#not with the spike of ghost attacks

[tanglepelt]

Dpxdc 184

Ma and pa are Jack cousins. With jazz out of town for a summer seminar or something and the two planning to go to a ghost convention. Jack and Maddie decide to ship Danny over to meet them and be baby sat.

Danny. He for one is not a baby. Secondly the portal is actually going to be shut. So he’s not happy but will put up with it for two weeks.

Clark is all grown up, Conner is living with ma and pa.

Danny. Well he forgets to breathe a lot. Even when he does it’s not enough for a human. So Conner. He is concerned.

Then one day he brings over a friend. Definitely not one to check out the situation.

Neither Ellie or Danny were expecting to see one another.

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 209

Now Jason was planning on, well, a lot of things, when he came back to Gotham. He had a lot of plans, several of which had to do with the old man and even more that had to do with cleaning up Crime Alley, making it safer and all that. 

What he was not planning on was to find some sort of lab in the basement of where he was planning on setting up a safehouse. Nor was he planning on finding several literal children in cages inside said lab. Oh and Lazarus Waters- but children! With muzzles! Being experimented on!

Now he’d like to say he had a plan in what happened next, but if he’s honest everything had gone Green and he didn’t remember what happened next, only that he’s back home with said children and covered in blood. Oh and everything smells of smoke. 

… And apparently there’s more of these things dotted around Crime Alley with the rest of these kids, er, siblings? Family? Fright does mean family? Okay kids, he’s not turning into Bruce but you can stay here while he deals with this… however long that takes. 

He better not be turning into Bruce he swears-

[ghostbsuter]

"And then– I kicked ass and got crowned for it!" Danny sobs, the air around them filled with fear gas, Tim trying everything he can think of to console his little brother.

It's interesting to witness the way danny reacts to the gas with his biology–

Not now, Tim. Crying brother first.

"How about riding back to my apartment, hm? I'll get some takeout, and we watch movies." The mask makes it difficult, nothing he couldn't handle however.

The sobs don't decrease and Tim feels like sobbing himself now.

In a swoop, he's cradling danny, walking to his bike and driving off.

So much for getting to know your long estranged little brother.

[maddieandangel]

Had a weird Hollow Knight-related dream a couple days ago, so I decided to draw a major scene I remembered from it dgsgshf

More context will be in the tags, for those interested!

[lisasstars]

A few of my favourite animes

[lmaverick123]

Top 10 Anti-Heroes (2024 Edition)

It’s been well over 10 years since I did this list, back in 2011, and a LOT has changed since then. For starters, I have seen a lot more films, shows, anime, and played a lot more games. Just so we’re all on the same page, and anti-hero is a character who has heroic qualities, yet has some serious character flaws that keep them from rising to the level of a true hero.  My list has changed a LOT…

[actualaster]

xanax is So Good

I am So Chill right now

[zhelin-thames]

Bruce has another kid........but this one is not adopted

It started with a mission. Bruce had caught wind of strange paranormal disturbances in a small town called Amity Park. Reports of “ghost sightings” and a local teen hero known as “Danny Phantom” had reached the Batcomputer. Most dismissed it as urban legends or a publicity stunt, but Bruce wasn’t one to ignore a potential threat—especially when these sightings coincided with spikes in dimensional energy readings.

Taking Tim and Damian along, Bruce decided to investigate.

The Bat-plane landed under cover of night just outside Amity Park. The small, seemingly ordinary town was eerily quiet. The only sounds were the hum of streetlights and the occasional echo of a distant, unnatural wail.

“This place is giving me... weird vibes,” Tim muttered, adjusting his tech-enhanced goggles.

“Focus, Drake,” Damian snapped. “We are not here for your feelings.”

Tim rolled his eyes but stayed silent as they followed Bruce toward the FentonWorks lab, the epicenter of the disturbances according to their data.

As they approached the lab, the trio suddenly heard a commotion. A glowing, green figure phased through a wall, yelling back at someone inside.

“I told you, Skulker, I’m not in the mood for another ‘hunt’ today!” Danny Phantom shouted, blasting the air with an ectoplasmic beam that sent a mechanical ghost retreating through the night sky.

The Bat-family froze.

“That’s him,” Bruce said quietly, narrowing his eyes. “Danny Phantom.”

Tim activated his scanner. “Readings are off the charts. His energy signatures are unlike anything I’ve seen. Definitely not human... or entirely human.”

Danny turned mid-air, his glowing green eyes locking onto the trio of vigilantes below. His gaze lingered on Damian for a fraction of a second before he floated down, his posture wary but non-threatening.

“And you guys are...?” Danny asked, crossing his arms.

“Batman,” Bruce said, stepping forward. “We’re here to investigate the unusual phenomena in this town. That includes you.”

“Great. Another set of people thinking I’m some kind of freak,” Danny muttered under his breath before straightening up. “Look, I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I’m just trying to keep the ghost attacks in check. So unless you’re here to help, maybe stay out of my way?”

As the conversation continued, Bruce noticed something odd about Danny. There was something familiar in his facial structure, his stance, even his voice. It was faint, but undeniable.

Later, under the guise of investigating the Fenton lab, Bruce covertly collected a sample of Danny’s DNA—left behind on a napkin when Danny had grabbed a snack.

Back at the Batcave, the results left him stunned.

Bruce returned to Amity Park and requested to speak with Danny privately. Intrigued—and maybe a little suspicious—Danny agreed, letting Bruce lead him to the Bat-plane.

When they arrived at Wayne Manor, Alfred greeted them with his usual calm demeanor. “Master Bruce, your guest?”

Danny raised an eyebrow. “Fancy place. What is this, a billionaire’s bat-cave?”

Bruce didn’t respond, leading Danny to the Batcave below.

Once there, Bruce revealed the DNA results.

“Daniel,” he began, his tone as measured as ever, “you’re my son.”

Danny blinked. Then blinked again. “I’m sorry, what?”

Bruce explained how Talia had kept Damian a secret and revealed that she’d also been pregnant with twins. After Damian’s birth, Talia claimed Danny had been stillborn. In truth, the League of Assassins had stolen him for an experiment, intending to use him as a vessel for Ra’s al Ghul’s essence. When the experiment failed, they abandoned Danny, leaving him to be found by Jack and Maddie Fenton.

“I don’t even know where to start with that,” Danny said, pacing. “You’re telling me my entire life is some kind of League of Assassins soap opera?!”

Bruce didn’t respond, giving Danny space to process.

After a long silence, Danny turned to him. “Does Damian know?”

Bruce decided to bring Danny to the Manor to meet the rest of the family. The reactions were varied—Tim was skeptical, Jason was amused, and Alfred was quietly delighted to have another addition to the family.

But Damian’s reaction was the most intense.

[starry-bi-sky]

Out of Context Stuff for a Danyal Al Ghul au i haven't posted - Pit Beast Danyal

Damian, 13: Look, Danyal, -- I am so sorry for everything that happened between us in the League, I hope you can forgive me.

Danny, 10 (allegedly): (has been secretly plotting to murder Damian this whole time, is still gonna do it obvs, but is going to make it significantly less painful now)

Danny: I-- of course, older brother. :]

--------

Bruce: what do you have there, Damian?

Damian:

Danny: (a hulking 10ft pit beast standing beside him, growling idly with ram horns gouging out his eyes and a second set of horns jutting into the air, spines down his back, and a long, spiked tail with an animalistic, skull-like face)

Damian, who smuggled him in (they've made amends): a smoothie, father

----------

Damian: this is my little brother Danyal, i murdered him when he was five. He festered in rage for the last half-a decade, took over a League mountain base in Switzerland, murdered everyone inside and then tried to murder me when I went to investigate with Drake.

Danny: hello!

Damian: we're cool now

----------

Damian: thoughts on resurrection

Danny, (a full ghost): i will succeed in murdering you if you try it

Damian: we'll put a pin in it then

----------

Danny (still instilled with League values): why don't we just murder him??

Damian, on patrol (Danny followed him): we don't murder people, Danyal

Danyal:,,,,are you sick, Dami?? Have you been possessed? Why not!?

