#like that gi hid nothing

[kindaasrikal]

Zane’s robitits definitely weren’t on my mind

And no i definitely haven’t used this pose on a badly drawn Morro sketch before neverrrrr

[ybklix]

you can be the boss

★ pairing: softdom!chrisbang x inexperiencedfem!reader part one / PART TWO

☆summary: The hot summer continues with more lies and uncontrollable experiences that you never know exactly how they will end.

✧ genre - warnings: MDNI 18+, smut, daddy kink, spanking, clitplay, fingering, cunnilingus, piv, pet names, multiple orgasms, tiny bit angst

word count: 8k

masterlist - taglist ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱₊˚⊹

It was either going to be a very long and beautiful summer or a fateful and hopeless one.

After that night your body was sore, it was only soft and sweet when you asked but upon asking him to do it fast there was no turning back. It was late at night and you both had to go back to your rooms as someone was waiting for you there when you woke up. Chris hugged and kissed you sweetly stroking your hair for a while until you could control yourself from something that seemed uncontrollable, your body destroyed but absolutely filled in pleasure and satisfaction, it had only happened once that you wanted to become addicted, his strong arms on your naked body made you think you always belonged there. Tormented you wondered why you had to meet him like this and not do it on your own, without him being involved in a compromising situation.

Chris looked at you fondly, all of you were struggling to recover and gently told you that you could discuss everything in the afternoon in his office, where most of the time Ruby won’t interrupt or bother him… and him mentioning her and you hearing her name, you almost came back to all your senses, wanting to tell and reproach yourself what you had done, what were you thinking having sex with your aunt’s boyfriend but… once again, being wrapped in his arms those questions and blames were meaningless, you liked Chris and he was treating you very well, you didn’t understand what was wrong with that.

And then, something that excited you slightly again but you hid it in a soft smile, Chris whispering sweetly to you:

“I want to try so many things with you. I’ll make you feel so good.”

You weren’t that naive, but when it came to Chris you suddenly became just that. You were so excited about all the things he could do to you and everything you could do with him -and his big cock-, you never thought you’d find yourself in a situation where you were actually incredibly horny. However you were also a little disappointed that your horniness won you over completely, enough to cheat like that on a woman who has been nothing but nice to you since she met you and opened you up to her family, as much as to trust you and show you her new boyfriend which this time she was hopeful and excited about, and to have unprotected sex with him. You wanted to self-manipulate, convincing yourself that the pill would work its magic and you would be more aware next time, not to stop fucking Chris, just doing it with protection next time, you just couldn’t stop now you had him.

The next morning you avoided everyone’s gaze, you felt too dirty and embarrassed to even look at Liv, for as much as she said she would love to fuck Chris, she would never do it and it was just a little joke, instead you, took the little jokes to another level, he had a girlfriend and was someone you knew very closely.

Still there was a force that drew you to him, and there you were, going to his office in a very strategic and hidden room in his house at the end of that hallway. Ruby started a pilates class and Minho was going to distract Liv, the details of which Chris wanted to avoid in knowing how he would do it. Chris confessed to him a little ashamed of what had happened and of the words that suddenly came out of his mouth that night, he might have been a little drunk but he remembered every detail of what had happened a few hours ago, which he was grateful for, he had never felt like that before. Minho encouraged him a little, telling him that if it was you who he really wanted, that breakups exist for a reason with no problem, that Ruby was his girlfriend of just months and they didn’t in itself have a wedding plan, at least not for Chris, while he also told him that he felt slightly guilty, he always had different sexual partners at the same time, but when he was in a relationship it was common sense that he was devoted to that person, but now, it just seemed to change.

Now he was in his office, sitting on the couch, with his ankle on his thigh, one hand on his mouth and one on his thigh, waiting for you, in a pensive mode. His mind was spinning, thinking what would be the ideal thing to do, he was immensely fond of Ruby, but all he could think of was the also immense desire he had to meet you, something about you appealed to him so much, he wanted you for himself.

His mind didn’t seem to be quiet until you appeared there, standing in front of his door, locking the door so as not to be interrupted. You smiled at him and he returned the gesture immediately; you watched him, he looked incredibly dominant in that position, with his index and middle finger wagging in indication for you to approach him, in contrast to his soft, sweet expression, with his eyes sparkling at the sight of you dressed comfortably in a white ruffled skirt and a thin strappy blouse of the same color with a cute little cherries print detail on it.

Chris lowered his leg and looked at you with fascination as you stood nearby, raising his eyes.

“Hey,” you greeted shyly with a smile, about to not do such a shy act.

You leaned on his shoulders and settled on top of him, facing each other. Chris smiled and quickly grabbed you by the waist. He took a closer look at you, you were wearing a thin silver necklace, earrings and no bra, Chris could see how slightly your soft nipples were marked on the fabric of your blouse and his mind quickly thought that you were most likely just wearing your panties under your skirt, turning him on in seconds, but before touching you, he wanted to talk a little serious.

“Hey my babygirl” he returned your greeting, to which you softly bit your lip as you finally heard his voice.

The image of him and your weak body being taken and fucked lived in your mind forever, exciting every inch of you, you wanted to do it every time and this time you didn’t want to have to share it with another woman.

Chris sighed a little frustrated, confusing you a little.

“What’s wrong, Chris?” you asked him genuinely concerned.

The answer was obvious, you were on his lap, at his disposal and more than agreeable to him taking you and doing with you whatever he wanted, but you were a guest in his house, and niece of his girlfriend; about to fuck behind her back while the poor woman wasn’t home. Chris tightened his grip on your waist and began to caress your thighs, thinking it wasn’t fair, to anyone, but you had absolutely not a drop of blood in your young body that tied you to Ruby and god, Chris could see how different the two of you were. You has this power over him, there was something about you that drove him crazy in seconds and yesterday he only discovered a part of it, but he was still trying to figure it out because… how he confessed he liked you just days after meeting you and normally it wasn’t something he would do, he was a righteous guy who knew himself very well, he knew he would never go for women that young and he had never cheated in his relationships, but there you were, looking at him so sweetly that you made him melt with your delicate body on his.

But looking directly into his eyes changes everything about him, you make him go from one emotion to another in seconds and he loves that. Your look so mischievous yet innocent, he wanted to destroy every part of your body and then hold you tightly until he felt every beat of your heart close to him. He wanted that little part of you to never end, it was enough with the slightest thing to fall before you, Chris just needed a sign, and you gave it to him so divinely.

“Y/n” he spoke seriously, capturing your attention completely, “I meant what I said last night, I can still remember everything” you looked at him confused and then your cheeks started to heat up, as you immediately thought about the little sentence he suddenly blurted out and you didn't want to make a big deal out of it, because deep down you could believe that it was just about sex and a part of you was fine with that, as much as you wanted everything with Chris, “…I do like you and I’d like to get to know you better” he finished sweetly.

You couldn’t help but smile broadly with satisfaction and shifted slightly more on his lap like a happy little girl getting good news. His caresses became more consistent Chris loved touching every part of you and he smiled back at you, watching you tenderly.

You watched him, every part of him was a dream, you liked him too from the first moment you saw him, you never thought it would all be so fast and end up consuming you viciously.

“I like you too” you replied, but a silence that was short seconds but somehow seemed longer came over you, “… but, what shall we do now?” your question was so genuine and came out naturally, almost making you look innocent.

“Don’t worry” he whispered softly as he saw your slight frown and your lips in a soft pout, Chris wanted to kiss them and the fact that he could now do it whenever he wanted to, but unfortunately only on the sly, made his insides burn, “We just met at a weird time in our lives. I’ll wait these next few weeks for when your family-, her family leaves and I’ll break up with her.”

Chris said it so matter-of-factly that you were shocked by the fact that he was going to leave her but a part of you was so glad that… he was going to leave her for you. Still, after so many fantasies that finally came true the slight guilt came to you, Chris noticed, you were with your own war of emotions, whether to feel happy, guilty, confused; you over thought the fact that if he was unfaithful to Ruby and if he starts dating you, maybe he could do the same, you didn’t know what to feel, but Chris only returned to hold you tighter, you looked so cute thinking, to him.

“It’ll be all right, really. We’ll get to know each other more and I’ll be here for you” he commented, smiling as his hands traveled dangerously to massage your ass.

You decided to shove the thoughts away and focused on him, as you nodded softly, sticking your body more towards him unconsciously, ready to be kissed, but Chris came closer to your ear, with his body full of arousal and with a husky voice he whispered, following his hot game that put you in such a uniquely horny mode:

“Daddy’s here for you, baby doll. I’ll make you happy, my pretty baby. I’ve got everything under control, so don’t worry. Do you trust me?”

You stood still, listening intently to every word that came out of his attractive mouth with his also attractive voice and shuddered in seconds, making your poor inexperienced pussy and emotions throb to the surface. Chris slowly pulled away from you with a cocky grin and raising his eyebrows waiting for a response from you, licking his lips as he watched you wanting to hide your excited expression and feeling your body giving in to him and his caresses, you were already slightly trembling and he was barely squishing your ass with his big hands.

“Yes daddy” you tried to speak normally as you were dying to kiss him.

Chris nodded softly, losing himself with his hands on your body, caressing everything and making his arousal rise, stiffening his cock at the thought of having you again, with the taste in his mouth that every encounter with you would be better than the last. It would surpass every expectation in him.

He squeezed your ass again, his hands traveling from your thighs to under your skirt, pulling your body into him and squeezing hard making you sigh in surprise.

“You’re a naughty little doll, why are you only wearing panties under your skirt, huh? Is it for daddy or do you go around teasing daddy’s friend too?” Chris spoke again seductively teasing you, raising his eyes and chin to look at you since you were slightly taller being on his lap.

You blinked in confusion, understanding that he meant Minho, to which you quickly denied.

“No daddy, just for you.”

Chris smiled again, licking his lips and biting his lower lip, his large hands took your buttocks almost in their entirety and played with your skin, massaging and spreading them apart, pushing the fabric of your panties further between your folds and making you bite your lip to keep from letting out a moan.

“Is my baby all excited to have her daddy, isn’t she?” he spoke amused, playing with his tongue on the inside of his mouth and you nodded somewhat exasperated.

You were slowly losing patience, your heart was pounding and your pussy was so wet and slippery from your constant lubrication, you needed him again so badly and him talking slightly dirty referring to him as daddy only helped in making you more restless, fantasizing about being more than filled again with his massive cock.

“Stand up a little… like this, on your knees, good girl” he ordered taking you by the waist so that you lifted your body still over him.

Chris quickly pulled down your panties leaving them halfway down your thighs and making you gasp, he boldly eyed your body and lifted your skirt a moment to lose his sight on your open pussy, with your knees on either side of his thighs, biting his lip at the sight of your mons venus and your slightly visible labia. Chris’s cock throbbed trapped in his pants and he grunted subtly. You watched him, with your hands on his shoulders and looking down at him from above, weak and quivering full of sexual energy ready to be slowly released by your new lover.

He brought his fingertips to your pussy, gently brushing your length, shuddering every inch of your body and contracting your body, Chris found himself absorbed in the sight of your pussy, but as he felt your body spasming over his, he quickly raised his gaze to your face. And he left your pussy, wet and exposed to direct his hands to your torso, stroking it up and down until he slowly pulled up your blouse and you let him remove it, tossing it carefree to the side.

The whole process was so hot and slow, your body couldn’t contain it, you were going to explode with excitement if that was even possible, you felt incredibly impatient but at the same time you were enjoying every little moment and new sensation in you.

Chris’ face was almost level with your bare breasts which he watched with fascination but didn’t touch, making your nipples hard at everything you were waiting for, waiting to be touched by him on every part of you.

“Babygirl, take off your skirt for me, come on, let me touch you better” he commented, staring into your eyes.

You sighed and stood up, standing in front of him, about to slide your skirt off until he interrupted again.

“Do it slow, show me everything that is mine that I can’t wait to have…”

His voice ignited everything about you and you did your best to obey him, swaying your hips seductively as you slid off your skirt until you let it fall to the floor; you noticed how Chris indicated for you to come closer and you did, he by himself slid your panties completely off, finally leaving you naked.

“Fuck” he whispered with a noticeable pain in his cock at not being released and attended on, “Come here again, princess, just as you were.”

You smiled happily, once you were naked there was no turning back, you knew he could do with you whatever he wanted and pleased. You positioned yourself again and the first thing he says to you, sweetly is:

“Kiss me now, baby doll.”

You didn’t know why you felt particularly nervous about that request when you were already naked on top of him with his hands on your waist. You again held him tightly by his shoulders and leaned into him, closing your eyes and in search of an act as intimate and necessary for both of you as kissing was. You intertwined your lips making the act so slow and fiery, hearing in the silence of the room your heavy breaths and your mouths colliding, you gently moved your body with excitement as you enjoyed Chris’ hands on you, from your thighs to moving up your waist and massage your breasts, today you were being touched with attention and care without taking a second off him, tasting his tongue and lips while you gently tilted your head to adapt to his delightful pace.

Your body was losing strength and you wrapped your arms around his neck, stroking his hair, giving in to the most sensual make out session that made your skin tingle, but you regained all your energy when you felt his right hand caress your pussy wrapping around your ass. You parted and Chris saw you with a smile as your face was starting to be a mess, flushed, with your lips swollen and trying not to be so obvious that you were loving the feel of his fingers touching your cunt.

Chris with his long fingers found your sensitive spot, taking it with his middle and index finger while his thumb played with your labia and kept teasing your entrance. You shuddered again, sighing softly as he enjoyed teasing you. Chris panted, his erection again was bothering him as it was so tight in his pants, but he didn’t want to move until he was making you enjoy yourself fully, playing with your clit and teasing your entrance with his thumb, inserting it shallowly and moistening it to move it to your sensitive, throbbing labia. You were enjoying them more and more, relaxing your body and letting yourself be pleasured by him, Chris bit his lip and continued to work on your pussy slowly, in a wonderful rhythm that made all your hairs stand on end, he was doing it so well, but he was so incredibly aroused that in slightly awkward movements he returned to kissing your skin, trapping your breast in his mouth, enjoying the sensation of having his mouth busy and his fingers making you feel good, almost you trembling before him.

He gently sucked on your nipple causing you to shiver, you were being a mess of excitement just now as his lips continued to stick to your skin, leaving little marks to finally raise his gaze again and watch you struggle to stay calm, but you couldn’t. Chris drew a big smile on his face again, he caressed your naked torso with his free hand before suddenly starting to spank you and squeezing your buttock, stimulating you further.

You moaned from the impact of his hand with your ass, his smacks were more pleasurable than painful and left your skin tinged red so you groaned in surprise every time you received them; Chris was starting to change the pace and get a little wilder with his movements on your pussy which was bringing you closer to your orgasm, making you restless and pushing you to your limit. He just watched your panting body with amusement, his hand kept slapping your ass and squeezing the injured area, flinching each time, he finally stopped spanking you, to bring the fingers of that hand to your entrance, he raised his eyebrows, almost warning you that he was about to insert them into you, making you gasp loudly, even his fingers were filling you so perfectly. Chris pushed his fingers into your tight entrance, biting his lip as he explored your insides causing his cock to throb with more intensity, so close to his climax in his pants.

His hand kept attending to your sensitive clit at the same time the other was frantically acting on your core bringing your climax closer. You whimpered softly at being touched so strategically, weakening you, straining your muscles so close to your culmination.

“Oh c’mon, are you gonna cum?” his voice thickened and seemed more demanding than a question.

You nodded with difficulty, your body was filling with an incredible knot that you had never felt so intensely before Chris and that only he was capable of achieving in you. He moved his fingers in you harder, reaching to a sweet spot in your inside making you unable to hold back anymore and you released in an orgasm, cumming out into his hand; you had no idea how he accomplished it but your body reacted that way, embarrassing you a little as you faded into the incredible sensation of your climax.

“Oh, sweetie, you made a mess” he said again, looking at you with pity and tenderness.

You didn’t think you were capable of doing something like that so your cheeks grew warm.

“I’m sorry” you suddenly got shy, after being the one to first seek him out in the first place, sneaking up to where he was and proposing something indecent to him, just a few hours ago in the late hours of the night.

Chris let out a chuckle, licking his lips as he pulled his fingers out of you.

“It’s okay. Good girl” he said contentedly elongating his words, “Now sit down and let daddy clean up the mess you left, my pretty baby.”

You looked up at him with tired eyes and felt his hands on your waist and his body move; Chris left you sitting on the couch as he got on his knees in front of you, spreading your legs apart with his hands and you were extremely sure of what he was going to do. His mouth moved to your pussy, pulling your body towards him to better settle in, you sighed, once again excited at what awaited you as with him it was a continuous series of thrills and new experiences that you never wanted to end.

He stared into your eyes as his mouth and tongue caught your clit, you bit your lip to keep from bursting out a little squeal, you were so excited but at the same time you were thinking about more people around his house. Chris sucked on your clit and did it harder intentionally as he felt his aching cock spurting out his cum, indicating that he had reached his first climax just by touching you and tasting a little bit of you. Chris loved touching you in spots that stimulated you enough to shudder, he could play with you all day long. You gasped at your clit being foreplayed sizzlingly and Chris continued with his face shoved in your pussy, licking the entire length of your labia and stimulating you to perfection until he made you arch your back, once again you both found yourselves incredibly horny, you were so wet, enjoying every second until he spoke again:

“I want you to ride my cock, princess, I think your pretty pussy is ready, hmm” he suddenly warned, pulling away from you and leaving you exasperated, he had just left you very lubricated and aroused.

Chris stood up, still well erect despite having cum, he wasn’t going to be satisfied until he used your pussy, putting his big bulge in his crotch on sight for your sore eyes, you looked at him eagerly and your mouth salivated as he did the so dirty hot act with his big veiny hands, which you lost your sight in them, unable to believe they were those attractive big hands touching you; Chris unbuttoned his pants and took them off along with his underwear to reveal his incredible cock already covered in his own cum and wiggling as if it was such a natural thing for him, and he fell back on the couch, sighing tiredly, but more than alive, ready for you to take him with effort.

You sighed half-heartedly and nervously that it would be your first time riding a cock and all you could think was that you wanted to make it the best for Chris and that he wouldn’t regret being the one you chose.

“Mmm… Daddy do you have a condom?”

He smiled at you, “Smart baby. They’re in the second drawer of my desk.”

You were so nervous, the condom was almost an excuse to generate time. Chris watched you tenderly as you reached for the condom and shyly walked a few steps naked into his office. Finally you returned to position yourself on his lap, he looked so relaxed and dominant with his stiff erect cock, watching in detail and tenderness every action you made as Chris had a dirty fantasy of destroying your pussy and the innocence you suddenly radiated.

“Mmm, fuck baby, wrap it on me now, please” he gasped slightly desperate.

You on the other hand wanted to keep acting as natural as possible without him being able to tell you had never done it before. Still, Chris could read you so easily and watched as you opened the wrapper with uncertainty. He licked his lips, gently biting his tongue as he was being attacked for controlling his urges, his urge to take you desperately and fuck you. Chris sucked air between his teeth and tilted his head, giving you his patience as he watched in detail what you were doing, to finally you place it so nicely, unwrapping it down his length and making him sigh which got your attention and you looked into his eyes, almost expecting to be approved but he saw your hands on his cock and then stared at you.

Chris almost in a reflex placed his hand on your cheek, holding you gently and looking at you tenderly, his eyes dark with desire but bright with the incredible feeling you made him sense, he involved feelings and there was nothing he could do, his heart was pounding in his chest and all he could think about was you.

“Alright, babygirl, take me” he sighed aroused and genuinely excited to have you close to him and for you to finally work on his cock.

You sketched a smile, sexual excitement took over your body and your pussy reacted by throbbing every muscle in it, almost screaming to be filled by him.

