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sheps-shepherd · 4 years ago

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Title: Perfectly Perfect

Pairing: Mikleo/Sorey; Mikleo & Sorey

Rating: T (for non-explicitly implied sexual content)

Written for @sormikweek 2020 Day 8: New Moon - New beginnings; Blank page / El Nath - Neutrality for good or evil; Symbolically called the Shepherd

A/N: This is by far my favorite piece that I wrote for the entire week. It's also the piece that started the whole idea to use this week to expand this universe that I'm really excited to build on and share. Expect not only the rest of the week's prompts, but many more independent works from this world.

"This world" being a BBC Merlin AU in which magic is illegal, Mikleo is a sorcerer hiding who he is, and Sorey is a prince living his best sunshine life. In case you haven't heard that spiel already.

Enjoy!

Read on AO3

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“What if I changed my name?”

Mikleo turned from the spellbook he was reading with a smile on his lips, sure that Sorey would greet him with a matching one. But Sorey wasn’t even looking at him, let alone smiling. He was standing by the window, arm braced against the stone wall above it, staring out into the courtyard with a shadowed look on his face. Mikleo’s smile faded. He’d been catching Sorey with that kind of look on his face more often these days than he liked.

“Where did that come from?” Sorey offered a half-hearted shrug and stayed silent. Mikleo didn’t buy it for a second. He closed the book and stood from his spot, crossing over to the other side of the window. “Is this about the coronation tomorrow?” Sorey winced like he’d been hit, which was as good as an admission in Mikleo’s eyes. “Sorey, it’s okay to be nervous-”

“That’s not it,” Sorey said, shaking his head insistently. “It’s not nerves.”

“Then why have you been thinking about changing your name?”

Sorey’s jaw worked like he was wrestling with the words inside his mouth. Mikleo waited patiently, leaning against the wall as he watched his prince.

King, Mikleo mentally corrected himself. Today was the last day that Sorey would be a prince. Although, in Mikleo’s opinion, Sorey had been a king for a long while already; it just hadn’t been official until now.

“Because I don’t think I can do it.” Mikleo opened his mouth, ready with another protest. But Sorey finally turned to look at him, and the shadows hiding in the green of his eyes made him pause.

Sorey finished, “I don’t think I can take the crown if I still have his name.”

“Sharing his name doesn’t mean anything. You couldn’t be more different than him.”

“I know that. I know that, but….” Sorey squeezed his eyes shut and bowed his head. “Mikleo, I can’t stop thinking about it. And if I can’t stop thinking about it, then how can I expect anyone else to?”

Mikleo reached out, placing his hand on Sorey’s shoulder as gently as he could. The muscle beneath his palm was taut with what he now understood was several days worth of stress and anxiety - this had been on Sorey’s mind for a while, probably ever since Velvet’s abdication.

No. Probably longer than that.

“You’re not Artorius, Sorey,” Mikleo said. The name tasted vile on his lips, and hearing it made Sorey flinch again. “You could never be. The darkness in him didn’t come from his name. It doesn’t work like that.”

“But that’s what I’m talking about,” Sorey argued weakly, cracking his eyes open and peeking back over at him. “It feels like that, doesn’t it? It’s like it’s a curse now. No one wants to say it. No one wants to hear it, and I’m supposed to accept his crown in front of the entire kingdom like I don’t know that’s what everyone watching will be thinking?” He pushed himself away from the wall, away from Mikleo. His hand went up to tangle in his hair. “I won’t do that, Mikleo. I can’t.”

“Sorey,” Mikleo said, as calmly as he could with his heart racing so frantically in his chest. “This is your destiny. You accepting the crown tomorrow was the only thing in Camlann’s history ever meant to be set in stone. And no, not everyone is going to understand that, but you will. You do.”

“But what does knowing that change? That becoming king of the kingdom Arthur broke should make me feel good? That doing it with his name should make me feel proud? Because I don’t feel anything but afraid.” Sorey raked his fingers the rest of the way through his hair, the strands sticking out wildly in their wake. Mikleo had always poked fun about how Sorey’s hair seemed to constantly look some semblance of messy, but there was nothing charming about seeing it that way now. “Arthur wasn’t even my real father, but I’m still destined to get stuck with all his mistakes? I know destiny means a lot to you, Mikleo, but that doesn’t solve anything.”

Mikleo’s magic stirred in his chest. It trembled in the anxious atmosphere that had filled the room like it understood it had become a topic of their conversation. No one knew the burdens that came with destiny as much as Mikleo did. Not even Sorey.

His magic strained against his fingertips. He knew what it wanted to do. He let it.

“You aren’t destined to be stuck with any of Artorius’ mistakes.” Mikleo looked back to the window and felt his magic rush out of him. The latch clicked and the window pane creaked open on purposely rusty hinges. A gust of wind flew into the room, buoyed by the sweep of his magic as Mikleo focused back on his king.

As he expected, Sorey’s eyes were wide; he still got starstruck every time he saw Mikleo’s eyes flash amethyst, even though he’d seen it plenty of times at this point. The breeze blew through Sorey’s hair, righting the strands that had been tousled in his frustrated pulling, circling around his head like a halo until it deemed every piece in its place. It sent his earrings fluttering across his cheeks as it swept down towards his shoulders and dispersed with a flutter of his sleeves. Sorey still stared at him, wonder replacing the shadows that had haunted his eyes. Mikleo stared back.

“You’re destined to fix them.”

Sorey - who was Mikleo’s destiny, and always would be - blinked slowly. Mikleo watched the anxiety bleed out of him, watched as his shoulders dropped and his fingers uncurled and his face softened. He suddenly looked exhausted, but it was better than seeing him look so hopeless.

“Yeah,” he said softly. “Yeah, okay, that was what I needed to hear. Thanks, Mikleo.” He brought a hand back to his face and rubbed at his eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to dump all that on you.”

That sounded more like the Sorey he knew. “Don’t apologize. If anything, I wish you had dumped this on me sooner.” He crossed the room again, and this time Sorey was there to greet him with a hand at his waist and a sheepish smile. “But I should have realized this wasn’t as easy on you as you were making it seem, so I’m sorry.”

Sorey opened his mouth, paused, then closed it again, like he had changed his mind about what it was he wanted to say. “It’s not easy,” he admitted finally, and Mikleo was sure he’d scrapped some kind of I’m fine, don’t worry about me speech. “It’s… been a lot to process. And sometimes it feels like I don’t have enough time to go through it all.”

“You don’t have to go through it all right now,” Mikleo said. “And you don’t have to go through it by yourself, either.” He placed his hand on Sorey’s arm, squeezing carefully. “I know Velvet’s leaving, and I’m not her, but-”

“I don’t want you to be like Velvet.” Sorey reached up to press his other hand against Mikleo’s cheek. “I want you to be you. Who else is going to tell me when I’m in over my head or being too dumb?”

“Velvet, but I see your point.” And his Sorey really was here again, because he threw his head back and laughed. A full, rich sound that made Mikleo think of sunshine - or maybe there were just things about Sorey that still left him starstruck, regardless of how many times he’d seen them. “As long as you’re okay with me taking up that mantle,” he continued once the other’s laughter died down, “I suppose that settles that.”

“I’m more than okay with it.” Sorey cocked his head then, staring at Mikleo with a fond grin on his face. “Sometimes thinking about all the destiny stuff makes my head spin, but I know it’s not all bad. After all, destiny brought me you….” His green eyes sparkled with mischief as he snuck his thumb beneath Mikleo’s fringe of hair, tracing across the skin of his forehead right beneath where his circlet rested. “...Luzrov Rulay.”

Like clockwork, Mikleo’s magic rose to the call. It swirled wildly in his chest, an involuntary spark that shot through his bones. The feeling wasn’t as alarming to him now as it had been when he was young with no idea of where it was coming from, which had resulted in his mother gifting him the circlet in the first place. Mikleo hadn’t felt that terrifying slipping feeling again until he met Sorey, although he eventually realized it wasn’t a rebelling of his magic, but instead an answer. The tampering enchantment he wore did nothing to block Sorey’s voice if he called, and Mikleo’s magic would never ignore their king. It pulsed in his palms, spiked aches in his knuckles on its way down to his fingertips, and then Mikleo felt the tell-tale rush that came with the beginning of a spell.

The window pane swung back and closed itself. The latch clicked. The drapes drew themselves shut with just enough of an opening for a sliver of light to keep the room dimly lit. But Mikleo still saw the stars that twinkled to life in Sorey’s eyes, also like clockwork as his own eyes flickered back to amethyst.

Sorey’s thumb moved again, now tracing a gentle path below his eye, watching intently for the moment the amethyst faded back to his natural blue. “There we go,” he murmured, and his magic sang from the praise as it settled back into his blood where it belonged.

Which then shot up to Mikleo’s face and burned his cheeks. “You know I hate it when you do that.”

“You know that I hate it when you use magic around me when I can’t fully appreciate it. It was only fair.”

“I was just trying to remind you.” He cleared his throat. “Which it seems I did.”

“You did.” Sorey’s other hand came up, and he tipped Mikleo’s head back as he properly cupped his face. “You definitely did.”

Sorey kissed him, and his magic simmered happily. It was all Mikleo could do to hold onto Sorey’s arms as he leaned into him, all warmth and comfort as Sorey thanked him in his own way.

Mikleo let him take his fill, felt his head begin to get that floaty feeling that came with Sorey’s more intense kisses; the kind of kisses they shared when they were alone that often built into something more, which were finally becoming more common between them, much to Mikleo’s delight. But when he felt one of Sorey’s hands leave his cheek in favor of moving down to press against the small of his back, Mikleo reluctantly twisted his face away, and brought his own hand up to keep the other at bay when he tried to follow.

“Wait,” he said, and Sorey’s pout was immediate. Mikleo pointedly ignored how cute it made him look. “The name thing. You need to tell me more about that first, before we get distracted.”

Sorey blinked. “Oh. That.” His brow furrowed thoughtfully. “Yeah, that wasn’t supposed to spiral into what it did. I really did just want your opinion.” His fingers flexed nervously at the small of Mikleo’s back. “So, what do you think? About maybe changing my name?”

“I think the question you should be asking me,” Mikleo answered, “is what I think of whatever name you’ve already picked out.”

Sorey was surprised enough to take a step back, and Mikleo rolled his eyes. “Honestly, Sorey, I’m not stupid. You wouldn’t have brought it up to me at all if you hadn’t gotten that far with it.” The pout returned. Mikleo ran his hands up Sorey’s arms, settling on his shoulders where he gave him a light shake. “Come on, tell me.”

“I really can’t get anything past you, can I?” Sorey sighed and straightened his shoulders. “I thought about just taking Velvet’s name. I mean, it would have made sense. The Crowe family is technically the one that should be on the throne. But.... I didn’t like the way that made me feel either. I’m not really Velvet’s brother any more than I was Arthur’s son.”

Mikleo opened his mouth, but the hand on his cheek shifted to cover it before he could speak. “And I don’t mean that in a bad way,” Sorey hurried on. “I just mean I think I’m finally ready to make my own name. I don’t want to be defined by Velvet any more than I do Arthur. I think it’s time I finally start just being Sorey, don’t you think?”

He took his hand away, dropping it awkwardly onto the bend of Mikleo’s elbow. Sorey stared at him with the most hopeful look Mikleo had ever seen on his face, and he didn’t know if it was possible to fall in love with someone twice, but their relationship had braved greater unknowns than that.

“Yeah,” he said softly, “I do.”

The smile that split across Sorey’s face put the sun itself to shame.

“I like Shepherd,” he said, voice quiet like it was taking everything he had not to burst with excitement. “I thought it fit nice. I came from something simple, just like all the people I’ll be leading. I want them to know that.”

Mikleo nodded as his eyes stung with pride. Hearing that made him prouder than any ancient script of destiny ever could. His destiny was to make sure Sorey took the crown tomorrow, but Sorey made himself worthy of it all on his own.

“Sorey Shepherd.” It was like magic, sizzling on his tongue. “I like it, too. It’s perfect.”

You’re perfect, Mikleo didn’t say. Sorey looked happy enough to cry without hearing that part.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. You’re right; it suits you.”

The pressure that suddenly appeared at the small of his back told him what Sorey’s next move was going to be, and he held up his hand again before Sorey could swoop back in. “But,” he chimed, maybe just a little teasingly as he watched impatience paint Sorey’s face, “to answer your original question, I think the whole thing’s a great idea. You of all people deserve a new beginning.”

Sorey smiled at him, something softer and more tender but just as warm. It matched the way he cradled Mikleo’s face. “You’re my new beginning,” he murmured. “You always were. You always will be.”

And while Mikleo would normally shove him for saying something so horribly cheesy, he let Sorey have that one. He wouldn’t have been able to stop the stupid smile that spread across his own face anyway.

Sorey’s fingers twitched against his cheek. “If there’s anything else from that spiel you want to talk about, you should say it now. Because once I kiss you again, I’m not going to be able to stop.”

Mikleo shook his head with absolutely nothing but fondness. He glanced over Sorey’s shoulder, eyeing the lock on his bedroom door, and his magic rushed to do his bidding. He heard the heavy click a moment later. The drapes were next with a glance over Sorey’s other shoulder, the sliver of light vanishing and shrouding them in darkness - but only for as long as it took Mikleo to light the candles on the walls.

The flickering flames sent shadows dancing across Sorey’s face, and Mikleo took a moment to appreciate the way he looked, just like he knew Sorey was doing as he felt his magic curl within him once more.

“No,” he answered, belatedly. “You can kiss me again.”

And Sorey, his sweet and shining king, was true to his word.

The next morning, His Majesty Sorey Shepherd of Camlann was formally sworn to the throne. The crown glittered where it nestled in his brown hair, caught by the sunlight streaming in through the windows as he stood on the dais, surrounded by his people. Rose and Zaveid were the ones who started the chant, passing it along to Velvet and Alisha and soon to everyone in the room. But Mikleo whispered his piece to himself, and his magic glowed with understanding. They would do everything they could with every bit of power they had to make sure the wish was fulfilled.

Long live the king.

#talesoffanfic #sormikweek2020 #sormik #sorey #mikleo #merlin au #tales of zestiria

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zombiejoepino · 4 years ago

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Chapter 7: The Fight (Cobb Vanth x OC fic)

Author's note: Thank you for taking the time to read this. I apologize for the long break but you know how it is with the creative process. The end is getting closer so I hope you enjoy this chapter. No pictures this time.

Word count: 4227 words

Genre: Adventure/Action/Western

Warning: angst

The dawn breaks on the dune sea, making its way for the twins. The sky is yellow, purple, and tiny traces of dark blue. Creatures run around the dusty land, chasing each other, jumping playfully until a bigger one snatches them to eat.

A blur scavenger pilots the sleek speeder gracefully across the vast wasteland, heading towards the rocky canyons. Space gets smaller at every turn but, the rider is precise with its movements. The masked figure turns its head for a moment to look at what’s coming right behind her.

The yellowish cruiser follows the rider with the same speed, making a few turns to keep going between the small spaces and fit the large structure.

The hooded figure keeps the attention back on the road and detours into a cave, impossible for the cruiser to fit in. The armored rider curses and turns around to look for another path.

Into the dark caves, the masked rider avoids all kinds of rocky structures, making sure not to crash with stones or creatures like the sleeping lizard that noticed her and roars at her. She turns before hitting the lizard and keeps moving into the darkness, looking for the end of the tunnel at some point.

She looks behind her and, with no trace of the yellow cruiser, she smiles to herself heading towards the light but, a large scaly tail hits the back of her speeder and makes her spin. She clenches it to keep balance and tries to slow down to stop spinning. The speeder wobbles and, it finally stops making her lose her balance for a moment.

Nath takes a deep breath and hears the roar. She comes out full speed and takes off into the dunes. Her hand reaches the mask and lowers it a bit to take a deep breath. The redhead licks her dry lips and smiles to herself.

“I lost him,” she thought until she picks on the peculiar sound and looks right behind her.

The Marshal flashed his pearly smile at her and waves. “What took you so long?” He yells, moving towards her. The redhead finally stops the speeder and gives him a look.

“How?” She throws her arms in the air. “There´s no way you got into that cave!”

“There are other ways to cross the canyon, princess. You just took the most difficult one.” He smirked.

“And it has nothing to do with the speed improvements I made for your cruiser?” She rests her hands on her hips and raises a brow.

Cobb shrugs and chuckles. “Ok, maybe that helped too. You wanted me to test it.” He hopped off the cruiser and moved towards her. “Did you bring the charges?”

“I set them already. Marc has the rest but he went north, just in case they wanna show up from there.”

“Which I doubt cause that’s sand people’s territory and there are only two ways that might end. You can’t reason with those monsters.” Cobb said.

“Neither you can’t reason with Qod. Before you call to pull out your blaster, he will stab you.” She explained while unloading her bag with rounded objects, the smoke bombs.

