t look away like some sort of self-imposed penance for her guilt. She leaned away and let herself sink into the cushion of the backrest, arms crossed and expecting Cal to move in her periphery.

“They’re waiting for you,” she muttered.

Cal didn’t budge. He remains seated on the co-pilot seat next to hers. They exchanged glances with one another and he finally stands up and leaves the cockpit. Jidné swiveled her chair, following Cal as he walks up to the door; she took a few seconds before following him there, discovering that he’s just standing in front of it—as if he had no intention to open it.

“You’re home, Cal,” urged Jidné who’s standing behind him, leaning against the wall opposite to him and having her arms crossed together. “Go on.”

She watched him raise his hand to the control panel, expecting him to press the button and walk away.

The exit ramp hissed open. Warm, gentle sunlight pooled into the vessel—dramatically different from the harsh heat that they were met with when they arrived to Mustafar. Cal stepped out of the ship, basking into the late afternoon sun, Jidné herself went out to fill her lungs with Ombari’s fresh air and warm light.

Cal reconciled with his crew. They welcomed him with hugs that included everyone—even BD-1—and then Greez’s “Where have you been?!” standing out of the indistinct yet cheerful chatter. Jidné watched the modest celebration from the doorway of her ship—the sight put a smile on her face, even if she had no part in it.

As she was preparing to disappear, going back inside her ship, she was stopped by the call of her name. She turned around to find Cal walking back up to her. He snatched both of her hands—taking her by surprise—when he got close.

“Where are you going?”

“Anywhere, I suppose,” she shrugged.

“I’d still want you around, Jidné. You don’t have to be alone. It’d be like what we talked about before—you and me, the Scarab and the Mantis. Together.”

There he goes again. Jidné sighed in her mind. Puppy eyes in the color of jade shined in front of her, she can feel his fingers running across the smooth skin of her hands.

She sighs, “Cal, I don’t belong here, not after what I’ve done to you.”

“They know.”

That left Jidné into a stammering mess, unsure whether or not to explain her story to the crew, but Cal kept reassuring her—in the kindest tone she’s heard from anyone ever—that he didn’t leave out her effort to save him in his story. She peeked over his shoulder to find the expressions of each crew member standing by the Mantis.

She chuckled humorlessly, “You don’t mind having a bounty hunter hopping into your party, huh?”

“Hey, adds up to the variety,”

Both of them shared a bashful chuckle and their foreheads touched; Cal hoisted a curled finger to Jidné’s cheek, brushing away a loose strip of hair that fell in front of her face and then caressing her cheek. He saw her face flush with color, he could feel the warmth burning underneath her skin. When their gazes locked at each other, time felt like it froze in place, and Cal slowly closed in on her.

Cal gently brushed his lips against Jidné’s. She was warm and soft. He dared to dip his tongue to explore her mouth, finally giving himself the guilty pleasure of her taste. The tip of her tongue ran across the tiny scar that ran across his bottom lip, feeling the slight indent on his mouth. When he withdrew, he followed it up by planting a kiss on her forehead before leveling his face with hers.

“Glad you didn’t stop me this time,” he whispered, the tips of their noses playfully touching.

“I didn’t plan to,”

Cal pulled her in close to him, the closest that both of them have ever gotten with each other, he wrapped his arms around the small of her back, lifted her an inch upward to the point that she had to stand tiptoed.

“Now you’re home with me too, Jidné,”

He whispers as he buried his face into the crook of her neck, in turn, he felt Jidné embracing him back—arms hooked around his back and her hands clung onto his shoulders, her cheek resting against his chest, and a sigh of the greatest relief escapes her mouth as she lets those words sink into her.

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bakugou-jpg · 4 years

Text

“Silence” [Kaminari x reader]

Words: 2863

Summary: Kaminari comforts his “friend” who has a panick attack after a hard day as a hero.

Theme: Comfort, Angst

Warning: Panick attack trigger

[I’m sorry if Kaminari’s a little out of character here, its been awhile since if last written something so i really tried doing my best to pick it up again]

_________________________________________

Silence

They hated it, with whole their heart. Silence made them start thinking, bad things. Bad things that happened, bad things about themself and bad things that were possible to come. If something didn't go the way they wanted it to go and it would even slightly stress them out, they would break down.

Now am i not talking about not getting what you want, like with a child and ice cream or not getting attention from a boy/girlfriend. But the things like wanting to have good grades, but failing. Trying to do the right thing, but actually doing the wrong thing before you even realised it. Or,

Fighting your ass off to save someone innocent, but failing.

They were sitting on their bed in the dorms, curtains closed and all lights out. There was no sound, not a single movement. Their knees were brought up to their chest and their hand was covering their mouth. Tears stung their eyes and silently rolled down their cheeks. Breathing was hard, it was fast and they couldn't control it.

Pictures of the girl flashed through their mind and they quickly gripped their hair and shook their head. "No, No, No.." They muttered quickly. The girl was around their age, maybe 3 years older. One moment she was behind (Y/n), who paid close attention to her the whole entire time, and the other moment when (Y/n) tore their eyes away from her for one second, she was laying in a puddle of her own blood, bones crushed into a million pieces.

And what made it even worse, was that (Y/n) never had the chance to avenge the girl because the villain was already gone.

They were frozen on her place, and it was as if the ambulance had arrived in 3 second even though it was 10 minutes. The girl was now dead because of them. Because they didn't do their job as a hero right. How the hell were they supposed to become a pro hero if they couldn't even save a single person? They should've never torn their eyes away from the girl, someone who they had to protect.

Muffled sobs filled the silent room and (Y/n) clenched their shirt with their other hand. Their bottom lip was shaking like crazy and their heartbeat was killing them. So far this was the worst panic attack that they ever had.

Tears spilled out of their eyes as if a glass of water got tilted and fell to the floor, splattering everywhere and letting its contents soak its surroundings. They fell on top of their shirt and bedsheets and when they had pulled up their knees up they started falling into their lap, making them feel even more icky.

Even though they had showered, many many times, they could still feel it. They could still feel the warm blood soak into their pants when they fell onto their knees. They could still feel the blood stick to their hands as they moved the girl around, stressingly looking for a sign of life still left in her even though all of their hope in that sank to their feet when they saw all the blood.

Their body shook violently, as if they just got electrocuted by someone and their teeth clattered together as if they was cold. Their chest was cramping, so extremely bad it caused them to quietly gasp for air being careful not to be too loud.

"Oh god, oh god...It's all my fault.." They muttered quickly while shaking their head in their hands and muffling their sobs. There was a small chuckle leaving their mouth, one that wasn't intended but they laughed at themself, despised themself. They couldn't help it, but right after they started sobbing even louder.

There was a knock on their door, one they hadn't heard. Their thoughts were simply too loud, there were too many hurtful self deprecating things screaming through their head.

A few seconds of silence followed, before there was some shuffling outside of their dorm room."(Y/n)..? U in there?" A voice called out. It wasn't hard to recognize that the voice belonged to Kaminari, a person who they held very dear to their heart and had grown very close to the last couple of months. There definitely were some unspoken feelings thrown into the mix, but neither of them really minded and Kaminari had grown a habit of casually flirting with them and hanging out with just the two of them.

He also knew about their panic attacks, something that didn't happen often but once they did reach that peak he knew how miserable they would become.

The boy rested his head onto the door. He looked down at his feet, his feet lined up with the door patiently waiting for a response. When he was met by nothing by silence he frowned, immediately knowing she wasn't doing anywhere near okay.

He laid his hand on the doorhandle, softly pulling it now but not opening it yet. "I'm coming in, okay? So be sure to cover up if you're naked, not that i'd mind of course" Kaminari said, trying to get the slightest bit of reaction out of them. To hear that wonderful giggle he loved so much.

Still, he was met by silence. Not even a soft scoff or wheeze. Nothing.

It made his chest hurt, feeling extremely guilty about their situation. He had seen what happened on the news, heck, almost everyone of their class saw it. They were Kamui woods' side kick, something they were very excited about. The man thought them very valuable lessons, was very encouraging and a good mentor. So because of his recent raise in fame, the fight was broadcasted on the news.

He saw how (Y/n) fought off the villain, who at that moment was on the winning side, and in the flash of a second everyone had witnissed how the villain shot past them and while on his way to freedom tried to attack them but instead had hit the innocent girl who almost died instantly. His quirk wasn't powerful in anyway, no, but once used right at the right moment it could be fatal.

So when the students saw how the villain's nails etended like thin metal spikes go right through her stomach and shoulder. The spikes were very thin, just as thin as a pinky finger so like mentioned before they weren't that dangerous unless used at the right time and place. So when one of the spikes went into the back of the girl's head, she had passed almost instantly.

It all happened so quick, (Y/n) didn't even have the time to see what happened and when she had turned around the villain already disappeared into thin air.

Kaminari pushed the door open and was immediately hit in the face by warm air. It was night, so of course it was a little darker than usual but after having isolated themselves for around 3 hours in bed without opening a window to let fresh air get through their room became a human oven that also smelled like a hint of both cinnamon body wash and sweat coming from their hero costume that they tossed into the corner of their dorm.

It took a small moment until his eyes were used to the dark and he didn't take a second to close the door behind him and walk straight to their balcony, opening the curtains and then proceeding to open the door for some fresh air.

The cool air hit his cheeks and it felt comfortable, not too warm and certainly not too cold. It calmed him a little and he hoped that it had the same effect on (Y/n). The wind softly blew through their curtains and Kaminari shoved them to the side, attaching them to the rope that hang loosely onto the wall.

Kaminari looked at the pile of clothes, which was their hero suit, and quickly moved them outside so the smell wouldn't exactly be inside of their dorm.

He turned around and quickly scanned the room, looking for anything else to throw away or hang outside. When he couldn't find any, he focused his attention to his friend who was currently hugging their knees and muffling all of the noises coming from their throat.

Kaminari sighed and knitted his eyebrows together. "(Y/n).." He spoke softly, seeing their ravished hair and trembling body.

Upon hearing their name being spoken so softly with a worried tone by the person they cared about so much, they weren't able to contain the pained noises on the inside of their throat anymore. They let out a sob and immediately gasped for air, their head shooting up to look at Kaminari.

They rested their forehead onto the palm of their head, their bottom lip trembling like crazy as if they were freezing to death. "D-..D-den-denki" They choked out, sliding the hand that was supporting their head through their hair and taking a handful of it to grip.

He didn't need a second to think for he was already rushing by their side. "I know, i know..Ssshh, it's okay, you'll be okay.." He said while sitting next to them and wrapping his legs around them like some osrt of protective shield.

Kaminari took the hand that was currently gripping at their hair and moved it to his shirt so they'd crumble his shirt instead of hurting themselves unintentionally. He wrapped his arm around them and they put their other hand on his shoulder, letting out a rather loud cry.

Resting his chin on top of their head, Kaminari continued softly shushing them. When they had finally managed to cry out the sobs they had been holding in, their breath started quickly picking up its pace.

They removed their hands from Kaminari's body and gripped their shirt, their eyes shooting wide because of the sudden panic they had. They started hyperventilating, not being able to control any of their breathing anymore and panicking because of it. Their chest felt tight, their lungs felt as if they were on fire and their throat felt as if it was closing up.

Kaminari noticed and quickly unwrapped his limbs from their body, giving them space to breathe so that they wouldn't feel trapped and only get more panicked. He shuffled a little away from them but carefully took one of their hands in his own and placed it on his chest, his heartbeat thumping against the palm of their hand.

They inhaled a few shaky breaths and their teeth clattered together, the hand that Kaminari just took shaking violently.

"Focus on my heartbeat..I know, it might be a little faint. I mean who knows, i might be dead after all those times i went braindead." He said, a small grin on his face. They snorted for a second, something which made Kaminari feel just slightly relieved, but they continued to hyperventilate afterwards.

They shook their head, slipping their hand away from Kaminari's and buried their head in their knees again. Their hands found their way into their hair and went back to tightly gripping it again. "I-i'm sorry..I'm sorry, i-"

"Nonono, its okay. Don't apologize its okay" Kaminari said quickly. He laced his fingers through theirs and removed their hands from their hair. "(Y/n) i need you to focus on me okay? I know you can do it, okay?" He said while squeezing their hands softly.

(Y/n) nodded and continued sniffling and breathing rapidly.

Kaminari smiled a little and inhaled deeply. "We're gonna breathe together okay? Slowly, and we're gonna count while doing it okay? 4 seconds in, hold for a little while and breath out 8 seconds. Its okay if u can't do it the first time, we'll do it as long as u need. I'm not leaving this room even if its on fire."

He put their hands against his chest and made sure to inhale slowly, not wanting his heartbeat to go crazy so that they'd freak out because of it. "1,2,3,4 in. Hold it, its okay if u can't do it take your time."

