#forever ch27

[emotionsofthesoul]

Chapter 27 _ A La Cuenta de Tres

"I've never been on a plane, let alone a helicopter." Lupe said nervously as they got comfortable on the helicopter. It was the day after Valentine's Day. They were on their first family trip to a cabin near Loon Lake. The girls along with their parents.

The cabin was on a small island they could usually reach by boat but given the weather, the lakes were frozen over leaving Leon to pick the helicopter ride instead. The Valdes family had never seen snow in person leading Lucia and Valentina to plan a snow trip. Lucia and Lupe got along very well and Lucia thought this trip would be a good idea to get their husband's to bond a bit more.

"Don't be nervous, Lupita, Leon is a great pilot. We'll be there in no time." Lucia said reassuringly taking Lupe's hand in hers.

The trip was a 20 minute flight from the Carvajal mansion to the cabin. The scenery was beautiful. Thousands upon thousands of tress. They flew over the three frozen lakes until they arrived to the property's helicopter landing pad. A couple that stayed in the cabin taking care of it made sure to clear the pad so the helicopter could land safely.

"Hector, Mari, this is the Valdes family, they'll be staying with us this weekend." Leon said turning to Juliana and her family as he continued, "Anything you need let Hector and Mari know."

Valentina hugged the couple before dragged Juliana to show her the rest of the house and showing her where everyone would be staying.

After getting everything settled and put away, they gathered round the table for breakfast.

"So how was Valentine's Day? Did everything work out how you planned, Val?" Lucia said wanting to know if Juliana enjoyed their date.

A blush grew across both girls' faces and Juliana took Valentina's hand in hers as she spoke. "It was lovely Lucia. She's crazy for renting out the museum just for us to watch my favorite movie but it was amazing and really sweet." Juliana said as she brought Valentina's hand to her mouth and kissed her knuckles.

"She did what!" Lupe and Chino said simultaneously.

"I didn't get a chance to give you guys details this morning but yeah she rented out a museum in downtown for six hours just for us..." Juliana said knowing her parents would definitely oppose to Valentina spending so much money on dates.

"It was nothing really. I promise. I know Juls doesn't want anything too expensive or fancy but it was Valentine's Day and I wanted to do something special for her, something quiet and relaxing yet romantic." Valentina said trying to defend herself before Juliana's parents had a chance to say anything else.

Chino sighed in resignation knowing that they were from very different worlds but Valentina loved his daughter with everything she was. "I know you're not trying to buy my daughter or any of us, we're just not used to any of this." He said motioning to the house with his hands but referring to everything that's happened since the girls met. "It's simply overwhelming knowing you can do that for Juliana and think of it as something small... like I said, we aren't used to it but thank you for taking care of my daughter and giving her pieces of the world."

"Macario I hope you know we all genuinely love your daughter, she's gained all of our respect and love and she's made my Valentina happier than I've ever seen her since her mother passed. I know my daughter, she not only wants to show your daughter the world, she wants to empower her to go after anything she wants. That's what Estella, her mother, always instilled in our daughters, to uplift other women and I'm really proud of the woman Valentina's become. She's always known how to manage her money well so if she can do these things for Juliana it's because she's thought about it and knows when and on what she can invest her money. Think of it as a movie date but on a much bigger budget." Leon said causing the women at the table to break into laughter at his final comment.

"I trust your daughter with my daughter, there is no doubt about that, I guess it'll just take a while to get used to the thought of that big of a budget." Chino said shrugging as he took a sip from his orange juice.

They continued enjoying their breakfast. Valentina talked animatedly about what the plans for the rest of the trip were trying to change the subject. Lupe was excited about building a snowman with her husband and making it her height. Juliana on the other hand wanted the six of them to have a snowball fight before the trip was over. Chino loving to please his girls was on board for whatever they wanted to do while secretly excited about making snow angels with his girls.

After breakfast they got ready and each grabbed a snowmobile heading to the west end of Loon Lake. From there they chained their snowmobiles together before heading towards what is normally a vehicle bridge but for the moment was covered completely in snow. They walked around a bit until Juliana and Lupe sat on one of the bridge's barrier boulders looking out to the distance enjoying the peace and quiet. Valentina made sure to snap a picture of the two while keeping her distance not wanting to interrupt. A few minutes passed and Juliana turned behind her feeling Valentina's gaze on her. Juliana waved her over taking Valentina's hand as she reached Juliana and sat Valentina on her lap hugging her tightly.

"Thank you for bringing us here. It's beautiful. I never imagined this was what snow felt like. It's so fluffy and cold. I love it, it feels like the consistency between and icee and a raspado." Juliana said playing with the snow on the rock she and Valentina were sitting on.

Juliana took the bit of snow up to her mouth and tried to blow on it causing Valentina and herself to giggle in the process.

"What was that?" Valentina asked with a bright smile on her face.

Juliana laughed burying her head into Valentina's shoulder. "I'm not sure. I wanted to see if I could blow it out of my hand."

"It's not powder babe. That's not exactly how snow works." Valentine said shaking her head, not noticing Juliana's smirk forming.

Juliana grabbed a bit of snow and balled it up in her fist creating a small snowball. Suddenly she leaned back slightly away from Valentina and made eye contact with a confused Valentina as she began to speak. "Is this how it works?" Juliana said throwing the small ball of snow at her girlfriend causing a shocked gasp.

Valentina stood from Juliana's lap with a determined look on her face as regret began to take over Juliana's face. "That's how you want to play? Okay. Get ready Juliana. You have 20 seconds to run."

Juliana threw her head back laughing. Seeing that her girlfriend was not moving Valentina raised an eyebrow as she smirked started counting, causing Juliana to get up and start running towards the rest of the family.

"6... 5... 4..." Valentina didn't finish her count down as she began to run after Juliana with a snowball in each hand giggling. She threw them at her girlfriend who was still running hitting her in the back causing her to dramatically fall into a pile of snow.

"No! No you cheated! I still had 3 seconds!" Juliana said giggling turning around to look at Valentina with a huge smile.

Valentina offered Juliana a hand to pull her up as the wheels started turning in her head. She whispered to Juliana to grab two snowballs and on the count of three they would throw them a their parents. Juliana smiled mischievously and looked over at where her parents were, distracted talking to Leon and Lucia.

Once Juliana was standing, Valentina whispered the countdown creating a snowball fight between the two of them and the other two couples. They spent the rest of the day playing with the snow, only taking a break to eat their packed lunch. After their lunch they built three snowmen, one by each couple. As the day turned to evening they began heading back towards the cabin where they would be having dinner.

As dinner was being set up, Juliana asked what the plan for the following day was.

"We're going on the Rubicon Trail" Leon said with a bright smile as Valentina's eyes grew wide.

"Wait, but we never go without Guille..." Valentina said getting a little disappointed that they would be breaking tradition.

"You never go where without me?" Guillermo said he and Renata stood by the dining room entrance.

Valentina gasped in surprise and stood up to hug her brother and her sister-in-law. "What are you doing here?"

Guillermo placed her arm around Renata as he began to speak. "Dad called last week, said it was a surprise so I couldn't say anything. Once Renata closed up shop at noon we headed over to get the jeeps and make our way. Hector went to pick us up by the edge of the lake."

All the while, Juliana had a confused look on her face. "Wait, but what is the Rubicon Trail? Also, hi." She said with a small wave to the new guests.

Guillermo and Renata walked towards the table to greet everyone and sat down to join them for dinner.

Once they were all settled, Leon and Guillermo began to explain what the Rubicon Trail was and telling the Valdes that they won't be going on the entire trail only to the top of the mountain and back down and then take them to see the sunset by Big Hill Lookout. They would end their night with the pies Renata picked out from Apple Hill on their way to the cabin.

The following day, they did exactly as they planned. Valentina and Juliana went with Guillermo and Renata while The parents went together in the other Jeep.