From high on a rock mesa, two more speeders can be seen gliding across the desert floor, approaching the couple. it is Marc, Triggar, his wife Kyranj, two more villagers, and a rusty R2 unit. Marc was carrying a large bag with charges and was followed by the droid. He waved at them and smiled.

“Marshal, Nath, we set the rest near the Valley. No sign of the sand people. Maybe the dragon scared them.” The young rider sets down the bag and addresses the droid. “Show them the map, R6.”

The rusted unit beeped and displayed a small hologram of the sandy area.

“We gotta keep a large distance between each charge so they can set up together once they pass around them,” Marc explained and placed the large smoke bomb on the ground.

“Are you sure that’s gonna work? What if it's a Jawa step on it by mistake?” Triggar asked.

“Nathsca and I modified these. She said she did this before.” Marc explained. “They normally work if something steps over them, but in this case, we add a small device that picks on movement.”

“So, whatever tremor over the average is detected, they will activate. It can be either a bunch of speeders or the Dragon. Whatever it is, we will know before they arrive.” The redhead added.

“If they come,” Triggar said.

“They will come,” Cobb spoke and looked back at Nath, that nodded in agreement.

“With Plog or not, Qod is very methodic. He will search around all area if it's necessary just to find us. That’s why we have to be ready.”

“So, once you place the charges, be careful with your feet and speeders, we don’t wanna set these off and let the Tusken Raiders find us,” Marc explained.

Cobb carried the bag with the charges and was followed by Marc and Trigger. The other two villagers carried the large smoke bomb and followed the trio.

Both women stayed together to place the smaller ones right outside the canyon. Nath used her bare hands to dig a small hole to place the first device that was carefully handed back by Kyranj.

“Have you done this before?” Nath asked.

“I used to work in the mines when I was about your age. We used these just to let others know if the area was safe or not.” The older brunette smiled.

“And how did you ended up in Mos Pelgo?”

“Between all political conflicts, battles and all, the Empire kinda left the slave camp. We fought and got ourselves free.”

“You all know each other for a long time, huh?” Nath covered the rest on the bomb with the sand and moved some feet away to dig the next one.

“We all come from different slave camps looking for refugees and any area away from the Empire or the Hutts. Anywhere just to be free. The Marshal knew of this abandoned town and we just followed him.” Kyranj set up the next bomb, right under the rocks.

“So you just chose him to be the Marshal?” Nath asked.

“Yes, he is a good leader and shooter.” The brunette smiled.

“Yeah, I guess.” Nath nodded. “Just not when he is wounded and being stubborn.” She muttered.

“What about you? Are you sure you are not royalty or something?” Kyranj asked and smiled at her. “I can’t understand why a bunch of pirates are after you.”

“Well, this is personal for Qod. He wants to find me and kill me just to make a point.” She digs into the sand to bury the small bomb. “And he is good at finding people. He did it for a long time for the Empire.”

“Sounds to me like an angry ex,” Kyranj said.

“Well, you are not wrong about that. He was my… let’s say he is very possessive. He fired a Mon Calamari once just for talking to me. It took me a while to make him understand he was there to fix his cruiser, but Qod didn’t care about that and still got mad at me.” She explained.

“Did you even liked him?” Kyranj asked.

Nath shrugged and chuckled. “I know the normal thing to do would be falling in love and all. When I met him, I was afraid of him. I thought he was going to shoot me for stealing from him but he didn’t do anything. He gave me a long stare and asked me to be part of his crew.

At that moment, I felt important. I had no one else, no family or friends so, he made me his woman even though he is way older. It was nice to be something to someone, but, I never thought he was that bad and I didn’t mind when he dragged me into his criminal crew cause I was tired of my planet, I needed to get out and we kinda used each other.” She paused.

“Then he got possessive and you can figure out the rest. I keep having nightmares about him.”

“And how do you cope with that?”

“Not sleeping but since I got here I’ve been able to sleep better even if I'm stressed.”

“I suppose the stress drains you, even from your nightmares. Or maybe it's because you're staying with The Marshal.” She smiled at Nath.

“What?” She laughs and shakes her head.

“Think about it. He is an honest man and makes you feel safe. He has no shady intentions and keeps his word on protecting others. Dunno, I thought you two had a thing.”

“What thing? He is … he just let me stay there.” The redhead rolled her eyes.

“There are rumors.” The brunette teases. “There´s nothing wrong with liking Marshal Vanth. He seems to like you.”

“But I'm not sure if I like him.” The redhead shrugged.

“You are not sure or you don’t want to admit it?”

Nath was about to say something but she noticed the men approaching them. Both of them rushed to stand up and joined the group.

“We covered the area, so, it's time to move,” Cobb said. “Might be a day or two before they come. I dunno if they are using their ship or speeders to show up. I´ll take my chances on the speeders.” He paused and looked back at the redhead. “What do you think, Roznev?”

Nath just gave him a slight nod. “Expect anything from him.”

The cruisers and speeders took off across the mighty dunes. The young redhead was having second thoughts about this situation. Even though the town was willing to fight back, Nath knew Qod and his ruthless men.

After the last job and getting a bit paranoid, the crew got way smaller. Some members went missing or were found dead without explanation, but Nath knew that Qod was behind it. He was taking down all members from that last mission and putting together a new crew. Now, she regretted running away from him cause that would give him enough reasons to believe she was the traitor. She panicked, escaped, and dragged all these people into her mess.

The Marshal noticed her getting lost in thoughts. He knew that look.

…

Mos Espa. Morning.

Anyone that walked by the Sullustan shop got curious about the large rounded structure and peculiar wings. Some of them still remember when the TIEs flew around the large dunes, making flying tests near the Valley that would scare the Sandpeople or other creatures.

Unlike Hutts that killed creatures for fun, the Empire was more practical and blew up full caves with Tusken Raiders or even a Sandcrawler.

They didn’t like anyone with shady operations and if these hooded creatures denied joining them, it was easier to take them out. Eventually, the Empire's influence lowered they abandoned the planet, letting the Hutts take over once more.

Whatever the Empire left of equipment, ships, anything useful, was sold around in the black market. If you were able to find the proper Sandcrawler, the Jawas might show you the real goods but only to locals or regular customers.

No matter how long he spoke and tried to make them give away the goods, the Jawas never gave away full information of their goods.

The nervous Sullustan kept talking with them about the pieces and the Jawas shook their heads.

“But this would be enough” He chatted with the tiny figures that took the bag with credits and then tossed it away shaking their heads.

Some started to pull other used pieces for the ship but the Sullustan shook his head. He felt the zabrak's eyes over the back of his head and showed the piece on his holster. He gave him a helpless look.

“They don’t have imperial parts and none of them are good enough for the Captain´s ship.”

The zabrak gave him a look and covered the holster with his long tunic. He showed his toothy smile at him.

“Then, keep looking. The Captain expects you to put together that ship before he comes back.”

…

The dune sea.

A large cruiser zoomed across the sandy area, followed by 3 smaller speeders. The main rider kept his eyes front the whole time, clenching his fists into the handlebars. Qod was done relying on others to catch the woman. He knew her, she was always a slippery one but this time she got too lucky; A Mandalorian was guarding her. She probably used the gems to buy the protection, so talking to the bounty hunter would be useless, he thought.

The first time he saw Nathsca, she was just a lost child who dared to steal from him. In a normal situation, he would shoot down whoever tries it, but this girl was special, Qod saw her potential. It was easy to manipulate, didn’t require much care but he made a big mistake; he underestimates her.

It didn’t bother him that she decided to leave and cut all ties from him, the problem was that she stole from him again. She spoiled a simple deal with those slave traders and his weapons. Rumors started to spread about him, about how a simple scavenger fooled the ex-imperial pilot. He couldn’t allow that.

He decided that Nathsca deserved to die. He would find another girl for the traders, but he wanted to be there to finish all. His heart started to rose when he thought about it. A slow and painful death. He didn’t need a blaster to do it. His bare hands would be enough to snap the slim neck, to feel her helpless fists trying to fight back and feel the last gasp.

He never took pleasure in killing a woman, but she deserved his whole attention.

His thoughts snapped when he noticed something ahead. The cruiser stopped and he made a signal to make the crew stop.

One of his men, the masked Chiss, jumped off his speeder and took out the binoculars to picture the moving shape. It was a loose Bantha and the body of a dead farmer. He quickly turned back to the Captain.

“Tusken Raiders.”

“Are you sure?” The Captain asked.

“Looks like it. I think we should find another way to cross the Valley.”

Qod remained calm but he hated these kinds of delays. He wouldn’t mind shooting down the sand people, but those creatures always came in larger groups. Even with his skills and his companions, they wouldn’t be enough to defeat the monsters.

The cruiser and the speeders took off from the area, heading south. Circling the Valley was their only choice. It would take them another day to arrive at the dead mining place.

From the distance, a small group of Tusken Raiders observed the strangers. They stood tall and proud now that invaders were gone.

…

Mos Pelgo

Farmers and all villagers were moving around the dusty town. The town’s foundation is based on fighting back for their right to freedom. They never had a peaceful time at all. One day it was the Dragon eating the Banthas, the next day would be the Tusken Raiders stealing their water, or, a new mining company wanting to control everything. So, expecting a bunch of pirates was not that bad.

All former slaves knew how to handle a weapon when it was necessary. Not everyone had an accurate shot, but just enough to scare invaders away. Some of them gather around to practice their close-range shooting and others were around the canyons to practice long-range shooting.

The Marshal was practicing too, even though he was still recovering from the last battle. A normal pull worked as usual but he was still struggling with the cross pull, yet, he could move better than before and feel no pain. He smiled to himself when he got 2 perfect shots in a row of cross pulling.

He looked around the other shooters and everyone getting ready but his eyes scanned the area looking for someone in particular. Even though they didn’t know each other that much, Vanth made up his mind about the young scavenger. He likes her. That’s all. He tried to be forward about it but she keeps running away. He even started to wonder if it was cause he was too old. Maybe if he was a few years younger, it would be a different story.

Vanth never had time for distractions and never allowed himself to them. Of course, there were some women in his past but all of them were different from each other and Nathsca was not an exception.

For a start, she is a beauty and, he could keep going about her physical features, but he needed to focus. Her strong attitude didn't bother him, most likely, he found it appealing. What worried him about her was that she is hiding something all the time.

The footsteps interrupted his thoughts when he saw a familiar face walking towards him. It was the young Marc.

“Hey Marshal” the young one flashed a smile. “I was hoping to check the whole plan again with you and Nathsca, but I haven’t seen her around, I thought you might know.”

“Isn't it she in the school or with Kyranj?” The Marshal said.

“No, I asked everyone and no one has seen her around.”

Cobb frowned, kept his blaster back in the holster, and rushed back to his place. The rooms were empty, the canister was no longer in the pantry, one of his blasters was missing and whatever belonging she had, they were missing too. He took a deep breath and felt that sting in his chest.

Marc followed him and looked around making a face. “Do you think someone took her?”

Cobb just shook his head and huffed.

“Uhm, I dunno if it seems important but she seemed kinda interested in the west.”

“West?”

“Yeah, before we discuss the whole plan, she came to me and asked me about the map. She seemed pretty interested in the west area. I read that there’s was some old spaceport around there during the pre-empire times.”

…

The roar was heard in the canyons when the bike zoomed across it. The masked rider's hands were clenching the handlebars, her eyes remained front the whole time but her mind was drifting away.

The whole village was ready to fight the intruders if they ever show up at some point. Nath tried to make up her mind and beg the Marshal to stop the plan, but he was determined to fight for her.

She knew that they could be smarter than the Captain but there was still that voice in her head that kept pushing her to run away, but this time it was not clear with its intentions. The first time, she ran off because of fear, this time her fear was different.

For the past few days, she started to embrace the idea that maybe there was a chance for her to have a proper home, friends, and why not someone that might care for her. There were also those mixed feelings about the Marshal. She didn’t want to admit the obvious and that scared her.

What if you run away before you admit it? What if you run before you lose him?

She tried to kick the ideas away but that loner role didn’t fit her anymore. They knew a lot about each other, they kept learning from their body language, and those nights at his place, the tension was palpable that he even noticed it too. Before anything happened, Vanth started his night shifts again just to leave her alone.

Those nights, an idea built upon her mind. She needed a plan B just in case things went south. If the whole conflict started for the gems, then she needed to hide them better or worst, get rid of them.

She started to talk with Marc during the daytime, letting him show her his inventions and whatever junk he had until she found what she wanted: the map in the R2 unit.

They started to talk about the whole west area, the unexplored one, the sand people territory, and such. Nath did her best to drag her attention into building the bombs to scare the invaders but her mind was busy with the side project.

Vanth mentioned to her once that if she was not careful, she would take the wrong step and fall into a Sarlacc pit, since they are pretty common in the dunes. Nath had to find the pit and hide the gems there. Whoever tried to reach them, would have to face death first.

Now the tricky part was finding the Sarlacc and telling Vanth about it was not an option. She needed to do this by herself.

Her ideas cut off when the yellow cruiser cut her way right at the end of the canyon. Nath did her best to maneuver the bike and not crash with him. She stopped right away and finally looked up to face the armored rider.

Vanth had this look on his face that she couldn’t place if it was anger or something else. They remained silent for a moment before she said something.

“What are you doing?”

“I was about to ask you the same, Roznev.” He said, keeping the intense and serious stare.

“Well, you almost crashed with me.” She huffed in anger and jumped off the bike.

“That´s not the point.” He jumped off the cruiser and walked towards her.

“No? What if I get hurt again?” She growled.

“Why are you running away with the gems?”

Nath tried to say something and looked at him. “It´s not…”

“Then explain yourself, cause it's not the first time you lie or hide things from me.” His voice was different from her. Cold, distant, a little rude too.

“Cobb…” she tried to talk.

“I'm Marshal to you.” He cut her again. “You come to my town, put my people under risk, and for what? So you can escape and leave them behind?” He chuckled.

“What are you even talking about?” She gave him a look. “I was coming back later.”

“It didn’t look like it and you keep forgetting that I know these dunes better than you. So, we can do this in two ways. Come with me and I will take you with the New Republic authorities or…” His hand was near the blaster.

Nath couldn’t believe any word he was saying. What got into him? A few hours ago he was all smiley at her.

“I haven’t done anything. Why are you acting like that?” She yelled and walked towards him but stop when she realized that he kept his hand on the blaster.

“Right there is good.” He said but the girl started to move again.

“Marshal, please, let’s talk.”

“If you wanna say something you can say it from right there. I can hear you.”

She chuckled and shook her head. “So, that’s it? You suddenly believe whatever got into your mind and ignore the times I was by myself but didn’t run away?”

“Maybe you were waiting for the right time and let us deal with your partners.” He gave her a look but his hand remains near the holster.

Nath felt her body a little shaky, she was squeezing her fists and couldn’t believe what was happening.

“You know that’s a lie.”

“Is it?” He kept the hazel ones on her.

Nath took a deep breath and felt her eyes getting teary from frustration and something else. All those days talking, knowing each other, apparently, it all disappeared until something click on her. Trust, she just broke Vanth´s trust with this, but she didn’t want to risk him more. She had a lot to say but couldn’t place the words.

She needed to do something and started to walk towards him, keeping her gaze upon him.

“Roznev, Im warning you.”

She didn’t care and kept moving.

For the first time in his life, Vanth froze. In another situation, he wouldn’t hesitate and put a criminal down, but he was having second thoughts. Even though the girl lied to him many times, those feelings were jumping around his head, messing up his judgment towards her.

He needed to act, but, before he moved his hand, he felt her small palm across his face.

Slap.

He took a deep breath and faced her again. She was shaking, her eyes got red and, tears were running down her cheeks.

The woman rose her hand once more to smack him but this time he stopped her hand. Nath used her free hand and he stopped it too, overpowering her a little. She pushed and tried to wiggle out but, she gave up easily, keeping an intense stare at each other.

He was annoyed, she was hurt but, he noticed that her expression softens for a moment. That caught him off guard.

The space between them got smaller and, the first thing that crossed her mind was to lean forward and headbutt him, instead, her lips crushed his. She would expect them to be dry or chapped but, they were pretty soft.

Cobb didn’t think much and gave in to the kiss, their mouth synchronizing, his whiskers brushing the sides on her mouth, tasting her luscious lips.

The grip from his hands disappeared and, they interwind their fingers as they gave in to it, ignoring whatever was around them, until, they were interrupted when the explosion roared in the dunes.

They quickly back off from each other. Cobb looked at Nath and rushed to his cruiser. “Go back to town, now.” He yelled.

“No, that was not supposed to happen, Marshal. I´m coming with you.” She frowned

#cobb vanth #cobb vanth x reader #cobb vanth fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #cobb vanth x oc

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enigmatist17 · 5 years ago

Text

Lorem Frigus (Uncharted)

Nathan needs to give Sam a good punch when he gets out of the water.

