#follows rex around everywhere

[mead-iocre]

Trick or Treat | Leah Williamson x Reader

synopsis: you and your son go trick or treating and meet your neighbour

warnings: none

wc: 4.1k words

You arch, massaging away the kinks around your lower back with your fingers. At your age, you should not be getting back pain this often. However the reality is that having a good, flexible back is a privilege afforded to women who did not get pregnant at 19 years old, and are now a single mom to a very active 3 year old boy. 

You glance at the pile of boxes still stacked up against the wall and groan. The fun part of moving to a new place was knowing this was a new chapter in your life. There were new places to explore, and new people that could walk into your life to replace the ones you left behind. You forgot that having to unpack all your stuff was an essential hurdle you needed to get through first before you can even get to the fun part. 

At first, you were nervous about moving so far away, packing up your life to go to an entire continent away from home. Mom tried to talk you out of it, but you knew you needed a fresh start. And the further away the better.

You are knocked out of your thoughts by a soft thud coming from your son’s room. Since there was no crying that followed, you don’t rush out of the room, but you do quicken your pace regardless. You could count on your rowdy child to injure himself somehow if left alone for too long.

You poke your head into the room. “Hey, bubba” 

A head of brown curls pop up from the other side of the bed. “Mama!”

The love of your life, and a tornado in the form of a little human, comes barreling over to you, struggling slightly with his little legs. It’s as if his mind is telling him to go fast, but his legs can’t catch up just yet. You crouch down to catch him before he knocks you down like a bowling pin. 

“What’cha doing?” You look around the room and sure enough there are crayons, farm animal figurines, and plastic toy tractors scattered everywhere. It was a mess, and it was only 11 am the morning. 

His room is still pretty bare aside from a small, low bed with little astronauts on his sheets, the blankets rumpled to the side from his nap earlier.

A simple dresser stands across the room, a few drawers pulled open and hurriedly filled with folded toddler clothes. Nearby, a lamp casts the only real light in the room. There's a small red spaceship-shaped rug near the bed, for little feet. In one corner, a couple of cardboard boxes that were stacked a while ago, containing toys and books, has now been tipped over.

Turning your attention to the boy in your arms, you are reminded exactly why you learned not to mind the mess. His brown eyes, with specks of green, round and framed by long dark lashes have you wrapped around his pudgy finger. He snuggles into the crook of your neck and you feel your heart melt all over again. 

“Playing dinos” 

You feel something pointy digging into your stomach, and when you feel around for the culprit, you find a plastic little t-rex in the pocket of his shorts. Obviously. 

You wave the plastic reptile at him, lightly poking one rosy cheeky with the head. “Bet you’re having fun, huh?”

Giggles ring out, and all you want to do is bottle up that sound forever. You heave him higher up your hip and use your mom privilege to rain as many kisses all over his face. 

The doorbell ringing catches your attention. You walk out of Reid's room and into the living room; allowing your wriggly son to slide off of you, to which he then promptly runs towards his basket of toys by corner of the sofa. You haven’t even opened the door yet before the unmistakable sound of wooden toy cars and blocks being dumped onto the floor can be heard. Lovely. 

You open the door and your find one of your neighbours, Liz standing on the other side. You haven’t met all your neighbours, and you probably won’t ever get the chance to considering the building has multiple floors, with multiple units on each floor, but you tried to take the time to introduce yourself to your neighbours when you see them. You blame the urge on the American in you. Making an effort to know your neighbours has always been the way you were raised.  

“Hello, Liz” You greet her. She is always so impeccably dressed and today she was sporting the comfiest looking green sweater you have ever seen. 

“Hi, dear. Just wanted to check on ya” You and Reid got the warmest welcome from her and her husband, Ben. Most of the people who live in the apartment were single professionals, or couples without kids. You could probably count with one hand the amount of families with kids that lived in the building. 

You open the door wider, inviting her into your home. She strolls in, leaving the scent of fresh lilies and ripe pear wafting in the air. “How’s the little man?”

“He’s good. He’s excited to go treat or treating tomorrow” You pull out a chair for her to sit and walk over to start the kettle. 

“I bet he is! What’s he going as?” 

You grab the tea bags and the spoons from the cupboard. “We’re still deciding, but we’ve narrowed it down to Spiderman or a Dinosaur” 

“Brilliant choices. I can’t wait to see him! You will stop by our door right?” They lived a few floors below you.

“Of course! Yours will be our first stop!” 

“Make sure you check the leaflet they gave out that tells you all the houses that are handing out candy. Remember, only the houses with pumpkins on their doors will be giving out candy” 

You nod, stirring the tea. Liz had warned you about this when you first brought it up days ago. You knew that trick or treating wasn’t a big thing in England, compared to back home but you were glad some houses around the area were planning on handing out candy. A part of you wanted your son to experience Halloween like you did growing up, but life just does not work that way. Maybe one day.

“I know. I think he’s more excited to wear his costume then actually trick or--”

You both turn when the crashing sound of wooden building blocks ring out. 

“Uh oh!” a sweet little voice calls out.

You pause for a second. No wailing, no yells for "mama", which is a good sign. It means no broken bones.

"Are you alright, bubba?”

“I’m okay!” You hear back. Then you hear the sound of wooden blocks tumbling again. He's fine.

Liz and you share a laugh before tucking into your mugs of tea. 

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

“Did you buy any candy?” Lia asks, picking up her plate and taking it to the sink. The other girls follow suit, cleaning the table free of pumpkin guts, and pumpkin carving supplies. Viv takes the intiative to wipe down the table, while Lotte starts going around with a black rubbish bag.

Leah furrows her eyebrows at the Swiss midfielder, confused. She stood up with her own plate to follow her teammates as they crowd by her kitchen.

The Swiss rolls her eyes at the questioning look from the her English teammate. One eyebrow raised so high it's nearly touching her hairline “For the trick or treaters”

“No?” Was the Arsenal defender's response.

“You won’t be having trick or treaters over?” 

“Nah. I might have an early night. Alex is having that party the night after tomorrow…” Alex always throws a halloween party every year, complete with costumes, loud music and lots and lots of drinks. Apparently this year, she rented out an entire club for the night.

Lia dries the plate that she’s been washing and places it on the rack. She turns to the English blonde, a hand on her hip. “Yeah but you know-- just in case. What if kids come knocking?”

The Arsenal defender pauses in the middle of washing her cutlery, and actually cares to think for a second. “Well then I’ll hand them a can of tuna” 

Lia gives her an unimpressed look.

Leah just shrugs. Halloween just isn't as celebrated around here. And especially not the whole trick or treating thing. “It’s trick…or treat, Lia. I reckon I should give them kids a trick once in a while” 

“The real trick would be that scowl on your face, Leah. No need to bully them with a can of tuna too” Beth pipes up, making a face, imitating her captain. 

The girls all laugh but Leah is unfazed. She's used to her "captain face" being the butt of jokes.

Lia was still not ready to let go of the topic of conversation. She presses, “I still think you should run down to the shops and grab a bag at least. Just to be safe” 

Leah fights the urge to roll her eyes. Lia was currently drying her hands with a tea towel, and the blonde has no doubt that the Swiss will use it on her if she catches an eye roll. “I’m pretty sure there are only two families with kids in the building. I could just chuck a few bags of crisps and a can of diet coke at them. It’ll be fine.” Surely she had a few packets of crisps lying around in her pantry somewhere.

“Just for that I hope you get a hundred kids knocking on your door tonight.” Lia threatens lightly. Walking over to the coat rack by the door, she picks up her coat, shrugging it on.

Leah stands off to the side as she watches her guests grab their things. “Slim chance of that happening, mate. I’m not leaving a pumpkin out tonight” 

“But we carved them for a reason” Beth points at the pumpkins all the girls are carrying in their arms. Being the only American on the team, Emily had somehow roped all the girls into carving pumpkins to celebrate the holiday. They had a fun time, and it granted everyone a chill night before tomorrows party kicks off.

“And I’m not inviting trick or treaters to my door.”

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

The girls pile out of the door, each carrying their own freshly carved pumpkin. The girls say their goodbyes to each other by the door, promising to see each other tomorrow evening for the halloween party. Muted partings are shared by the door, and the smell of fresh pumpkin filling the hallway. Beth clutches Viv’s pumpkin in one hand while the other carries her own-- albeit struggling to keep her balance. 

“Beth, can you grab the keys from my pocket? I can’t do it while I’m holding Myle”

The blonde raises an eyebrow, gesturing at her hands that were currently occupied by two festive orange vegetables. “I’m the one holding both of our pumpkins?”

Viv shoots her lover an exasperated look. Leave it to Beth to state the obvious and leave it at that. Sometimes Viv wonders how her girlfriend survived without her for so long “Put one down then, darling” 

Beth complies, but not without exaggerating her groans as she bends towards the floor, still mindful of her knee many months later. “Maybe if you didn’t spoil the princess so much,” quick glance at the content spaniel nestled in Viv’s arms. 

“Ignore her. Mummy’s grumpy” Viv whispers to the dog. 

Beth crotches down to place one of the pumpkins on the door, right by Leah’s door. She reaches over to fish the car keys from Viv’s pocket, steals a kiss from her lover’s lips, and marches towards the elevators. Unbeknownst to her, leaving behind a lone pumpkin by the Arsenal defender's door. 

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Leah cracks open a can of diet coke. She glances at the time on her phone, the clock reading 8:05 pm. Unsurprisingly, she has not had any knocks on her door. Usually there would be trick or treaters around 6pm, around the time school finishes. In the years that she has been living in this building, most of the kids are done trick or treating by 8pm. Where are the hundreds of trick or treaters you wished would evade my house, Lia?

She settles on the sofa, stretching out her legs and grabbing the remote to turn on the television. When she finally settles on a live tennis match, she grabs a throw blanket and gets comfortable. 

Ding! Dong!

When her doorbell goes off, Leah doesn’t think much of it. She slips on her slippers, and drags her feet towards her front door. Pulling it open, at first she sees no one. When she lowers her eyes downwards, she is met with Spiderman. A small Spiderman, with little brown curls sticking out from underneath his face mask. He was holding a small bright orange pumpkin bucket. 

Leah is frozen at first. Partly amused by the sight of the mini Spiderman, she was also internally panicking at the fact that she cannot give this child (who looks below the age of 5) a can of diet coke. She mentally tries to remember if she had Fruitshoot or Ribena in the fridge. Of course she doesn't.

Then she hears a woman’s voice whisper from somewhere, “say trick or treat, bubba”

The little boy shuffles on his two feet. A cute little thing. “Oh. Trick or Treat!” He holds up his pumpkin bucket, already filled with mini bars chocolates and a colourful array of sweets. The bucket is practically half his size, and he falters slightly in his step trying to hold it up for so long. 

The female voice belonging to the mystery woman finally steps into her view and Leah’s heart stutters. 

Wow. She’s beautiful. 

Leah didn’t have to think to hard to come to the conclusion that this stunning woman was the little boy’s mother. Her heart drops slightly. Mentally cursing whoever the lucky bastard was that got to see this woman everyday. Obviously a pretty woman like her could not be single.

Meanwhile, you failed to notice the blonde’s blatant gawking. Far too focused on your son, and how he has now stuck his hand in his pumpkin bucket and was fishing out a mini bag of sweets. He hands you the bag of sweets with a charming smile, “Mama, open?”

You mentally patted yourself on the back for having the foresight to decide to do dinner early tonight. It meant that you did not need to worry about Reid’s appetite for the rest of the night so you took the mini bag of candy from him and ripped the bag open.

Leah couldn’t help it, but she watched your hands. She couldn’t help but steal glances at your ring finger in particular, half-expecting to see a gleam of gold or silver that would hint at a commitment or a partner waiting for you at home. Just in case. Just out of curiosity. 

But there it was—nothing. Just smooth, bare skin

There was no ring. Your ring finger was untouched, not even a hint of a tan line that some couples might get from wearing their ring for so long. 

“There you go, bub” You hand him the opened pack of fruit roll up and he eagerly grabbed for it. It was then you remembered that you were standing in front of someone’s front door. You turn your head to find the owner of the house, a tall, pretty blonde leaning against the side of the door frame. Her hair was tied up in a low ponytail, tendrils of blonde hair frame her face. She was dressed in grey sweatpants, paired with a loose black oversized sweatshirt. You eye the familiar logo on the right side of the shirt– Arsenal. The football club. She must be a fan. 

When you tear your eyes away from ogling the woman, she meets your gaze with a gleam in her eyes. As if she knows you were checking her out, and she didn’t shy away from your attention either. 

You break the eye contact, picking at your fingers, a nervous habit you never broke out of all these years later. “Hello.” 

“Hi,” Leah was rarely nervous in front of new people, but for some reason she was shifting from side to side, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Are you guys new? I mean– I would remembered you–”

She stops herself, clamping her mouth shut. She was seriously about to embarrass herself in front of not just any neighbour– but a pretty neighbour too.

You blink at her, feeling a blush creeping up your cheeks. You prayed the shitty lighting in the hallway did not make it obvious. Clearing your throat, you give her what you hoped looked like a friendly, neighbourly smile.

 “Yeah. Yeah– we moved in a little over a week ago. We live in the floor below you actually”

Leah nods, trying to make sure she was making appropriate eye contact. How many seconds is appropriate eye contact anyway? Has she even blinked yet? She shifted her gaze from your face, to the floor, back to your face, and then to the ceiling. She was totally not nervous, not even a little bit.

“It’s nice to meet you, then. I’m Leah” She takes a chance and holds out a hand, and to her utter delight, you take her hand in yours and shake it. Your hand was warm against hers, no noticeable cuts or scars which makes Leah think that your job didn’t require you to use your hands too often. Not that she was taking note or anything.

You introduce yourself, before gesturing to the mini man beside you. “It’s nice to meet you too. This is my son, Reid” 

“Oh yeah. Spiderman.”

“Trick or Treat!” Both of you startle out from your staring contest and turn to the boy by your feet. Remnants of his fruit roll-up plastered all over his cheeks and chin like a paint palette. He grinned up at you, his eyes wide with the kind of mischief only a sugar rush could inspire. 

“Trick or Treat! Trick or Treat!” he shouted gleefully, holding up his hands, sticky fingers wiggling in the air. Bits of bright colours clung to his lips, making him look even more ridiculous.

“Oh! I haven’t given you anything. Give me a minute, Spiderman”

Leah dashed to the pantry, rummaging through shelves filled with old boxes and canned goods. “No sweets, no chocolate bars, nothing!” she exclaimed, frustration mounting. She cursed herself for not heeding Lia’s advice to go out and buy a packet of sweets earlier. She opened her refrigerator, hunting through take out containers and cheeses, her mind racing through the bare options. A can of diet coke? Definitely not appropriate for a three-year-old.

Then she spotted it—a lone banana resting in the fruit basket. It was slightly overripe, but it would have to do. With an unwilling nod, Leah grabbed the banana and headed back to the door, her cheeks flushing slightly at the absurdity of it all. She was about to hand the kid of the hottest woman she has ever seen a banana. All because she couldn’t be arsed to go to the store earlier and pick up a couple bags of sweets. Shit. 

As she arrived back to the door, there you stood with your son beside you. His tiny basket held high, expectantly. “Trick or treat!” he chimed. Again. A demanding little thing.

Leah crouched down, a sheepish smile on her face. “Well, Spiderman, I don’t have any sweets…but how about this?” She presented the banana like it was the greatest treasure in the world.

The boy blinked, his eyes wide. “A banana?”

“It’s a healthy treat!” Leah said, trying to sound enthusiastic. She side-eyed you, trying to gauge your reaction. You were watching on with a palm over your mouth, trying to smother the laugh threatening to spill out. You were cute, Leah thought.

But back to the kid. “Perfect for after all that candy you’ll be eating tonight!”

Spiderman looked at the banana in her hand, then back at Leah, and finally broke into a giggle. “Okay!” He nodded, holding up his trick or treating basket so she could slip it inside. It thumped lightly on top of the small pile of sweets and chocolates. The kid peered into the bucket and giggled seeing his latest treasure sitting right on top. Leah couldn’t exactly see under the mask, but he could see his cheeks were perked up and it looked like he was smiling, so she took that as a win. She risked another glance at you, and you were smiling too-- without hiding it behind your hand this time. A big win for sure. 

You glance up towards Leah, noticing the slight flush on her cheeks and how attractive she looked when she tucked her loose hair behind her ear. It was also then that you noticed she had blue eyes.

You tuck that fun little fact in the back of your mind.

Snap yourself out of gazing at your neighbour like a creep, you pinch yourself lightly on the arm. Ouch. “Thanks for the healthy treat” 

Leah smiles hearing the teasing glint in your voice. Leaning against the doorway, she brings a hand up to massage the back of her neck, her bicep flexing nicely against her shirt. Not that you noticed, of course. 

“Yeah sorry ‘bout that” 

“Nah it’s alright. I appreciate it actually– more than candy,” You look down at your son, who was completely enamoured by his latest haul. He kept staring down at his bucket, his head halfway inside the thing already. “And he seems really happy about it” 

And as if he suddenly remembered what he was there for, Reid yanks his head out of his halloween bucket and looks up at you with wide eyes, exclaiming loudly “Mama, more candies!” 

Giving your pretty neighbour a sheepish smile, you grab Reid’s hand before he can go bouncing off to find the next door. “And that’s our cue to go. Thank you again for”

You both speak at the same time. 

“…for the banana” “the banana”

She laughs when she notices, and it's the most attractive laugh you have ever heard. It spills out naturally, unrestrained. And you find that you like the way her eyes crinkle at the ends. Her laugh was infectious as it was beautiful.

“So…uh– I’ll see you around?” Leah says, picking at the sleeves of her black sweatshirt. You want to say she sounds hopeful at the thought of you two bumping into each other in the near future because you feel the same. You hoped to see her again. “I mean– obviously we’re neighbours” 

You find yourself not being opposed to that idea at all. “Yeah. Maybe we can talk or grab a coffee sometime?”

Where the sudden bravery came from you have no idea, but the words had already left your mouth and you weren’t going to take them back. 

She smiles at you, her lips curving, and her eyes do too. “Definitely. I’d love to go for a coffee with you”

Perhaps you both stare at each other for a second too long, but that’s a secret only the both of you share. You linger, internally saddened at the thought of having to say a temporary goodbye, but you’ve got a coffee date to look forward to now. Steering your son and his Halloween bucket away from her door, you share one last smile with the pretty blonde who lives in the floor below you.

“Happy Halloween, Leah” 

“Happy Halloween, neighbour” 

You don’t hear the sound of her door closing until you and your son have turned the corner. 

here's a little bedtime story to celebrate the last night of october. this is story #3 of Butter's Meadio-cre Mayhem (the Spooky Season collection)

(if you're going to any halloween parties tonight, stay safe my loves <333)

comments and reactions are always appreciated!

・❥・- kisses, butter

*This work is my original creation. Please don’t copy, share, or translate it without asking for my permission first. Thanks for respecting that!

[ziaxkawaii]

