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thetraumaking · 5 months ago

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The Accursed Crown

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Chapter 13

During your recovery time, you were ordered to mainly focus on tasks within the counsel(where, much to the opposition of the elder members, you held a position.) However, that didn’t stop you from guiding the young royals with their bending.

Now that Prince Zuko had finally started bending, you now held his and Azula’s training together. With the limited free time that you have, you try to teach them as much as possible.

One of the things you learned from that camp was that children develop faster when they have competition. The main reason as to why you have been conducting their training together was to inspire them individually. Yes, Azula is already leaps ahead of her brother, but you hoped that his eagerness might push her more. And vise versa, you hoped his sister’s achievements might spark a bit more drive into him so he fully devotes himself to his bending and training.

Seeing how well you were with your bending, and that the only training you had was at that camp surrounded by peers, you assumed that this was for the best.

You even managed to coach Azula with her anger. Now, whenever she feels that she’s pent up or frustrated, she goes to the grounds and burns the dummies.

Dipping the quill into the ink well, you continued on with your report. Within a week of time, the chieftain of the Northern Water Tribe and his child will be coming into the palace. Due to one of your most recent sieges against the Earth Kingdom, you had gained the Fire Nation a grand trading port, one which the Northern Water Tribe frequent in trading their goods. And seeing how the chieftain is personally coming in for negotiations, the issue that their economy faces must be an urgent one.

For today’s meeting, you, alongside the Fire Lord and his son, conversed on what to do and what possible benefits there are in going along with the waterbenders. After an hour or so, the meeting concluded. Once the Lord retired for the day, you stayed behind to make a written report for the council members and preparations for the palace staff.

Cracking your neck, you continued on writing while Prince Ozai read over the notes his father left. He didn’t waste time finishing reading them before he threw them on the table. “His old age seems to be taking a toll on his judgment.” He mumbled behind you.

Your hand did not stop moving. No citizen of the Fire Nation is allowed to speak negatively of the royal family, especially those who work in close quarters.

Ozai lets out a hum, “My child,” he calls to you, placing his much larger hand on your shoulder, “Do away with the performers. I see no such need to entertain a fallen man.”

Your writing halted. Swallowing dryly, “Your Highness-” you felt the grip on your shoulder tighten.

He let out a sigh, massaging your shoulder, “Dear, have I not told you to call me father?”

“... father?”

“Go on, speak your mind, my child.” His hand moved up to your nape.

“For the… entertainment, I have no say in their employment or contract, it was Lord Azulon who signed-” The stinging in your scalp cut you off as he grabbed you by the hair and shoved your head down. You felt each and every strand of hair being pulled as he tightened his grip.

“That father of mine has gone senile, as long as you do as I say and simply turn in that report of yours, everything will fall into place.” A strangled noise came from your throat as Ozai pulled your head back. He leaned down close to you, “Do you understand?”

“Yes… father.” You strained your neck.

He stared down at you for a second before letting you go with a smile. “Good, you may take your leave.”

You left without another word. Once the doors shut behind you, you heaved out a sigh. Looking down, you noticed your hands were shaking.

Just around the corner, where the palace training grounds were, you heard Azula and her brother argue and a desperate new trainer who tried to keep the peace. You lean on the wall, taking long and deep breaths to calm yourself before making your way to the siblings.

“What’s going on here?” Your voice puts a pause to the chaos as you step out from behind the pillar.

“6!” The two children yell out before running to you. With longer strides, Zuko was about to reach you first before Azula pulled him back by his hair, dragging him down before stepping on his back and jumping to you. She stuck the landing before sticking her tongue out to her brother. “Told you I’d win!”

As the two continued on bantering, their trainer ran up to you and bowed, “Major, I apologise for the unruly sight. I accept any and all punishment you see fit!”

You let out a sigh before crossing your arms, “No need, Lieutenant Zhao. You may also stand at ease. As for our young prince and princess, it is best to let them compete rather than letting them talk it out.” you look towards the two children as they both presented their flames. Declaring who was hotter and bigger.

“I see…” Zhao nodded along, “To let them compete… would a dual suffice?”

At the word, your wound itched. Placing a hand over your chest, you answered. “No, as much it is effective, between the two, Azula has more training and experience in bending compared to her brother.”

Zhao lets out a hum. He stood beside you as you watched over Azula and Zuko.

The two couldn’t seem to come to an agreement when they ran up to you once more with their fire in hand. Zuko was in front of you first this time before thrusting his open flames to you, his sister was quick to follow.

“6, you need to pick, who has the better fire?!” The boy was panting, sweat dribbling down his forehead as Azula stepped on his feet.

“It’s clearly mine, just look, since when have you seen blue fire? Mine’s better!” She pouted, still stepping on her brother’s feet.

“Nuh uh, the standard is red and yellow or orange and yellow. Mine’s better because fire is supposed to be this color!” Zuko argued, “And stop stepping on my foot!”

“Then you’re the default. Basic and boring.” She kicked him in the shin this time.

Despite their pestering, you kept your lips shut. The banter between children should stay between children. As an adult, if you were to answer, it would exemplify favouritism.

You shall keep your mouth shut and let the children deal with their problems.

Besides, a little competition wouldn't kill anyone.

Little do you know, your silence only added to their division. Azula, being the one who you spend the most time with, believed that you were confident in her abilities to deal with pesky problems like her brother, hence why your silence. She thought that you trusted her to come out victorious without your help. Your bond is just that strong.

There was this eager look in her eyes as she smiled up at you. Her fire reflected her emotions as it flickered brighter.

You then looked to Zuko, who was breathing heavily. He was straining himself, you concluded. It hasn’t been long since he started to bend, so it’s a given.

“Bending is like a muscle, the more you train it the better you become.” You lectured.

Before you get to continue, you notice Zuko’s face redden. His anger bursts, embarrassment maybe? “No! I’m going to train until I can beat Azula! I’m the eldest child in this family, it’s not right for me to be weaker than her!” He shouts.

“Hmp, face it Zuzu, you’re not even worth calling competition.” Azula sassed, her hands now folded over her chest. “You’re weak and pathetic, dealing with you is a waste of time.” She leaned her back on you.

Zuko’s fists clenched, his knuckles turning white. Smoke began to escape from his shaking fists when the smell of burned flesh hit your nose. You were quick to take hold of his hands and snap him out of his anger.

His palms were red, not yet burned but the damage was there. “No more bending for you, Zuko. Take time to heal your hands.”

As you’ve said before, bending is like muscle. As fire benders, you are more resilient against the element compared to those of other nations. But to be proficient with your arts, you must practise to build up your resilience. Similar to how you, Azula, and the countless peers you have trained and grown up with, one can’t suddenly bend fire that is too hot for them to handle, if not, the result would be varying degrees of burns on their hands and legs.

Build up for hotter flames and practice for accuracy.

“See? You’re just a weakling.”

“That is not how one speaks to their family, Azula.”

Your body stiffened when you heard her voice. Zhao was quick to turn around and bow to the princess. Ursa greeted him before letting him off for today.

Ursa walked past you before patting her son on the head. “My dear, why don’t you go and freshen up? I’ll meet you in your room once I’m done talking to 6.” Once she got a meek nod from him, she turned and sent you a smile before looking at Azula, “And dear, why don’t you take a bath as well? I’m sure your training with Lieutenant Zhao worked up quite a sweat.”

“As if, you could barely call that training. Unlike Zuzu, I can handle my warm-ups.”

When Ursa sent a look your way, you didn’t meet her eye but nodded nonetheless.

Azula frowned up at you when you pushed her off of you. You quietly walked her towards the terrace, “I’ll be with you in an hour, in the meantime, why don’t you-”

She lets out a sigh, “I don’t like it when you have your little talks with mother.” She looked at you over her shoulder, “You always come back later than the time you said you would.”

“Azula…”

“Yeah yeah, I’ll go.” she rolled her eyes, “What do you even talk about anyway…” she mumbled out with each step.

Once she was out of sight, you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. You don’t recall going on a run today or yesterday, but your legs felt weak. Shaky even.

You walked back to the training ground, but there was no sight of the older woman. Clinging to hope, you prayed that she had left you. Strength regained back to your legs as you looked around, eager to be left in your lonesome.

Your mood faltered when you finally spotted her. She was on the balcony, looking down at the garden below her.

You steeled your nerves, despite every fibre of your being begging you to run away, you didn’t. You had to do your job. Squeezing your hand twice or thrice, you walked up to her. With each step, it felt as if you were walking in mud, your legs feeling heavier with each step you took.

Once you were standing beside her, she leaned her head on your shoulder. In response, your body stiffened. You felt a shiver run up your spine when she stepped behind you.

“Look at me, 6.”

You turned.

Now with the stone fence against your back, you faced her. She stocked closed so her front rested against your chest. Her arms around your waist with her hands on your shoulder blades.

“I remember a time where I had to bend down to hug you.” She mumbled against your chest. She lets out a hum when she hears your heartbeat spike up. “And now look at us. You have grown so much…”

You stayed frozen. Letting her do as she pleased… once more.

Every breath you took was painful and ragged, it felt better to hold them and pray for it to end. Each intake was shaky as you tried to ignore the grip on you.

She lets out a sigh by your ear. Hot breath hitting you as you clenched your jaw.

Her hand lowered from your shoulders to your waist, later to your hips, and finally, to your upper thighs, all the while dragging her nails down your sides.

“You’re the only one for me, 6.” She whispered in your right ear. Her breath hits you, making you wince.

You stayed there in her arms, frozen and humiliated. To be degraded like this, what had you done in your past life to go through such shame?

Biting your lips, you let the warm blood fill your mouth. The metallic, familiar taste the only thing to ground you.

You stood there, being touched, until Ursa was satisfied. She left a kiss on your cheek before taking her leave.

You were tempted to burn it off but thought it would be too obvious. Letting out a sigh, you wiped your face with your sleeve before going to bid Azula goodnight.

In the end, when you made it to her room, you felt exhausted. Your body felt fine, similar to those nights when you wanted sleep but your body didn’t let you. You knocked on the door before stepping in, closing it behind you.

“And again, you came back late. What took you so long?” Azula was standing in the middle of her room, arms crossed and pouty.

You didn’t answer her, “Why aren’t you in your night robe? It’s already late out.”

“That’s why.” She moved to her bed, “I was going to go retrieve you, recon mission you could say.” she sat down.

“What were you trying to save me from?”

“...” she raised an eyebrow.

“... I appreciate the thought… truly.” You kneel before her, taking her shoes off so you could put her to bed.

“You don’t have to do that, you know, I’m not a kid.” she took her shoe away from you before throwing it away from your reach. She stood up on her bed, ushering you to stand up as well.

“And you don’t need to put me in bed.” Her ears turned the smallest shade of pink, “But, if you really can’t help yourself, I guess I wouldn’t mind humouring you.” She scratched her cheek, looking at you from the sides of her eyes.

She spread her arms wide, waiting for you to embrace her. Once you did, she got on her tippy toes to fully wrap her arms around your neck.

You felt your blood run cold when she exhaled at your ear.

Your right ear.

Exactly where her mother-

No, she wouldn’t have known. Azula wouldn’t have been watching over your interaction with her.

If she did, she would have made her presence known. She would have stopped it.

Wouldn’t she?

#fanfic #atla #atla azula #avatar the last airbender #azula x reader #fire lord azula #fire lord ozai #prince zuko #princess ursa

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grits-galraisedinthesouth · 4 months ago

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Interesting. Very Interesting. 🤔

"Get your news from people who have a track record of telling the truth, people who do so at significant personal cost like whistleblowers."-Bill Ackman, Democrat Billionaire Hedgefund Manager

"Billionaire hedge fund manager and longtime Democratic Party donor Bill Ackman has blasted the Democrat party and fake news mainstream media outlets for lying and misleading the country about Joe Biden’s health and mental acuity. The White House, mainstream media, and even Biden’s personal physician have continually defended the Biden, insisting he is in good health and fit to serve. DEI White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre lashed out at conservative media outlets for circulating what she described as “cheap fake videos” of Joe Biden looking old, feeble, and senile. Joe Biden and Barack Obama appeared on stage together earlier this month at a fundraiser in Los Angeles, California. After the fundraiser wrapped up, Obama had to grab Joe Biden’s hand to lead him off stage. Biden was frozen. Barack Obama treated Biden like a nursing home patient and walked him off stage. Earlier this year, during a routine physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Biden joked about his health status. When asked about his physical examination and what his doctors had to say, he responded, “They think I look too young,” adding that “Everything’s great” regarding his health. Dr. Kevin O’Connor, responsible for evaluating the 81-year-old President, concluded that despite any perceived physical struggles, Biden is “fit for duty and fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations.” Notably, the examination did NOT include a cognitive assessment test. The White House was probably scared of the results, knowing they would doom Biden’s re-election bid for good. However, big-time lefty and longtime Democratic donor Bill Ackman, who previously said he was open to voting for Trump, has publicly blasted the Democratic party and mainstream media for misleading the country about Joe Biden’s mental acuity and health."

@BillAckman

As much as last night was an indictment of the Democratic Party for misleading party members and the country about the mental acuity and health of the president, the media deserve far more derision and scorn. I and others were repeatedly criticized by the media for questioning the competency of the president. Among other false accusations, I was accused of spreading misleading videos which clearly showed Biden’s deterioration.