Shaking some mud from his hand, Nathan lifts the last few pieces of treasure into a large bucket, giving the rope a sharp tug.

It’s the middle of winter, and Nathan is currently diving just off the coast of Russia. Sam, in a rare turn of legality, had asked for his brothers' help in retrieving some treasure for him. It had fallen during some gunfight, and Nathan had, of course, accepted the offer. He hadn’t forgotten it was winter in Russia, and he certainly hadn’t been on the next flight over because he was worried about his brother.

Nah.

Scouring the last of the site, Nathan finds nothing and begins his way back to the surface. Almost to the top, he stops paying attention, cursing when a heavier piece of treasure is rocked from its hold. Sharp corners drag down Nathan’s shoulder and back, ancient metal digging in deep. Nathan cries out, the clear water quickly turning crimson as his blood gushes, the former treasure hunter clawing for the surface.

Keep moving Nathan, don’t stop.

He isn’t in Russia now, no he’s deep in the Himalayas. The beach that rolls under his hands becomes an unmoving stone, diving mask ripped off with a pained gasp. There is faint shouting from behind him, but he can’t hear it over the pounding of his heart. He can’t stop moving, Lazarevic’s men will come to investigate, and he needs to get the dagger away. Blood shows the way as Nathan staggers away from the beach, muttering to himself over and over not to stop, to keep going and not fall asleep. The diving suit does nothing against the cold, the water in his hair starting to freeze as Nathan takes arduous step after step, each breath turning into a heavy mist. Nathan falls to his knees when he hears rushing footsteps, balling his hands into fists as the person gets close. Despite the pain, Nathan forces his weight into his punch, making the person land on their ass. It gives Nathan time to move, forcing himself to get on the startled person, shaking hands reaching for their throat. He can feel them clawing at his hands, and he squeezes as hard as he can.

“Na...Nath...an...sto..p!” The moment it registers who is talking to Nathan, a second pair of arms wrap around him and drag Nathan back. He blinks and is no longer surrounded by the burning wreckage of a derailed train. No, he’s in a small wooded area covered in snow, his brother lying feet away gasping for air. He can see the brown of Sully’s jacket around his arms and chest, and Nathan jerks in pain.

“Christ kid, what the hell were you doing?!” Sully isn’t angry, carefully letting go and lamenting the blood all over his jacket. It’s only for a moment, he moves and grabs the emergency blanket, curling it around Nathan tight. The kid looks as white as a sheet, eyes shining in confusion and paranoia as he watches Sam finally sit up.

“I...no...I…” Nathan sounds terrified, clearly getting ready to move if it weren’t for Sully leaning in front of him. “I thought I was…”

“Speak to me kid,” Sully speaks softly, trying to keep Nate warm as he tends to the nasty wound along his back. Sam crawls over to his brother, neck already turning an ugly purple along with what would definitely be a shiner around his left eye. Nathan looks so ashamed and guilty, but Sam merely grasps his shoulder, giving a tight squeeze.

“I thought I was back...back in the Himalayas.” He speaks in almost a whisper, and Sully sighs with a quiet curse. They’re silent for a few minutes, Sully patching Nathan up while Sam comforted his brother. He had heard Nathan’s stories plenty of times, but nothing filled Sam with more anger and dread than hearing Nathan recounting his narrow escape and near death. To watch his baby brother relive that, to think Sam was an enemy in his way towards life...honestly, it made his stomach churn. Sully eventually finishes, standing back as Sam helps Nathan up and onto his feet.

“Sssh, I’ve got you, baby brother.” He murmurs, Nathan just giving a soft whimper of pain as they make their way back to Sully’s plane. It was thankfully still warm inside, Nathan helped out of the suit and into his warm and awaiting clothing. Sam only relaxed when Nathan was laid upon one of the hammocks, the lack of pressure making the wound slightly bearable as Sully got them up and into the sky.

“M sorry Sammy…” Nathan mumbles, the painkillers doing wonders as Sam squeezes his hand.

“You don’t apologize for nothin’.” Sam’s voice is weak, his throat now a nasty parade of purples and blacks, but it doesn’t matter. He would, and has, gone through so much worse for Nathan, and he’d do it again without a second thought. Nathan gives a slight whine, but is soothed with another squeeze of his hand, and is lulled to sleep moments later.

“You can fence that shit later,” Sully calls from the pilot seat, factoring his fuel stop. “We’re going to get him home.”

“Works for me,” Sam calls back weakly, unrolling the other hammock to catch some sleep. Sully can see the brothers�� holding the hands of each other as they sleep, and it makes his old heart ache in fondness.

The flight back to Nathan’s home is filled with a content silence.

#uncharted #uncharted spoilers #victor sullivan #sully #nathan drake #sam drake #poor nathan #I'm sure he has ptsd from the train crash #among other things #but still

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tetrakys · 5 years ago

Text

Show me

My rewrite of the scene in Nathaniel’s room in episode 13 if Candy had slept with Castiel in episode 11.

Big warning, this is really kinky shit, NSFW doesn’t even begin to cover, there are lots of mind games, if you can only bear sweet sweet love please stay away and don’t read.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to bath in holy water to cleanse my soul.

————————-

“I’ll walk you back to campus.”

Nath was looking around the room, busying himself searching for his keys. We’d spent the evening in his flat, just chatting and talking about his situation. From time to time we’d played with Blanche. During the few hours I had been at his place he had barely looked at me, let alone kissed or touched me.

Not. Even. Once.

It wasn’t really like him. When we weren’t dating yet he had made very clear that he wouldn’t have minded getting ‘physical’ with me. And I knew he wasn’t really inexperienced in that field, he had quite a reputation around campus.

So, what was his deal now? A part of me couldn’t help but worry it had something to do with what had happened last week between me and Castiel.

I walked to him and huddled up in his arms.

“Hmm, I don’t know if I feel like leaving, actually.”

“Of course I’ll walk you back…” he said with a smile, “because I’m not going to be able to be good very long if you stay in my room a minute more.”

“Who said I wanted you to be good?”

“Me, I said it.” He replied with a hint of sharpness in his voice, taking a step back. “I don’t have enough time these days and…”

Time? I was right there, in the middle of the night! I was sure he was lying to me.

“Stop Nath, these are only excuses. You’ve barely stepped close to me the whole evening.”

“What do you mean excuses?” he replied, starting to sound as pissed off as I was, “why would I need to lie to you?”

“We both know the reason, just admit it!”

“Admit what?”

“That you are still mad… about what happened between me and Castiel last week!”

He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me like I had just slapped him. Then I saw his expression change in a heartbeat. He was furious… I had clearly said the wrong thing.

He came to me looking really determined. Grabbing me by the arms, his lips an inch from mine, he looked at me with fury in his eyes.

“That fucking name… again… he is either on your mind, on your lips or in your cunt. Or all of them at the same time.”

I was shocked by his attitude and his crude words. But guess what, I was mad too. He had dumped me, I had all the rights to do whatever I wanted with my body, he had said as much himself last week, but now I wasn’t sure I believed him anymore.

“What Nath… are you jealous?” I replied coldly, “Weren’t you the one who said I was free to do what I wanted while I was single? And now you can’t even touch me. You… who have fucked half of Anteros?! Hypocritical much? Yes, I slept with Castiel, big fucking deal, get over it!”

His hold on my arms tightened, it was almost painful now.

“Maybe… I’m not ‘touching you’ because I don’t want you to think you are just a one-night stand to me? Maybe… I’m dying to rip your clothes off and fuck you senseless, but I’m trying to be respectful? But maybe that’s exactly how you like it!”

He pushed me, and I fell back laying on the bed.

“And Maybe… you are the one who can’t stop thinking about what you did with that prick.”

“Sure. Or maybe you’re just an insecure pussy, afraid of comparison.” I spat out.

He took the front of my shirt between his hands violently tearing it open, buttons flying everywhere in the room, and grabbed one breast roughly.

“Am I, now?” he said coldly, “Was the starlet that good? Did he rock your world?”

“Yes, he was.” I replied between my teeth. “And yes, he did.”

He grasped my face with his other hand and with a deadly whisper said, “Fine. Since you want it so badly, I’m going to fuck you so hard you’ll see who is afraid to compare.”

He rapidly removed my pants and the rest of my clothes and went to seat on the chair in front of his bed. So now I was laying there, alone, completely naked, while he stared at me with calculating eyes.

“So, tell me. What did he do to you, first?”

He was completely insane… but I couldn’t help being turned on by his demanding attitude.

“He… he kissed me.”

“Of course he did. But I’m not going to, you have to earn it. What did he do afterwards?”

“Are you sure you want to know?” I asked unsure.

“I don’t fucking care. Talk.”

“He made me lay down, took off my panties and eat me out.”

I saw his fists tighten, but his expression didn’t betray any inner turmoil. He looked almost bored.”

“Good… show me… touch yourself.”

This was the moment to back out. This thing… was fucked up… but was also incredibly hot, and I wanted to call his bluff and see where he was willing to take it.

I opened my legs, giving him a perfect view. His stare zoomed in immediately to my core, and I saw him swallow hard, more affected than what he was willing to let on.

With my back on the pillows, against the headboard, I used my hands to touch myself.

“He started kissing me here,” I said with one finger on my neck, “and then he went down” I dropped my finger to my chest, his eyes hungrily following its path. “And down,” it was now caressing my belly “and down,” I finally rested my hand between my legs.

“But he didn’t touch me here right away,” I said with a mischievous smile, “no, he liked to tease me, so he started to kiss my inner thigh first.” I caressed my thigh from my knee to my centre. “Then, when he saw me squirming, and panting, he licked me exactly where I wanted him to.”

My hand went to my core and I started caressing between my folds.

“What did he do? Did you come?” his voice was low, his tone dangerous, and his eyes locked to the movements of my hand.

“Oh yes,” I replied, my fingers expertly touching like I had done so many times before. “He ate me like a starved man. He told me he’d always dreamed of doing that since high school. He took my clit in his mouth and sucked. It hurt so good.” My fingers started moving delicately on that spot.

“When I was close, he pushed two fingers inside me, I was so wet they slipped right in, and I came in his mouth.” I closed my eyes and rested my head on the headboard. Remembering the scene was turning me on, but his eyes on me were pushing me over the edge.

I moved my fingers faster and, after a moment, I felt his hands touching me, his fingers slipping into me. I arched my back surprised and delighted by the feeling of him, but his other hand pushed me right back onto the mattress.

“Fuck you are wet,” he said pumping his fingers in and out of me with strength, there was nothing sweet in his movements, he wanted to both punish and give me pleasure at the same time. “Is the simple memory of him turning you on so much? Or is it because of me?”

“Both” I said honestly, he pushed my fingers away and started touching my clit with his other hand. Wow… it was better… much better… I thought I knew my body better than anyone else, but the way he was touching me…

“I appreciate the candour,” his movements increased in speed, faster and faster, and my thoughts started to blur, I was pure need. “Do you think you deserve to come?”

“Yes,” I panted, grabbing the sheets of his bed.

“Yes, what?” he asked raising an eyebrow.

“Yes… please?” I said biting my lip.

He smirked and, without a reply, put his lips on me, sucking my clit in his mouth. I came immediately and violently. My body was completely overtaken by the amazing feeling and I heard myself curse in pleasure.

I had barely stopped coming that I felt him entering me.

Grabbing both my legs and resting them on his shoulders he started pumping into me with quick short movements. He was looking at me with a pretty pleased smile, and I couldn’t help but moan in pleasure.

When he suddenly stopped, I looked at him surprised. He was still completely dressed, and I wanted to see him naked, touch him everywhere, like he was doing with me. But it was clear he wanted to be the one running the show now.

“Tell me…” he said caressing my legs, “how did he take you? Nice and slow?” and he started moving just like that, “Or fast and hard?” he added, changing the pace again. He kept switching between the two paces, effectively making me go crazy.

“Mmm…” was the only thing I managed to reply.

“What? Finding it hard to concentrate?” he asked with a smirk. “Is this good enough? Am I fucking you to your satisfaction?” his movements quicker and stronger. “Do you wish he was here in my place?”

I could tell there was a just tiny note of apprehension behind his cocky tone, so I looked at him straight in the eye and said “No. I want you Nathaniel. Keep fucking me, you’re doing me so good.”

His smile was almost child-like. Removing his tee, he tossed it on the floor, and without leaving my entrance, he came down on me, crushing my chest with his.

“I know baby, but I also know that you wouldn’t mind if he too was here right now. You’re such a spoiled princess, you would love to be fucked by both of us at the same time, wouldn’t you?”

His words reminded me of the dream I'd had a few weeks ago, and I felt myself blush. I couldn’t help it, the thought was just too hot.

He suddenly left my body and I sat on the bed worried I had offended him, that he maybe was mad. But I saw him strip completely, and I finally managed to see him in all his naked glory. His sculpted chest… those strong arms… and his cock… I had felt he was big, but having visual proof was something else.

Coming back to me, he took me in his arms. I thought he was going to enter me again, but he got up and took me to the other side of the room. I had no idea what he had in mind, but then he stopped in front of the big mirror that occupied a big part of the wall.

Making me stand in front of the mirror, he came behind me, his big and strong body completely enveloping mine while he took me from behind.

Starting with slow deep movements, that were hitting all the right spots, one hand grabbed my breast possessively, the other came to my neck, moving my hair on the side while whispering in my ear.

“Look at you… all flushed and wild, looking so completely well-fucked. My dirty girl…” he gave me a small gentle bite on my chin, “I don’t mind you liking sex so much, I actually love it. I don’t even mind you finding other men hot and having dirty fantasies, hell… I wouldn’t even mind making some of these fantasies come true…” he added, pumping into me faster, “as long as you remember who owns your mind and soul.”

Our gazes locked in the mirror and I nodded.

“No matter what Nath… you are the one I need. You are the one I want to be with.”

He smiled, and turned my head slightly to the side, so that our mouths could meet.

“Good fucking answer.”

His lips came crushing down to mine, and he kissed me with fervour, like he had been dying to do since the moment he had seen me hours ago. His peace got more frantic and, hugging me closer to him, he pumped into me with all he had got.

Looking at him in the mirror was an incredible sight, his strong muscles flexing with the effort, his big arms completely enveloping me, his face frowning in concentration. It was enough to make me come again without even realising I was that close, taking me completely by surprise.

As soon as he felt me shiver in his arms he came too, squeezing me even closer to him, like we were trying to become one single entity. He rested his forehead on my shoulder, while the last spasms of pleasure ran through his body.

“So…” he said after we’d both managed to catch our breath. “What about a movie this weekend?”

We both burst out laughing and fell on the bed, where we stayed for the rest of the night.

#my candy love #mclul #mclul 13 #nathaniel #castiel #amour sucré #dolce flirt #amor doce #corazon de melon #sweet crush #my writing #lemon

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chaniters · 6 years ago

Text

Warped

Awan joins Charge and Anathema for the first time as a team, as they head into Lord Ember’s drug lab, but Medea and The Void have some unexpected tricks up their sleeves.

Thanks, @depressed-sock for helping me with this!

__________________________________________

"The lab must be here," you say. You can’t admit you sense all 3 of the villain’s minds on the other side... But you can still warn them "This was far too easy. After the mess with those guards, they must know we're here... It must be a trap"

"It's always a trap or something of the sort." Charge says "Themmie... would you mind...?"

"Springing traps is my specialty" he answers the call. He opens the door, walking in without a second thought "There is no trap strong enough to get meeeeeeeeeeee....!" his voice is lost as he seems to have fallen down a pit the moment he set foot on the other side.

Charge and you rush to look through the open doorway.

There is no drug lab there... there are pieces of a lab. Floating everywhere.

The door opens into a gigantic area of open space, full of platforms and walls, floors and ceilings ... but they have been cut, moved and reconnected without apparent order or purpose leaving large areas in between. The outer regions are not surrounded by walls, but by pure darkness.

Anathema seems to be falling into a small platform with lab equipment and furniture on it... far...far down. There is a loud crash as hits the bottom, destroying a table. He stands up looks up and does a "V" sign with his fingers

"I'M FINE!!!" He starts advancing through the warped room .. and suddenly he falls to the left, crashing into a wall. He stands again, confused... walking on a wall, ignoring gravity altogether. “Oh fuck... Why did nobody warn me it was going to be one of THOSE days...?” he says as he disappears from view.

You sigh in relief and then turn to charge, wondering what the hell is going on.

"Ay Madre mia... It's Medea's work," Charge tells you. "Seems she's been getting stronger"

Shit. You didn't really believe it when you heard she could alter reality... At best you thought she could perform some parlor tricks. But this isn't an illusion, you don't feel any mind assaulting your shields.

"W... what do we do now?" you ask. Because you seriously don’t know.

"Oh now you want my advice kid?” he gives you a confident smile.

“I just think maybe you have more experience with crazy people” you reply with arms crossed.

