#and then he was forced into the Battle Nexus every single day | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ikamigami · 3 months ago

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There's several reason I dislike EAPS

For one, Puppet, Foxy hasn't been as bad but what is her deal attaching Eclipse to her hip and forcing him onto the problems of another Sun and Moon when he just wanted freedom? And her sticking her nose in Sunlight and Moonlight's business? Yeah Sunlight and Moonlight's dynamic is not healthy but is shoving Eclipse(who has a lot of delusional complexes about Sun and Moon and is just pissed off at them all) and Puppet(who's pretty selfish and as delicate as a sledgehammer when it comes to handling things, not to mention she's very rude) onto it is helping? Yeah with encouragement Sunlight and Moonlight have been growing closer but it almost feels like nudging a wagon down a hill and letting it pick up too much speed, Eclipse is vicious to Sunlight and often rude to Moonlight, and Puppet is often condescending to Sunlight, our Sun had to tell them to slow the hell down because they're being too impatient, nor are they helping Sunlight and Moonlight beyond shoving them together, did they help Sunlight and Moonlight with their first day? No, and this is just one example

Second, Eclipse, I get distancing yourself from people with bad blood, sometimes that's the healthiest thing you can do, but that is AFTER acknowledging what went wrong, what this feels like is Eclipse running away to a new world and because he just so happened to find a Sun more selfish than our own he feels vindicated in his hatred towards our Sun instead of realizing how awful he was for no reason, he just gets to run away without even apologizing and instead gets to keep hating all he wants, AND inflict his anger on Sunlight and Moonlight, did it never occur to Eclipse that the reason Sun couldn't hear him was because Moon literally sealed Eclipse in a bubble so he couldn't be heard period? And when he did break out he said nothing? And did he never realize that Moon knew the whole time he was there and probably lied to Sun if Sun ever brought up feeling "something off"? And did it never occur to him that the reason Sun suppressed him was because Eclipse was an ACTIVE THREAT? And they say Eclipse is smart

Then there's Sunlight and Moonlight themselves, these two are very different to our Sun and Moon, Sunlight is a lot more fearful since he refuses to reach out to Moonlight at first because of the pain of their transformation, as opposed to our Sun who despite being scared as Moon actively threatened him on their first day tried to help Moon when Moon said he was hurting, Sunlight is also far less forgiving in that he doesn't want to give Moonlight the time of day at first and even deleted Moonlight's intro video to him and needed more convincing from Puppet to record his own, meanwhile our Sun, despite battling Moon constantly and was being abused every single day, kept trying to share with and make peace with Moon, that's what over the years slowly endeared Moon to him and he agreed to be Sun's brother, Sunlight is more selfish as he wants the body to himself mainly due to the pain, he doesn't want Moonlight there at all, meanwhile we know Sun kept trying to reach out to Moon to compromise, and the reason he tried keeping Moon away wasn't just because of the pain, but more importantly, it was almost guaranteed that if Moon was let out, another innocent person would get hurt or killed, people forget that that's why Sun locked Moon away, it was to protect another child, guest, staff member, or other innocent person from being painfully murdered by Moon

Then there's Moonlight, he's so much calmer and friendlier than our Moon ever was/is, he's almost more like Nexus when he was good and being calm with Sun, he wants to share with Sunlight, to compromise, he regrets the pain their transformation causes the other, he wants to build a relationship with Sunlight and be at peace, and he's a lot more friendly with everyone including Eclipse who's very rude to him, contrast that with Moon, who on his first day promised Sun "I'll make your life a living hell" and FOLLOWED THROUGH, for years Sun was verbally and physically tormented by Moon, being insulted, demeaned, embarrassed and shamed, Moon would activate the pain sensors to hurt him, and Sun had to death with the aftermath of Moon's killings, the reactions of people, the bodies, the blood, the grief of knowing another innocent life was murdered and he failed to protect them, all the while Moon never grieved those people, he may regret it a little now, but he admitted before he liked hurting people even without the Killcode

And YET, through these two, Sun and Moon look worse, it's not quite ass bad with Moonlight, though people may be inclined to once again think Moon was this poor victim who suffered because of Sun's "selfishness", when he was the real monster, but Sun's name is besmirched so much worse, especially with Eclipse going "that's what he was like", um…No he wasn't, then again Eclipse's view on Sun especially has always been deeply incorrect, he believed all Suns everywhere were weak and stupid until Dark Sun absolutely clowned on him, and of course Eclipse would think of Sun as uncharitably as possible, despite being in Sun's mind he thoroughly misunderstands Sun and because he hates Sun he'd never examine the fact his opinions on Sun are wildly off, it's right in how he used to talk, either Sun is stupid, weak, and worthless, or he's "just as bad as me", see the double standard? He either thinks Sun is nothing, or thinks he's just as rotten and selfish as himself and Moon, that and of course he's actively lie or say these wild inaccuracies to others to ruin Sun's name, he's done that before look at the Chip incident for one example, Sunlight is not how Sun used to be, but of course people are going to think that because boo-whoo poor Moon and Eclipse is always right and screw Sun I guess

I do hope EAPS actually goes in a decent direction where Eclipse is forced to realize all this, that Sun was never at fault and none of his behavior towards Sun was justified, that he messed up badly, and that it was all Moon's fault that he was imprisoned to begin with, an should at least actually say the words "I'm sorry", at least he apologized to Lunar, right?

You're absolutely right, dear anon 👏

You said everything right.

And these are reasons why I don't like Eclipse's redemption arc cause it feels more like regression.. people say that he didn't even heal from his trauma.. but how can he? When he doesn't even realize what he did wrong in that situation and he doesn't even reflect on anything?

People think that healing from trauma means that now poor Eclipse can be a piece of shit to others without any consequences because it doesn't look like someone in that dimension will tell Eclipse where his place is..

Eclipse can do whatever he wants as long as Puppet is content with that.. and how in her eyes this is helping Eclipse? QwQ

Like I can see Eclipse only getting worse there..

This whole idea was bad and stupid.. but uhhh it was Puppet's idea so why am I surprised? LOL

But yeah it wouldn't be pissing me off so much if it wasn't for a fact that fans believe Eclipse as always that Sun was just like Sunshine.. because they can't ever think critical when it comes to Eclipse..

I don't have anything more to add to what you said, dear anon. You're right about everything.

#anon #dear anon #anon ask #ask answered #sun and moon show #sams #sams sun #sams moon #eaps #eaps eclipse #eaps sun #eaps puppet #eaps moon #eclipse and puppet show #tw abuse

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bigjitsu · 2 years ago

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I was literally thinking about those au’s where Big Mama and Lou Jitsu did stay together when I saw your profile, and if you think about it changes so much, like even the turtles might not have existed or they would really have been Drax’s soldiers, and how would his proyect work if he doesn’t have Lou? These ideas keep me up at night/hj

THESE IDEAS KEEP ME UP AT NIGHT TOO!!!

i love those aus. big mama and lou jitsu really did just capture my attention, idk, i love tragic ships, i love doomed by the narrative ships, i love it when there is betrayal and hurt and complexities but none of that changed anything bc at then end of it, you know, the love was still there and will always be there.

(yes, this is me losing my mind over will scarlet and anastasia from ouatiw once again, my middle school obsession has come back full force)

ANYWAYS, back to you! (love that pfp btw, the labyrinth was just my childhood fave)

it absolutely would change so much! you're right! the turtles may not have existed, or they might have some other way! i love this one au that i've seen floating around tumblr (i believe it was @tblsomedoodles family web au) where the kids are lou jitsu's and big mama's (so half-yokai) but baron daxum experiments on the kids when they're young, and mutates them into the turtles they are now, and lou jitsu into the rat man he becomes. (i do believe the big mama/lou jitsu is a past thing in that au, which allows for a canon compliant-ish path at times, one that is so interesting to see unfold)

i love that! i love all the different ways the turtles could have happened. i love aus where big mama and lou jitsu got married, but baron daxum got his hands on lou jitsu anyways, kidnapping him and mutating the turtles. the other day i was thinking of an au where after a battle nexus, when lou jitsu is getting checked over at the medics (a routine thing) baron daxum bribes one of the medics into getting him a sample of lou jitsu's DNA (or he just steals it) and mutates the turtles anyways.

there are so many ways they could happen and i love to see every single one

Edit: OH MY GOD YOU LIKE DUCKTALES/DARKWING DUCK/THE THREE CABALLEROS

#bigjitsu #big mama x lou jitsu #big mama rottmnt #lou jitsu rottmnt #loumama #splinter rottmnt #rottmnt #answered asks

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spectralsleuth · 9 months ago

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Yoshi was not having a panic attack.

He was a grown man. He was formidable. He was Battle Nexus Champion, single father of four, and he had on his lucky Prada sweater with the soup stain on the sleeve that he had to cuff up to hide.

He would not have a panic attack, just because he was having some kind of residually induced mushroom high while having an outing with his four small turtle children.

He'd always known this would happen. When he was twenty two he took some peyote that caused a trip that had lasted two days, and the tall creature made of rainbows that had lurked in the corner of his vision for the entirety had warned him it would be back. He'd thought it was just a bad trip, that he was just being dramatic- but Yoshi was starting to think that had been the early warning signs of a psychotic breakdown.

"Daddy can I go play please just for a minute?" Blue was still begging, while Lou held his hand in a firm grip and forged his way through the crowd towards a line of stalls, looking for a spot just to take a break and breathe. Some may think he was holding it too tight but Leo was a known escape artist, and Yoshi was not going to lose one of his children in the crowded competition hall.

Not when there were dozens of other turtle children here. He never thought he would have the problem of losing his children in a crowd, but here they were. Surrounded by turtles of every shape and size, most eerily reminiscent of his own children. It was... Strange. If any of his boys grew to be like any of these turtles.

Some of them were double Yoshi's size, or had the odd shape to them that could have been caused by anything from magic, to trauma.

Some of them appeared to be tall humanoid rats.

Yoshi felt sick.

"Blue no, we are. Uh, late for ice cream." Yoshi lied, glad he'd worn his sunglasses. Originally he'd intended to cut the glare in case the park was sunnier than he'd thought- but now it was hiding his eyes from his oldest son, who was trying to study Yoshi's face for some kind of emotional cue of how to feel about this.

Orange was tucked into the crook of Yoshi's left arm, snug as a bug in a rug and peering around with the same goggle eyed intensity he stared at shopping mall window displays. Or airplanes flying over head. Yoshi wasn't too concerned about any hysterics from Orange, who was just about the easiest baby to take care of next to a pet rock. As long as he was tucked into Yoshi's arms he would probably remain dry-eyed through an active warzone. Or the Macy's perfume department.

Red was loyally clinging to Yoshi's pant leg as he'd been taught to do in a crowd, tense and uncertain as he looked up at the underside of taller contestants chins, his free hand holding on to Donnie's. Red probably would be much more upset about all this if Yoshi hadn't forced himself into a sort of eerily frozen calm- as if he was staring down a very tall ledge and did not want the children to know.

Purple clearly knew how he felt about the whole situation, but Purple only had one reaction to crowds. He was rumbling like an angry blender where he was still reluctantly clinging to Red's larger hand, and only the fact that he was overstimulated and cranky and about two seconds from a meltdown kept Yoshi from scooping him up and tucking him into his sweater like a rowdy kitten.

Purple would not put up with that at the moment, and it was only the single point of contact of Red's hand that he would permit to touch him.

"Daddy what if you played too? Raph could watch me maybe," Blue wheedled, dragging his feet enough that Yoshi had to lift him up to keep him from dropping dramatically to the floor. This was eerily reminiscent of his own childhood, and he felt a sudden surge or empathy for his Grandfather. "I don't want to go to the park any more anyway, it's probably hot."

"We can play later Blue- after I find an exit." He muttered the last, and finally reached the line of stalls standing sentry on one of the walls. They didn't seem to be manned by any official looking employee, but rather a hodgepodge group of volunteers of every size and shape.

They held everything from first aid, to fair food, to soup and flowers- none of them, however, seemed to have a map. Mikey went immediately alert as Yoshi dragged his pack of turtles past the line of stalls, tugging painfully and pointedly on Yoshi's hair when he saw a table selling cheap little souvenirs. They said 'TMNT AU Competition' in cracked green letters on an orange background, emblazoned on everything from snow globes to gaudy beaded necklaces to drawstring backpacks.

"Yes, very pretty Orange." Yoshi agreed, purposefully misunderstanding so he would not need to buy yet more cheap toys for Orange to hide around their house.

Any more argument was cut off by the crackle of speakers overhead. A voice indistinct of all personality cleared their throat, humming a moment before announcing,

"Round one voting had begun! All contestants report to the stage."

Yoshi flinched. He had a feeling they would not be finding an exit any time soon.

Little Scraps of Wisdom - spectralsleuth (ao3)

Feral Leo - cupcakeslushie

Good luck and have fun!

#LSoW #spoiler they do find an exit soon it's called me getting bodied in the poll #tmnt au competition #tmnt au propaganda #ok i will write a liddol snippet #rottmnt #tmnt au #my writing #tmnt au competition main bracket

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96thdayofrage · 3 years ago

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77 Ghostface Gangsters indicted, viewed as fastest growing white gang in U.S.

Ghostface Gangsters is considered the fastest growing white gang in the country, local authorities say.

The single largest gang investigation in Georgia – that’s how local and state officials are describing Operation Kibosh, led by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office against the Ghostface Gangsters Criminal street gang.

The investigation yielded indictments against 77 gang members, with 56 in custody and 21 at large.

Throughout the three-year investigation, members of the sheriff's office's Gang Intelligence Unit identified members involved in the gang and compiled information on 163 members and associates in the Augusta-Richmond County area.

“This investigation was initiated based on the gang’s affiliation with high levels of drug distribution and violent crimes,” Sheriff Richard Roundtree said at a news conference Friday announcing the arrests and indictments. “We know that attacking criminal organizations at the core is the most effective way to remove lawless street gang members from our society and have the greatest impact on gang prosecution.”

The investigation in Richmond County began in January 2018. Roundtree said the sheriff’s office became involved and aware of the gang after a person in Richmond County tried to reach out to Ghostface members to get safe passage out of the state.

Roundtree said he was confident the 21 suspects still at large will be in custody sooner rather than later.

The gang is involved in criminal cases throughout Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee and deep into the Georgia Department of Corrections. According to the sheriff’s office, the Ghostface Gangsters are trying to expand into neighboring states and are considered the fastest growing white gang in the country with around 5,000 members comprised of white supremacist and Gangster Disciple Affiliates.