You took his hard penis almost halfway down his length, wrapped in the thin latex, and lifted your body, lining up your entrance at his tip and letting your body fall, you both made your respective sounds on the spot, you whimpered holding back, trying to adjust to his size stretching every part of you, and Chris for his part grunted again in relief, sucking air between his teeth, so pleased to feel his cock shoved into your soft, wet core, so deep and squeezing his member, almost smothering it in an infuriatingly pleasurable sensation.

“Ahh ah, you’re so big, daddy, fuck” you babbled in pain, dropping your body lower and lower until you caught his cock completely and enveloped it all over your newly used and pleasured —and slightly shattered— tight conduct, just for him.

Chris hummed in satisfaction and you stood still for a second, catching your breath, getting used to the new sensation of his big cock inside you, and watched him, he looked so fucking handsome, waiting with a sweet but penetrating look for you to move on your own in him; you inspected him and became more aroused at the thought of seeing him naked too as he had a dream body, to which you almost in a whisper asked him:

“Daddy, take it off too” you said, tugging at his shirt.

Chris giggled, “Whatever my baby asks, who wants to see her daddy all to herself.”

You subtly bit your lip and watched as carefully that he didn’t bump into you, Chris raised his strong arms, pulled off his shirt, and tossed it carelessly to the side. You saw his body brazenly, his prominent and marked pecs and abdomen, he was all a dream your sex throbbed again already with his cock inside. Chris smiled small and shyly, as he watched your delicate hands pass in comparison to his upper limbs, caressing with fascination his biceps area where on his slightly pale skin his veins were visible and bulging, you squeezed them a little and, in a gasp you pressed his chest to yours, wrapping your arm around the back of his neck, joining your ear to his cheek while with your other hand, you rested on one of his pecs, with some struggling but incredibly full of pleasure and inner fire, you began to move on his cock, causing both of you to moan.

Chris quickly wrapped his forearm around your ass, leaving his hand on your hip. The other one hugged you from your back, pulling you closer to his body, crushing your breasts into his chest and intensifying each deep thrust you had as he lifted your body and ass, sliding his great length in and some of it out until he found a rhythm between some pain, struggles, and ragged breaths. Your insides were squeezing his cock like they had never been before and Chris kept fantasizing about the fact that maybe the concept of innocence he had of you exceeded his expectations. Chirs was being fucking sweetly tortured, he was panting, seeing stars, lost with his chin on your shoulder inhaling your scent, and listening to every sweet moan of your adored body, he was being pleasured and stimulated to the limit.

“Ahh fuck, my babygirl, you feel sso fucking good, I fucking adore your tight pussy, ooh-my—, you’re doing great."

You were a mess, moaning in his ear as your frail body was being supported by Chris’ strength, moving your body up and down, in motions rubbing your whole pussy inside his cock and almost splitting you in two at the intense new sensation. You loved his moans close to your ear and the notorious pumping veins of his sex throbbing inside you. Chris slowly released you from his strong grips that left marks on your skin from the pressure delivered and massaged your ass and then placed his hands on your hips, he now being the one to enjoy his private show of you bouncing on his cock. You understood his action and intention instantly, so using all your strength and common senses, you began to move on him, with frantic and imperfectly persistent movements, you slid his length into your walls leaving you sweetly sore but after a while your poor pussy adapted to perfection, hearing your skins bump as you reached deep from time to time with his latex covered glans tickling your cervix, along with awkward and tender sporadic kisses. After minutes of whimpering, you were so close to your orgasm as well as he was, whose cock had been pumped and foreplayed just enough, Chris was about to explode in his second orgasm also filling the whole damn condom, but he noticed you stopped a moment, tired, when he wouldn’t even let you recover for a second, just like last night; Chris was always going to make sure to make you cum, beg and rejoice in pleasure, of that you could be sure.

“Aw, is my pretty baby tired? Let daddy take care of you, I’ll make you cum.”

His words rocked you, he spoke to you in exactly the same tone of voice as last night, whispering to you that he still wasn’t done with you after your body was exhausted and he continued to unload his energy into you, using you for pleasure, filling you with it too in the process.

Chris braced himself, his strong right arm went back around your back and his left hand held your buttock, you stayed still, he held you still, waiting for his next move and pulling your body off a little to see his concentrated face and then he began to lift his hips, collapsing his pelvis intensely and rapidly into your skin, making the act so hectic, desperate and sonorous. Chris gasped in pleasure, filling his body with his near orgasm and your breathless whimpers each time he rammed hard and deep into your pussy leaving you shocked, his thrusts were desperate but coordinated in a pace that weakened you and left you out of breath. His big length was sliding inside you without mercy, he had an exquisite control of his body and was strong enough to hold you while he kept penetrating you, moving your insides, pushing your cervix more and more, you felt your guts being brutally moved and that made you incredibly horny somehow.

You whimpered louder as you felt yourself being brutally pounded, filling the room with a bestial and erotic scene, your weak body surrendered to him, begging for the pleasure that suddenly filled every inch, with your moans, his babbling and your skins collapsing in the background. If anyone came near Chris’ office door they could be an audible witness to the grotesque sounds of the two of you.

“Shh shh, babygirl, keep a little quiet, okay? Just today baby, remember we’re not alone” Chris mumbled panting, turning you on more at the thought of fucking him secretly.

You bit your lip hard, almost making it bleed, your face and hair were a mess as was the rest of your satisfied and aching body. Your exposed breasts rubbed against his pecs hardening your nipples as your body moved intensely. Chris licked his lips, running the tip of tongue naughtily across his upper lip savoring your sweet orgasm as he felt your walls squeeze him hard, you endured quite a few hard thrusts from Chris, sweetly destroying your pussy, you endured enough to collapse into him, hugging him tightly and clenching his torso with your bent thighs and falling into an intense climax.

Chris smiled satisfied and proud and rammed your tired body a couple more times until he made himself cum inside you, this time in the condom.

You were both shaken and tired, without the slightest hint of guilt in your system, only lust and desire for each other, sharing ragged breaths, with your exhausted body on top of him, and your face resting on his muscular shoulder.

Chris stroked your back again, moving up to caress your hair, feeling your breath on his chest.

After a few moments he dared to speak:

“I’m sorry we have to do it here, you really deserve the best, babygirl.”

His words touched your heart and you played with his slightly curly hair at the back of his neck. Just thinking about him.

[…]

The rest of your weeks were just as hot as the exasperating weather. And you both came up with a plan, where you convinced your dad to leave Chris’ house a few weeks early, with the excuse that you had been selected for a few courses before the new semester started and you had to have accessibility to your university as soon as possible, to which your dad and Dahlia agreed to leave instantly without hesitation, arguing that your education was of the utmost importance, plus the only reason they were there was because you were having fun with Liv, once you left, Liv would soon ask her mother to leave too, since it would be pointless to stay there without you, besides Minho, but it was going to look too obvious that she wanted to stay. Then Minho would leave without a problem. You guys leaving would left Chris and Ruby alone, in an environment where Chris could finally break up with her.

And so they did, it was a very big break up for Ruby, but you didn’t want to know the details so you didn’t comment on it, let alone didn’t want to hear it from Chris, yet you heard it in the foreground from Liv, texting you and saying a bit apologetically: I really feel bad for her, she looked a bit delusional. Ruby was devastated, wondering if she had done something wrong or if suddenly inviting her family had been too soon and if it secretly irritated him, she really didn’t want to leave Chris, but she had noticed him distant at his house for a while now and always brought up as an excuse that he didn’t feel private enough to fuck her when previously he could do it with her so rashly wherever, they used to be so hot and close and a few days into spending the summer at his house everything about him suddenly changed.

You felt bad but you forgot about it once your dad bought the story of going back to college and, while they thought you were studying those weeks before your real semester started, you spent all your time with Chris going on all kinds of dates and exploring each other’s bodies, discovering more and more new and exciting positions and emotions you never thought you’d be able to experience this soon.

Things were going pretty well, he treated you like a princess, he showered you with gifts and each time he took you to different places to end the day in a fiery and exquisite sex, to start it the same way when you went to stay at his apartment, where it was your new meeting place as you felt that his summer home after all was… even though it was alone, you felt that there were ghosts, some better than others, of you and Chris having fun around his house sneaking around every corner you saw alone, but that there was also present a painful breakup along with the broken heart of a woman who should not have ended up like this. There were nights when, after culminating in an intense orgasm, you tried to recover in Chris’ arms, with your face on his chest feeling his heavy breathing and you could only think and think… that maybe the one who should be there was not you, but if you were not with Chris what sense would your life have, since he gave it a new meaning.

But it all got a little complicated when you were quietly shopping with Chris as he swore he was going to cook for you something delicious. You never thought he was that much of a homely guy, but he was, he was sweeter and softer than you thought and he had a soft spot for you, everything you said he would deliver, so you wanted to stop going to restaurants for a moment and enjoy his company in a sweet and silly moment together cooking. Plus you had gone back to college and the first week of classes was already getting on your nerves, but your very kind man who knows exactly what to do with you was going to take that weight and stress off your shoulders by having a nice time and then letting the situation take care of itself.

Grocery shopping was not much in fitting with Chris' image, however he, sweetly leaned over to put his chin on your shoulder, watching you debate over which can to take, to which he pointed to the one you were holding in your left hand, causing you so much tenderness at his closeness and smell, however you were heavily interrupted as you heard such a familiar voice that he instantly recognized.

“Chris?” she spoke.

He cursed internally and had no choice but to face her, turning around and finding his ex-girlfriend. Ruby took a confused look at your silhouette with your back turned, you looked so familiar to her but she wasn’t thinking straight as she realized Chris was already with someone else.

“Hey, Ruby. What are you doing here?” he greeted, falsely happy with a smile, more uncomfortable about the situation.

You were curious as soon as his name was called, but you remembered something else from shopping that you stood there, returning the can you held in your right hand and putting the other one in the shopping cart. But hearing Chris say her name you almost broke out in a cold sweat… you guessed the moment would come but you didn't imagine it would be so fast, you sighed thinking about how you had to face it and the world would move on just the same after your meeting and she finds out you're with Chris, move on so unimportantly it would just be an awkward afternoon and you'll still be with Chris afterwards.

“I like coming here since you recommended it to me. I see you're already in company” she said again, in a fake animated tone.

Ruby noticed him nervous, not knowing how to evade the situation, feeling bad that maybe he didn't even want to see her. But it was true, it was Chris' favorite place to buy his groceries and he had shown it to his ex-girlfriend too because it was so commonplace to him. Big mistake for her, although deep down she hoped that one day she could meet Chris alone and from there keep talking, but in her imagination there was a scenario where he was by himself.

Ruby was dying of curiosity to know who the girl was that Chris was so smitten with with his body attached to hers from behind. It all happened in quick seconds even though it seemed like tormenting hours of suspense. She never thought he would break up with her because there was someone else, it had barely been weeks and he seemed to be over her already.

“Yeah, well…” commented Chris.

You acted fast, turning around with grace that even made you look attractive and revealing your face, she got the immense and indescribable surprise that it was you. Her blood pressure dropped from her body, of all people she never expected to see you.

“Ah, hi Ruby, I ran into Chris too” you said trying to sound so natural, sketching a smile.

Ruby's world stopped for a second and you didn't have to be stupid enough to believe the obvious lie, you were together, there was no doubt about it. She had just watched as Chris positioned himself behind your body confidently, his hand gently on your waist and hunching down to let his chin rest on your shoulder.

She blinked in puzzlement, formulating all sorts of thoughts and ideas in seconds that made her uneasy, how was it that something suddenly came up between you, if you met when she introduced you, or so she wanted to believe, she thought about the possibility that you had met before, and the possibility of infidelity, but Ruby wanted to believe you, thinking that maybe you started right after their separation, it still seemed foolishly ridiculous and so soon.

“Why would you come here? The university is all the way across the city and you don't live nearby” was all she could say.

She read both of your expressions, tense and not knowing what to do.

“It's a trendy place…” you replied, to which Chris sighed.

“Are you two together? Since when?” she spoke a little beaten, anger filling her body.

Now she was judging you with her eyes, she was no longer a sad, blank stare, she wanted to kill you both.

“It was after we broke up” Chris answered him.

Your heart stopped for a moment as you finally heard his confession. You weren't exactly together, but you were exclusive to each other and did all sorts of activities.

Ruby smiled incredulously and unwilling to listen, she said:

“Sure, the thirty-something guy changes the woman close to his age for someone younger. Good luck with that.”

She walked away, glaring at you, she was unwilling to hear more about an affair with a college girl that seemed ridiculous to her, she thought you wouldn't last and that Chris was just using you to satisfy himself sexually and rejoice in your youth and slight innocence. She even felt bad for you, she was still devastated.

At first it was that for Chris but he was genuinely interested in you, putting aside everything that was once he established for himself: do not date young women because they were still immature and naive, including some who still relied heavily on their parents, which he was fine with, but moderately so.

You felt bad and judged, it was obvious that Chris was older and more mature than you, but he understood you so well, he treated you and made you feel good, besides people after thirty were not an retired old man, why judge you that way.

Chris didn't mind Ruby at all and turned to see you, noticing your crestfallen expression, he knew that by publicly walking around together at some point in your lives someone was going to notice.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” he whispered to you.

To which you nodded and evaded him by excusing yourself with finishing grocery shopping. On the way there he saw you just as pensive; Chris decided to talk gently to you, but he didn't know what your reaction would be so he didn't want to do it in the car in case the conversation escalated and could turn into your first argument. He wanted his attention completely on you and driving would affect that.

You helped him bring down the groceries once you got to his apartment and on the way in the elevator you sighed. You never cared what others might say but today in particular it affected you a little, enough that you didn't speak to Chris the whole time.

You left the groceries on the marble countertop and picked up your cell phone wanting to distract yourself a little. Chris sighed, walked over to you putting his hands on your waist and made you look at him with a:

“Hey, look at me” your eyes met his, everything about him was your weakness, suddenly you were shaking, “We both knew this was going to happen, we just didn't know when and it was going to be unexpected. Don't care what people think, I'm here with you… do you want to stay here with me?”

You looked him in the eye the whole time. You literally didn't care the first time you had sex with him, you were a virgin and he had a girlfriend… you didn't know why hardly the guilt was falling on you as he was finally single and only for you. It all made sense when you felt him close to you.

“Yes, I'm with you” you replied, “I'm sorry.”

Chris smiled sideways, “You don't have to apologize.”

You were slightly overwhelmed between the fact that someone like Chris was taking you seriously, you really thought at first that with him it would be purely sexual, but he knew how to balance it so well, he would say the right words to you and then make you feel so fucking good, always in command of the situation.

You noticed him getting close to your face and received his kiss, just when you needed it so badly to be able to calm down a little, you really went back to your state of mind where you didn't care what they said, he was for you and you wanted him and he made you feel like it was reciprocated. He was the best. You left your cell phone on the counter and kept kissing him.

You thought for short seconds that it was going to be a fleeting kiss but he intensified it, bringing his body more closely to yours and kissing you more carefully and passionately. As he slowly pulled away from you, he licked his lips, he watched you with desire and bright eyes appreciating every part of your face now more animated and enlightened, compared to a few moments when you were slightly sad. He was more than happy to make you feel good and that you were still the same sweet woman that caught his attention a few weeks ago at his summer house, so willing to him and with clear thoughts of being able to have him.

“They don't know how fucking good you make me feel” he blurted out suddenly in a tone you know so well.

Chris was excited, thinking he would remove every negative feeling from your adoring body with his discharge of sexual energy he had for you. And he knew you were going to love every part of the process as you always end up doing, so he was quick to slide his hands under your blouse and kiss your neck, you wanted to tell him so many things, you wanted to whisper to him how much you liked what he was doing but you were engrossed in the new sensations.

Your heart pounded, you saw his slightly mischievous smile before his kisses traveled down your neck, warming your body and driving you crazy at the feel of his lips and nose on your skin, any slightest thing from Chris turned you on in seconds it was breathtaking. You closed your eyes enjoying yourself as his hands squeezed your body, thinking he was starting something you both know very well and you were excited to find out what Chris' next command to you would be. However, just as your docile bodies warmed up, a call to you distracted you, your cell phone was ringing and ringing at the kitchen island, you whispered to Chris to ignore it and continue with his lips on you but the call didn't seem to go away and was persistent, so Chris somewhat annoyed and disappointed persuaded you to pick up, followed by a sigh and removing his hands from your skin. You also sighed in annoyance and tried to sound calm when you were in an incredibly horny mood.

Chris rested his hand on the edge of the counter, waiting for you to finish your call but your expression upset him a little; it was your mother who was asking you where you were and that she didn't understand why your father was hysterical, mentioning a man named Chris, you rolled your eyes, the last thing you wanted was for a scene to form, but it was inevitable. After the call with your mother, you received countless messages from Liv that you were afraid to even look at, messages from your father prohibiting you from seeing Chris, it was a lot to process, so he let out a soft, concerned:

“Is everything okay? Is something wrong?”

You had fallen silent, staring raptly at your cell phone. You sighed as you listened to Chris and put your cell phone on silent mode, completely ignoring the big problem that was forming and that you believed with your being that they would soon get over it, since there was nothing wrong, you saw nothing wrong, you loved him and he loved you and you planned to stay like that for a while, enjoying and learning every single thing with him.

You shook your head, smiling and taking a few steps so you could hug him and wrap your arms around his neck. Chris could sense something was wrong but feeling your closeness instantly calmed him down, just as he had that effect on you and was the reason you sought to hug him.

“Everything is fine” you replied calmly, your body close to his.

“I think I can already figure out what kind of call it was…”

You laughed softly not wanting Chris to feel guilty; you both knew that at some point this day would come as your encounters progressed and you found yourselves fascinated by each other, you really didn't expect your close people to accept overnight so simply some sort of relationship with an older man you met being someone else's partner, but… it happened.

“It's okay, and here with you” you repeated to him what he had told you a few moments ago, making him smile.

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

𐙚TAGLIST: @rylea08 @hann1bee @iovecb97 @armystay89 @bubblebisk @lolareadsimagines @jisunglyricist

[malleusthehammer]

Helloooo (●’◡’●)ﾉ could I please request Buddha, Adam, Sasaki and Leonidas with a preteen reader (12 years old) that likes to prank the gods all the time? Like putting a whoopee cushion under Shivas or Thor seats, drawing on anyone's face if they even think about taking a nap when reader is around, only small things that can't really hurt people, and no one can stop them because reader can just teleport away or make a clone of themselves, they prank everyone but them (the characters I requested) and when they're asked why reader just says “their likeable enough” I feel like this would be so chaotic and in a way wholesome 😭

YES OM GI I LOVE THIS IUDE S< ITS SO CUTRE!!! Also i am SO SO SO sorry for the wait!! Also its platonic considering that the reader is 12 years old so-

Pranking with Buddha, Adam, Sasaki, and Leonidas! Warnings: Yelling? Type: Headcanons and drabble!

🍬 Buddha

Dude he LOVES pranking with you!!

I mean, how could he not?

He does blow your cover a LOT because of his loud laugh

He usually takes the heat from the other gods that are being pranked because hes just like that

He thinks its so cool that you can just make a clone of yourself!

You were sneaky, sneaky enough to get past all of Shivas wives that is. When you passed by them on occasion, they treated you like a child of their own. Showering you in gifts and hugs! But- that was besides the point, yes? Buddha had finally convinced you to do that shaving cream prank on the god of destruction. So, you both snuck into the gods room, silent as a mouse. Buddha promised you a handful of candy from his stash if you pulled this off. you knew this was going to be easy-peasy! Maybe so easy and flawless youd get two handfuls of candy!

You silently -or rather, as best you could- sprayed the shaving cream in Shivas hands. His sleeping positions were erratic, so you made sure to cover all four hands in the cream before pulling out the feather you had. Your devious acts had led up to Munin loosing one of his tail feathers, you kept it. Almost like a trophy. You handed the feather to Buddha, who looked like he was about to explode with laughter any moment. Somehow, he kept his cool, tickling Shivas nose with the feather.