He snorts “Perhaps that’s true. Ok, let me illuminate you since you want to be a hero apparently... Now, what we do is beat her at her own game!" he smiles and jumps to the nearest platform... and then another... and another... and then he's standing sideways on a wall. "Wow.. this is a whole trip." he steadies himself, a bit dizzy. "No need to follow, You can sit this one out kid, we've got this!" he keeps on heading onwards, confidently.

Asshole. You’re not going to stay up here and do nothing. The farm made you to be competitive, and you don’t like being second fiddle.

You could head down just like he did... or you could study the area a bit longer. That seems to be the more reasonable plan. The whole place is a three-dimensional maze that Medea has repurposed to set up a battleground...

If you "Charge" in like the marshall is doing, you'll fall right into their hands...

Reaching through the area with your mind, you attempt to scan for the enemy.

It' takes a few moments for you to realize where they are...

On a far end of this... space... you can see Ember and Medea, they are upside down, on top of a ceiling that sort of has become the floor now.

Where is void...? You can't find him... Is he raising his own shields? He's been your handler for a long time, he knows how to do it...

You make your scan more thorough... more precise... looking for any imbalance...

THere!

He's using some sort of cloaking device... He was always so good with Tech. Taught you a ton of tricks... he's sneaking into position to...

"WATCH OUT ANATHEMA!" you scream

The purple energy blast goes straight at the hero, who tries to dodge, but still gets hit in his chest. Strong enough to send him down, but he stands up immediately, unharmed.

"So there you are, you little bastard! I'm going to get to you!" Anathema yells in anger as he starts running towards Void...

But Nath has his eye implant going for him. He can see a path through the maze as easy as day...

In a few jumps, he's completely out of reach, and shooting again. This time it's a green energy blast... and it sends Anathema down again. He stands up once more, but there is pain in his expression...

Fuck..

"You'll have to do better than that you modded piece of crap!!"

“This game is only starting. Why don’t you come play a little more?” The Void is’s provoking him... he wants him to run and make a good target.

"Don't let him hit you! His weapon has a modulator AI! It will adjust to find a weakness each time you get hit!"

"What???” he asks turning at you. Then the rifle goes off again “Oh shit!" This time he dodges... a red energy stream digs a hole in the platform where he stands pieces of it falling into the dark abyss.

“Sidestep huh? Is that what you are called now?” Void speaks not overly amused. “You should have stayed in your cell... Join us already and i’ll let this pass”

“Get BENT asshole!” you yell, jumping into a nearby platform to avoid his next shot directed at the door.

The next energy blast destroys the door itself... and the way out disappears with it. Medea is nothing but thorough. At least you gave Anathema a moment to close the gap, forcing The Void to look for a new sniper position.

You know that this is still going to end badly if Anathema can’t find a way to catch him... Even at the farm, Nathaniel was always legendary for marksmanship and the tech in his rifle is above most military grade weapons.

Ember is no longer with Medea... he's jumping platform after platform, as he and Charge seem to be about to clash. Medea's making platforms appear to support Ember as he advances.

They finally reach the same platform.

"I was hoping you would visit Marshall... too bad out meeting will be so brief!" Ember extends a hand, sending a fire stream directly at Charge. *FWWWWOOOOMMMM*

For the lapse of two full seconds, you are convinced Charge's been completely crisped... and you’re not sure how to feel about it.

But then, you realize he ducked in time. He sweeps forwards with his leg, tangling Ember ‘s left foot off balance while electrical tendrils introduce him to a new form of pain as he hits his butt on the floor.

The Marshall seems to have the upper hand, sending Ember’s prone form flying off the platform with a kick that explodes in lighting, leaving electrical afterimages after him... Really impressive to watch.

But then a wall reassembles itself to stop Ember's fall. This isn't going to be a fair fight if the room itself accommodates to help Ember.

Charge leaps at his enemy, but Ember snaps his fingers and is engulfed in a large explosion that sends Charge flying through the maze. Ember follows his trajectory.

Shit.

You have to do something.

You focus your full power and dive right into Medea's mind. You are too far to affect her directly... but you can still sense her thoughts clearly...

Her concentration is absolute. She knows exactly which strings she is pulling from to keep reality from reasserting itself. The seemingly chaotic deconstruction of the room is actually a carefully crafted masterpiece of her design. And since you are one with her thoughts, you can see the big picture.

She can alter reality, but she can't break it. The room is still a lab, only that it's been expanded and twisted.

If you can see the pattern... then you can travel through it.

Without breaking the connection, you hop down to a wall. It's a bit disconcerting as gravity shifts its edge, but you were expecting it.

You start to sprint. Jumping from wall to ceiling, to floor and wall, and even over some floating tables.

Unlike Anathema and Charge, you know where you're going, and you can always tell which way is up.

You continue the sprint until you reach the exact spot that will lead you to her. You jump... high enough, that gravity shifts once more, and you turn 180 degrees, land directly in front of her face.

She opens her eyes, startled

"What the... how in the hell did you manage to get here?!" She jumps back, dodging you as you approach her

"What can I say, I was always good with jigsaws?" you ask with a grin.

“You like Jigsaws you little fucker? Then let me make you into one!” She sends a pulse of energy at your from her palm with a snarl.

You dodge, literally sidestepping. "Life is full of choices Medea. And that shit you just did right there? That was your choice" you say triumphantly. She looks at you with a puzzled expression... and then her eyes go wide as she realizes what you mean.

Too late.

Her energy blast disappears going straight into the dark void behind you... and then reappears from the dark void in front of you, striking her from behind. Her body seems to explode in a thousand pieces. Not unlike some pieces of modern art the farm tried to get into your brain as general knowledge... She lets out a loud scream.

And then everything starts spinning.

You feel incredibly sick, as the room is re-arranged once more, turning back the way it was now that her concentration is broken.

And then you are no longer in a maze. You are inside a dimly lit laboratory, and Medea is crawling away from you, no longer a threat. She seems to be yelling insults at you and all the ancestors she believes you have, especially your mother.

You turn just in time to hear Charge yelling in pain, as Ember sends another flame strike his way. Even with the room restored, the battle is not going well. Part of his skinsuit’s right arm is in flames... The thing sure looks fire-proof but then again you doubt it’s fire-proof enough against Ember.

You head to the lab equipment, stepping on Medea causing her to let out a venomous curse against you. Whatever. The tube you came out off can hardly be called your mother, but you still don’t like her insulting its memory.

You have to find your bag... The void must have brought it here. You start tossing lab equipment and boxes around until you come upon it.

Taking the grenade, you yell at Charge.

“HEY MARSHALL! USE THIS!”

You toss the grenade at him... Hoping he’ thinks fast on his feet...

And he does! He catches it just as Ember is about to incinerate him for good... and tosses it at the villain.

You can’t help but smile at the result. It’s just so beautiful...

Ember struggles to free himself, half trapped inside an ice-block...

He attempts to send another fire stream at Charge... but nothing happens.

Charge gives you thumbs up, turns and just smashes his fist into Ember’s face... once... twice... thrice... and Ember is finally out. He rubs his hand. “What the hell is this bastard made of?” he asks.

On the other side of the room, Anathema seems to have gained the upper hand on Void, who can no longer flee through the maze. They are struggling, as Anathema takes the rifle, acid melting it into useless goo.

“Surrender already! IT’s over!” Anathema tosses the rifle to the side.

“Fuck off” The Void breaks free backing away.

“Stop!” Charge interrupts him. “You can’t escape now!”

It’s true. His back is against a corner, and the three of you are closing in.

He takes a detonator device from his belt and pushes the button.... you close your eyes, but nothing happens... until A pair of devices attached to the remaining Hero drug canisters begin glowing.

“Those are high explosive timed bombs, marshal. 10 minutes... If you don’t disarm them fast, they’ll explode and turn into gas... Sure, you can all try to capture and keep fighting me, but I’d hate to know what a cloud of atomized Hero drug can do to the neighborhood!”

Charge hesitates for a moment... “You wouldn't...”

“You want to make that bet?” he smiles.

“Maldito... nos las vas a pagar por esto.” Ortega says, stepping aside, and heading towards the canisters”

“Goodbye Sidestep! We’ll surely meet again... when you are feeling more reasonable” The Void says, fleeing away.

“So... if anyone has experience with explosives raise your hand,” Ortega says nervously.

And they both stare at you.

You slowly and hesitantly raise your hand. Sometimes you just hate your life so much.

______________________________________

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

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

#fallen hero: rebirth #fallen hero spoilers #Awan Cormac #fanfiction

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friendlyneighborhoodborg · 6 years ago

Text

Marc Appreciation Week 2019| Day 7: Future| “Rough Draft“

So yeah, it’s late, but I finished it anyway. Thanks to everyone who read this and everyone who participated in the event. Now that I have a bunch of time on my hands, I’m gonna enjoy the heck out of all your guys’ work.

Disclaimers were in Day 1.

Chapters:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

AO3 Link

(Exactly 2000 words, because I’m not always as insane as I’ve led you to believe.)

Desperately, Rose pounded on the door to the house’s basement.

“Please!” she shouted. “Anyone! Help!”

But she realized it was no use. No one was coming down to save her.

All was silent and dark.

Until she heard a noise from the far corner.

“Is someone there?” she croaked, squinting in the darkness.

She didn’t squint for long. There was a bit of light in the room, though nothing was casting it. It just existed.

Then, there shimmered into visibility a floating figure: a woman all in white. White jumpsuit with a black cross over her chest and chains on her wrists near her gloves, white boots that hovered just above the ground, and a bright white cowl that sucked all other light from the room to feed its glow. There was no color around the face, mouth, and eyes. Her hair, which flowed around her head like twisting snakes, was a royal violet.

Rose knew her immediately. Akuma or not, she’d know that face anywhere.

“J… Juleka?” she gasped, horrified. “It’s you?”

“Rose.” The figure sneered. “Where were you when I needed you?”

“I…” She struggled to make her words work. “I was—”

“You left. You left me alone with a room full of strangers.” The villain hovered higher, leering down at her. “You do know how I get in crowds, right? Typical; no one even noticed when I started breaking down. No one even saw the butterfly come to me.” She grinned maliciously, showing off pointed teeth. “But they saw me. And oh, how they screamed.”

“I-I thought you were having fun.” Rose backed away from her akumatized girlfriend. “I thought I’d just keep you from socializing.”

“I wasn’t having fun! Or did you think because it was Halloween that the spook was in her element?”

“I’m sorry!” she bawled. “I just wanted you to be happy!”

“I was happy, Rose.” The specter came close and stared her in the face. “I was always happy, standing next to you. Didn’t you see that?” She held up a gloved finger. “Don’t answer that. If you understood…” the chains on her wrists glowed an ominous purple, and her hands clenched into fists, “you wouldn’t have left me alone.”

“Juleka… I’m sorry. I didn’t know…”

Ghostlight narrowed her eyes and raised her arm. “Too little, too late.”

................................................................................................................................

Outside, Ladybug had finished tying up the police officers, just as they began to regain consciousness.

“Alright,” she seethed. “I’ve been having a bad night tonight, so I’m really not in the mood. Tell me where Ghostlight is right now.”

One guard blinked awake. “Ladybug?” he said. “What are… what happened?”

Chat Noir cursed. “She must have released her hold.”

“Thank goodness,” Reverser panted. “These guys were tough. You guys do this all the time?”

“We face mind-control baddies more often than not,” explained Mighty-Illustrator. “They always go for one of us heroes, and we’ll end up having to fight them. Usually Chat.”

“Hey!” the feline hissed.

As usual, it was Ladybug’s duty to keep the boys off each other’s throats. “Possession’s not her main power, though, so it wasn’t as bad as it usually is. Her poltergeist attacks ripped cars off the street. We’re lucky we’ve got our suits, or there’s no way we would’ve walked away from that.”

“Yeah, but,” Reverser approached Ladybug, now nearing hysterics, “you’ve got a plan, right?”

“Almost. We’ve got to get close enough to land a hit and find her object.”

Mighty-Illustrator looked back, at a house where many of the occupants were running out of it screaming. “Well, looks like we’re getting that chance.”

The heroes looked on as Ghostlight herself appeared in the doorway. “Well, well,” she snarled. “Four against one? I thought superheroes had honor.”

Ladybug struck a heroic pose. “So many others have tried to take our miraculous before you, and now our team’s bigger than ever before. You never stood a chance!”

“Yeah!” shouted Chat Noir. “Give up the ghost while you can!”

“Not so fast, creeps,” their adversary cackled. “There’s been a slight change in plans, courtesy of my good friend Hawk Moth. Let’s see… if one monster’s too much for the newbie to handle, how will he fare with two?” She held up two fingers. “A phantom and a witch.”

Ladybug grit her teeth.

She had green skin and pink hair, styled like a blooming flower. Familiar black garb, complete with a swirling masquerade mask, adorned her, but now she had a new black cloak to match Ghostlight’s.

“Bonsoir, my pretties,” trilled Princess Fragrance, brandishing her perfume gun. “Did you miss me?”

Rose stared at the page, then quickly flipped it back and forth over the back cover. “There’s no more?” she whispered, flipping through as though searching for another, secret page. “That’s it?”

“That’s it,” Nath replied, smiling. “You like it?”

“How could you do this!?” she shrieked, almost lunging at the two of them. “How dare you make me feel things and then stop writing!”

Juleka laughed from behind him. “That’s a good sign. You got to neck-throttle levels of hiatus frustration.” She leaned back in thought. “Last one that did that was… was it the Warrior Duchess season 2 finale?”

Rose spun on her heel. “Don’t even bring that up.”

Marc shrugged, fingering his copy of the draft. “Just be glad we got all this in one week. I mean, it’s not perfect, and we haven’t even colored or proofread it. But, uh, I think it’s pretty good for a first try.” There was a general chorus of agreement in addition to Rose’s insane cheers.

“This was so worth putting off the budget meeting,” Marinette said, flipping through her own copy of the rough draft. “Sorry I haven’t been in much. But that was really fun, you guys, I can’t wait to see more.”

“Well, we can’t wait to make more.” Marc gestured to the issue. “Consider this a sneak-teaser.”

“PLEASE!” Rose screamed. And then, quieter, she added, “But don’t over-stress yourself, your happiness and health are important.”

Marc smiled. “I’ll try.” Nathan nudged him playfully, and he added. “We’ll try.”

“But don’t slack either,” Juleka countered, taking another look at Ghostlight. “Dude, Nath, that’s an awesome outfit. Way better than that plastic Barbie dress.”

“Rose was a consultant on that,” her designer confessed. “Coincidentally, consider it an anniversary gift. A proper romantic supervillain rampage, coming soon.”

Rose had stars in her eyes as she looked over at her. “And sure to be just as cool as how we got together, right Julie?”

“Yep. Speaking of…” Juleka started to close the distance.

“Upupup!” Rose halted, moving backwards and whipping out her phone. “Wait for…” she checked the time. “Two more minutes.”

Nath raised an eyebrow. “Are you still not allowed to hug each other? Alix…”

“Don’t look at me,” the suspect denied. “Rose served her time already.”

Juleka jerked her thumb at Rose. “Yes, but now she wants to wait until our ‘official’ anniversary before I can kiss her again.”

“May 19,” Rose recalled dreamily. “2:39 p.m., she kissed me on the cheek in the middle of us taking a selfie.”

“We both tripped and fell over right as she took it.”

“It was so dashing of her.” There was not a trace of irony in that assessment. “I’ve got it framed over my bed.”

“Not the worst selfie I’ve ever taken.”

Marc was the only one who laughed at the punchline. Everyone else only pretended to.

“You didn’t happen to get the exact time I kissed you, did you?” Nath asked.

“Why?” Marc challenged. “Fancy celebrating our one-day anniversary with a proper date?”

“If you’d like to. And if you’re free. That superhero movie just came out.”

“I’ve already seen it, though.”

“Well, would you object to seeing it again?”

“Not at all.”

Marinette glanced between the two of them awkwardly. “I missed something, didn’t I.”

Rose’s phone beeped. She cheered, “It’s time! It’s time!”

“Yes!” Juleka spread her arms. Rose gleefully jumped into them, squeezing tight, and the goth peppered the top of her hair with kisses (the benefits of dating someone a head shorter than her).

“Ugh,” Alix muttered, turning to Nath. “Promise me you two won’t get like this.”

“We’ll try,” Marc assured her. “At least in front of you.”

“In front of anyone.” She shuddered. “Why do sweethearts need to flirt in public? They’re already together, they don’t need any more prompting.”

“Well some people can’t help it,” Marc explained. “I mean, look at his face. That face was made for flirting.” He turned to Nath. “I hope you don’t mind me flirting at that face.”

“Is that all I am to you?” he asked. “Just a face?”

“No… well, actually, yes. But then I think most of us are faces, aren’t we?”

“That’s rather bleak, isn’t it? Treating a mask as the genuine article?”