Juliana and her parents loved the views and especially the sunset from the lookout tower. Valentina got a lot fun pictures of their first family trip. What she hoped would be the first of many.

Their day came to end with movie night and a slice of pie with a side of ice cream and hot chocolate.

When Sunday arrived the family headed back home in the jeeps. They made a point to stop by Apple Hill. They stopped by their favorite farmers market, Boa Vista Orchards. Valentina went up to the bakery window with Juliana where they each ordered an apple turnover with a scoop of ice cream. They sat down to eat their goodies while the rest of the family looked around the market.

After they ate Juliana wanted to look around and see what goodies she could take home with her.

They were approached by one of the workers who also happened to be one of Valentina's childhood friends. "Oh my god, Yuri! It's been so long!" Valentina said as she gave the girl a tight hug, "look this is my girlfriend, Juliana. Juls this is Yuri, we used to go to school together down the hill." The three chatted for a bit and Yuri gave Juliana recommendations and answered a few questions related to the products being sold.

Once everyone had bought what they wanted they headed across the street to the pumpkin patch where Valentina took pictures of everyone and eventually asked Guillermo to take a picture of Juliana and herself at the cheesy Instagram looking window set up.

The eight of them headed to the Carvajal mansion where they eventually parted ways ending their first family trip.

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

Notes: The video I included is of the trail they went on with the jeeps. I go camping there with my family every year and we love going on the rubicon trail by foot. The boulders on the left hand side at 0:10 are where Juliana and Lupita sat near the beginning of the chapter.

[thedummysdummy]

Visions of Her

This has some spoilers if you haven't read S1 CH18 as it takes place between CH18 and CH27.

The knife shimmered in the fluorescent lighting of the crowded and chaotic room. Sweat trickled down between Victor’s shoulder blades, tickling as it made its way down his back. The girl clutched desperately at him, her eyes reflecting his own fear back at him. “I won’t!”

“You have to, Victor. There’s no other way! Look at me. I know that you know this is what has to happen.” Her words felt like fiery darts directly to his heart and Victor looked at the blade in his hand, desperately willing himself to throw it away. And yet he seemed to have no control of his muscles as his arm rose and plunged the knife into her heart. Hot blood poured out over his arms and chest as he held her close, sobs wracking his slender frame as he fell to his knees.

Victor shot bolt-upright, cold sweat still pooled on his brow. Without even opening his eyes he reached out to the side table and gripped a bottle of brandy, half empty already. His trembling hand brought it to his lips and Victor drank deeply. He tasted neither the fire nor the sweetness on his tongue.

For a moment he considered getting out of bed and at least splashing some cold water on his face to wash away the lingering effects of the repeating nightmare, but he knew no amount of cold water could wash away what he had done. So instead he finished the other half of the brandy and rolled over, his face pained as his stomach begrudgingly accepted the liquid. Victor’s vision swam with drunkenness in a manner he had never before experienced.

Voices in his mind screamed in a cacophony of insults and accusations. “Failure!” “Worthless murderer!” “If you were just a little bit smarter, you could have found a way to avoid this!” “All your fault!” No matter how tightly he pressed his hands against his ears, he could not block out the venom his brain spat at him. A groan of desperate agony ripped through the depths of his soul and through his throat, raw and sore from the constant abuse of alcohol and sobbing.

His dark and silent phone lay on the nightstand, probably full of emails but completely dead. Goldman had been completely understanding when Victor had expressed his intentions to spend a week in Paris, so the CEO felt no need to be accessible. It wasn’t like the only voice he wished to hear would magically appear on the other end…

Victor rolled over and grabbed another bottle, red wine this time. Again he drank deeply, a dribble of the liquid missing his lips and dripping down to his bare chest. It glimmered like a single drop of blood against the pale creaminess of his skin.

“I’ve never seen you so drunk.”

The voice nearly caused Victor to drop the bottle. His eyes widened and through swimming vision he searched the room for the source. Seeing nothing he shook his head and set down the bottle. “Perhaps I’ve finally reached my tolerance,” he muttered, gently shaking his head but immediately stopping when nausea hit him like a train.

“Who is the dummy now? You just lay down and get some rest, Victor. Stop blaming yourself for things that could not and cannot be changed. You are being far too hard on yourself.” The gentle voice seemed to whisper in his ear and a soft hand brushed the hair away from his eyes. He leaned into the hand, which trailed down his cheek and came to rest over his heart. “You only did what needed to be done.”

Victor reached out, desperately wanting to wrap his arms around the girl who so tenderly soothed his aches and pains. He stared through watery eyes and thought he could see that form, so familiar and dear to him. “Your blood will forever be on my hands,” he murmured, his voice rough. “And even though I have done everything in my power to search for you, you are still lost. Are you even alive? I have no idea. I miss you so desperately…” His words faded away into primal sobs of agony.

The pressure of tender arms wrapped around his shoulders and he thought he could feel warm breath on his neck. “No matter how far I go…I will always be with you. Sleep now, Brother Vic. Do not give up hope. I’m coming back to you as fast as my legs can run.”

“You better be,” Victor sobbed, shoulders shaking. Again he tried to wrap his arms around the girl only to find them empty. “Why can’t reality be a dream and a dream be reality…” he sobbed, drunkenly clutching his pillow as if it were the girl. “I will find you. I will make this right. I don’t care if I have to take your place! I will make this right…”

[plotbunniesattack]

AO3 WIP SPOILERS:

** Friendly reminder that fanfic is FREE content & in addition to writing I have an IRL 24/7 day job**

Love + Stage Crew - Published 08/16/19

CH20 - The Winchester’s celebrate Thanksgiving with Castiel & Naomi makes an unexpected appearance. Castiel briefly considers suicide but then forces himself to vomit up what he’d ingested instead of going through with overdosing again.

CH21 - Dean knows something is up with Castiel, just not what. Meanwhile Castiel’s suicide attempt pushes him a major depressive episode.

CH22 - A well meaning Sam asks Castiel not to “distract” Dean while he’s studying for the PSATs. Unable to cope, Castiel spirals back into recreational drug use to manage his anxiety.

CH23 - After taking the PSATs Dean goes all out planning for his and Castiel’s first anniversary. Unfortunately Castiel forgets all about it, shows up late and is noticeably high.

CH24 - Castiel meets with his new therapist, social worker!Jody who suggests him living in a group home/going to rehab because he’s clearly unhappy and on drugs. Missouri confirms Dean’s suspicions about his boyfriend's extracurricular activities which causes them to fight. This triggers Castiel into dissociating, which results in him banging his head against the wall repeatedly and freaking Dean the fuck out. 

CH25 - Castiel ditches school to get high with Andy & Ava then accidentally overdoses. Dean worries this was another suicide attempt & feels responsible.

CH26 - Dean breaks down completely in front of Castiel, afterward they have a good talk and gain a better understanding of each other and their relationship.

CH27 - Dean & Castiel talk with Dr. Milton about drug use & antidepressants. Later they meet with Jody to reevaluate Castiel’s living situation.

CH28 - Castiel’s medication leads to more unexpected weight gain and some disordered eating. He confides in Dean and explains why he wants to stop taking his meds. Together the boys come up with a better plan, Castiel starts jogging with Sam.

CH29 - Gabe visits the Winchester’s for Christmas break. Shenanigans & Fluff, Castiel is authentically enjoying life again now that his meds are finally working.

CH30 - Castiel’s  New Year’s resolution is to “just be okay” or whatever that means for him. He also wants to learn how to support Dean the way he’s been supported. Story ends with fluff and optimism.

SPN X Stand By Me - Published 06/18/21

CH5 - The Train Dodge - Gabe and Cas outrun a freight train and nearly get squashed.

CH6 - The Campfire - Cas tells his friends a story about a family of monster hunters. Later he comforts a very tipsy Dean who tries to explain why the world doesn't want him in it.

