#get a read on right away. like it’s clear his morals are intact and he’s mostly a go with the flow sorta guy

[designernishiki]

character opinion akiyama :]

good timing since ive been playing him in y4 recently hehe

he’s a smug confusing little greasy bastard of a man who somehow has a law degree and the sexiest voice on earth. id have car sex with him

bonus: just look at this fucking guy. he’s embarrassing. I want him carnally

[likeabxrdinflight]

you know why season 0/the early manga of yugioh is interesting, because it was so clearly written before it was clear that atem was like...actually atem

the early version of the character was pretty transparently meant to be the other yugi, and only the other yugi, really until somewhere between bakura's first arc and the end of duelist kingdom. but they definitely weren't treated as especially separate characters at first, rather as two halves of a whole, until that point. it was first presented like magical DID more so than ghostly possession.

what's interesting about this is also kind of what's unfortunate about it- it's that yugi's character development also becomes atem's character development. as yugi becomes stronger and grows closer to his friends, so does his other self. yugi's friendships fuel all of atem's actions- atem isn't driven by anything that isn't also driving yugi. he acts like an extension of yugi's will, taking over only when yugi's soul isn't strong enough or physically able to continue.

earlier in this first arc, that tends to happen earlier in the conflicts. as the arc progresses, however, and yugi gets stronger and more confident, atem waits longer and longer to show himself. hell, in bakura's shadow game, it's not until yugi's soul is literally sealed away that atem even appears. as it was written, this arc seems to be the culmination of yugi's first arc- he is now strong enough and confident enough to believe in his friends wholeheartedly, and that faith allows his other self to believe just as much, and ultimately win the game. the two of them are treated like a whole person, like one duelist.

but what you can read into all this, once you know that atem is in fact an entirely separate person, is that this first arc is really about atem first becoming like yugi- about the healing effect yugi inadvertently had on him. when atem first appears, he's this demonic entity with a gambling addiction, meting out sadistic punishments on anyone who hurts yugi or his friends. I think we're first meant to believe this is an alternate personality that the dark powers of the millennium puzzle draw out, but actually no it's this amnesiac ghost in possession of ancient egyptian shadow magic who just got slammed with all the memories of the person whose body he can now possess.

so with hindsight, and you do kinda have to read this into it because atem's character is not explored as his own person until later, but this arc really becomes about how atem finds his chill. over the course of the season he doesn't stop doling out vigilante justice exactly, but he does calm the fuck down. the more he adopts yugi's identity as his own, the more he becomes like yugi- and it softens him. about mid way through season 0 the penalty games become a lot less sadistic and violent- atem goes from burning men alive and torturing them to insanity to making them think their make up is constantly flaking or getting doused in water on stage. there are several opponents he just lets go free, and by the end of the death-t arc he's not only saving mokuba's life, but he's shattering only the corrupted part of kaiba's soul, leaving the good parts of him totally intact. he gives kaiba the chance to heal, something he never did for his earlier opponents. he goes from morally ambiguous to outright good guy. and during the very last arc of this series, he's actively incorporated into the friend group in his own right, even if he is still being treated mostly as the other yugi.

and I think you can and should also infer that this is how he thinks of himself- he has no identity at this point so he totally and completely takes on yugi's and doesn't think twice about it. that would seem to contradict the later reveal that actually no he's a whole other person, but it kinda inadvertently works in its own way. because if the final arc is about atem and yugi separating, this first arc is how they come together.

[futureplayboibunnie]

‘Insatiable’

Dr Strange x Avenger! Fem! reader

friends (lowkey enemies bc i’m a slut for rough Stephen) with benefits dynamic babyyy

smutty slut smut with a drizzling of fluff and angst

MDNI or i’ll tear you limb from limb xxxx

You were waiting for him, like a dog with a bird sheathed between it's teeth, like a cat bringing a rat to its owner in leu of a present. You waited for Stephen, facing into the abyss that is your apartment door; ready to get the good fucking you've been desperate for all week. You were an Avenger, he was an Avenger. ..being collegues does overlap with the friends with benefits dynamic, but the problem is you weren't even friends.

Not mortal enemies either, you just harboured an unlikely distaste towards him and his arrogance and it was likewise with him towards you. However, his self-serving and his controlling nature was absolutely heaven sent and incredibly tailored to your tastes in the bedroom; so incredibly tailored to your tastes it was like he read your mind. You just wanted someone, anyone to just take the lead in the bedroom for once, you were becoming sick and borderline exhausted of you always being on top or always being the one to actually do something. Stephen challenged that stereotype. He came swooping in and knocking you off of your feet, you clocked that it was probably because of the growing heated tension between you beforehand and what made it even more absurd is that it wasn't even sexual tension at first..

——————-

You needed to get Stephen alone to scold him and berate his literal insanity after the tricks he pulled today. You were fuming, eyes twitching and all at his stupid fucking dispostion, his distrust towards you and the way he always has to hold the moral high ground as if his moral compass is so intact stung you. He almost got you killed, your tolerance was high and you firmly believed it so but today was the wrong day to fuck you over and you had to give him a piece of your mind and not let him get away scott free like the others did.

You dragged him by the scarlet cloak while the rest of the Avengers were getting ready to put this irritating cold sore of a day behind them as they stormed off to their respected rooms without a peep in the Avengers Compound. The arguments had already taken place on the field and feelings were hurt and insults were thrown around but you weren't done with Stephen. You pulled him to the confines of your room and a few attacks of your unsavoury actions were sprayed through the air, reminding you of things you already knew about yourself; slamming the door shut, you were left alone with Stephen Strange.

'What the fuck is wrong with you? Are you still whining about this?' His voice was just below a yell, eyebrows and lips creasing to form an angry frown.

'You still have yet to admit that you were wrong. Stephen, this isn't some playground where we can kiss and makeup after a petty argument you could have killed me and you're not showing an ounce of remorse for what you've done to me.' Your wild look met his, crossing your arms and slowly closing the gap between you so you could like him directly in the eye. Hoping to find a glimpse of humanity or guilt.

‘Oh yes, we're kissing and making up right now, you can't keep me here.’ He spun and headed for the door but there you were leaning on the door, desperately attempting to not let him go...you meant leave.

He stared down at you and your breathing became more shallow.

"You could have killed me.' You reminded.

'But I didn't.' He quickfired.

'Stop acting like a fucking child.’

"Stop acting like brat.’ He said lowly, his eyes thin and glassy. You spotted a wicked gleam to the black of his pupil and it sent a unnerving shiver to your spine. You had never heard Stephen's voice reach that deep of a level, the rich baritones of his cadence becoming excessively clear.

All you could do is blink up at him dumbly.

You stilled and he noticed, of course he noticed.

In a frezy of unfiltered fury and growing irritation at such an absurd reaction to something so stupid, you placed your hands on his chest and pushed him hard. He let out a dry gasp at such a ballsy response.

‘Fuck you.' You shouted.

You strained against him, seeking to shove past him but his large hands grabbed at your arms, pushing you back to the door and framing you against it.

'Let go of me Stephen! Let me the fuck go!' You panted and screamed at him, waving and shaking at your hands making every effort against him to stop your struggle. Eyebrows knitting together in vain as he ultimately had the last laugh, powering over you whilst pinning your hands against the door.

Your heart dropped into your lungs, letting a defeated gasp escape from your throat in the process. You were embarrassed at how your body was reacting to such a situation. You hated that you felt aroused at this inviting and delicious power play between the man that you felt a bubbling loathing for. The problem was is that this was the kind of dynamic you were craving...in bed, and here he was giving you a little taste of such a thing.

Stephen's mind was turning into static due to having you in such a compromising position, you and him didn't get along at the best of times and this was switch up from the norm. His oceanic eyes scanned your face through darting from feature to feature. He knew you were pretty. Scratch that it was something that everyone reminded him of, every man you interacted and toyed with wanted you stubborness and all. Stephen's eyes lingered at your lips a lot longer than what was socially acceptable, your lips parted and let out a prolonged breath that had been held hospice in your lungs for a while. His grip tightened against your wrists and you stifled a moan.

Your face whipped to the side as well as leaning your head on the door startled by the intense eye contact Stephen was bestowing on you. You had to admit his eyes were glowing with a glorious vigour. The bluest of blue.

The skin of your neck was exposed for him and he had to stuff down the urge to kiss and bite at it. He was mad at himself for wanting to do that, especially with someone as bitter as you.

He'd get you sweet for him, in time.

He shook the thought out of his head as quickly as it came.

Without thinking, he leaned in to the base of your neck and his hot breath encompassed the skin there, tickling the tips of your eyes during.

'You should be grateful I had such initiative to save your life.' He muttered.

Stephen became increasingly irate as he knew you weren't listening to him, you had your ears cut off at everything he said on purpose. His left hand unpinned yours and came up to pinch at your cheeks to force you to stare at him in the eye and your eyes widened, noticing that his hand was cradling your face upwards in such a rough fashion, something that you'd seen only in erotic films. You'd never experienced it in real time.

‘Look at me.' He gritted raggedly. You let out an exasperated huff through your nose as a response but you were quite literally melting into him.

'Go ahead Stephen. Shut me up, go on. I dare you.' Your eyes casting down to his lips, hoping he would get such an obvious hint. You were sure your brain wasn't in your head at this moment in time.

He was willing to take such a desirable challenge.

His lips collapsed into yours at such a fast rate, your mind was just reeling already. Lips against lips friction shooting through you both deliciously. Stephen could feel your heartbeat twitching in your lips and it aroused him more than it should have, you opened your mouth begging to just slip his tongue to explore the depths of your throat. His lithe muscle licked at you and you moaned out such a sweet noise for him and he felt his cock harden already.

He pulled you off of the door by grabbing you by the waist and dragged you to your bed, lips still connected as if he would lose his mind if he let go. He sent the Cloak of Levitation to hang itself on the otherside of the room as he quite literally threw you on the bed with no care to where you were placed. You let out such a cute little gasp at his exertion.

You couldn't wait for him to give you what you were begging for.

——————————

And here you were, waiting once again for him wearing a black lacy lingerie set, in a desperate attempt to impress him for another night of lust filled passion even though most times you'd just wait for him naked.

Ever since that first night, you had promised it was just a way for you both to relieve the pent up anger and sexual aggression and that it was strictly between friends, no relationship. Overly cautious to not be found out by the others on the team, instead of sharing these nights in your own room at the Avengers Compound you shared them in your apartment instead. You felt like a teenage girl the way you were tying to impress him, you were becoming more and more needy for him these days and he hadn't been able to give you what you had been craving for a week considering he was busy with the Sanctum Sanctorum and other sorcerer obligations. Darkness encased most of your apartment, only a few ambient lamps lighting a few corners up.

A week you had been missing him, a week you haven't had him.

You detested the way he was beginning to mean this much to you, it was strictly just sexual pleasure but half of you needed more, wanted more.

You found yourself daydreaming at a nonexistant relationship with Stephen, souls intertwining fully and twin flames being lit. You felt pathetic, truly pathetic.

Lost in your idle overthinking, Stephen knocked at your door but you hestiated even though most time you'd open the door so eagerly. Finally having the guts to open the door, you smirked at the idea he could easily portal here but he took the long way as just a means of politeness even though he shows you the opposite of politness in bed.

The door creeked and showed the absolutely perfect picture of Stephen, he looked more gruff than usual, he looked even more attractive and you often thought that it was impossible. He let out a gutteral groan at the sight of you, so sweet, so willing and waiting for him.

‘I need you.’

He spared no time in kicking the door shut and wrapping his arms around your waist and kissing your neck. You let free a stifled moan, a little adament but within a split second falling deep within him. Your lips met together in a spitfire, tongues tangled already.

He slung his cloak off before hoisting you up and walking you to the bed he got so familiar with alongside your body; memorising every curve, every spot that makes you see shattered starlight and it was beautiful. He was currently angry with himself; for the prolonged amount of time he's spent with you giving you whatever you wanted and you giving him whatever he wanted in return, every position, every kind of dirty talk you both wanted, but you didn't give him what he needed.

Stephen needed to immerse himself in you fully...he needed you to be the most interesting thing about him, he needed you to give him the privilege of being the woman he could hold like water in his hands so softly and tenderly. He needed you to be his: passion, sex, triumphs, downfalls and everything in between.

He threw you on the bed, desperation radiating off of him to be inside of you. He untied his robes, kicked off his boots until he was only left in his pants and he peeked up at you to find you spreading your legs slowly ready to welcome him back home. He nestled between your legs and gripped at your thighs wildly, nails digging into the soft supple flesh. You ruffled up his hair with your fingers and tugged at his scalp; he had to stare at you for a moment before he cemented his lips on yours. You were so effortlessly gorgeous, it's like being enchanting was second nature for you.

'I've had a bad day today, in fact I've had a bad week without you.’ He breathed, staring down at you.

'Take it out on me Stephen, I can take it. Please, I've just missed you.’ You leaned in and kissed at his neck.

'All I could think about this week was being in you.' He groaned as he flitted his eyes shut at your actions: The admission perked you up and it made you beam slightly.

With no time to lose, your lips crashed into his and it was like he was teleported to the high heavens; your lips were coated in a sickly sweet cherry gloss and it spurred him on further. He had to get you naked. In a temper, he placed his hands on the bustier of your lingerie and ripped it off with ease. You let out a sudden whine at the cool air that hit your nipples and he gawked at the way they peaked for him as always. He always remarked at your tits, he thought they looked perfect in your suit.

Stephen palmed at them and flicked your nipples, arousal shot through like wildfire zipping through your core. You were becoming more and more wet but you were always wet for stephen. He kissed your stomach and your libido before tearing off your panties with his teeth. You couldn't control the high pitched pornographic moan that came out of your mouth, Stephen was staring at your glistening pussy and he felt like a kid at Christmas; you always gave him so much of yourself. He was about to eat you out but you stopped him before he could do anything.

‘No, Stephen. Come here, put your cock in me and fuck me crazy, you need this more.’ You whispered breathily, he raised his eyebrow. Again, you’re always giving yourself. He crawled his way back up to you.

"You look like heaven.' He half smilled through hooded lids, observing your hair flowing out on the pillows so delicately, the angles of your face dimly lit by the muted atmospheric light. You blushed bashfully at the comment as you wrapped your arms around his neck.

He kicked his pants and boxers off and positioned his cock to fit inside you so perfectly as always. Your eyebrows knitted in pleasure alongside your gaping mouth as he pushed himself inside of you, placing both hands on the curve of your hips. Pistoning his cock in and out of you, he caught a glance of your face contorting in desperation moaning and panting breathlessly as did he. It was all just indescribable, your pussy was made for him. You were made for him, your bodies fit together so perfectly like a jigsaw puzzle. You kept calling his name and it made him growl in your ear like an animal.

You felt him twitch inside of you indicating that he was about to cum inside of you and the final fleeting touch at your tits did it in for you. You sensed yourself cracking as a white hot wash of euphoria whizzed through you as you came on his cock and in turn it electrified Stephen you both felt intertwined and you felt your tongue form the words you'd regret later.

‘I love you.' You whispered against his lips and he stilled, completely taken aback.

The confession made him lose his mind, he released himself inside of you and groaned into your neck to bite at it. You thought you completely lost him and you'll never see each other the same ever again. He rolled and planted himself beside you and you daren't move an inch, completely and utterly humilated.

'I'm sorry." You panted, unable and far too embarrassed to look him in the eye.

'For what?' He taunted and you weren't sure if you were about to cry or laugh.

"Fuck you!' You got up from the bed and attempted to pad away into the bathroom. Stephen knew he fucked up due to his dumbass response, he shot up and leaned from the bed as his legs dangled from the side.

He caught onto your wrist before you could slip away into the abyss and pulled you back into him. You gasped at him, your only view being Stephen blinking up at you with those beguiling eyes of his. He looked defeated and you knew what he was going to say was going to upset you further. He encompassed his arms down the expanse of the small of your back and your ass, squeezing at it before ultimately slapping at it. It was so unexpected and made your mind melt. You placed your hands on his shoulders to steady yourself.

"You're insatiable. Every time we're spending these nights together, you take and take from me and I leave with a little bit of me staying here forever. But I don't want those little bits staying here, I want all of me here. With you.'’ He admitted with those pretty words of his, your eyes widened and contorted in confusion, unable to comprehend the words that were spelt out in front of you.

'You're kidding right?' You let out a dry laugh, it was all that you could say.

"You're an idiot. You couldn't see what was right in front of you, how much I crave you and how much I just needed to feel you, not just your body but in every other way. It's like you've possessed me and I'm a man of biology and logisitics but what you cast upon me is none of that. It was like you were sent for me by God himself.’ His fingers traced at the back of your thighs and you honestly thought you were dreaming until he planted a kiss on your lower stomach which snapped you right back into reality.

'After that first night it felt like I've always loved you." You admitted, following it with a nervous gulp as it felt like your heart was literally beating inside of your throat.

He pushed him down back on the bed and straddled him, your hair falling down and grazing his face. You kissed Stephen softly this time, a prolonged light peck as if it were between two kids who didn't know what a kiss was.

‘How we've got away with this insanity without the others knowing is beyond me.’ You smiled into his lips and he couldn’t help but laugh at such comedic timing.

——

BRUH ALL I WRITE IS PORN but it’s ethical porn yk what i’m saying

[randomshyperson]

Left Behind - Chapter 6 - Once a Promise, Always a Promise.

Gif was made by my official gif maker friend @abimess

Summary: The one where you lived in the apartment under the Maximoff family in Sokovia, or, your journey as a Sokovian civilian to Avenger.

Warnings: (+16) Violence, fighting, cursing, civil war environments, abuse of power, assault, torture, underage kissing, psychological torture, substance use, mention of assault/fighting of children, smut, kissing, teasing, insinuation of sexual and moral harassment, verbal offenses.

Words: 4.753k

A/N> It's been 84 years... I just hope someone still reads this haha Let me know what you think

All Works Masterlist || Read on AO3 || Series Masterlist

//-//-//-//-////-//-//-//-////-//-//-//-////-//-//-//-//

Chapter 6 - Once a Promise, Always a Promise.

When you wake up, you get your ass beaten up by an unknown woman.

You awaken all at once, advancing against the woman who was watching you sleep. Her surprise only lasts a second, however, as the next she returns your blow and knocks you to the ground, a gun pointed straight at your face.

Wide-eyed, you realize where you are and raise your hands.

"Sorry, sorry." You can quickly. "I thought I was in the lab again. Who the hell are you by the way?"

The woman raises her eyebrow at you.

"Cap, get over here before I shoot her."

And the next second, a blond man is running into the area of the ship where you are, looking worried.

"Let's all calm down, okay?" He asks as he sees the gun extended, and waits for the woman to put it down. You sigh lightly, rising to stand up.

"I'm sorry I attacked you, Miss." You ask as soon as you are on your feet, and massage your shoulder, which hit the ground hard when she knocked you down.

"It's fine, you just got beat up anyway." She teases, making you give a short laugh.

You were about to ask if they could let you off the ship anywhere, but a low groan of pain beside you caught your attention.

Just then you noticed the man lying on the stretcher next to you a few feet away, a large wound in his rib. You are also able to notice the rest of the ship, there is a man piloting a few meters away, and two men sitting further ahead, talking to each other.

"Hey, I can help." You stated immediately, but as soon as you moved, the woman stood in front of you, looking at you with suspicion and defiance, and you swallowed dryly. "I-I can heal him." You clarified, but the woman only changed her posture when the man next to you touched her forearm.

"Can you do that?" He asks you, and you nod. You wait for the woman to take a step back to approach the man on the stretcher.

"Hey, are you guys sure of this?" The man lying down asked uncomfortably, and you raise your hands in the air.

"Hi, I'm Y/N, I won't hurt you, I promise. "You guarantee it." Can I heal your injuries?" You ask and wait for him to confirm.

The wound is deep, but you have dealt with much worse.

"How did you do that?"

"It was nothing." You say as you put your hands down. His skin was completely intact again.

"This sure is cooler than lightning, huh, Thor?" Commented the blond as he sat down on the stretcher, clearly feeling better. The long-haired man at the back of the ship looks at you curiously as he stands up, and when he notices his colleague completely healed, he looks impressed.

"This sure is an interesting skill for a mortal." He says to you, and you don't know exactly what to make of those words, but you don't have time to comment, because he is already approaching to introduce himself. "My name is Thor Odinson, god of thunder."

You frown.

"G-god of thunder?" You repeat confused. "Sorry, is that some kind of joke?"

The woman next to you giggles, moving to sit on the stretcher next to the man you healed. The blond man in front of you looks slightly offended, but his expression softens immediately.

"I understand that at first, mortals may be incredulous at such a..."

"No, I just thought the title was funny." You interrupt the blond man, surprising him. "You guys are the Avengers, aren't you? My master has already told me about you."

“Your master?”

It is the other blond guy in the blue uniform who asks. You mentally repress yourself.

"Damn, sorry." You say. "It's what I used to call the soldiers and doctors who gave me orders."

"Your files say that you disappeared in Sokovia when you were younger, and what we found at the base were the records of the experiments they did on you." He adds, and you twiddle your fingers nervously. "I just want to make sure you're not going to try to bring the plane down with everyone inside."

The attempted joke is enough to make you smile, but you are beginning to feel overwhelmed. You really were free. After all this time, the idea seemed almost absurd.

You try to control your emotion at once, and the man seems to notice, because his expression softens immediately.

"Hey, come have a seat." He asks, signaling to one of the empty chairs, and you obey. "My name is Steve Rogers, and I promise you're safe now. Hydra will never hurt you again."

You nod frantically, feeling the tears in your eyes. But you try to normalize your breathing, not wanting to cry in front of strangers.

"I'm sorry, I just... I've just been trying to get away for so long." You confess next, wiping your eyes quickly. "It's weird to think I succeeded."

"We are going back to the Avengers tower now. Is there anyone you would like to get in touch with?" He asks, and his words make your stomach sink.

"Yes." You say. "But I have no idea where they are."

"Who? Your family?"

You give a short laugh.

"Yeah, I guess so. They were..." You start trying to remember exactly. You didn't even know how long it had been since the time you saw the twins at the Hydra base. You had no idea if they were alive, but you wanted to believe they were. Taking a deep breath, you continue. "They were my friends. Wanda and Pietro, we grew up together. They... I saw them once. When I still had the serum in my head. I..."

Seeing your difficulty in organizing your thoughts, Steve interrupts you by touching your forearm.

"It's okay." He says. "We'll find the twins."

"So they really are alive?"

Steve smiles.

"Yes." He answers and you feel your body relax all at once. "They ran away, I imagine they were scared, but we'll find them."

You gasp, unable to control your tears. Neither Steve nor the rest of the Avengers seem to care.

When you calm down, Steve introduces you to the rest of the team.

You are not exactly happy to meet Tony Stark. The mention of his last name makes you frown, because you know it was a Stark bomb that blew up your home at Sokovia, but when you accuse Tony, he seems really upset.

"Well, I guess you can get on the list of people who hate me then." He grumbles and you cross your arms, the whole team sensing the tension in the air.

"You could at least apologize for blowing up half of Sokovia with your weapons." You retort angrily, and the man rolls his eyes, not getting up from the armchair you were in.

"Sure, no problem. I'm sorry, kiddo. Happy?"

You clench your jaw, but before you can say anything, Steve steps forward.

"Tony, try not to be a jerk, okay?" The captain speaks and the other man lets out a wry laugh. "Have at least some respect for the girl's story."

"I have respect, Captain." He assures as he stands up, looking impatient. "What I don't have is time to revisit the past while our enemies get more and more powerful." He says and you frown in confusion. "I've already banned weapons production in the industries, and we've already taken on Hydra in that place. Now we can move on, because I need to get back to the compound and understand exactly what that thing is."

He speaks and finishes by signaling to the opposite side, and it is only then that you notice the shining scepter on the far side of the room and let out a surprised exclamation, taking three steps backwards.

"How did you guys get this?" You ask horrified and the team looks at you curiously.

"Have you seen the scepter before?"

"Of course I have!" You reply. "That's what gave me the healing! The damn stone went through my chest."

Thor steps forward, looking at you in surprise.

"So Hydra were able to decipher the scepter?

You laugh humorlessly.

"If by decipher you mean press the scepter against my chest while preening me in an iron chair, then yes." You reply, but take a deep breath to calm yourself. "A yellow stone came off as soon as the scepter touched me. And well, it went right through my skin. When I woke up, I could heal. But whatever it is, it killed all the soldiers who were holding me."

Thor seems to consider your words as Steve tells you that he is sorry for what you went through in Hydra.

Suddenly you remember where you first saw him.

"The man on the bridge!" You exclaimed, surprising him, but you were getting your memories gradually, and your heart was racing. "You are Captain America.... My god, where is Bucky?"

"Great, another fan of the metal arm." Tony comments sarcastically, but no one seems to care.

Steve looks at you with a frown.

"Is he safe? Is he free? Can I see him?" You ask promptly next, and Natasha chuckles.

"Hey, calm down." Steve asks and you swallow dryly, trying not to feel so overwhelmed with so many memories coming back at once. "How do you know Bucky?"

You blink in surprise.

"He...he didn't talk about me?"

It takes a second, and then Steve's eyes widen.

“Oh my god, you’re the guardian!

"I am what now?"

Steve lets out an incredulous laugh.

"The guardian." He repeats as if you were going to understand what he meant.

Natasha clears her throat.

"Captain, perhaps you'd better explain." She asks and Steve gestures quickly.

"We've been looking for you for months." Steve then adds, causing you to widen your eyes in surprise. "Bucky he... he's been trying to find you since he escaped. But he didn't know your name. All he knew was the nickname you got from the soldiers. The golden guardian of death. It's been our only tip to find you."

"I thought it was just golden guardian." Clint adds next, Nat makes a noise of agreement.

"No, I'm sure it was just Guardian of Death." Thor comments, but you are barely listening to the teasing, feeling your thoughts racing.

Steve raises his hands to your shoulders.

"Thank you so much for saving Bucky." He says before hugging you. You feel your neck heat up at the sudden contact, but do your best to reciprocate.

Steve lets you go then, smiling.

"He's going to be so happy to see you."

"Where is he?"

"At the compound." Steve replies. "He cannot attend field missions, it's part of the pardon. It's too much bureaucracy to explain now.."

"I think he's just lazy." Tony adds wryly, making the Avengers giggle.

And Steve's smile dies briefly.

"What's with you today, anyway, Stark?"

Tony sighs impatiently, finally rising from his armchair.

"I'm sorry if I'm not reacting in the way you consider proper captain, but I'm concerned about getting to work soon." He says as he moves toward you two. “I need to find out what this thing really is.”

"No, Stark, you won't touch this." It is Thor who announces, and all the avengers look genuinely surprised.

"I beg your pardon?" Stark retorted, but Thor didn't hesitate before he looked at you next.

"Describe to me again how you got your healing, mortal."

You sigh lightly.

"They locked me in an iron chair and brought the scepter." You narrated. "But they lie me on the chair next, and I could only feel the metal against my skin, and then I saw a yellow light. Something went right through my chest, and then right through." You say. "I blacked out for a second, the room was completely empty like a vision. When I blinked, it was back, but all the soldiers holding me were dead. And then they knocked me out."

"Before you said you saw a yellow stone?"

You nodded in agreement.

"I dreamed of this memory for several days." You clarify. "I was back in the room, but this time I watched myself. I saw when they put the scepter to my chest, and when the golden stone came out and went through my skin. It was the stone that released the wave of energy that killed the soldiers .I don't know why I didn't die too."

"A single blow that killed a group of soldiers at once." Thor mutters more to himself than to the rest of the teams. "It's decided then, no mortal must touch this. It's clearly far more power than anyone should have."

"This is ridiculous." Thor accused the next moment, making the team look at him curiously. "You can't just deny knowledge about something like that and..."

"Why are you so insistent on this, Tony?" It's Steve who asks suspiciously. Tony sighs, and gives a short laugh.

"You guys are unbelievable, you know." He says. "I'm trying to find new alternatives to our problems."

"What problems?" Steve asks with a confused grimace, and Tony rolls his eyes, looking nervous.

"Our enemies, Captain!" He snarls. "In case you haven't noticed, it hasn't been too long since we faced an army of robots coming from a hole in the sky!" He accuses. "We don't have the power to face this kind of thing. The scepter is exactly what I need to prevent the worst from happening."

"Where did that come from, Tony?" Steve retorted confused.

Stark gave a short laugh, rolling his eyes.

"I don't have time for this." He grimaced and moved to grab the scepter, but Thor stood in the way, arms crossed. "Really?" Tony impatiently charges, but Thor doesn't move. Stark clenches his jaw before declaring angrily. "I had a vision, okay? I saw all of us, defeated. Defeated because we didn't have the power to win. And I... I could have prevented it."

The avengers look as confused as you are, and remain silent. Tony sighs and runs his hand through his hair.

"It was New York again, but this time the enemy won." He continues, visually upset. When he lifted his face in Steve's direction, his look was angry, but his eyes had tears in it. "And you told me that I could have stopped it."

“I wouldn't do that.” Steve says. “If we ever lose, I wouldn't blame you, Tony.”

Tony gives a short laugh.

“Wouldn’t you really?” He retorts. “I’m pretty sure you would, cap.”

Steve takes a step forward, his eyes soften as he looks at his friend.