“Not really. If you’ll permit me to wax poetic.” Marc sat Nath down at a stool and looked at his face. “You are… two crystal-blue eyes who see me for who I am. You’re two ears who listen to me and a mouth that converses with me.” Nathan started to blush in response, which prompted Marc to get closer and touch his cheek. “Two blushing red cheeks I can hold, gorgeous red hair I can do this to…” He ruffled up Nathan’s hair. “And a nose I can do this to…” He tapped the nose impishly. “And two lips… well, maybe later. And you’re the sum of all the expressions of every emotion I’ve seen you act on. Don’t underestimate a face. Especially not yours. While its appearance is subject to change, it remains consistent for whoever uses it.”

Nathan had turned about as red as his hair. “Seriously, is that, like, effortless for you? I don’t really know what to say to that.”

Marc looked at him, prompting.

“There’s no way I can top it,” he protested. “It’s your words… your words are all so beautiful.” Marc’s eyes won him over, and he sighed. “Fine. I’m no good with words, but I’ll try.” Cheerfully, Marc ushered him off the stool and stole his seat.

Nathan coughed and began. “I don’t really think I saw you right. Not until you were telling me how happy you were when you wrote. I felt like I had found someone like me.” He stopped talking, unsure how to proceed and eyeing the others, everyone nose deep in their comic, warily.

“Hey,” Marc caught his attention. “Don’t worry about anyone else. And… I won’t judge anything you say. Just try saying something. Anything you want.”

“We’re both screwed up in our own ways. You just… you kept coming back, and I’d never be able to do that. I’d run away and hide, and pretend you didn’t exist. I did do that, the first time.” He frowned, remembering. “That was a mistake.” He shook his head, trying to focus. “You have persistence. You have wit, and you have charm and a style… just everything I wish I had. And it was through all that, I got to know everything else—the whole thing. I saw you, and… here we are.” He bit his lip. “I guess we’re a thing now?”

“Sure thing,” Marc laughed. “You did great, champ.”

“No. It didn’t really make sense.”

His partner smiled. “It never does.” He leaned in once more, and was greeted by a warm set of lips chastely pressed on his own.

Rose clapped softly, the teacher averted his gaze, and Juleka gave them a thumbs-up. Even Alix had to smile. “You guys rock,” she said. “Now back to work, you two.”

Only then did the boys realize that everyone was watching them.

“Okay,” Marinette announced. “I definitely missed something.”

As Rose pulled her aside to fill her in, Nathaniel and Marc went to the back of the room where no one would bother them. “Way to kill the mood, Alix,” Nath complained.

“Thank you,” she bowed. “It’s what I’m here for.”

So that’s that then. Day 7, all done and done.

I’m going to sleep.

#Marc Appreciation Week #marc anciel #nathaniel kurtzberg #rose lavillant #juleka couffaine #alix kubdel #marinette dupain-cheng #julerose #nathmarc #fanfic #well i'm gonna sleep

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fueledbysprite · 6 years ago

Text

Sorry

it’s almost midnight but i had an idea and felt like Lukaniel angst.

This is why we can’t have nice things...

It had been an akuma.

Nathaniel had hated the violet butterflies and their influence from the very beginning. He had seen the cruel effects on their victims, the psychological and emotional trauma they faced afterwards, and how none of them could really ever recover after their respective incidents.

After all, who could be so heartless and sadistic to seek out pain and prey on it, turning into something evil?

He’d had first-hand experience with that vicious voice in his head. Even later, months after the night he found himself in Chloe’s room with a foggy mind and fading memories, he’d wake up shaking in a cold sweat. His akumatization hadn’t even been one of the worse ones… or so he was told. It certainly felt like the worst experience possible in life. Naturally, he couldn’t really compare his own to those of others in this case.

At least his had been something of a quieter affair. Only Marinette, Chloe, and the superheroes had really been involved. Meanwhile, others had broadcasted or even targeted the entire city while under the akumas’ influence. It didn’t matter who they were underneath anymore, the twisted supervillain ego was the only thing seen by anyone who hadn’t cared otherwise to begin with.

On top of that, some of the akumas’ effects didn’t leave only their direct victims with invisible scars. Alix bore the guilt of the terror of the entire class, as well as a number of people she hadn’t even known to begin with. No matter how many times they all assured her it was alright in the end, nothing would ever truly erase the feelings of the incident from their memories.

So Nathaniel knew better than to blame the akuma victim herself. That didn’t stop him from loathing the cursed butterfly itself with every vengeful fiber of his being.

Because while the rest of the city might also be suffering nightmares for the next indefinite period of time, he was going to be enduring them alone.

And the dark insect was completely at fault.

***

Nathaniel was the kind of person for whom being involved in a relationship was treading on eggshells. He’d never been the most self-confident person, but it was truly difficult to maintain a healthy bond when he second-guessed every move and constantly doubted the sincerity of anyone who seemed to care for him in the slightest.

It wasn’t his fault that there was an omnipresent paranoia ebbing at his mind that told him all his acquaintances were only associating with him out of secret motives or pity, that barred him from being able to call them friends - because he wasn’t worth friends. He was shy and uninteresting and only talented in his extensive knowledge of the Marvel comics universe and a good half of the anime in existence. Friends joked and laughed and hung out at the movies on Saturdays. Nathaniel couldn’t come up with even a moderately funny joke if his life depended on it, he constantly worried if they were laughing with him or at him, and he’d rather isolate himself in his room for the next three years than go out and face the possibility of having to interact with people.

Luka had helped him so much. His charming smile and casual demeanor countered Nath’s own introverted personality. His soothing voice could calm the redhead’s nerves and let him enjoy the moment instead of overthinking every aspect of everything. Luka could convince him that he wasn’t just hanging around out of boredom or responsibility or pity.

Luka made Nathaniel feel like someone.

But if that alone could have exterminated the hateful voice in his head, Nathaniel wouldn’t find himself crying himself to sleep every night, losing slumber over malicious thoughts creeping into his mind in the dead of darkness and solitude.

Sometimes - like the day Luka came to him gushing over the newest song he had created and begging to share it, or when he insisted that Nathaniel’s art was the best he’d ever seen - he felt like he might have finally let go of the anxiety once and for all. Those days, he was on top of the world.

And then, some days, doubts slammed against the walls of his brain and his heart, telling him it was fake, he was growing too attached, Luka didn’t see him the same way Nath saw him. It was poisonous, and in retrospect, Nathaniel wasn’t sure if it would have been a better thing if the akuma had picked its ultimate victim or chosen himself instead.

It would have left him feeling the same way, either way. Why not avail from some ducky superpowers in the meantime?

The supervillain had effectively enveloped Paris in darkness and let the raw, negative emotion flow. Needless to say, the city was immediately overcome by panic and chaos. Civilians found themselves being attacked by their own thoughts - every single pessimistic idea to ever have crossed their mind resurfaced and magnified itself tenfold.

Nathaniel temporarily went insane. One voice became a thousand wailing echoes, simultaneously screaming a cacophony of venomous taunts, preying on every single weakness and tearing him apart.

Suddenly, he was nothing again. Plain, useless, boring, wimpy, incompetent...all the words from separate instances at different times, banding together in sync and rushing into his head. He was invisible, insignificant, utterly null in a sea of better people he could not hope to be.

And Luka was trying to ground him, trying to ease the bad thoughts, trying to tell him it wasn’t real...but then Luka’s face morphed into something else. It was twisted and horrific and the voice that was once a source of comfort was harsh and cutting. Nathaniel involuntarily surrendered control of his imagination to anxiety, and soon, the only things flashing through his mind were images of the unseen future, fearful guesses at what was to come.

Alone. Irrelevant. Friendless. Luka turning his back on him - he had never been on his side to begin with. Nathaniel had known it, known it from the very start, and yet, he still let himself give in. How many times had he struggled to keep others away for fear of this very outcome, and now, the one person he had lowered his walls down for, wasn’t really sincere at all, was he?

Anxiety and paranoia clawed through him, asking him, begging him, why didn’t I listen? he thought. But was it really him thinking anymore, or had he completely given in to those terrible forces altogether?

***

In all his misery, Nathaniel’s senses were failing to register his external surroundings properly. Luka was unsuccessfully trying to lock him in a tight and calming embrace, one that Nathaniel seemed to be doing his best to escape.

“Nathaniel, please, snap out of it,” he tried, but Nathaniel wouldn’t listen. “I’m right here.”

The redhead was, despite all Luka’s attempts to console him otherwise, set on the idea that the older teen had only been leading him on all this time.

“You’re going to leave me. I know it.”

Nathaniel’s voice was small and broken, eyes foggy and filled with tears. Luka struggled to maintain a grip on his own emotions and somehow bring Nathaniel back to reality. His own demons were calling him, too, and their patience was wearing thin.

“I won’t,” Luka swore with as much as sincerity as he could put into his voice.

But Nathaniel was shaking his head, tears spilling out. He lowered his head so his hair fell in front of his eyes, shuffling back. Luka didn’t bother trying to smooth the crimson locks out of his face anymore. The ravenette took a breath and tried his final resort.

“I love you.”

He didn’t miss the way the younger teen froze, eyes widening. The way his small frame stiffened defensively and he looked up with a caution that bridged the final gap between Luka and a decision he had been considering making for a very long time now. And he most definitely didn’t miss the words Nathaniel mumbled in response.

“I really hope you aren’t lying to me, Luka. Because I feel a lot of things for you, and I don’t like people playing around with my emotions...”

He stared at the older teen, trying to read the impassive expression on his face through the haze clouding his own mind, before a swarm of ladybugs whooshed between them.

Luka could see the visible effects of the negative influences disappearing from the redhead’s body as his own bad thoughts relaxed and lifted, but he had his mind made up and there was no going back now.

***

“You wanted me to come over…?” Nathaniel’s voice was nervous, more like he was asking a question than stating a fact.

Luka nodded seriously, sighing as the artist cautiously sat down beside him.

“I...um...what did you want to...?”

“Listen, Nath,” Luka started, a bit more brusquely than he’d initially intended. Nathaniel only looked more nervous, and the fearful look in his eyes would have broken the musician if he hadn’t firmly set his resolve in advance.

“I wanted to talk about the akuma attack the other day...”

“Oh, uh...” the redhead visibly relaxed, making Luka feel the tiniest bit guilty, but he pushed it away.

“It really had a negative influence on you...”

“I guess I’m just prone to negative thoughts...” Nathaniel responded awkwardly.

“But really, how much of it was the akuma, and how much of it was you?” Luka asked, voice definitely carrying an edge. Nathaniel was stiffening again.

“Wh-what do you mean?” he asked, voice breaking slightly with nervous surprise.

“Nathaniel, tell me something. Honestly.” Luka looked up to meet him dead in the eye. He didn’t push his hair out of the other’s face like he usually did, and Nathaniel seemed to notice that, too. “Do you trust me?”

Nathaniel swallowed, watching Luka warily.

“I..yeah, why?” he answered in a transparent attempt to sound confident.

“Do you really, though?”

Nathaniel looked down, and Luka felt something small break inside, something he had prepared for already, not that it made it any easier when it actually happened.

“Nathaniel,” he started softly. “This is the problem, the reason we haven’t been able to move forward to anything. We’re stuck in one place and we can’t go on unless we can establish a mutual trust…”

Nathaniel was trembling but it didn’t matter anymore. This wasn’t Luka’s issue to deal with anymore.

He took a deep breath and let it out.

“I’m really sorry, Nathaniel, but we can’t ever work out if you can’t trust me. It feels like I’m constantly tiptoeing around you, trying to gain your trust, but I guess that isn’t going to work in the end...”

He looked at the redhead, silently begging him to say something in defense, contradicting him, anything, but he was quiet. His lip was trembling and Luka desperately wanted to hug him, but held himself back.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated simply. “I truly am. But until you can learn to gain some self-confidence and stop doubting everything, things really aren’t going to work out well for you...”

Nathaniel knew he was right. Of course he was right. The look in Luka’s eyes was pleading him to tell him he was wrong, but he couldn’t, wouldn’t bring himself to say it. Something was choking him and the words wouldn’t come out.

Luka’s expression changed to one of disappointment and he sighed regretfully, looking down and away.

“Well, then, that’s all...” he finished awkwardly, getting up and making to leave before the uncomfortable silence became unbearable. No one said anything, still.

He closed the door after him, leaving Nathaniel alone with only the option to wallow in hopeless despair or to take a lesson and move forward.

***

Looking back on it, Nathaniel reasoned that it wasn’t really fair to hold the butterfly responsible for his misery. Or Hawk Moth. Or Luka, for that matter.

In the end, he decided to blame anxiety. Not that placing blame ever made a difference, anyways.

Because sometimes, most of the time, life doesn’t give you a happily ever after.

Sometimes it’s your fault. Sometimes it’s not.

And it was that last thing that mystified Nathaniel, more than anything else.

***

“So I'm sorry to my unknown lover

Sorry that I can't believe

That anybody ever really

Starts to fall in love with me”

~Halsey, Sorry

#lukaniel #lukanath #luka couffaine #nathanielkurtzberg #nathaniel kurtzberg #miraculous #miraculous ladybug #angst #im sorry #nathanael kurtzberg #miraculous nathaniel #miraculous nathanael #nathanaelkurtzberg #nathluka #this is awful #also #halsey #yeah

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lets-travelblog · 4 years ago

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Bhangarh - The Most Haunted Place in India

Bhangarh Fort (Fortress in Rundh Bhangarh, Rajasthan) is notorious for being "The Most Haunted Place" in India. It is a seventeenth century fortress, situated at the outskirt of Sariska Tiger Reserve in the Alwar region of Rajasthan. These fortification remnants have a ghostly and amazingly negative atmosphere to them. Various paranormal exercises and sightings have been accounted for in the fortress because of which no towns lie in its region. ASI (Archeological Survey of India) has put an accumulating at its passage, prohibiting the vacationers or local people to enter the post before dawn and after nightfall.

The Bhangarh town was set up in 1573 by Bhagwant Das, the Kachwaha leader of Jaipur for his second child Madho Singh. There are two differentiating stories joined to the fortress, giving an importance to its spooky air.

1. The Prophecy of the Ascetic

It is said that Madho Singh had taken consent from an austere Bala Nath who lived in the close to region of the fortification, to raise the stronghold. Plain allowed him the authorization on a condition that the shadow of the stronghold ought to never fall upon his home. As destiny would have it, an aggressive replacement of the ruler raised the structures vertically, in this manner making its shadow immerse the austere's homestead. The inauspicious prediction was satisfied and the fortress was bound quickly.

2. The Curse of the Magician

The second, more well known legend is of Princess Ratnavati of Bhangarh and the nearby dark performer who began to look all starry eyed at the beguiling magnificence of the princess. So fixated was he that he put an amazing spell on a corrective that she utilized. The spell had the ability to pull any human or article towards the entertainer through an enchanted attraction. The princess, in any case, got some answers concerning the intrigue in time and poured the corrective over a stone, which thus got pulled towards the entertainer and squashed him. Prior to kicking the bucket, the entertainer set a revile upon whole town that no spirit could ever live in harmony there and no lodging structure could ever stand erect. The whole scene in and around Bhangarh has been spooky since.

The stronghold draws in crowds of sightseers, be that as it may, for all an inappropriate reasons. A few stories have been coursed alongside the cases of the individuals who express that the individuals who attempted their karma by not focusing on ASI admonitions either disappeared or experienced chilling spooky wonder inside the post. The cases may be inventions of a couple of creative personalities, though being told and bolstered by different individuals having no association with one another.

The most effective method to reach:

The closest town from Bhangarh is Alwar, arranged at around 90 km. A few taxicabs and transports are accessible from Alwar.

• Bhangarh is situated around 269 km from Delhi by means of Neemrana course and 242 km through Alwar course by street bhangarh fort haunted story in english wikipedia.

• Bhangarh Fort is only 83 km by street from Jaipur

At whatever point "Heavenly" is expressed, a few heads are turned. Many pretend apparition stories have been drifting around since hundreds of years since people have consistently been pulled in towards dread of the obscure. This article is an endeavor to make the perusers mindful that there is, truth be told, such a spot in presence in Rajasthan which is viewed as the most spooky spot in India, likely Asia. Bhangarh stronghold has ASI orientation on it, restricting anybody to enter the post before dawn and after dusk. A few unexplained vanishings of adrenaline junkies have been accounted for just as powerful sightings which make no sense.