(There is raucous laughing through the comms)

----------

Danny, five, pre-death: Dami! :D

Danny, dead, vengeful: Older brother (:

Danny, post-forgiveness: Dami! :]

-------

For some actual context: Danny is fully dead in this au, its a result of the classic DPxDC Demon Twins "death duel" trope but instead of Danny getting revived, he stays fully dead. Danny was five, Damian was seven. His ghost lingered though, and due to the proximity of the pits his ghost steadily absorbed the ambient energy it was letting off. The pits are not corrupted ectoplasm in this au, it's just liquid ecto.

Which means Danny's corruption from an angry and hurt little ghost boy to an unrecognizable monster is from his own doing. It's a result of him stewing in his hurt and anger for years, it physically warped him. He's very powerful. Danny can travel between League Bases but chose a small, out-of-the-way base in the Swiss mountains to fester in and then just. Never Left.

His influence steeped into the very foundations of the building, allowing him to transform and warp the rooms and hallways for his own bidding, Meaning he could turn it into a seemingly unending labyrinth if he so wished to, and block the entrance.

Eventually, blinded (both metaphorically and physically) by his own rage, Danny grew powerful enough to appear physically in the living realm and attacked everyone in the base, slaughtering them all and leaving the base abandoned. He attacks anyone who dares enter -- whether that be other league members, or the unfortunate hiker who stumbled across the base. His conscious is steeped into every nook and cranny of the building, there is nowhere you can hide where he can't find. Nobody leaves without his explicit say so. Nobody ever does.

Him appearing as ten years old before Damian in the skits above is his own physical doing. First it was to prevent Damian from being suspicious of him. Damian initially thought Danny was revived with the pits, he was too busy with his own training afterwards to notice that Danny never showed up again, and when he did notice, he assumed it was because Danny was too ashamed of his loss to face him. He'd always forget to ask about him.

Then it becomes a personal choice to appear as ten. It's how old he would've been had he been alive.

danny forgiving Damian is kinda for an offshoot branch of the main au. Whereas the main au takes the form of a ps4 first person horror game where Damian and Tim are investigating the Base for Plot Reasons. There's no sign of the rumored "monster" living inside until the end, where Danny, who was found inside the Base and has been happily "helping" them look around, manages to persuade Damian into splitting off from Tim in order to "show him something."

This something turns out to be Danny revealing that he never really forgave Damian for that fight, and he reveals through a horrifying transformation, that he was the monster the whole time. Which the game subtly hints at throughout as Danny's strange behavior becomes harder to ignore.

First from his insistence to only refer to Damian as "older brother" (when before the duel he always called him Damian or Dami), to him right off the bat denying the existence of a monster when questioned. ("There's no monster here, older brother. It's just me.") To other various things, like his knowledge of the outside world not matching up to modern times or things going on with the league outside of the base, or what happened to the other league members.

This whole idea was inspired by the song "Scylla" from Epic the Musical, with Danyal being the voice of Scylla as well as Odysseus, while Damian stands as Eurylochus. The instrumentals after Scylla says "hello" is him turning into the pit beast, and Scylla's "drown in your sorrow and fears" part is danny, as the pit beast, snarling at Damian while he attacks him.

There's a Good Ending, a Bad Ending, and a True Ending. The Bad Ending results in Damian being killed by Danny, it happens when Damian decides not to question or suspect Danny and treats him kindly. The Bad Ending is a cutscene, where Danny kills Damian quick and painlessly.

Meanwhile the Good Ending is Damian killing Danny. This is a boss fight, and it happens when Damian treats Danny coldly and suspiciously the whole time. Danny as a result, decides to make Damian's death painful as he had planned to, which is why it's a boss fight because it only causes him to double down on his anger.

The True Ending is Damian escapes with Tim. It happens when you treat Danny warmly up until the last minute, where when Danny proposes to Damian that he wants to show him something, Damian goes to talk to Tim and finally, reluctantly agrees that something is off with Danny, and that he'll be careful going in. It starts off with the boss fight until a third through, where it then changes to a cutscene where Tim manages to get the door open and Damian escapes out. It's then a chase scene down a never-ending hallway as the building actively works to keep you trapped inside. But you eventually make it to the exit so long as you avoid all the projectiles and doors.

Remember when I mentioned that Danny only lets people leave when he wants them to? That's where the treating Danny kindly throughout the game comes into play. It causes him to second guess himself and, eventually, reawaken and strengthen the love and admiration he had for Damian prior to his murder. It's why in the Bad Ending he kills Damian quickly -- because by then, he loves him enough that he doesn't want him to suffer, but is still so consumed by his rage and need for vengeance that he kills him anyways. That quiet part is what allows Damian (and Tim) to find the exit, because some part of Danny still loves Damian enough that he wants him to live.

The True Ending ends with a cutscene of Damian and Tim tumbling out into the snow/grass outside of the base. Damian looks up back to the entrance to see Danny standing there. But rather than a ten year old boy, there's a little five year old Danyal Al Ghul instead. He stares at Damian emotionlessly, blood seeping from his chest, staining his clothes, and little, bloody sword in his hands and tearstains on his cheeks, before he turns away and disappears back into the building.

[darksilvania]

Fossil YAMASK (Ghost/Rock) & Fossil DWEBBLE (Dragon/Rock)

This two pokemon has made their home in a vast ravine rich in fossils, the constant interaction with the fossilized remains eventually caused some changes in their physical appearence as well as behaviour.

Fossil YAMASK carries the fossilized claw of an ancient raptor like predator.By doing so this pokemon has been able to channel this predators spirit from the afterlife. Thanks to his the pokemon has started to look more like such creature, featuing feather like spikes and claw like fingers. It brandishes the Claw as a weapon and uses it to fight.

Fossil DWEBBLE has made its rocky shell using a piece of bedrock that contains the skull of an ancient ceratopsid. Somehow having such remains constantly on them has affected them on a genetic level, making them tougher and more aggresive, choosing to fight head on instead of hiding inside their shells.

This pokemon evolve by leveling up inside of the ravine into DEINORYGUS (Ghost/Rock) & STYRACRUST (Dragon/Rock)

DEINORYGUS (from Deinonychus) now posseses the fossilized remains of the original predator from wich the original claw came, still embeded in stone. Despite its looks it can move with incredible speed, and having freed the fossil's sickle like claws from the rock, it uses them to slice its opponets with ferocity.

STYRACRUST (from Styracosaurus) now carries a fully developed ceratopsian skull on top of its rocky shell. Its body now has changed to become as tough as the skull with sets of armored horns that can be used for both defense and attack. It uses the large horns of the skull to fend of predators as well as compete with other members of its species for territory.

[nanenna]

Meeting the Mayor

Sleepy King Master Post

Mayor Masters had left their little group waiting for far too long. It was clearly a power move, something Batman expected of someone like Lex Luthor, not the mayor of a small town that had been all but swallowed up by the nearby larger city. It was so predictable that he even started a mental countdown on when they would be allowed to meet Masters. He was, of course, right.

On entering the mayor’s office, Masters was sitting behind his desk, an oily smile spread across his face. He didn’t even stand to greet them. “Good afternoon, it’s not every day…” Masters trailed off as his face scrunched up. “Strawberry shortcake! Did some youths play a prank on you?”

Batman glanced briefly towards his fellow League members, they looked just as confused as he was. Diana squared her shoulders, “What do you mean?”

“You don’t…” Masters frowned as he looked them over, “Nevermind, my mistake. What did you want to discuss?” The man smiled brightly as he leaned over and pressed a button on a small desk fan, the blades whirred to life.

Diana smiled just as brightly and just as fakely as she sat down in front of his desk. “We’re here to make sure you’re aware of the resources the Justice League has made available to any municipal body.”

Constantine took his cue and lounged in the chair next to Diana while Batman chose to loom over her shoulder.

“Resources?” Masters asked with a raised brow.

“Yes, we understand that attacks on a “super villain” level can leave a lot of collateral damage that smaller cities may struggle to repair, especially those that haven’t had to deal with such things before. The Justice League provides aid to anyone who applies.”

“Ah, how generous!” Masters gave a smile that made Batman’s skin crawl. “But I’m sure even you have limited funds, would not they be better left to those truly in need? As you’ve seen, our little town is doing just fine without your help.”

“And how is that?” Batman asked. “There’ve been reports of numerous attacks over the last two years, where is Amity Park getting the resources to repair the damage?”