The 4-armed god stirred, to then slam a handful of shaving cream in his face. He was quick to wake up, trying to look around, omly to get more shaving cream everywhere.

"GODDAMNIT [Y/N]!!"

His voice rumbled in the room, his arm lunging towards you. You knew this would happen, so you were quick to make a clone to stand. Once Shivas palm hit the clone, it puffed into dust. This caused the God to get even madder. But what made it all worse was Buddha dying of laughter in the corner.

🍎 Adam

At first hes like "How do you find this hilarious?!?"

But then, you pranked Zeus..

and this opened his eyes for REAL

You had tried your best to come up with a prank for the old god Zeus, but nothing would stir in your mind. Eventually, you fell back to your roots of scaring. You hid behind the door of the Gods lounge, knowing the old man would be coming in soon. Once you had heard his distinguishing laugh, your plan was set into motion. You waited till just the right moment to pop out from behind the door. Unfortunately, you weren't far enough away from the door.

Zeus reacted by swinging his arms out in defense, causing the door to slam right back into you. The knob of the door went straight into your stomach, causing you to hit your head hard against the marble wall. You quickly fell to your knees in pain, hearing the old man guffaw and laugh about how you shouldn't scare him like that. You had learned your lesson, not to return to your roots.

You shamefully walked down the grand halls of Valhalla, coming to the garden. Adam saw you, hurrying over to see what was wrong. He was quick to help you, laying you down in the grass as he held an icepack to your head. You both laughed about what happened til Adam broke the silence.

"Little one- why dont you pull pranks like that on me? You do it on all the others.. Are you plotting a big prank on me?"

You giggled and shook your head, explaining how he was like a dad to you. And of course, who would prank their dad?

⚔️Sasaki Kojiro

He's never there to watch you prank but he loves hearing you tell the stories afterwards

You had managed to prank Aphrodite with a couple fake spiders, causing her to scream and sling her food off the table. Her hench men tried to calm her down by showing her that they were face spiders. But that only made it worse. She was running from them, hiding in her own room. You had watched this entirely, trying so hard not to laugh your ass off. After everyone calmed down, you were quick to go find Sasaki.

He was were he usually was, against the fountain in Valhalla's garden. You were quick to run up to him, sitting right down next to him. You both laughed and talked as you blabbered on about your prank. He started busting out laughing when you even reenacted how Aphrodite reacted! After you both calmed down from your laughing fits, you sat back down next to him on the edge of the fountain. Sasaki knew how much you loved pulling pranks on the others in Valhalla. Sometimes even more that Loki himself! Sasaki couldn't help but ask why you didn't pull pranks on him.

"Ahaha- ah.. Now, this makes me wanna ask ya.. Why don't cha pull pranks on me?''

You sat there for a moment. Why didn't you? Well of course you wouldn't pull a prank on someone you care about so dearly! Sasaki was shocked by your answer at first, but was so happy you cared so deary about him!

🛡️ Leonidas

He usually takes the downfall for your pranks because :3

helps you get the supplies and everything!!

lets you hide behind him bc he lowkey scary

Unlike the others, he is always backing you up on the pranks. He's always encouraging you. He's gonna have you writing prank ideas down on a notepad he comes up with ideas so quick. Today, you and him were walking down the halls of Valhalla. He held his cigar between his two fingers as he talked on and on about some pranks he pulled in his younger years. You followed behind closely, furiously writing the ideas down on your notepad. Leonidas chuckled as he saw you writing stuff down as you both walked. He huffed on his cigar for a moment before a thought popped up in his mind.

"Hey kid, why don't cha pull pranks on this old man?"

He smiled and pointed to himself with his thumb. He raised a brow at you for a moment, waiting for your reply.

You sat there, dumbfounded. You really hadn't thought about it.

"I guess- cuz your like the prank master! Like my mentor!"

Leonidas' eyes widened for a second as he thought about what you said. His smile grew as he wrapped his large arm around you. He laughed as he ruffled your hand with his large hand.

"Ahaha! I knew you looked up to me, but not that much! Thank ya, kid!"

YOOOOO HGHJUYGBHJ DIES honestly this was my first time writing for Leonidas and i LOVE HIM SM hes so silly!! also i kinda got carried away with Buddhas so i hope you forgive me for that. BUt i truly hope you enjoyed it!! alsi my asks are open!!

[scribblestatic]

It's sad bih hours, but a sheep's gotta serve

Some more amputee!SY for the masses (and for me, cause I've been wanting to write more)

Edit: Oh shit, it has an AO3 now

Prev: Part 7

---

"How can we trust that what he says is true?"

Luo Binghe looked, eyes lidded, toward Qi Qingqi. Her lips were tightly pursed before she continued.

"Is there any way to corroborate his story?"

"Is that necessary, when Qiu Haitang's story was believed without additional proof?"

"It was proven that Shen Qingqiu was a slave of the Qiu family by the mark on his back!"

"And all that proved was that matter and nothing else. It didn't confirm that he was treated in a manner similar to family."

"It didn't prove they were terrible to him either."

"So you admit there was little to confirm anything of Qiu Haitang's account aside from her words."

"You were the one to bring her case forward on the matter of her words!"

"And this lord admits to his wrongdoing on that account. What excuse do any of us have to not believe him now?"

As they fussed back and forth, Shen Yuan stared at Yue Qingyuan, who gazed right back at him. Things still didn't quite feel real to him at the moment, but they were real enough. He felt he could almost speak to the man through a mental link neither of them had...

Perhaps it was a conversation they'd had before. Perhaps an understanding... Yes. Yes, an understanding.

Despite knowing Yue Qingyuan didn't come back for him, Shen Qingqiu never used his former slave identity against him. Instead, he actively hid his previous status, and hid Yue Qi's as well.

There was evidence he was abused, severely so, in the Qiu household, but doing so would mean outing the sect leader of the greatest cultivation sect under the merged heavens as a former slave.

It mattered a lot to Shen Jiu, to keep those details as far under wraps as possible. It didn't matter so much to Shen Yuan...in fact, it didn't matter in the least. Burdened slave or wealthy scion, did their statuses truly matter at all in the world of cultivation?

It matters. It matters so much. The way they treat you. The resources you receive. If you start as a slave, you must work tooth and nail for every sliver you get, and that may never be enough to ascend, but these wealthy children with loving parents--they get the best pills, the best tutoring, the best food, everything

It didn't matter to him at the moment.

Even so, he didn't want to be the one to say it.

He gazed quietly at Yue Qingyuan, the man who never came back for him, who managed to elevate himself to one of the highest positions in the world. Shen Jiu knew how meaningful that position was and knew how much he wanted his Qi-ge to stay there. And yet...

'Give up something for me,' Shen Yuan thought. 'I've...Shen Jiu...I've... This body, this person, has given up so many things for you. Can't you defend us just this once?'

Because he hasn't really defended him much. And the more Shen Yuan thought about it, the more it ached.

It was always, "Xiao Jiu can be a bit too harsh," or, "Xiao Jiu, can't you be a little nicer?" He acted like the owner of a yappy, aggressive dog, begging forgiveness for him and sighing in forlorn acceptance at his antics. But he never looked into why the dog yapped. Why the dog bit. Hell, sometimes the dog hadn't yapped at all, and he still apologized for the dog when no apology was needed, as though it was only expected that the dog would yap and no evidence was necessary.

Even in their childhood, Yue Qi would sigh and pander and be a warm chest and set of arms in which he could cuddle safely. But that same Yue Qi got him into trouble more than once with his attempts at kindness...

Yue Qi's kindness got him taken to the Qiu clan.

Yue Qi's kindness got his legs broken, unable to flee.

Yue Qi's kindness left him stuck there for years, waiting.

Yue Qi's kindness couldn't ever get Shen Jiu out of the situations one, the other, or both got him in.

What good was his kindness? What good were those sappy looks?

'Give up this little bit of your reputation for me,' he cried out, his eye focused quietly on Yue Qingyuan. 'Listen to me! Hear me! Defend me just this once! Make me feel like I'm as important to you as you've always been to me, Yue Qi!'

...

'Xiao Jiu...' the sect leader's eyes gazed mopingly back.

...right.

Right.

Shen Yuan didn't have a mental link with Yue Qingyuan. He couldn't understand if he didn't say it.

But Shen Yuan...didn't even want to say it anymore.

As Qi Qingqi and a few other peak lords argued against his heartfelt, distressing account, as Qiu Haitang continued to call him a liar, Yue Qingyuan remained silent.

If he couldn't take the initiative himself, would forcing it out of the man be any better?

Shen Yuan closed his eye, exhausted.

"Stop this!"

His eye snapped back open though, turning his head toward the voice.

Ning Yingying, who hadn't shown her face to him since their meeting months back, stood near the base of the stairs, facing out toward Cang Qiong Sect. Judging by how some nearby guards were belatedly reaching out toward her, she must've just ran out.

"Please! I... This one cannot stand here and allow this anymore!"

She was dressed in the finest silks, but in muted colors and simplistic design. Her hair was silky and shiny, but pulled into double braided buns with scant ornaments, all accentuating her delicate features. As such, she made quite the image as she clasped her hands, continuing to cry.

Compared to before, Shen Yuan couldn't help but think she looked more sallow and pale.

"Ying-er cannot let Shizun be slandered like this because of her wrongdoings!"

"Speak plainly, child," the Ku Xing Peak lord called out. "The waters continue to muddy, and the details are being thrown asunder. Confusion is the enemy of truth."

"It's...it's exactly that! The reason you all are so hesitant to believe Shizun is because of what I said, right?" She swallowed thickly, then looked to all of them. Her hands clenched tighter, and Shen Yuan could see that they shook. "I confessed back then that Shizun had sexually assaulted me."

"Yes... Yes. You did do that." Qi Qingqi shot him a hateful glare. Oi...weren't you supposed to be here to rescue me? "And now, he's trying to garner sympathy by—"

Ning Yingying interrupted her, crying out again.

"Ying-er lied!"

"...What?"

She was more visibly shaking by that point, and despite how hard it seemed to get the words out, she continued.

"This disciple...has been incredibly unfilial. Shizun was cruel to A'Luo and not expressive to the disciples, but that was all he was. He never once laid hands on any of his disciples, male, female, or otherwise. He... He just wasn't like that!"

Strangely, Yue Qingyuan finally found his voice.

"...You say this now. But then, why...?"

"This could be a lie, couldn't it?" the Zui Xian Peak lord added. "A ploy for the demon emperor to get rid of his empress' charges before the crowning ceremony. Doesn't he put his blood in all he weds? Her life could be threatened at this very moment—"

"You be quiet!"

Ning Yingying snapped at him so sharply even Shen Yuan blinked in surprise. Her fists, balled tightly, shook at her sides.

"I loved...and I still love A'Luo! But even as she loved him back then, Ying-er wasn't stupid! Ying-er was raised on Qing Jing Peak, and she learned how to predict future developments based on the actions of others. And I knew that... I knew that, as soon as I spoke with A'Luo, that he would, at that time, stop at nothing to raze the cultivation world to the ground!

"Ying-er could tell that he was powerful. He showed me how powerful he was, even back then! And he hated Shizun so much. Not only that, but he had Huan Hua Palace on his side, the sect second only to Cang Qiong! This one knew...of Shizun's reputation among others. As much as I tried to ignore it, I knew of it! And A'Luo knew of it, too, though he didn't know the truth. And Ying-er..."

Her voice choked off as her lips pursed.

"...Ying-er lied when A'Luo asked, because A'Luo wanted someone on his side, and this disciple... This disciple could predict what would happen if a case was drawn against Shizun. Ying-er had seen it time and time again, you know? That no one really trusted Shizun. No one but Qing Jing Peak. But Qing Jing Peak alone wouldn't be enough to stand against the rage of the cultivation world.

"And so, Ying-er was...pragmatic. Calculative. And she broke off the tail so the body could survive, even if that meant telling a lie. A lie that no one spoke against, because no one but me and him would know the truth. I... I had thought he would protest it. I thought he would yell at me or curse at me, but..."

Ning Yingying turned to Shen Yuan, and he saw her expression.

It mirrored the one he saw in the dream memory, as his face settled into quiet resignation. Back then, he had only seen it for a moment. This time, he saw it in full.

A twisted, anguished look of someone losing something important.

"He...let me lie. He let me lie, because he knew what I was doing... Didn't you, Shizun? That I was serving myself, even if it meant sacrificing you."

She turned away before he could answer.

"And that's what I did. This Ying-er sacrificed her Shizun to align herself firmly with A'Luo, to garner his sympathy and to protect herself from the opinions of others. Because, not long after Shizun's imprisonment, didn't many disciples leave Qing Jing Peak? Didn't they resign or transfer to other peaks and sects?

"Then, not long before A'Luo began merging the three realms, didn't he burn Qing Jing Peak and all who remained on it? Ying-er didn't have to lie, but she felt it was the best course of action...and she was foolish. Because, it was Ying-er's lie that further spurred on everything else, falsely confirming biases against Shizun, to the point they would no longer question the truth.

"And that's this Ying-er's greatest sin. This disciple's unfilial choices gave everyone at the trial the excuse to ignore due process. Because the case was no longer about the truth. It was about how many sins the cultivation world could pile onto the Xiu Ya Sword for whatever reasons they deemed necessary. This Ying-er opened the door for that, and for that, she shan't be forgiven in this life. She shan't forgive herself."

After such a speech, it was difficult to say anything. Instead, for a little while, it was simply time given for Ning Yingying to collect herself, drying her tears and standing up much more presentably, even as her nose remained red.

"Ying-er's false testimony was taken as fact during Shizun's trial, without additional details to corroborate the facts. If word-of-mouth is enough to accuse someone, it should also be enough to absolve them."

"Y...You're—"

"Zhao-shishu...no. Lord Zhao. The only duress this Ning Yingying has ever given testimony under has been her own. By the weight of my desires for the false one, and by the weight of my guilt for the truth today."

Silence.

"...What does this have to do with my brother?" Qiu Haitang eventually asked.

Ning Yingying's expression twisted again, this time with frustration.

"I just said what it has to do with it. Your accusation was secondary to A'Luo's and my own. A'Luo's accusations were true, but missing the context that Shizun was, by that point, likely driven to psychosis. My accusations were false, meaning that, even in a psychotic state, he did not attempt to sexually assault or groom me, and, even if Shizun did go to the Warm Red Pavilion for services, those services are not only legal, but patroned by many a cultivator, even if they try to say they don't."

"That, ah, wasn't why I went."

Shen Yuan felt so tired that he didn't even feel like jolting when the focus returned sharply to him. He sighed, fanning himself as he slouched to the side, his energy clearly flagging.

"...The Warm Red Pavilion has women. I could sleep in their company without worry. In exchange for giving me a place to rest, I taught the girls the four arts so their courtesans could become unparalleled and garner more desire and income. That was the extent of my relationship with them, despite Liu Qingge's misunderstanding."

There was, of course, the information center he'd started up there, but no one really needed to know that, nor did they need to copy his practices.

And, as if anticipating arguments regarding Liu Qingge, Liu Mingyan stepped out from the side. Although Qiu Haitang kept trying to bring her brother back up, the focus on Liu Mingyan's brother very quickly became front and center.

His former sect siblings immediately began calling him out for killing Liu Qingge, although, for once, when Binghe asked him how he plead...

"Innocent."

This was, apparently, not the answer they liked, as they began fussing even more. However, it just took a few questions to Mu Qingfang to determine that, no, actually, there was no surefire proof he had killed Liu Qingge.

"What had been your verdict at the time, Lord Mu?"

"...It had been that Liu Qingge died of a qi deviation that tore through his meridians. Shen...Yuan's qi had been present in his body as well."

"Did he provide an explanation as to why back then?"

"No, he did not."

"Can you provide one now?"

Shen Yuan looked down toward Liu Mingyan, who gazed back up at him with sadness...but compassion.

"...This humble one can. I attempted to save Liu Qingge in the midst of his deviation. However, I failed. My ability to circulate his qi was not... I was not strong or skilled enough to do so, and I instead only barely helped, if not actively hindered his progress. But...I hadn't wanted to kill him. I never wanted him dead...this lord really never wanted him to die."

When Binghe spoke to him again, his tone was softer.

"Why didn't you say this to your sect siblings?"

Shen Yuan scoffed. "I was prideful...and ashamed. Ashamed that...I was so weak. That I couldn't do something as simple as help someone not have a qi deviation despite being a peak lord. This lord felt that his ineptitude killed Liu Qingge, so there was no reason to say much else."

"Indeed. And this is what A'Yuan confessed to you, Mingyan?"

"It is," she replied, short and straightforward.

"And, what is your verdict?"

"...This one believes that his confession was reasonable. That Shen Yuan truly didn't have any intent to kill him, or he could've found many other substantially less conspicuous ways to do so. As the Qing Jing Peak lord, he was well versed in covert information management. After I thought of it further, with a clearer mind, if he truly wanted my brother dead, there were various ways he could've gone about it without implicating himself."

It seemed as though the peak lords hadn't considered that, several of them going a tad pale and looking at each other anxiously.

"Ah, well, it still could've been a heat-of-passion sort of murder, except, aside from the clear signs of a qi deviation, Lord Mu, did you notice any other wounds?"

"...Not on Liu Qingge, no."

"Who had been wounded?"

"...Shen Qin... Shen Yuan."

"Mm, and Shen Yuan said that he failed to help Liu Qingge circulate his qi during a deviation... Personally, that makes clear sense to me. After all," Binghe smiled, all teeth and no kindness. "This is the same peak lord with untreated, unmanaged qi deviations from a core mixed with spiritual and demonic qi in a human body unable to rectify the issue. He would have trouble circulating his own qi, much more circulating it for someone else. His explanation seems perfectly believable, even logical, to me. Wouldn't you say?

"And, well, the last major incident where a peak lord's life was in potential danger, as I recall, Shen Yuan went as far as to defy his shifu in order to save his future sect sibling's life, correct? From that incident until the point of Liu Qingge's death, did Shen Yuan, then Shen Qingqiu, ever give any indications that he would threaten the lives of any of his sect siblings?"

The silence afterwards was deafening, with even Qi Qingqi losing all indications of her bravado and going still. Yue Qingyuan in particular looked white as a ghost, staring somewhere toward the ground.

"Hmm... It seems not. Well. This lord believes that, considering the evidence provided, it is more likely that Shen Yuan, then Shen Qingqiu, did not murder Liu Qingge, but was hindered by a faulty cultivation base neither his shizun, nor his sect siblings, even those with an expertise in medical techniques, deigned to assist with.

"Moreover, considering the charge against Shen Yuan for sexual indecency, the only concrete testimony was given by Ning Yingying, who has admitted to falsifying her statement. The remaining accounts on that charge are all hearsay."

"This farce must stop right now!"

Qiu Haitang, red-faced and enraged, looked about ready to pop from just how infuriated she was. Shen Yuan was tempted to laugh, imagining cartoonish streams of steam trailing up from her ears.

In fact, he did actually chuckle a bit, exhaustion having let it slip.

"Y-You dare to make fun of me?!"

"No, no... I'm just... Aren't you tired?"

Having run out of focus, he let his fan drop onto his lap, simply staring at her as she tried to gather her words. But, really, he didn't have the patience to wait.

"I did it. I said I did it. Distressed, under duress, whatever. I killed your brother and every other man I happened to come across that night. And, when the time came, I had my core shattered. My limbs cut off without anasthesia. My eye gouged out. You were among several others who visited me in my cell to torment me.

"So, like..."

Shen Yuan laughed.

"What else do you want?"

She breathed in deeply, her breath hitching.

"I want you dead!"

