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mesaprotector · 6 months

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I began writing this Elden Ring review when I felt the game nearing a close. Today I finished it. First "AAA" game I've ever played to completion, and I have mixed but mostly positive feelings. At any rate, my life to come is going to be a bit different not fighting wolves for hours each week.

Graphics

Anywhere from "fine, but relentlessly grim" (Caelid, much of the Mountaintops) to "I want to move here right now" (Siofra/Nokron, Leyndell, the Roundtable Hold). The game looks very good, though I can't say the same about some of the enemies and NPCs. When the designers cared, they made some very cool-looking stuff - Astel, Naturalborn of the Void is one of my favorites.

Music

The region themes were definitely a highlight. Above all, the terribly sad theme of Leyndell, a lone city clinging to life in a world falling gradually to pieces. The way the horn-using enemies harmonized with that theme was a beautiful touch. I wasn't as impressed with the boss themes though that might just be my personal preference for chiptunes.

Characters

Overall, this isn't a character-driven game, and that's fine. The voice acting definitely lends a hand with best boy Margit/Morgott and other characters like the Blackguard; but most characters who are memorable are memorable because of their designs or combat abilities. I do have to ask, though, why do most of the characters have to die? Even characters whose arcs I completed just up and died at the end. Alexander should've survived!

Combat

I think for the most part this aspect was fun. I definitely can criticize certain enemies getting reused (those awful ulcerated tree spirits, if you're going to reuse a boss that many times at least pick one that's fun). The balance was a bit off, as the game very clearly expects you to be playing a Str/Dex melee-focused build with a lot of dodging, weaving, and blocking, and doesn't bother balancing for anything else. Never mind that you can snipe enemies from a distance one by one or mow them down on Torrent, and then certain boss fights are MUCH harder doing anything except melee. (Hi, Rennala... or any of the Crystalians.) I don't know if it was intentional that some dungeons are torture but have easy bosses at the end.

I played Dex/Fth, using the Treespear for most of my run until I went for the Blasphemous Blade later in the game, with the Cipher Pata as a backup. I was terrible at dodging and only attempted it on bosses with telegraphed attacks like Mohg and the Fire Giant. I spent most of my time on Torrent, because the Treespear is an S-tier mounted weapon, and turned into a stealth-sniper every time I was in a dungeon. People sleep on bows and crossbows - their damage is terrible, but they're fantastic for aggroing one enemy at a time or hitting those dungeon pillars that breathe fire.

Despise the weird balancing, I think my only major quibbles with the combat in Elden Ring would be that, one, items are mostly useless - why use a Rune Arc to try to beat a hard fight when it's not enough of a buff to guarantee a win, and you lose it permanently? - and that the boss fights being occasionally hard throws progression out of whack if you're anything other than very, very stubborn. Which leads me to my main complaint about this game.

Questlines

Oh dear lord. I've always hated "guide dang it"-type content in games, but it's fine if it's like, secret rooms that have a bunch of coins and a cool sword. Not if there are obscure quests that you're all but required to play for much of the game's plot to make sense. (Rogier! I'm talking about Rogier!) I'll get into this more in the "story" section but I scarcely had a clue what was going on for most of the game, because almost all the lore for the game is hidden deep in questlines which can easily be permanently missed. I praise Miriel his Holy Turtleness every day for being one of the only NPCs who tells you about the gods without you having to find the Dubious Runebear Medallion first (or whatever). Without him I'd have had no idea who Marika even was.

The game also punishes you, over and over, for daring to explore areas early. Nepheli and Corhyn both died because of this in my playthrough - I'd already explored the Albinauric Village and the cliff by the Royal Colosseum, respectively, so I didn't re-explore once they moved to those locations. Then they just both died when I burned the Erdtree. Thanks, game. Really appreciate it.

While I'm at it - gesturing should never have been a mechanic in questlines except when you're explicitly told what to do (like the Finger Snap to summon Blaidd). Same with the Prattling Pates - there was zero indication they were anything but a joke item and then suddenly, dead Boc because you missed the single chance the game gives you to use one. (Rebirth with Rennala didn't kill me the three times I did it... so why did it kill Boc?)

I'm not sure I'd have completed even a single quest had I not had the bright idea to look them all up after the Fire Giant. (Maybe Fia's?) Turns out that was already a bit too late.

Story

I will say that the game's story and world is very, very good. It's a shame it's so hurt by the poor quest design, because I genuinely wanted to learn everything I could about the demigods, about the conspiracies and factions and everything else. Unfortunately I've learned more from the game's wiki than from the game itself. Even when I burned the Erdtree I wasn't totally sure why I was doing it, except that Melina told me to.

I was told by a friend not to heavily RP my character because it'd make the game too hard, but I did do a bit of it. I played a tough old lady, pious but brutal, who would never dare talk to the Three Fingers or do the bidding of a heretic, but wouldn't hesitate to slay a god. I intentionally skipped Tanith's questline because of this, and left the Dung Eater to rot.

Endings

I accidentally picked Ranni's ending. I was in the boss room after finally beating that obese flying salamander and instinctively pressed E when I saw a message below me, and instead of asking to confirm the game went straight into the cutscene. (Yet another example of this game being poorly designed for PC!) I think I was eligible for two other endings, and Fia's was my favorite concept of the three, though its 20-second cutscene I watched later on Youtube wasn't much. It does feel like the endings have the same issue as the rest of the game - very good ideas that never get explained well enough to be appreciated.

Overall

7/10; an amazing world with passable characters and very fun gameplay, but held back by the terrible quest design. If the game provided a lot more lore by default (for example, at the end of each major boss fight, or through Gideon and other NPCs who rarely change location), and made it very clear what the quest breakpoints were, it could easily be a 9/10. The game breaks the unspoken rule that hidden content should never be core to the plot. Anyone who plays this game should do it with a guide - not an exhaustive 100% checklist, but enough of a guide that nobody ends up dead without you intending it, and that you don't miss the most plot-relevant quests in the game.

#elden ring #elden ring review #i probably will genuinely just look up the lore aspects of the dlc instead of playing it #PRAISE MIRIEL #lol #video games

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theoreticslut · 2 years

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「 if this is the end 」

fred weasley x reader

summary: fred overhears you say something about leaving & gets upset.

requested: yes - as part of my inspiration party

word count: 2.2k

warnings: band au, angst, raised voices/arguing, slight physical restraint, fluff ending

a/n: all i’ve got to say is i must be in an angsty mindset lately. i do kind of like how this fic turned out, but i know its not one of my best. i never feel like i do modern-ish aus justice. idk, i just don’t feel like i write them well in the slightest. i hope you like it regardless. feedback is appreciated!

lyrics from ‘a beautiful mess’ by yours truly

Sighing, you check your phone for the upteenth time. You guys were supposed to be practicing by now, but here you are waiting on fred.

As much as you hate to say it, this isn’t abnormal for Fred. Especially when he’s got a lady friend, because lord knows he’d never seriously date - no matter how much you wish he would.

“Dude, where’ve you been? We were supposed to start twenty minutes ago.” Oliver questions the redhead as he finally comes strolling into the garage.

“Sorry, mate. I didn’t mean to be late.”

“Course you didn’t.” You can’t help but mutter to yourself.

If Fred heard you, he doesn’t care to reply, which is fine by you. Although you’ve had a crush on him for the longest time, his antics have started to grow old.

“You ready to start then? We’ve got a new song we’re working on today.” Oliver informs fred as he gets himself situated at his drums.

“Yeah. This the song?” He questions, picking up the sheet music sitting on his instrument.

“Mhm. Y/n’s got all the vocals on this one, we’re just doing backup. It’s all marked on the paper there.”

“Got it. Let’s go.”

~.~

“If this is the end, then I’m sorry that we met.” You sing, feeling the same emotion you had when writing the piece. You never thought it’d sound so amazing put all together though.

Between your emotion, the heavy presence of Fred’s drums, and oliver & lee’s background vocals the song sounds far better than you could have ever imagined.

“I don’t wanna pretend, when it’s easier to forget. It’s a beautiful mess; nothing more and nothing less.”

“And I don’t wanna be friends ‘cause when the spark goes out i-“ you stumble, distracted by Fred mixing up a few beats.

“Fuck! Sorry, guys. I don’t know why that bit is so hard for me to get.”

“It’s fine, Fred. We have been working on this for a while now. We could probably all use a break.”

“That sounds like a great idea, Ollie. Anyone want a soda?” You question, stepping back from the microphone.

At the guys’ various sounds of approval, you make your way towards the stairs leading to the house, knowing that oliver and his mum always keep sodas in the house.

~.~

“Y/n. Nice to see you, sweetheart.” Rene greets, smiling warmly as you close the garage door.

“Hi, Mrs wood! How are you?”

“Just lovely. How about you? That song you guys are working on, did you write it?” She questions, dropping whatever she was doing to talk with you.

Although you and Oliver had never been close, his mum took a liking to you and has almost taken you in as a daughter. You’re not complaining though, not when your own mother is the complete opposite.

“I did. What do you think of it?”

“It’s amazing, sweetheart!”

“Yeah?” You can’t help but question, feeling yourself blush lightly with her praise.

“Absolutely. I have to ask, though, was it written about someone in particular? Maybe a certain redhead?”

You can’t help but chuckle, feeling your cheeks flush more as you nod lightly.

“Yeah. Yeah, you could say that. I just…I can’t do it anymore, Rene.” You sigh, talking about the crush you’ve had on fred since you met him back in high school.

Of course Mrs. Wood knows all about it, though, having been your stand-in mum for a good four years, at least, now.

“Especially with everything potentially changing in the next few months.”

“Did you hear back on the internship?” She questions, hopefully excited.

“I got an email the other day about it. They said they’d love to have me, but I need to let them know if I want the position for sure by this coming Monday.”

“Oh! That’s great, y/n! I’m sure you’ll love it. Plus it’s what you’ve been needing. You’ve been stuck here for too long, dear.”

“I know. I know, but is this really the best thing for me? What if I hate it? What if I find out that I’m not cut out for it?”

“Then you move on to something else. Just because you take this job, doesn’t mean you’re married to it.” She states, as if it’s the simplest thing in the world.

You sigh, nodding as you take a seat at the kitchen island.

“I don’t know. I want to do it, but I also don’t want to leave them.”

“Y-you’re leaving?” A voice cuts between the two of you. Without even looking you know it’s Fred.

You look to Mrs wood in slight terror, but she only gives you a warm smile and a small wink before excusing herself from the room.

“Y/n…are you leaving us? Are you leaving the band?” Fred asks, walking over to you so you have to look at him.

“I don’t know, Fred. Nothing is set in stone yet, but I’m on a deadline to make my decision.” You sigh.

“Let me make it easier for you - stay.”

“Seriously, Fred? I wouldn’t have considered leaving if a part of me didn’t want to go. There’s things here that I’m not sure I can handle anymore.”

“So you just want to run away from them?”

“I wouldn’t be running away. Good god, Fred. If I left it’d be in search of better things.” You huff, getting up from your stool to grab the sodas from the fridge.

“But you’d still be running away from these things you can’t handle.”

Letting the fridge door shut a bit loudly behind you, you start to head back down to the garage, not wanting to argue with fred right now.

“You’re running away right now.” He points out, following you down the stairs.

“I’m not running. I’m just not giving my energy to something that doesn’t matter.”

“I don’t matter?”

“This conversation doesn’t matter. Just let it go, Fred.” You sigh, nearly shoving his soda into his hands.

Making your way to the bottom of the stairs, you go to hand Oliver and Lee their sodas.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Ollie asks, not missing the frustration and tiredness in your features.

“It’s nothing, Ollie.”

He frowns at you, knowing how you like to ignore and bury your emotions.

“I’ll tell you later. Promise.”

“Why don’t you tell him now, y/n? Or are you going to keep it hidden until you’re already gone?” Fred cuts in.

“Oh my god, Fred! I told you that nothing is set in stone yet. Besides, why does it matter if I leave? It’s not hurting you any!”

“You’d be breaking up the band!”

“How so? I’m just a vocalist, Fred. You three are the ones who actually make the music, and I know you’re all more than capable of singing.”

“But all four of us started this band.”

“And you three can still keep it going without me. Again, I’m just a vocalist.”

“It won’t be the same though!”

“So?! Things change, Fred. And sometimes it’s for the better. Who knows, maybe without me you three will get big!” You shout back at the redhead, voice cracking as you hate that thought.

“Hey, let’s take a breath. Is this about that internship you were telling me about?” Oliver asks, placing a hand on your shoulder and pulling you into his side as you try to catch your breath.

“Unfortunately.” You mutter.

“So you heard back then?” He questions, focusing his attention on you as Fred simply watches on.

“They want a definite answer by Monday.”

“That’s great, y/n. I knew they’d like you!” Lee congratulates.

“You both knew?” Fred asks, face falling in disbelief.

“We were waiting to hear back on if they wanted y/n in the first place before we were going to tell you.” Oliver sighs.

“This is a huge opportunity for y/n. She’d be working alongside big record producers and could get her name out there.” He explains, rubbing comforting circles on your back as you fight back tears from the wave of emotions you went through.

“You know y/n, though. She was going to forgo getting her name out there to get ours out instead. No matter how much we’ve tried to convince her otherwise, she’d rather our dreams come true than hers.” Lee speaks up, shaking his head at you.

“You guys deserve it. You’re the heart of the band.” You hiccup.

“How blind are you?” Fred questions.

“Excuse me?”

“We’d be nothing as a band without you and your voice, y/n.”

“Well you’ll have to learn how to be. If I’m working with the producers, I can’t be in the band.” You argue.

“You know you can be, y/n. You’re only saying that because of the other issue at hand.” Oliver states and at the moment you wish you could hate him.

“What other issue?” Fred questions.

“Well-“ Oliver starts before you cut him off.

“Don’t you dare, wood. I’ve told you to stay out of it. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“And I have stayed out of it, but honestly, I think it’d help a lot if you’d just be honest.”

“It won’t make a difference! If it does it’ll just be out of pity. I’m not doing that, so you’re going to keep your mouth shut about it.” You threaten.

“What is going on?” Fred asks, confused by the entire situation right now.

“Y/n likes you, man. As more than a friend.”

“OLIVER!” You cry, not believing he’d go against you like this.

“What?” Fred deadpans, and you’re sure he’s trying to find a way to make this out to be a joke. He doesn’t, will never, like you the same way.

“Yeah, but you’re too blind to see it. Instead you keep flaunting the fact that you have a new girl every week.” Oliver sighs, keeping his hold on you as you try to leave the situation.

You don’t want to be here right now. You can’t be here when Fred says he’ll never see you in the same way. You don’t want to see him feeling guilty and saying anything he can to make himself feel better.

Unfortunately, Oliver has a strong grip on you and isn’t letting you leave.

“Y/n…” Fred starts.

“No. Just keep it to yourself, please. I can’t hear you say what I know you’re going to.” You state as you keep fighting against Oliver to let you go.

“Y/n, I like you too.”

With those words, all fight leaves your body and all sound seems to leave the garage.

“You what?”

“I like you too. The only reason I was with a different girl every week was because I was trying to find someone that could help me forget about the girl I couldn’t have.”

“I didn’t think you liked me, and I didn’t want to chance the band or any of our friendships by telling you how I felt.” He admits, watching as you try to make sense of his words.

“You’re not just saying this to spare my feelings?”

“Not at all. Lee can corroborate for me.”

“I can. I can’t tell you how many nights I’ve spent on the phone with him because he was fawning over you.” Lee pipes up, having been watching the entire situation unfold.

“So you actually like me? As more than a friend.”

“I really like you, and definitely as more than a friend.”

“O-okay.” You murmur, your mind running in circles with this new information.

“So, what’re you thinking, y/n?” Oliver asks.

“I don’t know.” You admit.

“If you want to take that internship thing, I think you should. On one condition.” Fred states.

You hum, looking up at him as you try to figure out what his condition could possibly be.

“You stay in the band with us.”

“Yeah. Lee and I already told you that we’d be more than willing to move out there with you so we’re all together.” Oliver reminds you.

“What do you say, y/n? Take the internship but stay in the band with us. If we get big, we want you - I want you - with us.” Fred says.

“Alright. So I guess I’m telling them I want the position?”

“If you don’t I’m going to be a little disappointed in you.” Oliver states, chuckling as he sends you a smile before kissing your temple.

“Okay. Thank you guys for being supportive of me.” You smile, looking between Lee and Oliver.

“And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, Fred. If I’m being honest, I was trying to use it as a means to run away from my feelings. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s alright. I get it, and I forgive you. I’m just glad we both know how we feel now. I’m sorry it took a fight to bring them to light.” He apologizes, frowning lightly.

“I’m just glad it all worked out in the end.” Oliver chuckles.

You nod, smiling up at him before looking over to Fred, his eyes already on you with a smile on his face.

You always knew it was a bad idea to have a crush on your band mate, and yet you still agreed to be in the band alongside him all because he was still your friend. At least your crush on him has yet to break the band apart, but you’re sure it’s only due to the fact he happened to have a crush on you too. Either way, it seems that things can only get better from here.

join my new taglist!!

hp taglist: @eunoia-kth @omghufflepuff @impulse-anchor @d22malfoys @jrj2 @luvshack @oliverwoodmarrymepls @chewymoustachio @axen-gers @pineapplesandpinas @mollysolo @hpotterwhore @teenwolfbitches28 @justmesadgirl @jackys-stuff-blog @inglourious-imagines @perfectlysane24 @pandaxnienke @celestialmage23 @accio-remus-lupin

fred weasley/weasley twins taglist: @darthwheezely @horrorxweasley @onlyfreds @rebeccaelizabeth @daedreamss

#theoreticslut’s inspiration party #harry potter #hp fanfic #hp angst #hp fluff #fred weasley #fred weasley x reader #fred weasley angst #fred weasley fluff

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archonanqi · 4 years

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fragile as dust / 8 - the eleventh

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ch 8 | the eleventh

The rest of the day you spend running your fingers across the rows and rows of bound leather, taking inventory of all the words and knowledge and stories that were now at your fingertips — scurrying between the library and your room, arms full of books that caught your eye.

Zhongli watched you from his seat in the living room each time you passed, offering comments on various books that you had picked out. He seemed especially amused each time you ran past with a book regaling a legend of the Lord of Geo, though you couldn’t think of a reason why. By the time the sun had set, every surface of your room had been touched by a book or two.