“I promise you, Tony. If we lose, we lose together.” He declares. “That’s what being an Avengers means. I’m sorry if I was not clear before, and made you feel any different than this or…”

“Stop it!” Tony angrily interrupts. You flinch because you think you saw a familiar red light in his eyes. “Cut this sentimental crap, Steve. I’m just trying to do what’s necessary here.”

“Back off, Stark!” You order as you noted how he has moved his wand to the scepter, he seems surprised by the action too. You move in his direction as he takes two steps back, looking irritated. You gave him no time to answer however, as you raise your hands over his head and touch his forehead with your fingers before he can complain.

Immediately, you can feel the remnants of magic on Tony's head. You don't recognize it at first, but as your own magic removes the other energy, you sigh slightly. It feels familiar, but you don't know why. The energy is still harmful though, probably due to the intention of the one who cast it, but you manage to clean it all up.

You succeed because you coordinate your magic to wipe the other energy like you usually clear and heal wounds, and it seems to work, because Tony raises his hands to your wrist, his wide-eyed eyes soften and he looks almost startled.

"I'm sorry." He asks and swallows dryly. You remove your fingers from his forehead completely, watching with curiosity. He takes a deep breath, blinking several times as if waking up. "I'm sorry, everyone, I... Damn, it was like a horrible dream. I need to lie down for a minute."

And with that he leaves.

You don't ask questions anymore, because Steve is going after him, and you are trying to figure it out why you still feel the unknown magic tingling at your fingertips, as if it is trying to merge with yours.

//-//

You cry when you see Bucky again.

He lets out a disbelieving laugh, and then he's running up, hugging you tight.

Your conversation is long and intense, and is almost mostly made up of gratitude.

The other Avengers seem very happy to see the whole interaction, especially Steve.

Tony isolates himself in his room as soon as you arrive, and Thor looks upset. He and Bruce discuss something, and then they go to talk to Tony.

You don't pay attention because you are listening to Bucky tell you about getting all his memories back, and living with the Avengers since you helped him. He was now free from Hydra's control, and was pardoned by the state on condition that he was no longer the Winter Soldier.

Nat also added in his narrative the information that he and Steve were "making fondue" and the joke made him laugh with red cheeks but you didn't understand what that meant.

You are very happy to see him, but you can't help but think that he was not the one you wanted to find when you were free.

When he introduces you to the rest of the compound, and to your room, you hug him in appreciation, and you both exchange a knowing look, finally acknowledging that you are safe.

//-//

Your first night in the compound is a strange one.

After meeting the whole team, who were polite despite having fought you a few hours ago, you received a full meal and then locked yourself in your room.

But you were not used to having such a soft bed, not even before Hydra, so sleeping seemed kind of impossible.

Figuring that the Avengers wouldn't mind you taking a late night stroll, you left your room.

"Are you lost, girl?" A female voice suddenly sounded making you jump in fright. It was Natasha Romanoff, or as she introduced herself earlier, Black Widow.

"S-sorry, ma'am." You retorted clumsily, and the woman raised her eyebrows at you. "I can't sleep."

"First, I'm not old, so don't call me ma'am." She commented wryly, and you tried to smile. "Second, I know the feeling. If you want, I can distract you."

Your last social conversation with a woman happened a long time ago, and then you find yourself asking:

"Are you inviting me to have sex?"

Nat lets out a surprised laugh, crossing her arms.

"Where did that come from?" she asks, and you scratch your neck lightly.

"Sorry, I learned how to talk to women from television shows that Hydra soldiers watched in the labs. Bad references. What did you mean by distracting me?"

Nat laughed, impressed by your words.

"I meant like have some tea and tell a story." She clarifies, not sounding the least bit upset. You put your hands in the pockets of the pajamas you've been given.

"R-right. That sounds more appropriate." You mumble with flushed cheeks, eliciting another laugh from the woman. As you begin walking side by side, she comments.

"You know, I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with you around here. You are just as awkward as Steve and Bucky."

You end up hearing a story about agents in Budapest, but it seems Nat doesn't tell the whole story. It's nice, though, you missed talking to someone.

"That thing you did earlier with Tony, that was really cool." Nat remarks after a pause in silence.

You take a sip of your tea after shrugging, but she seems inquisitive.

"How did you know it was Maximoff who messed with his head?"

You almost choke at the sudden mention of the name and Nat's watchful gaze makes it impossible to disguise. You sigh.

"I... They are my friends." You confess looking down at the cup, "Or they used to be."

Raising your gaze to Nat again, she only seems curious to know, and you shrug slightly, deciding to trust her.

"We grew up together in Sokovia." You count twirling your fingers on the handle of your cup, "They were the only family I had in the orphanage. And well, it was for them that I broke into a Hydra building."

Nat listens to your story intently, and you swallow dryly before continuing.

"When they captured me, the serum, it... well, it didn't exactly leave me conscientious." You try to explain. "It was like pushing all my memories away, my mind would become completely empty."

“"Is that what they did to Bucky?" Nat questions and you shake your head.

"No, they used electric shock on Bucky." You return with a grimace. "With me, they couldn't hurt me permanently, so they needed something that would make me obey without me being able to heal. It was like being drunk, I guess, only much worse."

“I’m sorry.”

"It 's fine.” You say with a sad smile. “I was dumb enough to go there, i knew the risks.”

“Don’t say that.” Nat asks with a serious voice. “It’s was not your fault they torture kids.”

"And whose fault is it, then?" You retorted, upset, with yourself more than with Nat or anyone else. "My friends for being stubborn idiots? Of Stark for throwing a bomb in my building? I'm tired of looking for reasons to justify what happened to me. Nothing is enough, and I just want to see my friends."

Nat sighs lightly, and raises a hand on the table to reach for yours. You want to hold back the tears, but they are already falling before you can do so.

"I promise we will find your family." She assures you tenderly, and you feel your heart soar at the possibility.

You nod in understanding, taking a deep breath to stop crying.

Nat squeezes your hand, and it takes a moment for you to speak again.

"Wanda." You begin, and almost sob. It has been a long time since you have spoken that name. "She... She must have gotten her powers the same way I did." You say trying to remember everything you witness in Hydra at that moment. "I remember the soldiers talking about the twins being the only ones to survive the stone besides me."

"From Shield records, we know she can manipulate energy and Pietro can run really fast." Nat informs as she releases your hand. She sits thoughtfully for a moment."Maybe because you all got the magic through the same source, you can heal what she can do to Tony's mind. But that's not really my area, maybe you should talk to Thor as well."

You sigh lightly, wiping away the remainder of the tears falling on your face.

"I will." You say. "But I want to find Wan-the twins first." You correct yourself quickly, hoping Nat doesn't notice your flushed cheeks. She does, but says nothing.

"Try to get some rest." She asks as she picks up the teacups. "We have a party coming up, and then Thor is supposed to return to Asgard. I imagine you will want to have a little chat with Bucky before you return to Sokovia."

"I would go back to Sokovia right now if you ask me." You mutter making Nat chuckle lightly. "But I don't want to disturb any of you. I've waited for a long time, I can wait a little longer."

When Nat turns around after putting the glasses in the sink, she has a soft expression.

"You are not a nuisance here, kid." She assures with a smile. "We've just been caught a little by surprise with a new person, but it will be a pleasure to help you find the twins." She says and then has a mischievous expression. "I shouldn't tell you yet, but Steve is pretty excited about the whole thing. He wants you and the twins to join the team eventually."

"Really?" You ask in surprise and Nat just mumbles in agreement, still smiling.

She turns around on the countertop and before she leaves, she turns to you.

"If you ask my opinion, you seem to care a lot about both of them." She says. "I think that no matter how much time has passed, or if they are fighting on opposite sides, she will be happy to see you."

You swallow dryly, looking away.

Nat smiles one last time before leaving and you twiddle your fingers nervously, sitting for a while at the table before returning to your room.

With much to think about, you are surprised that you fall asleep almost instantly as you lie down.

//-//

The Hydra serum is still in your system.

You realize it in a rather embarrassing way actually.

After waking up on the couch, you went to the kitchen.

Bucky tells you that all the team is having a meeting and they will join you two soon, so you just lay against the wall while he reads the newspaper out loud for you.

The Avengers stay in the meeting room for a long time, and don't seem very pleased when they leave, but Tony seems intrigued.

You are surprised that he comes to talk to you as soon as he sees you.

"I didn't thank you for yesterday, kid." He says with a smile. "Whatever you did took away that bad feeling. Now I can work without having to hide that I'm trying to help."

You didn't quite know what to respond, but it didn't matter because Tony was patting you on the shoulder before smiling contentedly at the rest of the team.

"While I figure out a way to decipher the stone, which won't be hard since I'm incredibly smart." He begins his speech, causing the group to let out debauched laughter. "You guys can get busy with whatever old people do for fun. Except you Thunderlord, I'm going to need your help in the lab."

"Wow, Tony Stark asking for help." Thor teases and you watch the interaction with a smile on your lips, moving to join the table. "What a little magic doesn't do to your head, heh?"

"Don't tease me, Thundercat. I'll throw you out of this building, and you won't get any breakfast." He says with false seriousness and you laugh lightly as you pour yourself a cup of coffee. "Hey, kid, give me some too?"

"Ja, Master." You respond mechanically, perhaps even a little sleepily. The Avengers look at you with curiosity and confusion as they see you mechanically pour the coffee, and hand it to Tony, who looks shocked.

"He is not your master, kid." It is Natasha who breaks the silence, and you blink in confusion looking around for a moment.

"R-right." You say. "Sorry about that, Tony. Old habits I guess."

Tony thanks you for the drink, and you think the subject is going to die, but then Natasha keeps looking at you.

"Hey, Y/N, come over here." She asks and you move immediately. Shit. Natasha raises her eyebrow. "Take two steps to the left." Your body obeys. “Now to the right.” She asks and you obey again. This is terrible. The widow looks at you impressed.

"That looks bad." Tony quickly mocks before waving for Thor to accompany him to the lab, justifying that they should get to work soon.

Nat continues to look at you incredulously, but then Steve gets up from the table as well and snaps his fingers in front of your eyes, making you jump in fright slightly. He assumes a worried expression afterwards.

"You are obeying our orders as if we were your masters." He says. "Let's go see Bruce in the lab, he'll want to run some tests."

When you reach the lab, and Steve explains to Bruce what happened at breakfast, you are not surprised that he puts needles in your arm. You hope the news will be good when he finishes assessing your blood.

//-////-////-////-////-////-////-////-////-////-////-////-////-////-////-//

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[bluegarners]

hiya @viceturtle! I finally got it done! Here is your Bad Things Happen Bingo request with Dick and Jason; you can also read it on ao3

What Have I Done?

It’s a lot. He’s not going to lie.

Dick was dead for eight months. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It was a fact that they were all forced to deal with, all forced to live with. Dick was dead and there was nothing any of them could do about it. And for a time, Jason had held onto the small belief, he’s not going to call it hope, that Dick had somehow managed to pull through. That even despite the beatings, the torture, everything before and after it, Dick had managed to pull through and come out of it all alive.

But he hadn’t. That was the thing, at its core. Dick died. 

Jason knows what it is to be dead. To be beaten and left to die. To struggle and still search for a way out of the shit hole you’re suddenly in and cling to that light, that stupid, stupid promise in the back of your head that screams, Help is coming, just hold on a little longer, that forces you to keep struggling, keep surviving, keep hoping for a way out despite the circumstances. Jason knows and it absolutely sucked. 

He died and then clawed his way out of his own coffin. One of his fingers is permanently misshapen, wood chips and metal piercing through his stiff and cold skin. He’s got scars all over his body to prove that he died, to prove that he was beaten with a crowbar, messed around with like he was just some dummy, some thing that could take a beating and then some. Up and down and across and lined; the scars are all over him and he died.

And Dick died too. 

In those eight months, Jason felt more connected to his deceased older brother than he ever had before. A deep and twisted connection over a shared death, a similar fate so convoluted it makes Jason sick to think about sometimes. His murderer is still out there. Jason has to live with that fact and even though it’s not fine and things would be so much easier without that psychopath, Jason gets it. Sometimes. Gets the moral code, the compass, that shrouds Batman and his little followers.

And he’s trying. He is. He made an effort to try and do the right thing when Dick died because suddenly, the role of older brother had fallen onto him and even though he doesn’t have a good relationship with Tim or the recently resurrected Damian, or anyone for that matter, there was still that recognition that it was all on him now. He was the eldest. He was the one to look towards. Not look up to, no, he will never claim the title of a role model, but now he’s the oldest, the most experienced, the next in line when one just can’t go to Bruce about shit going on.

The point being is that he did try, put in more effort than he probably should have, to stepping up to the plate and taking a swing at being better. At being the eldest of the entire brood and not fucking it up horribly. He switches to rubber bullets and smoke pellets. He keeps his excessive violence reserved for only the worst scum and even then still attempts to steer clear from Batman’s territories. He takes care of the Narrows, rekindles a sort of friendship with Tim, doesn’t fight the literal child that lurks in the Cave, and avoids confrontations with Bruce altogether.

It works and it’s good. He steps up, frankly owns being the eldest, and he’s fine. He’s fine with it. He’s still got his reputation intact, Red Robin isn’t terrified of his presence any longer, and Robin doesn’t pull a sword every time they spot one another. So what if he slips up occasionally and gets carried away? They’re just rubber bullets, weapons all the same, and they’re no different from getting hit with Batman’s fist (which Jason knows, from experience, hurts like hell) or getting swung at with a large knife. 

He had a thing going on, is what Jason’s trying to get at, and then Dick showed up.

Dick. Richard Grayson. Who died eight months ago after he was tortured by the Syndicate and had his heart stopped by Lex Luthor. Who they had a funeral for. Who they mourned for. Who Jason had attempted to fill the gaping hole he had left behind.

Who Jason thought had died.

Betrayal is a word Jason feels like he could apply to a majority of his life. Betrayal from his parents, his poor, poor mother who just couldn’t muster up enough fucks. Bruce, Batman, for getting him into the vigilante life, for letting him wear that damn costume and get himself blown up for all his efforts. Talia, for restoring his mind after he was supposed to be dead. Bruce, Batman, again, for letting his murderer walk around like it was another Sunday, any other day, just a nice, normal day for a stroll like he didn’t just kill Bruce’s own son-

Yeah, Jason feels like he has liberal use of betrayal. It’s just an old song he hums sometimes and lets others join in occasionally.

But there was an unspoken code, a silent right-of-passage, when it came to being Robin. A mutual understanding of sorts. You don’t back-stab another Robin. Ever. You don’t lie, cheat out, betray a fellow Robin. There were too many shared experiences when it came to being Batman’s, Bruce’s, Robin and that ultimately revolved all back to trust and knowing that things were still the same despite all these years. Being Robin was both the best thing to ever happen to someone and also the ultimate death sentence. You don’t just get to be Robin either. You’ve got to earn it, to prove yourself, to show that you can take it all on, to keep up with Batman and the ever changing and violent Gotham.

So, when Dick shows up with an apology on his lips and the expectation of being welcomed home after all this time, Jason punches him square in the jaw. It’s surreal, a part of him thinking his fist will just phase right through the man’s face, but his knuckles connect and if the sound of his fist against Dick’s jaw isn’t the most satisfying and cruel thing he’s ever heard, Jason doesn’t know what is. 

It’s agony, nearly, to see the red blossom on his older brother’s cheek because, holy hell, that means it’s all real. That Dick is really alive and not still buried in that weed covered yard with decaying roses scattered on top of it. Dick is alive and Jason is furious because he’s supposed to be dead and Jason already tried so hard to fill the other man’s impossibly huge shoes and he was doing a damn good job at it. He likes to think so, at least.

But who cares, right? Who gives a shit when Dick is back now and it was all for nothing? Everyone can just go back to their normal routines now that the star player is back and they don’t need a fill-in like Jason to stick around. All that effort, all that time, all that trying all summing up into one big, Surprise, I’m not dead, from the man of the hour himself.

Jason avoids Dick after that. The man said he wasn’t staying long, just “checking in” with everyone like he was just on some business call for a few months and not dead. 

And that’s the root of it, Jason thinks. That’s what really gnaws at him because Dick is treating the whole situation exactly like he was on some extended vacation and just forgot to tell anyone where he was going. Not like his absence literally turned their entire world upside down. Not like the loss, the emptiness, that literally echoed everywhere Jason went was consuming and terrifying. In those eight months, Jason had to toe the line between being the eldest and maintaining his identity as Red Hood, and that’s where Jason truly felt close to Dick. Felt like he finally got what Dick and Bruce’s arguments were about so many years ago, this constant war of wanting to be better, wanting to have freedom, wanting to stay yourself when there was a constant war of others trying to get you to fill a role that you don’t want. 

Finally, Jason felt like he had some other important connection to his elusive older brother that had nothing to do with the man that housed them, only for it all to be thrown across the room and into the trash. 

To keep it simple, bare-bones, really dumbed down, Dick lied. About being dead, of all things. Jason can get behind needing to lay low after all that, being stripped of your identity on live television wasn’t exactly great for their kind of lifestyle, but to just leave? To go out on some mission and leave the rest of them out to dry like that? No warning, no hints, no notes, nothing? God, at least Jason made an appearance. Granted, not the best sort of re-introduction, but at least he wasn’t trying to hide.

To say the least, Jason is hurting. The anger faded along with any sort of need to prove to Dick that he had stepped up when he left. Now, he just feels… shitty. In a way, this is what he had been half-way expecting. No one stays dead in this business. There is always someone with a back-up or ex-machina to save the day and bring back a fallen hero, villain, whatever. But there had just been something so final, so human in Dick’s death. In that moment, seeing the mask ripped off, seeing his brother’s face on T.V out of context, away from the normal flashiness that was being related to a billionaire, it had scared Jason because that was his brother, Dick Grayson, world’s most annoying man in the universe, on T.V; beaten, bloodied, bruised, and humiliated for everyone to see.

He’s always been jealous of how clean and clear Dick’s eyes looked. Just a simple and rare shade of blue, obnoxiously bright and searching. Jason’s mother used to say he had his father’s eyes, a muddy mix of blue and green. He’s never liked his eyes, but there was always something so attention grabbing with Dick’s. Seeing them on T.V, wide and blood-shot and bruised to hell; the blue was out of place and humanizing in a way that Jason just couldn't describe because it was simply Dick Grayson there. Not Nightwing. Not a hero. It was just Dick Grayson, world’s worst older brother ever, looking lost, defiant, and defeated all at once.

And that hurt.

The man is like some nasty disease that won’t leave him alone though. Their first meeting was two days ago and Jason is trying his best to ignore the knife in his chest, not literally, when Dick shows up. Just outside the Narrows on the roof of a bodega, Dick appears from where ever the fuck he’s been and walks over to Jason. It’s a cue, Jason knows, when thunder rumbles in the distance and if he were a bit more into literature, feeling a bit more melancholy for his freshman year of high school, Jason would say that a storm is coming for the both of them, not just Gotham.

Dick walks with his hands in his pockets, stuffed inside an old brown jacket that looks well-used and well-loved. Jason’s never seen the jacket before. Must’ve gotten it on his extended vacation. A part of Jason knows that Bruce was in on it too, that Bruce probably deserves just as much anger he’s dishing out towards Dick, maybe even more, but Jason’s tired of trying to play nice and get along. Dick is the one in front of him now, right here on a Wednesday night with the glowing, neon advertisement for Coke singing behind their heads and a run down, twenty year old convenience shop beneath their feet. 

Dick is here and now when he should be dead.

Just like Jason should be.

“What do you want?” he asks, the metallic tin of his voice modulator diminishing some of the threat. It’s a known fact that Red Hood guards his territory with a viciousness rivaling a rabid dog. Outsiders aren’t welcome. Never welcome.

In contrast, Dick is mask-less. Civilian. Same clear blue eyes from eight months ago that were sealed shut the last time Jason saw them. A dark bruise stains Dick’s right cheekbone, the shape of knuckles and betrayal. It’s a good contrast.

“I came to say goodbye,” the other man answers, stopping just short of six feet in front of Jason, “and that I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner. I really am,” he insists when Jason remains silent. “Things just… happened too fast. It killed me to be away from you all for so long. I wanted to tell you, I did-”

“Really?” Jason interrupts lowly. “It killed you, huh?”

Dick sighs, a hand coming up to brush through his hair. “That’s not what I meant. You know it’s not.”

“I don’t know, Dicky. Times are changing, you know. One minute, you’re the star pupil, and the next I’m your backup. And now,” Jason shrugs, letting his hand come up to rest on the holster he keeps on his hip, “I’m not so sure about that.”

Dick is eyeing Jason like he’s looking at something he doesn’t like. Something that’s leaving a bad taste in his mouth. But that’s just something he’s going to have to deal with, isn’t it? Suck it up buttercup, and all that.

A laugh erupts from Jason as he truly takes it all in. “You know,” he chuckles, nothing humorous causing his mirth, “you really had me there for awhile. I bought you flowers, went to your funeral, dealt with all that shit, and yet here you are. In the flesh.” He laughs again, fingers curving steadily around the grip of his gun. “I think I liked you better dead, Dick.”

The older man frowns, brow dipping into a neat crease. Not a single wrinkle on his perfect, tan, not dead face. “The situation was unavoidable,” he says, like he actually believes a word he utters. “Batman needed a guy on the inside. The, hm, circumstances leading up to that set it up so that I could be that guy. It wasn’t exactly my choice to stay dead, Jay.”

“Names,” Jason snarks, that same anger he felt two days ago rearing its ugly head again. “You know, you say you didn’t have a choice, but I think there’s a clear distinction between dead and alive, don’t you? It might just be me, who knows because fuck if I do, but I think a warning woud’ve sufficed. A fucking warning. ”

Something must click in Dick’s head as his frown deepens. His hands are out of his jacket pockets now. They’re both tense.

“I’ll be back soon,” he says. “Maybe another month. Two at most. When I get back, I’ll try and…” Dick trails off there, as if searching for the right words, but Jason doesn’t have the patience for him to find the right way to say the same bullshit he’s already heard before. 

He’s so tired. So, so tired.

“We were fine without you,” he snarls, relishing in the way Dick’s eyes widen at the claim. “The world doesn’t stop turning just because you decide to go off on a little adventure. Newsflash, asshole: None of us need you. You can’t come back here and expect everything to fall back to the way things were just because you decide it’s time to show your face again.”

“I was doing what I thought was right,” Dick snaps back. “Look, I’m sorry you had to step up and be a decent person for once-”

“And there it is,” Jason growls, unholstering his gun. “You think you’re so much better than me. You’re just so goddamn smug you can’t even see your own mistakes. What, is my being here just too inconvenient for you? Can’t make all the little hero-worshipers fall back into line like they used to?”

“Stop putting words in my mouth. I did what I thought was best for everyone and I paid the price for it.”

Jason lunges, cutting the feet between them into inches. “What was best?” he yells, swinging with one fist and aiming with the other. “Who the hell are you to decide that?”

Dick retaliates, pushing away Jason with a kick that connects to his armored chest. It’s barely a glancing blow though and he’s charging forwards again, squeezing the trigger as a shot rings off into the air, missing Dick’s foot by a few centimetres. Another crack of thunder resounds in the distance and a bolt of lightning cracks open the dark sky. Dick rolls away from Jason’s tackle, on the balls of his feet and ready to jump away again.

“I didn’t come here to fight you,” Dick tries, widening his stance. “I just came to, god, I don’t know, Jay. I didn’t ask for this!”

“Cut the bull,” Jason says, raising his gun again. He’s got it trained on Dick’s mid-section and even though a part of him knows he’s not going to take the shot, another part of him has his finger itching towards the trigger. “None of us asked for any of the fuckery that comes our way, but we deal with it, right? I’m dead, you’re dead, the brat’s dead, we’re all dead!”

There’s another crack of thunder, one that brings the rain with it. It pours, instantly drenching the pair, and a sheet of gray divides them. There’s surely something poetic about it, the divide that surrounds them both, but Jason’s not one to dwell long.

“Well, I’m not dead anymore!” Dick screams through the rain. “I am alive! I’ve been dead for eight months and I don’t want to fucking be anymore! I want to come home, Jay. I am alive. Goddamnit, I am alive!”

“So why didn’t you tell us that? Tell any of us that? All of this, that’s on you , Dick. You want to know why there wasn’t a big fucking parade for you? Why no one was fighting over the chance to be the first one to get to shake your hand? It’s because we don’t trust you anymore. No one fucking wants you near them because that’s how badly you fucked up.”

He must strike a nerve because Jason sees something crumple on Dick’s face. 

“I didn’t- I didn’t want to leave you guys, Jay. God, you’ve got to believe me on that. I had no choice. It was either I leave and do this for Batman or-”

That same anger rises up again. Anger from different directions, different thoughts, but ultimately because it’s about Batman. Always, always about Batman. What he wants. What he needs you to do. Because if you don’t do it, and someone dies, it’s your fault. And Dick has always been the suck-up, the one to come when called, because even after all their spats and all these years of silence between them, Dick was still a Robin first and goddamnit if Jason doesn’t understand that. He hates that he understands that need to please Batman, to do what he asks in the hope of just some tiny ounce of praise or acknowledgment, but Dick is a grown adult. He’s not Robin anymore.

None of them are.

Dick takes a step forward and Jason squeezes the trigger, feeling the recoil in his wrist as Dick freezes, the bullet breezing right past his armpit. His eyes are wide, finally taking the weapon in as it is, and there must be some realization going off inside Dick’s head because now he’s the one charging in, stance low and shifty, and Jason’s on the defense now. His finger is still on the trigger, just barely, and he’s raising it to aim again when a flying round-house knocks the gun from his hand and fist drives under his chin. It disorients him a bit because, damn, he didn’t actually expect Dick to fight back, Jason was trying to get him to go away, but now they’re both serious. They’re both dangerous.

It’s a no-weapons brawl, just fists and dirty kicks and the rain is still pounding away against the bodega. The rain has plastered Dick’s hair to his skull and Jason is grateful for his helmet because it’s clear the water is making it difficult for the older man to see. He takes advantage of this, striking down with his elbow on Dick’s trapezius and quickly hooking his left foot around his ankle. It works for a split second, Dick thrown off and unbalanced, before Dick is tumbling down and using his own momentum to pull Jason down with him. 

They’re on their backs now, rough and cold cement bleeding through their jackets, and the neon Coke sign flickers in and out as thunder continues to roll and shake the world.

“You should’ve stayed dead,” Jason snarls, taking a jab at his older brother’s face. “You should’ve never come back.”

Dick frees one of his hands from underneath the massive bulk of Jason’s suit, palm striking the sides of his helmet. “Take off the godamn hood and say that to my face,” Dick pants, shoving one of his knees into Jason’s side. “Look me in the eye and tell me you want me dead, Jay. Tell me you want me dead. ”

Another bolt of lightning splits the dark and its image refracts against the many puddles, and for a moment, the light sears into Jason’s eyes. He flinches against the burn and it’s enough hesitation for Dick to take the unguarded moment and flip Jason, crouching with one knee on his chest and the other digging into Jason’s forearm. They’re both breathing heavily, exhausted both physically and mentally, and he doesn’t bother to stop his brother as Dick reaches down and shoves the helmet off of his face.

Their eyes meet and Jason squints up at clear blue. Yeah, he hates that color. Hates it so much it feels like something ugly in his stomach, coiling and clenching. They’re both frowning but Dick just looks resigned. Jason hates that too. Now that he has the chance, he can see new scars on his brother’s face. New, finer lines and white and pink discoloration. 

Funny how eight months can make someone look so much older.

“I wish you had stayed dead,” Jason finally says, hating himself all the more for it. “I wish you had never come back.”

Dick stumbles off of him and there’s a thin trail of red leaking from one of his eyebrows that keeps getting washed away. Jason doesn’t even remember hitting him there, but he must’ve been excessive. Must’ve over-done it. Just another thing he’s managed to fuck up. Check it off the list. 

He sits up, feeling the ache of a sore back and numerous bruises, and watches as his brother leans heavily against the poles of the advertisement. The rain only seems to come down harder, bouncing off the yellow stained bodega roof. He gets to his feet slowly, careful to keep an eye on the slouching man, and treads over to pick up his helmet. His gun is closer to the bright neon sign and when he gets near enough, Dick looks up, something horribly heavy and sad, settling into his face.

“Okay,” is all he says, nodding once. “Okay, Jay.”

Dick reaches into his jacket pocket once more, fiddling with something, but Jason’s too preoccupied putting his helmet back on to really pay attention to it. They’re done fighting. Done with whatever all of that was. His hair is soaked, his jacket is going to have a layer of mildew on it in the morning, and Jason is tired. Beat. He can’t find the will-power to truly be bothered with anything else. 

This is his territory so he’s not technically fleeing, but that’s what it looks like. Tail between his legs, off to lick his wounds, Jason’s sure that’s what Dick is thinking (he knows that’s not true, he knows this, and he’s got a little secret screaming, pounding away in the back of his skull, but Jason’s too burned out to deal with it, to address it). He walks to the edge of the roof with his back turned on his older brother, his alive and breathing, long lost brother, and jumps off, sliding down the fire escape and landing on the grimy streets below. His boots squelch in the rain, and there’s water logged into his socks, but Jason ignores it in favor of staring ahead. Refusing to look back.