“Over the past five years, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office has prosecuted the largest number of gang-related cases in Georgia. While this is not a distinction that we relish, we want the citizens of Richmond County to know that we will never relent as we continue to strive to make Augusta one of the safest cities in the state of Georgia,” Roundtree said.

“Gangs are the driving force behind violent crime across our state. That’s why since the beginning, the first family, as your first family, we work hard every day to crack down on street gangs and put an end to one of their main methods of income, and that's human sex trafficking,” Kemp said. “Given what we are seeing in Atlanta and other places, I don’t think people need convincing anymore that we are facing a gang-violent crime crisis in our state but also across the country.”

“The numbers here today are staggering, quite honestly. It certainly has been a long, hard-fought battle to get to this point,” he said. “You can see through this effort that is so important for us to have a great team to tackle huge issues like this, with federal, state and local partners being involved with that.”

Although arrests have been made and charges have been filed, Kemp warned that it could take a while before the defendants are convicted and put away for good.

“These are very complex cases. It takes a long time to put together; it takes a long time to get the indictment,” he said. “The tough work is just starting. It’s no easy task getting these folks on gang charges in the courtroom and getting the jury to see it that way.”

Gun violence rises in Richmond County

As gun violence increases throughout the country, Richmond County has seen an increase in aggravated assaults with guns. Through the first six months of 2021, there have been 133 aggravated assaults with guns in the county compared with 81 in 2020 and 122 in 2019.

Roundtree said investigations like this help reduce gun violence and other types of violence.

“If we can dismantle these gangs and bring them into custody like we did here, that’s when we think we start to see the reduction on gun violence,” Roundtree said. “Gangs always have a nexus to gun violence.”

Roundtree had a simple message for those interested in getting involved with gangs.

“Our purpose is clear, our promise is true. If you feel you must continue to engage in criminal activity in Richmond County, it’s only a matter of time before your clock strikes midnight,” he said.

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migeviellardi · 3 years ago

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Out Of Comfort

Rottmnt Donnie Centric Fanfic

Genre : Adventure, Action, Humour, Hurt/Comfort

Summary : Things happens sporadically at times, especially when you meet an interesting stranger that saves you from a lonesome rock decides to fell on your head.

Chapter 3 The Stranger

Mikey : All clear.

Leo : What do you mean ‘all clear’?

Mikey : I’m making sure there’s no police around.

Raph : I thought they’d let us go.

Splinter : They are. But that doesn’t mean that you boys don’t behave.

April : It’s alright, Splints. I’ll make sure they won’t cause any troubles.

Casey : Ugh, what’s the point of life if there won’t be a trouble?

Baron : That you won’t be here, existing.

Casey : WHAT?!

April : Okay. You need to chill.

Donnie walks right behind the group as they strolls the Hidden City’s streets. Head covered in his hoodie with his hands shoved in his pockets. So far, they hadn’t realize he’s being quiet. He’s not having the mood to talk to any of them.

Although, he agrees with Mikey, he still hasn’t trusted this whole situation. He looks around to make sure there’s no undercover cops or something, perhaps Big Mama’s goons.

Big Mama. What could she be doing right now? There’s no telling if she’s watching or plotting something. Two years after the incident of ‘You-know-who’, was caused by that wretched spider-lady.

Nobody knows what her deal is. Her fanatic obsessions about Battle Nexus always made everyone in the world got involve. She had no chill, she never does. Which come to wondering why would his father dated a girl like her?

“Donnie!”

April’s voice startled him. The group had their heads turned to him. “You okay?”

Donnie : Uh, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.

Leo : Uh, no. You’re not.

Donnie : Can it, Leo!

Leo : You were spacing out again, Don! And considering we’ve been brothers for like, forever, usually that means you’re not.

Donnie : Oh, so you’re an expert now?

Leo : I’m an expert to know what you’re thinking, Donnie.

Donnie : No, you’re not.

Leo : Yes, I am.

Donnie : And, why is that?

Leo : ‘Cause we’re twins.

Donnie : We’re not twins.

Leo : Whatever you trying to say, Don. I don’t care. We’re born with the same age.

Donnie : And that doesn’t MEAN that we are. We’re not even the same-

Leo : Ah ah ah, don’t wanna hear it! Lalalala~~~

Donnie : Leo-

Raph : ENOUGH!!

The twins startled at Raph’s shouting. Raph sighed, pinching his nose-bridge.

Raph : We’re here to have some fun, okay? And if I see you two fight again, imma SHOVE YOUR HEADS into a toilet. Y’all understand me?

Leo : Yeah, yeah.

Donnie : Hmph.

Raph : Good.

Splinter groaned, massaging his constant headache. Why can his sons just behave?

Splinter : Alright, since you two done arguing, why don’t we split up-

Baron : I’ll call dibs with Mikey.

All : .............

Leo : Whoawhoawhoawhoa, did you just say ‘dibs’?!

Baron : Yes, I did.

Mikey : Aawww, okay Barry. I’ll go with you.

Leo : Does nobody questioning that he said ‘dibs’?!!

Donnie : Great, now it’s haunting me.

Raph : He looks weird saying that.

April : Am I hearing things, Barry? Did you eat something alive at your lab again?

Casey : Why you making this a big deal?

Leo : Of course, it’s a big deal. Calling ‘dibs’ is our thing!!!

Splinter : For the love of Hamato, please don’t say that ever again!!

Baron : Don’t worry. I already regretting ever saying that. But my point still stands, I’ll go with Mikey.

Mikey : Don’t listen to them, Barry! You did a good thing.

Donnie : Michael, you better stay out of his head!

Splinter : Okay, fine. Baron will go with Mikey. I’ll go with red.

Raph : Sure thing, pops.

Leo : Nah, fam. I got somewhere else to go. I’ll fly solo.

With that, Leo took off immediately.

April : What about you, Donnie? Are you fine on your own?

Donnie : Yeah, I’ll be good. You go ahead dealing with the....

Casey : .....

Donnie : Uuh-I’ll go this way.

Donnie left the group. He can sense for-sure that Casey staring at him. He doesn’t know why she terrifies him so much, she hasn’t done anything to him, regardless of those times they fought her while she still a Foot-recruit. Maybe he’s just paranoid, the fact that he did forgot to take a battleshell with him.

His hoodie made it obscure and that his brothers didn’t warned him about it means they didn’t know he didn’t use it. With that in mind, he should be more careful and not get himself involve on a fight. The fact that he also didn’t bring his bo.

“What is wrong with me?” he said to himself. Now fully knowing that he’s extremely vulnerable and too open for an attack, he began to be more cautious. Perhaps he needs to visit a place where there’ll be no violence. A place that strict with rules, like a Mystic Library.

No. Raph ever told him that their last visit got thrown apart by the Foot-Clan, and if he make a noise above whisper, he’ll be send to a Kiddie Room that filled with hungering monstrous children-behaved Yokais who’s out for blood.

Guess not every safe places are safe after all.

Then, Donnie yelped as he felt being pulled backwards. Suddenly a huge rock drops in front of him and shattered to bits. Donnie went shocked as he tumbled and fall on his back. A short flying yokai flew down to him.

“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. Are you okay?” she apologized, her wings flutters real fast as he helped him up.

“Uh, yeah yeah. I’m okay.” the fairy like yokai blew away some dust from him.

“Oh good, I am very glad.” then she turned to his left. “Thank you kindly, sir. I’m not sure what will happen if you didn’t save him.”

Save him? Donnie looked to his left. A tall human stood still with a sharp gaze staring at him. Donnie flailed back at the guy. The stranger gave him an unexpressive look. He’s a few centimeters taller than him. His slim posture stood steady and a bit stiff.

He’s unruly silverish grey hair nearly obscuring his slanted grey pupils in his pale skin tone. He’s collar on his cyber yellow jacket unfolded. It also unbuttoned that reveals a white blank T-shirt underneath. His hands shoved in his navy blue pants pockets, looks somewhat made out of a comfy fabric. He’s black and intricate design shoes looks appealing as well.

Donnie don’t know what to say. The stranger keeps staring at him, not saying a word, not even when the fairy said her final apology and flutters off.

And there it was, the awkward silence. Donnie held his hands close to his chest, he knows he’s extremely vulnerable, but he needs to be ready for a fight.

Then, the stranger walks towards him. Donnie instinctively walks backwards, keeping his distance from him. He startled and horrified as his shell hits a wall, he was cornered. The men were an inch away from his face. Donnie pressed himself against the wall, body’s trembling in fear, seeing the guy eye to eye.

Then, the guy swept his shoulder from the leftover dust. Donnie flustered by his gesture. The air somewhat less tense than two seconds ago.

“You alright, kid?” the stranger finally asked. He spoke in a low tones, but not a deep one. Donnie was stunned, he would say something but he can’t. “Are you shook?”

Once again, Donnie couldn’t speak. Some lump in his throat made him unable to let ou a single word. The stranger sighed, arms crossed.

“I assumed that you are, so I don’t think leaving you here alone will be a good idea.” he walks away from him. Donnie still flustered of what just happened. He stares as the guy moved away then startled when he turned back to him. “Come.”

He ordered. Donnie isn’t sure if he should trust the guy, let alone that he’s a human. Since when there’s a human besides April and Casey walking in the Hidden City? But he did saves his life. If that rock got him without his battleshell, he probably be dead by now.

Donnie took a deep breath and release, he followed the stranger somewhere. At least he still have his phone with him, so whenever he’s in trouble, he could call for help. Right now, he keep his distance to the guy in front of him.

What was he doing here? Is he from New York? Because he doesn’t look like he does. And his aura are extremely, menacing. He can’t see it, but he could feel the tensity whenever he got close to him.

The stranger stopped and turned to his right. Donnie was confused when he realize that he took him to the Run-on-the-mill Pizza place. Huh, so he likes pizza too.

Donnie followed him inside, he took a side on the sofa side. He points at the other end of the table, telling him to sit down. Donnie do what he told, and things back to its awkward silence. This time, the guy took his attention at his phone, ignoring Donnie’s constant staring at him.

Donnie probably would do the same if it wasn’t with the awkwardness hanging in the air.

“Good day, gentlemen.” Donnie look up to see Hueso stood there with his notepads on his bony hands. He seems unimpressed seeing Donnie. “Anything you would like to eat?”

“Order up, kid. Don’t wait for me.” the stranger said, eyes still on his phone. Donnie blinks at the words. He looks back at Hueso who’s staring at the guy then back at him, raising his boned-eyebrow.

“Uuuh, as usual. Please.” Donnie forced out to smile. Hueso notice that, he wrote his order at the notepads. Then, turned to the stranger.

“Whatever the kid’s ordered, make it two. I’ll take the bill as well.” he said, still not looking up from his phone. Hueso wrote it down and took off, he took the chance to pat Donnie’s shoulder.

It made him jumped, not sure what’s that for. He watched Hueso leave until he’s longer visible.

“Something bothering you?” Donnie looked back to the voice. The men stares at him at last. The lump in his throat is back, but he knew he can’t stay quiet forever, the guy knew he could speak. He might gets angry and pissed if he didn’t talk.

Donnie clears his throat, gathering his courage to speak up.

Donnie : Um, thanks. For saving me.

Stranger : It won’t happened if you didn’t spaced out.

Donnie : Oh, yeah, that I...*rubbing his neck* I didn’t mean to- Well, I guess I can’t help it.

Stranger : Can’t help what?

Donnie : Well, I dunno. I just can’t think straight for these past years, science block often drives me crazy.

Stranger : Science block?

Donnie : More of a tech block, I guess. I just, every time I tried to built things it’s just didn’t work, all I do it’s fix and fix and FIX-

Stranger : Kid.

Donnie : -it keeps jeopardizing my usual productivity, if wasn’t for a certain ‘you-know-who’ who took pleasure destroying my LAB that I built since I was NINE-

Stranger : You what?

Donnie : -destroying my techs like layers of newspapers, my home, my family’s life!! Sure, we start off with new lifes now that we’re ‘Hamatos’, elite group of ninjas or whatsoever. Yeah, life was good, until I certainly am NOT!!

Stranger : Okay, kid-

Donnie : -And what would I do? Quit? Run away? Oh, I could. I thought about it. But of course, my father won’t let me. Keeping me in full surveillance 24/7, For YEARS!!

Stranger : KID!!

Donnie flinched, then he looked around to see Hueso, with their orders in his hands, and all the customers staring at him. Donnie felt very embarrassed, he pulled down his hood to cover his face, looking away towards a wall. Hueso sighed heavily.

“Here are your orders.” he puts down two large portion of pizzas on the table. Donnie held on to his hood, ducking his head onto his arm. “If you like, I’ll call Pepino to-”

“No.” Hueso blinked, “No, please don’t! Don’t call anyone!” his voice was semi-whispered. Hueso can see his hand trembles clutching the fabric of his hoodie. Hueso felt sympathetic, it wasn’t the first time the turtle took this place to vent his feelings.

“I will get some coffee, my treat.” Hueso took off again. The Stranger glanced at the kid, he could hear some sniffles coming off of him. He knows the kid’s crying. He held on to his hoodie for dear life, not wanting everyone to see his tears.

He hates it, Donnie hates it. Crying means weakness, feelings that aren’t supposed to show that make him more vulnerable. He can only hope his family and friends didn’t know about this. He doesn’t want them to worry, he wanted them to stop. He’s fine, he can take care of himself. He’s also a Hamato, he can fix his own problem.

“Sorry.” the word took him back to reality, he sniffles as he slowly peeks from below his hoodie. “Didn’t mean to upset you, kid. I just concern that if you keep spacing out like that, you might hurt yourself.”

The stranger apologized to him, why? What did he do? It was him that supposed to be sorry. For what he done, Donnie just revealed his whole problems to a total stranger. Now, he’ll probably payed the price. Way to go, Donnie. What a way to keep yourself from trouble. Now watch this stranger use your weaknesses to enslave you.

Suddenly, a small blue entity appeared on his face. Donnie flinched, the blue thing looks at him. It looks like a little ghost, with it looks limbless and its body looks like tiny tendrils work as torso and arms with its round head containing two white friendly eyes.

The little thing squeaks, tilting its head. It was a cute to look at. It then flew close to Donnie’s face and hugged his cheek with its tiny tendril arm. It felt warm and comforting, as if it was a real hug. Donnie hovered his hand onto the thing, wondering how to hug back the thing without squishing it.

