#just gotta get her final armor when we get into the city

[togepies]

act 3

[silveraryuu]

Armored Core 6, and its morality

I don't post much on here but I gotta just get this out of my head. I had a discussion with some people about the endings and their thoughts were nagging in my head.

Armored Core 6 Spoilers ahead, primarily the first two endings (not the True ending, basically)

So, in a circle of people I chat with, some of played Armored Core 6. They've beaten it. And when they were getting to the endings, I would say something like 'welcome to the bad ending' regarding the Fires of Raven ending. A few of them told me that I was wrong to call it that, because we're 'going against Coral, which is obviously evil-- it's a substance that takes over peoples' brains and technology!' But that always struck me as very off. Like, yeah. Coral has that property, but it isn't a bad thing by default. It's used as a drug, used to power machinery, and was used to defend the planet with C-weapons.

BUT the VERY big thing that didn't make sense to me was how said people argued that the Fires of Raven ending was the good ending... when you're not only repeatedly hammered in 'wow, that's kinda fucked up 621, you're gonna destroy my people, my family, and cause a massive explosion of Coral just like the Fires that ravaged Rubicon' by Ayre even before you MAKE the decision for the ending. You are called the 'Monster Who Burned the Stars' at the end. You cause Rubicon to be a dead planet by ramming a giant spaceship-city into a reserve of basically-technomagic-fuel that ALSO houses ascended(?) Rubiconians-- Rubiconians, I add, who didn't choose to have corporations fighting over their natural resources and are basically fighting a war of attrition that's ONLY won by Raven siding with them and fighting for their cause. Even during the fight against Ayre, it's not triumphant in any way, it's somber and heavy, with Ayre lamenting what 621 and her could have done together for the planet, and proclaims you as the Spark of War in Phase 2, realizing what you REALLY ARE to the planet.

The only counterpoint I was given during my conversation with these people was 'well you turn your back on Carla!' And yeah, I like Carla, she's pretty cool-- but she's not doing this for any other reason but fixing her and the Institute's mistakes. She didn't save you because you are YOU-- she saved you because you were the Ace and Final Piece that Walter trained and kept safe. Carla is cool, really helpful, and isn't a bad person, but she's still not acting in a way that's gonna turn out well for the planet of people who are harshly swept up in this hell by the PCA, Corporations, and Overseer. Again, we turn a planet into a 'Dead Planet' in the ending we DO side with her. It ends the war for Coral, but it also ends the entire planet that has Coral. It's erasing the sins of the Institute, but in the almost literally nuclear way.

Please, please give me a sanity check here. Fires of Raven ending is so heavy-handed and obvious with how sinister, somber, dire, and despairing it is. I'm not losing my mind here, am I?

[lohanl]

FINALLY!! I finally comment under tumbler posts 🙏🏻

Yes, I did join Tumbler after they fck it up. No, I don't regret it.

I gotta be honest, I just joined Tumbler bc of Lossie (I liked their fanfics and discovered they posted spoilers/spinets–is that the word?– of their fanfics in here)

I guess this is just my commemorative post (actually, this is just a rant about madatobi, or the authors of madatobi if I'm being honest, that took control over my brain some days ago, but shhhhh)

I want to state at the beginning that I love Tobirama as much as the next person, but I have been growing incredibly bored (and kinda triggered) of the way some autors make him a Marry-Sue. I can overlook it when, despise being a Maery-Sue, his character is consistent or the word is well built, take for example KeanBlade– Tobirama is a complete Marry-Sue in their works (he's capable of fighting Madara & Hashirama and actually beat them in fights, is a better medininja than Hashirama, has everything planed to a dent etc etc) but their word is very well built, so it's easier to overlook my discomfort when Tobirama is a Marry-Sue.

Which brings me to my main ick when reading madatobi fics—the power imbalance when Tobirama is a Marry-Sue.

It is a popular theory in the fandom that the Uchihas were poor, that theory gains weight and deaph when we look at this image

We can clearly see that none of Uchihas have armor while all of the Senjus have them. They are covered head to toes in armor while the Uchihas are using their everyday clothes, and this economic disparity is further proven by this image

Those are their everyday clothes, different from the Senjus that buy/make formal clothes to everyone in the clan the Uchihas are wearing the same clothes they use in battle to a peace talk, probably bc they can't afford formal clothes

When authors make Tobirama a Marry-Sue, when they make him stronger than Madara, they are giving away the only upper hand Madara has in their relationship–His strength. Tobirama is richer, comes from a clan that is not discriminated against, like the Uchihas were, he is smarter, and you want to make him stronger than Madara too? Why? Some autors even have Tobirama solving all of the problems of the Uchiha clan; which makes everyone in the clan, but especially Madara (since he is the clan leader), in debt with him. At least when Madara is stronger he brings something to the relationship, something that Tobirama isn't as much or more than him, so he is not completely at his mercy or grace.

Honestly, I can ignore how the imbalance of the relationship makes me feel if the fanfic is interesting enough or the word built catches my attention, but there's only a certain amount of fanfics with this trope I can read before I start to relate it to my family experience with this type of relationship

I'm just projecting, I know I'm projecting, but bc of my family history, I really can't stop projecting. My family is from a "Usina" (this is the name we have in Brazil for sugarcane plantations), and we were very poor (my grandpa worked in the field and my grandma was a seamstress for the usina). My Grandpa ended up managing to move to a proper city later in life. In this city, one of my aunties married a guy of a rich, well-known family. He helped all of her siblings, including my mom, go through college and get jobs. He had the upper hand in their relationship and the gratitude of the whole family. Let's just say it didn't end well for her. So yes, I'm projecting.

Anyway, what I'm saying is that a lot of authors give Tobirama way too much power 😅

[rubykgrant]

(I'm still try to gather my thoughts and write everything together in a way that works, but I'm hoping to continue my RVB Interviews again soon! For now, I'm sharing the beginning of Sarge's segment again; after all, it's called RED vs Blue, we gotta start with RED, and that means the REDDEST RED TO EVER RED~)

He was already in his chair, more than eager to share his thoughts and what was certain to be a “colorful history” regarding himself.

Andrews rolled her eyes, but also smiled; considering Sarge’s reputation, it would be more concerning if he was acting “timid”.

“I see you’ve decided not to wait,” she commented, taking her own seat.

“A-course! Save the BEST for FIRST!” he answered proudly. “Besides, listening to everybody else babble for too long might put ‘ya to sleep, and we can’t have that. They’re so easily distracted. Going off on tangents of unrelated topics and what-not,”

“Well, I’m not sure where you want to start-”

“I WAS BORN 29 YEARS AGO! I’VE BEEN THE PROUD LEADER OF RED TEAM FOR 20 YEARS! I CAME INTO THIS WORLD WEARING RED ARMOR, AND I’LL GO OUT OF THIS WORLD WEARING RED ARMOR!”

“Now, now…” Andrews said, her voice both amused and patient. “I won’t be exposing any secrets you want to keep, you’ll have the final word on what information I share publicly, but between the two of us? Let’s try to keep things simple, and honest. After all, we ARE on a first-name basis!”

The old soldier was quiet for a moment. A short moment, but for Sarge, being silent was about as rare as hen’s teeth.

“Fair enough, Dylan…” he answered at last. “But the name is one of the things we keep quiet about, understand?”

“Absolutely… can I ask one question, though? Just for my own curiosity,” her curiosity often got the best of her, and certainly created problems occasionally… but that was why she was a reporter. Curiosity might have killed the cat, but satisfaction is what kept bringing her back.

“Hmph. Fine. Shoot,”

“I’ve never heard a name like yours before. Just what was the inspiration when it was chosen for you?”

Another quiet moment. Andrews was beginning to think he was simply going to ignore the question, and if that was the case, she would move on rather than press the subject. However-

“When I was born, which was MORE than 29 years ago, I ADMIT IT… m’family didn’t name me right away. Not too many infants survived their first few weeks at the time… it was a different world back then, see- you’re too young, you never lived in a war-zone, but that’s what it was like. So, they waited to see if… well, you know how you’re not supposed to name anything, or else you’ll get attached? ‘Folks were worried about getting attached to ME, because maybe I wasn’t even gonna live too long… but a few weeks went by, then a couple months, and I was still breathin’!” he chuckled a bit to himself before continuing.

“I guess I was the only baby that made it, and the group of survivors my family stayed with- they all supported each other. A whole bunch of people took turns watching over this little bundle of joy! Everybody had a different name they liked to call me, and when it was time to give me a REAL name… it all got combined together. One big name, from more than a dozen different people, who all came from different places, and spoke different languages… I was the only baby any of them had, so I suppose they gave me all the names of… their own kids who couldn’t be with them…”

“That’s… oh, Sarge, I don’t know what to say, that’s INCREDIBLE. It might be the sweetest thing’ I’ve ever heard-” it was true, Andrews didn’t know what it was like to be born directly into a war-zone; and at the time the man sitting in front of her was a child, the Earth had been under attack by enemies from outer space… not to mention all the never-ending fights between humans who decided they hated other humans enough to kill each other. No, she hadn’t lived through that, but she had seen documents and footage.

Many towns and cities were destroyed, and groups of people would try to band together; they formed new little communities, some traveling like nomads, others attempting to stay in one place, but all generally learning to rely on one another for safety and survival. Generations of children were lost during this time… from injury, illness, or lack of food. To think that she was now speaking to somebody who had grown up in that world, protected and nurtured by an extended-family of people who had been brought together by necessity, but stayed together by choice. That choice had, in fact, been to make sure a child could LIVE.

“I know, I know! Tragic and heart-warming… it’s practically Oscar-bait! But remember what we agreed on, not a word to anybody else! Bad enough that whipper-snapper apple-Jax knows…” he grumbled.

“Yes, I understand…” she couldn’t help but get a little choked-up, though.

“And, for the record- I mean, this is OFF the record, make sure to keep it that way! But just so YOU know, I’m not a bit embarrassed about my name! That’s not why I don’t wanna share it… it’s just…” Sarge seemed to struggle to find the words. “The people who named me are gone. All of them. And this wasn’t just my name, it was the name I shared with the all the children they lost… someday, I’m probably going to die on a battlefield, being taken out by an enemy, and God-willing, I’ll be wearing my RED ARMOR, going out with my boots on- but when that happens, whoever kills me… I don’t wanna hear them saying that name. It was good name that good people gave me, so…”

“So, you don’t want somebody who hates you to use the name that was made by people who loved you,” Andrews finished.

“Hurrrgh- if you WANT to read into it like that and add lots of mushy, emotional subtext, sure!” Sarge made several grunts and groans, crossing his arms over his chest and turning his helmet away to avoid looking at her.

“You are a surprisingly deep and sensitive individual, Sarge…” Andrews marveled.

“NO I AIN’T! YOU TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW! I AM A ONE-DIMENSIONAL CHARACTER, A FLAT STEREO-TYPE OF ALL GRUFF MILITARY MEN, AND DON’T YOU FORGET IT!” The man now stood up, striking a heroic pose, raising one knee to place a foot upon his now empty chair, both hands clenched into fists and resting against his hips, the visor of his helmet pointed upward.

“I’VE NEVER HAD AN OUNCE OF PERSONAL GROWTH, AND I NEVER WILL! OTHER SOLDIERS WEAR THEIR ARMOR, BUT I AM THE ARMOR! I AM THE BACK-BONE OF RED TEAM! AND THE BRAINS! AND THE FISTS! ALSO, THE WEAPONS IN THE FISTS! IF YOU SAY MY NAME THREE TIMES AFTER SUMMONING BLOODY MARY, I SHOW UP AND SCARE HER OFF! FREDDY KRUEGER HAS NIGHTMARES ABOUT ME! I AM-”

“You are the Reddest Red to ever Red, yes, I know. I’ll be sure to keep that for the interview. That way, everybody will know the REAL you!” Andrews promised. Sarge gave a single nod of his approval, and quickly sat back down, as if nothing had happened.. “But, just in case…”

Sarge made a cartoonishly over-the-top growling noise at this. Andrews ignored that, and pushed on.

“If there is possibly some hidden layers, maybe some insight or… the method to your madness? I do still have a few more questions. As I said before, you’re free to skip anything you don’t want to answer. What do you say, Sarge?”

“Alright. Fine. Hurry up ‘n ask, before I change my mind!” that was settled, it seemed.

[lunar-gl1tch]

15 people 15 questions

got tagged by @isaksbestpillow so now i get to spread this to toku tumblr lol

1. are you named after anyone?

my deadname was that of my mom's first student she got attached to (and my brother too, just the male one) and the current one isn't written that way and not used that way but i'd be lying if i didn't think of Taiga as a name because of Saejima "ya gotta go balls out" Taiga from the Yakuza games

2. when was the last time you cried?

uh yesterday? we watched Mebius Ghost Rebirth/Armored Darkness and is there anything more romantic than when two boys henshin together into one??? i think not. i got a lil misty eyed (if you want cry-cry it was two weeks ago watching the Mebius finale with the squad lol)

3. do you have kids?

hell no

4. what sports do you play/have you played?

I used to play basketball! mostly street basketball because I'm short and have no stamina but I was pretty decent

5. do you use sarcasm?

yeah.....i'm a chronic talk-backer.

6. what’s the first thing you notice about people?

what colors they wear i guess? i haven't really thought about it

7. what’s your eye color?

Gray!

8. scary movies or happy endings?

what about happy movies with scary endings? No but I'm a massive wimp i love scary movies but I get very stressed lmao. I'm also a big softie and i love happy endings although bittersweet endings stick to you longer

9. any talents?

pretty decent writer, great cook, amazing at cutting my own hair

10. where were you born?

Torino, Italy

11. what are your hobbies

crafting, diy, video games, looking for and collecting old doujinshi, i used to go to metal shows and run but i got disabled so now I watch tokusatsu shows whenever my adhd permits

12. do you have any pets?

The cutest kittie cat there has ever been, miss Turpentine that i miss so so much but it's too cold to move by public transport rn so she's still at her holiday home chez uncle Jari (it's -22C)

13. how tall are you?

153cm, barely 5 feet by technicality

14. favorite subject in school?

i don't think i enjoyed subjects so much as endured them

15. dream job

guy who makes the little miniature cities for ultraman to fight in

tagging! @skajador @stickers-on-a-laptop @decadentmousse @doomednarrative @snapple-man @sastheforestspirit @himbonotes @rosemirmir @tiny-tokunaga @offhandway

@hyenatron @heated-drama-between-men @tokutony @sunlightfeeling @denebsapphic

[wow-cool-robot]

Episode 21: A Sign of Zeta

i know the zeta gundam is a separate thing to the mk ii, i've been to the gunpla wall at my local hobby store. is this where it gets introduced?

the opening narration is now asking me to do a book report on last episode. i refuse

oh there's a von braun city? lol. lmao.

do the titans not already control von braun? what's the deal with federation control of things, because the only way this makes sense is if they're more like the eu than an actual country

oh, so the titans are trying to set up for a coup. makes more sense, i should have just kept watching

hello mr. hymen

or is von braun an attempt at an independent colony? i really like the little bits and pieces of worldbuilding this show drops, but it's really good at making me want to know more. i won't be checking out supplementary stuff unless shared though

the still unnamed purple man has a ship that can project his image out front. i can respect it

paptimus scirocco! it's been over 10 episodes and he finally gets a name

scirocco signs contracts in his own blood. what a character

going to ignore that his name is spelt hymann here, he's hymen in my heart

what a weird contract. hymen is his boss, and the leader of a fascist organization. it kind of goes without saying that he'll kill you if you betray him. this feels like suspiciously specific denial

lmao, kamille you gotta cut the mic before you start bitching!

bright: everybody stop fighting! emma: aww, come on. let them get it out of their system bright: no! this is the bridge!!!

normally i disapprove of bright slaps, but if it's to interrupt a fight in progress i'm fine with it

yay emma! normally when people are mean to kamille it doesn't feel earned, but emma is actually talking about something that's a problem with him

paptimus scirocco looks and acts like he's buddies with akio ohtori

i like these mobile armors, they look like cool bug robots

oh hey jerid, i forgot you weren't dead. and you have a friend, mouar

also the animation got a big boost here

lmao jerid has a cravat now

scirocco wants to put a women in charge? good, we need more girlbosses in gundam

i like that there's no hard feelings, and now they just want to bum the porn they assume kamille got on earth

i like how this show goes full anime with the hair colors, when they were pretty grounded in 0079 from what i remember

having a battleship cannon was what made the gundam such a threat early on. char fled their first battle when he realized that, and could have won if he hadn't. so it's interesting that battleship cannons have apparently progressed so much along with mobile suits over the years

i was already convinced the new mobile suits were cool, you didn't need to go this far for my sake

uh oh! being ejected from the gundam probably isn't good. neither is it losing its arm, but that's fixable

oh shit, fa's helping! hell yeah, glad to see her doing things

the zeta gundam!

scirocco sucks a lot, i respect that

this episode ruled. i liked the focus on the titans and scirocco, i liked the new mobile suits, i liked that it made me somewhat interested in fa, i liked that we finally got a sense of what the argama crew was like beyond legacy characters emma and kamille. good shit!