You couldn’t wait to get started, already knew which ones you wanted to read first — there was one that promised the thrilling tale of Rex Lapis’ fight against the Beast of Nian that you were itching to devour. But before anything else, there was something you had to do, something you’d been planning as soon as you’d seen the “The Fine Art of Liyue Cuisine” title on the bookshelves.

Zhongli had been kind — beyond that, really — about your situation, but you hadn’t forgotten that you were meant to be here for his convenience. You had done nothing but cause him trouble so far, and it was your duty to make up for the expenses you’d cost him.

(Though really, and though you would never admit it, you couldn’t deny that on some very faint level, you wanted to hear praise, your name, anything come out in that rich, deep voice of his.)

So the next time Zhongli took his walk at Yujing Terrace, you reluctantly and politely declined his invitation. Minutes after his departure, you snuck out of the door, running as fast as you could towards the northern harbor. The recipe for the pen’cai stew had called for fish, but, as you grabbed handfuls of squid from the nearest unattended stall, you decided that seafood would have to do. Seafood was something that refined nobles like Zhongli ate, after all.

The tentacles felt disgusting in your pocket the entire way home, but it was fine. You could bear it for Zhongli. You couldn’t wait to imagine his surprise and delight.

Still, how odd that of all the ingredients, seafood was the only one you couldn’t find in Zhongli’s well-stocked refrigerator!

When you got home, you breathed a sigh of relief that Zhongli had not come home yet; you didn’t know what you would have said if he had caught you with a pocket full of squid. After changing, you cracked the recipe book open, staring at it. You’d chosen this recipe because its description had stated “ no refinement is needed for this dish ”, but still, some of these terms flew right over your head. What the fuck was a “julienne”?

Zhongli had used the stove several times, mostly to heat up leftovers from the abysmal amount of food he frequently bought, and it hadn’t seemed too hard at all for him. You would learn, just as you always did.

---

By the time Zhongli returned home, smoke was still billowing from the windows.

---

It was all a bit of a haze for you. The oil had started producing bright sparks (in your defense, how were you supposed to make sense of “ Heat Oil Until Hot ”??), and you knew enough about cooking at least to know that that wasn’t good.

You also thought you knew enough about cooking to know that embers had to be put out by water. The resulting bang had sent you rolling to the floor, and when you’d gotten back up, the curtains by the stove were ablaze

When Zhongli found you, you were frozen in fear — you had backup plans for if the food burnt, but this… this went a little past that.

From behind you, you heard a loud whoosh, felt the force of the earth knock into you. The room became enveloped briefly in a golden glow, and as you watched, the fire faded into embers, then smoke. A single glowing, red gem clattered to the ground, before dissipating with a loud hiss.

“H-how?” Was the first word out of your lips.

“When Geo reacts with—“ Zhongli shook his head, cutting his explanation short for the first time you’d heard, “never mind that. Are you alright? Can you move?”

You let him lead you outside, numbly, silently. Finally, out in the fresh morning air, he peered down at you. You searched his face for anger, but found only mild curiosity. “Now,” Zhongli said, sitting on the grass by your side, ”would you like to tell me what happened in there?”

The weight of what you’d done hit you like an angry boar. Treacherous tears gathering behind your eyes, you whispered “I’m so sorry,” barely able to get the apologies out fast enough. “I— I thought I would surprise you with breakfast, but— but the oil and the water...“ You trailed off when he raised his hand to cover his mouth — out of anger? No, there was a smile on his face. A smile!

“My my,” he mused, the smallest of smiles playing on his face. “Truly, you are a child of Liyue. Always trying new things, rushing in headstrong.” Zhongli shook his head wistfully. “It reminds me of myself, many years ago.”

“You?” You asked in disbelief, feeling your eyes widen. You hadn’t once seen him with so much a button out of place on his intricate coat; weren’t convinced he hadn’t come out of the womb drinking pu’er tea and writing poetry. “ You’ve set things on fire before, Mr. Zhongli?”

“More times than I can count,” his smile widened, and you felt like you had learned a secret of the Gods themselves. “But as I learned, so must you: you can always ask for help, Hansi.”

Suddenly, it didn’t feel like he was talking about cooking anymore. As always, his words were so slow, so deliberate that you scoured them for a hidden meaning. If you didn’t know better, you would be deathly sure that he knew of your difficulties with the Vision. And right now, sitting on the grass next to you after you had almost burned down his home, Zhongli had never felt more approachable. Maybe you could tell him, after all.

Starting a fire was one thing , you chided yourself. Lying about possessing the power of one of the Seven Archons is another.

��I will keep that in mind, Mr. Zhongli.” You said, instead, bowing your head a little. “Thank you for… not being mad.”

“It is I who should be thanking you for your thoughtfulness. And what is it that you were trying to cook for me, my dear?”

You almost jumped at that, feeling warm color blossoming within your cheeks. He probably called everyone that — he was so traditional, after all. “Seafood stew, Mr. Zhongli.”

Finally, to your utter confusion, Zhongli’s smile bloomed into a rich laugh. “Then I’m very sorry I missed it,” he chuckled. “Are culinary skills something you would like to learn, Hansi?”

“Yes,” you said, frustration and indignance culminating into determination. There wasn’t one thing you hadn’t been able to learn when you’d put your heart to it — reading, stealing, surviving. Well, except... “Please, teach me.”

“You deserve a far better teacher than I,” Zhongli said, standing up and dusting his coat off, before offering you his hand. “Let’s pay Wanmin Restaurant a visit, shall we?” Then, wrinkling his nose, “though perhaps... After we rid the house of any more fire hazards.”

---

At the counter of Wanmin Restaurant was a man you had never seen before, though his resemblance to Xiangling was striking. He perked up immediately upon seeing you and Zhongli approach.

“Mr. Zhongli!” He waved frantically. “Thank you for the medicine! My knee feels better already.”

“I’m glad, Chef Mao. I’ve heard that Bubu Pharmacy’s herbal cures are nothing short of divine miracles,” Zhongli said. “Though I hear from Xiangling that you’ve been gathering herbs near Jueyun Karst? You must know that it is extremely dangerous for humans to enter.”

“Of course, of course!” Chef Mao laughed good-naturedly. “You don’t have to warn me twice. I make sure to give that place a good berth — I don’t have enough lives to go around meeting any Adepti. Now, what brings you here today? Xiangling or I will cook anything you’re in the mood for.”

Zhongli shook his head gently. “I’ll have to take you up on that offer some other time. Today, I was hoping to ask Xiangling for some culinary tutelage. This young lady here is looking to learn how to cook.”

“Oh!” Chef Mao peered at you, as though he had just noticed you. Of course, it hadn’t helped that you were trying to hide behind Zhongli the whole time. He turned around and yelled into the kitchen, “XIANGLING! COME HERE, MR. ZHONGLI AND HIS—“

A pause, as he glanced between you and Zhongli, trying to ascertain your relationship.

“Friend,” Zhongli supplied. You hated that your heart skipped a beat.

“—FRIEND ARE HERE TO SEE YOU!”

Almost immediately, Xiangling’s head popped out from behind the window, waving and beaming dazzlingly. As Zhongli explained the situation to her, you once again wondered where she was storing her endless cheer. Perhaps in her hairbuns.

“I hope that it is not too much trouble,” Zhongli concluded, crossing his arms over his chest and stepping aside. You wanted to scream at the thought that he knew you’d been trying to hide behind him.

“Nonsense!” Chef Mao slapped his hands together, and you were beginning to see where Xiangling got her enthusiasm from. “If not for you getting Wanmin Restaurant this spot on Chihu Rock, why, Rex Lapis would never have found us and written such flattering poetry about our food. Then where would we be? No favor is too big for you, my friend, let alone something so trivial as this.”

You glanced up at Zhongli, but his expression did not change. Just exactly how much influence did Zhongli have over the city?

Just who was he?

“Would Miss Hansi want to work as my apprentice for a few weeks?” Xiangling asked, thoughtfully. “With the winter coming up soon, we’re going to need a lot of ingredients, so I could use an extra hand. We can’t pay very much, maybe 1,000 Mora a week, but I’ll keep you nice and full, I promise!”

A thousand Mora — that was more than you had ever had at once in your life. You jumped to say yes, but stopped yourself just in time. It wasn’t up to you. For all Zhongli’s benevolence, what nobleman would want a servant (is that what you even were?) that they'd paid for gone all day?

You looked to Zhongli for his answer. And when he only waited patiently, you prompted, “may I accept this offer, Mr. Zhongli?”

“You are free to do as you please, Hansi.” Zhongli said, and the surprise didn’t sting as much as it used to. “I think it would be a great opportunity.”

You had never been more sure of the following “yes!” that you almost shouted at Xiangling.

Chef Mao laughed. “We’ll see how much of that enthusiasm you can keep when Xiangling starts working you to the bone!” He waved at Zhongli. “Xiangling and I will show her around the restaurant. You should get back to your work, Mr. Zhongli — you must be a very busy man.”

Zhongli raised a brow, but did not comment further. “Will you be able to find your way back home, Hansi?”

After getting your affirmation, Zhongli nodded and walked away. You would have watched him leave, if you could, studying every detail on the back of his coat — but Xiangling grabbed your hand.

“Come on!” She was almost vibrating from excitement, and you couldn’t help but match her grin with your own. “There’s SO much I need to show you!”

---

By the time Xiangling released you from your duties for the day (and you had learned more words than you thought existed), the city had grown dark.

It had been so exciting, the prospect of having a real, actual job that you didn’t have much else on your mind. And so your first mistake, you realized too late, was trying to find the same shortcuts that Zhongli had used to get home. The alleyways at night were strangers to you — and there was good reason for it.

You thought it was your imagination at first, but it became more apparent with every crawling second: there was another pair of footsteps that echoed each of your own. You quickened your pace, noticing the echo match yours almost perfectly. As you turned down deeper between the buildings, you forced your foot to stop halfway to the ground.

The echoing footstep clacked against the cobblestone.

There was a flurry of movement behind you, your pursuer realizing that their cover had been blown. The figure lunged at you, and you ducked at the last second— you were used to bigger men throwing their bodies at you, had long since learned how to use their weight against them. With all your strength, you aimed a kick at the man’s groin—

Only for him to catch your ankle with one of his gloved hands, yanking you off your feet, and throwing you against the wall. The impact knocks all the air from your lungs. You scrambled to get back to your feet, coughing. Instinctively, you reached for your chest, where your Vision once was. It wasn’t there. Of course. And even if it was, what good would it be?

“Feisty,” the man remarked, leaning in to peer at you. In the dim moonlight, you could see a strange red mask hanging his cheek, stark against his auburn hair. At his hip, a Vision glowed royal blue, with a frame that you had never seen before. “What on Teyvat has Zhongli gotten himself into?”

---

“Who are you?” You snapped. The man kept his careful distance from you, but you were sure that he would be able to catch you in seconds if you ran. The way he had moved to meet your blow was practiced, skilled, even. It seemed that you had misjudged his intentions — he was not some drunken man seeking pleasure. “Are you from Bawang ?”

“Ba—what?” The man shook his head, clutching his heart in a dramatic show of dismay. “I’m hurt. Didn’t Mr. Zhongli not tell you about me? Not even a passing mention?”

Eyeing him carefully, you racked your brains. Was he a friend of Zhongli’s? Surely no associate of Zhongli would corner you in an alley at night and push you over... Right? You were realizing how little (absolutely nothing, to be exact), you knew about Zhongli’s life.

“Was the ‘who are you?’ not enough of a clue?”

The man grinned wickedly in the night, eyes glinting at your mockery. “What a tongue you have on you. Didn’t know that was Zhongli’s type.” He offered his hand to you. “I’m Tartaglia, codename Childe. Pleased to meet you.”

You stared at his hand like you would a can of live worms. “The one from the Fatui.”

The message received, he let his hand fall back to his side. “So he has talked about me. And here I was, thinking that he saw me as just a puppet.” He mused. You had no clue what he was talking about, but it was immediately clear that the man was dangerous.

“Are you here to collect his debt? I don’t have any money.”

“Debt?” Tartaglia laughed. “No, there’s no debt . Mr. Zhongli has unlimited access to the Northland Bank’s funds. Yeah,” he clarified, mistaking your shock for confusion. “Turns out, you need to read the fine print when it comes to making deals with the guy.”

“Then what do you want from me?”

“Oh, come now,” he raised his palms in a placating manner, “don’t be so harsh. I’m only here to investigate. Zhongli has been buying enough food for a small army, and while it’s not entirely unusual of him, he also made a large payment to a certain company... that let’s just say even the Fatui won’t touch with a six-foot pole.” Tartaglia swept his glance over you from head to toe. “But you already know that, don’t you?”

You stayed silent, wishing to the Archons that looks could kill.

“I don’t know why he… acquired you, but believe me, he’s always got some kind of plan going on in that head of his.” Tartaglia sighed. “Anyway, where’s your Vision?

You stiffened. “Vision?” You scoffed. The false disbelief came easily, naturally. “You think the Archons would give someone so pathetic a Vision?”

“You can cut the crap. I saw the way you reached for it there. I’ve seen that look way too many times. Vision-holders who get too dependent, who think that having one makes them invincible.” Tartaglia’s lip curled. “A Vision wouldn’t have saved you from me, girlie. But someone as weak as you should at least be carrying it around.”

Every moment of the day, you thought of it, of how all your problems would be solved if — when — you mastered the power of the Archons. The thought that it wouldn’t, that knowing how to use a Vision wouldn’t make you invincible to the world, was devastating.

Before you, Tartaglia’s eyes were the color of the ocean during monsoon seasons, deep, roiling, devastating. You couldn’t seem to bring yourself to lie again, so you lowered your head.

“That’s what I thought. What element?”

“Geo,” you said quietly. The only thing you could do here was keep him talking, long enough until you could find a chance to escape. From what you could tell, he didn’t seem to be on too-friendly terms with Zhongli. Perhaps he wouldn’t tell him, after all.

“Of course.” He nodded, as though there was no other answer.

“What do you mean, of course?”

“ What I mean is —“ Tartaglia peered at you, raising a single brow. “Hmm. What does Zhongli think of your Vision?”

You bit your lip to stop from responding. This was dangerous territory. As the seconds dragged on in silence, you watched a glimmer of glee creep into Tartaglia’s eyes. “Oh! Oh my Archon. You haven’t told him!” The Fatui Harbinger threw back his head and laughed with abandon. “Oh, that’s great! This is beautiful!”

You waited a good half minute for Tartaglia to finally wipe all the tears from his cheeks. “Are you done?” You’d been slowly edging towards the exit of the alley, keeping your eyes trained on the Fatui. As long as you could get to Wanmin Restaurant you would be safe... but no. You couldn’t drag Xiangling and Chef Mao into this. You still didn’t understand half the things Tartaglia had said, but you knew that the Fatui’s attention wasn’t something you wanted, no matter who you were.

“Yes, yes,” Tartaglia huffed, fanning himself dramatically.

“What’s so funny?”

“My contract ,” he almost spat the word, “mandates that I stay silent about that one, sorry. But don’t worry, I’ll keep your little secret. I’d love to see the look on your face when... Anyway. I’m here to give you an offer.”

“Next time, try offering over lunch or something,” you didn’t know where you found the courage to snap, “instead of in an alley.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Tartaglia threw his hands up, somewhat apologetically. “It’s been so hard to catch you alone.” Had he been watching you and Zhongli? You grimaced. “But anyway. How would you like… all the Mora you could ever need? Anything you want to buy, eat or wear, yours, just like that.” He snapped his fingers.

“…And what do you want from me?”

“Information,” he replied, “about Zhongli. How to fight him, really, but also anything else he—“

At this point, you were beginning to feel inclined to believe that the man was simply missing half his marbles. Finally feeling like you had put enough distance between him and yourself, you turned and ran — for a whole two seconds, when a strong force yanked you backwards.

“Hey now, hasn’t Mr. Zhongli taught you anything about manners?” He tutted as you flailed in his grip, “I wasn’t done talking— whoa!”

He ducked, barely avoiding a projectile that whizzed past his cheek, so close that you could hear it whistle through the air. You peer at where it landed, firmly embedded into the brick wall.

It was a golden spear that glowed dimly in the light. Its design was immaculate, intricate, beautiful , you thought numbly, as you watched it fade before your eyes.

“Well then,” Tartaglia said tightly, “never mind her manners. It’s not like you to get so worked up, Mr. Zhongli.”

You snapped your head towards the entrance of the alleyway. You’d recognize the silhouette anywhere, but in that moment, with the same spear gripped in his hand and his features edged silver under the moonlight, eyes glowing a ravenous gold, Zhongli looked particularly divine.

“If I were worked up , Childe, I would not have missed,” Zhongli said, twirling the spear once before setting the pole against the cobblestone. The way he moved -- natural, relaxed, as though the polearm seemed like an extension of his body. There was no anger in his voice, but you felt a slight tremor in the ground under your feet and, despite your situation, a jolt of excitement at the thought of seeing Zhongli fight, seeing a Geo Vision in use.

“Oho?” Childe let go of your sleeve, crouching down low as glowing blue energy gathered in his hands. “Sure sounds like you’re asking for a fight. You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this!”

Zhongli regarded him coolly for a moment. “Look around you. Is this really where you want to fight me, Childe?” He raised his head, and you and Tartaglia followed his gaze to a window. Behind the glass, you could make out a young girl’s face as she stared wide-eyed down at the scene below.

To your surprise, the Fatui paused. You hadn’t marked him down as the type to worry about collateral damage. Finally, he shifted back into a more relaxed stance, waving his fingers clean of Hydro. “You know me a little too well, Mr. Zhongli,” he smiled, all hostility seemingly forgotten. You may have misjudged his empathy, but you certainly hadn’t imagined his unhinged nature.

“What business do you have with Hansi?” Zhongli asked.

“That’s our little secret. Well, I’ll leave you two to… whatever it is you do.” He winked. “Remember, you still owe me a dinner sometime, Mr. Zhongli.”

“Certainly,” Zhongli said, lowering his hand and letting his spear disintegrate from between his fingers. “Though I must warn you, it will be the Northland Bank bearing the bill.”

“Of course.” Childe chuckled one more time, as though he remembered something funny. “See you around, Hansi.”

---

On the way home, Zhongli was uncharacteristically quiet. As you entered the warmth of his — of your home, you tried to break the silence. “Thank you for saving me, Mr. Zhongli.”

Zhongli stayed quiet for a short while more, staring at you so intently it stung. “Forgive my silence,” he finally said. “When I couldn’t find you at Wanmin, I thought that you had been hurt or… that you had run away.”