The Creator needs help

I claim to know s*it about canon genshin impact Teyvat lore or how things work in it. I just wrote something that was on my mind at 2 AM.

~~~~

Teyvat was crying...

No, it wasn't any ordinary rainy day no.

Not only was water falling down from the skies above in the form of tears, hail and snow also came down along with powerful winds in places that rouse concern in humanity and other forms of life alike. 

Thin layers of snow covered parts of the smeltering deserts of sumeru, rain poured down in forever freezing shnesnaya, pillars of ice formed in the waterfalls of watatsumi island in inazuma and such other incidents wreaked havoc all around the land of Teyvat. 

These disasters drove away almost all creatures of nature into hiding and cursed all yields to be near nonexistent due to the extreme conditions, leading to a landwide food shortage and miserable people. Even vision holders report feeling less elemental energy from their visions than before.

Mr. Zhongli, or formerly known as Morax or Rex Lapis, sat at Third-Round Knockout on a rare good day drinking tea as he  watched the dark clouds over the sea creep closer to Liyue Harbor. He sighs, as he already figures that the weather would one again cut his visit short.

Just as he brought this tea cup to his lips to take another sip, his surroundings changed. He was no longer drinking tea he was standing inside a domain of sorts. Where ever he looked, he couldn't see an end to the limitless space.

He wasn't alone though, six others, who he realized were the other archons and people of the highest authority of each nation, were here as well. And from the looks of things, they were just as perplexed as he was.

Since all of them were brought here, it could only mean, a being higher than them have summoned them for a purpose.

"Be not afraid."

A voice spoke, which drew everyone's attention to them.

A figure floated by their lonesome in place with a calm and understanding expression as they gestured at the seven of them. The figure was like a glowing humanoid lamp, glowing brightly with no distinguishable features whatsoever, except a horizontal golden line at their throat that seemed to extend all the way around their neck.

As if their head had been cleanly sliced off...

Wait... He recognized such featured being described somewhere. An ancient parchment that spoke of a deity that was the purest and highest being in all of Teyvat. A being whose purity was reflected on how others would perceive them, for they lost their real body and a line as tough drawn with gold wrapping around their neck symbolizing their sacrifice to the life on Teyvat.

That being being the Creator...

The moment Zhongli realized who was talking to them, he sank down on one knee. Others following suit as they too realized the same thing as he did.

"Be not afraid... I am not here to neither cast judgement nor punishment." Their voice spoke, as though it was coming from everywhere at one. From behind the seven, from above, from inside their craniums. It would of felt almost overwhelming, had they been afraid, but none were.

"Your excellency... why have you summoned us to appear in your presence, if not for a punishment?" Zhongli hears one of the seven ask, as the same question runs in his head.

That was an excellent question. Though many of the Archons have done everything in their power to fulfill their duties as assigned, their disastrous and war filled past and even current lives, leave no room to doubt they too were not above desire.

The same desire that plaques Teyvat and every other being on it. Driving them to satisfy their own desires

to survive

to live

to build

to control

to destroy...

The Archons carry their sins for they are forbidden to forget them, it would be shameful to do so.

What reason are they here?

"My children... heed my words, for I am afraid time is running out." The creator spoke, their hands gently clenched in front of them, without a single waver in their tone as they continued.

"I was afraid that the day when the balance of Teyvat would be disrupted would come, but the severity of this disruption is far too severe. I can no longer watch as the creations I gifted life needlessly suffer." They floated closer to the kneeling seven as they pleaded.

"I beg of you my children, help end this misery that plaques Teyvat."

The Creators plead rang in their ears as giant bells as they looked up at their Creator, heads full of questions.

The Creator requests their assistance?

"Your grace, we do not know the causes of the anomalies on Teyvat, therefore we are powerless to help even our own nations. What can we possibly do to help?" Another Archons spoke.

"To understand our current obstacle, you must understand how Teyvat came to be." They spoke as, with a flick of their wrist, a mist like substance filled the surrounding space. Creating images aiding the Creators storytelling.

"As you are already aware, I, the Creator, was born of and egg and used the shell of said egg to create Teyvat, but that is not all." The Archons watched intently as images formed before their eyes one after another, telling a history never told before.

"After I was born, I wandered among the stars, awaiting for a purpose for my own creation. As time passed, a sudden desire willed me to use my given power for something, so I returned to my first ever home and used it's eggshell to house a new world in another galaxy.

I shed tears to form the seas, I took pieces of my body to create land, I blew air to form the atmosphere... I lent the sun and the moon to occupy the new lands lonely existence...

however... I wasn't satisfied...

what use does a world offer if no one is there to appreciate its beauty?"

The loyal Archons remained on their knees, listening to the tale of creation and birth of the land they call home. Seems as though even the most purest of beings in Teyvat cannot escape the curse of desire.

"So with the last of my strength, I gave up one of my hearts and divided it to millions and millions of pieces and scattered them all around the land and sea to form life. Life capable of growth, capable of feeling emotions and capable of death on the world I call Teyvat.

As a final gift, I gave up a fraction of my power and formed the seven elements. To make sure these gifts are not used wrongfully, I also created Celestia to act as guardians of Teyvat, the elemental energy and its happenings."

Zhongli stood silent in fascination of the history told. Their Creator really was just as benevolent as described in the ancient parchment he read oh so long ago. Even if their intention for Celestia was different from how things currently stand, they were thinking about their creations' well being. How could he disrespect his own creator so severely as to forget them? How could he?

"However...." The Creator continued.

"Just as I basked in relief and excitement of having created something that would have a life of its own... it caught the eye of another deity."

"They were envious of one of their own giving their body and attention to another, and so, they were going to curse the newborn world, which I could not let happen. I sliced off my own head as a distraction but the spell ended up landing on and affecting my own soulless mind and body, leading me to temporarily forget myself and my creation.

After the battle, my body and severed head fell into Teyvat, leaving behind the deity to grieve for hurting a fellow god.

My body collided with the earth while my head went missing, both staying unmoving, for I had no way to control them nor any memory to guide me on what to do. I felt as eons of life cycles passed before me, ground slowly swallowing my body and breaking it down, making me one with my creation." 

The sudden realization hit Zhongli harder than any of his meteorites. All along, the Creator has been among them. They were no spectator above Teyvat or a god who had abandoned them after their duty had concluded, no. They were there... they are...

"Yes, my children... I am Teyvat, and Teyvat is me."

Zhongli was taken aback as their Creator had read through his entire inner battle inside his mind. Now that he was aware of Teyvat's major historical event, he can finally start to string pieces together and think why Teyvat now experiences such instability. 

"Your eminence, since your body is apart of Teyvat itself, does the weather, soil and even elemental energy have anything to do with your physical well being?" Another Archon spoke and all tuned in to hear the Creator.

"I certainly does... Even if my body is no longer, most concentrated amounts of my being and the energy inside still lie beneath the ground, instinctively healing Teyvat and the ley lines from major damage, effectively enabling Teyvat and the elemental energy to remain balanced and flourish. 

However, lately the level of corruption in the ley lines and the amount of abnormal elemental energy surges have risen greatly, leading my "body" to panic and repel the added strain, therefore leading Teyvat becoming unstable." The creator hugged themselves as they explained and all of us understood the current issue and the gravity of it.

The creators physical body is what had been keeping Teyvat and its energy in line even when the Archons, gods and Celestia had abused it, but know that the last nail has been hammered, the creators body is no longer instinctually healing it and the Celestia is not stepping up to the task that was theirs to begin with.

"Your grace, just say the word and we are at your disposal. What can we do to help?" Zhongli himself spoke, voice even and calm for he had his full faith in his creator.

"You need to find my long lost head and bring it over to my bodys remains. Only then, can I reawaken and consciously put a stop to all of this, for in my current state I am a mere piece of your imagination laced with a voice." The creator explained, as though to prove their point, Their voice now sounded from inside their head as they floated higher and addressed the seven once more with a formal order and open arms.

"Please, find my body and bring my head over to it so I can awaken and help put a stop to this disaster! Let my mind be once again one with my body so balance may be restored, and the curse be lifted!"

Zhongli blinked and everything was just as it was before getting pulled into the domain to meet the creator. The tea he was going to savour previously, was still in his hand, steaming, as though no time had gone by at all. He however knew what had transpired mere second ago, was no daydream or a hallucination, his creator had really summoned him and requested his assistance.

With no more interest in the tea, Zhongli set the unfinished cup down while rising from his seat and began making his way out of Liyue harbor, with a newly acquired goal occupying his mind and shoulders.

[jedtavius-week]

here is your gift @absolutely-and-always13 !! sorry for the wait, its a mix of a doodle and a short fic (to compensate that its shorter ahah) hope you like it! :D happy holidays! fic under the cut ;)

“Faster!” Jed yelled, one hand holding his cowboy hat so that it wouldn’t get lost. “He is catching up!” Beside him, Octavius laughed and pressed the pedal down as far as it would go. They skidded around the corner, almost too fast. Behind them, the giant T-Rex skeleton followed them, trying to get his bone back. It was their nightly activity. Rexy needed the exercise, or he would get restless and try to hunt the animals. One week, their small car was broken and Larry had taken AGES to repair it, and Rexy actually ate one of the Neaderthales. Well, he ripped him to shreds and then tried to swallow him. They actually had managed to put him together again and he only looked slightly mangled, so he had to stand in the back now but eh, it was fine. Now that the car got fixed, they could take Rexy out for exercise again. “Oh, look out”, Jed screamed when they skidded too far around the corner. But it was too late. While they made the turn, Rexy did not and crashed directly into the Christmas tree, throwing it over with full force. The tree shattered in many pieces, Christmas balls and lights flying everywhere, covering the ground in shards. “Oh oh”, Octavius and Jed said at the same time. The car came to a stop and Rexy happily grabbed his bone, and Jed was reeling to loosen the rope that connected the single bone to their car and not have it ripped up in the air and possibly broken again. Then the two looked at the downed tree in silence, until Rexy was bored with the bone and started trying to chew the tree. “No! Stop!”, both of them yelled at the same time - tho of course it didn’t deter the T-Rex who loved cracking each and every Christmas ornament open and then pulling out the garlands. “And now?”, Jed asked after they had watched Rexy take the tree apart meticulously. “They need that for the Christmas Party tomorrow! We are dead if they find out!” A twinkle from the windows caught their attention and both of them had a figurative lightbulb over their head. A few minutes later they were climbing on Rexy. Octavius then put the stick forward to which they had fixed a single shiny Christmas ornament, which caught the dinosaur's attention. He tried to reach it, making one step, then another. “It works!” Jed said happily and clapped Octavius on the back. “Now let's go!” They steered Rexy out of the museum and towards their target. “Mum look! There is a Christmas dinosaur!”, a little girl cried, pointing out of the window. “Anna, shut up. You are watching too much TV!” her mum scolded, because when she looked out of the window, there was nothing. “But there was!” “You look too much on that stupid phone of yours.” This scene happened, in one way or another, in many households in New York that night. The three outside didn’t notice of course. They were set on their target - well Jed and Octavius were, Rexy was constantly getting distracted by shiny lights and Christmas decorations around. “Next time we take the car!” Jed complained, when Rexy took yet another detour to try and eat yet ANOTHER inflatable Santa Clause. “If you tell me how we are supposed to transport a Christmas tree with our car, sure”, Octavius muttered. Jed huffed, but had to admit he was right. And after Rexy was disappointed when the inflatable Santa lost all of his air, they managed to get him to keep walking. And then there was their target in sight. “It’s a bit big, do you think, it will fit?”, Jed asked and Octavius eyed the tree up and down. “It will. I think. If not we will get the beavers to gnaw off part of the lower part.” They both nodded. “Now we just need to make sure that Rexy will not destroy it again.” “And carry it back.”

“Go fetch!”, Jed yelled, and pointed in the direction. They had put Rexy's bone in the tree - which had been a struggle to do, but the only plan they had come up with. And now the T-Rex - who had been busy trying to lick the ice in the ice rink - snapped his head up, locking in on his target. He was over to the tree with a few big strides, grabbing it and trying to lift it. Once. Then twice. Then a third time. It was not looking good. “We are so dead”, Octavius groaned and buried his face in his hands. But Rexy was not easily deterred. It was his bone, and his big stick and he WOULD get it. He growled and put all his weight into the next pull - and it worked. He lifted the tree straight from his stand and made a happy noise. “Yes!” The two cheered happily and got back on. Now there was a problem tho. The tree was so big that none of them could see where they were going. And Rexy had a lot of sparkling Christmas ornaments in front of him. Steering wouldn’t work anymore. “Uhmmm.” They looked at each other. “And now?” But before they could start coming up with a plan, Rexy began to walk. “Oh, this is not good!”, Octavius said, but they could only hold on and hope Rexy would eventually go back to the museum - before the sun went up too. Because the dinosaur was not deterred by anything. Shouting, pulling, ordering - nothing worked. They also couldn’t see that Rexy had spotted a bus with a Santa Clause on it - and was determined to see if that one was edible. He was following the bus, growling when his prey kept getting away from him time and time again. Conveniently, the bus took the route to the museum, and seemingly the driver didn’t notice that he was followed by a big Christmas tree carrying dinosaur. In front of the museum, the bus had to stop at a red light long enough for Rexy to finally catch up and growl angrily when his prey turned out to be a piece of metal. Frustrated, the dinosaur turned towards the museum to go home, flicking the image of Santa hard with his tail as he turned around and breaking it. Inside, they actually had to call the beavers over, because the tree trunk didn’t fit in the stand, but it was done pretty soon and then they were all standing around and admiring their new Christmas tree. They had simply put the old tree somewhere in the basement, hoping no one would ever find it. “It’s a bit bigger than the old one”, Octavius said. “Yeah well, they won’t notice.” Jed wrapped an arm around the Roman. The next morning Dr. McPhee and Larry stood in the entrance hall of the museum, looking at the tree. “Is there any explanation why our Christmas tree is gone and was replaced with the ROCKEFELLER CENTER CHRISTMAS TREE?!” Behind them, the radio was playing news about a Christmas dinosaur.

[graylinesspam]

Terracotta soldier AU from Rex's pov

Rex has never made his mind up on any idea of faith. Not the kind in a higher power at least. He'd had faith in his brothers. That's why he carried on their traditions. Long after most of them had gone when so many names had been lost to a relatively short period of time. He recites all that he can remember.

He speaks the name of each brother into the cold night air and promises that he will see them at the end of the long march.

It might not be a proper religion. But its all he has left.

And Rex is a man of his word. When he exhales his last lonely breath into the darkness his eyes going blind and his chest still, his legs are the first things he's aware of. The familiar pump of muscles.

One foot in front of the other. Like learning to walk all over again. There's a sea of white as far as the eye can see. A great blinding glare that moves all around him. But slowly it solidifies. The shape of helmets crawling over each other until they start to look like men, One in front of another. Stretching in every direction. Forever.

There isn't enough of him here to really be conscious. There aren't really thoughts in his mind. Just echoes of instincts. Like the instinct to put on foot in front of the other. The instinct to blink until his sight adjusts to the view.

It's the colors slowly emerging that draw his attention. It bleeds through the light one spot at a time. Slowly markings appear on the armor of the men around him. Blue and red and green and gold. One after another. A red circle on the pauldron beside him, a blue line up another arm.

It tickles something within him. Blue. He was blue too right? Once.

He wants to follow the blue. That's where he belongs. The mass of troops shudder once to the side, every line of men staggering one to the right another to the left. Reshuffling themselves like cards. Slipping between each other in interlocking lines. Moving forward. Always forward with ever unified foot fall. But shifting too. reaching out toward each other.

He shifts to the right toward the blue stripe who shifts as well in the same direction, farther ahead now. But there is more blue around both of them. Lines spreading around him like on interconnected web. countless troopers stacked on each other like the solders on playing cards. Shuffling around each other all looking for their own suit.

Always moving forward always together.

The blue solidifies as they shuffle around each other. Filling in the gaps until there's as much of it as there is white. He is blue. He is the blue. They are the blue. All existing here in this place together. Every piece in place.

It felt right. This is where he was always supposed to be. just one among the blue.

They march on forever. Everywhere. Far far away. Everywhere at once. Him among the blue. The blue among the white. Don't all colors come together to make white? Or is that only inside the light?

He marches. One foot in front of forever; one foot behind always.

Moving so much in sync it's like they aren't moving at all.

If everything is moving in the same direction at the same speed then is any of it really moving. What is still if nothing is?

Except....except something is. He sees it because it's blue, he thinks. He is blue and they are all blue. So of course he sees the blue.

It's not moving. It's not with them. That's wrong. They are all blue together.

His feet shuffle him again. Cards in the hands of the collective folding into themselves. There is no edge of everything. Everything is everything. it goes on forever. There is no end. But if there was, that's where he finds the blue.

She stands still. The only thing in everything that isn't moving. She needs to move. With them. He takes another unified step foreword and he is past her now. Marching away.

No. That's not right. He tries to shuffle again but there is no behind. The march is forward. All moving forward with every step. Always one foot in front of the other. He tries to look back but there is no back.

But there is. He can feel it. He can feel her a single steadiness in the flow. Parting the blue. Being among but not part of.

That's not right. He should tell her. Maybe she doesn't remember how. Maybe she doesn't have the word for foot like he didn't have the word blue until he saw it again.

But he can't tell her if she's still back there. He has to get to her. Every step takes him farther away but he knows that isn't right either. He needs to stop.

As soon as he thinks it he does. His feet stuck between always and forever. The cards shuffle around him. Moving on and leaving him behind. He...he is sad about that.

But it's okay. If Everything is always then back is always too. He turns back seeing the faces moving towards him for the first time in forever. He knows them. The faces.

Fives.

Hardcase.

Jesse.

Kix.

Tup.

They see him. See his face for the first time in forever and they stop too. Their feet stalling in time. Behind all of them, way back, he sees her. She's still there. Standing. Waiting patiently.

He remembers how to do this. It's the only thing he remembered before he saw anything here. Marching is easy. One foot....He doesn't know where forever or always are. One foot goes....Infront.

He takes a step and feels like he's learning it all over again. He forgets what the next step is. One foot in front is all his mind conjures. So he tries again. One at a time. One step, two, three.

He walks past the face. the ones moving and those standing still. She's waiting for him. He has to get back to her. He marches towards her....Ahsoka. And it isn't easy like it was before. It isn't everything always. But it is him. It is Rex. He'd forgotten that.

He is Rex. Rex follows Ahsoka.

He will walk back through forever to get to her.

One foot behind forever one foot in front of always. The wrong way. His way. Backwards.

There's another one following him. Another foot falling backwards. He can feel it disrupting the flow with him. One foot after another. One man after another. The blue warps and bends against it's self. Fracturing into a thousand pieces. Breaking away from everything. Becoming singular.

Rex marches back to Ahsoka and Fives follows. They all follow one by one. They are the blue. The 501st. Torrent company. Medics and pilots and snipers. Heavy gunner and scouts. They are men. Soliders. They are singular in the constant flow of everything all the time.

And Ahsoka waits patiently for them to remember.

To remember their names. Each others names. Her name.

She's reciting them.

Rex forgot he could speak. He forgot he could say names.

She says them one by one. "...Oppo, slate, cadaver, coric..."

Rex says them too just to hear them. "Dogma, Hawk, Limp, Chatter..."

Maybe that's how he saw her in the first place. Past all of the blue. Because she said his name. Remembered it for him.

Fives speaks, discovering his voice too. Then Jesse.

Most of the blue stops. Every one Ahsoka remembered then every one each of them remembered until the blue had bled out of the white. Outside of Everything and forever.

"You've all served your time. Served it long and well." She says when there are no more names, "You have earned your rest. But I have a mission. And I am asking for your help. I'm asking you to come back with me."

"Ahsoka" Rex says.

He remembers reciting her name. When he thought she was dead. Hoping if there was something after, then he could at least see her one last time.

Fives says it too. Then Jesse. All the way down the line they say her name. "Ahsoka"

Rex reaches a hand out to her and almost glows when it touches her shoulder. She is solid. Not made of light. Made of something more solid.

He's...he's solid too right? He thinks they were all solid together once. He knocks his vambrace against his chest plate to check and is pleased when it rattles. He hits it again just to hear the noise.

And it grows. One at a time. It rattle far too solid to exist within forever. It is fleeting as temporary as the collision that causes it. It only exists so long as they create it.

He remembers another word. One that isn't a name.

"Oya" he shouts just to hear it.

and it grows

Because He is Rex and Rex follows Ahsoka.

[meshla-cyarika]

The Blonde Prince

Pairing: Prince!Rex x Mermaid!reader

Word count: 3,226

Tags/warnings: none

Summary: You're the princess of the seven seas and you've become obsessed with humans. Unfortunately, your mother, the queen, has long since forbidden mers to go up to the surface. Rex is a prince of Mandalore and today it's his birthday. His brothers thought it would be fun to plan a trip across the seas. You're both brought together when the royal ship passes above your kingdom.

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

"We aren't supposed to be this far from the palace."

You don't pay the young mermaid beside you much thought, as you inspect yet another odd human object. It's a long stick with glass either end, one end is narrow and the other is larger.

"Relax, Omega." You stare down the narrow end of the peculiar device and watch in awe, as it makes your surroundings seem closer than what they are. "Woah! How does that work?"

"Please!" Omega whines, clearly scared of being further away from the palace than usual. "My aunt will kill me, if she finds out!"

You roll your eyes at the mention of Nala Se, as you put the thing into your bag. Nala Se means well, but she's very strict on young Omega. The mer is only eight summers old and, for some reason, has imprinted on you since you first visited Nala Se's stall at the market.

"Who says she's going to find out?" You give her a mischievous grin, before swimming further out. Omega huffs from behind you and you smirk, as you catch a glimpse of her purple tail swimming towards you.

"Princess!" A voice calls out, making you halt and turn around. You find your royal bodyguard swimming up to you.

"Must you always spoil my fun?" You roll your eyes.

"Your mother has had the royal gaurd looking everywhere for you. You missed the ceremony." Your bodyguard, Corrin, tells you and you blanche at the news.

"I lost track of time." The ceremony is where all your relatives come together from across the seven seas to spend seven sunrises at the palace. It's partly a celebration of the royal family and partly just for the adults to discuss what's been happening across the seas.

"You have to come back, now, princess." Corrin tells you, but it's more like a plea for you to prevent your mother from punishing the gaurds.

"I guess, I don't have much of a choice." You sigh and Corrin gives you a sympathetic look. Your entire life is controlled by your mother. Just because she's the queen of the seven seas, she thinks she has the right to act like your life is her own. Omega and yourself wordlessly follow Corrin through the depths of the ocean.

+++

When you enter the palace hall, you're greeted by the sight of your entire family enjoying a feast at the long table. The gaurds stationed at the entrance announce your presence and everyone looks up at the sight of you. Most give you warm and welcoming smiles, while your mother gives you a pointed glare that she quickly covers up with a forced smile.

"My daughter, where have you been." Queen Satine innocently asks, knowing full well where you've been.

"I apologise for my absence. There was an incident with the royal gaurd that I wanted to see to myself." You lie easily, just to please your family.

"How noble." Your mother smiles, condescendingly. "Please, join us." She gestures to the long table and you take your place by your cousins. They soon indulge you in their conversations about the latest news, while eating bits and pieces of the mass of food that could feed the entire kingdom. Fish and other creatures have been brought from all across the seven seas, as gifts for everyone attending.

Your mind drifts slightly, while Myra, one of your cousins, starts talking about the pod of orcas her and her family had encountered on the way here. You do love your cousins. They're kind to you and always invite you to be involved in whatever they're doing. It's nice to have people around your age that live in the same conditions as you and complain about the same things. Since you're the only child of the queen, you don't get to express how you feel most of time and, admittedly, don't have alot of close friends.

The feast soon draws to a close and your extended family are finally allowed to do whatever they please, but most opt to go to their palace alcoves and rest. The mothers and fathers stay behind in the royal hall to discuss business.

You're one of the ones that decide to go to your alcove. You push a large stone infront of the entrance to give yourself privacy, before slumping down on a smooth large rock on the floor of your alcove. The bioluminescent coral and planets you have been growing bask the area in a light blue glow.

Your mother will make you stay at the palace for the next seven sunrises, just so she doesn't seem like an irresponsible mother by having you swim off to who knows where. You huff out a sigh and tuck your tail up to your chest, absentmindedly fidgeting with your fin. You always found your apperance to be a little odd. The human-like anatomy part of your body is perfectly ordinary among mers, but it's the colour of your scales and shape of your tail that you find to be a little abnormal.

Your mother's colours are gold and shimmer in the sunlight and her tail is built to be more regal and majestic, showing her beauty and her power. Mer that are royal by blood tend to have more sophisticated colours and tails, but yours are less so.

Your tail doesn't have the frilly embellishments of a creature like koi fish, it's more lean and your tail fin is sturdy and strong, unlike your mothers. Your scales are a pattern of white and dark blue, which do complement your features well, but it's a very ordinary combination of colours, in comparison to most royal scales. Then again, you have never met your father and your mother never wants to talk about him. Maybe your appearance is purely from him.

