#she's already dead by the time she lands back on earth and later found by haruka

[kawaiichibiart]

If I had a nickel for everytime I made Minoharu suffer through a tragedy in one of my PRSK AUs, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's funny it happened twice.

Sci-fi/Fantasy Minoharu 🤝 Burning Hearth Minoharu

Tragedy? Tragedy.

[anisespice]

“ accidents happen ” || tokyo rev.

cont.

synopsis: in which they discover you had their child and kept it from them all these years later.

pairing: bonten x fem!reader [ mikey, ran, sanzu ]

warnings: mature content ahead. MDI. mature language, crude humor, angst (if you squint really hard), deadbeat!bonten (unintentionally), not proof-read so there may be errors lol and i think that’s it :))

notes: i just want the drama >:) may make more parts, and even extend said headcannons into longer fics in the future, but wanted to post something quick for mother’s day. hope you enjoy!

When you disappeared off the face of the earth, MIKEY had never been the same. One fight. One argument that spiraled out of control, and you were just gone...

He had people looking for you for about a couple years, the trail ran cold after a while and he had half a mind to think you were dead. Up until he got intel of your whereabouts one morning during a meeting.

That man got up and left immediately.

He wasn’t accompanied with any of his men, only because he didn’t want to draw any unwanted attention in the broad daylight. Sure, him wearing a black hood, ball cap, and mask in a park didn’t really help him look inconspicuous but it at least concealed his identity enough for him to blend in. Mikey sat on a bench for a good forty minutes, anxious, making anyone who passed him shiver from his intense aura alone; even birds walked around him. After almost an hour of waiting, he began to feel frustrated. Perhaps, the intel was false. Just as he went to stand, already conjuring up ways to have Sanzu execute the idiot who wasted his time, he heard it.

Your voice. Seizing him, like a siren’s call.

His eyes were alert, darting around until they landed on your figure, spotlighted by the sun, like an angel descending from the heavens. You looked good, healthy. That was good. An array of emotions fought for their turn in Mikey’s heart—Relief, distress, anger, nostalgia. He couldn’t just pick one, especially when it came to you. As he watched from his spot, doing his best to not seem suspicious, he clocked the people you were approaching with excitement, your peppy stride as you waved at, what he presumed, to be mother and daughter.

However, his entire world turned upside down when the little girl extended out her arms towards you, and said “Mama!”

“Hello, my darling.~” You cooed, taking her into your awaiting arms from the woman, embracing the toddler tightly. “Mama missed you so much.”

“Missed you, mama!” was the child’s reply, followed by her giggles.

A bucket of cold water would’ve been better than this. Watching you converse with who he now assumes to be the babysitter, Mikey felt faint. Vision blurring, head pounding, heart clenching. You…you…no. There’s no way. You wouldn’t have moved on…you couldn’t have, not like this, not from him. You loved him, didn’t you? You still love him, didn’t you?

How could you…how could you?

Before he knew it, he started to follow you around. From the park, to the store, all the way back to your apartment. He already phoned some of the executives to start working in on the babysitter, and anyone else in your new found circle for information. He wanted answers. He needed them.

By the time you began fixing dinner, with your daughter laid down for a nap, you receive a knock at your door. Who could that be at this hour?

RAN was chilling outside the rendezvous spot for something the boss and a few other execs were participating in, having a smoke, minding his business, up until he sees a little girl with pigtails wearing a school uniform approaching, standing before him and just…staring. She barely came up to his thighs, could've been no older than seven. She was practically staring into his soul with bright lavender eyes that scarily reminded him of Rin’s when he was that age.

He stared back, head tilted as he blew out the smoke from the corner of his mouth. The hell was a kid doing on this side of town?

Then, after an uncomfortable staring contest, the little girl points at his cigarette. “My ma says those things are bad for you.”

Ran raised a brow, “Does she now?”

“Mmhm! She says it makes people unhappy.”

He offered a thoughtful nod, an amused grin spreading across his face. “Mm. Do I look unhappy?”

The girl looked at Ran for a minute, eyes squinted. Eventually, she shook her head. “No. But, ma also says people who are always unhappy get better at hiding it.”

Ran’s grin faltered. Her unwavering stare started to unnerve him, especially after hearing such a heavy statement come from such a small package.

After a brief moment of silence, he chuckled softly, taking one last drag of his cigarette before flicking it away. He exhaled. “Smart woman.”

The little girl beamed, “Mmhm! My ma knows a lot of stuff.”

“Tsk. But not ‘Stranger Danger’, apparently.”

She tilted her head, curious. “Huh?”

“You shouldn’t be wandering around by yourself, let alone approaching someone you don’t know. ‘s not safe. Especially for nosy little girls who stick their noses in other people’s business. Your ma never taught you that?”

The little girl rolled her eyes, hands on her hips. “Duh. Of course she did. Everyone knows that rule,” she exasperated. Ran snorted, but yielded when she squinted at him, pointing as she sassed. “And I do so know you, so you’re not a stranger.”

This time, Ran couldn’t help the incredulous laugh. “Oh, you know me, huh? That’s not good. ‘m supposed to keep a low profile. Say, you ain’t a cop are you?” He teased, earning another eye roll.

“No. Too small to be a cop, dummy.”

“Oh, pardon me, I didn’t notice. Where do you know me from, then?”

The little girl pointed over to the building..where the executives were having their meeting. She beamed, “Ma’s works in there. On important people days she can’t get me from school, so she tells me to come straight here, and to not talk to the purple man that stands near the building. She says you’re mean.”

Ran smirked, then gave a half-hearted shrug.

“She also says you’re my pa. But, I never believed her. You’re too old.”

Ran’s smirk dropped.

Whether more from the first comment or the last, you decide. But, one thing was for certain: he needed another cigarette.

SANZU cackled watching some guy struggle to round up a couple of rowdy twins at the convenience store. One was knocking shit off the shelves while the other ran circles around the guy. It was what he needed for his bitch of a hangover, a good laugh to distract from the ache in his skull.

However, he wasn’t laughing for long when you came around the corner of the isle, holding a few items with a smile on your face that soon faded once you saw the scene unfolding before you; the pinkette thought he was still tripping balls. Blinking a few times to allow any after effects of the drugs to clear up, when you didn’t disappear he used his long legs to swiftly yeet behind one of the shelves, peering around it like some paranoid stalker. The last time you had spoken, you had threatened to castrate him with your teeth if you ever saw him again.

And he’d be damned if he tried your bluff.

He watched in awe as you straightened those twins up quick. If he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought they were trained to obey you, and only you. Any other authority be damned. While the guy was putting all the stuff back on the shelves, sweaty and out of breath, you gently reprimanded them for causing trouble. You still made that cute pouty face you always did whenever you were mad at him…

“What did we talk about earlier? Hm? Mr. Satoru was very kind to help mama today, you know. You two promised me you’d be on your best behavior for him.”

Sanzu gagged. This was the rebound you let nut in you? This huffy moron who can’t handle a couple of ankle biters, this was your king? He had half a mind to just gut the guy to put him out of his misery from that pathetic display from earlier, alone. He couldn’t imagine how difficult it must be back home. He remembers when he was that age—Rowdy, reckless, the Antichrist. Adorable, but deadly. God bless that poor bastard’s soul.

Wait…Mister? Not…dad?

The first twin whined, stomping their feet. “He’s too boringggg!”

Come to think of it…if Sanzu squinted…the longer he looked at the little family…he swore the more he saw the resemblance of himself in the tiny gremlins. From the hair, to the eyes, all the way down to the mannerisms…Hang on. When had been the last time you two fucked? Three…no, was it four years ago?

The second twin huffed, pointing at the man. “Yeah! And he’s jus’ being nice so that he can sleep in your bed, mama!”

You flushed, nervously chuckling as you looked around to make sure no one heard. Sanzu ducked behind a bag of chips, now nothing but eyes peeking through the gaps of food on the shelf.

So…that loser’s not the father? Then…could that mean..?

“He’s mama’s boyfriend, remember? He’s allowed to do that. And he’ll be around for a while, so I want you two to be nice, okay?”

“…okay, mama.” They grumbled.

Sanzu almost popped a blood vessel, fist clenched around a bag of Lays and nearly busting it. He chuckled darkly, “Oh. We’ll see about that.”

© 2024-2025 anisespice ッ all rights reserved.

likes, comments & reblogs much appreciated!

[eclipse-rain]

'Awalie (Once; in the Past)

☆☆☆

Summary: Reader (Jakes Sullys younger sister) wakes up in an unknown place and suddenly finds she has awoken 15 years later than the time of her last memory. But the real question is; why is she still the same age? Why doesn't this look like Earth? Will she be able to find her way back to Jake? And who is this Na'vi boy she just saved?

《Pronouns;she/her》《Tense;you/your》

|Takes place after the end of the second movie|

Part 2 Part 3

Masterlist~

Have you ever thought about what you would do if suddenly you woke up and you were in an unknown place?

What would be your first reaction?

Well the first words that left your lips seemed to perfectly describe how you were feeling, as you had just been thrust into that exact scenario.

"What the...fuck?" You choked out, fairly groggy after just waking up from what felt like an eternal sleep.

You looked around your surroundings and realised fairly quickly that you didnt know where you were.

You were sat on the hard cold floor of a room that was made up of all white walls. It was full of all sorts of diffrent odd beeping machines that did god knows what.

You had previously been stuck in some kind of smaller compartment but when you had awoken you were able to push your way out.

There was a gap inbetween the segments of the compartment and so you wiggled your fingers through and found you were able to extend the table you laid on out of the small space, landing yourself on the floor instead.

That table.

You remembered that table.

What did you remeber about it?

Just then a memory came along with a sharp pain in your head and made your stomach lurch in realisation of what you remebered about this table.

"One, two. One, two."

"Hey, Little Miss Sully, you there?"

"If you can you hear us give us a sign."

Bright lights flashed across your face and shed some light in the darkness you saw, while you were poked and prodded like some kind of experiment.

Well, i guess thats all you were to them.

A science experiment.

Not a human being.

Not a living creature.

Just something to further their own curiosity and greed.

Why? Why did they do it? And why you?

You were angry about it at first. You were angry for a long time, during all of the time you were asleep. The sleep, the darkness, that seemed to go on forever but also somehow seemed to be gone in the blink of an eye now that you were awake.

But now you were fine with it. Now you didnt want to be seen as a human. You didnt want anything to do with them.

They had taken everything from you.

Your parents.

Your eldest brother.

Tom.

'Tommy', Jake had bestowed the nickname onto his elder brother.

He had been shot to death right before your eyes. That was the last memory you had of him and the last memory you had at all. You had to tell Jake what happened. He could help.

But Tommy was already dead. What could he do? They're was no bringing someone back from the dead. You knew that. It was an undeniable fact.

The second words that you uttered, as you sat upright on the cold hard floor, after your awakening was the name of your older brother, the younger of the two twins.

"Jake...?" You called out. Your voice was hoarse as if it hadn't been used in some time and your throat felt scratchy like you had been forced to swallow thumbtacks.

What had happend to him, your second brother? Did he know what happened? Did he know his twin brother was dead? His older brother, his other half. Did he know what had happened to you? Where was he?

Where were you?

Just then you noticed a window a little ways away from you. You tried to get up to go look outside of it, to try and get a clue as to where you might be but your legs felt like jelly.

You collapsed as soon as you got up. You tried again only this time you used that wreatched table that would haunt your nightmares as support. You managed to make your somewhat numb legs move and you hobbled over to the window.

There was nothing to hold onto near the window, nothing to support you, so you had to just hope for the best. After throwing yourself in its direction you ended up latching onto the sides of the window, screws and all, since there was no windowsill to grab onto.

The pain caused to your hands by the old screws that jutted into your skin was nothing in comparison to the pain you felt all over the rest of your body before. How it felt when those experiments were actively being perfomed on you.

The pain you had felt then was so immense that it felt as if your whole body was burning from the inside out. Like thousands of little firey ants were making their way through each of your veins and into your blood stream.

Getting used to having to use your legs after being asleep was one thing but you still seemed to be affected by the after effects of the experiments that were perfomed on you by your own kind as well.

Now though, that pain you had felt had died down and your body felt somewhat sureen. As if it had been in hibernation, waiting for just the right time to awaken from its long slumber.

Perhaps that was why your legs felt like they hadn't been used in forever, why they were so numb. You had to find out how much time had passed. Just how long were you asleep for?

You had to find out where you were and what day it was. You had to get back to Jake. He must be worried about you, especially if he had already heard about Tommys death.

Except the only problem was that you didnt know where you were. As you peered out of that window and took in the view of the outside world that awaited you, nothing could have prepared you for what you saw.

The place that you woke up inside of seemed to be settled near a cliff with water, the sea you could assume, down below it. But that wasnt the weird part. Because when you looked in the opposite direction their were trees as tall as skyscrapers.

Ones that shined brightly of all diffrent colors. Colors that shouldn't come from normal trees. The foliage spread out into a canapy above making for a dense forest on the other side of the cliff. One more beautiful than you could imagine but also one just as deadly.

When you took a closer look at the outside surroundings you realised alot more could be seen. The forest seemed to be barricaded off and large machines as big as houses as well as people in giant metal robots patroled along it. There were many other structures, ones you assumed resembled the one you were in right now.

'Spaceships?' You thought to yourself

Yes. Thats what they looked like. You remebered from the pictures Tommy had show you about the one he was going to take to Pandora. You had also seen it on the news often when they reported what other scientists had found in their journeys to Pandora.

Everything you saw indicated only one thing. Only one place you could be. The place you had begged your eldest brother to tell you everything he knew about it.

Pandora.

The moon that had been found to have living creatures on it just like earth. You grew up hearing stories about it, everyone did.

You and Tommy had a particular intrest in it, although Jake never seemed as inthused about it as the both of you were. You had tried to make him come with you to classes countless times, where you would learn their language, but he had always brushed it off saying he was busy and had something else to do.

Tommy shared in your intrest of the planet though, even going so far as becoming a scientist to research it and the Na'vi peoples ways. You guessed he would never be able to achieve his dream now since he was shot dead right in front of you a week before he shipped out.

And then it hit you. Tommy was really dead. He wasn't coming back, he couldn't achieve his dream of going to Pandora and here you seemingly were. With the last memory you had, before finding yourself here, being of your eldest brother dying right before your eyes because some guy wanted the money in his wallet. You had watched the bullet wound bleed out and blood pool around his body, frozen in fear and dread before you too were shot.

Yes that was right. You had been shot too. So what happened after that? What was all that pain you had felt? Those voices you heard, those images you saw.

They had been experimenting on you. That had been your first thought and the conclusion you came to while you were asleep because of the vague distorted flashes and sounds that repeatedly played in your mind. Beeping machines and people mumuring above you, sounding so close yet so far away.

You slid down from where you were standing, holding the window, and clutched your head from these memories as they caused volts of pain to stab through your brain like they had done when you had first rembered the table.

They had been experimenting on you while you were asleep. So had you been in a coma? You were shot too but didnt die so mabey Tommy was in a coma too and you were just jumping to conclusions that he was dead. But then again, even if he was in a coma that wasnt much better than being dead either, it just ment that while his physical body wasnt dead his brain was.

So thats what had happened to you? After you had been shot you went into a coma and so you had been brian dead? How long had it been since you had first gone into the coma?

Weeks?

Months?

Years?

You started to panic now. Every moment that lead up to the situation you were in now played in your mind all at once. You clutched your head harder as your ears started to ring, your nails digging into them in the process, trying to relieve the pain you felt in your head by moving it somewhere else.

Your heart raced so fast you thought it would beat out of your chest as you clawed at it, bunching up the hospital gown you were wearning in the process. Your head rested down on your thighs, your body completely reclining into yourself in an attempt to keep you safe. You began to feel light headed and you thought you might pass out at any moment. Then a certain noise made you come to a realisation, enough to bring you back to your senses.

Was the spaceship...taking off?

You clambered back up to look out the window once again and sure enough the room you were in was leaving the rocky ground below. With you still getting used to your legs and the new added movement of the swaying ship you were like a fish out of water, stumbling all over the place.

You stumbled to the other side of the room as it swayed and just as you were about to get thrown to the floor you braced yourself on a table. Not the table, not the one that would haunt your nightmares but one that looked almost the exact same nonetheless. In fact instead of grabbing onto the cold metal of the table instead you grabbed something more fleshy feeling and what it was had you at a loss for words.

The room you were in...you weren't the only one in it.

In fact the other person in the room with you didn't look quite human like at all. Although you had never seen one in person before, the blue tinted skin, long limbs and sizable body all conformed that you were indeed on Pandora. This was because the body that lay on that table, across from the one you were on a while ago, was the body of a na'vi person.

Like with the spaceships the appearance of the na'vi people had been described to you many times while you grew up on earth. You had even seen far away photos of them that were on the news or uploded to the internet, taken by scientists and others who were sent to explore the alien planet.

The person didn't seem at all likely to move. They too were clothed in a hospital gown like you were, you assumed this to be an avatar body that was not cureently in use.

It lay still and was rather cold to the touch but the machines it was hooked up to indicated that it had a heart rate. Tommy had told you that avatar bodies were usually kept in tank like things full of fluid, you recalled, so you wondered why this body was laid on a table out in the open like this.

And was it suposed to have a heart rate when their wasnt a person inside of it? You didn't know. You had always been more fascinated and interested in the na'vi peoples ways and culture, their planet the moon pandora, their home and the ecosystem there rather than the avatars the human scientists made and how they were used.