CH7 - The Leeches - Puberty is scary enough without adding blood sucking aquatic monsters.

CH8 - The Body - The boys find Adam’s body and face off with Lucifer’s gang.

CH9 - The Epilogue - Dean isn't dead at all and has been dating Castiel the whole time.

The Road Too Far - Series Published 09/3/22

“Dad’s on a Hunting Trip”- S1 rewrite where Dean is already an alcoholic and John had been enabling this prior to disappearing. Also implies John spent most of the first season unknowingly possessed by different demons.

“Watch Out, For Sammy” - S2 rewrite where Dean isn't handling John’s death at all and is seriously reexamining all the things he could've done with his life instead. Emotionally switching places with his little brother, Dean begins to understand why Sam left hunting.

“Got A Year to Live”- S3 rewrite where Dean comes to terms with his own impending death and for the first time in forever decides that he might actually want to live instead.

SPN Headcanon Gospel - Series Published 01/14/20

“Failure”- Dean tries really hard on his freshman year finals but fails them anyway. Alone with Sam for the Summer, he spirals into substance abuse, sexual misadventures, and clinical depression.

“Promises”/“Flagstaff”- Kid!Sam misunderstands Dean’s childhood plans for them, later he uses his promise to Dean as an excuse to run away from hunting. / Sam’s adventures come to a screeching halt when John Winchester tracks him down in Flagstaff, AZ. Bones the dog turns out to be a Zanna sent by Sully to watch over him.

“Dropout”- Dean officially gives up civilian life for hunting, and although he knows it's what dad’s been hinting at for years- when all is said and done John still seems as disappointed in him as ever.

“Road Trip”- At 19 Dean’s more depressed than ever and it's leading to increased recklessness on the job. John notices and sends him on a “Five states in five days” road trip hoping he’ll sow some oats and figure himself out. Lisa Braedon seems to be going through something hard herself. In addition to all the sex turns they have, Lisa turns out to be the kind of person Dean could actually fall in love with. Now if only he were allowed to do such things.

Visitations of the Heart - *REWRITE* Published 04/12/19

Originally I wrote this based on a personal experience and while I have no regrets IRL, Cas and Dean deserve better.

I want to change Cas’s reasoning for kicking Dean out from ultimatum to an attempt at setting healthy boundaries for himself - which I feel is even more valid than original content.

I want to explore more background into Dean’s issues with alcohol and Cas. How he unintentionally used alcohol to cope with stress/ fell back into once normalized patterns of addiction. 

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist

Multi chapter story and one-shots. 

Sequel to Stark Spangled Man 

Listed in order chronologically and designed to be read as such, however, as this is an epically long fic, with long chapters, it is split into parts which cover different storylines through the Infinity Saga. Please feel free to dip in and out. 

Please pay attention to warnings at the start of each chapter.

****************************************************

**Part 1** 

Ch1: Back Into The Field Ch2: The Contest Ch3: You Can Miss Something But Not Want It Back Ch4: Low Flying Stationery Ch5: You Make It Easy Ch6: That Makes Two Of Us Ch7: Eight Letters, Three Words, One Meaning. O/S: Phobias

**Part 2**

Ch8: Old Friends, Not So New Tricks Ch9: You Just Keep On Giving Ch10: You’re My Mission Ch11: A Turkey Called Marv O/S: The Life Of Marv Ch12: Fairy Tale Of New York: Part 1- Gram Mo Chroi //  Part 2- Love In An Elevator O/S: Red Lace And Roses O/S: We’re Going For A Ride, Doll O/S: The Stealth Suit

**Part 3**

Ch13: On Your Left Ch14: Nothing Personal Ch15: That Tie Looks Real Expensive Ch16: Til The End Of The Line Ch17: I’m Not Going Anywhere Ch18: I Told You I’d Say Yes O/S: Ask Questions, Throw Shield Later

O/S : Title Of Your Sex Tape; Kinktober 2022 Ch19: Cut Off One Head... Ch20: Bent, But Not Yet Broken Ch21: Shards Of A Broken Soul

**Part 4**

O/S: Arrows, Gods And Dogs O/S: April Fools (You Can’t Kid A Kiddo) Ch22: I Don’t Like People Touching My Stuff Ch23: In The Flesh: Part 1- Who Doesn’t Love Revels? // Part 2- Unwelcome Distractions Ch24: Like The Old Man Said...Together Part 1: I Wouldn’t Call It A Comfort // Part 2: Walk It Off Ch25: All Dressed up And Nowhere To Go Ch26: The Only One In Colour Ch27: Slice Of Paradise

** Stab Me In The Front- Knives Out X-Over ** 1- America’s Asshole 2- Knives Out, Bitch! 3- The Redemption of Ransom Drysdale 4- Captain Asshat

**Part 5**

Ch28: Crossbones Ch29: The Sokovia Accords: Part 1: When You Gotta Go, You Gotta Go // Part 2: No, You Move. Ch30: Winter Is Here Ch31: We Fight Ch32: The Impossible Choice Part 1: So Was I // Part 2: One Which Crumbles From Within Ch33- Locks Can Be Replaced

**Part 6**

Ch34: Paper Ch35: Not A Perfect Soldier, But A Good Man O/S: Vanilla Ch36: I Bid You Farewell And Good Luck, Morons Part 1- It’s Like A Pirate Had A Baby With An Angel // Part 2- I’m Not Looking For Forgiveness Ch37: Fourteen Million, Six Hundred And Five Part 1- Wakanda Forever // Part 2- I Just Feel You Ch38: Lost And Fallen Ch39: The Reunion Part 1- As Long As There’s Hope, We Have A Chance // Part 2- Hey, Kiddo Ch40: I Went For The Head

**Part 7**

Ch41: Drops Of Jupiter Part 1: These Stay On // Part 2: There’s Still A Life To Live Ch42: Maybe Baby Part 1: I Made That // Part 2: Between The Toaster And The Fridge Ch43: What’s In A Name? Ch44: Peanut Butter And Poop Ch45: He Started It Ch46: Just A Formality Ch47: Use Your Words, Old Man Ch48: The Terrible Twos Part 1: More? // Part 2: Fuck Off, Clown.

**Part 8**

Ch49: An Old Friend Ch50: I Got My Second Chance Right Here Ch51: Captain America Homecoming Ch52: Chicken Soup And Baseball Gloves Ch53: I’d Like A Bloody Mary, Please Ch54: The Time Heist Ch55: The Fallen Warrior Ch56: Worthy Ch57: We’re In The End Game Now

**Part 9** Ch58: You Have To Go Through The Worst To Get To The Best Ch59: We Only Part To Meet Again O/S: To The Stars And Back Ch60: Proof Tony Stark Had A Heart Ch61: Part Of The Journey Is The End

Epilogue: His Forever

***** The Rogers’ Family’s adventures continue in Stark Spangled Forever.

***************************************************

[foxghost]

man... 張公案 really makes you Understand why ppl are so suspicious of 叔 lol. 叔 keeps writing off his power in IU, but 張公案 paints a clearer picture of his political influence (also the memory of him meeting Liu Tongyi as the principle graduate in IU ch12 is Completely Different in 張公案 ch27🤣🤣 叔's POV: "the playful words I’d planned to say to him were locked behind my lips forever" meanwhile, Everyone Else's POV: *Prince Huai literally grabbing LTY's hands in public after complimenting his looks* "Do you remember? You and I once—")

the characters in 張公案 are really neat too! Da Feng has a way with conveying characterization even when they don't have much screentime. (tho i gotta say, sometimes i don't entirely follow the logic of the mysteries😅)

I barely remember this book because it's mystery and DFGG updates it so slow I stopped reading after the first one, but I totally remember that scene -- Prince Huai grabbing Liu Tongyi's hands to engage him in talk and then everyone in the room basically going