(Y/n) followed his instructions, trying their best to focus their attention on him and trying to do the breathing techniques but it was hard. Their breathing really seemed to have gotten a will of its own and made it harder for them to control it. But they tried their best, they really did.

"..and out. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 8. 1,2,3,4 in.." Kaminari said, breathing out aloud so they could hear his breathing.

They continued it a few times more, Kaminari patiently waiting until (Y/n) was adjusted and their hyperventilating went away. "..and out." Kaminari whispered, noticing how they had now been able to control their breathing on their own.

(Y/n) breathed out relieved and slowly opened their eyes. They refused to look him in the eye and let their eyes wander town to his knees, their eyes holding nothing but sorrow and guilt. They chewed the inside of their cheek and sighed, feeling somewhat embarrassed because of the fact they reacted the way they did...the reason they were reacting they way they did also felt humiliating.

Someone died because of them..All of their deafened feelings came rushing back once again and their eyes welt up with tears once again.

A pair of hands latched onto the side of their face, one hand of each cheek, and tilted their head upwards. Their eyes shot up and looked directly into a pair of golden ones, ones that looked at them with a saddened look.

It was that look that made them break once again. That stupid sad smile of his, those annoying eyes that would look right into their soul.

Their bottom lip started trembling again and the tears spilled out of their eyes "I-i d-did-didn't-..I-it's m-my-"

Kaminari didn't hesitate for a moment and immediately pressed them into his chest, wrapping their legs around his waist. He wrapped his arms around them and buried his face into their shoulder. Their arms wrapped around his chest and they hugged him like a koala.

He rubbed their back and sighed. "Its not your fault..What happened would've happened to any of us. U were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Its fucked up"

Wet tears stained his shirt and as they started becoming more and more they wailed as they hugged Kaminari closer. "I-i..i didn't want this" They whispered, crying into his shoulder. Their voice finally started regaining a bit more of its strength, but there was a thick layer of sadness. Kaminari teared up himself and nodded, softly running his fingers through their hair.

"I know.."

The boy sighed into their shoulder and rubbed their back, narrowing his eyes towards the bedsheets. "..i know"

He shuffled back a little, his back resting against their bedframe, and moved around their legs a little so that they'd be more comfortable. His hand continued rubbing their back and one of his hands was still dancing through their hair, massaging their scalp soothingly.

For awhile, they didn't say anything. Kaminari's hands soothed them, the soft touch feeling nothing but comfortable. That added with the warmth that was radiating from his body felt like they were consumed by peace.

And so, for the first time that day their sobs started quieting down. Their eyes started growing heavy, their body now laying next to Kaminari with their head rested on his chest. His arms were still around them and even Kaminari started feeling a little tired himself.

"..Can you stay?" They asked, inhaling his scent while gripping his shirt and burrying their face deeper into his chest.

Kaminari hummed a little and inhaled deeply, a small grin on his face. "Whoa, i don't know dear this might be a little going to fast for me" He said with a groggy voice, a chuckle rumbling in his chest.

(Y/n) scoffed softly and pinched his chest, only adding more to the amusement of Kaminari.

There was a moment of silence between the two of them, the soft evening breeze dancing over their skin when it had peeked through the window.

"Thank you.."

Kaminari's eyes shot open, not even having realized that they had closed all by themselves. He blinked a few times and look down, seeing that they were already half asleep. A warm smile made its way onto his face and he stroked their cheek with his thumb.

"Anytime."

No matter what caused them these panick attacks, no matter how many times this would occur or how many times they'd try to shut themselves out like this, there was no second doubt in Kaminari's mind that he'd do it as many times possible.

For the smile they gave him whenever he talked to them, for the way they'd laugh at his stupid pickup lines and 3 am thoughts, for the way they'd look after him, the way they'd suck in their lips whenever they were concentrating or something or how'd they speak gibberish when stressing about a sudden question in class. For all of those reasons and many more, he'd do anything for them.

He sighed and leaned down, pressing his lips against the top of their head and giving them a soft peck.

"Night, stupid"

#kaminari x reader #kaminari denki #kaminari #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #fanfiction #anime #kaminari denki x reader

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avionvadion · 4 years

Photo

Forest Deep: a fanfic mixing Secret of the Cursed Mask and the actual Inuyasha anime itself. https://archiveofourown.org/works/24115702/chapters/58056064

Summary: Naraku had one goal- to destroy Inuyasha. Now with his new companion he has an idea how to make that happen. Brought to the Feudal Era by an unwanted Summoning, Irene's in search of her older sister and the one who brought them there. With the help of her new friends she might just find them, but it's hard getting through battles- nonetheless the day- with her lung problems. Why is this Naraku so cruel? What does he gain from hurting people? Who is his new friend- and what's underneath that mask she wears? Irene doesn't know. But she'll find out- one way or another. She just wished she had her sister beside her as she did it.

The first drawing is basically the story cover. I drew it back before Irene’s hair had a consistency and I had a better grasp of the art style XD The second image is from the end of chapter 20 and the last one is for chapter 15.

Story:

"I-It's…" Oh gods. "It's a saying where I'm from. Just- Just ignore it. I speak nonsense. Um. Look. You don't want to stay here, right? I don't want to stay here either. I have a sister I gotta make sure ain't dead, some friends to get back- granted… they probably don't want anything to do with me anymore, and an evil half-demon to stop, so~!" I huffed and stood, brushing some dirt off my pale blue jeans. I walked over, holding a shaky hand out to her with a grin. "You can come with or you can stay here and go crazy! Your choice."

Her eyebrows knit together. "For what reason did you desire the Magatama fruit? Most here are… filled with greed. They want its power for themselves. I, too, was selfish and… it brought me here."

"It…" I hesitated. Memories of the villagers falling came to mind. "I… I need the fruit to break a barrier. If the barrier doesn't break then… more people are gonna die. And… I don't want to see that happen."

"That's sounds awful…" Shizuno said, bringing a hand up to her mouth. "A-Are you certain that it's not another lie someone told? You could have fallen into a trap."

"I mean, probably?" I made a face, moving my head to the side and shaking it, shrugging my shoulders. "Buuut I have no reason to distrust him, you know? I-It's weird. Like, yeah he can be pretty shady when he wants to be, but he's helped me out this far and it's because of him I can talk to Shikigami spirits and heal people. So! I think he's nice. He did mention that this would be really dangerous and I was a firm believer I wouldn't survive. Was that a lie? Nope. Here we are! In a magical space surrounded by a bunch of crazy people."

"You are…" She frowned. "...strange. You speak of dire circumstances, yet you smile so brightly. Why do you behave so casually?"

"I just do." I was still so tired. "Life just sucks. That's how it works. No use mopin' about."

Unless of course several people had died. Damn it. I can still hear their screams, the children calling out for their parents as they ran for their lives. The blood splattering onto the ground… and staining Kohaku's kusarigama.

"Anyway! You never answered my question. You comin' with me?" I stretched out my fingers and wiggled them at her, staring at her expectantly. "You know you waaaant tooooo~! Far over the misty mountains cold~ to dungeons deep and caverns old!" My voice cracked and I coughed, hacking into my sleeve. My voice really could not go low. It was so distressing. The woman gave me such a strange look, but she reached out and took my hand. I felt so lightheaded. "Oh? Yay!"

She shook her head at me, folding her hands close to her chest. "We could be trapped here in eternal suffering," Shizuno told me, "yet you sing? Why?"

"Because if we're gonna be suffering eternally," I declared, holding an index finger up wisely, "we might as well have fun with it. Sadly I don't remember all the lyrics, but! It's a good song." I approached the mountain wall, staring up and squinting my eyes as I tried to gauge how far up we would have to climb before we reached the next ledge. My hands were all scraped up. "Okay… calm down. We can do this. You up for the climb?"

"Y-Yes, I suppose… what about you?" She stared at me, frowning. "Your skin is quite pale…"

"I'll be fine." I had to be. "My… My friends are waiting for me."

If they even still thought of me as one.

"And… your sister?"

I didn't answer. I wasn't even sure she was alive. "If I don't get that Magatama fruit… more people are gonna die. I… I don't want her to be one of them." I looked back at Shizuno, forcing another closed-eye grin, ignoring the lump forming in my throat. I had to be strong- for her. She was in pain as well. Her entire village was destroyed. "So we gotta keep going. Up and at 'em!"

I cracked my knuckles and reached up, grabbing onto a root sticking out from one of the rocks. This part of the wall was covered with vines, but there was no telling if they could all hold. Shizuno followed behind me uncertainly, grabbing onto a rock and climbing. "Th-This is very dangerous!"

Well, obviously. But I was convinced that we couldn't quite… die here? I've seen so many people wandering around and not one skeleton. At least there weren't any demons nearby in this spirit realm that could eat us. I don't think I'd taste very good. Ick. My mind flashed back to the mansion and I cringed, temporarily halting in my climb. Don't freak out. I had to stay calm. This is fine.

I'm fine. Always. Always fine.

I may be slowly breaking apart, but I'm fine. It's how I am.

This is just life.

It's my fault those villagers are dead, so I have to avenge them. Don't I?

Suddenly the vines I was climbing broke and I let out a small shriek, falling back towards the ledge below. The wind around me picked up pace and suddenly my descent slowed, causing me to blink. Then once I was close enough to the ground it stopped and I hit my head, crashing hard onto my back. "O-Ow! Frick!" I cringed and curled onto my side, bringing my hands up to the back of my aching skull. It was being put through so much abuse today. "Dude, that hurt!"

"A-Are you alright!?" Shizuno called down. She was at least thirty feet above me, clinging tight to some vines. "The wind just- how on earth-!?"

"Spirits." I hissed, wincing at the bump that was definitely going to be there for a while. The wind helped enough for me not to die, but wasn't completely forgiving to leave me free of injury. "Eugh…" That seriously hurt, but at least it wasn't fatal. This proved that one of my theories were right. Kazumi would have us wander forever in insanity, but she would not have us kill ourselves. "Frick."

I stumbled, wobbling over to the wall and leaning against it for a moment until my vision cleared. The world was trying to spin on me.

"Need to… keep going." I wheezed. This air spirit guardian person was such a sadist. "Have to… save them…"

My fingers gripped weakly at the roots. I wouldn't be able to climb in this state.

"Naraku… must be… stopped…"

I'm so dizzy. My forehead pressed against the rocky mountain side, eyes closing as I waited to catch my breath. That scared the crap out of me- falling like that. I hated it. After a few long minutes I grabbed at the vines again, fingers feeling numb and tingly, and I kicked at the wall with my bare feet. Being weak is one thing, but being stubborn was another. I was determined.

"I will… defeat him…" I wheezed, reaching up and grasping tiredly at a rock jutting out. It crumbled and I had to go for one higher up, stretching my arm painfully. "Barrier… it will break…"

Naraku sent Kohaku and Kanna after me, and why? Because Anastasia wanted my soul for some god awful reason that still wasn't explained. He made them attack the villagers that were helping me, and if Kagome didn't crack the mirror and force the souls to be freed so many more would already be dead. They tried to help me and Naraku forced Kohaku to kill them because of that. He was awful.

He was more of a madman than anyone else in this place.

The air around me seemed to grow gentler, my body becoming lighter and moving a bit faster. It was almost as if it was giving me a boost, but I knew that couldn't be the case. It was so aggressive earlier. After what surely must have been an hour I reached the ledge I fell from, reuniting with Shizuno who watched as I fell onto my front, eyes closed and breath heavy. "You are not the most healthy person, are you?" She asked.

"I wonder what… gave you that idea?" I wheezed, the sarcasm dripping off my tongue. "I told you… sickly human… didn't I?"

She gave a small smile, almost amused by my weird ways. "You did. Will you be able to make it to the top? There is still quite a ways to go."

"Yeah, just… need to… rest a bit first. Is that okay… with you?"

Shizuno nodded. "Yes… we have all of eternity, after all. Time does not seem to pass in this place. I have seen many arrive here, yet… they never aged. It is rather concerning, but there is nothing we can do. I fear many years have already passed since I was first brought here."

Wait, what? Oh no. My eyes widened and I sat up, looking at her in alarm and ignoring the rapid pounding of my heart. "N-No way… no, no, no! We… We have to hurry! I-I can't-!" I can't be trapped here forever. I have to get that fruit as fast as possible. If Maria was still alive then I can't be left behind. "The mountain! W-We have to… to climb…!"

I stumbled over, dazed and desperate, grabbing at the roots and struggling to climb. Shizuno dashed over and caught me when I fell, startled when she felt the heat radiating from my body. "I-Irene! You are feverish!"

"M'fine." I mumbled. "Have to get… to Sango…"

She, Miroku, Shippō, and Kirara are all up there dealing with the air spirit alone.

"Don't wanna see 'em hurt…"

I'm so sleepy. I want to take a nap.