Do you remember the heavily excerpted and edited @POTUS Biden @60Minutes interview where the interviewer covered for the president by saying he was ‘very tired?’ @60Minutes knew. The @nytimes knew. @CNN knew. @MSNBC knew. Left wing media have had total and complete access to the president, his staff, and his administration. They all knew, but they told you otherwise. They outright lied to you. When Robert Hur, the special counsel who deposed the president, said that the president was not fit to stand trial and therefore chose not to bring charges, the media described him as a tool of the Republican Party and character assassinated him. When the @WSJ recently published a several-thousand-word, carefully researched, front page piece on the president’s mental and physical health, it was described by left wing media as outright propaganda. Now consider who has been feeding you propaganda. A favored technique of some of the most evil leaders in history was to mislead the people by constantly repeating the Big Lie. The Big Lie is so audacious that people accept it as truth because it is repeated so often that how can it be that something so important and material could be an outright falsehood? In this case the Big Lie was our president’s fitness for office, let alone a second term. A media organization is not supposed to be a branch of the Democratic Party. The media have a profound obligation to tell the truth to the American people, particularly about something as critical for the country as the president’s mental and physical health. People very close to me, my closest family and friends, trusted the media on Biden until the @CNN commentators finally owned up to the truth about Biden last night. For months I have been accused by many friends and family of being misled by an @X -based ‘right wing echo chamber.’ The sad reality is that one of our most important institutions, the so-called ‘Fourth Estate,’ fourth only after the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners, has destroyed any remaining credibility it has. Consider how your perception of @POTUS Biden and @realDonaldTrump has been manipulated. The media can no longer save itself. A suggestion. Rely on empirical data as much as possible. Listen to what someone actually said, rather than a headline summary or article about what someone said. Get your news from people who have a track record of telling the truth, people who do so at significant personal cost like whistleblowers. I follow broad constituencies on @X on multiple issues. That has led me closer to the truth. Citizen journalism has been a much more accurate representation of reality. Thank you @elonmusk for saving this platform. It gives us a fighting chance to save our democracy.

youtube

#bill ackman #free speech #citizen journalists #deep state #fake news #propaganda #biden's broken brain #elon musk #twitter #free trump #Hunter's laptop #Hillary's emails #dementia joe #joe biden

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princess-of-thebes-1995 · 1 year ago

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"My poor baby wants a baby inside of her?" Grindelwald teasingly cooed to you as if he was speaking to a child. He read your thoughts when you saw a woman and her newborn son while walking at the park with Grindelwald.

The older man seemed to get an idea and was thrilled. He acted more like a brute when he pounced inside of you. The quiet room echoed his skin slapping against your thigh skin. You were mad that you cannot even think! You lost all freedom thanks to your kidnapper.

An elderly man from a magical world kidnapped you and raped you then told you he will marry you. A stranger.

…………

"Sir, she is still not pregnant." A healer checked your womb. Grindelwald clicked his teeth in annoyance. He dismissed the healer. You flinched when you saw Grindelwald throw items across and punch the wall.

"I think you're sterile." That caused the elderly man to tense and he spun around to face you. He chokes you hard. He didn't say anything but stared at you down.

He then removed his belt.

Grindelwald clutched his face. He was in his study alone. He is in his late fifties. He wants kids now. He knew you want babies later since you are only nineteen. But, he is not as young as you. Even if he gets babies later with you. He will die of old age when they are new adults. He wants to see at least one grandchild.

Grindelwald ran a hand through his Gray streaked hair. Is he old and senile?

Grindelwald had to leave. Another damn auror tried to arrest his men. While you were alone, you saw Credence come in. Your lover. He wasted no time to run to you and kiss you. You gently clutched his hair and he grabbed your face to kiss you hard.

"I heard the master wants a baby."

You rolled your eyes. But, Credence painfully parted from you.

"He is not young to produce." Your lover stroked your legs. "I can help."

Your eyes widened.

"I will die soon from my illness anyway. I want you to always remember me."

You gasped. You did everything either Credence but intercourse. Are you willing to endanger your life for his happiness? Credence has done so much for you. Will you pay him back for his kindness?

#yandere gellert grindelwald #gellert grindelwald x reader #gellert grindelwald #fantastic beasts secrets of dumbledore #credence barebone #mads mikkelsen #yandere gellert grindelwald x reader

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albentelisa · 6 months ago

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Hi! So this ask is angsty but you can make it better for Jim if you want.

What if Jim was living with James Sr due to his mom supposedly abandoning him at a young age?

To make matters worse for him, this version of James Sr was physically abusive towards Jim and Barabra before the separation.

Nancy and Toby are aware of James being abusive towards his son, but they can't prove anything. The most they can do is offer Jim sanctuary if James gets really bad.

Needless to say, when the Trolls figure out their Trollhunter is being abused, they aren't happy. Neither is Strickler or Claire.

Oh, some great angst potential here O.O

So, the backstory is that James is extremely controlling when it comes to his relationships, and Barbara tried her best to fight it. Jim was used as a tool for blackmail too many times and Barbara genuinely wished she could take her son and escape. Unfortunately for her, James orchastrated it the way that everyone around them thought that Barbara was a horrible mother and no one was willing to help her. When Jim was 5, James took him and secretly moved to Arcadia. He also kept telling Jim (and everyone else he met afterward) that Barbara abandoned her son. Jim, however, starts to question it when he's older (it's one of his ways to cope with his horrible situation at home).

James is pretty much controlling with Jim too, making every single decision for him, including who he can communicate with or what he can or cannot wear. But James is really cunning abuser as most of his neighbors and acquaintances have no idea about the abuse. Nana and Toby are rare exceptions, but James makes everyone believe that Nana is just a senile old lady, so her word means nothing.

Jim is used to the situation where most people don't believe his words, so it takes a lot of time before he fully opens to anyone about his situation at home.

The thing that causes even more abuse is that James believes in supernatural, while Jim doesn't (and sometimes lets out sarcastic comments about that). However, from Jim's point of view, if the supernatural creatures existed, they would be good ones (simply because his father is convinced they are bad).

Everything changes when Jim finds the amulet and at some point he even considers to ask Blinky if he can live at the Trollmarket, but gives up on the idea as he's unsure if trolls will be that understanding and doesn't want to create more trouble for Nana (as James will accuse her first). Blinky, however, realizes that something is off with Jim's family and investigates a bit. He consults Toby later (as he isn't sure what is 'normal' for human families and realizes how messed is Jim's situation).

Strickler learns about Jim's situation at home around that time, and it makes him conflicted as Jim is Trollhunter. Though, he makes a mental compromise of 'saving Jim to earn his trust and then get the amulet'. Besides, he stumbles upon Barbara who has been searching for her son for years and now has no idea how to approach Jim and reconnect with him. Strickler helps her to get a job as a school nurse, so she can be at school without causing any suspicions. She gets an opportunity to talk to Jim several times but is reluctant to tell him the truth at first (as she is scared of rejection).

Claire is the one who accidentally learns that Barbara is Jim's mom (she overhears her conversation with Strickler). She encounters Barbara about it and discovers that James is abusive (she had a hunch that something was wrong with Jim's family, seeing how much he tensed when his dad was mentioned). Even though Claire isn't that close to Jim at this point (they are just partners at the school play), she decides to step in and tells Toby about Barbara.

From now on, there are multiple people (and trolls) on Jim's side with different ideas how to help him. Claire actually asks her mother for advice, wondering if there are legal measures. Strickler, on the other hand, decides to involve his connections, some of which are borderline illegal. And several parties consider feeding James to Bular (Toby is the first one to propose it, but Draal, Blinky and Strickler also think about it at some point).

Nevertheless, none of those plans are needed as James search for the supernatural results in his demise by goblins' hands and Jim has no idea what to do now. The official version is that James ran away and abandoned his son (and Strickler does everything so that the abuse fact becomes well-known and Barbara can be back as Jim's parent). Jim moves to Barbara's house, even though it's awkward to both of them (and he's slightly upset that she didn't tell him about their connection before). From now on, they try to catch up on everything they missed through the years, even if the road is bumpy. Jim doesn't tell Barbara about his trollhunting (because, well, while James is gone, Jim's distrust remains).

As for Strickler, he soon finds himself in a relationship with Barbara, which adds a bit to awkwardness factor (though, Jim doesn't mind as he considers Strickler one of the rare people he more or less trusts).

The trollhunting job continues smoothly, and the team slays Bular. Strickler isn't exposed in this AU, but NotEnrique still gets into Claire's family and that's how she learns about trolls.

Meanwhile, Strickler (who has gotten closer to both Barbara and Jim), realizes that without Bular around, there's no need to free Gunmar and he can easily continue with the Janus Order's secret takeover of the world. After all, he wasn't exposed in this AU, so basically no one suspects him. Strickler also thinks that the Killahead is save as it's at the Trollmarket and no one there has a reason to open it.

He never considered several things. First - NotEnrique busts himself, meaning that Jim now has the reason to open the gate to the Darklands. Second - a part of the Janus Order remains loyal to Gunmar. They liberate Angor Rot too.

One thing leads to another and Strickler ends exposed by both Jim and Barbara (who also learns about the whole trollhunting deal). Jim is even more devastated than in canon as Strickler was one of the people who he trusted and who seemingly tried to help, and Barbara is close to giving up on relationships altogether, seeing how her choice of men keep making everything worse.

Strickler gets a chance to redeem himself a bit as he saves Barbara from Angor Rot, but he still temporarily leaves like in the canon.

#tales of arcadia #toa #toa au #what if scenario #jim lives with his dad #jim lake jr #barbara lake #james lake sr #walter strickler #text post #ask box #anon ask