=口=|||

(which explains the inner/outer dialogue difference in IU entirely, he just CAN'T READ A ROOM)

And I remember his description being 風華絕代, and everything in Imperial Uncle suddenly making sense 'cause uncle's drop dead gorgeous. XD

[vaguekiwi]

*reads violet rain ch27* *screams internally for 10mins straight* *wanders off in a daze to get a drink and some chocolate* fsck I need some fluffy comfort fics now

I’m gonna reply to all your asks right here I hope that’s okay ❤️ This was like 100% my fault for being offline but there’s a whole damn conversation under the cut 😂

FSCKING BECK WHEN WILL HE DIE!?!?! lol. Oh boy. My starker heart came to life when Peter thought that somehow Tony was there to save him, and then my starker heart shrivelled into a sad little lump when Peter was on the brink of letting Tony die. But I have to say it did feel painfully realistic, like yeah, if he just let Tony die maybe a lot of problems would be solved. Seems like their relationship has another 100k words to go in order to get anywhere good! Which I for one, welcome! Lol

YES GOD BECK IS INFURIATING IN THIS FIC. I was rereading 16 and 18 the other day (which are Beck’s chapters) and I was like ‘man, I even knew what was coming and these chapters are still SO unsettling on the reread 😂’

I think that the moment where Peter has the opportunity to let Tony die (ostensibly at no fault of his own, albeit he designed the poison sooo 👀🤷‍♀️) is a really important moment for the fic. It digs into that idea that gets brought up in 28 that this is more a reflection of Peter’s character and the concept of divine grace, rather than Tony. Don’t get me wrong, I love Tony. But Violet Rain I think is more of a Peter fic 😄 And… just in the directions things ended up going in, that climactic moment centres more on Peter’s character and concepts of forgiveness rather than revenge.

Their relationship probably does have another 100k words to go to get to a stable place… but umm… we can follow up on this after 29 and 30 are posted 😂

-yo yo just read ch28 of violet rain and like i think this is the first chapter in months that did NOT send my blood pressure through the roof so thank you for that lol. just absolutely incredible what a rollercoaster this has been you should do something fun to celebrate when you get to the end of this fic!

i loved Tony's coma visions of his family and his conversation with Ben. in my opinion it was absolutely spot on - peter didn't save tony because of who tony is, he saved Tony because of who he (peter) is. and that's true grace! nice! like everyone else, i ADORED the cuddling. i like to think that despite everything some part of tony and peter realises that there's this unacknowledged potential & burgeoning chemistry between them. if they had only met under different circumstances...*heart eyes*

also i find violet rain amazing because I feel I could be fine with an ending where Tony annuls the marriage & leaves, then Peter just happily rules Arachne, the end! and they're both like, ok, that was a crazy few months, guess i was kind of attracted to you, occasionally felt a weird connection with you, but never mind lol. meanwhile i, the starker-shipping reader, crumbles into a pile of ashes haha. but that ending would absolutely make sense and be fine! i need to ramble more about this

i'm just so invested in violet rain's ending because like I said, i think it could go either way & make perfect sense. i was just imagining an epilogue where Tony and Peter get word of each other's re-marriage/engagement, Tony to some nice noblewoman & Peter to some nice duke/soldier, & they're both like, oh,that's nice! congratulations & there's some weird unexpected wistfulness & mixed feelings but ultimately acceptance, so it's one of those bittersweet endings that haunts readers FOREVER lmao

I'm so sorry for the spam and ramblings from my imagination haha. I just can't remember the last time I was so invested in a fic! ch28 was such a welcome change of pace for me and my heart rate lol compared to the last i don't know how many chapters! i absolutely love peter refusing to leave Tony for even a second. is it just because he's the only one with the required medical expertise? or also for other, subconscious reasons he's left unexamined? regardless, it made my shipper heart happy!

Yeah, I was quite adamant that 28 not end on a big cliffhanger/scary moment. I didn’t even really want to mention the annulment again, I wanted the end of 28 to just be soft and sweet between the boys. But, part of Tony’s little moral shift involved mentioning the annulment. And I didn’t want it to be forgotten about when it comes up again, so my beta and I added a beat right at the end of 28 which mentions it.

I am so happy you liked Tony’s dreams/visions/whatever-they-actually-were lol 😅 Originally, Ben was kinda weirdly-nice to Tony and my betareader ended up pushing for a harsher tone, which I think ended up working out GREAT. Because, the dreams needed to read as EITHER an ethereal/paranormal experience for Tony OR as Tony’s subconscious speaking to himself, what would Tony think these people will say/do.

“If they had met under different circumstances” is really the kicker, isn’t it? I have an ex who I often think of as being ‘the right person at the wrong time’. He very well could have been the absolute-endgame-love-of-my-life. He was effortless for me: we had many of the same values, many of the same interests, we were compatible in many ways, etc. But I think that endgame would only have existed if we’d met differently and once we were older. Now, he and I never hurt one another as egregiously as Tony hurts Peter or anything like that. But it’s very hard to walk away from so much potential just because the timing or setting or external factors didn’t work out.

And honestly? You just being on board with a non-Starker ending? 🥺🥺 That makes me so soft. I’m glad the direction of the story fits and the thought of that tiny bit of heartbreak-wistful-but-still-satisfying-happyish-ending is actually exactly what I’m going for (though, spoiler alert, your proposal here isn’t how it ends 😅) It’s something bittersweet; acknowledging that a lot of pain and heartbreak has occurred but still finding a way to move forward. They have a lot of life left to live, after all!

I’m a big fan of the artist Sleeping at Last and his songs Three and Light have been on my mind a lot as I draft the end of the fic. Three has a whole thing about past regrets and doing enough to make up for them, even though humans are automatically worthy of love/grace/etc.

Please never ever apologise for talking to me about this fic. As you can tell from this reply (which I actually pared down, lmao) I have SO much to talk about regarding my own life, this fic, different scenes, the brainstorming/drafting/re-brainstorming/re-drafting/revising process, etc. I think once I’m done I’m gonna write up a really big reflection for myself and there’s no doubt in my mind it’ll be like ten thousand words lmao.

And as for Peter staying by Tony’s side: Peter Parker’s a control freak 😂 Part of it is that he has the most expertise, but he also mentions in Ch. 28 that if he did go sleep somewhere else then he wouldn’t be able to sleep because he’d be worried about Tony. So, there is indeed something subconscious keeping him by Tony’s side in addition to his perceived obligation as a doctor (he did the same thing with Rhodey in Chs. 7-8.)

I really really hope the end of the fic holds up my end of the bargain to you and other readers with this whole crazy adventure❤️❤️❤️ I’m not sure right now when 29 and 30 will be up, but I can’t wait for you to read them ❤️❤️❤️

[aislinceivun]

Table of contents with summaries for The Cat and His Boy.