It then let go of the hug and gently patted his head, telling him to calm down. Donnie wipes his tears, he smiled at it. The blue thing smiled back, twirls happily knowing its attempt of comfort works.

It then flies towards the stranger, perching on his finger. The stranger smiles down at his little friend. It squeaks away, seems talking to him. Donnie titled his head slightly, curiosity began to appear.

“What is that?” he asked. The stranger glances at him. “It looks, cute. It’s that a ghost?”

“This is a wisp, kinda like a small ghost. And also, it’s a ‘she’. Not an ‘it’. Her name is Sia.” he explain. Sia waves happily at him, Donnie waved back.

“Their more of a soul remnants rather than ghost. Whenever someone or something died, their memories remains, in a form of a wisp.” he added. Donnie blinks, he don’t know souls did that.

“So, are you a....psychic?”

“Kinda.”

“So, you can see ghost. And,....her type of thing?”

Sia flew circling the stranger’s head, “Yes, that’s what psychic means.”

“Well, I know. It just--are there more around here?”

The stranger looks around him, from corners to corners. Then back at Donnie. “There are, but not much. Five including the one besides you.”

“My what?” then a small greenish entity appears right beside him. Donnie startled. It looks exactly like Sia, only it’s on different color. Donnie somehow felt a familiar precent from it, suddenly a tear came down to his cheek. He startled, what makes him cry?

“Who-who’s this?” he asked.

“Some wisps might wanders around aimlessly when they separated from their souls.” Donnie glanced back at him, “Others, might come back and followed whoever they’re close to.”

“Whoever they close to?”

“The same case with the one in front of you.” Donnie’s eyes widened. This wisp is whoever close to him? Who was it? Why it felt familiar?

“And, I believe it’s a ‘she’ as well.”

Donnie gazed back at him, tears began to streams out some more, “And, her name is Karai.” the men revealed. Donnie shocked hearing her Gram-Gram’s name. He looked down to the wisp, she nodded at the sound of her identity.

Donnie’s tears began to burst. It might not be a real form of her body, but it’s enough to make him pulled her small presence into a hug. Donnie let himself cry one last time, holding close the wisp of his dead Gram-Gram to his chest.

He could feel the wisp hugged him back. He felt it somehow, the warmth of her arms began to wrapped around him, hugging him close. Almost felt like she never left, that she’ll always be there. Watching over him, accompanying him. He didn’t get to spent much time with her, he wish he could. He wished she still alive. Here with his family.

Donnie let go off the hug, wiping his tears. He cupped his hands to let his wisp sits on his hands. He smiled, she’s not Gram-Gram, but she’s the closest thing about her.

Then, he realized that the stranger still there. He quickly dried his tears with his sleeves, gathering back his bearings.

“Sorry, I...Name’s Donnie by the way.” he finally introduced himself. The stranger raised his eyebrow. He held out his hand at him. Donnie stares at it and took the handshake gesture.

“Silver. Just call me Silver.”

#rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt fanfiction #oc crossover #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt leo #rottmnt raph #rottmnt mikey #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #fanfiction #fanfic

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shadow-scenarios · 4 years ago

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Omggg how you wrote out my request certainly surprised me but I totally enjoyed what you did with it!! And you said that you'd love to write a second part? Well, may I perhaps request that? 👀👀 (P.S.: I'm really relieved that you liked the idea haha, I've been sitting on it for awhile)

Hey again, simulationone!! I’m happy you like the direction I look it in. I was going to have the Reader become Akechi’s Navigator but I think that was a better direction to take it. Also, I tried a different style with this one, so I hope you like it!!

I loved the idea, it was so unique! If you have anything else that you want to request, you’re more than welcome to. By the way, this is suuuper angsty. If you don’t like that kind of thing, skip this post!!

Link to Part 1 here!!

- Nexus.

Trigger Warning: Major Character Death ;; Blood ;; Violence ;; Injuries ;; Swearing

Dance With Justice [2] | Goro Akechi

Perhaps there was a reality where she never had to hurt anyone. A world in which the Phantom Thieves never existed & justice was never an issue. Everyone could simply be happy without any concerns. However, thus was not her current fate.

This was never supposed to happen. She was going to die here, stuck in Mementos until she bled out.

{ Sat, 23 / 10 / 20XX }

Akechi had laid the plan out to her on this day: He had been given an opportunity to meet with the Phantom Thieves at the Shujin Academy. In particular, there was a panel in which a Q&A style show was being held. All they had to do was attend & imply they knew the identities of the Phantom Thieves before he ‘ inconveniently received a phone call ’. Afterwards, the group would be forcibly assembled in the Faculty Room & there they would unfurl the evidence. The photos the both of them had gathered & the video of them disappearing into the Metaverse.

As a result, they would be forced to stop committing their crimes after they took down the Palace of one individual in particular: Sae Niijima. He did admit that he was afraid for the life of his colleague because she was investigating the Phantom Thieves. If they were the perpetrators behind the metal shutdowns, she might be targeted next because she was seen as a threat.

However, there was one thing they were not to be informed about. The additional plan to arrest their leader as a warning of sorts. Additional police forces were to be sent out into the Metaverse & they would corner him when he was alone. It was quite simple but effective. All they had to do was cooperate with them.

This was all communicated to her over lunch in the school rooftop & she nodded, steeling her resolve.

{ Wed, 26 / 10 / 20XX }

Alas, the school festival came too quickly. The first day was ‘ unimportant ’, according to Akechi { although he did look rather embarrassed when she asked what happened with the Phantom Thieves... }.

It was about 20 minutes before the panel was due to start & she had already taken a seat somewhere near the centre. People were already gathered at this point because the Famous Ace Detective: Goro Akechi was going to be answering questions. Frankly, she found it quite creepy the levels most fans went to in order to see him.

Eventually the debate began. Makoto Niijima, student Council President, was hosting & essentially demanded answers related to his detective work reguarding the Phantom Theives. It was immensely impressive how he managed to dance around the answers, giving something vague yet satisfying. Was this is the life of a celebrity?

The question about the identity of the mysterious group soon came up. As her cue came, she texted him & there was the sound of Akechi’s ringtone going off. Silence spread through the auditorium in a strange mix of disappointment & comedic timing. After making a remark along the lines of not wanting to be trolled online, he quickly requested that a break be tacked on.

Quietly, she moved her way across the row & slipped out before the crowd could congest any corridors. The PE Faculty Office was easy enough to find, with many students easily offering directions. Slipping in before anyone else, there he stood.

“ Akechi. Are you ready for this? There’s no going back after we present the evidence. ”

“ Of course. The Phantom Thieves are a menace to society & by getting rid of them, people will finally feel safe in Japan. That’s what you want as well, right? ”

“ Yeah. Murderers aren’t welcome. ”

Once they had all entered, she presented the photographic evidence & introduced herself. Ryuji was in shock. Makoto seemed to be struggling to process the information. Explaining how both herself & Akechi had met, she pressed onto the point: Sae Niijima. She had to be saved from the mental shutdown culprits. An agreement of sorts was made by their rather stoic leader Akira. They would all work together to solve the cases.

{ Wed, 16 / 10 / 20XX & Thurs 17 / 11 / 20XX }

After the initial investigation into Sae’s Palace, keywords & location, these were the days of infiltration, so to speak. The Casino of Jealousy was vibrant & full of money. Coins were messily spread around on every single surface, posters containing snappy tag lines about how winning was key to survival. It was all so decadent. Cognitive shadows lined up for a chance to participate in the game known as the legal system. What a sick way to look at justice.

Despite the crimes they had committed, the Phantom Theives were very casual. They showed no symptoms of guilt nor doubt & insisted on these strangely flashy moves such as the All-Out Attack or the Showtime, in which they would defeat a bundle of enemies all at once. Although they were powerful, did they really feel the need to show off that much?

The other problem was their leader, Joker. He was tenaciously gripping onto both herself & Akechi { or Crow, was it? She never understood the need for the ridiculous code names... } to remain on the front lines to see what they could both do. Despite having bounds of energy at the beginning & regular breaks, it was quite tiring to keep having to constantly battle. Perhaps that was why she ended up being held captive by a Shadow.

It demanded Yen & safety. It was not a substantial amount of money & the Palace’s supposed ‘ Security Level ’ was not particularly high. She had seen how Akira had been picking through remains of the corpses of these beings, as they contained Yen. For some unknown reason during the negotiation, he simply refused to part. Apparently Joker, the supposed leader of the just Phantom Thieves believed some money more important than an ally.

Even as the shadow tore through skin & left almost fatal wounds, it hurt more to reaffirm her belief that the Phantom Theives were merciless.

Waking up was a surprise to be sure. To be greeted by Akechi in the nearest Safe Room asking if she was okay? It was very much a shock. He offered to patch up the wounds that were unreadable by her own hands & scolded her for being so reckless on that battlefield. It was good that both Queen & Mona were on hand, otherwise she would have died. Despite the presence of the other members of the group, this felt like a rather intimate moment.

The two of them kept having these strange moments: Delicately & intimate but as though something was missing.

A touch that lingered for longer than it needed to; Comforting words on a cool evening when she felt upset; Sitting within close proximity despite there being more space for the two of them than needed. Small signs that seemed to be hesitantly trying to convey something.

Even now as she paused to take in his appearance, it was startling. Dressed up in his princely regalia that was his Metaverse outfit, he looked rather charming. With golden tassels & a red cape, something about him seemed to just ooze noble. Though at times he could be slightly extra with the poses he pulled, Akechi was kind.

That was why she never saw it coming.

{ Thurs, 18 / 10 / 20XX }

Signaling for a meeting, Akira explained that they were going to write & send the Calling Card today. The debate about where to send it was long, strenuous & boring. After they eventually decided to be direct by mailing it to the Niijima residence, everyone disbanded for the day.

Aside for Akechi, who invited her to play Darts in Kichijoji. What a strange request.

The atmosphere was actually rather calming. At night, there were few around to disturb them. Handing over 800 Yen to play, the game began. It was nice to simply be able to talk about something unrelated to the Phantom Thieves for the both of them & although Akechi’s aim was unerring, she found it rather difficult to hit the tiny target, let alone land it in a specific place to score as many points as possible. After a while & with some expert advice, there was definitely some improvement.

By the time night struck, she had barely noticed until he had pointed it out. Everything was moving so swiftly. Offering to walk her to the train station, he was ever so polite. Until it rained.

It absolutely poured down with rain as the two of them descended the stairs of Penguin Sniper. Luckily, she had packed an umbrella into a crevice in her bag. The detective next to her? Not quite as fortunate as he sighed. Feeling bad, she offered to share & he accepted with reluctance after realising that it was better than the alternative of running home in the rain.

Being this close was both enthralling & embarrassing. Something about being forced this close to him was killing her. Akechi seemed to be doing alright, staying underneath to avoid both his hair & briefcase from becoming drenched by the cascading water. After a while that was in some respects a long time but in others not long at all, they reached the train station, parting ways when they had a difference in train line.

She knew exactly what she was feeling: There was no use in denial. Repressing such feelings would be more painful in the end. However, now was not the time to tell him. Catching the Phantom Thieves & saving Japan was more important than a high school romance. Filing the secret away for later, it was kept close to her heart.

{ Fri, 19 / 10 / 20XX }

It was almost too easy how quick everything was to fall into place. Putting on her best acting face was difficult but it was a believable lie, especially when most of the stress was based around getting Joker out alive. All their valiant efforts were for nothing. Similar to a spider spinning a web to catch prey, they had fallen victim.

After facing down the shadow of Sae Niijima herself on this strange roulette like battlefield, her desperate desire to achieve victory at all costs was her downfall & as she fell to her knees, clearly defeated, Queen went over to comfort her. Skull took Fox with him to steal the Treasure & once they discovered the numerous police forces that had made their way into the Metaverse, everything was taken up a notch.

Whilst Joker agreed to take the Treasure, thus becoming a distraction, everyone else would take the time to escape back to reality. A makeshift plan but one that would work in both her own & Akechi’s favour. Dashing along the protruding walls of the casino was thrilling as the group moved in sync, grappling along & weaving through like a natural born instinct.

Inevitably, he was captured. The leader of the Phantom Thieves, put behind bars. People would be safe from the mental shutdowns, they would no longer have to worry about having a psychotic breakdown. Without the branch that held them all together, there were no roots. As to not arouse suspicions, everyone parted ways until Akechi stopped her.

“ I... Know it’s rather late & we’ve just been to the Palace but there’s something I need to warn you about in the Metaverse. Will you join me in Mementos tomorrow morning? Preferably before school, if that’s okay with you, ” was all he requested with a ghost of a smile.

“ Sure, I don’t mind. Is there something else dangerous I should be worrying about? ”

“ It’s nothing too urgent but I thought I’d bring it to your attention since we are working on this case with the Phantom Thieves together. After all, we still need to hold the others accountable for their actions. ”

With that, she left. Akechi had always been a reliable source of information, so why would he lie?

{ Sat, 20 / 10 / 20XX }

It was the early morning. Despite the cold, she was in warm spirits as she approached the Shibuya line. Waiting there for her was the Detective Prince himself. Overnight, there was a decision made that once Akechi broke this bad news to her that she would change the mood by confessing. After all, it would be difficult to keep under lock & key.

Fading into the background as other students filtered in, they talked for a short period of time before getting down to business. Typing in ‘ Mementos ’ to the MetaNav was easy enough & there they were, standing at the dusty entrance.

Together, they fought their way down into a few floors below the surface. Although it took longer for them to traverse these levels due to not having a method of transportation such as the Mona Car, the Shadows were easy pickings for the two of them. At least, that is what she thought until two laser blasts from a ray gun burnt into her back.

Standing over her was a very different Goro Akechi to the person she had preciously known. What was once a charismatic smile that could charm anyone become a psychotic grin that looks unnaturally wide. Though she had once thought of his eyes as a storm of emotions, worries about the future & the safety of Japan, they were most definitely a typhoon, pulling victims in to tear them apart without a trace of mercy. Even as he called her a blind fool for trusting him & berated her sense of justice, the burning pain of the wounds that burnt through the Metaverse outfit were clouding her vision. She could have sworn there was the sound of someone walking away but there was too many sensations for her to clearly tell.

No one was going to find a dead body in the depths of Mementos. She found it morbidly ironic that her last thought was that she would never be able to tell Akechi how she truly felt.

