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halcyone-of-the-sea · 1 year ago

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Im so happy your write for Hesh!!! Could I request Hesh and reader who was training to be a ballerina before ODIN and became a nurse because she wanting to help others? I love writing so much!!!!

Dancing With Scalpels

PAIRING: David 'Hesh' Walker x F!Reader

SYNOPSIS: It's strange, maybe you'll have to thank Hesh's dog for breaking his ankle - otherwise, you'd have never met him.

WORDCOUNT: 2.2k

WARNINGS: Broken bone, mentions of death, but mostly fluff

*I do not give others permission to translate and/or re-publish my works on this or any other platform*

You hum as you organize your desk, taking up papers in your hands and sliding them under the metal holder of your clipboard with a clack of material. The medical ward was slow today, and while that was a good thing, it left you with little to do besides paperwork and re-cleaning your space.

Glancing over your own handwriting as you carefully place the clipboard back down on your desk, you sigh and stretch your arms above your head. You listen to your bones crack before dropping them, eyes sliding around until they finally land on the picture, which sits on the tabletop like a silent reminder.

It’s been about five years since ODIN struck, since the world shifted and broke, but you still find it in yourself to look back on the past with fondness. The images of your troupe, all dressed up in flowy finery and posing in your pointe shoes, were a deep comfort to you.

Most of them were dead you knew, yet in that image, they still lived and breathed—had the sway of their feet and the grace of their arms to display to an awaiting crowd. Their smiles had never faded. As you stare at that picture, bodies trapped in time, you hear the stomp of booted feet coming in from your open door; ears perking and attention zapped away.

The soft smile on your lips disappears, a sheen of professionalism coming back like a curtain over a stage. You blink and latch onto the shadow of a man who limps slowly into the view of the opening. He’s about to pass by, a large grimace on his stubbled face, before you call to him.

“Sir?” Your feet take you out from the desk, quickly skirting around the chair before you’re about three feet from the tall individual. “Are you alright?”

The man is in his late twenties, burly and strong with wide shoulders and the tapered waist of an athletic build. He’s wearing recon gear atop a gray jacket, staps and guards interlocked like the fingers of lovers while he struggles to properly place his left foot on the floor.

Wisps of brown hair stick out from under a black beanie. It looks like he’d stopped at the armory first, coming here after dropping off his weapons.

The stranger’s green eyes blink at you, the tightness of hidden pain stuck in the lines near his pulled lips. His strong jaw works, pulling a nonchalant smile that looks more like a poorly done wince.

“Hey,” he clears his throat and has his hands clenched at his side. “Sorry about barging in, there any nurses available right now?”

“You’re looking at one,” you tilt your head to motion inside of your room, hand coming up to rest on the wooden frame of the door. “Do you need help walking?”

“Nah,” a wiry chuckle, gloved hand waving in dismissal. “I got here alright, I think a few more steps won't—”

His limp foot catches on his good one as he turns, and with a panicked widening of his gaze, the brunette stumbles as a sharp noise of alarm echoes. Your eyes widen. Before he can slam his face into the ground and create more problems, you dash forward and loop your arms around his waist, his gear digging into your scrubs. You grunt and take the full weight of him for a moment before the injured man snaps out a hand to the doorframe and quickly struggles back to his feet.

You stare and watch his cheeks go red, his eyes darting away with an embarrassed chuckle.

“Ah…sorry about that, Sweetheart.” You huff and cross your arms.

“Quite the show for ‘I think I’ll be just fine.’” A flash of a smirk goes across his square jaw.

“Well, maybe your beauty just made me lightheaded.” At your unimpressed stare, he shakes his head and questions, “That bad?”

“Very,” you joke, smiling and rolling your eyes. “C’mon, let’s get you looked at before you end up breaking your nose, Soldier.”

“Sounds like a plan, Ma’am.” You hook an arm around his waist and let him lean on you, his limb resting along the span of your shoulders and his injured leg weakly trying to help you along. Halfway to the examination table, he grunts out, “Name’s Hesh by the way—don’t think we’ve met before.”

You smile and say your name. “Transferred in from Dallas two weeks ago. Was told you needed more nurses here after a Federation attack near the Wall.”

“Then you were told correct, thanks for stepping up.” He’s set down with a huff and a grimace, his eyes swimming with annoyance at his leg. “Damn thing.”

You turn and wash your hands in the sink, slipping on sterile gloves as Hesh undoes his laces.

“Sorry for droppin’ in like this, I tried to play it off but I think it’s broken.” You look over your shoulder and tense—the pale skin of his ankle was a deep black and blue, and the foot was somewhat twisted to the side.

“Well, shit,” you curse and Hesh blinks up at you sheepishly, sending a stiff smile. “It’s good you came by when you did. What happened?”

The man’s hand goes to run over the back of his neck. He seems highly embarrassed about something.

“Ah, well,” he plays off a small twitch of his lips, “Riley, my K-9, he, uh…he managed to dart after a hostile before I could see him. Shoved me right to my ass and down a ravine in the process, actually.”

You have to put your wrist to your mouth to stifle a giggle, kneeling down to gently grab onto the affected limb.

Hesh takes in a tiny breath as you gently move the appendage, grumbling through a strained smile. “That funny, Doll?”

“Well,” you easily detail, “all I��ll say is that I’m sure it was something to see firsthand.”

“Tell that to Logan, my brother wouldn’t shut his mouth about it all while draggin’ me back. You try listenin’ to him while you’re half passed out—that was even worse than the pain.” You hum, chuckling.

This Hesh character was quite the casual talker, conversation with him came easily. You touch the skin of his ankle and quietly apologize when he hisses, noticing the swelling of flesh and sighing. Moving it from side to side and asking him if he’d broken his ankle before.

He answered in an affirmative—playing football in high school.

“Sorry to say this, but you’re right, Hesh, definitely broken. I don’t need to see an X-ray to know that.” He groans lowly. “Let’s get this all sorted and get you out of here, hm?”

There’s a long sigh.

“...Yes, Ma’am.”

Over the course of hours, you take various X-rays and scans, looking for the point of most contention and finding it in the form of a break in the lower tibia; it was clean, luckily for him. No bone shards or anything of that sort.

“I’m beggin’ to know if I need surgery, Sweetheart.” Green eyes lock with yours as you push him back into your office, the wheelchair squeaking under him. You smile gently at a few other nurses who pass—they nod back with a teasing smile at the man below you. “I’m on the edge of my seat, here.”

“I’m not the doctor, Hesh,” you chuckle, tilting your head. “I legally can’t tell you that.”

“Legally?” His brow raises. “C’mon, the world fell apart—there’s no Risk Management anymore.”

“Are you sure Riley didn’t intentionally push you over the edge of that ravine?” Your eyes narrow, a joke in your eye.

A slow smile grows on Hesh’s lips. “That hurt, Ma’am.”

You scoff and shake your head, wheeling him into the previous room and leaving him to go to the paperwork on your desk. Grabbing it, you open your top drawer and deposit it away for another time. Gliding up beside you, Hesh sighs and glances around as you tidy up.

His eyes find the framed picture on your desk.

“Whoa,” the brunette utters, locking onto your form in the middle of the group. You blink and look to the side, noticing his staring. Face going hot, you raise a brow in question. “That you?”

Hesh wheels slightly closer, leaning forward but respectfully not touching any of your things. You restrain a wide smile at his intrigue.

“Why else would I have a framed picture of ballerinas on my desk, Hesh? Of course, it’s me.” You pick up the frame and tilt it his way, resting your hip on the side of your desk as he takes it gently, delicate with your belongings. “Two years before ODIN—we were in Europe for a competition.”

“Shit,” he mutters, sliding you an awed glance. “You must be really good.”

“Was,” you laugh, shrugging. Hesh confusingly looks up while you explain the best you can. “It’s been so long, plus I gave it up when everything went down; went to get my qualifications to be a nurse and help out.” Hesh looks a bit sad at that, sneaking a glance back down at your bright smile in the picture.

“Looked like you loved it,” he commented, handing the frame back after a moment of thought. “I’m sorry.”

You’re slightly taken aback by the apology, oddly touched by his sudden seriousness about this. After a slow inhale, you hum. “It’s alright, Hesh. That’s just life—it’ll take us places even if we want to go or not. We just have to make the best of it.”

“You’re happy, though, Sweetheart,” he asks, eyes not faltering, “right?”

It’s not a feeling of uncertainty that makes you hesitate, it’s the way he asks you so genuinely; honest with his intentions. Rarely have you had people—soldier or civilian—come in here and speak to you like this. You stare with slightly-parted lips.

A bashful smile blooms on your lips.

“When I’m helping patients like you, Hesh, yes. Yes, I’m happy.” The man stares a moment longer before he clears his throat and glances down, contact broken; a crimson sheen infects his face.

“Good. That’s good.” Even if he’s not looking at you, a grin still twitches his lips; making your face go heated and warm with something else entirely. Hands stuttering over your frame, you put it down where it was and lick your lips, smiling at the tabletop.

When the doctor comes in, you let Hesh speak and pipe in with anything you needed to include, the air suddenly tinged with something between you and the soldier that you can’t put words to. It’s so potent even the doctor sends you a raised brow on the walk out. You avert your eyes and itch at your cheek.

“Least I’ll be able to get back out in the field quicker,” Hesh sighs, taking off his beanie for a moment before itching at the top of his head. “If I’d of had to go under, Logan would never let me hear the end of it.”

“You and your brother sound like you’re constantly nagging at each other,” you huff.

“Shit, what else are we good for?” The both of you share a laugh, eyes crinkling. There’s a moment of intimate silence before Hesh splays his hands and speaks.

“I’m gettin’ a splint, then?” You internally curse yourself as Hesh’s lids narrow on you, head tilting with a deep smirk. The trance is broken.

“Until the swelling goes down,” your head nods, fingers motioning to his ankle. “Then a cast for twelve to sixteen weeks.”

“Hm,” Hesh looks away and thins his lips, seriousness slipping back into his expression.

Staring, you ask carefully, concerned, “Hesh?”

“No,” he shakes his head, the smirk coming back as if it never left, “No, it’s just that’s a long time to not be able to take you out, is all.”

Your face blanks, heart all but stopping in your chest. The man watches you closely, slowly slipping his beanie back on his head with an innocent smile.

“Too forward?”

“N-no,” you stutter, face heating to an alarming degree. “No, I think that one was just right.”

Shaking your head quickly you brush down your top and listen to Hesh’s bright chuckles as you gather your bearings. It’s after you sigh and look back into those greens that you laugh and utter, “I think I’d be willing to wait.”

“Oh, yeah?” Your face can’t stop smiling at the teasing tilt to his words. “Now, I’d hate to make you sit around that long, Sweetheart.” “Hesh, I’m agreeing to go out on a date with you, take it or leave it,” you huff in exasperation, staring at him with a loose expression.

His eyes lighten, the stain of happiness leaking through.

“You proud of yourself?”

Hesh looks smug, but promptly states, “Didn’t think I’d get this far, if I’m bein’ honest.”

You press a hand to your mouth to stifle your loud laugh.

As promised, fifteen months later, there’s a knock on your office door—you stand and think nothing, opening the barrier only to find a large bouquet of flowers and the man holding them up to you.

Your face softens and Hesh returns a warm hum of greeting.

“Hope you’ll forgive me for bein’ late, Doll,” his eyes crinkle. “Was learnin’ how to dance. C’mon, I got some moves to show off—we’ll get you back in those pointe shoes in no time.”

TAGS:

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#cod #cod x reader #cod x you #call of duty #cod ghosts x reader #cod ghosts #call of duty ghosts #call of duty x you #x female reader #cod fanfiction #hesh walker x female reader #hesh walker x reader #david hesh walker #hesh walker #david walker #call of duty x reader #cod x female reader #x fem!reader

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divine-misfortune · 8 months ago

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What about Phantom and Mountian kissing as encouragement 👀

They say pacing is a good way to clear your head, at least Phantom was pretty sure he heard someone say it once. That someone was starting to feel like a real big fucking liar though. He had been pacing the length of the dressing room for an hour, maybe two, and his head was still horribly loud. Bees swarming in his skull, stinging his brain, he was this close to giving himself a little zap of quintessence to enter into a short coma to escape it.

Sound check had been nothing short of nightmarish on his end. Too many notes played sharp and riffs fumbled to be excused. Papa had even shot him a look - not exactly what you'd call a dirty look but one that still knotted up his stomach. Rain had even fixed him with something akin to a scowl, or maybe the sun was in his eyes.

Phantom just couldn't get off that stage fast enough, and the dread of being forced back onto it in a matter of hours nearly made him sick.

In an effort to maintain his grip on sanity, he'd started pacing and pacing got him nowhere. Phantom wanted to curl in on himself instead. The old leather couch in the corner was the perfect place in his opinion. The well loved cushion was easy to sink into, some sort of embrace to mend his frayed nerves. It almost barely helped.

Knees drawn up to his chest, arms folded, face hidden in them, he felt small. Fragile. Dead weight.

"Bug?"

Phantom's fingers dug into his biceps and he sniffled, blinking away tears he did not care to admit to. The best response he could manage was a weak hum, tuneless and a little unsteadier than he'd like.

"You're not dressed yet," Mountain was frowning. His voice always got a little softer when he frowned. "Whats going on?"

He shrugged. Lying, he knew exactly what the issue was and so did Mountain.

The couch dipped beside him and a large hand settled on his back. Slow circular motions between his shoulder blades that had Phantom unraveling. It shouldn't have been so easy but Mountain made everything seem so simple.

"Rough day, huh sprout?"

"Yeah..." he croaked sadly and lifted his head enough to rest his chin on his arms. "Do I have to do this?"

"Well, technically no but we're gonna sound like shit without you."

"Probably have a better chance without me tripping around up there."

Mountain shifted in his peripheral before slipping an arm around him, pulling the little ghoul against his chest without a fight. Phantom wanted to be there anyhow. Closest thing to safety he had in that little room. He wrapped both arms around his middle and clutched at Mountain's vest. Hiding against him tamed the swarm in his head, quieted the worst of the turmoil.

"You need to be more patient with yourself."

"Easier said than done."

"I know, I know. Despite what the gray hairs might lead you to believe I was new to this too once." Phantom snorted and let out a shuddered breath that wracked his delicate frame. "Could tell you a thousand stories about my bad days on tour, and you're gonna collect quite a few of your own but they'll get easier to shrug off."

Phantom held tighter and Mountain embraced him the same. Squished him like it might just squeeze the doubt out of the little quint. It didn't, of course, but it did get a laugh out of him. Weak but genuine.

"Lemme see that pretty face, I wanna make it better."

There was a moment of hesitation to unlatch from the earth ghoul but he did inevitably, rewarded by those familiar warm eyes. Mountain's mouth quirked upwards at the edges and he cupped his face in both hands. All he wanted to do was melt into them, trusting him to keep him upright.

Mountain leaned in and caught his lips before they could quiver with the threat of another little cry again. One little peck, followed by another, and another. Cautiously paced with every kiss, deepening slowly until Phantom was boneless between his hands. This always seemed to go to his head, could damn near restart his brain just by kissing him - and that was the point.

And Mountain gave him one more before breaking away before all he had was a puddle of a ghoul left. Squishing his flushed cheeks, he gave an exaggerated mwah just as he sat back to admire his work. Phantom's eyes were half lidded, fluttering delicately as he registered the absence of Mountain’s mouth against his.

"Give yourself a little grace, you've more than earned it. Some days are just gonna be bad...But I promise to always try to kiss the blues away."

"...Think I'm still feeling a little blue, can you try again?" Phantom asked quietly, tugging at his vest hopefully.

"Only after you get dressed. I'll ward off aaaaaall those sad feelings till we're called to places once you do. Deal?"

"Deal."

#writing #void writing #answered #nameless ghouls #phantom ghoul #mountain ghoul #mountain/phantom #mountain x phantom #the band ghost #ghost the band #the band ghost ficlet

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fantasies-fairytales-n-fics · 1 year ago

Text

Thranduil and Josie Pt. 161- Cat Scratch Fever

Summary: A black cat crosses Josie's path bringing more bad luck to the Dorwinion castle. Narcisse is off kilter. Charles and Francis unite but not in agreement over their mother. Mary feels deep guilt of her knowledge. Francis gets under Josie's skin. She and Lola speak more about Narcisse's past. A cut won't heal. Bash has a scary story to tell. Josie panics over a possible resurrection.

*Chapter Warnings* language, angst, censored gif, sexual references, murder mentions

Chapter characters: Josie, Narcisse, Charles, Francis, Mary, Lola, Bash

Chapter word count: 8,447

Stories Stories Stories Masterlist

When you got to Stephane's chambers, all was quiet after you knocked well over three times and called to him. Odd it seemed, considering the guard had told you Narcisse said it was urgent, so now you became concerned.

"Stephane?!" you loudly called to him one more time and wriggled the locked door handle.

Suddenly, you saw a shadow moving rapidly pacing about under the door and heard Stephane's charcoal gray magical Maine Coon cat Merlin, crying and clawing at the door. The crying swiftly then turned into a low emitted growl as if something were frightening him.

"Merlin sweety? What's wrong?" you asked as you bent down and placed your fingers under the door so you could scratch his chin, but he wanted no part of it. Instead, he began to hiss.

Something was wrong. Merlin was no "pussy" per se. In fact, he was quite the bad ass like all cats believed they were, so the scaredy cat persona was completely out of character for the long locked beauty of a beast.

"Alright honey. I'm coming in." you warned and gave the door handle an electric zap with a single twirl of your finger.

The latch made a loud click and then you cautiously pushed the creaking door open.

"MROWWW!!!" Merlin screeched and sped out of the room so fast, you almost tripped over him.