Astonished, you didn’t really know what to say. Running away was a thought that had crossed your mind, but each time, the cons far outweighed the pros. You were more than familiar with what awaited you on the streets of Liyue. “I am not so stupid to be ignorant of what would happen to me if I did” There was a pregnant pause. “And besides, I have had no reason to, Mr. Zhongli. You have been more than kind to me.”

Zhongli smiled. Was it just your imagination, or were his meltingly gorgeous smiles coming more and more often? Trying not to let your thoughts wander, you blurted the first thing that came to mind. “That spear was beautiful.”

“Thank you,” he said. “It has served me well.”

“Do you really know how to use it?” There had been no weaponry in the house that you’d seen, but you believed him wholeheartedly.

“I am somewhat versed in its usage, yes.”

“How long did it take you to learn how to fight?” You wondered, sincerely.

“I have always known how to fight, for as long as I can remember.” Suddenly, his weathered hands made sense. With your notions of him growing up as a sheltered, rich noble shattered, you had never been more curious of his past. Had he been part of the Millelith? “Though, I have since come to learn that it was never true strength. Why do you ask, Hansi?”

You hesitated, nervously glancing away. Way to dig yourself a hole. “Just wondering.”

“Hansi, I gave you my word to keep you safe, to the best of my abilities. However, I fear that there may be times when I may not be by your side, such as tonight.” Zhongli seemed to think deeply about his next words. “Remember that if you want to learn how to fight, you just need to ask.”

Tell him , a voice in your mind screamed. Tell him about the damned Vision.

As tempting as it was, you were indeed more than familiar with what awaited you on the streets of Liyue. You would not risk, even remotely, your position in Zhongli’s household.

“Thank you, Mr. Zhongli,” you mustered the warmest smile you could, as you stood up to retreat to your room. “I will keep that in mind.”

“That’s all I ask,” Zhongli exhaled deeply. “Good night.”

“Good night.”

#zhongli #zhongli fanfic #genshin #genshin fanfic #genshin impact #genshin zhongli #zhongli x reader #my writing #anqi writes #fragile as dust

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epicfangirl01 · 4 years

Text

Magic Malady- Sick!Demon Brothers

Hey, guys! I wanted to give a quick shout out to @dawndustleo for being amazing and supportive in the brainstorming process of this fic. If it wasn’t for them, you would probably have a shittier version of care for Belphie, Satan, and Levi. So thank you again for your support! Also, this was supposed to be one fic, but I got carried away.... So be ready for the second half soon! Thank you guys for coming, and I hope you enjoy!

Part One

The bell rings for "Ancient Enchantments and Hexes" as you set your materials on your desk, sliding into your seat as your teacher moves to the chalkboard. On the board are the words "Alphus Depetiginis Presentation", and you gulp nervously.

You've prepared the potion a dozen times with Satan's help and supervision, but you can't help feeling anxious about ruining the potion in front of the class. The one thing that is especially nerve wracking is that all seven demon brothers are sitting at their desks, focused on the teacher, except for a texting Mammon.

"Good morning, everyone! Today we will go over your presentations for creating your skin disease potions. This spell will be harmless, as long as it isn't completely ingested. Of course, we will use the proper safety equipment in case an accident occurs. Remember, the potion is supposed to give the castee a severe case of warts, scabs, and rashes. The potion lasts about 3 days, and often leaves the castee's skin raw. You will be assessed on your accuracy, presentation, and overall effectiveness of the potion on your spell dummies. When I call your name, please come up to the front counter and put on your apron, goggles, and gloves."

You take deep breaths and review the procedure, barely noticing the first few presentations, when the teacher calls your name. You gulp and push yourself out of the chair, quickly putting on your safety equipment.

As you walk up to the counter, you notice Mammon aiming his phone at you, lowering it after a moment. He's almost definitely texting Asmo, sending him the picture of your strange outfit. You roll your eyes, smirking at his behavior. Typical Mammon.

You clear your throat and smile, before grabbing the necessary equipment. "Alright. First, you take 8 wings from a vampire bat, and make cuts at these points to remove the bones. You snap the bones in half and grind them down to a powder, adding two houndstooth thorns in the process. Once the powder is made, you heat a beaker of Bermuda seawater to 300 Kelvin, adding one drop of Reaper blood to the beaker. Next, you scrape the bone and thorn powder into the mixture. The liquid boils for a minute until..." As if on command, the red-tinted water turns a bright cyan, and a bright grin crosses your face as the potion is made perfectly. "There! Once it turns cyan, remove the beaker from the heat. After 24 hours, the potion is ready to be used."

Satan smiles proudly as your hard work pays off, and Lucifer smirks slightly as he claps. Your cheeks turn pink at the praise, and you take off the safety equipment.

"Wonderful presentation, Y/N. Now, it's Beelzebub's turn. Please eat your sandwich before you come forward, or you might eat the ingredients. I don't want to die or get fired," the teacher half joked. The teacher shudders slightly, remembering the tantrum the sixth born had when denied permission to eat in class.

The room laughs, and Beel chuckles as he gulps his sandwich whole. Satisfied, he walks up to the counter for his demonstration.

You watch patiently from your seat, when you notice Mammon whispering to Mephistopheles. Everyone claps as Beel completes his demonstration, and the teacher clears their throat.

"Thank you for volunteering, Mammon! You usually aren't one to talk so passionately about elixirs and hexes. Why don't you show the class how it's done?" They smirk as Mammon turns pale, before the demon of greed nods.

"Y-yeah! Let the Great Mammon show you what real magic looks like." Mammon grins and winks at you confidently, before standing up. He slips some safety goggles out of his backpack, and heads up to the counter for his apron and gloves.

You look curiously at the other brothers, wondering if they sense something off with the Avatar of Greed. He seems a bit too relaxed for presenting in his worst class, and you can tell Lucifer is wary as well. You turn your attention back to Mammon, when your eyes land on his goggles. They're different from his usual pair, but you can't quite put your finger on it.

"Alright! So ya take some crow wings, and... cut out the bones to snap them in half. Then ya take the bones and mix it into a powder with, er..... bloodthorns! Yeah, two bloodthorns."

Satan huffs in annoyance at Mammon's lack of studying, and Lucifer scowls at his poor execution. Sadistic amusement shines in his eyes, likely planning Mammon’s punishment for after class.

"Then in the glass, you boil holy water and add a bottle of Reaper's blood." The teacher's eyes widen, while Lucifer and Satan jump to their feet.

"MAMMON, DON'T!!! " they shout in unison, overcome with panic.

The second born looks up in confusion and fear, quickly pulling his hand back, but it's too late. Immediately, a plume of black and purple smoke explodes into the classroom, creating a thick fog. Demons cough and hack as the foreign gas fills their lungs, while you and the angels look on in alarm. You dash to the windows, pushing them open to dispel the gas.

"Mammon! What did you d- ughhhh..." Belphie groans, his face pale as he clings to a table.

"You idiot! You just mixed Reaper Blood and Holy Water! That stuff makes demons sick!" Levi hisses through coughs, feeling his stomach roll.

Oh no.

"Alright, everyone-" the teacher announces, stopping to keep from puking. "Presentations are suspended for a week. Go home and get some rest. Luckily, the illness from the gas isn't contagious. The, ughhh... side effects should disappear within a few days."

The angels guide the sick demons back to their dorms, recruiting help from students across the hall. You turn to look at the seven brothers, who are all in bad shape, aside from Lucifer.

"Mammon," he hisses,, "I'll be taking away your DDD and credit card for this, and that is just the beginning. Y/N, stay here with the others. I will fetch Lord Diavolo for assistance." You nod, stunned, and the prideful demon walks into the hall alone.

As the eldest brother goes to find backup, you help the demon brothers back into their seats.

"Alright. Stay calm and take deep breaths, okay? Barbatos should be here soon to portal us back to the house." You quickly inspect the brothers, recording a list of their symptoms as the Fantastic Three rush inside. "I'm glad you're here. We have to get them home. I can watch over everyone and make sure they're alright. Let me check Mammon's symptoms really quick, and then I can get yours, Lucifer."

The raven haired demon shakes his head, nodding toward the others. "I am fine. Thank you for your concern, Y/N, but you should focus your aid on my brothers. Some of them can be quite clingy when they're sick."

You nod, turning to the demon of greed. "How are you feeling, Mammon?" Your hand brushes his hair aside to take off his goggles, heat radiating off of his forehead.

"Hey! I-I'm not done with those..." he retorted weakly. Curiosity replaces your worry, and a gasp slips from your lips as you examine the goggles further.

"Mammon! These goggles have inscriptions on them. You were cheating on your presentation!"

Lucifer's eyes darken, and he steps toward Mammon menacingly, his purple aura rising from his skin.

Mammon whimpers, and you step between the two, placing your hands on Lucifer's chest. "Lucifer, I know you're mad, and you have the right to be, but he is suffering from a self-inflicted punishment. He was closest to the beaker, so he will get the worst effects out of everyone. You can punish him again in a few days, when he's better, okay? Then it will be more satisfying for you to enjoy," you explain, appealing to his sadistic side in an effort to deescalate the situation.

"You did WHAT?!? "

The eldest lord sighs, pushing his hair back, and nods. "Very well. Just don't care for him too much. He acts like a baby when he's ill."

With that, Diavolo walks up to Mammon and lifts him by the collar, his chuckle eerily happy. The prince tightly wraps his arms around Mammon's body, and Diavolo beams as he gulps in worry.

"Well, Mammon! It seems like the two of us are going to have a wonderful conversation. Barbatos, can you open the door to the study, please?"

The butler's eyes sparkle with interest, and he bows obediently. "Of course, my prince." Barbatos opens the door, instantly creating a portal to the study. The two demons head inside, before the portal changes to reveal the upstairs hallway.

You walk over to Asmo and Belphie, helping them to their feet. Lucifer follows your lead, grabbing hold of Beel and Levi, while Barbatos helps Satan.

You step through the portal, and the 6 of you arrive in the House of Lamentation. Lucifer guides you to the twins' room, placing Belphie and Beel on their respective beds. Once they are settled, you take Asmo to his room.

Asmo's face is paler than you have ever seen, and dread forms in the pit of your stomach. "Are you okay, Asmo?" The Avatar of Lust looks up at you and shrieks, stopping you in your tracks. You follow his gaze, realizing that he saw his reflection in the mirror.

"I'm hideous!" The demon falls out of your grasp, settling onto the chair at his vanity as he frantically grabs some foundation. "This one! Yes, a-and eyeliner. Mascara, some lip gloss... Eek! My hands! Y/N, moisturizer! Stat!"

You grab the bottle of moisturizer from the nightstand, and you place a hand on his shoulder.

"Asmo, stop. It's going to be alright. Just relax, an-"

"I can't! I have to look perfect!" Asmodeus quickly applies some makeup, but his hands tremble as the foundation drips and smears down his face. Sweat falls from his pores, sticking to his skin. You gently touch his forehead and gasp.

"Asmo, you're burning up! Here. Let me help." You grab a makeup wipe, moving to clean his face when he grabs your wrist.

"No! I-I'm always supposed to be beautiful. If I'm not..." the demon looks away, tears stinging his eyes. You cup his cheek, turning his face to meet his gaze.

"You're beautiful the way you are, Asmodeus. And even though you're sick, you still look ready for a photoshoot." He sniffles, nodding weakly, so you take the chance to wipe his face clean. Once his face is bare, you gently hold his shoulders, turning him to look in the mirror. "See? There's the Devildom's Jewel. Everything is going to be okay. For now, let's put you to bed."

You help Asmo to his regal-style bed, and you gather his magazines and DDD. You click a TV app on his phone, before you find a human world show called "Project Runway". Asmodeus sighs and squeezes your hand.

"Thanks, Y/N." You smile and nod, turning on the show before heading to the door. "Oh, honey, those shoes look tacky with that skirt." You laugh, glad that Asmo is feeling better, and you head to the study to meet with Lucifer and Diavolo.

You knock on the study door, and you nearly collide Mammon, who sniffles miserably. Snot runs down his face, and he looks away from you.

"Mammon?" You're about to help him to his room, when Lucifer glares at you, shaking his head. Your heart breaks a bit, wanting to help your first man, but you know you can't mess with Lucifer. "I'll see you soon to check on you, okay?" Mammon doesn't say anything, and he walks past you instead, sneezing and shuffling to his room. You turn back to the two demons, closing the door behind you.

"Y/N, is everyone in bed?" Diavolo asks, and you nod. "Good. We need to make a plan before things get out of hand."

Lucifer clears his throat, gaining your attention. "We need to conduct some research to determine the severity of the illness. All illnesses that are exclusive to demons consist of Reaper Blood and Holy Water, but this combination has not been made in all of our years in the Devildom. It's important that we find the resources we can, and see if there is a cure. The instructor believes the symptoms will only last a few days, but we need to make sure this concoction isn't permanent. I will assist Lord Diavolo with this task. You are to stay here and tend to my brothers." You nod obediently, but Diavolo shakes his head in concern.

"Barbatos and I can worry about that. You were also exposed to the potion, Lucifer. You should be resting as well." Lucifer stands up straighter, and looks into the prince's eyes, unreadable yet firm.

"I am fine, my lord. I will report to you should my condition worsen. Until then, I insist that you need my service." You frown as you meet Diavolo's gaze, uncertain. The red haired demon sighs, yielding.

"Very well, but I am depending on you to report any symptoms. Should some develop, you are to immediately drop your tasks and return home. Do I make myself clear?"

Diavolo's eyes darken with authority, the golden flecks of his eyes shining bright. For a moment, you thought you saw Lucifer's eyes dilate in surprise, but the expression is gone in an instant.

"Yes, my lord," he says obediently, bowing respectfully to his prince. The room is silent for a moment, before Diavolo turns to you.

"Let's get to work. Y/N, take care of the brothers and watch their symptoms."

You nod, and Lucifer reminds you to let Mammon take care of himself until dinner. Your heart pangs at the unfair treatment, but you don't want to irritate Lucifer further. You take your leave and head into the hall, when you find Belphegor laying at the foot of the attic stairs, clinging to the doorframe.

"Belphie! What are you doing out of bed?" You dash down the hall to help the youngest brother up, draping one of his arms around your shoulders. Belphie clings to his pillow and blanket, groaning as he grabs the railing.

“Ugh... Too loud. Beel’s stomach won’t stop growling. Just the thought of him puking keeps me up at night.” You guide Belphie up to the attic, rubbing his side gently. You never understood how Belphie could go back to his former prison, but you suppose it is the most private room in the house.

“Okay. If you ever need anything, just call me. You can get hurt if you do things by yourself. You could have tripped down the stairs if I didn’t find you here.” Belphie rolls his eyes, refusing to reply. Always so stubborn. You get to the bedroom, and you pull the covers over to help the demon lay down. Once Belphie is settled, you sit beside him and drape his blanket over his shivering form. You gently check his forehead with the back of your hand, feeling a small fever lick at his skin. You sigh, and seventh born curls around you, resting his head on your lap.

“Hey, Y/N? I can’t sleep, and when I do, I have nightmares about Lilith or Beel. Sometimes they’re even about you... Can you stay with me until I fall asleep?” Your chest tightens as you look down at the Avatar of Sloth, and you nod.

“Of course, Belphegor.” He chuckles a bit, enjoying the way you say his name, before closing his eyes. Belphie breathes deeply as he focuses on your warmth, sighing as your fingers comb through his hair.

“Mmm. I could stay here forever,” he mumbles, cuddling his pillow. The youngest brother coughs suddenly, covering his mouth and relaxing again. You gently rub Belphie’s back with your free hand, and a gentle hum flows through through the air as you sing a lullaby. The demon sighs in relief, lulled into a gentle sleep. You watch over him for a few minutes, glad he is finally resting, until you feel Belphie nuzzle into your lap. His snoring briefly hitches for a moment, interrupted by drowsy mumbles.

“Y/N.... is my nurse... Back off, Mammon...” A chuckle fills the air as you watch the sleeping demon, remembering the night the twins fought over you in their sleep.

“Sweet dreams, Belphegor.” You gently slide out from under him, placing a pillow under his head. You stand up, lifting the covers and gently tucking him in. When you are finished, you gently close the bedroom door, making your way downstairs.

You pull out your DDD to check the time, reading about 11 AM. “I should probably make some soup for everyone. Beel is bound to be hungry soon.”

You make your way down to the fridge, gathering some ingredients from the human world shelf. It has been a while since the last Human Cuisine Night, so the brothers would be grateful to have your homemade comfort food. For a moment, you consider what to make, before deciding on vegetable soup. The nutrients should help the demons recover quickly, while the warm flavors work to soothe their restlessness. You begin to chop carrots, onions, celery, and other vegetables, while you prepare the broth. Once everything is ready, you pour the vegetables and seasonings into the broth. With the pots covered, you set a timer on your DDD and head back upstairs.

As you reach the landing, moans drift down the hallway, coming from Levi's room. You walk up to the door, knocking gently, and speak to the otaku through the door.

"Leviathan? Are you okay?" The third born groans, and immediately gives you permission to enter the room. Your stomach drops, knowing he must be miserable to drop his passcode, and you take a deep breath as you open the door.

You step inside, finding the third born laying on a beanbag, surrounded by Ruri-chan blankets and plushies, looking like a sad burrito.

"Aww. Levi, you look miserable. Is there anything I can do to help?" You kneel next to him, pushing his hoodie back to take his temperature. His skin burns against yours, and Levi laughs to himself.

"Pathetic, huh? A shut in like me laying in my room, surrounded by nerdy anime blankets. The mighty third born, Admiral of the Hell's Navy, sitting alone in his room and cuddling a body pillow while maintaining a fever. Go figure. The one time I go to class, actually pay attention, and study hard, I get caught up in Mammon's stupid stunts. And what's worse is that Mammon has you to take care of him. Screw that scumbag! He can suffer from his mistake. You shouldn't have to take care of his dumb ass..." Levi vents, and you gently stroke his hair.

"I know you're upset, Levi. You have the right to be, but Mammon deserves help too. I bet he's suffering right now. Besides, Lucifer told me not to help him until dinner. I haven't even seen half of your brothers yet. Right now, all I'm worried about is taking care of you."

Leviathan blushes a bit, sniffling.

"Hey, Y/N? Can you stay with me for a while? Maybe we could watch 'Nightmare Princess: The Legend of the Blood-Bound Dragons' and..." You smile at the lovable nerd, encouraging him to continue. "...Maybe you could hold my hand and rub my back? No! Never mind. That's dumb. You have better things to do..."