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fsfghgee · 1 year ago

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MY, YOUR, OUR WEAKNESS

Tomas x Bi-Han x Kuai Liang

~~~~~~~~~ฯ~~~~~~~~~~ฯ~~~~~~~~~~~ฯ~~~~~~~~~~ฯ~~

- She's gone.

- No! My mother can't be dead! She's too strong, powerful to…

- She's gone, Bi-Han!

- N-No… N-No, It can't be true…

- Bi-Han, son. You got to stay strong to…

- This is all your fault… - Moving away from his father's touch on his shoulder, the younger cryomancer froze the older one's feet before hurriedly walking away with watery eyes. - You let my mother die for this damn realm!

- Bi-Han!

- Stay away from me! Never put your hands on me again!

Tomas was passing through the corridor towards the practice room of Xiaoqing, the Lin Kuei's Elder Arcanist, when he heard screams and soon saw Bi-Han running out of the Grandmaster's office.

Worried, he decided to follow the young cryomancer into the bedroom.

- Brother, are you…

- Don't call me that! - Said coldly, despite his voice shaking from crying. - Y-You don't have that right.

- B-But I thought…

- I only have one brother! - Bi-Han almost shouted before looking at the Slavic. - A-And his name is Kuai Liang.

Just turning towards the bed, without having time to reach it, his knees got weak and the cryomancer succumbed to the pain.

Tomas, feeling pity - and something else - squeezing his heart, knelt down too and hugged him tightly from behind.

- I know how you're feeling... - Unable to contain his own tears, the younger wet the cryomancer's shoulder. - I know how deep is the pain you are feeling right now. I've felt it too... - Bi-Han just cried, Tomas whispered close to his ear in the hope of comforting him. - And it also hurts me to lose my second mother. - And how it hurt... - But this will pass, you will...

- F-Forget my mother like you did yours? This will never happen! - Bi-Han let go of Tomas' arms with renewed strength. Standing up as if he were possessed, shaking with rage. - All those… - Tomas had never seen him with so much hatred in his eyes. - All those responsible for her death...

- Bi-Han…

- Will pay! E-Everyone… Everyone will pay.

…..

- Bi-Han, I did it! I finally managed to master Typhokinesis! - Tomas was smiling from ear to ear. He had waited for hours – at the entrance of the Lin Kuei's fortress – for the return of his older brother just to tell him the news. - Father said I can join you and Kuai Liang on the next mission.

- What? - Bi-Han sounded almost outraged, cursing under his breath. - What is that old fool thinking?

- Bi-Han... - Tomas followed behind the older and colder one, still yearning for kind words and maybe his touch... - A-Are you proud of me?

He craved love, any display of affection, from the cryomancer.

- Why should I be? - Not even bothering to look at the younger one, he quickened his pace. Too angry at the possibility of having to take someone as weak as Tomas on a mission.

- B-Because we are brothers.

- I only have one brother.

- B-But father said that…

- He's a senile old fool! - In the way that always took Tomas' breath away and made him shake like a scared child again, Bi-Han looked him in the eyes and stated in a firm voice. - I don't care at all about the things he says. You and I are not equal!

….

- Father is dead.

- Dead? What do you mean dead? H-He can’t be…

- He's dead, Kuai Liang!

- H-How did this happen?! You were with him, Bi-Han! H-How come you don’t…

- I tried to save him! - Seeing his younger brother's deplorable state, he decided to lie coldly, hoping to alleviate his pain. - But I couldn't... - The pain in Kuai Liang and Tomas' eyes was visible despite the tears, a pain that Bi-Han didn't share. - Everything happened so fast. When I got there it was already too late.

Kuai Liang started panting from crying, collapsing on the floor crying compulsively.

Tomas could barely stand in the late cryomancer's office, just watching Kuai Liang fall apart and controlling the growing willingness to do the same. Before he took the first step to console Kuai Liang, Bi-Han knelt down in front of his younger brother and hugged him.

- He's gone. But our life goes on, brother. - Bi-Han said calmly, stroking Kuai Liang's hair and holding him tighter. - I'll always be here for you. I will always be by your side. - The young pyromancer just cried, returning his older brother's hug and succumbing to the pain that consumed him. - Everything will be fine.

Bi-Han noticed when the typhomancer ran out of the office, but his priority was in his arms and he would not leave his blood brother to comfort the orphan.

Tomas was aware that for a long time Bi-Han only saw him as a burden and, not wanting to receive the older man's look of scepticism again, he ran to his own room and closed the door before throwing himself on the bed to burst into tears.

He couldn't believe that his father, Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei, a man always so strong and powerful, could be dead.

- N-Not again. - He squeezed the pillow, already damp from crying. - N-Not a-again…

Unable to help it, his thoughts sailed through his deepest memories, returning to the pain he felt in his childhood when he lost his twin sister and biological mother, then the death of his adoptive mother who treated him like her own son until she died in combat when he was still a teenager…

Now another one, his father and Grandmaster, having just entered adulthood.

He could barely breathe and felt like he was going to pass out from so much pain and sadness.

"Why do I keep losing the ones I love?"

"Why?!"

- Tomas. - The youngest Lin Kuei sniffed deeply when he heard Bi-Han's voice followed by a few knocks on the door. - Tomas, are you okay?

"Am I?"

Tomas looked at the clock on the bedside table:

2:40 A.M.

"How can I be okay if 7 hours ago you said our father had died?"

- Tomas?

- I… I am.

- Good.

He left.

He didn't want to come in to see how I was...

He never hugged me...

He didn't look me in the eyes to see how much I lied and how much I needed him to hold me tight.

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cookies-and-music · 6 months ago

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Ghost. - part 16: Carousel

My suggestion for this chapter is, of course, Carousel by Melanie Martinez, it's a totally different topic but it somehow sunded right.

Part 1 here - part 17 will be published on Sunday

PAIRING: TVA!LokixOC

TAG LIST: @kats72 ; @mischief2sarawr ; @m3ntally-unstable

SUMMARY: Loki meets sombody at the TVA he once knew. Unfortunately she doesn't seem to remember him.

"A retirement home?" Lydia wrinkled her nose.

"The retirement home," Mobius specified, "the one where Loki placed Odin in order to take over Asgard."

"Oh," Loki's past certainly didn't make the mission to save him simple "Maybe we shouldn't mention Loki to him."

"Nope" Mobius shook his head.

They entered the white structure and asked the lady at the front desk to see Mr. Borrson. She looked at them surprised.

"Are you family?"

"No, is that a problem?" asked Mobius.

"No, it's just that he's been here for a while and no one has come to visit him," she shrugged, handing them badges labeled visitor "Wear these and come with me."

She led them through the facility to what looked more like a communal space for prisoners rather than a recreational room.

"Mr. Borrson, there are some people here to see you," the woman briefly touched his shoulder.

Odin turned towards the two visitors who were waving at him with slightly embarrassed smiles. He smiled at the nurse, which she took as a sign to leave, and she walked away, leaving them alone.

"May we sit?" Mobius asked, indicating the sofa next to the armchair where he was seated.

"Certainly," he nodded.

Lydia sat between them. She hadn't formed a clear idea of what to expect when meeting the father of the gods, but she certainly hadn't expected such an… ordinary old man. Wearing a plaid shirt tucked into brown pants held up by a worn-out belt.

"My name is Mobius and this is my colleague Lydia."

"And tell me, do I know you?"

"No, unfortunately not," Mobius shook his head, "but we know who you are, and we are truly honored to meet you."

"And who am I?" He asked, raising his thick eyebrows.

"Well, we know who you really are" Mobius smiled slyly.

"And who am I, really?" Odin smiled again.

"Mr. Borrson, we know that you are actually Odin, father of all gods and king of everything else," Lydia's limited patience had already run out "We need your help with a matter of utmost importance and would like to ask you some questions, if you permit."

Odin furrowed his brows and squinted his remaining eye. "I think you have the wrong person."

"No, we don't have the wrong person" Lydia clenched her jaw.

"Trust me, dear, you do. I don't know who you're looking for, but I don't know you, and if you knew me, you'd know I spent my life as a judge, not a king, and certainly I have no children," he shrugged "I'm senile, but that much I remember well."

"Damn" Lydia widened her eyes before closing them, covering her eyes with one hand. "He's right."

"He's had his memory wiped," Mobius sighed next to her, shaking his head. "How could we forget that?"

"Fucking Loki, even from the afterlife he makes my life impossible," Lydia stood up, starting to pace around the sofas.

"Loki is dead?"

"No, but it's like – HEY!" Lydia stopped, gripping the sofa tightly. "You lied!"

"Well, did you expect me to reveal my identity to two strangers?" Odin adjusted himself in the armchair, sarcastically laughing. "If you know my son, you should have started with that."

"Wasn't Loki's spell supposed to enchant you?" Mobius furrowed his brows, leaning towards him.

"Loki is as skilled as his mother, but I am still Odin," he clasped his hands over his round belly "now tell me, what has happened to my son?"

"Nothing," Mobius shook his head "Just a small matter, really."

"Really? Because she just said he's dead" Odin pointed to Lydia, who was still standing behind Mobius.

"Well… he's not exactly dead" She exchanged a look with Mobius. "Would you prefer him to be alive or dead?" Lydia gave a weak smile.

"Come on, young lady, we're talking about my son."

The one who had scrambled his mind and parked him in a retirement home...

"Exactly" Lydia shrugged.

"Alive" he specified.

"Perfect, because he is!" Mobius clasped his hands in front of him. "He's just trapped, so to speak, in a prison he himself created. If we break the prison, we die; if we leave him there-"

"For him, it's worse than death," Lydia crossed her arms from her position. "Moreover, that prison is practically Yggdrasil."

"And this is where you come in," Mobius smiled at Odin. "We know that you know everything about the tree, and if there's a way to free him maybe-"

"You shouldn't," Odin shook his head.

"What? Why?" Lydia straightened up.

"Because if he did it, it's his choice. My son is not stupid, but he puts himself and power above all else; he's ambitious and selfish."

"How can you say such a thing?" she snapped "Sure, he's made mistakes, but the reason he condemned himself to an existence of solitude is to save us, to save him," she waved a finger as she continued listing "me, our friends, and the entire universe, including you."

Mobius ran a hand over his face, pressing his fingers against his eyes. "Lydia…" he sighed.

"What? Am I wrong?"

"Just breathe."

Lydia stopped, realizing she had lost her temper again, and took a trembling breath to calm herself.

"We know this is the person you know, Odin, but we have known someone very different, who has learned from his mistakes and tried to be better enough to be loved by those around him, to have friends." Mobius spoke calmly "So please help us, we are begging you" Mobius glanced at Lydia, who kept her head down.

Odin crossed his arms, looking from one to the other.

"Very well," he sighed. "Ask your questions, but you might not get the answers you desire."

Lydia raised her gaze to Mobius, who nodded, then she sat back down on the sofa, this time positioning herself between her collegue and the armrest.

"Is there a way to destroy Yggdrasil without causing a Ragnarok?" Mobius began.

"No," Odin replied curtly.

"And what about a way to get Loki out of there without destroying Yggdrasil?"

"No," Odin shook his head again.

"He's not cooperating," Lydia extended a hand before letting it fall loudly onto her leg "We're wasting time, again."

"Lydia," Mobius turned to her with a more severe look "Go get some water."

"I'm not thirsty," she furrowed her brows.

"Go get some water before I find a puddle and use it to drown you."

Lydia sighed and walked away, leaving Mobius to continue. After all, it was his idea to talk to Odin; it was only right he handled it. She walked down the corridor to a water fountain, pulled her hair to one side, and bent down to drink.

"Right, Time."

Lydia furrowed her brows; she knew that voice.

"What?"

She straightened up and saw the distorted reflection of herself in the fountain pipe, and behind her, Loki's shape.

She turned quickly but found only a young red-haired janitor.

"I said be careful with the water; your tie is all wet."

Lydia looked down at the fabric that was indeed wet and wiped her mouth with the back of a hand.

"Thanks" she murmured before walking away towards one of the bathrooms.

She opened the door and approached one of the hand dryers, turning it on with a sigh and putting the end of her tie under it.

How crazy. She was convinced she had heard his voice. Hallucinations were a new level of compromise. Mobius was right to tell her to calm down. Maybe there was some medication she could steal from the facility. Any would do; maybe it wouldn't make her better, but it would give her a nice trip.

"Excuse me" called a lady behind her, "do you mind using the right time?"

"What, excuse me?" Lydia furrowed her brows.

"I should use the right time" she pointed to the dryer with a smile.

"…Please…" Lydia took a few steps back, confused. She watched the woman dry her hands serenely, then smile at her before leaving.

"What the hell…"

It wasn't possible. Three times, the same hallucination with the same voice. It wasn't possible, or maybe it was? When she was captured as a variant and brought before Renslayer, even the whole concept of the TVA seemed impossible.

She leaned her backside against a sink. Maybe she was just trying to give a logical explanation to her own madness, but what if it was indeed him? Loki had become the god of time, but he hadn't stopped being the god of mischief. He could access anyone at any place and time and maybe enchant them. She wasn't sure how his magic worked, but if anyone could do something like that, it was him.

"Yes, but what right time?" She gripped the marble behind her, thinking out loud. "Loki, damn it, help me, what's the right time?" She looked up but saw only the ceiling.

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Come on, Lydia, think."

Odin sleeps hanging from Yggdrasil. Odin knows everything about Yggdrasil. Loki created Yggdrasil.

Something didn't add up. If Odin hung himself on the Yggdrasil tree but this wasn't created by Loki yet, what did Odin hang himself on?

Unless there were two Yggdrasil trees. Was that possible? Maybe. Fortunately, she knew who to ask.

She ran out of the bathroom and went straight to Odin, still talking to Mobius. She didn't know about what, it wasn't important.

"Can there be two Yggdrasils?" She interrupted.

"Of course not" he smiled at her as if she were crazy.

"No" she repeated. Not two Yggdrasils.

"Are you okay?" Mobius asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I have, but we'll talk about that later" Lydia shook her head, focusing.

It's just fucking tree. The one she repeated every day since she started looking for solutions to Loki's condition. A fucking tree, and trees are ancient, not eternal.

"Is it possible for Yggdrasil to die?"

"Of course," Odin nodded.

"And in that case, there would be a Ragnarok, right?"

Odin nodded again.

"But Yggdrasil is a magical tree, right? I don't think it can rot or… or be infested and consumed by parasites."

"Obviously. It's fueled by a magical core, a sort of heart."

"Who created that magical core?"

Odin paused, and slowly a smile spread across his face, one that reached his eye this time.

"I think you already know the answer."

Son of a bitch. She couldn't say it to the father of gods, but she thought it very, very intensely.

"Sorry, I'm lost," Mobius interjected.

"He came into contact with Yggdrasil, right? But that's not possible because the Yggdrasil we know wasn't created yet. That means we're talking about two different trees."

"And how does that help us?" Mobius furrowed his brows, looking at her as if she were crazy. Lydia was not crazy.