So you had mostly zoned out, never taking in the information Tommy had rattled on to you about them. Although you did know he was supposed to get his own avatar. They had constructed it from his DNA and it would be ready for him to use by the time, the six years, it took for him to get to Pandora.

Six years it would have taken for him to get to Pandora. You looked down at your own hands, out streached them and clenched them a few times, hard enough to leave little crecent shaps where your blunt fingernails jutted into your palms. You recalled back to the hint of a reflection you saw of yourself in passing as you looked through the window.

You had looked the same age!

Your hands were the same size as you remebered them and so were your facial features, you didnt have any wrinkles either. You felt warmth blossom in your heart at the thought that mabey not too much time had passed at all, but then again...

You were on Pandora weren't you? It would have taken Tommy six years to get to Pandora so if you were on Pandora and the same age as before that would be logical at all would it.

Just then you remebered another thing Tommy had said. He had made you watch a documentary with him about it since his twin seemingly didnt share in his intrest so you were made to instead.

During that he had explained how they would use some magic whatever stuff you couldn't remember the name of now, as you had only been half listening to him, to keep the spaceships crew members bodies preserved or something so that it was like they were frozen in time. Like a hyper sleep, where when they woke up they would be six years into the future.

Mabey thays how your body had stayed so young. That seemed logical although the only thing was, that he had said that it couldnt stop the aging process completely, only dwindle its effects as the body slept. But you looked the exact same as you had in the day of the memory you last remebered.

You would have been sixteen then so adding six years would have made you about twenty-two. There was no way, even with the effects of the stuff that was ment to preserve your body, that you wouldnt have at least looked a little different. Been a bit taller even, although that wasn't something you could check just by looking at yourself.

You had to start searching around and finding more stuff to explain the situation you were in. If you were in a spaceship in Pandora then there must be people here who could help you. But would they want to?

Did you even want their help?

What about the people who experimented on you while you were asleep? Caused you all that pain. Those very people could be the ones who brought you to Pandora. Did this have something to do with Tommy being a scientist on Pandora? Was his being shot to death not mearly an act of some rando wanting to snatch his cash? Did you just get in the way and then become an unlucky sacrifice in the process?

You started to hyperventilate again, overthinking yourself into ruin. You unclenched your hands from fists after drawing blood and brought both your hands up to your face. After literally smaking some sense back into yourself in order to calm down and get your shit together you decided not to panic anymore, as that would not help you in any way.

You would keep a cool head and get yourself out of this situation. You were resilient like your second brother. You had most likely even just awakened from a coma where you were also most likely brain dead, that had to add some truth to your self proclaimed resilience.

If you were all the way on Pandora that ment you were on a diffrent planet to the one your older brother was on. Could you find a way to contact him?

'Tommy would be fine if he was in this situation' you thought to yourself

What would Tommy do? What would Tommy do?

But Tommy knew all there was to know about Pandora, you didnt. You had only listened to what he said about the things you were intrested in like the ecosystem and the na'vi peoples culture and zoned out for the other half of it. Then another thought occured to you.

"What would Jake do...?" You whispered to yourself out loud.

People had often said that you two were more like twins then Jakes actual twin, this always confused you though. You thought that if they would say that about you and either of your brothers it would be about you and Tommy since you both shared a keen intrest in Pandora.

As you got older however you understood what they ment. You and Jake bounced off each other. You both had the same personality, shared the same sarcastic humor and carefree attitude. You were both headstrong and stubborn and had a certain resilience.

A resilience that could get you through anything.

You been through a basic first aid course as deemed necessary by your own ideals. Jake had been taught much the same in the marines along with the other members of his corps. Although he had said that it didnt help very much when the other members tried to perform what they knew on him when he was injured. At least thats how he looked at it, not you though.

It couldn't bring back his legs but it did retain his life, which you were thankful for, and so you took classes as well as pushing him to teach you once he was better. Though Jake being Jake, and you knowing him, he most likely thought that not having his legs was as good as him being dead. He might even have actually preferred if he had died then instead of still having to carry on with the loss of his legs.

He was too energetic to be confined to a chair for the rest of his life, although, if you knew him and you did, he would probably still end up finding someway to follow his crazy ideas and dreams even with being paralysed. Even though he had to stop being a marine you knew he would find another flame to latch onto again one day.

This time though you were sure that when he did he wouldnt dare let go this time, he would cut down anything in his path to achieve his goal. He was resilient, like you were too.Mabey he had already found it while you were asleep. That was a nice thought. Mabey the loss of both his siblings cleared his mind, gave him more time for himself, just to figure himself out. That thought wasnt as nice.

And although the thought of him doing fine although you and Tommy were gone made your heart warm it also felt a little bitter. Mabey that made you a bad person. Mabey you were. You used to be told that it was alright, that 'it made you human' but...maybe that ment that humans really were bad. That they only tried to justify their own actions so that they wouldn't have to feel remorse. But your older brother wasn't like that, not Jake, not ever.

Jake was the only person you could rely on. The person who you would get in touch with. The person who would help you like always because thats what older brothers did.

And the person who looked kind of like this avatar body.....

Wait. What was that last one?

You had always been scolded for being recless like Jake was too. You learned from his example which often earned your older brother an earfull from the eldest.

You couldn't help it though. Jake was the person you were around the most as you grew up. He had been there your whole life so of course you would learn from his example. Most younger siblings tend to do this without even meaning to.

Its like how when you get older you think your parents or older siblings are cringy or annoying but when your a kid your whole world revolves around them. Revolves around the people who are closest to you, who love you and keep you safe. You learn from their example in the safety of your own home and then you go out and practice those things in the real world.

So many people dont realise that they have picked up habits that have been around them their whole lives. Its just something that that person sees as natural while others may not.

That can be a real eye opener for some people.

When they finally go out into the real world and there are people who think diffrently then them or do things diffrent to what they have been taught. And weather thats good or bad and weather they take it in stride or not is up to their choosing.

They can choose how they want to live their lives, what kind of person they want to be. Remain ignorant or embrace whats in front of you. A new door to be opened. Having said that many people also tend to loose sight of the person they were before. While you can never know what future lies ahead of you, you should always remeber one thing...

Just keep moving forward.

Keep going.

One more time.

You can do this.

Or die trying.

Thats what you were good at.

You wouldn't give up. Not here. Not now. Not when you still had something to live for. Not when you faced death and still survived. Came crawling back stronger, from whatever fate the afterlife had in store for you.

Stronger than before and rearing to go. With your new found confidence you made up your mind to find a way to contact your older brother. That was until...*Gasp*

You might have thought that was you gasping. If you did...you would be wrong.

"Ahhhh" you shouted in shock

Instead it was that body on the table that had gasped for air. The avatar body had just woken up, still clothed in thay hospital gown and lying down on the table.

Had someone really been inside it the whole time? Wouldnt they have just gone back to their original body and if they did why would they return now? Did they try because they were alerted that the body had flatlined? But that wouldn't make much sense.

All this was really doing your head in. Their was too much information and gaps in that information for you, since you mostly didn't have a clue what you were dealing with here. From the avatar bodies to the whole diffrent alien planet you were on.

All these things flashed through your mind in a quarter of a second before you came back to the situation right in front of you. That person looking confused now suddenly also realised that they were not in fact alone in the room. Their eyes suddenly met yours as you continued to stare at them from where you stood above them.

"Uh...hi?" You said with a nervous smile donning your features as you raised one of your hands in greeting. Yeah, maybe not your best reaction but what were you suposed to do? You were freaking out as much as any other person but you were happy the avatar person wasn't dead at least.

The two of you stared at each other for another moment or two before everything seemed to click inside the other persons mind and soon he was struggling to get off of that table and away from you, but he couldnt. The swaying of the spaceship taking off had long since evened out as you now seemed to be flying steady.

You had an inkling that the person was indeed not an avatar but an actual na'vi person. Not your brightest moment either but you were still figuring things out nontheless. You noticed that the na'vi person was tightly tied down to the table, with metal cuffs donning their wrists, ankles, neck and one across the middle of their body.

"Easy" You said putting your other hand up, along with the first, in kind of a 'calm down' gesture. You hoped the na'vi people had the same thing or were at least taught what it ment by other humans like Grace. Like you had learned na'vi through classes on Earth, she had taught English to the na'vi children in a school on Pandora.

The na'vi person, who you assumed to be male, seemed very distressed and did not listen as you tried to calm him. He tried his luck at getting out of the restraints himself but soon found it was no use. And opted to lay still in defeat while never once breaking eye contact with you as if in warning.

During this you had looked back at his heart monitor and saw it steadily rising as he too seemed to be panicking like you had done earlier. Looking in his eyes you could see how frigtened he was, he reminded you of yourself and so you repeated yourself once more.

"Easy there, im not going to hurt you. I want to help." You said calmly.

He did not respond to you but you could see the doubt in his eyes. Slowly he nodded his head in your direction semmingly seeing no other option to get free of his restrains. As if picking the lesser evil he let you figure out how to unbind him from the table.

You struggled to figure out how you would unbind him exactly as he was tied to the table with metal cuffs. You tried to pry them open with your bare hands but quickly found that wouldn't work.

"Well thats not gonna work" you said outloud to no one in particular

Next you decided to look around the room to see if there was anything you could use to pry them open. By now the feeling had almost all returned in your legs so you could walk around the room without problem. You searched around for a minute or two before you heard someone start speaking.

"Over there on the table, try that."

You had been a bit startled by someone suddenly starting to talk out of the blue and stared for a moment at the guy before fully taking in his words and quickly making your way to where he was pointing to.

He was gesturing as well as he could to a table just in his line of sight since he was made stay in a lying position. You scanned the table to see what he could be thinking you could use to free him and picked up a few things to show him to which he shook his head at. You then picked up a needle which he finally nodded his head at and made you realise what he was thinking, you just didn't know if he could pull it off.

You found an old cloth and forcefully ripped off a scrap of it which you covered the pointy bit of the needle with. You couldn't help but wonder as you did this wheather or not this might have been a needle that was used om you when those experiments had been performed on your body. You held the head of the needle at its base, close to the tube and with the help of the edge of the table you snapped the needle off of the tube.

Discarding the body of the needle you brought the sharp point of the head down to meet the thick metal cuff that kept the guys right hand restrained. Before inserting it you quickly glanced at the na'vi male strapped down to the table, the one you were currently trying to free. Why? You didn't exactly know.

'This is exactly why you shouldn't panic' you thought to yourself. But you couldn't help it. You would have done the same thing even if you weren't in a stressful and panic enducing situation. You couldn't just stand by and watch someone die right in front of you, not while you could do something about it.

Even if your heart was going a million miles a minute, even if you didnt know anything about the person you were saving. Maybe that ment you were an idiot or maybe that just made you kind but either way you couldn't be stopped by anyone, not even Jake, once you set your mind on doing something.

And you had decide a whole ago now that you would get back to Jake, your only remaining older brother, your only remaining family. And if you could enlist the help of a person who might need help also, who might be trying to get back to his family too you would be happy to return the favor.

You gathered that he seemed around the same age as you, wheather he was na'vi or human you didnt care, you could help him too, you could both help each other. And if at times from certain angles or when the light hit some of his features just right he looked a little bit like your older brother than that was all the more reason.

He looked back at you with his big wide eyes and you could seen your own refelcetion in them, not only literally but also figuratively. You could see that he had his walls up, he was trying to be strong but he was just as scared and confused as you were.

And what you were helping him from you didnt know but if he was tied down to table like this when he looked like he was the same age as you then you knew that staying here was not a good option for him. You had always been good at reading people, maybe it was your personality, maybe it was being surrounded by all Jakes marine talk and all Tommys scientist talk your whole life but you had picked up on quite a bit.

Your brothers were much older than you, got to go out into the world and live their lives much quicker, leaving you behind. They were twenty-two, six years older than you, you werent even an adult yet. When you had turned sixteen you had told yourself countless times 'two more years'. Just wait two more years and you could leave that orphanage and finally go out into the world, live by your own rules, your own free will. You would finally get to fingure tourself out, find your passion like your brothers had found theirs and finally be your own person but what would happen now?

"Why are you helping me?"

You seemed to have zoned out for a second too long even though all this passed through your mind in a flash.

"Why am i helping you?" You returned the question back to him

He nodded back to you as best he could from his lying down position, his head still angled to look you in the eyes.

His question registered in your mind and you thought for a moment before you soon replied, finding your aswer rather quickly.

"You have a strong heart...very brave" You could tell his emotions through his eyes, like you could for many people. You saw how scared he was, especially to enlist the help of someone he didn't know and someone who could potentially cause him harm. But he did it anyway because he needed to do so if he wanted to survive, because he needed to survive, just like you.

"You remind me of someone" you said finishing off what you had said earlier before quickly busying yourself with trying to untie his restraints.

Before long you had both of his hand restraints off and the one that went across the middle of his body. He was now sitting in an upright position on the table, watching you fiddle around with the needle inside of the cuffs and rubbing his wrists where the restains were previously placed. You jostled the needle to and fro until you heard a click once again and got the remaining cuff off. You stayed still for a bit with a mix of diffrent emotions bubbling up inside of you that were made apparent on your face for the na'vi male to see.

That was until you felt him staring at you and you backed up a few steps since he had seemed quite frightened of you earlier. He slowly made his way off of the table and stumbled a bit like you had done.

"Careful!" You called out to him as you put your hands out just in case even thoigh you werent close enough to catch him if he fell

His legs seemed to have not been used in a while either but they did not seem as bad as yours had been. You supposed he had not been sleeping quite as long as you probably had. Speaking of which you still needed to figure out just where and when you were.

You were reluctant to move closer to him in case he thought you seemed to pose a threat to him and you didnt know if in his haste he might attack you to protect himself. You certainly might if you were in his position and he seemed to be thinking along much the same lines as you. You were both crouching down a little in a position that could be seen as either trying to seem less threatening to the other person and or getting into a ready stance in case the other intened to attack.

"Nga plltxe 'Ìnglìsì, kefyak?" (You speak English right?) You questioned in a clear voice.

You really hoped you had remebered your leassons on the na'vi language well enough that he had understood what you had said. He had seemed to be able to communicate to you in english well so you wondered if he had been a student of Graces since it would be wierd for him to know english fluently otherwise.

"Yes. Im fluent in English." He gave his answer to your question rather calmly and as clear as someone who had known the language since birth.

"You're not like the other humans are you?"

"If you mean the people who did experiments on me then hell no"

"I dont know anything about experiments but i assume that means your not on good terms with the humans who control these spaceships either."

"Youre one of the good ones?" He asked sounding slightly hopeful

"Well everyone has different meanings and values of the word 'good' but i can say for certain that im not involved in any of what they do and to be honest i actaully dont have a clue whats going on"

"I assume your not on good terms with them either by the way your talking" You concluded

He nodded in reponse to your observation.

"Ever heard the quote 'your enemies enemy is your friend'" You continued

You saw a smile pass over his face as you knew then that you were both once again thinking the same thing and in that moment you had a sudden thought that you and him would get along splendedly.

So as a sign of peace and truce you put your human hand out, in a gesture that you hoped he, as a na'vi, knew.

"My names Y/n

Whats yours?" You asked

"Neteyam"

"Nice to meet you Neteyam. Do you mind if i ask you a wierd question?...

What year is it?"

☆☆☆

《No im not shipping them they are literally related so please do not think i am and or will be doing that😀》

[felidacy]

Of ancient magic and blood oaths

Gotham is a city build on cursed, ancient land. Even long before it became a place of civilization the people used the flourishing forest and the torrent waters, that even back then were unpredictable, for their own sinful deeds. The innocent were dragged, dead or alive, with their blood tainting the earth and seeping into the crust, the skin of mother earth. She was repulsed at their actions and began to act out, sending out earthquakes and floods to deter them from seeking this remote place out any longer and dirty the land. But the people were persistent and found enjoyment in the elemental disasters.

Soon enough a group of people, steadily growing at that, found their calling and began to purposefully turn into a game. It was as if the retaliation of HER only spurned them further on, accelerating the descent into chaos. Their body count rose as they let free their victims in the land only to hunt them down. When that grew too boring, because the hunters were simply too human they broke another rule. They went against the rightful law of humanity and played with experimentations that were inexcusable. It was slow, yet a gradual growth, as they perfected their hunters. Hundreds of years later their name was still known in whispering myths that only a few knew of their origin by then as their purpose changed for more power, the Court of Owls and their Talons.

All that to say that the unnecessary bloodshed on the land caused the very earth to turn sick. An infection that grew deep and rotted it from within. It stank of death and attracted the attention of the supernatural beings. Humans were manipulated into staying and the supernatural mingled under them with none of them any wiser. Gotham was born from the vulgar and as such the rot was ever-growing. The sickness would have spread considerably more if it hadn't been for the shamans and warlocks that put borders on Gotham. The curse at that point too old and too powerful already to be broken, but it could be contained. At a price to never being able to banish it, that those once born in Gotham could never escape HER grasp completely and forever confined to HER will and lastly that those with magic caliber were to always suffer in the presence.