Word Count: 2.3k

Publish Date: 06.10.20

#{ crow }#{ oh boy did I want to name this Dance With Justice 2: Electric Boogaloo }#goro akechi x reader #akechi x reader #goro akechi #persona 5 royal x reader #persona 5 x reader #persona 5 imagines #persona #p5r #tw: death #tw: blood #tw: injuries #tw: swearing #tw: violence #{ why is this my longest work what the heck }

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calboniferous · 3 years ago

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Duality

Chapter 8 – Bant

Bant watched from a passenger seat as Master Koon brought the ship out of hyperspace and Garen, having talked his way into the co-pilot’s seat, hailed Naboo air traffic control.

Naboo from space was a truly beautiful world of verdant greens and sweeping blue. At this distance it was nigh impossible to tell that the planet had been party to a violent invasion and occupation. The only indication to these events was the glittering metallic cloud which was all that remained of the Trade Federation control ship.

However, descending over Theed favoured the Jedi with a clear view of the destruction. Bant’s heart ached in sympathy for what she saw.

The graceful pillars and red-tiled rooves of the city’s buildings were marked with carbon scoring characteristic of blasterfire and many of the buildings were reduced to rubble. Tents were tucked between broken columns and piles of debris littered the streets. And, pale grey in the wan morning sunlight, smoke still rose in parts of the city and climbed high into the sky in the absence of wind.

They landed in the main hangar of the Theed Royal Palace. While a number of the starfighter bays were glaringly empty, one of the ships had been decorated with roughly cut strips of red fabric and had ‘The Skywalker’ painted boldly across the fuselage. Bant hazarded a guess that it was the victory ship. The brief sent by the Naboo had summarised the battle and the Masters’ force presences went sharp and icy at the line “young Anakin Skywalker flew a Royal Starfighter to great efficacy and secured victory with his destruction of the control ship”.

No, Plo “Finder to a third of the creche” Koon and Vokara “mother nexu” Che were not happy that a nine-year-old was on a battlefield. After that episode, Bant decided she never wanted to witness ‘scary quiet’ Master Koon again thank you very much. And, in the interest of doing so, she made a mental note to strong-arm the young pilot into a mind healers’ office at the next opportunity.

Serene masks firmly in place, the Jedi descended the ramp before the whine of the engines shutting down faded and they were a small party of Nabooians approched. Bant immediately singled out the clean lines of the Healer’s uniform.

An elderly human man draped in plum velvet stepped forwards and opened his arms wide in greeting. “Ah, welcome, Masters Jedi, welcome! News of your arrival was a surprise, but we are glad of your presence nonetheless; indeed, we owe your kin a great debt although— “

Master Che gave no acknowledgement to the man and interrupted his filibuster, passing him to meet the mirialan healer. “Healer Renada,”

“Master Che,” they said, waving a hand for the Jedi to follow “he’s this way.”

The human man—a politician, Bant deduced from his impractical garb—sputtered as the Jedi swept past without so much as a hitch in their gate, his mouth gaping like those deep-sea fish from Mon Cala. If circumstances hadn’t been so grim, Bant might’ve found it funny. As it was, she was preoccupied with following their guide who, thankfully, kept up a brisque pace.

Bant didn’t have to guess which room Obi-Wan was in, feeling his muted presence through their creche bond. Unconscious, then. Still, the echoes of pain and flashes of light she could sense meant that he wasn’t shielding his end of the bond.

They pushed through the door.

Skin waxy in the blue glow of the monitors at his bedside, Obi-Wan was terribly still. There was a bacta patch on his cheek and white gauze peeked out from underneath the hospital gown. Worse, the mournful lament of a kyber crystal came from the crate on the floor where the silver-and-black hilt of Master Jinn’s lightsabre rested among folds of freshly laundered tunics.

Master Che laid a hand on his forehead and Bant rested her own on his shoulder, feeling the feverish warmth under her palm.

This close, it was impossible to miss the emotions radiating unchecked from Obi-Wan and Bant realised that his shields weren’t lowered, they were broken.

“Master Che,” she said,

“I feel it. Plo, shield us.” her mentor ordered and a moment later, Bant felt the force quiet as the kel dor master wrapped heavy shields around the two healers and Obi-Wan. Preferably, they would have had a team of healers to protect the patient’s vulnerable mind but they made do with what they had. And, Master Koon was no slouch when it came to his control of the force.

“Bant, with me,” Master Che said and, closing her eyes, Bant sunk into the force.

Delving into the force like this was difficult to describe to anyone who wasn’t force sensitive but, if asked, Bant would say that it was like diving into the sea.

The cool weight rushed over her skin and closed over her head, the sudden weightlessness and the pressure of the world around her were old friends. Bubbles trailed from her as she dived, the last vestiges of the physical world

The roar of the force in her ears muted the noise of surface reality but the moving parts of the galaxy are louder than ever. Sound travels faster through water

The sea was calm. A great seawall held back the powerful surge of the open ocean. Quieter, but no less present.

Down here the water was brighter and more tangible around her. Bant could feel the water in the spaces between all things, flowing, pushing, pressing through those crevasses and chasms. Cause and effect. A current rolled up from the sea floor, lifting glittering grains of sand up into the water column, and far above Bant’s head a wave crested.

Breathtaking.

From her earliest memories, Bant thought entering the force felt like coming home. She is not here to drift aimlessly on the current, though, and there is red in the water.

Obi-Wan’s presence ached under her hands. Floating like a strange, pale bloom in the endless blue. His lifeforce flickered weakly as water flowed through his lungs and blood flowed out though Bant could feel that what little strength he had was used to try and hold his wounds closed.

Reaching out to his mind, Bant surveyed the damage. The tear in his mind was undoubtably from a Split and she could see the remains of his bond with Qui-Gon. Bant hadn’t been on the team of healers that dealt with Master Sifo-Dyas’ Split but she had spoken to some of them. She’d listened to their accounts; she’d studied relentlessly and she knew what needed to be done.

Master Che was steady beside her, guiding and holding Obi-Wan’s mind still as Bant cut the mangled mess of the bond free. Unconscious though he was, Obi-Wan’s subconscious mind still tried to twist and pull away from the pain.

I’m sorry Obi-Wan, I’m so, so sorry Bant thought as she brought the clean edges of the wound together and began to close it, stitch by metaphysical stitch. He flinched with every suture.

Healing like this was invasive. A last resort. For Obi-Wan, Bant knew there was no other course of action. The damaged remains of the bond were vulnerable and would never heal properly. Even if it eventually scarred over, it would continue to cause Obi-Wan pain and be a weakness in his shields for the rest of his life. It needed to be removed.

Knowing all this didn’t make it any easier for Bant to do. Stitching skin, suturing the mind. Both involved inflicting a little more injury to bind the wound shut.

Hours have passed by the time Bant and Master Che have closed Obi-Wan’s psychic wounds and painstakingly constructed temporary shields in his mind. Emerging from her trance-like state, Bant blinked her eyes to clear the spots from her vision and stretched her stiff limbs.

“Well?” Garen said, seated at the foot of the bed on one of the hard, white chairs.

Bant gave him a thin smile. “Alive. We won’t know if there will be any lasting effects at this stage but he’s not at risk of dying right now.”

Relief coloured Garen’s force signature and he closed his eyes for a long moment.

“Padawan Eerin is right,” Master Che said, lekku curling as she too stood and stretched, “Obi-Wan will heal. Now, you two— ah, thank you, Plo,” she broke off to accept a cup of water from the other Master, “Much better. You two need to stay close to him. That much force exposure all at once is comparable to trying to hold up the whole Tranquillity Spire all day. So, Padawan Eerin what is the effect of this and what would you prescribe?”

Never a respite from medical pop quiz around Master Che.

Bant gathered her thoughts before answering, “Severe force exhaustion which in turn means he won’t be able to use the force until his connection heals further. When he wakes he’ll be under orders not to try until he’s been cleared.”

“Good,”

“And,” Bant continued, “since he can’t use that sense and doesn’t have Master Jinn’s bond, that means he’ll feel isolated in the force. Garen and I need to keep him company.”

Master Che gave her a look of approval

“Full marks, Padawan,” then, to the rest of the room, “Excuse me while I confer with Healer Renada.”

She exited to the room in search of the mirialan. No longer needing to hold up shields around Obi-Wan, Master Plo retreated to a corner and settled cross-legged on the floor to meditate.

Garen’s eyes flicked from the kel dor to Bant and back, questioning.

“Don’t mind me, young ones, chatter all you want,” Master Plo said, a moment later taking the deep, even breaths characteristic of meditation.

Garen moved his chair to sit next to Bant at Obi-Wan’s shoulder. He leaned his head on her shoulder and Bant rested her head on top of his.

“Thanks, Bant,”

She nudged his boot, “It’s Obi-Wan,”

That was all the explanation in the world to the both of them. Cradling one of Obi-Wan’s hands between two of her own, his stable pulse under her finger kept time as afternoon turned to night.

“We should message the others,” Bant said, who-knows-how-long later and Garen resurfaced from his light doze against her.

“Quin’s going to be mad,”

Bant hummed in agreement. “Reeft should be back in-temple today or tomorrow Coruscant time—whenever that is in Naboo time. They’ll have each other in hand,” Bant squinted and re-evaluated her words, “Reeft will have Quin in hand.”

“Better give him good warning, then,” Garen unstuck himself from where he’d been plastered to Bant and pulled out his com, beginning to type a message to their group chat. For all that they joked about him, Quinlan did have a good grasp on his emotions—he needed to in order to be an effective shadow—but when he was safe and off duty, he could express himself more freely.

Message sent, Garen settled back against Bant, sighing softly. By virtue of healer training, it was nearly inevitable that Bant would be a Padawan for longer than her crechémates. And, as Jedi rank was often equated to maturity by outsiders, her Knighted peers were often assumed to be older that her. Wiser. But among themselves, it was Bant who took that elder role.

With two of her four pseudo-siblings sleeping safely near her, Bant settled in to watch over them and guard their dreams.

#fic #my writing #force bond drift AU #bant eerin #garen muln #obi-wan kenobi #tpm

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tmnt-obsessed-ace · 1 year ago

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Ok so I love Ghost In The Shell and I love all your aus

So I gotta ask, if all your aus took place in the Ghost In The Shell universe which ones would be the least awful (awful in the sense of pure danger for the Ghost fam) and which ones would be the most awful

Okie Dokie >:)

(@bluepeachstudios I am once again borrowing Ghost for this)

I'm only gonna do the aus I already have fics published for/talked about at length (with one exception :3)

Starting with the least dangerous/stressful/awful crossover, Same Story Different Font. This one genuinely wouldn't be too difficult on Ghost (assuming he isnt the one that goes dimension hopping again) plus he and Leonardo would instantly try to adopt each other ("WHAT YOU MEAN YOU WERE ISOLATING YOURSELF FOR OVER TWO DECADES?"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU BECAME A FATHER OF FOUR AT SEVENTEEN?" Their kids would cause the most insane amounts of chaos ever) They would be friends, give them a social life beyond their children

Next up is Lost But Never Found. This one is definitely more stressful on good ole Ghost. The second he realizes Indigo is an alternate version of Leonardo that suffered the exact same fate as him but WORSE...Ghost's heart is gonna fucking SHATTER (Ie, Indigo fell through a portal with no way back home but Big Mama captured him, forced him to fight in the Battle Nexus, COMPLETELY WIPED HIS MEMORIES BECAUSE HE DIDNT WANT TO KILL, continued to force him to fight every single day multiple times a day...yeah that was objectively worse than Ghost's early years. Big Mama better pick a god and PRAY)

The reasons this au is more stressful/dangerous is because A. An alternate version of your brother is HERE instead of back home, and he also has no memory of his old life so how the hell are you gonna get THAT back. And B. Helping Indigo come back down from the "Kill or be killed" mentality and help his adjust to normal mutant turtle life is gonna be really rough, especially when he ends up joining the Mud Dogs and becoming a hitman because he did not feel like he belonged with the Rise fam at all (and its only gonna get worse when he DOES get his memories back ALL AT ONCE :3)

Now into the really stressful/dangerous territory with When The World Crumbles!

Bet you didnt see this one coming ;)

Poor Ghost is definitely gonna need blood pressure medication after this whole ordeal. To keep it brief, the 2012 turtles fall into the Riseverse. They were not trying to GO there at all. They were tring to stop another FULL SCALE KRAANG INVASION. So...

These turtles are in the wrong dimension

Their dimension is currently being INVADED

And to make it worse it has only been TWO MONTHS since Splinter was killed by the Super Shredder.

So the entire is spent trying to hurry and build a working portal to get these kids back home before the Kraang fully destroy their world, and also dealing with the 2012 boys unlocking Ninpo. By suffering immensely the entire time and eventually returning to the 2012 dimension (the Rise kids are going to help to and so will Ghost because duh) and stopping a full scale invasion.

But considering the events of the last couple of chapters, its not gonna be easy. And its only the beginning. (And considering that there will be a SEQUEL fic in Eclipse Across Dimensions...its gonna get so so so much worse. I would actually put Eclipse Across Dimensions as the top most stressful/dangerous time for literally everyone, but considering its a sequel fic to this au and I am nowhere NEAR that far into the story...it stays here for now :3)

Ghost will absolutely adopt these traumatized, orphaned nineteen year olds on sight

And the absolute MOST stressful/dangerous au for the Ghost fam would have to be my newest au (and the one I havent talked that much about, which is why it is the exception to my aforementioned rule) Fractured (Lost) Hamato Clan

Oh boy :)

Aka the au where the 2012 boys gets brain wormed by the Shredder into becoming evil. 2012 Splinter, Casey and April all flee to the Riseverse, the ENTIRE 2012 Footclan FOLLOWING THEM

Which means that on top of the Rise mutants, Rise Footclan, and Barron Draxum the boys will have to deal with

Footbots that learn and ADAPT to every move they make

Extremely dangerous mutant assassins and goons

THE LITERAL 2012 SHREDDER (who not only SURVIVED GETTING FULL ON CHOMPED BY AN 8 FOOT TALL MUTANT ALLIGATOR BUT BEAT THE MUTANT ALLIGATOR. The boys are absolutely fucked)

And evil versions of themselves.

It will be Ghost's literal worst nightmare come true and this happens early in season ONE so they dont even have ninpo to help them, and not even the extra training they had with Ghost will be enough to deal with everything

(When his kids end up fighting The Shredder for the first time, Ghost will swear that he felt his heart stop.)

Its not gonna be a fun time for anyone involved, especially when it comes to confrontations between the 2012 turtles and Rise kids. Because they dont want to hurt them, they literally have an evil parasite in their brains MAKING them do this, making them act this way. (And they're only 17, two years older than Raph, and it breaks Ghost's heart every time he's forced to fight these poor kids.)