"Allow me to help you," Odin cleared his throat. "I think there's a translation problem. Our Ragnarok doesn't exactly equate to your apocalypse, but rather to a rebirth. In the ancient stories of our peoples, it is told of several Ragnaroks, in which a world was destroyed to allow the rebirth of the same and the gods who inhabit it. And according to these stories, there are certain figures who always perform the same task: who creates the tree and who destroys it, to then make it reborn."

"And how would destroying the tree help me if to do so I would have to kill Loki?" Her tone was slightly irritated.

"Nobody said anything about killing our Loki. There have been many Lokis and many Lydias, many Thors and many Asgards throughout history."

"Are you talking about reincarnation?"

"He's talking about variants," Mobius interjected, throwing a glance at Lydia, who raised her eyebrows, shaking her head indicating she didn't understand.

"After all, Norse mythology is full of cyclical myths. Everything is destroyed before the gods come back to life and rebuild."

Odin must have felt particularly generous that day, because he decided to help them with one last piece of information.

"You've studied," he smiled, pleased, "but allow me to give you one more detail, something you won't find in any text. The tree is not powered by Loki himself, but by his power, which is encapsulated in the heart of Yggdrasil and those, my guests, are two very different things."

EXTRALONG CHAPTER FOR MY DEAR READERS. I FEEL LIKE LYDIA'S MOOD IS "LOKI MA BOY IZ DAT U?"... GURL IS ONE MENTAL BREAKDOWN AWAY FROM MADNESS, AND I KINDA FEEL THAT. AS USUAL THANKS FOR READING AND A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO @mischief2sarawr FOR ALWAYS SUPPORTING ME <3. SEE YOU SOON. AAAAND IF YOU WANNA SEE LOKI YOU GOTTA WAIT, THAT'S THE PRICE FOR TRYING TO SAVE THE DUDE.

#fanfic #loki series #loki #loki laufeyson #loki x reader #loki x oc #loki season 2 #loki x reader images #loki x you #loki x y/n #tva!loki #tva!lokixreader #tva!lokixoc #tom hiddleston #ghost

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darthfrodophantom · 11 months ago

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Family Traditions (We Are a Family...Right?)

Summary: Summary contains AGIT spoilers! Inspired by the Christmas season, Vlad takes his two charges Dan and Dani to select a Christmas tree for their first Christmas together. Dani is thrilled by the outing, Dan...not so much. And Vlad is left to ruminate on his nostalgic memories and the meaning of the word family.

Happy Holiday Truce @northerngrail! I'm your Secret Santa! I really hope you enjoy your gift this year! Thank you for the wonderful prompts! I decided to go with this one for your gift:

Prompt: The Masters family (Vlad, Dan, Dani) doing something incredibly stereotypically "family bonding" ie: fishing, road trip, etc. And suffering through it (happily)

AO3

CW: AGIT Spoilers!

Family Traditions (We Are a Family...Right?)

He didn’t know what drove him to think this idea would go well. Maybe he thought this living arrangement meant more than it actually did. Maybe he finally had some hope that something would change. Or maybe he was just getting soft and senile in his old age. Vlad realized with a sharp jab of annoyance mixed with pain that it was probably the latter.

He couldn’t really put a name on what living situation he had now with the young Danielle and the redemption-seeking Dan. Parent? No, that felt far too familiar. Warden? In the case of Dan that sometimes felt appropriate. Caretaker? He certainly did watch out for them, but even that seemed a little distant for the paternal relationship he’d started to build. Guardian? That seemed to fit the best as a good mix of responsibility and affection.

But would that make them a family? He felt loath to ascribe that much affection and companionship towards what they had. He could catch a glimpse of it sometimes, especially from Danielle, but he didn’t feel that quite met the criteria for family. Then again, he didn’t have the best example of that growing up, but when he looked at what the Fentons had…he didn’t see that in his current living situation.

So if he didn’t see them as a family, then why did he think it wise to embark on something that most would consider a family tradition? He still couldn’t rationalize those competing principles in his mind, just like he still couldn’t explain the pull he felt towards this activity. He could say he got caught up in the infectious holiday spirit surrounding him, or the yearning for a family tradition, but in reality it had been a thought: a simple thought that pushed him to change his entire approach to the month of December. This was the first Christmas he would spend with children under his roof - and he painfully realized it would be the first Christmas he would spend with anyone under his roof since he was a teenager - and he needed to make that special for them. Whether he was their parent, warden, caretaker, or guardian, that meant he bore the responsibility of giving them a Christmas and rolling out all the stops. The decorations. The stockings. The presents. The Christmas meal. The Christmas movies. And that also meant…the Christmas tree.

Wrangling them into the car proved to be a challenge. Dan was a malevolent, violent ghost stuck in a teenager’s body, which proved to be a disastrous combination on the best of days, and Danielle was mischievous and far too inquisitive for her own good. Neither of them responded well to the idea of an unannounced drive to an undisclosed location for an activity. His suggestion was met with suspicion and questions, and even though he managed to convince them to join him in the car, the suspicious and inquisitive questions had not ceased.

Christmas music crooned out of the stereo to set the mood as Vlad turned off the highway and onto a country road. Sure some people sold suitable trees in the city, but this was less about the tree and more about the experience, and he wanted to find a small local shop off the beaten path. As they pulled into the small dirt parking lot, Dan’s eyes focused on the large cars with cables and trailers and harnesses already equipped. He watched as a family walked out from under a white canopy strung up with warm Christmas lights as they pulled something heavy behind them.

Dan shook his head as he frowned. “No…no wait no. I see what you’re doing here. Are we–”

“Picking out a Christmas tree!” Dani interrupted in sheer joy as she pressed her face against the cold car window to look out at the selection of pine trees that covered the snowy ground.

“Yes, that is what we are doing,” Vlad confirmed as he out-maneuvered someone to get a close parking space. They didn’t need a closer parking space - all of them were fit and able to walk and carry a tree a long distance - but this was about the principle and the status of managing to find and obtain a closer parking space.

Dan groaned as he slumped into his seat with his arms crossed over his chest. “Why can’t we just get a plastic tree from Target like everyone else? Or better yet, none at all.”

“Because that’s no fun,” Dani pouted as she turned around in her seat to face her…sibling? Herself? Her future? Vlad wasn’t quite sure how to quantify and label their relationship either. “This is so much better! I’ve seen this on TV. You run around and look at all the trees and pick the best one. Don’t you want to do that?”

“No,” Dan quickly retorted.

“Really?” Dani pressed.

“I would rather be in the thermos.”

“We can arrange that,” Dani muttered under her breath as she turned to look back out the window.

Vlad took a moment to build his patience (a patience he’d been working incredibly hard to develop after finding himself a guardian) before he turned around to look in the back seat. “No one is being sucked into a thermos. Now we are going to look at some Christmas trees. Maybe we don’t need to look at all of the trees,” he conceded. Dani opened her mouth to protest but Vlad held a hand up. “We can find a perfectly good tree without looking at all of them. But we are going to look, understand?”

Dan and Vlad locked eyes for what felt like minutes to Vlad, but he knew in reality it only lasted a few moments. He’d engaged in his fair share of these battles of wills with the malevolent ghost before (and he’d lost his fair share as well), but he had a purpose this time and the genuine hope this would do them all some good, and that pushed him to stand his ground.

Finally Dan huffed out an annoyed breath and stepped out of the car. Vlad slumped in his seat in relief. He really didn’t want this argument to escalate further, but with Dan he never knew. He genuinely felt that the ghost was trying to make good on his second chance, especially since they both knew Clockwork kept his eye on them, but sometimes he acted out in anger and it turned violent. Vlad could take the abuse until he could calm him down, but he preferred not to cause a panic in public around so many families.

Dani seemed to sense their victory. The tension bled out of her and a smile returned to her face as she jumped eagerly out of the car. He had originally been wary of bringing Danielle into the house after he took charge of Dan’s rehabilitation, but she had actually proven to be a stabilizing force in the house. Maybe she served as a gentle reminder of Dan’s prior innocence, Vlad couldn’t quite say, but in the absence of Jazmine (who Dan surprisingly listened to), Danielle could hold quite a bit of sway. They still argued, but she could hold her own and put him in his place when needed. Sometimes they even teamed up, and while Vlad appreciated seeing them working together, that never bode well for him.

He followed his two charges out of the car and led them towards the first row of trees as the snow crunched underfoot. What a stereotypical sight they must make: the single parent leading a sullen teenager and a wide-eyed younger child to pick out a Christmas tree. It felt reminiscent of those horrible Hallmark channel movies that he absolutely did not hate-watch in secret, but how wrong anyone would be to think that their arrangement was anything close to that stereotypical display.

“Don’t even look at the prices,” he instructed as they reached their first row of trees. Wafts of fresh pine scent assaulted them, and Vlad took a moment to breathe deep of the nostalgic smell. He couldn’t wait to have it spread through the living room once they installed the tree. “Just pick out a tree you both like.”

Dani clapped her hands happily and ran off down the row to look at trees further in, but stopped short as soon as Dan spoke up and pointed ominously at the very first tree. “This one.”

Dani stopped and turned around as she stomped her foot. “Ugh, you dummy! You didn’t even look at the rest of them!” Vlad raised an eyebrow because Danielle may very well be the only being in both the realm of the living and the realm of the dead who could get away with calling Dan a dummy.

“I didn’t need to. I like this one,” he said firmly.

Dani opened her mouth to argue again, but Vlad spoke first. “And why do you like this one?” Maybe he had a genuine reason for liking this tree, but he doubted it.

“Because it’s the first one.”

Both Vlad and Dani groaned. “We’ll keep your preference in mind, but we’ll keep looking at other trees,” Vlad decided. He didn’t want to dismiss Dan’s preference if he truly felt a connection to that tree, but he had a feeling the only positive quality that three possessed was being the first of the lot.

Dan retreated further into his sulk as he bowed his head lower, but he trudged after them as Dani ran through the trees. They had their work cut out for them, because all the trees were lovely. The recent snow dusted the branches with white powder and it looked like a perfect winter wonderland; he would be happy taking any of them home. Thankfully Dani seemed to have a vision and she inspected trees that caught her eye with an expert, critical gaze.

“What about this one?” Vlad suggested as he pointed at a well-shaped tree that Dani walked right past.

She turned to give it a second look as she placed a gloved hand to her chin, but she shook her head. “Nope. It’s too…piney.”

“Too…piney?” Vlad asked in confirmation.

“What the hell does that mean?” Dan asked as he raised an eyebrow.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s more of a feeling. It’s just…too much pine.” And as if that statement cleared everything up, she dashed off to another tree.

“She’s drawing this out,” Dan complained.

Vlad sighed. “We’ve barely been here five minutes; this is hardly being drawn out.”

“There was nothing wrong with that tree,” Dan pointed out. “She shot it down because she doesn’t want to be done.”

“And what’s the harm in that?” Vlad probed. “Let her look at some of the trees, get a feel for what’s out there, and then we can press her into choosing one.”

Dan rolled his eyes and trudged after them as he scuffed his boots stubbornly through the snow. Occasionally he’d kick the trunk of a tree just to watch the snow shake and fall from the branches, but mostly he sulked behind them while Dani debated the features of different trees and the quality of their pine needles.

“Oh stop looking like you’re being tortured,” Vlad finally spoke up. “This is far from the worst thing you’ve ever had to endure.”

“Don’t you remember I hate Christmas?” Dan pointed out.

“Part of you may,” Vlad conceded. He remembered hearing Jack complain incessantly about how young Daniel could not get into the spirit of Christmas. He’d planned to use that at some point to his advantage in recruiting the young Daniel, but now…well he had enough versions of the boy that he didn’t need to add another under his roof. “But the other part of you secretly loves Christmas. I know because that part is me. So maybe you should listen to that other part.”

“I usually lean towards hatred,” Dan quipped sullenly.

Dani poked her head out from behind a nearby Christmas tree, her hat covered in snow. “Well, then maybe you shouldn’t.” She gave Dan a pointed look and a shrug before she disappeared back behind the foliage.

Vlad had to hide a chuckle behind a gloved hand at how simple the suggestion seemed. Danielle had a way of cutting through the attitude to find the cheery solution. He didn’t know where that quality came from, because while Daniel could be overly hopeful at times, he wouldn’t necessarily describe the boy as cheery. She hadn’t had a cheerful existence so far (he meant to change that) so he couldn’t say that positive outlook came from her prior experiences. Maybe she forced herself to adopt that perspective specifically to deal with her experiences? He’d have to ponder that a bit more. But whatever the explanation for her optimistic demeanor, he appreciated her view on the world and tried to adopt a little of it himself now and then.

Dan also seemed intrigued by her suggestion because he grew quiet and pensive. It wouldn’t last long, it never did, but maybe he took some of what she said to heart.

Suddenly a tree caught Vlad’s eye and he stopped in front of it. A wide base with a tapered point, taller than him, no patchy spots - it resembled the quintessential tree from any holiday catalog. “Danielle, what about this one?” Vlad suggested as he inspected the branches. He gave them a good shake and they seemed sturdy and capable of holding even his heaviest Packers ornaments.

Dani doubled back and gave the tree some serious consideration. She walked around it a couple times and even got down onto her knees to look up under the tree at its bones. She scooted out from under the branches and shook her head. “No, that’s not our tree.”

“Are you kidding me?” Dan snapped. “It’s perfect!”

“That’s the problem,” Dani stated as she lifted up one of the branches. “It’s too perfect. You want the tree to have some character.”

“I can’t believe this,” Dan groaned as he looked up at the sky like it held some kind of salvation.

“Well, then we’ll keep looking,” Vlad agreed, though it pained him to walk away from this picture-perfect tree.

“I still don’t understand why we’re doing this,” Dan spoke up.

Vlad took a moment to close his eyes and collect his patience before he spoke up again. “Because we need a Christmas tree,” he tried to say through a controlled, even tone.

“Okay, but why are we doing this?” Dan asked with added emphasis on his real question. ”Why not just send Skulker to grab one? You send him on all your other mundane errands.”

“Because he wouldn’t grab the right one. And he wouldn’t take the care needed to transport it back. And he’s on a date.” There, three practical reasons that should hopefully quell Dan’s query and avoided the true emotional reasons for the trip.

Dan stopped abruptly as he blinked a couple times. “He’s what?”