#bhangarh #fort #haunted #story #in

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sinto-hell · 7 years ago

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masterpost of shitty headcanon about the boys, by yours truly

castiel

not over mcr breaking up

literally his reaction if he hears the g note

tries to keep up with his hair but most often than not, he’ll have 1 inch of his root showing before he finally get his shit together and do it

he and lys probably dye each other’s hair

iris is one of his childhood friend. they drifted appart over the years, but are still somewhat close

actually short. like. 5′7″. nath never said anything about it, but GOD THE TWINS NEVER SHUT UP ABOUT IT

short angry punk

has a couple of piercings on his ears

probably dyed his hair red because of gerard way

listen to a lot of 90s and early 2000s punk rock music

he’s vegetarian

get high with armin sometimes

tired kind of drunk

probably was an overachieving child and now he’s just?? well fuck (i relate tbh)

pansexual

probably has insomnia

nathaniel

i don’t have that many hc about him really

he never said anything about being taller than cas, but always found it funny

owns more scarves than lysander and the twins put together event tho he never wear them??

read lotr 3 times

i can see him getting really into sherlock, to the point of almost getting angry at it

probably once read an entire book in one night

he’ll never get used to white waking him up by sitting on his face. literally.

left handed

struggled a lot in school when he was younger

listen to a lot of indie music and soundtrack from movies and games (that one is armin’s fault, the boy got him into assassin’s creed and he loved the music so much also history)

despite was everyone think, amber is the older twin. but he’s still rlly protective of her

fall asleep on his couch a lot

bisexual

lysander

i dont have that many headcanon about him too why am i doing this again

tall n lanky, he hit his growth spurt really late and is still getting used to being tall. this put in with his general lunatic air, he hit his head everywhere

with his brother intriducing him to victorian inspired fashion, he really got into steam punk and love the aesthetic

loves reading dystopian novel for some reason?

has 4372729 notebooks, always loses them and find them in unsual places even in the house, like in a plant or a kitchen cupboard

brendon urie type of musician. put a guitar in his hands, he’ll play it. give him a violin, he’ll play it. show him a piano, he’ll play it. really. any instrument. also sing?? maybe he’s cursed with talent

once bought a bunny on impulse

has another tattoo beside his angel wings. its a bunny. cas was with him when he got it.

once found violette sketchbook, while she found her notebook. when they both got their things back, they just looked at eachother like “artist, right?”

wears turtle neck and oversized cardigans

demisexual

kentin

gdi do i only have hc for cas and the twins???

also constantly teased by the twins bc he’s short

well thats canon

is actually a really good cook

at one point he gets tired of his contact lenses and go get himself some square glasses. and god, is he pretty with them.

only listen to like. indie soft music. like. daughter and bon iver and artist he found on bandcamp.

has a classic rock playlist for when he work out

???

has a teeny tiny crush on alexy but would never actually admit it so he brush it aside

armin

now that’s my boy

he’s a stoner don’t even try

for their birthday alexy got him a pack of like 6 beanies because he was tired of always seeing armin with his hair a mess

voltron nerd

probably broke both of his arms twice when he was a kid

fluent in spanish as his mom spoke his frequently when he and alexy where kids

probably wear shit like this

the only sport he’s kind of good at is skateboarding

iris calls him sk8ter boi

unironically listen to vaporwave, probably love placebo

make lots of dirty jokes but is actually demisexual

panromantic

probably eats cereal straight out of the box

“i’m so many levels deep into irony i forgot what humor is” (thanks ddadds)

has a lot of internet friends

he’s always so fucking tired because his sleep schedule is Fucked

REALLY LOVE RUBBING IT IN CASTIEL’S FACE THAT HE’S TALLER THAN HIM

alexy bc i love him

this boy is the sweetest but fuck don’t make him angry because he’s going to punch you and won’t even regret it

like once he was angry and castiel was in the way, kinda mocking him and he hits him square in the jaw. castiel was never seen in alexy’s way when he was angry after that

had a bf before they moved schools

got bullied at school when he first came out

dyed his hair blue for the first time just before moving

got his tongue pierced

also fluent in spanish

whenever he notice the root of his hair starts showing, he steals one of the beanie he gave armin and wear it until he can re-dye it

also listen to vaporwave and a lot of lo-fi music. queer musician are his jam. love pvris

has abandonment issues

doesn’t actually know how to flirt, he just does something and hope it works

honestly he doesn’t even need to, he’s already the sweetest

i honestly don’t even know why i made these but i guess that’s my contribution to the fandom: shitpost.

#mcl #my candy love #mcl headcanon #mcl castiel #mcl nathaniel #mcl lysander #mcl armin #mcl alexy #mcl kentin

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danixx1 · 7 years ago

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When will you tell her? (One shot)

Elisa’s hand reached for the radio as soon as the song begun.

“Oh, don’t change the station! I love this song!” Ashley pleaded inside Elisa’s car, and the driver exchanged a brief look with her brother, Jay, as searching for help.

“She hates this song”, Jay stated.

“Oh, come on, Elisa, how can you hate ‘My Humps’? It’s just the best song ever!”

“For idiots” Elisa replied, joking. “No one will listen to this crap inside my car.”

In 600 meters, turn right, the electronic voice from the GPS instructed.

“Ok, I’ll admit it’s crap. But it’s some funny crap. And it sticks to your mind.”

“That’s exactly the problem”, Elisa replied. “And it’s annoying.”

“Come on, please?” the girl in the backseat pouted her lips.

“Yeah, please, look how adorable she is” Jay mocked, pretending to take her side.

Elisa laughed and turned the volume up.

“Don’t you say I never did anything for you, Ash.”

“You’re the best, E. If you had another brother, I’d marry him.”

“Hey, wait a minute”, interrupted Jay. “What’s wrong with me?”

Ashley smiled widely.

“Nothing. But you’re my best friend. I wouldn’t risk losing you.”

Then she got back to singing the lyrics. Jay smiled back, only this time, his smile couldn’t reach his eyes. Ashley didn’t notice, but Elisa did.

In 200 meters, turn right.

As soon as the song ended, Elisa turned the radio off, hoping to avoid any other hideous song to play inside her car. Besides, they were close, now.

“You guys are coming home with me, right? Ash, I’ll drop you by, if you don’t wanna sleep over.”

“Yeah, that’d be great. Thank you.”

You have reached your destination.

“And we’re here”, she said, stopping the car near the entry and turning off the GPS app. As soon as she parked, Ashley opened the door and got out. Elisa looked at her younger brother with some concern in her eyes.

“She looks gorgeous tonight”, Elisa said.

“Doesn’t she always?” he replied, half smiling.

“So, when will you tell her?”

“Shut up, E.”, he answered, shaking his head. She could tell he was nervous. His hands wouldn’t stop moving and he couldn’t look at her.

“I’m serious. You have to tell her, she’s as blind as our aunt Cynthia.”

“You heard her. Best friend. Wouldn’t risk losing me. All that crap.”

“So change her mind, hon. At least try.”

He finally looked at her.

“What if I lose her?”

“You won’t. Now get out of this car.”

He opened the door.

“And, Jay?”

“Yeah?”

“How can she like My Humps? Seriously, your girl needs to be educated in music.”

Jay laughed and got out of the car, waiting for his sister. Ashley was waiting by the door, searching for her ID, and damn, he thought, she really did look great tonight.

♦♦♦

“Hey, Nath!” Jay greeted his friend. “Happy Birthday, dude!”

“Thanks!” Nathan shook his hand and gave him a hug, patting his back enthusiastically. Ashley hugged Nath too, making the gift box in her hand look a bit messy.

“Happy birthday, Nath” she fixed the bow on the top of the box and handed it to him. “I hope you like it!”

He thanked her, even though the sight of Elisa made him forget about the gift in a split second. Jay and Ashley exchanged looks and walked over to where their friends were, leaving the two to talk.

The girls were all on top of an iPhone, Tinder open, having a small debate and then switching left and right as the faces appeared on screen.

“Fancy place” Jay whispered to Ashley, she agreed with her head and a sweet smile that almost made him curse. His hand was on her back as he led her to the small group of people on the table.

“Hey, Ash and Jay! Come over! We’re picking Tom’s next girlfriend.” Lucy greeted them.

“So that’s his phone, huh? Poor guy.” Jay commented, searching for their friend. Tom was nowhere to be seen. “Where is he?”

“Hitting on some girl over the bar,” Miranda said, waving her hand in the direction of what must have been the bar.

“Does he know what you girls are up to?” Ashley asked.

“Hm, probably not. But he did leave his phone with me, so he was aware of the risks”, Lucy smiled widely.

“I’ll go get him”, Jay said, his hand leaving Ashley’s back as he walked away.

He spotted Nathan on the way, by himself, and asked him where he could find Tom.

“Probably over the bar”, was his answer. Jay laughed a bit and made a mental note to talk to Tom about drinking too much. He’d make a threat to take Tom to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

“Where’s Elisa?”

“Bathroom.”

“So that means you guys can get around other people now without sticking your tongue inside the other’s mouth?” Jay grinned.

“Stop being such a jealous brother.”

Jay stretched his shoulders and straightened up, as to look taller than Nathan.

“I am not.”

“Jay, when will you tell Ashley you like her?”

“Seriously, could everyone please stop asking me that?” he replied annoyed, looking around to check if the girl could have possibly overheard the conversation. He ran his fingers through his hair, starting to wish that Elisa got back soon, so Nath would be distracted.

“We will, as soon as you tell her.” Nathan smiled and pointed over, gesturing to someone on the bar. “There’s Tom.”

♦♦♦

Ashley was chatting with Lucy and Miranda, who finally returned Tom’s phone to its owner, once Jay and Tom got back from the bar. Tom seemed happy enough about his new matches on Tinder, and thought it was all very funny. They were talking about the next trip they would all make, probably to some city in Ireland. Jay was defending Cork, Lucy wanted to go to Belfast, Ashley and Miranda said they had to go to Dublin (again) and Tom was inclined to go to Galway.

Jay excused himself for a moment, going after another flute of champagne. Tom was about to follow him, but Jay was acting like his babysitter and gave him a lecture about Tom having had too many drinks already.

The discussion followed on for a little while, even though each one of them knew it was pointless. They would visit all of those cities, but the fun was to decide in which they would spend most of the nights. The fun was also in winning the small discussion, Ashley thought.

Her thoughts were interrupted when this tall, dark haired guy with blue eyes touched her shoulder, making her turn, and asked her to dance. She glanced at the girls, half smiling, before accepting his outstretched hand and letting him lead her to the dance floor.

They followed the slow song absentmindedly, swaying to one side and then, the other, having that kind of conversation you have when you’re meeting someone for the first time. His name was Daniel, he was studying Law, got a good job and had two younger brothers. They continued to sway, his body getting a little closer to hers. She told him a bit about herself, too. Twenty two, no siblings, enjoyed swimming when she needed to clear her mind from university chaos, worked in an office.

From what she could tell, he smiled a lot. She asked about his hobbies, but wasn’t able to hear his response because someone dropped a glass on the floor. When she looked around, searching for the sound of the sound, her eyes met Jay’s.

He was the one who let the Champagne flute drop to the floor. Its liquid spilled around, getting to his clothes and some of the girls dresses. Some of them let out small screams and a lot of them looked at him with some fury on their eyes.

Jay didn’t even notice. His eyes were locked on Ashley’s. His face was pale and he was breathing heavy. Then he seemed to return to his self, turned away and walked towards the opposite way.

“Is everything okay?” Daniel asked, and only then she felt herself returning completely to the moment, too. Only then she noticed she stopped dancing. Daniel kept looking from her to where Jay stood moments before, as if trying to understand what just happened. As she gave no response, he asked again. “Ashley, is everything okay?”

“I’m sorry”, she said, looking at him. “Excuse me.”

And with those words and confused thoughts, she went after Jay, crossing the hall filled with people, trying to spot his curly hair above the crowd. She went to their table, asking for him, but he wasn’t there. She saw Tom and Lucy exchange worried looks, but none of them said anything. Ashley turned around and continued to search for him, and Tom took his phone out of his pocket and started to call Jay, to ask where he was, but before he could pick up, Ashley was gone in the crowd.

To her surprise, she found him four minutes later, at the bar, two empty shots on the counter. The third one on the way to his mouth. She sat beside him.

“What is the meaning of this?” she asked. Her voice sounded angry, was she angry? Why was she angry?

“I’m drinking. It’s a party, isn’t it?” his voice a midst between hurt and anger. Why was he hurt?

She turned his face to her.

“I asked you what are you doing”, she tried again. “What’s going on?”

His eyes drifted away from her face, back to the shot. He took it in and asked for another one, ignoring her. He was mad, but he wasn’t mad at her. He was mad at himself, for being such a coward and then being pissed that some other guy asked her to dance. But something about seeing her in another guys arms, smiling that smile that lit up his day to some guy that wasn’t him, something about the whole situation made his insides burn.

So he was drinking to stop those thoughts.

He couldn’t answer to her questions, because he had no idea what he was doing.

She was starting to be mad at him, too, but his body was slowly absorbing the alcohol and things felt off place. He looked at her. She looked furious and her mouth was moving fast, but he couldn’t make sense of the words. His other shot was placed in front of him, and he drank it too, as searching for courage in every drop until the last one. She slapped him in the arm as he drank, almost causing him to choke.

“Ash” he said. She stopped talking and looked at him, waiting with her arms crossed in front of her. “I’m sorry.”

“About what?” she asked, her tone was sharp.

He closed his eyes and prayed his sister was right and they were really made for each other, because if that wasn’t the case, he was about to blow the whole thing to the air.

“I got jealous.”

“That’s stupid, I don’t even know the guy” she replied, unaware of what he meant. He held her hands in his, making her look at him again, and explained.

“I got jealous because I’m in love with you. And you’re as blind as my aunt Cynthia, as Elisa said sooner.”

He probably shouldn’t have said the last part, but it just slipped through his lips. Her eyes widened and she sat there, with her mouth slightly open, saying nothing. He could hear his heartbeats and for a second, he wondered if she could hear them too.

“You’re drunk”, she said, finally. Untangling her fingers from his, she got up and returned to their table, not looking back even a single time, leaving Jay feeling like he was sinking and no one would throw him a rope.

“Woah, what’s that look on your face?” Tom asked. “Have you found Jay?”

“He’s at the bar, getting himself drunk, the bloody idiot!” she spat.

“What happened?” Tom’s face turned immediately to worry, Jay wasn’t the type to get wasted, he was.

“He said he is…” she didn’t think she could finish the sentence. Her friends looked at her, she shook her head and breathed in deeply. “He said he’s in love with me. But he only said that because he was drunk and got jealous.”

The table was silent. Everyone got this almost scared look on their faces, like they were all afraid to say something. Then Tom got up and went to the bar as fast as he could, almost running.

“He saw you dancing with Mr. Tall and Handsome?” Lucy asked, carefully.

“Yeah, that’s why he got jealous.”

Every time she passed those last minutes in her mind again, she got a bit angrier. Why am I angry?, she asked herself for what felt like the hundredth time.

“And then he got drunk?” Miranda looked like she was trying to solve a math problem.

“Yes, that’s what I’m saying. What is the matter with all of you?” she slapped the table, trying to get some sense out of her friends. Why was everyone so weird all of a sudden?

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him he was drunk and then…” her mind was confused. “And then I left him there.”

The shock on Miranda and Lucy’s faces was all it took for her to notice. She covered her mouth with her hands.

“Oh my God. I’m a horrible person!”

“Girl, that man has been in love with you ever since I can remember.” Miranda stated, still trying to find a way to keep her mouth shut.

“He… what?” Ashley was trying to make her brain understand those words, all of that situation, but it seemed impossible, almost like they were trying to explain it to her in ancient Greek or something.

“He looks at you like you’re a goddess or something”, agreed Lucy.

“How come you never told me?” now she felt like accusing them. “I mean, what kind of friends are you?”

“It was not up to us to do so”, Lucy raised her hands as to calm Ashley down.

“Yeah, and it was not our fault you were too dumb to notice.”

“Miranda!” Lucy reprimanded her friend.

Ashley felt like she was about to vomit. It couldn’t be. Everyone knew but her, and how could she not know? Taking things into consideration, Elisa’s comments, the boys jokes, it all made sense now. And it was just too much.

She needed to get away from there. She needed a drink.

When she started walking, the girls asked where she was going, as she replied something. It was either “I’m going to the bathroom” or “leave me alone”, she had no idea which one had got out of her mouth, as she thought both of them at the same time, over and over. Either way, none of them went after her. It was always Jay that went after her, always worried and willing to know she was fine, refusing to let her alone when he knew she wasn’t, even if she lied to his face. Jay. She thought about him and her stomach revolved itself.

Reaching for the bar, she sat on the opposite side, trying not to be spotted by Tom or Jay. Jay was wasted, and Tom was making him drink some water. His headache would be shit the next day. She kind of hoped hers would be hell as well.

A couple of drinks later, she was feeling dizzy and Tom left Jay there by himself. She was so mad at him for not telling her. Best friends, that’s what they were! They weren’t supposed to have secrets to one another.

Another drink was put before her. She glanced at Jay from her hidden spot. He was taking another shot of something that looked like whisky. He never drank whisky. But he barely ever drank anything. And he never lied to her. Not until tonight. She was feeling betrayed, and anger drove her to finish that drink too. When she asked for the other one, she almost didn’t recognize her voice. She was drunk, too.