However these kids are extremely dangerous.

Because they KNOW the Rise kids, as different ad they are at their cores they're the same person. Which means they know how the Rise kids think, how they behave, what stupid plans they'll come up with.

And how to break them into pieces.

One such example being when 2012 Donnie hacks into the Turtle Tank's system and hijacks it, even going as far as to completely lock the tank down and drain it of OXYGEN to force Donnie, Raph, Mikey and Ghost (Leo was not with them so no portals out) into submission and basically hold them as hostages in their own tank. And thats just ONE example of many, its that bad.

Its gonna be the absolute MOST stressful time of Ghost's life for sure

So in order from least awful to most awful:

Same Story Different Font, Lost But Never Found, When The World Crumbles (and its eventual sequel), and Fractured (Lost) Hamato Clan

Hope you enjoyed anon!

#tmnt 2012 #rottmnt #tmnt ghost in the shell #this was fun :)

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xyoohyeonrk · 5 years ago

Text

╌、*feeling like failure、

trigger warnings: scolding, verbal fighting, crying .✦｡ﾟ

vibrations of her phone brings yoohyeon out of focus, eyes shifting from the high paced arurf game in front of her and down to the beaming screen that reveals a new text message; it’s all that is needed for yoohyeon to be executed in-game, a minor distraction that quickly lead to a serious misplacement on her behalf. “oh, fuck...” the curse came out as a mere breath as she picks up the device that ultimately became the cause of her death, only to read through all the incoming messages and realise that they all need a proper answer and thus, her full attention -- that of which, she cannot give right now. too much is at stake and for once, yoohyeon found a team that can actually work together. she leaves her mum on read, using the remaining few last seconds to complete her in-game purchases.

✉ 📲 ▸ TEXT RECEIVED FROM ━━━━ 엄마 ━ ( 3 )

�� our yoohyeonie~ how are you, sweetie? ♥ ▸ listen, our refrigerator broke down… can you send ￦40,000? ▸ you know that i wouldn’t ask if we had any other choice. message read ! ▸ yoohyeon-ah? please answer me. message read !

another text rolls in soon after but yoohyeon has already lost herself into what might, or might not, be the last team fight of the current game. with her screen unlocked, and messaging app open, she accidentally leave the newest message on read also. it is only a matter of seconds anyway so she figures that it won’t really matter. one kill down, two kills down, three kills down before someone manages to stop yoohyeon from wiping out the entire team, fed as she is she unfortunately has a counterpart in the opposite team’s midlaner-- but it isn’t at all enough, they manage to beat down the nexus so low that there is no returning now. while yoohyeon is dead and currently out of the game, her pulse is high as she watch her team mates destroy what is left of the other team’s nexus and secure their victory.

“YES!!!” she practically yells at the screen in front of her, after fourty minutes of intense battle they are finally done and managed to win the game. for a moment there yoohyeon forgot that she does, in fact, live with someone. somewhat embararssed by her outburst, she is glad that naeun is out for another few hours training at kt ent.

✉ 📲 ▸ TEXT SENT TO ━━━━ 엄마 ━ ( 2 )

▸ i’m sorry, mum~ i was in the middle of something~~~ ▸ but i don’t have any more right now, i already gave you everything that i could… ㅠㅠ

satisfied with the victory, yoohyeon brings her chair backwards to lean back in a more relaxed position. she figures that she most probably will be texting her mum from this point of, and it’s pointless to head back into the arurf queue. instead, she changes the game mode to play one last game for the day, lining up for a more chilled game of teamfight tacticts. what she did not take into consideration however, was that her mum might have wanted to call her instead and that is precisely what happens next. moments after yoohyeon accept the matchup, her phone vibrates once again to now reveal an incoming call. she sighs, she’s too tired to converse like this after a full weekend of dancing and having had a full day of work today, but she picks up the call nonetheless. she knows better than to not.

📞 📲 ▸ CALL ONGOING ━━━━ 엄마 ━ ( 00:09 )

yoohyeon: hey, mum~ i’m sorry that i took so long to respond, i wa--

byeol: yoohyeon-ah, what do you mean ‘you don’t have any money’? you just got paid on the 15th, didn’t you? what about that savings account of yours? i know that you are smart enough to not have emptied that already. right? please, i’m not asking for much.

being cut short is not something that yoohyeon is used to and immediately, she notice that it’s uncharacteristically done so by her mum. completely taken aback she remains mute, and she listen to the manipulation that she has yet to realise takes place. a sense of panic hits her, the request is far from grand but there is absolutely no way that she can oblige-- her savings are gone and she won’t be paid for another month. of course, she has enough to pay for rent and food throughout the month of february, but not a dime more than that. if she gave up any more then she would go hungry and while that is something she often do for her family when they’re in need, that is something she has been doing for the past few months already. for once, she could use the satisfaction of being properly fed herself.

📞 📲 ▸ CALL ONGOING ━━━━ 엄마 ━ ( 00:16 )

yoohyeon: i… i– ah, mum, it’s empty. i’m sorry– i’ll work extra hard this month!

byeol: how is it empty, ah? have you wasted your money? what did you waste it on, huh?

her offer is immediately disregarded and yoohyeon suddenly feels attacked when the tone of speech directed at her, is changed to a more hostile approach. she does realise that working extra hard this coming month won’t help them with the current dilemma, she does realise that they need a new refrigerator as soon as yesterday. how can she help, she wonder. perhaps it was foolish of her to buy those gym clothes, thoughts around the decision weighing her down like the worst call of her life. she couldn’t possibly have foreseen this happen though, that her parents’ refrigerator so happened to break down the very month she wanted to spoil herself-- ever since her birthday in january, yoohyeon has mustered the courage to think about herself for once and this is how she is repaid by fate. with shame.

📞 📲 ▸ CALL ONGOING ━━━━ 엄마 ━ ( 00:29 )

yoohyeon: i– i didn’t waste it! i haven’t bought anything in so long but i asked my friend. hwang yeji, remember her? i asked her to teach me how to dance, i needed gym wear fo…

byeol: you wasted your savings on clothes?! don’t you have enough clothes already, ah? i can’t believe how selfish you are, i didn’t raise you like this! what are we going to do now? how are we going to live without a refrigerator– i’m so disappointed in you, i really counted on you for this, yoohyeon-ah!

yoohyeon stopped caring about the game before she even arrived to the first carousel, there’s absolutely no way around defeat and she already know that as she head into round three with minions. having mindlessly sold her first champion for gold and bought everything on roll, she has somehow manged to put together a team of three lights regardless of being scolded by a unreasonably angry mother. during the first half of a teamfight tacticts game she isn’t required to think very much and that alone is the sole reason she can keep from forgeiting already. she cannot for the bare life of her understand where the anger comes from, her heart beating fast as though her life is at stake due to another rush of panic. all yoohyeon wanted by buying the clothes was to pat herself on the shoulder, she deserved it.

📞 📲 ▸ CALL ONGOING ━━━━ 엄마 ━ ( 01:15 )

yoohyeon: i didn’t– ah, i’m sorry… but… what about yookwon oppa? can he contribute?

byeol: how dare you suggest such a thing? you know that your brother is busy. yookwon doesn’t need the added stress right now.

as if yoohyeon needs the added stress right now, but she doesn’t mention that. it would be as useless to voice aloud as it would be to bring up the winter singer contest that she so bravely signed up for, and not to mention the second chance to audition with sphere entertainment. it would only anger her mum even more if she so much as brought highlight to that, and the fact that she turned down the offer for the sake of her family. all of this being a reason why she did decide that she could use a little something, a little prize for stepping out of her comfort zone-- performing for a live crowd, alone, is scary enough as it is, and then to turn down a company that possibly regretted letting her go in the first place... yoohyeon thought she earned the right to pamper herself. after all, she turned down her dream, for them.

📞 📲 ▸ CALL ONGOING ━━━━ 엄마 ━ ( 01:22 )

yoohyeon: ah, yeah... you’re right... i’m sorry, mum... what can i do?

byeol: nothing, apparently, other than playing your idiotic games and having fun like you have no worries in the world-- don’t think that i can’t hear that mouse of yours clicking like your goddamn life depends on it. you should be ashamed of yourself, behaving like a brat without a single care for her family when they are in need!

immediately she lets go of the mouse, her heart skipping a of beat with such a brute force that she is pained by it. shock turns into confusion, confusion turns into ruin. she wants to cry.

allgedly, yoohyeon doesn’t care for her family. working two part time jobs and sending money home every month obviously doesn’t count for helping out, and neither does going hungry for days on end just to make sure that her parents and yoorim is fed properly. applying for jobs at any given time isn’t good enough either, despite recendly landing herself a new full time job at the escape room in gangnam with a steady income. she is speechless by the accusations and that of an order to be ashamed of herself-- for what, exactly...? for spending money on herself for once? for a moment she is willing to accept that her mum is right but no, she isn’t. concern, anxiety and devastation is rapidly replaced with her own anger. after everything that yoohyeon has done for her family, she does not deserve this treatment.

📞 📲 ▸ CALL ONGOING ━━━━ 엄마 ━ ( 01:41 )

yoohyeon: as if i haven’t done enough for you already! working my ass off, every day, to keep you guys from troubles whenver things get rough, even if it means that i have to go hungry. have you ever thought about that, huh? have you?! and this one time, mum... just this one time, i wanted to pamper myself because i deserved it. you don’t even know what i’ve been through lately. you don’t even know...

byeol: yooheon-ah, calm down! what are you sa--

it feels like such a waste at this point and yoohyeon gasps for air, trying her very best to keep from hiccuping through whines that manages to escape. she can’t recall the last time that she cried and while some tears can be good and healthy, this one admittedly pains her more than anything else ever has. the mixture of pure agony and betrayal breaks her right there, on the phone with the person that she usually woud seek comfort when upset. once again, she’s so incredibly glad that naeun is out training, but for a different reason; she sobs loudly, her hand reaching up to cover a tear stained cheek as though hiding from the world-- not that it helps in any way or form, the damage has already been done. her game is long forgotten, and for all she cares she has already been taken enough damage to be out.

📞 📲 ▸ CALL ONGOING ━━━━ 엄마 ━ ( 01:58 )

yoohyeon: i can’t help you this time, mum. get the money from somewhere else!

📞 📲 ▸ CALL DISCONNECTED ━━━━ 엄마 ━ ( 02:07 )

she doesn’t allow for a proper response, this time being the one to cut her mum short instead. sweat breaks through the fabric of her t-shirt as she finally end the call without so much as a good bye, immediately burrying her face in both hands as she weeps into the damp palms. it doesn’t feel good to cry this time, it isn’t at all a good cry. yoohyeon feels completely at loss, whatever is she going to do now? with this being the first fight that she has ever had with her mum, she suddenly realise that she don’t know how things will be after this. it doesn’t matter that her mum is trying to call her back now-- not once, not twice, not thrice. yoohyeon can’t hear it through her whimpers, not that she would have picked up anyway. it doesn’t matter that she texts her to apologise. the damage has certainly been done.

#rkxsnn #rkyeji #;wc. 2200 #;solo. feeling like failure

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xenosgirlvents · 6 years ago

Text

2019 Xenos Wishlist

With the final day of 2018 being here I think I’ll remain positive. Today I’m gonna make a vague wishlist of things I hope for Xenos next year, tomorrow I’ll do an overview of how my expectations for 2018 went.

Aelindrach:

Let them just exist! I was so excited when Fracture of Biel-tan seemed to really be bringing Aelindrach into focus, empowering it, building it up...only for all of it to just be completely abanonded throughout 8th Edition, including in the Drukhari Codex itself! I hope in 2019 we see Aelindrach actually have some significance.

A Kheradruakh miniature as powerful as a Primarch.

Anhrathe:

Let this army be redone and made more effective. Normally, as a minor force, I’d not really expect them to even get rules, but the Anhrathe DID have rules, many, so it sucks to see them degraded to basically nothing.

I’d love to see more fiction starring them, even if only short stories, novellas and audio dramas. The Anhrathe could be for Aeldari literature what Inquisition stories are for the Imperium.

Asuryani:

Clarify Biel-tan’s state! Please! I’d also like Biel-tan, considering the beating it’s taken recently, to get a major win against a notable force or character.

Feature the Phoenix Lords more in the Lore; be it Phoenix Lord Novels or simply more mentions in the codices I would just like to read more about them.

LET THE AVATAR OF KHAINE WIN AN IMPORTANT FIGHT.

Plastic Aspect Warriors, please.

Drukhari:

Lady Malys miniature and Lady Malys focused lore and stories, particularly explaining her connection to the Ynnari.

Arhra coming back into the lore! Whether he be Drazhar or not, I just want to see him back.

Haemonculi actually demonstrating they have superior genetic manipulation capabilities to humans.

Asdrubael either dying or getting off his ass and winning even just one major battle.

Exodites:

I would love a story featuring Exodites in which they don’t just die to Space Marines or Daemons but actually are shown as capable of defending themselves.

An army!

Harlequins:

A special character. Sylandri Veilwalker would most likely be best (and make her a stronger Psyker than Voldus who’s way younger than her).

A story of a Solitaire killing like a Shield-Captain or something to make up for the awful ‘died to kill an Eversor’ fluff we got in the Codex.

Death Jester guns actually being worth something without having to take Curtainfall every time. >_>

Give Harlequins actual extreme anti-Daemon and Chaos capabilities, in excess of Grey Knights, since, you know, HARLEQUINS HAVE ACCESS TO THE BLACK LIBRARY ITSELF! Seriously they should have access to more True Names than anyone in the Galaxy.

Ynnari:

Let them actualy exist. By far the biggest dropped plotline of all of 8th Edition. Just let the Ynnari actually do meaningful things.

Show that the alliance with the Imperium is reciprocal, not one-way.

Have a story in which Ynnari kick Captain Artemis’ butt.

Have a story in which the Yncarne is shown to be as strong as a Daemon Primarch.

Necron:

Show the consequences of the Absorption Wars. Imotehk conquered the largest territory of any single being in the last 8000 years, most of it Imperial, yet in none of the works about the Imperium, not Guilliman or anyone, does anyone even MENTION that the Sautekh Dynasty has just carved the largest congruent, centralized empire in the galaxy out of their territory.

Female Phaerakh Special Character.

Expand on the notion of potential alliance between the Necron and Ynnari.

Orks:

CLARFIY THE STATUS OF THE OCTARIUS WAR!