Here’s the thing about being a Robin that everyone who’s been one before knows. 

You rely on each other. There’s no codependency, not really, but there is a certain degree of reliance on past and current Robins. Robin is the inspiration. Not Batman. Batman doesn’t inspire little kids to go out in the night and get punched in the face and witness cruelty so awful you have nightmares for years after. Batman doesn’t inspire light and forgiveness and mercy; that’s all Robin’s doing. The bright colors, the chatter, the youth. That’s all on Robin, the little child weapons they are, and the shared experience of being that for Batman is a bond that runs so much deeper than blood. Thick and interwoven and relied upon so much more heavily than a simple crest or uniform.

And here’s that screaming secret that vibrates inside Jason’s skull: he’s happy Dick’s back. That Dick’s alive. At the end of the day, Dick was the first Robin, the first light, and having him snuffed out was a world that got three shades darker, bleaker. It was Dick’s Robin that truly gave it the twinge of hope all the Robins after carry with them; he was the model, the mold, they shaped themselves after. Him being dead changed that perspective for the worse because the first Robin made it. That’s what was so important, what tips the scales for the confidence of all Robins after. Dick made it. Survived being Robin, survived past Robin, and became his own hero. 

Dick outlived being Robin and that was the ultimate goal. To survive. 

So him dying was the last straw but now that he’s back, alive, everything was going to be okay again. Yeah, they’re all still messed up from it, there’s going to be a lot of trust built back up again, but they’re Robins for Christ's sake. Thicker than blood, stronger than a crest, relied on more than Batman. And maybe Jason’s being sentimental, still trying to be more eloquent than his sophomore English education allowed him to be, but God, he’s trying. He’s trying so hard despite the ache that wears down his bones and the fire that consumes his brain.

That’s why he gives in. Turns around. Looks back. Does what he thought he was too stubborn to do, but things change and-

The neon sign is brighter. No, that’s not right. There’s another source of that eerie, glowing light and Jason’s eyes widen as he sees a person step through it. Another figure, broad, muscular, unfamiliar, and they’re heading straight for Dick. His brother. Who is still leaning against the advertisement poles. Who’s not doing a damn thing to avoid the stranger that’s fast approaching. 

Soreness and fatigue forgotten, Jason starts sprinting, boots pounding against the pavement as he cranes his neck upwards to watch the stranger continue to advance.

“Dick!” he yells in warning, drowned out with the rain. “Dick, move!”

He slams into the fire escape, hands scraping up the ladder as he hauls himself three steps at a time, chest heaving and heart beating wildly. He slips, losing his footing, and Jason grunts as he feels the pull on his shoulder and his knees bang into the sides of the bodega. He pushes on though, gripping the metal tightly and finally reaching the top.

He’s pulling himself over, gasping and searching, and he sees the man tugging Dick closer to the strange light, what Jason thinks must be some sort of portal, and before he’s even gotten a leg over the edge, his right hand is scrambling for purchase on his gun. He takes aim and fires without a second thought and curses aloud when it jams.

“Dick!” he yells again, throwing the useless weapon away and falling over onto the roof. “Stop! Stop! What’re you doing?”

His brother just trudges on though, bicep gripped by the stranger that continues to drag him closer and closer to the pulsating light, ghoulishly pink and saturating the air with an ominous buzz. Another flash of lightning illuminates the sky and Jason trips over himself in his haste, crashing into the slick cement. He whips his head up, too far away, too late, as the stranger disappears fully into the portal, Dick just a few inches away.

“Wait!” Jason cries, still attempting to rise off of his knees. Damn the rain. Damn the weight of his grief. Damn it all, get up. Get up. “Dick, stop! Stop!”

The rain is loud though and there’s a divide between the two of them, mixes of gray, pink, and red light. His brother half turns, watching as the younger stumbles towards him, and Jason can’t hear anything, can hardly process what’s even happening now, but Dick’s lips move in what Jason thinks is, Goodbye, and Jason screams, lunging as his brother fades into the light.

He falls, smashing into the cement once again as he fails to reach for his brother’s hand, and lands where the portal had just been. He lays there on his chest, heaving and attempting to breathe through his helmet, but it’s too hard, too suffocating, and Jason rips it off and flings it as far away from him as he can. His hands clench into fists and he fights back the urge to cry as he slams his fists into the roof. Bam-Bam-Bam.

Something cracks in his knuckles and Jason stops at the pain, shifting back and hanging his head between his knees. There’s a vicious burn in his eyes, his ugly, muddy green eyes, and Jason swipes at them furiously.

“We just got you back,” he whispers through gritted teeth. “We just got you back, Dick, and you, you just-”

A clap of thunder rattles the thin poles of the Coke advertisement as its lights finally flicker out. The night is dark without its glow and Jason is left in obscurity. 

“What have I done?"

[nelavili]

I'm still processing Season 6 and as an unpopular opinion I'm not too happy about it as a whole. I feel horrible for not enjoying it as much as the Cast/Crew would like me to, but I just can’t change this feeling I have.

Just to clear my head I'll write the things down that irked me. I don't want to start any discussion, they're only my thoughts on stuff ‘n thangs. Huge spoilers ahead, please don’t read if you haven’t watched.

Michael

I admit it, I have probably more sympathy for the bad twin than I should. And after the whole S5 I thought we get a bit more closure with him. I didn’t expect a redemption arc, after Michael killed Remiel, Dan and Chloe it would have felt wrong. But after the “Everyone deserves a second chance” the dude is down in hell, scrubbing the floor with a toothbrush. Really, Lucifer? That’s cruel after such a righteous line.

When Luci realized he could help everyone, even if he hated them, I hoped for a dive into the twins’ relationship but it was like Michael didn’t even existed anymore. And if someone needed therapy it would be the twin with the huge inferior complex. That could have been so interesting. (I had hoped that he'd sat on the couch at the end, but noooo we get the Frenchman.. such a disappointment.)

Maybe Tom Ellis didn’t want to play 2 roles again, or there was no time, but I feel that was a huge opportunity wasted.

What even was the plan of Michael? To get God to retire and wreck havoc on earth to get Dad back, so Mickey can take over as the new God? And then what? Wipe out humanity? I see no endgame here.

Ella

I liked Ella’s Story so far. But she stole the personal file of Carol and even broke into his house.. and everybody is cool with this? Carol might be crushing on Ella pretty hard but if somebody tells you they broke into your house, because they feared you were hiding something bad, You run for the hills. But the dude isn’t even phased.

I’m glad Carol is a good guy, though. Even if he’s kind of bland.

Ella finding out the truth on her own came out of nowhere. I would have found it better if they would have her act a little suspicious over the whole S5. But since they wrote S6 while S5 was shot, a little to late for this.

The scene at the wedding was amazing. I had so much fun with her outburst there.

Dan

Ghost!Dan was my favorite by far in this season. And I really liked how he wanted to help and tried to find out what he still felt guilty about.

I am so glad he got to spend his afterlife with Charlotte and I laughed so hard with the pudding. Didn’t expect that, in a positive matter. :D

The scene with Trixie killed me. Bawled so hard as soon as Kevin got teary eyes. That really gripped at my heartstrings.

But how could he go to heaven while in a body of a killer when his daughter stands right next to that killer?

Comedy-wise Dan is top notch

Trixie

I missed her so much.

It felt like she was an afterthought with everything. She recently lost her Dad and Chloe spends most of the time with Lucifer. I really missed the scenes with her and Luci, they always were so adorable.

They explain it later that she’s at a science camp, but I honestly thought Chloe chooses Lucifer (and later Rory too) over her.

She wasn’t at Chloe’s deathbed but here I’m not sure if the scene with Rory isn’t placed somewhere at the threshold to heaven where only celestials are able to enter. But if she wasn’t there because Chloe sidelined her in favor of Rory, then I can understand her absence.

Linda

I love Linda, she always gives good advice but nobody’s ever took it.

Her book probably would fly under the fantasy tag if she ever published it. Still, it felt cringey.

It was so sad that she thought she was a bad therapist.

Apparently she wants to keep helping celestials because it’s better than helping humans. In the end, celestials have the same problems as humans just on a bigger scale. But okay.

Amenadiel

Amenacop was good, and a nice nod to Dan who put in the application.

It made him realize that he only can change things when he has more power. I’m white and no american so I don’t know if the BLM theme there was well enough executed. Got me wondering.

The apocalypse just being Angels who are incompetent was a letdown. Like this whole season.

I really like him as god. And I am glad he took the position in the end. Even if he could have decided this a bit earlier.

Rory

I like her sarcasm and her character.

Didn’t like the whole time travel, time loop and daughter spiel. I’m not a big fan of time travels or couples getting a kid just for the sake of a happy end or to add extra drama. I could have lived without a Deckerstar baby. Instead they could have focused on Trixie for a change.

The time she spent with Lucifer on the 4th August was precious though.

How in hell did the Frenchman capture her? How did he even know how she looked? IIRC Dan hasn’t seen Rory while in that body. Dan just went over to Trixie that’s why I thought he’d capture her and not Rory.

Lucifer

He found his calling to help the souls in hell only because Rory traveled back in time? No man, he already took the step with Jimmy Barnes in preparation to take over as god. I don’t think it’s far fetched to believe that he would have the same epiphany without Rory there.

But without Rory, he wouldn’t have been helping Ghost!Dan to go to heaven. Though, before Rory traveled back in time, Lucifer was already trying to help Dan. They probably would have needed more time to figure out about what Dan felt guilty about, but figure it out anyways.

How did he even got Chloe pregnant? Was it his subconscious deciding he was ready to be a father? Amenadiel had to believe that he was human to get Linda pregnant. Or maybe it’s because they always thought they couldn’t impregnate a human and self-actualized it that way. Anyways, it’s a tiny hang-up I have with it.

Somebody else besides me thought that the scene in the panic room was awkwardly long? I know they thought Lucifer would vanish somehow, but it seemed too much to me.

His singsong while the magician talked about the trick. :D

I don’t want to even get into the whole time loop thing because I think it’s ridiculous(ly bad).

It took a lot of time for him to realize that he didn’t want to be god, after he put it on hold for a second time. Even Chloe could have asked him if that is really what he wanted. Could have spared us an episode or so. Why is the communication on this show so bad? Q.Q

I loved that he helped Maze with Eve to get the wedding back on after their fight.

He didn’t say goodbye to Trixie  - again. What a nice step-devil..

It’s been Chloe, Rory and his family since he found out she’s his daughter. Not even mentioning the one kid who probably loved him before even Chloe fell for him.

For someone who is all about free will and led a rebellion against God for it, he was quick to accept that he has a “fate”. I thought he’d find another way, or at least try to. Nope, he just did what his child wanted. And they disguised it at his “choice”. Doesn’t look like a choice to me if your daughter begs you for it and you have to promise it. Just getting along with what your child wants.

Why does everyone need to shoot him? Just cut him until he bleeds. The Americans and their fixation on guns. Nice parallel to Chloe though.

Lucifer trying to fix the relationship to Rory with gifts was so cringey. I don’t know why but I couldn’t watch him sing/dance in that scene.

Both him and Amenadiel didn’t want to become like their Dad because of the reasons stated in S5, yet Lucifer exactly did. Another letdown.

 

Chloe

As soon as she knew Rory was her and Lucifer’s daughter it was all only about Lucifer and Rory. No thought of Trixie? I understand she was worried about being a bad mother to Rory, but come on, you’re being a bad mother to your first child right now.

She was ready to go to heaven with Lucifer. And Trixie does what exactly without her parents? Living with her Grandma because one of her parent died and the other one is abandoning her? It’s like the writers forgot about Trixie while forcing Rory on us.

The addiction to the necklace got old pretty fast.

And that whole fight against Lucifer felt unnecessary just to add more drama.

She gets mad at Lucifer for not telling her everything while not telling him that she went back to the LAPD. It’s Lucifer, he always has things on his plate. Double moral, pretty much.

She looked so gorgeous at the wedding, oh my god.

Most of the Deckerstar scenes were good. I got tired of the obvious naked cuddle times, surprisingly. Somehow it felt not like the ones in S5 and it bothered me.

I thought Chloe would finally get to know about everything Lucifer did for her, but I didn’t expect her to read it in Linda’s book. And that she only took away that he left her every time they had an emotional breakthrough.

They spend Lucifer’s last day at the beach and once again, no thought of Trixie. I’m sorry I repeat myself here so often. But this whole season wronged Trixie so much.

They face the baddie without any backup.  At least get Amenadiel with you.

Other things

The use of music between scenes was too much for me. Got annoying at some point.

I appreciate that they wanted to show us snippets of past Deckerstar scenes but here too, I felt like it was too much.

Couldn’t really follow the timeline. Maybe it were the cuts.

What’s been the point of bringing Adam into the mix? Just to wrap up Maze and Eve’s story? For Linda having another celestial to therapy?

The animation in the Jimmy Barnes Hell loop was AMAZING. I laughed so hard.

I’m not saying that Deckerstar shouldn’t have sacrificed everything for the time loop to stay intact, I say that the whole daughter-time travel plot shouldn’t have had happened. They never even talked about having kids, and then ignore the whole existence of the one kid that’s already there.

I really need all the Michaella fanfics, please. My first ship that’s actually a raft, because they never officially have met. RIP lmao

The acting was great as usual, all my problems come from the writing and the plot.

In the end, I really feel frustrated, underwhelmed and disappointed by the whole season. I didn’t have high expectations other than the same writing quality like S5. My excitement for that Season died as soon as Rory told Lucifer that she’s his daughter, to be honest. I waited for a plot twist that never came. Then the whole time loop shit.  I’d rather have waited one more year for S6 if the plot would have made more sense, since this felt like a first draft of a whole other show. And now I wished that S5 would have been the last season. If I could travel back in time, I’d rather not watch S6.

I can honestly live with the fact that Luci and Chloe are in hell, trying to help souls to get to heaven. (But hello, not the murderers perhaps? Or I want Michael sitting on that couch right now.) But the fact that both “chose” to sacrifice their time together with their family and friends just because it’s fate now and parents have to make sacrifices for their children; and anyways there’s an afterlife because (human) life is just a blip in our existence… nah thank you. I do not want it.

I’m probably not gonna rewatch S6 anytime soon.

[a-secret-bolton-vampire]

The Coming War for the North, Part 3: The Battle of the Bastards

To see the previous installments of this series, part 1 and part 2 are available to read here and here, respectively.

The idea that Jon and Ramsay would fight has been around for a while, even before the TV show. There are a lot of signs pointing to a similar confrontation in the books, but how it unfolds might be a little different from the show. In this final section, I'll get right down to business on this final battle for Winterfell, and the purpose and themes this plot line.

Two Snows & Winterfell

Jon and Ramsay are two very different, and somewhat very similar characters. Throughout ADWD Jon has letters sent by Ramsay detailing events transpiring in the North, including the retaking of Moat Cailin, and the marriage of Arya Stark (really Jeyne Poole) to the newly legitimized Ramsay Bolton. Stannis also begins his campaign to take the North, and sends letters to Jon detailing his movements and what he is doing. When confronted by Melisandre, Jon learns that Mance Rayder was actually Rattleshirt in magic disguise, and Rattleshirt is actually Mance in magic disguise, and with Melisandre's nudging, agrees to send Mance and six spearwives to rescue Arya from Winterfell.

Then Ramsay sends the pink letter and tells Jon that he defeated Stannis, has captured Mance, and demands Stannis's family and allies or he will attack the Night's Watch. Don't forget that Jon is the one who started this, not Ramsay. He was the instigator, helping Stannis and taking Arya away from Ramsay. Not to say Ramsay is in the right here morally (quite the opposite), but Jon did break his vows for this to happen, and he wasn't really on Ramsay's radar until this happened. Thus, ADWD has set up a rivalry between the two. However, the two characters have a lot in common to be set up as foils to each other.

Both are bastards of a very prominent noble lord of the North. Both resent their bastard status and yearn for approval to be a trueborn member of their House. And both want Winterfell. Ramsay already has Winterfell and is declared the Lord of Winterfell, while Jon nearly took Stannis's offer to be Lord of Winterfell, before rejecting it to keep his vows to the Night's Watch, while still yearning to have Winterfell. However, from there, they are complete opposites.

Ramsay is a demon in human skin, a sadistic serial killer and rapist who enjoys torture and murder, and has no regard for the laws of men. Meanwhile, Jon, as raised by Ned, is a noble and honourable person who tries his best to keep his oath and honour intact (although he does forsake it at the end of ADWD). In the season 4 DVD extras for Game of Thrones, GRRM himself even talks about this.

The relationship between Roose and Ramsay is, in some ways, a dark counterpoint to the relation between Ned Stark and Jon Snow. In both cases, a noble father with a bastard son. Jon and Ramsay are literally the opposite to each other. Jon is very noble and honorable. And Ramsay is none of those things. Roose himself is a cold and calculating man. A dispassionate man. "I placed far too much trust in you." But their treatment of the bastard son is very different. Ned keeps Jon Snow at Winterfell and he's raised with Robb and Bran. For all practical purposes, he is one of Ned's sons. Ramsay gets nothing from Roose.

Given the fact we have good build up between a rivalry between them, and that they are foils of each other, a confrontation between the two seems very likely. And even more so when you look both at the past history and at ADWD. The Stark-Bolton rivalry is the longest and most prominent feud in the North, supposedly dating back to the Long Night. Numerous wars were fought between the Red Kings from the Dreadfort and the Kings of Winter from Winterfell, some of them ending in Bolton victory. At least twice, two Bolton kings (both named Royce) took and burnt Winterfell (and it happened a third time in ACOK when Ramsay did it). The Boltons also were alleged to have flayed and worn the skins of Stark princes as cloaks.

In a way, this rivalry is a very dark, yet still grounded fantasy version of werwolves and vampires. There are quite a lot of stories including werewolves and vampires that have the two be natural enemies, with feuds that go back centuries sometimes. Of course, both the Starks and Boltons take on very clear roles as werewolves and vampires. Starks have warg blood in them (even if not all of them were wargs), and many of them have dreams at night of being a wolf and rampaging around, which sounds very much like old werewolf legends. The Boltons being vampires, on the other hand, is less magical and more implied.

The Boltons have this unearthly, sinister feel and look to them that makes them appear somewhat inhuman, with pale eyes variously described as dirty chips of ice or pale moons, and a look about themselves that is similar to some descriptions of vampires. Then of course there is the Dreadfort, a spooky old castle ruled by a very spooky and yet somewhat cultured man (Dracula anyone)? Then of course we have all the very creepy images of Boltons flaying people, and Ramsay sometimes writing using human blood as ink.

Basically, what I'm saying is that ASOIAF has done what Twilight did but better.

To go back to the future, it makes thematic and narrative sense for the Starks to retake Winterfell from their ancient nemesis. The rivalry began between a Stark and a Bolton, and will end with a Stark bastard and a Bolton bastard, fighting over dominance of the North and of Winterfell.

The Battle of the Bastards

At first glance, it seems like it's a no brainer for how this battle will unfold. Ramsay is gonna lose a lot of support, and Jon will have all the support and completely demolish Ramsay. However, while I do think it will end in victory for Jon (and not without outside help), I think that both are going to be in rather desperate positions, Jon maybe more so.

After Jon's resurrection, there is no question in my mind that he is going to head south. Those were his last thoughts and actions as he died, similar to how Catelyn killing a Frey and her grief of losing her family was the last action and thought before she died, and Beric protecting the smallfolk from the Mountain was his last act before dying. Given the strong implication he is inside Ghost, coming back, we should expect a darker, different Jon, one who doesn't give a shit, is more violent, and more determined. Of course, if he is to retake Winterfell, he should need support.

Fortunately, right before he died, he got all the free folk to cheer for him and agree to join him. Mix those free folk with the giants and mammoths that were recently let past Eastwatch, and he might have a formidable force. However, of the 4,119 or so free folk that are currently south of the Wall, not all of them are fighters. If we take the estimate for 20,000 warriors and 100,000 free folk in total, then we should expect around 820+ free folk capable of fighting. Not a lot. He will need some outside help. Of course, there is already set up for that in ADWD, when he marries Alys Karstark to Magnar Sigorn of Thenn.

He tells a captive Cregan Karstark to send word to his relatives at Karhold and yield to prevent their deaths, but Cregan stubbornly refuses. Alys believes Karhold will open their gates to her, and Alys is thankful for Jon Snow providing her refuge at the Wall and a marriage to get out of an even worse one she did not want. The strength of Karhold may not be the best, but it seems very likely for Karhold to join Jon and his cause, under the banners of Alys.

As for the other houses of the North, I don't expect much more support. Think about how Jon will look to the Northmen. He is a bastard, and those are already quite condemned throughout the North (and Westeros in general). He broke his vows by leaving the Night's Watch, and since the North takes vows and oaths and honour much more seriously than the rest of Westeros, being an oathbreaker who abandoned the Wall is not going to make him popular. And finally, he is leading a band of wildlings south. The North despises the free folk, thinking of them as savages, thanks to centuries of conflict with them. So the picture of Jon painted as an oathbreaking wildling bastard is going to be a major problem for him. At worst, he would be viewed just as evil and treacherous as Ramsay, the other prominent bastard in the North.

In fact, even if Ramsay loses a lot of support from his own actions (more later), he could use this to his advantage. At best, the northerns who hate Jon will remain neutral in the conflict, but at worst, they might even ally with the Boltons. The clansmen have a deep hatred of House Bolton, but they also have a very deep hatred of the free folk, so they may actually remain neutral. The Umbers are another House that deals frequently with wildlings, and many years prior, Crowfood lost his daughter to wildlings raiding south of the Wall. So instead of Jon's presence invigorating the Umbers to fight against Ramsay, their own vehement hatred of the wildlings might lead them to simply stick with Ramsay.

However, that isn't to say everything will go swimmingly for Ramsay. Their hold on the North is tentative, and if Ramsay kills Roose and Walda and their child, it could become even more unstable. For one, Lady Barbrey Dustin isn't loyal to the Boltons, but instead loyal to Roose. Her sister was the former wife of Roose, and Domeric was her nephew, so Lady Dustin has reason to be on friendly terms with Roose. On the other hand, she despises Ramsay, blaming him for Domeric's death, and not even allowing him to step foot in Barrow Hall because of it. In turn, Ramsay also holds her in contempt.

"It should have been you who threw the feast, to welcome me back," Ramsay complained, "and it should have been in Barrow Hall, not this pisspot of a castle." "Barrow Hall and its kitchens are not mine to dispose of," his father said mildly. "I am only a guest there. The castle and the town belong to Lady Dustin, and she cannot abide you." Ramsay's face darkened. "If I cut off her teats and feed them to my girls, will she abide me then? Will she abide me if I strip off her skin to make myself a pair of boots?" "Unlikely. And those boots would come dear. They would cost us Barrowton, House Dustin, and the Ryswells."

If Roose dies, not only would Lady Dustin probably suspect Ramsay, but she would simply not follow Ramsay. So already, just by becoming Warden of the North and Lord of the Dreadfort, Ramsay would lose the Dustins and the Ryswells. Of course, since Lady Dustin does have a grievance with the Starks because Ned never brought her husband home from Dorne, I think she would probably remain neutral in the conflict.

Other houses might leave Ramsay too. Some might stay simply out of fear of retaliation for betrayal. It will depend on the House, their head, their own needs and goals, etc. As for the actual battle itself, who knows what will happen. However, I do think that Ramsay will likely try to lure Jon into some sort of trap rather than give him a direct face to face confrontation. There is also very interesting foreshadowing and even direct confirmation that the battle is going to be possibly more magical than we might believe it to be. Not only are there giants and mammoths... in the final script GRRM wrote for the show, he put in this note:

[N.B. A note for future reference. A season or two down the line Ramsay’s pack of wolfhounds are going to be sent against the Stark direwolves, so we should build up the dogs as much as possible in this and subsequent episodes.]

So the hounds are going to fight the Stark direwolves... wait, direwoves? Not direwolf? Curious...

The Pack Survives

I purposefully avoided the other factions of the North there, because the heart of the conflict will be Ramsay vs. Jon. But Jon won't be alone, at least not entirely. There is Rickon, who is to be touted as the Lord of Winterfell by the Manderlys so they can support Stannis. He isn't even the only Stark who could join in. Sansa is in the Vale under the guise of Alayne Stone. Arya keeps warging into Nymeria, who leads a massive pack of hundreds of wolves throughout the Riverlands. Bran is training his demigod greenseeing powers beyond the Wall with Bloodraven and is definitely manipulating events far south of the Wall.

So, the plural of direwolves makes me think Ghost won't be the only Stark direwolf fighting against Ramsay. We could get Nymeria's wolf pack joining as well, and Shaggydog, or even Summer (if Bran is in the North at this time that is). In fact, the idea that Ramsay will fight against Rickon is something that is heavily hinted at in ADWD.

The next litter to come out of the Dreadfort's kennels would include a Kyra, Reek did not doubt. "He's trained 'em to kill wolves as well," Ben Bones had confided. Reek said nothing. He knew which wolves the girls were meant to kill, but he had no wish to watch the girls fighting over his severed toe.

And then, more directly...

"Stark's little wolflings are dead," said Ramsay, sloshing some more ale into his cup, "and they'll stay dead. Let them show their ugly faces, and my girls will rip those wolves of theirs to pieces. The sooner they turn up, the sooner I kill them again."

Ramsay may be impulsive and unaware of intricate politics, but he seems prepared for what to do should Bran or Rickon show themselves again. This makes me worried for Rickon, honestly. Will Ramsay capture Rickon and keep him prisoner as hold over Jon Snow? Will he kill Rickon like he did in the show? I really, really hope not, but I'm afraid that's exactly what will happen.

There is a line that Ned spoke in AGOT that George says will eventually be very important, that I think perfectly applies to this situation.

"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives."

Ned speaks to Arya about this in King's Landing, to get her to understand that the Starks should not fight one another in times of danger, or be isolated from each other, but look after one another, protect each other. Winter has now come, the snows are falling and the white winds are blowing. Who is the lone wolf in this scenario? While Jon certainly fits the bill (he literally is a lone wolf, it's very clear at the end of ADWD he was prepared to ride to Winterfell all by himself until he got the wildlings to his side), I think Rickon could too.

Rickon is very isolated from everyone else, even when he was at Winterfell. He was only 4 years old, and didn't understand why everyone was leaving him. Given the plan to use Rickon as a pawn to reinstall Stark rule of the North being something we can cheer for and expect to happen, I don't think it will happen. Rickon, the lone wolf, will be used to try to depose Ramsay, but it won't go well, and he will die because of it.

Jon will probably find himself in a bad position in battle too, and very nearly die as the lone wolf... but now that winter is here, and everyone is starting to converge on Winterfell at some point, I think that it won't be Jon who ultimately retakes Winterfell: it will be all the Starks. Sansa may be in the Vale, but Littlefinger plans to use her to take Winterfell back at some point (even if it won't go exactly to plan).

"When Robert dies, Harry the Heir becomes Lord Harrold, Defender of the Vale and Lord of the Eyrie. Jon Arryn's bannermen will never love me, nor our silly, shaking Robert, but they will love their Young Falcon . . . and when they come together for his wedding, and you come out with your long auburn hair, clad in a maiden's cloak of white and grey with a direwolf emblazoned on the back . . . why, every knight in the Vale will pledge his sword to win you back your birthright."

Arya is having a lot of wolf dreams as Nymeria, and GRRM has said that her wolf pack will one day be used as a Chekov's gun. Bran may be far away, but he is getting more powerful and beginning to influence events as far south as Winterfell. The pack comes together to survive in winter, to help Jon and the North by defeating their enemies.

So as Jon fights against the bastard he so deeply despises, it won't just be him. It'll be the Knights of the Vale, led by Sansa. It'll be Nymeria and her wolf pack, piloted by Arya. It'll be Bran, skinchanging into whatever is around. TWOW may end up being the darkest book in the series, and the retaking of Winterfell won't be as glorious as we imagine or even as I spelt it out (Rickon's death and the perception the North has of Jon should play very big roles in making it not entirely happy), but this will be maybe one of our only moment of deserved catharsis we might get from it.

[libermachinae]

Fault Lines Under the Living Room

Part IV: Touch - Chapter 11: Ripple

Also on AO3 Summary: They’ve only just arrived at their destination when things start to go wrong. Word Count: 2193

---

“Picking up some light readings,” Drift reported. “Limited tech, similar to Vitrious. You getting anything?”

“Just a massive, concentrated energy spike a few degrees northeast,” Rodimus said. “Recent exposure, Cybertronian markers.”

“When’s the last time you took that rig in for a tune-up?”

Ratchet hated having to repeat himself, but either Drift was incapable of recognizing the severity of his ship’s disrepair (unlikely) or he was being even more obstinate than normal. Exchanging their vessels’ specs had revealed the truly horrific condition the ship was in: fuel efficiency half of what it should have been, unreliable pressure seals, thrusters that should not have made it into the air, let alone off a planet. That he had survived transit was a—not a miracle, an insult to probability and reasonable calculation of—

Rodimus put a hand on his shoulder and tried to think calm thoughts. Drift had survived. It didn’t make sense, and maybe the luck would run out now that it had been acknowledged, but—

Ratchet halfheartedly swatted at his hand, more like a firm pat.

No wonder you liked him so much. Morale officer doesn’t suit you. He failed to dislodge Rodimus’ hand and didn’t bother trying again.