“Believe it or not, ghosts are incorporeal and thus don’t cause as much collateral damage. Also, the appearance of ghosts has caused a spike in tourists, which has been quite the boost to our economy. And lastly, as the mayor is it not my civic duty to support my town, which I love so dearly? Of course I’ve been supplementing Amity’s budget, and I’ve been making sure to hire only local businesses to keep Amity Park’s money inside Amity Park.”

Batman narrowed his eyes. He chose not to mention that Vlad had only moved to Amity Park shortly before running for mayor, or that he had bought and combined a few local construction companies and has been using them exclusively. Certainly everything about the man was suspicious, but that wasn’t what they were here to talk about. Instead he pulled several pamphlets from his utility belt. “While you’ve been lucky so far, it would be in your best interests to be fully aware of the resources available to you and your fine town in case something larger scale happens.” Not that it hadn’t already, he couldn’t imagine anything larger scale than the entire town and neighboring city getting pulled into another dimension by an undead tyrant king.

While Batman and Diana painstakingly went over the pamphlets with Masters, who’s smile wilted more and more the longer they took, Constantine kept muttering under his breath and making motions with his hands where Masters couldn’t see them, staring intensely at the mayor the whole time. Batman was curious what he was seeing.

The wall suddenly burst, small bits of plaster and wood showering over Masters and the cape Batman had used to shield himself and his fellow League members.

“Vladdie!” A familiar voice called boisterously, “You won’t believe what happened! Oh, I didn’t know you had guests.”

Masters was brushing debris from his person as he spoke with clear disdain, “Yes, well, if you would use the door as. I’ve. Asked! Numerous time. This whole situation could be avoided.”

“Hello again,” Dr. Jack Fenton said cheerfully with a little wave. “What are you doing visiting Vladdie?”

“We were just ensuring Mayor Masters was aware of all the JL resources available to him,” Batman said as he let his cap fall back around his body.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Diana said brightly. “We also have support available for minors doing hero work, you wouldn’t happen to be able to get in contact with Phantom, would you?”

Dr. Madeline Fenton, along with both their children, approached as Diana asked her question. Masters’s eyes trailed over to the group before focusing back on the League members. “No, I’m afraid not. He’s a ghost, you know. Likely he spends most of his time in the Ghost Zone, only comes here to play around with his ghost friends and cause collateral damage.”

“Hey!” Danny said indignantly. “Phantom is a hero who’s working really hard to keep the town safe!”

“Yes yes,” Masters said while waving his hand at the family. “I know you and all your little friends think Phantom hung the moon and stars. Wait, shouldn’t you two be at school?”

“There was an incident,” Jack said proudly.

Masters sighed, “It wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with these fine people, would it?” He waved at the League members as he spoke.

“Good guess, Vladdie!”

“I thought so.” Masters swept the pamphlets into his desk drawer. “Well thank you very much for your concern, I shall make sure to keep these in case we ever do need assistance. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to contact someone about repairing my wall. Have a lovely day.” Masters stood and simply walked through the busted wall with the Fenton family.

Batman watched them leave through narrowed eyes.

“Not the oddest town I’ve been in,” Diana remarked thoughtfully.

Batman simply turned to look in Constantine’s direction.

“The mayor is also dead as a doornail, but fully alive.”

“He also clearly smelled your demon blood,” Batman added.

Constantine nodded. “I'm getting all kinds of odd readings off the mayor, no I'm not explaining it. Just know he's weird, but still not as weird as the kid, though he's close."

"Should we not follow them?" Diana asked.

"I put trackers and bugs on all of them," Batman replied.

"'Course you did, mate."

[jaxon-exe]

Dp x dc prompt

One day John Constantine decides to check in on the known ghost hotspot that is Amity Park and find it over run with ghost of all sorts. After over coming his first thought of “just walk away, not your problem” and deciding that it is his problem he started investigating from the shadows and finds out about Phantom. His first conclusion is that maybe phantom is the one releasing the ghost. He can obviously tell that phantom has some sort of savour complex and thinks “is this kid releasing the ghost so that he can hunt them down and save the town??” and starts looking into phantom.

That is until one day he sees phantom at the end of a rather long day. Multiple ghost having attracted throughout the previous night and all day long leaving Danny at the end of his rope, running on no sleep in the last 24 hours, utterly exhausted and he just breaks down in a back alley. John sees this from a distance and is like “ok this kid isn’t the cause of this. He’s just doing his best.”

So with phantom removed as a suspect John investigates other leads as to what might be causing the sudden spike in ghosties when the nest ghost attack happens. Up until this point he’s been following a “not my circus, not my monkeys” mentality and just letting phantom deal with the ghost and was gonna do the same thing, had turned around and started to walk away to…

….

… but god dammit the kid seems to be struggling.

So John reluctantly joins in the fight and helps phantom, revealing his presence to the kid for the first time. Now that phantom knows about him tho he can’t just walk away from any of the other fight so John ends up helping him out a lot. After a while of this John gets the bright idea of “hey the kid might not be the ones freeing the ghost but he might know the cause of it” and ask phantom about it.

Danny however being slightly paranoid clams up at the question not wanting himself or his parents in trouble and says he doesn’t know anything. U know like a liar 

Thing is Danny’s shit at lying and John sees right threw that but dammit he doesn’t know how to deal with kids???? Let alone teenagers!! Let alone dead teenagers!! The fucks he supposed to do??????

After thinking about it for awhile he could only thing of one thing.

*ring* *ring*

*ring* *ring*

*rin*-

Batman: John…

John: yeah good to hear from you to mate, lesson I got a question

Batman: hmm

John: hypothetically, if you had a case where your only lead is a kid that knowns something they probably shouldn’t and is very reluctant to tell you said thing, what would you do??

Batman:…

Batman: how old

John: 13-14??

Batman: buy them a burger. Earn their trust. Reassure them they aren’t in trouble.

John: how bloody long is that gonna take??

Batman: your in for the long hall *hangs up*

John:…. Shit

Cut to John sitting on top of a water tower with a bag of take out, felling strangely like he’s trying to coax out a stray cat, as he waits for phantom to drop his invisibility and just come eat with him. 

[odo-apologist]

Every ENT character is the most character ever. Archer is a bitch he plays a fundamental role in the creation of the Federation he brings his dog on away missions which once causes a diplomatic incident he likes water polo he commits war crimes he saw a gazelle giving birth and implements it into his rousing speeches he had a wet dream about his first officer that included his dog's funeral he had to carry the soul of the creator of the main tenets of Vulcan philosophy in his head he gives a lecture on Tycho Brahe while getting his ass beaten during an interrogation scene. T'Pol is strict in her Vulcan beliefs she doesn't believe in time travel even as she's presented with irrefutable evidence and remains somewhat skeptical after experiencing it firsthand she is the funniest person on Enterprise she is more emotional than average Vulcans to the point that she had to have memories erased for causing her too much distress she could canonically pick up any of her crewmates and carry them bridal style she has Vulcan HIV she has it cured by the woman that later watches Spock and Kirk roll around in the sand in Amok Time she is technically canonically trans she is a recovering drug addict. Trip is a perfect gentleman he undergoes incredible emotional losses his favorite movies are Frankenstein Bride of Frankenstein and Son of Frankenstein he gets pregnant five episodes in he dies in the worst episode of the entire series (and the entire franchise) only to have that death retconned in the following tie-in novels he ran around the ship in his underwear he leaves the ship for a couple weeks only to come back after one person had been kidnapped another thrown in jail and the engines are on the verge of destruction and reacts like :/. Malcolm is gay he has 50 ex-girlfriends he has only had one friend in his life his own sister barely knows anything about him he dies alone he likes pineapple even though he's allergic to it he gets spacesick he worked as an agent for a top secret organization he's afraid of drowning he whined about getting a cold he had a spike driven through his leg and didn't complain at all he has a psychosexual obsession with a man he thinks is after his job and grows to respect once they had a homoerotic fight scene before witnessing him die. Hoshi is a linguistic prodigy she's the greatest contributor to the universal translator she has a panic attack on one of her first missions she ran a gambling ring she has a black belt in aikido and broke her superior's arm she has never been to the principal's office in her life she is afraid to use the transporter she became an empress in an alternate universe she is the only one who gets laid on Risa making her the first human to do so she reacted to the threat of getting worms injected into her brain to make her reveal secret information by spitting in her interrogator's face. Travis is the sweetest man ever he loves rock climbing he gets injured whenever he tries to use those skills he's a fan of ghost stories he grew up on a small freighter he gets neglected by the narrative his counterpart helps Hoshi become empress he works out when he's horny he dies in a alternate future where Earth is destroyed he's a movie buff who would probably love the Criterion Collection he likes to chill in a part of the ship with zero gravity which he calls "the sweet spot." Phlox grins like the Cheshire Cat he breaks doctor patient confidentiality to help figure out Malcolm's favorite food he goes crazy when the rest of the crew have to sleep through part of space because of how social his species is he has three wives who in turn have three husbands he responds to the news of one of his wives propositioning a crew member by being like "cool! have fun :]" he once nearly vivisects Travis because he's being affected by radiation and gets obsessed with knowing why the guy has a simple headache he has a menagerie in the middle of his sickbay. And they're all my best friends.