"Gotta beat Naraku… and his dumb barrier thing…"

"Rest first. We have time." She said softly, voice so soothing. Shizuno carefully moved me away from the wall, keeping her arms around my waist, setting me down on the ground beside her. My head fell against her chest and my eyes closed, giving in to the comfort she gave. A hug felt so nice right now… yet her body was so cold. Her fingers ran gently along my hair, fiddling with the short strands. "You are fighting so strongly right now, are you not? It must be hard…"

"S'not… just… hurts."

"Why do you want to fight this Naraku so bad?"

"He hurts… people." I told her quietly, finding myself being lulled to sleep by her gentle touch. "They… helped me a-and he… killed them."

"He did?"

I nodded, making a small noise of confirmation. "He had… Sango's younger brother… attack. H-He's controlled by him, so he can't… fight back. She's always crying when she… has to face him. I don't like it. She's so much better… when she's happy…"

"I see. So Naraku is the one to blame."

Yes. He made Kohaku hurt them. It was all that evil half-demon's fault that the villagers are dead. "Naraku… killed them…"

"If that is so… then you should be able to climb the mountain now."

"...What?" My eyes slowly opened and I blinked, turning my head to look tiredly at Shizuno.

Her features seemed to change as the wind around us blew stronger, her long black hair shifting into something shorter and more white in color. I yanked myself off of her lap, watching as her colorful kimono become a pale blue, a white cloth draped over her shoulders and wrapped around her arms. As I stumbled into an upright stance, standing and backing away slowly, her dark eyes became an icy blue, lips dark and almost purple in color. I hadn't seen her entire appearance before, but I was certain now as to why Shizuno looked so familiar.

"K-Kazumi?"

…

"Where did she go!?" Sango demanded, whirling around to try and locate where the air spirit disappeared to. They were just talking when the mist became stronger, the entire area around them being covered in fog. The demon slayer couldn't see five feet in front of her. "Miroku! Shippō!"

"Here!" The fox demon informed, about ten feet back.

"I'm over here!" The monk shouted somewhere from her left side, sweeping at the area around him with his staff. "I'd use my Wind Tunnel to suck in this mess, but I might anger the spirits further if I did and cost Irene her life! Sango, what should we do!?"

"I-I don't know!" For once the demon slayer was at a loss. There was no enemy to fight, no goddess to appease. Only a spirit set on challenging their friend to a test of truth. "I… never realized she felt so guilty for what had happened…" Sango said after a moment, looking down at the hiraikotsu in her hand, closing her eyes with a pained expression. "I was only focused on myself. Miroku, I…" She rested a hand over her face, ashamed. "I'm a terrible friend."

"No, Sango, don't blame yourself." The monk shook his head. "I, too, did not notice. I was believing us to finally be able to close the gap and become proper allies, and yet…"

"She's always blaming herself!" Shippō stated, frowning deeply. He appeared greatly bothered. "Irene has such a guilt-complex for some reason! I don't get it! She's always apologizing for every little thing, no matter how small it is! Inuyasha was always yelling at her for it!"

"I-I thought she was just shy." Sango admitted. "But… I guess there's more to it. What do you think, Miroku?"

"Anything could have caused it." He informed them, something unsettling forming in his stomach. The monk always had been unable to refuse helping a young woman in need and the one in trouble now was a friend. Yet how could they protect her if they didn't even know what was wrong? If they couldn't even reach her where she was now? Why did Irene feel the need to place the blame on herself? "I'm afraid we'll just have to ask and pray she will tell us when she returns."

"I hope so…"

…

"H-How did you-!?" I pointed at her, dumbfounded, then gestured to where the brunette used to be. "Sh-She was just- hah? Gah! Shapeshifter!"

I took several more steps back. The woman's expression became blank once more, resembling more of the air spirit I had met earlier. "She was nothing more than an illusion. I created her as a guide, just as I have done time-and-again for those who come up this mountain. A rare few have ever been able to accept their truth and continue forth up the mountain. They were always too trapped in their greed, their selfishness… and would never think twice about abandoning someone else if it meant reaching their own goal."

What is she saying? I don't understand. My head hurts so much from this; I was still so dazed.

Kazumi closed her eyes, opening them only when her purple lips tilted upwards into a smile. "You have passed my test, Irene. You have accepted that Naraku was the one to blame for the villagers deaths. The children did not die because of you. I have seen into your mind… I know what you saw. I know how you felt. With this test I was able to attune your heart and I have come to the decision that you are indeed worthy… of a Magatama fruit."

"But… I literally didn't do anything?" I don't get it. I'm too dizzy for all this. "I just climbed a mountain…"

The air spirit looked amused by this and went on to explain. "Though they scared you, you tried to approach those wandering souls and save them. When you saw the apparition I created… you tried to give her the courage to go on. Though… unorthodox in the way it was done… you remained strong for her for as long as you could. But you are only human- and one who is prone to illness cannot keep on for long." She glanced up at the mountain, icy eyes following the path up. "The wind will help you on your climb up the rest of the mountain. You need not fear falling; now that your mind is clear of guilt… the roots and rocks along the cliff will not break."

I'm still so confused, but alright. "Um, thank you…?"

"Do not thank me just yet." She warned. "If you so much as waver in your thoughts you will fall once more down to the bottom, and your soul will wander here for all eternity like the rest." Kazumi waved her arm and then she was gone, replaced by nothing but more fog.

My eyebrows raised and I shook my head incredulously, unable to believe the audacity some spirits could have. Like, seriously? Jeez. Crazy lady. She was so much nicer as Shizuno. At least she was giving me some advice… kind of. Was this all because I blamed myself for what happened with Kohaku?

That's what I'm getting from that conversation anyway. Ugh, I have such a migraine. I want to go home.

I need another hug.

I walked over and grabbed at the roots, hands shaking. They didn't feel as weak and numb as before, but they were bleeding. I had scraped them up quite badly during my climb. That strange feeling appeared again as I tried to move up the mountain, like the wind was giving me a boost. I supposed it actually was doing that, as it was helping me move a lot faster than before. I reached the next ledge in record time.

I tried not to think too much, focusing on the task at hand, determined not to fall below.

My heart wanted to waver, to believe that the children's deaths were my fault, that everyone who died should have blamed me, but… Shizuno's words stuck. They may have been protecting me, but it was by Naraku ordering Kohaku that they were killed. I had no control over the boy's actions. It was not my fault.

It was his.

The fog slowly cleared away the closer I got to the top and the people wandering around had vanished. I huffed and trembled, feet and hands scratched up and blistered, legs and arms sore. If not for the wind pushing me up- as if trying to say hurry up, stupid human like an irritable spirit- I would have collapsed long ago. I dragged myself up to the top ledge where I had been thrown off when I first met the guardian spirit Kazumi, struggling to push myself forward, and wound up clawing at the ground.

My poor fingertips were all bloody.

"I-Irene!?" I recognized that voice. I fell on the ground and rolled onto my back, wheezing and letting out a few coughs. I was so exhausted. "Oh, thank god! Miroku, Shippō, look!"

"Irene is back!"

"She passed the test!"

I could see the group dash over to me, Sango quickly kneeling by my side and helping me sit up. I began to tear up at the sight of her. Wasn't she mad at me? "Irene, you're burning up again! How badly did you stress yourself out!?" She asked, voice almost going into a sisterly scolding tone before relief crossed her face. "I'm so glad you're back…"

She surprised me by leaning down, wrapping her arms around me tightly."I should have paid more attention to your feelings. I'm so sorry."

"I-It's okay." I choked out, awkwardly hugging her with my arms so not to get blood on her armor. I'm such an idiot. They didn't hate me after all. "I-I'm fine. You're the one who was upset, so…"

"But so were you!" She pulled away, gripping my shoulders tightly with her hands. "All this time you've been festering hate and guilt inside of you- and for yourself no less! Ever since I've met you you've been apologizing left-and-right for things you had no control over! Irene, it's okay to be selfish! Not everything is your fault!"

I couldn't speak, too stunned by what was happening. This day was so dizzying. "I-I just… want to help." I finally got out, stuttering on my words. Her eyes were so intense; it felt like they were boring into my soul. "I-I can't do anything useful, so…"

"What do you mean by that?" Miroku demanded, stepping up. Kazumi was still nowhere in sight. "You've helped us countless times; we've told you before. Just who told you that you were useless? That made you believe you could guilt yourself for everything?"

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jay-me-says · 4 years

Text

Things Were Different Back Then

CHAPTER FIVE: Midnight Conversations

Masterpost w/ more info on the fic | Note: all SBI-related relationships here are platonic!

Tommy dodges Tubbo’s sword, barely this time. His limbs feel like they have bags full of stones tied to them, weighing down every dodge, parry, and strike. Tubbo attacks again and Tommy only just manages a weak block. His brown-haired friend seems to be tiring as well, but not nearly as much as he is. Where the hell is he getting all of this energy? Tommy wonders, his breaths coming out as wheezes.

The blond attempts an attack with as much energy as he can muster, but it comes out messy and Tubbo parries him with the same ease he would a child. Tommy takes too long to recover and the other boy takes advantage of the moment, hitting the back of his knees with the flat of his blade, making the taller boy lose his balance. All it takes is one final shove and he’s on the ground.

He’s almost relieved to be flopped on the ground, as exhausted as he is from going to the docks late every night. The boy even shuts his eyes. How nice it would be to just sink into the grass and sleep for a while…

“This is getting too easy,” Tubbo says above him.

Tommy cracks one eye open, squinting against the bright sun. The brunette has the blunt end of his wooden training sword pushed into the ground. His hands are on the pommel, leaning his weight against it. A playful grin brightens his face, spreading to his blue eyes.

Tommy just groans in response and closes both eyes again. The grass makes a swoosh noise as the shorter boy comes to sit by his side.

Tubbo is right, though. Tommy has been slow this morning. Normally when they practice with each other, they end up with a relatively even number of wins and losses. But out of all the practice matches they’ve done this morning, Tubbo has won all of them but one. And that was only because Walter had gotten in the middle of them one round, demanding attention and distracting Tubbo long enough for Tommy to land what they considered a “fatal blow.” Tubbo had mumbled grumpily about cheating but still shot the blond a smile while he pet Walter.

“Is something wrong?” the brunette asks now.

Tommy sighs internally and opens both eyes this time, looking up at Tubbo. His friend is facing the opposite direction to him, so his legs are splayed out near Tommy’s head and his hands, pressed into the grass behind him to keep himself sitting up, are by Tommy’s legs. For one of the first times since the blonde’s return, Tubbo is wearing casual clothes; jeans and a loose green shirt. A familiar red bandana is wrapped around his left wrist, making Tommy want to smile.

A part of him is happy. He’d really missed these simple things while he’d been gone, like sparring and Tubbo just being Tubbo within arm’s reach of him. If Tommy stopped to think about it for too long, he had an urge to grab hold of his friend and hug him as hard as he had at the gate his first day back. The boy stares at Tubbo’s red bandana, perhaps bordering on thinking about it for too long.

He must’ve been silent for too long because Tubbo pokes one of his knees with a finger. “Tommy, c’mon. What’s going on, big man?” Despite the joke-y nickname, the blond can hear the concern in his friend’s voice. A familiar spike butts its way into his gut. Guilt. He feels guilty for making Tubbo worry about him. His homecoming was meant to be great and happy. And the guy’s a president, for fuck’s sake. He should have more important things to worry about.

The spike drives itself deeper as words fall out of his mouth faster than he can think to stop them. “Nothing’s going on. It’s just…I’m kind of tired, is all. And rusty. I haven’t had a proper fight in a while, so I should’ve expected as much.”

Tubbo fixes a skeptical blue stare on him, so Tommy continues, “I’m fine, Big T, really.” The words taste like the time Techno tricked him into drinking spoiled milk when they were kids. Liar. The spike of guilt grows larger in accusation.

The brunette still looks uncertain but doesn’t say anything. Instead, he gets up and brushes loose blades of bright grass off of his dark blue jeans. Then, he turns and offers a hand to Tommy, who takes it gratefully, letting Tubbo help him pull himself up.

Letting his hand drop from Tommy’s as he bends to pick up the blonde’s discarded training sword, Tubbo says, “There’s a few hours before we need to be down beneath the Stilted Sector to help light things up. You should get some sleep before we go. I’ll make some lunch and wake you up a while before we have to go.”

Tommy nods. “Alright. Thank you, Tubbo.”

Tubbo nudges him lightly with his shoulder. “Anytime, big man.”

“And, hey, you got lucky today. In another month, I’ll be back to kicking your ass when we fight.”

Tubbo laughs. “You wish.”

The water beneath the Stilted Sector is still very shallow. It doesn’t quite cover the tops of most of the sea pickles that the group places down. But when a time comes where it’s high enough, the blue water will glow gorgeously.