“Haven’t had the time.” The sound of flipping switches was followed by a hard smack from Drift’s end, rounded out by imprecise grumbling. Drift’s report had lacked any details on the state of his ship’s user interface, but the variety of language he had spoken to it with, impressive even by Ratchet’s standards, gave the sense that it was functioning at about the same level as everything else: barely.

“Still think it’s an outpost?” Rodimus asked.

“Lot of things it could be,” Drift said, voice accompanied by a few more mechanical noises. “We’d need more info to say for sure. Or a visual.”

Rodimus considered the readouts in front of him. There were more he hadn’t read out, but only because he didn��t know how. Ratchet translated what he could, but they were trying to keep his focus on piloting which meant Rodimus couldn’t spend too long wondering about the more mystifying aspects of his screen. Was that box in the top corner a map, or a graph? He didn’t know, and he had to look away before it overtook their other priorities.

“There are also stockpiles, energon plants, and decoys out there,” Drift went on. “Traps, if you’re really unlucky. Whole lot of empty shacks; lot of boltholes won’t have anyone living in them most of the time.”

“On the move a lot?” Rodimus asked.

“Sure. Only one in a dozen stellar systems will have a planet good for energon harvesting, and then there’s having to be vigilant about competition and enforcers. Sometimes needs will change or new opportunities will open up, and a crew will split up to deal with it.” He sounded annoyed at that, briefly breaking from his researcher-describing-mysterious-outgroup tone.

“Couple Decepticons on holiday accidentally give you the slip?” Rodimus asked, just to keep him there.

“More like an entire platoon,” Drift said, rising to it so quickly that they could only assume he’d been waiting for someone to complain about this to. “I tracked them to their covert thermal operation on a smelter of a planet, got all the way in, only to discover the one mech they’d left behind was their communications specialist—it was a mess. But, that’s the past now.” And just as quickly, the wall was back up. “If our intel’s good and Grit’s got a byte of sense, there should be someone here. Just no idea how many.”

“Sounds like there’s a good chance we’ll get this thing cleaned up quick,” Ratchet said. “So long as we stick together.”

Drift’s Hm’d agreement was more than either had expected. Maybe they were making progress.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Good to go,” Rodimus said, adjusting the items on his screen to focus on the ship’s status. “Defense and surveillance up, and we’re at about descent altitude. Just give us a head’s up when you start improvising, so we can get out of your way.”

He was not supposed to say that. He shot over a grin in response to Ratchet’s disapproval; what point was there in denying the inevitable?

Practicing being a good friend, remember? That means saying no to stupid ideas.

It also means being there to catch him instead of holding him back.

It was the kind of argument that couldn’t be solved with a few pointed thoughts or memories, the kind that they did not have time for now, as the visual feed showed Drift’s ship starting its descent. They set it aside in their own ways: Ratchet simply stopped thinking about it, while Rodimus let himself run through the myriad arguments he would have made simultaneously before reconnecting himself to the present. A moment later and they were ready, Ratchet punching in the commands to follow Drift down.

The planet’s cloudless atmosphere gave them a clear view of the terrain below, its massive, dramatic rock formations contoured by deep shadows. North of them, the average surface elevation increased and smoothed out into tall hills, but where they were going the difference between peaks and valleys created a network of shelves and tunnels that would be perfect to hide a secret base in. And stealth did seem to be one goal of whoever had set up shop down there: besides the sloppy energy output, there were no obvious signs of cyberforming on the planet’s surface. Rodimus was about to suggest that only those who came looking for Cybertronians would ever notice they were here, when a glint in one of the visual feeds caught his attention. He brought the feed to his station and zoomed in. Metal?

The word hit his vocoder as Ratchet shoved them into a dive.

“Turret!”

The energy beam was hot enough to ripple the air around it. Even though Ratchet got them turned away fast enough, the whole shuttle shuddered from the near-miss. Crates and containers rattled in their restraints, and Rodimus was too busy keeping up with Ratchet to think about the sounds of crashing down in the hold. They should have been at a safe distance to avoid detection; how had they been pinpointed so quickly?

“Pull up! Get out of here!” Drift shouted.

No time to wonder about it right now.

“Can’t,” Rodimus said while Ratchet wrestled with the controls. “I’ve got visual; they’re charging up for the next shot. Reversing momentum would have us hovering like an auto-skeet.” If the console would stop bombarding him with warnings, he might have been able to make better estimates about their next move, but a ship this size wasn’t designed to be flown by just two bots with half a processor each. Ratchet was demanding so much of their attention that even reading the words on the screen demanded resources they didn’t have, so he scrubbed the whole thing until all that was left was the visual feed, the twinkle that shone just before the storm. “Diving. Keep on our tail.”

“No, that’s—fine. Aim for cover.”

Ratchet switched off the reverse thrusters and the ship plummeted out of its gentle descent. The entire world rocked nauseatingly as the discordant visual feeds broadcast the tilting horizon and rising ground, and they startled as the second blast singed the air behind them, the crackle of Drift’s failing comms suite not enough to prevent their sparks from clenching down in panic. The rear cameras recovered from the overexposure, and there was the speeder, intact and keeping pace.

“What now?” Drift demanded.

“Evasive maneuvers,” Rodimus said, following the ticker tape of Ratchet’s intentions. “Triple Thunderclash!”

Ratchet twisted hard on the controls and sent the ship spiraling. Rodimus would have been flung across the bridge had they not been secured, but even then struggled to maintain focus as they were thrashed around, over and over. He couldn’t see Drift anymore, or the distant turret: everything was swirls of color, broken up for only a split second as the third blast went wide and passed them by.

Ratchet drew back and pulled them out of the spiral, then hastily steered them aside as the recovered visual feeds revealed an oncoming peak. Landing thrusters were engaged; slightly dazed, Rodimus picked out a promising valley for Ratchet to maneuver them into. Drift reappeared in the rear feed, keeping his distance in case they had to dart again. Not that there would be much room for it, as the canyon walls rose up and enveloped them.

Ratchet brought the shuttle to rest on a wide shelf and sat back, optics dim. The constant, pounding beat of his focus dispersed, and he sunk into pillowy relief, buoyed by Rodimus’ burst of Wow we made its and What kind of gun was thats and I’m alive Ratchet’s alive Drift’s alives. It had been hard, keeping that iron grip on himself while Ratchet put in the work of keeping them alive, but—

“Wouldn’t have seen that shot coming without you,” Ratchet said. Rodimus looked away as he flushed, warm with appreciation and embarrassment; sincerity was an intimacy he was never quite prepared for. He was grateful when Drift’s speeder landed alongside them.

“Everybody intact in there?” Ratchet asked. He thought Rodimus’ embarrassment was amusing, frag him, but was willing to set it aside out of concern for their friend. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t find a way to exploit it later, but for now, Rodimus was safe.

“We made it,” Drift said. “That was more more like a Double Thunderclash.”

“Ratchet was between Thunderclashes and I had to make a best guess.” Rodimus tried to mime the path of the two ships with his hands, twisting his arms as far as his joints would allow. “It’s a Triple Thunderclash because it’s three times cooler than a thing Clash did in some fight,” he explained, since he felt Ratchet wondering.

“Battle of Ambustus Major?” Ratchet asked. Rodimus shrugged and tried not to pout when Ratchet immediately brought up an old vid file of the maneuver.

“Is the ship stable here?” Drift asked, reminding them they were here with a purpose. In the aftermath of such a close call, it was natural to want to ease back for a moment, but Rodimus couldn’t fault Drift for wanting to stay on track. The stakes weren’t any lower just because they’d made it to the surface intact.

“Should be,” Ratchet said, leaning over so he didn’t have to keep relying on Rodimus to funnel through the ship’s readings. “Holding steady for now. We’d probably need to conduct a physical survey to be sure, but I’m not seeing anything troubling from here.” Ratchet wasn’t sure of the composition of this planet, but the lack of dust in the atmosphere suggested it was made of a lot of hard, compact stone, hopefully strong enough to support a spacefaring vessel. They just had to hope that whatever geologic event had formed this shelf hadn’t terribly weakened the wall it was anchored to.

“Good,” Drift said. “The good news from all this is that the turret gives us an idea of where they have their main base; it’d be a waste of fuel to have to drive back and forth a long way. Once I’ve scouted it out and located Grit, you can come in.”

“Okay, and one more time with a plan we’ll actually follow?” Ratchet’s edge emboldened Rodimus. If it had been just him out here, he might have let Drift make all the decisions out of guilt, but the strong presence beside his mind pulsed with gentle encouragement.

Drift sighed.

“Right. Give me a minute.”

Ratchet gave Rodimus a thumbs up. Progress.

Rodimus got up from the captain’s seat and walked to the bow of the bridge, where the narrow viewshield gave him a closer peek onto the planet. The impression he got: rocks. Though the surface was painted mainly by dull shades of brown, down here they started taking on more color, hints of red and green only noticeable against the stark homogeny of everything else.

Why had the Decepticons chosen this planet? Were there fuel reservoirs buried too far below the surface to show up on orbital scanners? How would they have known to come looking for them? If not, if this was just a backwater hideaway, why the powerful defense system? Who was hiding here? And for how long? He itched to pop the hatch open and start exploring, but Ratchet’s presence kept him in place. This world, with its unknown Cybertronian population, confronted them with a new variety of complexity and danger. Though they could be rash in their decision to help Drift, they couldn’t risk being stupid about it.

Ratchet gently nudged him away from that kind of thinking. No one here was stupid. Everyone was trying to do the right thing for the people of Vitrious, the universe at large, and each other.

Rodimus cast a small, grateful smile over his shoulder.

“Okay.” The comms came back to life with Drift’s voice. “I still think this is a bad idea. But I’ve got something.”

[nalu4emily]

The Unexpected Reward - Chapter 11

Summary:  Natsu and Lucy go on a job together, but what they bring home is something neither anticipated. Forced to make a life changing decision, they have to adapt quickly, but that's never easy, especially given the circumstances. As they work together on their toughest adventure yet, they find themselves drawn to one another, in ways they never realised. Nalu/cute/fluff/multi-chapter.

This chapter features mature content.

It'd been a very odd morning, Natsu had never imagined the day after his first sexual experience to be so turbulent. He pictured him and Lucy snuggling up in bed together taking it easy, not her running off and threatening to beat the ever loving crap out of one of their friends, regardless of whether they deserved it or not.

He'd not long made it to the guild when all hell had broke loose. He'd arrived just in time to watch Lucy tackle Cana to the floor, which, thankfully, hadn't ended with either seriously hurt. Lord knows how he'd gathered the courage to separate the two beasts, in the end he'd needed the assistance of not only Gray but Gajeel as well. The bedlam that had ensued was enough to put frighteners on even the great Titania, who luckily hadn't shown her face until after. Natsu cringed at the very thought of her getting involved, that would not have ended well for anyone.

It had been one hell of a clash between the two friends, all that could be heard echoing through the great hall was Cana's maniacal laughter and Lucy's hysterical shrieking. Natsu had to admit, even though he'd been the one to stop her, watching Lucy be a total badass as she elegantly switched between star dresses and the way she held her own was a sure fire way to get his blood pumping. Screw sexy lingerie and skimpy outfits, he'd take watching Lucy fight any day! Maybe he could even get her to use her star dresses in the bedroom? Now there was food for thought and it was making him drool.

Aside from Natsu's kinky thoughts, once he'd managed to pull her off of the card wielder, kicking and screaming he might add, he'd dragged her over to a secluded bench and sat her down, giving her time to take a few deep breaths. Master Makarov had appeared in the main hall not long after, probably to see what all the commotion was about. Sighing in relief to see the building still intact, he'd caught sight of the two mages he'd wanted to see and gestured for them to go with him, not wanting anyone else to follow.

And now here they were, sitting across from the Master who was currently speaking complete gibberish to the baby he'd insisted on holding. Natsu still didn't understand why people did that, it made them look insane! Aside from Lucy that is, she looked adorable when she did it. Haru, seated in the Master's lap, had taken a liking to the poor man's facial hair, tangling his chubby hands into it and tugging, making the old man wince from his strong grip. Even though it was obviously hurting, he couldn't bring himself to stop the chuckling baby, not when the little guy was finding it ever so funny.

"You two are doing a great job at looking after this little man, he's come a long way since the beginning and he's much bigger now too." Makarov told them, but didn't spare either a single glance as he spoke, too preoccupied with entertaining the infant.

"Thanks Master, that means a lot to us." Lucy said, smiling as the youngster continued to giggle at the older man.

"How're you both finding it all? A blue birdy told me you're now living together?" He asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Yes, we did a few months ago, Natsu extended his house for us all." Lucy said, looking over to Natsu who grinned at her. "And I think we're getting along just fine. It was a little stressful at first but now I couldn't imagine my life without him." Lucy answered, but she wasn't convinced that the Master had pulled them into the back room just to ask how they were. He could have done that in the main hall.

"Lucy's right, it's awesome! Haru is a great kid and I'm proud to call him my son." Natsu beamed, fisting the air in his enthusiasm.

"That's what I like to hear! You both made a very tough decision with barely any time to really think it through, but you've made the most of it and I know everyone in the guild is really happy for you." The old man uttered.

"Thanks Gramps! Was there something else you wanted us for?" Natsu asked, turning to Lucy to see if she was thinking the same. Was this really all the Master wanted to say to them?

Makarov finally looked up to the two mages who were staring at him curiously and sighed. "I guess it's time to tell you the real reason why I asked you in here. I apologise for the unexpected meeting but I have something of great importance that came for you both and it couldn't wait." He said, sporting a serious expression all of a sudden.

"What is it, Master? You mean like a letter?" Lucy asked, the way his face turned stoic had put her on edge in an instant.

"Yes, I ha-" He stopped, hearing whispering coming from outside the room, "Can you hear that?"

"It's Gray, Erza and Happy standing outside the door." Natsu shrugged like it wasn't news to him, "They've been there the whole time."

The Master rolled his eyes, of course there were eavesdroppers, he should've known. "Well, it's up to you two whether you want them in here or not?"

Natsu looked to Lucy and nodded, if they were that desperate to listen in then they might as well join them. The slayer walked over to the locked door and opened it, revealing the surprised group who stumbled into the room and fell at Natsu's feet. He raised an eyebrow at them as they slowly all made eye contact with him, sheepish grins on all of their faces.

"Oh look, the nosey brigade have arrived!" Natsu said sarcastically, crossing his arms as they all ungracefully stood up, treading on each others feet and clashing heads in the narrow door way. "If you were trying to be quiet, you failed! I could hear you all coming a mile off!"

"Yeah, well, not everyone's a freak like you." Gray spat back, clutching at his head after smacking it against the door handle.

"You're just pissed 'cause you got caught snooping!" Natsu taunted, a smirk splitting his features.

"It was Happy's idea, Flame brain! He was the one complaining that you two had gone off and left him again, so blame him!" The ice mage exclaimed, knocking heads with the fire mage and filling the air with testosterone.

"Hey! Don't blame me, you and Erza were sneaking around after them! This was your idea!" The exceed defended, it wasn't his fault that people kept forgetting about him.

They all continued to squabble for a little longer, trying to pass the blame between Gray and Happy as to why they had followed Natsu and Lucy, stopping only when the Master cleared his throat.

"Um, pardon the intrusion Master, we were just, er… Coming to lend our moral support to Natsu and Lucy." Erza stuttered, unable to come up with a good enough excuse for their eavesdropping.

"Whatever you say, just sit down and keep quiet." Makarov gave an exasperated sigh, these kids were going to be the death of him, along with the rest of the damn guild. They filtered in and quickly sat down where they could around Natsu and Lucy. "Right, now that that's sorted… back to what I called you two in here for." He pulled an envelope out from his stacks of paperwork and slid it across the table. They both looked at the paper curiously and saw clearly written in black ink, 'Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia' with the word 'PRIVATE' in large, stamped letters underneath.

"What's this Gramps? It looks kinda important… Is it from the council?!" Natsu began to sweat profusely, thinking back on any times recently where he'd destroyed something, but nothing came to mind. He hadn't been on a mission in months so that couldn't be it. "Have you been destroying things again, Lucy?" He crossed his arms and raised his brow at her, quirking his lips up at her offended, but totally adorable pout.

"I'm not you, Natsu!" She raised her voice at him, then looked down at the envelope again, inspecting it closely. "I don't think this is about our missions is it?" She asked, directing the question more towards the Master, who simply shook his head. He may not have read it himself but like Lucy, he'd caught on pretty quickly. "If that's the case then I don't think I want to open it…" There was only one reason that Lucy could think of for being sent such a letter.

"What's wrong, Lucy? Do you know what it's about?" Happy chipped in, flying over and landing on her lap. Gray and Erza looked just as lost as Natsu did in that moment.

"Surely it can't be that bad? Why don't you wanna open it?" Natsu asked, still very much confused about the whole thing.

Lucy didn't say anything, she cast her gaze away from the envelope to look at the sweet baby gurgling away in the Master's arms. She felt her tears well up in her eyes and all she could think was if this was bad news, she didn't know what she was going to do.

Natsu took note of the growing despair in Lucy's eyes and followed her line of vision, landing on the infant. He furrowed his brows for a moment trying to work out what could've upset her so suddenly. "Is this letter about Haru?" He asked, realisation hitting him.

Now he remembered! When they'd first brought Haru home, much to the slayer's chagrin, they'd spent hours and hours filling out stupid amounts of paperwork to send off so that they could officially adopt him. They knew at the time that the adoption process would take a while and that they would have to wait for an answer. After that, he'd put it to the back of his mind and it didn't take long for him to forget about it altogether.

He looked back to Lucy who hadn't said a word since she'd realised what it was herself. Natsu didn't bother waiting for her to answer and went to pick up the letter, wanting to know what was so awful about it.

"Wait!" He felt Lucy's hand grab the wrist that he'd reached out towards the table and halted his movements, peering back over to her and tilting his head in confusion. "W-What… What if it's bad news?"

"Why would it be bad news, Luce?" He asked, not fully understanding the problem yet. If it was just to say they could keep him, then that was good wasn't it?

"You have to understand how diligent they are! They could take a disliking to one silly little thing and it can turn the tables against us." She could feel the dread come up from her stomach into her chest, what would they do? "Don't you understand? Bad news means they'll take him from us and give him to someone else and we'll never see him again."

"Never see him again? Over my dead body! How can you be sure it's bad? It might not-"

"But what if it is? What do we do then?" The tears finally fell, coming down like torrents and that's when it dawned on Natsu that Lucy's fear was a very real possibility.

He looked back at the little one and watched him happily inspect his fingers, another thing he'd discovered recently. A life without Haru was something Natsu had never considered, why would he want to think of that? His heart picked up speed a little and a sick feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. Haru was their son, no one had a right to take him from them, not even that birth father of his. It was the whole point of going through this ridiculous adoption process in the first place, to keep him safe and with them, forever.

That being said, Natsu also wasn't one for conforming to the rules, if they'd decided that him and Lucy weren't suitable enough, then he would fight with every last slither of determination to keep Haru with them, no matter the cost.

"Can they really do that, Gramps? After everything Natsu and Lucy have done for Haru, they can just take him?" Gray asked, if that were the case then that was absolute bullshit and so unfair!

"I'm afraid so, it can be a ruthless system." Makarov explained, shifting the baby in his lap so that he was now facing his parents, smiling happily when he caught sight of them.

"In the end, the one that suffers the most is the innocent child stuck in the middle of it all." Erza expanded, feeling nothing but sympathy as she gazed at Lucy, who looked totally distraught by the idea of losing little Haru.

"I'm not gonna let that happen!" Everyone heard and turned swiftly to the dragon slayer, his sight was fixed on the baby, determination in his voice. He looked at everyone in turn, gauging their shocked expressions before landing on Lucy, who still had tears flowing down her cheeks. He reached his hand out and interlaced his fingers with hers, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "No matter what that letter says, Haru's ours, Lucy, he'll always be ours." His voice sounded firm and assured, but a shadow was cast over his eyes, making it hard for Lucy to read his face. She could tell the very idea of this all going sideways was affecting him way more than he was letting on.

He sighed loudly, hoping that all this worry was for nothing. He looked over to Lucy to make sure she was okay and then over to Haru, unable to contain his smile as he watched the little one suck on his tiny fists.

"Are you ready, Lucy?" He asked, picking the envelope up and opening it.

"Ready as I'll ever be." She replied, worry thickly coating her voice.

"Dear Mr Dragneel and Miss Heartfilia,

This letter has been formally written to you to update you on the adoption application you made to us for the infant known as Haru.

It is to our understanding that he is currently living with you both at your permanent residence in the city of Magnolia, Fiore and has done so since early Spring of this year. From the information given to us by yourselves and the current Master of the mages guild, Fairy Tail, in which you are both long serving members, this is what we have concluded:"

"Wow, I've never heard Natsu sound so official before, you should speak like that more often, makes it sound like you gotta brain." Gray butted in and sniggered, trying to lighten the mood a little, gaining nothing but a clip around the head from Erza.

"Shut it, Frosty! It's not my fault it's worded so weirdly!" Natsu spat back, scowling at the Ice mage. "If you're so smart, why don't you read it!"

"Be quiet! This is an important matter and I don't want either of you to start fighting at a time like this." Erza demanded, voice stern and intimidating, shutting both boys up.

"Give it here…" Lucy huffed and snatched the letter from Natsu's hand, deciding it best if she were to carry on in his place. She cleared her throat and began where Natsu had finished.

"As you are aware, the law states that a child may be re homed permanently in very exceptional circumstances which are listed below for your reference;

1. The birth parents choose and/or grant permission to give up their child for reasons they believe would benefit the child.

2. The safety and/or well-being of the child have been greatly compromised because of abuse and/or neglect inflicted upon them by their birth parents.

3. Both birth parents perish and the child has no other close friends or relatives that can willingly take responsibility for them.

In this circumstance, we decided category one only applied. We recently made contact with the child's only living relative, his birth father, to attain information regarding his relationship with his biological child. After much discussion, it was clear that he did not want to be a part of the child's life, believing himself to be incapable of meeting the child's needs at this difficult time."

"Pfft… Incapable of meeting his needs, you can say that again…" Natsu scoffed, gaining everyone's attention.

"Natsu!" Lucy yelled, getting irritated by his need to interrupt her.

"Sorry, it just made me laugh that's all!" He shrugged, backing down when Lucy glared at him.

"After advising him that it was in the child's best interest to remain with his current living situation with yourselves, he subsequently agreed to relinquish all parental responsibility and henceforth, no longer has any lawful right to the child.

As a result, we would like to congratulate you on the successful adoption of your son, Haru Dragneel and will post his new birth records to you in due course. We wish you both the very best with your new family."

Once she'd finished reading she placed the paper down and the room fell silent for a moment, allowing the news to sink in. She gaped at her partner, noticing the huge grin forming in his cheeks. But before he could say anything, she leapt out of her seat and flung herself at him, accidentally shoving him off of the chair and down to the ground, both landing in a heap of tangled limbs.

"He's ours! Oh my god Natsu, he's officially ours!" She squealed, unable to contain her excitement and relief.

Before anyone could react, the sound of Haru's infectious laughter filled the air, brightening the room. Watching his Mommy fall on top of his Daddy like that had tickled his funny bone. Natsu and Lucy grinned like idiots, bringing their foreheads together and revelling in the sweet sound of their baby's amusement. The others watched on at the tender moment, grins all plastered on their faces as they stood to congratulate the ecstatic couple.

"I guess now you really have officially beaten me, Natsu. You know you choosing to be a father to a child that isn't yours takes guts, I respect that, but now it's on to see who can have the most kids." Gray sniggered as he darted out of the room, probably to go and find Juvia…

Natsu, unable to fire back at Gray before he left, looked up at Lucy and smirked, "Don't even think about it!" She stared him down, "I am not spending the rest of my youth popping out children for you to win some stupid bet against Gray!"

"Dang it! But Lucy, he's gonna win! Juvia's not gonna say no!" He whined, of course with mirth, trying to wind her up as always, which was clearly working.

"What a joyous day this is! I'm so happy for you both!" Erza's face lit up like she was planning something as she walked out of the door.

"So kids, I'm glad we got a happy ending because that could've turned out much worse and I don't think the guild hall would've stood a chance against Natsu's fiery temper. I'm going for a drink before my heart gives out and this little guy is coming with me." Makarov said as he too left the room with Haru still happily playing in his arms.

Happy flew over, the last one left in the room, hoping he wouldn't catch a glimpse of the pair being all gross with each other. "So I guess I am officially his big brother now, which means I have an exclusive right to teach him how to wind Lucy up, in fact, I think I better go start now. Wait for me, Master!" He giggled at Lucy's unimpressed face and flew out of the room, shutting the door behind him, leaving just the two of them, alone.

Natsu reached his hand up to her cheek to bring her attention back to him and caressed it softly with his thumb, taking in her beautiful features whilst feeling a sense of calm. Everything had fallen into place and he was overjoyed by the good news. No more worrying, (not that he did much anyway) Haru was all theirs and they could now look to the little ones future, to their future as a family.

"I love you so much, Lucy." His voice was soft and sweet, a total opposite to his usual destructive personality. Lucy leaned her face towards his, her heart pounding in her chest and filling with warmth from his words. She could barely contain her grin as they locked eyes with one another, her lips brushing up against his.

"I love you too, Natsu. I'm so happy!" She met his lips with a sweet but smouldering kiss. Lucy felt her skin heat up at his very touch, and her body tremored from the excess adrenaline pumping through it.

They continued their make out session for a little while longer, completely lost in each other. They were both overwhelmed with pure elation by the outcome of that letter, even though in reality, nothing would actually change. Their lives would carry on as it was, but now at least they had that security of Haru remaining with them indefinitely.

Their kiss slowly burned into something more heated, reminiscent of the previous night, especially when Lucy's hips rubbed against Natsu's groin, causing him to growl into her mouth. It was like something had awoken within them and all the pent up emotions were leaking out in more frenzied movements, turning lustful the more they touched each other.

Lucy detached her lips from Natsu's mouth and slowly made her way down to his neck, grazing over his scar there and sending shivers through his body. She snaked her hands down to his pants and began to rub the awakening dragon through his clothes, feeling him twitch excitedly under her hand. His eyes rolled back into his head and he let out a harsh breath, relishing in the firmness of her strokes. But before all sense of sanity travelled south, he grabbed at her wrist, halting her movements and gauging her shocked expression.

"I don't think now is a good time, Luce. Anyone could walk in, which they will if we don't show our faces soon." He said, trying to compose himself, but man, did her hand feel good on him! It wasn't him that had the problem with being caught, he just knew Lucy wouldn't like that. He could picture her mortified face clearly, she'd be so utterly horrified, she'd probably never want to touch him again and he couldn't have that!

"You're right, I guess." She sat up, disappointment clear in her voice, feeling a little saddened that Natsu had declined her advances. She looked to the door when something caught her eye. "That door has a lock on it…" She looked at him with the biggest shit eating grin and went to stand, pulling Natsu up with her.

"That desperate, huh?" He teased, leaning against the desk with his leg crossed over the other and his arms folded over his chest, looking smug. "You know a locked door won't stop them, right?"

"Dammit! Fine, let's go and join them then…" She sighed deflated, turning to walk out of the door but stopped when Natsu pulled her back to him, caging her against the desk he was previously leaning on.

"And where do you think you're running off to?" He growled against her ear, sucking her lobe and making her quiver. He could see the slight confusion in her face as he carried out his ministrations.

"B-But, I-I thought you said…" She stammered.

"Don't think I don't want to, Lucy. I'd love nothing more than to bend you over this table right now and fuck you until you scream my name." She gasped at the brashness of his words, feeling her legs turn to jelly at the mere thought of Natsu doing that. He touched his lips down to her jaw, leaving sensual open mouthed kisses all the way down to her mouth, then stopped and smirked whilst eyeing her plump lips, waiting for her to speak.

She said nothing, she could barely breathe from the intense glare that Natsu was giving her and the way he was speaking… it made her shudder! She could feel herself moisten down below from the sheer sexiness of his demeanour. Where did he learn to act like this? Lucy was sure if he kept it up, she'd be a blonde puddle on the floor.

The boy grabbed both of her cheeks and pulled her to him, pressing their lips together and enjoying the smoothness of her tongue as it danced with his. He pulled away all too soon causing Lucy to whimper at the loss of contact. "Come on Luce, let's go join the others. We'll continue this later." He winked at her blushing face, taking her hand and leading them out of the door.

As soon as they entered the main hall, a stream of cheers and clinking of glasses filled the room. Obviously someone had opened their mouths and told them all about the good news, probably Happy… or Erza? Lucy should have guessed they'd use any excuse for a party. They walked on over to the bar where Haru was laying calmly beside Makarov, babbling away and sucking on his fists again.

"Congrats guys! I'm so happy for you both!" Levy said from the side, she beamed at them. "Happy told us all about your letter, in fact I think he told everyone."

Lucy rolled her eyes, she really did have to have words with that damn cat, he needed to learn to keep his mouth shut every once in a while. "Thanks Levy, it's such a relief!" Lucy sat herself down, about to reach over to Haru when Natsu got there first.