There's an old myth that dates back to the first ever mers that says the tail and scales of a mer are linked to their soulmate. The belief of soulmates has fizzled out through time among your people, but some of you still believe that there is a person made for everyone. You don't know what you think of the concept, but you'd like to believe that some day you'll find someone that clicks with you like the last piece of a puzzle.

You furrow your eyebrows, when you hear a dull thudding coming from outside. It's very distant and you doubt most would be able to hear it, but it's definitely there. The noise happens in random bursts that sometimes overlap each other. You swim over to the rock at the entrance to your cave and push it away, before quietly sneaking through the palace. You leave unnoticed and venture through the ocean, which is illuminating from some sort of lights from above.

You look up at the surface and see something huge cast a shadow over the area. The noise gets louder and louder, as you swim further and further upwards. Once you break through the water, you startle as the noise becomes incredibly loud and bits and pieces of something falls from the sky. It's hot, the polar opposite of the ocean. You watch as things sore up into the sky, before bursting apart into a million different pieces that are on fire. You force your gaze away from the scary, yet beautiful, sight and look forward at the massive ship sailing before you. Humans!

+++

"Having fun, Rex?" A man slings his arm over his brother's shoulders, a bottle of whiskey in his other hand.

"Sure, Cody." The brother sips his bottle of beer. The pair are both dressed in royal suits, with a cape handing from one shoulder and off the shoulder sashes to match. Rex's cape is royal blue, while Cody's is orange. Even when they are celebrating, they have to do everything by the book. Although, Cody's suit has began to crinkle and slant in some place from him throwing his weight about. If he wasn't wearing what he is, you probably wouldn't even think he's a prince.

"Oh, come on, Rex! It's your birthday!" Wolffe comes up behind the both of them, his plain grey cape sweeping below him, and pats Rex's shoulder with alot more force than necessary, nearly making the blonde stumble over.

Before Rex can say anything in response, the three brothers become distracted by the sight of the crew suddenly singing an old sea shanty. Cody quickly joins in and walks over to where the crew have congregated, nearly loud enough to drown out the last few fireworks going off and Rex shakes his head, with a fond smile. The blonde arches a brow, when Wolffe, the brother known to be the most stern and stoic, starts singing aswell, which causes a few to laugh.

Wolffe drags Rex over to the rest of the crew and nudges his shoulder. Rex rolls his eyes, before joining in, unable to conceal his smile. "To boost the moral of the crew." Rex tells himself. Although, he's sure alot of them don't need any more boosts, as Fives', Jesse's and Hardcase's voices drown out everyone else.

+++

The odd things flying up into the air have just stopped and you're trying to pull yourself up into one of the smaller boats on the side of the ship. Your mother would kill you, if she saw you now. For as long as you can remember, humans have been seen as dangerous beasts in your kingdom. No one is allowed to go up to the surface, by order of your mother. She thinks that just because there's one awful human it means they're all like that. Not all mer are horrible, so why should humans be? She doesn't understand. No one does.

You finally manage to pull your body into the small boat and peak inbetween the small holes in the hand railing on the side of the ship. You've never been this close to humans before. A few of them are using odd devices that make pleasant sounds, while others move around in rhythmic movements and some of them sing. Unlike mer singing, it's frankly terrible and out of tune, but they don't seem to care. They seem to find it amusing.

You observe the crowd. Most of them are wearing pretty shabby clothes that are well worn, but there are three men dressed in something more glamorous and regal. You tilt your head, as you observe the three laughing men. They share many identical features, so you assume that they are related in some way and their clothes indicate a higher rank of importance, maybe even royalty.

You startle, as a creature suddenly appears infront of you and you fall back into the bottom of the boat, with a dull thud. You tilt your head at the creature. It has a seemingly unnecessary amount of fur, it stands on four legs and has a thin long tail. It's face is mostly covered by the amount of fur, but it kind of reminds you of a seal.

You hesitantly reach and place your hand on the creatures head, surprised to find it soft. You jump back, when you hear the thudding sound of footsteps getting closer to your hiding spot. Someone grabs the creature and guides it back to the middle of the ship.

"Can't believe Waxer and Boil stowed away that damm dog."

Your breath catches in your throat, as the blonde man in the regal clothes leans over the railing. If he were to look down, he'd instantly see you hiding in the boat. You push yourself agaisnt the bottom of the boat as much as you can, in an attempt to try and hide yourself in the shadows.

You can't help but observe what you can see of the man. His hair is buzzed and his skinned is naturally tanned. He has a strong jawline and dark brown eyes. He's beautiful. For a human anyway...

You flinch, as some kind of liquid lands on your cheek. Then, slowly water starts falling the sky in small droplets. You notice the blonde looking upwards and an uneasy expression takes over his features. Within seconds, tons of water is crashing down and there's the distant sound of thunder drawing closer.

"Storm coming in fast! All hands on deck!" The blonde marches over to his crew and they quickly stand to attention. You take this as your signal to leave and dive back into the sea below.

+++

The men instantly sober up and race around the ship to tie down the sails, while rain continues to batter down and thunder and lightning draw closer. Within seconds, everyone is soaked to the bone. Fierce waves wash over the deck.

Rex notices that no one is at the wheel and, while his brothers are yelling orders, he races up the stairs to grab on to it. The wheel fights agaisnt him, as the current throws the ship in all sorts of directions, but the prince manages to keep it relatively still.

The ship lurches upwards, with the movement of a particularly tall wave, before crashing back downwards. Rex's eyes widen at the sight of jagged rocks spiking out the water. He spins the wheel to the side, as fast as he can, but it's no use. They inevitably collide with the rocks and the ship tips sideways. The crew yell, as they cling onto whatever they can to prevent being thrown into the dark water. Eventually, the ship evens back out and is longer tipped sideways, but the front of the ship is still embedded in the spiked rocks.

A lantern must have smashed onto the floor, because the ship is soon engulfed in flames. Rex races back to the main deck.

"Life boats! Abandon ship!" The blonde hollers over the sound of the harsh rain.

"Abandon ship!" Wolffe and Cody repeat his words. The crew barely hesitate to leap over the railing and into the depths below. They quickly loosen the ropes that are holding the life boats on the side of the ship and they splash into the water. They help each other out of the freezing water and into the boats.

The three princes wait to make sure everyone is off the ship, before going to jump out aswell. Suddenly, there's the sound of barking from the other side of the ship. That damn dog.

"Rex!" Cody urges his brother to jump.

"Go! I'm right behind you!" Rex shouts back, before running off through the flames. Wolffe and Cody don't get a chance to protest, as a particularly strong wave knocks them off their balance and over the side of the ship.

The blonde flinches back, when the fire on the stairs roars and grows. He shakes his head to try and tries to give himself confidence, before swiftly running up the stairs, wincing as the flames burn his clothes.

"I'm never letting Waxer and Boil on a ship again." Rex mutters to himself, while he picks up the dog and drops him over the side.

+++

You feel so useless, watching the events play out before you from the shadows, not being able to help. You observe the blonde man chuck the creature over the side of the ship and you swiftly submerge yourself back into the water. The creature isn't able to swim well with the current and you sneak underneath to guide the creature to one of the boats, where it's quickly pulled on board by the humans.

"Rex!" Both of the men in regal clothes yell and you turn back to face the ship, watching how the blonde goes to jump, but the ship suddenly lurches onto it's opposite side, flinging the man across the deck and presumably into the depths below.

You swim underneath the ship and scan the area for any sign of the blonde. Then, a flash of blue catches your eye and you see the human sinking lower and lower. You race downwards and wraps your arms securely across his chest, before swimming back up to the surface. You have it so his head is resting on your shoulder, to keep him from being completely submerged. His body remains lax, but you can vaguely hear the sound of his breathing and the puffs of air agaisnt your face.

He's alive.

You just saved a human's life and you pray to the sea Gods that your mother never finds out.

+++

It's been a long night. The storm eventually settled out and the sea became tame once again. Swimming while carrying another being that can't breath under water proved to be immensely difficult, but you couldn't just let him drown. You swam for hours in the direction that is known to have a human kingdom.

You drag the body of the human across the beach and settle him on the sand. The burning feeling of the hot sand combined with the sun rays themselves is almost unbearable, but you grit your teeth and try to ignore it. You blanche at the sight of the human's chest no longer rising up and down. When was the last time you heard him breathing?

You lay your head agaisnt his chest and hear a very faint beating. You raise your hands to his chest and shake him, hoping to do something. Your worries continue to grow, until the blonde coughs up some of the sea water from his lungs. You sigh in relief and have to resist from resting agaisnt him. You haven't slept at all.

You tilt your head, as you observe the man. Humans are so different, yet so similar at the same time. A pained expression takes over his features and you place your hand on the side of his face. You think back to how your nanny had soothed you as child. She used to sing this song that always seemed to make you feel safe. So, that's exactly what you do. You sing.

Mer voices are naturally more beautiful than that of humans. Mers even have the abilities to reach notes that humans can't. Music and singing is a big part of mer culture, but humans twisted this into to some terrible myth about mers leading sailors to their death through their captivating voices. In reality, humans were probably just bad at sailing at that time.

Your voice wavers, when you see the blonde's eyes slowly flicker open. You stop singing all together, as you hear yelling coming from the distant cliffs at the far end of the beach. Your head perks up and you barely make out the sight of a pack of humans running down the cliffs. You pull away from the human and make quick work of gliding back out into the sea.

+++

"Rex!" Cody and Wolffe run towards the body of their brother and sit down next to him.

"You're going to be alright, Rex." Wolffe assures the blonde, after noticing he's conscious.

Rex isn't paying attention to any of them. Instead, his mind drifts to the vague image of a beautiful woman leaning over him and singing a tune he's never heard the likes of before. It feels like the song has cast some sort of spell over him.

"The woman..." Rex doesn't get to dwell on it much longer, since he falls into a deep slumber...

[daughterofthequeen]

Things Aren’t Always What They Seem and Sometimes They Are

Pairing: Anakin Skywalker x padawan!reader

Summary: You’re Anakin’s padawan and after your master has a close call you develop nightmares of his death. Every time you close your eyes you see it, so you decided staying awake is the best way to keep your mind at ease and keep your master safe.

Warnings: Angst, fluff, platonic relationship, crying, nightmares, reader uses she/her pronouns, small mention of blood, reader has at least shoulder length hair, description of throwing up, description of death, light description of head being cut off, detailing insomnia, I made my own cw battle, I think that’s it let me know if I missed anything

A/N: I just needed this. Either Anakin can be used, but both Anakin’s are the same to me. Also readers nickname is stub btw due to her stubborn nature(gimme Ik). In this storyline Ahsoka is Kenobi’s padawan, but Anakin still uses Snips for Ahsoka since they’re still always around each other due to Ahsoka being readers best friend and Kenobi also always being around. This is also longer than I planned, sorry.

No.

No, no, no, no, NO!

This is not happening. This is not happening! It’s impossible, he’s survived far worse than this, right? A building exploding with him still inside it was a piece of cake when it came to my master. So why isn’t he answering his comm, and why can’t I feel him?! His force signature is gone!

He’s dead.

That’s why I can’t feel him. Everything around me was basically nonexistent to me, all I could focus on was the rubble in front of me that had my master trapped. He couldn’t be dead, he just couldn’t be, and I refuse to believe that he is. I wanted to go search for him, to help get him out of there because he needs me, but I couldn’t move and all I could hear was my heart beating loudly in my ears. Until a louder noise snapped me out of it.

“COMMANDER!!!” Rex yelled as he grasped me by my shoulders and was roughly shaking me, which snapped me out of my shock. “Commander the tank lifters are here to remove the debris.”

“Hurry, Rex.” After Rex leaves to go give the orders I turn back to the rubble as I tried to dig deeper into the force to try and sense my master’s force signature. I came up empty handed until I felt a pull towards the other side of the destroyed building. I followed it until I heard a voice. Dooku. I know that slimy voice from anywhere. I hurriedly hid behind a large rock, that I could tell used to be a wall, as I listened to Dooku’s conversation.

“And you’ve found nothing?” Dooku voiced to a battle droid.

“Nothing. We’ve looked everywhere.”

“Hmm” Dooku wasn’t so sure, Skywalker wasn’t easily terminated, how ironic it would be for him to be taken out by a simple explosion. He closed his eyes to focus on any life signature, but the only ones he found were weak and they were all similar in some way, confirming they were just feeble clones. And he was about to call this a success until he felt a stronger force signature, and it wasn’t under the rubble, definitely a Jedi. Dooku opened his eyes and looked to his right, looking straight at the stone you were hiding behind, but before he could act his holoprojector went off. “Yes master?”

“Return to your castle, I have more important matters for you to tend to.” A blue tented hooded figure spoke.“Now.” The hooded figure quickly added sensing the hesitation his apprentice gave off.

“Yes, master.” The holoprojector cut off and Dooku called for all the battle droids to fall back, and they left taking their victory. And their victory? The termination of Anakin Skywalker.

I quickly ducked behind the destroyed wall before Dooku could see me, even though I was certain he could feel me. But to my luck he was called away, I waited for the last separatist ship to fly away and that’s when I left my hiding spot. I started looking around the same area Dooku was to try to find any sign of my master, but there was none. A sickly feeling washed over me, I was close to letting the breakfast I had this morning back up, but was able to keep it down. Though I couldn’t stop my eyes from welling up with tears.

“Master?” I whispered fearfully, my voice not able to speak any louder without cracking.

“Master.” I said a little louder, as the tears started rolling over at this point.

“MASTER! WHERE ARE YOU??!!!” I finally screamed, the tears are now unstoppable and so were the sobs. The cries broke free. I was sobbing uncontrollably, and soon found that my legs were not able to hold my weight anymore as I dropped to my knees. The pain from the rubble that was made up of stone and metal went unnoticed. Bracing my hands against the ground to keep myself up and grounded as much as I could. I started pleading to the force to give Anakin a few more strings of luck, so he could make it out of this alive. So caught up in my own pain, I didn’t even hear the stones moving to my far left, let alone the foot steps.

After Anakin no longer felt Dooku’s presence and when he was sure he wasn’t coming back he used the force to move the destroyed stones that were surrounding him and some of his troops away from them. And they started climbing their way out from the rubble. After he made it out and helped some of his men out as well he looked around making sure there was no danger as he was catching his breath. When he looked to his right, he spotted his padawan. His padawan who‘s supposed to be on the other side of the explosion sight. What is she doing here?! Dooku and his droids could’ve seen her and he wouldn’t of been able to get out from under the rubble in time. It’s like she does the complete opposite of what he says, to stress him out on purpose. He sighed and started his walk over to his padawan, and when he did he seen and heard the predicament she was in. She was crying? Why is she crying? He wondered if she was injured. She was clutching her hands to her chest, which made him worry even more. He hurried to her side, and as he dropped down next to her, he grasped her shoulders, turning her towards him to look her over.

“What is it? Where are you hurt?” Anakin’s heart was racing at this point as he panicked. All he knew is he needed to help her, but his padawan on the other hand had a different reaction upon seeing him. Regardless of his efforts to get her up she wasn’t moving, and she heard nothing he was saying. All she could do was stare. Her master was alive? How? His force signature was gone and that only means one thing. Death. So how was it her master was kneeling in front of her trying to make sure she was okay? For the second time that day she had to be shook harshly to snap her out of her shock. But it still did no good to help her understand what was going on.

“(Y/n)! What’s wrong?” Silence.

“(Y/n), talk to me!”

“Master?” Was all that she could whisper out.

“Where are you hurt? I can’t help if you don’t tell me.

“You’re alive.”

“Wha-? Yeah? Why wouldn’t I be?”

“The building- I mean you were still inside. Your signature was gone.” Having to explain what she thought happened only brought the tears back, unable to stomach the loss of her master, someone who’s like a father to her, and the closest she would get to having one. The thought of losing him was unbearable, and not to mention against the Jedi code. Attachment was forbidden, and she knew her attachment to Anakin was way more than it should be. She threw herself into him, much to Anakin’s shock. Her face buried in his neck, with her arms wrapped around it as well, as she let the rest of her tears out.

Anakin’s heart broke at the sound of her sobs, they sounded so broken. The original plan was to plant the bombs and get out of there which you were able to do successfully and get to the extraction point unscathed, but the separatists knew about their plan and next thing he knew hundreds of battle droids blocked them in. He was able to keep the ceiling from crushing him and his men around him, and was able to cloak his signature from Dooku. And that meant from everyone else as well, so he could see how that might have scared you. Wrapping his arms around his padawan, he made sure to keep a firm comforting grip, letting her know that he was here and not going anywhere. She cried harder at his promise, she could feel it, he was telling the truth.

𝟺 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚜 𝙻𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛:

It’s been 4 months since the incident, 4 months since I believed my master was dead, 4 months since I’ve had a good nights rest. Ever since the Battle of Aravion I haven’t been able to sleep. Every time I close my eyes my darkest fears come to life. So I do my best to stay awake as long as I can. Some would say that’s unhealthy or dangerous with me fighting in a war and all, but I’m doing fine . . . .mostly.

“Hellooo, Coruscant to Stubs.” I hear my master say as he comes into my line of sight, snapping his fingers in front of my face which I turns snaps me out of my daydream. “You with me?”

“Sorry, Master. What were you saying?” Shaking my head to clear and focus my thoughts.

“I said if you don’t focus you’re going to get stunned, and I’m sure you don’t want that to happen, right?”

“No, master. I’m sorry, master.”

“Sorry?” Anakin mumbled to himself, you never say sorry to anyone even when you are, unless it’s in front of the council or something, you show your apologies more so with actions, not words. And there’s usually a snappy comeback by now. What’s going on with you?

“It’s fine, what’s on your mind?”

“Nothing.” I’ve might’ve said that a little too quickly. Oops.

“Stub, I know you. What’s wrong?” Anakin knows how to get me to crack. It’s just something about his soft voice that makes me feel like he could fix whatever’s going on with me. No matter how big or small. But not this time, my problems will go away on their own. I just hadn’t got the incident through my system is all. After all, part of becoming a Jedi is being able to let go of your personal feelings, and that’s not something that you can’t rely on people for, it’s a matter of you.

“There’s nothing wrong, I was just wondering when our next mission would be. We never stay here at the temple for very long. I guess I’m just a little anxious.”

“Yeah, I was like that too at the beginning of the war, but I just learned to relax whenever I’m given a peaceful moment. It keeps your head clear and it helps keep you balance.”

“I will try.” I took a deep breath as I turned away from my master and walked back to the where the 501 boys were waiting. I got into my starting position, lighting my lightsabers. I had to focus, that was the only way to get Anakin to believe me, so I had to last my usual time or he would know something was definitely up. I gave Rex a nod, letting him know that I was ready. He gave the signal, and for the next three minutes it was going well. Until I was hit in the back, then everything went dark.

BOOM!!!

I groan as I sit myself up. I must’ve been stunned about 5 or 6 times, my body isn’t usually this stiff after waking up due to growing a tolerance. But wait a minute. Stun shots don’t sound like explosions. I quickly stood up to scan my surroundings only to see I was in the middle of a battle field. I must’ve been hit with a blaster shot, but I didn’t feel any pain besides the stiffness. How did we get onto a battle field, we were just in a training room a few minutes ago.

BOOM!!!

I turned towards the front and could see nothing but fog. I lit my saber and started deflecting the blast that were coming my way. Maybe they couldn’t wait on me to wake up. What was the mission again? Wait. My master would never leave me behind, regardless of the mission, unless it was safer somehow. So where is he? I looked around again and heard a groan this time. I turned to my right to see a trooper. I quickly ran to help in any way I could.

“Trooper! Are you ok?!”

“I’m fine as I can be commander.” He groans.

“What battle is this? What was the mission?”

He coughs harshly. So harsh blood comes up. “The plan was to blow the factory. Groan. I suspect the others have made it there already.” He cuts himself off due to coughing more.

“Help will be here soon trooper stay awake.” I tried comforting him as I squeezed his hand. Trying to keep my emotions at bay.

“They knew we were coming. Gasp. We didn’t stand a chance. But you insisted we go on with the plan. General Skywalker agreed, trusting your judgment. Gasp. Half of us were wiped out. You walked us to our death.” All of a sudden the comms in his helmet we’re getting louder. I heard the screams of the troopers in pain. The yells of orders being thrown out by Rex. The explosion that seemed closer than it should’ve been in the comm, like it was right next to that poor trooper that was unlucky enough to get hit. I back down towards the trooper I was comforting only to see he was deadly still. And I knew he was. His eyes were staring straight up towards the sky. Like he embraced the call of death on his life. I heard the sobs and even looked around to see where they were coming from, but they were coming from me. I did this, all this was my fault. This was my mission, the troops were following my orders, I lead them to their deaths knowing it was a trap to begin with. I hurriedly stood up and started running forward. I moves as fast as I could until I could see the building and could hear the explosions more clear. I ran until I got to the front of the lines using my saber to block incoming blasts, and thankfully as always Rex was there.

“Rex!”

“Commander, you’re alright!”

“Yes. Where’s General Skywalker?!” I had to yell for him to be able to hear me over the sounds of battle.

“He went to set the bombs, he should be back by now.”

“I’ll go help!” But I was stopped, a hand gripping my arm.

“The bombs are about to detonate any second!”

“Anakin is still in there!”

“I’m sorry sir, but I can’t let you go in!” After that statement the building collapsed in a fiery blaze. We were far enough away to feel nothing but the strong wind the explosion put off.

“Rex, hurry and get the tank lifters here. I’m going to find Anakin.” And I took off regardless of Rex’s yells. I made it to the blast sight, but upon arrival Dooku and his mindless droids were there. I hid behind a large rock when I was struck with a hard case of deja vu. This has happened before, maybe the first time was just a vision. The force letting me know everything was going to be ok. I peaked around the corner seeing Dooku talking through a holoprojector to a cloaked figure. After their conversation ended, Dooku ordered all the droids to load up and evacuate. After he left I ran to where I was last time waiting for my master to unmask his signature. When he did I hurried to that area and helped with moving the debris that was around them. After getting him and the troops out safely I walked to my master to check and see if he was ok.

“Master, how are you feeling?” I was a lot calmer then last time, a little too calm. But he’s fine maybe for once things will actually go our way.

“I feel fine, but where were you stubs. We could’ve used your help.” He was out of breath, but still managed to be sarcastic. He was fine. I let out a light laugh.

“Come on master, let’s get you back to the transports so we can get you checked for any brain damage. Well, more than usual.” I smirk and turned to walk off, but felt he wasn’t following, so I turned only to see him standing really stiff.

“Master, what’s wrong?” I was so close to him. My hands were on his shoulders just in case he might fall. Suddenly, a red light pierced through my masters chest and would’ve passed through the top of my head if I hadn’t of moved just in time. Only to realize it wasn’t just a light, it was a lightsaber!

“NO!!!”

As my master dropped to the ground Dooku was standing right there over him. The color of his lightsaber reflecting on his wrinkled face. I paid him no attention though, I ran to my master hoping by some miracle he was still breathing. I lifted him up and moved myself behind him, so he could lean on me, hoping it would give him some kind of comfort. But maybe it was just to comfort myself.

“Master! Master, get up! Get up!” I was trying to pull him up, help him stand, so we could get out of here, but the only response my master gave was falling to the side, hitting the ground. “No! Master, get up. No, no, no, no. Let’s go. Please, let’s go.” Rows of heavy tears rolled down my closed eyes as I was sitting on my knees praying that this wouldn’t be true. I grabbed my masters ungloved hand, still warm though it has only been a couple minutes since it happened. It felt like hours. Dooku didn’t even have the courage to give my master a fighting chance. What coward stabs someone in the back, and calls it a honorable victory. Falling forward, I hugged my masters dead body as I sobbed so loud the stars could hear me across galaxies. My voice coming out in squeaks as I try to tell him how sorry I am, how sorry I was of failing him, how I didn’t see Dooku coming, hoping he would believe me, or at least hear me in the afterlife.

“Feeble child.” Hearing his voice only made me angry. I gripped my sabers and ignited them, quickly turning around striking Dooku down where he stood. And of course he was able to keep himself up, all he did was drop to his knees. But what I planned next no one could walk away from. I slowly stood, and walked towards him tauntingly, I wanted him to know what was coming. Before he could even attempt at grabbing his saber, I made sure to cut through his useless hands. I then lifted my sabers, crossing them at his neck as I looked him in the eyes, pulling my sabers apart. The body dropped and I watched as the severed ball rolled in the opposite direction. I looked down and seen a red lightsaber, but it wasn’t Dooku’s. I looked over to my other saber seeing that they were identical. The red I was seeing was coming from my lightsabers, but I couldn’t find it in myself to care. And unbeknownst to me, my eyes reflected the damage I’ve done as well. A piercing yellow with red rimings, the eyes of a sith.

I gasped as I quickly sat up, looking around. I was able to slow my heart enough and calm my raging brain to notice I was in my room. How’d I get here? Was everything that just happened a dream? There’s was only one way to find out, find Anakin. Fearfully, I got up and walked out of my room, cautiously but quickly searching for my master, too riled and unfocused to use the force. I walked straight across the hallway to his quarters and knocked. It went unanswered, taking it upon myself to open the door, only to find he wasn’t there. Everything left untouched his messy bed from yesterday still in the same state it was, saying he’ll fix it later. I took off to the training room, still nothing. Then to the cafeteria. Nothing. At this point I was starting to worry. I didn’t want the grand masters to see me like this knowing they would sense my fear and unease, but this was Anakin, I’ll risk it. I went to the council room, also empty. This sickly feeling washed over me, and I ran to the closest bathroom. Passing Obi-Wan and Anakin padawan in the process.

“Stub?”

“I thought you said she was resting?” Obi-Wan crossed his arms at his former padawan’s ability to keep up with his own padawan.

“She was. Why is she up this late?” He mumbled, his confused frown deepening as well. Even if she was up, why was she running through the halls? Either her and Ahsoka were sneaking around in the pantries again or something was wrong. Without so much as a warning to Obi-Wan, Anakin took off to follow his padawan. He caught up to her only to see her burst into the women’s restroom.

“She had to use the bathroom.” Obi-Wan stated the obvious.