[tweedfrog]

Ep 1: the Heirs of the Dragon

Likes:

LOVE the shot of the burnt insides of harrenhal

"That's almost large enough to saddle two" my god these bitches gay

Ser Harold's pearl clutching when he saw Daemon on the throne

Aemma seems so lovely and sensible 😔 girl we are gonna get you out of there and you can stop trying for kids. Her speech about mourning all the dead children she can and failing in her duty to provide an heir 💔💔💔

Lord Lyman saying "Dear me" to Daemons gross rant about Rhea Royce. He's been a real one from day 1. I know a young lord lyman would treat me right.

You can really see the difference in splendour and size between this tourney and the s1 GoT tourney.

Daemons armor looks great. Totally impractical but great.

The crowd booing Daemon for his unsportsmanlike conduct dhalaidjssjsk hes entering his Elon Musk era

Loved Rhaenyra and Alicents little bitchy gossip sesh

Bby Laena gripping Laenors arm when the knight is getting beaten up 💔

The increasing tourney violence juxtaposed with Aemmas increasingly gory birth....

Daemon does have a point. Viserys is weak and I'm kind of happy he pointed that out.

I like that they showed Rhaenys looking a bit (imo) conflicted when Rhaenyra was named heir and the lords swore their pledges. It must've hurt for her.

Dislikes:

Wish we'd seen more of the politicking at the great council :(. Especially the random lesser claimants like Saeras sons and the descendent of Daenys and Gaemon's second daughter who married a petty lord. Also can you imagine seeing Jaehaerys interacting with one of Saeras illegitimate sons? That may well have been what finally sent him off.

Daemon is annoying me. I didn't mind him in the books but this version is actively passing me off. Gotta say beginning his speech with insulting the city watch was funny tho. Having him say "our city should be safe for all its people" after he spent the night being judge jury and executioner was just audacious....so yeah textbook Daemon

Having the gold cloaks just be thugs terrorising the city like??? Why???? AGCAB tho (all gold cloaks are bastards)

WHY are they acting like absolute male preference primogeniture was firmly established by the great council? That happened after the dance my guys. Picking Rhaenyra over Daemon may have been kind of shaky because of the great council of 101 but it could be justified with andal law, or if daemon is so widely distrusted/disliked another great council.

MYSARIAS ACCENT IS ATROCIOUS

Fights to the death being allowed in jousting. It's supposed to be an exercise for wartime not an actual war smh

Im sorry but Caraxes looked like one of the Jurassic park dinosaurs in the scene where Daemon lets Mysaria touch him

Not a fan of the prophecy being used by Viserys but if the dance ends with the prophecy being lost I won't mind it so much

Can they stop having everyone and their mother repeat the lyanna stark promise me line like please

Costuming:

I liked all of Alicents dresses but only Rhaenyras red tourney dress and heir dress. The first yellow/gold Rhaenyra dress was awful.

Rhaenyras heir outfit was *chefs kiss*

I liked Mysarias white dress in the brothel.

Miscellaneous thoughts:

What do dragons smell like if they're that stinky that you smell like them after a ride???

my man Corlys is rolling over in his grave cause one of his descendants is now one of those very pirates beggaring the realm

Interesting having Viserys be cut (or claim to be cut) by the IT in the first ep when it's taken as a sign of being unfit to rule in the books...AND THEN IT CUTS HIM FOR REAL.

"Bad humours of the mind can affect the body" Ok Sygmynd Fraeud

Bro Viserys' dream sounds just straight up like wishful thinking not dragon dreams 😭😭😭

If I were Otto I'd hate Daemon too "don't let him provoke you" like fuck you Viserys he just insulted the man's recently deceased wife

"You are Daemon Targaryen. Rider of Caraxes, wielder of dark sister, sufferer of plot necessary erectile dysfunction"

VISERYS AND MELLOS YOU ARE GOING TO HELL FOR NOT TELLING AEMMA WHAT WAS GOING ON. STRAIGHT DOWNSTAIRS. I WILL DRAG YOU THERE MYSELF.

We deserve a spin off prequel where Daemon slowly works through every small council position and fails miserably while Otto tears out his hair

Otto you are going to hell along with Viserys. Imagine pimping your teenage daughter out to the king in one of her mothers dresses . Imagine not sending your teenage daughters best friend away when her father has placed her in this position. Viserys being this gross when he has a daughter Alicents age is atrocious.

Do they not have seperate rooms in Westerosi brothels?

The guy who paused mid-fuck to listen to Daemons heir for a day speech hdsldjwkajdjs

Daemon trying to play off the heir for a day speech as GRIEVING IN HIS OWN WAY my god

Is it just me or do all the candles around the dragons kind of imply the Targaryens worship them? I like that idea I'm keeping it.

Overall thoughts:

They should have trigger warnings on these episodes for pregnant people cause jesus christ

Viserys really loves threatening to cut people's tongues out eh?

[birinboom]

I Know You Better Than Most

Ashido Mina x Male!Reader

Word count: 2,151

Summary: You decide to join Mina at the yearly anime convention in your city for the very first time

Genre: Quirkless!AU, fluff, very light angst, ASD reader

Warnings: Food/eating, kissing, pet names (Mina calls the reader ‘honey’)

Note: This is a birthday gift to @knuckles8864​. I hope you have a lovely birthday 💖

You surveyed the crowd, back pressed against the wall so hard you felt that you might phase through it. Not that it would bother you too much if it meant that you could get some space to yourself. You couldn’t remember when you had last seen a crowd this big.

Wiping your clammy hands on your thighs, you looked over the crowd again, trying to find a head of bubblegum-pink hair. You spotted a few throughout the throng of people, but none of them was the right one.

Where is she? you thought, watching people join the crowd ahead of you.

Finally, you spotted Mina as she pushed towards you. When she saw you looking, she raised a gloved hand and waved, a wide smile spreading on her face.

You returned the wave with one of your own, feeling your lips twitch into a grin. The world felt calmer already.

“Sorry!” Mina cried as she got closer, trying to be heard over the constant hum of voices. “I had a wardrobe malfunction last minute and I missed my train.”

You shook your head. “It’s fine, you’re here now. And you look amazing!”

Giggling, Mina spun in front of you. “I do, don’t I! It was worth all the effort it took to make!”

Nodding, you looked at her costume again. The pink and purple top which she wore underneath her armor was one she’d owned already. But the armor itself - covering her abdomen and one side of her chest - was something she had made on her own. You had often spent an evening next to her while she worked on it, so you knew well how much time she had devoted to making it. Same with the short tan skirt which she had sewn from multiple pieces of fabric, making it look as ragged and worn as it was supposed to. Her outfit was finished off with thigh high boots with foam greaves strapped to the front, and leather gloves with a fluffy fur trim at the wrists.

You had to admit that she was the spitting image of the character she was cosplaying. You’d never gotten around to watching the anime she was from - a fantasy story full of fighting and adventure - but Mina had talked about it often enough that you felt like you already knew the character pretty well.

Mina grabbed your hand, tearing you out of your thoughts.

“So?” she said, beaming up at you. “Are you ready for your first anime convention?”

You nodded, squeezing her hand. “Now that you’re here, I’m ready for anything!”

Breathe, you told yourself, trying your best not to panic.

Mina squeezed your arm tighter. “Just a little bit longer. The check-in line always creates a bottleneck, there’s plenty of space inside, I promise! And once we get our badges, we can enter through the side doors, we won’t have to join this line again.”

You just nodded, forcing another stuttering breath into your lungs.

A space opened up and you moved forward, the crowd following close behind. Just a little bit longer.

“Where do you want to go first?” Mina asked as she led you through the convention center.

You could feel her almost vibrating with excitement and it killed you to dampen her. But you knew she understood you better than most people did.

“Can we find a place to sit for a few minutes?” you asked.

Mina smiled at you. “I meant after you’ve had a moment to gather yourself.” Stopping, she pointed at a little group of cafe tables overlooking the main escalators. “Sit. I’ll get us something to drink.”

She returned a moment later with two sodas.

“You gotta be conscious about drinking enough,” she said. “We’re gonna be on our feet a lot. There are water coolers and cups all throughout the venue so don’t worry about bringing a bottle. Just don’t forget to drink.”

You nodded.

Pulling her phone out, Mina checked the schedule. “The opening ceremony is in an hour, it’s usually pretty funny but we can skip it if you want to. And there’s a panel I want to go to at seven, a bunch of voice actors being goofy, those are always a riot. But we gotta line up for that one early if we want decent seats, it’s always really popular…”

You swallowed hard. You knew that it would be busy, Mina had been very clear about that. But you hadn’t realized just how much time you’d be spending in line.

As if she could read your thoughts, Mina reached out to grab your hand. “The check-in line is the worst by far, I promise you. The other lines are a lot more chill, people don’t push as much, at least while we’re just waiting. But we can go somewhere less crowded to start with.” Thinking for a second, she added, “The artists’ alley should be decent at this time, they should’ve just finished setting up. And you can skip the voice actors’ panel if you want to, find someplace quiet to rest while I go.”

You nodded again, a small smile playing on your lips. Mina really did know you better than most people.

Your head swiveled from side to side, trying to take in all the merchandise around you. The sheer amount of it was overwhelming.

Mina once again managed to ground you. She pulled you over to a table in the corner. “We start here and work our way up this row. Try to focus on the franchises you might want to buy something from and ignore the rest. And don’t worry about looking at every single booth, we can always come back.”

You squeezed her hand to thank her, then started browsing.

The second booth you looked at had some interesting Nintendo pins. You had trouble deciding between buying Kirby or Link and Zelda.

Mina, who had been leafing through a binder of drawings at the other end of the table, moved over to you, looking at the pins.

“Oh, those are really cute!”

“They are,” you agreed. “But I can’t decide which one to buy. I kinda want both this one -” You pointed to Kirby in the middle of inhaling a cake. “- and this one with Link and Zelda together.”

Mina grinned at you. “I have a pretty easy solution for that.”

You raised your eyebrows questioningly. “And that is?”

“I buy Kirby as a gift for you, then you buy Link and Zelda. That way you don’t have to choose.”

Your face broke into a smile. “I appreciate it, Mina, but you don’t have to. I can--”

Mina held a finger to your lips. “I’ve decided already, I’m buying the pink dude with the cake. You can call it a memento of your first convention. Or…” She gently nudged you in the ribs while winking at you. “You can do the same for me when I’m waffling between two things. As long as they are of a similar value, I don’t want you to go broke.”

“Alright then,” you said, your smile widening, “I accept your deal!”

Next to the artists’ alley was a room with a few arcade machines. And - you noticed to your pleasant surprise - a Dance Dance Revolution rig for two players.

You pulled Mina towards the rig.

“Wanna give it a try?” you asked. “See if I can beat you today?”

Mina’s face lit up. Then a cloud of uncertainty passed over her features. “You don’t think it’s gonna be too much for you?”

You shook your head. “I’d like to get rid of some of my nervous energy. And I think it’s better to do it now, before the place gets more crowded.”

“Well, if you’re sure…” The smile returned to her face. “Don’t think I’m gonna go easy on ya!”

Grinning back at her, you said, “Wouldn’t want you to.”

You knew well that you were still far off from beating Mina at any dancing game. She had danced for years while you were still new at it. But it didn’t make the game any less fun, especially not when you had Mina shout encouragement at you throughout it.

The two of you had to stop after a couple of rounds. You could probably have gone for one more - and you knew that Mina could’ve gone for longer still - but a crowd had gathered, cheering the two of you on. It made your ears burn, especially since they cheered nearly exclusively for Mina. She was amazing, there was no denying it, but it sometimes made you wonder why she had picked you, someone who didn’t even compare to her.

Mina bounded up to you - completely unaware of your thoughts - and threw her arms around you.

“That was so much fun!” she squealed. Then she looked up at you, noticing your gloomy expression. Her brows furrowed. “What’s wrong, honey?”

You shook your head. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing,” she insisted, “something’s wrong. Is it the crowd?”

“Something like that.”

Mina pressed her lips into a thin line. Then she grabbed your hand, pulling you along with her.

She led you outside the convention building to a bench under a secluded tree. Sitting next to you, she turned to face you.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

You stayed quiet. The last thing you wanted to do was ruin the day for her.

Mina squeezed your hand. “Tell me, honey, I promise I’ll listen.”

“It’s just…” Heaving a deep sigh, your gaze glued to the ground between your feet, you finally let the words you had tried to hold back fall out of your mouth. “Why are you with me? You could find someone better, someone who shines as bright as you. I just weigh you down.”

She squeezed your hand again. “Stop. You know none of that is true.”

You kept looking at your shoes. “Isn’t it though? You saw the crowd cheering for you, not me.”

Mina’s words grew imploring. “No, it isn’t true. Well the part about the crowd might be, but the rest isn’t.”

Reaching out, she laid her hand on your cheek, pushing your face towards her. “You want to know why I love you? Why I’ve spent three years with you?”

Finally meeting her eyes, you nodded.

“It’s because you’re you,” she said. “You’re sweet and kind and gentle. You make me feel safe. You’re respectful of my boundaries, you never judge me. You may sometimes get your words mixed up and say the wrong things, but I know you don’t mean to. You listen to me. I always have a great time with you. Is that enough reason?”

You let out another sad sigh. “But I don’t shine like you.”

“Of course you do,” Mina replied. “You hide it pretty well, but I saw it when you were dancing.”

You furrowed your brows. “Really?”

“Yeah! It might not be very bright yet, but it’s definitely there! And it’s growing every day.”

Leaning in, she gently pressed her lips to yours. “Don’t be too hard on yourself just because the crowd only see that I’m more skilled at dancing - you’re being unfair to yourself when you do that. The crowd doesn’t matter. All that does matter is that we both have fun, right?”

Flinging your arms around her, you pulled her close against you, burying your face in her hair. “You’re right,” you mumbled. “Thank you.”

The two of you spent the time before the voice actors’ panel just wandering around, admiring the amazing cosplays you came across, and trying out random snacks that you found on sale. Still feeling a little bit downcast, you decided to brave the crowds to attend the panel with Mina rather than finding a quiet spot by yourself.

Sinking into your seat, you let out a sigh of relief. While Mina had been right about the line to the panel being a lot more relaxed, there had still been some pushing to get into the room. You had spent nearly all of your energy for the day.

Mina wrapped her arm around yours, leaning against your shoulder. “How are you doing, honey?

“I’m getting close to being people’d out,” you answered earnestly.

She nodded. “We can go home after this, there’s nothing interesting for the rest of the night.” Twisting in her seat, she looked up at you. “Are you so done with people that you want to be alone tonight?”

You shook your head. “You know that you don’t count as ‘people’. I don’t mind you staying over if you want to.”