When Niki had sent out the call for sea pickles and manpower, the council hadn’t expected most of L’manburg to show up. It would’ve taken about twenty minutes tops with only a few extra people, but with the crowd they’d gathered it would easily take ten. A few barrels and chests full of pickles, mostly from Eret (“Yeah, you’re the type of guy to always have what I need!” Tommy had joked almost affectionately to the tall man) had been carried out as well. Presently, Tubbo is stood by one of the chests, loading his arms up with a fresh supply of the natural light sources. His blue jeans had been rolled up several times before climbing into the crater, but the edges are now dark with water anyways. Mainly from all the splashing Tommy was doing.

At the moment, the tall blond is starting a minor water fight with Quackity, one arm filled with dark green sea pickles and the other scooping water in the secretary of state’s direction. He’s eyeing Fundy, who is placing pickles nearby, like he might be next.

Tommy seems full of energy now- the nap had definitely helped- but Tubbo couldn’t shake his concern. He’d never, ever beaten Tommy while practicing fighting like that. Even if the boy was rusty and tired, it shouldn’t have been that easy. Even on the worst of days, Tommy always put up such a fight. There was always, always a little bit more he could give to the battle. But just about every move he’d made earlier had been messy and poor and so not Tommy.

And besides that, there were the times Tommy had gone all quiet these past few days. He’d told Tubbo on his second day back that being in L’manburg brought back memories, which Tubbo could understand. It had been hard for him this past month or so as well. Memories were everywhere. Schlatt’s tight grip stalks Tubbo from every shadow, and the phantoms of the election day and TNT haunt the Stilted Sector. It’s inescapable.

What he couldn’t understand, though, was how little communication he was getting from Tommy. Normally, they would tell one another everything. Unlike the blond, Tubbo had had other people to talk to during the past month, but it was never the same. No one could match how Tommy sat forward when Tubbo started talking about something eating at him, or the way he always seemed to know when to let him vent and when to try to cheer him up. And even when he didn’t know, he asked and they talked and they got through whatever was bothering Tubbo together. And Tubbo did the same for Tommy. Because they were L’manburg’s favorite dream duo.

But Tommy wasn’t talking to him as freely as he once had. It was killing Tubbo. He was barely resisting the urge, at this moment, to grab his friend by his shirt, drag him to the side, whack with a sizeable stick, and make the blond tell him what’s wrong.

For the second time that week, Niki sneaks up on Tubbo while he’s lost in thought.

“Tubbo?” she prompts. Her voice is like an exhale of sweet spring air.

The president inhales sharply and quickly pivots to look at her, barely keeping a grip on all of his sea pickles.

She smiles a little. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. I was just wondering what you are thinking about.”

Tubbo turns his gaze back to Tommy, who is now fending off both Fundy and Quackity. Water droplets cling to his straw-colored hair and he grins, a mischievous yet joyful glint in his eyes. “It’s just that…he’s been off lately, Niki. I’m real worried.”

She follows his gaze, smile growing at the water fight. “Maybe you should try talking to him about it, Tubbo.”

“I’ve tried that. He won’t speak with me about it. Not really, anyways.”

“If you really asked, he would. In a heartbeat, Tubbo.”

It’s late, now. The silver moon has long since traded spots with the sun. Tubbo hasn’t slept yet, though. He keeps thinking about what Niki had said. And Tommy, of course.

After the sea pickles were finished, some people had stuck around and they’d started in on the next few projects. There were so many opportunities for Tubbo to ask while he and Tommy were alone throughout the day. While they were reinforcing some of the supports of the Stilted Sector, while taking a break by the flagpole, on the walk home, and the entire time they’d been home since the walk back. But his nerves turned themselves into a needle and borrowed fear for a thread, sewing his mouth shut each time.

Currently, Tubbo is seriously entertaining the idea of barging into Tommy’s room and talking to him. Just as he’s thinking that he might actually gather the courage and do it, he hears Tommy’s footsteps in the hall. What’s he doing? Tubbo wonders.

He gets somewhat of an answer when the front door opens and shuts- slowly, carefully. After a few seconds of lying in bed, silent and still, Tubbo practically throws himself out of his bedroom and into the living room. He draws back the pine green curtains near the door and watches Tommy, accompanied by Walter, walk off. His sword sways in time with his steps, tucked into a sheath at the boy’s side.

Tubbo stands there for several moments, debating following or calling out to his friend when he realizes something that makes his stomach sink. Tommy has probably been going out every night instead of sleeping.

Wilbur wanders to his dad’s room to ask about going on a walk. It’s late, and Fundy had gone to bed hours ago, but Philza’s light is still on for once, and Wilbur doesn’t feel tired. So many nights spent reading and moping until the sun rose had smacked his sleep schedule thoroughly out of whack.

The door of his father’s bedroom is ajar, so Wilbur pokes in without knocking. “Hey, Dad, can we…” he stops midsentence. It feels as though the wind has been knocked out of him when he sees what’s sitting atop Philza’s chest of drawers. Wilbur thinks that it’s a feeling not unlike the time Tommy went a little too far with their light, wooden training swords during a practice fight.

“Is…is that…” Wilbur trails off, the question dying on his lips.

Techno’s crown.

“Yes,” his father says gently, after a moment of hesitant silence.

“Can I…can I see it for a second?” he asks. His voice sounds breathy and soft.

“Of course.”

Wilbur takes a few slow, uncertain steps over to the chest of drawers, then picks up the crown gingerly, as though he expects Techno to jump out from behind the door and yell at his brother for touching his stuff.

The crown, all elegant swoops and delicate (yet severe) points, is surprisingly light. And yet holding it makes Wilbur feel about a thousand tons heavier.

Gently, he turns the crown and holds it against his chest. The spikes only barely poke through the yellow wool of Wilbur’s sweater, but he swears they’ve all grown a foot longer and impaled him. Holding the crown, as dear as it was to his brother, Wilbur can almost imagine Techno encircling him in a protective embrace. Then, he wonders what on earth Technoblade is doing without his crown. Does it feel like a piece of him is missing, just as Wilbur feels like a piece is missing without his brother around?

Philza comes over and gently wraps an arm around his son. They stand there together and share the sorrow.

After several long moments of standing in his dad’s embrace and clutching the crown to his chest, he softly places the circlet back down on the chest of drawers, then turns to face his father. Not for the first time, Wilbur notes that Tommy had, without a shadow of a doubt, inherited their father’s bright blue eyes, while he and Techno had the same brown-almost-black shade. Phil’s eyes look sad, now, and concerned.

Wilbur slides out from under his father’s arm and grabs his hands instead, one in each of his own. He feels a little bad for what he’s about to do, but he needs Philza to understand. “I’m going to go out for a bit. I promise, I’m not going to disappear again. I just want to have a walk.”

Phil’s eyes search his son’s face, brows drawn together and lips curved into a frown. After a moment, he nods. “Okay. A promise is a promise.”

Wilbur leans forward and kisses his father’s head, then gives his hands one last squeeze before letting go and heading for the door. “A promise is a promise,” he parrots back, an old ritual.

Tommy goes to the docks again. The first night he’d gone to stand in the company of the sea, it had been by sheer accident. Now, he makes the short journey every night.

When he arrives tonight, though, someone is in his spot, leaned against one of the logs lining the edge of the dock.

He recognizes the figure in half of a heartbeat. At this point, Tommy reckons he could recognize Wilbur from twelve feet away on the night of a new moon with heavy fog.

For several minutes, he stands at the edge of the dock, wondering whether he should approach or not and worrying Walter will bark and give him away before he’s decided.

Finally, Tommy pushes himself to move forward. Walter follows, uncharacteristically quiet, as though he can sense his owner’s caution and distress.

Coming up on his brother’s left side, Tommy says, “Hey, Wilbur.”

The brunette seems surprised at his appearance, though not unpleasantly so. “Oh, hello, Tommy. What are you doing out this late?”

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Me neither.”

The two stand in silence, a certain tension weighing down the air. Tommy can still sense the wall between himself and Wilbur, but it almost seems fragile- breakable. If I say the right thing, will it finally come down?

Finally, Walter just can’t take it anymore. He pushes his snoot into the back of Wilbur’s knee and starts sniffing. His tail is wagging at the speed of sound, as though he’s been shoving his energy down for the whole two minutes he and Tommy have been standing on the dock and he can’t hold it in any longer.

Wilbur emits a little, surprised noise, then smiles softly. It sends a bolt of dull pain through Tommy’s chest, reminding him of the early days of L’manburg, before they even had independence from the Dream SMP. Back then, days were hard and yet smiles were frequent- Wilbur smiled like that all the time then.

As his brother leans over and extends a hand to let Walter sniff it, he says, “I’ve been wanting to ask, who is this big guy? He resembles a cloud.”

Walter nuzzles into Wilbur’s hand, letting him pet his fluffy white coat, as though pleased by the comment.

“That’s Walter. Met him in a forest while I was away. He’s been with me for a few weeks now.”

Wilbur hums in response and continues petting the dog, squatting down to have better access to his chin.

Both boys are silent for a while, but the waves fill in for them. Tommy closes his eyes for a minute and just listens. Along with the waves, he can hear Walter’s tail patting a repetitive rhythm on the dock.

Tommy gathers his courage to ask a question. “So, why couldn’t you sleep?” he asks, turning to look at his brother.

Wilbur shrugs before answering, still petting the dog. “I screwed up my sleep schedule. I started staying up late a lot after…” he pauses, a sheen of sorrow passing over his eyes. He tries again, “After…after everything that happened. I would sit up reading and that sort of thing until I fell asleep or the sun came out. Worried the hell out of Dad.”

Tommy almost laughs at that. Almost.

After a pause, Wilbur continues, “I’ve done a lot of things to worry Dad these last few months.” He draws his eyebrows together a little. His eyes have become fixed on the dog’s snowy face. “I talked to them yesterday, though. Dad and Fundy, I mean. I apologized for everything. I put them through so much and I want to fix it now. I’m going to start doing better for them, they deserve it.”

Tommy isn’t quite sure what to say to that, so he doesn’t say anything at all. But the wall cracks.

Wilbur lets out a half-amused, half-sad laugh. “You’d never believe who talked some sense into me. Just try to guess.” Finally, he meets Tommy’s eyes.

It throws Tommy off balance for just a second. Wilbur is smiling properly now, despite the remnants of sadness that cling to his features. When was the last time Wilbur had smiled at him? Or at least, smiled at him whilst not talking about blowing up their country.

It takes the younger brother a moment to recover. He shrugs awkwardly and stammers out, “I-I don’t know. Who?”

Wilbur smiles a little wider. “Eret. Out of all people, Eret.”

Tommy can’t suppress a slight smile at that. It is a little funny. He turns to look at the ocean. If he keeps looking at Wilbur, smiling with him, it might blow his brain up. “That’s kind of crazy. How’d that happen?”

There’s silence again. It takes all of Tommy’s willpower to not look at his older brother in the few seconds of quiet before he answers. Softly, Wilbur says, “Things were rough with Fundy and I had nowhere else to go.”

Six words steal the breath from Tommy’s lungs. It’s a harsh reminder of how much things have changed. It makes Tommy miss easier times- even before L’manburg. He would give nearly anything to go back to a time when his biggest concern was how many practice fights he’d won against his brothers and whether Dad was making his least favorite vegetables with dinner that night. Back then, there was never even the trace of a doubt that if Tommy, or anyone in his family, needed something, there were four people that cared within arm’s reach.

Wilbur stands back up, leaning against a log next to Tommy again, and they watch the waves together. Although he would like to appreciate the moment of peace with his brother, he can’t. Tommy can still feel the wall there, in disrepair yet still looming between them. It makes his stomach twist with nerves and muddles his brain with so many thoughts and emotions, he worries it’ll all overflow out of his ears.

“So, why couldn’t you sleep, Tommy?”

Because of you, Tommy thinks. He almost says it, too. But it wouldn’t quite be the truth. There were several reasons he couldn’t sleep- several figures that plagued his thoughts. There are multiple possible answers, so Tommy picks the easiest one to talk about. (The easiest one to talk about with Wilbur, at least.)

“Tubbo and I are in a bit of a rut.”

He can feel the surprise emanating off of his brother. “Really?” The brunette nearly shouts, sounding utterly shocked.

“Yeah. Things have just been…I don’t know, different, I guess, since I came back. I left to clear my head and it worked but as soon as I came back everything poured straight back in again. Just being here makes me remember so much. I can’t turn a corner without something reminding me of what’s happened and everything I’ve been through- everything we’ve all been through.” Tommy is a little out of breath by the time he’s done talking. Emotion had slipped into his voice, anger and grief mingling on his vocal cords. It’d made him speed up about halfway through speaking, shoving the words out like it hurt to have them inside of him.

“Am I one of the things you’re remembering, Tommy?” Wilbur’s voice is impossibly gentle.

Shit. Tommy quickly tries to think up a response that’ll save him from this vein of conversation.