I’d say ‘let them win Armageddon’ but at this stage I honestly think I should give up.

Have Nazdreg win a war against the Dark Angels decisively.

Have Snagrod win a major conflict against the Imperium.

Have Wazdakka defeat the Dread Host sent to kill him.

Let Orkimedes have a miniature.

Give me my Mega Armour Warboss.

T’au Empire:

Have Shadowsun win the Battle of the Startide Nexus without needing assistance.

Introduce a new, female, Ethereal Supreme.

Give Battlesuit pilots BS 3+

Have the T’au complete the conquest of the Dovar System as Shadowsun’s major triumph of the Third Sphere Expansion as, without it, she basically conquered a grand total of 1 planet; Prefectia.

Kroot:

Give them a playable army under the T’au Empire Keyword!

Tyranids:

Let there be a fourth Tyrannic War and LET THE TYRANID WIN FOR ONCE.

Show that the Swarmlord is as strong as a Primarch.

Genestealer Cults:

Let them be the victors of Vigilus, though I know that won’t happen sadly.

Give them lore in which they actually win battles and don’t, in their own codex, just constantly lose every conflict they get into.

Have a story about them slaying a Death Watch strikeforce.

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cavalier-life · 7 years ago

Note

Lyo/Jax #5

Prompt was “Kiss … where it doesn’t hurt.”

This has been -almost- done for a few days, so thank you for being patient!

“Thenext time I tell you that you’re exaggerating in regards to yourMaster, remind me of this day.” Jaxan’s aggrieved tone brought asmile to Lyorek’s face, though the Zabrak was quick to conceal it.The Jedi’s left eye was already turning into an impressive shiner,swollen and purple, and he had another bruise on his jaw that lookedvery much like an exact impression of Nox’s boot heel.

“Didyou let her step on your face? Because it looks like you did.” Lyoknew he’d done a poor job of hiding the hint of laughter in his voicewhen the Jedi glared at him, the black eye managing to give the looka menace that the normally sunny demeanor Jaxan possessed could neveraccomplish.

“ShePUNCHED me. Twice. And kicked me. And that’s just in the face! I lostcount of how many times she hit me everywhere else. And that’s-after- she tired of smacking and jabbing me with her saber hilt. She’s so small! I’mnot even sure how she got up there to hit me in the face in the firstplace!”

TheZabrak’s blatant snickering earned him another scowl, which only madehim laugh harder. “I warned you!” Lyo managed, breathless. Jaxanshoved his shoulder, nearly dislodging him from their bed and pushinghim to the floor, but even that failed to silence the Sith’sobnoxious giggling.

“It’snot funny, Lyo! Every time she hit me, she’d laugh mockingly and say‘You’re dead’ or 'dead again’ or… 'how have you survived thislong?’.” Sullenly, Jaxan propped his elbows on his knees, leaninghis aching face in his cupped hands. The brush of his own palmagainst his bruised jaw made him wince, but it stung far morelistening to Lyorek’s gales of laughter at his predicament andhumiliation. “She’s… she’s…” He stumbled, reaching for theappropriate word. “She’s so -MEAN-.”

Lyomade a choked sound of amusement, and Jaxan’s embarrassment sank sofar into him that it felt like it was etching itself into his bones.He squeezed his eyes closed, and so he missed it when the Zabrakmoved closer to him. It was the touch of his hands that made Jaxanlook again, and when he did, Lyo’s bright red-gold eyes were mereinches away from his face. The laughter was banked.. not totallyabsent, but that would have been a lot to ask of anyone, if he washonest with himself. The Sith’s hands lay over his own, gently drawingthem away from Jax’s bruised, swollen face.

Busyinghimself opening a kolto pack, Lyorek smoothed the cool gel over thebruise on the Jedi’s jaw, his fingers gentle. “Sorry. I shouldn’thave laughed. It’s -funny-, but I know better than anyone what it’slike being on the receiving end of Darth Nox’s idea of training.That’s why I told you not to spar with her… I didn’t want to seeyou like this.” His thumb traced over Jaxan’s lower lip, expressionsoftening in understanding. “It may not feel like it right now, butshe is helping you. I hated her for years, thinking she was justmocking me and playing nexu and womp rat games. But then I got into atough fight with..” His eyes flickered to the side, and then hecontinued smoothly, “a military squad, and all those times I’dthought she was simply beating me up came back to me, and I cut myway out of there and survived. Don’t get me wrong.. I still hate hersometimes when she makes me feel incompetent, or stupid. Or both.”

“Shedoes that a lot,” Jaxan grumped, and Lyo’s smile returned for amoment, quick and bright.

“Ofcourse. And you’re right, she is mean, and snide, and venomous. Butshe’s a better teacher than you realize, until you are the only oneleft standing at the end of a hard battle. And Jax..”

Jaxanfelt his heart flip over at the intent look in the Zabrak’s eyes.“Yes?” he asked.

“Iwould prefer that you were the one left standing, if you’re going tobe in a fight for your life.” The admission came in a very low,quiet tone, almost as if Lyorek was barely able to get the words outin an audible manner. If the Zabrak blushed, it was not somethingthat was visible given his coloring, but something in the way hedropped his eyes, fidgeting with the open kolto pack, told Jaxan thatthe Sith was certainly feeling off-balance with the direction of theconversation. It was no surprise when he immediately changed topics.“Do the bruises feel better?”

“Theydo.” Despite his words, Jaxan flinched noticeably when Lyo’s thumbtouched the bruised area of skin on his jaw. The Jedi had the graceto flush at being caught out, a half-smile curving up the uninjuredside of his mouth. “They still ache, but.. the kolto is helping.”

Lyorek’sfingers shifted under his chin, tilting his face so that the bruisewas turned away. His lips brushed the corner of Jaxan’s mouth,carefully. “I don’t want to hurt you. Tell me, if I do.”

Slow,soft kisses trailed down over the edge of the Jedi’s chin, thenfollowed the line of his jaw away from the sore side before brushingagainst his ear. The feather light caress of the Zabrak’s mouth andthe teasing flick of his tongue against his skin made Jaxan close hiseyes, breath catching in his throat at the forceful rush of emotionthat he felt at the touch. “I will,” he promised, drawing Lyorekdown onto the bed, where they both proceeded to quickly forget about every single bruise until much later in the day.

#swtor #Lyorek #Jaxan #ask meme #avashnea #Lyorek x Jaxan #sith inquisitor #Jedi #zabrak #cavalier-life answers asks #cavalier-life's ocs #That Lyo - he's so hot right now

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beaconsardis · 4 years ago

Text

Resisting the Resistance

I receive a transmission.

They’ve encrypted it so I can’t tell who sent it or from where, so I have to take the transmission at its word that it was sent from someone in the Resistance. They want to meet. They give me coordinates and a time frame in which I will find them there. I don’t take meetings. They’re never not traps.

I move to delete it but something needles me. A wordless something in the back of my brain is telling me to respond, to take the meeting. The galaxy’s a dangerous place, I reason. And I’m the captain of the ship. Taking the meeting would not only be putting me at risk, but I’d be endangering every single one of my crew.

I type back my response.

I take the meeting.

I’m pleasantly surprised that I don’t have to explain myself to the crew. Turns out they’re used to the reckless and unexplainable things I ask them to do.

I plug the the coordinates into the navicomputer and plot our course. There’s something about the coordinates. Something familiar, but I can’t pull what it is.

“At least tell me why you’re doing this,” Fordsy says from behind me. “So I can explain it at your funeral.”

I don’t have an answer for him. I can’t explain why I feel compelled to do this. I throw the ship into hyperspace and turn to face my oldest friend. F4-DC is a white and blue A9G-series droid I inherited when I was left home at fourteen.

“I don’t know,” I say.

“It’s most certainly a trap.”

“I know.”

“Seven of the last eight meetings you have taken were traps.”

“I know.”

“Then why go?”

I shake my head. I still don’t have an answer for him. A warning signal goes off, rescuing me from this conversation.

We drop out of hyperspace. Something must be in our way. This is why people travel the space lanes. They’re clear of debris. Our ship, the Nexu, is dropping out of hyperspeed to prevent a collision that would atomize us.

I sigh. We have come face to face with an asteroid field. I hear the servos in his neck whirring as his head slowly turns to face me. He plays a flat, recorded laugh.

It’s the Guuntar Belt. That’s why I recognized the coordinates. The Guuntar Belt is con men and assassin’s favorite place to send pilots when they want to make it look like an accident. The unknowing and trusting pilot plots the course, enters hyperspace, and splashes themselves across multiple asteroids before they know what hit them. The Guuntar Belt has more wrecked ships than rocks in it at this point -- or so they like to say.

It’s gutsy, but it makes sense. The Resistance is on the run. They need a temporary headquarters, a staging ground, to prepare for whatever comes next. It’s close to the Interior but no one would think to look for them here. If they did, no one would be crazy enough to follow them in.

I think for a moment.

“Trying to find the words to-”

I hold up a finger to silence Fordsy. I check the coordinates again. I call Humaira to the cockpit.

“You’re not actually going to fly into that, are you?”

“No,” I say. “Humaira is.”

The door behind us hisses open and Humaira stands there, hands on her hips.

“Humaira is what?” she asks.

I point to the asteroid field. “Think you can get us into the heart of that in one piece?”

I can fly. Humaira can pilot.

Her eyes light up and she pushes me out of the way. She looks out the windshield, down to the coordinates, and then back to me. “You serious?”

“I am.”

She sits down in the pilot’s chair and pulls her hair back. “Who says you never take us any place nice,” she says, her amber eyes alive with excitement.

I hit the comm. “This is your captain speaking. We are, as per usual, about to do something incredibly stupid and foolhardy. Grab onto something firm and make peace with your gods!”

I watch Humaira’s eyes flick back and forth between the rocks. She’s watching them move, taking in on how they tumble, and predicting where they will go next. A smile dimples her cheek as she finishes tracing our trajectory in her mind.

She shoves the thrusters open wide and we rocket into the asteroid field at full throttle.

Humaira doesn’t give anyone a moment to react or respond. She punches it and we fly into the asteroid field at full throttle. Fordsy cries out as he flails and falls backward, rattling across the floor and out the door. Humaira laughs. We corkscrew through the starship graveyard. We dive under and then flip over rocks the size of small moons. We escape one hurtling danger only to fly into the face of another. We are constantly nanoseconds away from sudden and immediate death. In anyone else’s hands I would panic. I wouldn’t be able to watch. But Humaira was born to be behind the helm. There’s no other hands I’d rather be in -- a statement that can be taken in a variety of ways, none of which would be inaccurate.

“There it is!”

I point to a moon-sized boulder looming off our starboard. A temporary port has been set up there and three ships are docked, presumably waiting for us. If Fordsy were still in the cockpit, I’d ask for his apology.

Humaira sets us down gently on the asteroid. I clap her on the shoulder. She’s beaming with pride. I exit the cockpit step over Fordsy, who’s still trying to get up off the floor.

“This is still a bad idea,” he says.

“You’re welcome to come with me if you like,” I say.

“I don’t like,” he says. “I don’t like at all.”

I descend down out of the Nexu and am met by two Resistance guards. They check me for weapons. I left my blaster onboard, but I don’t go anywhere without my lightsaber. The guard on the left, the one who discovered it, looks over at the other. They both stare at it in shock and then back up at me. I wait for them to tell me to leave it, but instead they just nod for me to follow them.

The guards lead me into one of the docked transport ships. The crew of the ship looks haggard. They’re beaten and bruised. It looks like they haven’t slept in days -- maybe weeks.

By now everyone has heard about the bloody aftermath of the Battle of Starkiller Base. The haunted, hollow look in these fighters’ faces say the reports were not exaggerated. The Resistance is running on fumes. I don’t know how that makes me feel.

I’m led to a room. It’s a small room, a meeting or conference room. There’s a table and a handful of chairs. No drink or food on the table. Probably can’t afford it.

A door opens and a woman marches in. She’s short, strong, and determined. She has the look of someone who has had to fight for everything she has and shows no sign of stopping that fight any time soon. She’s wearing grease-stained coveralls, with her sleeves rolled up to her elbows.

I’m reminded that, unlike the First Order, the Resistance doesn’t have uniforms. They’re a ragtag group of people brought together with a common goal. The few uniforms you do see are those New Republic veterans who joined the cause.

She looks me up and down and nods, “you’re Captain Sardis?”

“Friends call me Beacon,” I say.

“We’re not friends,” she snaps and then stops. With a forced smile she says, “sorry, Let me start over. My name is Rose Tico.”

“Beacon Sardis,” I smile back, willing to start over.

“Thank you for seeing us,” she says. She’s trying to sound congenial, but her voice is strained and focused.

I see through her. There are a thousand things she would like to say to me but is holding back. She doesn’t want to be here. She thinks she’s wasting her time. I cut to the chase. These sorts of meetings are always inspired by something -- usually a ship I recently plundered.

“Which one was it?”

“What?”

“It was the cargo ship,” I remember, “the one with the medical supplies.”

“The Cerulean Slipstream.”

I shrug. I don’t remember the name. I remember the ship and I remember the crew protesting my relieving them of their cargo, saying they were Resistance fighters.

Rose’s eyes burn. “You have any idea how many people died because we didn’t have the medical equipment we needed?”

“Do you have any idea what’s going on in the jungles of Uhhrloc?” I counter.

Rose is caught off guard. “What?”

“Uhhrloc.” I repeat. “Ever hear of it?”

“Uh . . .”

There’s no reason for her to have heard of it. There’s no reason for anyone to have heard of it.

“It’s a dwarf planet on the outskirts of the outer rim. It holds no strategic importance for the war effort and it is devoid of any resources you might find useful. What it does have is a population caught between two bloodthirsty warlords vying for control of the planet. Their civil war has been raging longer than you or I have been alive, but nobody cares. Nobody’s thinking about them or sending aid. They are on nobody’s scanners.”

Rose is silent.

“So if you’re asking me to weigh the lives of soldiers who have knowingly put their life on the line against families who are just have the rotten luck of being born on the wrong planet at the wrong time . . .” I don’t finish my sentence. I don’t have to.

“The First Order-”

I cut her off. “The First Order doesn’t care any more about them than the New Republic did.” I wait before adding, “or the Resistance does.”

“But-”

“What’s the offer?” We now agree on something. We both think she’s wasting her time. “What’s on the table?”

Rose clears her throat and slides a datastick across the table. “We provide you intel. The Resistance has connections with many trade federations, conglomerates and unions. We can tell you who is shipping what where when.”