As she panted with the exertion of having screamed that out, he just stared at her. He had a lot he could say to that, like about the unfairness of existence, like how the world sometimes shafts people for reason. It wasn't fair for Luo Binghe to get a shizun driven to partial psychosis. It wasn't fair for Liu Mingyan to lose her brother. It wasn't fair that Ning Yingying felt she had to choose between her safety and those she loved.

Shen Jiu's life had been, thus far, one bit of unfairness to the next, without a single person reaching out to help him until he'd already lost so many pieces of himself, he could be carried around like a rice sack. So, if he had the chance to live even a little bit better now, excuse him, but he'll take that chance, no matter how much she hates him. Maybe that's unfair to her. Well, she shouldn't have had an unfair brother. Or maybe she should've been born in a world that would have shafted her less or something. He didn't know.

Hell, he'd wanted a fairly uneventful crowning ceremony, but look what he got instead! His former sect siblings spent most of their visit trying to relitigate a whole case while still calling him a piece of shit, apparently forgetting that they were there to save him! What the fuck was up with that, by the way?! And, oh, don't even get him started on how completely and utterly trashed his faith in them is now. Like, he hadn't thought too badly of them before, but now? He realized they probably fucking hated Shen Jiu from the start, and the fact he was ever a scum villain was because the bastard was literally driven insane by his circumstances and no one even tried to help him out.

Which, fair enough, no one is obligated to help. But fuck, if they're going to call each other 'sect siblings,' then maybe don't leave him to slowly be driven further and further off the deep end?? Maybe be like "Hey, here's some help," and then if he rejected it, it's his fault? Like, he's not allergic to accountability, it's just, man, it was a lot to take in! It was incredibly unfair! Life is unfair like that sometimes, apparently! To such a strong extent! Fucking yikes! It happens!

But what matters is that he's going to have to find a way to live with it! He has to find the bits of joy he can because he deserves it. Fuck he deserves a little happiness, and if that means marrying his demon emperor disciple who deserves the world, learning how to use his qi again, beta-ing Liu Mingyan's novels, griping with Sha Hualing, trying to rebuild something with Ning Yingying if she wants, and helping the empire with their taxes among other things, that's what he's going to do! Even if you can't have exactly what you want, build happiness somewhere else!

But, any elegance he was going to put to those sentiments were lost upon translation to his lips, and instead what left his mouth was:

"...Well, uh. Tsk... That's tough. Cope?"

----

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8: here Part 9 Part 10 Part 11+: links on Part 10

And remember, there's an AO3 now

[whydoibe]

Ok so here's an idea for a ninjago au that could be possibly good

So what if jay was sensi wus son like biological son this would happen instead of wu falling for misako (temporarily he had a crush on her rember) he would fall for jays mother and she fall for him but eventually something would happen to her and she disapear leaving wu alone with thier young son Jay wu (yes his last name would be wu) wu would fight garmdon when he turns evil when jays around let's say 3 anyway garmdon would be banished to the underworld and the weapons hidden but wu would fear for his sons safety leaving him with the walkers jay would grow up similar but with sensi wu always their listing. every so often jay would have no clue the person visiting him and protecting him is his biological father till that faithful day he tries to fly with a machine but this time it doesn't fail well the machine does he doesn't thoe jay would feel himself faling to a roof top but this time he would feel himself not getting closer instead feeling a the wind In his face but crash the machine falling down to the roof top than how was he jay realised that this didn't make sense before feeling a gust of wind from behind finally realising this didn't make sense before crashing into a bill board looking around confused before deciding to go home he got a bit more than a few strange looks on his way home confusing him until he finally saw his reflection horns what the a tail wings what the hell happened to him he didn't like this this is a dream right this needs to be a dream right jay would start to run towards home before a figure would drop from a roof top sensi wu. wu would smile at his biological sons utter distress at his apreance on the verg of tears of distress would introduce himself (not the fact he's his biological father that's for when he's older) Jay would join the monstary spending 3 months thier before Zane got introduced to him but jay always seemed to be the favourite pupil not by much just sensi being more cousis with him and teaching him a lot more stuff like he knows about serptine I know sensi telling people stuff that's impressive and way wu would grow a father like bound with jay much to his relief jay would notice the other students didn't have dragon features his wings and tail only apearing when In distress him and wu are the only ones who know about the when cole joins jay and him grow a friendly rivaly but become good friends but one day sensi would task jay with a mission to retrieve the master of fire jay questioned this but wu would tell him to not question wu just needed to time to prepare to the others what jay was much to thier shock sensi would explain he only told them because soon they'd go on a mission and that jay might start to look different at cetrian times.

‐--------—----------------

Jay would turn up at the black smith wearing a blue gi and crashing into kai and nyas lawn after being chased by skeletons on jets jay would spot the master of fire kai he needed him and nya the master of water though for some reason he's not allowed to her that for some reason oh well the master of fire approaching him cautiously nothing imdently the dragon features much to jays distress telling him its ok that he's here to bring them somewhere then the clouds go dark and skeletons would approach jays eyes going blue and a eyris going down in a straight fashion similar to a dragons jay pulling out his nuchuck before realising he needs a sword asking kai if he had any kai nod giving him an bent and snake like one but still usable jay running at the skeletons thier body's falling apart as he cut through them kai jiong in that was until seeing nya get kidnapped and dragged away nya kai cried much to jays fear he failed sensi and got someone kidnapped his fear caused him to hyper ventilating his horns growing teeth sharping jays eyes stared to slightly glow a golden tint of blue hid wings growing sharper and deeper blue his tail elongating. Jay walked over to kai asking him If he needed help taking him to the monstary the rest of the pilot going the same until jay found himself with a whispering vioce in his shadow garmdon telling him a secret that he is Wu's biological son Jay would debt this but garmdon would give the obvious facts jay was clearly part dragon and obvioslouly at least on some level oni these facts would be undeniable to jay. The pilot concludes with everything remains similar to the show but jay would be looking at wu with conflict and a feeling of abandon questions jay would keep this secret wu would notice jay becoming distant to him and question him why only for jay to walk out to train while wu keeps asking until jay just yells at him to shut up cuasing a slight rumble in the sky cuasing the others to run outside to catch jays for turn less human his dragon features turning more oni wu would look at him until jay just admits he knows he's his son and Is asking why would you abaden him why sensi would look on in shock as kai and Zane run to sensi Cole running to hug jay would barely notice Cole as he hugged him asking sensi why would you him admiting he was scared for him questioning everyday if he made the right choice knowing he didn't saying he was always thier watching montering insuring he was safe and that no one brought him harm just that he loved him his son he was always proud of him and never meant for him to feel abandoned jay would calm down his features retiring to thier more netrual dragon like versions wu would hug him with the others. The perspective of everything would change jay and wu becoming a more acin to dad and son

I dub this ninjago child of creation au

I will continue this

[thedo0zyslider]

who i was named for - 4k Words

Hollytuft looks like her aunt, Hollyleaf. She is told this all her life. By her father, her mother, by everyone. She wants to know the cat she was named after, wants to know who she was and what she was like.The story is a lot different than she expects it to be.

A03 Link

On a sunny day Lionblaze lays in Thunderclan's clearing, with three kits playing on and around him. You'd think he was a tree branch or something, with the way they climbed and hid behind him. Though his kits were pretty cute, even at their most rambunctious. As long as they didn’t bite his ears! 

Lionblaze could hardly belive he was a father now, even with three little kittens climbing all over him. Well, more like two little kittens. Fernkit, the golden warriors only son, was hiding behind his fathers flank. His youngest sister, Sorrelkit, is getting ready to punce on him, wiggling her hind quarters in preparation. His third and eldest kit, Hollykit, sits by her father. She is curled up in his chest fluff, content to just watch her siblings; amusement glittering in her eyes. Even when they would playful swipe at her. 

Hollykit does not playfight like her siblings do, and never has; much preferring to just lay next to her father or mother. She has been like this for her whole two moons of life. Quiet. Thoughtful. Much like the cat she was named for. Lionblaze tries not to get choked up whenever he thinks about it. 

Also like the cat she was named after, she is the eldest if three. She has the same black pelt, and glowing green eyes. She is just like her in every way. Lionblaze sometimes thinks he's looking at a smaller version of his sister, before snapping himself out of it. Hollykit is not Hollyleaf, she is her own cat. She is his daughter, and he could not love her anymore than he already does. 

The three of them are brought back into the nursey soon after, each kit yawning with exhaustion from their play match. Hollykit is the first to settle down, curling up into a neat little ball in their nest. Her siblings flop in after her, and the black she-kit grumbles in protest when Fernkit lays directly ontop of her. Though its ignored, and Sorrelkit does almost the exact same thing a second later. 

Lionblaze purrs softly, and settles down next to the three of them. He promised to watch them until Cinderheart returned from her patrol, his mate in dire need of stretching her legs. She'd been complained about being stuck in the nursey, and Lionblaze had convinced Squirrelflight to let her leave camp for a bit. Even if convincing Squrrielflight meant asking her nicely before Cinderheart woke up, and then surprising his mate with the news that morning. 

And so he waits, till his mate comes back from the hunting patrol. And when she does, Cinderheart pops her head into the nursey with a purr, seemingly full of new energy. Getting out of camp had done more good than either of them had thought. Lionblaze hadn't seen her look this alone since before the kits were horn. 

Cinderheart lays down next to him, and wraps her tail around their three sleeping bundles. She looks so happy to see all of them, looking over each with a mother's love. Until her eyes land on the bundle of fur in the middle, and don't move away. 

"Do you think Hollykit's like me?" Cinderheart murmurs, her blue gaze fixed on their eldest daughter, still buried beneath two other bundles of fur. There is something almost wistful shinning in her eyes, along with a wisp of pain as well. Lionblaze wishes, like he always had, that he could bear all the aoin for his mate. Even if he could be hurt now. 

"If you mean amazing, then yes, yes I do think she's like you." He says, touching noses with her affectionately. It's not the answer the gray she-cat wanted, but it was a mood lightener. That was better than nothing. 

"No, you big softy!" Cinderheart laughs, and cuffs his cheek lightly. Lionblaze purrs in response, even as his mate gies back to looking and skunding wistful once more. "I mean is she....a reincarnation like I was." 

"Do you think so?" He asks, honestly not knowing the awnser to that. Lionblaze doesn't think his daughter is a reincarnation. He hopes she isn't. There is also no way for him to tell, unless she starts showing Hollyleaf specific behaviors. The kit is only two moons old. It feels far too early for any of that. 

"I don't know." Cinderheart sighs quietly, a frown forming on her face. This has clearly been troubling her for a bit now. He wonders if she's been worrying about all their kits like this, or just Holly. And if it is just Holly she's worried for, Lionblaze is curious to know why. 

"Surely they wouldn't shove another spirit in a kit. Not after how badly you reacted to it.." He reasons, remembering the moons leading up to the Great Battle, and how much Cinderheart had struggled with her identity. He could only hope Starclan had seen how terrible their idea had been, and sworn off ever doing it again. 

(But, as his brother always says, no cat can never be too trusting of their ancestors...)

"Has Jayfeather seen her in Starclan yet?" Cinderheart finally tears her gaze away from their kits, and flicks it towards Lionblaze. 

"He hasn't said he has.." Lionblaze mutters, resting his head on his paws. This is a worrying possibility, now that his mate's brought it up. He wishes she had shared these fears sooner. Maybe he could've watched out for signs...

"Leafpool?" Cinderheart asks, not sounding too hopeful. And all Lionblaze could do was shake his head sadly. Leafpool doesn't really talk to him about her dreams from Starclan. He doesn't think medicine cats are supposed to anyways. (Which does not stop Jayfeather in the slighest. Sharing all his Starclan dreams with his brother was a bad habit he'd gained from being a prophecy cat, thus needing to share all that information.)

But maybe, if he mentioned this, they might start a bit about their Starclan visits...

"Then she could be..." Cinderheart concludes, with one final glance at their sleeping daughter. Their eldest daughter, just like her aunt was. Their daughter who looks just like her, and has her same, shining emerald eyes. 

"I hope she's not." Lionblaze gives a sigh, and looks over all his kits again. He loves them all so much. Thinking of them suffering, of going through the turmoil their mother had, upsets him too much to say. It's a danger he cannot protect them from, but desperately wishes he could. 

It makes him feel helpless and weak. Lionblaze hates feeling helpless and weak. 

Cinderheart nuzzles into him, and hides her face from the world. All Lionblaze can do to comfort her is give her head a few licks, and hope the senstaions soothes her. "I hope she isn't, either." 

___________________________________

"Jayfeather!" Lionblaze says, poking his head into the medicine den. The sun is shining outside, soaking into his golden fur. It's a nice day outside, one too good to waste. Which is part of his motivation for visiting his brother. The medicine cat needs to spend less time in this den, and get outside more! 

The other reason he's here is something Jayfeather will like less. But Lionblaze will get him to agree to it. 

"Lionblaze." His brother says, turning his head in the tabbys direction. He sounds like he would rather see any other cat in the world right now. Lionblaze thinks he just woke up on the wrong side of the nest again, like his little brother has done for every day of their lives. "What is it?" 

"Oh nothing much," He says, already feeling a grin strech onto his face. Jayfeather could probably hear it in his voice too. "I was just wondering if you could watch the kits for me?"

"Excuse me-"

"My kits need to spend some time with their uncle!" Lionblaze cuts his brother off before he can finish, already senseing some kind of imminent refusal. "Poppyfrost and Berrynose already kitsit them enough! It's your turn!"

"I still hate that you have made me kin to Berrynose." Jayfeather mutters, his tail flicking in faux annoyance. Or, what Lionblaze thinks is faux annoyance; sometimes it's hard to tell with his brother. The medicine cat doesn't actually hate Berrynose that much, just finds him midly annoying. They had long gotten over their differences from their apprentice days, but that doesn’t mean Jayfeather is happy being in-laws with the cream colored tom. 

"It's not my fault Poppyfrost has horrible taste in toms." Lionblaze snorts. No offense to Poppyfrost, of course, her mate was just the worst one she could've chosen. "But you still have to kitsit."

"Well, they can't be in here with all the herbs." Jayfeather mews. He sounds so confident, lile he just found the perefct reason to keep being anti-social. Lionblaze is having none of it. 

"Then go out in camp. I'm sure Leafpool will gladly cover for you!" The golden warrior grins, knowing he's about to win this. He will go get Leafpool himself if he has to. And then they can both bully Jayfeather into kitsitting together. The medicine cat will do this job, one way or another, weather he likes it or not. He should've figured that out the moment Cinderheart was expecting. 

"You are insufferable." Jayfeather sighs, already getting to his paws. He has accepted that there is no way out of this. Lionblaze will keep annoying him till he babysits. Both toms know that he will. Best get it over with now, if that's going to be the case. 

"That's the most ironic thing you've ever said." Lionblaze snorts, and then leads the way out of the medicine den. He drops the kits off with Jayfeather, and then has disappeared into the forest faster than he's ever disappeared before. Cinderheart is right behind him, giving Jayfeather no chances to back out of this. Sometimes that was absolutely on purpose. 

And that is how Jayfeather ends up sitting the the camps clearing, with three little kits running around him. It is how three kits actually get to spend time with their uncle Jayfeather, something that hasn't really happened before now. Unless you count quick trips into the medicine den for small injuries (and the smallest amount of affection extended on those visits) spending time together. Which none of the kits do. 

Jayfeather is way out of his depth here. It's not that he doesn't want to spend time with his kin, he has just never played with kits much before; and has no idea how to keep them entrained. This could end up being a very rocky, and a personally embarrassing, experience. He prays to Starclan that it is neither of those things.

Luckily for him, the little ones are not very interested in playing. No, they are more interested in asking him questions. Some of them, like Sorrelkit asking what his favorite herb is, are stupid, while a few are more worthwhile than that. But only a few.

(Sorrelkit is dead set on the idea of him having a favorite herb. He does not have one, unless you count poisonous plants as medicine. Jayfeather ends up saying his favorite herb is sorrel to make her happy and match her name, making up some lie about it being the best tasting traveling herb. They are equally disgusting in his mind.) 

"What's being blind like?" Fernkit asks the question he had been expecting, gazing up into his uncles sightless blue eyes. He's not trying to be rude about, and is clearly curious. Something Jayfeather can bring himself to appreciate. 

"It's normal." Jayfeather shrugs in response. This is how he's described it to every cat, because it is the only way to describe it. "Just like seeing is normal for you."

"How do you get around so well?" Sorrlekit chimes in, now sitting next to her brother. Her tail is placed neatly over her paws, and she's looking up at him with wide eyes. Hollykit worms her way in between her siblings, a similar look on her face. 

"With my whiskers and my hearing," The medicine cat explains, moving to lay on his side. He might need to get comfortable, sensing that more questions will follow these two. Like, a lot more. "For exmaple, I can tell that Bramblestar's in his den right now."

"You can!?" Sorrelkit asks, her eyes widening. She seems amazed that he's able to tell that much, and the excitement in her voice is cute. If Jayfeather wasn't already endeared to these kits, he certainly was now. 

"Yes. His scent went that way mid-morning, and hasn't left since" Jayfeather explains, remembering how their leader had slipped into his den a few hours ago, tired from doing the midnight and dawn patrol. Squrrielflight had called after him and told him to stop working so much, and take a break. Jayfeather doubts that he heard her. 

"That's so cool!" Fernkit says, bouncing on his paws with excitement. He settles himself next go his uncle, tucking his paws underneath himself. Jayfeather was right fo lay down, it seems, considering how his two sisters follow his lead; making themselves comfortable at the medicine cats side. 

The kits ask a few more questions after that, just like he had expected. Sorrelkit is so curious about herbs, Jayfeather is wondering if she'll be his apprentice. He's practically told her hoe to use every single plant vy the time Lionblaze comes back! Fernkit, on the other paw, is disappointed when the medicine cat can't disclose any Starclan dreams. So he asks for stories instead, and Jayfeather tells him every embarrassing story about his parents, and any other cat they were apprenticed with, he can think of. 

Hollykit is the only one to not ask any questions. Sure, she listens, and laughs at the funny stories of her parents, but she's more observant than anything. Jayfeather can't help but feel a sense of deja vu, with the way her green eyes seem to study him. The way she declares her opinions loud and proud. It feels like another cat long gone is with him again, and it makes hus fur stand in end just a bit. 

(He almost wonders if a ghost is in the clearing with them....) 

"What? You don't have any questions?" He asks when her siblings have quieted, turning his head in Hollykit's direction. She has been strangely silent this whole time, barely even bantering with her siblings. From what Jayfeather knows, she's usually a little more talkative than this. Observant and inquisitive was how Cinderheart often described her, so his niece only being the observant part feels a little strange. 

"No." Hollykit says, her voice too...stoic for a kit. Her siblings don't hear it, but Jayfeather does. Plus, she looks at him like she already knows everything. Like there is is no need for her to ask any questions if she already knows it all. 

He remembers the worries Lionblaze had expressed to him just two moons ago, and prays that his niece is just a little bit weird; and that Starclan isn't meddling with reincarnation again. 

"Ignore Holly! She's always been weird like that!" Sorrelkit says, poking her sister in the side playfully. Their brother giggles beside them. 

"I am not weird!" Hollykit protests, her fur fluffing up defensively. Her tail flicks in annoyance at well, lightly thumping against Jayfeather's flank.

"Yes you are!" Fernkit teases, and then pounces on her. Hollykit lets out a squeak of surprise, and they start play fighting in the grass. Sorrelkit joins in soon enough, when Fernkit nips on her ear on purpose. There are no more questions after that, just the sounds of happy kits playfighting. 

Jayfeather lets out a purr at their antics, but can't help the darker thoughts that linger in his mind. 

___________________________________

Recently apprenticed Hollypaw is relaxing with her mother when she asks the question, the one that might be life changing for her. 

