#like holy crap this struck me like a lightning bolt

[bippityboppityouch]

So I went to a writing camp today, and one of the things one of the author instructors said really struck me, because I've been struggling so bad with mental health and only seeing it as a bad thing

But you see. When you write, it's good to have the firsthand experience so you know how to write it accurately and well, especially when it comes to mental illnesses

So that got me thinking. Well, I do like to write about mental health/illness because I feel like people need to see representation of it and others who are struggling with it need to know that they're NOT alone and that they ARE seen and valid

And now mental illness isn't something I only see as a bad thing, but it can be helpful as well because I'm able to share my experiences when writing characters and be able to have these experiences that I otherwise wouldn't be able to choose to have like visiting somewhere or something

Sorry I'm kind of rambling and don't know if it makes sense but it just really gave me a whole new persepctive

[brokasteltranslations]

Fate/Requiem: Chapter 6

It had not been enough.

Nzambi had been wounded by my blow, but it had failed to destroy her Saint Graph. Beneath the soft surface of her body lurked an incredibly hard layer. My Freischütz had been allowed to pass through, but my axe had not.

She looked down at the glaring gash I had opened in her chest in irritation, then reached for one of the many hands dangling from her body. Then she tipped her head back, with her mouth agape like an anglerfish, slipped it between her teeth, and bit down hard. With a crunching of bones, the Command Seals faded from it – and from many of the other hands too, which crumbled into dust.

She's... eating them? Eating Command Seals?

With my foe preoccupied, I took advantage of the lull in the fighting to retrieve Koharu from the ground and retreat with her clutched in my arms. I made it back to where Pran was waiting, and turned to find that my foe's wound had closed entirely. Even her cape was as good as new, with no tear to be seen.

“Your nature eludes me, spellcaster. Though I understand those branches you wield, at least. The grasping claws of poor, vengeful souls. Rather fitting for you, I think.”

The desiccated hands dropped to the ground, one after the other.

“Still, I swore an oath to take care of any who fled through these gates, and take care of them I shall. That branch of yours is certainly bothersome... but I doubt it can save you from these.”

She gave no signal, but still the two war elephants advanced. They smashed two of the pillars standing in the hall with their foreheads, and then curled their mighty trunks around their toppled remains.

“Surely it can't...? Wah! It can!”

The pillar one of the beasts flung at me must have weighed several tons. With Koharu slumped on my shoulder, we just barely dodged out of the way. I had no idea that an elephant could be so dexterous.

The other took the signal to charge, wielding its pillar like a battering ram.

“I have no more interest in you. Perhaps I shall seek out that boy next. His dear little head would look wonderful dangling from my neck.” Nzambi stepped up to squat on one of the war elephants' trunks, and it obediently scooped her up onto its back. “Hm. Or perhaps he has gone and hidden himself away somewhere.”

We turned to run from the two advancing elephants, only to find our way blocked by more ranks of the walking dead.

“I'm... I'll be fine, Erice. Get the boy... away from here...” Koharu had come to. She stumbled a little at first without my support, but soon enough raised her sword once more and set to cutting down the advancing zombies. It was clear that she was on her last legs, but I had no choice but to hope that that would suffice.

With a magus' tactical thinking, she had already attempted to heal herself. Seven-tenths of her Command Seal had vanished from the back of her hand, but it would take more than that to repair the damage from her collision with the wall, and her right arm was in no better a state. Whatever that blade was that Nzambi had stabbed her with, it had been no ordinary weapon.

It must have damaged her magic circuit somehow. Oh, Koharu...

----

The war elephant's thunderous footsteps shook the floor as it lumbered toward us. Nzambi's voice echoed around the corridor from the beast's back.

“You should know very well, that outside of this citadel sprawls a kingdom of the dead.”

A 'kingdom of the dead'? I had no idea what she was talking about, but I could sense nothing. Perhaps if I were a proper Master, I would have more insight.

“All those who have tasted death become my children, and how very dear they are to me.”

“All those who have tasted death”? It took me a moment to comprehend the true scale of what she had said. Was she simply spouting nonsense in an attempt to break our spirits? Or could it be possible that the Servants here had been so easily overwhelmed, rendered incapable of marshalling their full power, because of Nzambi's sorcery?

“Although some are terribly forgetful. All I do is recall the memories of death that they have forgotten. Memento Mori, as they say. Come, Galahad. No more hiding behind a little girl's skirts. Face me like a knight, and let us see how you died.”

We were not so green as to fall for cheap taunts. I flashed Koharu a glance, and she responded wordlessly: she was not to undo her Possession if she could at all help it.

-

Suddenly the internal broadcast system flared to life, projecting Ms. Fujimura's voice around the arena.

“Code Crimson has been invoked. The barrier around the Colosseum interior has been deactivated. All survivors, proceed to the central battlefield.”

The barrier she referred to was the forcefield erected between the battlefield and the seats to ensure that no harm came to spectators during a match. Deactivating it was highly unusual.

The announcement played once more. I doubted that anyone else listening it would know the true significance of Code Crimson. I don't know about the rest of the announcement, but that bit must be a message for me. I touched a finger to my forelock, but my call went unheeded.

Where are you, Ms. Fujimura?

At that moment, my phone ringtone blared. Karin.

“Hey, Eri! You alive? Still in the stadium? Listen, I'm super sorry, but the kid gave me the slip! I'll seppuku myself later, okay?”

“Guess you get to live. Pran's with me.”

“He's what?!”

“Are you barricaded up over there?”

“Damn straight! We're holed up in an empty stable just next to the arena! Got quite a few other survivors with us, too, and some of the fighters are helping us hold out, but they're knockin' on our door! I'm not sure how much lo- Crap! Momi, left!”

I heard a muted crash through the speaker, like something colliding with an iron cage, followed by the trumpeting of an elephant. Hannibal's final remaining war elephant, most likely – probably alongside the man himself.

“That announcement just now was Caren's voice, right? Is everything okay? Can we trust it?”

“It's real. Can you get to the central arena from where you are?”

“I think so. The shutters are down, but we can blast our way through. Apparently we can use Noble Phantasms now.”

“Then do it! Before it's too late! I'll-” A muffled boom echoed through the speaker, followed by static, and then the line went dead.

I turned to Koharu. “Let's go. We need to get to the arena.”

“But my teammates might still... I mean, there could still be competitors there, and you've seen what they can do. It's as dangerous in there as it is out here. And what was that Code Crimson they mentioned?”

“It means you're going to get your wish.”

She gave a little noise of surprise. Apparently she had understood what I was getting at.

“I see. In that case, let me lead the way. I'm more familiar with the Colosseum.”

----

“A little late for directions, don't you think? How could heading further inside help you, anyway? Are you hoping to checkmate yourselves?”

Still squatted atop the elephant, Nzambi rested her head on a bored hand.

“A trap, of course. Not appealing at all. I would prefer to leave it for my children.”

Another charge, and, a few seconds later, another crash. The war elephants' advance upon us had reduced the artistic interior of the hall to rubble. Zombies seemed to spring out of every nook and cranny, reaching for us with grasping hands.

I followed Koharu's lead, desperately trying to keep myself and Pran from harm.

-

Midway through our flight, Koharu stopped and turned. It was her turn to shout a taunt at our pursuers.

“Come, proud allies of Hannibal! Have you mistaken that woman for your master? I see how you strain under her yoke. Allow me to end your suffering!”

Nzambi's eyebrows knotted in irritation. “Such ignorance. These kind souls were stolen from their forest homes to watch their comrades die on the battlefield. Do you truly think you can appeal to their better nature?”

She stood up on the elephant's back and levelled her sword at Koharu.

“Enough of this. I shall crush you and be done with it.”

With a bellowing bray, the war elephants charged straight for Koharu. The knight stood waiting, sword clutched firmly in hand.

-

I hardly dared to look as the two collided with a violent crash... and then there was silence. The first thing Pran and I could make out was the beams of sunlight streaming into the corridor through the rising cloud of dust. The impact of their clash had torn a hole in the wall, opening the corridor to the open stadium in the middle of the Colosseum. The enormous battlefield lay before us once more.

Nzambi had leapt from her perch a second before the collision, and alighted before us without a care in the world for the destruction around her. The bellowing of the elephants was distant now, and I spared a moment's pity for the poor zombies who must have been blown far and wide by the blast.

-

“So this is the Holy Lance, hm? A child this young?” Nzambi peered at the boy as she spoke.

“You'll find out soon enough.”

I ushered him behind me. At that moment, Koharu appeared over her shoulder, streaking toward her like a bolt of azure lightning.

Nzambi deflected the strike with a nonchalant swing of her blade, sending the tall knight flying. It was almost as though she'd seen it coming.

Dammit! Koharu!

She struck hard against the interior wall once more, but this time slid to the ground as two separate figures: the girl Koharu, and the knight Galahad. Her Possession had come undone; likely, it had been unable to bear the damage she had accrued. From the look of him, Galahad had hardly escaped unscathed either.

“Perhaps a Heroic Spirit from the future, drawn here from the Throne?” Nzambi closed on Pran. “No, I cannot imagine so. Well, whatever the case, any Heroic Spirit must know death. My knife will tell me true. What do you say, little golden child? Shall we spill your guts and find out how you died?”

What do I do? I've got to buy time somehow... but how?

If Nzambi's gaze turned to Galahad and she elected to turn him into one of her zombies, I doubted we could escape with our lives. My best bet was to draw her attention to Pran, but...

Before the notion could fully occur to me, I was running. I bound my 'branches' together into a blade - a shortsword, simple, fast and accurate – and planted myself firmly in front of her. I was well aware that my weapon could harm the boy I wanted to protect just as easily as my enemy: a quite literal double-edged sword.

“I won't let you near him!”

“Do you mind? I thought I had said I was done with you.”

Nzambi's blade – her enormous knife – and my branch-sword clashed, and locked together.

“He's...” I swung my blade upward, placing my trust in the techniques he had once taught me. “Dammit, he's my Servant!”

My foe easily batted the blow aside. “I think not. You are nothing but a spellcaster, and I know your kind well. Magi, spellcasters - miserable creatures all, caring only for their own gain, and nothing for the lives of others. It is the value you see in this child that makes you so desperate, nothing more.”

I knew that better than anyone, but... but!

“He's my Servant! I don't care if he's useless!”

“Hahaha! So tell me, would you make him a toy to satisfy your affections? How cruel, how cruel! How do you expect someone useless to take pride in themselves?”

“Then let me be alone! It's all I need!”

At this close a range, it was impossible to muster as much force as my axe could. The crushing weight behind Nzambi's swing forced me back, and my blade began to come undone. The recoil sent one of its constituent branches lashing backwards, coming close to striking Pran. I immediately retracted my blade. My own defence was nothing compared to what would happen if that touched him.

“...Nngh...”

Seeing their prey snatched away before their very eyes, the evil spirits' anger swelled. Gore sprayed as I began to lose control over the defiled blood they inhabited. Black blood oozed from the countless wounds their wrath opened across my body, even from behind my eyeballs, and dripped to the floor, defiling this sacred battleground.

“Well now. It seems that if you do not satisfy that loathsome branch's hunger for spirits, it will devour you instead.”

“So... what?” None knew that better than I. My Erlkönig and my Freischütz, of which only a few bullets now remained, were not tools that would blithely heed my command. They were evil spirits in their purest form, and they were always watching for an opportunity to turn against their master. But even so...

“You'll never touch him!”

“Pitiful. I can hardly watch. Even the child has better sense than you.”

Nzambi leapt forward to plant both hands on the ground, then, with her body still in midair, uncoiled her legs like a spring to land a devastating kick in my abdomen. If there had been any air left in my lungs, I would have screamed. The blow sent me flying, bouncing across the dirt floor of the arena. One of my ribs cracked from the impact, and I fought for breath.

As I lay sprawled, I suddenly felt the entire arena shake violently. The roar of an explosion rolled from the other side of the Colosseum. I heard clamouring voices, collapsing walls, sustained gunfire, shouts and screams. Somewhere in the middle of it all, I thought I heard Karin's voice.

Through the earth, I heard the confused hubbub of battle.

-

My eyeballs were blocked with clotted blood, and sheer agony had rolled them back into my head. I forced them into place with my fingers and tried to struggle to my feet.

Before me stood Nzambi, with her knife to Pran's chest.

I have to stop her.

My fingers clawed furrows through the dirt as I dragged myself onward, seeking him.

Praying that there existed something in this world so pure that it must not, could not be tarnished. Praying that there existed something in this world even the omnipotence of the Grail could not replace.

If not, how was I ever to move forward?

-

“You don't seem to fear me, boy. Why is that?”

The child gazed silently back up into Nzambi's crimson eyes.

“You aren't a snake.”

He gently set his fingertip to the point of her blade.

“So I'm not scared of you.”

“...What?” Nzambi warily made to withdraw her knife, only to find it stuck fast. “Is that... It's cracking?! What have you...?!”

A white-hot glow spread across the outlandish blade from the child's finger. It flared fiercely for a moment, and then burst apart.

----

After a moment, the heat and light receded enough that I could make out Pran standing alone. He sank to his knees, then collapsed to the ground, as though all strength had been drained from his tiny body.

Where's Nzambi? I can't see her!

The dusk-skinned woman had vanished without a trace. I reached out with my senses, seeking. Perhaps she had temporarily relinquished her physical body and returned to her transparent spiritual form? That would present its own dangers, but in any case, it seemed that for now we had one fewer threat to worry about.

Galahad approached the boy, taking care to keep his own two swords as far away from him as possible. Koharu, now a young girl once more, staggered to where I lay huddled on the ground. She winced with pain, but bore it bravely.

“Erice! She's... She's here! The Stigmata!”

“Finally... She's here... with Lucius...”

-

As though a dam had burst, a wave of berserk Servants and resurrected corpses rolled across the open arena.

The pair entered from the upper seats far above, where they had a commanding view of the sorry state of the arena. He took a moment to survey the scene below him and then quite literally flew down the gentle curve of the outer wall. She lay clutched in his arms, clad in her ever-present black sailor uniform.

The great cape that fluttered from his shoulders was dyed in his colour: the purest, deepest red.

-

Code Crimson, it was called. The scarlet summons.

Its red was not the red of danger. It was the red of Rome. Of the proud battle standard of the Roman army, and their patron, Mars.

The Grail had build a thousand-year empire, and the cries of the populus called its defenders to their posts.

Now they had come, those defenders of the peace, and they would do their duty.

Manazuru Chitose, the Stigmata – and at her side, Lucius Longinus, the Holy Lance. They had answered the call.

-

“I'm sorry I'm late. The train was delayed, but we came as fast as we could.”

Chitose did not sound particularly apologetic as she alighted gently on the floor of the arena.

“I seem to recall doing most of the legwork.” Lucius responded, a little peeved.