“Why not just use the one in her room? I think somethings wrong master. She’s been acting strange lately.”

“Anakin, your padawan is your responsibility. You should know why she’s been acting differently.” He scolds.

“I know that, Master. But-”

“But what?”

“She usually comes to me when she’s ready, so I don’t push it.”

“Anything could be going on with her Anakin, whether she wants to or not it’s your job to find out what’s causing her trouble.”

“That’ll just push her further away. I know Stubs, if I push to hard it’ll just delay the progress of her telling me. I know because I’m the same way.”

“You’ve never been that way with me.”

“That’s because I knew you years before I even became your padawan. Stubs and I are only a year in.”

“And you both are already so much alike that you would think the two of you share the same brain.” Anakin rolled his eyes at his masters comment and walked up to the women’s bathroom door, but when he did he could sense waves of fear going through you. He almost walked into the room, turning towards Obi-Wan seeing if he would stop him. It’s not like anyone else was in there, they only felt her.

“I’ll keep watch to make sure nobody else goes in. Go.” Anakin nods, closing his eyes as he walked into the bathroom just in case you were actually using it.

“Stub?” He calls out softly, his voice echoing throughout the walls. His only reply though was the sound of soft gagging. “Stubs?!” He called again this time his eyes are open as he ran and found the stall you were in. It wasn’t even locked. He found you on your knees, head above the toilet dry heaving into it, while also trying to catch your breath. He went to get some paper towels from the dispenser, wet them, then came back to keep your hair out of your face. Once he was sure you were done, he knelt down in front of you and turned you towards him, brushing your hair behind your ears to keep it out the way and started cleaning your face. He was worried, yes, but he knew you didn’t needed him playing 20 questions right now.

“Can you stand?” He spoked as softly as he could.

The whole time you didn’t know who was helping you, you barely noticed someone was there helping you at all. But when your eyes focused as you looked up, a small gasp came from you.

“Master.” A sense of deja vu washed over him.

“Are you able to get up?” He started to panic because tears started rolling over your cheeks. He was about to ask what was wrong but your body slamming into his stopped him, again. Confused? Way more than he was before. Worried? Even more so. Anakin maneuvered you so he was able to pick you up, and carry you out of the bathroom, simultaneously throwing away the paper towels. The door opened and he came face to face with Obi-Wan. Who only gave him a ‘take my advice’ kind of look. Receiving a tired sigh from Anakin.

“I know. I’ll see you tomorrow Master. Good night.” To which Kenobi responded back with a good night of his own.

He made his way back to your room as he constantly looked down at you to check and make sure you were ok. Your eyes were barley open, you looked exhausted, as your head laid in his chest. You should be, he wondered how long it was going to take you to break after not sleeping for months. He was hoping his heartbeat would’ve put you to sleep by now. He knew you thought you were keeping it a well kept secret. That’s the whole reason you both haven’t been on a mission yet, he asked the council to give the both of you a few days off, refusing to let you put yourself in anymore unnecessary danger. He was surprised the council agreed, chalking it up to Obi-Wan putting in a word for him. He could’ve just banned you from coming on missions until you told him what was wrong, but that would’ve just made you retreat and hide your restlessness better. This was the best choice. Making it to your room, the door slid open, and he gently laid you down on your bed. He was about to let you rest and get to the bottom of this in the morning, but your hand quickly grabbed his, keeping him from leaving.

“Don’t go.” You whimpered, breaking his heart of what felt like the thousandth time that night. He complied and released a heavy sigh.

“You have to tell me what’s going on with you Stubs. I’ve given you enough time to figure this all out and tell me what’s going on, but this has gone to far.” He kept his voice low to let her know he wasn’t upset with her just worried. You sat up regardless of him trying to lay you back down but true to your nickname, you’re just stubborn. He stayed where he was kneeling in front of you, letting you have the height of the conversation, physically and metaphorically.

I couldn’t look him in the eye knowing that I would start crying again.

“I just had a bad dream, that’s all.” Trying to play it off as nothing.

“Yeah. One among the many for the past few months, right?” That caused me to lift my head involuntarily. How did he know?

“How-“

“Look Stubs, I understand what it’s like to have constant nightmares, ok? I just don’t understand why you won’t tell me about them.” He chuckled, an unamused one with a confused frown on his face.

Looking back down towards my bare feet, trying to keep the tears at bay. But failing at that too, a breathless sob breaks out.

“I just- I just don’t understand why they keep coming back! I mean I’m starting to think-” I cut myself off not wanting to speak into existence. Instead, I shoved my face into my hands. I’m not sure I can keep going with these nightmares, they keep getting worse.

“You’re starting to the think they’re visions.” To which I nodded to. “Are they the same dream or is it a different one every time?”

“It’s a different one ever time, but they always have the same outcome. You said you’ve had nightmares before. How did you stop them?

“Tell you what, if I tell you about my dreams, will you feel comfortable enough to tell me about yours?” Anakin didn’t like sharing his past with anybody, but for the sake of getting his padawan to trust him completely, he would do anything. You gave him a nod, to which he nodded back.

“It wasn’t that long ago actually. It was around the very beginning of the clone wars. They were about my mother.”

“Master-“

“And how she died. I didn’t understand it at the time, but they weren’t nightmares. They were visions.”

“I’m sorry, master.”

“I’m not telling you this so you could feel sorry for me. I told you so you would understand when things like this happen you should talk about it to someone not hold it in, because one day you might be able to save a life.”

“But if it is a vision. . .I fail.”

“Not all visions are set in stone. And they can be almost impossible to understand by yourself.” As he explains he reaches out to gently grab her hands giving them a gentle squeeze.

“They’re about you.” Going back to looking down at my feet.

“What about me?”

“You die. And I’m always to slow to save you.” Looking up to see his expression, he doesn’t look scared if anything he looks amused. “Why are you looking at me like that?” I ask confused.

“Is it ok if I see it?”

“How can you do that?”

“Easy. Hold still.” After he says that his hands move to the side of my head, our eyes closed , and our foreheads laying on one another’s as he searches for the memories. When he finds them they suck him in deep, so deep he has to take a deep breath to keep himself grounded. Your fear, your pain, your anger. But right before he pulled away, he was able to see where they all started. Guilt flooded through him. He didn’t realize how much he scared you. He pulled away and moved to sit next to you on the bed. He paused for a moment trying to figure out the best way to reassure you.

“Listen, Stubs. I’m not going anywhere. And I’m sorry I frightened you. Why didn’t you come to me?”

“I was afraid. Everything I was feeling, everything I am feeling is forbidden for a Jedi to feel. And I didn’t want you to look at me any different.” I replied, looking the opposite way shamefully.

“Stub. I am the last person to judge you. I have your back, just like I’m sure you have mine. Whatever I can do to help you, I will do. But I can promise you, I’m not going anywhere. And you don’t have to be scared of that happening anytime soon, or at all for that matter. Understand?”

“Yes, master.” Not giving him time to reply. I threw myself into his side, wrapping my arms tightly around him. He returned the gesture, pulling me into him even more.

“Bed time.” He pulled away, lightly pushing me to lay down, and pulled the blanket over me.

“Master? When’s our next mission?”

“We don’t have any, and we won’t until you’re well rested.”

“Huh?”

“Oh yeah, you don’t know. We won’t be completing any assignments for a while. I requested to take some time off, due to my padawan deciding it’s ok to go into battles with little to no sleep.” He smirked knowingly.

“You knew.”

“Of course I did. Now get some sleep, please.” He replied as he turned to leave.

“Master?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

His playful smirked turned into a soft smile. “Good night, Stubs.”

“Good night, master.” I responded as I laid down already half asleep, ready to catch up on all the months that were missed.

A/N: The longest fic I’ve completed, but it had to be done🫡. Proofread, just let me know if I missed an error, I hope you guys enjooyyy.

[badbatchsprincess]

Heated ~ pt.24

Pt.1 ~ Pt.2 ~ Pt.3 ~ Pt.4 ~ Pt.5 ~ Pt.6 ~ Pt.7 ~ Pt.8 ~ Pt.9 ~ Pt.10 ~Pt.11 ~ Pt.12 ~ Pt.13 ~ Pt.14 ~ Pt.15 ~ Pt.16 ~ Pt.17 ~ Pt.18 ~ Pt.19 ~ Pt.20 ~ Pt.21 ~ Pt.22 ~ Pt.23 ~ Pt.24 ~ Pt.25

Masterlist

Summary: This is an ABO Bad batch!Poly x Omega Reader smut with a plot. This takes place as an AU before order 66. Y/N previously served under the 501st before being transferred to Special Forces 99. This is her adventure with these rowdy Alphas in a quickly changing universe.

THIS IS AN ABO AU ABOUT THE BAD BATCH (NO CANON OMEGA!) Due to the unfortunate situation of her name being Omega… Omega the child from the canon series is not going to be apart of this fanfic/porn with a plot. I feel obligated to put this warning in because it makes my skin crawl thinking anyone could make that mistake. 

Warnings: Angst, smut, hopecore? idk.

─ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──── ♡ ─── ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──

The ride to Rex’s secret base of operations was a long one. You suspected it was in the outer rim based on how long you all had been traveling in hyperspace. 

You had curled up with Crosshair on the floor trying to stay warm with your still damp clothes. One of the regs had found a janky old heating lamp that flickered as everyone huddled around trying to keep the cold space chills away. It wasn’t working. 

“We’re not too far out!” Wooley had emerged from the cockpit, “We’ll be leaving hyper space soon.” 

You sighed with relief. You could’t wait to get off this ship and see the others. 

Through the bond you could sense Crosshair’s trepidation. 

“What’s wrong?” You asked looking up at him. 

He just grunted chewing on his toothpick. 

You huffed and shuffled back down knowing it was a waste of time to pry. He’ll tell you when he’s ready. 

When the ship suddenly jolted forwards, exiting hyperspace and the pilot downshifted making the ship rumble, you stood up with the others feeling the cargo ship enter the planets’s atmosphere with a rough shake. Standing on wobbly feet, you grabbed ahold of the cargo straps feeling Crosshair stand protectively at your back keeping you both in place. 

With a couple of jolts and jostles you felt the ship touch down on solid ground before settling into stillness. The engines were cut, and the cargo hatch made a whining creek sound as it folded open revealing the pink skies of this strange planet. The ship had landed on an elevated platform high in the sky and in front of you was a very old building. Seemingly an old Jedi monastery from the looks of it. 

The air was warm and humid with a strange terrestrial smell you weren’t familiar with. The others stepped outside before you, Wolffe, Crosshair, Bolts, Stunner, and Grim held up the flank. 

Following the other groups of regs in unmarked armor, they lead you all inside the main monastery door. Once inside, you nearly gasped from all of the regs who had made this place a home. It was absolutely crawling with men. From every battalion, squadron, and special forces unit under the GAR. You could’t believe it. They had converted this place into a fully operational military base.

Holo displays were everywhere monitoring the ships in the hyperspace lanes, there were men busy listening to com chatter, and others discussing strategy. They had built a tiny army here. 

You looked at the boys and they seemed to be just as impressed as you are. 

“Tiny!” 

You spun around to see Rex approaching you with his helmet on his hip. He had a very happy smile on his face even though he was covered in a fair amount of blaster residue. You trotted over to him practically flinging yourself at him. 

“You got my message! You came!” 

He squeezed you, “Of course I did, kid. You’re pack. We don’t leave pack behind.” 

Crosshair got called over by Wolffe to look at a holomap of the Marauder. Clearly it had to do with his brothers. 

“I can’t believe this place, Rex.” You looked around, “How long did this take to put together?” 

“At the end of the war, Tano and I knew if we wanted to save any of the clones, we were going to have to put together a group.” He pulled up a small holo image of something familiar, “We created a network, Fulcrum.” He handed you the puck, “It’s a spy network trying to free the troopers from imperial control. We may not have been able to save our pack, but we’re hoping we can save others.” 

You felt a pang of sadness hit thinking about the 501st.

“We need medics, Y/N. I know you’ve been through a lot, but we need soldiers like you.” He watched you slide the puck into your pocket, “We have a home here. You and your alphas are welcome to stay. We only have each other now.” He shrugged. 

You nodded taking his invitation to heart. 

Rex then scratched the back of his awkwardly, “Also, I wasn’t sure how to break the news to you, I was hoping Seargent Hunter would be here, but…”

“Y/N?” 

You turned around to see an unmarked reg approach. You watched him take off his helmet to reveal a scarred cheek and a fluffed up haircut. 

Your eyes widened in shock, “H-Howzer?” Oh shit. 

“Mesh’la…” He closed the distance and picked you up bringing into his chest. You struggled slightly squirming in his arms, “W-wait Howzer!…” 

“Put her the fuck down!” Crosshair’s growl made the hair stand up on your arms and the entire base to go eerily silent. 

He approached menacingly with his extremely narrowed eyes. Oh kark. He was pissed. Crosshair curled his fists determined to get his mate back and away from this strange alpha. 

Howzer stilled, knitting his brow together, before setting you down gently and turning to face the sniper. Howzer stood protectively in front of you crossing his arms with a stern brow raised sizing up your mate. Oh shit. You couldn’t believe this was happening right now. Your heart raced and suddenly the room was filled with your anxious pheromones. 

You noticed the others in the room bristle slightly as the scents mingled. 

Howzer’s stance only pissed off Crosshair even more. How dare this reg get in-between him and his mate. 

“Omega, come.” Crosshair ordered pointing a finger at the ground next to him. 

You felt your stomach drop knowing the next few seconds were going to change this dynamic drastically.  

You stepped to the side, and tiptoed out from behind the captain, just to nestle into Crosshair’s side where he had pointed previously. Crosshair didn’t need to use his alpha tone with you, you knew he wouldn’t. But, you also obeyed knowing this was not the time to try and make a point about how silly this all was. 

Howzer just gave you a confused and slightly shocked expression watching you cozy up to Crosshair, of all alphas. His disappointment was palpable. Then you saw his eyes flick down to the bite wound on your neck next to the property collar will dazzling around your lithe collarbones. 

“You’re mated?” He asked with an angry tone. 

You nodded, “Y-yeah.”

You didn’t know what was worse, the look he was giving you now, or the self imposed guilt of having to inform your ex-alpha that you were no longer his… 

“You fucking collared her!?” Your old alpha roared raising his fists. You squirmed feeling Crosshair nudge you behind him protectively. 

He just replied sardonically, “And if I did?” 

Dammit Cross… You couldn’t hold in the frustrate sigh, always picking fights…

It was Rex’s turn to look at you sideways, his disgust was also noticeable. The clones know a thing or two about slavery. The offending object raised and lowered quickly with your breath seemingly catching everyone’s attention now. You suddenly desperately wished for it to be gone.

“I always knew you were fucked up 99.” Howzer bared his teeth, “Killed all my men, tried to kill me too… now this?” He gestured to your neck, “It didn’t shock me you ended up with the imperials.”

You froze in place, but your eyes trailed up to the back on Crosshair’s silver haired head. He tried to what?! 

You knew he had done bad things in the name of the empire, but slaughtering Howzer’s men…

“Had I known who you were, I would have put that bullet between your eyes back on Ryloth.” Crosshair snarled back. 

“You can sure try.” Howzer challenged. 

Wolffe, Bolts, Grim, and Stunner all came forward with their arms raised. 

Wolffe stepped forwards getting in the middle to try and stop the fight, “Alright! Alright! Enough!” He sighed looking tired, “ Crosshair didn’t collar her, Tarkin did!” That bit of clarification seemed to be enough to de-escalate Howzer just slightly. “Now I don’t know what in the Sith’s hells is going on here, but I’ve been on the opposite end of 99’s wrath, and trust me Captain now is not the time for this.” 

Crosshair raised a suspicious brow, he never thought he’d actually see Wolffe defending him.

Howzer didn’t seem any less angry still feeling the ugly head of jealousy raging at the site of you tucked under the Sniper’s arm. 

“Now, what we now know about that little omega, is that she’s very important to the empire. She’s not just Crosshair’s mate, but also the other 99’s. Tarkin wanted her for experiments, along with the rest of us.” He pointed to the other clones in black civvies. “A day before you all arrived, we were drugged with SRA that drove us all into a rut. We’re all a little stirred up so let’s calm down for the sake of everyone here.” Wolffe was starting to remind you of an exhausted dad. You had to hold in a little chuckle, always a soldier.

“Tell them what you know, Tiny.” Grim urged, “You needed to talk to Rex.” 

You nodded and stepped around to Crosshair’s front and held out your hand to the Captain, “Nala Se gave me this before we escaped the base. She said it held all of my genetic records from the empire and also something that could assist the CT’s. She wiped the data base before giving it to me.” You stepped forward to place it into his hand, “It seemed important.” 

Rex took the drive with a nod and looked down at the little silver metal piece turning the holo drive over in his glued fingers.

Howzer stepped forwards, “What the hell is going on here?” He looked at you directly, “You were supposed to be mine… you were mine. Now, this?” He gestured to your mate.

Crosshair growled possessively raising an accusatory finger shoving it into Howler’s chest, “Should have sealed the deal then. But this omega… is mine.” You whimpered not liking this tension one bit. You may be matted to Crosshair, but you did have such a respect for Howzer from before.

Howzer stared at Crosshair before shifting his dejected gaze to you.

You sighed, “It’s complicated, Captain.” You lowered your eyes not liking the feeling of his disappointment. 

Howzer huffed, “Is it now?” 

Wolffe walked up trying to ease the tension, “Trust her, it is…” 

“You have no idea, brother.” Grim put a hand on his hip watching Howler bristle. 

Howzer scrunched his brow, “Well someone, enlighten me.” 

Rex just stepped forwards putting a hand on Howzer’s shoulder, “Well the long in the short is that, Tiny, is a rare variant of omega. She can have multiple mates. They happen to be the 99s. Though, the news of her being mated to Crosshair is new to me.” He raised a skeptical brow at you, “I guess a congratulations is in order.” 

“Thanks Rex.” You gave him a small smile. 

“The imperials gassed the base on Naboo with SRA.” Wolffe filled in the blanks, “They wanted clone pups. They also wanted Y/N cloned for the purpose to making more Ori’sol omegas for their breeding program.” 

“Breeding program?” Rex asked confused. 

“Thats why they sent me after her.” Crosshair rubbed a possessive hand over your neck and healing mark, “Admiral Tarkin was going to create a new elite army with our pups.” 

Rex furrowed his brow and gestured to your stomach, “Does that mean…” 

“No!” Both you and Crosshair blurted out, “No…” You shook your head, “No pups. Crosshair made sure I was safe, they didn’t know.” 

Rex just nodded letting his protective side settle down. You knew he would have had a conniption if that news was sprung on him too. Imagine, a secret military base with a pup running around, good gods.

“Is that why there were so many clones in that base?” A familiar figure stepped forwards. 

Cody. 

You smiled at him too. He gave you a little nod of acknowledgment. 

“Rounded up as many of us as they could.” Grim replied, “Had us pairing up with the captured omegas.” 

“That explains a lot.” Rex noted. 

You looked back at Howzer who was watching you longingly. Your heart ached with guilt seeing the hurt on his brow. This must be a lot to process for him. You weren’t his only omega, but you were definitely his most consistent. You were on Ryloth long enough to get to know the captain, but you never pursued any sort of relationship due to the on going war. He must be devastated seeing you with Crosshair. It wasn’t lost on you that the man had developed some kind of feelings for you after everything. 

Crosshair gave you a little squeeze pulling your attention back to him. He studied your eyes rubbing his thumb on your cheek. 

You could tell he was dying to lay into Howzer, but he was keeping his calm for your sake. 

In the background, Rex took the hollow drive and plugged it into the display table. Suddenly a massive projection of your entire genetic system popped up. One of the troopers you didn’t recognize began reading the reports. 

“Rex, you gotta see this.” He pointed to something floating by your DNA strands. 

You and Crosshair nuzzled together as the others began to gather around the table. You watched Howzer disappear into the crowd of clones needing some time to process clearly. 

“Did you really kill his men?” You asked. 

Crosshair just gave you a short grunt confirming it. 

“Would you have really killed him?” You asked. 

“The empire didn’t inform me of who he was.” He explained as he smoothed your hair down, “They sent me retrieve him from Ryloth for interrogation. His unit didn’t come willingly. In hindsight I realize it was because they were searching for you, and wanted him for information. But at that time I believed you to be dead, If I had known, I probably would have…. Still considering it.” 

You looked up at him with a shocked expression. But he just smiled and chuckled. 

He was joking… “Oh my gods, don’t say things like that.” You smacked his chest. 

A clone trooper in a flight uniform came running inside, “We got incoming!” 

You perked your head up turning to face the main doorway. In came another group of scared and confused omegas along with more clone troopers. Blankets and food was being passed around as more and more people entered the hall.

They shuffled inside looking even more distraught after the events on Naboo. Some still covered in blaster residue and in their imperial garments. 

You watched as the crowd began to lighten up before you noticed a very distinct helmet appear from the darkness. 

“Hunter.” You breathed.

You flung yourself forward running at full speed crashing into your Sargent before he even had a chance to remove his helmet. 

He grunted with the impact of your body before throwing his helmet carelessly to the side before picking you up and holding you to his armored chest. 

You started crying finally feeling the empty bit in your chest begin to fill with his presence again. Rubbing your cheek into his to spread his scent, he nuzzled into your hair practically inhaling your smell.

“Mesh’la.” He breathed, “Fuck. I missed you my love.” He buried his head into your hair breathing you in, refusing to let go. You just wrapped yourself around his torso with your legs letting him hold you tightly. 

“You found me.” You whimpered into his neck nuzzling his scent into your nose. 

“Of course we found you, Adi’ka.” He replied gruffly before pulling back to press his lips to yours. You melted immediately into his plush soft kiss. Carding your fingers through his lengthy hair, you massaged his scalp as he deepened the kiss making you mewl.

“Pip?” Wrecker’s hopeful voice snapped you out of your haze. Hunter spun the two of you to see Tech, Wrecker, and Echo jogging towards you both from the landing platform. 

Hunter set you down, letting you unwrap yourself before the other three surrounded you in a group hug squeezing you nearly to death. You were being smothered in kisses and touches and hugs.

Crosshair watched as the three other 99’s fawned over you, asking you a million questions you struggled to answer. They wanted to know everything. What happened. Were you hurt? How did you get to the bas eon Naboo? What was going on there?

Hunter caught his attention as his older brother stared at him with one of his intense scrutinizing glares. He was still pissed about the events on Bracca apparently, even though now he was starting to realize that Crosshair was much different.

Then it was like an epiphany went off in hunter’s head. He looked at Crosshair with a raised brow, then over to you, sniffing the air slightly. What you didn’t know, was that he was hearing something even stranger…

“What did you do?” Hunter’s smokey voice turned hardened at his little brother. 

Wrecker let go of you to look up at his Hunter sensing a change in energy. 

Hunter looked at your chest before whipping his head around to face his little brother. 

“What. Did. You. Do.” Hunter narrowed is eyes. He pointed a gloved finger at you, “Her heart… it beats… with yours.” 

Crosshair just stood emotionless, but you could sense his panic through the bond. Hunter’s intensity was unsettling to the sniper. Always has been.

“H-Hunter, wait it’s not what-“ You began, but Tech cut you off as his finger pried at your neck. He tugged on the metal welded around your neck with a horrified look. He ran his fingers over the aurebesh engraving declaring you his twin’s property. Then his fingers went down to your mating gland where he traced a finger over the marred skin. It looked freshly healed where Crosshair had punctured your flesh marking you as his with two little raised bumps. 

“He bit you?” Tech said rubbing the gland making you flush at his touch. He forgot how stimulating that was for you.

You barely had time to register the eldest charging at Crosshair before the sound of his fist colliding with his little bother’s cheek snapped you out of the haze. 

You screamed watching Hunter and Crosshair roll around on the temple floor. Echo kept you from running forwards not wanting you to get hurt in their scuffle. He held you firmly under his arm.

“Shit.” Rex leapt into action along with Wolffe, and shockingly, Howzer. 

Crosshair had Hunter pinned and was pummeling his forearms as his brother blocked his hits. But Hunter wasn’t giving up, fueled by rage, he threw his little brother off of him and cold cocked him in the jaw sending them both tumbling to the ground. 

“Alright! Alright!” Wolffe used his commanding voice. He bent down and yanked Crosshair back right as Rex got a hold of Hunter. 

“How could you Crosshair?!” Hunter snarled. The two were being scrubbed by the collar like two tookas.

Wrecked walked over to put himself between his brothers as the verbal fight broke out, as they tugged against their restraints trying to lunge at one another again.

You whimpered, unable to watch the fight anymore. Feeling suddenly extremely claustrophobic, you turned around looking at Tech, “Please! Please Tech!” You yanked and tugged at the collar, “Please take this off.” You begged. 

He nodded and reached around in his tool belt grabbing your abused laser suture. 

“Echo give me your glove.” Tech said. 

Echo handed it over before running his flesh hand over your shoulder trying to soothe you. 

Tech nudged the glove under the collar gently, before bringing out the tools. Very carefully, he brought the glowing plasma point up to the Imperial durasteel collar and got to work weakening the welding points as you squirmed uncomfortably. 

“How could you do this to her?” Hunter snarled, “She nearly died when you turned to the empire!” 

“I didn’t turn to the empire!” Crosshair snapped. 

“You tried to kill her!” 

You could feel Crosshair’s hurt through the bond at Hunter’s words… he didn’t mean to. 

“You know I didn’t have control. I would never fucking hurt her!” Crosshair’s glare darkened, “You’re the one who left me behind! You left me under their control!… I thought we were brothers!” 

Hunter looked like he had just been punched in the gut. 

The sergeant stared at his brother letting his mouth hang open slightly unsure how to respond. 

Tech finally freed you from the property collar wrenching it open only to let it fall to the ground with a deafening clatter. The silence that followed after sent a chill down your spine. 

You looked over at Hunter who eyed the metal at your feet. 

You cleared your throat before speaking, “I did it!” You looked to the eldest, “I mated Crosshair…. I bit him. It’s my fault…Please Hunter don’t be mad at him.” You wanted this stupid fight to end. It hurt your watching them argue, especially over something Hunter doesn’t even understand. 

Once again Hunter looked shocked and appalled. He stood up straight staring at you with a bated breath. You could feel the sour taste of his disappointment too. He shook off Rex and stormed out of the hangar not even able to look at you for one more second… kriff. You sighed. 

He fucking hates you. You suddenly felt sick with anxiety and fought back the urge to vomit.

What should have been a happy reunion had suddenly turned sour. 

You felt Tech and Wrecker disappear, heading after Hunter leaving you alone with Echo and Crosshair. Dammit. 

“Y/N, what happened?” Echo asked bringing you into a hug. The only one giving you an ounce of empathy. 

“Ask Wolffe, he’ll tell you.“ You sighed pushing away unable to bare anymore of this, “I’ve had enough for today. Is there a place I can rest for a bit?” You looked to Rex who nodded and gave ordered to his men to guide you to a quiet place. 

You followed behind the clones letting them lead you to a spare room that had been converted into living space. You looked around realizing this is Rex’s quarters. You sighed and rubbed at your neck finally feeling lighter now that, that offending metal was gone and you were free again.

The door whooshed open to reveal your mate. He stepped inside looking exhausted and his chin a nasty swelling red. 

“I knew it was wrong to leave you with the imperials.” You said quietly feeling the tears rise in your eyes, “I told them.” 

He nodded putting a toothpick in his mouth. Of course he managed to find one even here on this remote base. 