The room was dimly lit with all the curtains closed and on the sofa laid a sprawled out sleeping Stephane with one hand clutching an empty goblet over his stomach and the other hand grazing the floor with dried blood all over it.

Gasping, you quickly made your way to him, finding yourself crunching over a broken and bloodied shards of a mirror upon the floor. Kneeling down beside him, your widened eyes studied his chest to make sure he was breathing, which he was but it had a low raspy sound to it that reminded you of a....tiger's growl?? and he reeked of whiskey. Believing he was just snoring and intoxicated, you studied him over some more, especially his injured hand as you gently picked it up by his wrist so that you wouldn't shock him.

Angling his hand about to assess it, you noticed his gold ring, the one he always fidgeted with when he was anxious or lying. You had never paid much attention to the details of the ring before but now you could see it bore two gemstones, side by side as one piece that reminded you of the yin and yang symbol, for one stone was a black onyx and the other was a white moonstone. You knew that yin was of darkness and yang was of light. Could that be what the ring symbolized?

Moving your eyes on to his knuckles, they were all tore up so it was apparent that he had punched the mirror, but why was the question? Your hunch was the combination of the booze and his anger at you stemming from Haldir's spontaneous lip lock that he witnessed and possibly even something to do with Catherine's eldest son making an unannounced arrival that Stephane had clearly been upset about.

In that moment, Stephane had been dreaming. It was the day you first came to Dorwinion and he found you his red clover field searching for Haldir's gifted dreamcatcher you had dropped in the colossal cluster. At least he thought it was you as he viewed your long wavy scarlet strands from behind. Upon the woman's turning around, he found himself uttering the same words of shock that exited his lips that day and it wasn't the only shock he got.

"It is....you."

"Here kitty kitty kitty. Miss me? I've sure missed you. It's time to wake up once again, just as I had awoken the beast once before." Caroline cackled, forming her wicked grin and then clutched his hand, sending a burning jolt of juice through him, much like the one you and he experienced that day when your hands touched.

Feeling bad about his hand, you softly laid your hand over his wounds to heal him and in doing so, the electric current that you and he shared when your hands touched, shot right through both of you, startling him awake. But it wasn't Narcisse that you awakened.

Towering over your cowered body as you laid upon the floor in sheer terror, was a snarling and salivating beastly black panther with razor fangs as white as pearls and eyes that burned of the sun...and gusting from his roaring lungs was a fiery breath not of peppermint, but of black pepper.

"AHHH CHOOO!" you uncontrollably sneezed, spraying out a mist of sparkling silver water droplets into the ferocious feline's face.

He roared in pain and swung his paws in a frenzy at his eyes, giving you enough time to run and hide behind Stephane's liquor bar to try and rationally think of what to do, for this colossal cat was Narcisse and you didn't want to hurt him with your magic if you didn't have to, although it seemed you accidentally already had.

You were planted in a panic against the wooden bar, holding as still as you could as your frantic eyes scoured the darkness for movement and your ears searched for sound. Surely the beast would find you by sniffing you out, especially now that you noticed the palm of your hand had been scratched by the creature's claws and was bleeding. What in the hell was happening?? You knew nothing of his shapeshifting power. How the fuck did Narcisse transform into a giant fucking black cat before your very eyes and WHY?????

Your shallow breaths ceased as you heard grunting and groaning and then all went quiet again. As you prepared to counter attack in the least harmful way possible, you were grabbed by the arm and swiftly pulled to your feet by a sweating Stephane.

"Are you alright Jo???" he panted, steadying himself on the bar as you gaped at him in a frightful confusion.

"I...I...uh...umm...yes. I..think I should be asking YOU that??"

Narcisse glanced around, seemingly disoriented. "I...I don't feel so well."

He began to lean and fall, but you caught him and assisted him back to the sofa.

"What...what did you do to me??" he groaned and plopped onto his back, rubbing his eyes similarly to how the elephantine ebony cat had done.

"I...I don't..know?? I..I didn't mean to do anything. Lie still. I'll get you a wet rag soaked in healing water."

You cleaned your hand in the water which seemed to have ceased the bleeding, then quickly came back and sat beside him, forcing his rebelling hands away by his wrists in order not to shock him again and then laid the cool cloth over his inflamed eyes.

Narcisse made a frown as he licked his lips. "Silverbane. I can taste it. You sprayed me with fucking silverbane."

"W..what? I..how? and...I thought you were immune to poison??"

"Well apparently I am not to yours which you seem to have as a built in defense mechanism. I really wish you'd get your magical shit together Jo." he blindly griped with gritted teeth as he held the rag firmly over his eyes.

"But...even I can be hurt by Silverbane?? So how do I...oh wait..." you gasped. "It's just like Garrett. He can be hurt by fire, but yet he has fire power inside of him....and at Lestat's...I....I almost forgot....I had somehow conjured up Silverbane from thin air and blew it at my mother when she had almost depleted all of Garrett's blood."

"And yet once again, we are back to the vicious vampire." Stephane snarled as he snapped the rag to the floor with a huff and sat up.

He was somewhat right, you supposed. There you were, referencing Garrett after what you could describe as a cruel and vicious vision he sent you only moments earlier in your chambers. Even so, what you recalled was all still very relevant which would never matter to Stephane.

"You speak to me about being vicious after I just watched you turn into a very large vicious cat???? No wonder Merlin hightailed his ass out of here. Even he was afraid....and...so were you, for my safety. I can only assume that this is what was so urgent? What the hell is going on Stephane???"

"What's going on is that I'm a bit incapacitated at the moment which you seemed to have forgotten." he defensively deflected in which you immediately pointed out.

"Stop deflecting. Here. Let me heal you and...."

"No! Do not touch me Jo. A bath in the healing waters will do just fine." Narcisse barked as he abruptly scooted away from your extended hand.

"Ok, then at least let me help you."

"I'm perfectly capable of taking a bath...alone. Don't you have some place better to be? Like say...Mirkwood?"

Narcisse rose and headed for his bar to pour another drink, for his nerves were now unbearable after what had happened.

You flung to your feet and followed him. "YOU asked me to come here to your room...and now you want me to leave...and...for good?? What, kicking Haldir out wasn't pleasurable enough for you??? You want me to travel with my child when Harker is stalking all of us???" you reeled with stinging wet eyes.

Stephane's eyes refrained from yours as he knocked his drink back and poured another. Of course he didn't want you to go but his pride wasn't about to let you know that.

"Oh it was quite pleasurable to send the Lorien sprite packing. You have Legolas now since I see I now have more unwanted guests in my castle. He will keep you and Leean safe on your travels."

Narcisse turned without so much of a glance at you and walked to the other side of the sitting room with you once again following.

"You heartless son of a bitch! Have you forgotten why I am even here???! I need that book to stop Jareth!!"

An angry tear jetted down your cheek as you sharply blinked from Stephane's aggressive advance into your face.

"Heartless??!!!!! After ALL I have done for you and your company! All of the kindness I have offered you that I have never given to anyone else! Sleeping in my bed right after I confessed I was in love with you and I even pathetically allowed myself to shed tears at your feet over the fear of losing you. You also allowed me to love that little girl. YOU are the one who has forgotten! ALL you care about are the elves and that fucking vampire. You played me well Josephine. Beat me at my own past games of using someone for pleasures of the flesh. I can see I was right when I had once told you that you were a worthy opponent because no other has ever possessed the ability to make me feel less than I was and I can see no possible means of recovery from it. But I guess I have no one to blame except myself for letting my defenses down and letting you in, allowing you to see me bare in more ways than just my skin. Do you remember when I told you that?? That if you and I were to dive into those waters, that is what you would see? But the thing is...you don't see me! And you never will. I will never make that mistake again. I opened my heart to you. I told you things I would never tell a single soul. I threw you the grandest of birthday parties to make you feel better and because you hadn't had one since you were a child. I risked my life and men for you! I have even saved you from yourself! And for what?? To watch you kiss both Haldir and Garrett. Maybe, instead of standing here tearing my own self worth to shreds, I need to realize that I am not less just because I was much more than your inexperienced little hands could handle."

"Please...please stop Stephane. This was never about who you are. I know I hurt you and I am so very sorry, but I swear I never used you. I genuinely care for you, ALL of you and appreciate all you have done for me and Leann, or I would already be running after what I had just witnessed. I don't want to lose you too. Why can't we just please sit down and talk about this...really talk and listen and stop trying to hurt each other?? Let me try to fix this."

Narcisse knew that he had already scraped the bottom of the barrel with all he had just said and now he knew he must go even lower. You just weren't safe with him anymore.

"Because I have come to see it is no longer worth it. You...are not worth it and never were. It IS very much about who I am. It's about who everyone is because no one is your precious King or even Garrett, for they are all you speak of. No one else is good enough for you. I will not let you have me without the madness that makes me. If our demons cannot dance, neither can we." he growled with cold eyes and walked away again.

This time you did not follow, but stood there with a gaping mouth as many tears now fell.

Pouring himself more of the liquid courage to help him proceed in ripping both of your hearts out some more in order to push you away, Stephane drank it down, hesitating to turn and face you, for he could feel your tears and to see it would break him, so he remained a coward and faced the bar, then reluctantly began to continue on about Catherine.

"I called you here to inform you in person about Catherine so you wouldn't be blindsided by her release. Is that what a heartless person would do?"

"Catherine's....re...lease??" you stammered. "Wh...why on earth would you do such a thing????"

"I do believe that is none of your business. My castle, my rules and it's about time people start respecting that. I told you what you needed to know, now what you need to do is pack up your daughter and go back home with Legolas after this night."

"Are...are you insane??? Not only is Harker out there but so are Jareth's orcs! They attacked Legolas and Aragorn and almost killed the man who is travelling with them!"

"Insane? I have been called much worse, although I am sure many would be inclined to agree with you. Now, you can take your opinion and run along. I have a much needed bath awaiting before entertaining the enemies."

Narcisse gulped down the last of his bottle, then grabbed a robe and stormed out of the room, leaving you not only reeling at his lack of giving a shit but also wondering where he was even going since his bath was right there in his chambers, so once again, you followed him.

The room you entered consisted of a sizeable stone pool surrounded by dim candlelight and the air scented of floral fragrance, for upon the opaque water floated multiple flower petals. Pink roses if you were to guess.

Stephane stared at you with a scowl and undressed right before your stunned eyes, then scoffed when you promptly turned away upon the removal of his leather pants.

"As if you have never viewed my cock before. Why are you still here??" he griped as he yanked his ring off, then threw that and his robe to the floor.

The Yin and Yang gemstone clanked it's way to your feet. Keeping your back to the very nude Narcisse, you snatched it up.

"Oh stop with the infantile theatrics for once. You know why I'm here. You don't get to drop a bomb on me like that about Catherine and just walk away. I demand to know why you would set her free!!"

You trembled as you could feel him creeping up behind you. It wasn't because you feared him but because of how intimidated you were by his bare form. Not only had you laid your eyes upon the splendid sight of sculpted beauty a few times before, but you had also laid your body on it as well, so why were you so damn nervous??

"YOU will demand nothing of me." he snarled into your ear as he reached around you and swiftly snatched the ring right back out of your hand, but not fast enough to avoid the electrifying current. Gasping in unison with you, Narcisse quickly made his way into the vat of sparkling liquid and sat down to conceal his waxing wood, for the shock had greatly aroused him.

Slowly, you turned to face him once you heard the slosh of his descent beneath the water.

"Well then, I guess Catherine being on the loose is the lesser of two evils with what else has been released!"

"Alright, I'll bite. What do you mean?" he firmly asked while sitting stiffer than the stiffness below him.

"It's what I have been trying to tell you and why I need to find Ashmole. Jareth has done it. He has risen the dead, just like that psychic woman told me at my party or...I should say, like Peter told me in that vision I saw of him and now...he will come for me! I cannot leave here Stephane! Or you would be handing me right to him."

"And just how is it that you know this?"

"How do you not?? You know he has the three page spell to do it, no thanks to my mind altered father and just before I came to you today, I...I had another vision. It was...it was the vampire Kate. I saw her, with a head and all and...with Garrett. My visions are just like my dreams, both of the present and future and they are increasing and if I saw Kate, then many more are out there somewhere, waiting for something, something that I fear will change our lives forever. I fear a war is coming for the winter solstice. An army of the dead. I feel it. Even Legolas senses something sinister in the air."

Narcisse's bright blues gaped at the water in realization that your words were true. Jareth was the reason Rahl had resurrected and in that moment, he saw his denounced dark half reflecting back at him in the ripples, clawing at his soul to fully emerge from the grave...a box bound by 7 iron chains buried deep inside of Stephane's mind where he had cast him out to, but he could feel the chains breaking, one by one as if it were the rapture.

"Ahhh, I see now. That is what has your panties all in a bunch. Once again, it is because of Garrett. You're jealous."

"W...what??? What the hell is wrong with you??!! THAT is all you can speak of after what I just told you?? Not to mention AGAIN that you are releasing Catherine and having some party tonight as if Harker and the dead are not upon us! Oh, and there's the fact that you shapeshifted into a wild cat larger than Blaze! Seriously, what is happening? WHO are you and what have you done with Stephane???"

Stephane's expression was sullen and his gaze soulless, much like the soulless orbs of the animal that preyed upon you moments earlier. A soulless animal he once told you he was not and his words were as icy and cold as his dilated blues.

"The man you speak of no longer exists."

As you stood frozen by his words, he rose from the water. It was a shimmering sight that you now could not remove your eyes from no matter how hard you tried, almost as if magic were being used upon you, breaching your shield.

Narcisse slowly approached you in a most tantalizing manner, the water dripping and glistening over every inch of his masculine form as if he had been slathered in baby oil as his cock gave you it's undivided and full attention.

"I'm a monster. Refume by unfortunate events and given breath by necessity."

You took a staggering step back, unable to breathe. Unable to break the animal magnetism radiating between your bodies until his pupils glowed of the sun once more, followed by a low emitted growl that vibrated through his adam's apple.

Gasping, you stumbled back and found yourself racing out the door and down the hall, constantly glancing behind you, expecting to once again see the melanistic monster with paws measuring the size of both your hands combined, charging after you, but instead, you ran smack dab into Charles as you turned the corner.

"My lady?!! You...you look a fright." the young warlock exclaimed as his arms clutched tightly around your waist.

"I..." you panted and swung your head around to see an empty quiet hall behind you. "I...oh gosh. Well now I am just embarrassed." you softly said as you released Charles while a handful of people he had been speaking with, all stared at you.

"I was just...in a hurry...that's all. I apologize for my clumsiness." you explained, glancing behind you once more.

"Are you sure that is all it is? It would seem as if you believed something were...chasing you?"

His eyes were concerned and confused and you had to wonder if Charles knew of his father's "condition", but you certainly were not going to ask in front of the all the eyes still upon you.

"Oh no, no. I just need to go refresh for this evening's gathering, so I...I will just be on my way now. I'll see you then."

You awkwardly smiled and quickly resumed your path but once you came to the end of the hall, Francis and Mary rounded the corner. As the King and Queen of Lake Town passed you, Francis had slowed his pace to lock his baby blues with yours once again. He also offered you a slight head bow and a subtle smile, then continued on his way to call out to his half brother Charles.

Out of curiosity, you stood by the exit to watch as Charles turned with a sizeable smile.

"Francis." he raved and gave a hand swaying bow to the golden haired King.

Francis skipped the formal greeting altogether and went straight to embrace his little brother as Mary kept her distance and watched as well.

You knew nothing really about Francis but from what you could see, he truly cared for Charles and vice versa.

The two stood and conversed, but not loud enough for you to hear, so after a moment, you turned to leave, only to be startled by Mary.

"Oh..my!" you halted and gasped as your hand planted onto your chest.

"Oh dear, my apologies. Forgive me. I did not mean to frighten you. I am Mary. And you are Queen Josephine of Mirkwood?"

"Y..yes...I.."

"I am sorry we did not have the chance to meet when you and your King were in Lake Town. My King and I were away on business. Luckily I suppose, considering the dragon's destruction. I would like to thank you for your aid in ridding of the foul creature and I...I offer you my...condolences over King Thranduil."

"Thank you." you simply and softly replied as your eyes fell.

Her eyes fell too as she fidgeted with her clasped fingers that laid upon the beaded bodice of her golden gown, that from the waist down, looked as if a thousand ducks had been plucked to assemble it. The girl was most likely no older than you with long waves of dark chocolate hair coordinating with her coffee hues and in them was a pool of true sorrow. Mary knew of the breath that Thranduil still took and may have been aiding her own King in Narcisse's blackmailing, but she was far from content with it. She did it only for the happiness of Francis so his mother could be free, even when she herself knew what Catherine was, for the two always clashed. No one was good enough for Catherine's son, whom Mary deeply loved. And because of that love, she couldn't even imagine what you must be going through.

"A...penny for your thoughts?" you asked the suddenly distant girl who you just realized probably did not even know what a penny was. "Oh...sorry. It's just...modern day currency where I'm from."

Mary's rosy lipped smile grew wide as she giggled. "Oh, I know what it is. My late father-in-law was the greediest man in all of middle earth. He traveled far and wide and had quite the colossal collection of riches, even pennies, which he had mounds of."

Well, that explained to you why Peter ended up there in his search for you and bought the emerald pendant from the abhorrent Alfrid just before Thranduil had captured him. If anyone was a greedy bastard, it was piggish Peter.

"I just...I feel terrible for what you have been through. Word travels far." she continued, then smiled again. "I'll take my penny now."

"Well." you smiled back. "If I come across one again, I will give it to you."