“Well, of course you did. I worked up a fine sweat dealing with that mess in Shinjuku. Even the best of us need a break once in a while.”

Chitose's Command Seals shone dully even as the pair bickered. These were no cheap imitations; they were true Command Seals, of the old world. These four arcane symbols were what had earned her the moniker of the Stigmata.

-

Recognising what that light signified, the Servants around her flocked to her. Perhaps, with their minds lost, they behaved no differently to startled beasts... or perhaps even in their berserk state, their warrior's instincts acknowledged her as a worthy foe.

She spotted the pocket of resistance among her enemies – a rag-tag group of surviving citizens and Servants who still maintained their sanity – and called out to them in a voice that carried easily across the battlefield.

“Make your way around to me! Lucius and I will deal with them!”

----

Those words presaged a massacre.

In one hand, Lucius readied a greatshield summoned from nothingness; in the other, he gripped his crimson spear. Roman soldier and Master stood back-to-back, cutting down their enemies faster than I could follow. “Overwhelming” barely seemed fit to describe the sheer power that accompanied each flourish of the Holy Lance.

-

This was the might of the champion who had emerged from the Holy Grail War. Lucius Longinus, the centurion who met his fate atop the hill of Calvary. The Lancer of the Seven Heroic Spirits. The strongest Servant, who had stood victorious atop the melee of the Holy Grail War and delivered its prize to Chitose's hands.

No matter how illustrious the heroes whose souls they reflected, the Heroic Spirits of Mosaic City were but pale shades before his majesty.

-

We retreated warily, careful of our surroundings. Even as we distanced ourselves from the unfolding bloodbath, Koharu's gaze remained locked on the battle.

“Did you see that... Erice? That... That strike? What are those... on her hands and feet? Are those... Black Keys?”

It was little surprise that she was so fascinated. Chitose took neither the Black Keys nor Gandr for her weapon. This display of violence, so unbefitting of a magus, was something particular to her.

“They're called Sacri Clavi. They're replicas of the nails used to pin the Messiah to the cross...”

Or more simply Holy Nails: a conceptual weapon imbued with the concept of “binding”, born from the Command Seals adorning each of her four limbs. With every strike, square iron nails briefly manifested around her limbs to skewer her enemies, wicked and indomitable. An empty-handed pile bunker.

“Or so Lucius told me once. You wouldn't believe how hopeless she is at teaching anyone anything useful.”

“Holy... Nails?” Koharu shivered. She seemed nothing short of awestruck by this living legend.

But I doubt she herself is so pleased.

I knew Chitose would regard this battle as her greatest shame. She had been forced to acknowledge the breakdown of the city's peace and personally take up arms against its people and their Servants. It was grim work, and she would not have undertaken it gladly.

She had tried to safeguard against this possibility by distancing me from my work, but it hadn't been sufficient. An outside enemy had appeared in Mosaic City, and its arrival had been a long time in coming.

----

Finally the wave of chaos began to recede, and I managed to regroup with Karin. Usually she would greet me with a cheerful grin or by chiding me for my carelessness when I returned from a job, but this time she could only blanch at the sight of our injuries. If Pran had been in the same sorry state, she might have fainted on the spot. However, fortunately there wasn't so much as a scratch on him, and the sight of him – seemingly in an entirely different world to his surroundings, as usual - seemed to relieve her immensely.

That wasn't enough to excuse him from a furious telling-off, though. He looked a little shell-shocked as he stood next to a wounded and bloody Kouyou.

-

The wings of the battlefield had been transformed into a temporary evacuation point, and the air was heavy with exhaustion and that uneasy relaxation that takes the place of terror once it recedes. People huddled together in anxious groups, rejoicing to find each other safe and well, finally contacting family and friends. A group of pigs raced past me, squealing shrilly. Pigs? What on earth are pigs doing here?

Of the competitors I had seen earlier onscreen, I spotted at least Minamoto Yoshitsune and her Master having escaped infection. The young samurai stood a little way from the rest in her own corner of the battlefield, attracting uneasy gazes as she stacked her collection of severed heads into an enormous pile.

-

Hannibal was the last Servant to fall before Chitose and Longinus' unstoppable onslaught. Koharu watched his end herself, unable to do anything for him but witness his final moments. She fell to her knees in the spot where the Holy Lance had pierced him through, and heaved a heavy sigh.

Yoshitsune and her master stood at her shoulder, and after a moment offered some words of consolation. I had no words I could offer her; only the regrets welling up within me, as they always did.

-

Chitose had contacted the Caren Series in the other wards and was in the process of confirming the situation there. Koharu occasionally glanced at her from afar as she revealed that she had come to a decision.

“We can't allow this Nzambi to wander Mosaic City as she wishes. I will contact the rest of House Riedenflaus and set to work pursuing her. She certainly left no small amount of promising evidence behind. We should start by identifying her Master...”

Karin did a double-take. “You're going to what? Now?! Let yourself rest for five minutes, sheesh!”

“Hm? Very well. It has been so long since my last fox-hunt.” The latter dubious encouragement came from none other than her own partner, Galahad. What was he trying to accomplish with that?

I tried to talk her down as logically as I could. “Koharu, think for a minute. If you push yourself in your current state, you might never use magecraft again.”

“Then I will no longer be a magus.”

I struggled for a response in the face of such foolhardiness... but fortunately Lucius had arrived, and he understood her on a deeper level than I.

“I know you regret not being able to save your comrades, Riedenflaus, but it would mean nothing to chase this Servant alone. Now that we know her true name and capabilities, we can put together a proper plan.”

“The Roman's right, Koharu. Right now, you and Erice need to be focusing on not being half-dead. You yourself said this Nzambi wasn't even hurt, for goodness sake!” Karin's concern was plain to see.

Koharu sank into thought. I knew full well that she had thrown everything she had into facing Nzambi, and yet it had not been enough. In the end, it had been the woman she respected more than anyone else who had needed to clean up her mess. She doubtless felt that she had shamed herself and her dead comrades both.

It was her Servant's interjection that snapped her out of her fugue. “Let the little lady do what she wants. You don't have any right to be lecturing her about anything, Longinus.”

“Sir Galahad, I see. Just what are you defending? Look around you. Do you feel nothing, to look at this awful scene?”

-

“That will do, both of you.” Just as Koharu's fury with Galahad's arrogance was about to hit boiling point, Chitose returned from her inspection of the evacuees. “The situation is still in flux. You should be using your brains to plan, not to bicker. What’s more, I still can't seen to get in contact with Caren. Caren Fujimura of Akihabara, I mean.”

“I wonder what's wrong... The city's normal functions are currently paralysed, aren't they? Could that be because of the failure of an administrative AI?” Koharu ventured hesitantly.

She shrugged. “Not possible. She's alive, that much I know.”

Ever since the breakout of the infection, the entire Akihabara ward had been thrown into a state of chaos. An emergency team should have long since been dispatched to the Colosseum, but there was no sign of them. Interpersonal communications were still down, too; the best we could manage was expending Command Seals to communicate via magecraft.

None of it pointed anywhere good.

“We know she's got to be somewhere in the Colosseum. I'll go look for her.”

“I'll go with y-”

“You stay here, Karin. You and Kouyou need to take care of the wounded.”

I flashed her a smile to try and salve her worries, and suppress my own fears. Chitose wordlessly gave the go-ahead.

“Wait.” The child called out, but not to me. Rather, to someone I never would have expected.

“Chitose. I need to tell you something.”

“Tell me what?”

“A dog called to me. A black one.”

He's still going on about that dog? I was sure that Chitose would laugh it off... but instead she froze. Her confident smile had never faltered, even while surrounded by enemies a few minutes before, but now it was nowhere to be seen.

“It said to tell you something.”

“A black dog... And what did this dog say?”

“That death had come for you.”

[iwillbeinmynest]

Kisses Series - Bucky x Reader(f)  18

Part 17: Morning Kisses

Author’s Notes: This is hands down my favorite chapter. Just throwing that out there.

Word Count: 1K

Notes/Warnings: Thunderstorms, fear, anxiety, 

Series Masterlist

Y/N woke to the sounds of heavy rain and crashing waves. For a moment she was scared but relaxed when she felt Bucky shift beside her. A sudden crash of thunder, that sounded way too close for comfort, made Y/N jump.

 Instinctively, Bucky woke with a jerk and pulled her close against his chest. In one hand he held out a knife and the other supported Y/N against him. They both relaxed when they realized there was nothing to worry about. Bucky returned the knife back to its sheath that was wedged between the mattress and box spring.

 Y/N laughed, “Holy crap, that scared me.” She whispered and put a hand to her heart that was now slamming in her chest.

 Bucky chuckled with eyes closed and rolled halfway on top of her, resting his head on her shoulder. He kissed her skin and scraped his stubbly beard on her until she fussed and rolled towards him. He smiled devilishly and reached up for her neck, pulling her into a kiss.

 Their kisses were slow and lazy. There was a want for the embrace but they both struggled to decide which they wanted more: to make-out or sleep.

 Finally, after several minutes of slow, simple kisses. Y/n rolled to her stomach and Bucky shifted to lay his head on the small of her back.

 “What time is it?” He mumbled with eyes closed.

 Y/N looked at the clock on her night stand. “Seven forty-five.”

 “We should get up, then.” He said with slurred words. His face was smushed against her so his lips weren’t helping his annunciation.

 Y/N groaned. “But this is our honeymoon. We should be sleeping till noon.” Her eyes had drifted back closed, too.

 The sound of the storm and waves grew louder and they both shifted so they could see out the glass french doors. The waves broke one on top of the other with an almost violent rhythm. The rain was almost dumping in sheets and the lightning lit up the whole house.

  Y/n sat up and Bucky could hear her nervous and shaky breaths.

 Bucky pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her for a moment before grabbing his phone. 

 “FRIDAY, what’s going on with this storm?” He asked the AI, actually glad for once that Tony gave him this stupid phone. He held it out in front of the two of them and a soft-lit hologram popped up above his device. There was a Doppler image of red, yellow and green rolling over the islands on a loop. 

 “Looks like it’s just a severe thunderstorm, Sir. You’re getting the worst of it now and it should only last another hour or so. The winds are holding steady at ten miles an hour with gusts of fifteen to twenty and you’re area is not prone to flooding. It will die down and probably rain most of the day but after ten o’ clock this morning, it will be mostly light showers.”

 Bucky kissed the side of Y/N’s head as he shut his phone off and tossed it near the bedside table. 

 Y/N leaned into him but never took her eyes off the storm outside. 

 “I didn’t realize you were afraid of storms.” Bucky said as gently as he could to try and convey that he wasn’t judging her for this reaction.

 She shook her head, “I just don’t know how storms are here. This is an Island, babe. I grew up in Florida, where big ocean storms are no joke.”

 “I know, I guess we don’t really get heavy storms like this In New York... I mean, we get storms sure, but not like this.” he gestured out to the beach.

 “Nature is a force, isn’t it?” She said distantly.

 Bucky caught a glimpse of tears building in her eyes and his brows furrowed. “It is...You okay?”

 Y/N shook her head and wiped the tears quickly. She turned to him with a smile. “Yeah, sorry. I’m fine.” 

 Bucky still frowned but didn’t press it. He simply nodded and laid them both down on the bed. They both lay on their sides one tucked against the other and watched the storm out the doors again. More lighting and deep thunder kept Y/N’s heart racing. Bucky hummed an old tune and rubbed his thumb against her arm to try and keep her grounded.

 Then, a bolt of lightning struck the small yard before the beach that was just beyond the porch, Y/N screamed and Bucky pulled her close. If he was being honest, he was starting to get scared, now. 

 He and Y/N went through the house closing what few blinds or curtains had been left open, not for any reason other than the fact that neither of them could just sit still anymore. After that, Y/N began to make some coffee, hoping some routine might settle her nerves. When Bucky noticed Y/N’s hands trembling, he brought her her phone and headphones. Silently, she thanked him with watery eyes.

 Y/N sat tucked into the corner of the couch with a hot cup and her music in her ears while Bucky sat in front of her, peeking through the crack of the back door curtain that he’d left so he could keep an eye on the storm. 

 Just as FRIDAY had predicted, after an hour the storm lightened up and they could finally relax. 

 Y/N scooted forward and leaned her head against Bucky’s bare back. “Thanks for protecting me.” She chuckled embarrassed. 

 He reached behind him to grab her wrists, tugging her arms to hug him. He lifted her left hand with his and kissed her knuckles, right over her ring finger. “Always, baby.”

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[shipaholic]

Omens Universe, Chapter 20 Part 2/Epilogue

Holy crap, it’s done ;___;

(From the beginning)

(last part)

(chrono)

---

Chapter 20, cont.

Sunday, the first day of the rest of their lives

An angel waited on a bench in St James’s Park.

He had brought bread for the ducks, but hadn’t moved to feed them yet. He sat straight as a ruler, one leg jiggling with nervous tension.

Then he saw his companion strolling towards him, and his face broke into a beaming smile.

Crowley dropped onto the bench beside Aziraphale. He handed over an ice cream.

They sat in contented silence. Crowley sprawled out over the bench like a Dali clock. It was a miracle he stayed upright. Possibly literally. Aziraphale sat still, politely, but the satisfaction poured from him like a purring cat.

Crowley winched in his splayed legs a bit out of courtesy. “So. Heard from your side?”

Aziraphale's smile was a little wicked. “Not in the last twenty-four hours. You?”

Crowley grinned. “I’ve been encouraged to make myself scarce.”

Their eyes met. For no real reason, they started to laugh. For a long time, they couldn’t stop.

“I’m supposed to be in Heaven, officially,” Aziraphale managed eventually. He wiped his eyes. “But no-one stopped me leaving.”

“That’s becoming a pattern with you.”

“Yes, quite. It’s chaos Up There at the moment. Everyone’s running around trying to figure out why they’re no longer running around. It’s like there’s a big burnt patch in Time. Everyone knows the Apocalypse was supposed to happen, and no-one has any idea what went wrong. Gabriel and Michael are furious.” Aziraphale’s eyes twinkled. “They’re terribly angry with me. But they can’t remember why.”

Crowley snorted. “Brilliant. Leave them guessing.”

“I assume something similar is going on Downstairs?”

“You guessed it.” Crowley’s spine, impossibly, unwound a little further. “Beelzebub’s spitting nails. Hastur’s actually a bit more cheerful than the last time I saw them. I don’t think they warmed to Warlock as much as Adam.”

Aziraphale’s smile faded a little. “Ah, yes. That’s the other thing, of course. Two sets of memories?”

“Yeah. They overlap a lot, it’s hard to figure out what really happened. Well… they both really happened, but. You know what I mean.”

They sobered up a bit. Aziraphale chewed his lip.

“I really hope they leave those poor boys alone.”