The summaries may include spoilers, so I don’t recommend first-time readers to check this out. I wrote this up more as a guide for those who want to re-read just specific parts of the fic rather than go over all 100 chapters again :’D 

which includes me, even I can’t always tell which chapter title goes with which event, and on AO3 you can only skim through the chapter titles really xD

1. EASY – As Natsume sleeps, Madara studies the Book of Friends.

2. PLEASANT – This new body of his has some interesting reactions.

3. SIGHT – If Natsume lost the ability to see them, what would Madara do? inspired by ch10 / 1x08

4. DELICIOUS – Youkai don’t necessarily need to eat, but they can still hunger.

5. ROUTINE – Madara has a daily routine, now.

6. NIGHTMARES I – Natsume’s nightmares are not about ayakashi.

7. CLAIMED – The mid-ranks apparently noticed that Natsume smells a bit different.

8. FAMILY I – The Fujiwaras clearly adore Natsume. So why does he still have doubts?

9. SCENT – Natsume’s scent wraps around him the same way his own scent clings to the boy’s skin.

10. REPLACED – Madara can’t believe Natsume replaced him. inspired by 1x11 (which is based on special #3, though this particular moment was anime-only)

11. WARNING – The horse-faced bastard has “concerns”.

12. PROMISES – Madara may have forgotten about an old deal.

13. STRANGE – Madara isn’t familiar enough with the reproductive habits of humans to know what this means.

14. DEAL – How Madara really got that sealing mirror. inspired by ch18 / 2x07

15. UNFAMILIAR – Arguments are familiar. These other moments are… not.

16. DOWNPOUR – Madara doubles as a rain shelter.

17. CONNECTION – Madara and Tanuma share a moment.

18. BEAUTIFUL – Reiko was beautiful, Madara objectively knows as much.

19. RAGE – Red rage and bloodlust. inspired by ch26 / 3x07

20. CONCERN – Even when healing, the prospect of Natsume hurt wakes him in the night. inspired by ch27 / 3x09

21. DENIAL – Hinoe is wrong. (She isn’t.)

22. NIGHTMARES II – These days, Natsume’s nightmares are about his precious people getting hurt.

23. CHASTISED – Natori, chastised by a brat. What a sight.

24. FROZEN – Madara is immobilized by a talisman. It brings back unpleasant memories.

25. EMBARRASSING – Curse that damned squirrel!

26. LIES – They share words they both understand to be lies. inspired by the anime version of ch36 / 4x02

27. PHOTO – A familiar stranger. inspired by ch44 / 4x11

28. BRAIDS – Madara did not sign up for this.

29. APPEARANCES I – Madara briefly considers his humanoid youkai form. inspired by ch51 / 4x06

30. STUDYING – Madara didn’t want this getting out. But—surprisingly—they don’t make a big deal out of it.

31. MUSINGS – Perhaps, in another universe, Natsume Reiko and Natsume Takashi exist at the same time.

32. FAMILY II – After a run-in with a kemono resembling Madara.

33. HIGH – Natsume inhales a bit too much youkai incense.

34. WEAK – The Chuukyuu pair laments on how weak humans are. inspired by special #12 / 5x11

35. CHOICE – Madara didn’t really think about it when he went for Natsume instead of the Book. Somehow, that just makes it worse.

36. CALL – He intended to ignore her call, but… it’s been a while. Well before Reiko’s time. Why not?

37. QUESTIONS – Humans find acquiring long-term mates important, and Natsume is afraid of being left alone. So he should be looking for one, shouldn’t he?

38. UNEXPECTED – Madara finds Natsume dozing against Hinoe’s shoulder. They’re wearing matching flower crowns

39. SHIFT – “It was quiet without you.” inspired by ch70 / OVA “Party of Fun & Games”

40. STUCK – Madara is stuck in his true form for a week.

41. REASONS – Madara was waiting for Natori to say something. inspired by ch73 / 6x11

42. CRUSH – Shibata keeps stealing glances at Natsume with pink cheeks. Madara finds it incredibly amusing. inspired by ch74 / 6x03

43. BIRTHDAY – Last summer, Madara saw how the Fujiwaras celebrated, and he didn’t care.

44. MEMORY I – Many summers ago.

45. INTRODUCTION – Apparently, Natsume’s recklessness has been rubbing off on Tanuma.

46. BOUND – Even without his memories, the boy seems to be able to hear the things Madara is not saying. inspired by ch78 / 6x01

47. WISTFUL – An ayakashi has been following Natsume around.

48. SOFTENED – Natsume has affected more than he knows.

49. WARMTH – He really has no business teasing Misuzu about going soft. inspired by ch82

50. FAMILY III – These people are not his, not like Natsume is… but Madara claimed them anyway.

51. GUEST – The moment the door slides open and he smells the guest, Madara knows. inspired by ch97

52. NOSTALGIA – Madara picks up a scent he wasn’t expecting to find on Natori.

53. APPEARANCES II – Tsk. Fancy, posh bastards who only accept kemono youkai when they appear civilized.

54. BRIBES – Taki drags Madara-as-Reiko on a shopping spree.

55. TREASURE I – A truth forcibly pulled into the light.

56. TREASURE II – It’s not the Book.

57. BELONGING – Ayakashi have no place in busy cities.

58. PAST – Madara will not apologize for who he is.

59. TROUBLESOME – Why does Natsume have to have youkai and exorcist friends, again?

60. ALMOST – “Oi,” he grunts, strangely unsettled.

61. NIGHTMARES III – For him, it’s a first.

62. FEAR – Madara has realized two things.

63. MINEFIELD – A familiar faraway expression.

64. KISS – “I didn’t like it,” Natsume whispers.

65. HELPFUL – It’s not that Madara is nice. He just appreciates her culinary skills.

66. HILARIOUS – “Run that by me again?”

67. THIEF – Madara wanted those damn macarons.

68. TENDER – “I knew you cared,” he says, all soft and smiley.

69. NAMES – Names have power.

70. TEASING – Takashi only has himself to blame.

71. SEALED I – An exorcist sets her eyes on Madara.

72. SEALED II – It’s dark and tight and even worse than he remembered.

73. SHAKEN – Madara didn’t take it this bad the last time.

74. VOW – Rather than stiffening at finding Madara like this, he just frowns. “Nyanko-sensei…?”

75. STORIES – The kids chatter about their post-high school plans.

76. PICKLE – “Oh! Who’s this?”

77. STRENGTH  – Apparently, some ayakashi believe him to be weak now.

78. STARSTRUCK – “It’s never occurred to either of you to tell me?”

79. SPEECHLESS – “Sensei! Are you okay?!”

80. SACRIFICE – His mind screeches to a halt.

81. GRIEF – Madara’s heart is all twisted up.

82. COMFORT – Tanuma and Taki spend the afternoon huddled up on the porch with Takashi.

83. GUILT – Madara is painfully aware that this is the result of his failure.

84. WORRY – Takashi is struggling, and all they can do is watch.

85. FAMILY IV – Watching them, Madara feels equal parts achy and warm.

86. CONDOLENCES – Matoba manages to shock them.

87. ONWARD – Life goes on.

88. SOARING – Madara could stay in the air with him forever.

89. NIGHTS – These days, nights are better. (Mornings are even more so.)

90. PLANS – “Let’s go on a trip together.”

91. FOOLS – Circumstances bring the four of them together for a night.

92. FRIENDS – Madara is fond of Takashi’s friends. Even if he’ll never say as much out loud.

93. PRESENT – Madara takes Takashi to a place he hasn’t visited in a long time.

94. CELEBRATION – “We heard you can finally drink alcohol!”

95. NOTEBOOK  – Madara snoops around and reads Takashi’s first short story.

96. VISION – Another name gone. Another memory received.

97. MEMORY II – Family? He had no answers for her. Not back then.

98. ANAMCHARA I

99. ANAMCHARA II

100. ANAMCHARA III

[pangtasias-atelier]

Birthright Lunatic is done!!

It's still honestly a decent game until near the end where the writing just kinda amps up its faults.

Gameplay wise, the beginning of the game was immensely fun. The maps are decent but midgame to endgame had a bunch of maps that were just so open and threw a bunch of enemies at you and called it a day. Which is never my favorite map design. Cause it's just a numbers game at that point more than anything.

I know Conquest lunatic is gonna be hell, but I really wanna see it for myself. My favorite map design ever, or at least way up there, is probably Shadow Dragon's final map on HM5. Like, there's so much going on and the forces you to hurry up. And if you take too long, then your units get trapped in reinforcement hell or you use a door key to escape but then your entire group has to deal with those reinforcements. It's just a really fun map lol especially since everyone's forced into like 4 groups at first.

But back to Birthright, the whole exp vaccum that happens cause the bulk of the group joins in a span of 3/4 chapters is kinda fun? It's a mess, but it's different than most FE games. So jointime isn't that important. But it's still kinda a mess with bases being super more important. Though they've always been important.