“Then I’ll stay over,” Mina replied, resting against you again, “get my cuddle quota in.”

You just nodded, leaning your cheek against the top of her head, looking forward to a little bit of respite at the end of a busy day.

Next to you, Mina let out a gasp of glee. “Oh, look, it’s starting!”

Thank you so much for reading! Likes, comments, reblogs, and asks (on and off anon) are always greatly appreciated! If you like, you can check out my other works here. Love, Em 💖

[theflowerofthecommonwealth]

Power Armor Punch Part Twenty Six

Masterlist

Nick: *finishes laying her down in the bed. He pulls the blanket over her* Not being human...?

Jasmine: (Shakes her head. She is suppose to be more and better than this pathetic state she has been in for far too long… Squeezes herself tighter, not caring/noticing that it hurts. Pie.. security guard leader… Its all going full circle. But she is here, she is safe with Nick, her Dad…)

Nick: You're putting too much pressure on yourself, kid... *keeps petting her hair*

Jasmine: (Sighs deeply to herself, humming sweetly at his touch. No she wasn't… was she?)

Nick: You're human. You're not going to be at your best 100% of the time. That's alright.

Jasmine: (Shifts a little, still squeezing her waist very tightly. Yeah well, look at what happens when she is not at 100%. Her mind will start to wander off about pie and horrible people then they end up back here)

Nick: *pats her head finally and removes his hand*

Geneveve: *looking in the mirror again* Where are the ones you mentioned? The synths who are like me? The ones that are close?

Lucille: One of them is in the hospital with his adopted daughter and the other... I'm not sure. He might have gone back to his farm.

Geneveve: *blinks in surprise and looks over at their mother*

Lucille: You think that's a surprise? The one taking care of his daughter is a detective who's agency is based out of a city that hates synths. And he somehow makes it work.

Geneveve: I suppose we sentient generation two synths are a rather resilient form of life.

Lucille: You are modeled after humans and from my experience...? We are kind of tough to kill off.

Jasmine: (Sighs again to herself, blinking when she realizes that she is actually really hurting herself with how tightly she is clutching) (Whispering to herself) “Fucking…” (Quickly puts her arms on the outside of the blanket over her chest, closing her eyes and letting out a hiss of pain)

Nick: *just sitting there to keep her company. He can't do much about the pain she's in*

Dogmeat: *trots over to sit next to the bed with a sad whine*

Geneveve: And you say he has a daughter?

Lucille: Well, technically two if you count me...

Geneveve: *blinks in surprise*

Jasmine: (Reaches for Nicks hand again, not wanting to squeeze herself to death or do something potentially WORSE to herself. She has come to far… Hisses again at the pain, cursing herself under her breath. Gotta start thinking about something else…)

Nick: *lets her take it*

Geneveve: *silently looks at their hands for a moment before turning and leaving the room*

Lucille: Where are you going?

Geneveve: I cannot sit here and simply ponder the world. I have to experience it.

Lucille: You might get killed out there just dressed in that!

Geneveve: I didn't say I was leaving the caves, Ma! *walking out of the agency*

Jasmine: (Closes her eyes, letting a few silent tears drip down her face as she gently squeezes Nick hand. She is desperately trying to keep off the memories of the guard leader out of her head…) (Whispering suddenly) “When was the memory?”

Nick: *checks the details. The date's a bit hazy. But he wagers late in the year... Summer of that year had just started to give way to fall. Halloween hadn't come and gone yet. That would put it...* Between the months of August and October the year prior to your birthday, if my math is right. *checking it against the date he saw in her memories and back tracking from there for the years*

Jasmine: (Sucks in a deep breath. That timeline just about matches up) (Whispering, her voice shaking a bit) “And this woman really looks like me? You are sure?” (Did she really look just like that women? Please god no… She can’t be that unlucky…)

Nick: *quietly and solemnly nods. He squeezes her hand*

Jasmine: (Voice breaking) “I was born in June...” (God…. She might start screaming again. How can she be this fucking unlucky? But at least, this could mean that the original Nick Valentine was her biological Father, not that he ever knew that. Or maybe her biological Mom slept with other people… Who knows?)

Nick: *casts his gaze down* That only proves it more...

Jasmine: (Goes completely still, staring off while still clutching Nicks hand. Not like they can be 100% sure, this was the closest they might get. But would it even matter if they knew? She had still been abandoned, kidnapped, dehumanized, then dropped 200 years into the future all by the age of 15. Why all that happened? God only knows at this point, she just had to go along with it and deal with it… She really wants to again claw out her pretty body right now… As if that would help)

Nick: *it would help to know whether her biological mother was involved in the whole ordeal she went through in the vault- just to understand why they would put a kid through so much trauma... find some answers if they can*

Jasmine: (Whimpers, curling herself into a ball, not caring that it hurts her to be in that position. She makes sure to keep her hands away from her body, she cant trust herself with them right now)

Nick: *right now wondering why Nick even did what he did? What was that man thinking, getting himself involved with someone like Charlotte?*

Jasmine: (Quietly hisses in pain, but she honestly does not care. Like she said earlier, its almost some sort of sick relief from all this rattling in her head)

Nick: *eyes widen slightly with realization. He whispers* He was drunk...

Jasmine: (Blinks rapidly, looking at Nick while tilting her teary head)

Nick: That's why everything was so hazy except her. She smoothed talked him when his defenses were down. Had to have. Otherwise, she could have looked like a goddess and the old boy still wouldn't have bit. *a bit annoyed and disgusted with himself now*

Geneveve: *walking through the vault*

Some of the vault dwellers: *confused by the fact there's another synth... and it's not Andrew or Nick*

Jasmine: (Gently squeezes his hand as she looks his face over. Who was drunk?) (Shakily) “What…?” (Puts one arm tightly around her chest again, hoping that he’s not remembering what had happened)

Nick: *reads her body language with a cursory glance before his expression goes apologetic again* Sorry... wrong time to start working this out. *keeps those details he just mentioned in the back of his head* What you should know is that your likeness to her is only skin deep... You're better than she could ever be, kiddo.

Jasmine: (Blinks at him, curling herself up tighter and squeezing her chest more. Not like she knew her biological mom, so she couldn't argue any different. Still hurt that she HAD to look like her. Hell. Maybe she got these super human abilities from her…. But least she herself didn't abandoned no children in the garbage can. But she did take some lives…)

Lucille: *following Gen to make sure she's alright*

Geneveve: *exploring the vault* My... this place is Big...

Andrew: *crouching, helping the farmers figure out a better solution to growing their crops underground in the tunnels

Geneveve: *rushes over to observe him* That must be the farmer...

Deacon: Huh? You're- let me guess. Lucille's synth she was working on.

Geneveve: Yes. How did you know?

Deacon: I was there when she picked you up. The detective kinda owes you one for lending your motor to him... guess Lucille found some alternative power source, the mad genius.

Geneveve: Actually, I'm running on a standard nuclear engine custom built for my model according to my parameters.

Deacon: So she repaired it? Damn... starting to wonder if she just went on that mission just for fun.

Lucille: No. It really was for a new engine. Nick NEEDS to be mobile, Deacon. He couldn't wait for me to repair it.

Deacon: You rise to the bait so easy...

Geneveve: *just looks so confused*

Jasmine: (Closes her eyes, some soft tears dripping on her cheeks. She is honestly starting to get afraid that she is about to really try hurt herself… Whimpers, shifting to reach for her Pipboy to turn on the radio but she stops and quietly yelps in pain, curling back up even though it still hurts. Well shit. Guess she is also super sensitive to pain right now… So why does she want it more? What the hell…)

Nick: *softly almost helplessly* Is there anything I can do to help you, doll?

Geneveve: And who are you?

Deacon: The arch Duke of the Commonwealth-

Lucille: He's Deacon. And he's a compulsive liar and a spy.

Geneveve: *frowns* So nothing he says can be trusted.

Lucille: Not necessarily nothing. I think only 25% is true and that's a grossly overestimating it at that point.

Deacon: Ow! My pride! *clutches his chest*

Lucille: *flatly* He's also a drama queen.

Geneveve: *just looks at Deacon, baffled such a incredulous person exists*

Jasmine: (Shakes her head. No. Nick has done enough for her… Hell. He should be out there right now working on a case for other people… Not here with her pathetic self. She needs to get up)

Nick: You sure...?

Deacon: Hey, did you know I'm also a synth-?

Lucille: DON'T LISTEN TO THAT GARBAGE! He pulled that trick on me!

Geneveve: I just won't trust anything he says at this point.

Lucille: Good call!

Jasmine: (Blankly nods her head as she stares at the thrown key card in the corner of the room, squeezing his hand a bit)

Nick: *wishes he could help her somehow*

Geneveve: *looks at Andrew* So is he nice?

Lucille: Andrew? He's a sweetheart. Really loves his plants-

Geneveve: No- the detective my engine went to?

Lucille: He can be a little too honest sometimes but he's probably one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet.

Geneveve: *smiles at that* Then did you build my current engine yourself?

Lucille: Rebuilt. You have the old motor. You kind of swapped engines.

Geneveve: *puts her hand over her left side thoughtfully*

Jasmine: (Quickly looks away from the keycard, her gaze ending up back up at Nick. She so badly wants to assure him that she will be alright… But she cant lie about that. She wants to claw out her own skin again) (Whispering, her voice and lips shaking) “I want to hurt myself…” (No other way of saying it that she can think of. Its not like anyone else is in the room anyways)

Nick: *grabs her hands suddenly upon hearing that* Not on my watch, kid.

Geneveve: I'd like to meet him.

Lucille: Problem with that is that his daughter is a bit... mentally fragile. She might not respond well to new people if we just suddenly show up.

Geneveve: I see...

Jasmine: (Looks straight up at him with teary eyes, her lips still quivering. Well, she kinda already was with squeezing herself and being curled up in a position that made her wounds hurt. But she was wanting to do worse…)

Nick: *just looks worried and so tired- mentally*

Jasmine: (Straightens herself out, wincing slightly at the pain shifting brought but it was less painful then being all curled up)

Nick: *at this point he does want to be anywhere but here but because he's so concerned for her safety he won't say it*

Jasmine: (Scoots herself closer to Nick, blinking a few times with a sudden thought occurred to her, making her freeze. How the fuck did “they” know that she liked pie so much? Along with other desserts and snacks that were not common for a girl like her to enjoy?)

Nick: Hm? Something on your mind? Well, besides the obvious?

Jasmine: (Blinks some more, not answering. You'd think that they would give a kid cake or cookies to tempt them, but no. They gave her pie, apple pie out of all of them the first time… How did they know?)

Nick: Talk to me, kiddo...

Jasmine: (Blinks rapidly, pulling her hands away) (Signing, her hands shaking) “They gave me pie out of all things…” (Stops, her thoughts going ahead of her signs)

Nick: *raises an eyebrow* Why is that significant? Is it your dessert of choice?

Jasmine: (Nods her head, a distant look in her eyes) (Signing) “Apple pie was one of my favorites, but not anymore...”

Nick: And they gave you that specifically? Seems awful suspicious they knew. How'd they figure that out?

Jasmine: (Shrugs her shoulders. She didn't even think about it until now, the memories attached to it was not pleasant… they only did it when she refused to eat anything, but she only fell for it once)

Nick: They had to find out from someone... perhaps a family member- actually come to think of it, it's a bit suspect that your mother died so close to the day they kidnapped you. Like it was planned.

Jasmine: (Her eyes grow wide with realization. Thats very much true, and the details they were given on her death were very vague, well, at least the details she and Lilac overheard. But maybe they weren't told much because there was not much that could be told)

Nick: But that still doesn't explain how they knew you liked Apple pie. Unless they'd been watching you for a while...

Jasmine: (Shudders at that thought, gripping her wrists. Maybe they had…. She mentally goes through when she could have said out loud that she liked apple pie in public. Everyone already knew that, so there was no need to say it out loud to anyone. But her and her aunt would bake it and other pies as often as they could with whatever little money they scrounged up…)

Nick: But they'd have to be close... or have good listening equipment.

Jasmine: (Where they watching her? For how long? Where? Outside? At school?… At home with Lilac and Cosmos? She feels her heart thump faster at that final thought. Oh hell no…)

Nick: ... *just pets her head. Maybe this was a bad Idea to work this out, now*

Geneveve: *watching Andrew work from the side lines*

Lucille: You should talk to him...

Geneveve: I've nothing to talk about. I was born literally hours ago.

Lucille: Andrew used to be one of those patrol gen 2s, too. He's been right where you were.

Geneveve: I... I don't know. *fidgeting with the bits of polymer skin left on her right hand nervously*

Jasmine: (Sighs, closing her eyes at Nicks comforting touch on her head. So they didn't just walk in and take her one day out of the blue, it was a lot more planned out than she thought. But why her? What the hell did she do?)

Nick: ...You Should probably eat...

Jasmine: (Blinks a few times, nodding her head. Yeah she probably should…)

Nick: *helps her sit up and hands her the bowl*

Jasmine: (Leans on him for support) (Signing) “Sorry, I cant keep myself up.” (Takes the bowl of stew in her hands and scoops a spoonful, slowly putting it in her mouth then swallowing. She gets a very small burst of flavor…)

Nick: Don't worry about me. Just focus on getting some strength back in you.

Jasmine: (Tilts her head at him, giving him a very small smile) (Whispering) “But I love you Dad…” (How could she not worry about Nick when she is breaking down and he is there to witness it, it cant be any fun for him… Gently spoons in another spoon of soup, not getting a burst of flavor this time but thats expected)

Nick: ...I know, kiddo... *small relieved smile*

Jasmine: (Hums sweetly, spooning in another spoonful of stew. She feels so weak and tired, her mind still partly jumping on their previous conversation and her wounds… But she also feels relaxed, calmed, and very safe)

Nick: *proudly smiles. This is the most she's eaten in a while, now*

Jasmine: (Takes another spoonful, smiling a bit when she gets a small burst of flavor in her mouth again. Well thats a nice surprise for once, hopefully there is no strings attached and she ends up throwing up out of old memories)

Nick: *He's just glad she's stomaching it after what he's learned about her past with food*

Jasmine: (Carefully scoops up two more spoonfuls and puts them in her mouth before handing the bowl back to Nick. She would put it back herself, but she can't really lean that far without hurting or falling over. She is surprised on how much she actually ate without feeling sick, especially after that talk of pie… Hopefully she does not end up vomiting anytime soon)

Nick: *hopes so, too... it would be a crying shame. He takes the bowl, carefully letting her lay back*

Jasmine: (Snuggles quite cutely into the blanket and pillow like a sweet child, blinking up at Nick after a moment. She feels a bit better after eating some soup, maybe because she had practically starved herself for so long. It was really good stew… Maybe she will have more later)

Nick: *small happy smile on his mechanical face* See? A little bit of food goes a long way. *pets her head*

Jasmine: (Makes a cute humming sound, softly and sweetly smiling back at Nick. Guess now she just needs to keep herself busy with something to lower the chances of her throwing up with something physically, or mentally)

Nick: *sets the soup down and picks up her pip boy. He quickly goes to the sink and pulls out a washcloth and starts to clean all the blood he can off of it before he hands it to her. He comes back with a pretty clean wrist held computer, gently resting it on the teen's chest*

Jasmine: (Nods her head at Nick, her eyes sparkling) (Whispering) “Thank you….” (She starts clicking at it, turning on Diamond City radio to fill the room with music, with Orange Colored Sky currently playing)

Nick: *nods back with a smile, watching her play*

Jasmine: (Loads up Atomic Command, her nose scrunching cutely as she starts playing the game as she was earlier)

Nick: *starts pointing at the missiles coming in that she might not notice* That one, coming in on the right... there's one at the left. If you time it right, you can hit both...