“I reckon Adam can sort them out if they try anything.”

“He shouldn’t still have his powers, surely?”

“I don’t think those powers came from his gem. I think it was more, sort of… you know.”

Aziraphale gave him a sideways look. “Ineffable?”

Crowley rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that.”

Aziraphale gave it some thought.

“In a way, then, that would mean his powers came from Her.”

Crowley opened his mouth. Then closed it.

“Honestly, that one’s beyond my pay-grade,” he said, bracingly.

“Oh, come on. Asking questions is what you do.”

“All right. Here’s a question for you. How long do you reckon until we get called in to explain ourselves?”

The happiness in Aziraphale’s face dropped away. “Ah,” he sighed. “This is a temporary reprieve, isn’t it?”

“My people certainly aren’t ones to let bygones be bygones. Let’s face it, nor are yours.”

“Yes, my eyes have been opened on that score.” Aziraphale peered around. “I hope they’re not spying on us right now.”

Crowley frowned. He was used to paranoia. It was logical for a demon. It was worrying to see in Aziraphale.

“For all we know, agents from both our offices could be lurking, ready to bash us over the head and drag us back for a talking-to.”

Crowley raised an eyebrow. “I think it’ll be a bit stronger than a talking-to. Michael tried to melt your face off, remember?”

Aziraphale shuddered. “I can’t believe I ever thought they were merciful.” He reached over and caught Crowley’s hand. “And I can’t bear the thought of Hell getting their hands on you again. We have to get rid of them once and for all.”

Crowley melted a little behind his sunglasses. This was their first casual display of affection in a public place. He let Aziraphale stroke absently over his knuckles.

“Maybe…”

He sat in thought. He’d spent so many years waiting for something he thought he would never get. And so many years in a state of fear, pushed deep down, that any happiness he ever felt would be snuffed out by forces beyond his power or ability to predict. He realised he was not willing to spend another second waiting for the axe to drop.

“Maybe we should take the initiative,” he said.

~*~

The offices of Heaven and Hell were as they always had been: a twenty-first century skyscraper. Aziraphale and Crowley entered through the revolving doors and crossed the lobby, hand in hand.

They stood before the escalators, one going up, one down. They waited.

Crowley coughed.

“We’re not doing this twice. You’d both better come up-slash-down and see what we want.”

There was an outraged silence.

A bolt of lightning struck the ground in front of them. It crackled with immense rage. When it dissipated, the Archangel Gabriel stood on the scorched patch, breathing like an angry, but very fashionable bull.

The air grew thick with buzzing. The floor next to Gabriel bubbled and blackened. Beelzebub, Lord of the Flies, rose through the tiles, eyes set with menace.

They stood shoulder to shoulder, barely restraining their obvious desire to smite. Beelzebub’s flies buzzed in a dangerous swarm above zir head. Aziraphale and Crowley faced them calmly.

Gabriel spoke through his teeth. It had never looked less like a smile.

“What is the meaning of this, Aziraphale?”

Aziraphale and Crowley looked at each other.

With one defiant glance, they launched into the terrifying mishmash dance extravaganza known as the Disco Gavotte.

Their audience had already concluded this was the most offensive thing they’d ever seen, when angel and demon sashayed-slash-pranced up to each other and -

“WHAT THE SZZZZZZHIT,” Beelzebub bellowed.

The blinding light faded. Zadkiel grinned and waved.

“Hi, guys.”

Gabriel clutched his chest and Beelzebub’s shoulder. His face turned puce.

“I knew it, Aziraphale. I knew you had something to do with the - with the - with the!”

“What is thizzz abomination, Crowley?” Beelzebub snarled.

Zadkiel yawned.

“Sorry, don’t have much time. I’ve got a lunch reservation. Shall we run through this quickly?”

He leaned forward. It delighted him to note he was taller than Gabriel.

“Here’s a summary. I am immune to hellfire and holy water. I can freeze time. I discorporated an Archangel - say hi to Michael for me, by the way, I wasn’t even a fusion when I did that - and… what else? I can make this fancy shield.”

His ring glowed, and his shield appeared. Not as impressive as the rest, perhaps, but it was very shiny. He used it to shine a light in Gabriel’s eyes a few times, just to be annoying.

“That’s it for starters, but you get the picture! I’m very scary. So, if I ever see you, or any of your minions, you will be sorry. I’m retiring, and as long as you stay away, I’m happy never to darken your doors again. You don’t want to have to fight me, and you definitely don’t want the other angels and demons to figure out they can fuse. Might prompt all kinds of thorny theological debates. Not to mention, they might unionise.”

He straightened up.

“That’s all. It’s been lovely working with you both. Ciao!”

He sauntered out of the building, a free man.

~*~

Epilogue

The future

It was a beautiful day in the garden.

A sunbeam poured through the branches of the apple tree and picked out a shape on the ground. It was black, curving, serpentine. It looked like a two-dimensional scribble that had somehow come to exist in three-dimensional space. It lay beside a lawnmower, still plugged in. An angel in shirtsleeves paced, fretfully, above it.

The sigil on the ground glowed as if reflecting the sun. It floated into the air and threw out a brilliant light, making a noise like a laser beam powering up.

A formless ball of light appeared, then refined itself into a human shape like dough rising. The spindly limbs took on definition, forming fingers and feet. Features popped out of the smooth oval face, all looking slightly cross. Shoulder-length hair unspooled in loose waves, then changed its mind and swept into a spiky updo. The clothes, when they appeared, were still black, but a shade more casual than some more recent efforts.

Crowley’s snakeskin shoes touched down on the grass.[1] He opened his golden eyes, snapped his fingers, and a pair of sunglasses dropped from the firmament onto his nose.

“Bloody lawnmower!” he growled.

Aziraphale gave him a look. It was less an I-told-you-so and more of a what-can-you-do sort of look.

Crowley rubbed his forehead as if expecting there to be a mark.

“I dread to ask -” Aziraphale began.

“Went over a rock with the spinning blades and it spun right round and beaned me in the head.”[2]

Crowley had discorporated as much from surprise as anything else. He looked down at himself to check he had come out looking impeccable. Sleeveless black t-shirt, and a return of a chain necklace he’d quite enjoyed in the nineties. Good choices.

With a bit more apprehension, he checked out his right arm. Golden liquid light still seeped out through cracks in his skin. The arm was still pale and shrivelled, and it still twinged when it rained, or when he was in a mood. But these days he felt as though he noticed it less and less. Morphing a glove over it was more for the benefit of the neighbours than something he needed to do to feel safe.

Aziraphale caught Crowley’s hand, raised it to his lips and kissed it.

“Welcome back, my dear.”

Crowley grinned. “Glad the place hasn’t gone to pieces while I was out.”

“It was a very fraught few hours. Did your people give you any trouble?”

“Nope, in and out. The imp on the front desk didn’t even make eye contact with me when I was filling out the forms.”

“Well. You are a very terrifying and impressive demon.”

Aziraphale lifted onto his tiptoes and kissed Crowley under the apple tree. The breeze stirred around them lazily, carrying warmth and sweetness.

“With unerring bad luck,” Aziraphale added against Crowley’s mouth.

“Doesn’t seem that bad to me,” Crowley said. His head was swimming a little.

“Changeable, then.”

Aziraphale landed back on his heels. His smile was still sweet and a little coy. Oh. It was definitely time to go inside.

“Can I tempt you to a spot of lunch?” Crowley hissed, stepping into the angel’s space.

Aziraphale beamed and pulled him by the hand towards the cottage door.

It was time to leave the garden. But all the wonders of the world lay beyond it, and there, they had learned, was the greatest happiness on Earth.

THE END

---

[1] They were probably shoes.

[2] The leading cause of gardening-related death, it astonished Aziraphale to discover. The number of cosy British murder mysteries he had consumed over the years had led him to assume assault by secateurs would be number one.

[missstormcaller]

CAN’T FEAR YOUR OWN WORLD Vol. II Part 16 Full Translation

This is 4/4 of part 13 on the app (chapter 14 continued)

Rukongai

"What's the big idea with this thing!? We're not about to get dragged into this ridiculous dispute are we!?"

At the words of Candice who has gotten caught up in the aftershocks of Ikomikidomoe's struggle - the Zanpakutō which had taken the appearance of a gargantuan Hollow - Meninas replies in her usual manner.

"We were more or less dragged into it from the very beginning, I think…."

"But still, weren't we told in the beginning to simply knock the lights out of that so-called Fullbringer lot and then snatch them away!? So why in the hell are we now getting dragged into this conflict between a freak who looks like its had all kinds of overgrown Hollow condensed into it, and a bunch of Arrancar!? Come to think of it, didn't the number of Arrancar just double without us noticing!?"

Whilst using her lightning to crush the rocks that were being flung into the air, Candice pointed at the two female Arrancar who had newly emerged.

"Speaking of which, what's the deal with their style!? There's way too much emphasis on their figures don't ya think!?"

"Candice, you can't really speak for others though can you?"

Meninas spoke whilst observing the Holy Knights uniform belonging to the Quincy who had her chest on open display, but pretending that she didn't hear that, Candice initiates a counter-attack.

"Anyway, if this monstrosity isn't stopped first and foremost, then we won't be able to continue with our task."

Although they also had the option of making a brief retreat, it did not appear likely that Kurotsuchi Mayuri would tolerate such a thing.

That being the case, they should probably battle the gargantuan threat by taking advantage of this confusion, and at the same time, watch for an opportunity when the Fullbringers are off their guard. Even if it was impossible to capture the Fullbringers this time around, it was still a chance to analyse how their opponents fight among other things.

Thinking as much, Candice proceeds with the battle whilst paying mind to whether or not Ginjō's group would make an escape.

"Meni! Create an opening!"

"Alright."

Upon nodding in understanding, Meninas made an approach towards the feet of the great Hollow with slow movements, she slipped herself into a position that was located in her opponent's blind spot.

Then, the muscles in her arms that were still in their normal state are instantly made to swell, using her might she lifts upwards.

Just with that alone, the huge physique of 'Ikomikidomoe' is violently thrown off balance, and in a chain reaction, Ikomikidomoe is scooped up from the ground and sent tumbling down with great force.

"Ha! Nice work! Leave the rest to me!"

In a manner that appeared to aim for the spot where the opponent's balance had been weakened, Candice fired a volley of arrows entwined in lightning.

Moreover, as if to indicate that it was the finishing blow, she cast down the same "Electrocution" that was unleashed upon Ginjō and the others a short while ago.

The barrage of assaults, that were hammered out with lightning speed momentum in a very literal sense, blanket the surroundings with a dazzling light.

"That was close…! What the heck are those two doing! Do they not care that I'm also standing here!?"

Having evaded the lightning strike by a hairbreadth, Hirako exclaimed aloud as a cold sweat trickled down his cheek.

"Aren't those the Quincies that became Mayuri's subordinates!? …Yes, that's right. I should've known that Mayuri wouldn't worry about the welfare of myself or other fellow Shinigami."

Coming to accept this realisation by himself, Hirako maintains even more of a distance, he then shifted his gaze in the direction of 'Ikomikidomoe' who had been engulfed in the flash of the lightning strike, however——

"No good. There wasn't much of an effect."

'Ikomikidomoe' who had taken the form of a monster only moments ago, now adopted a spherical shape after folding its limbs, sitting neatly within the Rukongai as an ominous item of art.

In the next instant, a white haze gushed forth from the space around this colossal ball, and no sooner than that did an infinite number of small creatures sporting wings materialise out of said haze. 

Though described as 'small', this is only in comparison with the mammoth build of Ikomikidomoe; the creatures who would appear to be Adjuchas level Hollows from outward appearance, begin to take flight into the air as a swarm.

Then, as if it were a protective response, they lunged directly at the aggressors —— at the pair known as Meninas and Candice.  

Looking down at the Zanpakutō which continues to generate these small-scale 'terminals' spawned in the dozens, and hundreds, Hirako pulled a frown as he corrected his own perception of the matter.

"…I guess I was mistaken in calling it a huge robot huh."

Whilst maintaining the utmost vigilance towards Hikone who commands that Zanpakutō, and towards the man known as Tsunayashiro Tokinada who bestowed such a Zanpakutō upon the child, he continues speaking.

"This is like an entire 'country' sprouting legs and moving. It's not something we can deal with using orthodox methods."

As Hirako calmly dissects the state of affairs, Candice's group is forced into a disadvantageous position before they could even get a grasp on the situation.

"How can there be a Zanpakutō like this!? Or maybe I should be asking if this thing is really even a Zanpakutō at all!?

"That might be a little problematic huh…."

Using Heilig Pfeil the two continue to shoot through the swarm of beasts that were advancing towards them, however, much to the pair's regret, the enemy's numbers were far too many.

Meninas hit back with superhuman strength, and Candice with the power of her lightning strikes, yet in this current situation the creatures continue to be spawned with momentum that transcends their own, and moreover, there had hardly been any damage incurred on the main unit itself.

With a Galvano Javelin in each hand —— spears created by Reishi imbued lightning bolts —— Candice strikes the creatures down, however their numerical advantage far exceeds the quantity which could be dealt with effectively using only two blades.

"Crap…! If only I could use the power of my Vollständig…."

Originally Candice was able to manage six blades by utilising the wings produced by her Quincy Vollständig, but because of Yhwach's 'Auswählen' she ended up no longer being able to invoke Vollständig, as a result she has now become limited to handling two blades.

What's more troubling is that it was by no means the case that these creatures were charging at them in a wild and tactless fashion, rather they come in for the attack whilst calculatedly catching the girls off guard through controlled movements, almost as though they were a single organism despite being a swarm.

Although they are annihilated in one fell swoop by the lightning strikes firing in rapid succession from the sky, it was but a drop in the ocean.

"tch… did that just stir up a hornet's nest…?"

Though her exhaustion is quite significant after the barrage of assaults from a short moment ago, on the basis of acknowledging that, Candice attempts to unleash her 'Electrocution' once more, and in that very moment ——

"Just drop it. Your Blut Arterie will end up being burnt out before anything."

A voice which struck a familiar chord, rattles her eardrums.

"Whaa…?"

What exactly does it mean that this voice could be heard in such a place?

Before Candice's mind could process that thought, the 'answer' took form and came sweeping in to wolf down the swarm of beasts.

A long and narrow jaw that had made a sudden appearance, swallowed up several hundreds of these grotesque figures in a single breath.

As the abnormal jaw that had preyed upon the white beasts retracted back into a mouth, the owner of the voice gave utterance to her impressions of what she had consumed just now, coupled with a languid sigh.

"It's the same with those skeletal bastards from the other day… just as I thought, mass-produced goods are flavourless."

Floating in midair, is a young girl whose distinctive cold eyes peeked through from under her white Sternritter military cap.

After observing her form, Candice opens her eyes wide and gives a yell. 