You shake your head, taking Levi's hand in your own. "That sounds great. First, let me tuck you into bed, okay?" You gently help Levi over to the tub, and you put some pillows and blankets around his unique bed. Once the demon of envy is comfortable, you turn the lights out and grab his laptop, turning on the anime he suggested. You hand him the computer and slide in next to him, moving close to watch the first episode.

His heart pounds as you take his hand, bewildered how a normie like you would want to spend time with a shy otaku. As promised, you gently massage Levi's shoulders and back. He sighs in relief, though he remains tense from your gentle touch, and you stifle a giggle.

"So, this is the Celestial Realm edition that was written and directed by the great Christopher Peugeot. The original series was very good, but this one was REVOLUTIONARY compared to more modern anime series. The twists to the same characters and plot were unexpected, and at first I was worried about the changes, but like always, Christopher Peugeot blew the series out of the water! He's absolutely incredible! Oh! Right, the synopsis. This series is about Zinovia, the princess of the Underworld, who goes undercover in the dream world to find the 7 blood-bound dragons and save the souls of the damned from complete destruction by the cruel dream gods." Levi explains the plot thoroughly as the show begins, and you can't help but get lost quickly.

"Okay, then wh-" The demon shushes you excitedly, telling you to watch, and you chuckle to yourself. "Okay."

The two of you manage to watch one full episode, when the soup timer on your DDD rings. "I'll be right back, Levi. I'm going to get everyone some soup and water before checking on the others. The otaku frowns, and nods.

"O-okay, but... Can you check on me again soon? For a normie, you actually make me feel better...." You smile and nod, touched by his words, before closing the door behind you.

You make your way back to the staircase again, when Barbatos walks out of the study, turning to you and bowing politely.

"There you are, Y/N. Lord Diavolo has requested your presence. Lucifer is with him as well." You slip your DDD into your pocket and nod.

"Thank you, Barbatos. Do you mind if I ask for a favor? I made vegetable soup for everyone, and I need to get bowls, cups, and silverware. Do you mind bringing those to the common room? I can serve everyone and take care of the rest from there. I made enough for you and Lord Diavolo, too."

The butler chuckles, and nods. "Of course. I shall return shortly." You thank Barbatos before knocking, heading inside when instructed.

You turn to face the demon prince, and you freeze as your gaze meets his. Diavolo's hopeful eyes are now dimmed by his grim frown, and your heart skips a beat.

"What's going on?" you ask, worried by the dark expression on Diavolo’s face.

"I'm afraid things are worse than we could have imagined. The other students are having severe fevers, and are slowly developing growths. Their condition is worsening by the minute."

Your eyes widen, and you brush your hair back, trying to think.

"Okay. We can deal with this. We just have to find some doctors to give them medicine. Then hopefully the symptoms will disappear in a couple days."

Lucifer shakes his head, squeezing his hand against the back of his chair, standing tall beside Diavolo.

"I'm afraid it's more grave than that..." the eldest brother mumbles, the stress and worry clouding his red and black eyes.

"Lucifer.... What's going on?" The demon lord refuses to look at you, and anxiety twists your stomach into a knot. "Please, tell me!"

Lucifer sighs, his breath shaky, and when he finally looks up at you, faint tears sting the corners of his eyes.

"It's the Black Plague."

Part Two (Coming Soon!)

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elderbwrry · 3 years

Text

Even if he doesn’t say so - Chapter 4/?

Kylo/Hux/Poe Witcher AU

Chapter summary: Poe gets into a barfight - minor warnings for blood. (word count 2141)

Chapters 1, 2, 3 and on ao3

Kylo and Hux were on their way back to the tavern where Poe would be giving his latest performance...

They had spent all the afternoon consulting with the mayor of this backwater little town as to what services they could possibly render him. He was an odious man who didn't seem to know exactly what he was talking about, and prattled on for hours about werewolf sightings – Kylo was almost certain that the mayor's reports were only rumour – before changing tack to ask Hux a million pointless questions. It had taken so long that it was now almost night. The least he could have done, if all he wanted was to be able to say he'd met a mage and a Witcher, was compensate them for their time. Still, it had been fun to see how politely Hux could insult him.

There was a considerable noise coming from somewhere ahead of them on their path, and, as they rounded the corner, it became clear that the source was the tavern. The place was full to bursting, people crowding in the door and standing on tip toes to see in. The music which should have been flowing out of the place was instead replaced with shouts and jeering. Hux and Kylo figured out what was happening at virtually the same time, quickening their pace.

The place smelt of spilt beer and sweat, and the loud, human noise bit at Kylo's senses with an acidic tang between his eyes and at the back of his neck, making his fists curl. Hux shouldered his way forward, but the crush parted easily for them, creating ripples of, “It's the Witcher!”, “that horrid magician,” “mutant freaks.”

If everything had stopped when they arrived, the solid blow of flesh hitting flesh kickstarted it all again, sending forth another round of jeers as everyone turned back to the commotion at the centre of the room. The last layer of people peeled back, and the cause of it all was revealed.

Poe, his lute and doublet discarded somewhere, was squaring up, fists first, to another man who was both younger and larger than himself. The sleeves of Poe's shirt were rolled up to expose his forearms, the collar of that same shirt flapping open lower than usual, his knuckles of a shade suggesting that a number of blows had already been dealt. His hair was in disarray, sweat sheening his skin, and there was a bright red split freshly on his lip. It was... handsome. It made Kylo angry.

Growling, he took an abortive step towards Poe's adversary, only to be blocked by a surprisingly firm hand on his sternum. Hux.

“What is the meaning of this?” the mage asked the room icily.

“They're voicing their unwanted opinions,” Poe told them, and it was with such hostility that Kylo would scarcely believe it could come from him, if he didn't know that Poe had a righteous streak a mile wide.

“We don't take kindly to things like you coming to these parts,” someone said.

“Witchers and their murdering.”

“Mages and their sin.”

“We've heard the stories!” another added, and noises of assent scattered around the room.

Kylo had been in situations like this before. He'd been known to act badly in them. Rashly. Angrily. He cast his gaze around, and people seemed to shrink back from it. He could only imagine how he looked, pale skin, red scar, irises a sick, blank yellow, like a vulture. Finally, he found himself facing the man Poe had been fighting.

“Inhuman thing,” the man looked Kylo up and down with disgust and spat at his feet.

Kylo could have had the man in a choke-hold in a matter of seconds, but a determined blur shot forward, ducking under the fists the man's slackening stance had let weaken. Poe punched the man hard in the stomach, causing him to double over enough that Poe could then bring a knee up into his nose, letting loose a fountain of blood. The man yelled in pain, grabbing a hold of Poe's shoulder. Kylo had never intervened faster in his life, hitting away the man's arm and standing in his way.

“You need your pet monsters to save you, huh?” the man taunted even though he was clearly scared, or at least wary, his eyes flitting between Poe and his reinforcements, his speech clodded up with his nosebleed.

“Watch your damn words!” Poe shot back. “My friends are better men than you'll ever be.”

“Pussy.”

Kylo had to stop Poe's lurching attempt at an attack.

“Everyone out!” Hux ordered, his voice almost impossibly loud. People began to slink out of the door, but slowly enough that Kylo decided to take matters into his own hands and bundle Poe off in the direction of the stairs. He went with a few firm nudges, snatching his lute and doublet up from where they were stashed by the bar as he went. His tendons stood out where his grip on them was so tight.

“Go to the room,” Kylo hissed at him, lingering on the stairwell in case Hux needed backup.

It was quickly revealed to be a pointless consideration.

Hux already had backed Poe's assailant up against a wooden wall, the point of a dagger to his throat, his other hand glowing at his side. Kylo was almost certain that was the initial stages of a nasty hex, more than was required to intimidate some bigoted peasant.

“He started it-” the man was saying, and Hux was shaking his head with a sneer.

“That could not matter to me less. If I hear a single word from you I don't ask for, you will regret it. Do you know you laid hands on a lord?”

The man's throat bobbed. Of course he hadn't known Poe was nobility.

“In his kingdom,” Hux continued, turning the dagger so the edge was on the man's clavicle, “he is known as a good man. A righteous man. You angered- no, you infuriated a good man. Riled him up enough to do this.” Hux's tone changed, getting impossibly sharper. “I am not like him. I could raze this pathetic spit of matchsticks, if I wanted to. And you,” he dug the dagger in a little, skirting the man's jugular, “would be the one to blame, for harming someone I hold precious.” He let the threat sit for a moment before stepping back, the glow by his hand dissipating. “In fact, you had better check your house isn't already up in flames.”

The man made to scramble for the door.

“And next time,” the man paused, the hate in his eyes now significantly dwarfed by his fear as Hux spoke, “I suggest you remember that a mage's wrath is far worse than our sin.”

Kylo got up to the room before Hux could catch him watching on the stairwell.

Poe was pacing restlessly. When Kylo entered, he stopped, tapping his foot. “You should have let me beat the shit out of him.”

“You should have let me beat the shit out of him,” Kylo replied, his voice curling into a growl. To hear the way the townspeople spoke about himself wasn't unusual – he'd lashed out before, and it was one of the reasons he stayed out of towns as much as possible – but it was the first time he'd heard someone speak about Hux that way, and it was the first time Poe had come to blows that Kylo wasn't there to stop before he'd sustained damage. Crossing the room and lifting a hand to carefully tilt Poe's head to the side, examining the bruising on his jaw and temple, Kylo asked, “Did he hurt you?”

“Just bruises,” Poe replied, his teeth gritted more, Kylo suspected, from residual fury than from pain. No, that would hit later when the adrenaline dissipated. “Those things they were saying about you – fucking rude. And untrue.”

Kylo hummed some assent. “You both should be treated like royalty,” he muttered, thinking it only true; Poe wasroyalty of a self evident sort of virtue, and Hux was both powerful enough and well respected enough to demand that sort of praise.

Poe laid his fingers on Kylo's wrist. “And the things about you,” he insisted, his brow furrowing in a way that said he was concerned in a new direction. “You don't believe them, do you?”

The disbelief in Poe's voice made Kylo want to deny it. Luckily, Hux joining them in the room saved him from stumbling his way some verbal deflection.

“Did he hurt you?” Hux asked immediately.

“Just bruises,” Poe repeated as the mage approached, before protesting with a weak “Hey!” as his shirt was unceremoniously lifted by Hux to inspect him for more bruises, wincing as his surprised twist to the side made something twinge.

“What if he'd had the presence of mind to pull a knife?” Hux reprimanded him, noting with disapproving exactitude the red patches by Poe's ribs.

“Well he didn't, so it's fine.”

“That is not-” Hux cut himself off with an irritated sigh, heading to where Kylo's pack was by the table and picking through it without asking. “In the future, please remind yourself of your mortality before throwing yourself into something so foolish as a tavern brawl.”

“You sound like Leia.”

“I desperately hope not,” Hux replied drily, and, having found the vial he was looking for, returned to stand before Poe, looking over his bruises again. He popped open the vial – Kylo recognised it as one of his own healing potions, too strong for Poe just to drink – upturning it with his finger over the top, before dabbing the liquid onto the bruises.

Poe hissed at the contact. “Look, you can't expect me to just stand there while people insult you!”

“That is exactly what I expect-”

“Don't ask me to, Hux. I won't.” Poe's dark eyes flicked up to Kylo again, anguish creeping in to the set of his features. “Not when Kylo believes those things.”

Hux froze in what he was doing and straightened up, turning his own piercing eyes onto Kylo. “You do?” Voice as fine as wine, Kylo could detect in his tone notes of disapproval, mild shock, and, surprisingly, genuine pity.

Kylo had been standing there quietly until now, trying not to do anything to bring Poe back to that subject. “Well I...” he fumbled, casting around as if for an answer, pressure mounting as he could feel their attention trained on him, “I'm... it doesn't...” His eyes began to sting and – fuck that – he didn't. He didn't need to be pitied, by Hux, by Poe, by anyone else, no matter who they were to him. He knew what he was, and, though it made his blood boil to hear commoners who hadn't known half the fear and pain he had throw words around like they did, it only hurt so much because he worried they were right.

Poe was reaching out for his wrist again, and the contact made Kylo snatch his arm away and stalk over to the window with a snarled, “Just leave it.” He gripped the window sill and the wood of it creaked with the strain.

Three open-palmed bangs on the door, and the landlord hollered through to them, “I want you out! Out, you hear?”

A few more bangs had Kylo whirling round and snapping, “Fine, now fuck off!” Footsteps hesitatingly retreated, the landlord no doubt wondering whether they actually would go, but there was no way they would stay; there was an even chance Kylo would hit the next person who bothered them, and an only slightly less likely one of Poe doing the same.

“I'll fetch my things,” Hux said. They'd taken two rooms, and, as usual, Kylo and Poe were sharing while Hux got his own. “We should head north a mile or so,” he continued to lay out the reasoning for a sheltered spot he'd noticed, tending to the last of Poe's wounds.

He crooked a finger at Poe, who leaned forward a little. Hux dropped a little of the healing potion onto his thumb, and placed the pad of it tenderly onto the split on Poe's lip. It was just a moment, but though Hux was all business, Kylo noticed Poe's shoulders drop and his eyes flit to Hux's lips momentarily. When Hux removed his thumb the merest of seconds later and turned his attention to recapping the vial, Poe's tongue laved over the spot, which had already faded from red to pink under Hux's care.

The scene made Kylo want – he wanted to touch them, to patch the two of them up when they needed it, to look after them. He gripped the windowsill tighter. Next time, he'd be the one defending them.

#darkgingerpilot #armitage hux #kylo ren #poe dameron #kylo/hux/poe #darkpilot #kylux #my writing #fanfiction #witcher au #fantasy medieval au #star wars #thanks for reading my niche stuff #ok im go take a nap now much tired

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plus-size-reader · 5 years

Text

The White Wolf

Geralt of Rivia x Plus size!reader

Word Count: 1412 words

Warnings: none

Summary: Going to the ball of Cintra with jaskier and Geralt

———————————————————————————————————

“Jaskier?” you called, knocking on the door of the chamber.

The men at the bar had told you that he would be here, with the man you were searching for.

They called him ‘The Witcher’ and you very much wanted to meet him. Not to mention that Jaskier had asked you to accompany him to the ball at Cintra. The two of you had been friends for many years, and there was no way you would ever attempt to go to a place like that without him.

You hated going to parties like the one that would be held tonight.

“Are you in there or not? I don’t have all night” you groaned, knocking again. It was clear that you weren’t in the mood to play these games. However, you weren’t prepared for what you would see when the door finally opened.

In a washtub in the center of the room sat a man with hair as pale as his flesh and rippling muscles, you knew that you were in the right place. However, before you could get too distracted by his frame, you turned your attention to the other man you had been searching for.

“I feared they had already killed you” you joked, wrapping the bard in a gentle hug. You hadn’t seen jaskier in quite some time, though in this moment, that didn’t matter.

You two had been friends for so long that distance and time no longer affected the bond you had. Instead, you snapped back into the same dynamic as soon as you saw each other again.

“Please, no one dare kill me” Jaskier assured, a joking tone in his own voice. He knew it wasn’t true but it was better than the truth.

If any of those noble lords found him, at the ball or anywhere else, they were liable to tear the small man limb-from-limb.

The very idea of it turned your attention from your friend to the basin again. “This must be the Witcher I’ve heard so much about” You grinned, a wicked glint in your eyes.

You had always been rather flirty with all different kinds of people but something about the witcher presented a new challenge you had never encountered before.

“I’m Y/N, pleasure to make your acquaintance” you purred, leaning over the front of the tub to offer him a hand.You half expected him to ignore it but to your surprise, he took your hand in his own and shook it a bit.

It was, by no means, a normal handshake but it was more than you had been expecting.

“Geralt of Rivia” he grumbled, clearly bothered by the intrusion. However, he didn’t give it much thought seeing as you seemed much less preoccupied with your friend than him. “I know who you are” you winked, standing back up from the kneeling position you had been in and turning your back to him, looking at Jaskier again.

If he wanted company this evening, he was going to have to get ready, but so were you. There was no way you would be going to the ball of Cintra in what you were wearing right now.

“I’ll see you two darlings in a few hours” you excused, pressing a light kiss to the side of Jaskier’s face in goodbye. “Goodbye Witcher” you waved, your hips swinging as you made your way out of the room.

You had to find something to make some kind of impression on this dashing Witcher.

…

A few hours went by before you were actually ready to go to the ball of cintra but by the time rolled around, you were more than ready. Your skirt fell down to your ankles and your corset was pulled so tight that you barely speak without gasping.

It hurt, of course it did, but you had always enjoyed the slight strain. It reminded you that you were doing something you wouldn’t normally do. Besides, you knew you looked incredible, so it was well worth it.

Jaskier spoke first when they arrived, as he so often did.

“Perfect, you look stunning” he praised, pressing a kiss to your cheek in greeting before spinning you around dramatically. He always liked to see your skirts swirl around your legs as you turned.

You smiled, silently thanking your friend for the compliment before once again noticing the Witcher.

He stayed back, not making a grand effort to assert himself into the conversation like you so wished he would, but that wasn’t a problem. You had no issue with being the one to make the first move.

Especially not in this case.

“I may faint tonight, can I count on you to catch me if I do?” you asked, gesturing down to the corset held tight to your middle. It was clear that you were joking but neither man seemed to mind.

In fact, it seemed like it was hard to get a rise out of the man...no matter how hard you tried. Not that you cared, you would find a way to get his attention before the night was over.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be able to handle it” he answered. He rarely changed his tone as he spoke, keeping everything even and monotone in the most sexy way. You doubted that there wasn’t a woman alive that wasn’t attracted to him.

The problem would be getting him to feel the same pull in your direction.

You didn’t even know if the Witcher had a care in the world or not. In fact, there was very little known about his kind at all.

However, that wasn’t going to stop you from trying to find out.

Almost immediately after you arrived, Jaskier went off to play for the court while you and Geralt ended up more toward the side. You were moreso acting as backup just in case he got into some trouble.

Other than that, you just had to wait for the night to be over.

...So, you might as well find the best use for the extra time.

“They tell stories of you, y’know? They say that the Witcher feels no emotion...is that true, Geralt?” you hummed, doing your best to seem inconspicuous as you leaned against the marble.

You were both here to play the same role, in different ways.

Jaskier needed some kind of cover in the event that he ran into a man whose husband he ravaged at some point in the past. Up until this point, it had been a job that fell solely to you but you weren’t complaining.

At least now, you wouldn’t have to charm whatever horrible man approached your oldest friend looking for a fight...as you’d had to do in the past.

Geralt was doing a pretty good job at scaring them off all on his own.