Jasmine: (Snorts and grins, hitting all the missiles with accuracy) (Softly, glancing up at him) “You sound like Jie.” (Her best friend was always calling out every missile for Jas with urgency whenever they played together. Jas didn't mind, it actually made it more fun, with Jie jumping up and down with excitement until Jas either lost, or won. She didnt mind Nick calling them out right now either, it helped because she was still slowly processing things)

@lucilleandherrobots

[exovapor]

The Adventure - TMNT Bitches: Chapters 4 & 5

CHAPTER 4:  The Ping

·         Baxter Stockman sits staring absent-mindedly at the computer screen.  He’s been watching the screen for hours, waiting for a sign from the interdimensional portal device to let him know where Shredder went and where to send the rescue team.  However, even though he’s staring straight at the screen, he isn’t seeing anything flashing across it.

·         Stockman’s mind is having a slight issue with focusing after Karai’s parting threat.  What type of mutant would he turn into?  A hippo?  A raccoon?  A frog? A gelatinous pile of ooze?  

·         Or, would he even survive the mutation?  The more time Stockman spent studying the mutagen, the more he has come to realize just how unstable and dangerous the substance is in Earth’s atmosphere.

·         They had gotten VERY lucky that both Bebop and Rocksteady survived the initial mutation trial. By his calculations, the mutagen would kill 1 out of every 5 people and that ratio only increases the more unstable the chemical becomes.  Sure, Krang keeps them supplied with a fresh batch every so often, but the fact still remains, the substance and the subsequent mutation are dangerous for the test subject.

·         Karai really wouldn’t mutant him, would she?  After all, he is the brains behind their operation!  Where else will she find a someone with his knowledge, with his skill, with his ambitions?  Without him there IS no operation!

·         He is still contemplating his uncertain future when a pinging alert sounds from his computer. He can’t believe his eyes!  There on his screen a little dot flashes to indicate that the portal device has powered back on and it has sent over the last known Jump coordinates.  He feels elated, relieved, and then shocked.  The last known Jump coordinates were one thing, but the actual devices location is another…the device is still here in this dimension and in New York City no less.

·         He watches the screen as the little dot flashes and then disappears all together, sending back a exact copy of the previous Jump coordinates.  The device is no longer pinging in NYC, nor this dimension. Someone just used the device to follow Shredder.  “Turtles”, Baxter spits from his mouth, knowing full well who would want to follow his master into another dimension.

·         He quickly phones Karai to let her know that he’s got the coordinates of Shredder’s location and then he sends a message to the backup portal device to command Bebop and Rocksteady to come back and get armed up, they’ve got to stop those turtles.

_____________________________

CHAPTER 5:  Normal Among Freaks

·         The brothers stand clustered together on the top level of the parking deck, taking in the foreign surroundings.  Hoping that this dimension isn’t too divergent from their own; otherwise, they will be ill-prepared for this trip.  

·         Mikey breaks away from the group to follow his curiosity, all the merry voices drifting up from the streets is just too tempting to ignore.  As he looks over the edge of the parking deck, he sees all forms of aliens, vampires, people in Viking armor, people in battle body armor, people dressed in renaissance clothing, wizards and witches, women in small barely-there outfits, people in super hero attire, others in space suits, robots, and so much more, he can’t believe his eyes, “Hey, dudes, um…how sure are we that this place is like ours?”.

·         “I’m pretty sure, Mikey,”, Donnie says over his shoulder, while swiping through screens, trying to see if there are any traces of Shredder still left in the area, “why do you ask?”.

·         “Ahhhh..well…because…um…I’m not seeing a lot of normal people down there”, Mikey replies back, his voice full of tension, “I think our new looks may not work for us here”.

·         Raph runs over to join his smaller brother at the edge and is immediately flabbergasted by the display…especially the barely-there outfits of many of the women, “Shit!  Ya guys gotta see dis!”.

·         Leo and Donnie begrudgingly join the other two at the edge of the parking deck to survey the spectacle that has their brothers so enthralled.  Their eyes sweep across the scene and they are equally amazed by what they are seeing.  Leo lifts his brow at Donnie in a questioning gaze.

·         Donnie pulls his goggles from his forehead, over his eyes, and starting electrically analyzing the scene, “Hm.  Well, Mikey, I think we are still safe.  It appears that all the biological beings down there are indeed humans, just in costumes…hmmm…most of which seem to be crafted out of fiberglass, foam, and various textiles”.  He replaces his goggles back on his head and goes back to his virtual computer screen, scanning through some information, “AH!  This explains it!  The data screaming out of some of these buildings states that there is a Sci-if/Comic Book Convention, by the name of Dragon Con, taking place over the next few days”, he says with a wide grin.  He sighs and with longing in hazel his eyes he adds, “I’ve always wanted to go to one of those”.

·         “OH, OH, me too! ME TOO!”, Mikey affirms excitedly. His eyes light up with joy at the prospect at socializing and partying, “Can we, Leo?  Can we catch it out?”.

·         At that moment, Raph sees one woman practically nude except for a set of heels, a collar, a thong, and some black tape crisscrossed over her areolas, “Damn, I’d like to check her out.”.  Raph leans over the lip of the concrete deck and cat-calls down to the woman below, “Babydoll, can I take that tape off with my teeth?”.  The woman looks up at his roguish grinning face, she takes in his large body, his shirt pulling taunt and tight across his torso so she giggles and waves at him, replying, “Any time big boy, come find me.”.

·         “Oh, I’ll find her alright.  Leo, I’ve got a mission”, he turns to Leo and Donnie grinning proudly.

·         Leo gives a no-nonsense look to all of his preoccupied brothers, “We came here on a mission.  We don’t have time to play around.  We’ve got to find Shredder before he has a chance to use that mutagen.”

·         Mikey’s carefree face falls once again and he stares longingly down into the streets below, “But it looks so fun!  We finally look normal, it would be nice to join in for once.”, he mumbles in a broken-hearted tone.

·         Raph’s mood turns sour at being denied a chance to follow his…instincts…and he throws Leo a confronting stare.  “Just our luck!  We ooze ourselves ta look like them and now all of them are looking like freaks like us”, Raph declares sarcastically while gesturing with his large hands towards the costumed crowds below.

·         A grieved huff comes out of Donnie as he crosses his arms and rebukes Raph’s assessment of his fellow nerds and geeks, “They are not freaks!  They are cosplay enthusiasts who gain satisfaction from crafting genre replicas and embodying their favorite heroes and villains.”

·         “Yeah, like I said, freaks.”, Raph echoes back with a half-cocked smile and rolling his massive shoulders.  He knows when he has Donnie on the defensive about his geek stuff and nothing brings him more joy than egging-on his nerdy brother…especially when he’s been denied playtime by Leo.  He’ll take his fun where he can find it.

·         “We should get back from the edge and try to go as unnoticed as possible,” Leo says a little unsure of situation and the effect that it is having on his brothers.  He doesn’t like the unsettling feeling of being uncertain, of the group already getting distracted, and is still in the habit of wanting to remain hidden.  He backs away from the edge and turns to Donnie, “Donnie, is there any indication that Shredder was here and where he may have gone?”.

·         The tall dark haired mutant starts scanning the area as Leo follows him, they move towards the middle of the parking area, following Donnie’s scans.  Raph pulls a very curious and reluctant Mikey back from the edge of the parking deck, by the collar of his shirt, to join their brothers. Donnie’s scans send back confirmation of black hole activity, other than their most recent arrival, and he is still scanning the horizon when they hear a blaring horn.

@turtle-babe83 @tmntspidergirl @nittleboo @kokokatsworld @the-second-circle-of-shell

[invisibleanonymousmonsters]

no grave can hold my body down – 2/2

Character: Jason Todd x Fem!Reader

Summary: It took time to get Jason Todd away from the darkness. Sometimes it felt like he was always standing at a tipping point, at risk of completely losing himself. But not when he was with her. She made him better and she would continue to make him better.

Word Count: 9,000

A/N: I know there are a lot of contradicting opinions on Jason Todd’s height. But for my own wish fulfillment, he is 6′3/6′4ish in this fic. 

Part 1

Y/N had fallen asleep after getting home from work. She had a long day and was so exhausted that she passed out as soon as she sat down on the couch. Jason had to take off her heels and drape a blanket over her.

Now he was dressed in his armored undershirt, cargo pants, leather jacket, and tactical boots. His red helmet was tucked under his arm, but he was already wearing a domino mask. If Bruce had taught him anything, it was to be prepared to a point of paranoia.

He crouched down to his knees.

Ever so gently, he brushed Y/N’s cheek.

“Y/N,” he whispered.

She stirred and winced a bit when she opened her eyes, the glare of the quiet television was suddenly harsh.

“What’s going on?” She asked, still half asleep.

“Nothing. Go back to sleep. I just wanted to tell you I’m leaving to go on patrol.”

“Mhmm. OK.” She hummed. “Be careful, J.”

If Y/N ever found out how un-careful the Red Hood was, she would never sleep and she’d probably beg Jason to quit his vigilantism.

“I love you,” he told her before kissing her on the forehead.

“Love you, too,” she said back so dreamily that it sounded like she was talking in her sleep.

Jason slipped out of the window. He purposely chose this apartment due to the direction the windows faced, the distance from approximate apartments, and the darkness that would prevent any wandering eyes from the neighbors.

He’d been patrolling for a few hours. It was oddly a quiet night. He assumed it had to do with how cold it was outside. Sometimes criminals were weak in the most obvious ways.

Jason was standing on a rooftop, taking a breather when he felt someone drop behind him. He knew his family all too well and could differentiate all of their footsteps. Which was why he didn’t immediately shoot Dick when he thought he’d try and surprise him.

“So, Y/N was quite the hit…” Dick said without giving Jason a proper greeting first.

“What are you still doing in town?” Jason answered.

Dick sighed. “B still needs a little help on the case.”

Jason nodded, not actually caring why Dick was still in Gotham. 

Then an awkward silence washed over them. Well, Dick thought it was awkward. Jason couldn’t care less. 

“Why won’t you talk about her with us?” Dick’s teasing was gone and his tone serious now.

Jason turned his head away from the city view and finally acknowledged his brother. “You don’t need to know anything about her,” his helmet distorted his words to make them sound even harsher than they already were.

“Doesn’t seem like she completely shares that view.”

Jason didn’t respond. He didn’t appreciate Dick speaking on Y/N’s behalf.

“Bruce seems to like her,” Dick added.

Jason’s head snapped to him. “As if I give a fuck,” he snapped.

Dick had the audacity to laugh. “How did the two of you meet anyway? She was living in New York City when the two of you first met, right?”

“Jesus,” Jason growled. “Did all of you run a background check on her?”

Dick shrugged. “What did you expect?”

————

Y/N didn’t have any idea where she was going. With the sun having already set, she couldn’t even figure out what direction she was headed.

But she had typed the address to her hotel into the Uber app and trusted it from there. She was also too preoccupied still answering the dozens of work emails on her phone.

“Hey lady, we’re here,” the driver said rudely after she didn’t realize they had stopped.

“Oh, sorry!” She said, writing the last few words of a sentence before pressing send.

She jumped out of the car and yelled a thanks before slamming the door shut.

To her surprise, the car raced off without a second’s hesitation.

But when Y/N turned around, she realized she was definitely not in the right place. And for the first time throughout the drive, she realized she was definitely in a bad area.

Y/N heard all of the terrible things about Gotham. Sometimes she wondered if the things about all of the crime were exaggerated by the news or if the city was really rotting from the inside like everyone said. What she definitely didn’t believe in was all the vigilantes that seemed to be protecting the city. No one could ever offer up any proof, even with every single human having a video camera in their hands at all times.

But now she wishing she’d taken people’s warnings a little bit more seriously.

This was definitely not Gotham Heights, where her nice hotel was located.

“Fuck,” she muttered as she whipped out her phone and instantly tried to call another Uber. But the app was being finicky and she was getting a loading screen for far too long.

Then she heard a group of men whistle at her. The streets were filled with literal dumpster fires. There were countless inoperable cars with broken windshields and without wheels. The only women she spotted looked like they were working the streets.

‘Walk, Y/N. Just walk. Act like you know where you’re going.’ Her brain was screaming at her.

So she did while remaining on high alert.

No matter how much she pretended to blend in, she was obviously out of place and sticking out like a sore thumb.

Her heart was racing and she tried to walk as fast as she could without fully running. She just hoped to get to a main street soon and try to catch a yellow cab, since apparently all her car-service apps decided not to work.

But suddenly, a man stepped onto the sidewalk, blocking Y/N’s path forward.

“You lost, sweetheart?” He cooed.

Y/N stopped and started backing away. But when she turned around, she saw that two men were waiting behind her.

“No need to be scared,” the same men said behind her, closer this time. “We just want to talk.”

‘Fuck this,’ Y/N thought before she decided to make a run for it.

But one of them grabbed her and shoved her to the side, pushing her into the alleyway she hadn’t realized they were right next to.

It was so dark that she could hardly make out the silhouettes of her attackers. But that wasn’t going to stop her from fighting. She immediately tried to shove past anyone in her vicinity and hit whoever was grabbing her.

“Get the fuck away from me!” She screamed, hoping that there was someone in this poisoned city that would try and help her.

Except she was outnumbered by three men, which ended in her getting shoved up the brick wall that lined the alley.

“I don’t have any money,” she gasped as a last ditch effort to save herself.

“Who said we wanted your money?” One of them chuckled darkly.

Before their words could hearten Y/N to try another defensive attack and escape, there was a strange zipping sound that echoed down into the alley.

Next thing Y/N knew, the man that was pressed up against her and pinning her to wall was flung off.

Y/N gasped and tried to get her eyes to adjust to the darkness enough so she could actually see what the hell was happening.

“It’s the hood!” One of the men yelled to his friends before making a run for it.

Then a gun was fired off – two shots.

Y/N yelped at the noise and covered her ears.

But when she looked back up, the man who had tried to escape was now on the ground, screaming in pain as he looked down at both of his knee caps that had been shot.

When Y/N turned her attention to the other two men, she finally saw who had interrupted their assault.

It was a man – if that was even what he was – dressed in military gear of some sort. But what really caught her attention was the red helmet that was reflecting the night light and allowing her to actually follow what was happening.

Y/N watched as he punched the daylights out of one of her attackers. She saw the man’s face get more and more covered with blood with each punch.

If Y/N was scared before, she was now terrified.

Without hesitating any longer, she too made a run for it, hoping she wouldn’t be shot like the other runaway.

She sprinted around the corner. But she only got a few yards before the same behemoth landed in front of her.

He was tall, and had to be at least 6’3. Men were confusingly short in New York, so Y/N was still trying to wrap her mind around having to tilt her head slightly up. But then she realized it wasn’t even his height that was jarring; it was how utterly hulking he was. His shoulders were so wide and his chest was massive. His thighs seemed to be the same width has her entire torso.

Everything about him was intimidating and imposing.

“I gotta give you credit for being that fast while wearing heels,” he said to her as he glanced down at her shoes.

It wasn’t exactly comforting that his voice seemed to also be distorted by the helmet.

Y/N was frozen in fear, truly not knowing what he was capable of or even what he wanted.

“You can relax. I’m not gonna hurt you,” he told her with his hands raised. His guns were no longer in his grip, but in their holsters at his thighs.

“You just killed three men,” Y/N told him with a shaky voice as she took a step back.

“I didn’t kill them. But if you want me to, I’d be happy to go back there and finish the job.”

“What? No!” Y/N cried out.

He had the audacity to chuckle at her reaction.

“Where exactly did you think you were going?” He asked her.

“This whole damsel-in-distress thing is new for me. But I thought it made sense to run away from the guy who was shooting people,” she told him quickly.

Jason was grateful that his mask hid all his emotions and facial expressions, because he was smiling at her sass.

He looked her up and down, taking in her outfit and just her overall look. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

“What gave me away?”

He shrugged, ignoring the question. “What the hell are you doing in The Bowery? This is the most dangerous neighborhood in Gotham.”

“My Uber dropped me off here. I thought I was at my hotel and by the time I figured out I wasn’t, my driver had already sped away and left me for dead.”