“Hunter’s always been good at protecting the group.” Crosshair drawled, “We have a plan, you know, if one of us isn’t going to make it back.” 

You looked up at him with bleary eyes. 

“Plan 99.” He nodded, “A suicide mission.” 

“But you weren’t sacrificing yourself for the group.” You whimpered, “We left you and that was fucked up.” 

He scoffed, “Given the circumstances I understand him… doesn’t make it hurt any less. But what were four of them going agains the empire really going to do.” 

“Cross.” You sighed, “We should have gotten you the second we knew about the chips. I should… I should have pushed harder.” 

“He wouldn’t have listened to you.” Crosshair sat in the chair against the wall facing you, “And it’s not your fault, love. His main concern was protecting you.” 

“Why are you justifying his actions? You sounded so hurt!” You whimpered wiping away a falling tear. 

“We’re brothers.” He rolled his eyes, “It’s what we do.” 

You just whined and let the tears keep falling, “I think he hates me.” 

Crosshair motioned for you to come to him. You walked over standing between his open legs. He tugged you down so you were sitting on his lap. He pulled you in close so you rested against his chest and he tucked your head under his chin. 

“He doesn’t hate you. I promise. He’s just jealous, and probably a little hurt that it wasn’t him that got to you first.” Crosshair chuckled, “Trust me, that wasn’t even bad for Hunter.” 

“But did you see the way he looked at me.” You sniffled, “I- he’s never looked at me like that before.” 

Crosshair just held you tighter, “I’ve been the receiving end of that look for years. You’re alright, just give him some time.” 

“But the others?”  All you wanted was your pack, your lovers, your alphas. But they didn’t seem to want you either. 

“They just do whatever Hunter does.” Crosshair scratched the back of your neck affectionately, “Wrecker will crack first, and then Tech. Hunter has to punch a few walls first, but he’ll come around eventually. He’s too responsible and frankly, I’m certain all he wants is to have his little omega back.” 

Crosshair’s words did start to make you feel better. One thing about Cross is that he’s not a liar. He’s been a straighter shooter his entire life, in more ways than one. He always tells it as it is. That gave you confidence. 

He leaned down and kissed your forehead, “I’m just glad we’re out of that place.” He couldn’t seem to get close enough to you. You nuzzled in closer too. 

“Thank you Crosshair.” You looked up at him, “Thank you for always taking care of me.” 

You both shared a moment of just gazing at one another before you both leaned forwards to bring your lips together. 

Then it was like the weight of everything you both had been through came crashing through, and the absolute desire you felt for this man blazed through you like an inferno. He had saved you back on Mimban, twice, and now here he is again saving you from the plans of the empire and admiral Tarkin. 

You pushed yourself up and straddled his lap before letting him pick you up and carry you over to the bed pushed up against the far wall. 

It was a scramble to tear each others clothes off leaving you both bare, before he laid down onto of you, pressing you into the mattress. 

His warm battle hardened body felt marvelous against your softness. 

You breathed him in, leaning up to run your tongue against his healed mating gland. The alpha shivered at the sensation making him rut up against you, running his hardening length through your dampening folds. 

You mewled lifting your hips to push up against him. 

You could feel him smile into your neck as he pressed loving kisses there before kissing your mating mark with a gentleness that was foreign to the sniper. 

You squirmed as he pressed more kisses down your neck, then collarbones, your sternum, belly, pelvis, then you thigh. With a strong and firm grip, he plucked your legs up bending them so you were folded in half and spread wide for him. You whined as he continued his light and gentle kisses all over your thighs, traveling between one leg and the other before inching closer and closer to your core making you pant in anticipation. 

When his lips finally made contact with your dripping core, you had to cover your mouth with your hand before you let out an embarrassingly loud cry. 

He just smirked as he sloppily made out your with cunt making you absolutely thrash around in blinding pleasure under him. 

He had to pin your legs down to keep you still as he ravished you. His tongue seemed to know exactly where to go in order to make you twitch as your orgasm approached. He licked and massaged you until you were bending your back into an exaggerated arch as you quickly felt yourself hurtling over that edge into deafening pleasure. You couldn’t even mewl as you came down, you just tried to force yourself to breathe through the orgasm. 

“Fuck Cross.” You huffed going limp into the mattress. 

He wasted no time lining himself up knowing you were properly prepped to take him now. Feeling how relaxed you were post orgasm, he thrusted forwards feeling himself enter you with a slippery ease. You both moaned out at the fullness as he surged forwards bringing the two of you flush together in absolute harmony. The bond sang between the two of you as you two psychically came together. It was like a relief to the soul. Like slipping into a cool pool on a hot summer day. 

He leaned forwards kissing you passionately, allowing his tongue to enter your mouth where you both huffed trying to breathe through the sensations of him pushing inside of you. 

You broke away to suck in a deep breath of air before you both looked down to see where you were connected. You both whined at the sight before throwing your head back to enjoy the feeling of Crosshair making passionate love to you. 

Wrapping your form around his, you locked your ankles together to force him deeper inside of you. This spurred him on to be a little rougher with you, liking the way you bounced up and down the mattress on his cock. He leaned down to catch a nipple in his mouth as he sucked diligently making you bow your chest into his mouth eagerly. 

“Cross…” You grappled at his back leaving scratches with your nails, “I love you.” 

He smiled pressing his lips to your forehead, “I love you, Y/n.” 

The two of you kept saying it over and over again like a mantra as you both approached the peak. 

His thrusts only got more powerful as he neared, sending you scooching up the mattress. You held on for deal life as pleasure crashed through you violently making you clamp down and twitch around his hard length. 

He snarled and bit down on your mark again as he shivered, pumping you full of his seed. 

As he came down from his high, his teeth held onto the flesh at your gland making you vibrate through the bond. The possessive act only spurred you on. The post coital horniness still lingered as you wiggled your hips trying to feel him inside you more. Deeper. Fuller. 

You couldn’t get enough of him. 

He tried pinning you down by the hip before releasing your neck from his teeth. As he sat up on his knees with a flush to his cheeks, he looked down at you adoringly as you squirmed around trying to get him deeper inside of you. 

“Adi’ka,” He pushed his silver hair out of his eyes and ran a warm hand over your ribs before settling them on your belly like he had on Naboo. You preened under his touch. 

“Such a good girl.” He rubbed your warm skin with his thumb. 

Looking up through the open monastery window, you saw the dual moons rising in the distance casting a silvery glow over your skin and the mattress. 

Crosshair watched you become moon eyed in your post fuck glow. He pulled from you hearing you whimper at the feeling of now being empty. He chuckled, grabbing a tissue near by, and using it to clean himself before tucking himself back into the black joggers along with cleaning you up as best as he could realizing you were just fucking in Rex’s bed. Whoops.

He helped you slip back into your tattered white clothes before curling up behind you under Rex’s blanket to keep you both warm. 

Without another word, the two of you fell asleep finally succumbing to the day. 

~

When morning broke, you were awakened by Stunner poking his head through the door with a grin that very much reminded you of Fives. 

“Hey just making sure you’re both still kickin’.” He grinned. 

You heard Crosshair grunt in annoyance and felt him snuggle you closer. 

“Gmornin Stun.” Your voice was still groggy from sleep. 

“Breakfast in the mess.” Stunner said stepping back outside, “Probably should grab come chow before everyone else.” 

You nodded and got up shaking Crosshair’s arm off of you. He curled up on his side ignoring the call to breakfast, but you were still hungry and wanted familiar food. The sniper was content staying in bed for just a moment longer. 

You shimmied out of bed giving Cross a kiss before walking out to follow Stunner. 

In the daylight you could finally see more about this ancient monastery. 

Carvings decorated the walls along with gilded imagery of ancient force wielders. You were positive this monastery was older than most civilizations and maybe even some planets. The pink hazey sky seemed to only add a warmth to this high up colony as you trailed after Stunner who seemed to have learned the way back to the main hall already. 

You followed the sound of boisterous laughter and the sounds of reunion as you entered the main mess, the smell of eggs and breakfast meats filled your nose and you audibly sighed smelling the deliciousness in the air. 

It was hard to miss your gargantuan mate scarfing down his meal along with Tech who was sitting to his left, back turned to you. He ate in silence scrolling through something on his data pad. 

Echo was sitting with Rex who looked like he didn’t sleep after the rescue. He must have been up all night trying to process everyone and everything along with whatever was on that holodrvie you brought. The only one missing was Hunter. Your heart sank hoping he’d be here but when Stunner handed you a loaded tray of food, you were brought back to the moment and you looked down at your purple scrambled eggs and fried bantha links. 

Your stomach betrayed you and you heard Stunner chuckle before bringing you to a cluster of 104th. You sat down between Bolts and Grim grabbing your spork to dig in. It wasn’t long before your attention was brought to the back of Wrecker’s head and his broad shoulders. Then you looked at the back of Tech’s head, his hair was all disheveled under his goggle band and he had a bit of a slump to his already not great posture. Poor alpha looked tired.

You stared longingly, praying they’d turn around and just look at you for a moment. Your inner omega was starting to get anxious with the need to have their reassurance and attention.

Before you could get totally lost in your head, Grim gave you a little shove snapping you out of it. 

They knew. 

Everyone did. You weren’t exactly subtle. 

The 104th seemed to have weaseled their way into becoming your pack just like the 501st had all those years ago. It was like they could read your anxieties as well as your mates, and they were very supportive. Wolffe gave you a nod from where he was sat with Rex. 

“They’ll come around.” Bolts nodded, “I overheard Wolffe taking with your Sergeant last night, he told him everything.” 

“Yeah, but does that even matter?” You touched your bite mark, “What’s done is done.” 

“Did the bite make you no longer want your other mates?” Grim asked bluntly. 

You shook your head, “No. The bonds are still there.” 

Bolts gave you a smile, “Then you’re fine. Maybe being an Ori’sol means that you can have multiple mates and multiple mate bonds to go with them.” 

“She’ll be covered in teeth marks when Sarge is done with her.” Grim joked. 

You felt your cheeks redden. 

“Aye leave her alone.” Bolts reached over you to shove Grim, “She’s going through it.” 

“I’m trying to make her smile, or she’s going to loose her mind like those omegas who pull out their hair.” Grim shoved his brother back. 

You finished up your last bantha sausage and set the tray down letting them rough house over your head. 

You leaned forwards towards Stunner, “Do you know where Hunter is?” 

“Sarge took his breakfast outside on the landing platform before I came to get you.” He chewed his eggs. 

“Thanks Stun.” You stood up stretching before beginning your walk across the main room. You walked past the circular holo display in the center and was careful to step over the big power cables running over the floor. 

You neared Tech and Wrecker feeling your heart start to race as you neared. Keeping your head forward, you walked past them not missing the way they both perked up watching you walk towards the exit. You felt your stomach doing flips at their attention and chose to take one glance back at them. Wrecker looked at you longingly and Tech’s steely demeanor was even chipped at slightly as you saw his eyes soften when they met yours. 

Knowing you had to find Hunter first, you sighed and kept moving on. You heard the door swish behind you and you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. You almost wished they’d come after you, but you knew Crosshair was right, they follow Hunter’s lead no matter what. He’s the one you have to tackle first. 

With a huff, you felt your anxieties turn to frustration with a tinge of anger. 

You put your hands in your sweater pockets and trudged forwards through the rubble that the clones seemed to have built a landing platform out of. 

With a sweep of your eyes, you couldn’t find him anywhere, but you could feel his energy through the bond close by. 

With a sigh, you crossed your arms and spoke out into the air in front of you, “I know you’re out here.” 

Some other clones on guard looked at you funny before they saw your Sargent emerge from behind a pile of rubble with his empty breakfast tray good distance away. 

You locked eyes with him and felt your pulse quicken. Damn he looked good. Dawn’s soft pink light made his tanned skin glow. His hair was pushed back by his signature bandana, but he wasn’t in his armor anymore. He was in his beige cargos and teal henley. He still has the burgundy wrist wraps and brown belt with his holster snugly at his side with his blaster tucked neatly inside. 

You had to force yourself to breathe and keep your composure but you were sure he could scent your slight arousal in his presence. 

You tapped your foot impatiently narrowing your eyes, “You’re a dick!” 

He scoffed and stopped walking towards you, crossing his arms defensively, “Excuse me?” He raised his non-tattooed brow and used his military tone. It sent a shiver down your spine.

You saw a couple of the other clones shift uncomfortably nearby watching an omega challenge her alpha.

“You heard me!” Kark ya he heard you, super hearing an all. You could roll your eyes, “I haven’t seen you in a month, I was kidnapped, and subjected to trauma I have no clue if I’ll ever recover from and all I get the fucking silent treatment?” 

He stared at you not moving, almost inhumanly still. Like a predatory animal waiting to pounce. 

“Do you have any fucking idea what Crosshair and I had to endure? The empire treated me like a brood mare and Crosshair like some glorified stud horse. And what they fucking did to me? Collared me like a rabid lurka hound!” You snarled, “And all I wanted during those awful nights… was you!” You shifted your feet slightly but kept your arms secure around your chest, “All I wanted was my alpha, my mate… my damn sergeant to come make it all better. I dreamed of you for a month praying you’d find me somehow! That I would be back with my pack!” 

He opened his mouth to speak but you shushed him with a finger. If you were still in the GAR he would have had you court marshaled for speaking to him like this. The idea made your heart race, “I’m not finished… The things Crosshair did to save me from Tarkin’s bantha shit… he put his life on the line every single day to make sure he didn’t knock me up and that Tarkin couldn’t have our pups. He delayed Tarkin’s orders to come after you and the others, he risked everything to get our message out to you, including the 104th! He doesn’t deserve to be treated the way you have. He protected me inside that fucking base! And this-“ You pointed to your neck, “This was a fucking accident. We weren’t in control and trust me, there is nothing you could say to Crosshair that is worse than what he felt in that moment.” You were breathing heavily now fighting down the anger, “So no… you don’t get to treat us like this. Crosshair and I didn’t do anything wrong, we did everything we could to survive that imperial installation and I’m sorry this didn’t happen the way you wanted it too, but here we are.” You flapped your arms around exasperated. 

He studied the way your chest heaved with anger and the way the other clones stood there awkwardly trying not to be seen. He could hear everyone’s heart beats in the vicinity but yours stood out to him the most, including that delicious smell rolling off of you in waves. You might be royally pissed, but he couldn’t help but feel a little smug you were still responding to him and his presence. 

He sighed closing his eyes briefly before nodding.

“You’re right.” He yielded, “I am a dick.” 

You had to double to take to make sure you were hearing him correctly. Did he just admit to being wrong?

“I shouldn’t have started a fight with Cross, and I shouldn’t have walked away from you.” He kept his arms crossed looking at you, “I was jealous Adi’ka. Seeing you mated to him, it nearly broke my heart. And you telling me, us, that you choose him…You’re all I’ve thought about since we lost you and I don’t know, I was hoping everything would go back to the way it was before…” he gestured to the mark, “But what’s done is done, I guess.” The hint of brokenness in his voice made your anger wither, “You chose Crosshair and I’m just going to have to be okay with that.” 

You scrunched your brow, confused you asked, “Wait, do you think our mate bonds were broken?” You shook your head, “Hunter I’m not just bound to Cross, I’m still bound to all of you too…still.” 

“But, you’re claimed.” He shook his head a little in confusion. 

“Yes, but it didn’t change how I feel about all of you.” You explained, “I can just feel Crosshair a lot stronger now.” 

His brows perked up with hope. 

“Clearly the claiming marks don’t work the same with me. If I was a normal omega I wouldn’t even be able to comprehend a different alpha. You know this.” 

“So, you think everything is still the same?” He asked stepping towards you. 

“I do.” You nodded letting him crowd into your space, “I felt you through our bond on Naboo. We’re still mated…” 

You were suddenly enveloped in his presence. His familiar scent filled your nose making you vibrate with excitement. You hadn’t even notice him advancing on you.

He reached out a finger to lift your chin to face him. You looked into his grey hazel eyes as he peered down at you. 

“Mesh’la...” He sighed, “We’re not mated… yet.” His tone lit a fire in your core. That was a promise. The way he was looking at you, like he had back on Mimban, had you starting to warm. He raised a brow and smirked watching the way you shuddered at the idea of him claiming you. 

“H-Hunter.” You whispered his name. 

His finger under your chin quickly turned into a soft caress down your neck, “We found a place, love. It’s a green place, with no one but us. It’s in the outer rim, almost in the unknown regions. We found it when Rex was looking for our brothers. We can start over there, no one will know us, the empire can’t find us. We’ll build our own pack, start our own family.” He looked so happy. Happier than you had seen him in a very long time.

You looked up at him owlishly. Just like you had dreamed… 

“Tech is already making plans on building the home stead. We want to take you there cyare.” 

You blinked at him, you couldn’t believe this man, your Sergeant, was willing to go to such lengths to protect you. To give you everything you dreamed of as a pup. You never thought you’d make it off of Coruscant. And now, you were in an entirely different universe. One where you barely had anytime to process and he was offering you peace. 

You looked up at the soldier. You could almost laugh at the irony. A being created with only one purpose, to kill and serve, was offering you peace. 

The thought was beautiful.

Despite his creator’s purpose, it would seem Hunter and the Batch’s defectiveness would always remain victorious. 

“Yes. Yes Hunter. Bring me to the green place.”

We love hope core in this house....

─ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──── ♡ ─── ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──

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[zoeykallus]

Hola, how are you!?:) I think your an amazing writer, especially love how you portray the characters personality perfectly *french kiss* if I may request a bad batch x reader plus Rex and Fives, how they would react to a fem reader(gf) having an old ex that's obsessed with them still and will randomly arrive to planets they are on, and one day the Readers ex takes it to far and arrives at the maurader and acts like he "owns the reader" I totally understand if your not comfortable with this, but either way I'm happy if you write it or not have a good day:)

Aloha! Thank you so mu... wait, what?

*french kiss*

Excuse me? I really like my personal space...

😜 Just joking around, I know you probably meant 'chef's kiss', right? That GIF also kinda, really fits the topic in a way...

You've got an interesting idea right there. As it happens, I have had personal experience with such an ex, twice. To think about it still creeps me out a bit. *shudders* Honestly, I can't wait to explore the guys' reactions, though! 😁

The Bad Batch/Rex/Fives x Fem!Reader HCs - The Obsessive Ex (The Creep)

Warnings: Angsty/Unwanted Pining/Unwanted Attention/Stalking/Obsessive Behavior/Tension/Might Also Include Some Violence, Threats Of Violence, Some Very Angry Clones And Strong Language

This took much more time than I expected...

________________

The Creep

It's not so easy to follow you, again, and again you escape from him. He is still watching you from a distance. He doesn't know the people you travel with, but he has seen how familiar you are with one of them. He doesn't like it, because he feels that you belong to him and only to him. The jealousy, tingles sharply under his skin, from his feet to the crown of his head. He has aggressive spurts where he destroys things, little things at first, small objects, especially when he sees this guy put an arm around you. You broke up with him, told him he was a control freak, patronizing and jealous.

He's a scumbag and coward to boot, but that's not how he sees himself. He is the man you should look up to, he is sure of it. Only he can make you happy and should be obeyed.

Hunter

Of course, he noticed at some point that the same guy keeps appearing near you, no matter where you are. Your batcher doesn't like this at all, his instincts tell him there's something wrong with this guy.

"Mesh'la, there's this guy who keeps following us. Behind you on the left by the fruit stands. Try to look inconspicuously if you can."

You do as he says and shivers run down your spine.

You ask uncertainly, "What do you mean, he follows us everywhere? Today, since we've been on the road?"

Hunter shakes his head.

"No, he's been following us since Tattooine. Do you know him?"

Actually, this guy is a chapter you want to put behind you. But now you're having to face this one more time.

"That's my ex"

Hunter frowns and asks you, "Is there any reason you know of that he should follow us?"

With a sigh, you explain, "He doesn't know anything about boundaries. He's an overstepping control freak, always has been. Besides, he didn't take it very well when I broke up with him, I practically had to run away from him."

You can see Hunter gritting his teeth. Nothing you just said pleases him.

"Maybe I should talk to him, make it clear to him exactly where the boundaries are."

You shrug your shoulders a little helplessly and say honestly, "I have no idea if that would help. Are you sure he followed us?"

"Yes, and he's not exactly stealthy."

You ask Hunter to ignore him for now and return to the ship. He gives in and walks with you back to the Marauder, but he knows for a fact that your ex is still following you, and slowly but surely, things start to simmer under Hunter's surface.

Just before you reach the Marauder, Hunter snaps. He wheels around, takes a step back and reaches behind one of the stands, pulling your ex out from behind it by the collar.

"What the hell do you want with my girlfriend?"

Very meekly and barely audibly, your ex says while staring wide-eyed at Hunter, "Actually, she's my girlfriend."

"She's what now?" growls Hunter.

"Look-"

Hunter interrupts your ex, "You listen very carefully now. You're the ex, I'm the new guy, she doesn't want you anymore, deal with it! If I catch you stalking her or anyone in her inner circle again, I will take you apart piece by piece."

When your ex just blinks dumbly at Hunter, Hunter snaps angrily, "You got that?!"

Very meekly, your ex says, nodding vigorously, "Yes, yes of course."

Surprised and somehow swooned by Hunter's protective and energetic effort, you look at Hunter as he comes back to you. The expression on his face is still hard with anger, but he gives you a gentle kiss on the cheek before grabbing your hand and walking on with you.

Hunter is not a violent person, at least never without good reason. However, when it comes to protecting you, Hunter is particularly fiery and there might be some violence. Basically, you can be sure that in him, you will always have a very vigilant, eager protector.

Echo

Of course, he noticed at some point that the same guy keeps appearing near you, no matter where you are. Your batcher doesn't like this at all, his instincts tell him there's something wrong with this guy.

"Mesh'la, there's this guy who keeps following us. Behind you on the left by the fruit stands. Try to look inconspicuously if you can."

You do as he says and shivers run down your spine.

You ask uncertainly, "What do you mean, he follows us everywhere? Today, since we've been on the road?"

He shakes his head.

"No, he's been following us since Tattooine. Do you know him?"

Actually, this guy is a chapter you want to put behind you. But now you're having to face this one more time.

"That's my ex"

"Your ex?" repeats Echo critically, glancing in his direction again, "Why would he follow you?"

"In a nutshell, he doesn't know boundaries, can't take no for an answer, and didn't take it very well when I broke up with him. However, I have no idea what he hopes to gain from this stalking."

"Somehow I feel the need to kick his butt," Echo says so calmly and dryly that you have to grin.

"What, why are you grinning like that?"

You kiss his cheek and say, "I like your dry sense of humor."

"That's nice, Mesh'la, but I wasn't kidding, I don't like the guy, he's a creep".

You shrug your shoulders and say, "You can try, but I don't think he'll necessarily learn anything from it"

Echo nods and says, "Guys like that are basically resistant to learning, but I have to do something, I can't let that guy keep stalking you."

Echo kisses your cheek and says, "Stay right here Mesh'la, okay."

"Uh… okay"

You watch him go as Echo seems to walk away, but he does a sweep out of your ex's field of vision and finally approaches him from the side.

"Hey."

Your ex almost jumps out of his boots, startled. His gaze bounces back and forth between you and Echo, but finally fixes on Echo, who could possibly be a threat.

Echo smiles firecly and says in a playfully friendly manner, "Would be great if you would stop stalking my girlfriend, otherwise I'm going to have to hurt you, very much."

Echo's hand lands heavily on your ex's shoulder. Lifting his scomp link, he says, "You should see the nasty things I can do with that thing."

"No, thanks," your ex says nervously.

"No? You really don't want to? Then I suggest you get the hell out of here and never show your face in my range again, let alone hers"

You watch your ex back off and Echo come back to you.

"You got through to him?" you ask, surprised.

"Well, sure I did," Echo says with satisfaction.

"Did you use your scomp link threat again, like you did with that poor guys who tried to buy me a drink in Cid's bar?"

Echo shrugs, takes your hand and says, "Why not, works almost every time."

Echo will always protect you and always keep an eye on what's happening around you. As demure and patient as he is most of the time, when it comes to your safety he will not compromise.

Wrecker

Of course, he noticed at some point that the same guy keeps appearing near you, no matter where you are. Your batcher doesn't like this at all, his instincts tell him there's something wrong with this guy.

"Mesh'la, there's this guy who keeps following us. Behind you on the left by the fruit stands. Try to look inconspicuously if you can."

You do as he says and shivers run down your spine.

You ask uncertainly, "What do you mean, he follows us everywhere? Today, since we've been on the road?"

He shakes his head.

"No, he's been following us since Tattooine. Do you know him?"

Actually, this guy is a chapter you want to put behind you. But now you're having to face this one more time.

"That's my ex"

Wrecker frowns critically and asks, "Is he dangerous or something? Do I have to worry about your safety?"

You feel uncomfortable just talking about it, but Wrecker should know.

"He's one of those guys with a big mouth but nothing behind it. He's a mental leech, and a creep, but he hasn't been violent to me."

Wrecker growls, "But stalking is usually the start of something that can end pretty ugly. I should put a stop to it"

"Should be pretty easy, probably all you have to do is look at him hard enough, and he'll pee himself, on someone of your appearance" you say, unable to help a small smile at the thought.

"Okay, Mesh'la, leave it to me."

Wrecker marches straight towards your ex, who then becomes visibly restless, you already suspect that he will run away. Wrecker also seems to suspect this, because he rumbles, "Don't you dare run away, if I have to run after you, it will end badly for you".

Of course, he runs away anyway, but ends up in a dead end and finally faces an angry giant.

"You little worm. You're the kind who likes to harass and annoy women but otherwise can't get anything done, right?"

Your ex is frantically looking for a way out, but Wrecker is getting closer and there is no way out in sight.

"I'm only going to say this once, stay away from her".

"From whom?" your ex asks as if he doesn't know who is meant.

"You know very well, stop playing dumb! I take no prisoners when it comes to my girlfriend. If I see you near her again, I'll break you apart."

Demonstratively, Wrecker rams his fist against a house wall, right next to his head, where it leaves a hole.

"Next time, that's your head, got it?"

"Understood," says your ex, hoarse with fear, squeezing his legs together for fear of pissing himself.

Wrecker is a great softy, loving, kind and forgiving, however, he can pull quite different strings when it comes to your protection. When it comes to your safety and well-being, Wrecker will not compromise, he is like a force of nature and is not afraid to get his hands dirty.

Tech

Of course, he noticed at some point that the same guy keeps appearing near you, no matter where you are. Your batcher doesn't like this at all, his instincts tell him there's something wrong with this guy.