He grumbled lightly at your question, acting as if that was some kind of answer. Most people would have taken the hint and left but you weren’t most people. You thought there was something charming about his general distaste for humanity.

“Is there not a single emotion that you feel?” you continued, reaching over slowly to take his goblet of ale from his hand. It was a bit of a power move but the witcher made no motion to stop you. Instead, he watched as you brought the cup to your lips, tasting the sweet wine it held.

It was a different kind of interaction than he was used to but something about you interested him.

You had this odd sort of self confidence and character that most people lacked. You were so captivating, whether you meant to be or not.

“I wouldn’t know. What do you think?” he wondered, putting the ball back in your court by taking the goblet back. He was playing whatever little game you had set up and it was going to be fun for you...even if he didn’t really care.

The white wolf was a new and exciting addition to your otherwise bland existence and you weren’t going to let him pass you by without making an impression. “I do believe that it’s only a matter of time before I find out” you winked, turning toward the dance floor without another word.

You had never really been one for dancing but the idea of getting the Witcher to dance with you was too good to refuse.

...And as much as he knew he would regret it, Geralt followed you onto the dance floor.

#geralt of rivia #geralt of rivia x ps reader #geralt of rivia x plus size reader #geralt of rivia x reader #the witcher #the witcher x ps reader #the witcher x plus size reader #the witcher x reader #the white wolf #the witcher netflix

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captainkirkk · 5 years

Text

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

A collection of fics I’ve read (/reread) and thoroughly enjoyed in the past week-ish from all kinds of fandoms and genres.

BNHA

✩ rise up and hear the bells by redrobin1989 (Note: possibly the only time I’ll ever rec a quirkless Deku fic. Brilliant.)

‘... and in other news, this year’s Heroes Gala JP will be this upcoming Saturday night, celebrating those who made the Top 100. Explosion maintained his number one title for the third year in a row but the real surprise is Deku, everyone’s favorite, and only, Quirkless hero snagging the coveted Symbol of Peace title. It’s a controversial decision which we will be discussing in the days leading up to the event. After the break, our next guest…’

Izuku had promised All Might that he would carry on his legacy as his successor, even after his mentor’s death. It had been more difficult without a quirk but Deku had decided long ago that nothing so small would stop him from achieving his dreams. Now that he had actually made it though, he thought he’d have a better idea of what to write for his acceptance speech...

helping hands by PitViperOfDoom

Class 1-A's second day ends with a bang.

Area Man Always Has Backup Problem Just In Case by pepperfield (Note: I’ve recced this before but it just updated, so now it’s finished and has a de-aging chapter!)

Even when you're the best, being a hero can be trying at times, especially since there's a whole world of wacky quirks out there to complicate things. Like body-switching. Or spontaneous de-aging.

The course of true rivalry never did run smooth.

[Three times Bakugou and Midoriya got entangled in some manner of bullshit at work, and one time things actually went pretty okay.]

Clothes Make The Man by PotterheadAvengerDemigod

Fuck, of all the shoots his classmates had to see, it had to be that one. It couldn’t have been an older one, where he could have brushed it off as something he’d used to do in the past, or one where he didn’t look like he actually cared.

No, it had to be this fucking print.

Katsuki stands, and tries to leave the room.

/OR/ The one where Baku models for his parents' fashion company and his classmates find out.

Stage Left! (Uh, your other left) by dormantchrysalis

Having Midoriya and Todoroki starring as romantic leads in their 2nd year school play wasn't planned, that just happened.

But since the boys are in this situation anyway, why not meddle, just a little, to get the oblivious idiots to admit their feelings to each other?

Good Omens

✩ it's a new craze by attheborder (+podfic!)

CROWLEY: I try not to make a habit of gratitude, but I must give our appreciation to everyone out there who’s been listening and subscribing to The Ineffable Plan. AZIRAPHALE: Ooh, yes, we’ve become quite popular, haven’t we? CROWLEY: Yeah, just hit number eight on the advice charts … No advertising at all. AZIRAPHALE: Mm. How … miraculous. CROWLEY: … Aziraphale. You did not.

***

Crowley and Aziraphale are very possibly the people least qualified, on the entire planet, to start up an advice podcast.But what else is there to do when the world isn’t ending anytime soon, you’re technically on indefinite sabbatical from your lifelong careers, and you need a plausible excuse to spend more time with your best friend who you’re definitely not, absolutely not, maybe just a little, actually maybe overwhelmingly in love with?

Star Trek

I Will Have This by orphan_account

Just as she finished adding a small box of sweets to her items, she felt a tug on the sleeve of her robe. Turning, she had a smile prepared, and a praise on the tip of her tongue for whatever item her son had chosen. That turned into a sharp gasp when she realized that carefully ensconced in her son’s arms was not any item for sale in the shop, but a very human baby.

“Mother, I will have this.”

Obedience by Sohotthateveryonedied

Something is seriously wrong with Tim—Jason just knows it. Ever since the Mad Hatter incident, Tim has been acting completely different, and the worst part is that no one believes Jason when he tells them so.

But when the truth is eventually revealed, the whole family comes to realize that the situation is far worse than anyone could have ever predicted.

Merlin

Catching Bees with Honey by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle

“So let me get this straight,” Arthur said, folding his fingers together as the man in front him awkwardly shifted. “You are under the impression if you win the favor of my servant that you will then win my favor?” He asked and the nobleman shifted again.

“Well, sire.” He said “That is the common consensus among… The chatter.”

“The chatter.” Arthur repeated and his mind flashed to all the kindness Merlin had received from other nobles. Dear God.

Merlin has all of Camelot (and neighboring kingdoms) wrapped around his finger and Arthur is beginning to resign himself to the fact his servant somehow has more power than he does.

ATLA

heart of a dragon by discordiansamba

Fate turns a little differently, and Zuko ends up being raised far away from the royal palace- and with dragons. But no matter how things change, one thing remains the same- that it's his destiny to teach the Avatar firebending, and to fight against the Fire Lord. That's the easy part. The hard part? Literally everything else.

(or, local feral firebender does his best)

#my posts #fic recs #weekly fic round up #atla recs #merlin recs #dc recs #star trek recs #good omens recs #bnha recs

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one-leaf-grimoire · 4 years

Text

“hellfire”

A little one shot based on a throwaway line in “Dyad” that I felt like expanding on. I realized I only showed the titular dyad at full power once in the story so this should be a special treat! Enjoy.

synopsis: Julius prepares a plan for the final battle against an invading kingdom. Takes place shortly before BC canon. Also my OC Lisa is there and they kick ass.

“ About a month before my 26th birthday, the Diamond Kingdom attempted yet another invasion. This time, they were serious, and much better prepared. Luckily they went through the town of Kiten first, instead of my hometown to the North. Still, they gained a valuable foothold and prepared to make a rush to the capital. We didn't have much time to mobilize, and really didn't have a plan of attack. But we attacked... and Julius lead the magic knights into the most important battle of his term so far. I was lucky enough to fight beside him, and all the other Magic Knights; people who were old friends, and people who became new friends. Fortunately, we emerged victorious. The Capital roared with celebration as we arrived back, showering Julius and the others with praise. Everyone wanted to be a magic knight now, and everyone wanted to become the Wizard King. They would be telling stories about his spell for years to come... White Hell. “

Dyad, chapter 53

(Six months before the beginning of Black Clover)

“A push towards the Capitol? Right now?”

“Yes, sir,” Marx stammered, his hands shaking as he held the report. Yami stood behind him, beaten and battered but with a neutral expression on his face and a cigarette hanging between his teeth. The smoke dissipated quickly in the cool night air blowing in through Julius’s open bedroom window. He usually didn’t like to be bothered at this time of night, but when at war, a ruler must be ready to act at any time.

“What about the defenses in Kiten?” Julius asked, reaching up and rubbing the last of his sleep out of his eyes. “Weren’t you stationed there, Yami?”

“Yep. I beat a bunch of them up,” the younger man replied gruffly. “If I were by myself, it would be easy, but it’s harder to fight when ya got a squad full of idiots to protect.”

Despite the situation, Julius let out a huff of laughter. Nervous laughter, but laughter all the same. “I see, so you fell back… well…” His gaze moved to the window, his wise, old mind starting to work hard. Every solution, every possibility, ran circles between his ears. It’ll take too long to mobilize everyone to defend the city… not to mention that, if we aren’t prepared, civilians are going to get hurt… His brow furrowed as his fingers pinched his chin once, his eyes closing briefly. Our best bet is to catch them on the way… but how am I going to gather enough knights, tell them the plan, then get them into position in time? Ah, this is bad…

Why on earth did Lisa have to be gone now-

Lisa. That was it. She was the answer… like always.

Julius’s eyes popped back open. “Yami, Marx, gather anyone in the capitol right now. All the captains if you can.”

Marx frowned. “Sir, will that be enough?”

“Yes… I think. If Lisa can get here in time-” Julius let out a groan. It’s bad enough that she left to visit Mereoleona for a whole month, but of course war broke out while she’s gone. Not that she would have known…

“Lisa? Oh no…” Yami took out his cigarette to glare disapprovingly at Julius. “Don’t tell me you two are gonna do that creepy link thing again?”

Marx raised an eyebrow, but Julius couldn’t help but smile.

“That’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

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

Two hours later, the group they managed to throw together headed out by broom to the calculated interception point. The night wind rippled Julius’s golden locks as he flew, this time on a carpet that Marx procured. They hung towards the back of the group, which consisted of only the magic knights captains and a few of the knights already stationed in the capitol. Everyone was tense, glancing back at their King who had told them a worryingly little amount of details about this plan. Even Marx, who had inside information, was a little worried. “Lord Julius, if she doesn’t show up-”

“She will.” Julius cut him off, glancing back at the blue-haired man. “She’s on her way now…” his mouth twitched into a smile. “I can feel it.”

Marx gulped nervously, his hold tightening on the edge of the carpet. “How can you say that? I’ve been with you this whole time, and you never called her-”

“When you left to let me get dressed-” Julius cut in once again, his eyes focused up ahead. “I took a moment to clear my head… and sure enough, I could hear her.”

Marx blinked, starting to understand. So… they can talk to each other like that? Miles and miles apart, and yet, he just needs to clear his head. He knew about Lisa’s strange Dyad power, and how she and Julius shared magic as a result. They complimented each other perfectly, and he had always suspected that there was something more than love behind that synchrony. Well… maybe that synchrony was a result of love after all. But that wasn’t his main worry right now.

“So… you’re telling me you don’t have a backup plan?”

Julius was still for a moment, but then he shook his head.

“No. We don��t need one.” His gaze hardened, and his smile widened. “We will win.”

“THERE THEY ARE!”

Fuegoleon Vermillion’s loud voice boomed out into the darkness. He was at the head of the group, tagging a ride on Nozel’s Mercury Eagle spell, and was the first to spot the enemy. “Remember the plan! Engage!”

“KEH KEH! Don’t think you can order me around.” Jack suddenly zoomed past him on his broom, the scythes on his arms glowing green in the night. “I don’t need you to tell me how to slice up my prey!”

He swung his arms forward, and two huge slashes ripped through the night. The opposing army scattered, more than two hundred strong, and then converged on the magic knights like a swarm of bees.

Before chaos erupted, Yami glanced back at his mentor one last time. Julius nodded, then he and Marx descended out of sight below the treeline a moment before impact.

Spells were everywhere, people were yelling, and bursts of light shattered the otherwise peaceful slumber of the earth. Julius stepped off his broom and peered upwards, his eyes widened exponentially and sparkling like a kid in a candy shop. “Amazing… all the captains fighting at once-”

“T-There’s too many of them…” Julius looked over at the sound of Marx’s hoarse voice. He was staring up in the sky too, but with less wonder in his eyes. “We’ll never win…”

Julius’s laugh surprised him. “Marx, I know I couldn’t even take on that many people… not alone, not with all the Captains at my back. But you saw Lisa and I fight together before, remember?”

Of course Marx remembered. No one present that day could ever forget what happened. He witnessed something… indescribable.

Lost in the memory, Marx did not notice the attacker from behind until it was too late. Something slashed down, hitting him in the back. Blood flew crimson against the black sky.

“J-Juli-”

Marx’s mouth opened, but he couldn’t even finish the name before he hit the ground. Julius started to turn around, almost in slow motion, his gaze landing on his fallen friend first. For one brief moment, shock froze him in place and he was helpless to the mage now leveling another attack at his head.

Marx…

Before Julius could do anything, the tree trunks around him lit up. A bright blue streak of light, sparking and snapping with power, struck the assassin through the back. His body jerked, then fell down limply at the Wizard King’s feet.

That spell…

Flame Magic: Solar Bolt.

Julius knew it well. It was one of his favorites.

“Lisa?”

Sure enough, a woman stepped out from behind the trees. She was short, petite, even with her traveling cloak thrown over her shoulders, but you couldn’t take your eyes off of her as she walked with such… purpose. At least, Julius couldn’t.

“There you are-” Her eyes caught his, moonlight reflecting off of her irises like mirrors. She smiled. “-Julius.”

With a sigh of relief, Julius let a grin burst forth on his own face. Forgetting about the battle for the moment, he stepped over the assassin’s body on the ground and bounded towards her. With one swoop, he grabbed her into his arms in a tight hug. She was as warm as always, his little space heater that he missed dearly when she was away. Lisa let out a momentary protest, but he couldn’t hear it over the joy in his heart.

“Julius! Isn’t there, like, a super important battle happening right now? We don’t have time for hugs!” Lisa contradicted herself by letting her arms wrap around his middle and hug him back.

Julius chuckled before pulling back to look at her face. “So? We have time, I say so.” He gave her a wink before reality set in once again. “Ah, but we’ll have time later.”

Lisa nodded before peering around his shoulder. “You okay, Marx?”

“Thanks for asking.” Marx had sat up, still wincing from the pain on the wound on his back. “Luckily it just knocked me over, and it’s not deep.”

“Oh! Well-” Julius was already running over. “Let me close it up-”

“NO! Julius, Lisa, do your… thing. If this can be over as quickly as you say it will, get on with it.” Marx’s annoyance broke for a moment to give Julius a confident smile. “We have a plan, remember? I’m still able to complete my part. You can heal me after you do yours.”

Julius gave him a nod before standing up again. “Right…” He looked down at the fallen assassin. “Is he going to wake up?”

“No.” Lisa walked over and craned her neck to look up at the battle. “Yikes… that’s not good. Are our people still mixed in with all the enemies?”

“For the time being. That’s where Marx comes in. Now, Darling…” Lisa looked back down to see Julius extend his hand to her. “Are you ready?”

With a deep breath, Lisa nodded. “Yes.”

She took his hand and the two of them ran out of the forest to the field underneath the battle.

In a way, it was lucky that Lisa had just been on sabbatical in the grand magic zone. She retreated there about once a year to train with Mereoleona, and learned how to channel large amounts of magic through a body that wasn’t necessarily built to do so. All of that training, all that pain, all this development, she did it because she knew a decisive moment like this would come.

I have to be strong enough… not just for the Kingdom.

She looked up at the back of Julius’s head as he led them ahead.

But for him, above all else.

Finally, the two of them slowed to a stop in a good central area. Magic was still whizzing above, the tables not yet turned but close to getting there. There were just too many of the enemy, but soon that would all change. Julius sucked in one last breath before grabbing Lisa’s other hand and turning to face her. “Are you sure you can do this?”

She nodded, but Julius could feel her hands trembling. With a calm smile, he leaned down a bit to look into her eyes. “We’ll be together the whole time, remember? I won’t let you get hurt. Remember what you said to me the first time?”

Slowly, Lisa nodded once again, more sure this time.

“As if I would let you kill me.”

Her grimoire started to glow white, the pages flipping to one emblazoned with a symbol; the same symbol that marked Lisa as Simulcian, as someone who could form a Dyad. Lisa could already feel her mark pulsing, glowing brighter and brighter in the darkness. It was working, as if it had done this a million times instead of just a handful. Julius winced slightly as an identical mark suddenly burst to life on his own head, right next to his swallowtail mark. “Ah… it’s working.”

Lisa nodded, her hands tightening in his. Magic was cycling now, between the two of them, faster and faster and faster and-

I- I can’t do it-

Every time the mana moved through her, Lisa felt the familiar sensation of her very soul breaking.

It’s going to hurt… it’s going to be scary…

She squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to ground herself again. Images were flashing through her mind, both her thoughts and Julius. Each flash brighter and bigger than the last, building up, amplifying, getting so massive that she wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer-

But this is what it’s supposed to do…

Slowly, she opened her eyes to look back up into Julius’s. His eyes were starting to glow like hers, but he was still smiling.

In order to become all-powerful… I must destroy myself. I must destroy both of us.

It’s alright, Lisa. I’ll be here. I’ll always be here.

I won’t be alone.

Without closing her eyes, Lisa leaned up, and Julius bent down to meet her. Their foreheads touched, and their souls shattered.

For one brief moment, neither of them existed. The Ego, the very shape of the Self, was gone, destroyed by the sheer force of their combined mana. But then, it reformed. One new Ego… one new Self.

A Dyad.

Marx watched from the treeline, leaned up against a trunk, his eyes widened as he watched the two of them glowing violently. They’re doing it… are they- He sucked in a breath as Lisa stepped back. They were still hand-in-hand, but it wasn’t them. The being that stood there appeared to have two bodies, but when they turned to look at Marx, he knew he was looking at just one thing. It worked.

Marx stuck to the plan. He raised his hand to the sky and fired off a bright, loud mana blast, which exploded like a firework a couple meters up.

Yami caught sight of the light, his heart skipping an anxious beat. “Everyone! Get out of the sky!” he yelled, swinging his sword once to dispel his enemy before diving down. The other 8 captains and their crew followed, zipping away from the cloud of the enemy as fast as they could. Yami glanced down to see Lisa and Julius standing there, glowing eyes locked on the sky. “Shit, they’re about to blow this place to high heaven.”

Just as Yami predicted, the Dyad made their move. Their movements were eerie, yet perfectly in sync. They were extensions of each other’s bodies, one mind and one soul shared in order to perform a feat of magic.

This is going to be difficult to explain to the others.

Their hands clasped together, pulling closer together as if they were performing some strange waltz. But then they pointed towards the sky towards the swarm of attackers who were just now realizing that they had fallen into a trap.

At the very tip of their fingers, pressed together with intimacy and precision, a pure white ball of fire started to form. It was only the size of a marble… but it caused the very earth to shake.

Finally, their lips moved to utter the spell.

“Instant Fire Magic: White Hell.”