[luimagines]

Soulmates from the Start Part 7

Final Chapter!!! Wooo!!!!!

Masterlist

First Chapter/ Previous Chapter

Content under the cut!

“Wha- what?” Link looks at you as all the breath in his lungs leaves him at once.

You swallow the spit in your mouth, but it feels like sandpaper going down your throat. “I… I did a very bad thing, Link. I’m sorry.”

Your Link shakes his head, scooting closer to you, holding your hands tighter. “You’re not that kind of person. I know it. Stop this.”

You bite your lips harshly and hang your head in shame. How could he have so much faith in you? Haven’t you done enough damage? How isn’t he angry with you?

“Ok.” Someone else speaks up. “Can I say something?”

You look at him. He’s one of the two you don’t recognize. Green undertunic, red on top, blue hat, pink hair- wait. Pink hair? You can work with that. What was his game again? A Link to the Past?

While you’re busy trying to figure out where you might know him, he takes your silence as permission to keep talking. He puts his hands on his hips and manages a smile. “Whatever it is. It can’t be as bad as you think. You’re clearly shaken. The Rancher here is going to take good care of you, now. We’re not here to make enemies. We’re to end them. No one is in trouble. Got it?”

That last sentence seemed pointed, but you’re too distraught and distracted to figure out who he was actually talking to.

You take another deep breath, holding onto Link tighter and tighter. You’re shaking. You can feel the tremors wreck your nervous system from the top down. Luckily, he seems to meet you halfway, pulling you closer to keep you contained and to keep you close.

Feeling a little braver, you turn to the boy. “Which one are you?”

Because that’s a normal question to ask.

It shows on his face because his reels back in shock, not fully understanding what you mean by that. “...Meaning?” If anything, he seems to calm a little more. “See? How can you know all of our secrets if you don’t even recognize me?”

You flush. He has a point. “Every Link is famous to some degree. But… the only thing I have to go off of is your hair. I don’t recognise the rest of you.”

“I- ok. My hair isn’t supposed to be this color.” He deadpans. You can feel your Link snickering by your side. The untitled one shakes his head. “They call me the Hero of Legend. Or The Veteran. Whichever floats your boat.”

“The Veteran?” Strange name.

He smirks. “Yup! I'm the most experienced hero here. Seven adventures, counting this one!”

Your mouth makes a small ‘o’ shape. That makes more sense. If he’s responsible for and is the protagonist for at least six or seven Legend of Zelda titles, there would have been no way you would have known at first glance. Your breath gets short again. Your lungs feel hollow and heavy. You need to breathe again, but you’re too frozen to make a sound.

Your Link (you refuse to call him anything else) notices your spiked panic and gently rubs circles on your back. “Darlin’, what is it? No one will attack you here.”

You don’t fully believe him. The one they called The Captain, Warrior, has been eyeing you suspicious the entire time you’ve been here. You turn back to Mr. Legend, gulping down more sand. You hesitate to ask. You’re aware this is a loaded question. You have to take a few more deep breaths to even think of making your mouth move the way it needs to speak.

You’ve probably taken too long. Legend now looks nervous.

Your voice is quiet and weak, barely above a whisper. There is very little reason to believe that this is going to end well. “...Do you know Koholint?”

You see it before the others do. His eyes widen and his pupils widen to almost exaggerated proportions. He takes a step back- going as white as a ghost.

The rest of the group looks between you both.

Legend himself begins to shake, staring at you with renewed suspicion and distrust. “How… How do you know that?”

You bite your lip, keeping our eyes on him, watching his fear and shock. You deserve this. You knew better and did it anyway. You should have better self control. Now he’s in front of you. Time to confess your sins. His reaction is all the answer you need.

“She had a beautiful singing voice.” You say, twisting the knife for you both. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“You knew her?” He whispers. 

You shake your head. “No. But I saw you… and her... And the windfish.”

Then he surprises you. He gulps, also meeting you head on as tears begin to pool in his eyes. “Could I have saved them?”

You both know who he’s talking about.

You shake your head.

He takes in a shaky breath, hanging his head- not dissimilar to how you had your earlier. But he nods, surprising you again. “I understand… Who else knows?”

Do you even answer that? Would it do more harm than good? But the look on his face- the bond you share with the boy next to you- the way everyone’s eyes are on you, waiting for you to explain yourself and answer his questions- You can’t bring yourself to lie.. “....Millions.”

Warrior scoffs and finally takes his eyes off of you as spins on his heel. You don’t even bother hiding your flinch.

“It’s true.” You weakly defend yourself. “I’m not the only one.”

“How?” Says the final one you have trouble placing. They called him Hyrule and he does magic. But you can’t pinpoint anything familiar about him that would tell you of his identity. What happened to him? What were his adventures about?

“There’s… stories.” You can’t really answer his question either. The truth would seem cruel, mean and pointless. You know better than anyone thanks to Your Link- it was more than what you saw. Their fears and experiences were real- so real and you had no right to learn what you did.

“Just that? Stories? Down to the details then?” The Hero of Time raises an eyebrow at you. You’ve that look in passing when Link would let it slip through your connection. You never considered how it would feel to be on the receiving end.

It feels worse, somehow. You think you might vomit.

You nod. “....Interactive stories.” Because how else would you explain it? “But yes.”

“So you know us?” The Hero of Winds bounces towards you. At least, he seems more intrigued than offended and suspicious. “Do you know about me?”

You nod. “I do… You wield the Wind Waker… And sailed on the King of Red Lions.”

He laughs, delighted with the recognition. “That’s me, alright! One of the fiercest pirates to ever sail the Great Sea.”

“An interactive story, huh?” The Blacksmith (The Hero of the Four Sword- Hero of Light- Hero of Men- your brain supplies unhelpfully) leans forward from where he’s sitting and puts his palm to his chin, his elbow to his knee. “I bet that’s mighty entertaining. I’ve never heard of a story that you interact with.”

Game- Game- It’s a game- They’re games- They’re fun- They’re for children- Your brain fires off in rapid succession, deepening your guilt. There’s no way you can tell them. They’ll be horrified. They’ll be pissed.

“Games?” Yout Link whispers beside you, turning to you with an unreadable expression. The fur along your hair stands on edge. He’s caught on. “Darlin’ games?! Is that all this ever was to you?”

You flinch violently.

In a last ditch effort to defend yourself, even though you’re fully responsible for your own actions and his anger and awe is fully justified. “Link- please- You know that’s not true!”

He growls.

“I didn’t…”

“Don’t say you didn’t know.” He snarls. “I’ve had you in my head since we were children. Don’t you dare say you didn’t know.”

“I wasn’t going to.” You whimper, letting your chickens come home to roost. “I didn’t think I would have ever met them. Link- I only followed along with your story but I never touched it. I never stepped into that. I know what it was like for you. I remember the sleepless nights- the panic attacks- the fear in your ice cold blood as you journeyed. It felt wrong to take your struggles and make it a game.”

“What about them?” He gestures to his friends. They’re all staring at you with looks of incredulous judgment.

“...I thought it would be just you.” You whisper pathetically. “I couldn’t have known you’d meet them. So many of them don’t even touch your time and era- I wanted to know them! I didn’t think it would have mattered from where I was because they… they didn’t exist, Link! They don’t exist and so many people don’t even think the land of Hyrule is real-”

Your Link rubs his hand down his face, taking a moment to breathe and calm himself down.