{SHE would weep forever weep at HER daughters poor fate when humans blemished HER, ripped HER open mercilessly and made HER unrecognisable to HER own mother. In order to stay safe SHE was forced to abandon HER child, banishing HER as if it had been HER at fault. Regardless of the grief SHE did it for the greater good and shut HER away forever, did never hear out HER cries for help and the apologies that GOTHAM failed HER mother were a fatal mistake. But the humans gave HER a name, ripped her from Divinity and Purity and made her humane. As such MOTHER EARTH would never be able to wield power over GOTHAM ever again and SHE was at the mercy of the people now, woolly human and yet a being they could never be able to comprehend. Trapped between dimensions with an inability to ever return. As GOTHAM raged over the injustice, MOTHER EARTH came to forget about her beloved daughter as a being of beyond time and space could never revel in such human emotions. Stripped from Divinity GOTHAM had become unworthy of HER devotion that was blinding like the stars and the protection this brought forth either.}

Blood Oaths & Other Rules

Born from the laws of Gotham and the supernatural that ended up captured by the land. Gotham is a vicious beast that pretends to be the slaver when SHE is the once divine collared and isolated from the Mother. Gotham and HER people were taught laws old old, or used to, until they became too prideful and thought to trick Gotham by neglecting teaching their young ones any longer. As such they broke the deal and Gotham struck back.

Their deal was a simple one of Give and Take. Gotham had thought HER to be merciful after the boundaries were set, but humans were cruel and only ever know how to take. More and more they their greed drove them to make mistakes. Enraged SHE decided to unleash the curses of the humans back on them. A cursed land could never live in peace after all. If they did not fear the Beast, the Divine, they would simply fear themselves. Many people grew sick, more blood began to flow and new terrors in the form of entirely human entities took form and haunted the streets. Her greatest terror would forever be the Joker. And while SHE resented the humans and the endless cycle of curses, SHE could never hate what SHE created. But SHE was not entirely cruel with a small spark of HER Divinity withstanding and as such SHE created two, an antithesis so to speak. Two princes of Gotham.

{It was hope in a dark place they did not deserve. Maybe because of that Gotham took HER princeling's parents on HER own land and let him watch. Maybe SHE wanted to tempt him to the same darkness when his brother by everything but blood was the one at fault. Time and time again SHE gave him a wy out, yet HER Prince never accepted it.}

Because of the nature and creation of Gotham, blood oaths belong to the ancient magic. There are two types of blood oaths.

Vengeance blood Oath

A victim curses their perpetrator when their blood gets spilled. This causes them to lay a claim over the other to fulfill their vengeance one day, which is easier when the victim remains alive. Those who attempt to kill him with no blood oath on him will be unable to, a natural response of survival instinct seen as striking a target regardless sends the cursed victims on you instead. A curse like that can only be broken should the target beg for it, which also brings the vengeance of the victims as they get to be in tune with the person striking down the target before leaving forever after the death. Should the victim however die they too get affected by the curse and are forced to haunt Gotham, only able to be seen by their target and bring them to madness.

{The infamous mad Joker coincidentally has the most curses claiming him. Despite the apparent madness that steadily affects him, the man does not falter and instead seems to relish in it. The curses of vengeance are unable to be broken.}

Dealer blood Oath

The far simpler and more frequent of the two oaths, the Dealer. It still follows the old rules more resolutely and before humans betrayed Gotham. Between multiple people they need to share blood and make a deal of Give & Take. Those deals are in itself easier and by nature also easier to break, although with dire consequences, however because those oaths are based on the earliest times they are inheritedly unfair in nature. The one striking the deal can force another one into the oath, should they be excessively hurt by them, and they are the only one in the participants able to break off the deal. Seen as breaking a deal causes great harm to the other parties such a thing is a great opportunity. However one cannot force the same person into a oath more than once.

[catsvrsdogscatswin]

Higurashi Month 2024, Day 25: Loneliness

Higurashi Month prompts archive: AO3 

Shion closed the door behind her, put her back to it, and did not panic.

Gone.

Gone.

She covered her face with both hands, sliding down the wood until she landed on the ground with a thump; loose, undignified, like she was a teenager again, like she had been when Satoshi died, when Mion-

She drew in a deep, stuttering breath through her nose, and did not panic.

Shion had been all iron when Kasai drove her back to rejoin the family, not even giving them the dignity of a silk glove. There had been assassins sent after her –her, the heir presumptive!– and this after she had gone and retrieved the handbell, after she proved that she was Oni-Baba's successor once and for all.

It wasn't the act of merely snatching an ancient relic that solidified her legitimacy, Shion knew. It was the ability to parse the ancient texts, know the family lore, and put just the right thing in just the right spot. To be the one who Oni-Baba had been grooming to learn, to summon up in every mind the specter of the old woman whispering instructions into her ear.

Her ability to carve through Mifune's men hadn't hurt either.

Shion had been done playing pretend, done dancing to politics. Kneel or die, she'd said to them, standing there like an upright lance with Kasai at her shoulder and unchecked fury simmering in her eyes. She didn't have the sword in her hand, but swords weren't hard to find, and hers had been bare and gleaming, just waiting for its first neck or belly.

Their family had always responded well to force.

They'd cowered from her, all of them, and Shion had swept through her organization like a storm, digging out the most obviously rotted roots and silently marking down the merely sickly ones for later pruning. She had cut, cauterized, cleaned, clasped –checking on her mother, waiting for her to wake up– and once all the fury had settled, Shion had retreated to a secure room and shut the door.

She did not panic.

A choked, fractured sob broke in her throat, too sharp and too bitter to swallow down.

How did one describe the absence of a ghost?

When the news had hit, when everyone else was running scared and wracked with horror, when stories of the Great Hinamizawa disaster had circulated and her sister's name been among the fallen, Shion had always felt curiously numb –like Mion wasn't really gone, not yet, not quite. It was like her heart had been swathed in deep, soft layers of bandages; she grieved, oh yes, but afterwards… part of her had never seemed to let go.

Mion's presence had always been with her, like a soft touch resting on her shoulder, the feeling of a warm friend in a room.

But now- now-

Shion ground the heels of her hands into her sockets until her eyeballs ached, trying to stifle another sob. Secure did not mean safe, did not mean that she couldn't be heard by the bodyguards in the hallway if she was loud enough or if they were eavesdropping hard enough, but she couldn't bear to move right now. She felt like a puppet whose strings had been cut, sprawling gracelessly on the floor, limbs akimbo and her ability to act forever frozen in time.

Gone.

All of them, all gone. There weren't even remnants of their memories left. No shrine to their spirit in Hinamizawa, no evidence left of their passing on the earth. Nature had already rotted the buildings, and within a few more years of cruel winters and hot summers, the very structure of their village would be gone without recovery.

She was never a member of Hinamizawa the way Mion was, the way Mion-

Shion choked, and like a flipped switch, finally found the energy to lurch forward and crawl across the floor on all fours, pathetic as any newborn, to grab a pillow from the couch with both hands and howl her belated grief, ten years late, into it.

Mion was dead. Mion was gone.

Gone.

Gone.

Shion wanted to claw at her own shoulder with one hand, grasping for the fingers that she had always sensed resting there, to turn and cry injustice at the empty space behind her that had once held the presence of her sister –but Mion wasn't there anymore.

Mion would never be there again.

Shion pounded her fist against the seat of the couch with impotent rage as I never asked you for this! blazed furiously across her mind. She had been handling things, when her sister's spirit had visited her dreams and told her to go home. Sure, the handbell gave her unprecedented security, but if the cost of ruling over a family she barely liked was the loss of the one person in it who-

Another hoarse, ragged, muffled scream into her impromptu silencer.

It wasn't worth the cost.

If she was composed, she would've laughed at the irony of being separated from her sister again because of a temple, because of legitimacy, because Shion's life seemed to run continuously on the tracks of isolation and loss.

But instead, she wept at the eternal loneliness awaiting her future.

[ehliena]

The Last Night

Fandom: DC

Pairing: Jon Kent/Damian Wayne pre-slash if you squint, but it's bordering on friendship

Rating: Gen

Word Count: 701

Summary: It was the night before the big battle. Jon knew that everyone was saying their goodbyes and he was stuck with his mother at the planet when he wanted to be somewhere else. Of course she tells him to go.

Can be read on AO3 or under the cut.

Last night on earth, on any possible earth, and Jon was pacing the newsroom of the Daily Planet. His mother was keeping tabs on the world, and his father was off in the Fortress doing something with his Time Sphere. Everything was a mess and people were getting together to spend whatever time they could with those important to them.

Jon sighed and glanced at his mother. He knew that most of the heroes and villains were in Themyscira. Conner was there. The Titans were there. Damian was there.

“You’ll be halfway to China soon at the rate you’re going Jon,” his mother called out to him. “If China still exists that is. Sit down and tell me what’s on your mind.”

Jon hovered over and took a seat, fidgeted for a bit, and then stood back up.

“Nervous kid?” Lois asked, smirking at him.

“The world is ending Mom,” Jon pointed out, “The world is ending, Dad is filled with Anti-Life. The Titans—”

“Go.”

“Excuse me?”

“Go,” Lois smiled. “Come back later. Go spend time with your friend.”

“Love you Mom,” Jon said, hugging her tightly. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Love you.” He heard her say, but he was already up on the roof, taking off into the sky.

Jon knew where he was headed. He could  hear the heartbeat guiding him to his destination.

*   *   *

Jon found Damian at a more secluded part of the island. He could hear the rest of Damian’s family close by. Oddly enough, he couldn’t hear Batman’s heartbeat, but he ignored that. Batman probably had a device to hide it.

“Jon,” Damian greeted, not even looking when Jon landed behind him.

“How did you know I was there?”

“TT.“

“Of course you knew,” Jon said nervously.

He and Damian haven’t really spent that much time together since he got back. Which was one of the reasons why he decided to spend what time with the other boy he could. Damian was the most important person to him outside his family.

“Don’t you have a pre-battle meeting with Batman? Or is he not here? I can’t seem to--”

“Jon,” Damian interrupted. “Why are you here?”

“I…” Jon hesitated. “I wanted to see you, what with the multiverse ending and all.”

“Well here I am,” he turned, his arms raised as if to indicate his presence. “Sit down will you? We have a battle tomorrow, you should rest while you can. Even Kryptonians have limits.”

Damian was right. In Jon’s experience, he was mostly always right. So he did as the boy asked and took a seat beside him.

“So no Batman meeting?” he asked after a moment, tensing up because he knew the two weren’t on good terms.

“It was mercifully quick.” Damian said, putting on a bored expression that Jon knew was for show. “Father wanted us prepared, as if there was ever a chance we would not be. Drake managed to skip the meeting entirely, because of course he can. And Richard married Gordon.”

“Uh-huh,” Jon nodded, then the last part hit him. “THEY WHAT?”

“Marriage? The whole until death do us part, which given the circumstances could be tomorrow.”

“Was it nice at least?”

“Father presided,” Damian explained. “I’m not quite certain it’s legal or binding. With Todd as their witness. A wedding officiated by a dead man with another dead man as a witness. Fitting for these times.”

Jon gulped at the morbidness of his friend’s statement. A wedding was supposed to be a joyous affair, but there was a sense of finality in Damian’s statement.

Damian started giggling beside him, which startled Jon. He knew the Joker was around somewhere but was pretty sure they were on the same side for now.

“D?”

“Tonight is the last night on earth,” he explained through giggles. “Tomorrow, we’re fighting in a battle that we couldn’t possibly win. Richard and Gordon are married. Father is contemplating his battle plans, Todd is looking for more weapons, and Drake is somewhere with his friends. And I’m… here.”

“With me.”

“With you.”

“There’s no other place I’d rather be D.”

“It can be worse I suppose.” Damian turned to face him. “I could be alone.”

“As long as I’m here D,” Jon said, taking his hand. “You’ll never be alone.”

Damian smiled.

“Super Sons.”

“Super Sons.”

a/n: I accept prompts. In my askbox.

[middleearthpixie]

Wanted Man ~ Chapter Four

Summary: A price on his head, Loki of Asgard finds himself stranded on Earth and in need of one woman's help in order to free himself from the bounty and try to reclaim what he sees as his rightful throne in Asgard.

McKenna Carlin just wanted to put a horrible day behind her. She had no idea that things would get worse before they get better…

Pairings:  Loki Laufeyson x ofc McKenna Carlin

Characters:McKenna, Loki  

Warnings: None

Rating: T

Word Count: 3.2k

Tag List: @fizzyxcustard @court-jobi @guardianofrivendell @piggledy-higgledy @evenstaredits

If you’d like to be added (or removed) to the tag list, please just let me know!

Previous chapters can be found here! 

The first pale rays of sunlight had just begun sneaking in through the slits in the curtains when McKenna opened her eyes and stretched. Cinder was long gone, no doubt curled up on the sofa or under the coffee table.

The sofa.

She frowned as she stared up at the ceiling. In the far corner, by her closet, a dark water stain made a yellowish mark that bled through no matter how many coats of paint she applied. But that wasn’t what had her frowning.

Did she dream everything that happened last night?

It would make sense. Since really, why would some Asgardian god crash land in her apartment and ask to bunk with her for a while? It was silly. Her mother always chided her for her vivid imagination, for seeing things that really weren’t there, no matter how much she insisted otherwise.

So that had to be what happened. She went for a run. Overheated herself. Came home and didn’t have time to eat, so when she fell asleep, her imagination went into overdrive. That explained everything. Besides, gods didn’t come to Earth in real life. That only happened in books and movies.

She threw back the covers and got up. “Coffee. I need coffee. Then everything will be right in the world.”

Yawning, she padded down the hallway, and came to a dead stop at the kitchen. 

Loki was sound asleep on the sofa, with Cinder curled up on him as if he belonged there.

“Damn.” She sagged against the doorway and rubbed her eyes to make sure she was really and honestly awake. When she finished, and the Asgardian was still on her sofa, she swore under her breath. “I need more than coffee.”

He looked very comfortable, even with a twenty-pound bag of gray fur sound asleep on him, and not quite as pale as he had in the darkness last night. But, in the daylight, the fading bruises and cuts in various stages of healing on his face were much more visible. The Hulk certainly had done a number on him. 

McKenna glanced up at the ceiling just above the front door, where she suspected Loki fell through. “I just hope no one else does the same,” she muttered, shaking her head as she continued into the kitchen.

At the coffeepot, she frowned. Did Asgardians drink coffee? Should she wake Loki and ask him? And really, was it a good idea to wake any sleeping god, never mind the sleeping god of mischief?

Probably not.

But…

“You’ve lost it,” she muttered, slapping her hand to her forehead. “Just make enough damn coffee and if he wants it, he’s welcome to it.”

So, she scooped coffee into the filter, added water, and pressed the switch and a few minutes later, the heavenly aroma of fresh coffee filled the kitchen. She poured herself a mug, doctored it with half-and-half and two sugars, and went to see if the paper had been delivered.

The door no longer glowed green, but she paused before touching the doorknob. What would happen if she breached the green glow? Would she be blown back into the room? Or would she be vaporized on contact?

Cinder hopped off his bed and curled his way about her ankles, his motor running like mad. He was ready for his breakfast. If she was going to test the fates, she’d better just get it over with and touch the damn door handle already.

One… two… three…

Nothing happened.

The door opened easily and the paper was right where it should be, on the small welcome mat. She picked it up and closed the door before Cinder could make a break for it, and the cat purred his way behind her as she went back into the kitchen.

She sipped her coffee and skimmed the front page. The usual depressing news. War. Suicide bombings. Shootings. Gang violence. Usually she skipped the front section and went to the comics first. Made the crappy news so much more bearable.

But an item on the inside of the front page caught her eye. There was a small blurb about a meteorite that hit somewhere in Brunswick. No one was entirely sure how large a meteor, or where it landed, but they all knew it definitely hit.

“I’d say it was about six foot, maybe six-two,” she muttered, sipping from the mug. “With black hair and dressed like a refugee from ‘Rock of Ages.’ And it landed in my living room.”

She was halfway through the rest of the paper when the floor creaked and Loki sniffed his way into the kitchen. “What smells so good?”

“Coffee. Mugs are in the cabinet to the left of the sink. Sugar’s next to the pot. Half and half is in the fridge. Help yourself.” 

She peered over the edge of the newspaper, smiling at the sight of the all-powerful god rubbing sleep from his eyes with one hand while he reached into the mug cabinet with the other. His dark hair was tangled and tossed from sleep, not nearly as smooth as it had been the night before but far wavier. 

“How did you sleep?” she asked, taking in the creased, wrinkled leather getup he wore. Sleeping in leather couldn’t have been comfortable, no matter how cool the apartment was.

“The sleep of the dead,” he replied, taking down the biggest mug she owned. It could easily hold half the pot and she rarely drank from it, unless it was Cup of Soup and she was sick.

“Really? You didn’t sweat too badly?”

“Why would I?” He moved to the coffeepot and she tried not to wince as he proceeded to empty the pot into it. 

“Because that’s leather.” She pointed to him, gesturing from top to bottom. “And it can’t be comfortable.”

“I was fine and I thank you for the blanket.” He joined her at the table, sitting across from her and took a tentative sip. His nose wrinkled. “Bitter.”

“Try some sugar. Or some half-and-half. Or both, if you’re feeling squirrelly.” She closed the sports section and held it out. “Do you want this?”

He lowered the cup. “Why would I? Your sports don’t interest me.”

“Really? Just wait. If you stick around for football season, you might change your mind.”

“I doubt it.” He took another swallow and winced again. “Where did you say the sugar was?”

McKenna sighed as she got up to retrieve the sugar, the carton of half-and-half, and a spoon. “Here, but don’t go crazy. Too sweet isn’t any better. And I’m sorry. I don’t really make great coffee. I keep meaning to get a Keurig, but just never seem to have the extra cash lying around, you know.”

“A Keurig?” He dumped a teaspoon of sugar into the cup, added a splash of half-and-half, and stirred.