“Don’t bother lying to me, Tommy. We lived under the same roof for the first fifteen years of your life and we haven’t lived more than twenty feet from one another since. I know your tells. Just answer the question.”

He’s right, but Tommy wishes he wasn’t. He had come out here to avoid his feelings, not confront them.

“Yes, you are one of the things.”

It’s Wilbur’s turn to be silent. They seem to be passing it between them, like a ball in the worst game of catch ever.

Then, the brunette says, “I’m sorry.”

Tommy’s whole body freezes, making him completely still. He almost forgets to breathe.

“I put you through so much. When things got rough before we took down Schlatt, I went all crazy plans and TNT on you. That wasn’t fair. You were- you are- just a kid and I’m your big brother. I should’ve been there for you; I should’ve been a better role model. If nothing else, I should’ve at least protected you. I am truly sorry for how bad things got. I feel awful.”

They don’t make eye contact once while Wilbur speaks, they just stare out into the fluid blue void together.

Tommy’s eyes sting. A part of him wants to scream at Wilbur, another wants to break down and cry, and yet another begs Tommy’s legs to run.

An apology doesn’t fix all the damage Wilbur did, doesn’t even come near it. But…

“Thanks, Wilbur.”

It’s a start.

Neither of them speak for a while. Then, tentatively, almost like dipping a foot into a pool of water to check the temperature, Tommy says, “Techno, too.”

“What?” Feeling Wilbur’s gaze on him, he turns to look at his brother. The man’s eyebrows are pulled up in confusion and the corners of his mouth dip in a slight frown.

“I’m remembering Techno, too.”

Wilbur’s mouth forms a silent “oh.” Then, he glances down at the log Tommy is leaning against. He swaps between pressing his lips tightly together and opening his mouth to take a breath. Like he’s trying to decide whether to say something.

“Spit it out,” Tommy says, adding a silent “bitch” to the end. He doesn’t want to go back to their normal rhythm of fake insults, not yet.

“Dad has Technoblade’s crown. I saw it. I- I held it.” Wilbur looks up at Tommy again, eyes flitting over his face nervously, as though searching for any sign he messed up.

Tommy’s mouth hangs open. He’s shocked speechless. Then, a little jealous. Never, in a million years, would Techno ever let Tommy, or anyone, come near that crown. It was the eldest brother’s most prized possession. He kept it in excellent condition and never went anywhere without it. And Wilbur had gotten to hold it.

The brunette, seeming to know what he’s thinking, lets out a short laugh. “I know, right? He would murder me if he found out.”

Tommy snorts. “Damn right. You wouldn’t even see it coming. Just a flash of pink and then game over.”

They both laugh at that. Smiles adorn their faces, but it’s bittersweet. A cloud of something dense and sad hangs around them, reminding the brothers that they are still so far from where they used to be. They might never really go back to how things were between them, either.

And yet there’s a light hope, too, interwoven with the sadness. The possibility of their relationship, at the very least, getting better. If they just keep trying and want it badly enough.

There is so much more to be said. So many big things they still need to talk about. But, for now, they discuss all the little things they never got to say while they weren’t speaking to each other. And it feels as though the wall is filled with hundreds and hundreds of cracks, leaving Tommy with little holes to peek through.

The brunette stirs from his position on the couch, half-asleep and spine curved uncomfortably, when he hears the front door open. He blinks his eyes sleepily at first, wondering what’s happening, then scrambles to sit up properly when he remembers what he was doing before falling asleep. Tommy.

The boy has come home, finally. Walter trots off to the guest room, but the blond stands in the doorway, stopped in place halfway through the threshold. He looks surprised.

“What time is it?” Tubbo asks, stretching.

Tommy moves again, walking the rest of the way into the house and softly shutting the spruce door behind him. He doesn’t answer his friend’s question, instead asking one of his own. “Did you try waiting up for me?”

The president rubs his eyes, the rough sleep in the corners scratching at his fingertips. “Yeah, keyword being try. I figured I would let you have your walk or whatever, but I was worried. Have you been doing this every night?”

Tommy turns his gaze to the floor. He’s silent.

“Tommy,” Tubbo prompts.

The blond sighs and says, “Yeah, Tubbo. I- I have.”

“Why?”

Silence again.

It suddenly all becomes too much for Tubbo. He’s done his best to stay collected these past few days, giving Tommy the space he needs to process, but he can’t handle it anymore. Before he can stop it, all of the worry and frustration and sadness fills him up, driving him up off the couch to stand. The sudden movement causes Tommy to look up at him again.

“Tommy, please!” The shorter boy gestures wildly while he talks, emotions taking the driver’s seat. “I’ve been so insanely worried about you these past few days- this past month. I want more than anything to help you, Tommy. You are one of the most important things in my life. During the war against Manberg, I would’ve up and left everything if you had asked. I know I’m not one of Phil’s sons but you, Tommy, are the closest I will ever be to having a brother. Please, talk to me.” His voice catches a little as he speaks, his eyes stinging with the threat of tears.

Tommy looks a little shaken, and sort of guilty, which makes Tubbo feel guilty in turn. He hadn’t meant to snap at him like that. He just wanted Tommy to confide in him again like he always used to. He opens his mouth to speak again, to apologize, but Tommy interrupts him.

“I’m sorry, Tubbo.”

The other boy slowly closes his mouth, the words caught in his throat. He has no idea what to say, so he opts for silence instead.

Tommy crosses the room in a few quick strides and grabs Tubbo’s elbow as he begins to speak, gently pulling the boy to sit on the couch with him. “I’ve been weird since I got back, I know. Being here reminded me of everything we lost. And I do mean everything.” The blond’s eyes drop to his lap as he squeezes his hands together.

“It kills me how things ended with Techno,” he continues, “the way we treated him. It’s so easy to label him as a traitor and be done with it but I know, I know, it’s not as simple as that. And just the fact that he’s gone and we might not see him again. I…” He trails off for a moment, squeezing his hands harder, making the knuckles turn white. A pang shoots through Tubbo’s chest. After so long with Technoblade in his life, the notion that they might never see him again seems insane. But after everything that had happened, it was a probable reality.

Tommy takes a deep breath and continues, “And Wilbur has felt like a completely different person for so long. When he started getting paranoid, back in Pogtopia, I had to watch him forget what we were fighting for. He might as well have left me alone, and he was the adult! My big brother meant to watch over me. Even after we’d won back L’manburg, it felt like I had lost. I was down two brothers and I had no idea how to get either of them back. It hurt- it still does. It hurts so, so much, Tubbo. But as much as it’s hurt to be back in L’manburg and remember all of it, I think I needed it.”

He looks back up at Tubbo again. His bright, blue eyes are so full of emotion, it sends a shock through the brunette’s gut.

Tommy saves him from responding by going on. “I think I needed to see it all and accept what happened and accept that people have started moving on. It’s time that I start moving on, too.” There’s a brief pause and the boy’s mouth hangs open for an instant, as though considering whether or not to say something. “I- I spoke with Wilbur earlier.”

Tubbo is still trying to process all the words Tommy just threw at him, like catching one hundred balls in quick succession. Just as Tubbo thought he had a handle on it, Tommy throws that one final, larger, flaming ball at him.

The brunette manages to avoid stammering and asks, “What did you speak about?” The question comes out gentler than he intended, laced with a certain inquisitiveness.

“How we miss Techno, how he’s sorry what he put me through. He told me about Fundy and Dad, too. He said he’s trying to be present again and be there for them. It really seems like the Wilbur I followed into war is coming back. And I think that’s a version of Wilbur I can forgive one day.”

There’s a beat of silence and before Tubbo can speak again, Tommy says, “I really am sorry, Tubbo. I should’ve been more transparent with you. I guess I just didn’t want to bother you with my problems. But that wasn’t right of me. I’m sorry for worrying you. No more sneaking down to the docks every night, I promise.”

Tubbo smiles a little. “Pinky promise?”

Tommy looks down at his friend’s extended finger and wraps his own around it. “Yeah, pinky promise.”

“Good.” Tubbo settles back onto the couch, and Tommy follows suit. Now that everything has been said and taken care of, the late hour is catching up with them. They end up with Tubbo leaning over so his head is resting on Tommy’s chest, neither realizing that their pinky fingers are still lazily looped together between them. Tubbo vaguely notices that he can hear the steady beat of his friend’s heart.

“And Tubbo?”

The brunette, eyes closed, fights off sleep to hear his friend’s words. “What is it, Tommy?”

“I think of you as my brother, too. I love you.”

Tubbo smiles, a warm glow spilling into his chest. It makes him feel all fuzzy and warm- and happy. He inhales and exhales slowly, appreciating the moment. “Love you too, Tommy,” he says.

Tubbo lets sleep consume him, then, feeling happier than he has in a month.

‘

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always5hineee · 4 years

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Hell and Back- Chapter 42: Game Master (Trials 90-100)

Word count: 2403

Chapter warnings: Mild language, themes

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Their next trial was exactly the same. All that happened was the number switched from 89 to 90. It honestly had her wondering if there ever really were trials where they had earned skips, or if the game simply knew who it intended to die. She was questioning the power behind it. It was already strange that they'd be able to give her, as they'd stated, whatever she wanted. She remembered that offer.

You have been given the opportunity to make a wish. The wish can be anything, quite literally. Do not underestimate our capabilities by making a trivial request. If we so choose, you may be invited to earn this wish. You are under no obligation should your wish be selected. You may only wish once.

It was ridiculous. It was so ridiculous, she had chosen to partake. At the time, it seemed like a blessing. Now it was a living nightmare, one she wasn't quite sure she'd be able to fix. She had yet to tell anyone of her deception regarding the wish as well. Before, she'd figured that they'd be supportive, but... now that people were dead? The likelihood decreased with every carcass. Even if they were going to forgive her, would there be anyone left to do so by the end? They were in the final stretch now, but her hope was draining.

It took them nearly a two full days to find the room they were meant to come upon. In walking through the doors, they first found similar rooms, then mazes like they had previously, (although this time, they were sans Kris's fireworks to see them through). Not only that, but Kris's leg was barely functional. He tried to reassure them that he could handle it, but putting stress on him wouldn't help anyone. They would take turns helping him along as he leaned on them. They would have carried him, but he would have found it humiliating, not to mention his weight being a significant factor.

They ran out of diet supplementary pulls by the end of the first day. Of course, they didn't know if it was actually night or not, but they did know when they became too tired to continue on. No one knew how long they slept, and no one said much. Kris tried to make his usual shitty jokes, but they honestly just came off as mean, so he cut it out. The same happened with Baekhyun's goofy attitude- he was finding it harder and harder. to even bother smiling at this point. Xiumin continued making them ice cubes as they walked. It wasn't the most hydrating, but it was better than the alternative.

When they finally found the room, it was like discovering Atlantis. It wasn't that there was anything particularly comforting about it, but it meant the end of their trek through this decrepit nightmare of epic proportions, a chance to finally finish this. 2 days was the longest they'd spent on any trial, and it was fantastic to be out of it.

When they arrived, it looked to be just a gigantic room, bigger than the vat room, with barely anything in it. The black tiled floor stretched for what could have been a half a mile, with a raised platform and stairs descending from it in the center. Walking in, she looked around in awe. There were no pathways, doors, anything besides the structure and the floor beneath her. Venturing out into the room, the other boys looked around as well, but didn't seem to draw attention to anything unusual.

Out of nowhere, the floor dropped from around them, almost like a shitty video game graphic. Tiles sank into a deep black pit, down which none of them could see anything. It left them separated, spread lightly around the room. They were close enough that they could hear each other, but not so they could jump to each others... what seemed to be pillars of sorts? She looked back to the door, searching for any way out of this, uncertain of checking her phone.

"Boo!" A voice said suddenly from behind them, causing them all to spin. Standing above them on a platform, attacked to stairs and a runway, was a hooded figure. He was backlit by the room, and his robes hung around him in droves. "It's so nice to finally meet you!" He said like a young fan, obviously cheery. He lifted his hands, slender fingers peeking out from under the sleeves, to remove his hood, pulling the crease of the robe behind him so his legs were more free.

He wasn't anyone that Y/N could ever recall seeing before. He was surprisingly young, and of similar height to Baekhyun, although clearly younger. His hair was dark and fell in soft waves over his face, nearly concealing the strange glint in his eyes. His jawline was strong, but subtle enough as it curved his face, smooth skin stretching over the expanse of the portion of his body that was revealed. Although he was technically still wearing the robe, with the hood pulled down and the folds pushed back behind him, she saw that he was dressed fairly casually in actuality, maybe even more stylishly than average.

"Who are you?" Kris growled, confirming her suspicions that this was not someone familiar to them.

"It's none of your business." The man said with a shrug, nonchalantly walking down the stairs from his own platform onto the runway that ran through all of theirs. "I've had such a fantastic time watching you." His lips plumping into a pout, he said, "I was hoping that last little trial would have taken more of you out. It seems like I'm going to have to settle for Xiumin."