"It's my turn, Luce. You changed him last time." He said, picking up the little one and scrunching up his nose at the horrific smell lingering around the baby. Holding his breath, he proceeded to change the baby on a nearby bench, burning the soiled diaper to get rid of the stench. Natsu dressed him in fresh clothes and wrapped his scaly scarf around him to keep him warm. He picked Haru up, cuddling him close to his chest and smiled, "Does that feel better little guy? You know for such a small person, you make one hell of a smell!" Haru simply smiled at his father, knowing full well that after a diaper change he was always rewarded with milk time and boy, did he look forward to that!

"I think someone's hungry!" Natsu chuckled at the little boy, who was now sucking the life out of the scarf and making cute little noises. He walked back over to Lucy and sat down beside her. She passed a fresh bottle for the slayer to warm in his hand, placing it into the infants mouth who accepted it greedily. Both Natsu and Lucy smiled fondly at the little one, lost in their own little baby bubble as they watched him guzzle down his bottle. The soft voice of one of their friends breaking them out of their daze.

"You know, seeing you like this Natsu, reminds me of when we first found Happy's egg and played house all the time as kids." Lisanna said from the other side of the bar, she'd been watching Natsu with the baby and it had brought fond memories back to her of their childhood together. "I always thought you'd make a good Daddy one day!"

"Oh, um, thanks!" Natsu replied, blushing a little at the unexpected compliment. He looked up at the girl who was leaning over the bar, propping her head up with both arms, smiling fondly at the fire mage.

"It still amazes me that you've managed to keep him alive for so long. You could barely take care of yourself until Lucy came along." Gray sniggered as he waltzed on over to the bar. "And I bet she's still constantly cleaning up after you!"

"That's rich coming from an idiot not wearing any underwear." Natsu eyed the ice mage, watching him jump when he looked down at himself and realised he was completely naked. "Go find your pants man! I don't want Haru learning your freaky stripping habits."

"And I don't want him picking up on either of your stupid fighting habits!" Lucy butted in before another fight broke out, silencing the two males immediately. "Haru is a sweet boy, I'd like to keep him that way!" She smiled and reached out a hand to stroke the baby's head.

"He's definitely got an appetite like Natsu's." Wendy giggled, smitten with the little one. "But he still might end up like you, Lucy."

"One can only hope!" Lucy chuckled at Natsu's pretend hurt expression. "What? Let me have something, I am the only girl in the house, it's only fair!" She giggled, laying her head on Natsu's shoulder, both watching their little one finish his milk.

"Ugh, you guys are so pure, it hurts me!" Cana exclaimed, smacking her drink down on the bar top, making every mage present jump. She was obviously very drunk at this point, allowing her mouth to run away with her even more than usual. "Come on, let's get this party started!"

"Actually, Natsu and I are gonna head out, Haru's run out of milk and he gets hungry pretty quickly." She chuckled, not sparing the drunk girl a single glance, too enraptured by the cute baby.

"Don't make excuses! You guys are just eager to get home and use your new presents! Don't want any accidents now do we?" Cana grinned evilly at Lucy, who'd gone wide eyed and quiet at the brunette's words. Natsu stiffened and chanced a glance over at the two girls. He didn't want to have to deal with this again, not after this morning!

"Presents? What presents? Was it your birthday or something, Lucy?" Levy asked, not taking notice of the sudden tense atmosphere. She was sure Lucy's birthday wasn't for a few months yet?

"On that note, I think we should head out! Come on, Luce, off we go!" Natsu stood abruptly, grabbing hold of the blonde who looked just about ready to blow. If looks could kill… "Bye everyone, see you tomorrow!" He shouted through Cana's howling, fleeing out of the door with Haru in one hand and Lucy in the other.

He ran as fast as he could away from the guild hall, surprised by the lack of resistance from his partner but didn't want to let go just in case. Once they reached their house, Natsu flung the door open and pulled Lucy inside, locking it behind him before she could run back and give Cana a piece of her mind. Taking a long, deep breath, he watched her walk over and slump down onto the couch and let out her own sigh.

Natsu walked over and placed a very sleepy Haru in the basket next to the couch, tucking his scaly scarf over the little one to keep him warm. Turning his attention back to Lucy, he perched himself next to her, wondering what could have dampened her mood so unexpectedly.

"You okay, Luce? You're being very quiet… Did Cana get to you that much?" His voice laced with concern for her change in behaviour, hoping that bringing up the card wielder wouldn't set her off again.

"Oh, er, no, she's harmless really…" She trailed off, looking down at her lap and fiddling with the hem of her shirt, feeling those nervous bubbles take residence in her belly again.

"Are you sure? You can tell me if something's bothering you." He said, placing his hand on her thigh and began to softly stroke it. He could see that she was hesitant about branching any further into what was on her mind. He took her hands in his and moved to face her directly, staring deep into her averted eyes, catching the uncertainty in them. "Luce, I can't help if you don't tell me."

Taking a deep breath, she attempted to explain to him the problem, "I-It's what Cana said when we left the guild. We, um, forgot something when we, you know… last night and, well…" She faltered, struggling to hold any sort of gaze on his curious face. "And now I-I might, well, we might be, um…"

"Having another baby?" He came straight out with it, gauging her shocked expression.

He'd had a suspicion that it was something along those lines because of how Lucy had gone strangely quiet on the way home after Cana had teased her about using the condoms. Ever the immature idiot, Natsu was more perceptive than people gave him credit for, especially when it came to Lucy, he could read her like an open book.

Lucy snapped her head to his, eyes wide open and her mouth agape like she'd just seen a ghost. She could feel the panic rise up the more she played out what he'd just said over and over in her mind. Only thinking it in her head up until that point, but hearing it said out loud was a whole different ball game.

"And you were worried about what I might think, if you told me?" His expression remained neutral but firm. He knew he'd guessed right because of the way she'd reacted when he'd said it. The fire breather was sure he could hear the rapid beat of her heart hammering against her chest and the fact her cheeks had turned the darkest shade of red with beads of sweat forming on her brow, gave her away before she'd even said anything.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry, Natsu, I've ruined everything! I don't know how I forgot, and now I don't know what to do, it only takes one time for it to happen! Was it nerves? Or maybe I-" She tried to keep her voice down for Haru's sake, but she was struggling to stop the words from flooding out of her mouth.

Natsu pressed his lips to hers to stop her from rambling, taking her by surprise. He felt a few stray tears touch his face, making his heart clench in sympathy for her. Waiting for her to calm down, he pulled away after a few moments, placing his forehead on hers. His eyes were closed for now and his breath was slow and even. Lucy waited nervously for him to say something, anything… yet he remained calm and quiet. She hadn't expected him to be this relaxed about it, but then this was Natsu after all, he always looked on the brighter side of things.

"Shh, it's alright Lucy. Accidents happen, so you don't have to be sorry. I take half the blame because it takes two remember?" He opened his eyes, his voice was soothingly gentle, allowing her to calm herself down a little and think more clearly. "Would it be so bad if we were to have another little one?" He waited a moment to see if she would answer. Her eyes flickered between his as she digested his question, would it be that bad?

"It's just, I-I don't… I-I'm not sure if I'm-" She stuttered, barely managing to get the words out as he stared so intently at her, gauging the fear still present in her expression.

"I get that the idea is scary, Luce, I'm not gonna pretend otherwise, but we managed it with Haru, right? And he's doing just fine!" He smiled, not one to dwell on the past but feeling it necessary for her to know his true feelings on the matter. "I didn't know the first thing about babies when we took Haru in and neither did you, but we learnt and now look at where we are. Sure, I worried about doing right by him, especially in those first weeks, but it was worth the struggle for his happiness. To see his smile and to hear him laugh is reward enough." He looked down and sighed, "Because I realised that none of those worries even comes close to how scared I was today, when I realised that my little boy could be taken from me. The fear of having him was nothing compared to the fear of losing him."

"I had no idea you felt that way, Natsu, you always seem so optimistic. Why didn't you say? I could've helped you through it." Lucy said, shocked by just how open he was being with her, it was a rare occurrence to hear him speak so freely about his feelings.

"You helped me by being there, Lucy. Which is exactly what I'm trying to tell ya! If there were a tiny chance of a baby making itself at home in there, then that would be okay with me, because they'd be ours, just like Haru." He said pressing his hand to her stomach, filling her with warmth and comfort as he smiled lovingly at her. "I'll always be there for you, no matter what happens because we're always gonna be together."

He pulled Lucy closer and wrapped her in his arms, breathing in her sweet scent. He looked down at her flat stomach and allowed himself to imagine for a single moment that one day a new life, that they'd created together, would be growing just below where his hand lay, one he would welcome wholeheartedly. He quickly shook the image from his mind, leaning his head on her shoulder and taking another deep breath, relaxing himself. Feeling just that little bit lighter for getting all that off of his chest.

"Thank you, Natsu. I can always count on you." Lucy smiled, looking over at the infant snoring away with the scarf still resting near his mouth. The slayer was right, it didn't matter because they were always going to be together.

"So... does that mean I still have a chance at winning that bet against Gray then?" He grinned mischievously, waiting for her inevitable reaction.

"Natsu!" Her face tinting pink again at what he was implying. "Absolutely not!"

"I'm kidding, Lucy! I know you're not ready for that just yet." He smiled, hoping that would bring her much needed comfort. She grinned back at him, feeling relief take over her entire form. "And now thanks to Cana and all of those condoms on our bed, we can get in a load of practice." He said, leaning forwards and attacking the sensitive skin on her neck, hearing her heart rate increase and a sharp breath pass her lips.

"Hmm, I do believe we have some unfinished business to attend to?" She smirked, tugging at his hair while he sucked and nipped at her already swollen lips.

Feeling a fire in his belly, he was quick to drag her up the stairs, placing the little one in his own room while they occupied their bedroom. Their movements became erratic, unable to get enough of the other. Pure lust filled the air as they ravaged each other's bodies, making them yearn for more contact, more pleasure. Natsu released himself from the confines of his pants and slid his shaft up and down Lucy's soaking wet entrance, eliciting soft moans from the sweet torture he was giving her. With one fluid movement he sheathed himself within her, groaning from the intense pressure created.

"Mm, it feels so good, Natsu!" She breathed harshly, furrowing her brows as she got use to having him inside her once again.

"I haven't even started yet, Lucy, I hope you're ready for a long night!" He teased, pulling himself out then thrusting back in, making himself grunt and Lucy cry out in ecstasy.

He leaned down and mashed their lips together, his tongue massaging hers while he pulsed deeply into her, making her moan loudly into him. Sweat was pouring off of his face as he increased in speed, wanting to elicit as much noise from her beautiful mouth as he could, bringing her and himself closer to the edge. They were completely lost in each other, totally forgetting that they weren't the only one's that lived there.

It was only later that evening, that Happy decided he'd had enough of being at the guild and was ready to go home and sleep. Nearing the little house he'd long called home, he heard something strange coming from the bedroom window. Curiosity getting the better of him, he flew up and peered inside. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head, Natsu and Lucy were wrestling?! No, that didn't seem right, they looked to be enjoying it and were… naked?! Realisation struck him straight in the gut at just what he was playing audience to and let out a horrified shriek, legging it away from the house and back to the guild to tell someone of the horrors that he'd seen.

"My eyes! My eyes!" Lucy heard coming from the distance, she pulled away from Natsu's mouth and stared up at his eyes, looking just as oblivious as always.

"Can you hear something?" She asked, not really sure if it was just her ears playing tricks on her or not.

"I can't really hear anything over your moaning." He sniggered, reattaching himself to her jaw instead.

"I'm being serious! I'm sure I heard someone say something from outside!" She pushed his head away from her so that she could listen clearly without being distracted, but heard nothing.

"Luce, I hear a lot of things, it's probably some animal or whatever, we do live next to woodland." He sighed, trying to calm her nerves so he could get back to the task at hand.

"Hmm… If you're sure?" She wasn't entirely convinced that Natsu hadn't heard it, not with his sensitive hearing and all, but it seemed to have stopped for now.

Beginning where he left off, he leaned back down to kiss her swollen lips, slowly pushing himself back into her and revelling in the beautiful noises she made. He hammered into her until her body quaked as she came undone, yelling Natsu's name to the whole of Magnolia. Hearing her cum so hard, was what finally gave him his own release, groaning through gritted teeth until finally collapsing onto the bed next to her. Peace and exhaustion washing over them both, he smiled at her drowsy, flushed face watching as her eyes closed shut, his own lids following suit as they cuddled up to one another.

Although struggling to think of anything but the gorgeous girl beside him, he did manage to make a mental note to apologise to Happy for what he may or may not have seen from the window. Hoping they hadn't traumatised the cat too much, Natsu definitely had some explaining to do!

Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. I do apologise for it taking over a month to come out. Juggling work, a toddler and life in general makes it hard to find time to sit down and write and it doesn't help when I write something and then decide to delete it and then write it all over again... Anyway, thanks for supporting this story, I'll try to get chapter 12 to you as quick as I can!

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 271: My Hero Tokodemia

Previously on BnHA: Mic was all “goodbye X-Less don’t do anything I wouldn’t do” and just LEFT him with Tomura, like. ???! X-Less was all “I’m gonna sit here and do nothing and wait to die.” Ujiko was all “this has nothing to do with ANYTHING but I just want you to know that I conspired to murder your husband 15 years ago and ended up killing his best friend instead!” Tomura was all “what up bitches I’m in this chapter too” and had trippy dreams about hands and buildings and his family was there and also All for One (the dude)! Because guess what, Tomura has All For One (the quirk) now! Because AFO gave it to him! So yeah! And now he’s waking up, and Deku can apparently feel it happening because he’s a horcrux probably, and so basically everything is FINALLY GOING TO SHIT AND IT’S ABOUT TIME BUT ALSO AHHHHH.

Today on BnHA: SHIGARAKI WHO TOMURA WHAT. Back to Gunga Mountain! So Dabi is all “you do know your beloved mentor just killed a guy right?” and Toko is all “!!” and Dabi is all “SO THAT MAKES HIM THE WORST CRIMINAL OF ALL!” and, WITHOUT THE SLIGHTEST HINT OF IRONY, IMMEDIATELY follows up this bold statement by TRYING TO BURN A CHILD ALIVE. Anyway so this is why Dabi wasn’t the keynote speaker at the “murder is bad” convention though. So most of the chapter is like this, with Dabi (albeit somewhat halfheartedly) trying to set Toko on fire while Toko desperately tries to keep between him and Hawks. Eventually though, Dabi is confusingly thwarted by Otter Pops, making his triumphant return and spraying a bunch of ice just every which way because things weren’t chaotic enough I guess! And then the chapter ends with everyone’s favorite Guy They Hoped Wouldn’t Be Waking Up In This Arc, Gigantomachia, waking up!! :’) :’) :’) etc you get it.

okay so I am please to clarify that the spoilers I received were not actually all that big of a deal, and that pretty much all I know is that we’re cutting back to Dabi and Tokoyami probably, and there’s a good chance we might not even see Tomura at all this chapter in spite of last week’s cliffhanger. so even if I’d have preferred not to know that up front, it’s all good! though I will say Horikoshi has a real knack for cutting away from things right when you’re at your most invested though. reminds me of what it was like reading Lord of the Rings for the first time. “nooo I don’t want to cut back to Frodo -- WAIT WHAT’S GOING ON -- NO I DON’T WANT TO CUT BACK TO MERRY AND PIPPIN DAMMIT -- WAIT WHAT”

anyways! lol guys guess what

so then! those spoilers did indeed have the ring of truth! well this should be interesting

lmao he’s forcibly clawing his way out of Fat’s belly via aggressive use of Dark Shadow oh damn

oh man you guys. time to catalog some feels

Fatgum you do realize you were in the running for #2 hero but have now bled serious points by letting a child run back into danger and doing absolutely nothing to stop him! although to be fair you do have other children to protect, and this one child also should not have been able to do what he just did! and also Child Endangerment is U.A.’s unofficial motto and you didn’t even go to U.A. but you would fit right in though let me tell you. but anyway so the point is this isn’t really anything new, but still

HIS BODY JUST MOVED BEFORE HE COULD THINK ahhhh Toko. THIS IS YOUR MOMENT!! THE MY HERO TOKODEMIA ARC BEGINS NOW

I hope we get a followup panel of Kaminari freaking out and trying to go after his pal (but not actually succeeding though, because I swear to god Fatgum, if you fuck this up again all of my remaining goodwill is just gonna fly right out the window. and it’s a lot of goodwill too! but we don’t screw around when it comes to children’s safety!!). just would be a nice touch! ah well if they don’t show it I’ll just headcanon it

last but not least, it’s also worth noting that while I love how brave and selfless and concerned for his mentor’s wellbeing Tokoyami is here, this was still an incredibly stupid move on his part! least of all because he actually had no idea that Hawks truly was in danger. is it weird to say he lucked out? “you’re so fortunate your teacher actually was being burned alive you reckless little goose!” but like, you know what I mean though right

anyway

-- oh they are showing it!!

YAY HE IS A GOOD BOY. THAT IS ALL. CARRY ON

Toko’s shouting over his shoulder that Hawks is “probably” in trouble. for fuck’s

I mean yeah, it’s probably just some gut instinct which funnily enough happens to be absolutely right. but I’m sorry you guys, there’s just this small part of me that just can’t get over the fact that he briefly saw Hawks flying for all of .2 seconds, and saw some flames, and just IMMEDIATELY leapt to the worst-case-scenario conclusion. you know what this is? it’s the decision-making process of a kid who is actually WAY more powerful than we’ve been giving him credit for. enough so that his self-preservation instincts don’t even kick in at all because it doesn’t even occur to him how dangerous of a move this is. goddammit Tokoyami. you kids think you’re all grown up now and ffff just please be safe

and okay, I’ll give Fatgum some benefit of the doubt for just letting that happen because apparently this is literally the first and only time

seems he didn’t even think it was possible up until now. so that’s fair

OKAY YOU KNOW WHAT FATGUM YOU ARE REDEEMED

THAT’S RIGHT!! YOU DON’T JUST UP AND LEAVE THE FATAXI WHENEVER YOU FUCKING FEEL LIKE IT. FARE DODGERS WILL BE PROSECUTED TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE LAW!!

so he’s immediately following after him, but is smart enough not to put the other kids in danger! good split-second decision-making there. certain other people in this chapter could take notes! and of course my one fear now though is that the other three children will not listen to him at all, but you know what, let’s deal with one thing at a time

hmmm

dammit Horikoshi, what...?? you really like to toe the lines of what is and isn’t problematic huh? literally if you wanted to go for a cool barbarian look all you had to do was stick with the same kind of costume scheme you had going in the second and fourth popularity polls. but no, you had to go and give him a fucking war bonnet. was that one guy back in the Hero Killer arc not enough. at least this is only a cover page, sigh

also I see that Tokoyami was asked to name his own feature chapter. I’m just happy that he’s happy

would you fucking look at this

first of all, why is Dabi suddenly twenty feet away from them. and second, would you just look at how ridiculously intact Hawks fucking is. Dabi really was microwaving him on the defrost setting only huh

so now everyone’s just looking at each other. sizin’ each other up and stuff

yeah no shit it’s bad. you rushed in thinking you could somehow handle a situation which had even the second strongest guy on the ropes. and handle it alone, no less. lord help me why are the bravest ones also always the most stupid

EEP

HIS WINGS??? also his fucking BACK jesus christ. meaning he’s completely immobile for now at best, and probably soon to be in critical condition and going into shock if he isn’t already. okay so maybe it wasn’t just the defrost setting, fuck. Hawkssss 8|

oh???????

holy shit. an opportunity to actually find out how much of a bastard Dabi actually is?? we of course know he had no problem whatsoever with kidnapping a kid back in the day. but would he go so far as to seriously fight and/or try to kill one? a kid who’s no older than your little brother?? oh gosh oh golly oh intrigue

I literally have not made up my mind on Dabi redemption one way or the other, just to be clear (he’s just been too mysterious up till now and I feel like I don’t know enough), so I am super curious to see how this plays out so I can finally form an opinion!

OH SNAP

SCORE ONE FOR “HE MAY BE AN A-HOLE, BUT HE’S NOT, AND I QUOTE, 100% A DICK”? MAYBE?? but on the other hand he’s definitely not just gonna let Hawks go either so ahhhh???

(ETA: so it seems we’ve arrived at a solid “mildly bastardish!” idk. it definitely seems to me like he’s trying not to murder this teenager for no good reason. ironically he’s in much the same position here that Hawks was less than a dozen chapters ago; facing against someone who’s just trying to protect his friend, and trying to talk him down at first, but then attacking once it’s clear that he’s not going to back off. ah well. still as morally gray as ever.)

ah I see, we’re gonna start by shattering his naive illusions!

(ETA: fucking christ, the scan is so dark I didn’t even notice Twice’s charred corpse just LYING THERE IN THE BACKGROUND the first time I read this. and now that I have noticed it, I would just like to say, sincerely, what the fuck.)

welp, there it is. finally the kids are getting properly involved in this arc, and AS EXPECTED, they are promptly being traumatized. oh Toko ;_;

Dabi this speech you’re making would feel more original if literal scores of tumblrs hadn’t spent the last two months exhaustively analyzing every single last possible angle of this debate lol. everyone has already made up their minds on the “is Hawks worth saving” controversy one way or the other but okay sure, go ahead and throw your hat into the ring too

lmao whaaaaaaat. “as a last resort, after his attempts to take him peacefully were thwarted, Hawks killed a man so as to prevent that man from killing countless others during our coup to take over the country because our boss wants to destroy everything. clearly, Hawks is the worst out of everyone else involved in this equation!” now that! is a take! lol

OH NO OH GOD

“PEW PEW PEW ENJOY THOSE FEELS” HORIKOSHI WHOOPS WHILE SHOOTING LASER GUN FINGERS AT ME, AND HEY, NOW

HEY, I SAID!!!

WHAT THE FUCK -- WHAT EVEN IS THE FUCKING SCREENPLAY FOR THIS THING?? “A BARELY-CONSCIOUS HAWKS MURMURS HIS STUDENT’S NAME WITH AN ACHINGLY WEARY LOOK OF SHAME AND REGRET! AS DABI LOOKS ON, TOKOYAMI GENTLY LIFTS HIS FALLEN MASTER AND WRAPS HIS CAPE AROUND HIS BACK, LOOKING OVERWHELMED, BUT DETERMINED. TOKOYAMI: I’M JUST... CONCERNED FOR MY TEACHER.” who the fuck wrote this shit and how much pleasure were they taking in ripping my heart out and violently slamming it against the wall

sob, and unfortunately Dabi doesn’t look particularly moved himself by any of this

DAMMIT DABI PLEASE RESPECT THEIR PRIVACY DURING THIS DIFFICULT TIME. GO AWAY AND HAVE YOUR REVENGE SOME OTHER DAY GODDAMMIT

DABI!!

Dabi I swear to god!! if you seriously try and burn my gothbird son I will...

DABI WHAT DID I JUST FUCKING SAY. LEAVE THE KID ALONE

Tokoyami... sweetie...

IF ONLY YOU COULD JUST. fly back out?? the exact same way you came??? if only that was a thing you could do??? or can he not fly while he’s carrying another person, maybe? dammit I forget

?!

wait what?? is he implying that Dabi isn’t seriously trying to kill them yet? is that what this is? I should just read on since this is clearly only the first part of something longer that he’s saying and I have to stop this bad habit of trying to analyze half a sentence before I go on and read the rest of the sentence

well whatever it is, he’s absolutely right; Dabi as it turns out is still standing there 25 feet away like a social distance champ, monologuing from afar

this panel gets more hilarious to me the longer I stare at it you guys. someone please make a comic where Hawks is all “he’s still talking...” and Toko looks to see Dabi RAMBLING ON and slowly inches further and further away while Dabi completely fails to take any notice lmao

so Tokoyami is just staring back, and then suddenly he’s all “orders from Hawks!” which I think is just him asking Hawks what to do now??

and fucking look at this lol

“just slowly inch away while he’s monologuing. I just found out he’s secretly a Todoroki so now I know his weakness: he will literally drop dead before he ever stops being dramatic”

OH MY GOD

ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS ISN’T A JOKE AND THAT’S HIS ACTUAL WEAKNESS LMAO. HAVE WE CROSSED PLANES INTO SOME KIND OF SATIRICAL REALITY. WHAT IS HAPPENING

LMAO OKAY NO HAWKS IS SAYING THAT DABI IS JUST BULLSHITTING THEM BECAUSE HE’S USED UP ALL HIS FLAMES OR SOME SHIT. LOL OKAY THEN. ALL I HEARD WAS “HE WASN’T ABLE TO FUCKING KILL ME BECAUSE HE NEVER SHUTS THE FUCK UP.” WHERE IS THE LIE

OH SNAP THERE HE GOES

he is running away in the background, right?? Dark Shadow is just a distraction? you better not be seriously trying to fight him oh god please be smart about this

okay yes good!!

bringing back some unpleasant memories of the last guy who took a tumble off this balcony, but whatever! I’m sure he’s got some kind of plan in mind here

yep okay so he’s using Dark Shadow as a bungee cord

Hawks is so fucking short he somehow looks the same size as this little bird hobbit who’s carrying him. this is just a battle of tiny, tiny people

OH MY GOD FUCKING OUCH OH GEEZ

I FELT THAT OH MY GOD

AND OF FUCKING COURSE THAT KO’D HAWKS FOR GOOD, BECAUSE HE NO LONGER HAS A FUCKING BACK, AND HE JUST TARZANED OFF A BALCONY AND TOKOYAMI LANDED RIGHT ON TOP OF HIM JESUS CHRIST. R.I.P.

TOKO IS ALL “HE MUST HAVE BLACKED OUT FROM THE IMPACT JUST NOW” AND YEAH, YOU THINK?? WOULDN’T YOU?? FUCK

OH MY GOD HE’S PICKING HIM UP AND HE’S SO FUCKING TINY OH GOD OH JESUS

STOP BEING DRAMATIC AND JUST CARRY HIM OUT OF THERE ALREADY CAN WE GET A MOVE ON PLEASE? YOU’RE DOING SO GOOD BUDDY AND I’M SO PROUD, BUT ALSO THE REST OF THE LEAGUE IS STILL OUT THERE AND NOTHING IS SAFE AND AHHHH

-- AND ALSO THIS GUY STILL!!

no doubt. no doubt whatsoever the blood that runs through those veins. the theatrics are more of a dna marker than the flame quirk could ever be

also!! ARE WE SURE HAWKS IS ACTUALLY TWENTY-THREE?? COULDN’T THE HPSC HAVE FORGED HIS BIRTH CERTIFICATE?? THIS IS A BABY PROVE ME WRONG??

anyway so since Dabi is now saying “joke’s on you, I can still use my flames whenever the fuck I want,” I’m going to take this as confirmation that he really was keeping his distance just so he could utilize forced perspective. I’m going to make a post about this as soon as I’m done reading lol

HORIKOSHI WILL YOU PLEASE STOP WITH THE ENDLESS CLOSE-UPS OF A FRIGHTENED TOKOYAMI CLINGING TO HIS UNCONSCIOUS MENTOR SCARED BUT READY TO PROTECT HIM WITH HIS LIFE I REALLY CAN’T???

DABI’S REALLY OUT HERE TRYING TO BURN THESE LITTLE BABY CHICKS ALIVE. WHERE THE FUCK IS YOUR FUCKING CHILL MY DUDE

OH MY GOD

SOME KIND OF CAVALRY HAS ARRIVED AHHHH WHO

AHHH MT. LADY?!

(ETA: ngl, I’m still not sure how I feel about this sequence of panels but I did laugh good and hard though.)

-- holy shit that was ice??! oh lord don’t tell me

yeppp, looks like it’s our old buddy Dairy Queen back at it again

look... Geten?? is it?? nothing against you personally. but I have a deep-seeded and enduring dislike of everyone from the Meta Liberation Army still and that includes you pal

that being said, did you inadvertently save Tokoyami’s life, though? I originally thought those were just ~anime shockwaves~ from some off-screen attack, but if that was all actually ice, it looks like you might have cut Dabi off. which I approve of! but also that’s some serious friendly fire you tomfool

so he’s yelling that he’s disrupted the heroes’ siege, which it looks like he has! very sloppily, but still

and also, way to have both of your fire users currently 80km away, hero team! you knew Geten was here, no?? who even planned this

now this Bleach-looking dude is sneaking up on Gang Orca with what looks to be a hole-punching quirk which is freaking me out a bit ngl

Gang please take him out with your famous yeet as soon as possible, I don’t know if I can handle a prolonged fight against this particular quirk

YES TOKO GET THE FUCK OUT!!!

there is no fucking way this kid is anywhere near his twenties incidentally I might add. none at all. we’ve been had

NO STOP FEELS

HE’S CRYING JESUS CHRIST HE THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO DIE AND HIS TEACHER IS HURT AND DYING MAYBE AND THE VILLAIN SAID HE KILLED SOMEONE AND HE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW BUT IT DOESN’T MATTER, HE STILL WANTS TO PROTECT HIM AND HE’S JUST A BABY TOO?! IT’S TOO MUCH??