I’m stunned. This is not the sort of shady under-the-table transaction I’d come to expect from the Resistance. I’ve had the First Order approach me on several occasions, floating proposals such as this my way. I’ve turned them all down. This is the kind of deceit and duplicitousness I’ve come to expect from them, not the scrappy do-gooders standing against evil.

Which means they trust me. I’m a pirate. I’m a thief. I’m a liar. I’m not a murderer. I may take your cargo, but I have no use for your life. That must be what makes this little parley okay.

Taking all this in, I look up at Rose. “In exchange for?”

“You leave Resistance transports alone.”

“That’s it?”

“And,” Rose stalls, “you give us first dibs on any supplies we may need.”

I don’t have to think about it for long. “So we put our necks on the line with no guarantee we’ll gain anything for it? Should the Resistance decide they need whatever we find, we forfeit it?”

“There are plenty of transports and cruisers for you to plunder. If you’re half as good as they say, you stand to make a fortune — even if we take half of what you find.”

“Half?”

Rose winces. She spoke too quickly. I can see it on her face. She’s mentally cursing herself. She picked a number at random. I can see that. But the seed has been planted. It’s taking root and pushing every other thought out of my head. Should I take this deal, what would prevent them from claiming everything we plundered?

I’m tempted to take the datastick and leave. Take what’s being offered and give nothing back in return.

I shake my head. “I’m not a smuggler,” I say.

“We don’t need anything smuggled,” she says with a definitive shrug.

“One does not become a pirate to enlist in a chain of command. I go where the stars lead me. I’m not for hire.”

Rose rolls her eyes. “We’re not asking you to do anything you’re not already doing. We’re helping you and are asking, in return, for you to help us.” Then she adds, “but honestly just you not stealing from us would be enough.”

I shake my head. “You have no idea who I am or why I do what I do.”

“I’m not an idiot,” she says, “I know the galaxy isn’t black and white. I know that we aren’t going to enter some grand utopia after this war is over. I know that probably, for you, it doesn’t matter who wins or loses. You’re still going to be out there robbing the space lanes.”

I don’t say anything.

“Am I right?” Rose asks. “Tell me I’m wrong if I am. Tell me I’m not asking you to care about something you don’t care about. Tell me you’re not nearly as selfish as I think you are.”

I didn’t come here to be lectured. I nod, give her a smile, and wish her and the Resistance luck. They’re going to need it. Then I turn to leave.

“Wait!”

I don’t wait. I head straight for the door. Before the door opens, though, the room is suddenly awash with a flickering blue light.

“Captain Sardis?”

I turn around. Standing in front of me, from lightyears away, is a young woman in a sleeveless tunic. Her hair is pulled back away from her face, some of it in a bun and some of it falling down over her shoulders.

“My name is Rey.”

I don’t move. I’ve heard of her. She’s being hailed as the last hope of the Resistance. They say she’s a Jedi. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t a young woman with wide, hopeful eyes and a small, eager smile.

“Beacon,” I say.

“Beacon then,” she smiles. “I’ve always wanted to meet you.”

“What?” I can’t believe she knows who I am.

“You’re the infamous Jedi pirate.” Rey bristles with excitement. “Everyone knows who you are -- are you really a Jedi?”

“No,” I say, “I wouldn’t say that.”

“Did you build that,” she points at my lightsaber, “or did you steal it?”

“A little bit of both,” I admit. “I found it and I fixed it.”

“Can I see it?”

I unclip my saber and hold it up. She leans forward to get a better look and I’m not sure that’s how holocomms work.

“That’s beautiful,” she marvels, “you said you found it?”

“It was floating in a derelict ship we came across years ago.”

“In all the vastness of space, you just so happened to come across a derelict ship that contained a lightsaber from the Old Republic?”

“Pfft,” I hear Rose hiss. I can see her through the hologram. She doesn’t believe me.

I nod.

“That’s amazing,” Rey says. “If you don’t mind me saying so, I don’t think you found that lightsaber on accident. I’m not an expert on how the Force works,” she admits, “but from my experience . . . Lightsabers like to have owners.”

I look down at the hilt, with its intricate, swooping bronze and gold designs. “You think it dates back to the Old Republic?”

“Again,” Rey laughs, “I’m not an expert on the subject, but from what I’ve seen and what I’ve read, if it isn’t that old, it was certainly made to look it.”

I hadn’t thought to ask that. “I’ll see if the holocron can help-”

“You have a holocron?” Rey bursts. “A Jedi holocron?”

“I found it with the lightsaber.”

“And it still works?”

I nod.

“Whose was it?”

“An Kaminoan Peacekeeper called Oh Lin.”

“I haven’t heard of them but that’s amazing.” Rey shakes her head, her eyes wide with wonder. “I’d really like to see that some time. Maybe we can meet up some time?” She suggests. “If you’re going to be helping us maybe I can coordinate to be at one of the drop-offs?”

To my knowledge, I’ve never met another Force-sensitive person before. The idea of being able to sit down with someone like me and compare notes is truly exciting.

“That would be great,” I say.

“Great!” Rey smiles back. “Well then, I hope to see you soon, Captain Sardis.”

“You too.”

“May the Force be with you,” she says as the hologram flickers away.

Rose looks at me with a cocky smile. She’s won and she knows it. I take the datastick.

“You’re never allowed to claim over half,” I say.

She holds out a hand. “Shall I tell the general we have a deal?”

I clip my lightsaber back to my belt and take her hand. “We have a deal.”

Fordsy is less than pleased with the deal, but the rest of the crew sees the benefits outweighing the cost -- though none are too excited about the likelihood that this will put us directly into the crosshairs of the First Order.

#Fordsy #Humaira #Rose Tico #Rey #Reminiscence Therapy #The Spark #Lesson One #Star Wars #34 ABY

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pitiflame-archived · 7 years ago

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Verse details for an AU in which Rommath loses his mage abilities. Inspired from that one Legend of Korra episode. This verse is still highly a WIP so things are bound to change but for now this is the start of the verse.

Despite the long years since the Nexus Wars and the demise of Malygos, the aspect of magic itself, there were still those radical few within the Blue Dragonflight that kept Malygos’s ideology that their dragonflight should be the only ones to wield anything relating to magic. These radicals would eventually join together to take matters into their own hands after Malygos’s defeat within the Eye of Eternity, picking up where their aspect left off and ridding the world of mortals who wield these powerful forces.

This group would hunt down any being that held an ounce of magic to them and with their combined abilities would simply remove this aspect of a person, rendering their powers useless. As far as any mortal knowledge goes, it seems impossible to reverse this effect. The group does not kill the people they seek out as they believe having blood on their hands would expose them and they would inevitably end up same as Malygos; destroyed by the world they just want to protect.

They do this as they believe the world as a whole would be better off without the recklessness mortals portray upon wielding such forces. Only dragons should be capable to have such great responsibilities. Mortals have proven that they are far incapable of this. Magic is not a toy, it is not a game, and they play with it like it is. It’s insulting.

The group of Blues would target people at random, mages being the more evident ones they go after. From the weak to strong, they will find every single one if its the last thing they do. This, of course, makes Rommath a prime target as he’s renowned to be one of the most powerful magi in Quel’thalas, even Azeroth itself. One does not simply overlook his talent as Grand Magister, after all.

So they begin studying him. Looking for signs of weakness, anything they can use to get close to him and strike. It was a difficult task as the Grand Magister constantly had a guarded demeanor about him. With nobody particularly close to him, they could not imitate anybody and lure him into a trap that way. They sent spies, infiltrators, anything that could help them. Months passed and they were still fruitless in their attempts to strike at the Grand Magister.

Eventually they became agitated and restless, wanting to finally be rid of this troublesome elf. They came up with a “Plan B” of sorts which basically boiled down to stealing the Grand Magister away from his own home in the middle of the night, tossing him through a portal, and sending him into their own domain within the Nexus. It was their only option even if it had been a reckless one. They could not wait for much longer, waiting for some opportunity they didn’t know would ever arise.

It would be here in the Nexus that Rommath would attempt to battle his captors but with their combined efforts and superiority, he was easily overwhelmed and his powers were erased. He was, of course, returned home afterwards though the memory of what exactly happened would be spotty as well. When he would awaken the next morning, Rommath would come to realize every spell he knew was gone. Or rather he was unable to cast them, even the most basic ones.

To say he panicked was an understatement. His entire life had been dedicated to the arts of magic, he had worked tirelessly day and night for centuries to become what he was today. All of what he had worked so hard to achieve, all of it was gone in a matter of moments. What could he do now?

#ll Pending AU Tag #Powerless!AU #i should probably write his other verses out too tbh

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strainofthestress · 7 years ago

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Fanfic: Somebody to Share it With Ch. 9

Nexus Memorial Garden, 0630 Hours

It was a simple memorial – a single wall, eight feet tall, sitting along two adjacent walls of the memorial garden. Made of polished steel, names and dates were inscribed in neat rows starting from one side and reaching for the other, having filled up only the first half of the first side. A pedestrian path followed the wall, lined with lights which illuminated the inscriptions from below.

The memorial was created after the uprising, once the dust had settled and loved ones had been found, when bodies were recovered and cries of despair shared. The entire process was treated with a universal solemnity, the uprising making veterans of them all. Pieces of the station were taken from the debris, melted down and forged into a single, continuous piece, pre-built and bent to specification. There were contests for the design of the gardens which took up the rest of the memorial garden; the winning design was a circular flower bed with paths running a crosshair through it, flowers from all the species’ home worlds mixed among each other in a demonstration of the solidarity which a new galaxy necessitated. Atop the wall was inscribed a passage from a letter found on a Turian rebel soldier’s body after a battle:

“May the memories of those lost be the foundations of futures built.”

It was later discovered that the soldier was killed by his own brother, a recruit of the then-growing security forces. That detail was never officially revealed, but had since become part of the station’s local lore.

As the simulated sun rose above the horizon, a single figure stood in front of the wall, dressed in a plain shirt and pants, no flower, no letter, no token of memory or appreciation as littered the seams at the base of the wall. He stood with his hands in his pockets, looking up at one of the most recent names, moisture building in his eyes as they threatened to tears.

A Turian approached from the figure’s left side, doing everything she could to be quiet, somberness never her forte. As she approached the human, she looked up with him, reading the name which stood among so many others.

“Alec Ryder, Human Pathfinder; 2129 – 2819”

She spoke, softly, the dual tone of her voices similar so as to sound as soft as possible.

“Death makes equals of us all, but sends our actions to eternity.”

Ryder looked towards her, blinking frantically as he tried to keep his eyes dry. His voice cracked, slightly, as he spoke.

“Huh?”

“Old Turian proverb. My dad used to say it all the time. The full version is ‘Run towards the battle and fight with valor, for death makes equals of us all but sends our actions to eternity.’ Seemed appropriate.”

“Yeah, Dad would have liked that.”

A short silence as the station sat on the precipice between night and day around the two. Ryder spoke again.

“I miss him.”

“I didn’t think you knew him terribly well?”

“I didn’t. And, I think that’s why. Dad was never terribly good with kids, my sister and myself included. When I was younger, I always dreamed of being old enough that he and I would be able to stand as equals, speak to each other without the hang-ups, the awkwardness, the friction. I came to Andromeda, and I thought I had honestly found that. And then…”

Ryder’s breath caught as he lost the battle with the moisture in his eyes, sniffling slightly to try and keep his composure, his eyes shutting while a single tear ran down his cheek.

Vetra looked towards him, reaching out to him in every way but physically. Her face was a perfect portrait of Turian concern, her body language oriented towards Wes as she turned more towards him instead of the wall. She recognized the names on it, some of the ones preceding Alec’s were friends of hers. But Vetra didn’t keep friends, not the way other people did. To her, friend was synonymous with useful. That is, until The Tempest. Until Ryder.

She looked to the wall and saw more lost opportunities than lost friends. She could empathize if she wanted, fall into the trap of imagining the pain which each name on the wall brought to countless people in an already hostile galaxy. But that was a rabbit hole nobody on the station got caught in. Maybe once they knew they would survive they could truly mourn their dead as a group, a community. Until then, though, they would carry their loss individually, see only the names they needed to on the wall, for their own sakes, for everybody’s.

Ryder spoke, again, his voice cracking as he struggled to maintain his composure.

“I don’t… I don’t think I really let it sink in, at first. That he was gone. When Mom died it took me a few months to really accept that she was… is… gone. And that was when I wasn’t doing much. But here… Dad dies, I become pathfinder, and next thing I know we’re saving the lives of everybody in this galaxy. But now that I think about it, now that I really let myself…”

Wes stopped, his eyes closing as his chest began to heave in poorly concealed sobs. Vetra’s Turian ears could hear his ragged breath, the small cries which were hidden with pursed lips under his sobs, the sounds of a grown man trying to believe that he isn’t a young boy anymore. Wes took his right hand out of his pocket, reaching forwards and touching his dad’s name, not bothering to look up to find it, not needing to.

Vetra took a step closer as Wes continued to cry, tears dripping onto the floor in a soft stream, small droplets forming smaller puddles on the ground beneath him. She watched as he became a boy again, a lonely ten year old watching his father leave for another length of time he couldn’t comprehend, for another mission he couldn’t understand, torn from him no matter how many times he begged and cried and did all his chores and made daddy as proud as he could. She watched as he became a teenager once more, staring silently at the floor as he denied as ardently as he could how much the empty seat at the table bothered him, how much the absence at his school games ate him away when he looked over to see his mom and sister, waving as enthusiastically as they could. She watched as he stood on the threshold once more, his father drifting out of his grasp by means more permanent than a hover car this time; as he realized that there was no return trip from this one.

Wes closed his lips tighter, mustering all he could to pull his voice back together, glancing quickly to the side to Vetra, daring to show her his blood shot and weary-red eyes before he spoke.

“I… I wish he were here. We need him… I need him. He always had a plan, always knew what to do.”

Another sob, another one held back only by patience and will. Vetra took another step forwards, a hand extending to rest on Ryder’s shoulder, a show of support and solidarity in the typical turian way. He continued.

“But, more than that… more than any of that… I just wish I had more time. There was so much I didn’t know, so much we never talked about. Mom, Sarah, all of it. He was never there when she was alive, and when she... left... well I think it broke him a little. All I wanted from him, when we got out here, was a chance to put it back together. To be the son he wanted, and have the Dad I needed. But now…”

Again, Ryder’s voice broke at the thought and he let his chest be carried by another round of sorrowful sobs. Vetra stood, awkwardly, her hand still on Ryder’s shoulder. It was uncommon for Turians to show so much emotion period, not to mention to individuals they had known for less than lifetimes. She looked around, slightly, as if to gain some insight as to help her friend from the plants around, but Ryder’s breath continued, and she continued to watch as he broke a little further with each moment.