Vlad turned around and quickly noticed the shocked wide eyes and gaping mouth, and he took the slightest bit of delight that he could catch the ghost off guard like that. He actually greatly resembled Daniel in that moment in more than just appearance. He didn’t often see pieces of the Daniel he knew in Dan - he must have torn it all out when he rid himself of his emotions - but occasionally they would bleed through. It was refreshing to see. “Well, he didn’t call it a date. He’s off destroying the world with Technus. But it’s a date. We all know it’s a date.”

Dan shook his head minutely as a look of revulsion colored his shocked expression. “I don’t want to hear that.”

“What, do you have a problem with love?” Dani asked as she emerged from behind them. She had clearly been crawling around under trees because pine needles stuck out of her hat and jacket.

“No - I mean yes,” he countered quickly. “Yes. I hate love.”

“Riiiight,” Dani said as she rolled her eyes. She gave a slight wink to Vlad who hid a chuckle behind his glove. “Hey, shouldn’t we be worried about the ‘destroying the world’ part?”

Vlad waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, I wouldn’t be too worried. It’s Skulker and Technus after all: hardly a pair to be concerned about. Besides, I’m sure Daniel will find a way to ruin their fun.”

“First good thing that brat’s done,” Dan quipped.

Dani put her hands on her waist as she leaned in close to Dan’s face. “Why are you so against them dating?” she asked as she squinted to study his face.

He took a step back and lightly shoved her out of his space. “Because I’ve seen them in the future. Look, can we talk about anything else? Like what about this tree?” he asked as he tapped the tree next to them.

Vlad smiled that Dan seemed to be getting into the spirit enough that talking about a tree was an acceptable alternative. It also seemed to work because it completely distracted Dani who rushed over to examine the tree.

“Nah. This one sheds too many needles,” she decided as she pulled a handful of needles off.

“You can’t–every tree will lose its needles if you pull on them like that!” Dan argued in exasperation.

“Yeah, but this one lost more,” she countered. “So there. Not a good tree.” She scampered off before Dan could get another argument in.

He clenched a fist and breathed out a long, slow breath. Vlad hiked an eyebrow in interest because it looked like some of those anger management techniques were actually working. He’d have to thank Jazmine later. “She’s being unreasonable.”

“She’s just having fun,” Vlad sighed. “I promise, I’ll make her select one soon enough, just bear with her.”

“Oh I’m bearing with her alright,” Dan muttered through gritted teeth as he watched Dani dismiss another perfectly good tree.

While Dan might be suffering watching her traipse through the rows of pine trees, Vlad actually found the whole event quite enjoyable. The whimsy of watching Danielle play around amongst the trees and inspect each one filled him with a paternal glow. Watching a Christmas tradition unfold through the eyes of a child filled him with a happiness he couldn’t really explain and renewed his Christmas spirit more than any other activity could. Now if only his other charge would find the tender happiness of the moment with them, then it could all be perfect. Alas, that seemed to be too much to ask for.

“If none of these trees are right, then why can’t we just get a plastic one? It would save us all a lot of time,” Dan pointed out.

“The plastic ones just don’t have the same feel to them,” Vlad explained as he stretched the limits of his very limited patience to stay civil. How he longed to turn around and brandish the ‘because I said so’ that all guardians use at some point, but he knew that would only end in conflict and would force Dan to pull away even further. But god would it be easier. “A real tree has a scent and a presence that the fake ones don’t have. And the experience of selecting a tree is far more thrilling.”

“I can’t say I agree with the ‘thrilling’ part of that statement,” Dan grumbled.

“Because you’re not letting yourself. But selecting a tree for Christmas…why it’s one of the few happy memories I have of Christmases past. My parents were usually too busy for their trophy child, but Christmas seemed to be the time when they remembered why they had a child in the first place. Every Christmas we would pick out a tree from some small lot like this one here. Mother would watch and smile as I picked out a tree. I could actually hold my father’s attention for a time. We had no distractions or anything else demanding their attention. It was us as a family picking out a Christmas tree.”

A soft smile settled on Vlad’s face as he thought of those happy, nostalgic memories. He didn’t have many happy memories of his childhood as they were mostly filled with loneliness and boredom, but the few he had of Christmas he held very dear to his heart. And being back amongst the trees, with the snow and the pine and the excited squeals of children pointing to trees brought him right back to the happiest of his memories.

Dani stopped her inspection of a tree’s branches, and when she turned to look at him, Vlad could see the sympathy creasing her slightly teary eyes. He wasn’t really trying to get that reaction from her, but he wanted to share how much the nostalgia of this trip meant to him. She reached a comforting hand out towards him, but stopped when Dan’s harsh voice cut through the silence left by Vlad’s story.

“You forget old man that I have those same memories too,” Dan growled with a slight edge to his voice. While Vlad clearly drew warm feelings from these memories, Dan’s reaction gave him the distinct impression that he was not as pleased to be reliving those old memories. “I don’t need the reminder. So I ask again why are we doing this? And I want a real answer this time.”

Vlad opened his mouth with a quick businessman answer full of bluster and smoke and mirrors, but faltered when he realized that this wasn’t a business meeting. This wasn’t some pitch that he needed to sell to a stranger whose feelings and opinions didn’t matter. This wasn’t some cut and dry business proposal that most people would forget about two days later. No, this was his ward and he owed him more than some superficial response. He deserved to hear the real reason, even if Vlad still didn’t know what that real reason could be. How was he supposed to explain to the ghost who tore out his own feelings a decade ago that he did it because he yearned to give his wards a warm memory to hold on to in the cold and lonely months that seemed to come for everyone in their later years, like he had of his own Christmas traditions. He couldn’t rationalize it or explain it in a logical way that would make sense to him, because all he had were feelings and a hope, and he could hardly find the words to explain that to himself, let alone to the other ghost.

Dani, however, seemed to have no problems putting that feeling into words. She stepped in between them and looked at them both with that infectious smile of hers. “Because it’s what family does.”

A silence fell about them as the word ‘family’ rang in their ears. Dan stared down at the snow-covered ground and refused to meet either of their eyes. He slid his foot in the snow just to make some kind of noise to fill the awkward silence. Vlad also shifted uncomfortably as he grabbed his other arm and ran his hand along his sleeve as he lost himself in thought.

Family. So Danielle somehow believed they were a family? Why was he so shocked to hear that? He’d thought it earlier that night and even multiple times before that as he planned this out. This was the sort of activity a family did together. He wanted to share this with them because he saw them as family. It all made sense in his head, and yet for some reason the word never felt right when he rolled it around in his head. He always felt it wasn’t quite right for what a family should be, but maybe that had been his problem. For Danielle to say it so plainly…well it made it all the more plain to him too. Maybe it wasn’t the family everyone else had, but it was the family the three of them got, and didn’t that make the word all the more meaningful? The fact that three outcasts who never really belonged to anyone had found each other (sometimes in very strange circumstances) and managed to make it work meant something to him, to Danielle, and hopefully to Dan based on his reaction.

Dani must have realized she said something poignant because she let the other two sit in their thoughts for a long, awkward moment before her eyes grew wide. She pointed into the distance as a huge grin spread across her face. “That’s it!” she cried out before she shot off down the row to the tree that caught her eye.

Dan glanced up from the ground and took a step forward to follow after her, but Vlad held a hand out to gently stop him. He knew Dan didn’t like being touched and he was putting his own safety in danger by doing so, but he had a feeling he would allow it this time. “Wait. You want to know why I’m doing this?” he asked, which turned Dan’s warning glare into a look of curiosity. “I’m doing it for her.”

Vlad gestured towards Dani who jumped about her newly selected tree with excited hands clasped together. “Maybe you don’t care anymore, or maybe even can’t care anymore, and that’s fine. Maybe you don’t think we’re a family, and that’s fine too. But she does. And she has known very few Christmases since she…well since I brought her into this life. I wasn’t ready to make them good Christmases before…but I am now. And I want her to have a good memory of this, like we did.”

He gave Dan one last little nod before he met up with Dani at her chosen tree. Dan fell silent and stayed behind, but Vlad didn’t mind. Giving him a chance to think and ponder those thoughts seemed like it would be helpful in the long run. “Well now, let’s see this tree.” Like many of the others they’d pointed out, the tree had a good wide and full silhouette and was tall enough to fit the ceiling of its destined room. He nodded his head in approval as he circled the tree and studied it from all angles, but his inspection unfortunately uncovered a gap in the tree. And not just a gap, but it appeared all the branches below that gap seemed to be drooping, like something heavy had pulled them down. He grabbed those branches and tried to move them up to see if they were broken, but the branches still remained firm. So they were attached securely to the tree but had just been shaped improperly.

Vlad sighed as he released the branch and dusted his hands off on his jacket. “I’m sorry to tell you this Danielle, but your tree has some drooping branches on this side.” She would be crushed to hear the tree that captured her heart had such a noticeable imperfection.

“I know,” she said simply. “That’s why it’s perfect.”

“...I’m not following,” Vlad admitted. She’d dismissed so many other trees for the tiniest of details (some of which she made up) so how could she so easily ignore this one?

“Because it’s not made perfect. It’s not the perfect example of a tree, and maybe it’s not exactly what you expect or want when you think about a tree, but it’s still good. It’ll still make a good tree,” she pointed out as she held one of the branches and ran her gloved fingers over the pine needles. “And you can love the tree not just in spite of its flaws, but because of its flaws.”

Vlad quickly realized this had become far larger than just picking out a tree. Somehow she had turned this into a metaphor for herself. She wanted a tree that had its flaws just as she had, and knowing that tree could still be chosen and loved and desired was important to her. He realized he had caused that insecurity too. By chasing after a “better” clone, a clone more like Daniel, he had dismissed his other creations as failures without caring about how that made them feel. He had a lot to atone for, more than what he could do with a Christmas tradition, but he’d start that atonement by showing her that yes, she could still be chosen and loved because of who she was.

“Well, then it sounds like it’s the perfect tree for us,” Vlad agreed with a smile as he placed a hand on her shoulder. A slightly broken tree for the slightly broken family. It felt right.

Dani squealed in excitement and jumped up and down in place. “Yay! I can’t wait to put all kinds of garland and ornaments and lights and - ooh tinsel! We can put tinsel on it too!”

Vlad chuckled as he shook his head slightly. Tinsel sounded like a horribly messy thing, but if tinsel brought her some holiday cheer and joy, then he’d let her throw tinsel all over that tree. “Whatever you’d like. Now, let’s take this tree number to the–”

“Oh, sorry pal,” a voice spoke up from behind them. Vlad turned to see a middle-aged couple walk over to them. The bearded man gestured towards the tree. “We already paid for that one.”

“What?” Dani asked as she turned her wide, sad eyes onto Vlad, as if pleading for a different answer.

“For this tree?” Vlad asked in confirmation as he placed his hands on the branches of the tree.

“Yup, that exact tree. Number 251. Best bang for its buck on the whole lot. Managed to get a discount on account of the defect,” he crowed proudly.

“But…but…” Dani stammered as she looked back at her prized tree. “But I spent so long looking for this one…”

Vlad felt a frustration rise up within him, but he tamped it down as he put on his best businessman face. He didn’t need to let his temper get out of control here. He had to remind himself that this couple didn’t understand or know how much this tree meant to her, but surely they could be persuaded. And if the joy of a child couldn’t sway them, then he was sure money could.

“Any way I could persuade you to pick a different tree?” he cajoled as he took a step closer. “Pay the cost of the difference to another tree perhaps? My dau–young Danielle here, she really has her heart set on this tree.”

“It’s perfect,” she pouted as she held onto one of its branches like a young child held the hand of a beloved stuffed animal.

The couple looked between each other for a moment, but when he met Vlad’s gaze again he shook his head. “Sorry, but we worked hard for the deal we got for this tree, and as a point of pride we’d like to take it home.”

“Extra money then,” Vlad pressed. “The difference in price for another tree plus an extra hundred to spend on decorations or whatever you’d like.”

The man shook his head again. “Sorry pal, but we’d like this tree, and we did find it first.”

Vlad clenched a fist as his ectoplasm boiled in rage. Really they were just being unreasonable. The tree, while perfect for them, could not possibly be worth this much to the other couple. It seemed like the more he argued for it, the more value they found in their initial purchase. He normally believed everyone had a tipping point, but he feared that these individuals were too stubborn for their own good. Perhaps he could arrange a little…situation on the road, where the tree mysteriously fell through their car on the way home. He’d tried to handle this nicely, but he wasn’t above some ghostly trickery to get that tree. Yes, that could work. He would just need a duplicate to follow them and then–

“He made you a reasonable offer,” Dan growled out from behind them. Vlad turned to see Dan practically vibrating in his anger, like his skin could barely hold the rage building up inside him. His clenched fists shook from the effort it took to keep them at his side.

“Now Dan, we don’t need to–” Vlad tried to intervene, but Dan cut him short with a steely glare.

“I’m not talking to you, old man. I’m talking to these two,” he snarled as he focused his attention on the pig-headed couple as he took slow, controlled steps towards them, like a careful predator stalking his prey. “He made you a reasonable offer and you said no because of what? Your pride? So you can have a trophy and congratulate yourselves on how you got such a good deal at the expense of the dreams of a child? You’re pathetic.”

The man bristled and stepped in front of his wife. “We saw it first. We already paid for it. That means it’s ours.”

“Oh no it isn’t. No, this tree is ours now. You want to take this tree from her?” he asked slowly as he gestured towards Dani. “On her first real Christmas? Her first Christmas with her family? No…no you’re not going anywhere near this tree. I’ll make sure of that,” he promised as a sinister red light flared in his eyes.

“Brad,” his wife squeaked up from the back, but he shook his head and took a brave (and foolish) step forward. He took a moment to size the teenager up with his dark jacket and thick black boots. Vlad realized that the man probably thought he had this “teenage punk” all figured out - oh how wrong he would be.