"Li…Lil!?"

Common sense would dictate that It was an impossible sight.

Having been separated over half a year ago, her companions looked for ways to somehow make contact with her from their position, however she had appeared before them ahead of anything that could actually occur.

In response to a stunned Candice, the girl with the cold eyes —— Liltotto Lamperd —— uttered a complaint in an exasperated tone.

"Jeez, the plan was to try and collect you by taking advantage of all the commotion, but it turns out your sorry asses are right in the middle of that commotion so just what the hell am I supposed to do now? What a drag."

"I-It's you! How are you here? Perhaps, you've come to help us!?"

"Didn't I just say that I've come to collect you? Listen when people talk bitch." 

"I mean, you're really alive…. After I heard that you had turned against His Majesty, I… I thought for sure you'd-…"

Having even held onto the suspicion that, in the worst case scenario, Kurotsuchi Mayuri had lied about Liltoto and the others being alive, Candice raises her eyes to Liltoto with an expression that was a mix of relief and astonishment.

"Don't call that bastard 'Majesty'. Either way, it seems he's long gone."

As Lil said so, another voice could be heard coming from behind Candice.

"Wow, you're looking more rough than I expected. Too lame huh, Candice chan?"

With a twitch, a vein throbbed at her temple, before she could even rejoice at their reunion, Candice threw a backhand blow.

"Gigiii!"

Whilst effortlessly evading her fist, the black haired Quincy —— Giselle Gewelle —— raised her voice in protest as she smiled with only the corner of her mouth.

"Eh, don't drag out the end of your words, you make people's names sound like 'old man' you know." (TN: -- When Candice drags out Gigi's name above it sounds exactly like "じじい" which means "old man")

"It's wrong that you made Gigi mad just now."

Without exuding even a trace of an air that could be described as anything akin to a touching reunion, Meninas spoke in her usual manner.

"Wait a minute! Don't you think you're also accepting this way too casually Meni!? It's not like I'm the only one who can't read the situation is it?"

"If you want to complain, why don't we catch a damn bite to eat later while it goes through one ear and out the other. Anyway, right now it looks like we have to find a way to deal with that trouble over there first."

The swarm of beasts continue to gush forth from the white haze as unchanged as before, but perhaps analysing the abilities of Lil's group who were the newcomers on the scene, the swarm's current stance was watching the group carefully whilst encircling them at a distance.

Then, Gigi tilted her head in response to Liltoto's words.

"Huh? Deal with them you say… shouldn't we just make a run for it?"

"…That was the plan. Even if we did run away as is, I suppose it would be pointless if there are also bombs implanted in Candi and Meni's bodies."

"…gah!"

Although Candice had taken this possibility into account, she was once again struck with terror by having it pointed out through Lil who is the brains among this group of friends. 

Rather than address Candice herself —— Liltoto proposes a deal towards the person at the other end of the communicator that was fitted to her clothes.

"You can hear me can't you, Kurotsuchi Mayuri. I'll cooperate with your so-called experiment. So in return, I demand the release of Candice and Meninas."

It was at that point, that a very distinctive voice echoed across from Candice's regulation cap.

"Dear me, that you actually made the error of believing that you are in any position to negotiate with me, how very conceited of you."

"Whoa!?"

Disregarding Candice who was taken aback by the voice that had suddenly slipped out from atop her head, travelling across the communicator, the voice speaks with a dispassionate tone.

"I didn't implant the likes of bombs in the first place. Thanks to the Central 46 and the captain commander who can't adapt to the times, I was very recently prohibited from implanting bombs into the bodies of subordinates. So long as you bear the name 'unit', the lot of you too, can only be treated as soldiers rather than tools. Good grief, what an oh-so benevolent gesture."

"Since we're on the topic of bombs, could that not mean that you've tossed in plenty of other crazy stuff?"

"Do you really think so?… Never mind, Quincies are now curio. I have no intention of breaking them so easily."

"Hold on!? What's the deal with that vague wording!?"

Paying no heed to the cries of Candice, Lil calmly continues negotiations with Mayuri.

Without dropping her guard against the surroundings even while they negotiate, the small units of beasts that were charging towards them at random intervals as a diversionary tactic, is 'swallowed whole' each time as she expertly moved the conversation forward.

"What I want is merely the freedom of Candice and Meninas, and the guarantee of their safety. They can be exchanged with a handful of fighting potentials among us Quincy, that doesn't sound half bad right?"

"Once you've attained that level of pretentiousness, it goes beyond comical and one can only feel pity. You may be curios, but as far as I'm concerned, the likes of Quincies are an area of research that has been fully exhausted. Did you actually think that the lot of you had that much worth?"

"If Quincies don't have that much worth, then what does it matter to at the very least part with only two, Candi and Meni? I suppose that would just about cover the cost of doing your chores. Also, this concerns you. You've already implanted something within me and Gigi too either way, haven't you?"

"Huh?"

Gigi raises her voice at this unexpected information, but Mayuri's voice makes a blunt assertion with a nonchalant air.

"Oh, even if they're fools, I can't say I completely detest those who are quick on the uptake. That Quincy named Ishida didn't even have the slightest clue until I told him."

"Why thank you. I pray that you're also the type who's quick on the uptake."

In response to Lil who was holding her ground against Mayuri, the voice streaming through Candice's cap resumes speaking with stifled laughter.

"If I refuse you here, do you perhaps intend to take your negotiations directly to the captain commander? My, my, if Hirako Shinji wasn't present, I could've had you silenced in secret."

"Maybe I decided to go to the trouble of showing my face precisely because another captain rank is present?"

"Quite the clever-clogs aren't you? Good grief."

"The danger that you are has touched our very core after all. That he didn't include you among the Special War Potentials, I can only imagine that Yhwach was off his rocker."

Following Lil's words, the sound of a heavy sigh could be heard coming from the communicator fitted to Candice's cap.

"I make no concessions based on blatant flattery. Well, it's true that your ringleader's eyes were as good as blind however. It appears that even if he could forecast the future, he wasn't able to see the reality."

Then, in a somewhat upbeat tone, Mayuri offered a concrete proposal.

"I want to dig up as much data as possible on that colossal mutant of a Zanpakutō, as well as the mock-up Shinigami trial subject standing on top of it. If the lot of you can do that, then I will upgrade your treatment from test subjects to at least the level of mercenary. And if you also happen to capture the Fullbringers while you're at it, perhaps I can even help you grow taller as a special reward."

"Unnecessary. Even If my physique and whatnot got bigger, it would probably only make me get hungry faster. So to sum it up, it's going to be us knocking the wind out of that huge freak right?"

"I don't expect you to go that far. After all, if a subject could be brought down that easily by you lot, then I wouldn't be interested in it to begin with."

"Tch… you underestimate us."

Perhaps regarding it as a completion of the deal, Lil voiced her complaint, following this she poses a question towards the colossal sphere that towers heavenward.

"I wonder if you think the same? Freak."

In response to a confrontational Lil, Gigi who was listening from ground level speaks up.

"Hey Lil, I can't stand it. Helping that black and white clown and all."

It was at this point that Mayuri's voice shot out from Candice's cap in seeming astonishment.

"Even your brain tissue has finally rotted away has it? Zombie girl. The one I was negotiating with is that girl with the big appetite. I never put the likes of you down as a fighting power from the very onset, so you can just go ahead and rot wherever you like."

"…Does someone who stole another person's zombies have any room to talk though?"

"Save it for later. I don't think this is the kind of opponent you can defeat by mouthing off."

Calming Gigi who mumbled in a voice filled with deeply held resentment, Lil raises her eyes to 'Ikomikidomoe'.

"Whatever you do, first things first, we have to silence that behemoth."

"…If you say so."

Despite the smile playing on her lips, Gigi's eyes revealed that she had actually agreed reluctantly, after heaving a sigh she issues instructions to a shadowy figure standing at her back. 

"Go for it, Bambi-chan."

"Uunhh… I, do my best. Because Candi, and Meni, everybody… here…."

Then —— the battlefield which had been engulfed in white lightning only a short while ago, is this time made to be blanketed in the tint of red explosive flames.

"It's that girl with the bombs!? They just had to bring along that bothersome individual huh!"

Watching the zombie girl who came flying out from Gigi's shadow, Hirako involuntarily raises his voice.

As recollections of the moment he was almost blasted to death in the past are vividly resuscitated in his mind, a cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

Reishi bullets, which are fired one after another by the girl with dark red skin, make contact with the creatures spawned from 'Ikomikidomoe' and cause her opponent's body tissue to convert into bombs. 

The hot wind from the chain of explosions which subsequently gush forth, vaporised the sweat on Hirako who was standing at a distance. 

"…Gah! As reckless as ever I see. What can I say, I guess this means, sooner or later, I'll also have to consider my next course of action…"

Hirako releases a sigh and places a hand on his Zanpakutō, he whispered to himself whilst contemplating whether he should join a side in battle here, or whether he should allow the dust to settle by contacting Mayuri who was stationed further away.

"That Momo should've reported to Kyōraku san, so there may be some action over there too."

"Oh man, this is turning out to be quite a disaster huh."

Not withdrawing, but not actively participating in the battle either, Ginjō's group avoid the ripple effect of the assault whilst observing the situation.

"If we're going to retreat, I think now is our chance right?"

With a shrug of his shoulders, Ginjō addressed Tsukishima's remark.

"That was the plan… but didn't that brat say 'I'll get you to acknowledge me as king' or something?"

"…I see, are you worried about that?"

When Giriko mentions this, Tsukishima also opens his mouth to speak as if to say he understood.

"Ah, it's about 'XCUTION' isn't it?"

The 'XCUTION' he spoke of is not the group of Fullbringers who were once assembled by Ginjō in the Human World, he is referring to the 'XCUTION' they had heard about a few days ago, a new religious organisation which is making its presence felt in the Human World.

Whilst recalling the information he had gathered in the last few days from the 'newcomers in Rukongai', Ginjō begins to reveal his own speculations.

"…Going by those guys fresh from death, apparently this religious cult organisation known as 'XCUTION' already has devotees in the hundreds of thousands… somehow or the other, I can only imagine that some Fullbringer or Shinigami has something to do with this."

According to the account he heard directly from someone who was a believer in their lifetime as luck would have it, details around such things as the Rukongai and the Shinigami Konsō being noted among them in the creed of 'XCUTION', was almost entirely consistent with the state of the afterworld.

It can be said with certainty that this creed which mentions everything from the existence of Shinigami, Rukongai and Seireitei to the existence of Hollows, Hell and Hueco Mundo, is something that could only be written by an individual who knows about the 'afterworld'.

Nevertheless, in its midst, there was one sole part which deviates significantly from reality.

To be precise, it is a part that depicts the future and it is not yet known whether or not it will come to be.

—— {A new king will be born from the shadows of a turmoil spanning a millennium, and reign over the three worlds respectively.}

At first, Ginjō was of the opinion that the religious cult were associates of the Quincies, and that the 'new king' was perhaps referring to Yhwach.

However, he has heard that Yhwach's purpose was not to rule over the three worlds, but to eliminate the boundaries of the three worlds itself and return everything to the original plane of existence.

He believes that this very passage of the mysterious prophecy is the key to grasping the identity of the other party, it was his intention to even bring up the matter with Hisagi, the self-styled 'journalist' who made his acquaintance just the other day, and draw out the opinion on the Shinigami side.

Yet before he could put this plan into action, a direct hint appeared before his eyes.

"Well… in that case, whose influence should we be focusing on?"

Ginjō was not looking at the monster of a Zanpakutō called 'Ikomikidomoe', rather he cast his line of sight towards the child manipulating it who gave its name as 'Hikone'.

At that point, he noticed something.

Noticed that one of the Quincies who appeared later, slipped through the storm of the bombing raid and drew closer to the child Shinigami. 

"Hey, kid. You said your name is Ubuginu Hikone right?"

What entered Liltoto's eyes, is the form of Ubuginu Hikone standing atop an 'Ikomikidomoe' who remained unscathed. 

Only a few moments ago, they should have been subjected to the lighting strike unleashed by Candice several times over, but putting the creature that is 'Ikomikidomoe' to one side, she is taken aback by the fact that even this Shinigami who is its master was unharmed, at the same time she intentionally opens up a dialogue in order to probe for information on the opponent.

"Oh! You're the Quincy lady who showed up at Hueco Mundo that last time! Long time no see! It's amazing that you'd actually eat up the kin of 'Ikomikidomoe'! It was a pleasure meeting you!"

"I didn't want to encounter you at all if possible. Didn't you say you were going to become king?"

"That's right! Ah, well, to be precise, rather than saying that I am the one who will attain this feat, it is Tokinada sama who is being kind enough to make me king!"

"On top of being some hand-me-down for orders, you'll be just a figurehead king? Isn't there something you want to do through your own damn will?"

Although her manner of speaking was akin to provocation, Hikone doesn't even seem to realise that it is what's known as sarcasm and thus replied with an innocent tone.

"There is! What I want to do are things that are useful to Tokinada sama!"

 "…So if this Tokinada guy you speak of told you to 'die a painful death', would you go ahead and die?"

"Yes! I would do my very best to suffer as much as possible!"

"…Oh, I see."

—— Damn. Talking with this brat is going to drive me crazy.

—— The way it fanaticises about things reminds me of that asshole Lille.

—— Nah, I wonder if this is slightly different from that guy, rather than fanaticism… how shall I put it?

—— I get the impression that the damn kid was set up to be that way from the very beginning.

Lil believed that this did not seem like someone she could get through to, but even so, she continues to question the child all the more.

Aside from the goal of extracting information, she genuinely harboured a suspicion.

"There's something I want to ask you."

It was regarding a certain Reiatsu intermingling within Hikone, which Candice and the others also perceived.

"…Have you ever heard the name… Gremmy Thoumeaux?"

Gremmy Thoumeaux.

The name of a boy who is reputed to be the strongest Sternritter, in fact, it was said that in all likelihood, no one could hope to defeat him outside of Yhwach.

That he is described as a boy, is purely because the body he had imagined for himself was that of a young boy, in actuality, both sex and age were unknown. 

His true form is only a brain floating within a small container; a Quincy who 'imagined' (created) his very own body by using the power of the Schrift V —— "The Visionary" given to him by Yhwach.

Making one's imagination transform into reality as it stands, is evidently a phenomenon close to the power of a god, in the life or death struggle against Zaraki Kenpachi, he conjured everything from a huge meteorite within Seireitei to the vacuum of outer space. 

In the end, he imagined power that could overcome Zaraki Kenpachi and made it his own, but because he couldn't completely imagine a body that was able to withstand that power, it resulted in his self-destruction, he awakened from his dreams, and his brain ceased all function.

Lil caught sight of the moment Gremmy disintegrated with her own eyes, she was also able to confirm that his Reiatsu had come to a complete stop.