"Momma, what was Hollyleaf like?"

Cinderheart looks at her, caught off guard by the question. For a second there, Hollypaw's feared she's messed up. Crossed some invisible line she didn't even know was there. 

But she desperately wanted to know. Fernpaw and Sorrelpaw got to hear about Sorreltail and Ferncloud all the time! Hollypaw would often feel left out, not knowing anything about the she-cat she was named for. Especially because she was named for her aunt! It wasn’t fair! It didn't feel fair to her!

"Why do you want to know, dear?" Cinderheart questions, her tail tip flicking uneasily. That just makes Hollypaw feel more self conscious about her question, and she shuffles her paws anxiously. 

"Because you never talk about her." She explains fixing her gaze on the ground. "And Fernpaw and Sorrelpaw get to know all about the cats their named after..."

"I see." Cinderheart hums, and says the one thing hee duaghter did not to hear. Something that was probably done on purpose. "Well, Hollyleaf was...my best friend."

"I knew that already." Hollypaw huffs, now getting a little irriated. She is not a kit anymore. She's an apprentice now! She can handle whatever's about to be said. "Tell me something new."

"She was very set in her beliefs. She was smart, she was a good hunter, she was loyal for the most part." Cinderheart sighs, giving into her daughter. She supposes its only right for Hollypaw to know, and that hiding all this will probably do more harm than good. However, she does want to slowly ease her into the....bad parts of a the story. Hollypaw is still young, after all. These are things she should not have to carry on her shoulders, for many of reasons. "And she did some bad things."

"Was she a bad cat?" Hollypaw asks, sounding scared of the awnser. Surely, if her aunt was a bad cat, she would know by now. Surely her parents wouldn't have named her after someone bad, or her clanmates would've said something. Surely. 

"No." Cinderheart shakes her head. There's a look in her eyes that seems to contradict her words, but Hollypaw lets it go. "Sometimes something bad happens, and good cats do things they never thought they would." 

"What did she do?" The apple asks, scared for the awnser. Whatever it is, she already knows she probably won't like it. Something in her gut is saying so. 

"She told the whole gathering who her parents were. That was pretty bad." Her mother takes a deep breath before continuing, and then whispers out the last part. Like it's a secret no one else but they are supposed to hear. "She killed a cat too."

"She killed somebody?" Hollypaw gasps, speaking a little louder than her mother had done. She was named after a cat that had killed somebody!

"It was in self defense, Bramblestar witnessed it." Cinderheart sees how distressed her daughter is, and how her ears have flattened back. So she soothes her with a gentle explanation and wrapping a soft tail around her. "Thats what I mean, by good cats sometimes do bad things in the heat of the momemt." 

For a long while, Hollypaw does not know what to say to that. So instead of having some big reaction, she just settles on a simple sentance. The apprentice needs some extra time to digest that, she thinks. "Thank you for telling me."

"Of course." Cinderheart murmurs, and gives her kit a coming lick to too as the conversation comes to an end. A slightly somber atmosphere settles over the two of them, and Hollypaw has a lot more to think about than she ever expected too when asking that question. 

___________________________________

Jayfeather says he doesn't have a favorite niece or nephew. That he likes them all equally. (Loves them all equally. He means he loves them all equally when he says that.) 

He is lying. He has a favorite niece. And it is Hollypaw. Everyone with eyes can see that. Leafpool had joked she got the Briarlight treatment when it came to her son's tolerance  and the senior medicine cat wasn't very far off when she did. She was certainly the last of her littermates to be shooed out of his den, even if Jayfeather did cuff them all affectionately on the way out. 

Leafpool says she doesn't have a favorite grandkit as well. She is also lying. Her favorite is Hollypaw. Everyone can see it. It's the little things that give it away. The small gestures of affection she does not extend ro Hollypaw's siblings nearly as much. This ends up with Hollypaw visiting the medicine den often, always being one of the first cats to bring her kin prey. She likes being in there. It makes her feel loved. 

Bramblestar and Squrrielflight at least favor Sorrelpaw and Fernpaw respectively. The leader likes her sister fiesty attuide, while their adopted grandmother is fond of Fernpaw's kind and fairness. But that is not enough. 

The favoritism from two of their kin does cause some rifts between her and her siblings. It wasn't that bad when they were kits, but it gets worse when they are apprentices. Her sister can't understand why Hollypaw gets so much special treatment from their family. Hollypaw wishes she had the awnser to that, too. 

"They only like you because you look like Hollyleaf!" Sorrelpaw says one day, giving her sister an upset look. Hollypaw has no idea why the brown she-cat is upset at her. She's not the one playing favorites!

"That's not true!" Hollypaw insists, feeling her tail fluff out defensively. She hates when the two of them do this! Like they aren't also named after dead cats! It's not Hollypaw's fault she looks just like their late aunt. One of them was probably gonna be named Holly anyways! Both their parengs had been close to her! She was their aunt, for Starclan's sake! Hollypaw thinks if Poppyfrost had died instead, the same exact thing would've happened, and one of them would be Poppypaw right now!

"Yeah it is!" Sorrelpaw insists. Fernpaw doesn't say anything, just sits beside his sisters awkwardly. He isn't one for arguing, and choose to stay out of it and save himself the trouble. Sometimes, Hollypaw wishes he would just choose a side, and make these things go a lot easier. 

"No it's not!" Hollypaw protests again, much more fiercely this time. She wishes Sorrelpaw would just shut up about this! She doesn't know why they love her so much! She doesn't! They just do! She can't control their families emotions!

"Why don't you go ask them yourself then!?" Her sister yells, her back arched and fur puffed out. Fernpaw looks worried beside them, like he's scared they'll come to blow. He'll probably just stand there if that happens, too. 

"Fine! Maybe I will!" Hollypaw exclaims, the promptly storms out of the apprentices den. She tries to compose herself once she's outside, as to not make a scene in the camp. That would be embarrassing. But thankfully, most of the warriors are out on patrol, so no one notices how she's basically a walking ball of bristled fur. 

She makes her way across camp, poking her head into the medicine den's entrance. There is only one cat inside right now, conveniently. It is her uncle Jayfeather, and he is sitting with his back is towards her. She thinks he mentioned something about Leafpool and Bumblestripe taking Briarlight out of camp for a bit today; which explains the two she-cats' absence. 

He flicks his ear in her direction, a signal that he has heard her, and Hollypaw assumes she can come in. He hasn't turned around and snapped at her to go away, after all. So it's probably fine. 

The black she-cat settles next to her uncle, refusing to look at him. She doesn't think she can say what Sorrelpaw did while looking at him. The medicine cat just contained whatever he's doing with the herbs, mixing them she thinks, and waits patiently for her to speak. 

Hollypaw clears her throat, and keeps her eyes firmly fixed on the den's soft floor. She wonders if her aunt once sat here too, watching as her kin mixed herbs. "Jayfeather?"

"Yes?" He says, not looking up from what he's doing. If she didn't know him better, and if he hadn't said anything, she would've thought he was too focused to even notice that his niece was sitting next to him. 

Hollypaw takes a deep breath, and asks what could possibly be a second life changing question. "Do you and Leafpool only like me because I look like her?"

Jayfeather pauses before he responds, letting the words process in his head, making sure he hard them correctly before he says anything. "What's making you think that?" His voice is guarded when he does speak, and it makes Hollypaw think her littermates might be right after all.

"Well, Fernpaw and Sorrelpaw said that." She mumbles, starting to feel shame rise beneath her pelt. She shouldn't have listned to Sorrelpaw. She should've never come here. It was a stupid idea. "And it kinda made sense.."

"Well, your siblings are mousebrains." The medicine snorts, wrapping his tail around his niece. She blinks up at him, her green eyes big and owlish

"We like you for you, the Hollyleaf thing was just a coincidence." Jayfeather explains, seemingly recounting what his brother had told him moons and moons ago. "Lionblaze was gonna name one of you three Holly anyways. You just happened to be born a black cat."

"Oh." Hollypaw mutters, blinking a few times. She's glad her earlier thoughts were indeed correct, but hearing it from someone themsleves had caught her a little off gaurd. "Thanks." 

"No problem, kid." Jayfeather mews gently, and lets her stay in his den as long as she needs too. 

___________________________________

"I'm sorry, Papa." Hollypaw says, sitting next to him one day. She has just come back from patrol. Brackenfur had compared her hunting to his old apprentices. It had gotten her thinking once again. 

"What are you sorry for, dear?" Lionblaze asks, looking up from the mouse he just finished. He wounds worried. Hollypaw hates worrying her parengs, but she has to say sorry for this. 

"I'm never going to be like her." She mutters, and hears the way her father stops breathing for a moment. He probably wasn't expecting that. Hollypaw wasn't expecting him too. 

"Like who?" He asks, as if he doesn't already know the awsner. Her father is funny like that sometimes. It's why she loves spending time with him so much. 

"Hollyleaf." Hollypaw says. She's about to be a warrior now, and she has not spoken that name since her conversation with Cinderheart two seasons ago. It feels like a curse to do so. Saying it feels just as natural at the same exact time. Like breathing. 

"Oh darling, you don't need to be." Lionblaze mutters, and touches his nose to her head. A comforting purr leaves his throat, and it works more than he will ever know. "You're perfect just being you." 

"I don't feel like I am." Hollypaw admits, and it feels like the biggest weight has been lifted from her chest. She's felt this need to live up to her aunt her whole life, and then always felt like she could never fulfill said need. Hollyleaf was Hollyleaf. Ex-prophecy cat. Sister of Lionblaze and Jayfeather, granddaughter of Firestar, three of Starclan's chosen. And other than being kin to all those cats, she was just regular old Hollypaw, and nothing more than that. 

"Trust me, you don't need to be her." Lionblaze says. He is surprisingly great at this reassurance thing, his kit is finding out. Maybe even better than their mother was. "No other cat could ever be Hollyleaf."

"Considering all that happened, I don't think she would want you too, either." He adds, a dark undertone to his words. One that Hollypaw can now understand. She doesn't know if she's grateful for the understanding or not. 

"She wouldn't?" Hollypaw repeats, curious. She thought, that by some off chance, if she ever met her aunt, the latter might want to see a mirror image of herself looking back. 

"Nope." Her father's voice is firm. He is sure of whag he's saying, and knows it is the truth. His daughter will soon come to accept it as that as well. "She would want you to just be Hollypaw, and nothing else."

Hollypaw nods, taking those words into consideration. If Hollyleaf would want her to just be Hollypaw, then she will be. She will just be Hollypaw. It feels like the least she can do

[bellamychevalier]

Oooooo Look, a Shiny! || Ying&Bella

@thefangshi

Where: Trade District Time: Midday Adjusted to Night with Approval Despite knowing that appearances were important, especially with his positions in the Shogun's family and the Emperor's court, the Necromancer known as Wei Ying hated having to bother with the trappings of his position.  The carriages were stuffy and slow, the official robes gis passenger made him wear were stiff and heavy and it had been at least a week since he'd had a decent bath, tea or meal.  in his opinion, the only good thing about this trip was that he got to see some of the countryside. ‘Come now, you know why we're doing this,’ came the sibilant whisper of his ever present mental passenger.  “No, I know what you told me and we both know you don't tell me everything.”  Ying glared at the smoky humanoid shape in the corner of the carriage that represented his death spirit.  No one else had ever seen or heard the spirit that he knew of in the 250 years since he had first come into contact with the cursed object that housed the death spirit.  ‘Don't be like that.  Have I ever steered you wrong before?’ Ying just glared at the spirit and huffed impatiently as the carriages came to a halt outside of the city of Destarin.  “My apologies Fangshi,” came the voice of one of the guards from outside the carriage.  “We need to clear the roads, it'll only be a few minutes.” Slumping against the carriage bench, the necromancer let out a very put upon sigh.  “But I'm boooooored and hungry,” he whined to himself.  ‘Then let's go exploring,’ came the whispered voice.  “I'm not supposed to leave the carriage.”  ‘It's not like you can die.’ That was all the more justification he needed before Ying was bouncing out of the carriage with a shrug and a jaunty whistle, following his nose through the market with nothing but a handful of Cheridian coins in his pouch.

Wolves at her heels the vampire wandered the road up through the center of the forest, petite thin shoes breaking twigs and crushing leaves. Were she to be hunted she'd have been an easy track for whoever followed, but not so easy a prey. Not with her wolves. Not with her fangs. Most left her alone on her trips into the woods, all but the creatures that hid within, the beasts she had befriended with a longing for her old life.

So perhaps it was not the market the man could smell on the edge of the town, the woods thick with the heat of the season, but rather the basket of food the vampire carried in her arms for the creatures. It was unlikely, unless he held exceptional senses, he could even smell the cooking of restaurants within the Cheridan district of Ashharren, or further within the trade district. So her basket of various foods wrapped in their own fabrics, was far more likely.

The vampire's steps did slow as she saw the hold up along the road, a carriage stuck behind a fallen tree. No doubt left there for this exact purpose, to stop wealthy approachers and rob them, but no one would risk robbing a royal carriage, it was far too much attention. Even approaching seemed dangerous and Bella cautioned herself slightly, eyes on the details that indicated it was from the region of the road it rested. Cheridan. Bella had never been but had come to know the designs and flourishes of the kingdom based on her time in Destarin, observing the guards who seemed to take in her wolves and her dark personage with caution, angling her steps away, deeper into the woods and off the path until...

A whistle, it drew the wolves attention immediately, Bella's gaze shifting half a second after to take in the man who seemed to bounce from the carriage, able to hear the jingling of wealth in his pocket. She hated that sound. Ears ringing as she heard it, fingers gripping the handle of her basket tightly and the haunches of her wolves reacting to her emotions by tensing slightly, not yet growling. She considered dipping deeper into the woods but with such casualty of the man she worried he would wander deeper and get himself killed, her wolves blamed by the guards the same way the wolves had been blamed before the war for the death of the princess.

"Sir," she called out instead, focusing her voice on remaining calm, stepping ahead of her beasts so they might not be so terrifying. "It's not safe to wander here," Bella informed him, the lace of her long dress sticking to broken twigs.

[pocketramblr]

Wipmas Day 1

From “the leverage au wip”

En looked over the footage, frowning. "The plate is going to be useless."

"You expected a terrorist group to use legally acquired and registered vehicles?" The man currently testing the gear from Sorahiko snorted. "First mistake, Rookie."

"I didn't expect them to work." En huffed. Plates didn't work half the time, the police and government had far more things to worry about them that, and certainly reaped the benefits where normal civilians struggled to maintain normality. So no, En hadn't expected it to work at all. It was that it just would have been nice, if for once, the universe decided to give him anything less than backbreaking work. Well, metaphorically backbreaking.

"Then why waste breath complaining?" Mecha asked.

"Like I said, he's a rookie."

"’He’ has been doing this for twelve years." En snapped. "Why am I even working with you people?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Mecha's friend answered anyway.

"Because we're being paid more than our weight in gold, and get the bonus satisfaction of pissing off All For One more than we could ever dream of doing alone." He recited, the exact terms of the deal. "Which, Mech, I actually value more."

"Because you are far more bitter than your soft and squishy outside." Mecha tied a black bandana around his head.

En didn't really see how any part of this man was supposed to look soft- not the spiky hair, not the stiff wide shoulders, not the fact that he still hadn't introduced himself to En despite getting there ten minutes ago with Mecha.

Not that En needed an introduction to know his identities (or at least, four of them,) but it would have at least been common decency.

"Which is why nothing else but spiting that old bastard could convince me to work with anyone else again." Tomosu Rikiji, aka Chief but En wasn’t going to call him that just because Mecha, aka Shishiga Kuwaru, did.

"And I bet this "Mastermind" knew that too." Mecha jibed.

En hid a smile in his collar.

Mecha was right. Tomosu was too.

He couldn't wait to see the look on All For One's face when he realized what happened.

He'd make sure to get a camera and two or three servers saving it live, since it wasn't likely to survive the subsequent explosion.

Speaking of camera, he clicked through to the audio the bug tacked to the fire hydrant near the had picked up. En couldn't get an ID on the man who'd tackled the younger brother with that mask on, but apparently the man on the ground knew him.

He opened another window and did a search for "Noriyuki" and "Yari."

Apparently, Noriyuki Jin was one of the suspects for the killing of two politicians, a post worker, a substitute teacher, a child, and three secretaries in Yari Post Office, which really seemed to be more a cover or distraction from a theft of over a hundred thousand yen.

After looking through a few other of Noriyuki's aliases and work, En wasn't sure why he wasn't the prime suspect, but police incompetence wasn't his job to figure out.

Just to circumvent.

"Hey... Either of you ever heard of the Mountain Dog?" En spoke up. "Aliases: Noriyuki Jin, Ohito Kai, and Gi-"

"Why?" Mecha demanded, tone even shorter than it had been the whole night.

"Because he was with All For One at his last seen location and personally dragged that government hostage guy away. Might make trouble for us."

"I can take him." Mecha growled.

"Mech, it wasn't-"

"I’ll take him." Mecha interrupted Tomosu. Will, not can. "You focus on retrieval and demolition, Chief."

Tomosu just sighed, but nodded. "What do you mean, government hostage?"

"I tried to ID the guy they took, Shigaraki Yoichi, age 28, and tripped so many flags I almost had to nuke that computer." En checked how much longer it would take his crawlers to complete the security mapping. Five minutes. "They've arrested him twice without any real charges, and sent some very classified messages with All For One about it. Either he used the government to hold and protect one of his assets away from his creepy little cult, or he defected and was going to sell All For One out under that cover.”

"Or, he was an asset taken because the government wanted to parlay." Tomosu added.

Mecha lifted a brow. "Why would they do that? And then why would they let him get taken back?”

"Could have been he had a mole watching out for that. What else can you tell us about this Shigaraki?”

"It's his legit identity, but everything around him has been scrubbed clean. Parents, family members, most of that neighborhood... Either the gov took the rest of them, or AfO killed them. I could probably figure out which with, oh, another server and a few days to check backdoors."

"So long?" Tomosu asked, then chuckled at En's face. "Kidding. Now, when was he taken by the Dog and his handler?"

"Nine days ago."

Mecha let out some air. "So he's dead."

"Probably." Tomosu agreed. "But he was an important asset?"

En thought back over the dialogue he'd listened too. "Important enough to possibly know All For One's real name and to get an offer to share everything with him. The whole thing sounded like an awful adoption offer, or a marriage proposal, or something."

Both older men were silent, and when En looked up at them, they were glancing between him and each other.

Finally Tomosu spoke. "Exactly what kind of messed up adoption offers are you hearing that sound like marriage proposals?"

En rolled his eyes and went back to his computer.

"Four minutes, Nana, Sorahiko. Where are my keys?"

[iobartach]

@hxroic-wxlls-rxborn // Olympic Games

Event: Instant Transmission Tag

Given recent events, he was half-expecting to receive word of a postponement, an entirely justifiable pausing of the contest until matters had been adequately dealt with. Whilst he hadn't elected to estimate how long repairs to the arena would take, it would unfold that the call meant to summon Miguel back was issued with a quickness that defied his best explanations, a rebound that was as remarkable as it was astounding to his mind.

Escorted to the arena's entrance by a member of staff, after a brief pause, he stepped forth into the grounds, the jubilant roar of a reinvigorated crowd a welcomed sound compared to their shrieks of terror. Taking a moment to soak in such a sight, Miguel had opted to trade his regular outfit for something much more familiar, replacing his clothes with navy-blue hard light that hid his features. A welcomed disguise, in more ways than one.

Walking forward for a number of steps, he'd find the Saiyan child patiently standing by for his arrival, infantile in every physical aspect that he could think of, but he'd been informed this was a deception. Whether or not the intention behind their presence here struck towards the malicious, he couldn't say for certain -- it wasn't the only detail that had earned his scrutiny, following Broly's hellish outburst -- but he was willing to set aside such matters for the moment, to concentrate on the necessary; on the task of tagging Kid Goku, and progressing with the games.