In that moment, the night ceased to exist. A second sun burst to life in the sky, engulfing the attacking army in its entirety. Light bathed the land, as bright as noon, and more than two hundred people screamed their life out into the abyss.

As quickly as it started, it was over. Darkness fell over the landscape, as is if it had never been lit up in the first place. Two hundred soldiers of brooms and carpets were suspended in the air, then went limp and started to fall to earth.

The Dyad did not notice.

They stood there together, inside the recess of their shared mind. It was warm and cozy, like the sanctuary of a bed or even the safety of a mother’s womb. They stood there together, their palms pressed against the other’s. Lisa smiled up at Julius, and he smiled right back. There was so much he wanted to say to her in this moment, but he didn’t have to utter a single word. She knew.

Because, to be a Dyad is to destroy yourself… to destroy yourself and become something beautiful. It is the only way to truly be known.

Julius blinked, and it was over. Smoke and dust filled the air, dirt kicked up from the force of many bodies hitting the ground around him. He looked up into the sky and grinned when he saw that not a single mage managed to avoid the attack. “Look at that! We did it, Lisa, you did it-”

He looked down, and realized that she had collapsed at his feet in a puddle of her own blood.

“LISA!”

Julius fell to his knees with a strangled cry, quickly turning his lover over into his lap. The sight made him as queasy as it did all those years ago; there was blood coming from her nose and ears, and her eyes were shut. Panic beat itself into his chest at the sight and his hands trembled.

Oh god… oh no… I- I actually killed her this time- I should have never-

But then, Lisa cracked open an eye, her lips twitching into a ghost of a smile.

“Boo.”

Julius groaned, his shoulders slumping with relief. “Lisa! Don’t scare me like that!” he admonished lightly, his heart still pounding slightly. “Jesus... I’m gonna have to spank you.” Despite the situation, he threw in a little joke to make her smile.

“Hmm, you can try.” Lisa winked before wincing again. Julius winced as well, feeling a phantom pain through his own head. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, mostly.” Lisa sat up with some help from Julius, leaning into his chest while she caught her breath. “It hurt a lot, but not as much as last time for sure!”

“Good, good.” Julius pulled out his handkerchief and started to tenderly wipe away the blood on her face. So, she’s grown a lot since last time… To be able to share magic, both members of a Dyad have to be able to withstand the full force of their combined mana. Back in the beginning, Lisa almost died with every attempt. But by working hard and honing the magic Julius shared with her, she was able to do so much better. Pride swelled in his heart, and he couldn’t help himself; he leaned down and gave her a kiss. Her lips were still tinted with the metallic taste of blood, but they were warm.

“Lord Julius!”

Julius quickly broke away (reluctantly) as the other captains ran over. Most of them had stunned looks on their faces, but Fuegoleon and Yami were pensive. The two of them saw the first Dyad on that day long ago, but they were still surprised to see how it had developed.

This power… Fuegoleon gulped, his eyes flickering between Julius and Lisa on the ground. So easily… they decimated the entire Diamond army.

Both of them are scary enough by themselves, but when they’re together… Yami shook his head to himself. It’s unreal. I guess I should be grateful.

“What was that?” Rill piped up, his eyes as wide as saucers.

Julius bit his lip, exchanging a glance with Lisa. She was too drained to even move except for a small shrug. They had agreed to keep her power secret, so this was going to be difficult to explain. “Er- a combo spell we’ve been working on. I’ll explain later.”

There was a murmur of agreement among the others. William narrowed his eyes slightly underneath his mask.

Interesting…

“Now!” Julius quickly grabbed Lisa bridal style and rose to his feet. “I better get her home, and get Marx healed as well. The rest of you should contain all the prisoners then drop them off at the border. The reinforcements should make short work of the force at Kiten.”

“Prisoners?” Nozel repeated, glancing back at the bodies strewn everywhere. “But sir, aren’t they… dead?”

Julius let out a hearty laugh. “Of course not! How would that look if we just killed 200 people like that? Anyway, I want witnesses so they know never to come back again.”

“Amazing…” Charlotte’s eyes widened. “How did you save them from the fall?”

“Oh, that…” Julius shrugged before turning away to rejoin Marx. Lisa peeked over his shoulder to smirk back at the other captains before finishing his sentence.

“They are alive because we decided it was so.”

The two of them soon disappeared into the night, leaving 7 of the 9 captains very confused… and awestruck.

The Capital roared with celebration as we arrived back, showering Julius and the others with praise.

Everyone wanted to be a magic knight now, and everyone wanted to become the Wizard King.

They would be telling stories about his spell for years to come... White Hell.

Well… our spell.

#fjaskdlfjskl #battle couple? battle couple #that's literally all a dyad is #lol #bc oc #black clover #julius novachrono #julisa #oc: lisa #writing #fic #dyad

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mocacheezy · 4 years

Text

(forgot to actualy post this when I first wrote it, anyways, rechecked the info with the help of wiki, so have my thoughts on TFA Megatron (S1))

So I finished the first season of Transformers Animated, and let me just… Let me just EXPRESS my feelings for TFA S1 Megatron and the shit that happens to him:

So Megatron has the Allspark in his sight after so many many years of searching. It’s on a tiny Autobot repair ship, shouldn’t be a problem to get it right? Except while fighting the Autobots a bomb planted on him (by Starscream, he should see this coming) detonates. He survives that with damage to his right arm, gets inside the ship and is facing off against 5 autobots (clearly repair crew, and not in sync) in no gravity. One of them manages to cut his arm off, he is down by an arm, big deal, ‘tis but a scratch, he’s fine.

… No like seriously, this doesn’t stop him. He ALMOST GETS THE ALLSPARK!

Except that the leader of this troublesome repair crew kicks him off ship, causing him to crash on Earth. The only thing intact is his head (that Sumdac finds). Is he dead? Is he in a coma? Whatever it is, Sumdac tinkers with what he found.

50 years later, Megatron wakes up, can’t move, can’t do anything really because he is literaly a HEAD (ᵃˡˢᵒ ʷʰⁱˡᵉ ⁿᵒᵗ ʳᵉˡᵃᵗᵉᵈ ᵗᵒ ᵗʰᵉ ʳᵃⁿᵗ ᶠᵘˡˡʸ,ⁱ ˡᵒᵛᵉᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ᵉᵖⁱˢᵒᵈᵉ ʷⁱᵗʰ ᵇᵘˡᵏʰᵉᵃᵈ “ˡᵒˢⁱⁿᵍ” ʰⁱˢ ᵇᵒᵈʸ…ᵖᵘᵗˢ ᵗʰⁱⁿᵍˢ ⁱⁿᵗᵒ ᵖᵉʳˢᵖᵉᶜᵗⁱᵛᵉ), sees that Starscream was the one who tried to kill him and almost suceeded (or did he suceed? Again, not 100% clear on the function of that Key… It heals, it upgrades, it gives life and sentience… Did it REVIVE Megatron or did it just wake him up?)

And what does he do?

I MEAN LOOK AT THIS?!

He is LITERALY ONLY A HEAD, WITH SO MANY OF PARTS EXPOSED OR WIRES HOOKED UP TO SUMDACS MACHINES.

MACHINES THAT HE CAN’T USE, BECAUSE THEY ARE TOO PRIMITIVE.

AND DESPITE ALL THAT!

THIS GLORIOUS FUCKER!

STARTS PLANNING RIGHT AWAY! HE KNOWS THE SITUATION IS BAD AND HE BIDES HIS TIME!

He eventualy risks what little… Advantage? Is being locked away in the dark an advantage? When there’s autobots around being hailed as heroes, yea I think it might be though Megatron wouldn’t admit it… I think? Not outloud that’s for sure

Anyways, he risks it with exposing himself to Sumdac.

And then proceeds to deceive Sumdac! Like, Sumdac is smart. I actualy did need to take a step back and go “damn this poor man really is way over his head”, because on the first glance it seems really dumb to fall for a lie like that.

(I actualy would love to talk about the Professor in the future, especialy by just looking at him as a character on his own… BUT THIS IS MEGS SPOTLIGHT SO *yeets away for another time*)

AND MEGATRON IS NOT 100% GOOD AT THIS “I am an Autobot” THING. He lashes out! He is impatient, he is angry to the point of wrecking the lab with the energy surges and there are moments when Sumdac doubts that he himself can fix this mess he made, especialy with how angry this “Autobot” is.

But SOMEHOW, this glorious FUCK manages to turn most of the damage those outbursts cause into very convincing explanations for his reactions, WHILE also pretending to be useful and “helping”.

He can see almost everything from where he is, once he masters the connections with the cameras and etc. in the tower and things across the city. He deflects or “explains” why his plans included flamethrowers for amusement bots, and, let me say this again!

HE IS ONLY A HEAD AT THIS POINT IN THE SERIES!

A HEAD!

He is pretty limited with what he can do HIMSELF! Sumdac is not an ally, he is more of an enemy that isn’t aware of the power he holds over Megatron.

And he is doing everything FAR too slow.

That everything being mainly, getting Megs a body.

AND WHAT’S EVEN BETTER?!

There are so many robots around, all of them reverse enginered from Megatron himself, and none of them are of use to him. And when he DOES manage to get them to listen, something always interferes (Dinobots were a semi sucess, Soundwave rebelled, but did end up wearing a con badge (and boy was it eerie to hear Soundwave say ‘machines supperior to humans’ and how they will be all destroyed… Great episode that one) ).

So the robots of this planet are useless to him. He has to try and find a way to manipulate human criminals to do his bidding, getting him the materials Sumdac apparently can’t get without raising suspicion. Not that it’s hard, but they are useless as well, especialy with the Autobots meddling, so that also fails.

And there is always that Key. That he can’t just ask for, but can’t get no matter how he tries. And by god, does he try.

His only real, longe term-ish line of self defense at the moment is Sumdac and his guilt over using a friend of the Heroic Autobots…

AND THEN!

HIS DECEPTICONS ARRIVE!

And he isn’t even sure if he can trust them, given that his Second In Command blew him to pieces. So he has to gamble and hope for the best with Lugnut.

Which is clearly tiring because, as much of devout follower as Lugnut is (the fanfics are all spot on, writers of TFA Fandom amazing job portraying this mass of devotion), it gets annoying real fast when you are trying to get things done and really need to get a body asap, and the only one you can count on is determined to sing praises to you everytime you give an order.

Not even THAT seems to bring him any closer to his goal. And then Sumdac finds what remained of his body.

Pretty good for 50 years of weather exposure, eh?

BUT it seems he will have to keep waiting, because the blizzard that is raging outside causes a blackout, so the Tower is using the backup generator, so Sumdac declairs a delay in repairs.

Megatron alternates between bluster and sweet-talk to try to get his way, but it’s no use. Megatron attempts to call Lugnut again for assistance.

(Source: tfwiki)

From the looks of it, he came back online at the begining/end of fall, so he’s been,

pretending to be an Autobot (one who is a friend of bots he knows very little about, the ones who caused him to become like this in the first place)

pretending to be useful and helpful to Sumdac in exchange for attempted repairs (all of which have failed)

keeping his temper in check (good thing he can save the slip ups with quick thinking…)

for about… 3 or 4 months?

And no way to leave the lab?

With Sumdac as his only company?

Probably also in discomfort given THAT HE IS HOOKED UP LIKE THAT?!

With his ghoulish hand in sight that was/is CLEARLY being used as a chair for an organic?

… Yea. Imagine doing all that, being this close to finaly making progress, and instead being told “Weather bad, no can’t do, wait a while longer”.

So if Sumdac fears enough for the safety of his planet, he’ll surely work faster right? That seems to work somewhat…

Then comes Starscream.

The absolutely last Decepticon Megatron needs right now. So Megatron has to pretend he doesn’t know Starscream tried to kill him. With Starscream CLEARLY planning to kill him for good this time.

He is a head, what can he do?

We can soon see Megatron can take great joy in punishing that fragger, with limited resources he has, while Sumdac finaly works on his body.

The only fun perk of being a “friend of the Autobots” so far.

And then Blitzwing and Lugnut arrive. I swear, I was sure with all the talk Lugnut was doing, there was no way Megatron will actualy get that body.

Good thing they got the Key and that Sumdac didn’t think/wasn’t able to put in any override codes or sound the alarms.

What followed was a gorgeous villain reanimation/reconstruction scene and I loved every second of it. I mean, just look at this.

So, Megatron finaly has a fresh new body.

(gorgeous fucker)

He fights the Autobots, (if I start talking about the details, this post will never end), defeats them and does a magnificent job of offlining his SIC.

(Like, I love TFA Starscream. I really do. This purple bastard is a joy to watch, but given what he did, seeing him get offlined in such a dramatic, yet quick and efficient way(and knowing he comes back anyway)… Let’s just say, I was very pleased.)

The “Fuck you Starscream, Die 1.0” however, lets the Autobots escape and the chase begins.

Here I would like to thank the animators for giving both Bots and Cons gorgeous Magical girl-esque transformation scenes, because they are all beautiful BUT MEGATRON, HOLY HELL, I AM LOVING THAT HELICOPTER!

And they are back on the Ark, fighting in much the same way they were the first time,

But Megatron has no apparent weaknesses, except perhaps being cluttered with little shards of Optimus Prime after he finishes beating on the Autobot. Their one-sided fight carries them into the hold of the ship, where Megatron succeeds in acquiring the AllSpark…

Megatron manages to GET THE ALLSPARK!

SO MANY YEARS OF FIGHTING AND SEARCHING, AND HE HAS IT!

And he puts it in his spark chamber. Or in front of it.

…

Megatron. You just put an anchient artifact in your chest.

I… Listen, this is a step above Megan and his SpaceCocaineStraightToSpark Nonesense, BUT ALRIGHT!

I GUESS IT IS “SAFER” THAN HOLDING IT IN YOUR HANDS WHILE FIGHTING AND GLOATING.

Before he can celebrate, he is temporarily downed by Isaac, who knows enough about Megatron’s circuitry to disable his equilibrium sensors—

(”well fuck you too Sumdac”, I mutter to myself)

but although he drops the AllSpark Key in his stumble, the tyrant isn’t down for long. Megatron is about to finish Prime, when Sari hurls Prime the Key…

the kid Megatron could easily crush when she was standing infront of the Allspark (BUT HE DIDN’T!) throws the key to Optimus.

…

Who proceeds to jam it into the Allspark.

…

In your chest Megatron.

…

Where your own spark is, Megatron.

For the Lord of Decepticons and quite an old fellow, who I’ve just sung praise to, that was so dumb…

A destabilized Megatron flees the ship before the AllSpark explodes inside his chest, dispersing its energy throughout the atmosphere.

HE BLOWS UP! AGAIN!

This time his body is mostly in one piece, and he has Sumdac as a hostage but…

This Megatron does not have luck on his side.

He really does not.

The only reason he is still functioning is, that he is too stubborn to give up and die.

The whole “TooStubbornToDie” does seem to be a Megatron trademark, and makes me love his character even more.

TFA Megs. S1 and I already love him so much.

To finish up this rant of mine…

Someone get him a damn blanket and force him TO TAKE A DAMN BREAK! REST YOU STUBBORN FOOL!

#Moca screeches #Moca watches #transformers animated #tfa megatron #seriously dude please take 5 minutes off #Long post #For some reason the read more is not cooperating

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mandareeboo · 4 years

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Unpopular opinion: Scrooge unintentionally pressures others to take after him.

strongly agree | agree | neutral | disagree | strongly disagree

Scrooge nitpicks all the people in his life. He tries to change them, without really considering how that comes across on him, and when they don’t he gets PA about it. And it just-so-happens those changes make them more like- or more palatable- to him.

Just look at Fethry! Scrooge got bored of his infodumping and gave him a shitty job in the bottom of the sea with basically no outside contact.

He hates magic so he just kinda. Wrote off Gladstone. Like sure he can be an ass but Scrooge was the one person in his life who could grab him by his feathers and be like WORK FOR SHIT and help him learn to use that for good. And he didn’t. Because he hates magic. We have no proof that Scrooge apologized for calling Webby “not family”, nor do we have any proof he’s aware she does magic. He knows about her Clearly Magic Friend Lena, but Lena has a healthy dose of PTSD and avoids magical shit. He may very well not know, and it’s own dumb ass that’s landed him in this situation.

Hell, he tried it with Della! He bitched and whined the whole way into that bunker about her being a reckless kid, and then when she was like “lol no, I actually did have a backup plan here” he never apologized or even admitted he was wrong. It didn’t matter. Lord knows he’s grumbled often enough about Donald, using him as a good example for the kids while also brushing him off and refusing to assist him.

He’s doing it with the triplets now! He loves how prepared Huey is, but mocks him for being less willing to take risks like on Mt. Neverrest. He adores Dewey’s love for adventure but never tries to teach him how to do it safely and rarely listens to his stories or interests. He praised Louie for being sharp but also mocks, well, basically all of His Thing.

I love Scrooge but he’s definitely an entitled boomer

#Ask #Anon #Question Mandar #Ask Prompt #Ducktales 2017 #Ducktales Analysis #Scrooge McDuck #I have A Lot of feels abt Scrooge's relationships with his fam

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dailyaudiobible · 4 years

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03/18/2021 DAB Transcript

Numbers 26:52-28:15, Luke 3:1-22, Psalms 61:1-8, Proverbs 11:16-17

Today is the 18th day of March welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I'm Brian it's wonderful to be here with you today as we do what we do, which is take steps forward. Kind of hard…I don’t even know how we would take a step backward and read the Bible in reverse or something but we’re here to take steps forward. The only way is forward. So, let's dive in. We’re reading from the God's Word translation this week and we’re in the book of Numbers chapter 26 verse 52 through 28 verse 15 today.