She had no idea what happened to the brain container thereafter, nor did she have any particular intention to go searching for its whereabouts.

However, it was a separate matter entirely if one could sense Gremmy's Reiatsu coming from the Shinigami before her.

Perhaps by some chance this Shinigami figure is a mere mimicry, and in truth, something formed after the living Gremmy had 'imagined' it, Lil had surmised as much before posing her question.

"Gremmy… Gremmy san you say…? Aha!"

Suddenly, after a brief moment of consideration, Hikone's face lit up.

"Yes, I know that name! Tokinada sama kindly informed me!"

"……!"

Not expecting the child to return a straight answer, Lil widened her eyes a fraction and waits for Hikone to continue.

However, what is then narrated from Hikone's mouth, was an answer that Lil doesn't really want to hear.

"Gremmy san was apparently… a member among the materials, used at the time of my creation! That's right!"

[quicksilver-foxheart]

Wind in the Wilderness

a/n: holy crap i could not think of a title so have this extremely uncreative

summary: before meeting wild, the links find themselves wound up in a new hyrule (ahem) and next thing they know, wind is missing in this vast, unfamiliar territory. this will, of course, mainly revolve around wild/wind

----

The storm raged on like, like no storm they’d ever seen. Not even Time could remember seeing one this bad, and he could literally summon storms with a few quick notes. Thunder growled and jagged, angry bolts of lightning struck the ground, setting grass and trees alight with fire. The rain poured down in buckets, making it nearly impossible to see. 

“Stick close!” Time yelled, hoping the others would hear him over the deafening storm. The rain made everything soaking wet, and several times they’d nearly gotten struck by lightning from their weaponry. Surely there had to be something out in this cursed, never-ending field. But they could have stumbled right past a village or a cave and they’d never know.

A sudden nearby flash of lightning blinded Wind momentarily, but that was all that was needed. He squinted, cupping a hand over his eyes in hopes that would help see his friends. He considered using his telescope, but decided he didn’t want to ruin it or the stickers Aryll had placed on it. So he stumbled onward, slightly hunched over in a vain attempt at staying dry. Had there been storms this bad on the Great Sea? He certainly didn’t recall any, but then again, that felt like a lifetime ago.

He trudged on and on, occasionally calling out. The rain battered his drenched figure, yet he stumbled on, hoarsely calling out until his voice faded and he sunk down to the ground, almost in slow motion. He welcomed it, the way the tall grass and muddy ground absorbed his fall, and even though he felt certain he would die in this storm, he couldn’t bring himself to care, even as his instincts were screaming at him to get up, continue fighting, find the other heroes.

Wild rode through the rain, his beloved brown horse splashing up rain and mud. He’d known this storm was coming, and, of course, it’d slipped his mind. He drew his cloak tighter around him, relieved that his well-worn hood was still managing to keep him somewhat dry after all this time. Squinting his eyes, he leaned into his horse, silently promising her extra apples when they got to the next stable. Of course, his beloved steed took it all in stride-quiet literally, mind you-and didn’t seem to mind the storm.

He nearly passed by the dark shape huddled at the side of the road, not wanting to be roped into fighting some Yiga Clan member in this awful storm. But something inside him made him halt his horse and slip off her back. Ignoring his now muddied boots, he approached the pathetic-looking figure and,to his surprise, found the ‘it’ to be a ‘he.’ A kid at that, perhaps around thirteen or fourteen.

Almost without thinking, he scooped up the kid, propping him up in the saddle. Using one hand to keep him from falling, Wild heaved himself up, kicking the horse back into her previous gait.

Eventually, the oh-so-welcoming lights of a stable flickered in the distance, and Wild could just make out the large, looming, crudely constructed horse head. Never had he been so relieved to see it. The kid had been groaning the whole ride through Hyrule field, and since Wild didn’t have a hearty elixir on him, and he couldn’t force feed him anyway, his options were limited. Hopefully the stable hands wouldn’t mind taking care of him. He’d mulled it over, and while it felt wrong, thinking of just leaving him there, but Hyrule was much too dangerous for some kid to be roaming about.

Guiding his horse under an awning, Wild hurriedly grabbed the kid, running into the stable. Dripping wet, he turned to the check-in counter, his hood slipping down the slightest bit. Shifting his weight so he could better carry the kid, he cleared his throat. “Could i get two beds for the night?”

The stable master arched an eyebrow, eyeing the puddle forming around Wild. “I suppose,” he sighed in an exasperated tone of voice, as if he was dealing with a rowdy child and not a young man who’d politely asked for a place to sleep for the night. In fact, he seemed more concerned about his floorboards than the fact that the kid who Wild held looked like a half-drowned dog. Scowling under his hood, Wild signed the document the stable master slid forward, and turned sharply, immediately depositing his charge onto the bed.

He watched the wet kid lay on the bed, and draped the blanket over him as more of an afterthought. Glancing outside at the storm, Wild's eyes widened and he sprinted outside to his horse. She'd lay down on the mostly dry ground under the awning, and snorted as he ducked under the shelter. He pulled out a couple of apples, which his beloved horse greedily ate up, and he fed her a carrot as well, feeling guilty.

"There, there, " he murmured, stroking her muzzle as he kneeled in the grass. Completely forgetting about his bed, he leaned back against one of the logs holding up the shelter, and fell asleep, drenched and cold, his horse's head perched on his lap.

Wild awoke at dawn, slowly, and immediately felt the crick in his neck. Yawning, he blinked the last lingering remains of sleep from his eyes and gently pushed his horse's head off him. Wincing, he stretched his stiff, sore arms. He trudged back to the stable, picking through the mud. Wiping his feet on the mat inside, the wet hero approached the bed where he'd placed the kid. He certainly looked much better than he had last night, and seemed drier than Wild himself, to say the least.

Outside, a bird sang without a care in the world, announcing the beginning of the new day. Under Wild's cerulean watch, the kid he'd rescued stirred and sat up, blinking. Wild took in the blue tunic of sorts, noticing how its shade of blue matched his own tunic. Just then, the kid seemed to notice him.

"Who are you?" he asked bluntly, and Wild raised an eyebrow. Rude.

"Link, " Wild offered his name reluctantly, figuring this kid couldn't be a Yiga spy. The kid's eyes widened, and Wild wondered if he'd been wrong in trusting him.

"Wait, so do you have the Master Sword?" The kid seemed very excited, and, doubts swirling in his mind, Wild nodded.

"Oh, er, sorry. I'm called Wind by. . . . my friends, " the kid, or rather, Wind, said after a moment. "Thanks for saving me, y'know, from that storm" Wind seemed almost embarrassed by this, but Wild brushed it off.

"Well, I'm going to head out now. Talk to somebody at the stable, they'll help you get back to your village or whatever, " Wild said as he started to turn away.

"Hey, wait!"

Wild frowned, turning around.

"Can. . . .Can I come with you?"

Wild narrowed his eyes, but he didn't get the same malicious, unnerving feeling the lamely disguised Yiga members gave him. Still, he didn't really want some kid weighing him down.

"Please? I, uh, I'm looking for someone," Wind pressed.

"Who are you looking for?"

"It's hard to explain, but I'm actually looking for a group of seven. Hard to miss 'em. "

Wild frowned. As suspicious as it sounded, the kid seemed honest enough. He exhaled through his nose, closing his eyes as he did so. "Alright. I suppose you can come with me."

"Thank you!" Wind grinned as he swung his legs out of the bed. Now that he'd found this Hyrule's hero, he just needed to find the other Links.

-

"So where did you last see your friends?" Wild asked as he walked side by side with his newfound companion.

"In an open field. We got caught in the storm and were trying to find shelter but there wasn't any, " Wind's eyes scanned their surroundings, looking for something familiar.

Wild frowned as he too surveyed the area. "There's a lot of open field in Hyrule, " he commented dryly. "Anything. . .specific?"

"How was I supposed to see anything in that storm?"

Wild rolled his eyes, feeling a grin tugging at his lips. Surprisingly enough, he was already warming up to Wind-or maybe not so surprising, depending on how you look at it. "Well, just keep your eyes peeled. "

As they walked along, Wind was more absorbed in deciding whether or not he should explain the whole 'reincarnation' thing. Sky had been the one to explain it, but he thought perhaps Wild would be better prepared if he knew about it before meeting the older versions of himself. As he was mulling it over, a thought struck him. If they all had a specific 'hero title,' then what was this hero's?

[razorblade180]

Stormy Day

[A Cave]

It’s pouring down rain with thunder raging and lightning dancing across the sky. The Lasting Embers huntsman wait patiently for it to calm down.

Nora:Wow it’s really pouring down out there.

Ruby:You seem happy about it.

Nora:Tenzen and I always watched big storms like this together; even trained in them. *smiles* he’d always push himself to the absolute limit to the point I seemed like the calm one. “The son of the Lightning Empress should command it just as well!” That was always the excuse.

Yang:*smiles* You think if it’s storming back home he’s pushing in limits?

Nora:Oh most definitely. I’m not worried though. I left very specific instructions for stormy days.

Yang:He’ll follow them?

Nora:They weren’t for him.....

[Vale Forest]

The woods are almost flooded with the dirt turned to mud. Tenzen stands in a slightly open area drenched from head to toe in nothing but his track pants. Both arms are a little covered in smoke and red. From a distance Yujin watches her friend as he breathes raggedly. Clearly, things are getting out of hand.

Tenzen:*huff* I know you’re there Jin.....what happened to the training rule?

Yujin:I know what I said but you haven’t come home in hours so.....kinda twisting my arm here. *looks at his arm*

Tenzen:*slightly trembling* I’m fine, go back before you get sick or zapped.

Yujin:Trust me, I’m very warm and the trees should get hit before us. Unless you’re some kind of lightning rod or-

Tenzen:..........

Yujin:Oh my gods you’re attracting lightning to you!? Are you insane!!!?

Tenzen:Possibly, only way to get used to higher voltage for longer periods of time. I....I can take it.

Yujin:Do I have to remind you that there’s a difference between elemental resistance and proof? Just like I can only take so much fire, at some point your body can only handle so much voltage. Trying this is crazy!

Tenzen:But I have to try it regardless! *claps hands together*

His aura surges as he activated his semblance. A giant yellow bolt of lightning strikes down at him hard and changes to the color of his aura. Both of his hands start getting redder as he focuses all the energy towards them. Wind and rain around the immediate area sizzles from the power.

Tenzen:(That’s it....no just keep the intensity.... controlled.)

Yujin:*lilac eyes* (I thought I was intense...) at this rate you’re doing more harm than good! Take it slow and-

Tenzen:I CAN’T!!!!

Yujin:......

Tenzen:If I was any weaker than what I was during the attack then people would’ve died. My mom would’ve died! I can’t afford to be barely good enough. I need to be stronger if I wanna protect people; if I want to keep you safe.

Those words caught her off gaurd. Since when did his dream of being there to save the day start to sound like a burden? Sure his heart was in the right place but Yujin wasn’t used to this serious side of Tenzen. By know means did she hate it but his cheerful attitude is what made him different; no, better than her in Yujin’s eyes. Seeing it leave was a bit saddening to say the least. Even so, she didn’t leave or even looked upset. Instead of those things it was time to break out the instructions Nora gave her. They were super simple and apparently full proof; she walked closer.

Tenzen:What are you doing!?

Yujin:Making my best friend think for a second. I’m not moving from this spot. Not even if I guy struck by lightning, so you either make sure you can control it or stop all together.

*lightning strikes three feet away*

Yujin:*internal panic* I guess I might figure out how durable I am today.

Tenzen:Jin this isn’t something to play around with.

Yujin:*raises bracelet in the air*.....

Tenzen:Yujin!!!!!!!

Yujin:......Don’t put so much pressure on yourself. We’re friends right? I’m not gonna have you face anything alone if I can help it. Last time I checked the two of us are Sparks and Embers; only right we stick together. *smiles* That means we both take stupid risks.

Tenzen:.......*powers down*

Tenzen:Sparks and Embers is a really lame name you know? *smirking*

Yujin:Says the guy that has his stage name be two letters of his name. *bracelet sparking* I like to think the name is-*pushed*

•

Yang:You told my daughter to try to get zapped!?

Nora:It’s fine....

Yang:What!? How can you be sure?

Nora:I know my baby and he’ll never put her in needless danger. Plus I don’t think he’s realized it yet.

Yang:Realized what.....?

•

As she flew back she witnessed a bolt of lightning come down right where she was standing; where Tenzen is currently standing. Before Yujin could even scream she was left speechless as he held out his left arm and countered it with his own lightning strike. It was almost like his cut right up the middle and back into the sky. Tenzen quickly ran over to pick her up into a bridal carry.

Tenzen:Are you okay!?!?!?

Yujin:*blushing*That was.....totally badass. Like holy crap you just.....yes.

Tenzen:*shaking his head* Most people would be scared out their mind right now.

Yujin:Guess I’m not most people.

Tenzen:Tell me something I don’t know. Let’s go home.

Yujin:About time, I’m drenched.

Tenzen:*snickers*

Yujin:Get your head out the gutter!

Tenzen:You said it, not me. *starts running*

“He’s already dethroned me”

[caitlinsnow-yayyy]

Why Him? (a kwami swap story)

Very overdue story for my friend @nerdasaurus1200 - a King Monkey and Ryuko kwami swap story! You can probably imagine chaos will ensue from these two swapping... and maybe, a new friendship? 

We shall see! I hope anyone reading this enjoys it :) And Nerd, my friend, I hope this was worth the wait! :D Sorry this took so long lol.

(story under the cut)

Oh, of all the people, why Kim?

Today, Adrien and Marinette had decided that the team wasn't working well enough together, and they decided to have a set apart Saturday for a mandatory team bonding exercise - kwami swapping. Chloe got Alix, Max got Nathaniel, Marc switched with Juleka, Ivan swapped with Rose, who then swapped with Mylene; Alya swapped with Nino, and her own boyfriend, Luka, got to swap with Sabrina. Marinette and Adrien swapped (of course).

Their only instructions were to not leave their partner for the day; they didn't even need to seek out an akuma. They could literally go shopping if they wanted to, so long as they stood together.

And she... had gotten Kim.

"You promise to bring that back in one piece, right?" Kim asked, pointing to his circlet.

Kagami gave him a dead stare. "I should ask you the same for my choker."

"Oh, it'll be fine!" Kim smirked. "This is Le Chien Kim ya got here! Not a klutz."

Kagami, again, deadpanned him. Were these words seriously coming out of his mouth right now? Honestly, of all the people she could've gotten, why KIM?! Kim with the Dragon Miraculous just sounded like an accident waiting to happen.

She just didn't feel like throwing a rubber banana today either.