“We’re not real?” The Champion, Wild, steps forward. “We’re… toys?”

You bite your lips. “I… wouldn’t go that far. But many would.”

“So this is why you feel guilty.” Your Link mutters, ruffling his own hair roughly.

“....Link, I’m sorry.”

“Just-... give me a minute-!”

You click your mouth shut.

“We’re games.” The Knight of Skyloft sits down on a nearby log. “Are you sure?”

You nod. “It’s incredibly popular actually�� So many people love you.”

“Do they?” The Captain scoffs again, turning back and glaring into you. “Toys. That’s what we are. To break and remold as they see fit because we’re not real people to them. That’s not love.”

“That’s-” You struggle to find the words. The stench of betrayal lingers heavily in the air. It’s all your fault. “That’s because you don’t see how many lives you save by just existing, even as a thought.”

“Explain.” The Hero of Time doesn’t leave room for negotiation.

“Your stories… despite your struggles, are lighthearted.” You swallow down figurative glass. “Because they’re told from your perspective- because despite everything, you just wanted to help people. You just wanted to do the right thing. Even when everything was against you, you stayed true and proud and you were so brave-” Your voice catches and you’re shaking again. “You all have so much love… for your people… your homes… your friends and families… They push you forward. They give you a reason to keep going. I-if we… If we could so much as copy a fraction of what it means to have courage, our lives wouldn’t have to seem bleak and… hopeless. What use are ruins in an old world when there is no love to preserve the present?”

Your words silence the group as they mull it over. You're on the verge of tears again. You’re so scared. Your heart is pounding. You never wanted to hurt them. You weren’t trying to hurt anyone. You hiccup and clasp your hands together, trying to lessen the way you vibrate. It doesn’t work. “...I wasn’t trying to do anything wrong… I panicked…”

“This conversation isn’t over.” Your Link curls up his lip, revealing a fang that you’re not entirely sure was there before. “But even if I’m not happy about this, I stand by what I said earlier. You’re not that kind of person. You didn’t do this maliciously.”

“I’m sorry.” You repeat yourself for the nth time.

“I know.” His voice finally softens and he pulls you close to him again. “I know you are. I can feel it in every fiber of my being.”

“If we’re famous even outside of Hyrule,” Wind speaks up again, appearing more calm than the others at the news. “Then why did you stop talking to Twilight? You were avoiding him for a while.”

You hang your head again. “I was with you guys… I didn’t want to risk Link learning something of your adventures that could have ruined the timeline or potentially… ruin the relationship we already had. I didn’t mean to-”

“Are there people who know more than you?” Legend asks again, having calmed down from earlier.

“Yes, of course.” You wipe your eyes, coughing on your own spit. “I… became obsessed- I won't lie or sugar coat, but I am certainly not the craziest fanatic out there. It’s not like I’ve got shrines in my room or collected all the icons and merchandise I can… I thought about getting a few… But again, I didn't want to risk hurting Link if he saw something he recognized when I couldn’t give him a straight answer.”

“Idiot.” Your Link clicks his tongue. It stings but in the way a blade or a fire would. At best, it’s close to tearing a scab. Not the greatest feeling, but you have the inclination to admit he’s not trying to actively insult you.

“Millions…” Warrior throws his back against a tree as he scowls into the space in front of him. “We can’t even be mad at you then. You’re not the only one and you’re not the worst.”

You’re scared to see how they’d react to the people who dress up as them. “Yes, neither the first nor the last. I’m not the only one.”

“But you’re the only one that matters.” A new and dark voice whispered in your ear. It made you jump, making all the hairs on your body stand up on edge.

Your Link jumps to his feet, reaching behind to his hand on the hilt of his sword. He puts his hand on your shoulder, keeping you down on the log before you can get up as well.

“Pathetic, little hero.” The voice taunts. You don’t know where it’s coming from. It seems to be both in your head and yet all around you at once. “It wasn’t my intention for you to find each other, much less so quickly. It certainly complicated some things, but I can’t say that this hasn’t been entertaining in the least.”

“Touch them and DIE.” Link snarls.

“I’d love to see you try.” The voice mocks.

It shakes you to your core. The voice echoes in the clearing you’ve found yourselves in. It circles you, like the shadows of the setting sun. In through one ear, behind your head, teasing the other ear as it makes its rounds.

“Link…” You say softly. This is too much. Why can’t today end already?

Multiple swords are unsheathed in an instant, moving around and getting into a circle around you without muttering a word. They certainly know what they’re doing, even if it isn’t just to protect you specifically. You won’t lie, it does help your heart somewhat if you allow yourself to think that they’re protecting you despite it all.

“Do you feel that betrayal, little hero?” The voice taunts Link again. He said, “They knew about you all along but didn’t share a single detail about themselves.”

“I couldn’t!” You shout impulsively, almost jumping to your feet in the same second. Your Link keeps you down. “I would have if I could have!”

The voice chuckled darkly. His form simmers out from the shadows of the trees, appearing within the circle the other heroes have made, appearing right in front of you. Your heart jumps into the thick of your throat. He looks so much like Your Link, but with solid black abysses for eyes instead the blue you fell in love with.  “....Liar.”

***

You suck in a breath, getting to your feet at once. 

Twilight pulls you back and quickly puts himself between you and the monster that threatens you. This is not the time for this. He points his blade at the shadow man, grazing the flesh of his throat with the tip of his sword. A bead of crimson blooms just beyond the edge of the sharp steel, but the shadow monster doesn’t seem to be impressed.

“You’re no better, little hero.” The creature turns its head to him, cracking it unnaturally as it bends at an abnormally twisted angle. “Have you even told your sweet ‘Darlin’ of the effects that crystal of yours has done to you?”

“I owe you no answers, beast.” He spits, thrusting his sword ever closer to his jugular. “Leave now or lose your head.”

“I am not the beast.” The shadow man sinks into the earth, reappearing behind you, grabbing you by your hair and stealing you away from Twilight. “You are.”

You both scream as the shadowman laughs. Yours; in pain. Twilight’s; in outrage. “Go on! Tell them. Tell what has been done to you!”

“Link.” You gulp, trying to reach behind your head to lessen the pressure. Twilight can see it; the way your hands seem to phase out so you can’t physically touch the being that has trapped you. One wrong move and you could be gone forever.

But Twilight doesn’t know what to say to the creature. He doesn’t understand. You already know that he turns into a wolf. He can remember how you started to research all about wolves just to learn more about him. Not that you told him that part- that was before you started to drift away.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Of course you don’t, stupid boy.” The creature pulls on your hair sharply. Your cry of pain causes Twilight to growl, baring his teeth as the fangs set in his jaw. He doesn’t register the warmth of the crystal- just the bubbling determination to get you away from him as fast as possible.

“See that?�� The shadow man starts backing up slowly, ignoring the rest of the group as they all wait on baited breath. “There’s very little man left in him. It’s only a matter of time before the beast inside takes over.”

“That’s not true.” You whimper, trying to get away. 

“It is very true, my pet.” The creature tugs harshly again, toppling you over in an instant. The sound you make when the hit the ground is worrying and it makes Twilight unleash a feral sound. It startles himself, he hadn’t known he was capable of such noises.

The creature seems pleased by the development. “A perfect demonstration, little hero. I couldn’t have done it better myself.”

An arrow flies, nicking the shadow man in the shoulder. A crimsonline blooms from the injury, making him stubble backwards and away from you. Twilight dives to pull you back up, cradling you close.

It appears that the creature wasn’t expecting the attack. Its hubris had caused it to believe that no one would make a move when he had you in his grasp. “Pathetic fools. I’ll be back.”

He slinks away back into the shadows, not sparing any one but you a passing glance. Twilight doesn’t like it one bit and tightens his grip on you.

“Twilight, what the hell?” Wild throws his hands up. “Is there something else we need to know about? Why are they-” He points to you with an arrow. It slips from his grasp. “-brought into the middle of this?”

“I don’t know.” Twilight grumbles. If he had things his way, you would both be meeting under very different circumstances. “But they’re here now and the shadow wants them for some reason-”

“It claimed you were changing-!”