Gameplay is fun and the balance, minus Ryoma, is pretty great. Honestly, Ryoma just has amazing bases and growths, but what really helps him is Raijinto and it shows how busted 1-2 range weapons just are and it creates a niche for him that was basically destroyed in Fates with the nerfs to javelins, hand axes etc.

Daggers/shurikens are definitely the absolute MVP of this game and they're so fun to use and pretty broken. They basically are either killing the enemy, or softening them up so that anyone else can do it which is so helpful. Bows were made amazing by giving them amazing might and also the nerfs to ranged melee weapons. Magic, isn't bad but all the mages are kinda bad, so it's a shame. Especially since Corrin doesn't have access to magic since forced Hoshidan Noble. Though reclassing would help that

Melee weapons as a whole feel great but the Hoshidan weapons lack the effects that the Nohr weapons have so it made them feel a bit lacking. Plus with how ridiculous stat pumped enemies are late game, ranged is the way to go which melee classes struggle with since no doubling.

Overall, as a base of Gameplay, fates is just so ridiculously fun that it's by far the best aspect of the game. Even with its annoying maps and enemies at times.

Also, endgame is dumb in how you can't save in between ch27 and endgame. (Also endgame from gameFAQs ugh)

But the story, it's just good at best and laughable at worst. The over the top killing that amounts to nowhere is just ridiculous. And then there's also the sheer lack of worldbuilding. WE DON'T EVEN KNOW THE NAME OF THE CONTINENT!!!! And things only come up when they're relevant before getting ignored forever again after their short relevance.

And I know, I know, Conquest is gonna be absolutely fucking worse in its writing. Cause j still remember. I forget the exact chapter, but Xander's Justice is an illusion line that happens as Garon is literally slaughtering innocents is just so dumb and grating and bleh it makes me mad just remembering it.

Also, I have a lot more to say about Fates than FE6 cause FE6 is just decent all around. Like it doesn't do anything superb, hell it's pretty much Archanea electric boogaloo, and it doesn't do anything dumb. It's just standard fantasy rpg stuff. But fates just drops the ball in story while simultaneously having the most fun in gameplay. (Which might be why I dislike 3H gameplay but that's another story)

The only real fix for fates I could say is like, stop exxagerating the war, make it way more ambiguously gray (though lbr Nohr literally started the war which is why the whole joining them is just ugh) and more worldbuilding. Which is just all generalizations cause it's not just a few minor nitpicks, it's the entire thought process behind the game that was just kinda flawed.

But anyways!

TLDR; I have a lot of thoughts about every FE game ajndjsn. So liek if you're curious, just ask.

Lunatic Birthright is done, I had a blast and it's ups and downs. Endgame team was:

M!Corrin

Azura

Ryoma

Hinoka

Takumi

Sakura

Kaze

Silas

Saizo

Orochi

Oboro

Rinkah

Kaden

Scarlet

Shura

Izana

[aweebwrites]

Move on Dragons Ch27

The day was a rare one. Everyone was present just outside the Bounty, the elders, their dragon selves, the ninja, Morro and the twins all present. A massive space was being taken up by the dark dragon elder who was flat on his back, taking in the sunny day. The temperatures were rather warm for winter due to the location but they were still noticeably low, lower still at the top of the tower. So with no immediate need for them, all nine dragons came down to soak up some sun. Wu was more reserved, laying on his stomach with Morro tucked into his side, their eyes closed in a light doze while his brother was determined to get as much sun as possible.

And well, his adopted sons were weak to such an opportunity. Which was why he had Lloydie and Kai at his sides, on his wings on their backs as well but they kept their wings closed so they could press against his sides, both dragons purring in content as Lloyd laid sprawled out on the massive black dragon’s head, one of his famous Horns of Destruction pressing against his side and preventing him from falling off. The rest of the dragons were piled together with the rest of the ninja team in various positions on their bodies, Shard blowing snowflakes to keep the energy filled twins busy, chasing the shimmering white carvings of ice as they fell, chirping and roaring in glee as they hit their scales as cool water drops.

All and all, it was a good day. A great one even. No-one had thought much of the approaching sound of quick wing beats, as the dragons liked to race across the sky. That was, until-

‘Elders! Elders help!’ Garmadad was on his feet in seconds, his large wings curling around both of his larger sons and the upward tilt of his snout he kept being the only things keeping his sons from flying off him.

Both he and Wu who were now on their feet looked to where the metal dragon was flying in fast, almost crash landing in her rush.

‘Silver. What has happened?’ Wu asked the silver coloured dragon as she panted heavily.

‘Torch!’ She huffed out before drawing in a deep breath. ‘We were through the forests close to the city and we got separated! When I found her, she was- she sleeping in some strange looking bushes along with a lot of other creatures but she wouldn’t wake up! I tried getting to her but when I tried to get closer, I started feeling sleepy! I figured that must have been what happened to Torch so I didn’t get any closer- so I tried calling out to her instead but she won’t wake up! No matter how loudly I call her nor how much I throw rocks!’ She told them woefully and the brothers were immediately troubled by this.

‘I’ve read of this world’s flora and one comes to mind.’ Wu says to his brother as the others gathered around, curious about the commotion.

‘Their Charming Flowers.’ Garmadad agrees, puzzling over how they could save their fallen dragon. ‘We must go. Perhaps my powers will be able to destroy the plants.’ He says, turning to Wu.

‘Do not be quick to rely on your destructive powers brother. You have yet to hone them. It is too great of a risk.’ Wu admonishes and Garmadad grumbles but he knew that was true.

There hasn’t been a moment to tame these abilities of his, what with all that happened after the fight against the Oni of their world.

‘We can’t sit around here and do nothing though.’ Lloydie protests, walking up to his father and uncle, Kai by his side.

‘Yeah. It’s obvious if we don’t wake them up somehow then they’ll stay asleep forever.’ Kai rumbled, looking up at the two.

“We have to get to the location to gauge the situation.” Zane pointed out. “My database tells me those who fall asleep under the flower’s influence will not wake so we are running out of time. We don’t know if removing Torch from the flowers will have her wake up naturally or if we need to do more to wake her up afterwards. Point is, we have a little less than three days to wake her up before she passes from dehydration.” He told them, watching the horrified looks that crossed the dragon’s face, save for Silver who didn’t understand human language.

“Then we haven’t a moment to spare.” Wu says, spreading his wing. ‘Silver, take us to the location.’ He requests and she nodded, flying off, both brothers taking off as well.

“We’ll follow with the Bounty.” Pixal says as she climbed up the ladder to the ship’s deck.

“You guys go. I’ll stay back at the tower. With both Uncle and my dad gone, someone has to keep an eye on things here.” Lloydie told the others.

“I’ll stay too. Two eyes are better than one.” Morro says as he walked over and Lloyd nodded, watching as the rest flew off as well.

“We’ll look after these two too.” Lloyd says, walking over to where Nix and Rux were looking at them in confusion but were cautious enough with the sudden change in atmosphere to stick close to Cole.

“Are you sure? I can stay if you need.” Cole offered.

“Yes, we’re sure. Our fathers will need your help. We may have been here for some time but this world is not ours. We are unused to it still.” Morro told them before he leaned down and picked Rux up by the back of his neck, the latter tucking his feet and wings close as he did.

“Go on. We’ll wait for you to get back.” Lloyd told them, doing the same to Nix before they spread their wings and flew off, back to the tower.

“We better hurry.” Nya says and they quickly spread their wings and flew up to the ship as Pixal began taking off.

____ The trip to the Forest of Tranquility was a short one, the group catching up with the dragons just at the outskirts of the forest. Already they faced a problem. As large as the Forest of Tranquility and its trees were, the elders were finding it impossible to fly through the thicket of trees, their bodies too large. Luckily, they could track Silver from above and fit through the trees by walking with their wings close.