"That would be nice. I know they are not worth much, but to be gifted one from a beautiful Queen would be quite the treasure. It is nice to meet you Josephine. I hope we will see more of each other. I better tend to my husband. He and Charles seem to be in a disagreement of sorts."

You smiled and turned to see and hear the two young men quarreling and you knew exactly what it pertained to. Catherine being released, for Charles was greatly opposed to it and it was quite apparent that Charles had the better head upon his youthful shoulders when it came to her true colors.

"Just ask Josie! She'll tell you!" Charles shouted and motioned for you to come over.

"I do not need to hear her side, for it is not her decision." Francis firmly stated.

"And it is yours?? This is not your castle. It is my father's!"

"And he has agreed to free her. She is our mother Charles. She will not be treated like an animal! Why on earth would you side with the man who destroyed our family??"

Charles scoffed at his brother and quickly turned to you, where you stood hiding slightly behind Mary.

"Is this true?? Did my father agree to release her???" he asked in desperation.

"I...Charles...I'm..sorry. He...has and.."

"Unbelievable!" he snapped and spun back to Francis. "She coerced our sister into using black magic to kill a King vampire, which could have brought a war to our lands that we would surely lose and she also forced her into helping to poison a Lorien elf! And now our sister faces being banished from here with a newborn child!"

"Claude is a grown woman and made her own choices. She was not forced. She will be better off away from here anyways and to return with me to Lake Town, our home Charles! Where you should be as well."

"THIS is my home. I will go nowhere with you, nor will my sister!! You're as mad as our mother! I am going to go have words with my father!"

Charles stormed past you, but you grasped his arm. "Charles, no! I...umm, Narcisse...he's...he's in a bad way at the moment and I would not advise a confrontation. Trust me...please." you pleaded with worried but stern eyes which Charles seemed to understand.

He stiffened up straight and sighed as he lifted his chin to glare at Francis.

"I don't know what you have done to my father, but know this. This is far from over...brother."

Your heart was racing as Charles marched off, for you were praying he would heed your warning about Narcisse. Charles may have been merely 19 years old, but he was hot headed and certainly no push over, just like his father.

Francis turned to you with a smile, showing no sign of shame or regret over the dispute. It was as if it had not even happened.

"My lady. We have not been properly introduced. I am King Francis of Lake Town and I am honored to be in the presence of such beauty."

The audacious blonde bowed down, then took your hand and kissed it right on front of Mary, making you feel terribly awkward and bad for her.

You gently and politely as possible, slipped your hand out of his and forced a smile, when really, all you wanted to do was slap him.

"I...I am Josephine."

"Oh I know exactly who you are. A queen as well. It is such a shame to hear about your King. I suppose now I will have to confer with Legolas for our trades. Or maybe...I shall speak with you instead? I would greatly prefer that. Maybe over some dinner and wine?"

The words going through your mind at that moment were far from queen like. The nerve of this jackass...oh god, Josie, calm down. Breathe. You glanced at Mary, who remained silent with her head hung low, fidgeting again with her hands.

"It is King Legolas and he would be the one to speak business with is usually not discussed over dinner and wine."

The look in his blue eyes told you he was turned on by the way you shut him down.

"We can always skip the business then and just enjoy each other's company. In the meantime, I'll let you ponder on that. Mary...come. I must go see my mother now."

Francis walked off, not even waiting for Mary, so you quickly stopped her.

"I...I am so sorry for that. Please know, I..I would never..."

She softly smiled and took your hand. "It is alright. You are not his first conquest and certainly will not be his last. I..I must go."

As you watched her catch up to Francis, you wondered the same thing that Charles had asked...how did he get Narcisse to free Catherine? Off you then went as well, for you needed to speak to Lola about Stephane's past once more.

Lola was rocking Leean's cradle and singing softly to her when you arrived and you noticed her tears before she quickly turned away to wipe them.

"Lola?? Is everything alright?"

"Oh yes." she proclaimed as she turned with a smile. "Don't mind me. I was just thinking of my mother after we had spoke of her earlier. She used to sing to me and Leean really likes it. Even more so when you do it."

"I am so sorry Lola. I never meant to upset you. I...I miss my mother too. Well, the one I used to know as a child wearing rose colored glasses. Lola, I don't mean to change the subject but...when we spoke of Narcisse earlier, you said there was a time when he was different? Could you elaborate a little more on that because...something is very wrong with him. It's like....it's like there are two of him."

"Yes, that is kind of how he was from what my mother told me. Not kind at all and he dressed much differently. Robes and such, mostly of a scarlet red. Longer hair, dark as coal and his scent was different as well...kind of like..."

"Pepper??" you abruptly interrupted.

"Y...yes? I believe so."

You paced about for a moment in deep thought, fidgeting with your own hand, for it was itching something awful, then you stopped to look at her.

"You're certain it was Narcisse and not a...twin? I know you said before that you did not believe him to have any other brother but Bash, but you were just a child. It's just that... he told me something once that is not adding up now."

"I suppose I cannot be certain. I never saw or knew the Narcisse my mother described and he..."

"He what?" you asked when Lola had paused in thought.

"Well, he...he went by some other name too, I...suppose there could be a twin? If so, he surely never speaks of him. There's only one other person that would most likely know. His brother...Bash."

"Was the name...Lord Rahl??"

"I...yes. Yes, that sounds right. I think it was?"

That is where you would head next, to Bash, for now you were worried that if there was an evil dark twin like Stephane had told you there was, was he the one you had just encountered?? Had he done something with the real Narcisse and taken his place?? Because Lola confirmed the scent of pepper and that is exactly what you smelled. Although Stephane told you that he killed Rahl, it was certainly possible he was brought back by Jareth. OR...were Narcisse and Rahl the same entity? Holy shit.

"Lola..I...I have to go. I..I will see you and Leean tonight for the dinner party and I want you both to stay at Legolas' side. I will find him and send him back here to get you."

As you turned to go refresh, Lola gasped.

"Josie?? Your hand...it's bleeding!"

You also gasped as your eyes gaped at the blood trickling down your fingers.

"Owww, god." you groaned as you quickly squeezed a cloth into your fist, then sat down, for you suddenly felt dizzy and overheated.

"What happened?" Lola asked as she promptly brought you a pitcher of healing water, then sat beside you to help clean the wound.

Not wanting to tell her the whole story just yet until you spoke to Bash, you decided to fib...just a little.

"I..uh...broke a mirror earlier and...cut my hand when I was cleaning it up."

Lola pried open your clenched fist and removed the cloth.

"Oh my. Josie, that's pretty deep and looks...possibly infected."

It did. The gash was slightly blackened around the edges and it burned, and strangely, even more so when Lola patted it with the water soaked cloth.

"Mmmmph." you flinched. "I'm sure it will be fine after I soak it for awhile."

"Maybe you should have the healers look at it? You...you seem a bit pale."

If only Thranduil were here, you thought as tears stung your eyes. He would heal you right up with one touch of his soft magical hand.

"I'm alright. The sight of blood has always made me feel queasy."

The dizziness seemed to have passed, so you took the pitcher into the wash room and filled the sink basin, then held your breath as you submersed your hand. Five seconds was all you could withstand before you had to abruptly withdraw.

"Jesus!" you cringed and then noticed a sizzling effect on the cut of both sight and sound.

"It's like it's fucking holy water. I should be asking YOU Narcisse or whomever you are, what YOU did to me??" you complained under your breath while you angrily wrapped and secured a clean dry cloth around your hand.

"Lola, if Leggy comes back while I'm gone, tell him I went to speak to Bash and that I will be back soon. We can all go to the dinner together. Keep this door locked until then. it is to only be opened for myself or Legolas. If Narcisse happens to show up, you tell him, through the door, that I am not here and that Leean is sleeping so he'll go away."

"Through...the door? Josie...what is going...."

You were out the door and rushing down the hall before she could finish. One way or another, you had to find out the truth because it now seemed that danger not only lurked outside of the castle walls, but still remained inside of them as well.

"Bash!" you loudly whispered against his chamber door as you briskly tapped upon it. "I need to speak to you again. It's urgent."

"It's open." he called to you.

Upon your swift entry, you found Sebastian leaning against the wall by the open balcony doors, looking as if he had seen a ghost. Had he?

"Bash?? Is something wro...."

You froze solid as you came into view of the dead blackbirds scattered about the terrace floor. Slowly, you walked past him with wide eyes to get a better look, praying one of them was not your Freddy, the ridiculous name Garrett had given your crow over his Scooby Doo fetish.

As you visually searched through the feathered carcasses, you soon sighed heavily in relief because they were all too small to be your faithful friend.

"Bash...w..what caused this??"

"Mayhem and death. Birds fall from the sky when evil witches like him are near."

"Him?? Are you speaking of Harker?"

You had only known Bash for merely 2 months, but in that short time, you could tell he was a warlock warrior who feared nothing, not even Harker who had almost killed him...but in that moment, he looked absolutely terrified. And he was, for he had all the answers you sought and although it was a secret to have never escaped his lips, Bash knew this time, he had to tell you and later face the consequences.

"No...my..brother."

"Narcisse...did this?"

"Rahl." he simply stated with a horrified stare into your eyes.

"So....Narcisse does have a twin." you whispered as you clutched your burning hand. "Bash...I...he told me he was dead but...I think this Rahl was one of the many Jareth has conjured back from the dead with that spell and I think he has done something with Stephane!!"

"Twin? There is no twin. My brother Stephane and Rahl are very much one and the same." Bash verified and then glanced at the dead birds. "The only difference is that everything Stephane is, Rahl is the opposite of."

You had to sit down. You knew this was a possibility, but to have it be validated was overwhelming. Stephane had what you would know as...D.I.D. Dissociative Identity Disorder, otherwise known as a split personality or an alter...but who was the true identity? At least now you knew Stephane wasn't being held captive somewhere...or dead.

"So...he...he lied to me..."

"Wouldn't you? Lie about it? It's not something he is proud of, nor did he want it. Rahl has done evil things, like Harker and Jareth. Some he recalls, some he does not and Stephane is ashamed and certainly would not want you of all people to know, in fear of what you would think of him. My brother was never perfect. He had his own bad side when he was crossed. You've seen it. He punishes the evil, but he is not a cold blooded killer like Rahl."

"I...I suppose I understand that, for I was able to talk him out of doing some horrible things and I don't feel I would have succeeded if he did not have goodness in him. I..I'm just trying to process all of this. Referring to one body by two different names. I know it's a real thing, I just have never encountered it."

"Rahl is his second given name, after our father. Our father, who I believed caused the split by making him do despicable things as an adolescent. Stephane wanted to be good...of light. Not dark like our father, but our father expected more from him, being the oldest and he placed a very heavy weight on him to follow in his footsteps and that's exactly what Rahl did."

"He...he told me Rahl had your father killed, by that man Stephane fought and killed in the gambling tournament to the death."

"Yes, but it didn't quite go as planned. That man, Theodore, was his good friend whom he met because of Catherine. He was her husband, King Henry's brother. Rahl tricked Theodore by morphing into Stephane's image and offered him a very large sum of money to kill our father. He was full of greed just like Theo, so he knew he could get him to do it and not have to get his own hands dirty, possibly due to his subconscious, which I think was Stephane trying to fight him. But that quickly changed. Before Theo arrived that night, an argument revealed the our father had killed our mother and despite his blackened heart, Rahl loved our mother, so he killed our father first. Stephane didn't remember it right away. I think the trauma caused the memory lapse and when he did recall the events years later, that's when he set out to kill Theodore and end Rahl himself. As I said, our father did terrible things and made him do the same, but to Stephane, he was still our father whom he did everything to please....and he hated himself for what he had done, although sometimes I wonder if Stephane possibly wanted our father dead too. It would be a lie if I said I did not have similar feelings. I still stood by my brother though, because I knew of the things our father made him do. I tried to help him but I could never get through to him. There was nothing I could do. Rahl was too strong and powerful, even more so than Stephane. I never blamed Stephane for the things he had done. It wasn't his fault. I believed his hand was forced and his mind was ill."

"And he did all this for the crown? Stephane said his father didn't want Rahl to have it."

"He did at one time, but that was before he noticed the new change in him, the good side, the real Stephane, the one before our father's dark influence consumed him at a young age, altering his mind and that's when things went sour. Two others knew about his condition. One being your father Julian who tried to help him. That book you seek, the one Julian has hidden, it has the spell to lock the alter away in his mind and it also has the power to release him. Your father banished Rahl before he hid the book away to keep it out of Jareth's and other evil one's hands....including your mother's....because your mother, Caroline, who was the other with the knowledge of my brother's illness...she's the reason our father was killed."

"Wait...w..wh..what????"

"When Julian took Ashmole from his mother Jadis to undo Jareth's death, Caroline got her hands on it temporarily. When your father unknowingly slept with her twin Carrie, she punished all who knew and kept it from her and that included my brother. She brought the darkness of Rahl out of Stephane to a diabolical head... in a way no one had ever seen and hence, Darken Rahl was born. More wicked than our father could perceive. More wicked than he. Our father believed he would destroy all he had built and he denied him his right to the throne, so Rahl chose to take it, which is why Stephane has never called himself a King. In Rahl's short years of reign, even then he strangely was addressed as Lord Rahl, for again, I believe Stephane was somewhere inside of him, very much aware."

"God...my mother, even dead, still destroys people's lives. I've always known there are many things I don't know about that she's done and I'm sure this is only a fraction of it and...."

It just hit you. Something that you should have realized long before.

"Oh dear god Bash."

He tilted his head and stepped towards you with questioning furrowed brows.

"My lady?"

"My mother! What if Jareth....could he have brought her back as well?? And could she have awoken Rahl again?? She wouldn't need the book, for I am certain she would remember the spell...or...or did Jareth wake him up???"

"I suppose either or both are possible, but I hope for your sake, your mother was not one of the resurrected. I have never met her but her wicked reputation certainly precedes her in all of middle earth."

"Damn it. Why did my father have to go back for those pages?? Harker would never have gotten his hands on them if it weren't for that and my father would not have been converted to darkness. So now, what do we do about all of this without the book?? Because if you know about Rahl, then surely you must know about his animal form, the fucking gigantic jaguar I encountered earlier."

"You saw that?? That means....he is closer to surfacing than I realized."

"I not only saw it, I was scratched and it burns like hell. I tried the healing water, but it intensified the burn." you explained as you held your bandaged and trembling hand out.

Bash tried to hide his growing concern as he took your hand to look it over, but the light tremors in his fingers told on him.

"The water won't help it. It's like adding fuel to the fire. His claws are poisonous and his bite is venomous, both like no other. As I said, Rahl and Stephane are opposites even if they share the same body. Rahl propels poison, Stephane repels it. The Rahl that Stephane created is not the Rahl your mother conjured in the past and the one brought forth now will only be 3 times worse. It's like a pain scale of mild, moderate and severe."

"Third time is definitely not a charm. So what is it going to do to me?? And how do I get rid of it...and is that even possible?? Stephane, he repels poison yes, well, except mine for some reason, possibly because it was not him I cast the silverbane upon??...and his peppermint scent...it heals poison. He healed me from the dark forest and from wolfbane, so can he not heal me??"

"The question is...will he? Unless you can get Stephane to resurface, there is not much time before you will suffer vivid hallucinations and pain, and your powers will be completely useless. You will also be at Rahl's mercy. You will need Delphine, a witch doctor, for she has the only known antidote. She resides near the city. After the party tonight, I will go and try to locate her. She doesn't trust anyone but me."

"Stephane...he...he was still himself...right after he shifted back and realized what happened and what he had done. He was extremely worried for me...but then...his personality quickly began to change and when I last saw him, well...he was definitely not himself."

"The rapid change...It's because of the shift. After the cat appears, he is all Darken Rahl."

"It's my fault. I...I accidentally brought the beast out by shocking him...god...I need Garrett!! He can heal me, I know it. BUT...he is off doing who knows what with his former mate that Jareth revived. Bash, you must be very careful. Her shock is far worse than mine and let's not forget Harker and what he has already done to you. And I know Aragorn, Bard and Gimli went looking for Haldir, but please, if you see him, tell him I'm so sorry and that I miss him."

"I will...Josie...It's not your fault. You couldn't have possibly known. I will find Delphine and I will even be on the lookout for Garrett and the newly remodeled Kate. I will tell him you need him. I do not fear her nor Harker. Stay close to Legolas this evening and I will keep my eye on my brother. You should go now, before he finds you in here again."

After you left, you went back to your room to find a note from Lola on the vanity stating she, Legolas and Leean went to the dining hall to wait for you and that Boromir was anxious to speak with you. You had forgotten all about him and that he had come all the way there to inform you of something quite urgent, almost dying in the process.

You then went to the dresser to find some lace gloves to conceal your hand and as you did so, you caught your reflection in the mirror. Tears instantly formed at the mess you had become. Not on the outside, but the inside. It was a moment when you had felt more alone than you ever had.

You had to turn away, for you feared you would see Garrett again and you didn't need to be reminded, as if you'd ever forget, that he abandoned you and chose to be with a demon summoned from hell. All you had now were Leggy and Lola. All were gone, even Narcisse...even your letter to Thranduil that mysteriously vanished and you really wanted to read it again to feel close to him.

You sat on the bed, lost in the thought of your King, for he is all you truly wanted...and that's when the full blown tears came.

"Thranduil?? My love.." you squeaked. "I...I don't feel you anymore and I'm scared. I'm so scared and I'm lost and...I'm in trouble and I...I just need you...please...somehow, please come back to me...please my King, come ba...."

You loudly gasped and sprung to your feet and your heart paused and dove into your gut when you realized something else. Something horrifying, yet miraculous. Something even you wanted to do once.

Your words then came flooding out of you, choking away your air.

"Oh my god...could Jareth have done it?? Is...Thranduil alive too????"