Taking his cue from the loud ringing of an electric buzzer, Miguel pushed off the ground at once, a hulking mass of neon shades that rushed towards the child like a charging bull. Seizing upon the element of surprise, he was set on pushing the Saiyan into using his sole allowance of the Instant Transmission technique at the earliest juncture, and wasn't left disappointed when a swipe of his hand met the ghost of an afterimage, eluding his tag.

With one advantage out of the way, Miguel turned his focus towards the harder task, and how he might make use of the arena's terrain as he launched into a sprint, a gallop that lasted for seconds as he transitioned into a forwards lunge, reaching for Goku's ankles but falling short. He'd repeat this same tactic a few more times, with the same outcome, achieving nothing but the elapsing of three minutes on the clock.

Feeling the pressure of time beginning to slip away from him, the Spider would pivot from sprinting to running on all fours, steering the Saiyan child towards a smattering of trees to improve his chances. A tactic that almost worked, until Goku, utilising his tail, dropped out of Miguel's reach, forcing him to adjust his trajectory so that he landed feet first against the trunk of a tree, the other already visible running away from him, towards the centre of the arena.

Frustrated by this, and with mere seconds left to spare, Miguel shot out lines of webbing from each of his hands, then used them to propel himself forward in the same manner as a slingshot. With this last gasp, it brought him within reaching distance of Goku, his claws snatching at his gi, but failing to stop him as the sound of the timer reaching zero blared loudly, signifying the end.

Result: Close, but no luck!

[tinkabelle24]

To Build a Home

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back (INTERLUDE)

A/N: I'd like to introduce yous to the newest member of our cast - Frank, Val's paramedic partner. His face/voice claim is Michael Rapaport. He actually plays an EMT in Netflix's "Atypical". It's a great show; you should check it out, if you haven't already. 😊

TW! Intrusive Thoughts, Sex as Coping Mechanism (mentioned), Self-harm.

Masterlist / Chapter 22

---

Val was grateful for the busy day; it provided much needed distraction from from the absolute shitshow that's been her twenty-fourth birthday.

It was just after 7 pm when she finally clocked off, two hours later than expected. If she and Raph had hit the road at the originally planned time, would they be living it up at the super top secret accommodation, right now?

Languidly collecting the remainder of her personal effects from her locker, the brunette's heart sank at the sudden, distressing notion:

I don't want to go...

"Hey," a familiar, Brooklyn-accented voice called gently, from behind. Forcing yet another smile upon her aching face, Val turned to acknowledge the silver-haired, smiling-eyed man.

"Hey, Frank."

When she and her paramedic partner were first introduced, Val damn near choked on her latte. He looked and sounded freakishly like the lovely older gentleman who defended her, that fateful night.

But, unlike with her and Raph, lightening didn't end up striking twice. This one's just as lovely, though.

"Ya did good, today," he complimented; petting her jacket-clad shoulder as he stepped toward his own locker.

The brunette tittered quietly, unable to withhold the heat that subsequently rushed for her cheeks... nor the tears she'd spent her entire twelve-hour shift barely staving off. She quickly averted her gaze.

"Thank God, heh..."

At least one of us thinks so...

Her partner hummed thoughtfully as he proceeded rummaging through his belongings. She could feel his concerned gaze burning into her cheek.

Please, don't ask. Please, please, please, don't ask....!

"Ya good, kid?"

Oh, yeah - fantastic . Just that one of my best friends, who's also my boyfriend's brother, hid a relationship-altering revelation from me. Now, everything's gone to shit and I've no fucking clue what to do...

But, what about you? What are you up to, this weekend?

"Nothin' a stiff drink can't fix," Val quipped weakly, eyes fixed on her purse as she carefully deposited all her detachable gear and valuables, bar her shell-cell, into it.

Glimpsing several texts and missed call notifications, she made a mental note to check them later, before tucking the hot pink Motorola into her pants' side pocket.

Frank chuckled wistfully, stirring a comforting warmth in Val's chest. "I'm 'bout to go home and do just that..."

Finally catching her gaze, the man offered his partner a knowing smile; giving her shoulder one final squeeze as he donned his backpack.

"Try to enjoy ya weekend, yeah? Catch'ya later."

---

“He did what?!”

Raph shifted his tingling backside in the Shellraiser's driver seat; nodding, like the woman he was venting to over the phone could see him. An affirmative hum promptly followed.

“Yep. He should consider himself very lucky it was Val who talked to him, and not me; I woulda rearranged his teeth..." An enervated sigh escaped him, as he dragged a hand down his face. "I'm so sick of this bullshit..."

Mol gave her own hum, before finally falling silent; seemingly mulling over those words. The terrapin anxiously thudded the back of his head against the headrest, waiting on a response.

“So, don’t take this the wrong way...”

Raph groaned inwardly. “We've told him already, Mol; so many freakin’ times, it ain't even funny-”

“What exactly have you been saying?"

The terrapin scoffed. “Just that everythin's fine and to mind his damn business...?”

There was nothing but compassion in his friend's tone, so he hadn't a clue as to why his shell was up, right now.

It's been a long, lousy-ass day...

All he wanted to do now was steal his girlfriend away, and spend the rest of the weekend making up for it.

“...That's it?”

“Whaddaya tryna get at, Mol?” He sighed.

“Well, I'm just curious as to why you decided not to tell Leo about this, but told me; who had the same concerns-"

"Yeah- cos you aren't in love with her."

The 'L' word twisted his stomach as it slid from his tongue. Once again, his mouth moved quicker than his brain.

"...I-I'm sorry, what-"

"Five months, Mol-"

Looks like we're revealing everything...

"I'd been suspectin' somethin' else was up, before then- I-I mean, I get bein' concerned about the... the bites, and everythin'. Truly, I do. I'd be concerned if ya weren't, honestly- I..."

Feeling his emotions getting the better of him, Raph proceeded with a deep, albeit shaky, inhale; holding onto it as long as his aching lungs would allow, before finally, semi-calmly continuing.

"I was prepared to tell him - I was gonna tell him. But then I saw them talkin', the mornin' after Halloween. He had her practically wedged between himself and the wall; face inches from hers - inches. If Val hadn't left, when she did, I've no doubt he'd have tried somethin'. That's-" He firmly thumped the centre console with his fist, to emphasise his point. "-when I realised it ain't just about the bites, for him..."

After an excruciating moment's silence, Mol finally spluttered: "W-wow- uhhh... o-okay-"

"-a-and I don't know where Val's head's at, right now-" Like vomit, the words just kept coming. His face was on fire at this point as he fought tooth and nail to maintain control. To top it off, he could feel himself tearing up. Clearly, he'd been holding onto these feelings much too long.

"She didn't say much, after I told her; just stared into nothin'. She didn't let me walk her out. She nevah answered my texts durin' break, like she usually does-"

"Alright, okay-"

"I-I can't help but feel- f-feelin' like I'm losin' her, a little, y'know-?"

"Raph-"

"Y-yeah?" Overloaded with adrenaline, the terrapin trembled like a Chihuahua.

"Take a breath, for me, alright?" Mol enjoined gently; Raph obliged. "...That's it. Okay... Listen, first of all: it's a Friday; you know how hectic Fridays can get, for her. Her reason for not responding could be as simple as her just being too busy, alright? Second, if she is in fact dodging, this is how she tends to cope with hard shit, initially. She just needs that space, to get her mind right-"

"I know..." Raph sniffled, thanking God for having the foresight not to reverse park in this alleyway. "I know-"

"Can I ask..." Mol began tentatively. "Do you trust her? I-I know it's an awkward question, coming from the best friend-"

"Of course I do..."

Five months, he's known, but kept it to himself. Five months of watching his oldest brother not-so-discreetly pine for his usually rather shrewd girlfriend, struggling to keep from assuming the worst.

After everything they've been through together, there's no-one he trusted more in this world than Val. But he'd be lying if he said he wasn't at least a little bit miffed at the lack of "Oh, shit. Somethin's not right, here" on her part.

"I'm just-"

"Scared?"

Raph chuckled weakly, almost recoiling at the word. "You could say that..."

"She loves you, Raph," Mol assured gently, further constricting the terrapin's chest. A tear finally broke free; he let it fall. "She's not going anywhere, I can assure you... Please, talk to her. Don't keep all this inside, anymore. It'll kill you, otherwise."

"Do we... s-should I still take her-"

"Yes, go - you both clearly need the time away. As for the other thing-"

Raph's gaze flickered to the glovebox, where his gift securely lay; inside the tiny, velvet drawstring bag.

"-that's completely up to you - it's your life."

He hummed quietly. At this point, his feelings hadn't changed and, unless shit goes belly-up with this talk, he fully intended on following through.

That said, his brother's little stunt pretty much guaranteed it wouldn't happen tonight, like he'd planned.

Thanks, asshole.

A light rapping on the front passenger seat window snapped Raph out of his reverie. Quickly wiping his cheeks dry, the terrapin proceeded leaning forward; finding Val timidly smiling and waving in his direction, outside.

"That her?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, I'll let you go, then. See you guys later - good luck."

"Thanks, Mol." With that, Raph ended the call; dropping his shell-cell inside one of the empty cupholders, before reaching over to unlock, then open, the door.

"Hey..." His girlfriend murmured.

"Hey..." He replied, in kind.

"Sorry I'm late." She tentatively climbed into the passenger seat, stealing a glance at the suitcases behind her as she set her purse at her boots. "Busy day..."

Raph hummed once again, shifting in his seat to properly face her. "Thought so..."

Cocking his neck to catch her initially avoidant gaze, he searched her face. Hers looked as bad as his felt: flushed, and swollen. Those big, brown eyes brimmed with unshed tears; her cheeks and nose appeared scrubbed raw.

Clearly, she'd been crying; and like him, she'd tried her darndest not to let it show.

"How're ya feelin'...?"

That was all it took for her to crumble.

"I'm s-sorry..."

---

Heavy was the air between the couple as they silently traversed the bustling city, into the much more tranquil hinterland.

The entire trip, Val sat as far away from her boyfriend as physically possible; practically hugging the passenger side door. She kept her eyes fixed outside; but if one were to ask what she could see, she'd draw a blank.

Her brain was much too busy torturing her with graphic visions of her found family, imploding.

The culprit: her.

After a several minute crawl up the moderately steep mountain, housing their remote Airbnb, the truck finally plateaued; allowing a relieved Raph to loosen his aching grip on the steering wheel.

As he began stretching out the digits, the terrapin chanced a glance over at his girlfriend, who hadn't graced him with her gaze in over an hour.

An almost inaudible sigh left his lips as their brief, yet incredibly emotional alley conversation flitted through his wearied mind.

For five solid minutes, Val was a mess; apologising, over and over, for missing the signs. For making him question her fidelity.

For the first time in months, he finally felt heard. She was finally seeing what he was seeing.

There was obviously more that needed to be discussed. Watching his girlfriend recoil from her words as she tearfully described her and Leo's confrontation, Raph figured it was safe to assume the revelation left a pretty hefty mark on her. One that had already permeated their family.

Thanks again, asshole.

"I hope you'll be able to enjoy at least a little bit of ya birthday weekend, heh..."

It was meant as a jest, but the weight in Raph's throat made it sound like he was about to cry. An alarmed Val turned, visibly relaxing upon realising.

"Of course I will," she reassured, reaching over to gently squeeze his thigh.

Once he'd shaken off the initial shock at her (unanticipated at this time, but very much welcome) touch, the terrapin took a hand from the wheel and set it atop hers; squeezing back.

A soft smile pulled at the woman's lips, as their eyes finally met. "Thank you."

Raph couldn't help but chuckle at the ridiculousness of that expression. "No need to thank me, babe." Stroking her thumb with his, he offered her his own smile. "Ya deserve it."

The momentary slip of Val's mien suggested she thought otherwise. She quickly changed the subject, turning her gaze outward.

"We're pretty far out..." She attempted a smirk, but the necessary muscles were fighting her. "Should I be worried?"

Raph snorted; hand briefly leaving hers, so he could safely make the incoming turn. As they were leveling out, he finally spotted the sign.

"We're here."

"Should I climb into the back, so you can have your way with me, first?"

He snorted, again.

Cracking jokes, to lighten the weight of a heavy situation? Very Val-esque.

"You're a weirdo."

After rolling down about a mile of windy, gravelled road, they finally reached their accommodation: a quaint little stone cottage, nestled amongst wildflowers and low hanging trees.

The tiniest glimpse of one of the top features could be seen just off the side of the building, inside the near 7-foot bamboo screen fence - the hot tub.

Mol's picture was beautiful, but it didn't even come close in comparison to the real thing. Ironically, it was like stepping into a fairytale.

Raph tentatively checked his girlfriend's face - it was priceless.

"Are you-" The woman immediately checked herself, when she found her nails digging into his scales. "Sorry- sorry... Raph, this is... t-this... Quick, stop the truck-"

Raph chuckled as he honed in on a suitable parking spot. Fresh tyre tracks (hopefully) indicated Casey and April's recent presence. "Alright, alright-"

"Quick, quick, quick-"

Val anxiously bounced in her seat, like a child who just caught Disneyland in their sights. It warmed his heart.

"Hold ya horses; just wait till we stop. It ain't goin' anywhere, I promise..."

The moment that handbrake went up, Val was out; drinking in the location, finally unobstructed by metal panelling and glass.

"How'd you find...?" Her voice sounded miles away.

"Mol did, actually," Raph admitted as he climbed out and shut his door. He left the truck running, so they weren't standing in pitch black darkness.

The brunette hummed unctuously at that. "You were in kahoots, were you?"

"Case and April helped, as well. They swept through here a few hours ago, checkin' for cameras and whathaveyou; and to make sure it was as isolated as what it said on the packet..."

Approaching his girlfriend from behind, the terrapin proceeded snaking his arms around her middle; lightly resting his chin on her shoulder.

"You like it?"

Val giggled softly, nodding. "It's beautiful..."

"Know what else is beautiful?" He murmured against her neck, eliciting another giggle from her.

"You're wasting no time-"

"Hey, you propositioned me first-"

"Yeah, cos I feared for my life-"

"Riiight..." Raph playfully tapped her ass as he pulled away. "Sooo, are we goin' inside; or do ya plan on stayin' out here, all weekend?"

---

Val turned for the last time; prompting a slumbering Raph to grumble and finally release her naked body, rolling toward his side of the King-sized bed.

The weight that promptly lifted from her heart as he did so - it hurt.

A shaky sigh left the woman as she proceeded pulling herself to the edge of the mattress. Eyes fluttering open, she finally, gingerly reached for the item she'd been ruminating over, since the lights went out - her shell-cell.

Despite her best efforts to immerse herself in what was supposed to be a romantic weekend getaway, Val's thoughts continued rotating back to this morning - to the fight.

With every re-entry, it lingered longer; further muddying her feelings on the matter, and about him, in general.

They terrified her.

The bed creaked slightly as the brunette shifted into a seated position; toes grazing the cool timber flooring. Across from her, flames danced inside the fireplace; gifting herself, and the entire suite, a warm, flickering glow.

Slipping on the nightshirt she'd initially laid out for after their shower, but never put on, Val proceeded quietly stepping out onto the terrace; phone in hand.

Her stomach flip-flopped as she scrolled through her texts; bypassing the several variations of [Hope you're OK]s, [I'm sorry]s, and [Happy birthday]s, till she finally found one from whom she was searching for.

The last text he sent was yesterday: an early birthday wish and a reminder not to let Maggie use his present as a scratching post.

Val tittered at that, then groaned as tears immediately followed. She furiously swiped them away.

Why couldn't shit just be simple?!

She hadn't realised she'd been holding her breath, till she found her index finger hovering over the 'call' button.

It felt wrong to even consider doing this, especially from here.

She's supposed to be in there, being spooned (and groped, a little) by her boyfriend. Instead, she's out here; moments away from calling the man who'd just confessed his love for her.

But she had so much left to say. Things she wished she'd said, instead of blowing up the way she did. Things that simply couldn't wait till Sunday, lest she ruin the weekend with her preoccupation.

This had to be put to bed, now.

---

Leo awoke with a start, to the sound of his shell-cell buzzing beneath him.

A groan escaped the leader as he begrudgingly hauled himself upright, in his hammock; glaring down groggily at the infernal device.

I was enjoying that dream... The one in which he was living the life he'd never have.

All frustration promptly turned to anxiety, the moment he realised who was attempting to reach him.

"Wha...?" Finally scooping it up, Leo proceeded staring at her name on his screen; struggling to determine whether he was still, in fact, dreaming.

He quickly checked the time - 2:37am.

Aren't you at the cabin?

What are you doing calling me, at 2am?

Moreover, why are you calling me? I thought we were done...

Several seconds pass; the phone was still buzzing but, for the life of him, Leo couldn't bring himself to pick up. He was frozen stiff; heart racing, thoughts somehow quicker as he agonised over her intentions.

Though he knew it'd never happen, her reciprocation was (naively) still at the tippy top of his list.

By the time he finally decided: fuck it, it was too late. Her name vanished, right as his thumb pressed down on the receive button.

Shit!

Panic struck through Leo and he hit 'call' immediately, mentally slapping himself for somehow missing something right in front of him. Hopefully she's still open to talk...

The first 'Line busy', he understood. The second, after a minute: "Okay...?". The third, after another two minutes, he finally realised:

She was leaving him a message.

["Hey..."]

Leo's heart fluttered at her voice; then fell, once he noticed how heavy it sounded - she'd been crying.

Your fault.

["I really shouldn't be doin' this. But, I... I don't think I'll be able to sleep, if I keep- continue keepin' this to myself..."]

Suddenly, everything was hot.

Leo continued listening; fighting to keep his now screaming heart from drowning out her words.

["I f-feel... betrayed, by you..."]

Just like that, everything fell cold.

["I-I thought we were at a place where we could tell each other anything-"]

Leo hit 'call' again, faster than the speed of freaking light.

"C'mon, Val. Please..."

"...H-hey-"

Thank fuck-

"I'm sorry..." he blurted, before he could combust. "I'm sorry for not telling you. I'm sorry I didn't listen, when you said you were fine. I'm sorry for interfering in your relationship. I'm sorry for betraying your trust. I-I just..."

The terrapin's voice broke as tears seared his eyes. He hadn't felt this level of fear, since...

"...I was s-scared, Val-"

"I know..." she replied quietly, sniffling. "...and I'm sorry for not giving you the whole story; it would've cleared up at least that part of the issue... But, Leo... I-I don't know how I'm gonna process the other part-"

Leo began shaking his head. "I know it's never gonna go that way, between us," he insisted, almost desperately. "I know it and will respect it. You mean way too much to me to jeopardize what we already have-"

"That's the thing, Leo - y-you have..."

She might as well have ripped out his heart with her bare hands, then stomped on it.

"...P-please, don't say that-"

"I don't know exactly why I didn't see it. Maybe I didn't want to see it, out of fear of... of losing you; of losing this family... But I can't ignore it, anymore. I need to put him first..."

"O-of course - I understand. But, Val-"

"I won't be visiting the Lair, for a while-"

Leo couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You don't have to do that-"

"I-I know you can't control how you feel about me, but I need to put some distance between us-"

"This is your home, Val-"

"It's yours, first," she countered gently. "I have two homes - I'll be fine..."

The tears were well and truly flowing now. His heart was breaking, all over again. "V-Val, please-"

"I'm so sor..." It was clear she was in the same boat. "I'm sorry- I-I've gotta go..."

Click.

---

The rest of the night was rough.

Val spent most of it right where she ended the call: outside, in the dark; freezing her ass off (in literally nothing but a shirt), quietly crying herself to exhaustion.