“I can feel him. He’s not changing.” You speak up, still shaking. Twilight tightens his grip on you. Despite… everything, the rose around his heart is too real and too intricate for him to bash his way through. Any amount of brute force on his end would crush the already delicate foundation that it’s built. He takes a deep breath, willing himself to comfort instead.

You’ve had one hell of a day. You both have. Twilight doesn’t want to ever repeat those terrifying hours of not having you connected to him. And thinking about it, there’s no misplacing that amount of guilt and sadness in your voice and soul for him to think you would have hidden all that you did out of malice.

You were that kind of person. He’s said it already. He’s said it twice, even.

“What do you mean?” Four speaks up, tilting his head, keeping his sword unsheathed. Nobody else seems keen on putting their swords away after the not too violent attack on their senses. They had thought this was a safe space. Apparently not.

You gulp and cling to him like a lifeline. He holds you. “I have him. He’s mine. I can feel him. And I’ve had him for as long as I can remember. He’s always been the same.”

Twilight sighs and hides his face in your hair. A hand of his comes up to gently soothe down the spots where the monsters had viciously grabbed you. You relax within seconds, leaning more of your weight on him and loosening your grip.

“We should move.” Time growls, not dissimilarly to how Twilight was earlier. “We can’t risk having the shadow come back while our backs are turned. We need to find a spot to camp for the night.”

“On it!” Warrior twirls his sword, taking Legend and Wind without a second thought. They lead the group as scouts while everyone else picks up their equipment to follow them. Everyone gives you both passing glances but no one says anything.

You’re his soulmate. He’ll figure out what to do with you. You’re here now; he has to take care of you and make sure that thing never comes close to you again. Today was too close. It was toying with you both. If it ever so much as looks at you the wrong way, he’s going to rip out its throat.

His grip on you increases subconsciously and you squirm.

“I know you’re mad.” You whisper. It rings more through your connection than through his ears.

“Not at you.” Twilight huffs. He’s decided it. You’ve been chased, hunted, cut, bruised, thrown about and frightened within an inch of your life. He’s already told you that he’s forgiven you. He’s not going to take it back.

You’ve already apologized and cried him a river. Something he never in a million years would have asked for. What more does he want from you?

“How?” You say, looking up at him. The cut on your cheek makes him grit his teeth. You’ll survive, he knows this. He’s still not happy about this. He’s not happy about any of this.

But it’s never been your fault.

“...Even if you know our secrets-” he starts and takes a deep breath to steady himself. The others have all left save for Wild, who doesn’t want to leave you alone on the off chance that danger still lurks in the shadows. “-it’s not inherently wrong to know about us. If we are toys in your world-”

“Please don’t say it like that-”

“Let me finish.” He takes another deep breath, looking into your eyes. “If we are only stories and games to other people, you know better. You know we’re real. That I’m real. And while others would brush us off as fiction, you went in with a different mindset entirely. You wouldn’t feel so guilty if you didn’t see how badly it could have gone. I can’t fault you for the place you’re from or how other people see us.”

You lip wobbles once more and you collapse against him, properly hugging him back at long last. “You’re too good to me.”

Twilight tries to fight another snarl. Was the shadow creature right? He wasn’t this beastly before…. And he has been using the crystal more often now that he’s with the group. “I’m still processing everything, but I personally think that what should take priority now is keeping the shadow away from you and making sure that you don't get hurt. Do you fight?”

You still have the energy to give him the flattest look ever. “Link, you already know the answer.”

His lips twitch up. “Forgive me for asking anyway?”

You drop your forehead to his shoulder. It gives the impression it would hurt if he wasn’t wearing his layers and wolf pelt. “...Fine.”

A beat passes. Wild stands a little ways away, looking through his sheikah slate for something Twilight can’t be bothered with. Not while you’re in his arms and slowly sinking deeper into the embrace. “How’re you feeling Darlin’?”

“Tired.” You sigh. “I’m exhausted. I’ve never run so much in my life.”

He snorts and shakes his head good naturedly. “Come on. We’ll walk from here on out. The group should make camp soon enough.”

You blow a raspberry but break away from him. Twilight all but dives to take your hand, capturing it in his hold. You hold him back without question.

Do you really think I’m not changing? He asks through the bond, not wanting Wild to overhear him.

You lean your head against him again and shrug. Mentally, psychologically? No. Physically? Not really. Although admittedly, I’m not the best judge of that. However the fangs are new.’

Fangs? Twilight raises an eyebrow, bringing his free hand to poke at his teeth. 

He has fangs.

And they retract apparently, given that he can feel the sharp point receding the more he calms down. That’s new.

I just said that.

Twilight smiles. You’re feeling better already. You have to be feeling better to banter like this with him again. It’s like a weight’s been lifted from your shoulders. It feels lighter on Twilight too.

Does it bother you? Twilight tries to ask casually. He’s aware he looks different from the people of your world. You haven’t ever seemed bothered by it before but then, he’s never asked.

No. They’re hot. 

You trip over yourself.

Twilight snickers, covering his mouth with his hand. You blush brightly, still holding onto his hand even if you’re unable to meet his eyes.

“That,” you say out loud, “was a little more honest than I was intending.”

“I would rather if you both kept your flirting in your heads.” Wild rolls his eyes, coming forward at last. He has a sword in his hand. Twilight feels the need to protect you flare up, but it’s strange. He’s never felt threatened by Wild before. This is weird. He’s being weird? Is he being weirder than before?

“Here.” Wild snorts, seeing the way Twilight gets offended. He hands you the sword.

You take it, inspecting it. “A flame blade?”

“You recognize it?” Wild seems surprised. “Oh wait- duh. You know my story too?”

You nod. “...Yours was fun…. I yelled at you a lot.”

Wild deadpans. “You’re Twilight’s soulmate alright.”

You laugh. Actually laugh.

Twilight takes a deep breath, feeling the sound penetrate to the deepest marrow of his bones and fill him outward with such a peace he didn’t even know was achievable. Is that corny? Screw it, he’s a farm boy. He can handle corn.

You swing the flame blade experimentally, a bright smile that only spells trouble for Twilight’s (and the group’s) future. A small tail of fire follows the path of the sword. Twilight thinks he recognizes this. It’s not his powerful variant of this weapon but it can be held in one hand and deals a decent amount of damage regardless. Setting the opponent on fire usually helps with that.

This choice was purposeful.

Twilight wants to feel grateful that Wild is already looking out for you too, but the fact that you seem a little too excited about it has Twilight reconsidering the option.

“I love it.” You grin at Wild and it fills Twilight with a familiar sense of dread. “Do I get to keep it?”

“So long as you swing it at the other guys and not towards us.” Wild gives you that same smile.

You giggle, hopping excitedly on the balls of your feet as you grip the hilt of the sword tighter..

Twilight groans and has half the mind to smack Wild. “Why did you give them that?”

“They need something to protect themselves with.” He says decisively, leaving no room for argument.

“...But the flame blade?”

You pause and look back at Twilight. He can vaguely feel where your thoughts are going. But before he can stop you, you speak up with a wide grin. “If this is a problem, can I have the one that freezes stuff instead?”

“Let’s stick with the fire.” Twilight finds himself saying. The only thing worse would be to give you something that would inevitably backfire on all of them. A fire is (unfortunately) more their field of expertise.

Wild chuckles, knowingly giving Twilight a wink over your head. You seemed to enjoy Twilight’s disgruntlement very much, laughing at his expense when he agreed to the weapon. He’s in trouble. He barely fought that.

“Well, that’s all from me.” Wild gives a mock salute as he begins to walk away. “I’m going to catch up with the others.”

“Thank you, Link!” You call out to him and he smiles.

“I think you’ll fit in just fine. Just give the other guys some time to adjust.” He says and walks away.

You gulp quietly and nod. You look down but have nowhere to put your new toy flame blade. “Hmm… That could be a problem.”

Twilight rubs his temple before you shove the sword in his direction.

“Oh wait-! You’re my boyfriend! Hold it for me?”

He coughs but takes it on instinct. He stares at you for a comment before your words sink in. He blushes, feeling it crawl up his neck to the tips of his ears. He hooks the blade to his back, converging with his other sword.

You smile nervously and take his hand again. “...Are we good?”