AND I DON’T KNOW WHY I’M SURPRISED OR SHOCKED BY ANY OF THIS AT ALL?? LISTEN UP EVERYONE, YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT I FOUND INSIDE OF THIS BAG IN THE FRIDGE WHICH WAS LABELED “CHILD SOLDIERS LIFE-OR-DEATH BATTLE ARC.” THE CONTENTS OF THIS BAG... MAY SHOCK YOU

lmao yeah but GUESS WHAT! I’M STILL GONNA GET ALL WORKED UP OVER IT AND I’M EVEN GONNA LIKE IT! but also. my babiesss

oh for fuck’s sake this guy still??

okay so I’ve already scrolled down enough to see the very top of the last page after this, and I’m pretty sure that’s Gigantomachia’s hair lol. please don’t tell me the radio is still on and he heard Tomura’s voice oh fiddlefucks

YEP

:’)

welp. strap yourselves in, chums. 19 chapters in, and this arc is only just beginning

[highladyluck]

Here, have 4.5 pages of rambly Tuon meta. I wrote this to try to get a handle on Tuon’s character, and to develop the theoretical framework for a redemption arc for her. I’m hoping posting this doesn’t cut my motivation to actually write it...

Who is Tuon? Tuon Athaem Kore Paendrag, High Lady, Daughter of the Nine Moons; now the Empress of Seanchan (at least on the westlands side), Fortuona Athaem Kore Paendrag. To borrow some phrasing and framing from @websandwhiskers: She’s the pinnacle of Seanchan culture and an extremely functional tool of the state; responsible (both personally and institutionally) for psychologically and physically torturing people and enslaving them; she also has some compelling moral and personal qualities that she and the state have not yet managed to quash, which kind of makes it all worse, ethically speaking. She’s a villain whom the original narrative neither sufficiently condemns nor sufficiently redeems, married to one of the Big Damn Heroes in a match that’s both very odd couple and very complementary.

She respects people who stand up to her, as long as they aren't 'disrespectful' in the process- and the 'disrespect' is very situational, she'll accept things in private or in non-court settings that she can't let slide in court without losing face and therefore power. She cares very much about the legitimacy of authority, because it correlates positively with stability and is ingrained in her self-image, but she has an autocrat’s idea of what is legitimate. She assumes you know your own self-worth in relation to hers and are prepared to both display it and back it up. She has also internalized that other people's challenges of her are opportunities for her to prove her strength and fitness to rule, and she probably low-key seeks to provoke reactions now as validation/training, for herself and others.

She has rigid moral standards within the context she was raised in, and punishes herself first for perceived failure because if she does it first, perhaps she can avoid someone else doing it, with deadlier results. She has never been allowed to be less than perfect by her culture's standards- she can be (and has been) odd, but she cannot be flawed- and possibly expends all of her natural empathy on others instead of herself, because she can't afford that kind of indulgence herself, but she knows she owes it to lesser beings?

And as @websandwhiskers pointed out, she does have a lot of empathy within allowable contexts, and I think she is willing to push the envelope compared to her peers as long as she/the empire isn't directly threatened. That's what the kiss after Mat let the poisonous snake go was about. The snake was poisonous but not attacking, and not likely to attack unless someone escalated the situation, and Mat deescalated it. No harm, no foul. Mat responded to a fraught situation both logically and mercifully, in the way she imagined she would have if she had been in his shoes and known he same facts he did, and she rewarded him.

She’s competent and charismatic; I hesitate to say that she inspires loyalty in underlings because honestly with the damane it’s brainwashing (eurgh). But Selucia and Karede are both really into her, personally, even when there are societal inducements not to play favorites. Mat is loyal to her, though honestly Mat is loyal to like... anyone he’s responsible for, so maybe it’s more relevant to say that Mat genuinely likes her; at least, he likes the person he thinks he can coax out of her, and in terms of the persona she has more typically, I think he responds well to her competency and self-possession. The ability to project those things is probably a big part of what goes into charisma.

She thinks that the people who oppose her just don't have all the facts. She doesn't like to admit she's changed her mind; it looks like weakness; she's fine identifying it in others but not herself. Ideally she would pretend things have always been the way she now knows they are, and if she can't, she goes for the "Yes [fact], but [here's what I've decided is now germane to the argument at hand]." redefinition of the problem. She always thinks she’s right, though she does tend to leave some space between when she’s decided something and when she promulgates the decision, to allow for opposing arguments.

I think the original relationship Tuon has with omens is that she uses them to look for external justification from the universe for decisions she's already made. (I mostly like Sanderson's Tuon POVs, but I also I think Sanderson sometimes used omens as a 'make Tuon do OOC things for the plot' card.) Tuon's running dialogue with omens also shows that she's always observing the world and interpreting her effect on it and its effect on her. She loses her composure with omens when they are more concrete and less subject to her control (via interpretation), as with Lidya's fortune.

It makes sense that she's super controlling. It was how she was raised, and aside from having loyal/brainwashed companions (who are, themselves, a form of distributed control), being controlling is obviously the only thing that makes her feel safe. It's still interesting how it extends into a dialogue with the Pattern itself. Like Mat, she wants to survive and she wants to go her own way, and also like Mat she's caught up in the Pattern a little more tightly than others. I think she and Mat have both subconsciously decided that the only way to deal with what the universe wants you to do, when the universe is that powerful, is to say "Fine, I didn't really want to do that other thing anyway, let's learn how this path works and play to win."

She knows she makes bad decisions when angry, and I think in general she distrusts strong emotions, or at least tries to hold them at arms' length so they don't form part of her judgment. She's very very good at compartmentalizing, but as a result sometimes emotional stuff will come up and blindside her a little because she doesn't prioritize it or see it as a natural part of her decision-making. I think her emotions do influence her, usually subconsciously, but she's obviously a Thinking type. (Mat is also a compartmentalizer, but more somatic/emotionally focused; he's got his feelings directly wired into his body and together they make decisions that his brain then evaluates a second later, with running commentary that he never expresses to anyone else. They are both comedically un-self-aware, although Tuon is even less self-aware than Mat is, since at least on some level Mat knows he's been repeatedly traumatized even if he tries to pretend he isn't, while Tuon still thinks that her childhood was completely fine.)

Within the original narrative, I think her POVs are always a bit mysterious and her actions are always a little surprising. What’s impressive about that is that this is basically *always* true no matter what setting she’s in and what she’s doing. When you’re in her head you see her thought process ticking away, but RJ and Sanderson both have her constantly withholding important contextual details in her POVs, like Lidya’s prophecy (the hints are there and come out in bits and pieces, but she doesn’t reveal everything and slot it into context until 2 books later). Like with reading Mat, you’re aware that she obviously has reasons for what she’s doing and you even see her decision-making process, but because you’re missing the details, she remains opaque even though you’re in her head. (Mat’s decision-making process is more clear to the reader, but somewhat opaque to himself and definitely opaque to those around him.)

Meanwhile the things Tuon does share via narration or via action are always kind of buck-wild for the reader because her entire deal is such a culture shock. She’s obviously surprising Mat & co, but what’s weird is that she also seems to be constantly surprising her fellow Seanchan. Her scenes with her peers are usually punctuated with shocked murmuring in the background. They have trouble anticipating her, both because she keeps her cards close to her chest, and I also think because she’s a slightly different person from the one who lived her entire life in a cloistered murdersphere in Seanchan, and if she wasn’t a different person after leaving home, she’s definitely one after her kidnapping. But I think she is a fundamentally different person after leaving home, because of the structural parallels she has with Mat.

In Mat’s first POV chapter, he wakes up in Tar Valon with partial amnesia and a much stronger sense of self-preservation than he had before. As everybodyhatesrand points out (crediting but not tagging them since I feel like they wouldn’t appreciate being tagged in Tuon apologia), we have never been in pre-dagger!Mat’s head. We have never been in dagger!Mat’s head. Everyone in the books, throughout the books, is like “At least Mat’s still the same!” and yeah, he does do and say more or less the same things before and after the dagger. But we had to take it on faith that his personality is more or less intact pre- and post-dagger because we, the readers, only know post-dagger!Mat’s inner monologues. The Mat we inhabit in book 3? He’s been broken. The continuity between his old life and his new life has been disrupted (and will continue to be disrupted, including with an actual literal timeline reboot!) He immediately starts off to fix himself, others, and then eventually the world, so it’s motivating, but the hits really just keep coming...

Like Mat, Tuon’s first POV only appears after she’s left the traumatic environment that shaped her. We don’t know what travelling across the sea did to her sense of self (and we can’t really know since we don’t have that in-Seanchan-baseline), though we do know she’s changed after travelling with Mat (aside from catching feelings, I think she learned that the Seanchan are not always in possession of all the facts), and we know what becoming Empress did to her (she doubled down on duty and lost a lot of personal flexibility). I think there are major structural parallels between Mat and Tuon’s POVs because they’re both broken people who try their very best to act as if they are not broken. In Tuon’s case I think she just doesn’t know how broken she is. In Mat’s case, he knows, but he’s doing a weird balancing act of integrating lessons learned (healing!) while also, like, frantically trying to ignore or drown out the emotional cost of trauma (not healing!)

By the end of the series I think Tuon knows, but is not letting herself actually think, that being made damane is a) a real possibility for her, specifically, and b) that it is not, in fact, something she would willingly choose for herself even to serve the empire. I think this is different from the more intellectual disgust of the idea of herself channeling; that's abstract, and she imagines there's an actual choice for the person with the spark between channeling and not channeling, or possibly that there's an actual choice between learning to channel vs not learning to channel if you have the spark inborn. (We know that the actual choice if you have the spark is 'learn to channel properly or die'.) Tuon's out there like "If I were a marath'damane I would simply choose not to channel. RIP to marath'damane but I'm different".

She's never been a marath'damane in the sense of someone who started channeling involuntarily, and isn't interested in imagining herself as one, at least not when confronted by someone who is succeeding in making her angry. So even if you made her choose, as a theoretical marath'damane, between dying and learning to channel properly, I think she'd consider 'learning to channel properly' as 'becoming a murderer' and therefore the choice would be between dying and becoming a murderer. There's a clear argument to be made in that idiom that the marath'damane is 'becoming a murderer' in self-defense, which would have a different moral tenor (manslaughter vs murder). But Tuon strikes me as the type to say in an argument (and probably believe) that "The end result is the same & I would die before compromising my principles.”

I think in the confrontation with Egwene she probably internally justified not putting the collar on because there was a Seanchan audience and because the taunt came from an escaped damane, even though the actual reason was fear that it would work. She’s letting the circumstances invalidate the argument so she doesn’t have to think about it. I think if she were to let herself think about the authentic emotional response- and she probably has, I feel like she does a postmortem on all of her public discomposure- she would consciously know that her instinct was that it would work on her, and furthermore she would know that she does not want to be damane, even if the Empire would require her to be.

If she followed out the chain of reasoning, she’d know that if she were a damane, if she were actually leashed, she would be forced to channel. She’d know because she’s taken great pleasure in training and breaking damane, and she knows how to get damane to channel and how to break them. Therefore, if she were damane, she would know that she would need to be broken, and she knows how she would go about breaking herself. She probably thinks that her last act of free will would be to suicide if she possibly could. But I think that what she’s AFRAID OF is that she would actually convince herself that being the very best damane is all she wants out of life. And that's the scary, universe-ending thought she's avoiding the consequences of, because a) it’s about breaking herself (as Cadsuane points out, no one can easily think about breaking themselves) and b) the fact that she would need to be broken and that she doesn’t like the idea is a sign that she’s not the perfect avatar of the Empire that she thinks she should be.

I think becoming damane has been added- in the bare abstract- to her mental list of the price of failure. It's a very fundamental loss of control and identity, where all she has is resignation and brainwashing that- best case scenario- she does to herself. She's scared of it in a way she was not before, now that it's been made personal. Like Mat, she's going to shove that down deep and ignore the bad scary implications as long as she can, up until the point that they actually disable her or otherwise bleed out into her intellectual or physical world in ways that aren't as ignorable.

But while Tuon thinks she would die before compromising her principles, and even more secretly is extremely afraid that she *wouldn't*, I also think that like Mat, if it came down to it she would transform herself radically to survive *as herself*.

She’d realize that she has other principles, more human ones, underlying her socially acceptable and externally imposed principles of enforcing hierarchy and maintaining personal integrity. (Parallels to dagger!Mat being exorcised?) I think her basic motivations are that she should survive, that she should retain as much control/power over her own fate as possible, and that she should make decisions from a place of empathy rather than anger or fear. I think she would also realize that she does in fact value some principles over others. She would redefine the meaning of ‘personal integrity’ to separate it from what the state wants.

If she knew what was really driving her socially acceptable principles, and that there was a difference between what she really, fundamentally wanted & what she had been told to want, with encouragement she could prioritize the organic, primal ones and apply those to the external world. If she is a person, then everyone else is a person, and she should want for them what she wants for herself. I think she might get to the point of realizing there is an alternative path (of what looks like selfishness) but I don't think she's going to let herself be selfish (in this healing, positive way) without external prompting/confirmation, so this is probably where friends, positive role models, and finally omens come in.

[ampleappleamble]

---

"...Did I fuck this up?"

Edér looked up from his whittling, focusing his good eye on the little woman. The other eye was still swollen shut, shiny and painful from their fight against his late Lord, but with some rest and the help of Raedric's priests-- Kolsc's priests, now-- he and the rest of his friends would be good as new for the trek back to Caed Nua tomorrow.

"Ain't too many ways I can think of to fuck up killin' a terrible murderin' bastard like Raedric," he mumbled around his mouthful of smoke, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Unless y' think we didn't kill him enough, or somethin'."

Axa's lips smiled, but the rest of her face did not follow suit. Her party was spending the night in a corner of the Berathian priests' sleeping quarters in Raedric's sanctuary, and she sat on her borrowed bed gently rocking to and fro, her knees drawn up to her chest, her sharp little nails worrying tiny holes in her trousers.

"The Legacy makes men mad. Perhaps it does worse to women. I do not know." Raedric had looked Axa over, then, had glanced toward his bedchamber where his own wife lay dead in their marital bed--

"No, we killed him exactly the right amount, I think." The smile was already gone, soundly quashed by the memory. "I just... feel like I may have acted in haste here. Like there's something I'm missing about all this that's going to bite me in the ass later, when I least expect it." She pressed her chin into her knees, curling up as tightly into herself as she could.

--if i make myself small enough i can just hide away from all this and no one will see me--

Kana chuckled, idly leafing through a massive tome that dwarfed even his sizable lap as he reclined in the worn armchair next to Axa's bed. "Yes, it is a rough sea, the world of the ruling class! So many nerve-wracking social calculations to make, always looking over one's shoulder... The political alliances to take into account, then the family alliances... But even the Ranga Nui himself and his own son are at ideological odds! And if you're discovered as a fair-weather friend, paying lip service to either or both--"

"I think," Aloth interrupted, "perhaps, that you've made your point, Kana." The elf was just as irritable now as he had been the morning that old drunk had showed up at Caed Nua, and his half-healed broken rib was not helping to improve his mood.

And now the in-fighting begins in the Lady of Caed Nua's inner circle. Axa felt her guts redouble their efforts to destroy themselves, anxiety churning inside her like acid. "Gods, I'm ill-suited for this politicking horseshit. Why did I think I could do this? I'm Ixamitli, we don't... nobody 'owns' the land, that's not how--"

"Oh, don't get me wrong!" Kana pressed on, seemingly oblivious to Aloth's peevish attitude. "Just as hard lands forge strong people, rough seas often yield great rewards. For instance, when we return to Caed Nua on the morrow, we can look forward to seeing your Brighthollow manse restored to its former beauty and prestige! Well, in part, anyway. All because of your actions here today and Kolsc's gratitude!"

"And even if you weren't gettin' somethin' out of it," Edér added, "you're the kinda lady can't rest without knowing you did the best thing y' could. Point being, y' had to do something, long-term consequences be damned. And like I said earlier, if y' have to do something, it's hard to go wrong with killing a mass-murdering shitheel like Raedric. No matter how bad Kolsc might turn out to be, better him than what we had goin' on before." He casually brushed the wood shavings from his lap, either ignoring or unaware of the annoyed glares and whispers from the priests in the room.

Axa glanced across the room at Aloth, who simply lay on his back in his bed in the corner, eyes screwed shut, his grimoire too heavy to hold in his lap without irritating his wounds. "Maybe," she sighed, lifting her head from her knees, "I should just hire on an advisor. Someone who actually knows what they're doing, to help me navigate these choppy waters." Her gaze flicked to Kana, a wicked little grin popping up on her face. "You know anyone who needs a job?"

The aumaua laughed, a thunderous noise that filled the small room. "Everyone I know is either in this room or in Rauatai, my friend! But I take your meaning. However, my own experience with the gentry is limited to the court of the Ranga Nui, a profoundly different environment from the one in which you find yourself, so I'm afraid I'd be more of a hindrance than a boon. And--" He glanced over at Edér, his smile half apologetic and half cheeky-- "I hope he'll forgive me for saying so, but our Edér doesn't seem like the sort to hobnob with the nobility."

The folk man snorted. "What tipped y' off?"

"That leaves you, Aloth," Kana continued, smiling in the elf's direction. "If I recall, you were raised among the gentry in Aedyr, were you not? That's a bit closer to the political system and aristocratic power structure here; any insight you have into that world would surely be invaluable to our Watcher. You're qualified, intelligent, you're clearly quite learned, you're... capable in battle. Why, you even came to the Dyrwood with the express purpose of finding a patron!" He was getting excited now, leaning forward in his seat, gesticulating passionately. "And here she is! What marvelous serendipity!"

Axa couldn't help but be charmed by Kana's enthusiasm, and she appreciated his effort to lift the wizard's spirits. "That's not a bad idea, actually. What say, Aloth?" She couldn't see his face from where he lay, but she could see his ears were bright red.

Not a fan of being the center of attention, I see. She felt a sudden surge of sympathy and warmth towards the man, and found her own ears reddening soon thereafter.

"I wouldn't take the gig 'f I were you. She can't even pay you, 's what I heard." Edér winked at her, taking his attention away from his whittling for just a second, then hissed with pain and surprise as his knife slipped.

Kana shook his head, his grin as wide as ever as he regarded the farmer with pity. "O, poor man! He who thinks coin is the sole and lone benefit of working for a prestigious, powerful woman like our Watcher! The true rewards of such a vocation are not in material wealth, my friend, but in the challenge! Rebuilding the glorious Caed Nua from the crumbling ruins... The intrigue of the political world of the Dyrwood... the tension, the drama... not to mention the treasure trove of ancient Engwithan secrets just waiting to be discovered in the Endless Paths!" He sighed like a lovestruck maiden telling her friends of her handsome beau. "Ah! I'm so envious. Were I more well-suited to the position, I'd have accepted her first offer in an instant! As it is, it seems I'll have to settle for hired muscle. Either way, I couldn't ask for a finer directress!" Now Axa's entire face was getting warm, and she found herself unable to look at Kana, although she could feel his eyes on her, his smile, warming her like gentle spring sunlight.

"Aye, I wager ye'd leap at a position 'neath 'er, slick-a-britches."

Aloth very quickly clapped a hand over his open mouth-- the loud pop! filling the little room-- and then came the long, shuddering groan of pain muffled behind his fingers, the sudden movement having yanked at his sore ribs.

Axa immediately flopped over onto her side, laughing like Hel, unable to stop herself. Edér's eyebrows leapt up his forehead, surprise and delight clear on his face, his wounded thumb stuck firmly in his mouth.

"...She seems impressed. I think you've got the job, my friend!" Kana chuckled, flipping to a new page in his gigantic book. He paused, considering, and then leaned forward in his seat, cocking his head with curiosity. "...Did you say 'slick-a-britches'?"

"No. I didn't. I said nothing." The elf's voice was quiet and short and clipped. "I'm in immense pain and I'm speaking complete and utter idiotic meaningless nonsense. ...Can we please talk about anything else." Axa was still giggling, tip of her tongue sticking out between her front teeth. He squirmed with embarrassment, and it hurt.

"As you say. How about this animancy research?" The scholar lifted the huge tome on his lap, tilting it up to show Edér as he crossed the room to wash and wrap his thumb. "I'm no animancer, to be sure, but from what little I've managed to decipher from Osyra's records, she may have been onto something!"

Aloth bristled, his breath hitching as he exhaled a bit too sharply. He had said 'anything else,' hadn't he. "All any animancer has accomplished, at the very best, is to swell their own ego and their own coinpurse. In particular, Osrya was a dangerous, insane monster who mutated kith into abominations. I have no interest whatsoever in reading anything that woman may have seen fit to record."

Anyone else would take the man's curt tone and disparaging language as the opposite of an invitation to continue. Kana continued with renewed gusto, "But if what Osrya posits is true-- and as far as I can tell, her methods are logically sound, if not morally-- why, then this may just provide the solution to the Legacy that the Dyrwood has been searching for these 15 long years!"

Axa had stopped laughing a while back, but only now did she sit back up. She remembered the animancer's words, recited them aloud with an accuracy she would not ordinarily expect from herself--

"It must be a localized effect. Something which strips the soul from a body, as the bîaŵacs are known to do. I have detected, even so, lingering traces of essence upon the bodies of so-called Hollowborn. This suggests that the soul itself has not been wholly destroyed. It remains, I think, intact somewhere."

Everyone-- even Aloth, lifting his head from his pillows-- looked at her, dumbstruck. The few priests remaining in the room hurriedly shuffled out, angrily whispering prayers to ward their souls against blasphemers.

"Um." She coughed, suddenly uncomfortably self-conscious. "That was... what she had to say, anyway. Before we killed her. ...If I'm remembering correctly."

"That's... what's in here, more or less, yes," Kana blurted, his ever-present grin tinged with nervousness as he shut the enormous book.

"So, what," Edér drawled, squinting at his half-finished carving as he turned it this way and that, "Hollowborn got a soul, but... somethin' or, or someone takes it from 'em soon as they're born?" He furrowed his brow, frowned at a blotch of red on the misshapen wooden thing in his hand. "And... what, hides 'em somewhere? Eats 'em? Why?"

"That would depend, it seems, on who or what is manipulating the souls, I would think." Kana actually frowned, now, staring blankly into the book. "Although I'd be hard-pressed to identify a creature capable of manipulating souls on this grand a scale, for this long, with this much apparent ease and consistency... short of, perhaps, a god." He glanced furtively at Edér, holding up his huge hands in deference. "Not that I'm attempting to implicate any particular deity..."

The farmer shook his head slowly, eyes shut tight with conviction. "Don't worry about me thinkin' that. Like I said before-- I can't and won't believe that Eothas was the kinda god would do somethin' like this."

"Do you believe, then, as some in your country do, that the recent prevalence of animancy is to blame?" The scholar was fumbling for a bit of charcoal, now, eager to take notes. "Keep in mind, the Vailian Republics has not suffered a similar Hollowing despite being the leading animancy practitioners on Eora--"

"Whether the recent uptick in animancy has caused the Legacy by inviting the ire of the gods is nigh impossible to know, and thus pointless to discuss," Aloth interjected, "although I certainly wouldn't put it past many of the gods to come up with a bizarre, horrific punishment like the Legacy in retribution for any slight from us kith, real or perceived.” He glanced balefully at the door the Berathians had shut behind them as they’d left. “What can be meritoriously discussed is what to do about the unbridled, barely educated charlatans taking advantage of a terrified and exhausted populace, using the Hollowborn crisis to feed their sick curiosity and their pocketbooks both. That is the everyday reality of animancy that must be dealt with in the Dyrwood." He winced in pain, his impassioned argument a bit too much for his battered body. "...Ahem. In my opinion."

"I don't think I know enough about any of it to have much of an opinion about it, bein' honest." Edér scratched the back of his neck, squinting in confusion as Kana eagerly copied down the conversation, his attention ping-ponging excitedly between each successive speaker. "I feel like that whole world is way, way beyond my ken." He smiled over at the orlan, glad to see her relaxing and engaging with other kith instead of clutching her knees and staring into the middle distance. He'd seen enough of that during the Saint's War. "...Although some of 'em are tryin' to do somethin' about the Legacy, at least. I guess. This animancer was a crazy piece of shit, but she's also the only animancer I ever met, 's far's I know. So I don't really got a lot to go on. Y'know?"

"Caldara was sweet, and extremely helpful." Axa felt an odd little tug of nostalgia at the memory of the dwarf, her warm, motherly smile. "Of course, she was also dead when I met her. So you'll kind of have to take my word for it. That said, ultimately I have to agree with you: I don't know enough about animancy to pass any sort of judgment on it just yet. It seems potentially useful, perhaps even miraculously so, but also extremely volatile and dangerous." The little woman paused, stretching her sore limbs, and then laid back down on the bed with a long, cathartic sigh. "Perhaps once we reach Defiance Bay, we can get a clearer picture of what the day-to-day animancy trade is really like. Until then, I must, in good conscience, reserve all judgment on the subject."

"A wise choice, but a laborious one. Never let it be said that our Watcher takes the easy way out!" Kana rose from his seat as he spoke, seeing that the orlan was getting ready to settle in for the night, and crossed the room to his loaner bed. "Speaking of hardships, I've heard tell that the poor weather over the last few days may have delayed the work on Caed Nua's eastern barbican. If, once we return, we find that to be the case... and if you're amenable to a bit of dungeon crawling after all this fresh air and sunshine..."

Axa half-groaned and half-laughed, like a good-natured mother finally losing patience with her annoying toddler. "Yes, Kana, I promise we will explore the Endless Paths. I already promised you before, too, remember?"

"Forgive me!" Kana chuckled as he reclined, his feet dangling over the edge of the too-small bed. "I don't mean to wheedle you, rest assured. But once I get an idea in my head, I tend to focus on it so intently as to neglect politesse!"

"We've noticed," Aloth grumbled.

The massive aumaua turned to Aloth in the bed next to his, smiling still. "That reminds me-- I've never heard that one before, 'slick-a-britches'. Did you mean to say I slicken others' breeches-- or britches, as you say-- or did you mean my own breeches are slick? As in, ah, lubricated for easier removal? I didn't even know you spoke Hylspeak! You must teach me some!" He wore no malice on his face, only open, honest wonder, and for some reason that bothered Aloth more than if the aumaua had been outwardly hostile.

Axa cackled maniacally in her bed, thrashing her limbs and rolling about. Aloth slowly, deliberately pulled his coverlet up over his chin, then his nose, then his brow. His facial expression did not change.

---

[mint-yooxgi]

heya so I has lots of questions about vampire jaehyun’s yandere au that I write out here but you don’t have to answer!! please don’t feel obligated to do so and don’t feel guilty to deny answering my questions!! If you want me to send these questions in singular asks, you might have to post a thing asking me to do so, I’m sorry for the long ask!!

Would Jaehyun ever use his compulsion on the OC? Like if they are refusing to do anything with him or just fucking hates him and won’t have anything to do with him? Is that like the only moral he’s got? That he won’t ever use compulsion on the reader?

If the OC asked him to stop his sadistic tendencies, would he actually stop? Or would he continue to do it even though he promised the reader he wouldn’t?

Would Jaehyun want the reader to remain human or turn them into a vampire? What if the reader doesn’t want to be a vampire and wants to remain human? Would Jaehyun force the reader to turn?

Can the vampires in Jaehyun’s au bring back the dead or something? (was just a random thought if potentially the little sister could be brought back so reader wouldn’t hate him for the rest of his life)

Is there anything special about the vampires of Jaehyun’s au? Like do they have to be invited in? If that’s true, could the reader potential run to a home and make sure he can’t get in?

What if the reader tries to kill themself to join little sis? Would he turn the OC to keep them alive?

Can compulsion be used on other vampires? (So if reader turned they can run away and actually stay away bc their strength matched Jaehyun’s?)

Okay I’m done pls let me know if you want me to send these questions separately or if someone of them you don’t want to answer!! I will respect your choice bc ily!!

Wow! OMG, this makes me so happy that you have all these questions about the AU and I will be happy to answer all of them!! Gonna put a read more since this got super long and this will contain spoilers (I guess) and also TRIGGER WARNING for mentions of suicide!!

Okay okay, I'll number them to make them easier to follow!

1. So he would never use compulsion on the OC to make them love him, or do anything that would cross a line like force the OC to kiss him or something like that. However, he’s not above compelling the OC to make sure she’s taking care of herself if the servants cannot do their jobs properly. So like, compelling the OC to eat when she’s hungry and make sure she’s drinking water, stuff like that, is all on the table. Besides, he doesn’t really need to use compulsion all that much cause he pulls the “if you don’t do this, I will kill this person while you watch and it’ll be your fault” card.

2. Hmm, that would be like asking him to change his personality and who he is, so it’s possible, and he could become nicer towards some, but it would take a long time for there to be any substantial difference as his behaviour has been ingrained into him for hundreds of years. So, probably not, though the OC can try. Jaehyun is the type to be like, “well, now you know all sides of me so you better accept them all cause this is who I am.”

3. It was always in his plans to turn the OC, and he can and will do it against their will if he so chooses, though he’d rather they wanted him to turn them so it’d be their own decision. That being said, the OC could remain a human for quite a while, but after a certain age, Jaehyun would just turn them if he so chooses.

4. No, unfortunately in this universe, what’s dead should stay dead. However, it is possible if one knows a powerful spell. The type of death is crucial though for the spell to work, the body has to be intact, so unfortunately Lori with her decapitated head would not qualify for the spell.