“You think some teenager with a mouth will stop me?” Brad asked as he puffed up his chest with fake confidence. “I’ll call the cops and shut down your tough guy act.”

“The cops won’t save you from what I have in store,” Dan threatened as his eyes glowed a uniform red. A white ring of light formed around his waist, and as it split apart it revealed the massive, muscled form of Dan Phantom. Brad took a terrified step back on shaking legs as Dan advanced on him, towering over him. He grabbed the man’s shirt in his fist and easily suspended him in the air. The man grasped at the hand around his shirt and kicked his legs as he begged for mercy, but it only made Dan’s malicious smile grow wider.

He flew the pleading man up into the air, higher and higher before he simply released his hold on the man and dropped him. He screamed as he plummeted quickly to the earth, but Dan swooped down to grab him again. He held him in the air and grinned at his screams for mercy. “If you think that was bad, you should see what else I have in store for you,” Dan threatened as he held up a fist wreathed with green ectoplasmic flame.

“Oh butter biscuits, we’d been doing so well for a public outing,” Vlad sighed from down on the ground. As much as he felt great pleasure (and maybe pride?) upon hearing the unreasonable man squeal in terror and fright, he didn’t actually want the trouble of having Dan hurt the man. As much as he wished for the man to suffer pain for his stubborn attitude and refusal to help secure Dani’s dream tree, as a guardian he couldn’t actually let Dan hurt the man.

“Are you going to stop him?” Dani asked with a slight tremble in her voice. She must still remember the last time he had to stop Dan and took quite a beating in the process.

“Eventually,” Vlad sighed as he kept his eyes focused closely on Dan. “If he does anything that’s actually harmful I will of course rush in.” For now though, it seemed like Dan found satisfaction enough in terrifying the man, and judging by Brad’s high pitched squeals of “You can have the tree! You can have the tree!” he had a feeling the tactic worked.

“But first, let us rescue that tree, hmm?” Vlad suggested as he smiled down at his young charge.

Dani’s smile lit up her face as she reached over to give Vlad a hug from the side. He stiffened slightly in surprise only because he didn’t expect such a physically affectionate reaction, but it melted his heart all the same in a way he’d never felt before. He placed a hand on her back and gave it a comforting pat.

He looked back over at Dan who had moved on to threatening the man by slowly sinking him intangibly into the ground and he noticed the gleeful yet sinister smile on his face. Dan reacted so strongly to the potential for Danielle’s dream to be dashed, and he had even used the word family in his threats. He admitted they were a family.

Somehow, in their own strange way, this trip had brought them closer as a unit and…yes as a family. This off-the-cuff idea that he stitched together with a feeling and a hope had actually proven to be a happy outing that he knew generated some formative memories for all involved. Maybe he had done it. Maybe he had created a new Christmas tradition for all of them. For his family.

Their own family tradition.

Notes: I just wanted to make a note that I don't actually have anything against plastic trees. I myself have 3 plastic trees and have never had a live tree (I'm too paranoid about the fire risks). So that was all Vlad. But I do have a romanticized idea of what selecting a live tree would be like!

Also @northerngrail I hope you noticed the little nod to one of your other prompts in there!

This is also a first for me on a lot of levels. First time including Dani in a story. First time writing from Vlad's POV. First time writing anything post-AGIT. So hopefully I did it all justice!

I hope you enjoyed your gif!

#danny phantom #danny phantom fanfiction #fanfiction #phandom truce 2023 #holiday truce 2023 #masters family #agit spoilers #a glitch in time spoilers #post agit #christmas fluff #found family trope #family fluff #minor angst #but mostly fluff #parental Vlad Masters #Vlad Masters POV #christmas tree #christmas spirit

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mephinomaly · 11 months ago

Text

[TL] Flashback/Epilogue 2

[ This post uses Ois~su ♪ ]

Kaoru: Grandpa was throwing a bit of a tantrum, saying he “hates complicated things”, so for the time being, we’ll just be going by UNDEAD.

Koga: Not much point in usin’ two separate brands. Besides, that criminal came up with HELLSING so I don’t wanna use it. Pisses me off.

Adonis: The delinquent most likely had his own ideas for UNDEAD, which was HELLSING.

Kaoru: Yeah. He was probably like “I can make the best version of UNDEAD!”

But we don’t need his idealised version of UNDEAD, we just need to shine brighter and brighter, as the real us.

Adonis: Easier said than done.

As Hakaze-senpai said earlier, both the radical immoral side and the variety programs side of us can be successful— It wouldn’t be superficial of us to do so.

Koga: It’s fine for us to get rid of one of them though. I, personally, think we should get rid of the variety programs.

Kaoru: You really hate those sorts of jobs, don’t you? …Like I said on stage yesterday, you can gain experience from anywhere.

You can’t grow big and strong if you’re a picky eater, you know?

Koga: Who do you think you are, my parents? Anyway, I get it, but I’m not gonna stop complainin’.

We need to eat everything, even if we don’t like it, so we can grow big and strong.

Kaoru: That’s the spirit ♪

Let’s do our best, ‘kay? The AIIE experiment was set up in order to trick us, nothing more to it—it almost felt like a dream.

We’ve seen real robots of ourselves and those kids from Ra*bits too.

The fakes were almost identical to the real us. At least, visually.

Technology and AI will only improve from here, and AI idols will become even more realistic.

Rei: Umu. That is how it seems to be progressing.

Kaoru: Oh? I didn’t see you so I thought you’d had an early morning bath? But then I didn’t see you in the bathroom either…?

Rei: Nay, I was enjoying the peaceful bliss of the early morning by taking a stroll.

I spoke with some neighbours who were also awake at this time, and once I grew tired, I basked in the sun on a nearby bench…

Kaoru: You actually act so much like an old man. You get more and more senile as the years go because of some character you force yourself to play.

Rei: Rather, I used to force myself to act young. I feel more comfortable now than I did back then. I am showing my true colours.

Of course, those who caught a glimpse of the previous me will have seen the immaturity in me, befitting of my young age at the time.

Anyhow. I apologise for interrupting, but I do believe you should keep Kaoru-kun’s worries in the back of your minds.

Humanity continues to evolve, scientific capability is growing ever closer to the abilities of a god.

Robotics, AI, VR— artificial idols will be comprised of those parts.

Then when non-human creatures rise in strength, and become stronger than humans, when monsters arise, when they become the new normal—

What value do humans have, other than being authentic beings?

Will we become pieces of art, displayed in museums for all to see, rather than something a part of your everyday life?

I do not know what the future holds, but that future is fast approaching.

We stand at a crossroads.

If we give up, we die where we stand. We must explore and search for what it means to be human.

We must demonstrate time and time again the value of being loved.

Otherwise, we can easily fall into the position our criminal was in.

A foolish, pitiful creature that can only look into the distance and envy how bright others shine.

What happens to one today may happen to another tomorrow. But I am not so pessimistic.

We are alive.

If we continue to live and grow, we have no reason to fear this lifetime.

That is the strength and beauty of being human.

Let us drive away our abhorrent past, and our anxiety-inducing nightmares alongside it. Let us step into the day with a smile on our faces.

～...♪

[ ☆ ]

Epilogue 1

Directory

#ensemble stars #enstars #translation #undead climax #oogami koga #rei sakuma #adonis otogari #kaoru hakaze

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corallapis · 1 year ago

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Hi <3 No obligation to answer, I know dw lore is really convoluted and there's a lot of expanded universe material, but you've mentioned a few times that you think the War Chief is the Master. I'm also a War Chief/Master truther because I think that makes the contents of The War Games more fun and interesting (& also could count as another time the Master got the Doctor killed <3 romance <3) but I wanted to know if you had more reasons/examples from canon that supports that idea

anon i’d be delighted to talk abt the war chief!!! he’s My Guy <3 and (dare i say it?) possibly even one of my favorite incarnations of the master. i’ve got lots of quotes for you under the cut, but to give a short summary of So Why Do People Think the War Chief is the Master, Anyway?:

the war chief was introduced in the war games, written by malcolm hulke and terrance dicks. (dicks, it should be mentioned, was also co-creator of the master, with barry letts.) when hulke & dicks novelized the serials colony in space, terror of the autons, and the war games, they dropped several hints that the war chief and the master were the same man. so, the creators of the characters were the first to suggest a connection between them.

but, i hear you cry, didn’t dicks go on to write timewyrm: exodus, which shows us a future incarnation of the war chief that isn’t the master? yes, because the official editorial line for the vmas & vnas was that the war chief & the master were two distinct characters. this caused more than one writer that personally believed them to be the same to write otherwise professionally. however, i think dicks still dropped hints linking the two despite this editorial limitation.

and what about magnus, the guy who’s well-known in current fandom as the “academy era” version of the war chief? conceived of by gary russell, magnus was originally written as a young incarnation of the master, not the war chief. in flashback, goth opera and invasion of the cat-people, the character of magnus is a young master. so why did russell retcon his own character in divided loyalties to be the war chief instead? he did so out of respect for david mcintee, who had recently written a different backstory for the master in the dark path, using the name koschei. despite divided loyalties’ portrayal of magnus and koschei as separate characters, it actually in large part serves to conflate the two further, due to said retconning.

in faction paradox lore, the war king is a version of the master (i don’t need to make a post on that, do i?) that also was once the war chief.

and now we’re really getting murky canon-wise, but craig hinton’s rejected pda time’s champion (ultimately completed & published after his death, by chris mckeon) explicitly depicts the war chief as an incarnation as the master, as well as reasserting that magnus was the name the master used at the academy.

even with all this Evidence, i’m like you, anon — i just think it’s Fun. i mean, just look at the guy lmao. if you can’t see the way that future incarnations are riffing off him, idk what to tell you. and ultimately, it just makes the most sense to me. three & delgado’s first meeting doesn’t really strike me as a First Time Seeing You Since You Left kind of affair, but the way two & the war chief react to seeing each other? and the conversation they have abt it…? yeah. love it.

the ‘70s target novelizations

doctor who and the doomsday weapon (aka colony in space) was the first novelization to feature the master, and was written by malcolm hulke in 1974. it begins with a scene that doesn’t occur in the tv story, where a senile old time lord tells his apprentice about the theft of two tardises by a pair of time lords now calling themselves the doctor & the master:

“There have been two stolen, you know.” The younger Time Lord didn’t know. “By our enemies?” he asked. “No. By Time Lords. They both became bored with this place. It was too peaceful for them, not enough happening.” The old Keeper smiled to himself, as though remembering with some glee all the fuss when two TARDISes were stolen. “One of them nowadays calls himself ‘the Doctor.’ The other says he is ‘the Master.’”

if there have been only two tardises stolen (at this point), then where does that leave the other renegades we've seen on tv? well, the answer to that is that the target novelizations were meant to be self-contained, without prior knowledge of the show needed or past episodes taken into account. it’s easier and cleaner to present the doctor & the master as the only two renegades. except the older time lord continues, and a little further on says:

“There were tens of thousands of humans from the planet Earth, stranded on another planet where they thought they were re-fighting all the wars of Earth’s terrible history. The Doctor” — he interrupted himself — “I told you about him, didn’t I?” “Yes,” said the young Time Lord, now used to the old Keeper forgetting what he had already said. “You mentioned the Doctor and the Master.” “No, it wasn’t the Master,” said the old Keeper in his confused way. “The Master never does anything good for anyone. He’s thoroughly evil. Now what was I saying?”

despite the self-contained nature of the novelizations, the events of the war games (which had yet to be novelized, when this was written) have occurred and are specifically brought up in relation to the doctor & the master. what does ‘it wasn't the master’ mean? the keeper’s confusion leaves it open to interpretation, but the fact that it’s brought up at all is quite a hint.

terrance dicks then wrote doctor who and the terror of the autons in 1975. additional info is added to the scene between the doctor and the time lord who comes to warn him about the master’s arrival on earth:

“As a matter of fact, I’ve come to bring you a warning. An old friend of yours has arrived on Earth.” “One of our people? Who is it?” The Time Lord pronounced a string of mellifluous syllables — one of the strange Time Lord names that are never disclosed to outsiders. Then he added, “These days he calls himself the Master.”

he uses the master’s gallifreyan name first, as if the doctor doesn’t know the name he’s now going by yet. then, we’re given a description of the master, including:

Already he had been behind several Interplanetary Wars, always disappearing from the scene before he could be caught. If ever he were caught, his fate would be far worse than the Doctor’s exile. Once captured by the Time Lords, the Master’s life-stream would be thrown into reverse. Not only would he no longer exist, he would never have existed. It was the severest punishment in the Time Lords’ power.

which brings to mind the war games, as the punishment described here is exactly what the time lords did to the war lord & what they would have done to the war chief, if he hadn’t died/escaped. and, speaking of that escape, the doctor asks:

“Is his TARDIS still working?” “I’m afraid so. He got away before it could be de-energised.” “Then he was luckier than I,” said the Doctor sadly. He had never really got used to his exile.

unlike the doctor, who was unable to get away from the time lords at the end of the war games, the master was ‘luckier.’ this could, of course, mean a more general escape from the time lords by the master, but i’d say all the hints here are pointing in the same direction.

in 1979, malcolm hulke wrote doctor who and the war games. the first conversation between the doctor and the war chief is slightly changed, and again it’s reiterated that there have only been two tardises stolen. first, the war chief teases the doctor about who he must be:

The War Chief took the Doctor into his private office just off the war room and told his bodyguards to leave. “Now,” he said, “a traveller in a time-space machine. There is only one person you can be.” “I had every right to leave,” said the Doctor. “And to steal a TARDIS?” The War Chief smiled. “Not that I am criticising you. I left our people too. We are two of a kind.”

and later, he summarizes that their empire (their empire <3) will be secure because, again, they’re the only two with stolen tardises:

“Now I understand,” said the Doctor. “It’s my TARDIS that you want. But surely you have one of your own?” The War Chief smiled. “No more mine than yours is really yours! We are both thieves, Doctor. Yes, I do have a TARDIS hidden away. But are not two better than one? While I rest and enjoy the spoils of victory, you can patrol our empire. And I shall do the same for you.” “Our empire?” “We shall rule the galaxy without fear of opposition,’ the War Chief said confidently. “For we shall be the only two who can travel through both space and time.”