As if examples of how the others days were going couldn't get shoved in her face any more than what her mind was already doing, Nathaniel, equipped with Voyage, Naruto-ran through two portals about two rooftops away from them. Max, equipped with the Fire Flame power, was chasing him with a crossbow that had a flaming arrow. Somehow they were laughing.

"Let's just get this over with," Kagami sighed. "You go first."

"Sweet!" Kim said. "Alright, LONGG - BRING THE STORM!"

She would be lying if she said the Dragon costume didn't fit well on Kim - his suit was a darker red than hers, and his hair that normally stuck up was now covered with a horn-like design for a mask. Honestly, it kinda looked like Dark Cupid. He had wings imprinted into the spandex on his back, and his sword fell into his hands.

Why was she so scared of this?

"Oh, this is so cool!" he exclaimed. "I shall be known as... Doragon Kaosu!"

"Chaos Dragon - fitting," Kagami nodded. "Alright... guess its my turn. XUPPU, SHOWTIME!"

Kagami had already decided her name was going to be Queen Monkey; she saw no need to be original with her name. After all, it wasn't like she was gonna be the Monkey wielder for long. She was just eager for 6 o'clock to roll around so this could be over with.

"Holy crap," Doragon said once her transformation was up, "you look badass!"

Kagami had to smile at that one - despite the fact that Kim was an idiot, he still had his moments, and was really just a fun-loving soul at heart. No one could deny that. "Thank you, Doragon. Now, wanna take your Miraculous for a test run?"

Suddenly, an akuma flew past - he was some sort of hang-gliding akuma, yelling at the top of his lungs about how hang-gliding school was real and not a joke.

"Oh, oh this is perfect!" Doragon laughed. "I've always wanted to do this..."

"Wait, what are you-"

"LIGHTNING DRAGON!"

Doragon suddenly turned into a lightning bolt, and struck the hang-gliding akuma man out of the sky. Queen Monkey screamed out bloody murder in horror, fearing for her sake and for her life that Kim hadn't even been Doragon Kaosu for two minutes and he had already killed someone!

"KIM!" yelled Queen Monkey. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

"Chill, he's fine!" said Doragon, manifesting back in front of her. "I made sure to check his pulse before I got back. He'll live."

"YEAH, FOR LIKE ANOTHER MINUTE!" Queen Monkey screamed. "OH MY GOD!"

"Chill out, Queenie!" Doragon said, genuinely becoming concerned for her. "Its gonna be fine!"

"Woah, what's going on here?"

Kagami and Kim looked up, and there was another kwami swap duo: Luka, now Blue Heeler, and Sabrina, now Hydra. "Gami? Kim? You two okay?" asked Heeler.

"I just struck somebody with lightning, and Queenie over here thinks it'll kill him," Doragon said, somehow completely nonchalant that he had just struck down someone with lightning.

"O..Oh... y-yeah, that'll do it," Heeler muttered, taking a deep breath.

"Should I use Second Chance?" asked Hydra.

"N-No... I think its probably best we leave you two to work this out," Heeler said.

"Wait!" Queen Monkey whispered to him. "P-Please... I-I don't know if I can handle this..."

"Hey, you're gonna do just fine," Heeler reassured her. "It'll probably take some getting used to, but-"

"I-Its not that," Queen Monkey said softly. "I-Its...w-well... he's an idiot."

"You don't know that," Heeler said gently. "Reckless? Probably. Chaotic? You bet! But give him a chance, okay? Please?"

Kagami looked up at Luka... damn those soft eyes. It always made her crack and she hated it! Well, okay, no, she didn't hate it. But she just wished... oh, never mind.

"Fine," she crumbled.

"Thank you so much, Gami," smiled Heeler. "Seriously. Thank you."

"M-hmm," Queen Monkey nodded, trying to appear as sincere as possible. Truth be told, she was still dreading the rest of the day. Hydra and Doragon then wrapped up whatever they were chatting about, and then Sabrina ran off with Luka to go continue their own kwami-swap adventure.

And thank the Lord, the paramedics arrived to take the hang-glider akuma guy away for proper treatment...

-0-

4:00

Oh, just one more hour... one more!

And then, she would have Longg back, and Kim would be back with Xuppu. Like it should be. She was excited to finally get back to normal...

"Hey, Kagami?"

"Hmm?"

The two were currently resting on a rooftop, having just caught another akuma in the trusty akuma-catching portable butterfly nets that they had been supplied with. How they worked was beyond them, but hey, they worked; hopefully Mister Bug didn't mind a surplus of akumas to purify.

"Do you... do you hate me?" Doragon asked.

"What? No no, no!" Queen Monkey said, sitting upright. "Of course not!"

"Are you sure?" he asked, seeming... genuinely troubled. "You sure do act like it."

"No no, God no! I don't hate you, Kim!" Queen Monkey said. "Its just... its..."

"Hmm?" Doragon asked, looking down.

"I'M JEALOUS! I'm jealous, okay?! That's it!" she blurted out. "Its just... you're able to be so reckless and chaotic all the time! And yet, somehow, you can... I don't know, control the chaos? I wish I could do that, for crying out loud! I've always had to be perfect, nothing could be off! Being Queen Monkey has given me a sweet release, and I've really enjoyed it, and you make an excellent Dragon wielder but my pride wouldn't let me admit it! There! Are you happy?"

Queen Monkey then took in deep breaths of air, never having vented like that before... it was new.

And honestly, it felt good to get that off of her chest.

Suddenly, Doragon put a hand on her shoulder, and smiled sadly.

"Wanna know something?" Doragon said. "I'm... I'm kinda jealous of you too."

"Huh?" Queen Monkey said in shock.

"You're able to create a plan on the fly, and you never have to just wing it," Doragon said. "Not only that, but you can be picture perfect when needed. I'm always this big mess of chaos, never really able to control anything but. Though I do wish, at times, that I could be a straight shooter; like you! So yeah, I'm kinda jealous of you too..."

Queen Monkey chuckled. "Well then... uhm..."

"Don't know what to say?" asked Doragon.

"Read my mind," nodded Queen Monkey. "Uh... so... I guess, uh, we're even? Of sorts?"

Doragon shrugged. "Guess so... but really, I'm glad you don't hate me."

"God, how could I hate you?" asked Queen Monkey. "Honestly, though at times, you are a moron - its hilarious. You're hilarious. I'm not only jealous of your ability to control chaos, but your sense of humor is so natural flowing and witty - I could never do that! That's a gift!"

"You kidding me? Of course you could!" Doragon laughed. "And your stoicism... the ability to keep a stone cold glare going for more than five seconds. I'm envious of that, because I know I couldn't do that for shite!"

"Oh come on, you could!" Queen Monkey exclaimed. "See, the trick is to..."

The two wouldn't count on it, but they'd spend the next hour chatting and talking like they were best friends. They'd talk similarities, their differences, what was going on in their romantic lives, how they thought of their powers on the norm, etc.

After the conversation, honestly, the two honestly weren't even ready to swap back when Mister Bug sent out the signal for them to come back.

-0-

"So, how was that day, guys?" asked Mister Bug to the currently present heroes. Lady Noire still had her arm hooked around his; those two were madly in love. It was almost sickeningly cute.

"SO MUCH FUN!" Tourterelle (turtle!Alya) exclaimed.

"Yeah, this was a sick day!" Red Vix (fox!Nino) added.

"AWESOME!" Sun Screamer (rooster!Max) yelled.

"I had so much fun!" Trotter (horse!Nath) exclaimed. "This may actually be the best team bonding exercise idea ever! Thanks you two!"

"Honestly, we didn't get much action," Mr. Stripes (tiger!Marc) chuckled.

"I mean, I guess I learned how to tap dance," Madame Hoofer (goat!Juleka) shrugged with a smile (she failed to notice Rose's sudden blush). "Just what happens when ya get bored, y'know?"

"Its difficult to be intimidating like this," Pink Boar (pig!Ivan) said sadly.

"Oh, you're always a sweetheart to me!" Bluebell (ox!Mylene) smiled up at her boyfriend.

"So cute!" Mouselia (mouse!Rose) said, holding her hands together.

"We had a lot of fun," Blue Heeler (dog!Luka) smiled.

"Yeah, it was actually pretty fun using Repetition as a power!" Hydra (snake!Sabrina) said, equally as happy.

"Psh... It was okay, I guess," Madame Cottontail (bunny!Chloe) shrugged.

"Oh come on, you loved it!" Hornet (bee!Alix) said, smirking smugly.

"Well, we're glad you all had fun!" Lady Noire smiled. "Uh... Kim? Kagami? How'd you all fare?"

There was tension - everyone could feel it. A commonly shared feeling of dread was shared at the start of the day when it was announced that Kim and Kagami would be swapping Miraculouses... but everyone was caught off guard by the two nodding and smirking at one another.

"When can we do it again?" the two asked.

"O-Oh!" Lady Noire gasped, not expecting that answer. "W-Well... uhm, we hadn't thought of doing this again!"

"But, m'lady, you do have to agree - this has been a very successful day," Mister Bug said.

"You're very right, my bug," smiled Lady Noire, nodding. "Well... how about not next Saturday, but the Saturday after? Same swaps? Everyone cool with that?"

A simultaneous nod went around the group, and Lady Noire and Mister Bug settled it - every other Saturday would henceforth be known as "Kwami Swap Day".

"Pound it?" asked Doragon, sticking out his fist.

Queen Monkey nodded, returning the bump. "Pound it."

It hadn't been expected, no, but it wasn't any less welcome because of that.

This friendship would be one for the ages, for sure...

[ultranerdygirl]

Lightning Thief Musical Thoughts

You can read below the cut, but there will be SPOILERS for The Lightning Thief musical. You've been warned (or enticed, take your pick.)

-Chris McCarrell was fabulous. They made Percy more of a drama queen for the musical, but it works so well and he’s hilarious. 'Good Kid' nearly made me cry.

-James Hayden Rodriguez, who played Luke, was super cute (and he was ripped, jeez. He also played Ares, and at one point was wearing a tank top that showed off his arms. No complaints here, lol.) He also looked kinda like Marcus from Detroit: Become Human.

-I love Jorrel Javier, who played Grover. He gave off George Salazar vibes, but at the same time he put his own spin on Grover/Dionysus that made me crack up. They also made better, more realistic goat legs for his costume and it looked really cool.

-When Percy gets to CHB, he's talking to Luke and then Grover comes onstage and is super apologetic and shy because of what happened with Sally and the Minotaur. And Percy just...barrels straight into Grover and they hugged for like a solid 30 seconds. Percy was overjoyed to see him and he was so relieved that someone familiar was there for him. (It makes up for the Jack/Crutchie hug that we were so maddeningly deprived of in Newsies Live.)

-Bianca di Angelo made a very brief appearance during the Lotus hotel scene and you could practically hear all the fans internally screaming "holy crap!!!"

-Chiron's costume consisted of a teacherly suit and a horse tail strapped to his back. Everyone lost their minds when he stepped out of the wheelchair and started galloping around the stage. Ryan Knowles also played Poseidon and Hades, and he nailed all of their different mannerisms.

-Oracle: "What do you wish to know about your destiny?" 

Percy: "I have a destiny?!?!"

-Charon was a woman and she was wearing this super sparkly gold/silver dress and had big foofy 80s hair. She had robed spirits for backup dancers and Cerberus was a DJ. (I’m guessing Joe Tracz just took the DOA Recording Studios thing and ran with it.)

-Hades had a sparkly gold jacket that matched Charon's dress and he was also a big drama queen.

-Percy, talking to Hades about the master bolt: "There is no way in Hell that..." *looks around, remembers he's in the Underworld* "...Oh."

-During 'My Grand Plan', towards the end, Annabeth is singing about how someday she hopes someone will notice her and then she turns and sees Percy watching her and she smiles at him. It was such a soft™ Percabeth moment and my heart couldn't take it.

-They made a reference to the dam snack bar. Amazing.

-I actually did start crying during 'The Tree on the Hill'. They had Luke, Annabeth, and Thalia in the background. When Thalia died, she knelt and had her sword driven into the ground in front of her while Luke hugged Annabeth. Goddamn. And also Grover was on the verge of tears the whole song and I wanted to hug him so badly. Thalia also looked really cool and punk.

-At certain points when Percy was being sarcastic, he’d start talking like a sassy drag queen and I was dying of laughter.

-When Ares showed up, the lights in the background turned red and it looked like blood was dripping down the set. It was awesome! They also had an effect that looked like flames for the Underworld scenes.

-Poseidon talks like a stereotypical surfer dude. No, I’m not kidding.

-Poseidon and Sally were flirting with each other while Percy was standing between them and he was so uncomfortable and looked royally embarrassed.

-They included Echidna and the Chimera, which was a nice touch.

-The lighting for ‘The Campfire Song’ was this really nice shade of purple and the little dance they did around the campfire was goofy and cute.

-Seriously, James Rodriguez was SO good. He really made it seem like he was genuinely Percy’s friend and then the confrontation scene in the forest happened and UGH. I loved him.

-Speaking of the confrontation scene, after Percy gets stabbed he’s lying on the ground like he’s unconscious and Annabeth starts shaking his shoulders and trying to hear his heartbeat. She says “Seaweed Brain?” desperately and when Percy opened his eyes he said “Wise Girl” all mesmerized. I’m pretty sure half the theatre squealed “awww”. My little Percabeth shipper heart was so happy. 

-Someone’s grandma that was sitting in front of us was whooping and cheering louder than everyone after Charon’s song. Idk if she just liked the style of the song, but she was really enthusiastic and it was super endearing. You go, Grandma Lady.

-”Bean. Dip.” That is all.

-They played up the flirtatiousness between Luke and Annabeth a little more. At one point during the campfire scene he steals a bite of food off her spoon and they giggle.

-The costuming and lighting and the set and everything was amazing.

-Kristen and Chris are actually Annabeth and Percy. Their chemistry is so cute and sweet.

-[about Medusa’s head] ”It’s a do-it-yourself sculpture kit!”

-”Hi, Ms. Jackson!!!”

-G: ”He’s half-bull!”

P: “So are you!” 

G: “I’M HALF-GOAT!”

-While in line for stagedoor, I struck up a conversation with the girl standing behind me. She’s an English teacher and came to Chicago all the way from Cincinnati to see TLT musical so she could tell her students about it. She saw that I had my copy of the book to get signed and then she was like “Agh, I should have grabbed one of my copies before I left.” Apparently she used the PJO books to introduce her students to mythology (smart lady.) She and her friend that she was with were also huge theatre nerds, which, I mean, come on. Huge bonus.

-Overall, I really, really loved the musical and I highly recommend that all Percy Jackson fans go and see it if they can. I actually got to do stagedoor this time and James Rodriguez and Jorrel Javier came out to sign autographs. They were very sweet and signed my copy of The Lightning Thief book. 