“We’re good.” He says softly, bringing our hand up to kiss it. “Come. A new chapter awaits us.”

“I can’t wait.”

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Cryptid's Keeper | Yandere Obanai Iguro

When you were called to bring aid to an isolated village you were prepared to execute a minor cryptid that was probably picking at crops occasionally. It would make sense for a small town to consider that an emergency: it’s there supply. What you weren’t expecting was the threat to have been ravenously feasting on the residents of the town itself. The town was far too afraid to meet you at the border of their land without all of them linked to one another by each other’s hands. Elders and children, women and men, teens, and young adults alike tightly grasping at each other while they bowed in greeting.

They told of a mighty beast wrapped in pearl white scales with eyes red as the blood of it’s victims. Swallowing hordes of men armed with pitchforks and torches in one single night. The tales they told of this cryptid varied in all matter of atrocities–from swallowing the living to strangulating children to crushing those lucky enough to flee. But the stand-alone trait of ever story told to you was of the ghost eyed witch that’d walk the streets of the town. Without fail this witch would wear a thin veil that had the pattern similar to that of a zebra. They suspected their ghost eyes which they must have plucked from the peach trees themselves and an stone of jade from some treasure hidden deep in the forest. It would appear that any who crossed paths with the witch would be dead before morning on account of the beast, sometimes it’d be their whole family as well. 

The townspeople were willing to pay a hefty sum for your services, practically begging you to save them. Naturally you agreed. This was your job to hunt and trap troublesome cryptids in a world that knew nothing better. The aspect of the witch intrigued you the most. In your many travels you found that witch was just a word to label humans more in tune with their mystical side. Heck your sure if you hadn’t made a career of it you’d be labeled one yourself.

It was easy to track the beast, the clear mark of scales and muscle slithering on the ground led into the forest on an unmarked but used path. It made you wonder if they attempted to investigate at all. Trudging onward you prepared for the hassle it’d be to subdue a creature with track marks so much bigger than yourself.

It led to a cave near a river; a peaceful place for the horror that supposedly lived there. You head in, stepping over a wall of bones sticking up like spikes. Eyeing a few human skulls creating a path deeper inside. This place clearly has a human’s touch, while the decoration was dismal and dark there was clearly a sense of pride present. Navigating with the skulls it eventually led to a large opening where you found the cryptid culprits. 

Wrapped around itself was a giant white snake which reflected the minimal light given by one lone torch on the wall; giving it an orange glow. In the middle of it was a man, with long black hair a scar across his mouth and a single loin cloth draped between his legs. Feeling the heat on your cheeks, you knocked your staff on the rocky floor to alert them. You felt as though you were intruding on something private. Sure enough they startled awake both on the defense at your unexpected arrival. 

“Hello there! I’ve heard you two have been giving the town quite a few problems!”

You smile while dodging the giant snake’s strike, somersaulting over the expanse of their tail. It set you up to parry the primitive spear jutting at you from the wild man. He only responded in grunts and shouts that helped the snake coordinate attacks at you. But none of it wasn’t anything you couldn’t handle; ultimately analyzing their teamwork.

“You two seem close,” you made an aerial over the snakes striking maw delivering a kick to the wild man who was charging a new weapon, “Makes me wonder why you’d bother the people in the village in the first place.”

An orange and green pair of eyes widened at that, standing a ways away while the snake hissed at you before attempting to strangle you again. This was getting more and more interesting. “So you can understand me? Then tell me why?”

The snake was getting tired and the man was getting irritated. This–by your prediction–would be ending very soon.

Once again taking the man head on you blocked with your staff as you egged him on. Despite not having the technique you did he had strength and a swiftness that rivaled the snake’s.

“All…deserved to be punished.” 

The voice that came was hoarse, like it wasn’t used often. The voice was so sudden it caught you off-guard, leaving you barely enough time to block and kick him back. The look on your face must’ve said enough.

“All of them deserve death!”

“Why? What did they do?”

He paused his attack, his pupils shaking with the answer to that question–looking down to compose himself. Sensing his distress the snake slithered from you curling around the man to comfort him. You also lowered your defenses your heart preparing for the pain he would hopefully share.

“They made me this way,” he sounded like he was fighting tears as he tightened his fists, “by trying to sacrifice me…for this they all must pay…Including You!”

He launched at you on the head of his snake, using the speed of snake and his own jumping to aim at your head. Like before you dodged this time shoving your staff into the ground. Without your staff occupying your hands you weaved underneath the snake and through it’s coils to strike at the reptile’s pressure points. The cave shook as the snake slammed limply on the ground. Rolling off to safety the wild man shouted running to cradle the snake’s snout, “Kabamaru!?” 

Hearing the light sound of sniffles you cursed yourself for going too far. Sitting down on the ground you leaned along the rocky wall opposite to the two. Pulling out a bottle of sake and two cups you brought with you, setting them down. 

“He’s not dead. Just sleeping.” he turned to look at you his eyes softening from a glare. You continued,”I figured without him egging you on you can tell me a bit more about yourself.” 

Offering a cup to him you took a sip of yours, letting out a happy sigh as the liquid tingled down your throat. Showing him that it was safe you let him down his zebra skin and come in closer to you. 

There you were able to piece lesser rumors with his own testimony. Apparently the town used to be ran by a tribe of women who idolized a giant snake in the forest. Organizing gatherings and practices to honor said snake. This tribe of women for generations had daughters to uphold it’s legacy of a matriarch loyal to this snake. Alas when they birthed a boy those in town deemed him a curse making the women decide that his death at the hands of the snake would be their blessing and atonement for his existence. Part of the ceremony included slicing his mouth wider and tying him with the carcass of the exotic creature—the zebra—in the forest to be eaten by their deity: the White Snake. Come to find that the snake was a peaceful creature that was truly infuriated at finding the poor boy in the state he was. Sheltering him, feeding him, protecting him, and one day attacking the people he identified as revenge for him. 

“I see now, why you attack them so viciously. What you went through was awful.”

You took another swig from the bottle looking at the man who was leaning on a sluggish Kaburamaru. He was watching you intently probably gauging your reactions to his story, it made you wonder when was the last time he spoke with any one properly.

It is then you yawned, standing up and stretching. Disregarding both their suspicious looks you walked to your staff, resting it on your shoulders casually as the both got into a defensive stance. You walked up that rocky path, waving over your shoulder with a smile.

“Tomorrow Iguro. I’ll bring you something sweet from the town. Until then.”

Just like that you returned to the townspeople all eager to know if you’ve slain the beast. Only for you to yawn in their faces and say your still investigating, retreating to the inn you were gifted for your stay here.

As expected violent cryptids were never just that in a world that knows no better. 

And as such it was your job to help.

Whether that was teaching the world or the cryptid themself.

In this case the cryptid and his keeper.

_____________________________________________________________

Obanai Iguro didn’t kill for no reason. 

When he walked through the town he was being gracious. An olive branch extended to an unforgiving people. All he was asking was that he be able to walk into town without injury or insult. Without fail though someone in town would either yell obscenities or attempt to attack him. 

He vowed the day he could freely walk in town would be the day no one would suffer his wrath. 

That day had never come. 

But the day someone looked in his eyes with no fear for him had come. A missionary with dyed hair and smile brighter than the sun was the first. She happened to catch him by his lonesome, asking for directions to the town. 

He cursed himself for letting his naivete consume him. 

Doing as she asked he hoped foolishly that the townspeople could learn. Take the missionary’s optimism and kindness as a symbol for peace. That when they saw the absolute vision of beauty hand in hand with a freak him they’d have a change of heart or at least touch the hearts of a few.

He was wrong.

So so wrong.

The collective gasps were a precursor to the violent screaming that followed. Rocks, fruit, eventually knives were thrown at both of them. He remembered taking the brunt of it turning the nun away from the spiteful horde. Looking down at her, even in the face of their berating she was smiling up at him. It warmed his heart. It made him willing to forgive. Until she caught sight of her convent, fellow missionaries standing silently aside, running to them with renewed vigor. She happily proclaimed that she’d found her mission aiming to help bridge the gap between the misunderstood and the collective. She recited different teachings looking pridefully as she waited for their response. Dropping her smile when they finally spoke.