@redeemer46

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briskalishous · 5 months ago

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You guys, my brain took like from April (I think) to finish this piece. I don't remember the inspiration making this, but it's part of the redesign I'm doing for a fanfic and just in general fun fluffyness becuz this fandom gets too sad sometimes. This was supposed to be done some time ago, but mental health got in the way and also the fact I didn't like the initial final sketch, so I started over, took me some time. And bruh if that wasnt enough, the app I'm using also kept corrupting or losing sketches so I don't have everything together to show the process. But anything is better than nothing. Also, please don't mind the shading, I'm still figuring out light placement and layering, especially on mobile.

Anyways, here's the final product!

I saw some funny sketches of Alastor being carried all the time so I made a funny headcannon that he likes to be picked up or is indifferent to it, just as long the hand and body placement is appropriate with certain people (others that are close have more leniency). I don't really have a story here but I like to say that this trio hug happened becuz it's one of those once in a blue moon family get together where Husk and Alastor aren't in a powerplay and are actually enjoying each other company with Niffty being a small adorable grandma making sure her boys are okay and slightly disturbed/amused by her antics and stories.

With Husk, I kept him somewhat true to his character design, just changed outfits and details on his persona like his symbols, marks, and colors. These symbols will be emphasized in another fanart I'm cooking up. I also placed "brands" that symbolize his deal and ownership status with Alastor. These brands, instead of being actually branded on his person, are branded on any piece of clothing he wears as long as they are visible (shirt, pants, hats, etc). One is on his collar shirt, which equals to Alastor and another on his wraps on his feet of his own Overlord status. In my rewrite, I have it that in order for Husk to maintain his deal of keeping his power is to keep running his business of gambling but with restriction. I have a lot more to write about this, but I'm saving it for his redesign posts in my redesign series. Also, a funny lil hat on the side becuz it's part of his getup that got knocked over in the hug session.

With Niffty, I was going to keep her the same, just some extra bug detail to her person, but I scrapped it off. Instead, I have her as a hybrid of a poodle dog and bug. She and Alastor have a bumpy first introduction becuz of her dog hybrid side, but eventually, they worked it out in a weird, chaotic coworker/roommate relationship. More on that on her redesign post soon. She also has a brand of Alastor’s ownership over her on her apron. She doesn't have much on her appearance but her personality and chaotic mindset makes up for it :3 She's the same crazy lil lady, but with some common sense and sort of old lady behavior from her.

With Alastor, I changed his hair from my redesign, but I think I'm still going to change it with every drawing I do, so it's not permanent. He also has a brand, just not visible, unlike Husk and Niffty. This isn't from his choice of wanting to hide that he's owned but from his owner that nothing should be given away from his disappearance to not ruin his mission. However, there's still that hidden joke that every time Alastor walks, he will feel that brand on his hoof so that no matter where he goes, he is reminded of where he stands. He doesn't look gray here like in his redesign due to the lighting, but I like to say that it will probably change to another headcannon. For instance, depending on how 'human' he feels at the moment, his features and skin color will change. When he's not all powered up and feels at peace, he's more soft and human looking despite his reputation and animal characteristics. But when's he's powered up or is threatened, then his 'humanity' is zapped away, turning his look more demonic/inhuman/alien. I'm still playing with this headcannon, so I may scrap or add on to this.

That's all I have to say for this piece other than I'm proud of the coloring and how soft this looks :D

Here's the process that I could find:

This is from the old sketch. I also had it colored it out and in process of shading but it got eaten by the app so yeah :')

Here is the final process! I changed the positions, the wings and tail, and redid Niffty's design.

#alastor #fanart #hazbin hotel #hazbin alastor #headcanon #redesign #hazbin husk #hazbin niffty #fluff #fucked up family dynamic here but itll be explored #silly goofy mood #this made me smile

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problematicbots · 21 days ago

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Winged Sentinel Au Snippet 10: Alone

Jetfire, with a metal collar around his neck, runs across the training grounds that have been turned into a gray maze with large walls touching the metal ceiling overhead that blocked any chances of flying away without any deathly crash.

Jetstorm was following right behind him with a similar collar around his neck as they both dodged into separate corners barely avoiding multiple giant lasers coming from the wall behind them.

Ever since Sentinel was suspended as sub-commander, nothing has been the same; Alpha Trion got rid of all the updates Sentinel made to the training grounds in favor of this labyrinth filled with deadly puzzles that the twins have solved and escape from as their final test To prove themselves worthy of official Elite guard status.

Alpha Trion wasn't even there to guide them through the maze; instead, he watched safely from overhead cameras and spoke through a speaker every time they failed.

“Wrong answer, you failed 2 times in a row another failure and room you stood upon shall crash upon itself taking you with it” announced Alpha Trion “You got 30 minutes to solve the next puzzle before the lasers activated once again”

With that, the floor between them begins to rise, creating a wall with a countdown monitor separating the twins.

“Jetfire!” Screamed Jetstorm, trying to reach his brother but was cut off by the wall, nearly cutting his faceplate.

“Jetstorm! “ Screamed Jetfire slamming his servos against the wall with angry tears in his optics

In an attempt to reunite with his brother, Jetfire turned his servo into a blaster and was about to fire at the wall to burn it down when.

ZAP!

The collar around his neck zapped him, causing his blaster to retract and for him to fall to his knees in pain.

“No weapons allowed, plenty: your time has been cut down to 5 minutes. Solve that next puzzle ahead soon, “ announced Alpha Trion over the speaker coldly as the numbers on the monitor changed from 30 minutes down to five minutes.

Jetfire bit on his glossa to hold back from yelping in pain however angry tears still fell down his faceplate this wasn't fair first he lost Sentinel and now he was separate from his brother: he never felt so alone before

“Jetstorm,i-I’ll find you, I promise..I'll find you, “ cried Jetfire over the wall, hoping his brother could hear him.

However, Jetstorm didn't respond, whether it was because he couldn't hear him or..he was offline, Jetfire didn't want to know it would be too much for his spark to handle, so with a heavy sigh, he passed and followed to the next puzzle while the countdown monitor slowly ticked down.

The puzzle that Jetstorm approached was a black panel floor that expanded across most of the area. At the end of the puzzle was a locked door that seemed to be the exit and in front of the puzzle was a simple sign that simply said: Make the floor brown to leave.

Determined to get his brother back, Jetfire begins leaping on top of the different panels on the floor jumping across each one without thinking twice.

When he turned, he landed on the last panel. He turned around expecting the panel he previously jumped upon to turn brown, only to widen his optics in surprise to find that half of the panels had turned yellow while the other half was purple.

So he decided to try again, leaping across each panel only to get a similar result. This time, it was blue and orange.

This frustrated and panicked him since he could tell he was running out of time as the numbers on the monitor softly shifted from five minutes to two minutes each time he was unable to turn this damn floor brown.

“Come on, come turn brown!” shouted Jetfire, beginning to slam against the panels with sevros in frustration. “I just want my brother back! I just wanted Sentinel back I just wanted-”

Jetfire cut himself off with tears as he curled up into a ball watching the panels flash different colors in front of him when he felt like he was about to give up and just..let Alpha Trion win..he realized something half of the panels turned the opposite color of the other half of the panels if he could change the panels to dark green and dark red.. he could make brown.

So, with that plan on his hard drive, he was able to get back on his feet and begin leaping on top of each panel. This time, he paid attention to the colors below him, making sure he did this right.

The numbers on the monitor tricked down to one minute as Jetfire landed on the last panel making the floor half dark green and half dark red.

CLICK

The door at the end of the puzzle unlocked and opened wide, making Jetfire optics light up his hope; however, his spark dropped when he realized the monitor was still ticking down: he needed to get out of there and fast.

“I’m coming, Jetstorm,” cried Jetfire, dashing towards the door that led him into a long white hallway that he kept running through as everything dimmed around him in darkness.

________________________________________

Jetstorm found himself in a similar position as Jetfire in front of the same puzzle, but instead of immediately jumping on each panel like his brother, he carefully slowly tapped each panel with servos while on his knees, but just like his brother, he ran into the same frustration of the colors never turning brown.

“Come, I'm doing anything right, isn't I?” questioned Jetstorm, sniffing in desperation as his tapping became faster with each second until he couldn't take it anymore, feeling like this was all his fault for never speaking up until recently, and just like his brother. He slammed servos against the panels creating a flash of colors.

This makes him realize that half of the panels turn the opposite colors of the other half of the panels, and if he wanted to get out of there, he needed to turn the floor into the two colors that make the color brown.

However, his current strategy wasn't going to work as he turned his helm over to the ticking countdown monitor, which was nearing one minute.

If he wanted to get out of there, he needed to be fast, so with a sigh, he got up on his feet and began running across the panels as fast as he could while making sure all the colors were right.

When he hit the last panel, he heard a loud click, and he turned his helm to find the previously locked door at the end of the puzzle now wide open.

With the countdown monitor still ticking down, Jetstorm ran towards the door that took him towards a long white hallway where he kept on running.

Eventually, he found himself entering a white room with a passageway across from him, another passageway to the right side of the room, and a garbage chute tucked in the left corner.

As soon as he stepped farther into the room the collar popped off his neck and he heard footsteps coming from the passageway so he quickly took his blaster ready to blow a windstorm at what he believed to be another challenge only for his optics to widen in joy at who step out of the shadows of the passageway.

“Jetfire!” squealed Jetstorm retracting his blaster and running towards his brother with open arms.

“Jetstorm” Squealed Jetfire with the collar popping off his neck as he ran towards his brother with happy tears in his optics.

The twins pulled each other into a giant tight hug, never wanting to let go of each other since they both, for a moment, thought they lost their closest family for good.

However, their moment was interrupted by a light clapping sound. They turned this helm around to find it was no other than Alpha Trion stepping out of the passageway on the right. However, his faceplate was anything other than proud. There was a clear underline of anger there.

“Impressive you solved my maze, but unfortunately to the rest of Cybertron you shall never be Autobots and will always be Abominations” spoked Alpha Trion with hate spilling from his voice

Jetfire and Jetstorm step away from Alpha Trion as he approaches and they start draggers at the old mech however their anger quickly turns into fear as they watch Alpha Trion’s body begin to transform into his monstrous vehicle mode yet an ancient steamed machine that was mixed of a owl body, the cannons of a tank and the wheels of a steam engine.

“Abominations I must eradicate for the better Cybertron future “ hissed the old mech before shooting a blast at the twins

_______________________________________

Inside of old rusty oil house Jazz sat down at a bar counter with a glass of untouched oil by his side looking down at the messy drawing of Jetfire, Jetstorm, and Sentinel in regret: what has he done, in his attempts to avoid confrontation he ends up screwing up everything instead of earning everyone respect…he lost the respect of a friend.

He wondered what could have been if he hadn't been so short-sighted and if he could have seen the bigger picture instead of letting all those harmful judgments from others get inside of his hard drive.

He placed down the messy drawing on the counter table and picked up his untouched glass of oil.

For a moment, He stared at the reflection of himself on the glass where he could no longer see a cool head bot that could go with the float but instead.. an ignorant coward who couldn't even stand up for himself.

“I’m such an idiot,” muttered Jazz, putting the glass of oil back down and taking off his shades with one servo placing them on the counter table, revealing his blue teary optics before covering his glossa with the same servos as he let out multiple sobs.

This caught the attention of a familiar red Cybertronian who was wearing a purple party on his helm: it was Cliffjumper who approached Jazz with concern across his faceplate as he sat next to the white mech.

“Jazz, By the all spark, what in Cybertron happens to you?” asked Cliffjumper.

Jazz turned his helm over to Cliffjumper, a bit hesitant to open up at first. However, all of this guilt overwhelmed him that he needed to speak to someone, so he removed his servo from his mouth to speak.

“i-I messed up, Cliffjumper,” choked Jazz “I want to gain everyone's respect, but..I ended up losing a friend, and I-I don't know what to do”.

Cliffjumper was still concerned for Jazz; however, the red mech couldn't help but narrow his optics at the white mech.

“May I ask, why should you care what others think of you? They aren't worth it at all, especially if they talk nonsense,” questioned Cliffjumper, hardly yet still in concern. “What you should care about is getting that friendship back. “

Jazz was a bit taken aback by Cliffjumper's nonsense attitude, but at the same time, he felt like he needed it, although doubt came crawling back from his hard drive.

“Well, I guess you're right, but what if…you know he doesn't forgive me? “ muttered Jazz under his breath. “Maybe…just should stay here “

“Oh, get your helm out of your aft, Jazz; this isn't about forgiveness. It's about doing the right thing no matter what,t, “ replied Cliffjumper, crossing his arms in almost disappointment.

Cliffjumper was right; Jazz was done with letting his fear control him: it was time to do the right thing regardless of what everyone else thought. He didn't care if he lost everyone's respect or had to pick a side in a conflict to do so since he had seen the consequences of what happened..this time, he was on Sentinel's side, but for real.

“you’re right in gotta make things right, “ spoked Jazz, picking up the messy drawing from the corner table, storing it safely in his glove compartment, and getting up from his chair, although he couldn't help but ask one thing before he left.

“Oh, What with that party hat?” Jazz couldn't help but ask as he was a foot out of the door.

“Oh yeah apparently Rodimus throws a party for anybody who gets a promotion” answered Cliffjumper “It's a little bit weird but I guess it's not as weird as that blue cube that felt like it had spark beat that Longarms gave me”

Jazz froze at Cliffjumper’s words: did he just say that a cube felt like it was a spark? Beat that was impossible unless..that cube was a Cybertronian..no. No, Longarms wouldn't do that.. would he..but then again, there was a feeling in his spark that told him to check Longarm's office.

“But then again, this is the same sicko who exposed a death femme journal that got Sentinel fired, so I can't really be surprised anymore,” continued Cliffjumper.

He did what?! Ok, that was it; Jazz needed to check his office since something was up.

“Thank you for anything, Cliffjumper, but I got to go, “ yelped Jazz before officially leaving the house oil in a bolt as he transformed into his vehicle mode, not realizing he left his shades behind on the counter.

Jazz kept driving as fast as he could toward Fort Maximus, transforming back to his robot mode as soon he reached inside and progressed to running until he reached Longarms’s office. He slowly opened the door, peering his optics through the open frame.

Jazz’s optics widened in shock when he spotted Longarms transforming into some kind of dark purple Cybertronian that had one thing on his chest plate that sent fear into Jazz's spark: a Decepticon logo on it.

This was, of course, no other than Shockwave and Jazz watching in fear as the Decepticon poured poison into a glass of oil that he was holding.

Jazz immediately connected the dots in front of him: this con was going to poison Ultra Magnus, frame somebody for it, and take the title of Magnus so he could hand Cybertion to Megatron

No, Not on Jazz's watch this time. He wasn't going to run away, so he kicked down the door to enter the room and threw his Nunchucks, hitting the poisoned Enegon out of Decepticon servo, causing him to turn his helm over to Jazz.

“I won't recommend that with your enegon, con” spoked Jazz firmly as his nunchucks came back to his sevro like a boomerang.

Jazz expected the Decepticon to growl or hiss at his remake, but no, instead, Shockwave just let out a deep sigh like he was expecting this.

“... let's just get this over with,” exhaled Shockwave before lunging towards Jazz as the cyber ninja spun his nunchucks.

_____________________________________

Sentinel screeched and fell out of the passageway towards a large pile of garbage. He quickly tried to transform into vehicle mode; unfortunately, it was far too late as his faceplate crashed against all the empty and deposed cans of oils.

Damn it, was this his life now crushing into disgusting garbage piles? It was probably the most humiliating thing he had ever done in his life since he was covered from helm to aft in filth.

Whatever, he had no time to rant on how disgusting this was; he was on a mission, so with a brief “ew,” He got up on his feet before brushing himself off

He scanned around the area to find himself inside some kind of indoor landfill that was the shape of a spiral and had different passageways upon the walls; they were all spilling out garbage onto the ground.

Each was seen to be connected to many different garbage chutes of Fort Maximus; Sentinel could tell since different symbols above each passageway implied this.

Bingo. Find the symbol for the training grounds, and Sentinel will be home-free.

So the prime begins walking around looking for a symbol for training grounds, which he assumes to be a weapon. Unfortunately, all the symbols are different types of weapons.

“Scrap, whose bright idea was to make every symbol weapon related “ complained Sentinel to himself.

Sentinel was about to just choose at random when he bumped into something that made gurgling noises.. that almost sounded like a voice.

What the.. wait he recognized that voice...no way.

He looked down to find there was a blue familiar cube in front of him that was whimpering and grumbling.

No way.. right? That would be insane unless…

Sentinel put his servos under the cube and began turning around the cube slowly to different angles, only to widen his optics in horror to find Blurr’s faceplate there; Sentinel was so taken aback that he screeched a bit and almost dropped Blurr in shock but luckily caught him before he could hit the ground.

“What the!-” Yelped Sentinel not believing his optics. “Blurr, what the scrap happened to you!”

Blurr tried to respond, but unfortunately, his glossa was covered by his arm, and he was unable to move it away.

Ok, this wasn't going to work, so Sentinel scanned around the area to find anything to..uncube Blurr. Was that the right term?

Whatever. Sentinel didn't really care as keep scanning and walked around the area until he spotted two crawls popping out of the ground that were gently unfolding cube-like objects.

Bingo

“Huh, this might feel a little bit weird, “ warned Sentinel before giving Blurr to the claws on the ground.

Sentinel watched in somewhat surprise and horror as the claws unfolded Blurr from his cube back into his robot, from where he screamed a bit in pain before falling in a daze from the claws, yet Sentinel quickly caught him in his arms before he could hit against the ground.