"Mesh'la, there's this person who keeps following us. Behind you on the left by the fruit stands. Try to look inconspicuously if you can."

You do as he says and shivers run down your spine.

You ask uncertainly, "What do you mean, he follows us everywhere? Today, since we've been on the road?"

He shakes his head.

"No, he's been following us since Tattooine. Do you know him?"

Actually, this guy is a chapter you want to put behind you. But now you're having to face this one more time.

"That's my ex"

"Ex-boyfriend?" Tech repeats thoughtfully with a critical look in your pursuer's direction, "What's his problem? Why is he stalking you?"

With a sigh, you explain, "He didn't take it very well when I broke up with him. He's a control freak who knows no bounds, pushy, creepy…. well, all those unpleasant things."

Tech looks surprised.

"You never told me about that"

"I never thought it would be necessary."

Tech thinks for a moment and finally says seriously, "I don't like him stalking you, it's very suspicious, unhealthy behavior and could turn into something dangerous, it seems like an obsession to me."

You nod slowly and utter a guess, "Probably it is indeed an obsession."

"Do you mind if I look into this?"

"No, of course not, but be careful, he may be a coward, but he is also a loudmouth and cowardly loudmouths tend to resort to unfair means"

Tech smiles at you, "Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it."

You watch as Tech approaches your ex, who eyes him critically and unwillingly.

Tech opens the conversation, "Excuse me, but I noticed that you are stalking my girlfriend and I feel compelled to point out that you should leave her alone".

Tech is not a scary guy, even if he is quite tall, and his calm way of talking is not intimidating. So your ex is not really impressed at first. He crosses his arms in front of his chest and asks challengingly, "Says who?"

"Says me, the new guy. See, you're an old story from yesterday that no one wants to hear anymore, but seems to keep imposing itself without being asked. I am the current model and my job, apart from making this woman happy, is to dispose of the old garbage if it doesn't dispose of itself."

Your ex blinks, tries to follow the words, and finally runs red with anger when he realizes that he has just been insulted. He makes the mistake of attacking in a blind rage, but Tech already has a stun gun ready, shocking your ex before he can even touch Tech.

"I was hoping we could avoid this nonsense. But have it your way," Tech says, sending another shock into the body of the man on the ground.

He wriggles and convulses and the electric shock.

"That hurts a lot, doesn't it? Well, that's a very simple but effective approach. However, I am extremely intelligent, I have an extraordinary mind, and a lot of ideas on how to make your life miserable, be it through pain or other things. You have a choice, if you come near us again you will get to know the variety of my nasty ideas, if not you will be spared this experience".

Tech is usually calm and patient, but even he has his limits, and he is absolutely not afraid to do very ugly things to someone in order to protect you.

Crosshair

Of course, he noticed at some point that the same guy keeps appearing near you, no matter where you are. Your batcher doesn't like this at all, his instincts tell him there's something wrong with this guy.

"Kitten, there's this guy who keeps following us. Behind you on the left by the fruit stands. Try to sneak a look, inconspicuously, if you can."

You do as he says and shivers run down your spine.

You ask uncertainly, "What do you mean, he follows us everywhere? Today, since we've been on the road?"

He shakes his head.

"No, he's been following us since Tattooine. Do you know him?"

Actually, this guy is a chapter you want to put behind you. But now you're having to face this one more time.

"That's my ex"

His eyes immediately become critical slits.

"Your ex, huh?"

"Yes," you say uneasily.

Crosshair sighs, looks again in the direction of your pursuer, and finally says, "Let me guess, he's one of the kind who doesn't take no for an answer? Can't handle the separation?"

"Pretty much, yeah"

Keeping an eye on the stalker he asks you, "Has he done this before? Stalked you, or approached you since you broke up?"

You shrug your shoulders uncertainly and say, "Once or twice. But the last time was a while ago, I thought I was finally rid of him."

Crosshair snorts, "Oh you'll be rid of him for good very soon, don't worry."

A little nervously, you frown and ask, "What are you going to do?"

"Is better if you don't know anything about it"

You don't quite know what to say and listen as Crosshair contacts Wrecker and asks him to pick you up, everything else doesn't happen in your presence and Crosshair never tells you what he did with your ex. All you know is that your ex never crossed your path again.

Crosshair has no mercy on anyone who crosses your boundaries. There may be a warning first, but he only warns once, followed by action. If your ex really has the balls to mess with him, it is safe to assume that the end result will be serious injury or death for your ex.

Rex

Of course, he noticed at some point that the same guy keeps appearing near you, no matter where you are. Your batcher doesn't like this at all, his instincts tell him there's something wrong with this guy.

"Cyar'ika, there's this guy who keeps following us. Behind you on the left by the fruit stands. Try to sneak a look, inconspicuously, if you can."

You do as he says and shivers run down your spine.

You ask uncertainly, "What do you mean, he follows us everywhere? Today, since we've been on the road?"

He shakes his head.

"No, he's been following us since Tattooine. Do you know him?"

Actually, this guy is a chapter you want to put behind you. But now you're having to face this one more time.

"That's my ex"

"Your what?"

"My ex-boyfriend"

You see Rex tense up.

"And why has your ex-boyfriend been following you across multiple planets for the past few days?"

You shrug helplessly and say, "Honestly? I don't really know. He's never been good with boundaries."

"And that means?"

"Well, he was a very jealous control freak, he didn't really take our breakup well either. I finally just packed up my stuff and snuck away because I couldn't really communicate with him"

"Interesting," Rex mumbles, "Excuse me for a moment."

Rex walks right up to your ex, taking a holo-shot of him as he stands right in front of the guy, which makes your ex look very confused.

"You know what I am, I take it?" asks Rex coolly.

Your ex replies uncertainly, "A clone?"

"A clone captain to be exact, and I now have a picture of you. If you get too close to my girlfriend or keep stalking her, it doesn't matter how far away you try to run. I am sending this picture to my brothers, and as you know I have a lot of them. So it doesn't matter where you go, I will find you."

Your ex stares at Rex in disbelief.

"I don't think I need to tell you or threaten you about what's going to happen then."

Your stalker shakes his head.

"So my message got through?"

A nod.

"Good. Now get out of here while you still can."

Rex is a protector through and through. He'll make sure you feel and are safe, come what may.

Fives

Of course, he noticed at some point that the same guy keeps appearing near you, no matter where you are. Your batcher doesn't like this at all, his instincts tell him there's something wrong with this guy.

"Cyar'ika, there's this guy who keeps following us. Behind you on the left by the fruit stands. Try to sneak a look, inconspicuously, if you can."

You do as he says and shivers run down your spine.

You ask uncertainly, "What do you mean, he follows us everywhere? Today, since we've been on the road?"

He shakes his head.

"No, he's been following us since Tattooine. Do you know him?"

Actually, this guy is a chapter you want to put behind you. But now you're having to face this one more time.

"That's my ex"

"Your ex-boyfriend? Really? Why does that clown follow you everywhere?"

"I'm not sure, but I wish he wouldn't."

Fives frowns and asks, "Has he ever bothered you before?"

"Yes, but that was a while ago, I thought I was finally rid of him".

"Hmm" Fives grumbles, "One of those who doesn't know when to call it quits?"

With a nod you say, "Simplified, sort of."

He thinks for a moment, then smiles mischievously, and you know he's cooked up something.

"Okay, Mesh'la, you go home and wait for me there, I'll be there soon".

You're not sure if you should listen, somehow you have a feeling that something is up. But you trust Fives, so you do what he asks.

Afterward, you find out that your ex has been tarred and feathered and tied up in a more or less public place. Fives has not claimed responsibility for the crime, but you later hear that he, along with Hardcase, Jesse and Echo, were disciplined by Rex for allegedly "harassing" a civilian. So in a way, you know he's responsible.

Fives will do anything to protect you, though whenever he can, he'll always slip in some of his cheeky silliness to do so. He's not particularly subtle, but very caring and always ready to protect you.

Ko-Fi (If you feel like giving me some coffee)

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[2ch3rr13s]

// Chase me to the ends of this world //

the man you love has decided to chase you, how dare you make a call of his feelings and leave him without letting him explain? he is unhappy when finding you, but is determined to talk with you and confess his own feelings. He has no idea what follows after as long as you both handle it together. Tw- angst, misunderstandings, confessions, fluff, some kissing(?!?! me n u when??)

Zhongli

wc-1075

Even though he promised himself to not chase after Y/n, he couldn’t keep that up anymore after the second month. He could only see their presence everywhere no matter what he did though his busy working days.  

Signing papers? He would always think Y/n would burst into the room at any given second and drag him off to go accompany with whatever they needed help with. Drinking tea? He could only ever think of their past conversations, their laughs and smiles. Talking with Tartaglia? He could only reminisces their pointless bickering with the harbinger as he watched them with a smile.

He would constantly remind himself that they were no longer there in Liyue to come pester him or fill his days with joy, or ask him of anything anymore. He would no longer be able to experience that until he forced himself to get up and make things right himself.  

As soon as the second month of Y/n missing from his normal days, he got up and left telling Hu Tao of his departure, but nothing more, Zhongli just couldn't take it anymore. The first person he would question would be Barbatos seeing how Y/n thought of the young-looking god as a brother.  

Before he could even pass through Stone Gate, there stood a bard clad in green, “Barbatos,” he spoke lowly, and the bard looked up with a small smile, “Rex Lapis, what a surprise! Now, why are you entering my nation?”  

Zhongli closed his eyes while crossing his arms, stating his reason out loud would be rather embarrassing, but for the sake of finding his dear quicker, he would put that aside, “I’m in search of Y/n, do you have any information of their whereabouts?” Venti let out a small laugh and motioned for the ex-archon to follow after him as they traveled through the land of freedom.  

“Y/n came here a bit ago, saying they couldn’t bare to be in Liyue anymore, any idea why?” Zhongli didn’t say anything as Venti turned to look at him for a second before he continued to lead the way, “Y/n should be at Windrise around this time,” he mentioned as they finally made it past Dawn Winery.  

“When you see Y/n, please just take to them,” Zhongli nodded as the bard nodded to himself, “Then I trust you will be able to journey safely the rest of the way then?” Zhongli nodded once more, “You need not to worry about me Barbatos, once I talk with Y/n, hopefully we will return home together.”  

Venti let out a small laugh, “Then this is where we part, it was nice seeing you again old man,” just as Zhongli was about to retaliate the little man was gone in a whisp of the wind leaving the ex-archon to shake his head as he continued on his journey to the large tree.   

The closer he got, the more his heart had hammered against his chest threatening to fall out, his hands got hot and wanted to pull off his gloves, but he shook the thought away as he began to think of what he would even say when he finally found Y/n.  

A simple ‘I’m sorry’ was definitely not good enough to say, but he knew for sure, his feelings would be voiced before the day would end. No matter what ridiculous lengths he had to prove his feelings, he would do anything for them.  

Once arriving at the tree, he could see their figure, it took everything in his body to not just run and engulf them in a hug. Their beautiful face was contorted into one of confusion as they looked up from their book to see him of all people, “Zhongli?”  

He shook his head as they began to stand up, and instead took a seat next to them, “Why are you here?” Zhongli let out a sigh as he took their hand and pressed a kiss to the back of their hand, “You left me a letter, and didn’t allow me to explain myself dear,” Y/n frowned as they pulled their hand back.  

“Then explain,” the muttered as Zhongli nodded with a small sigh, “During the Lantern Rite, me and the Traveler were talking casually, anything and everything came into mind, then little Paimon asked about relations to you,” Zhongli felt his cheeks heat up the more he talked. “And when I went to apologize to you the next day, knowing of the conversation I had the night before, I could hardly look at you.” 

Y/n was frowning still, but then Zhongli took their hands in his, “Y/n dear, you promised to be there by my side all those years ago, I never told you before, but I do indeed love you,” Y/n shook their head with small tears in their eyes. “Why now? Why are you barely telling this to me now?”  

Zhongli sighed as he brought them into a hug, “I thought I was obvious, but I guess not, and before you left Y/n,” They looked up at him as he gave them a small smile, “I was taking up more work so I could clear my week earlier so I could make it up to you,” their lips parted as they stared up at him. “I was planning on confessing then my dear.” 

They let out a groan as they melted into his arms, “I’m an idiot,” they muttered as he squeezed them as a laugh slipped past his lips, “A little bit, but I’m glad to have told you now.” Y/n looked up at him and reached up placing a small kiss to his cheek. “I’m glad too Zhongli, Morax, or Rex Lapis, cause now I have you here with me now.”  

A glow in his eyes made them smile, “They’re all you, but different, it doesn’t mean I love you any less, no matter what,” Zhongli buried his face into their shoulder, “You're too good to me my dear.” He glanced at them with a look in his eyes that they had never seen before.

"May I kiss you dear?" Y/n felt their face was on fire as they nodded slowly as his words as he cupped their face in his hands, and closed his eyes leaning to brush his lips against theirs, making sure that this time, he would do everything in his power to keep them happy and by his side until the end of his days.

Diluc Ragnvindr

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Everyday Diluc would wake up, get dressed, go to work, and hope to see Y/n there, and each time he had gotten his hopes up, it would be shattered the moment Charles had shaken his head. He counted the days since they left, never failing to mark each day off on his calendar, until a full year had passed. Instead, he knew if he wanted to see the one, he held dear to his heart, he would have to track them down.  

And he did, he went back to past letters to dig up the bittersweet conversations they had, and then he finally had the information he had been looking for, their homeland, Inazuma. He bit his lip but nodded to himself as he packed a bag for his trip to the far land. It didn’t matter, he knew the reason why they had fled here to Monstadt, so he must have hurt them terribly if they went back home.  

When setting foot in the foreign land, he knew he had his work cut out for him if he was going to track them down, so he asked around, but being in a new place and knowing no one, he only had one reliable source. “Ad Astra Abyssosque, oh, Master Diluc, you’re a long way from home.” 

Katheryne, the only one to know nearly everything about nearly everyone, Diluc let a sigh escape past his lips, “I think you already know why I’m here,” the woman nodded, “Y/n L/n, right?” He nodded as she gave a small laugh, “Their home is in Ritou, you can find the L/n’s estate there.”  

And off he went without another word, no matter how tired he was from his boat ride here, he was determined to talk with them before finding a place to stay for the night. Talking with Y/n and making things right was his top priority. A semi-familiar family crest was carved into wood, and he knew he seen it before and darted to the front door.  

Knocking on it, he waited for a few minutes until a short woman with short hair, and e/c eyes opened the door, he knew he found the right place, “Uhm, is Y/n L/n here?” The woman nodded, “Who are you?” The woman closed the door as she exited the door, and the man moved to the side as he watched her. “Diluc Ragnvindr, I am a... a friend of Y/n’s.”  

“Ah, the one who broke their heart,” she stated sarcastically, “I should harm you boy for breaking my child’s heart and making them come back here, but I got to see them again... So, I will allow you to speak with them, be glad their father is out the picture or else things would’ve been worse for you.” 

“Take off your boots before you enter,” he did as he was told as a small boy lead him elsewhere, “This is N/n’s room! See you later,” he ran off as Diluc stared at the door for a bit before lightly knocking on the door, “Come in,” a small voice that he knew by heart made him hesitate for a second.  

When he slid open the door, their back was faced from them as they were doing some little girl’s hair, “What do you want?” They asked, although their voice was soft, he knew that they had no idea who he was exactly. They were brushing the little girl’s hair and had a hair pin in the corner of their mouth.  

“Hey Y/n...” The pin fell from their mouth as their hold on the little girl’s hair faltered at their head whipped over to him. “Y-You...” They glanced back at the girl, and sighed before moving their hands randomly in Diluc’s eyes, “Yuki-chan, please, uhm, could you give me and my friend a moment?” The little girl nodded with a smile as she grabbed the brush from their hand and left without a word.  

“Why did you come here?” Diluc opened his mouth to speak as he looked at them, which made it a bit harder. They were dressed in traditional clothing instead of the clothes they were used to seeing them wear in Mondstadt, so they looked absolutely beautiful/handsome to him now. “I missed you...” 

Their heart skipped a beat as they turned around to hide their flustered expression from him, “That a bit out of character of you Master Diluc,” Y/n mumbled and they heard the floorboards creak under his weight as he moved to them. “I’m serious Y/n, I missed you,” his hands had wrapped around their waist as he buried his face into their shoulder.  

Y/n could feel his hair tickling their cheek as it suddenly felt hotter in the room, “I love you,” their heart skipped a beat as they turned to him abruptly, “What?” His eyes were soft, and his face was as red as his hair, “I love you Y/n,” he muttered once more as his hands cupped their face. “Please... Can I kiss you?”  

Hesitantly they nodded as his lips brushed against their softly, as soon as it started it ended leaving both of them looking at each other bashfully. “I’m sorry I should’ve told you sooner...” He muttered as his arms encased them into a hug, “I was talking to Traveler that night about you when you were supposed to meet us, I was going to introduce you to them.”  

His body was warm against theirs and his hug was so calming and comforting they could melt right in his arms, “I’m sorry I never told you, I wish I did sooner,” Y/n’s arms squeezed him as they let out a small laugh, “It’s okay, I made a rash decision,” they could feel him press a kiss to their head.  

“Would you be willing to come back with me?” Both hearts were beating rapidly at the question, one in fear, and the other in near excitement, “Yes, archons, I miss Mondstadt’s food,” he let out a sigh of relief, then a chuckle. “Nothing else?” They shook their head as an innocent look was upon their face. “Oh, you hurt me Y/n.”  

Kamisato Ayato

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Time seemed to move slowly, and he knew not of what to do, his heart felt heavy knowing that Y/n was no longer in Inazuma. He could go after no matter how much he wanted to because of his work. He was drowning in work, it was suffocating as he stayed up countless nights to complete the papers, only to pass out over the work.  

How was he ever going to go after Y/n if he couldn’t completely complete his work? After another night full of work, and him passing out over the papers, he woke up and found himself in bed, everything was cleaned, and most of all, all his papers were done. With wide eyes he turned to the door as it opened, in strolled in his dear sister and their housekeeper.  

“Oh, brother, you’re awake now!” Ayaka cheered and Thoma had presented breakfast to the siblings and made his way out the door to give them some space, “Ayaka, why is everything in my room suddenly looking as if everything is done?”  

Ayaka let out a giggle, “Me and Thoma decided to help you out a bit. You need a break, and I know how much you miss Y/n, so me and Thoma decided to help you out a bit and do the rest of your work until you get back from your vacation,” Ayato furrowed his eyebrows, “Vacation?” 

Ayaka nodded, “You’re going to Y/n’s homeland, we hope you rekindle with them, now hurry up and pack your bags, your boat ride leaves at noon,” he was still at a loss for words as the rest of his day went by as a blur.  

But by nightfall, he found himself in Sumeru with a woman with dark hair and yellow highlights, blue eyes, named Dehya and she was his escort. He had made small talk with her, and as they made their way to the streets of Sumeru. “Uhm so, Dehya,” the woman turned her head to him, as he spoke lowly. “Do you know anyone by the name of Y/n L/n?”  

The woman turned forward again, “And why do you want to know that?” Ayato sighed as she lead him up the spiral walkway up to an inn, “They are a dear friend of mine that had fled from our... well my homeland, and they came back here.” Dehya placed a hand on her hip, “Rest for the night and I’ll offer up some information up over breakfast for a price.” 

The night was filled with Ayato restlessly waiting for the sun to rise, tossing and turning all night but somehow managed to get some shut eye. Waking up in the morning begrudgingly, he dressed for the day, and was met by Dehya waiting outside his little room. “Y/n is actually a friend of my girlfriend’s, so we’ll head there and get some information of their whereabouts.” 

Through Sumeru they traveled, day and night camping out a bit before journeying further, by the third day, they made it to Aaru Villiage, the tall mountains hiding the place, and Ayato was nearly greeted with a spear to his face. Heterochromia eyes stared down at him as Dehya had to calm the unknown woman down.  

“Candace! He’s a friend, please,” with that she let her polearm disappear as she gave a small smile, “Very well, why did you come here then foreigner? Usually, people don’t venture out to the desert for nothing.” On the walk, Ayato explained his situation with a flustered look upon his face.   

“Oh, I should have every right to stab you with my polearm for hurting Y/n, then,” Dehya stepped in front of her girlfriend with a nervous grin waving her arms around. “Hon! He’s here to apologize to Y/n, not make things worse!” Candace scoffed as she lead the two to the village, “Y/n’s here actually, I’ll give you two only ten minutes to talk then you go back to Sumeru City.” 

Ayato sighed, “That’s all the time I need,” she lead him to a house in the middle of the village, and opened the door, “Ten minutes,” she stated once more and Ayato inhalded deeply, until someone rounded the corner making his heart stop in his chest momentarily, “Candace you’re ba.... Ayato...? What are... What are you doing here?”  

His body was frozen, he couldn’t move, and he had no idea what to say to them after not seeing them for weeks, “I... I came for you Y/n,” they let out a scoff as they crossed their arms, “And why would you do that? I thought I wrote to not come after me.” Ayato shook his head as he stepped closer to them, “You only stated you were a coward, and you said nothing about chasing after you.” 

Their eyes hardened into a glare, “Well, you have to go back, aren’t you busy with all your work anyways?” Ayato sighed, “I wouldn’t be here if my work wasn’t being handled by someone I trust; Ayaka decided to take over for me until I get back.” Y/n shook their head as they crossed their arms, “I doesn’t make sense, why did you come here to find me?” 

Ayato let out a chuckle as he held out his hand motioning for them to take it, hesitantly they slipped their hand in his as he pulled them in his embrace. “And I thought you were smarter than that darling,” Y/n felt their cheeks burn as they shook their head, “Shut up commissioner,” he pressed a kiss upon their head.  

“What about the traveler?” Ayato shook his head as his hand had began to pet their hair, “What of them?” Y/n felt their throat tighten as the words slipped past their lips, “Don’t you have feeling for them?” The commissioner shook his head, “None for them, but for the very person who stands before me love...”  

Their heart thumped rapidly against their chest as Y/n looked up at the man with an expectant look. “If you want me to say it out loud, then say it dear, otherwise it’ll just linger up in the air,” Y/n sighed as they looked up at him with a flustered face making his own heart flutter in his chest, “Please... Voice your feelings out loud, so I know you are genuine Ayato...” 

His hand cupped their cheek as his eyes continued to stare into theirs with warmth, love, and adoration, “I love you Y/n,” and with that his lips pressed against theirs softly to further prove his love for them.  

Alhaitham

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He knew not what to do since Y/n left, everything seemed to get him more irritated as the days passed without their presence in his daily routine. He found himself missing them no matter how much he tried to push those thoughts and feelings to the back of his mind.  

He knew if word got out about their absence, he knew that scholar that delivered the letter would probably push all the blame to him, so for the sake of not having to deal with that much later down the line, he begrudgingly sent off to where he knew they would reside. Their homeland Liyue, was luckily the neighboring nation, so it shouldn’t take that long, right? 

Wrong, it was so much more mountainous than what he was used to, rocks, cliffs, and more hostile beasts were present in every turn and path he took. He just wanted to go back home and never return to the outside world, but by some miracle he managed to safely make it to Liyue Harbor without any further complications.  

The scenery was new, and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t curious about the land, but he needed to focus on the situation on hand; find Y/n, talk with them, and hopefully return to Sumeru with them. He sighed as he walked down the street people walking by and oogling at him; tall, handsome and foreign, who wouldn’t stare at him as he walked by? 

He needed to rest after traveling for days to make it here, so he took a seat in front of a man telling a story about the god to the lands he was in; The God of contracts, Rex Lapis or Morax, he went by many names. A man in front dressed in browns, golds, and oranges stood out to the scribe’s eye.  

Although he didn’t really want to speak with anyone or socialize, he shook the feeling away as he looked over, only to see the man already glancing at him, “You seem troubled and in need of some guidance, yes?” Alhaitham felt his hearft stop for a second, now that was scarily accurate, he nodded curtly.  

He motioned for the scribe to sit in front of him, “Tell me of your troubles stranger.” and with that, Alhaitham shared his story reluctantly, trying to mask his heartfelt feelings for the one he was searching for with some little white lie. “The way you speak of this person, you seem to hold them in high reguard,” oh, so much for hiding his feelings. Now being found out by a stranger was quite embarrassing.  

“And, I also have a feeling of who you speak of, dear little Y/n, they have bright/dark eyes, s/t, and they are about y/h,” Alhaitham nodded at a loss for words, that was exactly who he was searching for, how did this stranger know so much? “Well, the last I seen them today,” the scribe leaned in to hear the man’s words, “They were getting commissions from Katheryne.” 

He nodded as he stood up, “I thank you for your assistance... What is your name?” The man took a sip from his cup, “I am Zhongli,” his eyes darted up as he looked at the scribe, “Now off you do scribe,” Alhaitham walked a bit before turning back only to see the man walking in the opposite direction, how did he know? 

Children ran past him, as he kept his eyes forward, only to feel someone bump into him from behind, “Oh, sorry,” they muttered as they went past him, and up some stairs, but he stopped in the path as his eyes went to their figure, the very person he was searching for, and without wasting a thought he followed them.  

They were speaking to Katheryne, he waited until they were done collecting their rewards, and tapped them on the shoulder, their smile fell when they turned to him. “What are you doing here?” Alhaitham furrowed his eyebrows, “Why did you run away then? If you didn’t them maybe I wouldn't have to chase you down to another nation because you just assume things,” Y/n scoffed as they walked away from him.  

Before they could get far he grabbed their wrist and led them to an alleyway and blocked the way for them to leave, “Let me go! Archons, I don’t want to talk with you!” Their eyes filled with tears as they glared up at him, he nearly faltered, but shook his head. “No, you’re not leaving until we talk Y/n.” 

“Why do we even need to talk? I left because I didn’t want to talk about anything, I just wanted to come back home,” they sobbed on the floor pathetically as Alhaitham kneeled in front of them and cupped their face wiping away their tears, “And why would you assume my feelings for anyone?” 

They looked up at him as he wiped their tears, “I don’t love Kaveh like that, he was my friend and I wanted to return our friendship, but I can’t force that upon him,” Alhaitham wrapped his arms around them, their face buried into his shoulder, “I don’t care what stupid nonsense I have to say in order for you to return back home with me, just please don’t leave me again like this...” 

They could feel him press a kiss against their forehead, they looked up at him as their face flushed no on longer flushed from their crying. “I-I don’t understand...” Alhaitham sighed as he sat on the ground in front of them, “Do I have to say in all of the languages in Teyvat Y/n?” He asked, a bit irritated by their inability to fully comprehend the situation.  