Her heart was broken. Out of all the break-ups she's experienced - romantic or no - this one, by far, hurt the most. It felt like she'd just lost a part of herself; a part that'll never be the same when, or if, they reconcile.

Everything's changing...

Dawn was just beginning to creep in when Val finally dragged herself back inside. Raph was (thankfully) still dead to the world; bear-hugging her pillow, as he always did, whenever she wasn't around. Normally, this scene would have given her the warm and fuzzies.

This time, it only made her feel more like shit.

Her boyfriend's arm was around her the moment she crawled into bed; tugging her firmly against himself. He mumbled something unintelligible as he nuzzled into her neck, before seemingly slipping back into a deeper sleep; maundering fingers fondling the jersey cotton over her very perky and very sensitive nipple.

She just laid there, stiff and awkward; unable to bring herself to reciprocate the affection.

Words couldn't express how repugnant she felt: being hung up on a man, who was not her partner. Why the hell was she letting this guy occupy so much space in her mind?

Was she simply dealing with the loss of an important friendship, or could there be something she's been too afraid to consider-

SHUDDUP-!

She abruptly heel-palmed her temple, hard; wincing at both the pain now radiating through her skull, and the startling fact that she'd just struck herself; the first time in a long time.

She was ashamed to acknowledge this occurred often, growing up; whenever her thoughts stepped into deleterious territory, or to punish herself for her (perceived) shortcomings. It's a habit she'd unfortunately picked up from her mother, who regularly marked her wrists in an effort to 'relieve' herself of the seemingly unremitting war inside her mind.

Though she'd never gone that far (and never, ever will), Val conceded that her own methods (shattering her fingers on a brick wall, for example) weren't that great either, in comparison.

"Val...?"

The woman flinched at her boyfriend's voice, offending hand returning to her side with lightening speed. A sniffle escaped her, and she froze. The tears had not long ceased; one more syllable from him and she'd crumble... again.

"H-hey, baby..."

The mattress gave slightly as he shifted over her, hand finally leaving her chest to soothingly caress her stomach. His voice was hoarse from sleep; a decibel higher than a whisper, and brimming with concern:

"You okay...?"

...Nope.

One tear suddenly became two; then three, then four... Next thing she knew, she was howling into her pillow.

All these feelings and zero time nor space to process them healthily. They shouldn't have come; she was ruining this getaway with her bullshit.

"Hey, hey-" Taking her shoulder, Raph gently rolled his girlfriend toward him.

"No-"

He caught her hands as they darted for her face, securing them against his plastron. She kept her eyes squeezed shut; face turned away from him, pressed into her now damp pillow.

"Look at me, baby-" He beseeched; stroking her wet, hot cheek with his free hand, whilst squeezing hers with the other. His heart ached to see her in pain, knowing he had a hand in it.

If only he'd told her sooner, or kept his trap shut until after this weekend...

"Look at me, please..."

Eventually, she relented; allowing her body to fall limp in his grasp. Her half-lidded gaze stared behind him, off into the darkness. "I'm s-sorry-"

Her boyfriend gently shushed her, continuing to wipe away her tears.

"Don't be sorry. It's okay-"

"It's not-"

"It is-"

"You've done all this stuff for me and I've f-fucked it-"

"Hey- no, listen." His tone was sharp, resolute. Though she wasn't looking directly at him, the frequency of which her eyes flickered to the ear closest to him confirmed she was listening. "You've nothin' to apologise for, alright? I shouldn't have dropped all this on ya, yesterday. I lost my temper. I'm sorry..."

A brief silence befell the couple - in which Raph's hand finally left Val's cheek, to frame her jaw - before she finally murmured: "This isn't on you, babe..."

That's when he noticed the bags under her eyes; heart sinking even further. "Have ya slept?"

She only offered a despondent hum.

He couldn't help the sigh that followed. "Babe..."

Her eyes promptly disappeared beneath her lashes as she lowered her gaze.

Raph sighed again. He could feel the frustration building in his stomach - at her, at himself. He should've known she still wasn't okay last night. In hindsight, she'd 'recovered' too quickly.

She'd been much too eager to reciprocate, when he began feeling her up in the shower. Much too eager to escalate things, and much too eager for him to finish inside; a thing they've been (tentatively) exploring for some time, on her 'safe' days.

Desperate to put the Leo debacle behind them, they'd inadvertently taken advantage of each other.

He felt sick.

"Get some sleep; we'll talk later, when you're feelin' better."

---

---

Masterlist / Chapter 24

@android-cap-007 @happymoonangel @miss-andromeda @raphaelismybae @jasminarts01

[the-magnificent-otaku-draws]

Just Curious that I had in my mind from Book 4.5. How would Hazel feel or react seeing Ryan and Min-gi in the bathroom together at the party car? 😅

I'm sort of reconstructing B4.5 at the moment, but I do know that if it did follow Book 4 more closely it would probably be a big moment of change for her

Ryan at the beginning did say they were a part of a band and Min sees how excited she is to both have a family and be a part of that dream so he wouldn't outright say Ryan was lying. He'd sort of try to ween her off the idea and have her focus on the family part because he sure as Hell isn't leaving her in such an unstable home. He thinks he can convince Ryan to settle down permanently and they'll end up as a typical family; living in a quiet place in a nice house with normal jobs, sending their kid to a good school so she can have a good future and all that. He still lets bits of their past slip through, but not enough to totally tip her off, at least until The Astro Queue Car.

She'd gotten little hints that Min and Ryan separated at some point and their arguments sort of cements that. She's probably resent Min for a little, mostly because his 'I know better' attitude reminds her too much of her mom and teachers, but under all that misguided anger is a fear that they'll end up just like her parents and want nothing to do with each other and her. Things do get better after he saves Ryan and they make up, but finding out Min hid in the bathroom would probably make her regress back into thinking 'They were lying about making up'. She'd try to sneak away to find Kez but end up overhearing their conversation and actually hearing them talk and be so vunerable with each other would make her realize that relationships and people aren't so simple. In the end seeing them playing together would be such a relief because now she knows that her new parents actually want to fix themselves without making her their security blanket. It's a sign that they really do love each other, that she's safe with them and things will get better

And then the Art Gallery Car happens

[ultimatelyunassuming]

sovereignSlayer [SS] began trolling wonderfulVariation [WV]

SS: W3ll w3ll w3ll

SS: Look who n33ds h3lp l3a<ing th3ir hi<3

SS: I k33p t3lling yo> that yo> n33d to acc3pt o>r ad<ic3

SS: B>t no yo> d>mb h>mans n33d to "Learn how to problem solve on our own, or else we'll be overtly dependent on you and unable to solve our own problems when we can't contact you for assistance."

SS: That was from WQ by th3 way

SS: I copy past3d it from o>r last chat

WV: Who are you

WV: What the fuck is going on

WV: Why are you talking to me

WV: HOW are you talking to me, everyone from earth should be dead

WV: Whats a hive??? IS there a hive underneath my house???

SS: Oh y3ah I forgot yo> don't know m3 at this point

SS: H3llo "nic3 to m33t yo>" or what3<3r im slick and w3'r3 "fri3nds"

SS: What th3 f>ck was th3 thing yo> call3d >s? F>cking "blood b>ddi3s" or som3 shit?

SS: Do3snt matt3r w3'r3 fri3nds tr>st m3

WV: Why are you typing like that

WV: It looks dumb. Stop that

WV: Makes it harder to read your texts

SS: Wow

SS: What a comp3lling arg>m3nt!

SS: How abo>t this: no

SS: Yo> l3arn to d3al with it

WV: Thats idiodic

SS: What a wordsmith yo> ar3

SS: Damn yo> w3r3 right yo> r3ally w3r3 a dick now

WV: ?

SS: Dont worry abo>t it

SS: So yo>r3 st>ck in yo>r hi>3 b3ca>s3 AR trapp3d yo> in yo>r ho>s3 accid3ntally by blocking yo> in with yo>r cru>trud3r

SS: Yo> ob<io>sly n33d h3lp l3a<ing and I ha<3 j>st th3 thing to h3lp yo>

WV: How do you know that Im stuck in my house

SS: I can s33 yo> right now

WV: Are you fucking stalking me???

SS: What? No

SS: Stop looking aro>nd yo> look lik3 a cl>ckb3ast who j>st lost its h3ad

SS: Im not th3r3 Im watching yo> thro>gh a comp>t3r scr33n right now

WV: Oh, so you hid cameras all around my house

WV: Fucking creep

SS: I didnt!

SS: DOnt block m3 i can h3lp yo> 3scap3 yo>r plac3

WV: Give me one good reason not to

SS: ill gi<3 yo> thr33

SS: 1: it wont 3<3n work

WV: 3<3n?

SS: Ughhhhhhh

SS: Even

SS: Yo> n3<3r g3t >s3d to my q>irk yo> sho>ld work on that

WV: n3<3r?

SS: UUUUGHHHHH

SS: NEVER

SS: W3'R3 G3TTING OFF TOPIC

SS: 2: If yo> dont tak3 my off3r yo>r3 gonna b3 for3<3r st>ck

SS: And 3: its not lik3 yo> ha<3 anything to los3

SS: By th3 way im gi<ing this info for fr33

SS: B3ca>s3 I lik3 yo>

WV: Fine

WV: I'll take it

WV: Tell me your advice

SS: And ask yo>r fri3nds abo>t m3 im tr>stwo oh that was q>ick

WV: Like you said, I have nothing to lose

SS: Shit

SS: Ok

SS: Gi<3 m3 a s3cond to typ3 3<3rything out

WV: 3<3rything?

SS: Everything

SS: Again yo> n33d to work on compr3h3nsion, my q>irk r3ally isnt that hard to s>s o>t

SS: Yo> sho>ld s33 CD's q>irk, his mak3s min3 look lik3 a p>zzl3 for n3wly hatch3d gr>bs

SS: B>t thats off topic

SS: So what yo> want to do is go to a window not on3 on th3 gro>nd l3<3l yo> wanna go on on3 of th3 top floor th3n yo> climb o>t of th3 hi<3 onto th3 roof

SS: B3for3 yo> l3a<3 yo> n33d to alch3miz3 this it3m: WOOOOOSH

SS: 3q>ip it wh3n yo>r3 on th3 roof and j>mp off and th3n yo> sho>ld b3 fr33

WV: You want me to make a hover board that costs me all the grist I've collected so far

SS: y3ah d>h

SS: Its th3 only way yo> can l3a<3 witho>t imm3diat3ly dying

SS: And its not lik3 yo> cant j>st grind for mor3

WV: Fine

WV: If this doesn't work I swear to god

SS: No it will tr>st m3

SS: B3li3<3 yo>r blood b>ddy

WV: B3li3<3?

WV: You know what, I don't care

WV: Thanks for the code weirdo

wondefulVariation [WV] ceased pestering sovereignSlayer [SS]

[yuugo]

Yu-Gi-Oh! OC Week Day 2 - Family

I'm so late but it's okay, I made up with it by writing like 2000 words...

Yansa Masaku

Sei's older and only surviving brother. His name is written as 㷔瑳 (or, "a brilliant fire like that of a polished gem".

Their family name is Masaku (劘胙).

Backstory and drabble located below the cut - it's VERY long.

Sei's Backstory

WARNING: contains mentions of neglect, abuse, disfigurement, and mentions of needles/syringes as well as plastic surgery

Sei was born the third child of a wealthy family that had already raised two very successful sons before him. An heir and a spare, as it was known. By the time Sei came into existence, his mother had already grown tired of raising children, and so bestowed upon him a name that had little love to it – "a piece of meat", otherwise known as 腊 (seki).

Born female, "Seki" was given the expectations of a wealthy young lady to always follow his family's orders and put their needs above his at all times. By the time Sei was 11, he already had an arranged husband from a similarly wealthy company lined up for him to marry once he became of age.

Sei's mother was a stern and taciturn woman, jaded from the politics of the wealthy world. His father was equally strict and known to never smile. His two older brothers were outstanding model citizens who excelled both academically and martially.

Naturally, similar expectations came to be thrust upon Sei.

Back straight, chin up. Walk in a straight line. A young lady must never be caught unpresentable. She must always be sweet, pretty, and docile. Her worth was only in her looks.

When Sei was 13, he was involved in a car accident that left his face and body horribly disfigured. While extensive medical care and surgeries were things his family could pay for in spades, Sei came to realize during recovery that neither his mother nor father once visited him. The youngest brother came by sometimes, and his older brother once or twice.

Until you are beautiful again, I don't want to look at you.

Faced with this revelation, Sei hid himself in shame and lived by himself in a family villa overseas while he recovered. He became a hermit that wouldn't even leave his room.

In that time, Sei came to be drawn to TV programs of entertainment duelists pleasing and eliciting cheers from the crowd. He was enamored with the way they dressed and their energetic charisma, and intoxicated with the thought of a crowd that would cheer and be excited just to see him. The feeling eventually manifested in a desire to become one.

However, it was a long four years of physical therapy and surgery after surgery before he could finally "rejoin" society.

Instead of joy and relief at his return, however, his mother only looked at him with sharp eyes and simply said, "I knew we should have gotten you plastic surgery sooner."

By the time Sei turned 19, his face had already been marked up to no end by sharpies, scalpels, and syringes. His mother's smiles only became warmer after each one, and he chased that feeling.

When he turned 20, his mother and eldest brother both perished in a plane crash. As the youngest brother ran around to pick up the pieces, Sei realized that the love he had been chasing after in his mother's eyes would never be fulfilled, and he subjected himself to intense surgery for nothing.

Some part of him must have already known this, however. It was a futile dream from the beginning. Instead of sorrow or grief, he only felt a crushing apathy and disappointment.

When they lowered the bodies of his mother and eldest brother in the ground, he only stared at their gravestones blankly. The youngest brother said something to him, but Sei doesn't remember responding.

In the aftermath, Sei became estranged from the rest of his family. His father, devoured by grief for his eldest son, stepped down and retired from his work, while the youngest brother took over. Neither of them checked on or cared for Sei.

But having lived a shadow of a life before this, it was nothing new to him.

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

June (drabble)

It was June — it was always June when something horrible happened in Sei's life.

It was June when he moved into his cozy two bedroom apartment away from the rest of the family, in the middle of a city eons away. No one in Maiami would recognize Sei's family or his face — but no one would have known it was him anyway, after all of the surgery. That person in the folded family photo he had thrown away during packing no longer existed.

The landlord swore up and down that this was the best apartment in the city, that he was in the center of everything, and oh sir, Mister Masaku, sir, I hope it's alright for you, rubbing his hands together like the skin would peel off his fingers any moment. Sei didn't listen to him, only put down his single duffel bag of clothes and declared he'd take it.

After all, there was nothing that money couldn't buy. Even a new life and a new identity, away from that prison of a house.

It was June a year later when his only surviving brother showed up on his doorstep, when Sei had only just begun his rounds in the entertainment duelist circuit.

Yansa looked no worse for wear as he stood patiently in the doorway, looking down on Sei with his piercing red eyes. There were no bags underneath his eyes, nor crinkles in his brow, or even the faint scar of acne on his face. It was only his long blond hair, black embroidered kimono, and the scent of sandalwood, the kind Sei only smelled at the temple's lit incense during the New Year.

"Have you had enough fun?" asked Yansa, always clipped and succint, like he had somewhere else to be. Nothing had changed since they were children.

Not even the way Sei's breath caught in his throat as he stumbled for words. A crowd of disbelievers and even the sternest authority could not crack him — but for his family, cold sweat built up like the pouring rain at the back of his neck. It was always humid in June; it was the rainy season, after all.

"What do you want me to say?" replied Sei, quiet. His knuckles turned white as his grip on the door tightened, but he still would not dare to close it. "I don't want to go back."

Yansa brushed aside a few stray strands of his hair and looked disapprovingly in Sei's direction, sending shivers down his spine. "I want you to tell me the truth. What I want to hear is irrelevant."

"If I say the wrong thing, will you drag me back?" the words, to anyone else, may have felt like a sarcastic remark, but in Sei's trembling voice it contained nothing but trepidation and fear.

Finally, Yansa sighed, the weight of his gaze lifting. Sei followed the change in demeanor with a look of surprise to see his older brother running a hand nervously through his hair. Things he had never seen even after growing up together for over 14 years.

"I'm sorry," Yansa said after a long moment, his eyes distant. "I didn't mean to startle you. I didn't realize..."

"Wh-What are you apologizing for?" a tidal wave crashed into Sei's thoughts, breaking him from his stupor. At any moment, he feared his dead mother would round the corner and tell Yansa off for apologizing to him. "Why?"

Yansa reached out, the edge of his silken kimono sleeve brushing against Sei's bare arm. Then, he stopped, bit his lip, and sighed again.

"Kiki," he said, frustratingly slow. Sei could hear the way his heart almost leapt out of his chest. Yansa looked no worse for wear, as usual not even a hair out of place — only, something kept flickering behind the red of his eyes. "Can I call you that?"

"It doesn't matter to me," said Sei, quiet. He looked at the wooden floor beneath him and his fluffy cat slippers. "You can call me Seki, too, if you want."

"Kiki," said Yansa again, firmer this time. "Mother is dead."

"She died a year ago, I know."

"Yes," Yansa sighed. He combed his fingers through his hair again. "I am the head of the family now, following Chie's passing and our father stepping down."

"Chie... also died with mother in the crash."

"That means," Yansa raised his voice and Sei stepped back reflexively. At the movement, he realized his mistake, and dropped his tone to something softer again, leaving Sei bewildered. "You are free, Kiki. The arranged marriage has been called off for years now and I have no intention of marrying you off in the future."

The silence is defeaning in Sei's ears, even as Yansa stays as still as a tree in his doorway. Neither of them move.

"... I'm sorry," Yansa was the one to break the silence. He leaned forward just the slightest bit, to not startle him. "All the years gone by, I wish I could've said this sooner."

"Wh-Why?" Sei asked again. It was like he could not quite process what was going on. Something in him still had not clicked.

"I never hated you, Kiki," said Yansa, softly. He pushed his hair behind him and smoothed the front of his kimono, patting down the gold-coated thread stitched near his collar. An image of a turtle and magnolia flowers, for prosperity. "Mother only made it seem that way."

Sometimes, it was in June that something good happened in his life, even admist the pouring rain outside.

[dailyunstableeve]

I actually wrote like a different ending for my "Under the Spell" fanfic, it basically just sits in my storage so I thought why not I post it out

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Under the Spell

[Different ending]

Miguel O'Hara x My oc (Eve)

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*This chapter takes place after Chapter four.*

★・・・・・・★

"Miguel."

"Yes Mi Amor?"

Eve looked at Miguel as they're having a movie night together. Today's movie choice is "all the bright places"

"What if one day I betrayed you, like our meeting is set up?" Eve asked.

Miguel was shocked when he heard what Eve asked him.

"I know you guys are looking for the mafia killer, I overheard the conversation, Lyla has suspicions about me which I don't mind, after all, the mafia killer looks like me right?" Eve continues watching the movie while Miguel is already unable to focus on the movie.

The movie is currently on the point where the male lead brought the female lead to a small roller coaster. They look so happy together, like a fresh new couple.

"How much do you hear?" Miguel asked, looking at Eve who's cuddling in Miguel's arm.

"Everyone in the HQ is looking at me differently when they think I didn't notice it," Eve coldly said, but she couldn't help it but to laugh together with the movie because they look like having a lot of fun together.

"Mi Amor, I will still love you no matter who you are," Miguel kissed Eve's head.

"Can you help me, uh, brush my hair?"

Some reason, Miguel could feel that sentence was forced out, as Eve is struggling to talk.

"Sure, anything for you," Miguel gave her a smile and went to the bathroom to grab Eve's comb.

"Stop monitoring me, I had it all under control."

Miguel heard it just before he stepped out from the bathroom, he decided to stay in the bathroom for a little while longer, to observe.