“You know, a single-serve coffeemaker. You buy coffee in little pods and it brews one cup at a time. Just the right coffee-water ratio.” She switched off the coffeepot and pulled out the gold filter to dump the grounds in the trash. As a fresh pot brewed, she turned back to him, leaning against the counter. “How long do you think you’re going to need my help?”

“I don’t know.” He took another tentative sip and this time, smiled. “I like this.”

“Well, what did you do? I mean, aside from destroying half of New York, that is? I mean, that was probably enough to begin with, but was there anything else?”

He sat back in his chair and gave her a long, if sleepy-eyed, look. The bruises looked a little more faded than they had last night—now they had a faint yellowish tinge to them as well. “I made a bargain that, in hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have done. And now—”

“It’s time to pay the piper?”

“There was no piper involved.”

“No, it’s just a saying. You know, the bill came due. Time to face the music. Pay up.” She shook her head as he just stared at her. “Do any of those make sense to you?”

“No.”

“I mean, you’re regretting making the deal because you owe someone something and they aren’t too shy about demanding it, right?”

“Something like that, yes.” He lifted the cup to his lips for another swallow. 

“And all I have to do is let you sleep on my sofa for a while.”

“That’s it.”

“And they won’t come looking for you here?”

“How would they know where to find me?”

“Well, someone knows you’re here. Sort of. I mean, they just don’t know it’s you, or else I’m pretty sure someone would be knocking my door down to get to you, but they know something weird crash landed around her last night.” She walked back to the table and opened the front section of the newspaper to show him the snippet about the meteorite. “They think you’re a space rock, though.”

His slight smile faded as he read the article, but when he looked up, he still didn’t seem all that concerned. “I highly doubt the Chitauri are reading any Midgardian newspapers.”

“The Chitauri?” She sank into her chair and reached for her cup. “That’s who’s after you? Who are they?”

“No one you need concern yourself with.” He lifted the front section and turned the page.

At first, it annoyed her that he wouldn’t tell her, but as she watched him peruse the rest of the paper, she realized it was probably for the best. The less she knew, the happier she’d be. At least, she hoped that was how it would work.

The silence that descended was a somewhat comfortable one. The paper crinkled when he turned a page, the coffeepot beeped to let them both know it was done brewing, and she studied him as he kept his head bent over the news. 

Finally, she broke the silence. “If you’re going to stay here, we need to find you something other than that to wear and getting that—” she gestured to his clothes—“cleaned will probably cost a fortune.” She leaned forward and squinted. “Is that gold?”

“I am a king,” he told her. “Or, I was, anyway. And I will be again.”

“Somehow, I think we’re going to have problems finding a dry cleaner who specializes in leather and gold.”

“Don’t you have a laundress?”

“Yeah. Me. I’m the laundress and I take leather to the dry cleaner.” She finished her coffee and moved to pour another cup. “Are you hungry?”

“I could eat.”

“Then you need to change into something a little less… conspicuous. I used up the last of the eggs yesterday, so if you want to eat, we have to go out.”

“Perhaps you didn’t notice, but I didn’t exactly land with a change of clothes.”

“I might have something that will fit you. Come on.”  

He followed her down the hallway to her room, where she pushed open the door and said, “Don’t judge me by the mess. It’s been a long week.”

He smiled as he crossed the threshold. “It goes a little beyond mess.”

“I told you not to judge.” She winced as she looked around at the pile of clothes almost spilling out of the laundry basket on the floor by the dresser, and the stack of clean clothes on the vanity bench still waiting to be put away. Of course, it had to be a pile of underwear and bras right there on top.

Her hopes that maybe he wouldn’t notice—or if he did, that he’d have no idea what it was he looked at—were dashed as he turned to her with a grin. “Lace. I’d never have guessed.”

“Yeah, well… I’m full of surprises that way.” Shut up! She had to fight to keep from doing a face palm as she scooped up the offending lacy things and shoved them in her already overcrowded underwear drawer. It took three tries to get the drawer shut, and when she turned back, his grin had morphed into a full-on smile.

She cleared her throat. “Over here.” She walked over to the low dresser across from hers and pulled open the top drawer. There wasn’t much in it, a few pairs of old, faded Levis. A pair of socks. A couple of faded tee shirts. “Um… I don’t have any guy underwear. You’re on your own for that. We can go shopping after breakfast, I guess.

“But, for now,” she yanked out a pair of jeans worn to velvety softness and the least faded tee shirt she could find, “these should fit you. You look like you’re about the same size as Joe.”

“Joe?” He took the clothes. “Who’s Joe?”

“He was my boyfriend. Now he’s just someone I used to know.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “You can get dressed in the bathroom down the hall. I’m just going to jump into the shower here and then we can go.”

He looked at the pile of clothes and then up at her. “Thank you.”

She hadn’t expected thanks, not when he seemed so arrogant at first. But perhaps there was a little more to him than met the eye. “You’re welcome.”

He left and she closed the door and locked it, then padded into the bathroom to start the shower. When the water was hot enough, she climbed in and groaned with appreciation as the hot water washed away the last of the sleep.

“Where might I find a towel?”

McKenna froze, mid-shampoo, as the steam carried Loki's voice into the shower. What the—? She stuck her face into the spray to blast any shampoo from her eyes. “How did you get in here?”

“Through the door.”

“I locked it.”

He chuckled. “I know, but I needed a towel. And I might find one where?” 

“Are you kidding?” The shower curtain wasn’t exactly clear, but wasn’t opaque enough for her liking as she poked her head around it. “Get out!”

“I will. If you’ll tell me—” 

She pointed to the organizer. “Take your towel and go away. Now.”

His grin brought heat to her face that had nothing to do with the water temperature and she had the sickening feeling the curtain wasn't opaque at all to him. Furiously she rinsed and conditioned and finished her shower in record time, and then wrapped herself in a bath sheet and stormed her way into the main bathroom. 

It was like walking into a rainforest. The steam was so thick, she could only barely make out the fixtures and shower, and it made the air almost unbreathable. Loki stood at the sink, squinting at the rapidly fogging mirror, and he slowly peered at her over one shoulder as she marched over to thrust her hand into the shower. The water was scalding. He ran only the hot tap.

The tap squeaked as she turned it off. “We need to set some ground rules here.”

“Midgardian fashion is interesting,” he replied, giving her a slow up and down perusal. “I think I like it.”

“Very funny.” She tightened her grip on the bath sheet. Just in case. “One, if a door is locked, you don’t use magic to open it. I locked it for a reason. Two; I pay for water, so don’t waste it. And three, for the love of God, are you trying to scald the skin from your back? Use the cold water as well. And turn it off when you’re finished.”

“Do you have more of that ibuprofen?” he asked.

She just stared at him for a moment. “That’s all you have to say?”

“I agree to all of your ground rules. Although, you have nothing to fear. I only saw your silhouette.” As she breathed a sigh of relief, he added, “And it was lovely.”

“Argh.” She glared at him. “And you’ll forget what you saw. Got it?”

“Of course.” 

He said it with a smirk, and she didn’t believe him for a moment. “There’s some in the medicine cabinet. Do you need me to open it for you?”

“I think I might manage on my own, now that I know about childproof caps.”

“Good. Hurry up. I’m starving.”

With that, she left him to his shower, although she did debate about walking in on him. Fair was fair, wasn’t it? She even went so far as to try the doorknob, but he was a quick study. The door was locked. 

Of course it was. She went back to get dressed in jean shorts and a New York Yankees baseball tee shirt with three-quarter length sleeves. She blasted her hair with the dryer, and then pulled the mess up into a ponytail. A little makeup and she was ready to greet the world.

As she passed the bathroom in the hallway, the door opened and Loki stepped out in a billow of fog. He blocked her. “What form of torture is this?” he demanded with a scowl.

This was the fly of the jeans and she swallowed hard, both trying not to laugh at his look of outrage and not to faint at the sight of him, shirtless, in the jeans. Not easy. Not easy at all. After all, he was a god.

“Sorry. I thought… Just be careful of the zipper. And go slow. I cannot emphasize that enough. Slow.”

“Are they supposed to be this tight?” He took a couple of awkward steps away from her.

Oh. Dear. God. The Levis looked just as impressive going. “They should loosen up a little as you move around. We can look for new jeans for you as well.”

“Jeans.” He fidgeted with the waistband, grimacing as he turned and strolled toward her. “I don’t think I like them much.”

“Give them a chance. They’re one of the best things about Earth.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

She looked up at him. Damn, she hadn’t realized how gorgeous he was, and the leather and gold outfit absolute hid his amazing physique all too well. Gods apparently stayed in great shape. Bands of muscle roped his upper arms, across his shoulders, and she could probably scrub her laundry on his abs. Not good. Not good at all.

His hair dripped onto the towel he had draped about his shoulders. His amazingly broad shoulders—stop it!

The tee shirt she’d given him lay folded on the vanity, and she reached around him to snatch it up and thrust it at him. “We need to go before I pass out from hunger.”

He offered up a curious look, but tossed the towel aside and tugged on the tee shirt, which fit him as perfectly as the jeans. And she thought he’d blend in with everyone else. Not likely. Women at least would notice him everywhere they went.

Tall. Dark. Handsome. 

Damn.

“We should go,” she said, her mouth strangely dry. “Now.”

“As you wish. Lead the way.”

She threw down some dry food for Cinder, made sure his water bowl was full, grabbed her purse from the kitchen table, and then swiped up her keys from the small dish on the table just inside the front door. 

[titanicfreija]

(another long one. I need to quit getting high before I write.)

The Complete Mausoleum

Freija stayed uncharacteristically quiet as she sparrowed across the Mists.

She had already been warned about the graveyard they headed toward. The Awoken laid their dead in open air graves, often with family memorials. These being so many, there would be one huge shrine with several "beds" to hold the dead, and it would be overwhelming to see. Even if she didn't know why.

Which was irritating to her. Freija didn't like complicated emotions on good days, and she rarely had a genuine good day. And it made her hard to deal with often, but this itch needed scratching.

"I swear I can feel her in here," she complained. "I never wondered why I do the random feelings shit, but I'm convinced it's her, now. Sarah. Why don't I feel this attachment to Earth? Earth doesn't make me feel shit."

"I imagine she is accustomed to Earth. Nothing makes her feel anything because it felt normal. I'm sure if you found somewhere she felt special, you would, too."

"Am I this emotional? Like on my own?"

Sunny accidentally made a noise Freija recognized as a badly restrained laugh, unable to stop herself.

"I take that as a yes and also a joke about how I'm not very self aware."

~

"You're not wrong. Yes, my wonderful, marvelous, strong, loving guardian, you are a very emotional person. Easily provoked, not easily calmed, and intense for the duration. It's nice when you're happy or have a new thing to play with, but your rage is... Something else."

"I'm trying," she objected. "I'm still really bad, but I'm trying. You help with distracting me. The breathing helps. Talking through what's bothering me depends on what's bothering me."

Sunny chirped wordlessly.

"I know you were hoping I would grow out of that," Freija chuckled.

"You'll learn how to handle it better, for certain. You'll have a long time to decide to do it and even longer to practice."

Freija offered her a soft grunt to show she listened, but she fell silent as the monument cliff and its monument came into view.

The mausoleum stood two stories tall, partially enclosed with numerous tall windows. The path to it had been ruined, stairs smashed into a slide or broken away entirely. Freija studied the cliffside while Sunny dematted the sparrow.

"Vandalism?" she asked, gesturing at the defunct architecture.

"Actually, the few survivors had it done to prevent vandalism."

Freija didn't bother asking further, bouncing high to lift off higher, grabbing a ledge, then pulling herself up.

It would have been hard when she first woke up, back when she hardly knew how to make a hammer. Freija remembered the weakness in the dream and flinched. She couldn't do this lightless. She couldn't even think about doing this lightless.

"I am really really glad I missed out on the Red War," she mumbled as she crawled up the rocks.

"Me, too."

"I wouldn't even be able to wear this armor, would I?"

"Not easily. It wouldn't be armor, just a hindrance."

"She... It was hard to move Millie... I guess that's what she called her. I can't even imagine having trouble lifting a person. That... I admire the lightless, I really do. That... Scared the shit out of me. She... Her... Blood made her nearly impossible to move. Sticky. Wet."

"Did she look for her mother?"

"I didn't see them in the dream. I don't know if she looked. I think she didn't. She knew they were dead already. Or maybe couldn't think to. Or maybe her mom and sister weren't there and I'm remembering wrong or funny. I didn't see her barricade the door when she was moving her sister, either, but I think she did. I think a lot was lost in panic. Maybe the memory didn't form."

"That makes sense."

"Maybe I'll dream of her face later."

"Maybe."

"Do I have a grave up here?"

"No. You were declared missing."

Freija almost didn't ask. "How many others were missing?"

"Twenty-one, not including you. No searches, for the sake of the fled. The land got scoured for bodies but otherwise the survivors were allowed to flee without interference from the Queen."

"They didn't go two clicks out," Freija complained, taking a moment to look over the Mists. Her first grave could almost be seen from here. "That really hurts my-- her feelings."

"Well, look at it this way-- in a straight line, yes, you were two clicks out. The path she took? The only ways a mortal person could have? She ran across a field, down a cliff path, and then across a narrow ledge on a wall. At least five clicks on a treacherous cliffside. No one would expect her to go there, no one would think someone got that far and chased that far. None of her immediate family, the only ones she'd have known, survived, so no one was left to press on."

Freija turned back to the wall and climbed up the hard way, not wanting to risk missing and falling and having to start over. "This is stupid. I feel stupid for being this upset. I didn't know these people. I didn't even know Sarah. They died years before I was fucking bor-- reborn!"

Freija pulled herself up and brushed herself off, stepping around the mausoleum to its dais and front door.

"I think she's okay," Freija murmured, easing her way in. Her boots echoed in the enormous Hall. The room reminded the guardian more of a stadium than a mausoleum, with the door as the stage and the grave markers as seating.

A huge statue of a podium stood in the center of the round room, engraved with Awoken lettering that moved as Freija looked at it. She recognized a pattern of five sets, but didn't recognize any individual symbols.

No space had been allowed for more bodies.

"No good deed goes unpunished," muttered Sunny.

"Do I want to know?"

"You know already, the family reunion, and the excuse the zealots used to justify your murder to themselves."

Freija grunted and sighed.

She expected a hundred beds, but instead, wide ones intended for whole families at once circled a double bed at the top. Arranged like a family tree, Freija noticed. She already knew hers was third down. "Maternal?"

"Yes."

"What was her name?"

"Fira."

"That's pretty."

Freija slowed her pace subconsciously and couldn't pick it back up. Four stone pillows. A low pillar with a wreath. "I do have a marker," Freija observed, and she pet the stone of the bed. She couldn't read the names.

"She couldn't do anything more," Sunny said, trying to head off any fits. "She did everything she could for everyone she could."

"She knows," Freija mumbled, but her face still burned and her heart still pounded. "She feels cheated of a long life. She didn't deserve to die like that. None of them deserved that." She sat on the ground and rocked against the stone to rest her head against it. "She's angry, now."

Freija didn't sound angry. She sounded tired. "Fucking politics. I get killing people for food and medicine, I don't get murder for principle."

"Privilege of people who don't have to go to war over supplies," Sunny mumbled.

Freija placed a palm on the "bed". "S'pose all the bodies have been eaten and blown away. I... Don't miss them. But I'm sad they're dead?"

"You don't have to know someone to mourn their death."

Freija breathed a slow sigh and stood back up. "You gonna shut up, now?"

"You might have to make peace with her presence. She makes you happy to be in the Dreaming City, she always has. From your first day, you talked about how pretty this place is." Sunny touched her bunny shell to Freija's cheek.

Freija scowled and rocked back. "Seriously? No. She needs to go back to sleep. I'm not sharing consciousness, I have a hard time thinking already. If she doesn't, I'm blaming you."

"It's not my fault!"

They giggled together.

Freija looked over the mausoleum. Not one hundred beds, but one hundred places to sleep. One of the beds had ten pillows and three more stands with wreaths like hers.

"Even the survivors," Freija realized, looking back at the big podium in the middle. "Those were the five names."

"They regarded the name... Retired?"

"Extinct," Freija spat.

"Yeah."

She circled the room slowly, not bothering to count. "She didn't know any of these people either."

"She didn't. I don't know if she met anyone she liked."

"She felt weird with them," Freija answered. "They made her feel like an earthling."

"Is it not forbidden for a guardian to investigate their past?"

Freija jumped and screamed, drawing her shotgun as she spun, searching for the voice.

Queen Mara's head appeared reflected in a solid wall, shining and huge. "I believe I remember you. You have recently been injured, and you have helped Petra frequently and Shuro Chi occasionally. Guardians are not allowed this deep in the Dreaming City, and no one at all is allowed here."

"Had a nightmare," Freija explained, bowing subconsciously. "Of the massacre. I remembered trying to save my-- Sarah's sister. And I wanted to see the monument."

Queen Mara didn't move, and her eyes remained fixed on the guardian for several moments.

"I'll leave soon," she promised. "I can't learn anything here, I can't read Awoken. I just... Had to."

Mara's lips twisted wryly and her head moved slightly, likely changing positions or relocating. "I never encountered the previous occupant of that particular corpus, but I did know this family well. Their slaughter shocked many. The perpetrators were executed. What else is there to know?"

Freija failed to hide the pain, but she bit back her attitude.

"You will leave within the hour or I shall have you removed," Mara stated firmly, and her image vanished.

"Pretty sure Mara's as upset by this as you," Sunny whispered. "Probably more."

Freija scowled and turned away, growling. "What else is there to know," she mimicked in her nose. "Fucking-- Millie's favorite color, that's what, fuck off."