Blurr's body was mostly covered in large dents and his left optics was completely gone, replaced with a large scar across his faceplate. It's almost a miracle that he is still alive as he pants heavily against Sentinel before finally speaking.

“Ok, 1, thank the all spark you found me, I thought I’d be stuck down here ever “ gasped Blurr slowly as he gripped Sentinel's shoulders,” and 2…. I’m pretty sure Longarms is the real Spy because he tried to kill me for bringing up Decepticon samples.”

“What!” Yelped Sentinel, almost now believing it until remembering that Coghead exposed him by using Elita's Journal “Wait a minute, that would explain why that scum exposed a.. heavily personal piece of information; he wanted to get me out the way!”

Sentinel couldn't believe this. All this time, he was chasing down Warp when Longarm was the real con that needed to be behind bars. That slippy snake was going to pay for all of this and Sentinel was going to make sure of it.

“Ha, just when you thought you could trust somebody…they just throw you in the trash like you’re nothing..” nervously laughed Blurr with a look of sadness on his faceplate. “I'm not sure if I can trust anybody anymore. “

Sentinel could relate a bit: After all, he has a major argument with Jazz. Longarm exposes Elita’s Journal, and worst of all, his commander reads that said Journal along with possibly the whole Autobot council.

“Pft, tell about it, “ huffed Sentinel, pulling away from Blurr to cross his arms and let out a heavy sigh.

“I guess we got something in common then “ nervously laughed Blurr again clutching his arm with his servo “Aside from being stuck on this..dump “

“Eh guess we do and worst of all I can't find that scrapping passageway to the training grounds to get out of here because of these fragging symbols, I mean it could be that one for all I know “ huffed Sentinel as he pulled away from Blurr and a point at a random passway that had a hammer symbol on it.

The mention of symbols caught Blurr's interest immediately as turn his helm over to where Sentinel was pointing to take a closer look.

“Wait a second, that the passway leads straight to Ultra Magnus's first office when he first took charge many cycles ago when he was still somewhat young, “ spoked Blurr with a look of recognition across his faceplate.

Sentinel stared at Blurr in surprise: that was a very ultra-specific detail that usually most cybertronians wouldn't remember at all.

“Wait, how do you know you know that, “ asked Sentinel, both confused and genuinely impressed.

“Oh huh, I took a brief historical class on symbols during my Academy days“ replied Blurr.

What do you know, History of all things might be the only thing to get them out of this situation and for them to stop Longarms.

“Blurr for the sake of Cybertron, do you know which one these passways lead the training grounds” yelped Sentinel grabbing both of Blurr's shoulders “So we get rid of that con scumbag once and for all”

Blurr looked a bit unsure at first; however, after scanning all the symbols on the right for a bit, he got a boost of confidence.

“You know what I think I can” smiled Blurr a bit before scanning the symbols on the left “It's that one, the spear was the first weapon forged on the grounds during the early days of the wars”

Blurr pointed over at the passageway that was on the very top on the left side of one of the many walls that have heights that were unreachable to most Cybertronians but not to Sentinel: he was a jet so quickly pulled away from Blurr and transformed into his vehicle mode.

“Wow impressive” gasped Blurr with his optics widening in wonder at Sentinel's jet form checking it out at every angle

“We, what are you waiting for? Get on. We got a planet to save, “ shouted Sentinel, so hyper-forced on finding the twins and kicking Longarm’s aft that he didn't even suck in the praise as he would usually do.

“Ok, I guess we're doing this now,” shrugged Blurr before jumping on top of Sentinel's vehicle mode, handing on top his wings. “Let's get out here”

Sentinel flew upwards towards the passway at lighting speed never stopping once

He kept flying upwards until…

SLAM

He slammed through a metal lid of a garbage chute, popping it off onto the floor, and landed down into a white room where he transformed back into his robot mode, landing on the ground as Blurr quickly jumped off him.

Sentinel left his helm in horror at what he saw in front of him: Jetfire and Jetstorm, heavily injured, back against a wall while crying as some kind of monstrous machine aimed a blaster at the two and shot a blue blast heading toward them.

Sentinel couldn't stand there with his tailpipe stuck in between his legs; he knew he needed to do something. NOW

“NOOOO! Screamed Sentinel, jumping in front of the twins without a second thought as he pulled out his shield to block the blast.

Blurr watched in astonishment as Sentinel primed with all the strength in spark; he was able to turn his tiny shield bigger than his whole body and used it to reflect the blast at the monstrous machine, knocking it against a wall in the haste of dusk, rubble, and debris.

Sentinel took a deep breath and turned around towards Jetfire and Jetstorm, who widened their optics in pure joy seeing Sentinel again.

“Jetfire, Jetstorm!” shouted Sentinel running towards the twins in nothing other than pure concern

“Sentinel! “ squealed Jetfire and Jetstorm with tears in their optics running towards their primes with open arms.

To Sentinel’s astonishment, the twins leaped at him and wrapped their arms around him; for an instant, he stood there at a loss at what to do; however, slowly, although a little hesitant, he found himself hugging them back.

“Don't you two dare scare me like that ever again!“ scowled and yet cried Sentinel at the same time holding the two close, never wanting to let go of them.

“We won't, sir,” sniffed Jetstorm and Jetfire in happy tears.

However, their happy reunion didn't last long since Blurr spotted a red helm popping out of the rubbles of the wall from where that monstrous machine crashed, so he quickly stepped in front of the three jets' protective stand.

“Everyone stay back; that thing is coming back! “ warned Blurr, putting his fists up, ready for battle.

Sentinel immediately took Blurr's warning seriously as he reluctantly quickly pulled out the hug and ushered the twins behind him for their safety before pulling out his shield along with his lance.

Sentinel and Blurr widened their optics in surprise to find that it was Alpha Trio pulling himself out of the rubble, looking feral and furious: he was that monstrous machine and it seemed like he was about to make his next attack.

#winged sentinel au #aka Blurr joined the team yay!#tfa fanfiction #transformers animated #tfa sentinel prime #transformers maccadam #tfa jazz #tfa alpha trion #tfa jetfire #tfa jetstorm #tfa blurr #tfa cliffjumper

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kiljoius-writes · 1 year ago

Text

Sun Rising

Ao3 Link

Pairing: Minato Namikaze/Kushina Uzumaki

Summary: Kushina Uzumaki is alone in the world.

A classroom full of bug-eyed kids stare at her and she stares back. She has to wonder if this village has no concept of color. Her eyes flicker to the only bright thing in the room: obnoxious, spiky, blond hair. Not even blond, just straight up yellow. This boy is actually too bright, if you ask her.

It's a lonely world for a jinchūriki, especially a foreign one with wild red hair and a temper.

For motroshell, part of the 2023 Fest no Jutsu. Prompt: Uzumaki Kushina does make it to Hokage and fulfils her childhood dream. Minato has been supporting her every step of the way. How did it happen?

Kushina Uzumaki is alone in the world.

That became overwhelmingly evident when a Konoha jōnin swept her from her home at the tender age of 9.

She remembers begging her grandmother to come with her.

“Don’t make me go alone! Grandma, I don’t want to leave you!”

Life is unfair and that was simply a fact that she got to learn early in her life.

Lucky her.

Kushina Uzumaki is alone in the world.

A classroom full of bug-eyed kids stare at her and she stares back. There’s a lot of black- and brown-haired and eyed children here. All dull pastels with their boring gray and tan jackets and fatigues. They look at her like she’s the alien, but she can’t possibly be. They’re the ones who look like they crawled out from a cave with zero sunshine and no concept of color. At least she has a reason for wearing pale yellow and brown: it compliments her hair!

Her eyes flicker to the only bright thing in the room: obnoxious, spiky, blond hair. Not even blond, just straight up yellow. This boy is actually too bright, if you ask her. His eyes are startlingly blue, his jacket is a crisp white, the only dark thing about him are the blue of his fatigues. Those electrifying blue eyes are locked on her and she feels a shiver up her spine, immediately averts her eyes to the rest of the class.

She inhales deeply.

“I’m Kushina Uzumaki y’know!”

Embarrassment seeps out of her at the way her voice sounds. She hasn’t spoken much in the last few weeks during her travel, and immediately, giggles spread over the classroom. She covers her mouth as one of those dumb, drab boys points at her and immediately insults her hair.

“I’m gonna…”

Another inhale as she clutches her fists.

“I’m going to become the first female Hokage of Konohagakure!”

Then, that boy. That alarmingly bright boy stands up and declares his intention to become Hokage, too. Looking so, so happy about it, too! Like he didn’t just steal her thunder! Like a little bolt of lightning, zapping all the energy out of her.

“Tomato!”

That dumb blond kid just stares at her, and she tries not to let tears sting her eyes.

Kushina Uzumaki is alone in the world.

A shiny new headband with a leaf symbol greets her, handed to her by their sensei who looks like he’s bored. She takes it in her hands and feels the cool touch of metal against her fingertips.

She is a kunoichi of Konoha. One that smashes the faces in of all the dumb, drab boys around her.

It should have been no surprise to her that once she graduated, the teasing only got worse. 8 others join her, only 4 of which she bothered to learn the names of. Inoichi Yamanaka, Shikaku Nara, Chouza Akimichi, and of course that weak blond and blue boy. The one she sees looking at her too often, the one who has a never-ceasing smile on his face, the one who travels this world without anything troubling him.

Her first C-Rank mission accompanies a group of chūnin. She resents that she’s not being trusted to take on a C-Rank herself but looks at the snot-nosed boys with her and figures it’s only natural they wouldn’t trust them with anything important.

“Thought you’d grow out of those chubby cheeks by now, but you just look even more like a ripe tomato.”

Kushina wants to rip her hair straight out of her skull. Instead, she whips around, reels back a fist, all while the boy guffaws and holds his arms in front of his face to prepare for impact. Her fist connects with the top of his head and he crashes into the ground.

One of the chūnin hollers at them and rushes up to pull Kushina by the armpits off of her dumb, drab boy teammate. From behind, deep, obsidian eyes crinkle with a smile. One of the first genuine smiles she’s received in ages.

“Certainly not a tomato.”

The older girl approaches her, ignoring the wailing of her boy teammate, and holds out her hand to Kushina. She eyes it with suspicion.

“I’m Mikoto.”

Carefully, she takes the hand.

“I think red-hot habanero is more appropriate, don’t you think?”

Kushina Uzumaki doesn’t feel quite as lone in the world.

They tried to keep the news from her, but she would inevitably hear the whispers.

“Did you hear? Uzushiogakure destroyed overnight.”

“I heard it was to wipe out that Uzumaki clan.”

“Isn’t that the one that little girl came here from?”

Kushina ran, and ran, and ran. She didn’t stop running, even when her feet went bloody.

It couldn’t be true. There was absolutely no conceivable way it could be true. Her home, her people, her grandmother. It couldn’t be that they were all just gone.

She had to see for herself. She paid enough attention in school to know which way Uzushio was, and she bolted. No thoughts occupied her mind except the overwhelming need to see it. See what they did to the place she held so dear. Find her grandmother and bring her to safety. She couldn’t be dead. There was no way.

“Grandma.”

She huffs and puffs as she pounds the ground with her heels, sweat dripping from her hairline, hair everywhere. If someone were looking on, they’d just see a red streak tearing through the mountain side.

Suddenly, she feels her body crashing to the ground.

“Kushina!”

Immediately, she fights back. Screams at the top of her lungs, tries to swipe at whoever is pinning her to the ground. Yells at them to let go of her, that she has to get home, that she’ll tear their eyes out if they don’t stop. In the flurry of it all, she can’t make out who her captor is, until she manages to slip out of their grip. Her eyes pop open to meet spinning red ones staring back at her, eyes she’s only seen once before on another teams sensei. Then she measures the rest and sees Mikoto staring back at her, heaving.

“You can’t leave the village.”

Kushina feels her insides get fiery, doesn’t even register the tears streaming down her face. She tells her she has to, that she has to save her family and her home. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. She tells Mikoto that she’s not afraid to knock her out if she has to. She expects Mikoto to laugh at her like anyone else would, a little genin threatening a chūnin, a Uchiha of all people, but she does not laugh.

Instead, she relaxes her stance and steps towards Kushina. Instinctively, she steps backwards, but stops with her next steps. Arms encircle her and pull her body in. And she realizes that her world is crashing around her, so her body gives out and heaves with trembling sobs. Her cries fill the forest air.

Kushina Uzumaki is alone in the world.

For her 12th birthday, she is gifted with the Kyūbi.

Mito Uzumaki tells her that it’s her destiny, to absorb the Konoha bijū, become it’s jinchūriki. That special, beautiful, bright chakra flows through her. That only her chakra can possibly handle the beast. That only her heart could possibly take the burden on.

For the last year, she had grown closer and closer to Mito. It was a special kind of pain to become attached to someone you knew for a fact would inevitably die quite soon. One that would die on a schedule, to ensure that damn bijū would successfully transfer to Kushina. One that she would have to watch die with her own two eyes.

When Kushina looks into Mito’s eyes, she thinks of her grandma. She learned shortly after her village was destroyed that crying about her grandma would only invite more mocking. That the tomato is broken and leaking. No matter how often she proved herself strong, not matter how many faces she smashed into the ground, no matter how brightly her chakra flashed, she was always simply that chubby cheeked tomato. Some days, she contemplates shaving her head.

But when she looks into Mito’s eyes, she feels tears sting her eyes, and lets it happen. It’s the only time she feels like she can cry in front of someone else. Mito just pats her hands, doesn’t ask why she’s crying. Just seems to understand, and Kushina is grateful for it.

One day, on a day she doesn’t cry, Mito has biscuits and tea waiting for her when she arrives. As her time grows near, she’s being treated more and more like royalty. It’s a bittersweet thing. One in which she wishes she could tell certain people to shove it, but grins and bears it instead. Just like she must.

Today, Mito tells her about Uzushiogakure. It’s the first time it’s been brought up in conversation. Of course, Kushina has wanted to ask her about it for a long time, but also has resisted doing so because she’s not quite sure she wants to tear open those wounds.

Speaks of all the great clans that lived there, including their own. Talks about her life there before being whisked to Konohagakure. Tells her how frightened she had been, too, but was doing it for her people.

Then she drops a bomb on Kushina.

“Many of our people escaped during the destruction of our home.”

Kushina hangs onto every word, thinks of her grandma. Could she have escaped…?

Mito goes on to talk about their clan, their strength, their power, their unique ability. Their crest, the meaning of rasen, all while making the long climb up the spiral staircase to the top of the Hokage tower.

As she looks out to the Hokage mountain, she envisions her face on those rocks.

Thinks maybe it’s possible. Then she wouldn’t be some outsider.

And when she does, she’ll find her grandma.

Kushina Uzumaki decides maybe she’s not so alone in the world.

As soon as she starts to feel better, something is right around the corner to knock her right back down. Peace isn’t something Kushina’s known in a very long time, so she just expects it to be ripped away from her at this point. So when she enters her home and finds her caretaker missing, it’s expected. Then, they come for her. It’s dead night, so it’s quiet and she can hear them before she sees them. It’s too little, too late, and she’s snatched up. She cries out in vain, because she’s in a desolate part of the village where few people reside, and those that do would never respond to screams in the night.

A few hours later, and her hands are tied behind her back while she’s marched through the thicket of the forest outside of the village. While she indeed holds the Kyūbi inside of her, she doubts anyone will notice she’s gone until tomorrow when she doesn’t arrive for her daily training sessions. Nobody ever visits her in the night. And by tomorrow, it will likely be too late. She’ll be very far away in Kumogakure, where she assumes they’ll attempt to take the Kyūbi, resulting in her death.

Still, she has to try something. She can’t go out without even a little fight from her.

She’s not naïve. There’s no way she can overpower three men, likely jōnin or higher, no matter how powerful she thinks she is. That would probably just result in them knocking her out, leaving her no way to try to escape. No, she has to be sneaky. Trying to get out of her restraints would likely be too noticeable.

She tugs at her hair behind her, and the light bulb goes off.

If she can leave a trail behind her, it would result in whoever comes to look for her finding her quicker. They’d probably even be able to figure out she’s in Kumo based on the path.

One hair is plucked, and she doesn’t wince, keeps a stoic face. Releases it, lets it travel the ground.

A few seconds later, another hair or two.

She continues like this for a full hour, purposefully walking slower to delay. One of them shoves at her back, so she picks up the pace, then slows again. The cycle repeats.

Exhaustion begins to take hold. No matter how tired she is, she continues the process of slowly removing her hair. Wonders if she’ll have a bald spot after this. Hopes she’ll live to find out. Still, she barely registers her surroundings.

Her eyes drift shut, and her legs keep moving on instinct.

She doesn’t even hear the chaos around her.

Only when she hears a familiar voice.

“Are you okay?”

Slowly, she stops, struggles to lift her head, and sees someone she never thought she’d be so happy to see.

The moon illuminates that blond hair and his shiny headband that she knows for a fact he polishes daily.

“I came to rescue you.”

Me…?

Her brain is fuzzy. The joy that overcomes her is the last straw. All she can manage is a smile before her body gives out for good. She falls to her knees, and before she can face plant, he’s there in a flash to catch her and keep her body up. She struggles to look at him.

“Everything’s going to be fine.”

When he slides his arms under her back and legs and hoists her up, she starts to protest, but she can’t even get her arms wrapped around him before he takes off with her held to him. Her eyes find his face, perfectly framed by a full moon, and then they fall to his hand and she sees it: her hair between his fingers.

It worked?

He tells her that her hair is beautiful, that he realized straight away it had to be hers. Her protective instinct over her own emotions kicks in, and she asks him why he ignores her if that’s the case. His response catches her off guard, telling her she’s always been able to take care of herself, that she’s strong.