Her heart screamed, as loud as Ryder’s sobs would be is not held back, as she watched her friend – more than friend – fall to pieces in front of her, standing helpless as it happened. It reached a fever pitch. She reached out, pulling Ryder into the best approximation of a Human hug she could muster. The height difference provided difficulties, Ryder’s head ended up squarely on the top edge of her breast plate, but she held him as tight as she could, as tight as she had wanted to, as she felt his chest rise and fall in her arms.

Wes was startled by the move, not expecting such comfort in a place, a galaxy, where he had concluded that comfort was a luxury not afforded to those who blazed the trail, but it was far from unwelcome. His breath calmed slightly as he felt Vetra’s arms around him, felt her warmth through the soft-suit under her armor. Softly, she spoke, the vibration from her subharmonics spreading through his body.

“I know, Wes. I know. I won’t pretend to be good at this whole… feelings and comfort thing. And I know that’s a lousy way to comfort somebody. But here’s what I am good at: judging character. And if there is anybody with a more upstanding character, with more potential to lead this whole circus to greater heights than it had ever imagined… I have yet to meet them. You’ll make it. You don’t need him to set the path anymore.”

Wes nodded in the embrace, struggling to keep speaking.

“I… I know. But, I want him. Dammit I want him, Vetra. I want him, I want Mom. I want Sarah. I want this whole damned galaxy to stop giving us opportunities and hope only to take them away three seconds later! I want it to be easy for once, just for once, to not have to make the decision which dictates who lives and who dies! I want…”

The resentful anger and passion which he had built up dissipated as his shoulders hunched farther forwards and Wes hit the bottom of his emotional well.

“I want to go back home.”

Vetra looked down, startled, having never heard Wes say something even remotely similar to that before. Her face was instantly furrowed with concern as Ryder avoided her eyes, staring intently at the ground as the repurcussions of what he, of what the human pathfinder, had just said hit him. He pushed slowly away from Vetra, his motions filled with the lethargy of a man who had conceded, who had gone up against everything two galaxies could throw at him and come up short, defeated, a lonely warrior in the sands of time and battles past.

Without warning, he turned, walking away brisk steps carrying him quickly out of the memorial garden as Vetra watched, dumbstruck, only running after him a few moments afterwards, once her wits found her again.

Apartment 7113, Tower 5, Nexus, 0703 Hours

After chasing Wes through the Nexus, she eventually came face to face with the closed door of his quarters, his real ones, not the stateroom on the Tempest. Well, I suppose it depends on what you define as real, doesn’t it? She pressed the doorbell, punishing the poor panel as she tried to follow him, tried to help him out of desperate love. The soft chime went off inside the room, echoing through what she could only presume was a somewhat large room, met mutely with deafening silence. She tried for minutes, pressing time and again, the chime becoming as close to a continuous tone as the programming would allow. Eventually, however, she stopped, dropping her poor hand to her side as she turned around, sinking down to the ground with her back against the door.

She sat, and waited, staring at the wall across from her as she thought about what had just happened, what had just been said, what change had just come over Wes. People passed by, giving her strange looks which she didn’t, couldn’t notice. All of her but her body was in that apartment, with him.

After a quarter of an hour the response chime sounded and Vetra shot up, standing up as the doors opened with a hopeful hiss, revealing a standard nexus apartment in which a single occupant sat. The furniture was the typical mix of soft grey and stark white with the occasional blue accent, none of it moved since it was originally placed by the appearance of it. There were no hangings on the wall save those that were given with the unit, and Vetra noticed even the kitchen looked barely less than new.

The only thing in the apartment that wasn’t standard issue was Wes, sitting on the couch in the middle of the apartment, staring at a photograph in his hand. Vetra walked slowly over, sitting down next to him looking at the photo as she did so. It was one of a young Wes and Sarah, both hugged tightly by a smiling pair of parents. Vetra pivoted her head, considering Wes’ face as he stared at the picture. His expression was blank, passionless, as neutral as it could possibly be; and that, more than anything else, worried her. Without prompting, he began.

“Look at me. A pathfinder who wishes he were home. How rich is that.”

His voice was laden with cynical disgust as he tossed the photo onto the coffee table in front of the couch, the pristine frame and glass showing that it was not a picture which was used to this kind of treatment. Vetra spoke softly, carefully, with the softness of a woman walking through a room of sleeping demons.

“What brought all this on?”

“After we got back from the thing with your sister, I took some time to go through the eidetic triggers I’ve found. Seeing Mom, Dad, when they were young it… got to me. I don’t just watch them, I feel them, like being a passenger in somebody else’s body, somebody else’s mind. And, in this case, that somebody is my Dad.”

“So you were reminded how much you miss him?”

Wes physically flinched at the last pair of words, nodding slowly with pursed lips before continuing.

“Yeah. One thing led to another, you got to sit through the ugliest parts, and now I’m the pathfinder who just wants to go home.

Vetra reached out, taking Wes’ hand as she spoke.

“Wes, it’s okay to…”

“No, Vetra, it’s not!” Wes’ raised voice started Vetra as he yanked his hand away, thrusting his hands into his pockets before taking them out, combing his right hand once through his hair before crossing both his arms in front of him. He paced while he spoke, angrily gesturing as he practically yelled at Vetra.

“It’s not okay! I’m a pathfinder, for god’s sake. If I miss my Dad, fine. If I miss my mom, yeah, that’s okay. But wanting, and saying, that I want to go home?! That’s just damn right inexcusable. I’m supposed to set the course for these people, for all of them. You know what that means? Huh? Because if you do, let me know, because I have no goddammed clue! But what I do know, what I do know, is that it doesn’t mean wanting to just run back home like a scared little kid. What I do know is that it means I have to want to be out there, everyday, finding them new places to go. Because if I don’t, we all die. And yet…”

“And yet, here you are wanting to go home.”

“Yeah! Some pathfinder that is. ‘Oh, I miss my mommy, oh my daddy is dead now.’ Look at me! How many other people on this station have lost their families, huh?! How many others came to Andromeda for a new future with somebody only to get them ripped away by the Scourge, or the Uprising, or the Kett? And are they out their wasting time getting sad? No! They’re doing their jobs, like people should.”

Vetra’s voice rose in tone as she began to get annoyed with Ryder’s self-belittling tirade.

“Wes you’re too hard on yourself you should..”

“No, Vetra I shouldn’t! If I let up on myself, we don’t make it. Dad knew that. He got it. Sometimes, I wish I was more like him, because for how much I hated him when I was younger for never being home he got his missions done, he saw them through. Maybe I should do that to, huh? I don’t know. I just don’t know! But I do know that Alec Ryder was the Pathfinder we wanted, the Pathfinder we needed. He was the father I never had, and I was going to get him as one now. But you know what?” he laughed, manically. “That’s not going to happen! Nope! By dad, hope you enjoy being dead! And it sucks! Yeah, it sucks hard! So now I’m left having never gotten to know my dad, Sarah’s in a coma, we’re all barely surviving out here, and you’re left with a second-rate…”

“Enough!!!”

Vetra stood up, yelling as she did so. Her mandibles flared with unconcealed anger as she walked towards Wes, grabbing him firmly by both arms and giving him a strong shake as she did so. Her voice was loud, hard, angry with a specific love woven into her words.

“I would never tolerate anybody else talking to you that way, and I don’t know why I’m letting you. So stop it. Now.”

“It’s not your responsibility to tolerate anything on my behalf!”

“No, it is.”

“How? How on earth can it be your…”

“Because I love you, dammit!”

The words were out of Vetra’s mouth before she knew what she was saying.

The two stopped, staring at each other as they both felt their pulses pounding. Moments passed as eternities in their minds as they both absorbed what had just happened, what was just said. The room sat at a sudden still as though time had been frozen.

Eventually, Vetra spoke, her voice kept metered with all her will power.

“Now, here’s what’s going to happen. You are going to stop tearing yourself up about something you can’t control. You feel the way you do, big whoop. You’re going to sit down on that couch and you’re going to tell me exactly how you do feel.”

As she spoke, her vice-like grip on Wes’ arms wheeled him around, setting him heavily down on the couch. His eyes were still slightly vacant, as if he had seen the very nature of the world change before his eyes. Vetra sat next to him, doing everything in her power to keep what little cool and control she had left after her outburst.

“So, tell me.”

Wes shook his head, physically startled by the prompt. He let out a large sigh as his eyebrows sank on his head and he cradled his chin in his arms, resting his elbows against his knees. Slowly, cautiously, he began.

“I guess… going through Dad’s literal memories made me realize just how much about him I don’t know. There were some things in there, some pictures and journals I found in his cabin, about things I didn’t even know he was involved in. And if it were months ago, I would just ask him about them. But having questions without the possibility of answers only makes it more apparent that you don’t have answers.”

He paused, collecting his thoughts again as Vetra watched him attentively, her eyes squinted as she hung on every word.

“Knowing that I’ll never see him again it’s… tough, you know?” Vetra nodded. “It makes me wish I could re-wind time, go back to a simpler one when I could ask all these questions and we were still a family. I guess that’s what I mean when I say I want to go home. I left the milky way with a family of three. As of right now, I’m the only one standing. I would never have known until now, but that makes you feel awful alone in the galaxy.”

Softly. “I know.”

A small human chuckle. “Yeah, I guess you do. Who am I to complain about absent parents, right? But I think that’s what I mean. That I want to go back to having a family again, a place, a clan. Add onto that all the stress of being Pathfinder, and you’ve got yourself a nice little toxic Wes Ryder cocktail.”

Vetra nodded, staring intensely at Wes’ face as she monitored both his expression ad his vitals, checking both for signs of lying. Seeing deceipt in neither, she accepted the answer, sitting a little farther back in her chair.

“Wes, it’s okay to want all that. And it’s okay to be stressed. But you’re not alone. The Tempest crew – it’s like a family. We’re all there for each other. I know this is a lot for you to work through, and that you need some time on your own. But while you do, we’re there, I’m there, for you.”

Wes looked up, smiling weakly as he nodded at the turian.

“Thanks, Vetra. That… that means a lot.”

Vetra stood, turning to leave.

“I’ll leave you to think things over. Promise you won’t keep beating yourself up over this?”

“Promise. Oh, and Vetra?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you too.”

All the heart attacks in Andromeda caused less skipped beats than that one statement.

Andromeda Initiative Messaging System V2.6

[Vetra] (1900) Hey

[Ryder] Hey

[Vetra] How’re you doing after this morning?

[Ryder] Better. Still pretty messed up, but a lot less so. Thanks for talking some sense into me.

[Vetra] Somebody has to. Not beating yourself up anymore?

[Ryder] It’s an ongoing thing. But not for that, no.

[Vetra] I guess it’s progress.

[Ryder] I don’t mind too much. So yeah.

[Vetra] (1915) So are we going to talk about this morning?

[Ryder] What do you mean?

[Vetra] Playing dumb doesn’t suit you, you know exactly what I mean.

[Ryder] Really, you’re going to do this over text? We’re literally less than 10 meters away from each other.

[Vetra] Yeah, I am. At least here I can re-read and edit things before I hopelessly blurt things out.

[Ryder] Fair enough.

[Vetra] I like to think so.

[Ryder] (1930) So did you mean it?

[Vetra] Wow, that message took a full 15 minutes to write?

[Ryder] Just 15 minutes of revisions and re-reads.

[Vetra] Well played. Well played. How’s the space weather looking?

[Ryder] Thanks. Stop Dodging. Did you mean it?

[Vetra] (1940) Yes.

[Ryder] Now look who’s taking the long time to type.

[Vetra] Shut up.

[Vetra] Did you.

[Ryder] Yes.

[Vetra] So what now.

[Ryder] I don’t know. Go on dates?

[Vetra] Doesn’t that seem a bit serious?

[Ryder] I want you to read over the past half an hour of texts and tell me it isn’t already serious.

[Vetra] (1942) Okay, fair enough.

[Ryder] You actually read over all of them, didn’t you?

[Vetra] Don’t know what you’re talking about. Look who’s doding now.

[Ryder] Fair enough. I guess, if both you and I were telling the truth, then this is worth exploring.

[Vetra] Leave it to a pathfinder to make love sound like an expedition.

[Ryder] You love me.

[Ryder] Wait

[Ryder] Poor word choice on my part. Sorry.

[Vetra] Don’t be, seemed entirely appropriate, actually.

[Ryder] Fair enough. So… dates?

[Vetra] Can’t really think of a better place to start.

[Vetra] Anything you want to get out of the way before you ask me out?

[Ryder] Not really. I mean, you took me pretty much entirely by surprise this morning. Not like I prepared a speech or anything.

[Vetra] Joined the club. I didn’t even mean to say that this morning.

[Ryder] No? How long have you known?

[Vetra] Dinner and a few drinks, then we’ll go over how I fell in love with you.

[Vetra] Does it feel weird to see it aloud like that to you too?

[Ryder] Gotta admit, yeah, it does. Wanna agree to keep that word put away until we’re a little more… sure, of things?

[Vetra] Good idea. Let’s do that.

[Ryder] (2003) There’s a levo-dextro diner on the Nexus that just opened. Wanna try there tomorrow night.

[Vetra] You’ve got yourself a date.

[Ryder] The Pathfinder Project of the Andromeda Initiative: The galaxy’s most expensive pick up line.

[Vetra] Haha.

[Ryder] (0330) One more thing?

[Vetra] Ryder. It’s 330 in the morning. What?

[Ryder] With regards to how serious we keep things, want to keep them light? Like, if either of us decides this isn’t what we thought, we can leave with no repurcussions? And in order to find that out, we can see other people if we want?

[Vetra] Yes

[Ryder] Just Yes? Is that a “Yes, I like that” or “Yes, that’s tolerable”?

[Vetra] That’s a “Yes, it’s 330 in the f*cking morning, now go the hell to sleep and we’ll talk tomorrow.

As Vetra drifted back to sleep and Ryder returned to his studies, neither had any intentions of trying to see anyone else, and both felt a warm glow in their chest which hadn’t been there for a long time.

#fics #fanfiction #male ryder #vetra nyx #vetra romance #vetra x ryder #Mass Effect #mass effect fanfiction #mass effect andromeda #me: andromeda #Andromeda fanfic

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