5. Oh, there’s plenty!! So Jaehyun is a pure vampire which means he was born as what he is, instead of made, meaning he is one of the most powerful vampires in existence. There are others like him, but because he comes from the royal bloodline, he’s more powerful, hence his heightened senses of smell, hearing, etc. over others of his species. He’s also one of the fastest and strongest of his kind because of this. They do have to be invited in, as well as they have the power of compulsion (if that wasn’t clear from previous answers lol). As to the OC running away, it would be kind of difficult even with the invitation requirement as everyone in the kingdom knows who he is and who the OC is, so she would be risking the lives of whatever person or persons they ran to since the whole kingdom thinks the OC and Jaehyun are in a loving relationship. Besides, he’s the Prince and ofc he’d be automatically invited into a person’s home if he showed up on their front door.

6. So this relates to question one, and yes this would be an instant he would use compulsion to stop the OC from taking their own life. If it got to the point where the OC managed to do something and the only choice was to turn them, he would.

7. Most definitely, compulsion can be used on other vampires, and seeing how Jaehyun is literally the strongest vampire in existence right now, they would have no choice regarding the matter. Though, people tend to listen to him when he orders them to do something without needing to be compelled. Even if he turned the OC, yes they would be strong but since they are a turned vampire, still not as strong as Jaehyun. (Unless you’re talking about blood sharing which in that case, OC could get close to Jaehyun’s strength, but still wouldn’t be the same, and even then it would take years).

[life-rewritten]

The Relationship of Tul and Tin A chance to love episode 5 vs Naruto and Heirs (a comparison) Part 2/2

I find it fascinating that the works of two of my favourite authors' work have a lot of connections though they write for two different genres. One is Kim Eun Sook a Korean drama writer with the work known as Heirs (This wasn't her best work, but it's what I will be analysing today) and Two is Mame, a Thai writer with the work A chance to love. At first, I thought the similarities don't add anything when analysing the show. Still, after episode  5 of ACTL, I ended up running back to the Heirs and realising the amount of analysis derived from putting the two together. We're going to focus on Tin and Tul, two brothers that are placed in the spotlight in episode 5 of ACTL and we're going to try and understand the characterisation of Tul. Is he really evil cold-hearted and cruel for no reason, or is there a part of humanity still with this character. Let's find out. Read the first post here to know more about the similarities between the two and what they show about Tul’s character. 

So is Tul as evil as we think he is or is he just someone whose layers need to be uncovered to sympathise and understand?

TUL & TIN A BREAKDOWN

I found these two's dynamic so interesting, there's no doubt from the past analysis that Tul is not emotionally capable of feeling the amount of hurt or pain he's caused Tin or Hin perhaps, he's full of vengeance and has formed an automatic ego self-defence mode to survive and conquer. To get revenge and prove the grandma wrong, he has to be the number one son, and he has to take the assets. For his mother, he has to hate Tin and Tin's mum for being the reason for why she suffered. And for the path, he was forced to go on. Whilst he does love his son (he names his son after Hin) he remains bitter about what that cost him to have, he stays determined to keep preventing any chance of humanity entering in or making him weak especially when it comes to Tin.

The exciting thing is Tul is the one who raised Tin, Tin saw him as his pseudo father figure, cherished and wanted to be like him. Tul spoilt Tin so much as he admits in his story, he says he did it to ruin Tin to ensure that his own personality was nastier and people wouldn't be able to deal with him, but I find my self struggling with this. If Tul could take care of Tin so well before he reached the age (where he'd be seen as a threat) it suggests a little bit of care for his brother, perhaps he doesn't realise it like Won with Tan from Heirs the series (again read the previous post), maybe he's too damaged to let it happen. Still, he manages to make Tin trust him wholeheartedly only to ruin his trust in people and the world that way.

ITACHI VS TUL

This leads me to another comparison with two brothers, Sasuke and Itachi from Naruto, From Sasuke's vengeful perspective he looked up to Itachi so much that it was a shock when his brother killed his whole family and told Sasuke he means nothing but a rival. Itachi tells Sasuke to grow up filled with hate to overtake him, but he mocks and belittles and tells Sasuke he'd never be able to. After Sasuke kills Itachi, that's when he realises the truth; his brother was made that way as a killing machine by the environment. His number one treasure was Sasuke, he wanted to protect Sasuke in the environment and so kept pushing him away to turn him powerful and to keep him safe. When watching Naruto, the clues were clear that Itachi letting Sasuke live (after taking care of him so well even when he didn't have time) and telling him to become stronger hints that he's not as bad as we're led to believe.

I think this is the same for Tul and Tin, Tul maybe this vengeful, resentful villain but the reason why he does what he does to Tin is kind of for his own good. In his own flashback to his son, he admits he had to stop Tin from being spoilt and hurting others; he had to punish him and teach him a lesson. It all sounds sinister, but it's actually like Itachi, Tul has seen the environment, has suffered from the family, and even in the flashback Tin can see and is angry at the way they treat his brother. Still, he doesn't even know the half of it, he doesn't know what the grandma did to Tul, and he didn't know that Tul was in so much pain, this is because Tul only showed him the positive mask. Tul making Tin stop trusting in people, showing Tin he's a villain, or betraying Tin to make him grow up is for his own good in a fucked up way, he does it to make Tin grow and mature, he does it to make Tin start to protect himself, realise his naivety about people (we see how many people try to manipulate and use him for money), and to stop trusting in their family dynamics. It's after Tul hurts Tin that Tin realises the shallowness of his mother, the harshness of his world, and competition embedded to separate him and Tul from the start.

Tul basically made Tin become colder, more observant and more protective towards himself and his own assets. Like Sasuke, Tin is determined to reach the inner parts of his brother and find out why he is the way he does, like Sasuke, Tin is full of resentment and hatred but still wants the love his brother shows for his son. Both have been made into products of their traumatic environment and have been deemed destined to be against each other. Tul is psychologically damaged, it will be hard for him to come back from what has happened to him, luckily for Tin, Can shows up and is the light he needs to stop feeling suffocated or needing to be strong to survive. Tin like Tan from Heirs matures and grow and understands by the end the reason for why his family dynamics are the way it is. Unfortunately for Tul right now the one person who maybe can poke at his walls and his 'breath'/ 'rock' to lean on is not near him, so it depends on that relationship to see if he will become 'good'.

TUL’S HUMANITY

There are instances of humanity shown from Tul; he does love his son, he does cherish Hin and hates when he gets hurt by anyone especially Tin, and he does feel grateful for Tin taking care of his son.

Another proof is the people around him, his own son loves and cherishes him and feels warmth from him, (he's not cruel or evil to him, so much so Tin is jealous of that) and Hin loves him from what we can see. Hin worries and cares for Tul's well being meaning that as harsh as he is, he can be loved, vulnerable and exposed.

But also It's his admission in episode 5, he hates who he has become, he warns his son to never end up like him, he hates that he was made to be this way. This suggests that he's not a villain that enjoys harming others, but he's a person who has been turned into someone that needs to harm others and get revenge, to survive. He sacrificed his heart for the chance to get to the top just like Won did.

In a way, though he sacrificed so much to protect himself and the people he cares about (I bet that's why he ended up giving in and marrying or to get that girl pregnant, to protect Hin probably) and to keep his family reputation intact just like Won does at the end of heirs. Mame characters are dark, twisted, incredibly flawed. Still, there's this depth to them that can never fully be exposed; there's conflicts of morality, societal norms/perceptions on the character's actions and also conflicts about nature vs nurture. When is it okay to be a villain, can love really be found between two damaged people (Tul and Hin) and is it love or is it toxic. Can a character ever fully develop when he's been pushed to no point of return, can the character's actions be forgiven once the truth about them is unveiled? It's why I love this writer's universe. It's why I'm obsessed with this show.

[han-shinsuke]

Creaky Bed

Sachiro Hirugami x Luna x Miya Atsumu

🔞🔞🔞⚠️⚠️

Aphrodisiac: THE HILLS ( the weeknd )

///

"Twenty billion dollars," my voice and composure did not falter as I let myself dressed in thin black fabric, enter the hundred years old conference room of out ancestral house.

The two dignified men, still in their suit and tie, chokes in their brandy. They eyed me from head to toe and both clear their throats to regain their composures.

The Counselor who is also the Legal Adviser of the Prime Minister, stands first.

"What a lovely sight, Luna, still careless eh?" Sachiro greeted me, half smiling. "The process of ownership is on the final reading. You can't negotiate anymore. The committee won't allow a woman to interfere their work," he added.

"And twenty billion dollars today is just a centavo. What else can you offer, princess? I might change my mind and overrule the decision of the committee," the Prime Minister remain on his seat, crossing his long legs on top of the oval desk.

I shoot him a glare when I noticed his eyes plastered on my chest.

Barefoot and unprotected, I stand on my feet, radiating my infamous established authority.

"A centavo huh? May I remind you how you two used to be my toys and servants."

Atsumu Miya, Japan's current Prime Minister, let out a loud laugh that echoes in the four corners of the room. "And may I remind you as well how you lost your innocence under my touch, Luna, I was your first, princess."

My cheeks and ears turned red with the mention of our past together. These men, Atsumu Miya and Sachiro Hirugami, were my childhood friends. They are both five years older than me so they are like big brothers for me. We all came from a wealthy and influential family but I was only seventeen when our family business faced a crisis. Atsumu's family was held responsible for my well being and future. They took good care of me while I was still under their roof. Sachiro who lived few blocks away from the Miyas, visits often.

Me being a confident brat, still boss them around even in front of their parents and relatives. They're my toys! But this man, Miya Atsumu, used tricks against me! It was the night of my eighteenth birthday when I gave a signed consent, allowing him to offer me an alcoholic drink, which his parents didn't approved. I was so drunk that night to realize that I was being dragged inside his bathroom. Atsumu insulted and belittled my alcohol tolerance and my capabilty to handle myself.

His words sounds like a challenge to me. A provocation I still regret up until now. I may be a brat but I have a dream of doing it with my husband.

Atsumu had me that night. The loud and deafening sounds of water pouring from the shower head still echoes in my head. He used it to camouflage my cries and screams as he forced himself into me.

He was smiling the whole time he's doing it. He's big and strong and he knows my weakness. He knows how to make me surrender to him. As I am about to fall asleep in his arms under the pouring water that night, I catch a glimpse of Sachiro walking towards us, removing his clothes.

So yeah, they both had me on my eighteenth birthday! And now, they are the challenge I must conquer! They just won't let me win! This mansion is my family property! This is not a state property! I won't let my enemies win against me again! I will make sure to take back what's ours!

"I am Japan's youngest billionaire and no one would dare defy me, even you, Mr. Prime Minister," that's the confidence, Luna! I cheered for myself internally.

Sachiro who has been silent for a moment, chuckles, "your arrogance makes me wanna rip your thin clothes and bend you over right here, right now."

"Oh! Mr. Counselor, I would love that only if you promise to be gentle. Your morality during sex sickens me. I prefer to fckk a man with ethics," I've been in war for years with different individuals. He's just a dust for me.

Sachiro chuckles again while Atsumu watches us throwing insults at each other, "as much as I want to talk about ethics with you, I would rather prefer tasting your lips," he says, making my blood boils in anger.

"You should kiss your Minister's lips then, he is more capable of quenching your thirst, councelor," I said then smirked at Atsumu who is obviously enjoying our discussions.

Atsumu being a politician that he is responds quickly, "Men don't interest me, Luna, I'm into politics and ruling a district. It is my job after all. Now, Ms. Corporate Heir, let's book an appointment, you and I behind closed door, moaning, yes?"

"If you moan louder, hand me the land title of this property, yes?" I said in my low voice.

"Let me join, guys, yes?" Sachiro butt in.

"No! I can't handle two guys at a time!"

"Weak."

"Weak."

I massage my forehead, sighing. They're really testing my patience.

"Fuck this life," I whispered. I flash them my sweet smile then said, "Scream or moan a word, game will be over, yes?"

"Deal!" the two men said in unison.

🔞🔞🔞🔞🔞🔞🔞🔞🔞🔞🚱🚱🚱🚱🚱🚱

The door in the attic slams open, giving a path for the three naked persons who storms in, clothes are scattered on the staircases. Pants and heavy breathings could be heard.

Atsumu waste no time and push Luna on the creaky bed, putting his weight on top of her as he smash his lips on hers. Luna grabs Atsumu's face and cave in her mouth on his lower lip, kissing him torridly. Atsumu's hands roam around her body, squeezing her soft skin, leaving some red marks caused by his fingers. Atsumu bit hard on Luna's lower lip, making her whimper. Luna who keeps a clear mind, set a mental reminder that she must not let out a moan or a single word. Some thing is at stake so she need to win. She shut her eyes closed while still exchanging torrid laps with Atsumu's warm and cherry like lips. She suck on his tongue and push for a deep, locking lips kisses. Atsumu who is also putting up a fight against her, groan in pleasure inside his head.

Sachiro stands a feet away from the creaky bed and starts stroking his erected cock. He can still vividly remember the same event ten years ago. Atsumu fucking Luna diabolically can make him sexually aroused. His friend is a sex monster.

Sachiro follows Atsumu's hands wherever it goes on Luna's tempting body. His speed of stroking his cock increases, revealing the pink flesh of its' head whenever the skin was pulled down a little lower from the tip.

Atsumu breaks the kiss and push his body a bit higher from her softness. He examines her face down to her womanhood. Atsumu couldn't believe he gets to taste her childhood friend again. Luna is panting when Atsumu starts groping her breast, kneading it hard. Luna rolls her head backwards, lower body aching for more touch.

Luna's face turns bright red when Atsumu suck in one nipple to his mouth, attaching his rough tongue on it. She grabs his head and shoves her breast deep on his mouth. Atsumu curses a lot in his head. He can't moan and that frustrates him! Due to his frustrations, Atsumu sucks harder on Luna's nipples, following it with deep bites around the buds.

Luna writhes in pleasure and curl up herself underneath Atsumu who's lips is traveling down to her navel he slightly poked with his tongue. The Prime Minister' lips ended on her drenched clit, poking it with his tongue. She was about to grab on Atsumu's head when he stopped her from doing so. Atsumu quiclky flipped her down on her stomach, face facing the mattress.

Sachiro then joins the two on the bed. He sits on the pillow, back against the headboard as he spread his legs, placing Luna's face between it.

Sachiro move in rhythm with Atsumu. He cup her face and grip her jaw, making Luna wince from pain. Atsumu on the other hand spank her ass harshly until it turns red and his hand marks are visible. Luna bit hard on her lower lips to prevent herself from crying and moaning.

A moment later, Atsumu plunges in three fingers on Luna's cunt, forcing her to squeeze her legs together but Atsumu disapproves it. He spank her again and using his free hand, he pry open her legs and starts pumping there.

Luna's hands fisted on the sheet, still suppresing her moans and cries. Sachiro exchanges signals with Atsumu and the two men smiles at each other. Luna's eyes widened when Sachiro put the tip of his cock between her lips and push it slowly until it reaches her throat, gagging her with its size. She feel her tears streams down her face. Sachiro loves that look on her face so he guides her head up and down his thickness, Luna's warm saliva painting his size down to his balls. Sachiro opened his mouth and silently gasped for air.

Little they did know, Luna will make sure to bring home the trophy. So, as long as she can, they won't hear her moan. Atsumu and Sachiro will moan her name, begging!

Luna cages in Sachiro's cock between her palms then starts stroking it as she keeps sucking on its length, kissing the tip and blowing some hot breath on it. She smiles, admiring how Sachiro bite his lower lip to keep himself silent.

Fuck! Luna cursed in her head. Atsumu hit her butt cheeks again... hard. She almost bit the hardness of Sachiro's cock when she felt the pain caused by his palms.

Atsumu continues pumping his three fingers in her pussy, her juice smoothening the muscles around her cunt. The squelching noises of Atsumu's fingers inside her pussy and Sachiro's cock between her lips are now the only sounds she can hear at this hour.

Luna grinds her core against Atsumu's pumping fingers while her lips is still intact with the counselor's throbbing cock.

"Fuck aaahhh! Just give up the land title already, Tsumu aaah! Fuck your warm mouth, Luna! I'll dump all my cum in there aaahh!" Sachiro 'the councelor' Hirugami cannot contains his moan any longer. He moaned loudly and releases heavy breaths as he explodes his jizz inside her mouth that's obviously can't handle all of his juice. As evidence, some of his cream drips out from Luna's lips as she struggles to gulp down it all.

"Fuck, Sachiro! You fucking dumbass! Fuck the land title! I will destroy you good, woman!" Atsumu curses so loud that made Luna laugh from victory.

But Luna's laugh fades so soon when Atsumu flip her again. He lays her on her back on the bed and spread her legs wider.

"The only hole I would dip my cock deep," Atsumu says, smirking. He signals something to Sachiro and the next thing she knew, Atsumu is holding a dildo and attach it to his cock and inserts both in her pussy.

"Ah, shit! Wa–wait aaaaahhhhhhhh!" Atsumu dig a cock and a dildo into her pussy, making Luna scream.

Atsumu then proceeds pumping two dicks in her cervix, both length scraping her insides, sending jolts of electricity throughout her veins.

Sachiro chuckles, seeing Luna's face get dampen with tears. He pins her both hands on her sides, restricting her movements. Sachiro kneels above her and for the second time, he shoves his still hardened cock into her mouth.

Mr. Counselor loves face fucking and he loves it more if it is Luna's face and mouth he's fucking.

The two men moves together. They dive into her holes, two cock in her pussy and a dick between her lips. Sachiro and Atsumu thrusts their cocks way deeper and harder she could think of. The bed creaks loudly from the hard pounding on top of it.

Luna feels Atsumu's hand on his stomach and draws circles there.

"Do you feel it, princess hmm? My cock and this dildo are currently hitting your g-spot, you wanna scream? you wanna moan? Oh! You can't. Sachiro is face fucking you," he is so cruel! She thought. They are both cruel!

Luna can't fucking moan. Her screams is being muffled by Sachiro's fat and long cock thrusting in and out her mouth.

Luna feels so much embarrassment! She hates to admit it but she loves how the two men are fucking her roughly. It makes her feel special!

Sachiro's cock throbs in her mouth. A sign of an upcoming orgasm. She also feels Atsumu's cock throbs around her core. He tossed away the dildo after pulling it out her pussy. If her calculations are right, and the throbbing cocks signifies, they are both cumming.

"Aaahh fucckk! Want my juice, princess huh? I'm aahh cummingg~" Atsumu pound his cock deeper and faster, making her breast bounce from the shaking of muscles.

"Fckk fuckkk! Drink my aaahh fucking cum, Lunaaa~ fucckkk!" Sachiro explodes his cream in her mouth again, groping her breast and pinching its nipples.

Luna struggle drinking Sachiro's cum as she tries to moan out the pleasure from Atsumu's rough pounding in her cunt.

Sachiro pulls out his cock and strokes it, his eyes closed, moaning Luna's name repeatedly, "Lunaaa aaahh~ Fuckkk~"

"Aaahhh! Aaaahhh! Fuck, sweetheart! Your muscles clenching my aaaahhj cocckkk fucckk!" Atsumu waves his hips harder as he moan loudly and moments later, Luna feel the warm and large volume of juice he release inside her.

"Atsumu aaahhh~ Sh–shit aaahhh~" Luna moan weakly, Atsumu still pumping his hips on hers, draining all of her remaining energy. She have told this before! She can't handle two cocks at the same time.

Luna still hasn't regain her energy and wasn't given time to calm her breathing when the two men lift her weak body. Atsumu sits her on Sachiro's lap, facing the counselor. Sachiro waste no time and put his cock inside Luna's core.

Luna drops her head on Sachiro's shoulder and moan on his neck. They just released their cums inside her but here they are, going in for another round.

Sachiro hold her face and crash his lips on her quivering ones. He sucks in her lips and nibble on it, inserting his tongue in her mouth. His lips grazes against hers and even on her weak state, Luna kiss him back. Sachiro moans in her mouth and that's enough to keep her going.

"I love your ass, Luna, may I come in?" Luna feels like cursing Atsumu but she hold back, instead, she just nodded at him.

Atsumu gave her ass a hard spank before shoving his wet cock inside her anus. Luna's arms grips tigthly around Sachiro's shoulders. She withdrew from their kiss and she buried her face under his jaw. Sachiro laughed at Atsumu who struggles to fit his hardness in her unscathed butthole.

"Didn't know her ass was a virgin!" Atsumu exclaims, pushing himself deeper.

Sachiro lay on his back, arms wrapped around Luna's shaking body. His cock still buried deep in her pussy.

Luna sobs from the pain and Sachiro caresses her back as they both wait for Atsumu to adjust himself inside her.

"Ssshhh, it will go away, Luna," Sachiro comforts her and she just nodded.

"You are so fucking tight, princess! fuck!" Atsumu pulls out his cock from her butthole, earning a groan of pain from Luna.

Atsumu spits his saliva on Luna's butthole and scrapes a small amount of the mix cum dripping from her pussy, where Sachiro's cock is buried. Atsumu rubs the cum on her butt entrance then spank her ass again. Luna sobs louder, feeling him again inserting his shaft into her anus.

"No more aaahhhh pleaseee~" Luna pleads for her dear life but Atsumu enjoy her cries. Pushing again deeper and this time, his cock slides smoothly inside her butt.

"Ooohhhh fuck! I'm in! I am fucking inside your butt, princess!" Atsumu with so much excitement starts pounding her from behind.

Luna scratch on Sachiro's skin and sob and moan from both pain and pleasure. The man under her also starts thrusting his hips up, joining the rhythm of Atsumu's hips.

"Oooohhhhh aaaahhhhh~ sl–slow down aaahhh pleaseee aaahhhh~ it s–still hurts aahhh~" Luna's cries became louder each seconds. The two men pound her from behind and underneath her, leaving her with no option but to moan and cry.

Her body trembles from receiving their merciless thrusts. Atsumu wraps his fingers around her neck and push deeper in her butt. Sachiro, while thrusting his cock, put a thumb on his clitoris and rub it hard. Luna moan so loud that it brings another level of excitement on the two men.

"Aaahhhh~ daddy aaahhhh cummm in–inside mee aahhh~"

Sachiro and Atsumu dig deeper through their cocks and the tension in her stomach tightens.

Luna's weak body starts trembling, her hand gripping on the sheet. Sachiro also feel his peak is nearing so he put a hand on Luna's mouth and covers it while unloading his cum in her swollen pussy.

"Fuckk I–I'm cumming aaahhh~ call me da–daddy, princess aahhh fucking call me daddyyyy~" Atsumu squirts his juice into her, body shaking from intense orgasm.

"Fuck, Luna, didn't know you can aahhhh scream like that aaahhhh~" Sachiro still covering her mouth as she moan in it. Luna received the men's final thrust and ejaculates all their thick cream in her holes.

Sachiro and Atsumu pulls out their pulsating cockc from her holes and lays Luna on her back.

Luna is breathing heavily. She can't feel her legs. Her butt and her cunt feels numb too. Their mix cum drips on her thigh, down to the back of her legs.

She was fucking creampied by these two massive men.

"Call the committee, Sachiro, tell them to bring the contract here tomorrow," Atsumu commands his Political Advisor but Sachiro just smirked at him before returning on the bed.

Sachiro bend the legs of the sleepy woman on the bed and position himself in between.

Sachiro slides his cock inside her cunt and turn to Atsumu saying these, "you fucking make the call, Mr. Prime Minister, I still have seeds to plant," and just like that, Sachiro Hirugami made his way deeper into Luna's swollen core.

••••

BONUS:

Luna after receiving the land title of ownership of their ancestral house.

She pays the two men a visit in their office and brings them a pack of meals.

Sachiro and Atsumu gave her a questioning look and she arrogantly insults them even if they are not doing anything wrong to her,

"I don't intend to misconstrue your behaviors and titles, gentlemen, but I don't think you two, are sexually capable of making a lady scream in satisfaction."

"what?"

"what?"

"Stop giving me that look. Yes, I am challenging your sexual capabilities. Make me scream. Make me moan. Yes? Yes?"

"Atsumu, ready the chains and dildos! This woman deserves a beating!" Sachiro said in his devilish tone.

•••

MAG COMMENT NAMAN KAYO PARA MASA GANAHAN KAMI GUMAWA NG SMUTS HAHAHAH! THANK YOU SA MAGBABASA!

The longest smut I have ever written!

[bollywood-and-phoenix-feather]

manic hours opened yesterday and @just-another-trans-twink and I went on a 24-hour zukka lockdown. this was the result!

essentially: more sokka and azula content is absolutely necessary in this fandom, so here are five times sokka and azula collaborated for the better, and one time it was definitely for the worse

Read on AO3 above!

1. the gaang threatens murder

Sokka hadn’t felt this anxious in nearly six years – since the end of the war. Well, not counting the numerous attempts on his boyfriend’s life; those set him on edge for weeks afterwards. Today was different, though. It wasn’t just he and Zuko and the guards who were unusually tense and hyper-alert. The whole palace felt like it was holding its breath, terse silence stifling in the late summer air.

Sokka checked his timepiece. Thirty minutes until Azula arrived to move into the palace, hopefully (or unfortunately?) for good.

Zuko had been back in contact with his sister for years now. He’d been to visit her in the hospital many times, and she’d even visited the palace occasionally. The fact that she and Zuko could now hold a conversation without setting each other on fire was testament to how she’d changed. Even the doctors said she was better, more stable.

But Sokka still didn’t trust her - couldn’t trust her, after everything she’d done to Katara, Suki, his dad, Zuko… they were his family, and he had to be ready to protect them. Sokka wasn’t the only one that felt that way. Zuko might have started to trust her again, but everyone else was skeptical.

Katara was pissed; Sokka didn’t need Toph’s seismic sense to know that. She, Aang, Toph, Suki, and a few other Kyoshi warriors had arrived a few days ago for extra security. Zuko had stubbornly maintained that it was unnecessary, but he’d finally conceded it was probably a good idea after Sokka had asked them to come anyway.

Zuko, in his earnest quest to be a good brother, wanted to give Azula a proper welcome to the palace, with a small celebratory dinner with their closest friends - which were Zuko’s closest friends, since Azula didn’t really have those anymore. Ty Lee and Mai declined to come, and he was pretty sure everyone else had only agreed to come to provide moral support and physical protection for Zuko. Sokka was just hoping a fight wouldn’t break out.

-

Dinner was, well. Tense.

Katara did little but pick at her food and glare icy daggers at Azula, who pretended not to notice, acting coolly unperturbed by the tension around her. Suki looked relaxed, but Sokka knew better. Her fans sat on either side of her plate, ready for a fight, and she never quite shifted her weight to the back of her seat. Toph might have been the only one actually having a good time, irreverently picking her nails and drinking more sake than a person her size should have been able to.

Aang was desperately trying to ease the mood, chattering on far too cheerfully about new trade routes between the Earth Kingdom and Southern Water Tribe, while Zuko passively nodded along, glancing over at his sister occasionally like he wanted to talk to her.

“... so then, shipments will move primarily between Akahime, Kyoshi Island, and the Southern Water Tribe, like they did when I was a kid! Or was a kid for the first time, I guess! Huh. Anyway! This is gonna be great because it’s a relatively short and easy trade route but the quality of goods -”

“Aang,” Sokka snapped, physically unable to listen any longer. “I love you like a brother, but that does mean that if I have to listen to you recite the trade proposal that I helped write for any longer, I will shave your eyebrows off while you sleep. And Katara -” Sokka whirled on her - “I know you’re upset, but can you please return my water to a liquid state? And everyone else’s, for that matter? Otherwise someone’s gonna have to deal with a hungover Toph tomorrow, and it sure as hell isn’t gonna be me!”

Sokka glared at his sister across the table. Her face was stony, her eyes slightly narrowed. Was this going to end well for Sokka? No. Did that mean he was going to back down? Absolutely not.

“Fine,” Katara muttered through gritted teeth. With a twitch of her fingers, the ice filling everyone’s cups of water melted back to liquid - all except Sokka’s.

“Real fucking mature, Katara - ” he began, and then she flicked her fingers out towards him, melting the water in his cup and sending it right at his face.

“You little shit!” Sokka shrieked in what he was sure was a very, very manly tone. As he rose to confront his sister, Zuko and Suki turned to exchange a fond look, both of them struggling to hide their laughter. Sokka took a breath, feigning sincerity. “You know what? I take it back. You’re ALL a bunch of assholes.” He yanked the tablecloth towards him, sending food and drink flying, before attempting to make a hasty escape.

Chaos erupted. Katara bent the water off herself and onto Zuko, apparently declaring him guilty by association. Toph began shooting grape-oranges at people with alarming precision, while Suki deflected them just as easily. Sokka didn’t get more than a few steps away from the table before his feet were earthbent into the floor.

“You’re not going anywhere, Snoozles!” Toph bellowed, now pelting him with various fruits. He tried to dodge without falling on his face, and was only saved by Zuko grabbing both his arms to keep him balanced. Sokka looked up to see Zuko with a wide grin on his face, and Sokka, hopelessly-in-love bisexual that he was, had barely started his usual inner monologue about how beautiful Zuko’s smile was when Zuko leaned in to smear egg custard on his face.

Just as Sokka opened his mouth to voice his betrayal, another shrill scream split the room: “Are you fucking kidding me?!” Everyone turned to see Azula standing in the corner of the room, irate, steaming the water off her shirt and picking a few stray noodles out of her hair. “I lost to you?! You?”

Tense silence returned, dragging on as everyone tried to anticipate Azula’s next move.