[arkus-rhapsode]

Laxus vs Jellal

Okay so this fight is for @ac-fairytail who had wanted to see what a full fledged fight between these two would be like. Now this relates to the canon continuity, none of rewrite posts or anything. Enjoy.

Thoughts

Magic

Cobra: Where the hell are we going?

Meredy: That Abyss Horn member said that ‘Avatar’ is running the underworld now. We should start investigating.

Angel: Boring~

Jellal: …

Midnight: He hasn’t been talking much…

Hoteye: Perhaps the last couple days are catching up to him?

*The group stops walking when they see a figure approach*

Laxus: Oh hey. It’s the other Mystogan.

Jellal: Laxus Dreyar!? What are you doing here?

Laxus: I was going back to Blue Pegasus. I finished a mission I was given.

Jellal: Oh? It’s good to know your still doing guild work after Fairy Tail’s disband.

Laxus: Well… The jobs at Blue Pegasus are a little too easy for my liking. I thought I’d at least get some training in, but this wasn’t much work. Anyway, see ya… *Starts to walk past Jellal*

Jellal: Wait!

Laxus: Hmm?

Jellal: I wanted to ask… If you would fight me!

Laxus: Where’s this coming from?

Jellal: Everyday I wake up reminding myself that I made the choice to destroy Zeref. It hasn’t changed, but as I see the world around me change, I can only wonder if I’m strong enough to defeat Zeref as I am.

Laxus: So you wanna fight to see how strong you are? Well… *gets close to Jellal and begins to stare him down* Your in luck.

Jellal: ?

Laxus: I’ve been waiting for real challenge. Back when Tartaros was destroying the world, all I did was lay in bed. Now is my time to become stronger, strong enough so that never happens again!

Jellal: Well then…

Midnight: We should probably take cover.

*Crime Sociere moves away from the two combatants*

Laxus: So, you want the first punch?

Jellal: No. As a winner of the Grand Magic Games, you deserve the first blow.

Laxus: *Smirks* *Delivers a lightning charged punch to Jellal*

Jellal: *Knocked back and not able to quickly regain his bearings*

Laxus: *Takes advantage of the offset Jellal and kicks him in the face with a lightning coated foot*

*The kick by Laxus caused Jellal to be knocked back hard enough that he slide across the ground*

Jellal: *on his hands and knees*

Cobra: Did that lightning guy just put Jellal down with 2 punches?!

Meredy: No, Jellal isn’t finished that easily!

Jellal: *Crouching* Heh… Knew I shouldn’t have expected any less from someone of your caliber. *Removes his cloak* But it’s my turn now… *Engulfed in bright yellow light* Meteor!

*At incredible speed, Jellal flies at Laxus and gives him a strong punch to the face. This knocks back Laxus who quickly regains his bearings and begins to let lightning crackle around his fist as Jellal heads right towards him.*

Laxus: *Tries to punch the oncoming Jellal*

Jellal: *Using the speed granted to him by Meteor, he pulls back fast enough to dodge Laxus’s punch. Then he gives Laxus a strong punch across the face*

Laxus: *Knocked back*

*Before Laxus can fully recover, Jellal speedily double punches Laxus in his lower abdomen and solar plexus which pushes Laxus back a good distance.*

Jellal: *Creates a large ball of light at the tips of his extended index and middle finger, and in a swiping motion, launches the ball at Laxus*

Laxus: *Quickly gets into a blocking stance and once the ball of magic hits him head on he deflects it*

Racer: Holy crap, Jellal’s relentless!

Angel: But that blond guy still took it all and is still standing!

Laxus: Hey… That was pretty good…

Jellal: *Smirks*

Laxus: And that little magic you used to knock me around was cute. Too bad I’ve got my own… *uses Lightning Body to increase his speed and give Jellal an uppercut at extreme speed*

Jellal: *knocked into air*

Laxus: *Using the speed of his Lightning Body, jumps into the air and punches Jellal back down to the earth*

*Once Jellal hits the ground, Laxus goes in for another punch, but Jellal uses Meteor to increase his speed and get out of the way of the punch, as well as creating enough distance between the two fighters*

Jellal: *Hold his arm out in front of him and fires a beam of light at at Laxus*

Laxus: *Quickly extends his arm and releases a bolt of lightning at Jellal*

*The beam of light and the lightning bolt clash, canceling the other out*

Jellal: The real fight starts here…

*The two begin to emit their magical energy, Jellal glowing bright yellow and Laxus engulfed in lightning. They then charge at each other, Jellal using Meteor and Laxus using Lightning Body, engaging in close quarters combat.*

Racer: Damn, their fast!

*The two mainly throw a steady barrage of punches, but are mainly focused on light damage exchange*

Jellal: *Throws a stronger punch which pushes back Laxus and breaks their close quarters combat* *Flies at Laxus*

Laxus: *Quickly regains his bearings and smiling at the incoming Jellal*

Jellal: *Gets in front of Laxus, but lightning comes up from the ground right under Jellal and blasts him into the air*

Laxus: *Using Lightning Body, jumps up to Jellal and locks his hands together in a tight fist and then swings them down onto Jellal* Lightning Dragon’s Jaw!

Jellal: *smashes into the ground and creating a destructive circular wave*

Meredy: Jellal!

Laxus: *Lands safety on the ground and raises a clenched fist in the air* “Resounding through the air, the roar of thunder, plunge from the heavens and reap destruction!”

Jellal: *Gets up*

Laxus: Raging Bolt!

*A large bolt of lightning descend upon Jellal, but Jellal quickly creates a dome with a hexagonal pattern out of his magic and shields himself from the Raging Bolt*

Jellal: *Shield dissipates* Meteor! *Charges at Laxus and throws a quick punch*

Laxus: *Dodges the punch easily* *Knees Jellal with a lightning coated leg and knocks him back*

Jellal: *Recovers quickly and smiles*

Laxus: *Can’t move his body. Looks down to see a ring of light around his waist* What the..?

Jellal: Mintaka, a binding spell. You won’t be able to move your arms and legs!

Angel: Oh yeah, Jellal has him!

Laxus: *Can’t move my arms or my legs… Lightning Dragon’s Roar! *Releases a large concentrated blast of lightning*

Midnight: He found a way around the binding!

Jellal: *Defends against the roar by creating a hexagon shaped shield of magic in front of him*

Laxus: …

Jellal: *Lowers the shield. Claps his hands together in front of him, creating several balls of bright yellow light in front of him*

Laxus: *Flares his lightning and starts destroying the ring around him*

Racer: He’s using his lightning to break the binding spell!

Jellal: *Unleashes the power of the light balls around him, which when fired off become beams of light*

Laxus: *Completely destroys the Mintaka ring and, with the assistance of Lightning Body, jumps into air, avoiding the light beams*

Jellal: *Gets into a stance where he raises his right arm in the air, with his right middle and index finger outstretched* Pleiades!

*Soon six rays of light fall from the sky and head straight for Laxus*

Laxus: *uses his Lightning Body to dodge them, but is then caught off guard when he sees them heading back at him*

*The rays try to hit Laxus, but he dodges again. They then turn and head straight for him again. Laxus quickly fires a bolt of lightning, destroying the first light ray*

Laxus: *Dodges the other five rays* He doesn’t split them up? They can only move consecutively! *Uses Lightning Body to land on the ground and start running from the other five light rays*

Angel: Is running away all he’s going to do?!

Laxus: *Stops and turns to face the rays* I got enough distance! *Fires off a barrage of lightning to destroy the rays of light* One more!

Jellal: *Using Meteor to increase his speed, appears behind Laxus and throws a large ball of light at him*

Laxus: *Quickly turns and counters the ball of with a large burst of lightning*

*The ball of light is destroyed, but Laxus is struck in the back by the remaining Pleiades light ray*

Jellal: *Take advantage of the disoriented Laxus and uses Meteor to increase his speed and speedily head butt Laxus*

*With Laxus off balance, Jellal kicks Laxus away. Jellal comes in for another blow, but when Jellal punches downwards, Laxus uses Lightning Body to quickly slide out of the way of the punch*

Laxus: *Takes advantage of Jellal’s position and, with a fist coated in lightning, delivers a strong punch to his abdomen*

Jellal: *Knocked into the air*

Laxus: Lightning Dragon’s Roar! *Releases a large concentrated blast of lightning from him mouth*

*The roar hits Jellal head on and he then falls to ground*

Jellal: *In mid air* Got to… Wait… I can’t move!

Laxus: *Charges in and gives Jellal a quick strike to the face with a lightning covered fist*

Jellal: *Tries to lift himself up, but struggles to do so*

Laxus: This won’t last too long! *Drop kicks Jellal with a lightning covered foot*

Midnight: Why isn’t Jellal dodging?

Meredy: He can’t, he’s paralyzed!

Midnight: Huh?

Cobra: When that guy punched Jellal in the gut, he discharged a missive amount of lightning. Enough of that coursing through Jellal’s body and it inhibits his movements!

Laxus: *Dashes towards Jellal and hits him with a lightning covered uppercut*

Jellal: *Is pushed back, but finally is able to regain his bearings*

Laxus: *Raises their hands and forms lightning between them, forming a very large halberd out of it* Lightning Dragon’s Heavenward Halberd! *Hurls the halberd at Jellal*

Jellal: *Creates nine swords made of lightning behind him* Jiu Leixing! *Fires them at Laxus*

*The Swords and Halberd clash with the swords able to overpower the halberd, however the halberd was strong enough to cancel out six of the nine swords*

Laxus: *The swords strike his body and he begins to eat them*

Angel: Ahh, Jellal are you an idiot?! Dragon Slayers eat their own element!

Cobra: *Smirks*

*While Laxus is eating the lightning, Jellal uses Meteor to rush at Laxus and begins to unleash a barrage of super fast punches to Laxus’s abdomen*

Angel: Huh?!

Cobra: Those swords weren’t just a counter to the halberd. See Jellal was hoping that Laxus would eat his attack. That way there would be an opening to get in and unleash this attack. Jellal was one step ahead of this guy!

Laxus: *Keeps taking the strikes to his abdomen, but then finally pushes Jellal back by sneaking in a lightning coated kick*

Jellal: *Uses Meteor to speed in and try to punch Laxus, but his fist is caught by Laxus* Huh?

Meredy: He caught Jellal’s attack!?

Laxus: *Smiles* * Sends a surge of lightning through Jellal’s body, electrocuting him.*

*Laxus begins punching Jellal, then delivers a hard punch that breaks their lock and pushes Jellal back*

Jellal: *Trying to regain his bearings*

Laxus: *Swipes his arm outward and generates a massive current of lightning from the ground that follows the direction of the swipe*

Jellal: *Uses Meteor to dodge the lightning current* So he can read my Meteor attack when I charge at him? Well time to change it up… *While in mid air, charges a ball of bright yellow magic between his palms*

Laxus: *Runs at Jellal with Lightning Body*

Jellal: Sirius! *The ball in between his palms is released as a large, long and powerfully destructive laser-like beam*

Laxus: *Uses Lightning Body’s speed to jump out of the way of the beam*

*The beam creates a chain of explosions across the ground*

Jellal: There! *Uses Meteor to fly at Laxus*

Laxus: *Sees Jellal coming right at him and readies himself*

Jellal: *Increases his speed in front of Laxus and appears behind him* Got him!

Laxus: *Punches Jellal into the ground*

Jellal: ?!

Meredy: What!? But, Jellal used his Meteor’s full speed! Laxus should’ve fell for the fake out.

Cobra: No he planned for this. Jellal was fully aware that the lightning dragon knew how to fully counter his “Meteor speed in strike”, so Jellal decided to use a fake out by increasing his speed, but the lightning guy… He knew Jellal would’ve come up with a fake out, given how he set up his strike, so he was already prepared! This time he was a step ahead!

Jellal: *Getting up from being punched into the ground*

*The two charge at each other once more. Jellal throws a punch, but it’s caught by Laxus. Laxus tries to counter with his free hand, but it’s blocked by Jellal. The two are in a locked struggle, but Jellal breaks it by head butting Laxus*

Jellal: *Bear hugs Laxus. Then uses Meteor to fly straight into the sky with the ensnared Laxus, then begins to make a loop. He then zooms down and hurls Laxus into the ground*

Laxus: Damn it... *Can’t move* Lightning Dragon’s Roar! *Fires a concentrated burst of lightning up at Jellal*

Jellal: *Creates a shield with a hexagonal pattern to defend against the roar*

Laxus: Come on I gotta get up-

Jellal: *Fires a barrage of light beams at Laxus*

Laxus: *Takes the attack head on* Crap… He’s made enough distance that if I just fly up to him he’ll gun me down. If I try for long range attacks he’ll just shield against it… *Places his left hand on the ground* Guess I’ll need a boost! *Throws a lightning bolt at Jellal with his right hand*

*Jellal uses his typical shield to defend himself from the attack, but while he’s blocking the bolt, Laxus creates a ball of lightning with his left hand and fires it into the ground, propelling him off the ground*

Laxus: *Enters Lightning Body and with the added propulsion from the lightning ball, he zooms past Jellal and delivers a lightning coated elbow strike to the back of Jellal’s head*

Jellal: *Falls and crashes into the ground.* *Tries to lift himself up, but Laxus hits him with a large bolt of lightning*

Hoteye: This doesn’t look good, oh yeah!

*Jellal powers through the blast and uses Meteor to fly at Laxus. Jellal tries to kick Laxus, but Laxus stops the kick using his own shin. The two are locked in, putting pressure on each of their legs trying to push the other back*

Laxus: *channeling magic through his leg, he sends a charge of lightning through Jellal’s body, electrocuting him* *Breaks their lock by punching him away*

Jellal: *Recovers and readies himself for Laxus’s attack*

Cobra: Are they continuing this fight in mid air!?

Laxus: *Tries to punch Jellal, but misses when Jellal pulls back and dodges*

Jellal: *Kicks Laxus away* It’s time for the lightning to fall to earth! *places both hands on top of each other, with the top hand having only the index and middle fingers spread out.*

Laxus: *Falling* huh?

*Seven Magic seals then summoned in front of the Jellal and connect together to make what appears to be a constellation*

Jellal: Be judged by the seven stars… Grand Chariot!

*Each Magic seal then releases a powerful light blast down on Laxus, forming the same pattern on the ground before exploding.*

Meredy: That’s it, Jellal!

Laxus: *On the ground, starting to stand up*

Jellal: *Lands on the ground* I’ll finish it here! *bows down and points his hands downwards, with all the fingers closed except the index and middle fingers. He then begins to slowly move his right hand until it points upwards, causing the clouds above him to begin circling around, forming a cyclone as the skies darken*

Laxus: ?!

Midnight: This is the power he used to defeat us!

Jellal: This is the power to destroy Zeref, to break the darkness and avenge all those who have suffered in his name! True Heavenly Body Magic: Sema!