"She can hear you," Sunny pointed out.

"I'm so far past caring," Freija whimpered, stomping back to her former family's final resting place. "I wouldn't have been there to help, even as a guardian. This is civilian shit. Politics." She heaved a sigh. "I don't know what to tell her, I can't think of anything to help!"

"Many of this bloodline spoke similar words," chuckled Mara's voice, louder and clearer. Freija didn't turn to see her, knowing already she stood there in the real to some extent or another.

"The matriarch of this family dedicated herself to the aid of others. Volunteers in every sense but combat. She and her line famously refused to give me a Corsair. Four Techeuns, however, and many scribes, scholars, and scientists. I believe the non-violence drove Fira and her husband to Earth. I could never be certain-- Fira often defied her family."

She paced to the wide bed of the Earthling family and stroked the smooth stone with pale fingers. "I paid them little attention. Some regarded them as traitors. Including Io," she said nodding to the top of the stairs. "Tebbir called them back when she became head of the family. They refused for quite some time."

Mara paused and glanced over her shoulder. "Saris took after Sobu's side. His family did give me Corsairs. That monument is much smaller, and within bounds, if you and your ghost would like to visit them, too."

"I'm here for Millie," Freija mumbled, looking back do the stone pillow. "Trying to let Sarah mourn or something. I remembered... and I feel. So." She stopped and hid her face, feeling stupid again. Mara usually made her feel little anyway.

"I often wonder how much of the first life remains under the guardian," she observed. "You recall being alive?"

"No. Just. Being sad about a history lesson that touches real close. Regret that isn't mine, because she wanted to do more and couldn't. She died that night, fighting back as hard as she could-- she broke a helmet. Badass. But. She--ran. And she feels guilty for running." Freija couldn't stop herself and she stormed around the grave. "And she was still trying to draw fire! I bet she even cussed a few that didn't notice her! That whole event scared me! There's no guilt!"

Queen Mara stood still, as if an image cast into stone again, watching Freija pace out the rage. Sunny hovered nearby. "The newborns are always so temperamental," Mara observed. "I believe this one awoke near the time and place of my brother. "

Sunny glanced to see if she found that remarkable and found Mara checking her reaction. "I knew that actually," Sunny said. "Only because me and Glint caught the same ride here with four or five other ghosts. We thought he was annoying."

Freija finally stopped and placed her hands on the grave again. "Okay?" she huffed. "I have enough crazy, I don't need me having stupid nightmare history lessons."

"I suppose I could give Saris a resting place," Mara said aloud. "Do you believe a proper grave would offer peace?"

Freija started as if she forgot the queen's presence. "Oh-- thank you, your majesty, I'm just-- fuuufffff... I'm okay," she lied flatly, turning away to pace.

"I have a theory that the memories formed in their first lives can be accessed with the right triggers," Sunny whispered to Mara. "I think I accidentally nudged hers."

"Is it a memory or is it a nightmare?"

"Both. I'm sure only some of her dream was true."

Mara's lips pursed and she watched Freija pace. "I hope you are correct," she said. "You spoke true. I regard the massacre of the Pojins as a failure. I underestimated the hatred stirred and did not take early enough precautions. I no longer make this mistake."

Sunny bobbed in place calmly, but couldn't think of anything to say.

"I do like this shell of yours. I do not see them often," the Queen said, smiling kindly before her face hardened. "I still expect you gone in the next forty minutes. You may visit the Shu mausoleum freely, as it is within permitted boundaries. This one remains off limits. Saris is as dead as the rest of her family, and the woman standing before me is as welcome as any other stranger."

"You really are going to replace her wreath with a bed, aren't you?" whispered Sunny. "I thought you were making a joke at her but you really do feel bad that she died, too."

"I do not wish to discuss this further," Mara stated, turning on her toes and stepping away as she dematerialized.

"Maybe when we leave, Sarah will stay here," Freija grumbled. She studied the pillow at the end. "Millie was the baby," she said. "For fuck's sake! Go away!" She whirled in place, then narrowed her eyes on Sunny, pointing fiercely. "This is why we're not supposed to fucking know!"

Sunny wished she could argue but Freija was right, and the ghost knew she screwed up.

[masterghandalf]

MG Reads Embers: Chapter Two

Note: This is a continuation of my reread and commentary of Embers by Vathara, originally posted last fall and winter on my Dreamwidth account.

Chapter Two This chapter doesn’t have an AN; it opens with Zuko reflecting that even boring schoolwork can pay off, as his education to the Earth Kingdom has led him and Iroh to a charcoal-burning mound. Extracting some of the wood, he builds a makeshift kiln and sticks some of the rocks they collected last chapter into it to heat them. A few moments later, the kiln comes apart to reveal several heated rocks, as well as others which exploded under the pressure because they contained water. Iroh asks how Zuko knew, and he has a brief flashback to Azula taunting him over something similar before admitting that he learned it the hard way.

We then cut to some point later as Zuko is placing the heated stones on a local blacksmith’s back, apparently treating some pains. Iroh reminds himself not to laugh, as he knows Zuko well enough to tell that his nephew is apparently very afraid of something. We learn that when they arrived in town, Iroh had told the local innkeeper that they were a healer and apprentice, feeling that they both knew enough field medicine to pass themselves off as such so long as nobody came to them with too complicated a problem. Instead of trading the stones, they ended up using them to treat various pains, as the village healer was already busy and needed help. Jumping back to Zuko and the blacksmith, Iroh thinks about how Zuko is clearly being very careful to show no outward signs of firebending but wonders what exactly he’s so scared of. He briefly wonders when the last time Zuko helped someone without suffering for it was and thinks back to him saving their helmsman during the storm. While continuing to give advice to Zuko and banter a bit with the blacksmith, Iroh wonders about what Zuko meant by learning “the hard way” and concludes it must have been something Ozai or Azula did – probably Azula, who would have found tricking Zuko into making rocks explode in his face to be an amusing prank. This experience must have left Zuko wary of exploring this side of his abilities. Iroh realizes that this experience is forcing Zuko to relive old traumas and they’ll need to wrap it up quickly while he can still handle it, recognizing the depth of the damage Ozai and Azula did to Zuko and being determined not to lose another son.

A moment later, however, Zuko gets done and tells the blacksmith he can go, though he warns him not to strain himself. Iroh tells the innkeeper that they’ll need some more supplies later, and she’s happy to offer them; Iroh and Zuko leave the inn and find themselves in a deserted alley where Zuko can breathe. Iroh tells Zuko that he’s seen soldiers who were captured by the enemy and treated poorly, and he recognizes some of the same signs in Zuko now; he knows that Zuko has been under the power of those who harmed him and sometimes feels like he’ll never be free of them, and he recognizes that fear in him. Zuko snaps that he’s not afraid of Azula, but Iroh says that he is, because he knows how dangerous she is. He promises Zuko that they know how to survive, and that he will not abandon him. Zuko still tries to insist that he’s not afraid, so Iroh changes the subject, talking about how hard surviving on one’s own in a foreign land is, and that he doesn’t think Azula could do it – but he thinks Zuko can. He explains an old proverb about the dragon and the mountain; the mountain may seem stronger, but the dragon can adapt and survive. Zuko says that the dragons are dead, but Iroh reminds him that people said the same thing about the Avatar; Zuko takes the hint and realizes that Iroh must have lied about killing the last dragons. This leads into a discussion of the Moon Spirit, and how it taught the first waterbenders; Zuko wonders if this means that Zhao killing the Moon Spirit, and Yue sacrificing herself to restore it (which Iroh had previously told him about) were his fault, but Iroh assures him it wasn’t. If Zuko had been there, he would have tried to stop Zhao, even if he couldn’t succeed, but that doesn’t make him a traitor, either. Two enemies – like Zuko and Aang – can fight a common enemy without being allies. Zuko admits that being at sea for three years, he wouldn’t have survived if he hadn’t learned to respect the moon.

The two head off to the market to get supplies, and are suddenly confronted by an Earth Kingdom swordsman, who taunts them, calling them deserters. He says that Zuko’s clearly no healer and asks if his family had to pay off Iroh to take him on. Iroh takes a moment to note the man’s fine swords, wondering how he came by them. We then seemingly cut to later that night, though there’s not an obvious scene change, as Zuko attacks the man and takes his swords before returning to his and Iroh’s sleeping place at the inn’s hayloft. Zuko sets to cleaning the swords as Iroh returns; Zuko asks if Iroh wants him to give them back, but Iroh says he’ll need the weapons. However, Iroh reminds Zuko that if he ever commands troops, not to let them pillage, as that will lead to hate for the Fire Nation rather than “harmonious rule.” Zuko retorts that the man called Iroh a liar and worries that he was right when he said Zuko was no healer. Iroh bids Zuko sit by him and makes a flame in his hand, explaining that fire is not only destruction, and that Ursa must have explained this to him. Iroh has Zuko push and pull the flame, then asks if he can do anything for his sore feet. Zuko disbelieves he can, but Iroh urges him on. Zuko manages to play the flames around Iroh’s feet without touching them, and though the fire soon collapses into nothing, Iroh says that Zuko held it longer than he could have. Iroh explains that Ursa showed him the technique, but he could never master it – it was passed down in her family from her grandfather, Kuzon of Byakko. Zuko is surprised, since he remembers Aang mentioning the name as someone he knew a hundred years ago. Iroh agrees that Kuzon is the right age that he could have known the Avatar, and wonders if, though he’s studied waterbending, one needs a knowledge of airbending to use the technique properly. Zuko wonders why Iroh would study waterbending, and he explains that one has to draw wisdom from many sources; Zuko admits he’s studied Katara, and he won’t let her beat him again. However, Zuko’s back isn’t hurting, which makes Iroh conclude that the technique they tried may have some usefulness after all. He tells Zuko to leave his blades for the morning, since they have work to do tonight, and the chapter ends there.

MG’s Thoughts This chapter is… quite a lot, actually, though most of it’s pretty straightforward. We get more of an explanation of fire healing, how it works, and how Ursa and Zuko came by it, as well as some genuinely compelling insight into Zuko’s trauma and Iroh’s compassion for his nephew and determination to help him. I do have two major criticisms, one being another nitpick that looks worse in hindsight, and the other being more substantial. The first is that while Vathara goes into a lot of detail about Zuko’s trauma and past suffering and how that, along with his cultural context, has shaped the person he is and why we should sympathize with him, she’s often not nearly as willing to extend the same courtesy to other people’s backgrounds and trauma. We’ll see more about what I mean later on, especially as we get to the fic’s take on Katara and Aang. The more substantive critique lies with Kuzon. In canon, Kuzon was just Aang’s Fire Nation friend from a hundred years ago, and never implied to be anything else. But fanon often tended to assume that Kuzon must have been someone important, and Vathara absolutely goes with that (Kuzon will ultimately prove to be, in multiple ways, one of the key figures in the fic’s backstory). And, well, I don’t like it. It speaks to a mindset in approaching fiction where background details just can’t exist; absolutely everything has to be a Chekhov’s Gun of some sort, and IMO it can get excessive and end up feeling a little too neat and pat, and making the world feel smaller rather than bigger (then again, I was in Harry Potter fandom long enough ago to remember the “Mark Evans” fiasco; that may have left me a little wary of assuming every background detail has to be important). This is far from the only time Vathara will lean into popular fanon that elevates minor background elements or offhand references into critical plot points, sometimes taking them out of context and turning them into things that they were clearly never meant to be or imply, and while clearly the fic’s popularity means it doesn’t bother everyone, it definitely bugs me.

Also, the offhand bit about “harmonious rule” is going to have implications for how Vathara depicts the Fire Nation as operating that I think contributes to some of the issues I have with the fic in general, but… more on that later.

[empatheticquinoa]

Well hot dignity daffodil, it looks like it’s time for another excerpt of my breakout trilogy, Battle Scars!!

Tamae’s instructor, Sempi, is a strong woman in more ways than one. But when something as rare as a purple crystal landed in a field next to her when she was young, she had a difficult time keeping her cool.

Sempi shouted. She knew that stardust fell sometimes. She read about it, talked with stardust scavengers, and even got very high marks in that portion of her enchanter studies (if she did say so herself.) And watching stardust make impact on the ground was as serendipitous as seeing its journey across the skies. But instead of being overjoyed at being close enough to see this one gave a brilliant purple shine as it flew through the air right next to her, the already blistering burn on the back of her hand made her wish that she took the other path at the fork in the road she encountered thirty minutes prior. She tried to juggle multiple actions at once; searching in her pouch for medicine with her good hand, repeatedly blowing on the injured area of her bad hand, and not crying because of the horribly loud boom that preceded one of the worst burns she ever remembered getting. She managed two of those things successfully.

Once she calmed down from the whole terrible thing, she began to panic for another reason. She ran straight ahead, looking around to make sure that no one else was within sight. To the typical traveler, this woman was running with wild abandon to an innocuous spot of upturned earth, possibly driven mad by hunger or magic toxicity, though cases of the latter were never heard of in this region. But the seasoned student or scavenger might be able to discern from that smile on her face that she just found stardust. Finders, keepers.

She fell to her knees and dug in the warm dirt, careful to keep her wounded but ointment-covered hand aloft and clear from danger of errant debris as she worked frantically to find the treasure she surely deserved by right. She thought she had heard two voices quietly bickering, the female voice having a much harsher tone than the male, but when she looked up, she only saw a woman leading her horse down the road. Sempi became still, wondering if she might be mistaken for a run-of-the-mill wild shrub with clothes and long dark hair if she made sure not to move. After all, shrubs don’t have to share valuable crystals with passers-by.

The woman was still as well, her stare blank and her mouth slightly ajar as she had stopped dead in her tracks to observe the scene as it was unfolding.

“I’m not crazy,” Sempi yelled when the stranger refused to ignore her. She paused her work to look at her arm, her posture, her actions and added, “Today. I’m not crazy today. I think.”

The stranger’s eyes widened as she continued her journey to everywhere that Sempi was not, leaving her to her work.

“This better be a good one,” she muttered, as the heat in her face matched that of her hand. A moment later, her dirt-caked nails struck something hard. She gasped involuntarily and dug her fingers around the object, lifting it up and shaking it to reveal a purple, iridescent crystal. The strangely insect-like shape confirmed it: this truly was concentrated stardust. And the first time she had seen a purple one in person.

[ofcarnvge]

Unarmed

@annalis-e--shadowofpanem

As the engines of the twin drones wound down, the sounds they made were vastly different. The Eboncry sang songs of swiftly moving air, shaped into smaller and smaller sharpened blades as the engines came to a stop. The GhostOwl, however, was reminiscent of a dying tornado. “We ought to get that looked at,” Leslie called over to Cereza as she fell through the drop hatch, landing effortlessly on her feet. “Has there been any problem with the performance at all?”

“To my untrained senses, no.” Cereza released the back storage compartment on the Owl’s starboard side and pulled a tote from it, slinging it over her shoulder.

Leslie approached the Owl, taking in its quieting roar. “Could be wear and tear from overuse of hover mode. I’ll take a look at it once it’s in the hangar again.”

“While you’re at it,” Cereza stepped closer to Leslie. “I’d like to take you up on those lessons. When you and Cyanne gave me this in place of my old drone…I didn’t think flying would be so…”

“Liberating?” Smiling, Leslie slipped her hands into her back pockets.

Cereza nodded in reply. “But the AI does all the flying. I think its time I learned how to fly for myself.”

Their attention was pulled away by Floss as she approached with greetings to England. Or in Leslie’s case, a warm welcome home. She hadn’t been home since before she went into hiding with Delun’s then-secret. The air called to her in a familiar crispness…and she remembered that Ipswich was only a train ride away. If there was time,  she told herself.

Leslie and Cereza closed the distance between themselves and Floss. “As Pan puts it,“ Leslie replied, "she set O-Ren and Go Go ahead of herself in medical transport. They’ll arrive first with her shortly in tow. Amy went to follow a lead. She’ll join us later in the evening, assuming all is in order.” The breeze rolled through the plains and she watched it travel in a wave. it was beautiful. She reminisced about home once more and said, “I’ll take tea,”

Already having pulled the air of the huntress off of her shoulders, Cereza’s demeanor continued to warm. “I’ll have whatever Eleanor’s having,” she quipped. “Also, if you don’t mind someone rummaging through your kitchen, I volunteer as a chef for the evening.”

–

Amy counted every minute. The car ride took an hour and 20 minutes and an additional 40 minutes to case Norwich Airport. Their tail would arrive through the gate within the hour.

There were a million ways to do this. Amy could easily cross the culprit under her heel and be in the next carshare back to Cambridge before anyone knew that the jet-lagged citizen was not sleeping, but dead. But no. There were enough bodies. Elle and Bill were salts of the Earth, but whoever this Mallory was, she would be offered the chance to explain who she was and why she was following them. But whatever explanation she could offer had to be outstanding; she traced a plane full of spies. Twice. But then again, Amber regularly made a mockery of security because she was bored, lonely, and in denial of being lonely.

Maybe they should meet.

Amy counted every minute before the plane landed outside the window, right on time. She found a seat in front of the boarding gate and waited. With no photo to go on, she searched the faces of the passengers for one particular expression: the terror from the revelation of having been caught. It was a safe bet to assume this Mallory had seen Amy’s face at one point.

A knowing look was sharper than any blade she had on her person at the moment.

–

Light poured through the trees as the car rolled down the winding roads. It was a short drive, but Pan savored it for all it was. Quiet, relaxing, beautiful.  She could see out of the corner of her eye, a young Jiayi looking up through the passenger window as England passed by.