"Xiumin?" Baekhyun demanded, still defensive, "What's wrong with him?"

"Oh, nothing technically. It won't be much longer now, though." The man laughed. Xiumin had seemed weaker, but they'd thought nothing of it... Thinking back to Lay, though, that was naive. Was it a similar situation? Was he sick? Seeing the glance of confusion on her face, the man held out his arms as if offering them a generous gift. "What? If you're that clueless, I suppose I'll explain. Unless...?" He asked, looking to the man in question, as if offering for him to explain on his own. He simply looked to the ground.

"Alright, then! You see, Xiumin's power relies on drawing water from his environment to crystallize into ice. Of course, in light of this, I had to make absolutely certain there was none of that to be had. Of course, I didn't plan on giving you water once you got in here anyway, so it wasn't too difficult. That left him with only a few options once you idiots started demanding it from him. Take it from the air, which- I'm not even certain the random hydrogens and oxygens would have been enough, and even if they were, he could risk suffocating everyone in the process. He could take it from you, which would have defeated the purpose, or..." She looked to him as she realized, the man finishing her thought.

"He can get it from himself."

"Xiumin," she muttered, looking at his frame. With the context available, she began seeing gate specific indications. His cheeks were no longer soft and rounded as they had been, but now sinking just slightly into his face. His lips were cracked and he seemed tired.

"Honestly, I'm surprised he's managed to hang on for this long," The man said with a congratulatory tone. "The same really goes for all of you. You're actually my first test run of this little game! I was a bit worried when you came in with such a diverse set of powers. I had to plan the challenges very meticulously. I was mostly worried about Tao and Lay, but they honestly dealt with themselves! It was hilarious to-"

"Shut up! You don't get to talk about them like that." Kris seethed, glaring daggers into the man's body. He couldn't do anything, though.

"I 'get' to talk about you however I want." He stuck a tongue out childishly. "It's my game, after all. And I'm being generous! Is this so much to ask for one little wish? A wish for anything you could truly ever want?"

"Yes." He spat. "It is." Shrugging, the man posed,

"And yet you're still here. Which brings me to your last trials." He spun on his heel, gesturing outwards. "Welcome to the final room! Designed it myself. Technically, you have ten trials left to complete, nine when your pipsqueak over there kicks the bucket. Of course, I've realized that I've had to make this incredibly difficult for you all thus far, and as I said, you're a test run, so I'm willing to tweak the rules. So! I'll make you an offer." As he said this, a watch that she only just noticed he had on his wrist beeped quietly.

"Oh! Speak of the devil, fatality skip!" Pressing something, she felt her phone buzz, and sure enough, there was the notification.

Fatality skip: Trial 91

"Xiumin!" She shouted, looking over to him desperately. He was laying down on his own platform, not moving at all.

"That won't help you now, sweetheart." He said, walking on air over to Xiumin's platform. Was that his ability? Did he have more than one? He was outside of her realm of understanding to say the least. She watched helplessly as he removed the man's body from the platform by pushing it with his shoe, as if relocating a dead rat on the driveway. He did so with the same disgusted flick of his heel, turning away as his corpse fell into the abyss.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" She asked with tears now coursing down her face.

"Wrong? I'm doing you a favor, don't you forget!" He said looking at her like a consumer upset with their product. "Which brings me to my, as I said, generous offer. I'd like to just give you your prize now, but that's no fun, and I'm curious." Grinning ear to ear, he asked, "Just how good of friends are you, really?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kris growled.

"Ah, ah, calm down, I was getting there." Sitting down cross-legged on the runway, he held up a hand. "You," he pointed to Kris, "And you." He pointed to Baekhyun. "First one to fall off of the platform dies, obviously. Once one of you goes, I'll reward the wish. Or, we can all sit here and wait to see which one of you starves to death first."

"Why not me?" Y/N asked, looking at him helplessly. "Let me do it!" Pouting again, he shook his head.

"That's no good. You're player one! The crown jewel! The wish maker! I can't have you dying on me, yeah?" Waving his arm, he dismissed her, "You just sit tight. I want to see who's going to push who in." Kris and Baekhyun locked eyes. Their platforms connected via tiled bridges, similar in material as to the floor when they'd first entered. They both walked down their pathways to meet in the center at a common pillar. The man in the robe watched intently as they looked to each other. Kris clearly had the advantage in height and weight class, but Baekhyun may be able to get an edge with agility and size. It was anyone's guess.

"I'll go." Kris said with a sigh.

"No! You can't do that!"

"Baek, I'm hurt. If he were to do anything else, I wouldn't be of any use to you."

"You can't die, Kris! We've made it this far, maybe we can-"

"You know we can't do anything to this maniac!" Kris shoved him lightly in insistence. "I want nothing more than to crush his stupid fucking skull, I know. But you've seen what he can do, and he's clearly deranged. We'll never win, especially not on his terms and in this state."

"But..."

"You think I want to die?" Kris laughed, shaking. "I've been trying to keep this from happening the whole damn time. Hell, I almost died getting here. So did you."

"Let me go. You'll take better care of Y/N. You're betraying he by leaving, and everyone who..." he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

"I just told you, I'm doing it, no questions." Kris shifted his weight off his bad leg. "It'll be okay, man, I promise." Puling Baekhyun into a hug, something she'd rarely ever seen him do in their entire time of knowing each other, he said, "Now get our wish and bring everyone back, okay?" Baekhyun nodded as tears fell down his face, causing his eyes to grow red. "Hey, don't cry on me. You'e always been such a baby." Lightly punching him in the arm as he sniffled, Baekhyun argued,

"You're literally crying, I don't wanna hear it." Kris pulled away from him, looking to Y/N and giving her a nod.

"Don't let this piece of shit win, okay?" He asked. She didn't know what to do, watching in awe as she gave a slight nod.

"Wait." Baekhyun said after he turned, holding out something. Looking down, Kris saw that it was the little stuffed animal he had taken as his item. They'd never needed it, but... somehow, in this moment, he was glad to have it.

"Thank you." He laughed looking at it and putting it in his pocket. Then, limping to the edge in only a couple steps on his bad leg, he paused. He wanted to turn around, to say goodbye again, but it wasn't going to get any easier. Taking in a deep breath he looked downwards, to where there was seemingly no end. Then, as he exhaled, he stepped off, not making a sound.

The man immediately began talking over Baekhyun's quiet crying and her choked noises of dread and incomprehensibility.

"Ugh, that was so boring, I thought you two were at least going to fight each other. Baekhyun! What if he had pushed you off the edge, hmm? What if it had been a trap?"

"I wanted to go, anyway." The boy muttered.

"Ah, whatever, a deal's a deal, I guess. I don't like breaking the rules." The man shrugged. "Anyway, I gave you your wish, you can go. Bye!"

Go to Chapter 43

#exo #exo x reader #exo fanfiction #exo fanfic #kris #luhan #tao #kai #kyungsoo #sehun #suho #chen #chanyeol #xiumin #baekhyun #lay #kpop #Kpop x reader #Kpop fanfiction #Kpop fanfic #x reader #trials

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aalt-ctrl-del · 4 years

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something that does disturb me about some of these corona virus self-reports, is a small account given by those that have had corona virus or know someone who went through corona virus. Third-party reports, with minimal credibility, but there is a disturbing narrative I review, that comes from a common attribute. There is a dismissive often casualness to these reports, which comes from someone who has done minimal research into the significance.

A somewhat frequent trend is that those young people, who have the minimum side-effects (such was mild aches and soreness in the throat, sometimes headaches) go on to ‘recover’ from corona virus. Then go on to say, “Taste or the sense of smell has not returned. At all.”

To the “it’s just a flu” crowd, this is dismissed as typical allergy or side effects of a mediocre cold. But the account may have a more unsettling significance.

I have a family member, who several years prior, suffered a very mild stroke. A mild stroke can be missed, because it does not have outward significance to those who knew the individual. And, we only put together the context of this stroke and it’s impact on her health, years later, when she displayed early onset dementia. The stroke was only made knowledge years following, after a MRI scan revealed the mild onset of neuro damage that matches to a stroke pattern, though it was not outwardly visible. Though this family member, aware that her mind was damaged but not comprehending how, made the efforts to square away essential assets and put her future care in order. There is more to this story, but it is personal and not relevant to the corona virus tangent I am going through.

Now, of this early onset dementia, our first clue was that her sense of smell and taste was affected. Bear in mind, no neurological discrepancies were visibly apparent at the time - and this medical narrative comes before a time when resources for dementia or Alzheimer's was made readily available. The plot we built around our ailing individual, we had to piece together years later following the discovery of medical documents. However prior to the documents surface, as years endured, it became more apparent that memory loss was setting in, and she was aware of this.

What does this have to do with corona virus? From what we have gathered with the virus, is that it is systemic, it can infect and damage other organs and tissue of the body. It can infect the brain and optical nerves, it can affect the liver and kidneys. There is a distinct difference between pneumonia corona virus and the systemic corona virus - these health issues are one in the same - though it only establishes where corona virus has infiltrated and damaged. It is only when corona virus has infiltrated the lung tissue and presents itself in respiratory distress, that people think that they have contracted corona virus. And I tell my family this, when they have a little throat thrash - Corona virus WILL NOT present itself first as a cold or abrasive throat. You will not know you have it, and when you begin presenting the common and true respiratory distress, it may be too late.

And right here I want to make a very crucial note. Ebola first presents as a flu or cold. Meningitis first presents itself as a flu or cold. Measles first presents itself as a cold or flu. Invasive fungal sinusitis first presents itself as a flu or cold. A deadly bacteria microbial that killed a 6 year old in Texas, first presented itself as a cold or flu, or corona virus.

What all these illnesses have in common, is that, they present firstly as a common cold or flu, but if the medical institute which treats the infected fails to work fast enough to actually diagnose the individual, they will die. Yes. Ebola is fatal to many people without hospital intervention and antiviral treatments, and even still if it is not controlled quick enough the infected person will perish. Measles is deadly to children AND adults. Invasive fungal sinusitis is often fatal, unless the contaminated tissue is hacked out of the persons face - this usually results in disfigurement. The point being, because something has been described as a little flu or cold, does not mean it is harmless - it only means that we can see these symptoms presented. It is a prescript response the body has, to many viral or bacterial infections, due to an inflamed reaction to compromised tissue. That is what a sore throat is, tissue contaminated to invasive cells which the bodies white blood cells must destroy and remove - this results in abrasion or a ‘burn’. When you want to refurbish furniture, you first must remove tarnished and unsightly top coat through sanding. You can accidentally disfigure your furniture project if you are not careful, or need to do repairs on weaknesses or damage inflicted by age. The body is the same way, the cells destroy the infected cells and some cells which are not infected - this is the cytokine storm which puts individual infected with covid, into the hospital for essential medical intervention.

Now back to this topic of dementia and neuro damage. These young people as reported casually, having recovered a ‘mild’ infection from covid, and did not present any symptoms or barely ‘noticed’ any aches or whatever. They still report a loss of taste and smell. Why this is concerning to me, is it can mean that covid cells infiltrated the brain and got up to some not good businesses. NOW, I am NOT here to say, “omg, these people are doomed. Oh no.” What I will say, is that they ARE NOT CURED.

The body likely responded to some sort of infection, it might have only affected the sinus cells. Whether or not antibodies were produced is unknown. There is a possibility that the headache is a result of the body attacking compromised cells in the brain, and if that sounds scary, DO NOT LET IT MAKE YOU AFRAID. This is very important. This is only a cautionary segment, and a plea for those who have suspected they may have been exposed to covid, or have recovered from covid, to be cautious from here on out. Neuro cells can rebuild themselves, to a degree. Neuro cells or brain cells, are notorious for being permanent, non-replicable. But they can be fixed by small increments. It can also take months, or years, in an individual that is healthy. This is why I say those who have lost some sensory, must absolutely be careful. Covid cells have a very direct plan of attack, they are very illusive in the body, and cells that have gone through the trauma of protecting you from this virus may be weakened to some degree.

This is why I am adamant about directing focus to the lack of immunity or the relapses when they occur, to those that previously thought they recovered from covid. I saw a beautiful post on here a few days prior, about a woman who is HIV +, but is able to have children and a husband, without fear for them contracting the virus, because she has medicine to keep the viral count down. Thus, her family does not need to worry about HIV, her children can live a normal life, and she can have children. It’s a blessing.