Tom returned with Elisa, and she hugged Jay and got him a lecture in front of everyone, after all, he was her baby brother. “If she doesn’t see what a great guy you are, she doesn’t deserve you!” were the words that travelled through the crowd to get to Ashley’s ears.

“He lied to me”, she muttered to herself. And then, determination struck her like a lightning, she felt the need to tell it to his face.

“Jay!” she shouted, from where she stood, stumbling on her way to him, Tom and Elisa.

“I think now’s not exactly the best time”, Elisa started.

“You’re a liar!” Ashley spat, poking him on the chest, fury inside her eyes. “How could you not tell me?”

“You just proved that I shouldn’t!” he replied, his voice loud.

“I’ll take you guys outside”, said Tom, reaching for Jay’s arm, as he led her by the hand. “You need some fresh air.”

“You also need to stop yelling in the middle of the party”, agreed Elisa. “You don’t want to ruin Nathan’s birthday.”

Once outside, they were both breathing heavily, and Jay asked Tom and his sister to go back to the party, as this shit was personal, as he stated.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you”, he said.

“You are an idiot, that’s what you are. We were supposed to be friends!”

“Yeah, obviously I fucked this up, too.”

Only then she noticed he still had a glass on his hand. She slapped his hand, causing the glass to fall on the grass, and slapped him again, this time on his arm.

“You should’ve told me!” she accused him again.

“So you could have broken my heart earlier?” his eyes sustained her look, defiantly. He was hurt, she could tell. She had hurt him. This thought made her heart ache.

“I was the last to know, and you know what?” she got closer to him, her hands moving everywhere. “I don’t even know if we ever were friends!”

Now he looked confused, but if anything, more pissed off.

“What the hell do you mean now, Ash?” he tried to take her hand, but she didn’t let him.

“I don’t even know if we were friends at all, I mean, did you always take care of me because you liked me or because we were friends?”

“BOTH!”, he yelled, as if it were obvious.

“How can I know that you didn’t do everything just because you liked me?”

He shook his head, she wasn’t making any sense. Of course he took care of her and worried about her because they were friends. Of course he did those things because he liked her too. Those things were always intertwined.

“You know me”, he said, simply.

She stopped, dizziness blurring her mind. He tried to hold her hand again, and this time she let him. She kept looking at their hands, their fingers intertwined. It felt safe. It felt right. She though it would be different, feel different now. But it didn’t. It still felt right.

“I was your friend because that was what I could be”, Jay’s voice was soft now. “I just wanted to be with you, anyway you wanted me.”

“So what changed?” she asked, her eyes still on their hands.

“I realized I would lose you sooner or later, if I didn’t try.”

She looked at him now. Her best friend. She remembered her comment inside the car, about marrying Elisa’s brother, if she had another one. That sounded almost cruel now that she knew. His hands were still warm in hers, and she felt stupid. Her thoughts drifted to imagine the whole scene different. What if she had seen Jay dancing with some girl, some pretty girl she had never seen? Would she be jealous, too?

Would she be okay with knowing that he could have a girlfriend, and with time, that he would do all the things he used to do with her with this new girl? That one day, she’d be nothing more than an old friend, which he never sees anymore? That someone other than her would run her hands through his hair, when he was laying on her lap, watching some stupid movie on TV? That, like earlier, when she left somewhere, wanting to cry, Jay would not be there to make sure she was ok?

Her chest ached at those thoughts, and she thought about how right her hand had felt in his. She wondered what it would feel like to be with him, as more than friends. It was so weird that she had never thought about it before. It made so much sense now.

She looked at him, he was still waiting for her to say something. She had left him without an answer at the bar, the first time he said those words that changed everything. And she didn’t say anything now too, but she needed to.

Instead of saying anything, as she didn’t think she could put everything she was feeling into words, she threw herself in his arms and kissed him. She felt drunk, and as he was also drunk, it was a quite messy kiss, but none of them cared. The kiss tasted like alcohol and strawberries. A part of her was shocked they had that conversation in such an altered state and still managed to understand each other.

♦♦♦

As they got back inside together, Tom decided to celebrate the new couple, handing them both more flutes of champagne, as if they weren’t wasted already. Tom himself was quite drunk, but none of them seemed to care, and everyone drank a little bit more than a little more. One of those “I’m too drunk to know I’m too drunk” moments that makes you drink another drink when you should’ve stopped drinking at all.

“Ok, whatever, let's just get out of here”, Jay said. He pulled Ashley's hand and crossed the crowd, as if there wasn't a single person in front of them. The only reason they got back inside was to get her purse that had stayed on their table. They didn't even say goodbye to anyone. They left the party, got in a cab and in the absence of logical coordinates, they ended up at Jay's flat. Ashley did try to explain her address, but after annoying the taxi driver with loud laughter and scrambled words, Jay convinced him that the drive to his place would keep them inside the vehicle for less than fifteen minutes. That statement seemed to please the cabbie, who also gained a few extra pounds as a tip, due to the inability of the passengers to make complex mathematical operations, like addition, in that state.

They tripped a bit on their way across the building hall, and soon they were inside the elevator. It took them three stops on the wrong floor before the right one. Jay had pushed two buttons that 'looked a lot like his', and Ashley tried to correct him, unsuccessfully. The apartment door was open and Tia, his lizard, walked around the sofa.

“Jay, I told you a thousand times to lock your front door. You always leave it open.” Ashley started a fail attempt to scold her best friend, but the tone of laughter in her voice was evident, making her lose all the seriousness of the subject. “One day you’ll come home to find out there’s nothing else in here anym-“

Jay pulled her towards him, stopping her from finishing the sentence. Without much thinking, he touched her lips with his. There wasn't a lot of thought in the kiss, by any of them. Somewhere deep in her conscience, Ashley heard an insistent little voice telling her that maybe that wasn't the wisest of attitudes. Still, for some reason, she couldn't care enough to break the kiss, nor to take her hands off that curly and so soft hair. Jay guided her through the flat by a path that she already knew: the one that led to his bedroom.

As they crossed the room, his hands unzipped her dress, and soon enough that dress was nothing more than a bunch of fabric on the floor. Jay's bed was soft and inviting, and Ashley found herself lying on it, his weight pleasantly over her body, until they were interrupted by a strange and insistent noise coming from the living room.

“Shit, that’s Elisa’s ringtone.” Jay cursed, sitting down and sobering up in a burst. “I’ll be right back; she’ll kill me if I don’t answer.”

Ashley could hear him answer to some very tough questions, such as how they left and where they were. The lack of Jay's body heat made her shiver, and she easily slipped under the blankets.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Jay was trying to answer in a way that guaranteed the other side's comprehension. After hanging up the phone, he threw it on the sofa and suddenly felt all the tiredness that the day had provided. He lifted Tia, putting it in its little house, before heading back to the bedroom. Containing a yawn, he crossed the doorway and found his best friend sleeping in his bed. Jay took off his suit and put his pajama shorts, leaving his worn clothes on the floor. Then he joined Ashley, pulling her close in a tight hug before he fell asleep too, embraced by her perfume scent.

♦♦♦

Ashley woke up with a throbbing head and none of the courage needed to open her eyes. Confused memories danced in her mind. An attempt to speak French at some point of the night, stumbling a couple of times because the ground was moving. She only opened her eyes when she felt her skin against the sheets. "Whoa. Something's wrong here." The searing pain she felt when the light got into her eyes was only subdued by realizing that she was lying in Jay's bed. In Jay's room. In addition, nearly without clothes. She wondered what the hell had happened the night before. With a lot of effort, Ashley lifted out of the bed, searching for the homeowner.

“Jay?” she asked, her voice sounding a bit hoarse.

“In the kitchen”, he answered, and she headed to the right room.

“What happened last night?”

“Hm, please don’t scream”, Jay frowned as he requested. “And good morning to you, too.”

“I meant it, Jay. What happened?” Ashley leaned against the wall, holding the blanket around her. Jay came close to her, holding a glass of water and a small pill, probably an aspirin, and gave them both to her. She took them without question.

“What do you recall?” He looked at her, analyzing the girl.

It was her time to frown. Damn headache.

“Remembering hurts”, she simply stated. Jay laughed a bit, turning off the stove and distributing the boiling water into two cups, both over a small tray.

“We had our first kiss” he risked taking a glimpse her way, and she didn’t seem as confused as he thought she would be.

“Drunk first kisses don’t count”, Ashley said, as a completely neutral comment. Not as if she was saying that they needed another one to count, or wanted them to forget the whole thing had happened. She wanted to say exactly what she had said and nothing else, and Jay understood that. That was one of the reasons they became best friends in the first place.

“Strawberry tea?” he asked, even though he didn’t need an answer, knowing all too well that that was her favorite flavor.

Ashley nodded slowly as she headed for the couch, looking for Tia. It was taking a sun bath on a corner, near the window, and it looked happy. "Of course it's happy", she thought in a bitter way, "Lizards don't have headaches."

Jay sat by her side, supporting the two cups on the table in front of him. Turning to face her, he smiled wondering how she could be so adorable with a hangover. Then, he pulled her hair from her face, leaning his hand on her neck and gently pulling her close, kissing her again. It would be a lie to say that this kiss wasn’t premeditated, once Jay was thinking about it since he woke up.

"But hangover kisses count", he affirmed, before taking the cups again and giving her the one with strawberry tea.

"Hangover kisses count", Ashley timidly agreed, blowing the hot liquid before taking the first sip, as she tried to hide the little insistent smile on her lips, without much success. “So I guess we need to talk about yesterday.”

“You do remember”, he accused her.

“Some things, yeah. I guess we need to talk about it, don’t we?” Ashley moved her fingers alongside the mug, staring at the tea.

“I guess we do. But can we not, right now?” he frowned a bit and she looked at him, putting her mug on the tray again.

“You were right. I was being an idiot.”

He laughed and the sound was a mix of pleasure, because she loved his laugh, and pain, because she was hungover.

“I didn’t say that,” he stated. “You did. You called me an idiot.”

“Well, I’m correcting it now”, she said, matter-of-factly. “I think we should try.”

“What about that ‘you can’t lose me’ speech you gave yesterday in the car?”

“I won’t, will I?”

“No.”

“Then I guess it’s fine.”

“You’re such a coward”, he said.

“I was such a coward”, she corrected him. “I’m being brave now.”

Jay smiled and leaned over to plant a kiss on her forehead.

“We are.”

#someTheWantedAUfanficforyou itwasactuallymyprojectforasubjectatuni whatisthis

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weramblers · 5 years ago

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Nepal Insights - Muktinath Temple and its 5 nearby Tourist Attractions

Muktinath Temple is situated in Nepal, and it is an ancient temple of Hindu Deity Lord Vishnu. This temple holds a very significant religious meaning between the two iconic religions, Hindus and Buddhists. It is one of the 108 Vaishnava shrines. In 19th century, Hindus has given name as Muktinath, the lord of Liberation.

The name of the temple in itself holds grave deep meaning derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Muktinath’. The word consists of two separate word entity ‘Mukti’ and ‘Nath’. ‘Mukti’ means ‘Salvation’ and ‘Nath’ means ‘God’ or ‘Master’. ‘Mukti’ is essential for the spiritual people in the south Asian.

Behind the origin of Muktinath Yatra, there is a small story. Hindu believes that Vishnu got curse from Jalandhar’s wife, Brinda. After that, he started worshipped as a Muktinath or the lord of salvation.

There is some famous attraction near Muktinath. While doing Muktinath Yatra visitors can find these most famous five spots that are discussed below:

1. Jwala Mai Temple: This temple is situated in the south region of the Muktinath Temple. This is a very famous temple because of its spring, and burning flames appears directly from the soil, water, and rock. This full process is very natural. As per Hindus, this fire lighting comes from Lord Brahma. One more nearby place Dhola Mebar Gompa Monastery is worth of seeing.

2. Mukti Dhara: Behind the temple, Mukti Dhara is situated. It consists of a total of 108 Dharas. From these 108 dharas, bull-headed spouts always chill holy waterfalls which come from Gandaki River. If you are planning to go for Muktinath tour, then do not forget to take a sacred bath here.

3. Swaminarayan: Lord Shri Swaminarayan entirely owns this place. In this Sabji Yoga is available which has created by the Hindu spiritual leader. Sabji Yoga always considers the path of divinity. By doing the correct practice about two, a half month visitor can achieve the uppermost level of aptitude. This is a tiny monument where you can do a quick tour.

4. Mukti Kunda: This Mukti Kunda in the frontage of Temple. There are a total of two holy water kunda or water ponds. Those are called Saraswati and Laxmi Kunda. There is a saying that this holy pond water rinses away your past sins and negative karma or actions.

5. Mharme Lha Khang Gompa: It is worth to visit this temple while going to the Muktinath tour. This temple is located in the northern region of Muktinath temple. This is devoted by the Guru Rimpoche who is also well-known as Padmasambhava. Here much astonishing clay idol is available which you will love to see and even surrounding saint too.

The Muktinath Temple is very famous, and there is a saying that it is a blessing if you get to see both, Lord Vishnu and Goddess Sri Devi, at a time during the yatra. The nearby Gandaki River has shaligram stone strewn all over the river bed that is also used to worship of Lord Vishnu by many.

On route to and fro Muktinath, one can visit some of the very famous destinations like the Tongapani Hot spring were taking a dip is an excellent and unforgettable feeling.

The Manang Monastery in the village of Manang is a breathtaking beauty. The cultural heritage and rich history of the settlements of Manang village is also something many fail to explore.

The Muktinath Yatra trek is laden with a rich history of every Himalayan settlement beside the natural flora and fauna of the Himalayan Valley. Exploring everything may seem impossible but trying to see a few of the best is definitely worth the time.

#muktinath tour package #muktinath temple #muktinath yatra #muktinath tour

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rajasthantourplanner · 5 years ago

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Visit Ajabgarh & Bhangarh, Alwar (Rajasthan)

Ajabgarh & Bhangarh is a ruined town in the Alwar district of the state of Rajasthan, India, most famous for its historical ruins. It is said to be a haunted place. Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has put up a signboard by the main gate stating (among others): "Entering the borders of Bhangarh before sunrise and after sunset is strictly prohibited." The reason for this may be that there can be wild animals and it could be unsafe because there is no artificial lighting. Bhangarh is at the edge of the Sariska Tiger Reserve.

Bhangarh is a place between Jaipur and Delhi in Rajasthan state of India. Bhangarh is known for its ruins, but still worth a visit; the place is beautiful and tranquil. What remains though, is a shadow of a once beautiful kingdom.Passing by Bhangarh, banyans and temples dot the landscape and one chhatri can be seen up on the hill. The most remarkable are the temples of Gopinath, Shiva (Someshwar), Mangla Devi and Keshava Rai. Other more or less preserved buildings are e.g. shops along the main road, several havelis, a mosque, and a palace. The palace was protected by two inner fortifications across the valley. The town is separated from the plain by ramparts with five gates. Bhangarh is also a pre-historic site.

This town was established in 1573 (VS 1631) during the rule of Raja Bhagwant Das as the residence of his second son Madho Singh. Madho Singh was younger brother of Emperor Akbar’s General Man Singh I of Amber. Madho Singh participated in many campaigns with his father and brother. The next ruler of Bhangarh was his son Chhatr Singh. Bhangarh slowly declined after Chhatr Singh's violent death in 1630. Near Ajabgarh was founded by Ajab Singh, the son of Chhatr Singh. When Mughal Empire became weaker after the death of Aurangzeb, Jai Singh II attached Bhangarhto his state by force in 1720. After this Bhangarh diminished in population, and when the famine of 1783 fell on the land the town was abandoned, and has remained a ruin ever since.It is said that the city of Bhangarh was cursed by the Guru Balu Nath, causing the towns evacuation. Balu Nath sanctioned the establishment of the town but said: "The moment the shadows of your palaces touch me, the city shall be no more!" Ignorant of such foreboding, one ambitious descendant raised the palace to such a height that its shadowed Balu Nath's forbidden retreat and thus the town was devastated as prophesied.

The small samādhi where Balu Nath is said to lie buried is still there.The other myth is as follows: The charm of princess of Bhangarh Ratnavati was said to be matchless in all of Rajasthan. Being eighteen years old, the princess started getting matrimonial offers from other states. In the same region there lived a tantrik, a magician well versed in the occult, named Singhia who was desperately in love with the princess knowing that he would never be allowed to even see her, let alone meet her. One day, he saw the princess' maid in the market buying scented oil for her. Seeing this, he got an idea by which he could meet the princess. He used his black magic and put a spell on the oil which would hypnotize the princess by her merely touching the oil, and she would surrender herself.

The princess foiled this plan though. She had seen the tantrik enchanting the oil, and she therefore threw it away, whereupon the flagon rolled over a stone. As soon as the oil touched the stone, it started rolling towards the wicked tantrik and crushed him. While dying, Singhia cursed the palace with the death of all who dwelt in it, without any rebirth in their destinies. The very next year there.