this (very romantic imo) proposal is also, of course, very reminiscent of delgado’s ‘half-share in the universe’ proposal to three.

timewyrm: exodus by terrance dicks

in 1991, terrance dicks wrote a vna, timewyrm: exodus. in this novel, the war chief appears as a botched two-bodied regeneration after his death at the end of the war games, called dr. kriegslieter. no mention of the master is made. as i said before, i think this is down to virgin’s editorial policy, and i think there are hints connecting the two nonetheless. like when the doctor realizes who kriegslieter is:

And behind them, aiding them, manipulating them, giving them the time technology they needed, the Time Lord renegade who called himself the War Chief. Or, in German, der kriegslieter. “Well, he couldn’t have spelled it out for me much more plainly,” muttered the Doctor.

like, c’mon. it’s just classic master shenanigans to have your alias be an extremely obvious translation of your name. and then there's also kriegslieter’s plan, which is to steal the doctor's body to use as his own (complete with sexual innuendo):

“Once I have wrested from it the secret of the TARDIS, your mind will be of no further interest to me. But your body…” “Please,” said the Doctor, looking embarrassed. “Ladies present.” “We are both Time Lords, Doctor, our brains and our bodies are compatible. Regeneration therapy is far beyond the War Lord’s scientists, but even they can manage a simple brain transplant.” Kriegslieter studied the Doctor with detached, clinical interest. “To be honest, it isn’t the body I would have chosen but it’s infinitely superior to the one I have. When all this is over Doctor, I shall be you — and you, or whatever shattered gibbering remnant of you is left, will be me. Appropriate, don’t you think? A crippled mind in a crippled body…”

how many times have we seen the master do that? maybe only once when this book was written (in the keeper of traken, of course) but at least three more times since then, by my count. in addition ‘we are both time lords’ is an echo of both two & the war chief's conversation and three & delgado’s (in the mind of evil, the claws of axos, and colony in space).

kriegslieter also calls seven ‘my dear doctor’ throughout, which is not a quirk of speech that the war chief has been ever shown to have. i can't claim it's unique to the master, but i think there's a certain history there. (did you know ainley says it five times in one 50 min long serial?)

magnus, as the master

as said before, the character of magnus was introduced in comic flashback, which appeared in the doctor who magazine winter special for 1992 and was commissioned and edited by gary russell (& written by warwick gray). it depicts seven and benny viewing a scene from the doctor’s past, where two old friends, thete and magnus, are at odds.

magnus was, at the time of this comic's creation, meant to be the master. there is no connection to the war chief in this story. which is why when goth opera, written by paul cornell, is published in 1994, magnus is the name used for the young master when listing out the doctor's school friends:

“That was when I was young and wild, Doctor. My contemporaries and I grew up to take our responsibilities seriously.” “Ah…” The Doctor nodded. “Unlike my year. I begin to see.” “Yes.” Ruath warmed to her subject, sipping from the goblet. Her eyes never left the Doctor’s. “Mortimus, the Rani, that idiot Magnus. And you, Doctor. All graduates of Borusa’s Academy for scoundrels.”

and, in 1995, when gary russell wrote invasion of the cat-people, he again used magnus as a name for the young master, referencing the master running out of lives far more quickly than the doctor by the time of the deadly assassin:

Polly smiled. “I’m glad you’re completely recovered, Doctor. You had us worried, you know.” “Regeneration’s a tricky thing,” he said. “And it was my first one. Always the trickiest. They’re supposed to get better as they go on, so long as you don’t flitter them. Always used to say to my academy chum Magnus, ‘Magnus,’ I’d say, ‘Magnus, don’t throw old bodies away like you would a suit. They don’t grow on trees.’ Or something like that. Never listened though.”

when gary russell wrote divided loyalties in 1999, he followed mcintee’s lead in using koschei as the name for a young master, and instead retconned magnus a younger war chief, showing the two of them interacting during the doctor’s academy days — the final nail in the coffin of our lil theory, right? well, all i’m going to say to that is that all the academy era stuff we see is actually a nightmare the fifth doctor is having. so who’s to say he didn't dream his best friend as two different people? (he forgot which one of them killed a guy with a rock, after all...)

the war chief king

in the book of the war, the 2002 faction paradox ‘encyclopedia’ edited by lawrence miles, the entry on the war king states:

His personal assistant notes that his office is brimming with official business, but devoid of decoration. The only concession he makes to sentimentality are the components of a hypercube, twelve white squares stacked neatly on his desk. Its significance is unclear, but it’s thought to be the War King’s last remaining link with his unfortunate past.

the very first use of a hypercube was, of course, at the end of the war games, when the second doctor called the time lords in. if that's not concrete enough for you, the war king spells it out even more clearly in the 2021 audio sabbath and the king:

THE WAR KING: I have failed to introduce myself. I am— ah, but as we have just seen: names have power. I do not think I shall grace you with one of my true names, Sabbath, no, not yet. Let’s see. The Deathless? Oh, let us not get ahead of ourselves just yet. Chief and Master, Minister and Magistrate, President and King… I have been many things.

time’s champion

and finally we have time’s champion, originally written in the '80s(?) by craig hinton, completed and published by chris mckeon in 2008. first, we have mel stumbling upon a corridor of portraits in the tardis:

Her first impression was that the Doctor was at the end of a long, thin corridor. And then she realised what the corridor was. An art gallery, the length hung with paintings, from the doorway to the far distance. As she started padding silently along the corridor, she looked at the paintings, and saw they were all portraits. Portraits painted in a variety of styles, from photo-realistic to impressionist, and everything in between. And she recognised some of the subjects. […] Moving on, Mel had hoped for something a little less depressing, but it wasn’t to be. The atmosphere had changed again: it was still cold, but a sterile light was now bathing the area. Then she realised why: the sterility, the coldness — trademarks of the Time Lords. This must be the Doctor’s own people. Pride of place was given to the Master — or rather the Masters: the familiar, music-hall villain in his velvet penguin suit had been captured in all his melodramatic glory, but there was also a suave, older man, his eyes radiating a fierce, evil intelligence wrapped in charm, next to which was positioned the portrait of a young, satanically handsome man with long, sharp sideburns and a thin, beard-length moustache, whose hand vainly clutched at a strange medallion hanging around his neck, as if clinging to the only power in his possession. And then there was an image of the cadaver, that rotting corpse that Mel knew was all that remained of the Doctor’s oldest friend and oldest enemy, animated by nothing but pure malice and spite.

the description of the ‘satanically handsome man’ is obviously the war chief. and then, the doctor remembers events from his past:

The night time vanished into the shadows of light, as new images, all familiar, threw themselves past the Doctor’s eyes: his tedious years at the Academy, his rise in the Time Lord hierarchy, his flight from Gallifrey, the early years of his exile, the planet of the War Games and his reunion with the Master, the lost years of imposed servitude to the Time Lords, all his memories and so many more impressed their way across the Doctor’s vision, even up to the moment of the present day. Then, abruptly, the vision ended. The Keeper began to speak again.

his reunion with the master occurs during the war games and precedes his exile (which is when his meeting with delgado’s master occurs). and magnus is once again used as a name for the young master:

The Doctor and Benton managed to glimpse him as he raced past. He was young, with a curving moustache and a dark, haughty face accustomed to obedience but now shadowed and twisted by fear. He ran onwards without even pausing to acknowledge their presence. He seemed desperate to outrun something. Moments later, a group of well-armed and uniformed men rounded the corridor and also hurried past the Doctor’s party, following the fleeing man in their wake. Steadying himself against the cool stone wall at his side, the Doctor watched the squad pass, recognising them as members of the Chancellery Guard, but clothed in armour and dress from the long departed era of his days in the Academy. The Doctor paused, wondering where he had seen that face before. “Magnus?” the Doctor whispered. Benton stepped over to the Doctor. “Who was that bloke those boys were chasing after, Doc? He looked a bit like the Master.” The Doctor gazed into the distance. “That he did, and for good reason.”

#the war chief #the master #doctor x master #dw #academy era

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legitimatesatanspawn · 1 year ago

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Sudden question popped in my head: "How old is Gran Torino?"

Dude looks like he's supposed to be 80 or 90 yet he's spry even for anime fighting heavy setting old people.

Note a lot of this is gonna be riddled with a few assumptions based on character design and general character tropes as related to demeanor. The rest is applying math to known or estimated ages.

Also some minor spoilers due to some flashback sequence images used for reference but nothing major.

Now since this is anime and across many many MANY different anime and manga the original artist or artist team tend to make character visual ages weird. I joke semi-often that kids look like teenagers, teenagers look like adults, young adults look like grizzled 40/50 year olds, and anyone past that look like they're in their 90s... unless you have a character who looks like a child. There's also even odds of the "child" being just that or actually being secretly immortal or 200+ years old.

So its possible that Torino's actually younger than he seems (shit ages you and we know he went through it). It'd also play in to his little prank/joke that he's a senile old man. I know people who look older than they really are due to one reason or another (usually stress) and I know some people in my mother's side of the family tend to look younger for whatever reason. (Some of us joke about having a portrait in the attic.)

But first: All Might is like what, 50? 60? We know he has an active career that's lasted long enough to make everyone else feel like he'll always be there. We also know he got OFA, attended U.A. (and presumably graduated), and then Toshinori got shipped off to America for his safety and to put a whole ocean between him and All Might. And since Gran Torino looked very tall at that time that means that we have a fully grown adult there (adding in to that "old people shrink in the wash" height joke thing).

All Might was dressed in a middle school uniform when he first met Nana so that means he would've been between 12 and 15 when Nana was shown talking about him to Sorahiko after Kid Toshi's dream and drive won her over. Now he's TALL but that doesn't mean anything since I remember a couple boys in 4th grade towering over our teachers so he could be a very gangly one. But to make the Izuku parallels more strong we can say that the first meeting he had with Nana was when he was around 14 or 15.

But the only thing we can really know is that Torino would have to be at least 20-ish to have a pro hero license. Dude has the attitude of someone who's been around the block a bit so let's add in another 5 years for experience as that would be long enough to know the field. That said the characters we know best from canon with similar attitudes are in their early 30s or late 30s.

So that'd make him 30-something to Kid Toshi's 14.

But there's another character I can use as a benchmark for his age: Nana's son Kotaro. 32 when he died, when Tenko (at the time) was around 5-6. Tomura is 20 by canon's start, where All Might would presumably be in his 50s. Now I always assumed Kotaro was around 5 when Nana gave him up for his safety as that is generally the age when things go start to shit for characters in the setting. It'd also give Kotaro stronger memories of Nana and better awareness of who she was (a hero) and why his kids wanting to be heroes like her set him off (not that he seemed to need a reason with his apparent temper).

So if Kotaro is 32 when Tenko was 5/6, the man would have been 47 by the time Tomura appeared in canon. All Might - assuming he's in his 50s - would've met Nana when Kotaro was... well, if All Might is 59 at the series start then Kotaro would've been 3, if All Might is 55 then 7, if he's 51 then 11.

You know what? All Might at 55 sounds fair. Kotaro being 7 at that time also means the loss would've been still fairly fresh, explain a lot about how the letter was phrased, and possibly be part of why Torino was a bit leery of Nana picking a kid. All this without it being too close to her unintentionally replacing her son with another around his age.

Series Start Ages: All Might, 55. Kotaro, 45/46. Tomura, 18/19. Izuku, 14-ish/15-ish.

1-A Start ages: All Might, 56/57. Kotaro, 47. Tomura, 20. Izuku, 16.

So assuming all this... Torino could be around 72 to 77 by the time All Might first meets Izuku.

... you can see how crazy I'm making myself trying to make sense of the timeline.

#boku no hero academia #my hero academia #character ages #headcanons #meta post #doing math to make sense of the timeline #once again #overthinking again #gran torino #torino sorahiko #shimura nana #shimura kotaro #shimura tenko #shigaraki tomura #yagi toshinori #all might #midoriya izuku

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ohpollenpowder · 1 month ago

Note

💋🌹⚙️ for Astrella, Klea and Laviii (feel free to swap them out if stuff is not applicable to them)

This ended up being lengthy, so under a cut it goes! And apologies for the delay~♥

💋 First Kiss

Laviii - Her first kiss wasn't with her husband, much to his disappointment—he's just that sort and it makes her amused. It was actually to one of the other orphans in the orphanage when she was still there, probably about the age of nine. They both had just left the "ew, cooties" phase and were falling into curiosity. She remembers it was drizzling and they'd sought out shelter under one of the trees just before the skies opened. They had started laughing, they got drenched anyway, and his lips tasted like the cherries they'd had snuck out of the kitchen earlier. Laviii has always boasted of her memory and how good it is, but something always hazes over his name and his face. Honestly, probably some weird Mesmer magic which made her subconsciously suspicious of Tyki from the get go. His name was Cael though and he didn't really have anything remarkable about his appearance at the time. Nothing that would have drawn and kept Laviii's attention, but he was kind and didn't seem to mind her tangents and shared any apples he stumbled across in wanderings.

Klea and Astrëllä both haven't had theirs so… (randomizer) 1-21…and 4 comes up. So 📎!

📎 Siblings/Close Family

Astrëllä - Since she's my namesake, there are things that are similar about us, however family is not one of these. I only have one sibling—a younger brother—and Astrëllä… She was unblessed in that she's the middle child of five, not that she's close to her other four siblings. You'd think she would have been close to her twin, Aiar (M) who is older than her by five minutes, but it's actually the youngest, Dhianni (NB). They were the only one who seemed to actually be proud of Astrëllä and her academic achievements. Likewise, Astrëllä ended up being more of a mother to Dhianni than their actual mother; made sure they had access to anything they needed for their potion experiments. She didn't really understand the desire to go into that field but honestly…someone has to, she guesses. Though she has had to keep Dhianni from trying to test these potions out on their family. Rivals, yes. People who you've gotta sleep in the same space with? Nah… Dhianni, I think, is the only reason that Astrëllä would hesitate over actually joining the Ward. Mostly because she doesn't want to lose that connection to a beloved sibling.