Commentary:

Okay. In the book of Numbers today we have begun a transition and it’s gonna take us a while to get through this transition. But it's a major major transition, a transition of leadership, a passing of the torch as it were from Moses, who we've been traveling with so long…like a long time now - many many miles together with Moses, many trials and many of…of God's miraculous deeds and provision for His people. So, that transition is…is beginning. It will take us a minute to get there because we’ll conclude the book of Numbers less than a week from now but then we will enter the final book of the Torah, the book of Deuteronomy. And, so, we won't be leaving Moses. Deuteronomy really is the last speeches or discourses of Moses to the people, to the people that he's been leading before he dies. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We’ll talk about that when we get there. But there is a transition beginning here now, where God is instructing Moses that he will leave…leave the scene basically, leave the stage, die, join his ancestors and then we will continue to move on without Moses. Joshua is being commissioned to take the place of Moses in the future when Moses is gone. Ironically, Joshua or Yehoshua, or Yeshua in Hebrew might sound familiar because it's the same name as Jesus and this name means God's salvation. And, so, we see connecting threads and ironically they’re very…they're very connected in our reading today because when we turn to the book of Luke we are at the very inauguration or consecration of…of Jesus who is at the Jordan River being baptized by John and he comes up out of the water and the Spirit comes down on him and says, “you are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” The irony is that Joshua is being commissioned to lead the people forward. Jesus is God's son, leading the people forward and we have shared names with shared meanings with redemptive threads with stories of redemption kind of tying a thread between the two today. And we’ll be able to watch both of those stories unfold before us in great detail as we continue our journey forward.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for all these connecting points that connect over centuries in the Scriptures of an ongoing redemptive thread that winds its way into our lives as well as we carry the story forward. And, so, come Holy Spirit into all that we've read today. Plant it into the soil of our lives. We continue to open ourselves to You fully inviting You to rearrange our lives, shape us, conform us to Your image we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com, that's home base, it’s where the Global Campfire is burning, it’s where we all come together in this virtual community. And, so, be familiar with that.

Check out the…the Community section. Of course, on the web or in the app you can do these things. So, on the web there's like, you know, a navigation up at the top and you’d be looking for the Community section. If you’re in the app you would just push the Drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner and look for the Community section. But this is where the different links to get connected on social media are. This is also where the Prayer Wall lives. And, so, we are a community of prayer and we have done a really, really beautiful job of praying for each other over these years through…I mean…we have brought each other through some really, really difficult things over these years. And God has honored that and been in it with us. And, so, Prayer Wall is always on. You never have to be without. You got stuff going on, you can poste it on the Prayer Wall and brothers and sisters will pray.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. There is a link on the homepage. If you are using the app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner, or the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart or the top of my heart, from a full heart, from a heart that’s in awe that this is even happening. I’m grateful that we’re in this together. Thank you for your partnership.

And, as always, if you have prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that's it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

DAB family Kathleen Mount Zion IL I am calling today…I tried calling earlier on my way to work and for some reason I just kept redoing and redoing these recordings. So, I finally just stopped and said I will just wait till after work. But I just wanted to pray. I…I read something about Nigeria again and Nigeria’s always been dear to my heart. I have called in the past. It's been a couple of years at least calling for Nigeria and every once in a while, I call in about that. But I'm just asking you to pray with me right now because there was another recent kidnapping of Christian children right out of their school. They've done this before. The last time the girls came back many of them had children they had been forced into marriage with Islamic extremists. And, you know, I just…it's just awful. Anyway, just pray with me. Lord Jesus I pray for Nigeria. I pray for this country Lord. There are many many Christians in Nigeria. Lord you are the King of all, you are the one’s…with you we can walk on water we can move mountains and I pray that the people of Nigeria the Christians of Nigeria will bind together, they were bind together and they will force Boca Ram out of their country and they will first however retrieve what has been lost, their lost children, lost young Christians. I pray this in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Hi this is Gloria calling from Florida. This call is for Tammy from the Adirondacks. She is in remission from ovarian cancer. I don't know what you're going through, but I want you to take comfort in a God who loves you. He has healed your cancer and He can also heal your heart and your mind in what you're going through right now. Jesus came to bind the broken hearted. Take heart that He has overcome. I pray that you would wear the full armor of God, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith and yield the sword of the Spirit of the word and pray. I pray that you reach out to those that are close with you, that you share your burdens with them so they can help you carry this burden. I’m so glad that you called so that we could pray for you. In Jesus’ name. Amen. We love you.

Hey DABbers, this is Keira from Denver I am so grateful to God for everything He’s done for me. And y’all I would like continued prayer for my son, Nish. Tonight…today was the second day this week that I had to call the police because…because I had concern for my own safety in regards to my son. The earlier one last Tuesday they took him to the hospital and they…he went to the psych unit but then he got released the next day. Tonight, they took him to the hospital again and this time they took him to this city detox place. And I know this place is not that great. It’s not a rehab and it’s not a lockup. He can leave anytime. But I pray that he stays till…until tomorrow and I pray…I pray and I would like for you…you guys to stand in prayer with me that he…everyone he comes in contact with…with is Spirit filled and Christ filled and can give him guidance. And I pray that maybe this is…this is the moment, this is the moment that Nish makes a decision to change and that he can actually go into a rehab and get the help he needs. And he’s had these issues of psychosis ever since 2012 but he’s continued using drugs this whole time. So, it’s just a compounding of problems. And please pray, please pray everybody with me. Thank you. I love you DAB…

Good morning friends and family this is Justified Smile I am a new listener from late last year and this is my first time calling. It is the morning of March 16th and I just heard C’s prayer request about her postpartum depression and her feelings of worthlessness. And also, just last night dear friend and sister of mine that I’ll call M texted me last night about suicidal thoughts asking for prayer. I’ve seen in the past year that a spirit of death haunts this world. So, I ask you all to join me in prayer. Jesus, teach us to pray. Lord You are King, comforter and shepherd. You are goodness and life. And in Your name, we repel death from the hearts and mind of C and M and all Your children who it attacks along with its every backup replacement and contingency. Let Your life and joy rule in the lives of Your children. Protect those who pray for retaliation and comfort, those who have been hounded and antagonized. Keep us good Shepherd. All this for Your glory oh God my sovereign King.

Hello everyone, I wanted to ask for some prayer today. Been listening for a while and this is…Daily Audio Bible’s really been an encouragement to me. Last year I had a…a pulmonary embolism and it’s kind of been…otherwise been really healthy but it’s kind of since last year seem to have gone downhill. So, I had this embolism and then about…about a month ago I started getting these really bad migraines and…and some double vision. Went to the doctor and he told me to get an MRI. It came back with a…a…a…s brain tumor that’s 3.4 cm. It’s called an acoustic neuroma that kind of grows in my ear next to my brain but it’s pushing against my brainstem. And, you know it…it…it…it…it would be pretty dangerous. They’re gonna have to take it out in the next couple weeks. So, I am praying for obviously as a successful surgery but I’m also praying…there’s…there’s two risks. They…they have already told me I’ll probably lose my hearing in my right ear but also the…the risk that…that…that is possible is kind of almost permanent, is Bell’s palsy because it’s right there on the facial nerve as well. So, just praying for that, praying for my family. I can’t drive right now because…because my double vision and so my wife’s having to take me around everywhere and we have three small boys. So, I really…I pray…I pray for the prayers. I have lot’s of people praying for me but if, you know, more…more people going to the Lord on my behalf would be amazing. The only last thing I pray well…

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sjrresearch · 4 years

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Lightening the Load – Is it Time to Prune the Wargames Collection?

I know this article isn’t going to make me real popular in wargaming circles, but I look at it this way - I think it’s a subject worth writing about. Too many of us in the hobby take on projects we don’t finish or get frustrated with or any number of things. And then we have a half-painted army or a boardgame we didn’t’ punch and read the rules for sitting on our shelves, mocking us, and taking up space that we could use for other things.

How many of us have bought that one item we swore we had space for? How many of us have bought a duplicate research book because we didn’t think we owned a copy (I did)? We are the masters of our wargaming fate. It’s not enough to catalog our collections. Sometimes, we need to prune them.

And yeah, it can be painful.

I’m not going to say you should follow the Marie Kondo method. Hell, I wouldn’t let that lady near my wargaming stuff. People like her don’t really understand the nature of having collections. And I am also not saying it’s not a good idea to have a few “backup” copies of something rare and out of print. Accidents happen. Lord knows, I have duplicate copies of more than a few of my roleplaying books because most of those are of games I played in high school, and the companies are long out of business.

But that said, what are the principles that one should use when deciding “what to prune?”

“Am I going to play with this?” – To me, that’s the fundamental question. I’ve bought into projects or been given well-meaning gifts of things that just don’t fit with my armies or where I am going. There’s no shame in selling that stuff off. Let it go to someone who WILL make use of it.

“I have too much of this” – To use an example, a French Napoleonics player can only have so many French Imperial Guard figures in their army. Soon, you’ll have more than Napoleon actually had serving under him. When I was in a wargaming club in NYC, we had a member who died unexpectedly. He had more painted and unpainted 15mm Confederates than were probably in both the Army of the Northern Virginia and the Army of the Tennessee! He needed to prune a bit.

“I’m already doing this in two other scales” – This is one I am guilty of. I once was doing World War II in 20mm and 15mm, as well as moderns in 20mm and 6mm. I still do the moderns in two scales because I have different focuses, but I now only do World War II in 20mm. Why? Because I felt I was duplicating my efforts in 20mm, plus, the reason I was getting into 15mm WWII was a ruleset, namely Fireball Forward. In retrospect? I am glad I made the decision. It just wasn’t a good idea.

“It’s taking over the house.” – This is usually said by an exasperated spouse (Hi Honey!) And it’s best to listen if you value your marriage. I admit. Sometimes, it’s hard realizing it, especially when they have hobbies, and then you’re tempted to use the “Well, what about your hobbies” argument. My advice is, don’t. Wargaming is a space-intensive hobby. Even the board gaming end has monster games like War in the East and The African Campaign. Trust me. They’re unplayable monsters that make even VASSAL choke.

So how do you prune? Well, there are plenty of options, and if you followed the advice of my last article, you’d have a list to go through and consult to start organizing what you want to get rid of into lots for sale.

Now, as to where to go? Well, each has an up and a downside.

Conventions

Convention flea markets were traditionally the “go-to” for buying and selling used gaming stuff. This has been usurped to some extent by the Internet, but the upside? It’s a one-stop shopping extravaganza, and you can physically inspect the goods in many cases, not to mention a bit of patient looking can unveil some real gems. The downside? Not only are you limited to what’s there, but I’d say any savings over eBay or elsewhere on the Internet are long gone, as these institutions are often driving prices. Also, conventions may not be an option for a while (Thanks a lot, COVID!).

eBay

Often not-so-jokingly called “Fleabay” by the wargaming community, you can also find some real gems here. The problem is? You can find those gems for prices that would make a spendthrift blush. And because of that reputation, it’s now more challenging than ever to price and sell stuff on eBay. And the “fees” eBay charges can be a bit pricy, but they do protect buyers and sellers well. Someone tried to con me when I sold an old cell phone on eBay, but eBay came through and protected me from his scam).

Other Web Sites

While they seem to have all the advantages without all the disadvantages, it’s also the wild west out there. Buyers and sellers can and do get ripped off, though word gets around about the habitual scam artists. My advice? Check people’s feedback, as many of the websites have places now where you can praise a good seller or buyer. And use Paypal. The protections there are solid. I should know, having had to make use of them on occasion.

Consignment Stores

There are more than a few gaming stores who will take your used stuff and either buy it or exchange it for store credit. You’ll typically get more for store credit. One outfit I’ve had great success with is Noble Knight Games, and I recommend them heartily, but there are other stores out there, and a bit of research will help you find them. Be advised that “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” What you may consider “rare and out of print worth hundreds,” they may have fifty copies they can’t move on a good day.

I hope this article has been helpful and has been something of food for thought. With the new year, it’s a perfect time to take stock of your gaming collections and decide, “do I really want this anymore?”

At SJR Research, we specialize in creating compelling narratives and provide research to give your game the kind of details that engage your players and create a resonant world they want to spend time in. If you are interested in learning more about our gaming research services, you can browse SJR Research’s service on our site at SJR Research.

(This article is credited to Jason Weiser. Jason is a long-time wargamer with published works in the Journal of the Society of Twentieth Century Wargamers; Miniature Wargames Magazine; and Wargames, Strategy, and Soldier.)

#wargaming #hobbies #wargamers

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petitelepus · 4 years

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Decepticon For Life, Part 12

You get Autobot mechanic Bulkhead to help your side, Decepticons to finish the Space Bridge. Now if only things would go as planned... NOTE, I’m trying to bring this story back! It has been my most read story and now with Killer May reaching for this story’s hits I need to update this story. It’s been a while, but give the Decepticon For Life a read and I won’t disappoint you! Also, happy Juhannus!

It was all going according to lord Megatron's plan. He got Bulkhead to work with you and now he was giving orders to Constructicons how to finish the Space Bridge... The only problem was that he couldn't help but argue with professor Sumdac about how to move forward. You groaned as you listened to them argue where hollow cato tube should go.

Out of all the jobs, Megatron could give you it was to watch over them. You knew nothing about Space Bridges but apparently you knew enough is someone was trying something. Suddenly there was a loud clank as the giant tube was thrown on the ground and the Constructicons sat down.

"That's it! We're on a break!" Mixmaster exclaimed and he and Scrapper poured oil down their intakes. You shook your head and went to them. "Okay, guys, do what you must but next break is in 3 hours!"

"Whatever you say, babe," Scrapper said between the chugs of oil. You groaned but then you heard professor and Bulkhead argue with each other. You walked up to them and cleared your intake, getting their attention. "I hope you don't plan to do anything stupid. Lord Megatron gave me permission to knock some sense into you if you decided to act foolishly."

Bulkhead shook his helm. "Wouldn't think of it."

You nodded, "Good." and turned to go and get your Constructicon friends to work again. When you were out of the earshot professor Sumdac turned towards Bulkhead. "I can't believe she was an Autobot...!" He grumbled in disbelief and Bulkhead looked at the man like he had grown a second head.

"What? What are you talking about?" The green mech asked, "The femme Decepticon? She isn't an Autobot!"

"Oh, but she was!" Professor exclaimed as loudly as he dared so he wouldn't catch your attention. He looked over his shoulder and when you didn't turn towards them he looked at Bulkhead again. "She came here months ago with Starscream but she had this Autobot symbol with wings on her chest. She appeared to have amnesia and she couldn't talk until I fixed her. Starscream was most likely using her so when Megatron took her in she fell for everything that monster has to say."

"Wait, are you saying that femme is an Elite Guard?!"

"Shh...! Not so loud!" Professor hushed before checking if you heard. No, you were nagging at Mixmaster and Scrapper how they chugged too much oil to be healthy. Professor turned to Bulkhead. "I don't know who she was when I fixed her, but she had some poor lady's purse. You don't happen to know anything about it, do you?"

"Hmm, not that I can recall..." Bulkhead admitted before turning serious. "But if you tell me she was an Elite Guard then she could have been a spy!"

"Impossible! As I said, she had no idea who or what she was before Megatron took her in!" Professor snapped and this time you had heard them.

"What are you doing?!" You asked as you stomped over to them and placed your hands over your hips. "Did you come to an agreement over that tube? Because if not, I will personally stuck it up to your aft Autobot!"

"Yeah, we got it now..." Bulkhead grumbled and the professor nodded with him. You nodded and turned towards Constructicons, yelling them how their break was over.

It took hours, but finally, the Space Bridge looked like it was done. Megatron stood by the control panel with you behind him and Bulkhead stood next to him.

"I did what you asked. Now, why don't you let me and professor go and we call it even?" The green Autobot asked. Megatron glanced at him from the corner of his crimson optic.

"All in due time, Autobot," He said. "Are you certain it will work this time?"

"Ooh, absolutely." Professor Sumdac said as he walked to the controls and pushed a button. The bridge's engine sputtered and coughed, but nothing happened. Your optics widened in shock. Had they failed? If they failed, what would it mean for you?

"Oh well, too bad, nothing anyone can do, I guess we should just keep going-!" Professor was saying when suddenly the giant machine turned on, coughing and roaring as it created a blue ball of energy between its long towers. You smiled excitedly. It was actually working! Oh, Megatron was right when he got that big oaf Bulkhead!

"At long last, I will lead my troops back to Cybertron and reclaim what is rightfully mine!" Megatron boasted and you clapped your hands behind him. "Bravo, my lord! Your plan worked as planned!" You praised him. You have no idea what this Cybertron planet held, but you swore you would be right behind your lord as you would claim your home planet.

Suddenly there was an explosion behind you and you all turned to look what it was when you saw the Autobots emerge from the newly made tunnel they had exploded open.

"Too bad there is nobody for you to lead, Megatron!" Optimus Prime, leader of this small Autobot group shouted. You were about to pull out your guns when you noticed Scrapper above the mine. You grinned at the evil bots, "I don't think so!"

Scrapper jumped down with a warcry and snatched the two smaller Autobots, the yellow and light blue ones, into his arms. "Who you're calling nobody!?" He asked and Mixmaster shot cement mix at the Autobot leader and their ninja bot, trapping them on their spots. Mixmaster jumped next to Scrapper who held the bots in his arms and Optimus glared at them, "So you two are working for Megatron now."

You walked up to the Constructicons and grinned. "They were always on the winning side." You said but just as the last word left your mouth, the mountain trembled and groaned as the mountain's roof over your helms was blasted into oblivion. You shielded your face from falling rocks.

Who dared to attack you like that?! Did Autobots come with backup?

When the smoke cleared you looked up and you couldn't believe what you saw. It was Starscream! He was using the jets on his legs to stand above you all and he wasn't alone. There were 5 jets circling him. Had he come for revenge? He couldn't have picked any worse time, but you might as well take him down with Autobots and make him tell who you were.

"Megatron, my old friend! Thanks for making all the hard work for me! Ha ha ha ha!" Starscream laughed and you grounded your denta together in fury. You wouldn't let him get away again. Not without answering your questions first.

"Star-!"

"Concentrate your attacks on Megatron!" Starscream ordered, cutting you off, and the jets behind him transformed and shot straight at your lord. You watched in horror how the shots landed and threw Megatron back into boulders and stone wall. "Lord Megatron!" You shouted and quickly run up to him.

"More Starscream clones!?" The ninja bot exclaimed followed by Optimus' question, "How is that even possible?!"

The blue bot started to rant in a quick manner about a theory that Starscream had claimed pieces of AllSpark and made clones with it. You didn't listen that closely as you focused on helping your lord up to his feet. Megatron growled and pulled out his sword.

"Lugnut, Blitzwing! I need backup at once!" He shouted, out loud and through comm links, but no one came. "Where are you?!"

Where indeed were they? Should you go look for them, but would you dare to leave your leader alone to fight against Starscream, his clones, and Autobots? Granted, Autobots were out of the picture. The shots get coming so you jumped behind a boulder and returned the fire at the clones with your gun.

Megatron was doing amazing, fighting off 5 clones and blocking their attacks with his sword and fusion cannon attached to his right arm.

"It will take more than a few pathetic clones to defeat me Starscream!" Your lord shouted and shot a blast of energy at Starscream who dodged the attack. You shot at the clones with your best abilities and you managed to keep a couple of them on their toes if they didn't want to get shot.