He took a step toward her. “What’s a gal like you doing in Gotham?”

“I work for an art gallery in New York. But there was an event that I had to attend. I’ve been here all weekend.” 

Why was she telling him any of this?

Jason nodded in understanding. “Come on,” he told her.

“W-What?” She asked nervously.

“You’re not gonna get a car in this area. You should report the driver who brought you here in the first place. He knew better.”

He walked past her.

Y/N looked around her, trying to figure out if she even had any other option. She knew he was right about a car, which was probably why she’d gotten a loading screen for all of them when it realized her location.

Yes, he was technically a masked criminal. But he did just save her life, no matter how terrifying it was to watch.

Y/N decided she didn’t have much of a choice.

Before she could move, a motorcycle was being pulled up alongside her.

Y/N eyed it for a moment.

“What’s your name?” She asked him, as if it would make the situation any safer.

“Red Hood,” he told her.

Y/N nodded, not surprised that it didn’t make her feel any better. She realized she was in no position to ask for his real identity. She knew enough about vigilantes to understand that they only survived from hiding their true selves from the criminals they fought and the law enforcement who thought what they were doing was wrong.

“Where are you staying?” He asked her.

“Crest Hill Hotel,” she told him.

“Fancy,” he teased. “Hop on.”

Y/N hesitated before following his instructions. She sat awkwardly on the back of the motorcycle, unsure of what to do.

“You’re gonna want to hold on, beautiful.” He told her over his shoulder as he revved the engine.

Y/N tried to ignore the heat that rushed to her face as he called her ‘beautiful,’ and then she tried to ignore how wide and strong his torso felt as she reached to hold on.

It took 20 minutes to get to her hotel, proving that the Uber driver really hadn’t given a crap about how incorrect her original address had been.

Jason had decided to drop her off in the back entrance to avoid a scene of the infamous Red Hood dropping off an average citizen. He didn’t need that type of attention and Y/N shouldn’t be tied to him in any way.

Y/N got off the motorcycle with a surprising grace and turned to him.

“Thank you for…saving me,” she told him gently.

“It was nothing,” he told her.

Y/N just watched him for a moment, wondering what he looked like under that red helmet and without all the armor.

“What’s your name?” He surprised her by asking.

“Y/N. Y/F/N Y/L/N.” 

She didn’t know why she felt comfortable giving her surname. But it just came out.

“Nice to meet you, Y/N. Though, I wish it had been under better circumstances.”

Y/N suddenly dug into her purse, making sure she still had her phone and even just the key to her hotel room.

“Fuck,” she muttered without realizing it.

“What is it?” Jason asked.

“Nothing. I just…it sounds stupid, but I have a little notebook to write down ideas for – well, for my artwork. But it must’ve fallen out back in that alleyway when those guys shoved me against the wall.”

When she looked up at him, it was impossible to know what he was thinking.

“Anyways, thank you again.” She turned to finally walk away.

“Y/N?”

She shouldn’t love how much she loved the sound of him saying her name.

Y/N turned around.

“Stay close to the hotel. Gotham is different than New York City.”

She nodded.

————————

“So, when did you see her again?” Dick questioned after he listened to Jason’s retelling.

“I was helping out a friend with a job in NYC. Things got ugly. I may or may not have been shot when I showed up at her window. Her apartment was in the area and I needed a place to lay low.”

Dick laughed. “Uh huh. Sure you did.”

Jason ignored him. “Anyways, I’d gone back to the alley that night and found that notebook she was talking about, and gave it to her to make up for bleeding all over her couch.”

“Always the romantic,” Dick teased.

Their conversation came to a halt. Instead of talking, they both listened to the city noises that Gotham brought.  

“Listen, Jason, I know I did a poor job of being there for you and actually acting like a brother. And I also know you haven’t always been my biggest fan.”

Jason stayed quiet.

“But you deserve to be happy. And we both know Y/N does that.” Dick sighed. “But you don’t talk about her with us and you kept her from even just meeting us after years of you two dating. If we weren’t all noisy and paranoid, we wouldn’t know a thing about her.”  

“What’s your point, Dick?” Jason asked roughly.

“No one ever wants to acknowledge this, especially you…but you’re more like Bruce than any of us. And you’ve seen how he pushes people away, keeping them at a distance. Y/N wants to be a part of your life, your whole life. And that includes all of us – whether you like it or not. So, what I’m saying is you don’t have to hide her from us.”

Dick knew not to expect a response from Jason. So he left him where he found him and gave him his space once again.

Jason didn’t have anything to say anyway. 

Dick’s words made him angry more than anything. Because he knew they were true. Yes, he saw how Bruce behaved with women. It was promiscuous and casual, because anything else was too close for comfort. Bruce’s priority would always be Batman. And Bruce knew that no significant other deserved his lack of commitment – no matter how much they might love each other.

—————

Y/N was doing her nightly routine and applying moisturizer to her face when she heard it. She could be acting paranoid, but her instincts were telling her something was off. 

No, someone was here.

Jason made a point of being loud and immediately announcing when he got home as to not scare her. So, it couldn’t be him.

As quietly as possible, Y/N tiptoed out of the bathroom and to her side of the bed where she kept a titanium baseball bat. Jason had offered her multiple times to teach her how to shoot a gun. But Y/N wanted nothing to do with them.

With the bat in hand, Y/N snuck her way to the living room where she heard the sound.

She had turned off all the lights, making it hard for her to see clearly.

But she did see a large mass standing in the middle of her living room. With just a bit of hesitation, Y/N swung the bat. But the intruder caught the bat, stopping her attack.

They stepped into the moonlight, finally allowing Y/N to see that it was Batman in his full uniform, cowl still on.

“What the fuck. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” Y/N snapped at him.

“I apologize. I didn’t mean to startle you,” Bruce defended.

But Y/N was still irritated. “Jason isn’t here.”

“I know. I came to talk to you.”

She froze. “Me?”

“I need a favor.”

Y/N narrowed her gaze. “I highly doubt I could do anything to help you.”

“You’re wrong. This has to do with your job. You work at The Drago House.”

Y/N tilted her head and crossed her arms. “Yes.”

“It’s owned by the Ibanescu family. They use it as a front for human trafficking.”

Y/N shook her head. “That can’t be possible…”

“Don’t underestimate the crime families of Gotham, Y/N.”

“So, why do you need me?”

“There are files and codecs that would decipher who their buyers are and where they hold auctions around the world. Nothings digital. They’re old school. With that information, we could shut done their operation forever.”

Y/N’s face was serious now. “What do you need me to do?”

“You have always had access to all the information. You just never knew it. All I need is for you to scan the files.”

She now looked at him suspiciously. “Don’t they say you're the world’s greatest detective? I find it hard to believe that you’d have problems breaking into the gallery after hours to get them for yourself…”

“It’s only completely lockdown as soon as it closes every night. Their security system is high-end and resets every 24 hours. Could we get into it eventually? Yes. But we’ve already been at it for weeks. And we’ve received word that there’s a big…” He hesitated. “…shipment happening any day. We don’t have time to waste.”

Y/N thought about what he was telling her.

“Why didn’t you go to Jason?” She finally asked.

“You said Jason doesn’t tell you what to do.”

Y/N glared at him for using her own words against her.

The apartment went quiet again.

Then Y/N nodded slowly. “There’s an opening tomorrow night. I can get them then.”

—————

Dick’s words haunted Jason for the rest of the night. He wanted to cut patrolling early and just get back to Y/N.

Now he swiftly moved into his apartment from the fire escape and immediately took off his helmet and domino mask underneath.

But Jason froze when he saw Y/N’s bat in the middle of the living room.

His heart raced at the immediate assumption that something happened to her. The furniture was untouched and there were no other signs of trouble, but he still rushed towards the bedroom anyway.

“Y/N?” He called out, despite it being nearly 4AM.

He let out a sigh of relief when he found Y/N slowly waking up from their bed.

“J?” She murmured, half asleep.

“Y/N, why is the bat in the living room?” Jason asked as he rubbed his face and then sat on the edge of the bed near her. Without even thinking, he cupped her cheek.

She rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up more. “I thought I heard something and freaked myself out. But it was nothing.”

“Y/N, how many times do I have to tell you? Call me when shit like that happens.”

“But it was nothing,” she repeated. “What?” She added with a sigh when he was giving her that disapproving look.

“I don’t care if it ends up being nothing. If you’re scared, then I’m going to be here. OK?” Then he finalized his point with a quick kiss to her lips.

She nodded. “OK.”

Then she looked him up and down, realizing that he was still completely in his Red Hood gear, only without his helmet.

“You OK?” She asked in a whisper. Her eyes already scanning his body for any obvious injuries.

“I’m fine,” Jason sighed. “I was just worried about you when I saw the bat. I thought something…”

Y/N quickly sat up in bed. “Hey, hey, hey. I’m fine. I’m OK. I was just being paranoid. I should’ve put the bat back. I’m sorry.”  

A comfortable and reassuring silence settled between them.

“Why don’t you take a shower and come to bed?” Y/N offered softly.

Jason nodded and kissed her again.

As soon as he was out of the room, Y/N ran a hand over her face. 

She hated lying to Jason. He didn’t deserve it. But she also knew he wouldn’t let her anywhere near an operation that Bruce was trying to pull off. This had to be the same thing that Tim had pulled Jason aside for at the gala.

But Bruce made one thing clear: he needed her help. And he wouldn’t do so if he wasn’t desperate.

———————-

The next night, Y/N couldn’t stop sweating and her heart rate was out of control. She tried to act like this was just another day of work, greeting customers, explaining the pieces, and answering questions.

But the need to get into the back offices when everyone else was gone would not stop nagging her.

With shaky hands, she tapped her ID on the scanner. Usually at this point in an event, all of her colleagues were either on the floor or had called it the end of their work day and headed home.

By some miracle, that was exactly the case.

Y/N locked the door behind her, never having seen a purpose for doing so any other day of working at the gallery.

“OK. OK. OK. Breathe,” she muttered to herself as her eyes scanned the room.

She knew where all the files were in the room. And Bruce had given her the keys to knowing what to look for. Now it was just a matter of putting the two together.

Y/N instantly went to work and started shuffling through papers, finding what was needed.

Bruce had given her a special pen that would scan every file within a second no matter what angle it was pointed at, so Y/N wouldn’t have any suspicious photos on her cellphone.

Y/N was almost done, covered in sweat and with shaking hands, when the door started jiggling.

She swore her heart was about to burst out of her chest.

With pure adrenaline, Y/N quickly put back the files that were in her hand.

But the person on the other side of the door was clearly getting impatient quickly and continued to mess with the doorknob.

Y/N jumped when it was finally kicked open. She whipped around to stare at a man who was nearly the size of Jason, but looked far deadlier. She’d never seen him at the gallery before, which meant he was definitely part of Ibanescu’s gang.

“Can I help you?” She snapped rudely, trying to use her authority to hide her fear.

“What are you doing in here?” He accused.

“I work here. Who the hell are you?”

He ignored her question. “Why was the door locked?”

“You still haven’t told me who you are,” Y/N shot back.

And with that, she straightened her posture and started walking past him. But this man wasn’t as stupid as he looked. Just as she thought she’d slipped away, the man grabbed her by the arm.

“Excuse me,” Y/N hissed.

But he ignored her and started dragging her into the back storage area of the gallery and further away from the crowd.

Y/N tried to rip her arm from his grasp but his grip was vice-like and didn’t even seem fazed by her efforts to escape.

This was not good.

While Y/N was still hopeful that she could possibly talk her way out, she was also realistic. 

Which is why she hit a button on her watch.

Jason had gifted it to her very early on in their relationship. It was a classic chronograph watch. But he had installed a panic button onto it.

“If something ever happens – even if you think you’re being overly cautious – you push this and it will send out a signal that I can track. I’ll be there before you know it.” That’s what he had told her when he gifted it, and she’d worn it every day since.

A few seconds later, Y/N was being shoved through the door that led to the back alley.

There was a group of men, just as large and intimidating as the one who still had a grip on her arm.

It was pouring rain and freezing outside. But the slight overhand of the building into the alley protected them slightly.

“What the fuck is this?” One of them asked.

“I found her snooping around in the offices,” he announced.

“I’m one of the directors of this gallery!” Y/N bit back. “I was checking the price points on pieces for a potential customer.”

“The door was locked,” the man added.

They all seemed to be looking at each other.

Y/N was frozen, trying to wait for the perfect moment to make a run for it.

But then she saw one of the men, who appeared to be in charge, eye the pen that was clipped to the pocket of her pants. She prayed that he was too stupid to think it was anything more than just a writing utensil.

But then he slowly walked up to her. He grabbed the pen from her pocket and inspected it.

Y/N swore time froze. She couldn’t hear anything. She couldn’t feel the tight grip on her arm that was surely going to bruise her.

Then the man’s gaze shifted from the pen to her eyes.

“Get her in the car,” he told the group.

Y/N’s heart dropped.

Without hesitating, she immediately started to fight the man holding her. With a swift motion, she kneed him hard in the groin, making him let out a growl and keel over. But he dropped his grip on her arm.

Despite wearing heels, she made a run for it. She didn’t get far, but she got far enough into the rain that she was already drenched.

Another man grabbed her, shoving her against the building and clenching her throat to a point of suffocation.

“You stupid bitch,” her original captor spat as he backhanded her across the face.

Y/N blinked as a ringing started in her ears and her face stung with pain.

“Get her in the car before you make a fuckin’ scene,” the leader warned.

But before they could respond to the command, the street lights went out, causing a surge of darkness to blind all of them.

Y/N tried to step away from her attackers as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. But she couldn’t see a damn thing. The pouring rain was only making it more impossible.

It wasn’t until one of the men cried out in pain and guns started firing that she could see anything. Except it was too fast for her to make out a clear picture. Every so often, a lightning strike or a muzzle flash would give her a short glimpse.

Lo and behold, Batman was taking out the men one by one. But every time Y/N’s eyes focused on his tall silhouette, he’d disappear. She couldn’t keep track of his movements. And apparently neither could any of Ibanescu’s men.

“Shoot the girl!” One of the men yelled.

Y/N’s eyes widened when two of the men turned their guns on her.

But just before they fired off their rounds, a small force tackled her to the side and behind the safety of a giant dumpster.

Y/N looked up to see a young boy shielding her with his own body.

Damian. 

Things were so chaotic that she hadn’t even registered he was there, too.

Before she could say anything to him, there was another presence that dropped down beside her. The next second, she was being grabbed and pulled into the sky.

From the feel of his arms alone, Y/N immediately recognized it as Jason.

His grappling gun had brought them to the roof of the building.

Once their feet were grounded onto the roof, Jason barely stepped away and grabbed her shoulders.

Y/N couldn’t read his face from his helmet. But the subtle movements of his head made it clear that he was scanning her body to see if she’d been hit. It only took a few seconds to be convinced that she was clear.

Then he was grasping her face. “Stay here,” he told her before he used his grappling gun to vault back down into the alleyway.

Y/N ran to the edge of the room to look down.

When Jason returned to the fight below, he was ruthless.

Damian had seen the Red Hood with a vengeance many a time. But this… this was something different.

No bone was left unbroken.

Jason wasn’t just neutralizing these men…he was out for blood and pain.

The leader of the little gang was on his knees, covered in his own blood, when he looked up at Jason, who had a gun pointed just centimeters from his head.

“Red Hood, no!” Bruce growled as he threw a batarang, knocking Jason’s gun away from its almost-victim.

Jason whipped his head around. “They were going to kill her!”

“I wasn’t going to let that happen,” Bruce countered.

While they talked, Damian knocked out the man Jason almost murdered. By now, all of them were knocked unconscious or so injured that they couldn’t even open their eyes.

Jason’s entire body froze, realizing what had really happened. Bruce and Damian didn’t just happen to be there to save his girlfriend. This was their doing. They were the ones who had put her in this dangerous situation to begin with.