It is also a very important narrative for the corona virus, an illness we are still struggling to understand to the full of our capacity. This speculation I have that antibodies formed following a corona virus infection, may be short lived or unreliable to future infection. If a person is subjected to a high concentration of virus load, such as our healthcare workers, the prospect of infection and a lethal infection increases. This is why metropolitan areas need harsh restrictions due to the corona virus, the high concentration of people increases the infection rate - probability - of a positive infection. The more covid cells you encounter, the higher risk and possibly the more severe your infection because your body is not capable of keeping up with the infection onslaught. Healthcare workers MUST BE EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS - that is why they wear hazmat suits while treating covid sufferers. They are in a viral load element, and many can not go home to their families because the risks are too great.

If you suspect you have had covid or may have encountered someone with covid, reduce your interaction with people. Do not go out. Treat yourself like you are still struggling with the virus, even if you feel you are not. Behave like you are still taking the medication your doctor gave you, even though you feel better. Let your body do its job to its fullest, before you go out courting covid once more. If you keep subjecting your body to a trauma, then the cells become eroded and run down - it increases the probability of a severe infection which will have ultimate consequences.

“Young people seem to bounce back” is a highly irresponsible narrative. We do not grasp the full effects of corona virus infection in young people. We have no test group, nor a control group. But we can follow patterns. The cases increase, due to the false belief that corona virus is not serious. It likely comes from some young person believing, “I recovered and didn’t feel that bad, thus, the virus is not that bad. I am very healthy, and the virus didn’t stand a chance.”

Wherein the truth is, your body managed to get the virus under control to the point the young person felt good. And yes, because the young person may be healthy, but they are not exempted from a second, or third infection. IF THE ANTIBODIES ARE NOT THERE. This is where we reach the relapse, reinfection, and the ongoing lethargy that some people endure. The virus is still present, but it is managed by the body. The body is producing antibodies, but the virus is still producing cells which attack the body.

This may also explain the “negatives” of those that test negative, but still feel like crud. The negative of a covid test, might mean that there is not sufficient viral load to reach a positive result. I could be wrong. All I have right now are speculation, theories. But the doctors are telling us fundamental things, and not going into specifics why.

You do not want to contract corona virus. It does not care how healthy you are, it’s primary mission is replicate and spread, and feed on hemoglobin.

When people say, “Yeah, I still don’t have my sense of taste and or smell back.” I am very alarmed. Because when someone dismisses something so essential, my first concern is not, “That is common in colds”; I begin thinking, “This virus attacks any tissue, and the sinuses have been traumatized. How long does this last?”

We do not know enough about this virus to be complacent. It does not behave anything like a cold or flu, aside from symptoms which are a synonymous onset to every other kind of horrendous viral or bacterial infection with a high fatality rate. The cytokine storm is a very sudden, aggressive onslaught on anything compromised by corona virus cells - including cells that may have not been infected let alone compromised. Individuals who come across as very proud to have recovered so efficiently from a possible corona virus infection, may be health compromised or primed for a second more serious infection.

And last, if you are a person who does not know where you liver is located, then you probably shouldn’t conclude you’ve recovered from the corona virus. And final, if you lost your sense of taste or smell, you need to be more cautious from here on out because it is possible you are not fully recovered.

#corona virus #coronavirus #covid19 #covid #covid 19 #covid-19 #wear a fucking mask #wash your hands #watch your distance #viral behavior #rona #corona #beer #i feel like Im talking to a brick wall that believes it is a fluffy fog bank #you are not a fluffy fog bank youre a fucking brick wall #there is no way in hell i will try driving through you only an idiot would do that

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seawatersavior · 5 years

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Lorne was once the price of a wealthy and prosperous nation. He was loved by his people and his ambitions pushed him to seek excellence. However, his peace would not last. When Lorne was to rise to power, a coup was executed. His family he had begun to put together was split apart, and in a failed attempt to kill him, Lorne escaped with near fatal injuries. His body was mangled, torn and disfigured. Most could barely recognize him as a dragon, only as a walking corpse. His rage and despair kept him alive, the desire for revenge pumping his once still heart. The pain in his bones keeping him moving forward. He began to discard parts of himself that did not work, until he was barely able to move along the ground, truly a gruesome sight as this mass of wrathful flesh and bone heaved along in the cover of night.

Tales soon began to spread of a beast that would consume the flesh of anything that crossed its path, taking the bone and turning it into a new part of its body. Lorne had become a monster, and he was ready to destroy.

But there was nothing left.

When he returned as a monster to destroy his stolen palace, he found nothing, just burned and demolished framework. His nation had fallen, and there was no one left to hate. How long had he wandered? How long had he seethed for a nation that existed no more?

With no one to face his wrath, he decided the ruins were the only home a monster could reside in. As the years passed he would scare away strangers, plunderers and historians. He wanted nothing to take these ashes from him. Over time, he grew tired of his miserable appearance, and slowly, became the shape of a "fae". What he was, who he was, was no more. He continued to protect in his new form, revealing his ghastly prowess when people would underestimate him. The bounty on his head was growing. He had become a fabled monster, and many young drakes made challenges of coming to face him, striving to be the hero that would lop off the beasts head.

On a particularly stormy night, Lorne awoke, one of his bone beasts had been taken out. This was unusual, most people would run at the sight of his discarded sentient pieces. Shrinking down to a smaller size, he crept out in the direction of the intruders. From his perch high above he watched as a group of people explored his ruins. A young man with blue hair, sword in hand, lead the group while a young girl with a bow protected the rear. In between the two were a small batch of rough looking individuals, clearly slightly shaken, but still moving forward.

"Fuckin’ shit!" grumbled the biggest one, "What sort of monstrosities live here?! Ya'll two better be as good as you say, I plan to leave here alive."

The blue haired boy up front smiled, "If you don't want to die, then contribute? We agreed to help you, but whether you live or die is up to you, you already paid us." "Ain't that what I paid you to do?!" yelled the big guy, "Y'all fuckers tryna pull something? Tryna take any of the goods here for yourselves?!"

The young girl scowled and spit at his feet, "Just die already if you're so scared."

The snappers face flushed red with anger, "Watch it little lady!" he screamed, "If I don't think I need ya ill kill you right here." He reached out to grab her but found his wrist in the young mans grip, A sharp pain crept up his arm and the hand tightened further and further. With a smile he coyly told him, "You would be dead now if not for us, I suggest you value your life some." The mans face drained of color and he tried to free his wrist to no avail, as he tugged violently he was suddenly released and fell to the ground with a thud.

The boy turned and continued to walk forward and urged the rest of the group along. As the rest of the group moved on the boy faltered for a moment. He looked around as if searching for something, and then moved on. He couldn't have noticed him. . .right?

Lorne continued to follow them, and watched as they continued to take down his creatures, the young ones that is, the other hooligans did little but get in the way. Lorne sighed, he was enjoying the show, but they were getting a little too close to the only buildings that had items of value left behind, he would have to act soon. With a wave of his hand all the beasts left the less important posts and began to gather around the location of the party.

The hoodlums were immediately frightened, the other two were capable, skillfully defending themselves and taking the beasts down one by one. He had heard them say they were hired guards and yet, they weren't protecting the others at all now! The gang was cursing and swearing as they were taking hits from the beasts. "Blanco!" the boy yelled, "Now!" The girl nodded and pulled out a bottle from her waist throwing it into the air and shattering it with an arrow. A clear liquid sprayed out and coated the area around it. Lorne immediately slid to hide behind a wall, he knew that smell. As soon as he ducked and covered his ears he heard the rumbling boom of an explosion. Lucky for him, the walls were sturdy, and minimal rubble fell his way, he was also currently tiny and could seek cover easily. Creeping back over the edge he saw the boy and girl standing to the side of the flames, shielding their eyes while analyzing their work. "Two birds with one stone!" the boy exclaimed happily, "Lets move on." They turned to keep exploring, but in a different direction than the one they had been leading the group.

Lorne was stunned, they had been a party hadn't they? He took the chance to kill not only his enemy but the competition? The two ran off, seemingly in a hurry now. The direction they were heading in was strange, the only notable building that way was the abandoned gardens? Lorne looked at the blazing fire now spreading through his ruins, there wasn't much left here, but he couldn't help but pity the fools who thought there were hidden riches. Lorne knew that nothing remained, just ghosts of the people he once knew. He jumped down and followed his remaining guests.

Sure enough, they had headed to the gardens. From a hole in the roof he watched them pick and poke at the wild greenery. They were clearly looking for something. Eventually with a small "a ha!" the young man began to harvest some colorful grasses. These were plants his mother had planted, and while he hadn't taken care of them, he didn't like watching others take them. Slinking back, he moved around to the door and casually walked over, hiding his presence from the two. Leaning over he whispered, "I always loved the color of these grasses, dark as night yet so shiny." The two immediately stopped cutting and jumped, turning their weapons in his direction. Suddenly the room began to turn dark, looking up the sky could no longer be seen through the glass, there was a complex latticework of bone enveloping the building, trapping them all inside. The sclera of Lorne's vessel turned black as wisps of deep purple clung to his skin and reached out into the air around him. He can't remember when this became a part of him, but it was handy.

Shocked the blue haired lad put his arms up, "Stop wait wait wait! I don't want to fight, hey uh, can we talk real quick?" Lorne was puzzled, the boy had looked so serious but all of a sudden, his guard came falling down?

"Speak."

The boy nodded and held out the grasses he had picked. "This is the answer to my curse, and it can be the answer to yours."

"Curse?" he laughed, "I'm undead, a monster created by my own hatred, I have no curse other than my own memories." He looked at the walls of the garden, decorated by the faded tapestries depicting his mother, "Nothing at all but these nightmares."

The boy shifted on his feet, and made a face of discontent. The young girl nudged him and whispered, "Your mask." He looked uncertain, but he nodded and removed the broken mask that covered the right side of his face. Upon removing it, it revealed long slender black lines falling down his cheeks, from a distance you would think that they were black tears, but they wrapped down his neck as well, this was only evident as the boy removed his scarf. Looking him in the eye the boys voice was steady, "I am shade touched, and while you may not have known it, you are as well."

Looking down at his own hands, black swirls masking his skin he looked up, "I've been like this for so long, I don't fear this power. Tell me, why do you wish to rid yourself of it."

The boy replaced his mask and stood tall, "If I am to be me, to be someone people can turn to, I cannot let my shade consume me. Its power may be vast, but there is no control to it. We shade-touched are seen as monsters to be killed, I cannot be respected as a leader if people see me as a monster," taking a small breath he hesitated, "Even if I am one."

"Monster or not, this is the power I need to live, to have some peace." He spoke while moving forwards, a bone hilted blade emerging from his palm, "I will not have anyone disturb my peace!"

The boy brought up his sword to parry, being as he was containing his shade given might he was slowly pushed back against a wall by the momentum of their clashing blades. The girl with him strangely enough wasn't making any moves, just watching. She had picked up the grasses the boy had dropped, and was wrapping them up carefully.

"Enough!" he yelled, extending a palm towards her. Bones fell from the lattice above, flying in her direction. She adeptly dodged and knocked them back with the side of her bow. Taking the chance the boy swung with all his might, pushing Lorne back a few steps, in his palm he cast a water spell aiming it at his head. Lorne blocked it with magic of his own, jumping back for some distance to play it safe. Turbulent rings of water surrounded the boy, but there was something off about them, they weren't completely water that was for sure.

"I don't want to fight!" the boy exclaimed, "You have the right to stay as you are, I wont deny that. But if you attack us I will not hesitate to kill you."

Manifesting a new blade in his other hand Lorne readied his stance, "I'd like to see you try"

Seeing that Lorne had become more aggressive, the young lady finally made her move. She put the grasses aside and pulled out her bow. Lorne had been outnumbered before, he could handle them, but they certainly had him on his toes. For every swing of a blade he dodged he found himself deflecting arrows, jumping over spells of water or ice. The gardens were taking substantial damage, and it pained Lorne to trample it so. They had to move, the space was cramped and the lack of mobility was inhibiting his ability. With a wave of his hand the entire bone lattice came crashing down, Dust and bone obscured their eye sight and Lorne what little wind magic he was still good at to clear himself a path.

As soon as he jumped out from the rubble he forced back by a barrage of ice arrows. The girl had assumed her dragon form, a monochromatic Skydancer with massive black wings. She used her wings to blow away the dust and rubble from around the boy who was surrounded by a shield of ice. "Thanks for the save Blanco!" The boy hollered, voice barely audible against the wind. She nodded and quickly reverted back to her bipedal state. She was obviously powerful enough in that form, but fighting a small target like Lorne's bipedal form is hard when you're full size.

He huffed, the land around him was covered with ice, they other two had the advantage in that regard, but Lorne was not one to despair and give up. He breathed in deep, the chill in the air harsh on his lungs, but a pain her could handle. As he let out the held in breath, wisps of the "shade" as the boy called it began go reach out, grasping at any magic in the air they would catch. They branched out on his skin, covering and covering until his skin was the color of night. It was time to get serious.