Klea - Jazer Shadowsworn—her mother and Legionnaire—is someone she's semi-close to seeing as Klea has been raised as her heir to the Warband. (And honestly the rest of the Warband doesn't seem to mind the idea of it being handed down. They've seen her grow up, they know her and trust her. And she's not her mother, either.) But Klea would also say that they're not as close as others may believe, mostly because Klea has been quietly rebelling against the idea of becoming Legionnaire more and more the closer that time gets. Her closest tie belongs to a cranky old Thief who taught her stealth when she (and he) was younger: Kuudan Shadowdancer. He gave her glimpses of life outside the Warband as a core unit, that there was more out there. And she's still young enough that she's curious about it, enough so that she's willing to become a Gladium in order to step away from Shadow Warband and see what's out there for her own. But Kuudan keeps her where she is for now, out of her own choice. He's gotten a little more senile and slower in his older age and she's worried about him.

🌹 First Relationship

Laviii - It wasn't the boy she had her first kiss with, he wasn't enough her type for that, not to mention he had long since vanished by the time she got interested in relationships. That one would honestly go to her now husband, Tyki Mikkk. (And he'd hate to hear this, but he did/does remind her of that first kiss. We're blaming the mysterious Mesmer feeling…) She wasn't even going to date him to be honest, there was just something about him that made her suspicious and yet familiar as well. And honestly that alone made her even more suspicious, because where does he get off being familiar but she can't place it with her memory? (Again, damn Mesmer magic.) Tyki was very persistent, however, and somehow they kept getting partnered up for Pact work, so she couldn't escape him if she wanted to—at least not without getting in trouble. He was her first, because she didn't like or want any guy in Divinity's Reach, she also didn't want to end up stuck in the city with multiple babies while he was at the tavern. And that was the lifelong goal of a lot of those men.

Astrëllä - She did actually attempt a relationship just before she went into her first College, figuring it would be better to do it before and see if it was worth her time. Dasi was one of those oddballs that Dhianni worked with, an older Asura (closer to her age than Dhianni's) who made sure they weren't poisoning themselves as they concocted things. Dasi was a lot of what Astrëllä wasn't; very lazy in academia and not very driven in the sense that most Asura are. She was more than content to let others take the credit for her hard work, she was very much an extrovert where as Astrëllä chose to spend most of her time on her own or with a small few. They were on the verge of perhaps becoming something more steady than hanging out in the same spot close together and quiet little "meetings" to "discuss" work. (Not that their work was similar at all.) And the but here goes to Dasi deciding that relationships weren't something she wanted at that time, instead what she wanted was to go to the Jungle with the rest of the Pact. They tried to keep touch but by the time the Commander got to Tarir, they lost contact with one another. Astrëllä has, of course, feared the worst at this point since it's been years since any kind of contact but also no news of a body being found either… She hasn't gotten over Dasi, still holds out quiet and unspoken hope. Not even Dhianni knows about that what-could-have-been relationship. (Astrëllä was scared to speak about it out loud in case she jinxed it, but fate jinxed it already…)

Klea - Icilius Shadowstone—he was the world's sweetest and biggest (and floofiest) Necromancer in the Warband—and he also could creep up on absolutely anyone by accident. He awkwardly started to court her when they were fresh out of the Fahrar, having watched her (non-creepily) while they were there training. Klea was flattered by the attention since it was different than those trying to gain favor with her and thus her mother, this was purely for her. Icilius could've had her wrapped around his claw and did for a while, and he around hers, but we've got interfering parents on our hands. Jazer decided that he was too much of a distraction for her heir and cast him out of the Warband on fabricated charges. Actually had him "disposed of" as well, in that he was shipped off and told to stay away from the Citadel and from Klea. His current location is unknown, same if there's any remaining ardor for Klea considering a relationship with her lost him his Warband.

⚙️ Coworkers

Laviii - She gets along famously—perhaps too famously—with several of her Pact coworkers. Or at least she likes to think so, some of them only tolerate her antics. But she's gotten used to that and often plays into it when she's feeling mischievous. Outside of the Pact, she has a few reliable Priory coworkers that put up with her for good reason. She's incredibly smart and intuitive, often coming up with the solution before some of her Asuran fellows. Explorer Parrel often comes to her with puzzles trying to stump her but he also has great fun in working them out with her as well. Since they initially stumped him in the first place. Arcanist Sorley and Scholar Arthwr—both Sylvari—often tag along when she's doing the rare solo missions separate from her husband. They say it's for her protection but seeing as she's stronger than them both, they all three know it's because they're going to get into some sort of antics. Gixx dislikes them all working together just because it reminds him so of Sieran…

Astëllä - Wouldn't necessarily say she gets along with many… Dasi's Krewe always welcomes her in when she needs their assistance or vice versa, but a lot of the time Astëllä works on her own. After all, there's not a lot of teamwork to be done digging for knowledge sometimes. Most times. Astëllä is very resourceful and if she can't get what she needs by her own means then she's not above asking for aid. To that end, Yezzud has become her go to within the Krewe for at least headings to the information she wants. So honestly, Astëllä tends not to be very social, but she's not awkward like I tend to be. She's more along the lines of… "This isn't productive conversation so Imma just ignore you." But she'll also do it in a much nicer fashion, "Oh, that's interesting. Well, I have to go ponder about this. I'll see you later." By which…most times…she means never in a planned sense. Coincidences exist sadly.

Klea - Shadow Warband, of course, though honestly she's still never sure if it's nepotism at play. Though she knows she's more than earned her position if this wasn't her mother's Warband… Elarriza Shadoweye often pairs with her on missions and they work fairly well together despite Elarriza being a sneaksy thief. Oddly, despite being Ash Legion, Klea doesn't care much for sneaking herself and thieves seem to do it naturally. It's…more so trust? But Elarriza has slowly earned Klea's trust over the years and the former is a little over five years younger than her. And Klea also recognizes that it's a good thing to have someone she knows she can trust as a second hand; it might end up being Elarriza one day. So she's doing her best to set her own prejudices aside for that matter.

#laviii #astrëllä #klea shadowspur #gw2 human #gw2 asura #gw2 charr #gw2 elementalist #gw2 weaver #gw2 warrior #~meme

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starmanic · 2 years ago

Text

Egyptian night.

summary: Y/N meets someone that will change the trajectory of her night.

Warnings: p in v, female receiving, degration kink,feminine pronouns

Word count: 1069

I was sitting in the old pickup van searching for a place to stay. I was a runaway.

I was desperate and didn't care who was in the car as long as it took me out of here.

Four buff men stared at me down.

As I climbed into the back of the van one young angry looking teen caught my attention, there was something about him…I couldn’t put a finger on it, maybe it was the fact he was smoking but looked young for it, despite his scars, or the fact he was in a car with 3 older men all seemingly unrelated, all looking like they were on a mission and of course him, I didn’t know his journey just knew he was like me.

“Where you headed?” said the burly rough looking man with the salt and pepper hair hidden under his hat.

“Anywhere, just not here..” I mumbled uncomfortably as my thighs were crushed against his muscular man-spreading.

“Hey, do you mind moving a little,” I asked shyly, he grunted and if looks could kill i would be dead as of now, I looked down defeated. It must have been 2 hours since I fell asleep crushed by his wide shoulders and between these small seats. As it was already dark,

I was awoken by a tap on my shoulder

“ Hey, wake up we are at the hotel,” said a deep, monotone voice

Shocked by these men's kindness I had just met them 3 hours ago and they had not only given me a ride but had bought me my own room? Or so I thought.

As I walked into the runned down hotel it almost seemed deserted

“ Where is my room?’ i questioned shyly

“Our room.” “that senile bitch is making us share.” He grumbled. Damn am I that bad that he doesn’t even wanna share a room with me?

Scanning the hotel room I noticed there was only one bed, shit. I sheepishly looked up to him to gauge his reaction. His face showed no emotion, his muscular hands flicked on the light and even on his stoic face I could see his mood turn sour at the thought of sharing a bed with a girl he'd only met a few hours ago.

“Since we will be sharing a bed anyways, I never got your name?”

“It’s Jotaro, Jotaro Kujo” he grunted “I'm y/n” I held out my hand for him to shake only for him to look at me blankly, “and we are not sharing a bed,” he stated

Before I could even snap back to him, he was getting ready to get in the shower, in the only bathroom.

“Hey I was going to use that!?” only to be met when the door slamming in my face, what the fuck was that. I tried waiting but after what seemed like 30 minutes he was still showering.

Fuck I need to pee I thought to myself, as intimidating as he was I'm not going make a mess of myself. I pressed my ears to the bathroom door to see if the shower was still running “ Y/N… Fuck.. Please” he softly moaned.

I recoiled am I really hearing this? It was late and my mind could be playing tricks on me, all of that was ignored by the reminder of my bladder about to explode. I knocked on the door, No response, I pounded on the door and shouted out “ OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR IM ABOUT TO PISS MYSELF” Suddenly the shower turned off, and before I could think the door swung open and a half-naked, angry Jotaro came out.

Jotaro was standing before me, his chest was heaving and his face bright red, but his eyes were obscured by his wet, jet-black hair.

“Good grief, what do you fucking want” he growled. I took in his physique, his chiseled chest, his scars, my eyes involuntarily darted down to his happy trail just barely covered by a white towel, all glistening from the water. My trance was quickly broken by the urgency to empty my bladder.

I quickly pushed him aside and rushed to the toilet.

After finishing my nightly routine, I found him sprawled out on the bed already asleep.

After leaving the warmth of my shower I finally noticed how frigid the room was, Jesus…I had no choice but to curl up in the little space next to him on the bed.

I wrapped myself in the blanket just when I was falling asleep I felt a pair of arms wrap tightly around my torso “ahhh st.. Stop..” he yelled out, feeling his growing restlessness I called out to him “Jotaro?” but got no response back “Jotaro, wake up” I grew more impatient, I tried to shake him awake “wa, what?” he grumbled drowsily with a hint of anger in his voice.

“Are you okay? It seemed like you were having a bad dream” I responded

“ I wasn't” he replied coldly. We both silently laid awake for what seemed like hours in the dark unsure of what to do next.

I felt his arms wrap around me once again “Jo..Jotaro what are you doing?”

“Quiet” I felt his fingers crawl down my pants slowly rubbing and dragging his thumb up and down through my panties, feeling my throbbing wet clit soak my underwear as if he was teasing me, I couldn't help but let a soft mewl“ please” his pace sped up until I was raw with anticipation.

Then he stopped, looking at me in my eyes, dragging his fingers up to his mouth and licking his fingers clean.

I heard a shuffling noise and found him kneeling above me. He started kissing my breasts, then my stomach, and finally my wet clit.

Gyrating his tongue on my sensitive clit, slowly twirling my nipples between his rough fingers and his other free hand toying with my wet cunt testing out how many fingers he could stick in.

He was a mess for me, this seemingly stoic man was giving himself up for me.

His breathy moans intoxicated the room, I ran my fingers through his long black hair, tightening my grip with every lick and movement he made.

I could not help but roll my head back in euphoria. My thighs involuntarily

tightening around his head “Please…please I'm so close” I begged; all of sudden his touch disappeared from my body he smirked, “not so fast, you’re done when I say you are” his tone getting serious once again.

He suddenly pulled himself up so his face was level to mine and undoing his pants with his free hand.

His hands eventually moved to my thighs, gently caressing them before squeezing the inner thigh of my right leg. It felt more as though he needed to release pent-up stress, and that squeeze would definitely leave a mark. His strength was incomprehensible, and the thought of markings left on my body only made me crave them more. Without breaking eye contact, his fingers barely grazed me, tempting and teasing me. I bucked my hips towards him in response, but my movement was met with his left hand locking my hips to the bed, preventing me from moving. His power was immeasurable, and there was no way I would be able to escape his grasp. His cold gaze shot up at me, as his finger swirled on my clitoris lightly. I squirmed and moaned, trying desperately to move with the rhythm, but it did me no good. He held me down, wanting me to feel as less as possible. He continued on for minutes in excruciating pleasure. Watching me writhe under him begging him for more.

His breathing was erratic but his face remained unchanged. His eyes were laser focused with desire. I was taking him but not easily and that thought drove me insane. He was so big. So much bigger than he looked I felt incredibly tight, squeezing against his throbbing erection as he gripped my hips, holding me in place.

I fell onto his shoulders, my hands clutching the back of his head as he pounded himself into me repeatedly working himself up, with every other exhale came a small moan that escaped his soft lips.

“Please, I can't take this, I want to cum please Jotaro”, Jotaro silently went feral hearing my cries of pleasure they were taking him to his own limit.

Suddenly, I felt my euphoria creeping closer at the same time as my words started to become idiotic and incomprehensible. "J-Jotaro... I can't handle it anymore". You felt him separate from your dripping hole, approaching your face again but without stopping his cock from going in and out of you "Shh be quiet" he warned.

You felt his lips give you sloppy kisses on your neck, softly biting making you feel even closer to your peak.

Jotaro softly presses his torso into mine stilling for a few seconds and feeling his hot cum flowing, fully coating my inside feeling his cock pulsing inside of me, my inner walls clenching uncontrollably as his warmth starts filling me up. Jotaro’s thick cock rubbing all my sweet spots, his thumb rubs circles around my clit. I gripped his wide shoulders tightly as my body started shaking in sweet ecstasy. His once steady rhythm became sloppier, drilling his cock into my quivering hole, low grunts mixed with swearings escaping his lips, gradually feeling his dick softening inside of me.

After spending some time cuddling each other and calming down, Jotaro stood up to grab something to clean me with. He returned with a small hand towel and cleaned me up first, gently cleaning me down, wiping his mess off of me. I cuddled against his warm body slowly drifting off to sleep, as the sun was slowly rising I didn't care, as long as I was with him.

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