“What the fuck did you do?” Jason thundered.

Just as a flash of lightening struck, he turned to face Bruce, finding his new prey.  

“She had an in and I asked her to use it,” Bruce explained evenly. “She agreed.”

“Of course she fucking agreed!” Jason yelled over the rain. “She’d never say no to helping! And you knew that, and you took advantage of it!”

Then he raised his gun, pointing it at Bruce.

“Put the gun down, Red Hood.”

“Fuck you,” Jason hissed.

The next thing Y/N knew, Jason shot a bullet towards Bruce, causing her to let out a yell from above. In her heart she knew he hadn’t aimed to kill, but Bruce dodged the shot anyway.

Now the two men were fully fighting each other. Bruce seemed to be pulling his punches and just trying to remain on the defense. But Jason wanted revenge. Yes, Bruce and him had a dark history. But putting Y/N in danger erupted something inside Jason that made him see red in a way he never had before.

Just as Y/N was going to call out for Jason to stop, she heard someone drop beside her on the roof.

Dick stood a few feet away, standing tall in his Nightwing uniform.

“Dick, do something!” She begged.

“I can stop Bats, but I can’t stop him,” he told her.

“Then get me the fuck down there! Use your zip-line thingy!”

“Zip-line thingy?” Dick repeated, clearly offended. “This is a grappling–”

“Dick!” Y/N cut him off.

“Right, sorry.” He grabbed her, held her body tight to him, and lowered them down back to the alley.

When Y/N looked up, Bruce was on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

But Jason wasn’t done with him.

“You made it clear that you don’t give a shit about me. But putting the one person I love in danger just for you to solve a case? You’ve reached a new low,” Jason yelled as he slowly started to walk towards Bruce.

But before Jason could reach him, Y/N blocked his path.

She was soaking wet and shivering from both the cold rain and the shock.

Jason could already see the bruises covering her neck and face. He also didn’t miss the small line of blood that had trickled down her nose.

“Jason,” she whimpered. “That’s enough.”

He froze.

Y/N walked to him. “Please, just take me home,” she whispered.

Just seeing her made Jason’s entire body relax. But he was also reminded that she was the priority, not Bruce.

Noticing her shivering, he took off his leather jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.

Bruce, Dick, and Damian were barely able to see the short, loving moment before Jason flung a smoke capsule onto the ground, covering him and Y/N as he brought her into his arms.

By the time the smoke disappeared, Jason and Y/N were gone.

—————-

When Jason and Y/N got back to their apartment, Jason when into autopilot mode of nursing Y/N. He pulled her into their bathroom and immediately started helping her out of her wet clothes. Y/N couldn’t stop shaking, and he noticed.

Jason only left her side for the split moment when he turned to start the shower, making sure to make it extra hot.

Then he was right back at her side, taking off his uniform and matching her nudity.

When he gently tugged her into their abnormally large shower, there was nothing sexual about it.

Now that Y/N’s skin was bare to him, he looked at all the injuries she had.

There were a few scrapes that would heal in a week or so. But Jason’s gaze went dark every time they lingered on the bruises across her throat, face, and bicep. He should’ve killed all of those bastards.

Y/N leaned into Jason’s chest. “I’m sorry,” she muttered. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Because she knew that’s what this was. Jason wasn’t mad at her – at least, not yet. That could very much come later. But no, right now, he was scared. He put so much energy into keeping Y/N away from his other life, only for her to be thrown right into the center of it. And it wasn’t even his doing; it was Bruce’s.

“I know,” he bent down to whisper in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her.

Y/N didn’t know how long they stayed in the shower. But eventually Jason turned off the water and wrapped Y/N around in a fluffy white towel. She looked so young and innocent.

He moved her to their bedroom and sat her down on the edge of the bed.

Y/N watched him as he moved about the room, getting each of them clothes – all from his own closet.

“Are you hungry?” He asked her carefully as he handed her a pair of his sweatpants and one of his hoodies.

She shook her head.

Jason wasn’t surprised. One of the side effects of trauma and shock was a loss of appetite. But he made her drink a huge glass of water before he let her get in bed. And he made a mental note to make a big breakfast tomorrow when her body recovered and realized how starving it was.

When they were both finally under the covers, Jason didn’t hesitate to pull Y/N completely in his arms, smothering her with his giant frame. She welcomed his touch and warmth, burying her face into his chest.

Neither of them knew who needed this closeness more.

Tonight had been scary. Y/N knew Jason’s anger was bound to show up at some point. But right now, both of them were just grateful they were okay.

————————-

To Y/N’s surprise, she woke up in bed alone.

But her concern didn’t last long as she heard Jason moving around in the kitchen and she could hear soft music was playing if she listened hard enough.

When Y/N moved to get out of bed, she felt all the soreness that came from being grabbed and thrown around like she was last night. She winced, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. But she made a mental note to hide any signs that she was in pain from Jason.

Over their time together, Y/N and Jason got disturbingly good at reading one another. So, when Y/N walked into the kitchen to find Jason making breakfast, she immediately sensed things were not good. It wasn’t the cooking that tipped her off. His naked back was to her and she could somehow see the tension in his shoulders – in his whole body.

Y/N knows he heard her as soon as she walked into the kitchen.

“There’s coffee,” he says without turning around from the stove. He’s making pancakes. Chocolate chip pancakes, to be precise.

Y/N pours herself some coffee and sits at the table, watching him.

A few minutes pass before she’s had enough of the tension.

“If you’re gonna yell at me, then yell at me,” she told him.

Jason froze for a moment, but then quickly looked at her over his shoulder. “When have I ever yelled at you?”

He had a point.

Yes, Jason was once filled with only rage. There was a reason some feared Red Hood more than the Batman. He was ruthless. Fueled by vengeance, his temper, and his disappointment in the evil that plagued the world. He fought his enemies, but he also fought with his friends and family.

But Jason Todd was none of those things with Y/N. He never lost his temper with her. He never projected his rage and hardships from what he saw as Red Hood onto her. He’d never even raised his voice with her.

“I know,” Y/N admitted. “But I also know you’re still angry.”

Jason sighed, turning off the stove and bringing a giant plate of pancakes to the table.

But Y/N couldn’t eat while having this discussion.

Jason leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You wouldn’t have let me do it,” Y/N countered.

“Yeah, and for good reason.”

“He used you, Y/N.” Jason tried to explain. “You’re untrained… with no exposure to this world. He knew not to involve you and he went behind my back to do it anyway.”

Y/N lowered her head in shame. There was a part of her that felt useless. She couldn’t jump around rooftops and save those who needed it. She was just…normal.

“I just wanted to help,” she mumbled.

Jason leaned forward from seeing her upset. “Y/N, come here.” He reached for her hand and baited her towards him.

She took his offer and moved from her chair to straddle his lap.

Jason held her waist tightly as he pressed his forehead to her’s. “I don’t want to lose you,” he whispered.

“You’re not going to,” she reassured him.

“Please, I’m begging you, don’t ever do something like that again.”

Y/N’s heart hurt at how desperate he sounded. She had realized far too quickly that Jason wasn’t scared of death. He was only scared of her death.

“I promise,” she told him.

“You scared the fucking shit out of me, Y/N.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

Jason accepted her apology with a kiss. But it didn’t end quickly. In fact, it got more heated and hungrier. His grip got firmer on her waist.

Y/N knew where this was going, especially as he thumbed the hem of her hoodie and sweatpants. But they both needed this.

“The pancakes, Jason.” She warned him.

Jason smiled as he pulled away from her lips. “Fuck the pancakes,” he told her in between kisses. “I’m takin’ you back to bed.”

—————————

A few weeks had passed since the incident. Y/N tried to get her relationship with Jason back to normal. He still insisted on keeping his vigilante life away from her. But there was more of an understanding for why now.

However, tension had risen again a couple days after the attack, when they received an interesting gift in the mail. They had opened a rather large envelope addressed to the both of them. 

Inside were two first-class plane tickets to Paris with their names on them and an open reservation at Hotel Le Royal Monceau.

Y/N had stared at them with more of an understanding than Jason.

She’d looked up at Jason. “I…I told him I’ve always wanted to go to Paris when I first met him at the gala.”

He’d glared at the gift. “Typical Bruce. If he can’t punch his way out of an issue, he’ll try and buy it.”

Neither of them had said anything about actually using tickets and reservation. It just collected dust on one of their end tables.

Now Y/N sat in their apartment alone, reading another one of Jason’s books, when her cell started ringing.

It was a number she didn’t know, but she decided to answer it anyway.

“Hello?”

“Ms. Y/L/N, it’s Alfred Pennyworth,” a charming voice answered back.

Y/N couldn’t help, but smile. As if she knew more than one Alfred in the world. “Hi, Alfred.”

“I thought it would be a good time to give you that lesson you asked for. Are you free today?”

Y/N looked around her apartment. All of her plans for today had consisted of laying around, drinking coffee, doing a bit of reading.

“Yes, today would be great.”

—————

Y/N wouldn’t make the same mistake twice and had given Jason the heads up on her change of plans.

Seeing as Jason had no issue with Alfred, he didn’t seem too bothered bit it all. But he did still tell her to be careful and ended the call with a sincere, “I love you.”

It was strange going back to Wayne Manor when there wasn’t a gala being held there.

Y/N thought it would seem more like a home this time around, but it still felt like a museum to her. And yet, she still had imposter syndrome as she walked through the threshold.

Alfred gave her a warm smile as he opened the door. “It is lovely to see you again, Ms. Y/L/N.”

“Alfred, please, it’s just Y/N.”

He nodded. Then he gestured for her to follow him. “Come. I have a station set up in the cave.”

Y/N stuttered to a stop. “Cave? As in the Bat Cave?”

Alfred seemed amused with her hesitation and concern. “Of course.”

“Should I be – Is that even OK?” Y/N fumbled through her question.

“Well, I don’t see the point of hiding it from you. It’s not like you don’t know all the family secrets already, dear.”

Y/N blinked at that and finally continued following him.

Alfred led her through the secret passage way as if he was taking her to the dining room. She tried to control her reactions and not come off too interested in the details of it all. But it was rather hard.

Just like Alfred told her, there was a little medical station set up in a brighter lit area of the dark and dingy cave.

Y/N half expected him to bring up the recent drama that she’d caused. But ever the gentleman, Alfred didn’t so much as mention it.

He also did as he promised, going through everything she could ever need to know while tending to Jason. He even had little models to practice sewing stitches on. He was a good teacher and Y/N was soaking it all up like a sponge.

She couldn’t imagine her going to med school at any point. But knowing these skills were going to be used to help Jason made it easier to retain.

After hours of teaching, the cave awoke as a carport opened and the batmobile sped in.

Y/N internally swore. She’d hoped not to run into Bruce with this visit. He never seemed to be home, so the odds had seemed low. But clearly she’d messed that up.

Bruce stepped out of the car, taking in the two of them.

“Any injuries, Master Wayne?” Alfred asked politely.

Bruce was about to lie, but he glanced down at his abdomen where it was quite obvious he was bleeding.

“Perfect. My pupil can practice on you,” Alfred announced. 

Y/N’s eyes widened in panic. “Oh! That’s definitely a bad idea…”

“Nonsense. Best way to learn is under pressure,” he winked. “I shall go off and start dinner. Let me know if you’re near death, Master Wayne.”

Y/N watched him leave, regretting ever having come here.

When she turned back around, Bruce was removing his cowl.

“He’s right,” Bruce admitted. “Best way to learn is under pressure.” Then he moved to sit in the medical chair.

Y/N swallowed, realizing how dry her mouth was. “Right.”

Her hands shook as she tried to remember everything Alfred had been through. But she knew in the back of her mind that Bruce was fully capable of stitching himself up. So, as much as this was a set up from Alfred, Bruce wasn’t running away from it like she had tried to.

Y/N hadn’t said a word as she cleaned his wound, only apologizing when she thought was necessary – even though he never made a sound of pain or even so much as winced.

Bruce seemed to be following her lead, not wanting to force her to talk if she didn’t want to.

But after 20 minutes or so of silence, Y/N couldn’t take it any longer.

“You know, you can’t buy his forgiveness,” she said as she focused on her stitches.

“I wasn’t only looking for his forgiveness…”

Her eyes flickered to meet his awaiting gaze. “You can’t buy mine either.”

“I owe you an apology,” Bruce began to her surprise. “I should have never involved you. It was dangerous, despite how in control of situation I thought I was.”

“I agreed to it,” Y/N offered. Then she looked at him again. “But I accept your apology.”

A moment passed before Y/N asked, “Are you going to say that to him, too?”

“I would if he would even consider talking to me.”

With that comment, Y/N put down her tools for a second and straightened her posture. “I may not know you very well, Bruce. But I do know that you and Jason are more alike than either of you care to admit.”

She hesitated on continuing. Did Bruce even deserve advice from her?

“He was hurt. And he showed all of you that hurt by being angry, because he didn’t know how else to tell you. He doesn’t feel heard and he doesn’t feel seen. He was lost. And it’s hard for him to just forget how you all handled it.” She took in a deep breath. “But I know he still sees all of you as his family. And you’re the closest thing he’s ever had to a real father.”

Then she quickly grabbed her tools again and cleared her throat. “So, get over yourself, and just talk to him. And I mean actually talk to him – not as Batman and Red Hood, but as Jason and Bruce.”

The cave went quiet.

Y/N couldn’t help herself and looked up at Bruce. Either she was losing her mind or he was giving her a very shy smirk.

“What?” She blurted out.

But before he could answer, a motorcycle sped into the cave.

Y/N would recognize Jason’s bike anywhere. But he wasn’t in uniform. Instead, opting for his black leather jacket and a normal tinted motorcycle helmet.

After he took it off, he eyed the two of them, trying to read the room.

“Hey,” Y/N said shyly.

“Figured I’d come and pick you up,” Jason answered her unasked question, ignoring Bruce.

Y/N looked down at Bruce’s injury. “Actually, I’m all done here.”

“Thank you,” Bruce said sincerely as Y/N covered the wound with a bandage. “You’ll be a better nurse than Alfred in no time.”

Y/N grinned and took off her gloves.

But then she met Jason’s unsure gaze. They had a silent conversation.

“I’m gonna go say goodbye to Alfred,” she quickly told Jason, but really she was telling both of them. “Meet me out front when you’re ready?”

Jason hesitated, but nodded.

Y/N walked to him and gave him a quick kiss for comfort and encouragement.

And then she was off, leaving the two men alone.

Jason shifted his weight, not knowing where to start.

“You’re lucky to have her,” Bruce finally spoke.

Jason winced even though it was a compliment. “I don’t deserve her.”

Bruce stood up. “That’s not true.”

“You of all people know I’m not a good man, Bruce.”

He shook his head. “We may have different views on how to save this city. But we both want the same thing. That doesn’t mean you’re not a good man, Jason.”

Jason blinked at his statement.

“I owe you an apology for... a lot,” Bruce began. “The first is putting that girl in danger.” He paused. “The second was not protecting you – before and after everything that happened.”

“You mean before and after I died?” Jason wasn’t going to make this easy for him.

Bruce’s jaw clenched at that.

“Anything else you want to apologize for?” Jason challenged.

“Yes,” Bruce confirmed. “But I get the feeling that you don’t want to hear it all right now.”

There was a pause.

“You’ll always be my son, Jason. Even if you no longer see me as your father.”

Jason’s eyes filled with tears at Bruce’s words. But he held them back. He couldn’t break down. He couldn’t be weak. Not here. Not now. Not like this. 

He couldn’t take any more of this discussion. But he knew this was what he’d been wanting to hear from Bruce for so long.

“I’ll see you around, Bruce.” He told him before putting his helmet back on.

But Bruce had one last thing to say. “Keep her close. Don’t be like me, Jason.”

‘Don’t push people who love you away and make this darkness be your only life,’ was what Bruce would never actually have the courage to say.