"How am I going to get it cool when you keep electrocuting my senses? Stay back!" Eve continues to whisper.

"Miguel, did you find the comb?" Eve shouted from the living room.

"Yeah, I found it."

Miguel walks out from the bathroom, looking at Eve who's continuing watching the movie.

Like nothing happened.

Miguel sat back next to Eve, Eve already had her back facing Miguel, letting Miguel to brush her hair. While Miguel is brushing her hair, Eve tends to move in a strange position, as if she wanted Miguel to brush that exact spot she's showing him.

Without question, Miguel just brushes the spot Eve is showing him. Every brush, Eve would tremble for a little, she keeps it as little as possible, she doesn't want Miguel to notice she's trembling.

But Miguel knows.

He wants to believe Eve. Which is why he's going to do everything Eve asks him to do, even if it sounds like a trap.

Something dropped out from Eve's hair, Miguel picked it up and it's an earpiece. Before Miguel could ask Eve anything, she's already hugging Miguel, her trembling is more visible.

"Mi Amor? Are you okay?" Miguel asked, gently patted her back, comforting her.

"I'm sorry, I'm very sorry, I'm so sorry," Eve cries, she hid her face on Miguel's shoulder so Miguel won't be seeing her crying face.

"It's okay," he could feel his shoulder getting wet.

Miguel continued hugging Eve, telling her it's okay.

"We gotta go, we have to go now," Eve suddenly got back up and rushed to their bedroom.

"Go? Where?"

"They'll be here soon, we have to move," Eve quickly took out their jacket and helped Miguel wear it.

"We can't go to the HQ, we just need to hide," Eve is panicking.

"Mi Amor, calm down for a bit."

"Miguel, I hate to say it, but you gotta just trust me, as in don't question unless I said so."

This isn't the Eve he knows.

"I trust you, always," Miguel said.

"This is the reason," Eve held up the earpiece, "I make it tangle with my hair so when you comb my hair, it can pull it off, I'm not who you think I am Miguel, just remember I love you, and I'm glad I met you," Eve gives Miguel a kiss and rush out of the house together with him.

The two lovers run together down the street, without worrying about cars, the people. They just run.

Three black cars appear in front of them, they have no choice but to run in different directions.

"Shit, do you think you can call for backup? Like they don't show themselves but doing action in the dark?" Eve asked as they continued to run.

"Lyla, is Jess around? And Peter (Peter B)?"

"They are, they just clock in," Lyla responded.

"I need backup."

"Alright."

"Lyla, they can't show themselves, they have to do it secretly," Eve reminded Lyla, "these people can get very dangerous when they see the others."

"Got it."

Eve saw a small alley ahead, she took the chance and pulled Miguel in the alley and they managed to lose the three cars.

"This can get a lot more messy."

Both of them stopped in the middle of the alley, catching their breath.

"Suit up Miguel, what you're about to see," Eve awkwardly laughed, "it's gonna just stay between us."

"Okay."

"Mi Amor, I don't know what's going on but I will trust you until the end of the time, I love you, and I will follow you, wherever you go, and find you," Miguel kisses Eve.

"I know my love, this is why I love you too," Eve chuckled, she sent a location to Miguel, "we meet up here alright? In case we got separated."

"Okay."

"And spoiler alert, I am the mafia killer," Eve chuckled as she wore her mask and hopped off the alley way, leaving Miguel there.

"She's a badass."

Miguel let out a chuckle and wore his suit.

Eve takes the lead, as Miguel follows behind. They keep their distance so the bad guys wouldn't notice Miguel is following them.

Quickly, Jess and Peter B showed up. The first sight they saw was Eve jumping across the rooftop, especially the gap is very big.

"Miguel, what the hell am I looking at?" Jess asked.

"My girlfriend," Miguel chuckled.

"What is she? Wait, don't tell me she's really the mafia killer?" Jess continued.

"She is, but we're just gonna trust her for now."

"Just saying, she's not a hero because hero doesn't kill," Jess sighed.

"I'm sure she'll explain everything later, let's just focus on getting these men off her," just as Miguel finished, the men in the car opened up the window and started shooting at Eve.

Eve looked at those men and decided to jump on their car, giving the enemy something they didn't expect could lead them in a stun for a second. Eve quickly turns off the engine of the car and brakes the car, leading the men to fly out from the front window. Eve does the same with the two cars.

"Traitors!" One of the men shouted.

"Turn back now, or you'll never see tomorrow," Eve laughed, standing on top of the car, watching those men.

Eve took a quick look around, there aren't any civilians here, no one will become the victim or innocent get hurt.

"Zola asked for you."

"Tell him to come out from his grave then we talk," Eve smug as she uses her magic to bring down the men.

Miguel, Jess and Peter B stay in the dark shooting their webs at the bad guys if they try to attack Eve.

"Цветок, Тридцать один, Новая звезда," Russian code talking from one of the speaker that Eve is standing on.

It's the code that controls her like the Winter Soldier.

Eve started to tremble, the feeling of being unable to control her body slowly taking over.

"No, not again, I can't let the same thing happen!"

She's trying to fight it off. There's no electric chair here, or water to drown her, or something that froze her up. She can fight it off.

"Мы получили ее," one of the men talk to his radio.

Two men started to walk towards Eve, with the code playing on repeat.

"Eve!"

A voice called her, the voice that made her snap out of it, Miguel. Eve has her full focus on Miguel, slowly the codes become blurry to her ears. Eve quickly took down the men and ran towards Miguel, running into his big warm hug.

"Wait," Eve reached out her hand in the air and a pendrive appeared on her hand, "this pendrive has all the information we needed to bring down Hydra and the Red Room, ask Lyla to report it up."

"I'll be the one that gives it to Lyla," Peter B said as Eve handed him the pendrive.

"I go with you," then Jess and Peter B swing their way back to the HQ, leaving Eve and Miguel on the empty road.

"We should call the police to clean this up."

"Already done it."

So Eve and Miguel fled the scene before the police arrived, they watched the men getting arrested then they only headed to the location they were supposed to meet up at.

The sun is already rising. It's also a good place to watch the sunrise.

"I never know there's another ending," Eve looked at the sunrise, holding Miguel's hand.

"Another ending?"

"Yeah, if tonight didn't happen, I would probably be dead," Eve let out a bitter chuckle.

During the whole time, Miguel has never looked away from Eve.

Just one night, the girl she loves has a totally different personality that he doesn't know of.

"Before I start, I'm going to let you have the right to be mad or pissed at me after everything I told you," Eve turned to Miguel.

"I would never be mad at you, Mi Amor."

"Okay."

"Our first met, is actually a set up, I was commanded to study you. And because you ruined my home, and family. Miguel, I know what you did, that universe, that everything disappeared, was actually my home. I'm not from this universe, I'm able to not glitch because of my magic, it's like magic force is protecting my cells. When my home is gone, together with my family, I was lost, I uses as much magic as I can to get away from there and I ended up here, I've lost everything I can called back then, so I turn to Hydra and the Red Room, they were there in my universe too, and back then, they were the only thing left that represents me, a test subject that was made to kill."

"So I started to do dirty work again, and those mafia gangs I killed? It's because they disobeyed their master's words so I was assigned to kill them because people only fear death when they see it. And they hacked the system for me, about my last name, my name is Eve Ashby, too bad here doesn't have a Eve like me, but my parents are here, without a child, so I took the advantage and put my name in it, just like that, I look like I born here."

"When you become my mission, I was looking forward to it, because I know it's you who did it, the whole universe, gone. The mission is a year, which next week is the deadline. I used my power to look into my possible future, and it didn't end well. During the time I spend with you, I forgive you because if it's also my family, I would do the same. And you made me fall in love," Eve chuckled, "I love you Miguel, I really do and I will always love you, I wish we could start again, without the 'mission' word on it, just you and me."

"Sure Mi Amor, I love you too."

Love could make us forgive everything.

Just like we're under the spell.

That we could never say no but yes.

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I never thought of posting it cuz it's badly written but in the same time, I feel like why not I share it, so at least the different ending is known 😭

[merryfortune]

Minesweeping

Written for the @femslash-friday-prompts 

Prompt: Salty

Title: Minesweeping

Ship: not applicable | Risa/Queen

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains

Rating: M

Word Count: 1,166

Tags: Drugs & Alcohol, Sexual References, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Complicated Relationships, Inappropriate Workplace Relationships, Indirect Kiss, M-Spec Characters

   When it came to Queen, whatever came after what she had was what was best. The best cars, the best clothes, even the best drinks. It was really, truly, exceedingly rare when Queen finished her first drink before moving onto something else.

   This didn’t even just apply to Queen’s leisure and her famed hedonism, Risa had long observed as the office gopher. Specifically Queen’s office gopher. And bike, too, but that didn’t matter right now. This applied to everything. It applied to her business practices, it applied to how she duelled and how she used the not exactly overpowered Level system with her Allure Queens, and it even applied to her lovers.

   So she was entirely unsuitable for Risa’s goals of becoming a trophy wife because Queen wasn’t in the business of finding a trophy wife. Let alone an out and proud gold digger like Risa. She was in the business of finding a mistress, or an extraneous mister, a fling at the best of times and yet.

   The heart wanted what the heart wanted.

   Oh curse Risa’s hopeless romantic tendencies - or at least that’s what Risa would call them.

   Queen was cruel and cut-throat. She left people wanting more and by God did Risa want more. Her mouth just dried whenever she thought too long about how wet Queen could get her. Everything about her was larger than life. From her low cut tops to her short leather skirts. Her high heels and the way she turned something as simple as reapplying lipstick into something fancy and sultry. Hayami was head over heels for something she was never going to get.

   Watching from afar, as she typed up financial reports or whatever on the SOL Tech computers was just not going to cut it. Not if she wanted to compete with the best of the best to try and get something tangible. Not necessarily permanent, just tangible. That she was more than just whatever was most convenient and most malleable at any given moment. 

   Yeah… Risa had her work cut out for her if this was where she was going to set her sights. It was way above her pay grade. But she was here and she looked so good in this pant suit so she was going to do her best.

   Knowing all that, then Risa knew not even being side by side with Queen was going to cut it. Rubbing shoulders with all sorts of fancy people and wicked manipulators and who knows what else. Risa couldn’t begin to fathom how many sinners and saints that she’d taken minutes for in meetings with Queen. She needed to be apart of Queen’s inner circle. Her entourage. The best of the best, the next new thing, a clique which tore itself apart and was a constant revolving door of faces.

   Except Risa’s. She’d done her best to be the most permanent fixture of these late night parties. Whether it was on the beach or on the AI beach, whether it was in a nightclub or it was just in the office. Clawing for any crumb of Queen’s attention long term, Risa was the exact opposite of Queen’s usual modus operandi. 

   She wasn’t even close to being the next best thing on Queen’s radar. She wasn’t anyone’s first option, Risa knew. High school, university, and corporate life had taught her that lesson over and over again but hey look where she worked. At least this corporate shithole was the shithole.

   Long, wavy hair which looked greasy more so than shiny. Even though Risa did her best. Her cherubic face which hid a greedy mind. She did her best. The frumpy clothes which lied her little, pudgy ass off as being bespoke? She did nothing but her best but what she knew about Queen, it always paid off to break her heart because it was just too easy to.

   Another night, another rager. That’s what the plan was anyway. Queen and her hand-picked group of groupies, Risa was over-eager at her side. Ready for a big night of drinking and maybe even drugs if she really wanted to get wild (but she never did).

   The music was booming in this night club. Sharp, tacky techno played and there were lights and laserbeams. It was all so young and futuristic. People were dancing and it was packed. The walls were shaking, the floors were quaking and Risa felt entirely displaced as she tried to stay at the top. To be the next best thing.

   Only, and probably unsurprisingly, Risa was ditched at the first available opportunity, just like the salt-rimmed tequila that Queen hadn’t even ordered. It just somehow ended up in her hand, like magic. The bartender just gave it to her. Everyone else had to order their own drinks and Hayami ordered the same. More tequila, more salt, she didn’t even like it, she was choking it down wishing it was something sweet and bubbly but hey, she was being the cool girl.

   She was going to party with Queen and she wasn’t going to be forever and always apart of Queen’s party. That’s how Risa was going to get what she wanted but she had the bladder of a squirrel. She ducked out for just a few seconds and sure enough.

   The table was abandoned.

   Risa sat down. Defeated. She really should just stick to chasing Akira’s coattails. He didn’t demand this up and down, carrot and stick game of her. Risa looked around. She couldn’t really see Queen through the swarm of people that were drunk and were dancing. Save for in her mind’s eye. Sharp and disdainful of her and yet.

   When Risa saw her own reflection in the martini glass that had been Queen’s - and it was Queen’s, the little lime-coloured umbrella on the side and undisturbed salt on the rim confirmed it as Queen’s in Risa’s recollection - she just sighed. She was thirsty. She hated tequila. She wasn’t thirsty. Why was she even here? The headache that throbbed in Risa’s temples worsened as she sputtered, choking down yet more tequila. She thought tequila was meant to make you happy, she didn’t feel happy right now but those granules of salt…

   They reminded her of Queen.

   The taste, even the sharpness of them. It was all too Queen for Risa’s increasingly exasperated and unpaid for tastes. Yet here she was, imagining Queen’s lips, imagining what it would be like to feel the velvet of her lipstick and taste the tang of tequila and salt on her mouth. It had to be better than drinking it off her glass. Surely.

   It really was stupid to mine-sweep drinks. Risa had learned that in university, too. No need to tell her twice and yet. She liked Queen’s after taste because that’s all she was ever gonna be. The one not picked. The whatever was most convenient for the least cost. Whatever the opposite of the next best and newest thing. 

   Discarded like an unfinished drink.

[evecolourshock]

It snarls quietly to itself, contemplating. This situation is... not optimal.

It can't get out yet. So it has all the time it needs to think. Claws clench and unclench, balled fists or flailing scythes. Spines ripple as it rolls its shoulders. Fangs gnash on air.

Easy, easy. Can't let them catch on it's merely a show.

It checks in on its Origins, tucked away in their little mindscape utopias. It has to keep them there, keep them hidden. Keep them safe.

Seong-gi-Flint and Tron are cuddling again. Resting - it can't fully take away what its hands have done, but it can make them seem like nothing more than terrible dreams.

Rinzler is more alert, knows what it has done. He's gone for a walk, his dream-bed not even cold yet. It brushes over him in apology, gets soothing reassurance back - if it hadn't "derezzed" the drugged, weakened Enforcer, Dyson would have, and would have been far less kind about it. And far more permanent.

Rinzler knows this, had allowed it to absorb both parts of him and scatter the leftover free code like it had torn the Program limb from limb. Had allowed it to fake the destruction of Tron and Rinzler both, to keep them as alive as it could.

It hears Clu tell Dyson they'll wait as long as it takes for it to calm down and accept them as masters, Rinzler's hearing sharper than any normal Program. Sees him grow bored of waiting as the cycles slip by, heading off to sleep and assuming it will do the same, Tron's eyes keener than even they expect.

It grins to itself once he's gone. Seong-gi-Flint's User powers flex, and the door unlocks with barely a hiss despite countless seals.

It will be back here soon enough, before its unwanted observers return. It just needs a bit more time.

Tron knew of energy pools untouched by User and Program alike. Rinzler found them - hid a handful from Clu. This body, Seong-gi-Flint's body, sheds User code as they are wont to do. Three discs, blank and ready to receive host data, filched from the Coliseum Armoury and kept free of contaminants that could fill them up before it needs them.

All the pieces of an ISO catalyst, laid out for it to put together like a jigsaw.

It does admit to experimenting, just a little. One Program, so like it and Tron and yet like neither, derezzed in a desperate skirmish - and brought back many hundreds of cycles later, gasping and spluttering and drenched in silken energy as the pool it had bled into built a new frame from the code on the disc kept like a trophy.

It chirps a soft hello to Beck, gets a cheery whistle in response. Language is still a little too hard for the freshly revived demi-ISO.

That's okay. Language is a little too hard for it, too.

Transferring the data from its disc to the blank ones will not be easy. It's starting with Rinzler's tonight, because he doesn't interact with the other two all that much and his departure will not be noticed for some time. Less scary that way.

But tonight, Rinzler will be revived in entirety, solely his own Program and no longer with a secret in his mind. Tonight, fangs and claws will flash over the Grid, and the first of its Origins will rise again.

Tonight, an amalgam of four becomes an amalgam of three. It smiles softly, feels Rinzler settle where it can scoop him out and transfer him over.

For it is an amalgam, the Amalgam, and its creators should be very afraid of what it can do.

Flint woke up too, too, early one morning, finding himself in his own apartment but coated in a cold sweat from having imagined horrors beyond his conscious comprehension.

Terrible scenes of war and death raged on still in his skull, wounding him with painful memories of fighting to just survive in the death state of the Grid. The sorrow and misery of seeing Rinzler torn apart by Clu's newest plaything, and Flint sitting alone, destitute in the middle of the carnage of all he'd ever cared about.

Flint shuffled over and turned on the light at his side table and sobbed out raggedly, for the memories that were just too painful and just too real. He curled up, blankets pooling to his side as he cried into his knees and mourned for all he lost.

He jolted though when a hand gently landed in the top of his knee, and he gazed over in a panic to see Tron slowly blinking away the sleep in his eyes, his hair messed and curling around his brow in a charming way that made Flint's heart crumple tightly in sheer adoration for the man.

"Hey, hey, it's ok, my Seong-gi, you're ok," he murmured and easily opened his arms as Flint cried, who dove happily into Tron's awaiting embrace. "It was just a nightmare and you're ok. I'm here for you, my love."

That... that's right. Tron and Flint escaped the Grid before Clu's take over.

They were safe and they were together.

Flint nuzzled against Tron's chest, and sighed out a deep, desperate breath of relief. "Thank god. That dream was the worst thing I'd ever felt in my life."

Tron's hand lovingly ran through Flint's bangs. "But it's all over now. I'm here with you and we're always gonna be ok."

"Do you promise?" Flint sniffled nervously, fearful that everything wonderful in this moment would fade away to being nothing more but that horrible nightmare he'd dreamed up.

"I promise," Tron huffed out in a laugh, kissing Flint at his exposed forehead. "It's you and me together forever, I promise."

...

Dyson frowned nervously as he returned to the observance room, where Clu stood deathly still staring out into the huge window before him.

The general bowed down and landed sharply on his armored knee plate, his head hanging low as he waited for his leader to acknowledge his presence. Dyson's circuits ran cold in fear of what Clu's response would surely be.

"Well?" Clu started, his voice already carrying a rather clear growl, gently rotating the lit up baoding balls in his right hand. "Tell me some good news."

Dyson gulped and hesitated, suddenly finding his head weighing a metric ton. He couldn't look up and risk seeing that scornful glare directed his way again.

"L-like I told you before, we're having... more problems than we anticipated. We can't seem to make a connection no matter what we try."

Clu hummed in an eerily calm tone of disappointment. "Then we wait."

Dyson had to hold back a derisive peel of laughter. "How much longer do we wait? It's already been too long - if we don't do something soon, who knows what could -"

Clu threw up his hand at Dyson, silencing his general at once, before he turned his gaze back at the window and peered down into the depths of the well contained on the other side.

There, deep in the pit, was the singular object of Clu's focus. It was a lone figure bathed in a warm orange glow.

There was this sharp, pungent hue around them made it only too easy to see how the messy, red-haired once-a-user glared up to the Luminary, his dark eyes now rimmed in a ring of that same piercing orange that had claimed his old cyan circuits. His newly clawed hands glowed viciously and curled into shaking fists while he snarled up at the two programs lingering beyond the glass, his sharpened fangs glinting in the low lighting, promising violence and bloodshed to those who made him this way.

"We wait as long as it takes," Clu responded with a vile smirk, running his tongue over his teeth, revealing a grim smirk of excitement of what was to come.