“Both in body and in spirit.”

Tells her he doesn’t want to lose her. Tells her she’s not an outsider. Tells her she lives in Konoha.

“You’re one of us.”

Never once had Kushina Uzumaki wanted to kiss a boy.

Thought it’d be impossible for her to ever find love, ever since she came to this damn village.

Suddenly, she looks at that brat, the one she thought was another weak, dumb little boy, and everything has changed in her eyes.

That blond hair doesn’t look so obnoxious anymore, those eyes so piercing. He glows like he’s her sun in the midst of night. Now she thinks that maybe he is her sun.

Kushina Uzumaki isn’t alone in the world.

It’s amidst the Third Shinobi War that she’s taken on as an apprentice to one of the Legendary Sannin. Tsunade Senju ensures that no one will ever be able to kill Kushina, no matter how hard they try. By her side is Minato, but even so, he gets sent out to battle. It’s a miserable spot she’s in, constantly thinking of the love of her life possibly being killed in action every moment he’s gone.

It happened so quickly, but Kushina can’t begin to fathom her existence without Minato. Out of nowhere, that blond brat became her whole world, and he’s not much of a brat anymore. He’s getting tall – taller than her, and they’re not technically together. He’s held her in his arms and she’s given him a cheek kiss out of gratitude, but Kushina’s already decided he’s her one true person. The only person she can trust, she can be vulnerable with, she can love.

When he’s gone, it hurts.

It only strengthens her resolve. To become stronger, to become faster, to master the Kyūbi, so that when she’s needed, she’ll be there. She’ll make sure no one else dies, least of all Minato Namikaze.

Her will is no longer made up of spite. Instead, it’s fueled by love. Desire to live, desire to protect.

She has no idea just how long this damn war would actually last.

The Second Shinobi war lasted barely 3 years. Their lives would be plagued in battle for half a decade.

For two years, she’s kept from the front lines. She spends every waking hour training under Tsunade, mastering chakra control, pushing her stamina to its limits, and bringing her healing powers to new heights. Whenever Minato returns home, the first thing they do is spar, so she can show him just how far she’s come. He shows her, too, and it brings her some relief to see him grow stronger, even if it’s apart from her.

The day he revealed to her what he had been working on with Jiraiya for so long is a day that will be carved into her memory her entire life. Told her it was a jutsu created to battle bijū and jinchūriki, but also to work with her chakra. That it was all done to make sure he wouldn’t lose her.

She remembers blacking out, the monster living inside of her flashing through her mind in a blind rage, then her knees meeting the ground. Minato’s voice fights to overpower that of the Kyūbi’s, a voice that she hears every night in her dreams, for better or worse. Seeing Minato fly into the air and crash land is the last thing she remembers before hearing those words.

“That’s why I love Kushina.”

The rest happens so fast, but she remembers it all so clearly. Thinking back to her conversation with Mito. The Adamantine Sealing Chains being released to keep the Kyūbi back. One of those claws going straight through Minato’s side. Her pleading with him to run, to leave her, all for nothing, because that was never an option he’d consider. Finally, that big, bright ball of what looked like pure energy, flying straight into the Kyūbi’s chakra sphere.

Once he recovers, she spend the next three days in his hospital bed, eating the dry rice balls and cups of sugary pudding they bring them, drinking soda and juice while watching old movies on the new T.V.’s the hospital had installed. Honestly, for as terrified as she was of what possible grave injuries he had endured, she finds the time she spends with him so…nice. They’d never been able to just chill for so long together. Be in each other company and really get to know each other’s laughs, be present and also mindless.

She knows it can’t last. They both know it. Besides, she doesn’t want to become out of practice.

Still, she savors this little moment she gets with him.

“C’mon Namikaze!” she shouts at him one day, when he barely puts up a fight. Her heel lands in his chest, and they both come crashing down. She quickly wraps her arms around him so that he’ll roll with her, rather than be flung into a nearby tree, and they come to a stop with her on top of him. She huffs, annoyed, pushing her hair from her face as she glares down at him, unimpressed. Asks him what the hell he’s doing.

He apologizes, rubbing at his face with a sigh. “Just a little tired.”

She laughs, shaking her head. “The great Minato doesn’t get tired.”

His hand slides off his face and he gives her a smile. It makes her smile, too, so she presses a kiss to his nose, deciding to lay off him a little. “No, no, you’re right. An entire war shouldn’t be trying me out.”

She giggles, softly, presses her forehead to his. Then, her smile falls as she thinks about him on the battlefield. Almost makes her eyes water – almost. “I hate it when you’re gone.”

“Awh.” He reaches up to cup one of her cheeks in his dirty palm, and she doesn’t even mind. “I do, too.”

Her eyes flutter shut as she leans into his hold.

“That’s why…I decided to take the Third up on becoming a jōnin sensei.”

Kushina collapses on top of him, unaware of just how tired she really was. He holds her for a good 20 minutes before they peel away, and she’s crying. Mostly from relief. But some of it is worry.

Part of being kept back in the village while the rest go to war has made her especially soft for the children. Every few days, she witnesses a sweet little face burst into tears when they’re told mommy or daddy, brother or sister, auntie or uncle, are gone now. She’s watched them grow from little soppy toddlers to rambunctious kids to rowdy genin.

Thinking of them being the next soldiers makes her maternal instincts churn.

But…Minato will be home.

He will be with her. For at least a little while.

She wonders which of these anxious little kiddos will end up in his care.

It’s hard to think of any of them as lucky, but if they’re all destined to work for the war machine, at least some of them will be taught by Minato. A man she admires with her entire soul, one who she thinks will do right by them, someone who wouldn’t ever purposefully mess up a kid’s life.

Kushina stands in the shadows as she watches Minato greet three little babies she knows.

Rin Nohara. A spritely girl who greets Minato with enthusiasm, yet determination. She lets him know she’s not to be reckoned with, but that she’s eager awaiting their assignments.

Obito Uchiha. Kushina thinks of her pregnant friend, Mikoto. He’s even more wiley than Rin, with a wide grin and bright eyes, despite their dark shade. The grin makes her smile, even. His determination shines through his goggles.

Then there’s Kakashi Hatake. A boy Kushina’s heart is soft for, despite it all. Just a baby when his mother died, and still just a baby when his father took his own. The boy is aloof, but dangerous. Watching him hurts her insides, makes her eyes burn.

Kushina Uzumaki feels that her world is full.

Whenever she has spare time, she’s training with the three newly minted chūnin, or bringing them back to the apartment her and Minato bought with their measly earnings. When they were moving, Team 7 spent the whole day helping them. Minato made cookies and Kushina made sure the fridge was packed with sugary drinks. Kakashi even took a few cookies home, wherever home was for him.

It’s the closest to normalcy Kushina’s ever felt in her life, and she’s desperate not to let it slip away. Seeing three little faces sitting on the carpet, munching on treats and excitedly talking about their next mission, shoving each other’s faces and shooting jabs at one another. It’s something she realizes she wants in life, to be surrounded by people she loves.

She loves Minato. She loves Rin, and Obito, and Kakashi. Thinks that when she becomes Hokage, she’ll be able to show the whole village how much love she has to give.

When the day was over, and she was helping Minato clean up the kitchen, surrounded in boxes and stray utensils and blankets and tools, he spoke words that propelled her.

“You’re going to be the best Hokage Konoha’s ever seen, you know that?”

They’re the last words she expects to hear while drying a plate, so predictably, she drops it.

Minato, living up to his renown nickname, catches it before it shatters on the counter.

“What…did you say Hokage?”

He doesn’t skip a beat when he confirms, smiling up at her. Sets the plate where it goes and lets her grab him by the cheeks.

Let’s her pull him down to the kitchen floor and devour him.

“Gods, I love you.”

Kushina can’t even deny how perfect it is for him to say it to her here and now. Feels full of love and happiness, despite everything. Can’t believe that a war happens right outside of their tiny village while she confesses right back to him. It’s just so perfect, somehow, she’s not even sure why. The way he looks over her, happy and sweet and genuine, it makes her really believe.

She says “I love you” back, with just as much passion as he does to her.

They say it over, and over, and over again.

On top of each other, next to each other, in their ears, inside their mouths, in notes and through looks.

Kushina Uzumaki is madly in love with Minato Namikaze.

After a lethal mission that brings both boys back to her, missing eyes, Kushina feels her entire body lit on fire.

It’s a normal day, as Minato told her, a fairly light mission they go on. But she stands outside of her home, watching her fiancé and his team slug up to her.

Rin is in quiet tears, but she feels it, worse than ever. Kyūbi makes sure of it. Kakashi breathes heavier than normal, but isn’t disabled, just covers one eye. Finally, Obito has an arm slung over Minato’s neck.

When they come into full view, her heart drops further than it ever has in her entire life. Breath caught in her throat, tingles on the back of her skull and neck, tears already stinging the bottoms of her eyes.

She bursts through the front door, aiming for Rin, who looks the least likely to be injured by a hug.

“Why are you not all at the hospital?!”

“I need help.”

She stops for only a moment, just a sliver of a second to collect herself, before she lifts the worst looking one into her arms: Obito. Like a baby, she holds him to her chest, looks at Minato, who sighs in relief and nods, then takes off to the hospital, all the while letting healing chakra seep from her pores directly into him.

They all recover.

It’s some of the best news she’s ever heard in her entire gods-forsaken life.

Obito and Kakashi both missing an eye, but they are opposite. They learn to cover each other, whilst Rin covers the rest. Keeps them safe and sound. Kushina helps on the upcoming missions after they’re released back to ninja duty, makes sure that whatever Minato misses, she catches.

She knows Minato is strong and capable. Doesn’t make her lose her entire sense of self whenever he comes back, looking worse than before. Now, the village elders have no choice but to allow her to participate in the war. The power was always in her hands, but now she really feels it when she looks the Third right in the eye and dares him to try to make her stay. Let’s the fire of the Kyūbi in her palms burn a little brighter just to make sure the point sticks.

Kushina Uzumaki wants to make sure she’ll never be alone, ever.

Just when they think they’ve seen the worst of the worst, something hits them harder than before. Being on the front lines is terrifying, but it’s the only place she thinks she belongs right now. Tuning out the Kyūbi from poisoning her thoughts becomes easier and easier, day by day. Mito prepared her well, made sure she could remain collected no matter what sort of vile thoughts they tried to implant in her head. Still, there were times she would look on the battlefield, see the lifeless bodies, and listen.

Listen to the sounds of heartbreak, sounds of pain, sounds of despair that she could not soothe.

Those were some of the rare moments the Kyūbi would weasel their way in.

Couldn’t save them, girl.

Kushina rubs at her crusty, tired eyes as she turns her head from the gruesome scene.

By yourself, you’re weak.

With a sigh, she reaches back to tighten her ponytail before getting to her knees.

With me, you could do more.

Gently, she turns the dog tag over from the deceased in front of her. Notes the name and rank on a pad of paper.

You’ll regret the day that boy dies because you didn’t care enough.

The pen between her fingers snaps and the growl in the back of her throat sounds too much like the Kyūbi’s.

Didn’t care enough to make sure you protected him.

“SHUT UP!”

Her fingernails elongate, her jaw becomes stiff, her skin feels like it’s lit on fire.

It happens so quickly, the throaty scream that leaves her feeling so foreign. Before it can go any further, she stabs her fingernails into her stomach, clawing at the skin around the seal. Squeezes her eyes shut, willing the mocking laugh away by pressing her forehead into the wet grass below.

The Kyūbi doesn’t escape that day, and Kushina finally thinks that maybe, now, it never will.

Kushina Uzumaki wants to make sure no one is alone in the world.

Early in her pregnancy, she decides it’ll be her last chance for a while to go back to her homeland. Look upon it with her own eyes. See her old home and what remains. Minato and team 7 join her, keep her spirits up and make sure she’s well protected. No one besides Minato knows of her pregnancy, and she prefers to keep it that way until she absolutely cannot keep it a secret any longer.

Once Uzushiogakure came into view, Kushina steeled her gaze, made sure no one could see her break.

It wasn’t anything she wasn’t expecting. She had heard stories and seen drawings depicting what remained of the land. The broken pillars and overgrown foliage didn’t bother her so much. It had been over ten years since the news reached her ears, it was enough time for her to adjust to the reality that her village was gone. All that remained was the hope that some of her people made it out alive.

Even seeing her childhood home flattened didn’t hurt as bad as she thought it would. She stands in the middle of it and closes her eyes, thinks of her grandmother. Hugs her own middle and bows her head.

The part that hurt the most was going to the cemetery.

Her feet carry her to where she knows her parents are buried, and her heart sinks at an additional tombstone. She stops before she can get close enough to read it, but already knows what she’s going to see. Swallows down the sob that threatens to escape her and just kneels in front of it, blinking bleary eyes.

Yukina Uzumaki

“I did it, grandma…”

She feels Minato’s eyes on her back as she slides a hand over her stomach, rubbing circles into the seal there.

With a longing sigh, she begins her tale to a ghost. She wonders if he thinks she looks crazy, talking to a stone, recounting her life’s adventures. Arriving in Konoha, her bond with Mito, little boys yanking her hair and teasing her face. Receiving the Kyūbi, being kidnapped by Kumo, a bright eyed blond boy saving her. That bright-eyed blond boy being her entire world for now.

“Until…until this one gets here.”

Finally, she smiles, with watery eyes and a stuffy nose, looking down at her lap.

“After that, they’ll both be my whole world.”

Kushina Uzumaki refuses to let her child be alone in the world.

When a masked man plucks her child and the love of her life chases after him, she feels the Kyūbi push against her insides. Her own screams deafen herself and everyone around her as she clutches at her stomach.

How?

After everything she’s gone through, this couldn’t be how it ended. Her newborn baby kidnapped, her husband fighting for his life, and the Kyūbi escaping her, to leave her lifeless. Leave her child alone in the world, just like she was. For just a few seconds, she got to look at the chubby, crying face of her son. Lightning blond hair and big, blue eyes, just like the man she loved. All that flashes through her mind is that blond little boy without his parents who so desperately loved him, alone.

With every breath, she feels them getting further and further away from her. The man returns, without Minato or Naruto, and she feels like her insides are lava. The seal strains, twists and burns her skin as she cries. The chakra chains she’s spent the last decade of her life training with strap in, and she sees the masked man return. She tries to yell at him, tries to ask him what he’s done, tries to do something, but she can’t let the Kyūbi escape. He walks to her, and she glares at him, feels the Kyūbi’s power flow through her arms and legs, her fingertips and toes. Then she sees it behind the mask – the sharingan.

“No - !”

Before he can come any closer, she summons every last shred of chakra from inside of her and holds one hand over the seal and faces her other palm towards the man.

It all happens so fast, chakra flares, the building they’re in cracks under the force, everything around her is hot and dry. Adrenaline courses through her veins, the only thing she can feel is the pressure from inside. The only thing that runs through her mind is that chubby faced baby and how desperately she wants to make sure she gets to see him again. She yells for him, and for Minato before she buckles to her knees, both hands working to maintain her seal.

It feels like hours that she’s done this, but at most, it had to have only been a minute. Just as the man steps to her, reaches out to restrain her, a flash of powerful blue chakra appears next to him. It takes everything she has not to give up, to keep doing her part while Minato takes care of the man.

Blood pours from her mouth as she coughs, doubling over onto herself before she finally blacks out.

When it is that she wakes up, she’s not sure, but the first thing she does is tumble out of bed, frantically searching for Naruto.

“He’s safe, Ms. Kushina!”

“They both are.”

Her vision is blurry as she tries to look for the source of the voices.

“Rin’s with Naruto.”

Two smaller shoulders lift her up on either side, and she breathes a sigh of relief. She blinks her bleary eyes, tries to focus them, then her heart sinks at an unfortunately familiar sight. Minato in a hospital bed, again.

She whispers his name, limps to his bed, carefully pulls her body into it. Hears Obito’s voice say that he’ll go get Rin and the med nin.

When they bring him in, her eyes immediately burn with tears, the happiest tears she’s ever had the fortune of shedding. As they nestle a sleeping baby between them, she feels Minato stir next to her, a little grumble and cough. His eyes peel open and they find hers immediately and she gives him a weak smile. He blinks, slowly, looks from her to Naruto, and she sees tears pool in his eyes, too.

Kakashi crouches on his haunches against the wall while Obito and Rin carefully sit on the end of the bed, looking at them with concern.

That all of them are safe and relatively healthy in the confines of the hospital, Kushina can’t justify anything other than unabashed relief.

With one arm under Naruto and the other over Minato’s chest, she gently nestles into them.

Kushina Uzumaki is not alone in the world.

The day it’s announced that the Third is stepping down, everyone looks to Kushina.

“My official recommendation…is Minato Namikaze.”

Hushed whispers fall over the room and she feels Minato freeze next to her. Kushina holds her gaze forward, lips thinned to a harsh line.

Immediately, debate breaks out within the space. After a moment, Minato clears his throat and voices his rejection of the nomination.

“He doesn’t want it?”

“Bullshit, he’s always talked about it.”

“Can he even reject the nomination anyway?”

Kushina grits her teeth, shifting her eyes slightly. It’s not like this wasn’t what she had always expected, anyway. It was always going to be Minato. She knew it back then, she knows it now. There was no way they’d ever let a woman hold the position, let alone the jinchūriki of the village. Even if she never asked to be, she was.

“If I’m appointed Hokage, I’ll immediately step down and nominate Kushina Uzumaki.”

Silence coats the room for a moment, and Kushina just sighs. She’s tired of people looking down on her after everything she’s gone through. Maybe it would just be easier…

“I’m in favor of Kushina Uzumaki as well, Lord Third.”