“No... I just want to hear you say it...” Oh, they just need confirmation and reassurance, his eyes softened as he nodded and fully brushed away all their tears, “Well Y/n, you could’ve just said that” his lips pressed against their nose a small smile displayed upon his face as he looked them in their eyes. “I love you Y/n.” 

we have reached the end of this mini series, sorry no pt. 2 for other characters, but i hope you all enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing <3

[sister-lucifer]

HEY, YOU

Yes, you!

Do YOU like the idea of a gay polyamorous romance taking place in a fantastical medieval setting?

then you might like my upcoming original written series, Royal Courting!

Featuring the following cast of characters:

Lucian Hensley

A fair skinned, pudgy baker standing at about 5’4 with hazel-green eyes and a thatch of dirty blond hair that falls in thick curls around his freckled face. He’s usually wearing his beloved handmade crocheted sweater, the same color as his eyes, despite the wear and tear it’s received over the years. Nothing he wears is particularly fancy, but it’s all very well loved and cared for.

Though he’s not ashamed of the weight he’s gained from the years of sampling his own baked goods, he’s easily flustered by any sort of comments on his physical appearance, regardless of how mild, possibly related to his gender identity as a transgender man. He’s humble and incredibly kind, sometimes to a fault. 

King Ambrose Verlice of Divestia

A dark skinned, slim man standing at about 5’7 with sharp brown eyes and a slightly effeminate nature about him. His dark hair is done together in thick locs so impossibly long they nearly brush the floor, decorated with gold cuffs and never less than perfectly maintained. He’s always wrapped in white and gold with jewelry to match. Any one of his outfits is worth more than every house Lucian has ever lived in combined.

He commands respect from all who lay eyes upon him, but knows how to use a gentle hand. It’s easy to get caught up in his flowery language, but beneath the purple prose and irresistible urge to flirt is a genuine heart of gold. 

Tobias Silva

A toned man of Colombian descent with tan skin standing at about 5’9, with brown eyes and curly brown hair that’s cut short and shaved underneath, but left longer on top, still allowing a few curly strands to fall over his face. He’s got a foxy way about him and always has a smug, closed-lipped grin on his face that makes his eyes crinkle at the corners and dimples form in his warm cheeks.

He tends to keep his armor rather minimal to maximize his speed, but he’s got daggers hidden just about everywhere one can hide daggers on their person. If he’s being quiet, he’s probably busy scheming with his colleague and friendly rival, Rex. 

Rex Theroux 

Rex is a tall, pale, transgender man standing at about 6’1 with downturned blue eyes and shoulder length, golden-blond hair that curls a bit at the ends and is usually drawn into a loose, low ponytail that often leaves strands hanging around the sides of his head. Contrary to Tobias, he keeps his muscular form clad in armor at all times.

He’s the stoic tank of the duo, and proud of it. He’s completely mute and has never spoken a word to Tobias nor his king, but communicates with both Divestian sign language and his own unique methods. The only time anyone even sees his mouth is when he eats, as it’s usually covered with a neck gaiter. The scars that litter his limbs and body show his impossible resilience, but no one has ever heard the stories behind them.

When Tobias and Rex stop in at Lucian’s humble bakery, they’re completely amazed both by what they taste, and the man they see behind the counter. When a batch of these baked goods reaches king Ambrose, he demands to see the wonderful artisan who created them, and Lucian’s simple life is thrown into a whirlwind when he receives an official summon from his majesty himself.

Are you interested? Stick around! Chapter one of Royal Courting: Summoned By The King is in progress now! You can find the Royal Courting masterlist (among others) in my pinned post!

If you like this idea, please reblog! It’s free, takes two seconds, and helps spread my ideas to more people!

You can find me on AO3 as Sister_Lucifer; everything here is cross posted there!

dividers by @cafekitsune

[everydayyoulovemeless]

Hello, friend. I really love all your works you post on Tumblr. How do you think Courier and his/her companions from Fallout: New Vegas would interact with Sole Survivor and his/her companions from Fallout 4?

FNV Companions Interacting With Fo4 Companions

➼ Word Count » 0.9k ➼ Warnings » None ➼ A/N » This is such a fun concept! I lost count after a while so I hope I included the pairings you were looking for!

Arcade finds Curie's synth body incredibly fascinating and the two will sit and question each other for the longest time.

Boone reminds MacCready of the toy soldier Lucy gave him and either can’t stop talking to him or avoids him entirely out of guilt.

Lily realizes how much more different she is compared to Strong, but it doesn’t stop her from listening to him ramble about Shakespeare or treat him any differently from her other grandchildren. She loves him and they hit it off quite well.

Raul and Nick are both grandpas who’ve got memories from before the war, so, unsurprisingly, they hit it off quite well. They’ll talk about their lives before the bombs and how it all compares to their current ones.

Cait and Cass hit it off almost immediately and leave the initial group to go drinking. The two of them will open up and talk about anything and everything.

Veronica ends up hanging around Danse as often as she can since they both stand for the same cause. It ends up just being Veronica rambling about how much fun she's had traveling with her group and Danse just awkwardly nodding and saying he hates his.

Codsworth will go and clean the rust off of ED-E. They'll end up forming a brother-like relationship since Codsworth can understand his beeping and ED-E likes how doting and friendly he is.

Dogmeat ends up being really scared of Rex because he won't stop chasing him around.

X6-88 thought Arcade talked too much and decided to just ignore all his questions about the Institute.

Deacon immediately disguises himself as Boone the second he notices that they look alike. Boone hates it but he can't seem to get the spy off his trail.

Old Longfellow and Lily argued like an old married couple, with Lily wanting him to quit his drinking habits and Old Longfellow saying she's "crazier than the people in the fog".

Hancock thinks Raul is great and will offer him a place in Goodneighbor. He might even end up referring to him as "Uncle Raul" if they stay together long enough.

Cass assumed Preston was NCR and he got incredibly flustered when she started hitting on him.

Piper and Veronica become best friends when they find out they both like scavenging and being everywhere except where they're supposed to be.

ED-E freaks MacCready out since it reminds him of the Enclave Eyebots in the Capital Wasteland. He'll try his best to avoid him, but the bot seemed to really like the comics he carried with him in his bag.

Old Longfellow loves Rex and gladly takes him to go hunt mole rats.

Hancock REALLY likes flirting with Arcade and does it whenever he sees the opportunity.

At first, Boone and Cait didn't seem to like each other, but then they started talking about how much they both despised slavers and suddenly became an incredibly reliable duo when it came to killing legionaries and raiders.

Lily and Codsworth really enjoy each other's company and will sit together in patio chairs and drink lemonade or something.

Try as he might, Raul doesn't fall for any of Deacon's lies and, instead, just laughs it right off.

Dogmeat really likes Cass and will follow her around until she finally relents and gives him her hat. (which won't be for a long while)

Gage thinks that Veronica's annoying and will either avoid her or will try and get her sold into the legion.

ED-E and Curie end up getting along really well due to their general innocence and curiosity.

Danse will probably end up washing off the legion marking on Rex's side and replacing it with either a Brotherhood or Minutemen logo (depending on where he's at in the story). He doesn't think it'd be right to just leave the markings of a society built off the backs of slaves and wants him to represent something better.

Veronica reminds Nick a lot of Piper, so he'll sit and listen to her ramble on about everything she wants to see, and he'll gladly do his best to keep her out of trouble.

Piper is constantly hitting Raul with questions because she's desperate to learn more about what Mexico is or how the world was before the bombs. She finds his story so interesting and will do anything to get more information out of him.

At some point, Preston will go up to Boone and start a conversation with him, saying that he really appreciates everything the NCR has done to help out on the west side. They could both talk about their respective factions for hours and they do.

Arcade teaches Strong all he knows about Macbeth and literature in general, and in turn, Strong shows Arcade how to stomp someone till they pop.

Lily will keep telling X6-88 to take his jacket off since it's "too hot out here to be in all that!" He'll eventually relent and will be handed a sweet little shirt completely out of character for him that she had stashed in her purse prior.

Gage and Cass get into a bar fight. It could honestly be for anything, their thoughts on slavery, how they treat strangers, their sense of family. These two just can't get along.

[like-a-bantha]

Lost/Loss

Summary: Everything changed after Eriadu. Hunter becomes withdrawn, and you can't help but worry about him. You do what you can to show him you're there for him.

Pairing: Hunter/GN Reader (No Y/N, no descriptions of reader's appearance)

Rating: T

Warnings: Angst, mentions of major character death

Word Count: 1.7k

AO3 | Masterlist

One week of radio silence. Our contact was supposed to get back to us five days ago with intel on Hemlock and his captives. Instead, we’ve sat around on Pabu tensely awaiting a holocall that we’re beginning to lose hope in receiving.

Phee was kind enough to offer us room in her home, and free reign of her holotable, to act as a sort of base. It’s been quieter since we were last gathered around this table. The usual boisterous laughter and interrupted rants replaced with worried silence broken every so often by a sea breeze that no longer carries the joyous sound of Omega and Lyana playing just outside. That mission, Hemlock, the Empire, took so much from us; it’s taken an incredible amount of effort from Hunter, Wrecker, and I to not allow these forces working against us to take our hope on top of it all.

Echo and Rex referred us to this contact not long ago, someone who they’d worked closely with during the war, someone they trust. I commed Echo. Hunter advised against it, said it wasn’t worth it, that all we could do now was wait. I snuck out to the Marauder to use the long distance com anyways. Of course, the conversation was brief, and he has as much information as we do. Sit tight. Waiting game. All that.

“How’re they holding up?” His voice low, even with the volume adjusted to its highest setting. He’d mentioned returning to Coruscant last time we spoke, it must be the middle of the night there. We always did have terrible sleeping schedules.

“Not well, but I mean…” I trail off, we both know the reason, we both hold some foolish hope that not saying it will make it less true, “They miss you.”

“But you don’t?” There’s that sass, that glint of normalcy I’ve both craved and feared these past two months.

A laugh escapes me as if on instinct, it sounds foreign, “Nah, thought I’d never shake you. So clingy.”

“You’re one to talk, you do realize it’s 0100 here?”

This, our shared brand of humor and sarcasm, too, feels so distant to me now. Slowly, it comes back to me, “Oh, I’m so sorry, did I wake you up? Were you sleeping?” 

“Like a baby.” His warm chuckle crackles through the com speaker, and mine through his. The silence that follows is warm, easing his way into broaching the question, “I take it he’s distancing himself again?”

I sigh, a deep sigh only brought about by reality, “I get it, I really do — and, honestly as bad as it sounds, I wish I didn’t because this kriffing hurts — but withdrawing like this, I don’t know why he can’t see it’s only making the feeling worse.”

“Have you told him that?”

“‘Course. He just says something about how we can’t give up and stares at the holotable. I don’t want to give up, I can’t give up, I just hate seeing him like this.” 

Echo hums, but just as he begins to respond, static and unintelligible voices play loudly through the speaker. “I’m sorry, I’ve gotta go. Good luck.”

I nod, wiping at my misty eyes as I reach for the switch to end the transmission, “Be safe. Talk soon.”

Silence. Mournful, somber silence echoes through the lonely hull of the once lively ship. Everywhere my gaze falls sits a piece of their history, our history; one of Tech’s unfinished projects, a drawing of the ship Omega had called extra credit, Echo’s favorite brand of instant caf. Unable to withstand the weight of these memories, I decide to take my leave and the silence follows me back to the cottage.

I return to a rare sight: an empty house. No Wrecker sitting at the kitchen counter disassembling and reassembling explosives. No Phee asking him to take it outside. No Hunter hovering over the holotable awaiting a call. No com to tell me to hurry back, mustn’t have been an emergency.

I make my way over to the holotable, fingertips gliding across its rounded edge as I approach Hunter’s usual seat. When I pull out the chair, I’m met with a sight that would normally make me laugh. His shredded scarf that he’s grown so attached to, destroyed on our last mission to gather intel, along with his prized bandana that appears to have shrunken in the wash. The best I can muster is a bemused huff, taking the bundle of abused fabric into my arms as I sit. Suddenly, I’m struck with an idea. It could be a very stupid idea, of course, but a very good idea doesn’t always equate to a very smart idea. It’s a perspective thing and seeing as the only perspective available at the moment is my own, I figure I may as well get to it before more perspectives show up.

After careful work, I neatly fold remaining fabric and stash it in my pack with my tools; as the designated mender of the group, I know firsthand there is no such thing as too many fabric patches. Returning to the table, finished product tucked delicately in my vest pocket, approaching voices grow louder and louder.

“I’m telling you, it looks good! Stop fussing, leave it… yeah, like that,” Phee’s voice nears the door, and I’m sure I hear Hunter grumbling about something. The door whooshes open and my eyes widen with surprise. When I meet Phee’s gaze, she seems to silently plead for backup, “You’re back! What do you think?”

She gestures to an unamused Hunter, visibly fighting the urge to fidget with the hat he’s wearing. It doesn’t look bad on him, very few things would, but he doesn’t exactly look comfortable. Unwilling to hold the spotlight any longer, he grabs the floppy brim and removes it from his head, tossing the garment onto the table as he takes the seat next to me. Unable to help myself, I lean forward with a smile and run a hand through his slightly disheveled hair.

“That bad, huh?” Phee sighs, Wrecker following closely behind as she heads for the kitchen.

“I liked it,” The glee still empty from his voice, even at something that would’ve garnered one of his trademark laughs a few months ago.

“Me, too, big guy.” Phee sets a crate of groceries on the countertop. Wrecker’s taken to cooking. Though he’s been much quieter these days, Wrecker seems like himself again when he’s preparing a meal.

Hunter’s gaze is locked on the table, silences between us were never tense like this. When he speaks, he doesn’t look at me. “How’s Echo.”

It isn’t a question, more of a remark, maybe even an I told you so if I really read into it. I answer it like a question anyway, “Good, but no word from the contact.”

He hums. The silence that follows deems the told you so unnecessary.

I reach into my vest pocket. Now’s as good a time as any. “I made you something.”

He hums again, gaze flicking away from the table for half a second in question. Right now, that’s probably the best I’ll get. I place an open palm on the table before him. After a moment's hesitation he rests his hand atop mine, palm up, and I look to his eyes as I delicately drape a band of maroon fabric with thin gold stripes across his fingers.

Hunter’s expression is unreadable, regarding the gift silently. I bite my tongue, attempting to hold in any preemptive apologies in fear that I may have overstepped. My flat expression shifts only when I see his eyes begin to well up, before the first sorry can push past the floodgates he turns to me with the faintest smile. A smile I haven’t seen in too long. His grip tightens around the bandana as he rushes to pull me into a tight hug. Instantly, my arms wrap around him, tears forming in my own eyes. “I love it,” his voice low, he places a kiss on my temple, “thank you.”

“I’m sorry I can’t do more.” My voice comes out a whisper, all of the words I hold back seem louder. “We’re going to get them back, Hunter.”

“Not without a fight.” He says grimly, holding me tighter, as if he’ll lose me the second he lets go.

“I know,” I pull back to look into his eyes, my hand coming up to cup his tattooed cheek, “but we fight as a team. We can’t keep bottling all of this up, we need to take care of each other, ourselves.”

Hunter rests his forehead against mine as he sighs, “You’re right.”

“I know. How’re you feeling?” He shuts his eyes as my thumb gently ghosts back and forth over his cheekbone.

He thinks for a moment before releasing me, opening his palm to look at the bandana in his hand. “Lost,” he turns the garment over, examining the back, “Loss. I couldn’t protect them. You, Wrecker, Phee, you’re all I’ve got now and I’m afraid I won’t be able to protect you either.”

“Tech protected us. Omega, too. I think it’s cruel to put that duty solely on yourself, Hunter. It’s an impossible weight to carry on your own,” A tear falls from my eye, quickly sliding down my cheek before landing on my pant leg, “please, let me carry some.”

“Giving it away doesn’t sound easy, either.” His own tears threaten to spill over, I hope I never get used to the subtle, somber shake in his voice, “But I’d like to try.”

When he looks up with a sad, weary smile, I can’t help but lean forward and place a small kiss to his lips. I begin to withdraw, but Hunter’s palm cups my cheek and pulls me back in for a longer, gentler and tearful kiss. This time, the silence that follows is peaceful as he rests his forehead against mine once more.

His loose hair falls around his face and I accidentally pull a few strands into my mouth as I inhale. He chuckles a bit as I pull away, a sound I’ve missed dearly. I can’t help but let out a small laugh of my own, reaching up to once again run a hand through his curls, “It’s gotten so long.”

Hunter smiles, turning the bandana over once more before presenting it to me, “Do the honors?”

With a smile and a nod, I take the cloth from his grasp, delicately wrapping the fabric around his head and tying a single knot.

“It’s perfect,” He places a soft kiss to my knuckles, taking my hand in his, “thank you.”

The holotable chirps. Incoming transmission.

A/N: Someone pointed out Hunter's hair looks longer, plus the new bandana, I just had to get this out of my system. Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think, comments mean the world to me! <3

[disgruntledexplainer]

the characters of Generator Rex as living symbols

Something interesting that's been bouncing around my head for years is the inherent symbolism of several of the characters in Generator Rex.

Van Kleiss is transhumanism; the philosophy that humanity can and should be changed into something new through technology. in other words, he is the idea that humans should abandon their humanity to become gods, at any cost. he's brilliant, but menacing, and everywhere he goes unsettling change follows. he commands nature, enslaves time and space, and nearly becomes what he seeks to be, but he leaves suffering and misery in his wake.

White Knight is the inverse of this, a reactionary fear of change. he sits alone in his sterile room to insulate himself from change. he is the last vestige of the old order, the last memory of humanity before the event. he may be a "good guy", but in the first 2 seasons he's a nasty old bastard all the same. ultimately his efforts preserve humanity, but also hold it back from truly growing.

Black Knight is something of a synthesis of Van Kleiss and White Knight. She is a symbol of the old order, but specifically the part of the old order which brought about the new order. she is power hungry but calculating and manipulative, and willing to crush others under her heel if it allows her to get what she wants. she is in many ways similar to a bureaucrat, ceo, politician, or career military officer, or some kind of combination of the most dangerous and callous elements of all four.

Caesar Salazar represents science, in all it's glory, and all it's horror. He is capable of creating devices which can entertain and make life easier for others, and to solve problems which everyone else is unable to solve. but he also creates weapons of terrifying power, and has a knack for inventing things that nearly end the world by accident, over and over again.

So where does that leave Rex? well, that's simple. Rex is the living manifestation of all the positive aspects of science and technology, all of the potential of humanity's mind and spirit. He heals the sick and defends those who cannot defend themselves. he builds, he fixes, he creates wonders. he is a living miracle. in many ways he represents humanity at it's very best, even with his disdain for authority and difficulty following directions.

of course characters like no-face, hunter cain, quarry, and gatlock are also living symbols, but I don't feel like typing all day. if anyone wants to pick up where I left off through reblogs, feel free.

[nasturtiumloom]

Hi! I was just wondering if I can request Rex splode dating fem!reader who’s like raven from dc? :D

hello ໒꒰ྀིᵔ ᵕ ᵔ ꒱ྀི১ ! i decided to do some mini headcanons for this one

rex splode x fem raven like! reader ‧₊˚🍊༉‧₊˚.

headcanons contain: uhmm idk just fluff!!

i feel like before you guys were dating he’d be so drawn to how mysterious and hot you looked when he first saw you making him follow you around everywhere, before he got his attitude beaten out of him by monster girl you almost did it yourself by how annoying he was getting with his flirting and jerk personality.

would always try to make you crack at least a smile with his cheesy pick up lines or a dumb joke he saw off reddit. If it didn’t work he’d get all pouty, but if it did you would never hear the end of it from him.

if you were apart of the teen team he’d probably beg you to make him fly with you when going into a fight, his reason? an awesome entrance.

DEFINITELY would brag about you to invincible or dupli-kate. Or just have his arm around your waist 24/7 can’t let anyone gawk at you without knowing you’re his!! (ง'̀-'́)ง

“can your girlfriend fly and look super hot doing it? oh wait, you don’t have a girlfriend!!” and would burst out laughing in front of poor mark, one hit upside the head from you and he’s acting like a baby.

"Hey, at least my girlfriend isn't a thousand years old!" Rex quipped with a smirk, earning an eye roll and groan from dupli-kate. "I mean, I like 'em timeless, but not that timeless." once again earning another smack upside the head. (·•᷄∩•᷅ )

rex would be your biggest cheerleader while you guys are fighting beside each other, but would still jump in front of any danger to protect you, and as you scold him while patching up his wounds, he could only focus on how hot you look in your suit. (¬_¬")

speaking about your suit you’d always find him gawking at you, practically drooling! or his hand squeezing your thigh and when you snap him out of it you’d get a response like “sorry babe, i can’t help it when my girlfriend is so sexy.” chuckling at your cringing face.

even though he would insist on going out he doesn’t mind settling for a simple movie night, cuddling under the covers, eating fast food, trying not to fall asleep not even halfway through the movie, and if he got caught sleeping he’d play it off with kissing you on the lips, easy way to get your forgiveness!

Rex shows his affection through small, thoughtful gestures, like bringing you your favorite tea or surprising you with a new book, earning him a kiss! ٩(ᵔᗜᵔ*)و

you caught him once wearing your cape and laughed at him as it got stuck while he tried to take it off, forever that memory being engraved in your mind.

he’d listen to you read from your books, having his full attention, but would end up asleep on your stomach, he loves your voice! it’s soo soothing for him.

while you guys lay in bed he’d always ask you to play with his hair, your hands feel like magic (pun might be intended..) that he melts in them and immediately passes out snoring.

and while you guys sleep he’d be totally clingy and stay like that the whole night, absolutely smothered by him, and if you push him off in the middle of the night because you feel like you’re in an oven. You’d wake up again to his arms wrapped around you and his face in the crook of your neck and his legs tangled in yours.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

this was not proofread so if you see something dumb do NOT mention it to me i’ll get embarrassed and explode ૮(˶x ཀ x˶)ა

hope u enjoyed, baii ><

🍊.

[mariacallous]

There’s a strange notion going around that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s foreign-policy picks reveal something about his likely approach to international affairs. Establishment types are reassured that hawkish nominees, like Sen. Marco Rubio as secretary of state and Rep. Mike Waltz as national security advisor, will ultimately counsel the right thing when it comes to staring down Russia and China. Restrainers, MAGAteers, and left-wingers draw comfort that former Reps. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, and Matt Gaetz, as attorney general, will shape a policy of retrenchment, persuading the president to withdraw resources from areas where no vital U.S. interests are at stake.

If you’re experiencing déjà vu, that sense is well-founded. For the same genre of think piece was everywhere in 2016 and after, as opinion writers projected their angst, hopes, and dreams into extrapolating meaning from Trump’s waves of appointments and firings. Mike Flynn, Rex Tillerson, James Mattis, H.R. McMaster were the collective tea leaves at the bottom of the cup, read to reveal the future of U.S. foreign policy. The metaphor is apt, as these attempts generally had the same predictive prowess as tea leaves, fortune cookies, and palm reading. All operated on the premise that Trump was susceptible to advice. We should really know better by now.

There was no significant advisory influence on Trump’s last presidency, and it is unlikely that his second term will be any different. Occasionally, his instincts overlapped with his advisors—such as Tillerson on improving relations with Saudia Arabia or with National Security Advisor John Bolton on withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration. But these moments of unity were fleeting. If there is one common, mournful thread sewn through the memoirs of Trump’s first-term appointments, it is frustration at being treated disdainfully by a president who simply did not listen.

Tillerson lasted 13 months as secretary of state before Trump fired him in a social media post. The two clashed on North Korea, Russia, China, Iran, and the Paris climate agreement. After firing him, Trump posted on X, then known as Twitter, that Tillerson “didn’t have the mental capacity needed. He was dumb as a rock and I couldn’t get rid of him fast enough. He was lazy as hell.” Tillerson allegedly described Trump as a “fucking moron.” And this was one of Trump’s more productive working relationships.

Trump could not forgive H.R. McMaster for suggesting that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Aghast at Trump’s imperviousness to advice that challenged his simplistic worldview, McMaster described Oval Office meetings as “exercises in competitive sycophancy” in a book published earlier this year.

“Trump was not following any international grand strategy, or even a consistent trajectory,” Bolton wrote in his 2020 book, “His thinking was like an archipelago of dots (like individual real estate deals) leaving the rest of us to discern—or create—policy.” It’s a sharp critique that overestimates Bolton’s capacity for creation, given that the only substantive thing on which they agreed was withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear deal. Trump responded by describing Bolton in a social media post as “a disgruntled boring fool who only wanted to go to war. Never had a clue, was ostracized & happily dumped. What a dope!”

So what of the Trump class of 2025? Might Rubio, Waltz, Gabbard, and Gaetz succeed in becoming Aristotle to Alexander the Great, where everyone else has failed? It’s no stretch to imagine Trump’s attack line against Bolton being used against Rubio after an acrimonious firing. Rubio subscribes to Madeleine Albright’s notion that the United States is an “indispensable nation” and has been a steadfast interventionist since his arrival in national politics. Trump lambasted those hawkish instincts when he crushed “little Marco” in his 2016 campaign. They agree on a more confrontational approach to Beijing, but substantively and temperamentally, they are as well matched as Trump and McMaster. Waltz falls into a similar category.

Gabbard, Gaetz, and Pete Hegseth (Trump’s pick for defense secretary) possess more Trumpian “America First” instincts than Rubio or Waltz. Gabbard has said generous things about Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past, and Gaetz and Hegseth want to wind down the war in Ukraine. Hegseth, who describes himself as a “recovering neocon,” is a culture warrior who will ban transgender people from serving in the military and gut diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. All of that is so far so good in Trump world. But beyond a shared hostility to China and support for slowly closing the taps that supply Ukraine, these relationships could blow up in any number of ways. Gabbard, Gaetz, and Hegseth are high-profile, headline-grabbing individuals, who will drain attention from the president. Trump prefers to stand alone on the stage, illuminated by a single spotlight.

No matter which individuals end up in the roles, Trump’s ultimate pick as national security advisor, secretary of defense, and secretary of state will be himself. There will be no éminence grise, no Dean Acheson or Henry Kissinger guiding his hand and restraining his worst instincts. Everything that transpired during his first term in office suggests this will be the case.