‘She’s over there.’ Silver pointed out with her snout to the orange-red dragon fast asleep amidst a large bed of Charming flowers, animals and even people asleep around her. ‘I left this log here so I remember not to go any further.’ She rumbled, nudging said log blocking the path ahead.

“This is the largest gathering of Charming Flowers ever recorded.” Pixal says as she and the others came over as well. “They’re known to sprout in groups but this is several times larger than their standard patches.” She told them with a frown.

“But signs show that volcanic ash from the Temple of Fire seemed to have blown this way and greatly enriched the soil…” Zane murmured, scanning the faint patches of gray on the ground. “That combined with their abnormal grouping must have strengthened the flower’s influence.” He murmured in thought then lifted his head.

“Nevertheless, Pixal and I should be able to cut and kill the plants so everyone else can get to her.” He says as he turned to the elders who nodded.

“Be careful however. While we are unfamiliar with this world still, we are familiar with the magic that runs untamed in this world… And those plants have a lot of it.” Garmadad told them and they nodded before walking forward, Zane pulling out a kunai to cut the plants if needed while Pixal prepared her in arm saw.

They walked around the log, Zane leading the way- before he froze just two steps ahead, the wings he hadn’t bothered putting away flaring open wide to stop Pixal.

“Zane, what’s-”

“We can’t get to the plants.” Zane interrupted Cole’s call of concern.

“I’m afraid Zane is correct.” Pixal says as they backed away from the plants, Pixal holding her head. “The plant’s magic seems to be able to work on us as well. My sleep protocol was being activated on it’s own.” She told them as they retreated safely behind the log.

“Then-! How are we gonna save Torch and those other animals?!” Jay sputtered.

“We have to think.” Shard spoke up, sitting on his haunches to place a curled paw under his chin while the other supported his arm- a very human pose. “None of us can get close enough to the plants without falling under their influence but we still need to get close enough to destroy the plants. And I suppose none of you have any tools or means to reach from a distance?” He asked, looking to the ninja.

“Sadly, no.” Nya told them. “They’re way too far out for any tools we have and even if we did have something that long, it’ll be easier said than done moving it around through the trees, not to mention the fact that it would be time consuming. That and the weight of it would also become a problem.” She explained.

“Kai and I could try burning them but we aren’t certain if those other creatures are even alive.” Blaze says with a frown, glancing across at his doppelganger next to him.

“That and we’d cause a massive forest fire and endanger a lot of people.” Kai pointed out.

“Ice won’t be very helpful. We’d only end up freezing everyone and in order to get anyone out, we need to break the ice around them- and the plants will be in that ice around them.” Zane ruled out.

“Water’s a no go here too. There’s nothing we can do that wouldn’t risk Silver drowning.” Mist says and Nya nodded her agreement.

“Lightning’s a bust too. We’d either start a forest fire or electrocute Silver.” Jay shrugged, Wisp nodding his agreement.

“Earth won’t be able to do much either. We might crush someone- or worse.” Rocky spoke up and Cole nodded his agreement as well.

“My energy won’t do much. My powers kind of evolved out of shields.” Lloyd reported with a shake of his head, beady red eyes watching them from his hair.

“... Perhaps I could create a means to remove the flowers- or at the very least, it’s captors. But what?” Wu questioned in thought.

“That’s what we have to figure out, and soon.” Garmadad rumbled then draped a wing low, over Silver’s back as she watched Torch with pain in her eyes. ‘We will free her.’ He promised her, intent on keeping his word and she looked up at him hopefully before she nodded and looked back to her partner.

________

Thinking of something was easy. Thinking of something effective- and something that would actually work? Not so much. But this? This was their best idea yet. A means of transport that was air tight, that was small enough to get by the large trees with ease while having tools and equipment to extract and remove the flowers from the area. They had no time to build it manually so they took an emergency visit to Borg Tower for some supplied Cyrus gladly offered to them while eyeing the winged ninja curiously, and returned to the forest.

“Ok. Let’s do this.” Cole says, cracking his knuckles as all six of them stood around the pile of parts and equipment.

“Right.” Kai nodded in his more humane form before he activated his Spinjitzu, the others doing so shortly after before they began to converge, the dragons watching them as they did to create the Tornado of Creation.

In seconds, the parts and tools they sucked in became a small four wheeled vehicle with a glass capping at the top for easy viewing.

“Alright, I’ll go and see how fast we can cut this puppy down.” Nya says as she walked towards it, opening the glass hatch to slide inside.

“Be careful sis.” Kai told her, watching as she situated herself with the controls.

“Don’t worry, I will.” She reassured, flashing him a grin before she slid the hatch back into place and started it up.

The group watched hopefully as she drove ahead, passing the log and slowly driving closer. They watched with breaths held as she inched closer- then deflated once she came to a stop, reversing almost immediately after.

“The plant’s magic is too strong.” Garmadad rumbled, clearly as displeased as the rest of them.

Night was already falling and they just took a step back from any chances of rescuing Torch.

“Any chance of you guys having magic dragons?” Jay asked dryly, flopping down to sit with a frown on his face.

“Magic isn’t an element.” Shard pointed out.

“And metal is?” Jay pointed out with an arched brow. “Uh, no offense.” He added, looking to Silver who wasn’t even paying attention, being unable to understand them as she was.

“So sayeth the master of lightning.” Garmadad says dryly and Jay looked up at him insulted to have two Garmadons having used that quip on him now as Cole laughed.

“Snap, he got you again!” He chuckled and Jay stuck his tongue out at him.

Cole’s amusement didn’t last long though, watching the others help Nya out. No-one could get close without the threat of falling prey as well. He couldn’t help but think that he could have rescued Torch ages ago… If he was still a ghost.

______

Attempts came and went, all failing, all falling short. They were running out of time. It’s been roughly two days since they’ve arrived and they were all growing desperate. Nothing Wu created could help, nothing they thought of would work and Silver had tried twice already to throw herself into harm's way. They understood. She was watching her partner die right in front of her and they could do nothing to help. They had a few hours at best. They had to think of something. Had to keep trying. Cole was helpless to watch as his friends spent hours trying to solve this, running on as little as no sleep to just a few hours since they arrived.

The solution was simple yet so out of grasp. They needed an entity that wouldn’t be swayed by sleep magic, an entity that didn’t need to sleep. They needed a ghost. A ghost that could become solid at will, a ghost that would destroy and remove the plants so they could work on waking Torch up. He glanced at the rest of the team as they pitched ideas back and forth in the bridge, looking a bit worse for wear then headed down on the deck, finding the dragons in a similar huddle. If only he was a ghost still. Then, he could have saved them all the trouble.

He gave a dry huff then looked to the sky. He never thought there’d be a day where he actually wanted to be a ghost. Cole blinked then, a frown tugging his lips downwards as he felt his hands starting to go… Numb, the feeling spreading all over. He stepped back from the railings, bewildered as his sense of bodily awareness went… Mute. The last time he felt like this he was- Cole’s head snapped up as he gasped, realising what was happening now. No way… Was he actually… The low green glow that washed over him confirmed it as he watched himself becoming more transparent. This was almost exactly what they needed! He just needed to make himself solid! But could he even control it? He didn’t know how…

He thought back to all the times he did become solid. How did he do it? He didn’t put a lot of thought into it, he knows. When he had strong, positive emotions, he became solid in their room that first time. Afterwards, he wanted to do something that required him to be solid and when he went to do it, he just was. That made him think. It surely was worth the try.

“Wh- Cole?! Why are you a ghost again?!” Kai yelled down at him and Cole shot him a grin.

“We’ll figure that out later! Right now, I have a dragon to save!” Cole yelled back before he floated up to the bridge and towards the weapons closet as the others exclaimed behind him.

He flexed his fingers before he reached out for the handle, grinning once he became solid to grip it then opened it.

“It’s been a while.” He says fondly, pulling out his scythe and looked it over. “Time to kill a plant.” He grinned before he headed out the others following after him.