Jason now had the cover of his helmet to hide his expressions. But he gave Bruce one last glance before tearing out of the cave.

—————

As Jason pulled his motorcycle up to the front of the manor to pick of Y/N, Damian was playing out front with Titus on the gravel drive.

“Hey, Demon Spawn,” Jason greeted after taking off his helmet.

“Todd,” the boy replied coldly.

To his surprise, Jason got off his bike and walked to him with his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket.

Damian eyed him.

“I saw what you did that night. You saved her life,” Jason said.

Damian waited.

Jason held out his hand. “I just wanted to thank you.”

The boy hesitated before finally shaking it.

Jason didn’t expect Damian to say anything. But he did know talking to him like an adult, instead of a kid, was the only way to get through to him.

Then Y/N was walking out to them with Alfred lingering in the doorway.

“Hi, Damian,” she greeted sweetly before greeting his dog as well.

“Hi, Y/N.”

Jason was surprised he even remembered her name.  

“Ready to go?” He asked Y/N.

She nodded. But then reached up to touch the white in his hair. She seemed to have a fondness for it. And Jason didn’t seem to mind.

“You OK?” She asked.

He nodded. “Better.”

She gave him a shy but encouraging look. “I’m glad.”

“I love you, you know,” Jason breathed.

“I know,” she smiled.

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

Oh lordy. That took way longer than I was expecting. But kept my mind off of this dumpster fire of a country. And I hope reading it did the same for you ❤️

[ragingbookdragon]

Of Threats And First Meetings PT. 3

Brynjolf x F!Dragonborn

Word Count: 2,260 Warnings: Explicit Language, Mentions of Blood and Wounds

Author’s Note: Holy shit it’s been like...I don’t even know how long since I updated this *insert shrugging emoji* Enjoy! -Thorne

Brynjolf felt like he should’ve known that Gulum-Ei was the one brokering the deals that were tearing the Guild to pieces. The damned argonian couldn’t resist a payout, even if it was the Guild he was backstabbing—it said a lot about honor amongst thieves, and while Brynjolf couldn’t claim to be the most honorable, at least he had some. All things considered, he couldn’t fault Gulum-Ei for doing it, whoever it was that wanted the Guild taken out was no doubt dishing out some serious coin to make it happen.

           That being said, their newest member was again tasked with the mission. Brynjolf wasn’t going to voice his opinion out loud, but he knew that she was running herself into the ground. He was sure that she’d not taken a moment of reprieve to simply breathe before throwing herself back into the thick of things. Quite the opposite, she’d taken a couple more jobs from both Vex and Delvin—though Brynjolf was sure she’d only taken them because the two thieves had essentially guilt tripped her. He watched her as Mercer walked off, leaving her to rub at her temples, a heavy sigh falling from her lips.

           “Wondering if you’re in over your head, lass?” he inquired, leaning back against the desk as he crossed his arms over his chest.

           She snorted and rolled her shoulders. “Only every moment of every day, Brynjolf.” Catching his eyes, she quipped, “Why is it that I’m the one who’s being given the major missions and not the other members of the Guild?”

           He mocked a look of deep thought then offered, “You’re not a senior member so you do what we tell you? Her eyes briefly widened before she burst into laughter, the sound making Brynjolf’s stomach flip.

           “Oh ho? It’s seniority then?” she leaned close, mirth in her eyes as she questioned, “So when does the newbie get to claim seniority?”

           Brynjolf grinned at her. “I’d say a couple years.”

           “What!”

           “Maybe a few if I’m being completely honest.”

           A groan passed her lips. “By that time, you lot will actually be seniors—well, not that you’re young now.”

           He almost recoiled at that. Almost. “Did yo—did you just call me old?”

           She placed a hand on his bicep, sympathetically replying, “I hate to break it to you, but you’re not exactly a stripling anymore, Brynjolf.”

           Blinking, he deadpanned, “I don’t think I’ve ever been called old by a woman before.”

           Grinning, she asked, “Tell me, do all the young women you take to bed call you sprightly?” He nodded and she giggled. “I’ll let you in on a little secret, Brynjolf.”

           She leaned close until her lips brushed his ear, whispering, “When we call you older men sprightly, it’s only so you don’t feel bad about your age.”

           Brynjolf turned slightly, catching her gaze, and murmured, “That mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble one day, lass.”

           Her eyes narrowed as she mused, “So far it’s gotten me out of trouble.” She pulled away and tugged the shawl over her bare shoulders, turning to make her way back to the Flagon.

           She stopped a few feet though and glanced over her shoulder. “But if it means I’d be in trouble with you, Brynjolf, I don’t think I’d mind it.” Winking, she left him to flounder with the suggestion of her words.

***

           Her side ached with a fury, and the continual prodding of the linen against the wound didn’t help. With each brush against the open wound, it sent a bolt of fire through her nerves, as if she were being stuck with a hot poker. Still though, she focused on returning to the city, knowing that if she could just get home, she’d be able to clean and stitch it up.

           Softly moaning, she slipped inside the gate, turning down the narrow alley that led into Honeyside’s garden. Briefly, she brought her free hand up and felt along the wall to lead her. As she neared the garden, movement flashed in her vision and she stopped in her tracks, squinting in the darkness to discern what it was. Someone was bent over one of the barrels in the corner and she growled.

           “This is private property. Piss off.”

           They stood upright, turning round to face her and when the moonlight illuminated their features beneath the hood, she muttered, “Brynjolf?”

           He raised a hand, pushing the hood up slightly, stepping towards her. “Lass? What are you doing here? I thought you were heading to Solitude?”

           She shook her head, then winced when a flash of nausea came over her. “No, had to do something’s around here before I did.” A sudden flash of pain simmered in her side and a groan passed her lips, the throbbing threatening to send her to her knees.

           “Lass?” he questioned, voice twinged with worry. “Are you alright?” Waving him off, she pulled from the wall, trying to get to the door of Honeyside.

           “‘m fine,” she grunted, though her vision began to blur with darkness. “Just gotta…get some rest.”

           She’d barely made it two feet when her knees finally gave out, sending her towards the dirt. Just before she hit the ground, strong arms wrapped around her waist, keeping her from kissing the floor, pulling her up.

           “Lass!” he yelled, then he cursed, concerned that the guards would come running. “What happened?” he demanded, curling an arm under her legs to pick her up. The jostling made her groan, and she fought the urge to recoil from him when the buckle of his chest armor nudged her side.

           “Ngh—steam centurion in Avanchnzel.” She hissed when he started walking, switching her grip to curl her arm around his shoulders, hoping it would steady her. “Caught the backside of the battle—ngh—axe when I was dodging it.”

           Brynjolf turned and nudged the door to Honeyside open, bringing her inside.

           “When I’m not dying, I’m going to kick your ass for break—sonovabitch!” she gasped when he dropped her on the bed, hurrying towards the kitchen to gather supplies.

           He returned and started pulling the laces of her tavern corset undone. Despite the pain, she giggled, “Most men buy me dinner first.” A grin set on his lips as he pulled the last string loose, yanking the cedar-colored corset from around her.

           “I’ll treat you to dessert after,” he mused, then looked up at her. “Skirt or straps?”

           Her brows furrowed. “Beg pardon?”

           “Either I’m lifting your skirt up or I’m pulling your straps down. Make up your mind which decency you’d like to keep,” he countered, and she huffed, reaching up to slip the ringed straps from her shoulders.

           “Should’ve known a scoundrel like you was a skirt lifter. Despicable.”

           Brynjolf barked a laugh, helping her to roll the gold fabric down. “Please, I haven’t lifted skirts since I was a boy.”

           “Mhm.”

           “Honest, lass. I’ve grown out of immature acts like that,”’ he explained as the poorly wrapped wound came into sight. It’d soaked crimson in the time she’d travelled back, and he frowned as he untied the knot, gently peeling it back. She started to let out a whimper but grit her teeth and inhaled sharply.

           “Sorry lass,” Brynjolf murmured, wiping at the blood. He glanced up, watching as she propped herself up on her elbows, hands clenching into fists.

           “Just hurry up and seal it,” she griped, and he passed her a strip of leather. Seeming to understand, she brought it up to her mouth and bit into it, then met his eyes and nodded.

           Sighing heavily, he rose from the side of the bed and returned with the hot knife that had been sitting right next to the fire—she could feel the heat when he brought it close to her, kneeling back on the bed.

           He met her eyes and she inhaled deeply, giving him a nod of her head. Brynjolf rested his other hand on the side of her ribs a few inches above the wound, effectively bracing himself as well as keeping her still.

           Lowering the metal to her, he said, “Try and stay still. I don’t wanna burn you where you’re not wounded.” She barely made a noise of confirmation when the burning metal came into contact with her skin.

           Her eyes went wide, and she immediately threw her head back into the bed as a muffled scream escaped her, hands white knuckling the covers of her blanket. A deep pit fell in his stomach at the tears that began to run down her cheeks, but he kept the knife to her for another couple seconds before pulling it back, watching as her chest heaved with each breath. Glancing back at the wound, he knew she needed another go, probably two if he was honest.

           “I need to do it again,” Brynjolf murmured and she groaned like a dying animal. “I know lass, but you’re still bleeding.” She sucked in a quick breath through her nose and grunted, muscles tensing underneath his grip as she readied herself once more.

           He flipped the knife in his grip and placed it to her side again, and the screech that left her this time, made him wince, but he held it there. After a couple seconds, he pulled the knife away and examined the wound, and when he saw that it wasn’t bleeding anymore, he tossed the knife aside, letting it clatter to the floor.

           “Lass? You alright?” his eyes scanned her for any problems, and she turned her head to the side, spitting out the leather strip. Letting out a huff, she brought up a hand, intent to prod the wound, but he caught it. “Don’t touch it yet.” He met her eyes. “Do you have any distilled alcohol?”

           Groaning heavily, she nodded. “Downstairs in my…alchemy room.” She swallowed thickly. “There’s a few…health and disease potions too.” Meeting his eyes, she added, “Bring one of each…please.”

           Brynjolf nodded and headed down the stairs, coming up a few moments later with two tiny red vials and one large clear bottle. He set them on her nightstand before gently curling his arms underneath her back to shift her over slightly. When there was enough space, he sat beside her and grabbed the glass bottle, uncorked it, and poured some on a spare linen cloth. Brynjolf dabbed the wound, quietly apologizing when she hissed in pain.

           When he was finished, he took the fresh wrap and helped her sit up so he could wrap it around her waist. Tying it with a knot, he handed her the two vials, gazing as she downed them both before looking at him with an expression of relief. Suddenly feeling weak, she leaned forward, careful to avoid her wound, and pressed her forehead into Brynjolf’s shoulder. He brought up a hand, softly caressing the bare expanse of her back.

           “Thank you, Brynjolf,” she whispered, shivers running up her spin at his touch. “I would’ve been in a perilous state if you hadn’t been around.”

           Chuckling, he replied, “I would say anytime, but I don’t wanna have to do this again for a long time, so try to stay safe.”

           A snort escaped her, and she turned her head up, resting her cheek on his shoulder, gazing into his eyes. “Why try when this is the treatment?”

           His green eyes narrowed as he retorted, “While I’m flattered that you want me as a bedside-nurse, I really don’t wanna do this again.” He brough his other hand up, gently touching her cheek. “I already worry about you. No need to up it.”

           “You worry? Does that make me special?” she cooed tiredly, pulling away from him to lay back on the bed.

           Brynjolf huffed a laugh and stood, opening the closet beside her bed. “You enjoy teasing me, lass.”

           “Is it working?” she asked, watching as he pulled out a simple blue tunic. Shuffling around on the bed, she managed to wiggle the tavern skirt to her calves and when he spun around, Brynjolf’s eyes swept over her body.

           “Shame on you for ogling an indecent woman, Brynjolf. What would Lady Mara think?” she tutted, and he grinned at her.

           “I’m not sure about Lady Mara, but I certainly know what Lady Dibella would do,” he countered, and she giggled.

           “Now who’s teasing?” He handed her the tunic, and she shrugged it on, pulling it down her chest and over her thighs. Brynjolf helped her under the covers, watching as her eyelids began to slip shut. Just to be sure, at least that’s what he told himself, he laid his palm over her forehead, checking for warmth.

           Her eyes opened slightly, and he said, “Make sure you change the wrap when you wake up in the morning. Don’t wanna get an infection on the way to Solitude.”

           She nodded, letting out a yawn and sunk into her pillow. “Yeah, yeah, I will.”

           “Lass,” he warned, and she huffed, a smile spreading on her lips.

           “I will, promise.”

           Brynjolf gave her a look and pulled his hand away. “I’ll take my leave of you.” As he neared the doors to her patio, she called for him.

           “Brynjolf?” he paused and glanced over his shoulder, heart fluttering in his chest as she whispered, “Thank you…for saving me like this.”

           He gave her a smile. “Of course, lass. I’ll be here whenever you need me to be.” He pulled the door open, smile growing larger when he heard her sleepily murmur,

           “Hope it stays that way.”

[aboardthehavocmarauder]

Beautiful Mischief [Pt. 11]

Bad Batch x Reader • Angst/Fluff/NSFW (yknow the whole deal) • Mechanic [hidden Jedi] ! Reader • Female reader

[H/C - Hair color]

~

“You didn’t have to pick me up Hunter. I could’ve found a transport over to Coruscant one way or another”

“Not worthy of an escort?”

“You do escorts now? The war is over and this is what you do with your freedom so far?” Reylen jokes sitting beside Hunter in the Havoc as she knew he could sense her worries if she had any, but she can feel his with the tension in the room. “Hunter, it’s best to talk about it and not keep it inside”

“The Bad Batch never follows orders. We do our own way of solving the problem. But when Y/N joined us, we always put ourselves in harms way. She wasn’t too badly affected until we got nosey. Then Kenobi ripping away that security she had—“

“Made you want to use every fiber of your being to protect her, even if her own twisted morals told you otherwise” Reylen finishes watching Hunter tense up again grabbing the back of his neck. “Y’know. Sometimes they wake up in the bacta tanks. Wakes up before the thing decides they are”

“Is that supposed to be comforting?”

“She’ll come back when she comes back”

“I hope you’re right”

——

Y/N, please. I can’t. I really can’t lose you.

You’ll make it. Please. Make it.

Cyar’ika...

Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum

...

I love you

——

The loud thud rang through Hunter’s ears the second he stepped off the marauder. He didn’t hesitate to leave to Reylen and instantly start running toward the medbay with the rest of the batch slowly joining him.

They all froze finding Y/N rip the mask off of her face before slowly standing to her feet.

“Well. Isn’t this a nice view” Crosshair smirks to her naked complexion as she narrows her gaze.

“Are you going to keep staring or get me fucking clothes?” Y/N snaps catching them all off guard as Wrecker pushes them all out of the room accidentally closing himself in.

Accidentally, my ass

“Wrecker, I love you. But please GO!” Y/N yells at the big guy as he realizes his situation before swapping spots with Reylen when she finally caught up with the group.

“They’ve never seen you naked and not wounded?” Reylen laughs dropping her backpack and pulling out a few of her own clothes handing them to Y/N.

“I’m surprised a little bit that they reacted like such. Well except Crosshair. He’s always snarky but that’s his character for you” Y/N states clasping the overalls and scanning the room to find her own shoes by the tank she broke. “I can’t believe this thing actually worked and didn’t drain every fiber of my being”

“I was there for that sole purpose. In case that did happen.” Reylen smiles happy to see that she is alright for right now, but apart of her still wanted to check a few things and Y/N sensed that.

“Can I hug my boys before you do tests, Rey?”

Reylen laughs a bit to herself smiling more than before. “You gotta stop asking for permission and just act” she states as Y/N walked passed her opening the door finding the five staring directly at her.

Y/N didn’t care in that moment. She started balling, not giving a damn if she looked weak or whatever. She ran into Hunter’s embrace being squeezed by the sergeant as he couldn’t help it either. None of them could.