But this situation is hardly unique. Other U.S. presidents have also served as their own secretary of state. After a shaky start, involving a hugely volatile meeting with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna in June 1961, President John F. Kennedy followed his judgment, declined dangerous advice, and demonstrated leadership during the Cuban missile crisis. President Ronald Reagan’s second-term conciliation toward Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev disappointed bellicose members of his administration and helped create conditions that allowed Gorbachev to end the Cold War. President Barack Obama’s administration was more focused on what it was not (President George W. Bush’s “war on terror”) than what it was for. But there is little doubt that Obama’s pragmatic voice was the dominant one in foreign policy. In memoirs and interviews, his former advisors have expressed more than enough frustration to back this up.

Trump’s operating style and personality attributes are far removed from those of Kennedy, Reagan, and Obama. His first-term shift from lambasting Kim Jong Il as “rocket man” to desperately seeking rapprochement with North Korea gestures at an aspect of his personality—the dealmaking part—that might potentially translate into something meaningful in foreign policy. Just as President Richard Nixon went to China, one cannot entirely discount the possibility that Trump might achieve a substantive breakthrough that takes all observers by surprise—such as a deal with Iran. For all his bluster, Trump appears to understand that war, particularly the type of conflict currently raging in economically sensitive locales, is bad for the U.S. economy.

But we should be careful not to draw comfort from even a fistful of grasped straws. Trump’s narrow transactional style, the absence of empathy, and his short-termism all make it hard to make the case that, even if he does have a longer-term vision for U.S. foreign policy, he has the patience or resilience to implement it.

Regardless of what comes next, we certainly need to reckon with Trump, not his unorthodox array of proposed appointments. Bolton recently remarked that Trump demands “fealty” and not “loyalty” from those who work for him. This useful distinction reminds us to remove our analytical gaze from the vassals and train it directly at the lord.

[twisted-art-wounders]

YGO AU: Breaking the Seal 20

Chapter 20 Connection

Yugi gets to know his fellow DOMA members and discovers their is more to them then meets the eye.

“Why do I gotta babysit?” Valon groaned as he walked side by side with his fellow swordsmen down the long hallway. “I'm no good with kids!”

“He's not a kid, He's 17.” Raphael answered.

“Whatever! Why do I gotta waste my time looking after Dartz's brat? That's not fair! What did I do to deserve this?” Valon covered his eyes with his free hand a frustrated grunt passing through his lips.

“Because we're not the ones who got injured on the job while trying to flirt with a blonde.” Alister teased “You're lucky Dartz is even giving you work to do after that tremendous blunder.”

“Oi, I was trying to recruit her! She's a strong duelist I can get her to join us! I just need a little more time…” Valon huffed making Alister chuckle before responding

“Valon, there's no woman on EARTH with that much time.”

They were returning from DOMA's main card room; Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood were in there for about an hour preparing their new decks before they were instructed by Dartz to go and capture the souls of the Nameless Pharaoh and Joey Wheeler. With their powered up decks and using the Seal of Orichalcos they'd hoped it would be enough for them to finally beat the two chosen duelists. Both the bug and dino duelists were taken by one of Paradius' private limos to the train station so they could prepare to en act their plans.

Valon again grumbled to himself under his breath, before trying to change the subject.

“So…anyone else freaked out with the kid's power? I thought he was human not some kind of meta human or mutant…”

The other two looked down the hallway both remembering what they witnessed from the vessel; he emitted a monstrous amount of energy the likes of which none of them had seen before. Powerful enough it felt like the whole building was going to crumble around them.

“…You guys think he's Dartz's illegitimate kid? I mean he and Dartz seem to carry the same aura you know.” Valon looked at the other two hoping they were thinking the same thing.

“Pfft I doubt it. It's Dartz's were talking about can you imagine him having a child?” Alister shock his head but still paused for a moment before continuing.

“But I am a bit confused too, how could he have that kind of power? Did the Orichalcos grant it to him or was he hiding this power all along?” Alister looked to Raphael waiting form him to weigh his thoughts in.

Raphael closed his eyes and kept walking “There's no doubt he has a powerful soul, he broke the Orichalcos twice after all. Not to mention he's the chosen vessel of the Nameless Pharaoh…only a vessel with that amount of strength could hold the power the Nameless Pharaoh has.” The blonde man opened his eyes again and looked down the hallway as they passed by more closed doors all incidental to each other.

“Whatever Master Dartz has planned for him we need to make sure to follow his orders; You need to keep an eye on him Valon don't let him out of you're sight.”

“Yeah, last thing we need is for him to go critical on us and blow us all to kingdom come…” Alister added

“So I gotta keep the brat entertained huh?” Valon sighed “Great…how am I supposed to do that?”

Raphael started to recall his own childhood when his younger siblings Sonia and Julian were much smaller and would follow him everywhere he went. They always wanted to spend time with him when he wasn't in one of his private home school lessons or studying something related to that. He loved spending time with them and would always watch out for them when they'd play in the garden. Hide and seek was one of their favourites and he'd always pretend he couldn't find them right away just to keep the game going as long as possible. Their smiles and giggles would always bring warmth to his heart, a warmth he was now missing greatly in his life.

Alister on the other hand could recall his own childhood with his younger brother Mickey; before the war had broken out he was always asked by Mickey to hang out with him when he'd go spend time with his friends. Alister hated having to bring Mickey along with him but with their mother at work he had no choice. He'd sigh and roll his eyes when Mickey would always bring up his favourite hero; Dyna Dude it was embarrassing to have him always talking about that in front of his friends. He'd always wished he'd never have to bring him along anywhere again. Sadly he'd eventually get that wish…Alister touched the area in his jacket were he kept the final remains of Mikey's toy close to his heart.

“You'll be fine. He's a teenager he wont be much trouble.” Raphael spoke coldly trying to straighten his back as they stopped in front of the door.

“…Just do what Dartz's says and keep an eye on him.” Alister spoke with his usual tone but there was a hint of sadness to it that he tried to hide back.

Valon was a bit confused by both of their reactions, he felt they'd become a bit more emotional just now but since they both brushed it off he decided not press any further. He sighed and put his free hand behind the back of his head.

“Guess you two are right…”

Raphael pulled out his card and swiped it in the door before placing his hand on the black square scanner, once it beeped he reached for the handle and opened the door. He and Alister walked in first followed by Valon who kept his eyes shut as he entered. Both the blonde and red head had stopped and stared as their eyes scanned the room left to right; they saw the once pristine and cleaned room was now littered with cards on the floor, the cabinets all opened and riffled through it was like a hurricane had come through the place.

Valon had finally entered and opening his eyes he too got a look at the room.

“I mean how hard can it be-eeAHEGHA!!!” Valon screamed in shock grabbing his head with his free hand. “WTF HAPPENED IN HERE!?”

Just then they all saw Yugi walking back towards a table that sat in the other part of the room, in his hands was a small wooden box inside it was filled with the cards he'd just picked out. He had a very delighted expression on his face, he didn't even notice the other men had entered the room too focused on his treasure box of cards.

Valon hissed as he lowered his arm and pointed a finger at Yugi before screaming “YOU!”

The sudden noise made Yugi jump out of fear with a small yell before he finally took notice of the three older men who'd just entered the room. Two of them were still in shock at the mess while the third- the brunette was fuming in rage.

“You cheeky little shit! What the hell did you do to this place!?”

Yugi blinked confused at the accusation before he finally looked around and it hit him like a ton of bricks that he left the room in such a horrible state! Yugi's eyes widened when he realized this and looked back towards the brunette with a scared expression, instinctively he held up a hand and backed away a bit.

“OMG! I'-I'm sorry! I didn't even notice! I-I'll clean everything up I promise!” Yugi's meek persona once again surfaced as he felt the intimidation from the group hang over him, it was like he was back at school and cornered by bullies once again.

“You betta! Despite the accent mate I'm NOT Marry Bloody Poppin's! I'm not you're personal maid! And if you think I'm gonna clean up after ya I'm gonna give ya a spoon fulla my FIST! Hows that to help the medicine go down!?”

Valon's hand tightened into a fist to give extra emphasis on his threat, which worked since Yugi was feeling intimidated by the man. Finally the other swordsmen had come out of their initial shock and listened into Valon's ranting watching Yugi they could see he wasn't as confident as before, maybe because he was staring down much larger people then the two teens.

“I didn't mean to make a mess! I was gonna clean it up and I just got distracted and- okay no this isn't working. I'm making a horrible impression on you!” Yugi took in a deep breath and with one hand brushed his blonde fringe out of his face before changing his expression to more confident smile, he held out his hand in a gesture for greeting.

“Let's start over! Hi I'm Yusei- No! I mean I'm Yuya- No! I'm Yuki- No! I'm I'm Im-” Yugi was sweating with anxiety before his face had turned red from all of the previous wrong names he yelled out.

“I AM…so embarrassed…” Yugi sighed looking down and holding the box close to his chest with both hands now. How on earth could he forget his own name!? He was supposed to work with these people and now all they were gonna see was a scared child!

The swordsmen had watched him as he continued to ramble off names and slowly shrink back into himself. Valon and Alister had an unimpressed expression on their faces while Raphael kept his normally stone hearted look. He did notice Yugi's embarrassment, he looked like kid who had wanted to appear to be grown up in front of his peers but came off as childish. Recognizing this it did move his heart slightly since he'd experienced this kind of embarrassment before in his childhood and knew what Yugi must be feeling.

So he decided to break the ice so to speak, he cleared his throat getting everyone's attention before he spoke.

“Hello Embarrassed, I'm Raphael.”

His deadpanned expression mixed with his flat delivery caused everyone to be silent for a moment before Alister's frowned mouth curled upward into a slight grin he started to chuckle under his breath and had to turn away a bit. Valon tried to bite his lower lip to keep himself from laughing but failed tremendously as he burst out laughing. Raphael looked between the two of them and had a slight smile on his face, satisfied with the results he folded his arms and looked at Yugi.

Yugi was dumbfounded by how Raphael's words managed to get his fellow swordsmen to lighten up rather quickly. He wasn't really sure what to think of this, should he laugh too or- Finally Valon had gotten enough of grip on himself to wipe away a tear and breathe normally again.

“Raph! You always know how to bring the sunshine mate!” Valon looked down at Yugi with a neutral expression he put his good hand on his hip. “Relax kid, I ain't gonna smack ya but you are gonna clean this place up, right?”

Yugi blinked then nodded with a smile “O-Of course! I'm sorry again I should be more mindful of my actions. I mean we are gonna be working together. After all we are the four musketeers!” He raised a fist up looking to his fellow swordsmen again.

Alister and Raphael had the same neutral expression Valon had earlier but Valon rolled his eyes a bit with and added chuckle.

“Nice try kid but we all know there's only 3 Musketeers!”

“Uhh…actually there are four…” Yugi interjected, making Valon pout a bit and want to argue again only for Raphael to speak up.

“Actually he's right there were four of them. Athos, Aramis, Porthos, and D'Artagnan.”

This made Valon turn his head to the blonde and blinked confused “Wait are you serious?!”

Alister then rolled his eyes and crossed his arms looking at Valon “Someone clearly didn't read the book.”

Valon now turned to Alister and yelled “Wait it's a book!? I thought we was named after the candy bar!”

This made Alister glare at him in annoyance “Did you seriously think we named yourselves after the candy bars?”

“Well yeah there's three of them in a package there's three of us so it makes sense to me.” Valon folded his good arm, making Alsiter smack his face in embarrassment.

“You realize you JUST made the high school student look smarter then you right now right?” Alister grumbled through his hand.

Valon growled and shouted “Hey! you know not all of us is as well read as you!”

“Wouldn't kill ya to pick up a book once in while Val! Then maybe you'd stop embarrassing yourself.”

As the two continued to argue Raphael only rolled his eyes and let them go on, he knew it was the only way to really let them cool off so they'd be less likely to argue more later. Yugi watched on and as he did he couldn't help but see his old friends in the three men; this was how Joey and Tristan would act at times getting into arguments with each other normally leading to some kind of violence between the two, Tea would either end up having to step in to stop them or she'd just watch on with Yugi annoyed with their childishness.

Yugi couldn't help but smile as his mind drifted to those better times, finally he just started to giggle then was laughing out loud. As he did Valon and Alister stopped fighting as they heard Yugi laughing, soon all three of the swordsmen looked at Yugi confused as what had made him laugh this hard.

“Uhh… what's the joke kid?” Valon looked at Yugi who'd had also noticed them staring at him and managed to collect himself enough to answer.

“You guys are people…you're people…” Yugi smiled to them which brought on another confused expression from each of them.

“Yeah, we're are people.” Alister answered flatly. “What else would we be?” he folded his arms.

“Uh nothing…” Yugi sighed contently and turned around “I'm gonna start cleaning this mess.”

Yugi smiled and headed towards the table to put the box down then he began to pick up some of the cards on the ground closest to him. The three swordsmen looked between each other still confused about what had just happened. Valon giving a shrug before he headed towards the table to sit the other two following after him.

--

After Kaiba exploded about Yami Yugi's loss to Raphael during the video call the gang knew they would have to find a different method to get to Florida. They ultimately decided split up; Yami, Tea, Joey and Tristan would use a train to get to the airport, while Mai, Duke, Rebecca and Professor Hawkin's would drive into town to find another airport then meet each other there.

Everyone started packing up and getting themselves ready; Tea and Mai had mentioned they wanted a quick shower so they could change clothes for the trip. The Professor's RV had running water so he offered it to them along with the bed room for them to change. Mai offered Tea the shower first so she was in the shower while Mai instructed the boys to keep their distance and help move things into Duke's car again for the drive, and to help pack up her bike on the trailer hitch.

Yami Yugi had wondered outside and further into the desert away form his friends whom he didn't want to face right now. The sun was beating down hard as it getting closer to Noon, he stopped just past a few rocks and looked down at the ground. Only dust and rocks at his feet and stray lizard that had run by. His mind was still flooded with guilt not only because of what happened to Yugi but now the world was in danger because of his actions.

//What have I done? Now thanks to me he's gone…and if he is the key to stopping DOMA I just handed him over to them! Partner…how could I have done this to you…//

His mind drifted back to the duel, just when he was about to play the Seal of Orichalcos Yugi stopped him only for him to yell at him.

“This is my fight! This is my justice! My beliefs are on the line! And I don't need you butting into everything I do! Do you hear me!? Be quiet and stay out of this!”

He winced at his own words as they echoed in his memory; he longed to have his old memories back to know who he was in his past… but with this memory oh how he wished he could forget this one too. “I DONT NEED YOU!”

His gut sank even lower at that final staement the final thing he told Yugi before he played that awful card. The fear in Yugi's eyes… he did that to him. Tears started to threaten in the corner of his own eyes now. And even after he was so rotten Yugi still saved him! He always saved him from becoming his worse self but now- tears ran down his cheeks as he tried to scrub them away.

He felt weak and powerless…

“So you never did change did you?”

Yami blinked and turned around for the source of the voice, it was Mai standing with her arms crossed and a look of disappointment on her face. Yami didn't want to look her in the eyes right now so he looked at the ground again.

“I really had hoped you had changed since our duel in Duelist Kingdom. And I had believed it during Battle City. You grew up you changed and became even stronger as a duelist. You trusted yourself and you still kept your principles. But the Yugi I saw back there in that duel…That was the same scared and stubborn child I duel back in the finals.”

“Y-you don't understand. There was so much riding on that duel! I had to use the Seal it was-”

“It was the cowards way out! You were scared of losing so you decided any method was the best method even if it would cost you someone precious!” She yelled.

“I never thought he would-” Yami argued only to be shot down again.

“You knew what the other Yugi was like! You KNEW he'd never put you in danger! I think he'd starve himself before he'd let you go hungry! Face it you did this because you're a coward!” Mai pointed to him.

He hated that word he HATED it so much! It drove a dagger into his stomach and twisted it deeper inside the more he thought about it. She was right…he didn't need to play the card, if only he'd had Yugi's humility… if only he had listened to him! Why didn't he listen to him? Yami looked as if he was about to cry again, only to feel Mai put her hand on his shoulder.

He looked up at her and saw she'd softened her expression a bit and looked him directly in the eyes.

“You screwed up big time…but now is the REAL test for you. You can either sit here and wallow in your own pain and failure. Or you can find the strength to keep going you can find the strength to fight for him again.”

Mai took her hand off his shoulder and headed back towards her Jeep, Yami stood there and watched her leave before returning his gaze to the sands. He swallowed hard and turned around heading towards the trailer.

--

Yugi had taken off his long over coat and hung it on the back of one of the chairs while he cleaned up. He didn't realize just how much of mess he'd made until he had to perform his own personal game of 52 pick up but instead it was more like 5200 pick up. Luckily for him he was used to having to clean up loose cards not only that but cleaning up after kids in general. When they'd come to the store most times the kids would make mess of things and of course it was Yugi's job to clean up the mess afterwards. it was quite an annoyance for him but over time he'd gotten used to it and was much faster at tidying up.

After cleaning up the cards around him and placing them back in their cases in the proper order Yugi decided to sweep the floor a bit, a habit he picked up form his grandfather. As he swept up his fellow swordsmen sat at the rectangular table and watched him work. They didn't mind he was being extra cleanly no doubt a way to show he was sorry for the mess from earlier. And it meant they were spared from cleaning up before Dartz would come back and check in on them.

Valon decided to speak up first.

“You know I don't get why you went so nuts about the cards in here, don't your family own a card shop or somethin'?”

Yugi kept his sweeping momentum going while answering.

“Well first, it's a general game store not exclusively a card shop. Domino City has a few hobby and card shops but we focus on a variety of games. Even though Gramps prefers old school styled ones like chess, solitaire, etc. Second, this is like the biggest card collection I've ever seen in my life!”

Yugi gestured to the cabinets around them before going up to case to case and reading off the cards he'd just put back.

“I've never even heard of half of these cards before! “Nightmare Tri-Mirror” “Royal Decree” “Spirit Hunting” I swear Dartz must have the worlds best collection!”

Yugi sounded so excited when he was talking about cards it was like talking to someone about their special interest, once they get going they just get more excited and happy.

“We do have access to every card produced, Dartz would reserve only the best ones for us and himself of course. ” Raphael answered.

“Guess that makes us pretty lucky.” Yugi smiled before finally finishing his sweeping. “Which means I can make a really strong deck just like Dartz said.”

He put the broom away and went back to the table to pick up his card box. Instead of sitting at the table with the other's Yugi sat on the ground and started to sort through his cards; making piles for magic, trap and monsters. They all found it a bit odd Yugi would just sit on the ground and work but then again it's not like the ground wasn't clean.

As he started working Alister piped up curious.

“So what kind of deck will you build?”

Yugi paused for a bit thinking “Well I'm still brain storming a bit…I've always stuck to dark monsters but maybe I can try something different…”

“Well if you were looking to use the God cards you're outta luck kid. I don't think Dartz will be willing to part with them even for you.” Valon grinned a bit as he sat back in his chair he was hoping he got on Yugi's nerves just a bit since he was the type to tease people.

The air in the room had a sudden chill sweep across as Yugi paused what he was doing holding one single card in his hand. His hand shook a little as he bit down on his teeth hard trying to repress the anger that was building in him.

He huffed out

“Fine with me. I hope I NEVER see those miserable things again!” Yugi slapped the card down on the ground.

All three men looked down at Yugi confused by his answer, especially Valon.

“What's the matter kid? You was ready to fight us at 'fisty cuffs' to get them back the first night we met, now you're acting like their cursed or somefin'…oh shit they ain't actually cursed are they?” Valon sweated looking at the others before looking back at Yugi.

“No, they aren't 'cursed' but they might as well be…” Yugi paused again as his mind was starting to flood with memories of the events of the latest tournament. It started to over flow and this time he had no dam to try and hold himself back from speaking so he started to spill.

“Everyone thinks Battle City was some kind of cake walk for me since The Nameless Pharaoh gained all three of the God cards and won the title of Duel King. But every other duel was like life or death! A constant parade of one bad event after another like a waking nightmare!”

Raphael watched him carefully; he knew this kind of body language meant this was a touchy subject for Yugi, still a fresh wound not quite healed and still festering under the bandages. While he was curious he still understood the pain, so he didn't really want to press him more but Valon ever the curious sort asked for him.

“Whadda ya mean?”

Yugi was still he had both hands on the ground now as he stopped and tried to think of his answer, his heart was overflowing with emotions and his mind was trying to control them as best it could. He wasn't sure how to best answer so he decided to start from the beginning.

“You guys know who the 'Ghouls' are right?”

They did, they encountered them a few times in their line of work. Card thieves and counterfeiters who worked under a mysterious man only known as Marik, only recently they'd been disbanded due to Marik's change of heart.

“Like me Marik was chosen to hold a Millennium Item-the Millennium Rod; using it he could control people's minds and make them do what he wanted like some kind of twisted puppet master…And of course he had some kind of grudge against the Nameless Pharaoh meaning he held a grudge against me.”

“During Battle City he sent his goons after me; The first guy…I didn't know his name but he used an Exodia deck. Not bad once you figure it out and can counter him. But then the next guy was a Dark Magician user and some kind of illusionist? Archena. He was a BIG time cheater! He shackled our ankles to the ground, with giant buzz saws that would inch closer to our legs every time we'd lose life points and if you lose you'd get your legs sawed off and die bleeding to death!”

All three older men's eyes widened when they heard him talking about the buzz saw trap, they all exchanged a looked between each other before Yugi continued with his recount of Battle City. After that duel The Nameless Pharaoh had dueled a Mime named Strings who held the God card Slyfir the Sky Dragon and how they would have lost if Kaiba didn't show up to kept give them a confidence boost. But speaking of Kaiba.

“And you know you'd think Kaiba would be a little more thoughtful and hold a little sympathy about the fact a maniac was after my friends and they would be in serious life threatening danger but NOOOOO! It's just “We have to Duel Yugi!” “You can't run away from our fated Duel, Yugi!” Like are you SERIOUS RIGHT NOW!? I told his stubborn ass we didn't have time to fight and of course he has away to track Joey down for me. BUT I'm stuck having to hear him go on about 'fated fight' this and 'duel title' that! I wanted to smack him SO hard!”

Yugi rubbed his face hard just thinking about Kaiba's stubbornness and how it almost cost them a tag team duel that would have gotten them BOTH killed made him fume. Alister couldn't help but relate to Yugi's plight about Seto Kaiba, his rude and selfish attitude and how nothing else mattered as long as he got what he wanted.

Yugi's shoulders lowered again as now he had to recall his most painful memory from Battle City, his life or death duel against Joey…Marik used his mind control to brainwash his best friend and force them to fight with each other. One or none of them would survive if Marik had it his way, how could someone be so cruel? Forcing two people to fight in such a despicable manner…burning this pain forever into his heart. And why? because he was mad at the Nameless Pharaoh for something he wasn't even present for? He wasn't the one who killed Marik's father…Marik's dark self did that! And of course Shadi…Odion…even Ishizu was there! WHY! WHY didn't they tell him!?

All of this madness and pain could have been avoided if any of them had done something to stop Marik! But no they all sat back and allowed everything to happen! It didn't matter who got hurt right? As long as the Pharaoh could regain his memories…

“All of Millennium Items…They really do have evil in them…And HE'S part of it! Why did my friends have to suffer just because of him!?”

Yugi felt tears welling up in the corners of his eyes, he was angry not just angry he was furious! A great fury that caused the Seal of Orichalcos to appear on his forehead again. The more he thought about it the more it made sense one by one more people were hurt by this; Bakura was injured thanks to the spirit of his Ring working with Marik and he too was later sent into the shadows. Odion suffered from Ra's wrath for using a fake card given to him by Marik to trick them all into thinking he was the real one. Mai was tortured then trapped in a living nightmare as her mind was eaten by the darkness…and Joey…Joey died right in front of his eyes…

“Why…Why did everyone have to suffer just so he could regain his memories? Why does he get to step on all of us just so he can be 'King'?!”

Yugi grit his teeth hard as he felt the darkness start to surround him, he felt the power enter his body driving his anger which made the darkness grow stronger around him, the three swordsmen now witnessing his descent into darkness thanks to Orichalcos.

“…why did I give up my soul for him?” Yugi's tears fell down his cheek as he finally started to sob into his hands.

“When am I going to learn? When am I going to stop being so…stupid.”

As they all watched Yugi break down in front of them, collectively they each realized Yugi was just like each of them. Brutalized and used by a cruel world and left to suffer under a great deal of regret and pain. They all had found themselves in his shoes once and just like him Dartz had come and given them a chance to thrive and finally change the world with their own hands.

Raphael once again was the first one to act, he slowly got up and walked towards Yugi, getting down on his knees he came close to the boy to speak.

“You are not stupid.”

His words rang out and into Yugi's ears making him look up from his hands and turn his head to the more gentle look Raphael had on his face.

“You put your faith in the wrong person, everyone is capable of that. But now you know better…you're on the right side for once.”

“He's right, it's not you're fault the Nameless Pharaoh is corrupted by darkness. He's the one who hurt your friends not you.” Alister got up and stood beside Raphael crossing his arms but he also had an understanding look on his face.

“Exactly! And that prick has the balls to toss you unda the lore just so he can strut 'round and pretend to be you? I say you go and teach that faker a lesson! Show him and everyone else who the real Yugi Mutou is huh? ” Valon grinned getting up and giving a wink.

“We got yur back kid! After all we are the Four Musketeers right?”

Yugi, Raphael and Alister all blinked at Valon surprised by his answer, he then shrugged and said

“What can I say ? its starting the grow on me!”

Yugi looked at both Alister and Valon and wiped some of the tears away, he never thought these guys would be this kind to him. Yugi felt the Seal of Orichalcos leave his forehead, he then felt a very large hand on his shoulder. It was Raphael who once again offered a kind expression, it was hard believe a man so intimating could actually be so kind.

Yugi sighed and sniffled a bit collecting himself as he sat up straight and looked at each of his fellow swordsmen.

“Thank you…now I know that you have my back, I know I wont lose to him.”