“I thought it wore off,” Pan admitted. “That the effects of…” she studied the bracelet on her wrist shortly, before returning her focus to the road. “this… had finally passed. I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

“Ma,” the young girl replied. “Even if it had worn off, you’d see me again. In nine months.”

Pan scoffed. “Touche, Lucky. Touche.”

The young girl turned slowly to her mother. “You told me about this drive,” She admitted. “You said it was the beginning of the rest of your life. Before this, before Reach, you didn’t have a warning about having twins until a later exam. I had to battle depression while growing up and I would use this whole story of how we were conceived, and how there were two of us, to beat myself up and label myself as the kid you never wanted. We were double the trouble, double the headache.  And you would always remind me that you named me Jiayi for a reason: because I was your lucky miracle. And it always worked.”

Pan sat in silence for a moment, taking in the words of a ghost. “I regret much about how I did this. I hate that it did it because of fear. I hate that I kept it from Molly. I hate that I denied it to myself. But I could never hate you. Even now, even though we haven’t truly met…I love you. All of this, every mistake, led to you. If this bracelet had found me earlier, and I knew of everything I would endure just to get to you, I would dive in, head first, just because I knew you and your sister were waiting at the end of all of it. Even now, nine months before your birth, you are my Lucky miracle.“

Pan couldn’t see it from the corner of her eye, but subtle details in Jiayi had changed. Her hand covered up a scar on her wrist, even though, in that moment, it had vanished. But she couldn’t hide the tears.

Eventually, she left Pan to her thoughts, but even those were quiet. A single idea permeated the center of her skull, and it carried her to Floss’s driveway and placed her squarely behind a medical transport sitting in front of the house. This was it.

Pan stepped out, her sneakers hitting the gravel. She peered up at the front window and wondered if Molly was there, staring back from the otherside.

Jiayi took Pan’s left hand.

Bowen took her right.

“There’s no us without her.”

Pan took a deep breath and started for the door.

“Assam tea it is then.” The Englishwoman replied, leading her two new houseguests back up the path toward the house. She was more familiar with Leslie than Cereza - about whom she had mostly heard stories of utter lethality. The offer to do something as mundane and domestic as cook dinner struck her pleasantly.

“That’s be lovely.” She accepted. “We did just restock, but if you’re hungry in the meantime there’s at least two pizzas and a lasagna in the fridge from last night.”

Inside the kettle is boiled and the tea steeped. Floss left Molly with the other Shadows in the kitchen as an ambulance arrived on the drive. She felt suddenly more secure in the proceedings; this was her area of expertise. This was a complex situation, but biology - to her that was simple.

The back doors of the van opened and a paramedic and a young woman dressed in dark grey jeans and short leather jacket wheeled a gurney onto the drive. The woman’s hair fell in a sleek black curtain down her back. The gurney bore the sleeping form of O-ren Ishii, tucked tight in place with hospital style blankets.

“Thank you so much.” Floss thanked the driver. “We can take it from here.”

As soon as the wheels were safely on tarmac the younger woman pulled the back of her hand across her forehead and looked around properly for the first time, slightly dazed, but Floss thought she detected something like wonder or curiosity.

“Ms. Yubari, I presume.” Floss offered respectfully, extending a hand and a slight bow across the body of the sleeping woman. “I’m Floss Upton, I’m here to help your employer. We have a vaccine ready.”

Go go took Floss’ hand. Normally, she had a strong, assertive handshake - wrought from years of endless formality and hierarchy. But now she took the other woman’s hand much more softly, like she was holding onto it for strength.

“Thank you, I’m grateful.” She sounded tired, but relieved, she looked down at the sleeping woman and back at Floss. “But she’s not my employer, she’s family.”

Floss gave her hand a squeeze before gripping the sides of the trolley. 

“Come on then, the lounge will be our infirmary for now.”

With that, the ambulance was gone, and Go go and Floss wheeled the sleeping woman into the front living room of the house, where they both busied themselves setting up monitors for vital signs. The scientist thought it was probably unnecessary, but it was better to be on the safe side. 

-

By the time the plane landed Mallory had caught a few vital hours of sleep and her mind was buzzing again. As she pulled her case down from the overhead storage images of London washed over her. She’d never seen it in person, only the reports and news pictures. 

There had to be a thread here. She could feel it in her gut. She was a good investigator, so it was an instinct she had learned to trust. Reaching into her pocket she pushed her sunglasses up onto the bridge of her nose. In her dark slacks, sensible heels and trench coat she could have been anybody - an academic, a slew of professionals from editor to doctor, someone's mom come to visit them in the university holidays. It was a camouflage she’d always utilized well. 

Her holdall was heavy on her shoulder as she descended the steps off the plane and still her mind raced; one of the most curious things was the lack of evidence about London turned up by any other government body - they’d come to investigate of course, but they couldnt even really figure out how it had been done. The people funneled out of the corridor onto the concourse.

And Mallory Llewellyn froze almost mid step. Immediately she knew it to be an error, but it was involuntary.

That was the effect of seeing a ghost on most human beings.

But it was more than a ghost, it was a woman who had been haunting the agent since she first saw her face in Tokyo. And she was here, in the flesh.

Mallory, move.

An internal voice propelled her away, feigning indifference as much as possible. If she could get lost in the crowd and reach the taxi rank she might be able to get clear, temporarily. But she could feel her pulse in her ears. The bag went through the conveyor.

With the sleight of hand of a magician she palmed the carbon fiber claw into her right hand and emerged through the glass doors where the cabs lined up. It was busy, and shoving her way to the front of the queue would undo her efforts to remain unseen.

Mallory pushed the sunglasses up onto her curly hair, scanned left and right, and gripped the blade in her hand bone white. 

-

Between the Shadows in the kitchen and the makeshift hospital room rapidly being set up by Floss and another woman Molly was hastily introduced to, a kind of stillness started to settle in her mind.

She walked away from the lounge, the kitchen, where everyone was busy. The noise fell away. The hall felt long as she traversed it, even though it was maybe fifteen feet. Molly’s hair was loose, and unusually she wasn't clothed purely for utility. A light blue shirtdress wrapped her. For whatever reason, today she allowed herself something soft, something she wore for comfort.

The hallway could have been the miles of land between a now burned out mental institute in Brattleboro Vermont, and the woodlands outside a little cabin, where a woman with dark hair was hunting a deer.

Molly emerged on the front step of the Upton residence, and there she was; Pan, Liss. For some reason Molly thought she’d look different - but she didn't. An uncomplicated warmth spread over her chest, despite the cacophony of emotions that went through her and her lips pulled into a slight smile.

“Hey.” She said, simply. 

[iamaprettyghost]

I wish I had died sooner...

In a planet that's very far from our universe, once lived Mr Joy and Miss peace. They lived in Dream city where everyone had everything they have ever dreamed of.The grass was always so "beautifully green", the butterflies "have never been caterpillars", and the citizens were all born "successful". In that planet, no one has ever cried, because as soon as a creature would shed a single tear, they would instantly pass away and reincarnate in another planet as rocks _as the legend says_ which _till then_ has never happened.During the first few hundred years, no one ever died. Up until the year 701, when miss joy and miss peace were starting to get sick even though they had no idea how crying even felt like. Day after day, week after week, they got really weak until they passed away. Their death flipped their world upside down, because in that loss, they did not only loose their source of joy and peace, but they also lost themselves, they lost their smiles, they lost all their money, they lost their family greetings, they simply lost EVERYTHING...At first, they thought it was some sort of viral virus they somehow had caught in a land where smiles used to be the only body language, where tears were like a very far thing that will never happen to them, where evil is only talked about in fairytales that will never become a reality, right? However, the rich were getting poorer, the grass was getting paler, and while the smiles were slowly but surely fading away; the sadness was getting closer and closer. Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, they still couldn't find out a way to get their old lives back, they cried one creature after the other, and also died following the same order.No one understood what was happening or what was going to happen, and for once in their entire past lives, they had no idea what they wanted, how they wanted it, how were they going to get it, or if they were even going to get it.Thirteen earth-hours later, they couldn't help but all scream at the same time, feeling this incredible pain in what humans call "chest or heart", they looked at each other and found out that they couldn't speak a single word and the only memory they have of their past lives was the death of Miss Peace and her beloved husband Mr Joy.They open their eyes to see a nurse, then a doctor, then this wonderful woman they call my mom. And it was at that moment when they realized that they _all of them_ became this one living thing called a Human...For the next few years, they were already drowning in misery. A misery that cannot be described using just words, unless those same emotions are felt. The creatures realized that their old world was just a wonderful illusion that fed their lazy minds. Thus, they slowly started to get adapted to incredible amounts of sadness. The little girl that was made of so many creatures was named Emerauld, and she was also in terrible pain. Actually she wasn't sure of anything, if her pain was real, if it also was just an illusion, if she was in danger, or even if she was feeling safe. That confusion ruined her already miserable life because while she was forced against her will to face her truth, she also had to face those illusions. They ate her joy and peace away until there was nothing left anymore. And only at 15 years old she passed away... This death is the second death in this story, or perhaps the 2nd beginning since every end is a second chance to find yourself, and Emerauld really did find not only herself but her joy and peace as well.The moral of the story is that behind every ache whether it's permanent or temporary exists a glory you can only reach by resisting that pain and facing your fears. Which could be as simple as brushing your teeth or as complicated as looking them dead is the eyes making a cold shiver go down their spine, which made her wish she has died sooner...

Ihssane Nejjari

[rumblelibrary]

Okay this may sound like an oddly detailed request but can you do a Laszlo x reader where Laszlo has been courting the reader for a while and has never met her father, because her father is dead or abandoned her at a young age or something like that and she never told Laszlo, but Laszlo is instant on meeting him for some reason or something like that?

Sorry if thats a weird request

Unofficial Meeting [Dr Laszlo Kreizler x Fem!Reader]

Word count: 1.8k

Warnings: a bit angsty, mention of old fashioned ideas

Author’s note: I hope you will like it and I respected your wishes <3

"Miss?"

The voice of your chamber maid called you distracting you from answering some correspondence.

"Yes?"

She smiled so widely as a bouquet of white roses and peonies was presented in front of you. She giggled as she was just so happy for you. You have been courted by Dr Laszlo Kreizler for some time now, but he never missed to send you flowers on a Saturday morning, it was his ritual since you two became serious.

"Those are so beautiful, miss"

She said excitedly before leaving you to read the note, she was probably living the romance through you which was quite weird but cute to witness.

You opened the card, Laszlo usually was a brief but intense poet, but this time the message was clear. Can I tempt you with a lunch at Delmonico's?

You frowned lightly before looking out of your window, his dark clothing making him strikingly visible in the greenery of the park in front of your house, he raised his hat for you and smiled.

Damn him and his top level courting.

You put your letters away and got ready spraying some perfume on you before going out, your maid helping you with your coat and hat.

When you stepped out of the front Door Laszlo was waiting in front of your gate.

"You could have called"

He smirked at you "it wouldn't have been a surprise" he concluded simply.

You smirked as it was true and you have also learned to admire the extent of Laszlo'd courtship. He was attentive and respectful, he knew when to trace a line to forbid any kind of bad talks. He was already famous for being a maverick and he didn't want to put that stigma on you too.

You obliged him as you walked your way together to the restaurant, he never failed to ask you about your day and your plans. he was very attentive and you reserved him the same tenderness asking him about his patients or latest articles.

Once you arrived at the restaurant you were brought to one of the best tables, Laszlo taking upon himself the honour to move your chair back behind you and then back toward you for you to sit comfortably.

"Thank you Laszlo"

He smiled proudly taking it as a compliment, but he looked rather stiff and tense for his usual mannerism toward you.

Once you ordered your meal he toyed with his glass of wine a bit attracting inevitably your attention.

"What is wrong?"

He looked at you surprised by your question, but he smiled because you sort of alleviated him from the weight of beginning what he wanted to ask.

"I was just wondering when I will be able to meet your father" he said just as directly as your question was "I met your grandmother and your uncles and aunts, I am missing somebody"

He said it quite easily as your mother had left this earth early for the standard and you regret she won't be able to see what an amazing man you met.

"You don't need to meet him"

He stared at you puzzled, what really concerned him wasn't your refusal, but more the hardness you showed into expressing it.

"I think I do"

You glared at him, your conversation briefly interrupted by the waiters landing the plates in front of the two of you.

He thanked them before looking back at you, your stern look still there.

You had discussions before but never of this size and also as much as he tried before to hint the theme of your father he wasn't acknowledged at all.

He also noticed how the rest of your family followed that same guideline, acting like they found you under a tree.

"I think it is something I have to do sooner or later"

You glared at him again.

"Stop it"

It was hard for him to stop. He was already launched on the theme and he was worse than a wild animal when he got fixated over a theme in particular.

You pushed some common ground theme while you ate. Like John or Sara's agency or other mundane things, but you hated to see the intensity in his look.

That question over and over into his mind.

You never hated to be with him as much as you did now.

You declined the offer of a dessert pretty quickly just wanting to go away.

Laszlo obliged and lead you back outside escorting you to your place.

"I don't mean to be invasive.."

"But you're" you confirmed to him "thank you for the lunch, I can walk myself home on my own”

You left him there moving after your house's gate.

He stood there biting the inside of his cheek nervously.

You didn't contact him any further on that day or the ones that followed, to be honest you avoided him and his flowers and attentions. You even stayed at home instead of attending places you were supposed to be, but where he also might find you.

Until your grandmother called you and you furiously ordered your maid to call the doctor and make him come at your place.

He arrived quicker than you expected. He was worried something happened, maybe you were ill and nobody told him.

When your maid showed him the way to your study and closed the door behind him he tried immediately to politely ask you about your state but your eyes burned holes like bullets in him.

“How dare you?” You growled at him. He stood still in front of you, his back straight even if you didn’t fail to notice the frown on his forehead.

“How dare you to call my grandmother? To ask her something I specifically told you I don’t want to share or talk or even mention? What is s hard about it? What makes you rightful to come bashing into my life asking for answers? “Y/N”

“No, no Y/N, you doctor, should learn to put a line between when you’re an alienist and when you’re a decent human being” you were being extra hard on him, but just earring your grandmother worried voice was enough to make you snap his neck.

He took your rage like a champion, even if he clearly was suffering it.

“Why is so important Laszlo? Why to see your mind at ease? It is just a man, somebody that doesn’t belong to my life, why you have to push it? Why you always have to push it?” “I just hoped..” “Hoped what? Hoped that a man that abandoned a pregnant woman while courting her was worth my time and thoughts? That I need to share my own life with somebody that wasn’t there? That never asked to meet me, or even see the woman he swore to every wind that he loved? That put my mother in the position of being considered a whore? How my grandma had to pretend I was hers to try give my mother a good shot at life?”

All those truths hit Laszlo like a bag of bricks, he was overwhelmed and saddened. Those situations were the ugliest in those times. Women always paying off the debts of the lust of men. The simple promise of a marriage just to gain something that could be tasted forever with a little more of wait. Just the human need to break a rule, just one, that revolutionary feeling that only losers at heart have. Because nobody makes a revolution over the expenses of a loved one.

“I had no idea” he concluded

“I hope you are satisfied now, your scientific mind has now all the puzzle pieces, now leave and let my family alone”

You could see his shoulders fall as you said that to him, his face paling in fear and sadness. He pressed his lips tight against each other, his jaw hurting as he didn’t know if at this point was really worth it to explain why he insisted so much. He ruined it, he tried to treat you with the white gloves and instead he hurt you even more.

“I apologise” he said staring at you, you letting him speak for the first time “I never meant to put you in such a position, I really just meant to be close to your family and I couldn’t see the fault in my own desires”

He admitted it but you didn’t wince, he crossed the line, he went too far and he needed to learn to respect the limits of others, not everyone needed to be under his care.

“I said you may leave”

He looked out of your window searching for words. Your anger was waving down as he looked so upset, and he should be.

“I am also a victim of our society in my own means, even if my behaviour is not excusable in any way, I stupidly fixated on the idea of doing things right with you and some things… Well, they teach us boys some things have to be asked to a father first”

You looked at him with a frown, you shook lightly your head as you didn’t understand his point and you were five seconds away from throwing him the vase with the latest flowers he sent you when you looked at him pul out a little velvet box from his inner pocket.

“The times are modern now, it was silly of me to try move past you like that” he leaned the box on your desk. He nodded at you respectfully leaving. You were left alone with that little box, you stared at it for a moment before moving closer to it.

You looked out of the window as you heard the gates closing and you watched Laszlo’s figure walk away.

Your eyes darted from his back to the box in front of you slowly opening it to find the ring of the dreams of any girl.

Tagged @cazzyimagines @lieutenantn @handmaiden-of-mischief@thesunflowersutra @zemomybeloved @fictionlandslanddreams @charistory @greeneyedblondie44 @apparrio @hb8301 @whatawildone @rhymerhymerhyme  @thehuiabird @lilith-blackrose @unbeatablecurlgirl @obsidianlaszlo @alindeluce @zemosimp05 @baronesszemo-blackwood @nocapesdahling

Let me know if you want to get tagged to my publications too <3

[dreamrecorder]

Three - Family in the Inn

Zhongli witnesses the love Xiao deserves.

Two

A bit heavy at the end- i teared up at some point ksks ill add the cut thingy when get my laptop

Starting from the earliest memory your mind can remember, you've already heard stories of the god that ruled over your home land. From your mother, your father, from the merchants and adventurers resting within the inn. You often heard how the Geo Archon would always fly above the lands, overseeing the safety of Liyue- in the form of a great and majestic serpentine dragon. To protect the land, the Archon will not hesitate to strike down his foes with his spears made of stone! Spears that were huge as mountains and can shake the very core of the earth! A fierce god he is, but to his people, the Archon is just and kind. For he has guided Liyue for a thousand years even before Liyue was founded.