*From the center of the swirling formation, a glowing orb begins to form, growing in size until a humongous meteor emerges, falling to earth towards Laxus*

Laxus: *Looks up and begins to form a small ball of lightning in front of his mouth* I won’t lose here… I won’t be a burden for those I love... I won’t ever fall when the world is crumbling around me, not again! Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Raging Lightning Vortex! *Bites down on the ball of lightning charging in front of his mouth, then releases a large quantity of lightning from his mouth, the lightning moving in a tornado-like form*

Racer: He’s actually taking it head on!

*The Lightning Vortex clashes with the meteor. They both release insane amounts of pressure. The meteor final begins to crack and break apart along with the Lightning Vortex dissipating. The left over chunks of Sema began to fall over the grass land*

Racer: Damn they make more destruction than Zero!

Laxus & Jellal: *Panting*

Jellal: I had no idea… you had grown that strong…

Laxus: If you’re going to fight Zeref… Expect nothing less.

Meredy: They’re both incredible, but they have to both be at their limits!

Jellal: I’m almost out of magic… And I can see you are too…

Laxus: Yeah, so?

Jellal: Why don’t we hit each other with everything we have left!

Laxus: Alright. *Begins coating his fist in a huge amount of lightning*

Meredy: That’s the technique he used to defeat Jura, Roaring Thunder!

Jellal: *Focuses his all his Heavenly Body Magic into his fist, causing to glow and be enveloped in bright yellow light*

Angel: Woah! I can feel all that magic coming off of Jellal from here!

*The two continue to stare each other down and charge their magic. Lightning continues to build and crackle off of Laxus’s fist, while light begins to build and spiral around Jellal’s fist, looking reminiscent to a spiral galaxy. The two finally rush at each other and throw their punch, the clash of their fists begin releasing massive amounts of their magic*

Cobra: These two are beasts!

Hoteye: No, I know Jellal can win! His conviction is too great!

Racer: This guy has been keeping up with Jellal this whole fight, he might just take the win here!

Angel: Haven’t you been paying attention? Jellal’s been slamming this guy down with his heavenly body magic!

Midnight: But this, Laxus, has taken every attack that Jellal has thrown and pushed through!

Meredy: …

*The clash finally results in a large explosion, destroying the area around them. As the dust settles, both mages are still standing there, while in their punching positions*

Jellal: It’s time I end this! I knew I could match that power! Now all I have to do is… is… I can’t move! *Sparks coming off of his body*

Laxus: *Pulling back his free hand to throw another punch*

Jellal: How? How?!

Laxus: There was no doubt that you could’ve matched my Roaring Thunder, but even if you could stop the force of the attack, do you even know how much lightning passed through your body on contact?

Jellal: He was…

Laxus: *Delivers a decisive uppercut to Jellal, knocking him back*

Jellal: *While falling back* One step ahead of me! *Lands on the ground*

Crime Sociere: *shocked*

Jellal: I lost… *chuckles a little* I lost… *Starts to laugh* Ha ha, I’m not ready to kill Zeref yet! ha ha ha! *Stops laughing* Laxus…

Laxus: Don’t sell yourself short. You’re more powerful than I could’ve imagined. In a few months I have no doubt you could take a level even higher.

Jellal: I feel the same…

Laxus: you gave me one hell of a time. You reminded me that it only gets tougher here on out for a mage of this era, so I have a lot of training to do!

Hoteye: *Picks up Jellal*

Jellal: Maybe we’ll both fight Zeref together one day…

Laxus: Maybe…

Jellal: But now I must warn you, A new dark guild alliance is forming. All under the banner of Avatar…

Laxus: I guess we will be seeing each other in the future…

Jellal: *Smiles*

END

[shippostsandshitposts]

Day 4: Free Day

“Shoot, I’m late again.” Barry Allen swung his bag over his shoulder and burst through the front doors of S.T.A.R. Labs. “Mr. Allen.” Harrison Wells crossed his arms when the scientist came into the main room. “You’re almost a half an hour late.” “So sorry, Dr. Wells, it won’t happen again,” lied Barry, knowing full well he’d be late again tomorrow. “Dr. Snow is waiting for you in the lab.” Dr. Wells took another look at the papers in his hand. “Thank you Dr. Wells.” Barry grinned widely, almost running into a few of his colleagues on the way out. Once he got to the lab, Barry said hello to Dr. Caitlin Snow, his partner and secret crush. But he knew that Caitlin was about to be married to Ronnie Raymond, so he didn’t even have a sliver of a chance. Barry Allen had been a chemist at S.T.A.R. Labs for the past three years. That night, Dr. Harrison Wells’ famous particle accelerator was going online. He had been waiting for this moment since even before he worked here. Barry had to stay until the accelerator went online, but he was very excited to watch Dr. Wells life work be unleashed. “3, 2, 1, online!” The lab went into chaos, people cheering and jumping. Barry, always the wallflower, was hiding in the shadow, smiling to himself. After cleaning up his stuff, he slipped out the doorway, heading home. Barry didn’t own a car, so he walked from home to work every day. He was on his driveway when a deafening boom knocked him to the ground. Barry looked in the direction of S.T.A.R. Labs to see a giant mushroom cloud arising. “HOLY CRAP!” Barry shrieked. He scrambled to his feet, just as a golden lightning bolt smashed through the sky and shot him through the chest. “He likes this song,” said a faint voice Barry didn’t recognize. “How could you know that?” A woman’s voice replied. Caitlin. Barry struggled to open his eyes, and finally he saw the familiar silvery ceiling of S.T.A.R. Labs. He sat upright, startling Caitlin and a man that Barry remembered faintly. Was it Chris? I think it sounded like Chris. “Barry!” Caitlin let out a sigh of relief. “You’re finally awake!” “Caitlin, what the heck is going on?” Barry just noticed the tubes hooked up to his body. “And why am I all hooked up?” “You were struck by lightning, dude!” Chris said. “In a coma for nine months.” “NINE MONTHS?!” Barry shrieked, accidentally throwing some tubes off of his body. “Careful, Barry, we don’t know the side effects.” Caitlin pushed Barry back a bit. Don’t kiss her Allen, this isn’t the time. Come up with something... Barry turned to Cisco. “I know your face, but not your name. Who are you?” “I’m Cisco Ramon.” The man smiled, popping a lollipop that he apparently had in his hand back in his mouth. “Thank you.” Barry proceeded to pop the rest of the tubes off his body. “And yes, Caitlin, I’m being careful.” “Where do you think you’re going?” Caitlin asked as Barry tried to walk out the door. “Uh, home to see Joe and Iris. They’re probably worried sick.” Suddenly, Dr. Wells pulled around the corner in a wheelchair. “Welcome back to the land of the living, Mr. Allen. And Dr. Snow is right, you can’t leave yet. We need to run more tests.” “Thank you so much, Dr. Wells, but I have to go home!” “Very well. Come back tomorrow.” Dr. Wells gestured toward the door. “You might want to put a shirt on though.” Barry took a quick look down, and blushed. “Do you, uh, have anything I could wear?” After receiving a S.T.A.R. Labs sweatshirt, Barry started to walk home, but Caitlin’s hand on his shoulder stopped him. “At least let me stay with you to monitor your vitals.” Caitlin smiled faintly. Barry’s face went red. “Sure! Yeah, that’d be fine!”

[mentalrubikzcube-blog]

~Guide Me~ Ch. 1

A STORY I’M ACTUALLY CURRENTLY WORKING ON FOR MY BOOK CALLED GUIDE ME. LEMME KNOW WHAT YOU THIN :) ~Shae xoxo

Chapter One Rissa I sit here. In this dark, depressing, dimly lit cell. Thinking back to the events that had just transpired. How could this have happned? I had been so good at hiding it. So good at keeping it a secret. But then out of no where, my whole world was just ripped away from me. And now I sit here awaiting my death. Sitting here, hot tears streaming down my face. I knew what my fate was. But what was the fate of my lover, the fate of my dear friends, the fate of my only son? What would happen to them? Would I ever see them again? Would they ever see each other again? Finally the grief comsumed me and I just cried until I couldn't cry anymore. I slowly drifted off into a restless sleep. I could see it. I could see his face. My little Xavier. So young and so happy. So precious. He was held by his father, my lover, Nathan Felix, who went by Six. The only man I ever truly loved. They both stood under a blossoming dogwood tree.  The air was cool and fresh. The sky was painted with blues, purples, and oranges as the sun was setting. The grass underfoot was lightly damp.  I was rushing through the field to get to the two of them. I wanted nothing more then to kiss Felix and to hold Xavier. However, as I got closer, they got further away. So I began to run and as I picked up speed, they continued to get farther and farther away. But I did finally get close enough to reach my hand out to Xavier and as I did, so did he, but sadly right before our fingers could touch, a lightening bolt struck right between us. Scaring both of us. He drew back his tiny hand and  tucked his head into his father's shoulder and sobbed, likewise I snatched my hand back and as I did they both faded away. It was as if they blew away with the wind. I looked all around myself for them. But nothing. All I saw was lightning, all I heard was thunder, and the sky was completely pitch black. Then it began to rain, a complete down pour. I was so sad. All I could do was fall to the ground. Crying and sobbing hysterically. They were really gone. I would never see them again. Just then I heard a voice saying, "Are you Rissa?" I couldnt tell if it was in the dream world or if it was in the real world, until I heard it again more vividly this time. "Wake up, we only have a few minutes, you are Rissa Taylor, right?" Indeed I am. But more on this a little later. I want to explain how I ended up where I did, so you can better understand my predicament and why this dream was so hellish to me. It all began several years ago, when I was only 18. I was helping my father, who was a doorkeeper. He would go around helping people clear trash out of their homes and fields. Collecting things no one wanted and taking them back to my mothers shop. She sold repurposed things. It was a very lovely little store. New and Old right alongside each other. The only issue was, we were all constantly in danger because my mother ran a Reading Circle out of the back of the store. A Reading Circle is a place where people could come and discuss religious things and read from their Holy Books. In the world that we no lived in, freedom of speech and freedom of religion no longer exsisted. They did at one time but because people didn't protect their rights, they were stripped away from us. My mother stood behind her descision to have her Reading Circle even though it was very dangerous and could get us all executed. Though the idea did scare me at times, I supported my mother 100% and so did my father. We even joined in sometimes, if we didn't have that much garbage to clear that day. But one particular day we werent there while she hosted the Reading Circle and it was raided. Someone had tipped of The Head, our now government officals, and they sent Raiders to raid the shop and see if the rumors were true. They murdered everyone inside, leaving no survivors and the whole shop torn to pieces. When my father and I arrived back home after a long day the neighbors explained to us what had happened and even helped us clean up the shop and prepare a funeral for the fallen believers. I still couldn't believe that I had lost my mother. But I had to at some point move foreward and continue my job with dad and make sure that we could support our home without mom. There was another day that I was out picking up trash and debrie, this time I was all by myself. I was on my own because I wanted dad to sleep in and have a day off. Mom's death hit him even harder then me, and I would never truly know why until several years later. But on this particualr day I was loading the cart when a boy, NO, a man, walked past me and nearly took my breath away. He was goregous. Tall, Dark, and Handsome. He had beautiful blue eyes and flowing brownish black hair. He wore a shirt that showed off his upper body very well. As he walked away, he looked over his shoulder at me and ran his strong hand through his luscious hair. I dropped the bag I was holding and trash went everywhere. As I was picking it up a shadow was cast over me and when I looked up, it was the same guy. "Want some help?" he asked "Sure." I said, standing up quickly and brushing myself off "I'm Nathan, but you can call me Six." he said looking deep into my soul with his pulsing blue eyes. He threw the rest of the trash into the cart and then finished with a question, "Whats your name?" I stood there a moment, bewitched by his eyes, becoming lost in the blueness, like a ship lost at sea, but then suddenly snapped out of it and stuttered an answer, "Rrr-issa Rissa Taylor." "Oh." he replied, looking down at the ground I was confused by this, what was that suppose to mean. I had never done anything to tarnish my name or my family name, so why would he all of a sudden become closed off. "Oh?" I enquired, I had to know more "Sorry. When I heard your name, I remembered the article I read a couple days ago about the Circle Raid that happened in Unit 44. I'm sorry for your loss." he said, again looking at the ground I was shocked! I didnt know there had been an article. What did it say? Why was it written? Probably to heed people from Circle Readings. Trying to push forward their communist agenda through the tradgey of a lost life in a small family. I snapped back to the conversation and asked, "What all did it say?" "It just warned against illegal meetings and how people should only be reading materials The Head has distriputed. It went on to say that the loss of this woman, left behind a young girl and her father. The names were listed as Stephan Taylor and his daughter Clarissa "Rissa" Taylor. Thats how I knew who you were. Again I'm so sorry." The waeight of it all hit me right then and there. My mother was gone and it was all because of The Head and their stupid rules. If it hadnt been for all the laws, my mother could have done her Reading Circle without fear of death. But no The All Powerful Head couoldnt have that. She wasnt hurting anyone, she wasnt doing anything wrong. But no, they decided that she was too much of a threat, along with the others that had chosen to gather with her. Why was our world like this? I remembered peaceful days where my mother read to me out of her prayer book and we would sing songs and have a great time praising our Creator. But the only person we were to praise now was The Head. The same person who took my mother away and my father and I had to pick up the pieces of a raid that should have never happened. Not to mention the trauma it enflicted on both of us. My father was so heartbroken he could barely get out of bed and do his daily tasks. Even getting coffee in the morning had become a chore, because mother and him always use to share a cup so that the rations would last longer. This government had taken my freedom, my liberty, my rights, my pride, and now my mother! with tears welling up in my eyes I shouted, "No! No! No!" The man was a bit taken aback and asked, "Are you okay?" "No, they've taken everything from me, but they won't get away with it." I said, trying to wipe my eyes and compose myself before I completly lost it. "You hate The Head too?" he inquired, his eyes glued to me for my answer Oh crap! What if he was an undercover officer working for The Head, going around using his looks to by pass the walls built up by young girls to see who was for and against The Head and take them out without any big commotion coming from it. Had I just signed my death certificate? Honestly I didnt care if I had or hadnt, I was so fed up with this government and what they thought they could get away with. This was my life and I was going to live it how I saw fit. So I straightened myself up, wiped my eyes, looked him square in the face and stated confidently and boldly, "I hate The Head with every fiber of my being, and God willing I will take each and everyone of them down. And in so doing, make them feel the same agonizing pain I have felt for the last 18 years of my life." there was a moment of silence, if felt like that moment lasted a a thousand years, then out of no where a smirk spread across his face and he said, "Good. We need more like you if were ever gonna take these sons of whores down." and with that he pulled out a cigarrette and lit it, even offered it to me. And since that day I have never loved a man more then my dear Nathan Felix.