Visit - https://www.rajasthantourplanner.com/Jaipur-Tour-Planner/jaipur-taxi-packages/jaipur-bhangarh-taxi-package.html

#Rajasthancarrental HotelaccommodationjaipurRajasthantrippackage Travelindia

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luckychrm · 8 years ago

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The Mystery Guest

AO3 | FF This was partially inspired by a small convertation I had with @cakeezz, this afternoon and the last part was inspired by this post by @thewonderfulwizardofass. So I’ll just leave this here for you. Hope you like it! (I’m sorry if it looks sloppy and is full of grammar mistakes, but i literally wrote this at 5am with the help of some mugs of coffee with milk because I wouldn’t go to bed until i had this written lmao)

He was a mysterious guest. Nobody had ever seen him, knew who he was, what he did for a living or why he had been invited to this marriage, except for the bride and groom. Actually they could thank this guest, because he was one of the reasons why they were marrying.

"Céline, could you remind me, again, who's that old man standing there?" Nathalie asked her friend. If Nathalie and Céline could describe their friendship in the past months with one sentence, it would definitely be that question. Of course that for Nathalie's clarification, her friend's answer remained the same.

"Oh, I already told you Nath! He is Fu, my osteopath. And you should try one day, because he's really good at it! At least my pain in the back is gone!"

She wasn't really lying. Céline had asked Fu to help her with her back, twice. So technically he was her osteopath. But she couldn't tell her friend that Fu was also the one who made her turn into Le Papillon, one of the two people that was part of the famous superhero duo that saved Paris streets from crime. Besides being breaking that identity rule (that she already broke), if she decided to reveal herself, Céline was sure that Nathalie wouldn't take her seriously and joke with her forever or she would believe and peacefully install the chaos among the guests and then all over the city. So as long as the osteopath excuse sticked, everything was safe.

"He must be really good as a person and as an osteopath, for you to invite him! It's not everyday that you invite a doctor, if we can call him that, for your marriage." She said, somehow sarcastically. Nathalie was no fool. She believed partially in her best friend's words. But her other side was screaming that what she had heard was absolutely wrong and made no sense.

"Oh Nathalie, my dear, if you knew the whole story you would understand why we invited him!"

"And may I know the whole story?"

"You could, but If I told you, then I had to kill you." Céline said with a hint of suspense in her voice and then she just laughed as if it was nothing. "I'm kidding silly! I would never kill my best friend!"

"Yeah I understood, captain obvious!" Nathalie replied and by now it was nearly impossible for her to hide all the curiosity that her best friend made her feel with that speech.

Of course that Gabriel Agreste was trapped in this curse, too. His best man had been haunting him with questions about Fu since the ceremony started.

"Who is he? Why did you invited him? I mean, you already told that he helped Céline and that she really likes him, but was it really necessary?" Leo made this questions too quickly for Gabriel to process them. And the only thing that Leo could achieve with his excitement was Gabriel's annoyance.

"Look, we both wanted him to be here today. And Céline really likes him. Her wishes are orders and if she wanted him to come, we invited him over. Now stop questioning, Leo. Curiosity killed the cat." He really liked Leo. It was one of the few friends he had, but sometimes Leo got carried away and become excited which made him look like and eight year old in the questioning age. When that happened, Leo could be the most annoying person ever.

"Okay, okay I will stop! But I really wanted to know what makes you two so fond of him!?" As Nathalie, he was also pretty curious and eager to break the mystery around this man. Both believed in what their friends told them, but some pieces didn't fit right in the puzzle.

"That Léo, that will be something that you will never know. And if you do, one day, I just hope that I can run away from you as fast as I can." Gabriel replied calmly. He already thought that Le Paon suit was ridiculous on its own, so he was pretty sure that he didn't need Leo to find out that he was the one wearing it. That would be even more ridiculous, and embarrassing. He could like the respect and admiration that he received while wearing it, but he didn't like to imagine how people would react when they found that he was Le Paon. In the eyes of the society, he wasn't the reflex of a superhero and he was aware of it.

"Why do you say that?" Leo asked.

"No more questions, remember?"

The party went on and a bit before the dinner was served, Fu approached the newlyweds. He carried a small gift and an apologetic look, which made Céline slightly anxious. Before any of then could ask what was going on, Fu decided to answer to whatever was going through their minds.

"I know it's your big day and that all you want to do is to stay here and share your happiness with your friends and family but..."

Céline cut him through his sentence, as if she read his mind.

"We've got to go right? Or at least one of us, because it would be too weird if both if us left our own wedding."

"Yeah, that it."

"Okay so I'll be going then!" Céline said determined.

"No, you won't honey. And that's not a request." Gabriel said demandingly.

"But Gabriel! I can handle the thing by myself!" She protested.

"I know you can, but that's not the problem. And besides that, it would be more discreet if I left."

As much as she wanted to protest more, Gabriel had a point and, she had to agree that he was right.

"Okay, but take care! I don't want you back with a black eye or something that I won't be able to explain."

"Don't worry. When you notice, I'll be right here by your side." They kissed goodbye and Céline was left alone with Fu. Gabriel left quickly making sure nobody saw him go away.

"So what's that?" She pointed to the small gift and made a grimace.

"Well, that's my gift to you but I'll only give it when Gabriel comes back and no one is around."

"But you know that it wasn't necessary to bring a gift!"

"But I insist on bringing one."

Céline and Fu made the possible and the impossible to delay the dinner but the guests were starting to be hungry and annoyed. They were covering Gabriel for twenty minutes now.

"Go big or go home." Céline said to herself and giving up, she thought of a quick excuse and decided to bring the dinner. As she expected, everybody noticed Gabriel's absence and the guests started to create small rumors about where he could be.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable with all the buzz ,Céline stood up and hit with her fork in the glass making sure that all the attention was directed at her. As soon as everybody calmed down, she spoke.

"I know that this may sound bad but Gabriel had to leave due to... unexpected business problems! You may know how he is, fashion can't wait! But he'll back in as soon as he can! So we'll have to start dinner whit out him! Bon appétit!"

She sat quickly and started to play with her napkin so she didn't need to stare at the guests that somehow looked disappointed. She couldn't blame them, though. But nobody said that being a superhero was easy and she knew that the truth had to be kept as a secret. Just because of that she decided to accept her fate to wait for her husband with dozens of people that were capable to eat him alive, as soon as he stepped into the room again.

By the end of the evening , almost all guests had left and Fu was still there, sat on his table, waiting for the perfect moment to talk properly to the newlyweds and give them his gift. They were saying goodbye to the last guests when he approached them. When he was sure that they were alone, he spoke to them.

"Congratulations! First of all, I want to say that I was right about you two and secondly I want to thank everything you've done for Paris. If it wasn't you, this city would be chaotic. I also want to forgive for the inconvenient and I know that it was unfair. I'm really happy that you two are finally togheter." Fu was a man of few words and usually what he said used to be right. So Gabriel and Céline were satisfied with his small speech. They even chuckled when he said that he was right about them, because it was true and there was no way to deny it. Then he just sighed and looked at Céline. "An osteopath? Really? I thought you could get something better than that!"

She just broke into laughter as she heard him with that tiny bit of disappointment on his voice. It was impossible to hold back, that man was hilarious on his own.

"I'm sorry, but it was the only thing I could think of! I promise I'll work on a better excuse!"

He smiled at her and then he looked back at the gift that he was holding.

"So I guess it's finally the time to give you this. It's nothing big as you can see but I hope that it means that much to you as it means to me."

"You know it wasn't necessary. Your presence here is already a gift." Gabriel said.

"I've told him the same thing when you left, but he insisted on bringing a gift."

Fu looked at them and just gave away the small package. He examined the look on their faces as they opened it.

The gift was nothing more than a photo of the three of them in one of their first missions. They were transformed and that's why he didn't want to give it when everybody was there, it would be too risky. On the back, it had the date and place where the photo was taken and a small note that they preferred to read later.

Now it was Fu's turn to laugh. Their faces were showing so many emotions at the same time that they seemed expressionless. The photo, as Fu had predicted, meant a lot to them because it marked the beginning of some new phases of their lifes. By far this gift was the best they had received.

"Thank god you liked it! I was afraid that I had to exchange it for a sketchbook or something." Fu said, breaking them from the short transe that they had been.

"How... How did we came from that to this!" Céline looked stunned at both men. "I mean, I couldn't stand you back then. You were just so annoying, Gabriel! And you looked ridiculously good!"

"I wouldn't trade this for any sketchbook, I'm sorry." He replied to Fu, with a chuckle. He turned back to Céline, ready to 'counterattack' her. "And you, you were stubborn as a mule. You wanted everything to be your way, otherwise no deal. But we've grown up since and we're not those reckless kids anymore. And wait! Are you flirting?"

"Yes, I agree with you." She gave him a small smile but then her expression turned into something incredulous. “No Gabriel, I’m singing a song! What do you think?” They all laughed at the sarcastic response of Céline.

Memory after memory, the three reminded nearly every moment that they've passed together as superheroes. The good and bad moments, the funny and embarrassing, the annoying and sad. They were all part of an history that would be marked forever on their lifes and on Paris history as well.

Unfortunately, as good as it was being reminding everything, Fu was feeling tired and he wanted to leave.

"Age doesn't forgive and I'm afraid I have to leave." He said sadly.

"We totally understand." Gabriel replied. "Are you sure you don't need us to take you back home?"

"No! I am old but I can still walk on my own!" Fu replied defensively.

"Who am I to talk, then!"

"Thank you for inviting me. It was very good and I am glad that you've thought of me."

When Gabriel was about to answer Fu, Céline pushed the two of them into a tight hug.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me, and for us. We will never forget you and what you've done, not even in a million years."

Tears formed in her eyes. She meant every word she said and she was truly grateful for everything because if it wasn't for this guest, nothing of this would have happened.

#the mystery guest #ml fanfic #gabriel agreste #mama agreste #master fu #i'll post the links to ao3 and ff when i wake up because i am tired as hell rip #my writing

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accuhunt · 4 years ago

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How We *Almost* Got Stranded in No Man’s Land at the South Africa – Lesotho Border.

Travelling to Lesotho from South Africa? We nearly got stranded while crossing the South Africa Lesotho border at Maseru’s Pioneer gate!

We rang in 2020 in a remote village in Lesotho, hanging out with its Basotho people and trying to pick up a few words in their Sesotho language! ⁣ I have to confess I knew so little about the country of Lesotho before spotting it on Google Maps. After nearly 2.5 months of being a digital nomad in Cape Town, the road was beckoning again. Besides, room prices and tourism had begun to peak across South Africa as we entered the busy Christmas-New Year period.

So we applied for a single-entry e-visa for Lesotho and got an approval within 2 days. Arranged a Lesotho driving permit, booked an overnight bus from Cape Town to Bloemfontein (the closest South African city to Lesotho), picked up a rental car from Bloemfontein and drove into Lesotho. An insanely beautiful country, nicknamed the “Kingdom in the Sky” because it has the highest lowest point in the world! ⁣

The plan was to spend the holiday season in Lesotho. Then use our multiple-entry visa to return to South Africa. We’d drive all the way to Kruger National Park and spend a week there. And just before our South Africa visa expired, return our rental car in Johannesburg and board a flight to India.

We had our documents and visas in order. The plan was foolproof. Or so we thought.

Also read: How I Manage Visas on my Indian Passport as I Travel the World

Travelling to Lesotho from South Africa | Our rondavel at Semonkong Lodge in Lesotho.

Entering Lesotho: The South Africa Lesotho border

After a 1.5 hour drive from Bloemfontein, we arrived at the Van Rooyen bridge – one of the border checkposts to enter Lesotho.

Crossing was a cake-walk: Park the car on the South African side, get an exit stamp and drive across. Then park the car on the Lesotho side, get an entry stamp, pay 40 Rand for the car and drive through. No questions asked, no documents (other than the Lesotho e-visa) checked.

Also read: How I’m Financially Sustaining my Digital Nomad Lifestyle

South Africa Lesotho border | Hiking with a female guide in Lesotho.

Exiting Lesotho: The Lesotho South Africa border⁣

After nearly 10 days of living in traditional rondavels (round houses), hiking with a local female guide, spotting rainbows, gazing at starry night skies and trying the local sorghum beer, we bade goodbye to Lesotho.

This time, we drove via Maseru (the capital of Lesotho) to the Pioneer gate to re-enter South Africa. Followed the cars at the border to a drive-through exit immigration, where we got stamped out of Lesotho. Handed over the exit vehicle stamp and got onto Maseru Bridge leading to South Africa.

Our car crawled along Maseru Bridge in a massive traffic jam. Alongside, droves of people walked across the border. It felt like a mass exodus from Lesotho to South Africa just like I’d imagine happens at the Mexico-US border.

We finally hit the South African immigration, and things started going downhill…

Also read: Solo Travel Moments That Left Me Scared Shitless

Travelling to Lesotho from South Africa | The spectacular drive!

Asked to go back to Lesotho despite a multiple-entry visa for South Africa

We joined the long immigration queue to re-enter South Africa. Sweating in the heat, crawling forward bit by bit, we had no idea what awaited us at the counter.

My partner and I submitted our passports together to the South African immigration officer.

He quickly scanned and stamped mine. But when it came to my partner’s passport, he started going over each page. Finally, slowly, he looked up and asked, where is your South Africa visa?

Of course it was right there, covering an entire page in the passport. Exactly the same as mine. A multiple entry visa that granted us multiple entries into South Africa. Valid for 3 months. Valid for entry before a date in October.

That’s the date he pointed to, saying the visa had already expired! But you see, we had already entered South Africa (the first time) before the said date. Having done that, the visa allowed us multiple entries over 3 months. We showed him our original entry stamp and tried to explain the situation.

But he told us, quite condescendingly, that we must go back to Lesotho and apply for a new South Africa visa.

Also read: Why Long Term Travel is More Like Real Life and Less Like Instagram

South Africa Lesotho border | On a hike in the Western Cape.

Our options

To be honest, we didn’t have many options:

We couldn’t go back to Lesotho because we had a single-entry visa and had just been stamped out. A new e-visa would take atleast 2 days to come through.

Even if we could enter Lesotho, the South African embassy most likely wouldn’t allow us – Indian passport holders – to apply for a new visa. Visa conditions dictate that we apply in our country of residence.

We worried about our upcoming plans in South Africa. The rented car to be returned in Johannesburg in a week. The rather expensive accommodation booked in Kruger National Park. And the two flight tickets to India.

Our only option was to beg this unreasonable man to stamp us in, or remain in no man’s land!

Acknowledging our lack of options, we asked the visa officer if we could speak to his supervisor. That enraged him, but he left his cubicle with our passports as we followed him.

But instead of going into the adjacent immigration building, he stopped to show our passports to a man who seemed to us like a security guard! His uniform was different, and he was carrying takeaway food. Still we tried to plead our case with him, but the two men rudely told us to shut up. Then with an air of finality, they firmly told us that our visas had indeed expired.

Also read: Four Years of Travelling Without a Home

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Finally, a helpful officer

By now, we were seething with anger.

We stood outside in the hot sun, discussing, debating what to do. The weird thing was the officer had already stamped my passport but refused to return it to me. One option would’ve been for me to enter South Africa alone and plead our case at the nearest Indian embassy. Atleast there were some cans of emergency vegan food lying around in the car – incase one or both of us had to spend the night in this godforsaken no man’s land without our passports!

Seeing us standing around for the next hour, a female officer stepped out of the immigration building to ask if we had been helped. It seemed like she already knew why we were waiting.

Finally she led us to a senior immigration officer, this time a real one, with a formal uniform and name tag. He patiently heard us out, walked us to our original visa officer’s counter, went over our passports, determined that our multiple entry visa holds and stamped my partner’s passport.

As he returned our beloved passports – stamped and ready to go – he laughed and said, “Where are the rupees?”

Also read: Bittersweet Feelings in South Africa’s Mamelodi Township

Travelling to Lesotho from South Africa | Sunset at Milnerton beach.

On hindsight, what really happened

Crossing the border back into South Africa was such a relief! We cursed and laughed and thanked our stars.

But as we pieced together the previous few hours, some things stood out:

We seemed to be the only tourists in that day’s immigration queue. Most were either Lesotho or South African citizens with residence visas. That perhaps made us easy scapegoats to make a quick buck.

It was quite unlikely that the original visa officer was confused about our multiple-entry visa. After all, he stamped my passport – with exactly the same visa – without much thought.

If he really meant for us to go back to Lesotho, why did he hold on to our passports?

“Where are the rupees?” Does that explain his motivation?!

That was, no doubt, one crazy border crossing experience. But to be honest, after spending 70+ days in lockdown, I would go back in a jiffy even to that crazy day at the South Africa Lesotho border

Have you had any unexpected visa encounters on your travels?

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