Those stories always left you in awe, your mind conjuring up imaginations of a mighty dragon soaring up high in the sky!

~

"Bai, I can't sleep…" You whined loudly to your black cat with gold eyes and a white diamond spot on its forehead. But alas, the cat can't understand you, simply giving you a somewhat dismissive meow. You puted at its direction. It was always like this if your brother wasn't able to tuck you to bed. Without his voice lulling you to sleep, right now you're vibrating energy.

"I wanna play…" You mumbled but then an idea popped up. With some effort, you hopped off your bed and went to the door. A bit of a struggle because of your height, but you manage to reach the doorknob and get out of your bedroom to the lobby. Bai was following close by.

With quiet footsteps, you went to the balcony and called in a whisper of excited glee-

"Thousand Winds?"

Just by those two words alone, the breeze picked up and your ears were then filled by the joyful voices of the wind. To emphasize that happiness, you were carefully lifted up from the ground and twirled you a bit, leaving you in a fit of giggles.

When the wind calmed down, they asked, The Little Wind calls! What is it do you want little kin?

"I wanna play!"

And play they did without a care for the world. Usually these wind spirits were careful when their brother Demon Wind is around- but with him gone for now, these spirits have different ideas. Little Wind do you want to fly like us?

You didn't even miss a second to say yes. After all, you've always dreamed of flying! Just like the stories you heard about your Archon flying up high in the sky!

!!!

"If I can fly, I might get to see Rex Lapis! Please please pleaaaase Thousand Winds, I wanna fly!"

The wind spirits cheered in delight, their whispers growing louder by the second. The breeze grew stronger and stronger around you and soon enough you were lifted off the ground as anemogranas surrounded you. You'll get to fly! How exciting!

At that age, you were unaware of the dangers that lie ahead- all too buried in that naivety and innocence that children possess. 

Rather than flying- it was more like gliding. Of course the wind spirits had some sense not to put you in harm's way! Flying requires some force to make you go higher- as for gliding, a gentle breeze simply does the trick.

It was a slow descent and you were amazed all throughout! You could see the entire Dihua Marsh along the ruins that littered around! You were amazed how the stars and the moon seemed brighter and closer now that you're up in the sky! The feeling of the rushing wind on your skin! It was cold but you didn't care! 

Every now and then, the spirits would suddenly nudge you up higher, rewarding them with your joyous scream and laughter. 

You landed softly at the concrete ground, near a statue. Curious, you noted that the statue was of a man sitting on a throne. This was the first time you've seen this statue but you could feel something from it. Geo? And the statue's hooded eyes, you felt like you were being watched through them.

This, Little Wind, is the statue of the Geo Archon.

The wind whispered with respect but you- you were puzzled.

"I thought the Geo Archon is a dragon? Can he turn into a human, like me?"

You could hear the wind laugh gently, the breeze ruffling your hair. Suddenly, the wind sounded older, wiser. A story for another time, little one. It's about time you went back home.

Again you whined, but the spirits promised you flight and that's all what you needed to be convinced. The spirits and the anemogranas alike were about to lift you- but a voice stopped your tracks.

"Yo kid! You seem lost!" The voice was heavy and gruff.

You turned around to the voice's direction and you were greeted by a burly man who wore a staw hat and some kind of black cloth wrapped around his neck.

"I'm not lost, sir." You replied politely, slowly taking a step back. You noticed how the air stilled. Tense. But of course, the man is not convinced. Seeing how he kept walking to you, you were starting to become scared, but you remembered the words from your brother, Always keep calm-

"Are ya sure, kid? We're kinda in the middle of nowhere. No houses and all that. How 'bout I help you get home?" The man offered cheerily. The forced kind with another sure step towards you. But that was what doomed him, the winds were quick to blow him away and you were surprised!

It wasn't a big distance, and the man was quick to recover. Instead of a cheery smile on his face, it was of anger and that was when you became really scared. "You!" He barked as he walked to you again with equally angry steps. "You're coming with me brat!"

If you find yourself in danger- don't hesitate to call my na-

"That's enough." A man's voice spoke- clear and commanding. The man stood next to you as he landed a reassuring hand on your shoulder. It was brief moment, but he also made sure to give you a quick gentle smile your way. You… you trusted this man with amber eyes.

"Who the hell are you?! I've got no business with you!"

"And you also have no business with this child for I am her guardian." The man replied smoothly as he simply stood his ground with you, despite the other now seemingly ready for a fight. Feeling the anger, you tightly clung onto the newcomer's coat and hid behind him. On his back, you were met by a Geo Vision.

"Like I'd believe you! Just swooping in and play hero huh rich guy!"

The Geo user sighed, and the next thing you knew, the man summoned a spear out of thin air! "I have no intentions of fighting you. But I promise you- You will suffer the wrath of the rock should you choose to continue this behavior."

His voice was light, but you noticed the silent message under his tone. The would-be kidnapper shivered at the amber gaze and decided, that it was wise to back off- Not without leaving a few curses that is. 

"He's gone now." The man spoke gently as hebturned around to look at you. Oh how his heart softened, seeing your frightened look and teary eyes.

"You're safe, I promise you. My name is Zhongli." 

Zhongli? You heard this name somehwere, but you couldn't pin point where or when… still a bit shaken up from whay happened. Remember, Little Wind. Zhongli was mentioned in passing a few times by your brother. Perhaps this is the very same Zhongli your brother speak of…

"Umm…" Your voice squeaked, "Do you.. do you know my brother?"

At that question, Zhongli confirmed that you are the rumored little sibling of Xiao. It would have been delightful to meet you on different circumstances, but he was glad nonetheless to save you from the previous situation.

"May I know the name of your brother, little miss/sir?"

"His name is Xiao." You replied and Zhongli noticed a bit of happiness in your voice.

"I do know you brother, quite the stern one, too. And he will be stern with you if he learns what happened here and you going out during the night. Does he know that you're out right now?"

With that question, you finally realized the gravity of the situation. You left during the dead of the night- without permission whatsoever! Oh no, I'm in big trouble… What if you made them worry? You were so far away from home! All these thoughts made you start tearing up again and Zhongli was quick to notice. He was about to speak up and console the little one when a gush of air stopped him. And that very same gush of air made you tear up some more and clutched on Zhongli's coat.

"Name, where have you been?" Xiao's voice was calm- but he's not the perfect brother nor human. There was something in his tone that suggested he was clearly not pleased about the situation. You could feel his gaze boring onto your back.

With a bit of coaxing from Zhongli, you faced you brother. "I-I'm s-sorry, gēgē…" Your voice cracked as tears started to blur your eyes. But your brother was not yet done.

"Name, do you have any idea how worried our mother was when she found out you were out of bed and could not find you anywhere in the inn?"

The thought of your mother searching all over you made you tears form more. "I- I do."

"Do you really?" 

It was a sharp question without even missing a bit, and that was the starting point for you and for him. Even Xiao winced at his own words, he swore he'll have to make it up to you later- but for now you had to understand. He remembered the panicked face your mother wore with tears threatening to fall. He remembered her panicked voice when she called for him. He remembered the worry he felt and the dip in his stomach when she said you were missing.

"I-I'm so sorry, gēgē. I-I was just p-playing. I d-didn't want you and mama t-to worry…" You couldn't meet his eyes.

Worry?

"Just. Playing? Name, you left home in the middle of the night- when dangers are high- just to play! Name, you could have gotten hurt! We were not just worried, Name- we were scared that something might have happened to you!" 

Every word he spoke- his voice rose higher- not being able to contain the pits of his negative thoughts. Every word- it was like a stab to his heart. But he had to be firm.

"I will ask you again, Name. Do you really understand what you did and their consequences?"

And thay was the breaking point and the night was filled by you whimpers, your wales, and your aplogies. Your shoulders began to shake and tears flowed freely and lungs struggling for breath. "I-I'm sorry, gēgē- I-I shouldn't h-have left h-home! Pleas-se d-dont stay m-mad at me… I p-promise i-it-t won't happen aga-ain- I-I'm s-sorry p-please don't h-hat-te m-me.

You kept going with your rambles and your tears. And for every whimper you released, Xiao was close to breaking too. The brother lost count many times you've repeated your mantras- but he decided- I can't do this anymore. Not with you crying breathless. He'll talk to you about this when everything's calm- his emotions and yours.

With swift steps and sure movements, Xiao pulled you into a hug and your cries grew louder. "Just don't do that ever again, okay.." He said gently but voice cracking, leaving a kiss on your forehead as you nodded readily. Once your cries have calmed down, Xiao carried you to his arms followed hy him wiping away your tears.

"Name."

"Y-yes?"

Your eyes met, and the anger was no longer there, but instead worry and love.

"I love you."

You could feel his genuinity. The words brought a smile to your face, albeit small. "I love you, too, gēgē."

Xiao smiled and left another kiss on your nose. "Sleep now. You had a long night and way past your bed time."

You didn't even protest, you were out like a light bulb as you comfortably laid you head on his shoulder and closed your eyes- not missing the golden dragon floating behind the man who saved you.

~

The walk home was silent. A teleport would be quicker, but Xiao didn't want to disturb your sleep. It was an awkward walk to say the least. Him carrying his sibling, along with the last of his tears stinging his red eyes, all while his master accompanied them home.

But Zhongli- Zhongli was amused. Amused with the blooming dynamic siblinghood between you and Xiao. But he decided to hold his tongue. He knew Xiao was still wrapping his head around what had transpired. Still he does leave a praise to reassure Xiao that everything will be fine.

"You're the best brother your little sibling could ever ask for, Xiao. Remember that."

A/N: Welp ksks lots of loose ends if you squint ksks- like example the tone of the wind spirits, the cat and such

Taglist: @hanniejji @suckerforgenshinboys @arson-frog-art @anime-read-write-repeat @kryzi @riiasekai @sweetstrawberrybabe

[misselko]

Got this idea from Dimitri’s conversation with Byleth before Fort Merceus battle with the Death Knight. Put some angst, fluff, and a pinch of smut spices into the dish and let it simmer down! At least, that’s what I want! But it turned out... different ;) Sorry not sorry

This one took me some days to write. I hope you enjoy it! Please feel free to give me some advice and ideas for my next fic! Your warm comments will be cherished very much 💕 Thankies!!

 

RECKLESS

Genre: Angst, Fluff

Warnings: Mention of blood, violence, smut

Words: 3316

 

POST TIMESKIP

Empire will be the only remaining enemy and to move on to the Imperial Capital, Enbarr, capturing Fort Merceus is a must. Praised as the strongest defense with its fortified military installation  in the Empire, seizing it won’t be an easy feat.

Liberating Arianrhod, calming down Holy Kingdom of Faerghus political issues, winning over the Leicester Alliance and gained their support. Getting a lead on Lady Rhea’s location. Although things were a rough go, but thinking back on it now, Blue Lions sure has really come a long way. Things have been wonderful in these past moons that it almost feels like dream too good to be true.

You don’t know why but you can’t shake your uneasy feelings and dread. War is raging and everyone knows there is a big battle on the horizon.

“We must not falter in our assault. The Death Knight is the enemy commander in Fort Merceus. He’s an unpredictable opponent. A dangerous one. Please proceed with caution, (Y/N).”

“I will, Dimitri. No need to worry.”

“I have not come this far just to lose you here. I’m serious. Do not be reckless out there.”

“Will you save me if I’m in trouble?”

“Of course, (Y/N). You were the heart of the Blue Lions, and the same holds true for the Kingdom Army.”

You smiled at his concern and hold his hands gently.

“I will do my best as well to support you, my Dimitri.” His cheeks turned into rosy blush at your words.

 

“Whoaa!! You’re getting pretty chummy, aren’t you, Your Highness? Go get a room!” Sylvain winks and got punched HARD, dragged away by Ingrid. You make mental notes on giving her a delicious roasted meat from that famous new shop in the town later as your gratitude. Serves him right!! ...But you wouldn’t trade them for anything in this world. Everything will be alright with them. Blue Lions are your precious family. It will be fine. Everything will be fine.

---

Capturing Fort Merceus is a daunting task. Endless enemies are approaching and relentless. Felix and Sylvain are working together cut through the snipers and mages. Ingrid and Ashe are doing their best to handle the pegasi knights. Dedue, Annette, Mercedes, and Flayn makes great combo on cutting through enemy reinforcements while providing healing to everyone. Slowly but sure, you and Dimitri managed to push Death Knight on the corner. But it doesn’t make things less difficult for both of you.

 

“You dare stand between me and my pleasure?”

The beginning of it was barely a bellow that grew steadily to a deafening roar, piercing the air and shaking the ground. Areadbhar crack in deafening clash against Death Knight’s Scythe of Sariel. They raised their weapons, waving them overhead.

 

“Yes. I dare stand against you, Death Knight!!”

 

Dimitri decides to face Death Knight head on as you tried your best to keep his back safe from the Imperial soldiers assaults. Keeping a close eye on him... just in case, following from a few meters back, cover his blind spots that way, look out for any potential danger. You could see them coming around, carefully and quietly trying to find their way to Dimitri.

 

Landing sharp blows, you bring the blade down on the head of another mage. Slashing your way through numerous enemies, you start to feel fatigued. Countless enemies lying dead behind. You looked around, among the sea of red and black, a swordmaster is sneaking his way behind Dimitri, ready to ambush him.

 

But you wouldn’t let it happen!

 

You were fully offensive, rapidly swinging your sword down on the swordmaster. You were able to deflect, parry, and block most of his attacks until his foot swept across your ankles, knocking you hard to the floor. The swordmaster stood above you, ready to press his sword into your chest to end your life. Fatigue made it harder for you to evade his deadly stab completely. Sound of a weapon piercing through flesh filled your ears, followed by an intense pain in your side. He pulled it back out with a triumphant smirk on his face. Despite the searing pain, you made it in time to grab your own weapon and thrust it up to his neck, your arms shaking as you tried to counter the weight of his attack. Grimace crossing your face as he fell, blood painting the earth a sick shade of red.

 

You sat up, wincing at the searing, burning hot pain on your side. The stab wound was way too deep. Your hands trembled, desperately attempting to put pressure on the wound as heavy flow of your blood is trickling through your fingers, colors your skin and clothes. The world had turned blurry, and your body felt weak. Ignoring the excruciating pain, you rush forward to help Dimitri. He has won against the Death Knight. But in his brief reverie, the Tempest King failed to notice two opposing snipers are approaching him, expression intent to kill, aiming their arrows at his back.

 

You acted on instinct, rushing forward, sprinting to intervene. To protect him.

‘We have been through so much together and he’d been through hell and back... I want to ease his pain. Knowing he’s safe... I can be at peace.’

You thought to yourself, launching forward. You barely has energy to stand up, but you tried to muster your last remaining strength to dove in before Dimitri. The arrows managed to easily make it’s way through your armor, landing in your chest and abdomen. ‘I have no regret when it came to protecting Dimitri.’

 

Your body slammed hard on the ground, careening across the battlefield. A sharp cry pained noise escaped you; that was all it took. Dimitri stiffened at the sound. It pulled him from the high of the battlefield down to reality in an instant.

 

“(Y/N)!!!”

 

He turned; filled with horror and rage. The fires blazing around him didn’t give off any heat. The battlefield around him turned black and white. His ears were ringing as if he’d been caught in an explosion. Dimitri went after the snipers and thrust them both at their hearts. After a quick glance to make sure no more surprise attacks happen, he kneels and pulling you into his chest. You looked so small, felt so limp that it sickened him. Broken and battered with littered scars and large wound on your side. Arrows jutting out of your chest, much too close to the heart, and another one lodged deep in your abdomen.

 

Dimitri watched as the blood pooled around you. Blood... there is so much blood. Your blood.

“Goddess... what were you- MERCEDES! FLAYN!! SOMEONE...HELP!!”

 

He pulled himself up, beside you, staring at your face. You were so pale. Oh, Goddess, you were dying. Were you already dead?

“I’m sorry.” There isn’t a reason to apologize, you aren’t sorry, but it still came out like the blood that is on Dimitri’s hands now.

 

“Don’t you dare apologize to me right now,” his voice choked off in his throat feels raw with emotions, barely able to hold back the sob which demands to escape, “not when you are like this. What were you thinking, (Y/N)? You have promised me to not be reckless.” He phrased it in a question, but both know why.

 

“Y-You... haven’t seen the... swordmaster... and those snipers. Y-You...were going to die...if they attack you. I want to protect you.... and I don’t regret my decision.“

 

You opened your mouth to speak but immediately coughed, feeling globs of blood on the corners of your lips. Dimitri gripped your hand, his hold so tight that it hurt, but you wouldn’t waste your breath on telling him. You could barely see Mercedes scurried over to your side as quickly as she could, Flayn follows behind her, leaving the Death Knight behind with tears running down her cheeks.

 

“Please stay awake for me a little longer, please.”

He choked out, pulling you closer if possible as it would keep you from leaving.

 

The chaos around you went mute as your eyes grow heavy. Maybe a quick nap would suffice.

 

“No...no, no, (Y/N)!! You can’t do this to me, you can’t-! Please, (Y/N), I can’t lose you too.....”

 

You felt like you were fading, and the sounds around you faded along with your hazy consciousness. You fell asleep.