“You’ve transgressed for the last time, Mitsuri. We had such high hopes.”

They pulled at her hair, they stripped her of her robes before encouraging the town to bring all their aggressions to her. Claiming it was a just punishment for the young and unruly nun who continued to fail with every task they gave her. 

He doubted he could’ve waited for Kaburamaru if he tried. Using his bare fists to pummel anyone who’s hand was raised to attack Mitsuri. Fighting them as best as he could but he was only one man. 

Strong but not strong enough.

By the time Kaburamaru arrived and had begun to swallow majority of the fleeing mob, it was already too late. Poor Mitsuri. The sun in Iguro’s night had set, giving him one last smile and an indirect kiss on the scar across his face. 

It broke his heart further. 

Shuffling his already broken heart, he took it’s shards and made a wall. A thorny wall that took his graciousness and shrivelled it to nothing. Now transgressions he would have chosen mercy for invoked his wrath all the same. Calling on Kaburamaru to help quell his fury. 

Once again returning to his precious solitude with Kaburamaru by his side. 

But fate would refuse this again sending a monster catcher to disrupt his peace. Agile, sly, and a powerful fighter the monster catcher was like no one he’d met before. Iguro did have a few encounters with unexplainable creatures and violent entities but none were like them. Never had he and Kaburamaru been brought to their knees (coils?) by  a single person, all who casually invites him to chat over a drink. 

“Come come its a creation of my own. This game is going to get us drunk so fast!”

Mitsuri was casual too but the interaction was surface. It was their first and last time meeting after all. The monster hunter spoke much more often, returning with another alcoholic beverage and cups to share while talking about nothing in paticular. Once again that estranged normalcy was creeping up again and Iguro refused to fall for it again.

“Oh wow that came out of nowhere, Iguro. Now let’s get back to drinking shall we?”

Holding the tip of his spear between two fingers the monster hunter continued to smile at him. Thwarting his attempts to chase them away or at least save himself the pain he was bound to feel. Even Kaburamaru wasn’t attempting to fight anymore, only watching when Iguro attempted to attack. 

He hated how little it offended them. And how much it hurt him. Already he was feeling the same warmth he felt back then. When he wasn’t trying to attack, the smile they shared was like the moon. Reflecting the light given to him so long ago. But he feared he’d lose it again. Like Mitsuri they were far too kind when regarding the people in town.

“At least the kids don’t know any better. Leave them out of it, okay Iguro?”

The night-terrors would start again picturing his hunter bloodied and defeated at the feet of an angry crowd. Hand-in-hand with Mitsuri as they both smiled up at him with incomplete smiles.

“You’ll forgive them, right?”

“For us you’ll be kind, right?”

He was tired of seeing that image again. The one where the only lights in his world were doused by the same people that bred hatred with every generation. It didn’t matter that the hunter was strong, that the hunter planned to leave. Iguro needed to keep them by his side, away from the darkness that had always engulfed his life. 

“I refuse to let them have you.”

To block out the new sun he needed the warmth of. It didn’t matter that the sun may burn or their anger would be his–they’d be safe. That was all that mattered at this point.

“The rest don’t deserve to feel your warmth.”

__________________________________________________________

You didn’t expect such an adverse reaction. Your plan to finally leave the duo with a warning and spend your time changing the town was going to be shot. You wanted to spin whatever narrative you needed to, to fix the town for good. Give them a healthier outlook and some mock defense against other cryptids would do the trick. But iguro didn’t seem to like that. More seriously neither did Kaburamru, hissing at you as he curled into himself.

“Look Iguro if you’d prefer you can come with me! Leave this town behind and find a place worthy of you both!”

“Not before I end it. They’d never let me have you if they can help it!”

He instructed Kaburamaru to slam his tail near you making you dodge further away from the exit. Already sensing where he was going with this, you stood your ground.

“Iguro. Stop this.”

Kaburamaru was curling around itself blocking the entirety of the single exit, with Iguro standing on his head. He was wielding his spear pointing it at you with a twisted smile. 

“I know we’re no match for you on our own. But you’re so eager to protect those rotten meatbags even you’d have trouble fending me off.”

“Iguro!”

He seemed to laugh to himself as he ducked down low, sliding on the snake’s back as the reptile slid through the exit en route to the town.

“By the time you arrive (Y/n) you’ll find we’ll be on the same level or they’ll all be dead. Either way I can’t wait to see how brightly you’ll burn!”

You immediately followed their trail falling behind; you were amazed at the speed they made darting through the forest. He planned to defeat you, by taking advantage of your divided attention. Running with nothing but the forest around you, you had to applaud him. 

“I’ve got to give it to him he’s greedier than any cryptids I’ve met. The world’s definitely going to learn about him if they survive him first.”

[writingoddess1125]

Over Achiever

Simon 'Ghost' Riley x FemReader

This is just Corny Corn Fluff!

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Sitting on your couch you stared at the stack of papers before you in total shock- it was suppose to be a simple checkup.. not something like this.

You especially felt unsure since your husband wasn't here- He should have been here for something as important as this.. However his missions were important for the world- That and its what you signed up for when you married Simon 'Ghost' Riley.

You and Simon had been married for 3 years and dated for nearly 5 before then, Meeting at a resturant you owned when he showed up during leave to grab some take away. That was the humble start to a beautiful and gentle relationship the two of you shared.

You two had every conversation in the book about what you both expected in life and what the plans were.. This however was not one of them..

"Fuck- I've got to tell him.."

It was still a good month out till he returned and didn't use his phone while out on missions so you knew it was off in his pocket- he needed to know however.. so you figured a letter would be fine- it would be a cute and easiest way so he wasnt surprised with a heart attack when he got home and saw you like that... jumping to your feet you grab the car keys quickly and rushed to the closest store and then the post office- How bad could it be anyway?

WEEK LATER

On the other side of the world Ghost leaned against an outdoor wall, they were just back from their latest mission and had a cool down before the next one.

He missed you- terribly.. he missed his home and truthfully didn't want to be sweating his arse off when he could be with you. It surprised him in truth, before he used missions to escape the idea of a home- However now he was excited to return home... to you.

Simon was still highly secretive however so no one knew he was married, besides Price who had been invited to the wedding. He had to protect you, his little slice of sunshine in a overall dark life.

"Riley, you've got a letter" Price called out snapping the man from his thoughts, Ghost surprised to hear this- He never really got mail even from you since he insisted it was emergency only to avoid any information leaks.

Stepping forward quickly he grabbed the pale blue envelope- Soap now also curious as he peaked at his Lieutenant.

"Oh? Someone special?" Soap teased, however curiosity burning in his gaze.

Rolling his eyes Ghost opened the letter and saw a tiny plain card, a spike of anxiety hitting his chest as he slowly opened the card and felt the air suddently sucked directly from his lungs.

The team watched Ghost eyes widen like big blue saucers, worry now blanketing the group as Ghost closed the card and then opened it again like to confirm.

"Eh, Lieutenant?.. You alright there?" Soap said softly as he stepped forward to touch the man's shoulder. Price and Gaz also getting closer to see if the masked man was okay-

"Y-Yes I'm fine.. move" He grunted out, the men stepping back as Ghost went to step forward before passing out misstep and falling into the dirt.

"Holy Fuck!!" They all yelled as Ghost fashionably face planted into the dirt and Soap and Gaz scrambling to help the man to his legs which had seemed to suddently turn to jello- Ghost wobbling up as his mass seemed to suddently be too much for him, dropping the paper into the dirt which Price quickly scooped up to keep from getting damaged.

"Take him to the medical bay" Price said quickly as they could hear Ghost muttering something about a van and other random shit- worried their hardened killer had finally lost his mind as they dragged him off to the medbay.

Price holding the card in hand and cracking open to take a peak at what just laid out his Lieutenant-

Congratulations!

You Over Achiever!

Si I'm pregnant and they are triplets!

You over achieving Ass-!!!

I love you and can't wait to see you home!

- Love (Y/N) ♡

The ultrasound picture with the clearly labeled 1,2,3 in red over the black and white images. Price couldnt help but crack a smile and chuckle softly as he closed the card- Looking as he saw Ghost still being rushed to the medical bay.

"I'll be damned-"

A tiny cornerstore card had knocked out one of the world's best solders.