They both stop to look at the stony face of Fugaku Uchiha, who doesn’t look back at them.

Then another voices their agreement, Hiashi Hyūga. Then another, and another.

“She fought on the front lines in the war, saved my son.”

“Also protected the village from the Kyūbi.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen such powerful chakra.”

Soon, what starts as murmured agreement turns into full blown encouragement. Her hands fall to her sides as she scans the room, feeling a rush of excitement hit her heart. His hand slides into hers and squeezes.

Kushina Uzumaki will never be alone in the world.

For the first time, she truly believes it.

It’s a quiet Tuesday when she climbs the spiraling steps of the Hokage tower, like she did so many years ago with Mito. Takes her time, plants her foot firmly on each one, like showing her intention as she ascends. Recalls all of the conversations, big and small, she had on these steps. With Mito. With Mikoto. With Minato. Dreams of becoming Hokage, protecting the ones she loves, and loving them and being loved.

A slow push of double doors reveals a clear day to greet her. The village is sleepy with peace. Foliage blooms, little birds and critters chirp, and the sun is warm on her face. The same spot she had looked at for so many years now adorns her face. It looks ridiculous, but she thinks that’s part of the deal. Can’t look too nice on the side of a mountain, she supposes. The face looks serious and stern like the others, but it’s her face.

On top of it, like a cute little bow, sits her son and his friends. The only noise in the village is his loud laughter. It’s the only noise in the world she’ll never get tired of. A sight she never gets tired of is her husband appearing behind him and scaring the daylight out of him.

Carefully, she runs her fingertips over the cord of her Hokage robes, twisting it between them.

Kushina Uzumaki has the love and support of an entire village.

Never will she feel alone again.

#naruto fanfic #minakushi #minato namikaze #kushina uzumaki #minato #kushina #minakushi fanfic #my writing #sun rising

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soukokumychildren · 1 year ago

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Au Short

Well, this idea has been kind of buzzing around in my head for a long time but only recently with the help of another song, (of course...incidentally both of them have the name "Villian" as their title), I finally decided out the entire write and just went at it for like--two full hours or such lol. Anyway, here it is, I'm really proud on how it turned out! :D (Ps...this is far in the future and MASSIVE spoilers for my au...but heck it.)

It was a glorious night, stars obscured by a gloomy whirl of clouds hovering near to the tallest of Yokohama's skyscrapers. The structures were illuminated with tiny lights, all buildings alive and bustling, the outside even more so, with traffic moving home from work and parties being held all throughout the night, the ocassional vibration from a club not unfamiliar as you got used to the bustling surroundings. But somewhere in Yokohama, across the bridge, held warehouses.

And a certain man that stashed a secret organization away in one of those said warehouses was bristling. Because a pest was found among the buildings. The said certain pest was a man that went by the name Doppo Kunikida, bound by ribbons that felt like several layers of leather keeping his arms close to his sides. Red electricity zapped across the fabric, but it didn't affect its current prisoner. Kunikida lowered his head, dirty-blonde hair covering his gray eyes from view. Usually, it was neatly tucked back into a ponytail, but currently, it was scruffy, and strands stuck out from everywhere. He breathed heavily, the squirming he did achieved nothing to escape the bonds. The man looked down at his red necktie, black shirt and lime-yellow vest. But he wasn't looking at himself. He was looking down at his feet, where a green book was located, Japanese letters sprawled across its front, reading: Ideals. But not even his skill could aid him in this position.

He squinted at the distinct shape of his rectangular glasses, as they had clattered to the floor a minute ago. Footsteps approached, and his head snapped up. But without the aid of glasses, and the darkness surrounding, he was practically sightless.

"Isn't this quite the predicament?" Said a voice that usually was doused with the tone of singsong, but instead, sounded amused. And…cold. The shape bent over, retrieved the glasses, and held it up in front of Kunikida. His breath caught as he blinked rapidly. "Huh?" He asked after a moment, seeing the shape unfold the glasses and slip them onto his face. When the dirty-blonde adjusted, he shook his head in shock.

A much sharpened image of a brunette stood there. A bandage obscured his heavily scarred left eye, the remaning one red and smoldering with a burning anger that didn't quite reach his features. The scar on said eye ran down to the corner of his mouth, and it was deep. He smiled, arms crossed over his chest, a brown jacket covering a gray turtleneck, rolled up to the sleeves to reveal more bandages wound around his arm to wrists. A new addition had been recently added-a pair of black gloves concealing his hands. Another jacket, a seeming dark green draped over his shoulders, a black opal in a golden pendant strapped to his right shoulder.

"It seems we found a little roach running amidst in our territory." Dazai said silkily. Kunikida looked over his surroundings once he spotted boxes, more crates piled up haphazardly around the area. He couldn't read the inscriptions from his current standing point. His eyes followed the trail of black cloth to a man concealed half by shadow, and his eyes widened. Akutagawa Ryunosuke. The man had precariously cut black hair with slight bangs, piercing gray eyes, and hair that draped the sides of his face, framing his cheekbones. Their ends were white as if they were dipped in some sort of reverse-colored ink. The coat he wore had a sort of extended form of turtleneck that was wider than average, a sort of beige color that was relaxing on the eyes. Brown straps decorated his chest, winding around his shoulders and back. His coat was torn at the edges. Akutagawa rose his arm and lightly coughed into his hand, before providing Kunikida with a glare that seemed less menacing without eyebrows.

"You…" Kunikida snapped his head back to Dazai, who merely grinned wider.

"So, Kunikida," Dazai said silkily, lifting his wrist to check how taunt the bandages across his arm were. "What could someone like you be doing at a place like this at this hour?" Kunikida was acutely aware of the duel scythe blades attached to Dazai's sides, held by an endless supply of chains.

While the dirty-blonde thought of something to say, Dazai had answered for him. "Oh, so you've thought that you caught onto me being suspicious?" Dazai asked, red eyes glinting with malice as he met Kunikida's gaze. "Took you a while, it really did. I suspect all the others knew except you." Kunikida's eyes narrowed. "You aren't the Dazai I know." The brunette tutted, stepping closer to Kunikida, and suddenly, his back was bathed in a silver glow from the moon behind him, gracing the night with a full shape, albeit a bit obscured from the clouds that loomed over the city.

"Oh but I am, you see. I'm the very Dazai you know, love and appreciate." Kunikida scoffed, and Dazai shot him a look, void of emotion, though his eyebrow twitched upward. "But I wear a mask, you see. Always hidden behind the several masks I’ve programmed myself to adapt to. It just seems you were always too slow to catch on.~" "Like hell! Reveal who you really are!" Dazai gave him an unamused expression, sighing, and working the fingertip of one of his gloves off. "You really are useless. I sometimes do wonder why the Agency thought you were a good hire," he sighed breezily. "How absolutely DARE-" But he was promptly slapped with leather fabric to the side of his cheek, shutting him up immediately. His eyes landed on a shape that shouldn't have shocked him to his core, but still shook him nonetheless. Strong legs dangling off a large crate, swayed, gray boots meeting up to the mans knees. He wore a shirt crisscrossed with belts horizontally and vertically, with a tie laid over his chest and held to his black shirt with a gray clip. Sleeves rolled up to show scarred arms that had black bandages wound around the wrist with black gloves overlaying them to a point. Ginger hair rolled off the mans shoulders gracefully, a cross between masculine and feminine, sharp, cerulean hawk-like eyes wandering to find Kunikida's gaze. More scars decorated his cheeks, a black hat perched on his head with a brown based rim, a chain rolling off the lip, a blue crystal glinting in the moonlight. He raised his brow, just a hair higher, when Kunikida looked at him, baffled. Aghast, even.

Dazai slipped his glove back on. "Come here, my love." Dazai commanded, voice booming across the warehouse. Chuuya barely hesitated, sliding off the crates and leaping down gracefully, and striding over to Dazai. He scrunched his nose, giving Kunikida a glare as he went to Dazai's left side, protecting his blind spot instinctually, despite being shorter and less imposing at Dazai’s side. A magnificent maroon wing stretched and spread behind Dazai, incasing his backside in a protective, feathery shield, light pink feathers embedded on the underside of Chuuya’s wings.

“Chuuya!” Kunikida suddenly yelled without thinking, and the redhead let himself slowly look at the man. “Atleast you have some sense of decency! Tell him to let me out immediately! I beg you!” Chuuya sneered. “Don’t Chuuya me like you know me, Kunikida.” He said, with a tone so full of venom, that the dirty-blonde shuddered. “What…?” Kunikida asked, exasperated. “Don’t think for a second that you’re my friend.” Chuuya stated simply, yet darkly, his feathers rustling as he sidled up closer to the brunette. “Not here, and most certainly not now.” Kunikida was taken aback, and he tried to slide backwards uneasily, but the ribbons of black cloth extended to his legs, rendering him immobile.

“What do you want?!” The dirty-blonde burst out, starting to feel the endless cycle of terror start to take hold over his brain. “Simple,” sighed the brunette. “You’ve treaded and trespassed across our territory. You must pay the price, as you know. People like us don’t take things lightly.” Dazai’s grin widened, and his expression darkened. Kunikida recoiled physically, eyes widening with a stroke of fear.

“Let’s see…what kind of punishment can I inflict on you that would be…fitting.” Dazai cocked his head in Chuuya’s direction. “Be a good dog and fetch me something appropriate for this occasion, will you?” The brunette asked, closing his eye and waving his wrist. The redhead studied him for a moment, his eyes narrowing to dangerous slits, before slipping away behind a big crate, and returning swiftly with a pistol in hand, crafted out of dark-gray-blue metal.

Dazai took the weighty weapon of artillery, and nonchalantly twirled it by the trigger hole with a finger, smiling to Kunikida. “What the hell are you doing?! Don’t you work for the Agency!?” Kunikida blurted out desperately, eyeing the pistol with pure terror. Dazai’s smile cracked. He doubled over. And threw his head back, releasing a disturbing cackle of laughter at Kunikida’s desperation. Chuuya gazed at him emotionlessly. “But of course I work for the Agency!” Agreed the brunette, amused. “Doesn’t mean I can’t do anything on the side, now. Hmmmm?” “If the President knew about this—!” “He works with us in this organization as well. I appreciate the effort though.” No shine of life glinted in Dazai’s eyes, an eerie aura rolling off him in waves. “You—“ Dazai cocked the gun, aimed and pulled the trigger, shooting a bullet through Kunikida’s right shoulder. A blast of blood spewed from the other side, scarlet as it splashed like a fountain, the bullet going right through. Kunikida howled in pain, writhing in place, still held firmly in one spot by Akutagawa’s ability, Rashomoun. “Be a bit more quieter, will you? Your voice is starting to grate upon my ears.” Dazai said cooly, snorting.

As the dirty-blonde gasped, shuddering in agony, blood seeped into his clothes. He raised his head to glare at Dazai. “You….are a monster…” “Thank you for the compliment,” chimed Dazai, and then unloaded another bullet into Kunikida’s foot when he saw it trying to maneuver closer to his ideals. It penetrated through his shoe easily, providing no protection from the bullet. The man cried in agony, and Dazai merely watched, unbothered by the fact he had shot his co-worker twice with bullets. Blood spurt out of his foot. “But I think I warned you to stay quiet, didn’t I?” Kunikida grimaced as he looked back up, catching Chuuya snarling deeply at him.

“Hey Akutagawa,” called Dazai, tilting his head in the man’s direction. “Why don’t you escort our guest from the grounds?” “Huh? Wait!!” The dirty-blonde, regardless, writhed again, refusing to leave. Not until he recieved answers. A beat held between before Dazai held his hand up to stop Akutagawa from undergoing the task.

“Let me guess,” Dazai overly sighed, pressing fingers to his temples. “You want to know why I’m doing this, right?” Kunikida opened his mouth to speak, but Dazai went over him, walking around Kunikida in circles. “You’ve heard rumors and decided to see if they were true. The all great and liable Dazai Osamu running an underground criminal organization? And right from under the governments nose?” He gasped dramatically. “Oh my, that sounds like a bunch of hocus pocus, huh?” He chuckled, as if this were some hilarious sick joke. “But,” He grasped at Kunikida’s uninjured shoulder from behind, grinning against the man’s backside. “You had to find out, make sure the rumors weren’t true. So you wanted to catch me in the act, didn’t you?” He circled Kunikida once more before settling back infront of him, Chuuya at his back and keeping close with his partner. “Yes, but—“ Kunikida began, and was once again interrupted. By…clapping. Dazai was clapping. “Well, congratulations. You’ve caught me.” He flicked his hand upward. “Release him.”

Akutagawa did so, but after a moments hesitation. Kunikida nearly fell, dizzy from the blood loss, but he forced himself to keep himself upright. Suddenly, he was tossed an object, and he clambered and fumbled with the item before he got a good grasp on it. …The gun he was shot with. Kunikida looked up, confused. Dazai spread his arms wide—even catching Chuuya off guard, hence the fact his eyes widened.

“You’ve caught me doing something illegal, Kunikida,” Dazai chirped, as light as a feather, grinning widely. “Shoot me. As someone who works for the government, it’s your job, is it not?” The manipulation tactic was working. Kunikida was hesitating, and he wasn’t moving. And he was flabbergasted. Or maybe he couldn’t.

After several heavy seconds of silence, his arm dropped to his side, though a little exaggerated, shaking his head. “It’s against my morals.” Kunikida choked, gripping the pistol tightly. He didn’t know what to do. Dazai’s grin widened, his arms returning to his sides. The man was breaking down. “But I have to,” Kunikida said, dropping to his knees, landing on his hands. He didn’t even regiester the pain in his foot nor shoulder anymore. “But if the President is also here, then….what…?” Dazai watched the dirty-blonde fall apart with a sadistic smile, arm sliding around Chuuya’s waist. The redhead leaned into the touch, tilting his head into Dazai’s shoulder and tucking his wings. “Kunikida,” he said, loud enough to capture the dirty-blonde’s attention. “This organization kills, but we kill for the greater good.” Perhaps it would ease Kunikida. Perhaps it wouldn’t. “This organization alone balances this city out more than the Port Mafia or the government ever could. We deal with stronger threats than the Agency can handle,” his voice boomed, and Kunikida stopped shaking, just to listen. “But you kill—” “People die all the time, Kunikida.” “….” The dirty-blonde looked up, a set of blue eyes and one red one staring down at his hunched-over form. “We’re doing things for the better, not for worse. These people hurt other people, the ones we take care of.” Kunikida opened and closed his mouth like some form of flabbergasted Venus fly trap. “We may not be as kind as the agency. But we do it to protect this city—nothing more, nothing less.” “I can’t be certain of this information!” Barked Kunikida, snatching up his ideals. “You could be lying to me!”

Dazai’s grin was smothered, quickly turning into a frown. He crossed his arms again, side stepping into Chuuya. “I suppose you’ll never be sure.” He looked back to Akutagawa. “If you please, escort him out of our estate. We’re done here.” Dazai whisked away, Chuuya following as they turned towards the crates, walking away. “HEY!” Kunikida screamed, and Akutagawa’s tendrils wound around his legs and yanked him backward, before throwing him out of the warehouse, the door closing behind. As soon as Kunikida regained footing, the doors were already closed, and the possibility of gathering answers was no more. (By the way, if any of you are wondering where they're located and I wasn't very descriptive of the area, here's a link to a drawing I did a good bit ago.)

#bungo stray dogs #bsd #chuuya nakahara #au #soukoku #dazai osamu #dazai x chuuya #avian #akutagawa ryuunosuke #kunikida doppo #bungou stray dogs #bsd au #writing #story #short story #writing short #i love how i wrote this

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captainseamech · 9 days ago

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Zapping OW!High Tide awake to see if he wakes up

“ARGH!”

With a shriek and arching his back, High Tide’s optics snapped open from his slumber. That fragging hurts! Shaking his helm to get rid of the momentary discomfort, the mech looked around... It was still as dark as before. Nothing clicked a recognizable feeling to him; there was only one light source now, however, right above him to illuminate his figure.

Panting due to the zapping through his system, he tried to move... to no success. The feeling of chains was still there, but now added to a powerful magnet that prevented him from breaking free and from falling, too. How long did he fell in recharge for such a thing to happen? Hours? Days? Weeks? At this point, the concept of time long fled his processor, his vision fighting for clearness as it kept trying to blurry itself.

Why am I still so... weak and tired?

His answer was soon to come the moment he looked at his bare torso, optics widening: there was a thick power cord directly sunken in his spark chamber. What? How? But then something finally clicked like the ever throbbing pain at the back of his head, a connection that helped him remember what happened prior to that moment by going backward in his steps.

Apparently, I... I was at the beach when something knocked me unconscious. But... why did I go to the beach and not directly to my ship? There had to be a reason... Wait, I don’t remember having the shirt there, so I probably left it behind somewhere. No, I have no reason to walk around without my armor — Oh wait, I probably gave it back to Mauga! Yeah, that makes more sense! But... why? He still owes me my chestplate, and I convinced him that I wouldn’t give his shirt until my chestplate returned safely... But didn’t I also —

His thoughts were quickly cut short by the sudden sting on his spark that almost made him screech in pain, falling as limp as possible with flickering optics. Closing them, the mech briefly remembered what fully happened in lacking detail. That’s right... I almost killed him, and Eav was... so scared, I wouldn’t blame her if she were to report it to other people. If she really did that, everyone else probably got so scared of me that they... decided to trap me here. Wherever I am, it’s for the best... and deserved, too.

As if giving up, the mech helplessly watched as the cord in his chest drained his strength. Was it taking away his energon or the power source of his spark? Or... perhaps even both? He didn’t care. He was too weak to think about it, and even if he knew what exactly was going on, he couldn’t struggle free to remove it. Nobody was going to save him and he knew it. All that was left for him to do was... watch. Watch as his blue and gold armor slowly shifted to a mourning gray.