“Wait! We don’t know how the plant affects ghosts! This is magic, remember?!” Zane called after him.

“Sleeping magic. Ghosts don’t need to sleep so I should be good.” Cole dismissed, hopping over the railings.

“Should?!” Jay sputtered as they hopped over too. “Should isn’t secure enough! You’re somehow a ghost right now Cole! If you fall asleep, you might sink into the planet! How will we save you then?!” He yelled, jogging to catch up.

“That won’t happen though.” Cole shrugged, striding forward with purpose still.

“You don’t know that for sure!” Pixal protests.

“Well, we’re about to find out anyway.” Cole grinned, hopping over the log before charging forward with a run.

He just hopes this thing really doesn’t affect him… He was closing the distance between him and the slumbering dragon quickly, already reaching much farther than any of their attempts did. It was working! He’s so close! He swung his scythe back as he approached the massive bed of plants with their circular flowers hung low and immediately began slicing into them from the root, careful to not hurt the large dragon sleeping there.

“Oh my gosh! He’s actually doing it!” Jay grinned from a safe distance.

“But there’s a problem.” Zane warns, his eyes glowing brighter as he used his zoom feature to get a better look. “Torch is sleeping on a large amount of the flowers. In order to make the area safe enough for us to approach, he needs to get rid of 85% of the plants- 50% of which is located under Torch.” He told them and the team pondered on what to do.

“If only my powers were better honed. I coil destroy the plants without the need to move Torch.” Garmadad says with visible frustration and Wu lifted his head, getting an idea.

He sat on his haunches, bringing his front paws together and focusing his energy there, gaining Garmadad’s attention.

“You have an idea?” He asked his brother who only nods once, focusing.

The smokey gold orb of light focused, taking the shape of two circles. When the light finally vanished, there were two gold rings in his paws, confusing everyone.

"What are those supposed to do?" Wisp asked curiously as Wu gestured for Garm to lower his head.

“They are meant to focus and better control my brother’s powers so he may use them without worry they may go awry.” Wu explained as he slipped them onto his older brother’s prominent horns of destruction, the bands stopping mid way.

“Of course! The solution is so obvious now!” Blaze yelled as he face-winged.

“Now is as good as a time as ever to test how well they work.” Garmadad says, rolling his wings before gathering his destructive powers, the black/purple energy gathering between his horns and flickering lightly over his body. “Stand aside Cole.” He called and Cole’s head jolted up at his voice before he quickly backed up out of the way.

He shot a streamlined blast of his destructive energy ahead, keeping his intentions on destroying the flowers- and to his amazement, it impacted- and immediately began turning all the Charming Flowers in the large gathering of it to ash. Seeing the cursed flowers that threatened to take her partner away from her finally starting to fade to ash, Silver couldn’t stay away another moment. She charged ahead for the third time- this time breaking away successfully as the group hadn’t expected her to suddenly take off. The air didn’t have that warm, hazy air to it anymore and it only pushed her to run faster.

‘Torch! Torch wake up!’ She roared as she finally crossed the space between them, nudging her insistently. ‘Come on Torch! This isn’t the time to nap!’ She insists, tugging at her wing with her snout.

“The others?” Garm asked Cole in a low tone once he and the others walked over, the rest focusing on Torch.

Cole sighed as he stood from where a middle aged man laid and shook his head.

“Just Torch.” He told him and Garmadon gave a mournful nod.

“We will give them all a proper burial.” He told him and Cole nodded then turned to where Wu had immediately began instructing Mist to feed Torch some water, holding her head at a certain angle to avoid water in her lungs.

‘Why isn’t she waking up?’ Silver asked the white scaled elder with watery eyes, keeping close to her partner.

‘It might be the plant’s effect taking some time to leave her body.’ Wu told her. ‘But the sooner she awakens, the better. Perhaps this will help...’ He added, taking out a very small- by his standards- bag attached to a rope and passed it by her nose.

Torch jolted awake then on her feet and bewildered.

‘Huh? What?’ She asked, blinking quickly a few times before she lifted a paw to rub her eyes. ‘What happened?’ She asked then froze when she caught sight of Silver as tears slid down her scales.

‘Silver?’ Torch whispered softly, brushing her wing against the side of her face.

‘Torch… You…’ Silver’s voice wavered. ‘You… You idiot!’ The group startles once Silver smacked Torch over the head with a suddenly solid metal wing.

‘Ow!’

‘I told you to be careful flying in here! You almost died!’ Silver yelled at her as Torch rubbed her throbbing head, pouting.

“Well. Looks like Torch is alright. Save for a nasty bump on the head I’m sure she’ll have.” Wisp says dryly as Silver continued to scold Torch.

“But what about you, Cole? How did you become a ghost again?” Lloyd asked, looking towards their friendly ninja ghost.

“I’m not too sure to be honest. I mean, this time I actually wanted to be a ghost since ghosts don’t sleep and I could have cut those weeds to size. But I guess I didn’t consider the parts Torch was laying on.” He shrugged then looked at his hand. “I’d love to be human again though.” He mumbled then had a feeling of sudden heaviness- and he was!

“Woah!”

“You can become a ghost at will now?” Blaze asked, looking him over curiously as Cole flexed his fingers.

“Looks like it.” He grinned up at him and his friends. “Now this, I can get used to.” He says, flicking back and forth between ghost and human once more to test it.

“We’ll have to get used to that later.” Pixal told them, Zane agreeing.

“It appears that the plant’s magical energy has been keeping them perfectly preserved. But now that it’s gone…” Zane trailed off, looking towards the people and animals that still looked peacefully asleep.

“Right. Let’s put them to rest.” Cole whispered softly.

______

They returned back to the Labyrinth once the short burial was over and a check of the entire forest was done to eradicate large blooms of the Charming Flowers and those that managed to lull victims into their beds, they headed back to the Labyrinth. Torch and Silver were immediately greeted by friends once they arrived, all glad that they were both safe and laughing at the visible bump on Torch’s head.

“Welcome back. I’m glad you guys managed to save her.” Lloydie says as he and Morro greeted them, purring happily under their fathers’ greeting nuzzles.

“It was not an easy feat but it was one of opportunities.” Wu murmured, nuzzling Morro, the smaller dragon tilting up for more.

“You’ve both done well looking after the dragons in our absence. You will both be great leaders one day.” Garmadad praised them both.

“Nix! I missed you too!” Jay laughed as Nix tackled him over, nuzzling him fervently as he gave happy chirps and coos.

“Were you good for Morro and Lloyd?” Kai asked Rux as he stroked his head Cole holding him up in his arms.

Rux only gave them large eyes and a coo both ninja immediately took as a no.

“Of course.” Cole huffed at him.

“Well, another successful mission. It was touch and go but hey! Cole’s leveled up on powers!” Kai grinned, patting Cole on his back.

“Again.” Pixal added, recalling his lava arms.

“Honestly, after becoming a ghost twice in a pretty traumatic way, I think he deserves it.” Nya shrugged and the others had to agree.

“Now if only we could hear a word from Sensei Wu…”

_____________ (Loooong chapter update, yes but only because I'm taking the next 5 days to finish up a fic for Loving Cryptor Day on the 25th. I doubt it'll take that long to finish but It will actually be a pretty long fic so I'll take these five days just in case. After wards- or on the same day- I'll post the start of the finale and get down into business to wrap things up! That aside I really liked the idea of Cole also getting to keep his ghost powers so yea! Downside is that water in that form can still kill him so He won't always be keen to using it. Next chapter will begin with a time skip! Thanks for reading!)

[iusedtoreadmore]

ch27: light

all i want for christmas is another christmas. a loop on december 25. a way to reload this day forever. i really want to get stuck on this moment for the rest of my life with all my passion. why am i being so polite? I FUCKING LOVE CHRISTMAS