“Thank maker” He sighs squeezing Y/N as she cried into his chest holding him.

Crosshair couldn’t help it as he latched onto the two hugging them both. Echo following in suit with Tech after, and Wrecker consuming them all in his embrace.

“Thank maker you’re alright” Tech sighs with relief feeling the tears roll off his cheeks. “Thank maker...”

Thank maker...

Thank maker she’s alive, and this is over

Fuck it’s all over

A year after the war...not much has happened with where the next steps should go. But it brought some peace and freedom to those who never thought they’d even receive a normal direction in their life.

“Master?” a padawan walks alongside Obi Wan as he gave them a smile indicating his attention. “You talk greatly about this...Y/L/N? But why haven’t any of the others met her? Didn’t she bring an end to the war?”

“Yes, and she will be back. She handles a lot more of our loose ends. Don’t know why she’d want to after what the council has granted her, the battalions, and future generations”

“She’s just, continuing to protect the Galaxy. That’s how it should be isn’t it?”

“Yes”

For the most part

“You really need to get better at sticking your landing”

“Tech, my love, I will go back to the ship and kick your ass! You try scaling buildings without falling into the alleys or losing the target” Y/N snaps over her communicator as she lunges over a large gap in Patora’s downtown district trying to keep up with the target on the speeder as Hunter chases them with his own.

Tech continues to work on the security systems of the district they are in, as Echo stepped in testing out a new function of his robotic hand.

“There—“ Echo alerts Tech as he flips the switch.

“Lights out”

The city lights turned off, leaving only candle lit venders as the only light source along with the traffic. But this caused the target to stop their speeder on the ground and continue on foot. They reached the sewer line and once they entered they were greeted by Wrecker in front of them and Crosshair behind.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“I uh—-“

“That’s not an answer!” Wrecker yells knocking the target out as Crosshair face palms on the spot.

“You do realize most times you do that, it lands them in critical condition”

“Well now it won’t take forever to get the binders on them!”

“I hate your logic big guy” Hunter interrupts the two, overhearing them in the comms before driving his speeder to the building Y/N stopped at seeing how tired she got. She muted her comm as he did the same stepping off of his speeder to hold her for a moment. “You need to remember, it’s a team of six”

“God I know, we’re all after the same thing.” Y/N takes a deep breath, sighing after. “That took a lot out of me apparently”

“Hm. You’ve got some speed on yea. So I wasn’t worried for a second” He reassures running his hand through her soft [H/C] short hair humming to himself. “I still miss your long hair”

“Hey I like it short” Y/N smiles easing into his hand as Hunter brought her close for a second pressing his lips against hers. She held onto his chest plate continuing the kiss before parting seeing her sergeant smile himself. “Let’s hurry up and take the target back to Coruscant. Then take care of a few things before going home”

“Maker, I’ll never get used to hearing that cyar’ika”

“Mmm, good” Y/N smiles following Hunter back to his speeder as he took her hand helping her on before heading back to the ship compound.

“We got him!” Wrecker alerts the two when they rejoined the rest of the batch.

“Yes. By knocking him unconscious” Tech states getting a sigh from Hunter and an annoyed look from Y/N. “He doesn’t have the carbonation device on him. Even though it would be sufficient to make a portable device to avoid subtle casualties”

“Just. Get him in the carbonite so we could avoid further damage” Y/N informs Wrecker as he goes to put the target in the rack of their upgraded Havoc Marauder. “Shall we head out or should I stock up on anything while we are here? This is a great vendor district”

“We’re going home after heading back to Coruscant. On the way to Coruscant it’s a few clicks I believe we’ll manage but on the way home, may as well”

“Wait to get it for free or enjoy a little simplicity”

“Simplicity. I’ll go with you” Tech informs Y/N as she smiles watching him going to get out of his armor.

“You all can get out of your armor. Relax a bit” Y/N continues to smile as Echo and Hunter went ahead to do so while Crosshair stayed behind stepping closer to her. “Cross”

“Cyar’ika” Crosshair gently took her face into his hands scanning every detail of her face before gently kissing her then retracting to head on board the second Tech stepped out.

Y/N smiles enjoying his softness from time to time.

Couldn’t believe this is happening

A peaceful moment

Without anything to interfere

Taglist:

@xxeiraxx @fennign @meli-that-girl @spp2011

[missjanjie]

ALL THOSE PROMPTS ARE SO GOOD! Could I have Gigi/Jackie and holding hands, please? (I was highkey considering asking for continuation of that icetia one, but went with my guilty pleasure ship)

ty!! yeah i kinda left a cliffhanger on that one lol

-

“I have no idea how you navigate around the city without getting lost or hit by an aggressive taxi,” Gigi remarked as Jackie continued to lead her through the city to her favorite lunch spot.

Jackie shrugged, “you get used to it,” she offered, taking Gigi’s hand when they crossed the street, then giving it a reassuring squeeze as they kept walking.

She stayed close to her girlfriend’s side as they walked, as an LA transplant, even the smallest things felt like an adjustment, like walking everywhere instead of driving or being driven. They would still take an Uber if it was late at night or hard to get to by foot or subway, but most of the time, she was just trying to keep up. “No wonder you have such strong legs,” she remarked offhandedly.

“We gotta work on your endurance,” Jackie teased, then stopped. “Come on, I’ll give you a piggyback ride for a few blocks,” she offered, letting Gigi climb onto her back and hooking her arms under her legs.

“My knight in shining armor,” Gigi playfully swooned, keeping her arms and legs locked around her for the next few blocks, until they went back to walking hand in hand.

Jackie chuckled, “you certainly are a princess,” she teased, nudging her playfully as they finally got to the restaurant.

“Maybe so, but most princesses wouldn’t move across the country to be with someone,” she said simply as they were seated at a booth.

And she had to admit that Gigi had a point – she wasn’t much for words, but her actions spoke loudly, “and I’m very happy you did.”

[steve0discusses]

S5 Ep 15 Pt 2: Don’t Trust Anyone Who Wears a Floor Length Robe Over Their Casuals in Yugioh

Hey, it’s my birthday, so I’m gonna release this early because the rest of today I just have to work like an adult and that’s no fun.

In the first half of this episode we dunked the worlds smallest plane into a lake and so this second half of the episode involved the kids running as far away from their only responsible adults as they could.

Which like...took whole of less than a second for them to peace out and enter mortal danger.

...I’ve never been in a jungle in India but...I have seen the Jungle book many times...and there’s like tigers and stuff in there, right? and tons of monkeys that are hella mean? And freakin snakes? They sing jazz and scat? That’s some terrifying stuff.

Like these city kids have to learn at some point to fear the woods. But they just freakin don’t. And strangely, the most dangerous thing in these woods isn’t even a snake or something, but a human man just being as suspicious as possible lying prone on the ground.

(read more under the cut)

The card cultist happens to have a British accent, because this voice acting team freakin loves to pull out their British accents. It’s not as lowbrow as Valon, but it’s not as...well whatever Bakura is supposed to be. He’s a lot more tame than Bakura’s, but still very British.

I don’t know if this is because British English tends to be taught instead of American sounding English in many parts of India, but, most likely they just wanted to do an accent. And like...he’s an archeologist...and so the stereotype is there...but honestly, the decision of making this guy British gets weirder and weirder as this episode goes on, get ready for it. None of you are ready for what I assume is the very obvious plot twist of this freakin guy.

Catfish of the century, this freakin guy, I’m pretty sure.

Yugi immediately believes this completely out of place white British stranger in the Indian backwoods next to this inaccessible lake and immediately thinks “yes, my Grandfather crash landed in India EXACTLY where I’m standing right now, and now I must save him.”

Thankfully, Yami exists to gently and politely tell Yugi to hella stop.

Also, I like that Yugi has finally stopped wearing his school outfit out of school. But, he is instead wearing a jacket that is so close to his school outfit I honestly couldn’t tell until the end of this episode. It’s like...I think one shade more purple, it has white piping, and his undershirt has a center seam. It’s nice Yugi has 3 versions of the same black sleeveless undershirt, and this show cares enough to show that tiny factoid about Yugi’s closet.

So, because Yugi is a dumbass and Pharaoh has to just sit back and watch this happen so he can say “told you so” later, they follow this random cultist they found in the woods. Much like Hansel and Gretel, we snack on cake crumbs all the way to the witches house, which in this case, is an undiscovered monolith you would have easily seen from outer space.

HMMMMMMMMMM.

And so get ready for this:

Hey guys.

Remember how Alexander the great was buried in a pyramid?

Now because they’re name dropping Alexander, that’s actually kind of helpful, because Alexander the Great’s favorite damn horse in the entire world died while he was at war with India so he named a city after it. It’s believed to be in Punjab, which is in the Northern part of India

Which means we first of all, definitely crossed the tallest mountain range in the world to get here, and also means that we are like...in some really disputed territory of India right now, and it is crazy that these kids went here for a vacation completely unsupervised.

Another fun fact about Alexander is that when he died, it took 6 days for his body to decompose. At the time, they thought it was because he was a God (or in Yugioh’s case, Extremely Cursed) but nowadays historians think it’s because it took him 6 days to fully die. He just wasn’t dead yet. Had to give it a minute and the ancient Babylonians just got way too excited.

Anyway, Alexander super died in Babylon so I don’t know what the hell he’s doing in India. There is a fun spot in History where his body did get dragged to a couple different places, meaning we probably did lose the original Alexander and there’s a lot of people just guessing at where he ended up...but putting him clear up in India sure was a choice when one of his assumed burial sites was literally Egypt, which would be a more fitting location for a Pyramid and a more fitting location for this show.

Especially since Alexander was trying to invent a new race and culture...it seems a little strange he’d be buried in such a massive pyramid, but maybe he got a really, really good pyramid deal from the funeral home when he was like 28 and just figured he’d change it before the time he died at 32.

Which...now that I’m older than 32, how crazy is it that Alexander the Great died at freakin 32? You blink twice and you’re 32. Is history seriously trying to tell me this guy wasn’t like secretly 62? That maybe he just celebrated his 20th for like 20 years in a row as a royal mandate? I just feel like history is playing pranks on me with Alexander.

Anyway, our weird shady new archeologist guy is named Alex and so take that as you will.

I sure hope Alexander the Great was revived to wear khakis and bother children. Guy conquered the world once and was one of history’s Freakin Worst so he does deserve it, but also...it would explain why he thinks it’s normal to wear a Darth Maul robe over your business casual.

Anyway, lets enter the obvious trap pyramid.

Joey just wanted a nice time running around Northern India. He just wanted to eat some yummy chaat and look at some tourist destinations and maybe glance at a Bollywood star or two. But instead he’s gotta deal with spike floors because Yugi couldn’t say no to a cultist.

Also...one of those spikes clearly went through Tea’s feet, right? And she is absolutely fine? Just checking on Tea’s godlike strength and clearly it is still godlike.

Alex gives us a very long explanation of how he went upstairs and Grandpa went downstairs, and there was a door or something so Alex turned back around and Grandpa was gone.

All of those steps were probably plot relevant and I’ll probably forget all about it in 2 episodes.

The thing is Alex...literally thinks he evaporated. Literally thinks that. But how do you disprove it to this freakin guy who like...might have named a city after his horse once and thinks that’s a normal and acceptable thing to do?

and so Joey immediately leaps onto the haunted playing floor.

the way Yugi said this line was sort of hilarious to me so I may cap it. If I remember to do it (I’ve been a little busier lately, with things opening up, as you can tell because my update schedule is in the toilet.)

So, if Joey jumps in...everyone else has to, also.

And we say good bye to Alex and enter the new forest zone, which looks a LOT like the other forest we were just in.

Nice Protoss armor.

We get some hijinks from the local wildlife, which are all cards but real (but not real because we’re in a board game...don’t think about it) and the off brand Sheikah tablets have helpful monsters in them if you touch em.

This season may have been better off as a video game, being honest.

Joey has gone somewhere else, despite going onto the same game tile, and he’s too busy on a mountain range to really help anyone out. So he’s just gonna vibe up here for a bit.

Tea got up after this point and said along the lines of “k, what’s next?” Because mortal danger does not affect her and she fears nothing.

At a beach somewhere, Tea and Tristan spend some quality time together forming a new family with whatever these creatures are.

And Tea’s love of her winged angel comes full circle and now I will suffer this winged orb for the rest of this arc, pretty sure.

Please admire the number of belts on Tea. Her outfit is like max 00′s and I appreciate that. We’ve had a lot of questionable fashion on Yugioh, but they actually dressed Tea pretty on point this arc. Like I often feel like 00′s fashion is hard to define or describe, but it’s Tea right now. That’s it. She did it, it’s right there.

Yugi gets a new flagship card for this arc, and this time it’s Celtic Guardian. Hell why? I feel like his defining card changes every single arc, and they need to like focus and just give him one. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s still Dark Magician...and maybe the show forgot?

Anyway, if you just got here, this is a link to read the rest:

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

I think I forgot that link in the last recap because yo it’s kind of been a while since I’ve updated, I feel. (well I had a graveyard post and those don’t count really) But, we’re back, we’re still going, slowly but surely.

[wherethewordsare]

The Spaces In Between Pt 5: Jay’s 400 Follower Celebration Bingo

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Hey guys, just a quick content warning, blood, violence, and near death. 

There had been no kind of warning, nothing to give them any kind of hint that they would find themselves in the middle of a raid. The night before Jaskier had played his set to a warm reception at the tavern and they collected their coin and had gone to sleep. 

It wasn’t supposed to go like this. Jaskier dashed between the jostling bodies as another fire blazed to life a few buildings down. He had lost sight of Geralt when he had run off to put down some of the men that had slid into the city in the night. Now there were archers on rooftops picking off citizens. Everything was in chaos. 

Jaskier cradled his lute to him as he finally made it to the stalls where they had left Roach. Behind her, a man in Nilfgaard armor already lay dead. 

“That’s a girl, Roachie darling. I know I’m not the witcher, but we gotta get out of here, come on.” He took her reins and was surprised that only his hair was nipped at slightly. “I know I know, I want to find him too,” he found himself babbling. 

They went into the streets again, turning through the maze of dead bodies and burning debris. Jaskier called for Geralt over and over, choking on a lungful of smoke that tasted too acrid to be just wood. He gagged around the thought but pushed on. 

“Jaskier!” Geralt called from up on a short wall. 

“Geralt!” Jaskier’s eyes went from Geralt to the building behind him, seeing the archer. He ran forward, his hands releasing Roach’s reins. “Get down!”

Time seemed to slow as he watched Geralt turn just in time for the arrow to miss him but then it was continuing its trajectory, burying itself into Jaskier’s stomach. He looked down in disbelief, his hand covering the wound for a moment before he felt his knees start to give out. 

Geralt gripped him around the middle and hauled him into an alley out of range of any more archers, his hands pressing into Jaskier’s stomach as he said… something. 

“Geralt, you’re alright,” he hummed lamely but the look on Geralt’s face erased any shred of relief he had. 

“And you’re an idiot,” he growled before tilting his head up and giving a sharp whistle. “I need to get you out of here.” A hand cradled Jaskier’s face and he thought for a moment that it might be Geralt’s. 

“Mm, gotta stop meeting like this,” he chuckled but then choked. His mouth tasted like iron and heat and every word he had ever swallowed when he looked at Geralt’s face. 

Geralt gave a small huff and his eyes were that same soft that Jaskier had seen in another alley months before at an autumn festival miles from here. “I really want to kiss you,” he whispered so softly, Jaskier nearly missed it. Another alley even longer ago came back, fuzzy with drink and pain and the creeping fear of everything lost between them. 

“Not like this, you don’t,” he echoed as he tried to wet his lips, his tongue feeling too thick. The edges of his vision were starting to get fuzzy but he watched as a bulking shadow covered the entrance to the alleyway. 

Arms scooped him up easily and he felt like he was floating for a moment. 

“Just… hold that thought,” Geralt murmured. 

Then everything was dark.