#🌊 | inside the ship / ic #🌊 | message in a bottle / asks #🌊 | grayfaced annoyance / anonymous #Fighting for a Greater Cause / OverWatch verse #[ HAHAHAAAA HAVE PAIN ]#long post tw

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doctorstrangereview · 18 days ago

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Strange Tales #164

Cover Date: January 1968 On-Sale Date: October 3, 1967

We're in the Strange Tales home stretch as Doc enters his final arc before the magazine splits into two titles. There are a couple of firsts. Doc stories expand to 11 pages with this issue. This is also the first time Doc's story appears first, relegating the S.H.I.E.L.D. story to second place. The cast for this arc is small, mostly Doc, Vicky and our villain a la mode, Yandroth. Vicky mainly fills the role of damsel in distress. Well, this is pre-Barbarella.

Doc is on his way to the next hellhole, courtesy of The Living Tribunal, to rescue Victoria Bentley. Doc's reward for rescuing the universe from untold evil is to thrown into more extreme danger. I guess Trib-y was too lazy to send Vicky to Doc; or maybe he realized that he needs to keep Doc in danger to keep the kiddies spending their spare change. It gives Adkins the opportunity to draw an nice collage of images on the splash page where Doc sees Vicky and some technology. The extra page give Adkins more opportunities to draw BIG panels and stretch out that story.

Doc's vision of Vicky and The Machines fades and he lands on the planet. It seems suitably weird to keep Doc busy as he goes about his rescue business. There's no record of who colored this story, but they limited themselves to pastels and earth tones. We've got decent weirdness going on, but it doesn't pop like the Ditko days.

Even the giant slug is pale gray and pink.

This, naturally, is his first challenge and he spends a couple of pages flying out of its range and zapping it unconscious. Considering the superhero propensity to fry anything that isn't human this is a good thing!

Doc spends the next page and a half walking around and feeling sad. Why? He misses Clea. He wanders onto the next beast which Adkins draws as a full page with just enough distortion to be really menacing. Another bonus, it's pink! It's not quite day-glo, but it stands out more than most things in this issue. Doc's reaction isn't 'I'm the awesome sorcerer who just went toe-to-toe with one of the most powerful beings in the know multiverse' but rather 'I'm gonna run away.'

The pink ain't having none o' that! It starts flying after Doc, who dives into a nearby cave. It turns out this is a plot device to get Doc together with his antagonist. Clever Jim Lawrence! In the cave he stumbles across a big gun looking thing with a fractured lens in front. I have a feeling it's not meant to be fractured, but futuristic. But, as someone who occasionally works with big camera lenses, this looks like one that's been hard bumped into a door knob. As soon as he notices it, it starts being all evil.

Doc attempts to resist the machine's mind control efforts and our villain, Yandroth, uses the opportunity to introduce himself.

Yandroth goes on to explain how awesome he is, how useless it is to try to stop him, and how he intends to marry the woman who just appeared on his doorstep moments ago and make her his queen. Next, the rest of the universe will fall before him. How original. Adkins gives us a nice big and impressive image to drive the point home.

Of course, Yandroth now invites Doc to challenge him. Doc ponders what the science vs. sorcery battle will be like.

While we may never know what was going on in the heads of the creative team who conjured these stories, I think Yandroth was meant to be Doc if he stuck with science and got even more selfish. They are both extremely arrogant, although Doc has been tempered from early days. They are both masters of their fields. They are both supremely confident.

Also, we are being led into unique territory. Until now, all his foes have been mystical ones. Now he'll be confronting a scientist. While Doc is an actual (non-practicing) medical doctor, he isn't a physicist. This is unfamiliar territory for him. What happens should be original at least.

These stories still feel padded. The extra page really doesn't help. Is Jim Lawrence deliberately indulging Adkins habit of giant panels and repetitive action as writing shortcuts? We may never know. At least next time we'll get a battle that isn't against zoo creatures.

#doctor strange #doctor strange reviews #strange tales #stephen strange #victoria bentley #yandroth

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old-man-spine · 3 months ago

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Okay okay I am tweaking so fucking hard right now I'm only on episode 4 right there 10 episodes in total so far and oh my God I I have bawled my eyeballs out their is character right his name is Scott Summers he has a wife right and her name is Jean Gray and I love Jean Gray but that's besides the point it turns out she's a fuking clone and at this point I should mention her and Scott have a child this guy kidnap their child and basically use him and gave him this like disease that there's no cure for and there's this other guy Bishop the time traveler so they give their baby to Bishop in hope theire is a cure in the future and they're like I promised I would give you the best life and if that means I'm not in it I can live with THAT HIT ME TO MY FUCKING CORE I want to just say this baby has not been in their life for more than like a day to 3 weeks and Scott didn't even say goodbye to his child because he was like I don't want to abandon my child because I know how it hurts it hurts to be abandoned I can't do that to my child so he doesn't say goodbye and this is really cute monologue between Jean and her baby so f*** you Magneto I hate you I hate you so f****** much you don't words cannot describe how much I hate this man context really quickly there's a thing called Xavier school for gifted youngsters and it's basically a friend for the X-Men so they don't basically get arrested and he dies right he gets killed in like some kind of Antietam whatever I don't know in Scott's just like I am going to be the leader of the X-Men and this guy just comes up and like no f*** you I was in the will you weren't and I know I know I know what he does with Rogue and it makes me want to shoot my self not joking context again Rogue is another person in the X-Men and her power is that what she touches people she basically zaps all their energy and kills them she can't touch people but for some reason with Magneto that's like Nolan void and she's dating Gambit which is another character he's like my favorite character and like she has like and they like I don't know but they touch each other right and you're probably saying oh that doesn't seem so bad but she's dating dammit and they dance together not her and Gambit her and Magneto or something like that I haven't got to that episode but I'm just thinking about it from gambits point of view like Gambit is a simp he is so down bad for rogue it is pathetic awesome it's like implied her and Magneto had like a relationship which is weird because it's pretty obvious Magneto is really gay for Xavier and there's a scene in the second episode where Rogue in Magneto or talking and he goes to take off her glove and I just like I I literally screamed at my TV I HATE YOU SO SO SOS SOSOSOSOS MUCH like thinking about it from gambits point of view like he was okay with not touching Rogue because he understands but like hurt he probably felt with his little girlfriend he's so down bad for basically touching tips with this guy that's basically a war criminal so Xavier why the f*** would you appoint a little fucking war criminal to be the head of the X-Men like he hates humans it's obvious he almost kills a bunch of people in the second episode I need to calm down this is a show it's not that serious also GAMBIT DIES IN THE SHOW I swear I'm not mentally prepared for that

#i knew...... some of that bc my mom actually loves the x men sooooo much #u filled in a lot of gaps in my knowledge tho lmao #micah tag!

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contaiinedarmageddon2 · 1 year ago

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@totallygnude

It was a pleasant surprise when browsing through some truly old data entries on the transportalyzer that the slimy Roxy Lalonde's coordinates were still in it. Sollux was able to simply punch it in and step onto the humming machine. One never got used to the blinding flash of the teleport, but the sight afterward was oh so familiar.

In the completely wrong way. Quite frankly he didn't remember what her house was supposed to look like whatsoever. It had been far too long for that. No, what was familiar was the expanse of gray metal under his feet with the pathways of lighter gray etched into it, in what was most assuredly a spirograph pattern. How long had it been since he'd been small? Oh he'd seen a few true giants since those busy early days, but that was them being large. Sollux had solved the smallness issue sweeps upon sweeps ago. Was it something about the age of the timeline relative to himself...?

Oh well, a question for another time. It's not like the zapping noise of the transportalyzer got any quieter just because it moved something smaller. Best to stick to on top of it where he was expected.

#totallygnude #RX Revisited

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plslovemeforeverandever · 1 year ago

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Not gonna lie Liquid is growing on me tbh. Snake's still my fav but I'm laughing at the idea of Snake realizing that Liquid's kidnappings are actually slowly working lmao. Stockholm syndrome works like a charm

Oh my god Liquid is terrifying yet somehow so...enthralling? Not sure how to describe it, but the man's got some kinda magnetism that draws people into his orbit.

He put all his points into charisma instead of wisdom 😢

Liquid probably wouldn't trigger a stockholm reaction on purpose, mostly because doesn't know what that is, but even if he was aware Liquid is too impatient for long-term planning. This is the dude who wants to nuke the world because daddy didn't love him enough to give him the Good genes (/j). Liquid wants his way and he wants it now damnit.

Why must you complicate things with your silly need for things like "freedom" and "taking it slow." You're perfect for each other, like two puzzle pieces clicking into a unified whole, just accept it already.

Snake like :| I find out i have a secret brother and now he's trying to take my future partner. Give the man a break he's so tired, running back and forth and back and forth through endless gray corridors, tranqing rando hostiles (and resisting the urge to snap their necks), getting zapped half to death by a gunslinging oldtimer with a chip on his shoulder- Snake fought a fucking TANK and won.

He's a one-man army loosed by lover's absence, and only with your touch will his rage abate.

If y/n fell for the smarmy terrorist brother, i think he'd snap. Snake in his murder-suicide era <\3

#yandere mgs #yandere metal gear solid #answer #srry for being late im mentally ill

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catgirlpuppy · 1 year ago

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First Meeting: Joule's Journey p.1

A short fic of how my OCs Joule, Mocha and Paprika first met.

After a long, exasperating morning at work, Joule was ready for a bit of relaxation. But first, she had a meeting to attend.

Her current landlord, a scummy old lady who Joule never got along with, was kicking her out at the end of the month. There was no love lost between the catgirl and the crotchety human lady, but it never felt nice to have your home taken away from you.

Well, it was never quite a home, though Joule had tried to make it one. She mentally crossed her fingers, hoping that this meetup with her potential new roommates would go well. If it did, she would have a place to move after she was kicked out. If it didn’t… well, let’s hope it does. No point planning for failure.

Walking down the street, the catgirl was coming up on the coffee shop where the meeting would take place. She instantly spotted the two girls she was here for through the window: a tall, curvy cow with cream-colored fur, a cropped pink blazer and an all-business blouse clearly modified to show a tasteful amount of her ample cleavage; and leaning affectionately against her in the booth, a short orange tabby in a loose white tank emblazoned with the phrase “THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS.”

The cowgirl immediately spotted Joule as she walked in the doors, and raised her hand in a friendly wave and a warm greeting smile. Joule waved back and thought, Wow, she’s gorgeous.

***

“Pap, she’s here,” said Mocha, nudging her girlfriend out of the purring reverie she had sunk into. She gestured with her snout towards the cat that had just walked inside, and was now ordering a drink at the counter. She’s lanky, thought the cow. And her hair could use some work. Still, she’s got some soft edges to her. And she’s pretty cute in an awkward sort of way…

“Oh fuck, she is hot!” Paprika whispered through her teeth as she smiled. The girl was now approaching, drink in hand. “I told you she would be! Look at that coat!”

Mocha had to agree; if the girl had a defining characteristic, it was her lustrous coat. Light gray, with darker stripes running down the back and patterning the face, with a near-white front-coat. Between the stripes, an undercoat of dark orange shone through in places, most prominently on her cute little nose and the tips of her short, wavy hair.

Mocha began to think her initial assessment of the girl was a tad unfair. Pap’s right, she actually is quite—

Mocha’s train of thought was cut short when the cat stubbed her paw on a wet floor sign and, as she was righting herself, slipped with her other paw in a puddle of coffee. Her lanky feet flew upwards, and her head took their place on the floor.

***

After Joule fell, about half a dozen people rushed over to her. It was all she could do to yell “Don’t touch me!” It came out far more harshly than she had intended, but it worked. The couple she was meeting, as well as the barista and several other patrons, stopped in their tracks. Paprika knelt down a few feet away, giving her plenty of space. Joule’s hackles were already standing up from the stress, and her curly hair was beginning to tingle and stand straight out.

Okay, now just calm down. You can do that. No need to zap anyone. Joule began the breathing exercises, but it was a paltry effort. Oh god, they think I’m stupid. And an asshole. There goes my chances with them… fuck. She could feel the static buzzing around her now, building in a sphere that would shock anyone who got too close.

She heard a voice, saying, “Wait, Mocha, don’t get too close. Hey, Joule, right? Are you okay? Can we help at all?”

Can she see my aura? “No! I mean, thank you… I just need to calm down. Then it’ll go away.”

“Alright. I’m Paprika, by the way. This is Mocha.” The tabby gestured upward towards the cowgirl, who was now standing at full height nearby. And her height was full indeed—she must be over six feet tall, and it’s curves all the way down!

”Anyway,” Paprika continued, “We just wanted to mention that we think your coat is gorgeous! Do you groom it yourself?”

In between her rhythmic in- and ex-halations, Joule answered, “Ahh… yeah, I guess. I just… do whatever…”

“That’s cool. I mostly self-groom, but every couple of months Mocha and I go to this salon down the street. They specialize in felines, so they really know how to treat a girl. Which reminds me, what are your pronouns? We’re both she—mostly, anyway, but sometimes I feel a little they/themmy, you know?”

“Uhm… yeah, sure, that makes sense. I’m she/her too.”

Mocha reached down an elegant hand to touch Paprika’s shoulder. “Love, we’re all set. Joule, honey, how are you feeling?”

To Joule’s surprise, she was feeling quite well. Weirdly well. She looked up at the cow.

Mocha simply winked.

***

“So your aura is electric?”

Mocha watched Joule intently as her girlfriend took the lead in the conversation, disguising her keen observation behind her genuine curiosity. The girl let out a weary sigh, and answered.

“Yeah. When I get anxious it builds up around me. Other emotions, too, but that's the big one. Most of the time it's not much more than a static shock, but it can be dangerous if I don’t keep a handle on it.”

Pap nodded. “Mine is similar. Things around me start to heat up, and if I’m not careful I can start fires.”

Joule offered a commiseratory expression, eyes locked on Pap. After staring for just a moment too long, she collected herself and turned to Mocha. “And you?”

Mocha sighed internally, outwardly maintaining the same cool, warm regard. Let’s hope this goes well. “My aura is emotional. If I’m not careful, my emotions project onto others.”

“So back there, that was..?”

“Mm hmm. But you did most of the hard work yourself. I just gave you a little nudge.” Mocha tried not to look sheepish. “I’m sorry if that makes you uncomfortable.”

“Are you kidding? You’re a lifesaver!” the gray cat was ecstatic. “That sounds incredibly useful!”

Mocha winced a bit, hoping it wasn’t too obvious. Pap glanced at her, and Mocha gave a small smile to say it's alright. “It can be.”

Now it was Joule’s turn to look sheepish. “Ah, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to imply… I know what it’s like, I was just really thankful that you helped me.”

“Really,” Mocha assured her, “It’s okay. I’ve had some bad experiences with it though, and it makes some people… uncomfortable.”

Mocha shook her head, and quickly changed the subject.

“To be honest, Joule, we’re pretty happy to find out that you’re a demi.”

Paprika perked up at this. “Yeah, our last roommate was a human and it didn’t go that great. She couldn’t handle the aura stuff, even though she kept insisting it was fine. It ended in a big argument, and I ended up—*accidentally*—setting her dress on fire.” The tabby looked down ashamedly at that last detail. “Anyway, we’re hoping that a demihuman will be easier. Someone who knows what they’re in for, and has a shared experience.”

Joule’s ears had perked up during the conversation. She was clearly struggling to hold in a giggle at the image of the roommate’s flaming dress. “I can imagine. I’m pretty excited about possibly living with other demihumans, too. Actually, I haven’t met many other cats outside of my family, and that’s just my parents.”

“And now you’ve met two more!”

“Oh!” Joule turned to Mocha. “Are you mixed, then?”

The cream-furred girl nodded. “My mother was a cow, but my father’s a cat.”

Joule smiled. “That’s great! I’ve just doubled the number of cats I’ve met, then!”

Then the gray cat’s face turned quite serious.

***

Okay, Joule, it’s showtime. Don’t mess this up! She took a steadying breath.

“Alright, so. I’m very quiet, and I don’t need a lot of space. I can contribute to groceries, and of course I’ll pay my share of rent and utilities every month on time. I can give you references to past roommates I’ve had, and they’ll all tell you that I’m very easy and reliable to live with. You don’t have to worry about my aura causing any damage, so—”

Paprika interrupted. ”—Whoa, slow down!”

Joule gulped. Fuck, goddamn it fuck, I ruined it, shit…

“How soon can you move in?”

Joule’s ears jumped straight up. “What?”

The tabby shared a glance with her girlfriend, who nodded with a warm smile. “We think you’re perfect. Do you want to move in with us?”

“Yes! Yes, I’d love to!” Joule calmed herself, steepling her fingers. “I mean, yeah, that works for me. I can move in as early as next week, and I can give you the first month’s rent right away.”

“Fuck yeah!” Paprika looked right into Joule’s eyes, and smiled. “Can’t wait to live with a cutie like you.”

“...What?”

“I said I can’t wait for you to move in!”

Mocha was rolling her eyes. “I think we’re all going to get along quite well.”

***

I'll be writing more about these three, and some other characters as well! Stories on this blog will be mostly fluff, lore and backstory, while @catgirltitty is where I'll post the smut. Thanks for reading!

So here's an introduction to my OCs and a bit of the lore surrounding them. I haven't touched on all of their powers yet, as I just wanted this to be an introduction to the concept of demihumans in this world having magic effects tied to their emotions.

#meow #gay #moo #trans #poly #story #fursona #mocha #paprika #joule #catgirl #cowgirl #furry #fic #fluff

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