Toph, who had remained unscathed by using the metal plates as shields, and who was somehow still sipping from a full, intact glass of sake, broke the silence. “Yep,” she said, popping the “p”.

Azula stared at Toph for a few moments before sitting down, a look of resignation on her face. Hm. That was new. So was the “Whatever,” Sokka thought he heard her mutter under her breath.

Slowly, everyone returned to the table to pick at what was left of their food and exchange uneasy glances with one another.

Aang cleared his throat. “Did anyone try the chicken? I thought the chicken was lovely.”

-

“I’m going to bed. Are you coming?” Zuko’s hands rested lightly on Sokka’s shoulders, and Sokka sleepily tipped his head back, away from the scroll he was reading, for a kiss. Zuko smirked, a few strands of hair that had escaped his topknot softly framing his face, and obliged.

“I’ll be there soon, okay? I just have a couple more things to take care of,” Sokka murmured in response. As usual, they were up late working in their study. (Technically, it was Zuko’s study, but Sokka almost always worked in here and was steadily covering any available flat surface with his scrolls, reference books, and blueprints. Not that Zuko was complaining.)

Zuko hummed, “Okay, love you,” against Sokka’s lips, before striding out of the room. Sokka waited until his footsteps had faded down the hall before rising, hoping he remembered the way to Azula’s room. He really didn’t want to ask for directions.

A few minutes and wrong turns later, he found Azula. She yanked open her door before he had really finished knocking, snapping an acidic “What?” in his face.

Sokka shouldered his way inside, closing the door behind him and choosing to ignore the fact that she could fry him like a pig-chicken in an instant if she decided it was worth it. He couldn’t think about that right now; he had to do this.

“Listen,” he growled, not bothering to hide the years of hurt and anger behind his voice. “I don’t know if you’re actually better or if this is part of some elaborate scheme of yours, and you know what? Right now, I don’t really care. You’ve hurt too many of the people I love. But you have Zuko convinced, and I guess -” His voice cracked, and he took a breath, trying not to wince visibly. “I guess that’s all that matters right now. He cares about you. A lot. So if you hurt him again, know this: consequences be damned, ending you will be my sole mission. Understand?”

Azula, level and unflinching, arms crossed over her chest, held his gaze for a long moment before huffing and breaking eye contact to inspect her nails. “Bold of you to assume I can be killed, Water Tribe.”

Sokka could only continue to stare, gritting his teeth to prevent his mouth from drifting open in astonishment. The fuck kind of response was that? What did that even mean?

Apparently satisfied with her nails, she turned her face back up to look at Sokka, a new, hard glint in her eyes. “Don’t worry about me. The threat is mutual. Guards!” A royal guard stepped through the door, standing at attention. “Please escort Ambassador Sokka out. I need my beauty sleep.”

And before Sokka could even begin to form a response, the door was closing behind him, and his feet were guiding him to Zuko’s chambers.

2. the gaang goes crafting

Sokka placed two thumbs on his temples, rubbing vigorously before giving up his headache for a lost cause with a sigh. This was the second Four-Nation (well, three-nation plus Aang) diplomatic council meeting he had attended, and as both the Southern Water Tribe representative and a young man who had seen far too much over the past few years, he was deeply frustrated.

When he'd been younger, he'd sat through enough war meetings to know how they usually went: chaos and argument, with Hakoda listening carefully before picking out the bits and pieces that mattered. It was a lot like hunting: waiting and watching for the correct moment to strike. Sokka had learned long ago how to listen, and listen well.

Unfortunately, it seemed like he might be the only one. The Earth Kingdom generals had not taken kindly to being placed in a small room with their Fire Nation counterparts, and every word out of their mouths demonstrated all too clearly that the war, for them, was not yet over. Zuko's position was still precarious - twice-banished and once-crowned - and so he could only do so much. The Earth King's travels had clearly done him some good, but the bar for improvement was unbelievably low. And Sokka did not yet have his dad's ability to command the room.

So this wasn't, at all, like hunting. It might actually be more like the moment after the hunting was over, when the offal was thrown to the polar bear dogs and they went wild, howling and yelling and stomping down the snow.

"I know that face," came a snide voice to his left.

Sokka jumped and drew his sword, mostly on instinct. Azula met his eyes over its point, and then pushed it away, lazily. Sokka let her.

"You're thinking," she said. "If you were my brother, I would say it was a rare feat. But you're not him, are you?"

Like everything Azula said, this question was a test, or a game, or both. Sokka rolled his eyes and chose not to play. "What do you want?"

"I want what you want," said Azula. "And I can help you get it."

Spirits. Even when she was trying to help you, she sounded like she was planning world domination. "Tell me how to get General Wu to shut up for more than five minutes, and then we can talk."

Azula examined her nails. They were much shorter, now, than they had been at the start of the war, so the effect was less like a predator picking its claws, and more girlish; it made her look her age, for once. Sokka wasn't sure if Azula knew, and if not, he certainly wasn't going to tell her.

"General Wu's daughter is studying at the Royal Fire Nation Academy, in her third summer. That means she's currently memorizing the fifty-eight rhetorical principles, and she's probably been practicing them so much that he can recite them by rote. If you bring up the one about the value of being concise - "

"He will finish it, embarrass himself, and then keep quiet for at least the next five minutes so that I can shut down his stupid air-balloon outreach plan." Sokka blinked, surprised at the words coming out of his own mouth. "Did I just agree with you?"

"Of course you did," said Azula, smiling. Her palm was sparking a little, in the way it did before she said something about collective power for utter domination, etc., so Sokka took the opportunity to head her off early.

"Come back to the library with me," he said. "We still have nine generals to go."

Azula looked at him. Sokka looked right back. He had the upper hand here, and he knew it - Azula must have been bored out of her mind after months nothing interesting to do but watch the path of the odd frog-fly. As far as Sokka knew, she wasn't even allowed out of this wing of the palace unattended, let alone permitted to read anything more recent than her great-grandfather’s time.

"Fine," said Azula, finally, feigning boredom. Sokka smiled.

-

Zuko stared. "What is this?"

"What does it look like?" said two voices at once. Sokka and Azula looked at each other in brief, honest shock, before turning back to him as one. Zuko swallowed nervously and resisted the urge to draw his swords.

"Um. It looks like the librarian is gonna be mad at you for defacing the general's royal portraits," said Zuko.

"What did I tell you?" said Azula, scornful. "I knew he wouldn't understand."

"We just have to give him a minute," said Sokka, patiently. Zuko stared. We? he mouthed.

"Oh, well, let him be," said Azula. "Zuzu - " she began, sweetly, and Zuko didn't even flinch this time - "you take all the time you need. If you have questions, we will be in my chambers."

"In your chambers," agreed Zuko, haplessly. "Why?"

"We're finishing the border agreement," Sokka threw over his shoulder. Azula was already halfway down the hall.

"The border agreement. The one that - they've been working on that for months! What do you mean you're finishing it?"

"Oh, you know, teamwork and whatever. It wasn't that hard." Sokka grinned brightly at Zuko, giving him a large thumbs up, and then skipped after Azula.

3. the gaang does science

As much as Zuko was unnerved by the...alliance? working relationship? collaboration? between Sokka and Azula, he had to admit that they were making great progress. They had resolved the border agreement, a messy affair Zuko was sure would take the rest of the year and possibly also Aang’s moderation to conclude, in less than a week.

That had been months ago, and since, they had gotten everything from education reform bills to reparations proposals approved by the council and various world leaders. Sometimes Zuko wondered who was really running the country right now. He didn’t mind, though. It was fun to watch the dusty old men on his advisory council squirm in meetings when Azula sat in the corner, staring them down and taking meticulous notes.

Plus, he got more sleep this way.

Zuko rose and stretched after signing off the Power Duo’s latest proposal for terracing the mountainside of a nearby village to grow rice. Dismissing his constant internal struggle over whether their partnership should make him thankful or fearful for his safety, he went to find Sokka. He got more time to eat in places that weren’t his study now, too. He’d thought a surprise picnic by the turtleduck pond might be nice; it’d been so long since he and Sokka had been able to go on an actual date.

He’d already asked for a blanket and a basket of food to be sent over to the pond, so all he had to do was find Sokka, who…wasn’t in his office. Zuko frowned; he must be outside.

Zuko headed towards the courtyard behind the building instead, lost in thought about their last date - Sokka had talked him into seeing The Ember Island Players’ most recent atrocity, which had lived up to Zuko’s rock-bottom expectations, but they’d gone swimming afterwards, and then -

Zuko’s train of thought (and the accompanying flush in his cheeks) was cut off abruptly by the truly alarming sight greeting him in the courtyard.

Azula was elaborately strapped and tied to Sokka’s back like a baby hog monkey, her arms falling in front of his shoulders to tighten a couple last straps. Both were wearing large, ridiculous, leather-framed goggles that fit snugly around their eyes. As Azula worked with the straps, Sokka unfurled two triangular pieces of cloth that bore suspicious similarity to the wings of Aang’s glider. The bottom part of the cloth appeared to be attached to his boots, the top edge to his arms.

Before Zuko could even say, What the fuck, Sokka? , Sokka grinned over his shoulder at Azula and said with far too much vigor, “Ready?”

Azula, clearly still focused on the straps, snapped, “I’m always ready. Are you sure this will work?”

“No, but there’s only one way to find out! That’s science! Sokka-POW!” And with that, Azula lit a massive flame under her feet, sending them both flying above the roof of the palace. Immediately, despite Sokka’s best efforts with the cloth flaps, they careened wildly out of control before plummeting directly into the roof of the residential hall on the opposite side of the courtyard.

As he sprinted towards them, calling for his guards to send a healer, he could think only two thoughts: (1) spirits, please let them be okay, and (2) if they’re not dead, I’m going to kill them.

Crashing through the door of the building, he found Sokka and Azula on the (very charred) floor, a few small fires surrounding them, which he snuffed out with a wave of his hand. The two were still mostly strapped together, Sokka rolling around on the floor in an attempt to dislodge Azula, while she tried to undo the straps at Sokka’s front with mixed success.

Zuko unsheathed one of the daggers at his waist and willed himself not to breathe fire as he launched into a tirade that bald-ponytail, sixteen-year-old Zuko would have been proud of. “What the fuck were you two thinking! Are you stupid? Don’t answer that, smartass,” He glared pointedly at Sokka while he sliced his way through their bindings. “What would I have done if something happened to either of you? There’d be a fucking diplomatic crisis, I’d have a dead ambassador and a dead sister and a very, very angry Southern Water Tribe -”

“In my defense,” Sokka muttered hoarsely, head lolling back onto the floor, “my dad would definitely believe you if you told him that I did something like this.”

“Do you even hear yourself?” He sheathed his dagger and whirled on his sister. “Azula,” he pleaded, “why?”

She shrugged, and offered only, “Science.” A smirk spread over her face, splitting streaks of soot. “Maybe if you’d let me read a book published in the last two hundred years, then I’d know it was a bad idea.”

Zuko’s imminent death threat was cut off by Sokka’s chuckling from the floor. “Nice one, ‘Zula. Up top.” He raised his hand weakly for Azula to give him a high five.

I can’t believe I’m in love with this concussed idiot, Zuko thought (not for the first time). Healers rushed in to save the two from Zuko’s remaining wrath. “I’m telling Katara,” Zuko muttered.

“Nooooo, babyyy, please don’t tell Katara, she’ll -”

“I’m telling Katara, mostly because you deserve to be yelled at by someone else, but also because she and Aang get here in a week, and I don’t know how else I’m going to explain why it looks like a comet crashed into the palace. And, you know what? Royal decree - you two are not allowed to hang out unsupervised any more.”

Azula glared at him - less her old I’m-going-to-mount-your-head-on-the-palace-gates glare and more the usual your-existence-tires-me glare that he saw pass between Sokka and Katara so often. That was better, though, and Zuko decided that he would take it. Sokka just pouted, jutting out his bottom lip and batting his eyelashes. Zuko found this look cuter than he should, and Sokka knew it.

Zuko steeled his resolve. “I’m telling Katara, and I’m not going to stop giving you shit about this until we’re approximately eighty, okay? But you can read whatever you want in the library. Happy?”

The Power Duo cheered, and Zuko couldn’t hold back a soft smile.

4. the gaang hoards the brain cells

Maybe it was a lifetime of being the oldest sibling and also the responsible sibling, or maybe it was just because he had grown up around Katara, but despite all appearances to the contrary (see: the as-yet unrepaired roof of the residential hall) Sokka was actually a great influence on Azula.

Part of this was definitely due to the fact that Azula, like, listened to him. Sokka wasn't sure that he'd ever been around someone who did what he said without question. Zuko supported him, but in a boyfriend kind of way; sometimes Sokka would jump in with a plan fully formed, and then Zuko would make him explain it back and work out the kinks; other times - and especially in fights - by the time Sokka had come up with a workable plan, Zuko was already in the middle of it, flaming-feet first, and Sokka had to improvise (brilliantly, but desperately) to keep up.

Katara, conversely, never actually listened to him. She just did what she wanted. If what she wanted happened to line up with Sokka's exact plan, she would never admit it. It was her right, really, as a younger sibling; Sokka knew this, and he loved her.

But Azula understood his plans almost before he said them out loud -  most of the time because she was thinking the same thing. And somehow, out of everyone - she respected him the most; sometimes Sokka felt like she was trying to earn his approval, like she knew that if Sokka trusted her, so would Katara, and even Zuko. If she was a sail, Sokka was just a rudder, steering her: they didn't have to be pointing the same direction, but their boat would never crash.

Sokka frowned, trying to imagine himself as a boat. Would his wolf-tail be the rudder? Or would his whole body just be triangle-shaped?

It didn't matter. (It did. He would figure it out later.) Right now, he needed to talk to her about some of the villages at the southern border; heavy rains had induced mudslides, wiping out shrines and causing the spirits to run amok. Sokka thought that maybe, this village might be a kind of Heroism Starter Pack for Azula, that they could - what was that noise?

Sokka looked down. The castle floor should not be splashing his feet, and yet it was; he was standing in a giant puddle. He looked up, suddenly focused; there was a trail of muddy water making its way down the hall.

Sokka followed it. The water grew muddier and deeper as he went, and Sokka despaired for whoever would have to clean it up. Finally, he caught up to the source: his very bedraggled sister, and his equally soaked boyfriend, trudging toward the baths.

"Um," said Sokka. "What's happening, here?"

Katara turned around. "Well, someone had to do it." Her hands were on her hips, her nose upturned.

"Yeah," agreed Zuko, smiling. "We took care of it. It was fun."

Don't get him wrong - Sokka was all for Zuko's little smiles, and Zuko having fun, but - "Take care of what? What did you do?"

Zuko and Katara scowled, eerily identical. "What we did," Katara said, edging from 'self-satisfied' to 'fiercely righteous', "was settle the spirits and save the villagers, since obviously the Earth kingdom civil forces don't have the bending knowledge to do it yet!"

"Yeah, like I said," said Zuko. He was frowning like a kicked puppy, which was unfair to Sokka specifically. "We took care of it."

"Oh," said Sokka, relaxing. "That's great! So you guys talked to the villagers?"

"Um," said Zuko. "About what?"

"...the mudslides. And, like, preventing them? The tiered rock formations?"

Zuko stared at him, a little furrow forming between his eyebrows which meant he was totally lost. Katara avoided his gaze, shifting from foot to foot.

"Katara," said Sokka, using his absolute best big brother voice, "remember my designs? Which I told you about last week?"

"Look, Sokka," said Katara, gently. Sokka frowned and crossed his arms; Katara had not been able to fool him with that voice since she was about ten years old, and she knew it. "We solved the problem. The spirits are settled and everything is okay now! Your designs were great, but we just...didn't need them?"

Sokka stared her down; Katara stared back.

"If you're going to -" "Well, what exactly was your - " they began, at the same time, and Zuko sighed; before they could really get into it, a rush of heat interrupted them, shrinking the puddles on the floor to sad little piles of dirt, and blowing Katara's hair dramatically into her face. Sokka stifled a laugh.

"I think the real question is, what did you actually do?" Azula asked, appearing from the shadows. She was holding Zuko's Blue Spirit mask, which was dripping with mud.

"Dramatic entrance high-five," said Sokka, because she deserved it, and because she was going to be on his side. Azula obliged, and then raised an eyebrow to Katara and Zuko, who reminded Sokka a bit of blow-dried cat-herons.

"We're not dumb," said Katara, smoothing down her robes. "We entered the village in disguise, and then cleared the mud and repaired the shrines. The spirits calmed down pretty quickly after everything was fixed."

"Right," said Azula. "Until the next time it rains. You know, what might have worked better would be to educate the villagers about flood barriers, or perhaps even offer them assistance in moving their shrines."

She sounded about as scornful and sarcastic as usual, but Sokka knew better; her ideas were legitimate and compassionate. He was so proud. Their murder baby was all grown up and trying to save people.

Katara did not pick up on the fact that Sokka was swelling like a pig-chicken about to crow. "You don't know that - "

"What we do know," interrupted Sokka bossily, "is that at some point it's going to rain again, and then the villagers are going to sit and pray to the Blue Spirit and the Painted Lady instead of building these custom-designed flood barriers on the mountain."

Zuko shuffled his feet. "I didn't really think about that."

"Zuko, I love you," said Sokka. "but in my humble opinion? No, you did not."

"I don't agree," began Katara, but Azula cut her off. "I do. I feel the same way Sokka does."

Zuko stared at her, like he was desperately trying not to ask: about what? But Azula was biting her lip and kind of looked like she was about to break into hives, so Sokka let her have this one.

"Here," he said, thrusting his plans into Katara's arms. "I support the fact that you guys got to do your dramatic spirit thing, but now please go back and give them my plans."

Azula brought two fingers up to her nose, showily. "And do take a bath, please. I doubt the villagers will appreciate your particular stench.”

5. the gaang plans a proposal

“...and that’s why you can’t trust General Yin, but you can use him to gain influence with Ambassador Xi and her supporters,” Azula finished, emphatically pointing at a few points on the elaborate web of papers tacked up on the wall of Sokka’s quarters. It’s not like he’s slept in there in years, anyway.

Zuko’s bed is much nicer. Because it has Zuko in it.

Sokka jotted down a few notes from Azula’s monologue, absentmindedly passing her their (stolen) bowl of noodles. He dropped his pen and rubbed his eyes. On to more important work. “So,” he said. “I’m proposing to Zuko. Wanna help?”

Azula met his eyes and stared him down. Sokka waggled his eyebrows, smile as big as his face.

“You’re serious,” she realized.

“Of course I am! It’s the biggest tactical challenge of the century, because Zuko is the most suspicious guy we know and he absolutely cannot suspect.” Sokka tossed her a scroll. It was long - and detailed. “What do you say?”

“With my help, this will be the best proposal ever made. Together, you and I are unbeatable!”

“Cool beans,” said Sokka. “Plan over breakfast tomorrow?”

-

Zuko stared at Katara. Katara stared at Zuko.

“Okay, so. I love your brother.”

“Obviously.”

Zuko shifted in his seat; his tea was untouched. “No, I mean. I really love your brother. He’s - the love of my life.”

Katara narrowly resisted the urge to say: if you love him so much, why don’t you marry him? Then, abruptly, she got the point.

“Are you asking for my blessing?”

“No,” said Zuko, and in response to Katara’s murderous glare, backtracked immediately. “Yes? I mean. I already asked Chief Hakoda.”

“Oh,” said Katara. Then, more gently, and possibly because she was worried Zuko might pass out, she asked, “What do you need my help with?”

“Planning,” he said, letting out a breath. “I want to propose and do it right, but Sokka’s the plan guy. Everyone knows that. And I thought, that since you know him, you could - “ He cuts himself off. “Forget it. It was a dumb idea anyway.”

Katara wills him to meet her eyes, because she is completely certain that they are actually sparkling. “Zuko,” she says, hand to her heart. “I would be honored.”

-

“Hello, Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe. Your boyfriend, Zuko, here. Well, you probably know me because of...all the time we spend together. You know, dates and other things. Like meetings - “

Sokka’s hand was suddenly on his forehead. “Zuko, babe, are you feeling all right?”

In short succession, Sokka examined his eyes, ears, and tongue, and took his pulse (ripping his robes open to do so). Zuko flushed, which just seemed to make Sokka more concerned.

“Sokka!” he growled. “I’m fine. Everything is fine. And also normal. Fine and normal.”

“Of course!” said Sokka, laughing a little maniacally. Maybe he was spending too much time with Azula. “Fine and normal. Why wouldn’t it be?” He laughed again.

“Uh, guys,” said Toph. “Are you two okay?”

Zuko blinked, and came back to himself. In front of him were ten to fifteen very important diplomats, and all of his best friends. He was in public, at dinner. And his robes were ripped wide open.

Sokka was suddenly jerked back in his chair, presumably by Azula. His eye twitched. “Nothing to see here, Toph! Look! I’ve finished my dinner!”

Toph frowned. “You haven’t, and I can tell when you’re lying.”

“Fine, I’m not hungry!” Sokka declared. “What are you, a cop?” His eye twitched again. “I have to go now, for unrelated reasons. To, uh, review some paperwork. Bye!”

He was gone so fast Zuko was pretty sure he left a little dust cloud behind. Toph looked nonplussed. “But,” she said, “I am a cop.”

Katara reached over to help Zuko straighten his robes, giving him a sympathetic look. He felt Suki’s glare from across the room. When he and Sokka had started dating she’d threatened to - quote - remove his entire spine from his body by way of his mouth if Zuko broke Sokka’s heart, and with the way Zuko was acting right now…he couldn’t blame her for being suspicious.

Katara followed his gaze. “Hey, Zuko,” she said, brightly. “Didn’t you have that - thing?”

“What thing?” said Zuko. Oh, god. He had forgotten something, hadn’t he? He -

Katara pinched his arm, hard. “You know. That thing. That you had to do in your chambers?”

He couldn’t lose face any more than he already had. “Of course, Katara,” he said. “I will go now to do that thing.” Zuko stood up and retreated with dignity, praying that whatever it was, he would remember when he got there.

The table was quiet in their absence. The diplomats - who seemed to be inured to this sort of thing - soon began chatting peacefully, or placating Aang, who had helpfully pulled out his usual marble trick.

Azula watched Katara steadily over the table; Katara refused to meet her eye. “What,” Katara said, finally. “Is there something on my face?”

Azula leaned forward, bangs shadowing her face. “Tell me everything you know.”

“About what?”

“You know what!” Azula snapped. “Is my brother planning to propose?”

Katara shifted in her seat. “Unlike you,” she began, haughtily, “I know when to retreat. So, fine. I will tell you some of the things I know.”

“Where,” Azula demanded, “and when?”

“Princess, Sparky,” Toph said, irritated. “Don’t you get it? It doesn’t matter whether you know, because those two dumbasses haven’t figured it out!”

This brought the table to a halt. Even Aang stopped his marble, because it was true: Sokka and Zuko might together be the force that had liberated Boiling Rock, but when it came to each other? That famed intellect went sailing out the window.

Katara deflated, laying her head on the table. “We’ve got our work cut out for us, don’t we?”

Azula reached out and, wonder of wonders, patted her arm with something close to sympathy. “Might as well get started.”

-

Zuko paced his chambers restlessly. What had he forgotten? Oh god, was it something related to the proposal? His hands flew to a fold in his robes, finding the necklace he’d engraved for Sokka - a smooth, deep blue leather band with a perfect moonstone pendant, which Zuko had engraved with a dragon and a wolf, nested together in a loving embrace. He sighed in relief.

Spirits, Zuko was so in love with him. He was desperately trying not to fuck up this proposal, but it seemed he was fucking up the not fucking up and -

He needed to take a walk and clear his head. He could almost hear his uncle sagely murmuring, “You rarely find answers in a crowded mind, Nephew.” Or something like that. Zuko made his way from his and Sokka’s room to the turtleduck pond. It seemed he was usually able to find answers there; it reminded him of his mom.

Approaching the pond, he saw a familiar figure sitting at the base of the cherry tree, already starting to bloom. Sokka seemed lost in thought, staring down at something in his lap, but jerked to attention once he heard the rustle of Zuko’s boots against the grass.

Zuko sat down next to his partner, nerves momentarily overshadowed by the sweet, peaceful movement of wind through the branches of the cherry tree and his abundant love for the man sitting next to him. Zuko reached up to brush a stray blossom from Sokka’s wolf tail, cradled his face to run a thumb over his cheekbone. “Hi,” Zuko murmured, gently pressing their foreheads together. “I’m sorry.”

Sokka pulled back slightly, face contorted in confusion. “For what? I’m the one that should be apologizing. Zuko, I -”

“Apologize? For what? I’m the one who acted like an absolute ass. Ugh, spirits, ‘Zuko here,’ what was I thinking,” He dropped Sokka’s gaze, his hands drifting towards his lap, getting painfully frustrated once again. “And then I just - I couldn’t - fuck!” Zuko was interrupted by Sokka’s hands grabbing his hips and pulling him onto Sokka’s lap, and by Sokka’s lips meeting his.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Sokka murmured in between tender kisses, and his lips were soft and warm and everything Zuko wanted right now and for the rest of his life, and if he had to keep this a secret anymore, Zuko thought he might literally die.

Zuko pulled away, just enough to look Sokka in the eyes. “Marry me,” Zuko breathed. “Please, Sokka. I love you so much, and I don’t know where I’d be without you, and I - I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Zuko only realized he was crying when Sokka ran his thumb under Zuko’s good eye, brushing away tears while Zuko fumbled in his robe for the necklace.

At the sight of the necklace, tears began to spill from Sokka’s eyes, too. “Zuko… it’s beautiful, I - yes. Zuko, yes.” Zuko released a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, and they were kissing again, and then all of a sudden, they weren’t, because Sokka, the absolute fucker, was laughing uncontrollably.

Zuko immediately began imagining worst-case scenarios. What if he didn’t mean it? What if the past five years with him have been some extremely elaborate prank, and -

Sokka, noticing his now-fiance’s abrupt silence, attempted to quash his laughter and held Zuko’s hands - still clutching the engagement necklace - in his own. “Zuko, love, hey, look at me. I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing because, well…” He pulled a small pouch from one of his pockets and opened it to reveal two delicately engraved golden bracelets, traditional Fire Nation engagement gifts. One held the image of a dragon; the other, a beautiful motif of waves crashing against a shore. They glinted warmly in the moonlight alongside the pendant of the engagement necklace. “I’m laughing because I had the same idea, I guess. I love you so much, and I want a life with you. Will you help me put this on?”

Zuko first let Sokka slide the bracelets over each of his wrists, then lifted his hands, shaking slightly, but steadied by Sokka’s warm touch, to clasp the necklace behind his neck. The tension bled out of Zuko, and he melted into Sokka, pushing him to the ground and kissing him senseless, from his mouth to the stone now resting at the base of his throat.

Sokka started laughing again, and Zuko joined in, overjoyed at the beauty and the absurdity of it all, at how lucky and in love he was.

6. the gaang commits arson

Librarian Hirai had been working at the royal palace since before Firelord Zuko had been crowned, going on forty years, now. His vast experience hadn’t prepared him for everything, certainly; the time with five Kyoshi warriors and a badgermole had been unprecedented, and he wasn’t sure he was going to lift the ban on platypus-bears in the palace anytime soon.

Hirai’s experience, however, had prepared him for this: the Fire Nation’s most formidable duo, Ambassador Sokka and Her Highness Azula, together, with access to children.

Hirai did not know the children’s names. He classified them solely on their capacity to irritate him; the only name he knew was that of the youngest, Tenzin, because the sweet child had never caused him any trouble. Naturally, Tenzin was to be found nowhere near this unholy gathering: instead, Hirai saw the bouncy one (liable to cause things to fall over), the Princess (insolent, with her fathers shamelessly wrapped around her finger), and the Teenager (arms always crossed, eyes forever rolling).

Her Highness Azula’s hand was alight with blue fire. To the courtyard and everyone within earshot, she was saying: “If you want to burn it, just go ahead. Everything important, your uncle or I have memorized.”

Hirai stopped listening, in an effort to avoid a coronary and possibly death. There was a protocol. Everything would be fine.

He moved methodically, double checking fire suppressant stations and tightening the seal on the vacuum chambers holding the oldest scrolls. He closed every entrance except the main one, and he stood guard outside of it.

This was not a long process; their royal Highnesses were still gathered like a storm cloud in the courtyard. A particularly loud storm cloud. Hirai had weathered storms before.

The ground rumbled, slightly. Republic City Chief of Police, Toph Beifong, emerged from it, and dusted herself off.

“You know,” she said conversationally, “arson is illegal. I can have you arrested for that.”

Hirai relaxed, infinitesimally. Beifong was known to be tough and fair; perhaps, after so many years, the spirits had thought to grant him an ally.

“So,” said Toph, rubbing her palms together. “Today, I’m going to teach you how not to get caught.”

It was interesting: Hirai had never before actually lent weight to the expression that one’s life could flash before their eyes. In that moment, swaying slightly where he stood, he was forced to concede that there might have been some truth to it after all.

He turned around, very calmly, and made his way to his desk. He groped vaguely for some parchment and ink, and in precise lettering dictated his resignation from the palace staff, effective immediately.

Somewhere out in the courtyard, their Highnesses’ Uncle Sokka and Aunt Azula high-fived.