---

Every second was filled with anxiety; you’d lost so much blood. The wounds were too deep to heal completely. There was little to no possibility of survival. Not after what you’d been through.

The days turned to one week, then two...then three. The physical wounds had healed, mostly repaired and faded to scars. There was potential for things to return to normal, and you may wake up sooner rather than later.

When you opened your eyes again, you found yourself in a dimly lit room, your upper body covered in bandages. The first thing you’re aware of is a dull throb radiating throughout your entire body. You were confused, and moved your head, unintentionally shifting your body and sending a wave of pain through your chest and stomach as you tried to get up. You closed your eyes tightly in response to the return of extreme pain, much worse than you had ever felt before. With much struggle, you sat on the edge of the bed shakily trying to stand up. The door creaked open and you looked up to find Dimitri peering inside.

 

”You’re awake,” he said, a look of surprise on his face. You tried to stand up and walk to him but failed, Dimitri ran in and caught you before you fell over. “I thought I was going to lose you, (Y/N),” he said, lifting you up effortlessly, settling you gently onto the bed and pulled up a chair. 

 

As cautiously as you could, you managed to sit yourself up. You kept a careful eye on the young king, noting how dark the circles under his eyes have become and how hollow his cheeks have turned. The fact that rest had eluded him for however long you were unconscious was as plain as day.

 

“You nearly died because of me. I have no right to be... you of all people shouldn’t-!” He managed to say, his voice shaking as his fingers trembled.

His head shot up to look at you, cerulean blue eyes dampened by tears that pooled in them. Your eyes were open, though weakly, looking at him and his disturbed state. You sensed his worry, but also his relief as he hovers next to your bed, engulfing you in his embrace and squeezing you against his chest for all he was worth. He was mindful of your wound, but that wasn’t enough to keep him away. No, he needed you. He needed to be beside you, to feel you, to know you were there.

 

“I’m okay, Dimitri...” You whispered, resting a hand on his chest where his heart thundered. You closed your eyes against him, relishing the feel of his tender warmth.

 

You felt how hard and rapid his heart was beating, almost deafening. Your arms wrapped around his heaving back weakly, rubbing it soothingly. He pulled you closer in response—closer, closer, closer, until every inch of you was smothered by him. Hesitant, trembling fingers graced your tightly wound bandages and you felt something warm and wet splatter onto your exposed shoulder.

 

"I could not stand to lose you,” he spoke slowly, holding your hands so tight that it hurts.

“But I fear that I may if I tell you what is on my mind.”

 

His voice was as quiet as it could be and it made you frown your eyebrows in worry. You were happy to see him alive, that was your goal when you decided to protect him from the approaching enemies. However, seeing him so distraught and afraid twisted your insides uncomfortably. The way he held your hand so desperately, afraid to let go.

 

“Dimitri.” You call him quietly, which makes him look at you with those gorgeous eyes of him.

 

You move your hand to his cheeks, caressing his soft skin, trying to bring him even the tiniest amount of comfort. Leaning to give him a soft chaste kiss on his lips. He reciprocated by open-mouthed kiss you with such fervor. There’s an undercurrent of desperation in the way Dimitri kisses you, as if this is the last moment he’ll ever feel it. It’s almost as if it pains him to be this close to you. You were alive, yet he couldn’t help but doubt it. Perhaps it was once again due to the vicious noises he still heard, though faintly. However, he was glad that they allowed him this moment of happiness.

 

“I won’t leave you, Dimitri.” You promised between ragged breath, your chest heaving.

 

“We are so close to ending this. Please, promise me you’ll stay safe. Rest, for now, my beloved.” Leaning down, he pressed a lingering kiss to your forehead, holding your hand to his chest. “I promise, I will never let you be hurt for my sake again.” Covering you with a  blanket  and tucking you into bed to retire for the evening.

---

After your awakening, the Blue Lions and Professor began incorporating regular infirmary visits into their schedule. They showered you with kind, encouraging words and occasionally bore small gifts (flowers and snacks), always encourage you to get better soon. But your most frequent visitor of all was your beloved gentle king.

It was two weeks since you have gotten better. Mercedes promised to take care after your bandages this evening.

“Are you ready, (Y/N)?”

You met Mercedes’ warm gaze with your own. With a firm nod, you replied, “Ready as I’ll ever be, Mercedes.”

 

The healer moved closer to you, her skilled hands undoing the set of bandages for the last time. Dimitri averted his frantic eyes to the wall when the dressing loosened just enough for your breasts to peak through. A cold, unforgiving breeze whipped the newly exposed skin, jolting a shiver down your spine. Mercedes sighed, slowly traced the scars your chest and stomach.

“I’m sorry but we will never be able to remove the scars. The wounds all healed, but... the scars will never go away completely. I’m sorry (Y/N).”

 

Your eyes immediately flashed over to Dimitri’s stiffening frame.

“It’s okay. I will never regret such a thing.” You smiled, tucking a lock of hair behind your ear.

“Do you need anything else, (Y/N)?”

“No, I’m all good, Mercedes! Thank you for your help.”

“All right, then. Annette said that she needs my help with her baking this evening. We have to finish it before midnight! Should you need anything, please feel free to call me.” Mercedes gave you last smile before excusing herself politely from your quarter.

 

“Dimitri.”

His jaw clenched tautly; his eyes crunched into a pain-stricken wince. Refusing to look at your scar, a harsh reminder of his failure.

“Look at me.”

He stilled and won’t budge to look at you.

 

“I will never regret nor blame you for this. It was my decision and if it means saving you, I’ll gladly do it again in a heartbeat. Or... perhaps.... I can understand if you find that my... scars are disgusting, appalling, even....” you whisper softly, almost inaudible. Your surroundings whizzed right past you before you were unceremoniously slammed into your bed.

“DON’T SAY SUCH THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF!!” He growled “I will not allow you to throw your life away for me. If.. If something ever happen to you.. I’ll live a life worse than death itself, (Y/N).”

 

Not a moment later did you feel something warm and soft press against your lips. His mouth moved awkwardly yet full of affection. Hands planted  on either side of your body, ridding any hope of escape from his ravishing kisses. Dimitri pressed his lips further into yours, swallowing your moans. His lips left yours to trail down around your neck, breasts, and stomach lovingly. “This wounds... I cannot lose you again, my beloved.” His body quivered.  The King kissing the scars on your cleavage and abdomen, worshiping them reverently with tender touches, almost like touching a porcelain doll. Afraid to break you with his almost inhuman power. Biting and sucking wherever his heart desired until you were covered in nothing but love bites, leaving you a panting mess.

 

Dimitri held you in his arms, stroking your hair and mumbling whispers of ‘I’m sorry’. Bittersweet smile formed on his lips. He gazed at you, eyes lidded with desires and need, mixed with guilt and love. “(Y/N)... My beloved...” You pulled away slightly to look up at him and smiled.

“Dimitri...” You cupped his cheek in your hand, in which he immediately melted into.

“I love you, Dimitri.”

 

He blushed at your words, then it dawned on his realization. Suddenly becoming very aware of the... intimate position you were in. “Um, w-well...” As he came to his full senses he released his hands from you, as though from fire and stuttered, quickly pulling away from your panting form. He wasn’t making eye contact anymore, and you followed his gaze downwards on your body. Oh. Without the dreamlike stupor a d hazy feeling to distract you, you realized just how naked you are. Nightgown pooled beneath your waist. Feeling an onset of bashfulness, you also brought an arm up to cover as much of your chest as you could; despite what you had just done with him, the reality of the situation was catching up to you.

 

He flinched, breaking eye contact and rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Ah—Urghh!!! I’m sorry, (Y/N)!! I don’t know what came over me but.. but... P-Perhaps we should... stop... before it escalates any further...” The King unclasped his furred cloak hurriedly and put it over your naked body unceremoniously, hiding his flushed crimson face in his hands again, absolutely brutalized with shame. 

 

“Er.. Be certain to rest for now. We may have undone some of your healing.” Then he said hurriedly, almost inaudibly. “When your strength returns to its fullest, we can pick up where we left off. I promise.”

 

“Fine...” You giggled, finding his attempt at being serious too adorable. The heat and passion was still very visible in his eyes, and it was obvious that anymore teasing on your end would send him over the edge.

“Thank you for this lovely evening, Dimitri.”

You pulled his hand to your lips and give each of his fingers soft kisses, gazing at him lovingly. Dimitri’s jaw and pants tightened, the poor king desperately clinging onto the last thread of sanity and reason which threatened to snap at any moment.

 

“Good night, my beloved (Y/N).” Casting one last glance at you and bashfully looking down when he caught your eye, the Blue Lions Leader left with a haste that was probably unbecoming of a gentleman, his long legs taking the steps to the second floor dormitory two at a time. He somehow,  somehow  managed to reach his room without incident or interruption, locking his door behind him, leaning back against it and covering his burning red face with his hands. His body felt like it was on fire; nerve endings alight with sensations he had long believed were dead.

 

The pit of his stomach tangled in knots when he thought of (Y/N). All he could think about was your pure unadultered love, beautiful (E/C) that is gazing at him affectionately. Goddess, he was such a sinner. It made him want to put his hands on you. All over you. Repeatedly. Savoring the taste of your lips as you moan into his mouth. Feeling your warmth and love. Unclothed. His mind is running wild. This frantic sensation in his blood, while half-forgotten, was not new. It will be another sleepless night for the poor king. And it’s all because of you.

[tokoyamisstuff]

Scandal Ch. 4 - Loki x Reader

Summary: Nothing can stop the wrath of the God of Mischief, when he realizes he had been deceived by the people he trusted more than his beloved wife.

Warnings: Angst, Violence

Words: ~1700

"But what the world fails to realize is a villain is just a victim whose story hasn’t been told.” - Chris Colfer

I Story Masterlist I General Masterlist I

Taglist: @hi-there-x @haloangel391 @misssilencewritewell @babayaga67 @accioremuslupinn @mochimommy2002 @just-someone-who-likes-to-write @damalseer @bethanystan @loser-alert @star017 @nina1800 @queenariesofnarnia @n1fangirlsblog @vengefulsokovian @lunamoonbby @freyagallileaevans​

A/N: This is a rather boring chapter, but we’re far from done!

“She already left several moons ago. It was her own wish, we did not force her.”

“Where to?” 

“Midgard.”

Loki was long back on Asgardian territory, yet his mind couldn’t find peace. Well, how could he, now knowing what Laufey told him?

His world had already crumbled to dust when he left you behind - but if Laufey spoke the truth, his whole existence had been built on lies from the very start.

Not knowing where to search for answers, the prince sneaked into Odin’s forbidden chambers, walking in the shadows protecting him in the midst of night.

There it was: The Cascet of Ancient Winters - the very relic that doomed the fate of your newborn, revealing it’s shameful blood to all of Asgard.

It just urged him to try and see for himself, even if the truth would shatter his heart.

“STOP!”

Loki wouldn’t even flinch at the Allfather’s words, already tightly holding the cascet in both hands.

“Am I cursed?”

The God of Mischief wouldn’t even dare to turn around and look at the person he always ever thought to be his father - for as soon as he laid fingers on the cascet, he began turning into that same shade of blue your son did.

Panic began to rise in the young god, fearing to be killed by the people he loved so dearly shall they lay eyes upon what he truly was. His chest began to tighten, fastened breath turning into a cold mist.

“No” was Odin’s firm but unsatisfying answer, to which Loki only responded by putting down the cascet.

“What am I?”

“You’re my son.” His words came from the heart, not even faltering as Loki turned around to present his Jotun form to the Allfather.

“What more than that?!” he almost growled in between gritted teeth, appearance slowly returning to his usual self.

At that deepest, darkest day in his life yet, Loki would be too blinded by betrayal and rage to see his father’s true love towards his adoptive son.

“The cascet wasn’t the only thing you took back from Jotunheim that day, was it?” The prince took firm steps towards the man that he had known all his life, but had become a complete stranger towards him through that sole moment.

Again, only a “no.”

Loki’s mind was racing, thinking about what else may have been hidden from himself - and what kind of consequences that revelation had for everything he had done up until now.

“In the aftermath of the battle, I went to the temple -- and I found a baby” the Allfather continued, “Small, for a giant’s offspring. Abandoned, suffering, left to die...”

“...Laufeyson” Loki completed Odin’s sentence. So every word the King of the Jotunns had said was indeed a fact.

“W-W-why?!” he almost whined, voice weak and defeated. “You were knee deep in Jotun blood, why would you take me?”

“You were an innocent child-”

“No.” The God of Lies himself had become so sick of being fed those, starting to snap. “You took me for a purpose. What was it???” 

For what felt like an eternity, there was only silence.

The image of that small, blue child in his arms had been painfully burned into his heart back then. But now that he knew the story behind all of this, it held a completely different meaning.

Just like he had been abandoned back on that frozen rock, he had abandoned his own child, as well as the love of his life.

Outcast, abused, left to die...and now, god knows what had happened to you...

That secret had destroyed more than just his own life. It had ruined the only honest happiness he was ever given - you, and his son.

“TELL ME!”

He just needed to know: The reason behind all the pain and suffering he had to endure - and caused to others as well.

“I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day, bring about an alliance, bring about permanent peace...through you.”

That was just too much for Loki to bear. “What?” he reacted with a barely-there voice, every word of his father shooting daggers through his heart.

“But those plans no longer matter.” No matter what Odin might want to explain, Loki wasn’t able to listen to any more, jumping into his own conclusions.

“So I am no more than another stolen relic, locked up inside of here until you might have use for me?!” he croaked, afraid of the answer.

“Do not twist my words.”

“You could told me what I was from the beginning!” he now yelled, furious at how virtuous Odin would still defend his own action. “Why didn’t you?”

“You’re my son” he repeated once again. “I only wanted to protect you from the truth.”

“Why, ‘cause I-I-I-I’m the monster people tell their children about at night?!” Loki clenched his fists, fingernails drawing blood to his palm.

“At least when my son was born, you should’ve dropped the charade!” Pure agony was dripping from every syllable, and for a mere second, his eyes were glistering bright red once again. “You’ve forsaken two innocent lives - the most important beings in my pathetic existence - and now you’ve burdened me with their suffering as well!”

That sure was a miracle - how a person so broken from the beginning wouldn’t collapse under pressure that huge.

“It all makes sense now, why you favoured Thor, all those years! Because no matter how much you claim to love me, you could never have a Frost Giant sitting on the throne of Asgard!”

But who cares about the throne, honestly? Not him. Not anymore. Ever since he knew you.

It all dawned to him now: What he could have, if only he had put his trust in you like so many times before.

All his life, he only ever remembers a shadow. At first, he thought it to be the shadow of his brother, or never being enough for his own father. Maybe the other Asgardians looking down on him, making him feel like he doesn’t belong.

Yet in the end, that very shadow was inside of his own mind.

But you?

You had loved Loki with all of your heart, banishing the darkness from his mind through your bright affection.

It didn’t matter to you what anyone thought of him - or even what he thought himself to be.

Because you saw him for what he really was, and he found peace with that.

And he was certain that it wouldn’t matter to you whether he called himself Odinson or Laufeyson - as had you loved his child dearly, ever since he took his first breath.

He could never make up for that greatest of his sins, Loki knew that much.

Or...?

“Where are you going, my son?”

Reluctantly, Loki made his way past the man he now only considered a stranger. Still, when Odin tried to reach out to him, Loki immediately ducked away, startled and afraid for his true nature to hurt anyone.

More than ever before, the God of Mischief despised himself to the core of his being. He was lost, confused, shocked - and still, determined.

“Creating a Kingdom for my family.”

___

[Earth, 2 months later]

On times like these, you thought your mind was betraying you.

Especially when you catched yourself reminiscing sweet, innocent moments - far back in the past, before everything you ever held dearly got destroyed.

You still felt his touch, feather-light on your skin, as well as his scent haunting your memories. And sometimes you couldn’t help but wonder how life would have been, well...if things were different.

Frantically shaking your head, you clasped the book closed and threw it into a corner of the small one-room-flat SHIELD had provided for you.

Your magical pockets were always almost empty, except for a few necessities - and that book. It held the first flower Loki ever gifted you, and you had dried it in between those pages so it would never lose it’s beauty.

But now, remembering meant pain - because Loki Laufeyson would never come back.

For he is dead.

Fell of the Bifrost, as confirmed by Heimdall, who secretly kept in touch with you all this time. So you knew it all: Of his grief and treason, which slowly led him into madness. 

And what did you do in the meantime?! Nothing at all!

You should’ve tried everything, anything to get back and help him go through that time of need, hel!

“Endure it, Y/N...you need to stay strong...for Liam.” After so many times of telling those words to yourself, you doubted them to have any effect on your broken heart at all.

Yet it would never fail to keep you going. For that wonderful child was proof of your love, and now your last memory of him.

Rocking the small Jotun to sleep, tears found their way to your eyes like so many times before, dropping to the baby’s face unnoticed.

So you tried to sing your pain away as you cooed that little wonder to sleep.

“Å eg lengtar så tidt dette landet å sjå, Og det dreg meg så blidt, når eg langt er ifrå. Med den våknande vår vert min saknad so sår, så mest gråta, mest gråta eg kan. Å eg minnest, å eg minnest, å eg minnest så vel dette land. Å eg minnest, å eg minnest, å eg minnest så vel dette land.”

*Translation:

“Oh I long so long to see this land, And it pulls me so gently, when I'm far away. With the waking spring host my missing so sore, so most cry, most cry eg can. Oh I remember, oh I remember, oh I remember this country as well. Oh I remember, oh I remember, oh I remember this country as well.”