Bounding forward the shadowy essence reached outwards, attempting to catch the quick moving boy. By using all of his might, he was able to effortlessly deflect the icy arrows of the girl named Blanco, No matter how much magic they threw at him, Lorne was able to counter with his own. He was in his own playing field, and the boy refused to remove his mask. The girl was clearly getting frustrated with him, and he could hear them bickering among themselves. That was fine, if the boy didn't use all his powers he could take them down sooner. But the boy gave in. Throwing his mask to the girl he quickly made some distance between themselves. The marks on the boys body excitedly began to spread. The whites of his right eye turned dark and he grimaced upon the sensation. It was time for the true battle to commence.

The blasts of water magic were stronger now, Blanco aided in providing distractions to throw Lorne off balance. However Lorne refused to falter, he would not loose! He could control his shade, but the boy clearly could only harness its raw power, using it in a tasteless manner. It was no wonder the boy held it back, it was trying to consume him! This was perfect! As they clashed spells and swords he could feel the boys heart falter. He wanted to win but Lorne was superior in skill, how could he compare!

Lorne's satisfaction came too soon. He hadn't noticed the absence of ice magic coming at him. A strange sensation began to rise through his body, in the corner of his eye he saw her, a girl with hands glowing a blazing cyan, and then it struck. His entire body went numb as the lightning flowed through him, the numbness was followed by excruciating pain as a sword pierced through his core bringing him back to his senses. The force of the sword as it had come at him pushed him against a wall where he slid down leaving behind a mark of dark shaded blood. He looked down at the sword, it was wrapped in the grasses from his mothers garden, and still dripping a purple fluid similar in color to the grass. He watched as the two girls ran up to the lad and replaced his mask before they took off, not even sparing him a backwards glance.

Lorne lay there in the heat of the sun. For some reason he could not move, he assumed it was due to the sword still in his chest. He was no longer bleeding however, so that was good. But how was he going to defend himself if someone came? Ah the heat was getting to his head. He almost never came out in the day, and the sun was bearing down hard. Worse still the water and ice that was left behind from the spells was causing the area to be uncomfortably muggy as it evaporated.

It had been 2 days since he was left impaled here. He had taken to sleeping in order to try and channel his energy, but the sword in his chest seemed to inhibit his abilities. His head however, still had the smallest bit of movement. He relaxed a bit and looked down the path to his left. The heat made his vision hazy as the waves bounced on the stone pathways. He squinted as he tried to focus his vision, was there someone there? He closed his eyes to freshen them up and opened them up again, sure enough the hazy figure was getting closer. Great, just great, with only 2 days to channel his energy he hadn't gotten the chance to see if he could wait the spell out, and now he was gonna die. The neighboring city must've decided to take the chance to dispatch him when they didn't see any guards.

As the figure got closer Lorne realized just how disoriented he was, he couldn't make out a single detail. Eventually the figure stood next to him, but he still couldn't see their face, only the glare of the sun. He closed his eyes and waiting for it, for pain or a monologue, either is just as bad. However all he felt was a sudden relief from the heat of the sun, and a bottle being held to hips pouring a fluid into his mouth. His eyes snapped open at the sensation, but he couldn't move, only stare at the individual as his vision began to clear. A set of clear blue eyes looked down on him, the young boys eyebrows were furrowed in concern as he continued to pour the solution into Lorne. Above him the lightning girl from before stood with a umbrella over them. She looked tired, like she hadn't slept for days, but a soft smile still rested on her lips when she noticed he was coming to.

"Mister can you hear me?" asked the young boy. He had set his bottle aside and was staring at him worriedly.

"Unfortunately"

The boy looked surprised at this answer, but didn't dwell on it. "What should I call you?"

"Nothing, no one, nobody or as the people call me, The Ruiner."

The boy frowned, "I know you must have a real name. You were a regular dragon once weren't you? Before you became one with the shade?" This made Lorne frown, when did he stop being a dragon? Just because he was now a monster didn't mean he wasn't a. . .oh that doesn't make sense.

He was at this boys mercy, and whatever he made him drink seemed to heal him, but who knows what the boy could do to him? So he obliged. "I was once known as Lorne", a strange feeling welled up in him as he blurted out "but that me is no more."

The boy smiled, "That's a nice name, Lorne." He shifted on his feet and then decided to take a seat by his side. "Lorne, do you want to live?"

"I'm not sure." He had seen so much, lost almost everything, but he didn't want to let go either.

"I have sealed you here Lorne. This blade was coated with a combination of my blood and an elixir Roma made to contain the shade from spreading. If you choose to die, I can order the spell to deliver you death or." He put his hand around the hilt of the blade. "You can come with me."

"Eh? Why would I do that?"

The boy smiled. "Admittedly, i'm not great at using and controlling my shade, however, you have become one with it, and you've become so strong due to it. If it weren't for this blade you may have killed us that night." He picked up Lorne's hand and held it in his own. "Please Lorne, join me and help me learn to use my shade, I don't want to lose to it, I wan't to prove us shaded can be good people!"

"And you want me, a monster who has killed everyone who got in my way, who not over 2 moons ago attempted to kill you and considered eating you, you want me to mentor you?"

"Correct."

"And what do I gain from this? I would be free if you killed me, I could finally let go."

"You don't have to die to let go of the past!" His face was flushed with a anger, "You can move forward! This self pity that you feel, the sorrows of your past, your crimes, they don't define your future! Everyone has killed! But few think of the insect beneath their feet, no one cries for the prey they consume!" His hand between his was squeezed strongly, "And when you are left behind, time does not wait for you to catch up, and we keep moving forward."

The young girl had stooped over and was patting the young mans head. She smiled at Lorne and spoke, her voice soft but confident, "Won't you join us Master Lorne? Isn't it hard being alone here? With all these cruel reminders?" She motioned to their surroundings, "Everything that was beautiful once fades, new growth covers old growth, and the world moves on. Wouldn't you like to be free?" Tears had begun to run down her cheeks, like she was reaffirming herself and not him. How pitiful.

He tilted his head and looked at his surroundings. In the light of day he could really see how destroyed his city was. Debris was everywhere and nature had begun to reclaim the city long ago. In his memories he could still see the once lavish homes, lively streets and happy people. But there was none of that now. Just his bloodied form lying in the dust.

He looked up into those blue eyes staring intently at him. "What are you waiting for? This hurts pull the sword out already kid, you shouldn't keep your teacher waiting."

#c: lorne #flight rising #SV Mercenaries #my lore #too tired to proof read #this ones kinda long

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decorativedust · 5 years

Text

HNK chapter 77 thoughts ✨

the more i think about ch. 77, the less angry I am at the earth gems.

I think the initial reading shocked everyone, but after taking time to consider it, I have my thoughts on it and why its not quite as horrific as I thought originally. I know a lot of people feel very strongly about this topic, but please bear with me for a bit.

spoilers for ch. 77 below!

other people have covered this topic already, but I’m going to throw my few cents in about what I think.

As soon as the leaks dropped, a lot of people (including myself) were extremely distressed. And fair enough- we saw images of phos getting shattered to bits by their former team members and allies, without any sort of context or language to go off of. It was terrifying seeing phos a splatter on the ground like that.

It only hurts worse knowing all that they’ve gone through.

The entire situation just sucks, honestly, but I don’t think the earth gems were entirely out of line.

Last time phos showed up, they essentially brought a small group of fighters, and the two groups demolished each other. Gems were injured on both side, and nearly permanently, as well. (Bort cut their hair- although they salvaged it and turned it into a whip- and Paddy nearly was very fucked up, if it wasn’t for the technology of the moon to save them)

I think their main goal, though, and the entire reason that phos had everyone’s swords thrown at them in ch. 77 is because they were approaching sensei. Judging by this panel from ch 71, it seems that one of their main goals was to protect sensei.

its been said that the gems care and love for sensei, and I think that clearly shows. Strategically speaking, it wasn’t an unwise move either- if sensei were to perish, it would be extremely hard, if not impossible, to ever end this war or for anyone to truly be satisfied. (lunarians want to be prayed for, gems want to not be captured and ground to dust, admiribilis want food and freedom, to sum it up as simply as possible.)

To be frank, we have no idea what phos is planning on doing here. They’ve mentioned about shattering sensei before, and while I think they’ve come to realize that wouldn’t be very helpful for their current goals.... i mean, who knows? phos seems emotionally (and literally) broken at this point.

if the look they have here in the previous panel is anything to go by, anyways. Phos has done, really, all they know to do. they went to earth with weapons drawn, that didn’t work. they tried getting sensei to talk before going to the moon, that didn’t work. now, they’re literally on their hand and knee, begging, and they got so close , only to be told that sensei simply... can’t.

fatal defect sounds.. pretty intense to me. Perhaps the translation is off and the word ‘fatal’ is too intense (i don’t know japanese so i can’t really say much about that) but if we trust the translation, that sounds pretty much like “I just can’t”. Not a “i won’t,” but “I cannot.”

Even as a reader, who has access to all of the information available in the story (meanwhile the characters are limited in their knowledge) I can’t exactly say what phos would do. So if I were an earth gem? I’d have no clue. Maybe phos is going to use their gold to attack sensei. Maybe they were just going to reach out and grasp at his clothes, maybe they were going to drag themselves closer. Their gold has proven to have an extremely wide range of abilities that no other gem possesses (except maybe cinnabar, but cinnabar can’t freely touch things with their mercury because of the poison)

so taking that into account, this panel:

hurts a little less.

The earth gems, generally speaking, probably weren’t very thrilled or excited to do that. But they have to protect sensei- they want to protect him.

Nobody really gave me the vibes that they ever wanted to see phos like this, that they wanted to hurt them more, or anything to that extent. Bort was likely simply incapacitating phos- if they really wanted to, they could’ve smashed phos to bits from the start. But it was one clean, incapacitating cut.

Phos asked for this, and their plead was met.

sphene was simply doing their job, and talked to phos pretty casually.

euclase’s face seemed more full of ... pity? sympathy? sadness?

the only character that seemed angry was rutile.

this image is going to haunt me. thank you ichikawa.

I think there’s also something we need to consider, being human beings, that gems probably don’t see ‘injuries’ as heavily as we do. If we are physically hurt by someone in a significant way, it hurts us. it scars us. it bleeds, it leaves marks, and it affects us in a certain way that I don’t really think pertains to gems. If they’re cracked or shattered, its just another day. They just put themselves back together. We’ve seen gems lose body parts pretty regularly, and just reattach them. The idea that gems don’t really fear- or even understand- death, has been around for quite awhile now, so I won’t go into that. I think the closest the gems have to death is being taken by the lunarians. Humans often associate injuries- particularly harsh ones, such as losing a limb, or even simply blood loss- are things we associate with death. If we hear someone is injured, we are quick to wonder how badly? or will they be okay? . Injuries can so easily lead to death, especially depending on where they are, but the gems.. simply don’t have that association, or those fears.

Not to say that attacking each other can’t still be very upsetting, because it can. Yellow grew very quiet and likely very upset- perhaps even traumatized- over watching Padpa shatter the hell out of all of the gems back on earth a few chapters ago.

But generally speaking, gems don’t process injuries the same as humans do. Bort slicing phos in half wasn’t permanent, and phos can be put back together. It was meant to incapacitate.

Additionally, I think the earth gems have full, justified reason to be very uneasy towards phos and lunarians. They have been the enemy for thousands upon thousands of years, and phos isn’t exactly known for being extremely intelligent. Perhaps phos was brainwashed, maybe the lunarians are lying. They really don’t have much good and proper reason to believe anything Phos says- but they gave phos a chance to talk. They’re trying.

Everyone is trying. Everyone is tired, and everyone is suffering. War isn’t easy or simple or black and white. Especially when 99% of the characters do not know most of the information of what’s going on in their world.

TL;DR: I believe the earth gems were justified in their actions, and weren’t excessive. Gems do not have the same views on injuries as humans do, and that should be taken into consideration. This chapter was upsetting at face value- but taking time to think about it leaves me feeling better. (and i cannot stress this enough- in a work like houseki no kuni/land of the lustrous, it is of utmost importance we carefully think over things many, many times. hnk rarely, if ever, is black and white. the characters are all very morally grey, and most are simply trying to do their best with what they know. The only character I could pin down as ‘evil’ is aechemea, but honestly? I’m hesitant to do even that. I sure as hell don’t trust him, and he seems to be written to be very distrustful, but ... we don’t have all the info on him. not yet.)

I think this chapter, ultimately though, should still come across as upsetting. Phos was attacked and smashed to bits, after all, but given all the reasons I’ve listed above, it is ultimately a painful necessity.

if you got to the end, thanks for reading my rambles. Hopefully this helps to add to the discussion, and maybe make this chapter a little less heartbreaking.

#houseki no kuni #hnk #land of the lustrous #lotl #phos #adamant #rutile #padparadscha #meta discussion #gaybe screams #initially i was really sad about this chapter #but .. now i feel better

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