"Mixmaster, find Lugnut and Blitzwing! Dreadtrap and Scrapper back me up!" Megatron ordered. Scrapper let go of the Autobots he was holding and as soon as the bots' pedes touched the ground they took off quicker than you have seen someone go.

"You, hey, I never bargained, but this? I'm a builder, not a fighter!" Mixmaster said, but just as he was done a shot went through the oil canister he had on his hand and all the precious oil leaked through his hand. The Constructicon saw red, just like his optics, and threw the messed canister on the ground. "That's it! Nobody messes with my motor oil!"

You heard banging and saw that Optimus Prime had broken free from cement and with a single punch he released the ninja bot also. You growled but focused on Starscream's clones. You wouldn't let them hurt your lord any more than they had already. Mixmaster run past you and he came face to face with a blue Starscream's clone.

"Fool! A mere construction bot is no match for my superior firepower!" The clone boasted and Mixmaster frowned. "Oh really? Then you know where you can stick it?" He asked as his hand transformed and he shot a load of wet cement at the clone. He hit the bullseye and the clone screamed as he couldn't move.

"Gaah, impossible! You can't defeat me! You're not worthy, you're an inferior and your job stink!" The clone shouted as he struggled against he gooey cement like a fly in spider's web but just like on the web, he just got himself more mixed up. Mixmaster seemed satisfied with it, but when he turned there was a white clone pointing his gun at your friend.

"Don't worry, I won't shoot!" The clone shouted but his actions told another story. You switched tactics and took a shot at him and just as you were about hit him, the ninja bot thew one of his throwing stars at the clone's leg. That sent the white con flying and hurling through the air and he hit ground face first and hard. The ninja bot jumped at him ad cuffed him. "One Starscream down, five more to go."

You had a shot at him. You had him in your scope but you didn't take the shot. He could be useful against the clones, you ensured yourself. You cleared your optic and the ninja was gone.

"I'm not down, I can escape anytime I want to! I just don't want to." The clone talked to himself when an orange clone flew to him and shot the static cuffs off from the white's hands.

"Brilliant strategy, brilliant! It's such an honor to help you escape from such an elegant Autobot trap!" The orange clone praised and the white looked at him as he got up, "What are you talking about? I escaped all by myself!" He claimed and flew off. You tried to shoot what you thought was the real Starscream but he wouldn't let you get a clear shot. That's when you heard pathetic crying coming and you looked to the side.

The blue Autobot had a whiny clone in cuffs, but then came the blue clone who was still struggling against the cement mix around him and he hit the Autobot and clone head-on. The blue bot shouted rapidly for the cons to get off from him, but they were just as trapped as he was. The jets in blue clone's legs were still working and they pushed the trio through the Space Bridge's portal.

Three enemies gone, a bunch of them left. You took a shot at the white clone and he noticed you hiding behind a boulder as you kept shooting at him and his allies. He laughed and shot at you and you quickly ducked your helm down before he blew it off. As soon as you could, you took a shot at him again and hit him straight on the wing.

"Ouch! You didn't hurt me, didn't hurt at all!" The white clone exclaimed and you were starting to doubt everything this clone said. Megatron and Starscream were fighting hand in hand combat, though your lord had his sword and Starscream had his guns attacked to his arms.

"Starscream! Give up this foolish mutiny!" Megatron ordered but Starscream didn't give up. He gave Megatron an ugly glare and activated his jets and dodged a sword's cut, rounding around your lord. Megatron turned to shoot him, but two clones, white and femme ambushed Megatron from behind.

"My lord!" You shouted, but just as the clones were about to take a shot, Optimus Prime out of all the mechs tackled them head-on, saving your lord. The grey mech lowered his sword and looked at Optimus. "Why, you would be the last bot I expected to come to my rescue."

"I wasn't coming to your rescue." The Autobot leader snarled. You looked him through your scope, but you didn't shoot. You saw both leaders fighting back to back, against two clones and one original scumbag Starscream. You saw orange at the corner of your optic and you saw a blur of orange before you were tackled hard.

You let out a loud 'oof' as you lost your gun and the orange clone got up from on top of you and pointed his gun at you. You glared at him and he cackled. "Brilliant spot, just brilliant for shooting from a hideout!"

You glared at him. "You have no idea." You lifted your leg and activated your own jets, sending flames at the clone's face. He screamed and backed up, just enough for you to get the opening you wanted. You reached for your gun and took the shot, sending the clone flying through the room.

Suddenly you heard screaming and you turned to look, only to see your lord using Autobot leader Optimus Prime as a shield. What a brutal turn of events. Mixmaster was shooting wet cement at the ninja bot who kept dodging his attacks and then the small yellow bot tried to ambush the Constructicon from behind, but he was quickly pinned into the wall by quickly hardening the cement.

"Mixmaster, considerate your attacks on head Starscream!" Megatron ordered as he threw his Autobot shield on the side. Your leader and Starscream shared words and insults and you started shooting at the femme clone, trying to keep her busy. The ninja bot went to his leader's side, but he couldn't help him as the orange clone snapped static cuff on him.

"Brilliant, such a brilliant move with static cuffs! I just had to try it out!" He kept praising and you took a shot at him, but he saw it coming and dodged. You growled and followed his movements through your gun's scope when you suddenly saw a bright light and you fell back in pain. Someone shot you!

You groaned as you tried to get your processor and limps working. Whoever had shot you they had gotten you good. Your vision was fuzzy, but when it started to finally return you watched in horror how the clones were holding Megatron back as Starscream approached him with your lord's own sword. How did he get the sword from your lord's hands?

"Oooh, I have been waiting a long time for this...!" Starscream smiled as he looked at his reflection from the sword's black blade. Megatron tried to struggle and get the clones to release him, but it was in vain. Starscream grinned. "Don't worry, I'll tell you went offline valiantly... Just as you named me as your successor!" He raised the sword above his helm and you cried out in horror.

"Lord Megatron!"

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dancingkirby · 4 years

Text

Finally another Azula Chapter!

Yooooo, I’m all done with the first two acts of the story now! (Except for editing and adding on any new ideas, that is.) And, as promised, here is Azula’s second PoV chapter.

WARNING: Non-graphic incest in the first part.

PAST

Flush with the excitement of the rally and freshly scrubbed, Azula was preparing for the audience with Father that she knew was imminent. It felt good to be back in her armor; the red and pink outfit had been both pretty and practical, but simply didn’t offer the same amount of protection. On the outside, she looked every bit the maiden warrior-princess. However, her inner layers were not nearly as modest.

Shiza made her patented frown as Azula rejected her usual bindings in favor of Daddy’s favorite pair of lingerie. Azula was fairly certain that Shiza had known about their secret relationship for some time; it would be hard for her not to since she was the one getting Azula ready most of the time. However, they appeared to have reached a silent agreement that they would both pretend she didn’t know.

The knocks on the door came at the perfect time, just as Shiza was putting the makeup knife away. So it was Father who wanted to speak with her first, then.

“Are you…will you be all right?” Shiza asked tentatively as Azula turned towards the door. What an odd question.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” she replied.

The throne room was empty save for herself and the Fire Lord…just as it had been when he’d sent her on this mission over three months ago. Azula stopped a respectful distance away, knelt, and pressed her forehead to the floor. Even when she raised her head, she remained kneeling with her eyes downcast, only daring to look up when she heard him part the flames.

“The conqueror of Ba Sing Se,” Father said.

Azula would have liked to bask in the praise, but knew exactly what she was expected to say. She made a noise of demurral before responding, “I would never have been able to do it if I hadn’t had such a wonderful teacher.”

“Indeed,” Father replied, slowly walking down the steps. His nearness made Azula quake in her boots, and not entirely out of fear. But she couldn’t think about that now.

“And your brother slayed the Avatar,” he continued, tugging on his beard. “I was surprised. I didn’t think he had it in him.”

How was she going to make this story believable?

“I didn’t either,” she began, trying to stall for a few seconds to think up the details. “I was busy fighting the waterbender. But then the Avatar was preoccupied, and Zuko saw his chance and took it.” Should she say he used lightning? No, that would be stretching credulity a bit too much. “Fire blast straight to the back. It was so precise and powerful that the Avatar never even knew what hit him. And if that didn’t kill him instantly, the long fall to the ground certainly did.”

There. That seemed to be an acceptable enough fudging of the truth. She didn’t mention that they still hadn’t got official confirmation that the Avatar was actually dead, which was making her a little nervous.

“Wonderful,” Father proclaimed. The story appeared to have passed his muster, and Azula made an internal sigh of relief.

“I take it that you received my dispatches about the intelligence I gathered?” she inquired. Father smirked.

“Yes. They’re planning an invasion during the eclipse. How precious.”

Azula allowed her face to relax the tiniest bit, and said, “I have no doubt that they think they’re the first people to ever try such a thing. The Earth King sang like a sparrowkeet about their super-secret plans without me even having to try. I wish you’d been there to see for yourself; you would have loved it.” Those idiots. They would have had increased security measures that day regardless.

Father gave a shout of laughter so loud and sudden that even Azula was startled.

“So do I!” he exclaimed. “But let us discuss that a little later, shall we? There are other matters I would like to attend to first.”

And just like that, Father became Daddy, and Azula adapted accordingly. She knew from years of experience how to change her entire demeanor in the blink of an eye. As she tugged her hair out of its topknot and let it fall freely down her back, she allowed her expression to soften, looking up at Daddy through her eyelashes while biting her lip.

“What a brilliant idea,” she said, voice changed from formal and measured to almost a purr. This had exactly the effect on Daddy, who ran over, picked her up, and slung her over his shoulder.

“Ohh,” she whispered into his ear. “Unhand me, you brute.”

“Do you have any idea how difficult it was for me to find a replacement for you all those months?” Daddy growled as they left the throne room and began what seemed like an unbearably long trip to his rooms.

Azula really didn’t want to think about who might have been her replacement. Instead, she giggled and said, “I can imagine.”

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The first time did hurt, a little bit, but that was to be expected, and nothing that Azula couldn’t handle. The second time, Daddy wasn’t in such of a big rush, so he could help make it feel good for her, too. After he had been thoroughly satisfied–twice–he was ready to talk strategy again. Azula always felt a little uneasy when he did this, because she wasn’t sure how to categorize this. It was sort of in between Father and Daddy; he expected her to be all business when she didn’t have a stitch of clothing on.

“The Avatar may be dead, but his friends will be out for revenge,” she told Daddy. “They should not be taken lightly. The waterbender has improved significantly even in the time I’ve fought against her, and rumor has it that the earthbender has somehow figured out how to bend metal. If that is true, our bunker is no longer impervious.”

Daddy frowned. “That is unfortunate. So you think that those two are our biggest threat? We will put the best of the Royal Guard at the main entrance, then, to neutralize them immediately.”

“Actually…no, I don’t think that,” Azula clarified.

“Then who is?”

Azula felt a smile tugging at her lips as she said, “The nonbender boy, believe it or not. His name is Sokka. He’s the brains of the group, and apparently the one who, um, figured out how to take down the drill.” Maybe not the best idea to remind Daddy of that. She rushed on, “Get into his head, knock him off-balance, and their entire plan will fail.”

“And you believe that you know how to do that?” Daddy asked.

Azula’s smile widened.

“I do,” she said simply.

PRESENT

She was prepared for every eventuality.

Well, maybe not every eventuality. She supposed that perhaps they would figure out how to make a replica of her drill. Or…or maybe they’d make a giant walking suit of armor that shot energy beams so powerful that they could annihilate anything in their path.

Actually, that last one was an intriguing idea. She’d have to remember to write that one down later.

But those were exceedingly unlikely scenarios, and she knew it. Without the Earth Kingdom’s resources, there was no way that they would have the wherewithal to make such powerful weapons. She was still prepared for every plausible eventuality.

Azula was quite confident that the Avatar and his friends would be heading this way. War Minister Qin had been instructed to misdirect them, and that was a simple enough task that she thought even he couldn’t mess it up. Everything was ready. She had her Dai Li as backup, perched in the rafters. (Really, she wished she could have had Mai and Ty Lee with her as well, but they were sheltering in their own homes.) The past several weeks, Azula had been occupied with perfecting her nonbending fighting and evasion skills. She’d had Ty Lee give her some pointers, and even considered getting her lover to chi-block her to mimic the effects of the eclipse (all her research indicated that said effects were not pleasant). However, she had ultimately decided against it. That might set an unfortunate precedent, after all.

Speaking of which, she thought that the effects were kicking in now. It wasn’t so bad if one knew to expect them; mostly a sensation of cold and mild nausea. Everything was muted this far underground, anyway.

Then…footsteps and shouting outside. Qin had succeeded in his deception. She adjusted her posture so she looked exactly the right combination of threatening and casual. As the doors were blown open with a gust of wind, she smiled.

“So, you are alive after all,” she said, just as she had rehearsed in the privacy of her bedroom countless times. “I had a hunch that you survived. But it doesn’t matter. I’ve known about the invasion for months.”

The look of shock on the trio’s faces (the waterbender girl wasn’t with them; too bad) was quite possibly the most gratifying thing that Azula had seen in her entire life. Did they perhaps think of her as some sort of supernatural entity with psychic powers? She was happy to let them continue believing that. The somewhat more mundane truth was, they hadn’t been quite as good as hiding as they thought they were, and she had received intelligence from multiple islands about a group matching their descriptions.

“Where is he? Where’s the Fire Lord?” the Avatar demanded. Did he honestly think she was going to just tell him?

“Mm. You mean I’m not good enough for you? You’re hurting my feelings,” she said as she stood up, letting the barest hint of the voice she used for Daddy seep through. She would do whatever it took to keep them distracted.

“Stop wasting our time and give use the information,” Sokka demanded, gesturing with his sword. He’d caught on quickly, just as Azula had expected. “You’re powerless right now, so you’re in no position to refuse.”

Pfft. Look who’s talking.

The earthbender (her name was…Toph?) added, “And stick to the truth. I’ll be able to tell if you’re lying.”

“Are you sure? I’m a pretty good liar,” Azula answered. Quickly casting around in her head for the most ridiculous statement possible, she said, “I am a four hundred-foot-tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings.”

It took no effort at all. Every successful member of the Fire Nation royal family learned to lie almost as soon as they could talk. When one was in such a high-stakes position, wearing one’s feelings on one’s sleeve could be deadly. Zuzu had learned that the hard way.

“…Okay, you’re good, I admit it,” Toph said. Azula managed to not so much as even flinch as the earthbender trapped her in a column that went up to her chin. “But you ought to consider telling the truth anyway!”

So far, everything was going exactly according to plan; it was almost too easy. By Azula’s mental count, about two minutes had passed since the start of the eclipse. All she had to do was to continue to occupy them for six more.

Azula and the Dai Li had agreed that the latter would make their presence in the room known as soon as Toph tried earthbending for the first time. Right on cue, the column binding Azula crumbled into nothing. Her trio of adversaries looked flabbergasted again; Azula could almost hear them thinking, “Wait…she can earthbend?!”

“When I left Ba Sing Se, I brought home some souvenirs…Dai Li agents!” she explained.

The fight that followed was more an amusement than anything else. At last, Azula got to show off the results of her extensive practice. No matter what obstacle they might throw at her, she could leap, jump, or flip through it. It was rather like what she’d always imagined that airbending would feel like; sometimes, she looked at Ty Lee’s gray eyes and wondered.

Finally, Sokka realized how much time had passed, and told the other two to stop attacking.

“She’s just playing with us. She’s not even trying to win this fight!” he said, a note of panic creeping into his voice.

(If he thought Azula hadn’t noticed how his eyes raked over her body as she flew past him, he was deluding himself.)

“Not true! I’m giving it my all,” Azula informed him. Technically, this wasn’t even a lie, since she didn’t specify what “it” was. They bickered a while longer, accusing her of wasting their time when they were doing a perfectly good job at it themselves. Then Sokka got them back to their senses again, and the three of them turned and started walking away.

“It’s a trap. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Azula said. There were only a couple of minutes left in the eclipse now; she doubted that they’d reach Father in time even if they did know the way. And if they blundered their way into one of the rooms surrounding his…it would not be pleasant for them.

“Ignore!” Sokka urged them as they continued walking.

It was time. She’d been looking forward to this moment for the whole fight.

“So, Sokka’s your name, right?” she began. “My favorite prisoner used to mention you all the time.”

He halted, turned his head back to look at her. She had him.

Azula continued, “She was convinced you were going to come rescue her. Of course, you never came, and she gave up on you!” As his face crumpled, she felt a surge of triumph and…something else?

Had she thought that her trick with the dagger was going to work? Not really. Things would be more convenient for her that way, of course, but it would have put this part of her plan to a disappointingly premature end. In any case, Toph disarmed her and threw her against the rough stone wall hard enough that Azula was certain it would leave a nasty bruise, and Sokka had her pinned before she could retaliate.

“WHERE. IS. SUKI?!” he snarled. Oh, did he think that Azula had tortured his little girlfriend? She was happy for him to continue thinking that. Father would have used torture, yes, but Azula didn’t see the point of resorting to it when there were other, more subtle ways of getting what she wanted.

She continued to smile down at him, saying nothing, and couldn’t help but notice that his Fire Nation topknot suited him well. So did that primitive…thing that passed for a military uniform with the Water Tribe barbarians. That darker blue was definitely his color; he should wear it more often.

“Where’s Suki?” Sokka repeated, interrupting her musings. “Answer me!” The Avatar tried to get him to back off, but he didn’t listen. “Where are you keeping her?!”

Azula simply smiled even more. Making him angry was so…so…wait. Was that just her feeling the eclipse about to end, or was her body responding to him? Daddy had had her against walls, many times, and often as enraged as Sokka was now. That was all it was. Still…if she managed to take Sokka prisoner as well, maybe she could…

No. Daddy wouldn’t allow that. And even if he did, it was a stupid idea. Thankfully, before her hormones could come up with any further less-than-brilliant schemes, Azula was bailed out by the sound of a large explosion coming from the general direction of Father’s room. She could feel her own power resurging as well.

“Oh! Sounds like the firebending’s back on!” she said in faux-surprise. She had herself freed within a few seconds, and generously informed her opponents of her father’s location.

Azula felt elated as she ran out of the room. Her plan had been a complete success; Father would be so happy when he heard. She didn’t have any time to check in with him, though; she had to hurry onto an airship to make sure the Avatar and his friends got out and stayed out.

…Right after she found a bathroom.

#azula #ozai #sokka #fanfic

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