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pandoraborn · 4 years ago

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Cruelty of the Beast - Part 12

( previous. )

Characters: c!Techno, c!Dream, c!Ranboo, c!Tommy, c!Phil, c!Wilbur Word count: 2154 words Content: phil and wilbur bonding, discussion of morality, the official calm before the storm

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Techno paces back and forth, fiddling with his fingers. He can’t resist shooting glances toward the wall. He can hear Phil and Wilbur yelling at each other through the wall, though Phil is clearly more angry than Wilbur is. Techno doesn’t blame Phil. It’s one thing to hear your son is not only alive and heading some evil plot to destroy the world, but to actually see him in person...

Techno is filled with conflicting emotions.

He’s not happy to see Ranboo with Tommy and Dream. He’d been coming around to actually trusting Ranboo, but seeing Ranboo stand protectively over Tommy as if Tommy hadn’t just participated in kidnapping him and Phil; this entire situation still feels like a fever dream.

Techno can’t even say he’s wholly against their idea either.

It’s the ultimate form of anarchy. He hadn’t considered that Tommy would be willing to do away with it, but Ranboo had hastily explained upon his arrival that Tommy just wanted to end all the pain he’d gone through at everyone’s hands. Techno hated that brief churning of guilt -he shouldn’t be responsible for some idiot teenager.

Techno stops pacing when he sees Phil storm back into the room, red faced and breathing heavily. Phil’s hair is messy, tendrils snaking across his face and falling into his red-rimmed eyes. The way his lips are pressed together tells Techno that the conversation, despite the yelling, had not gone well.

Wilbur follows behind, looking just as frazzled as Phil. Wilbur’s hands are trembling, and at once glance toward Techno, he shoves his hands in his pockets. “It’s for the best, Phil,” Wilbur finishes the argument. Techno can hear the finality in Wilbur’s voice, the ‘my decision is final’ tone. It’s that tone that Techno knows better than to argue with. Getting Wilbur alone soon though might help; Techno wonders if he’d have a better chance of getting to understand more than Phil. Though, Techno suspects the argument was less about the plan, and more about Phil’s shock over seeing Wilbur.

He stumbles back when Tommy rushes past him to cling to Wilbur’s side. Wilbur returns the embrace, wrapping his own arms around Tommy and holding him close.

“I don’t care about your ideas!” Phil snarls, whirling back around. It’s confirming Techno’s suspicions. “I helped blow up L’Manburg, and I’d do it again. I don’t care that you want to unleash a dragon. I care that you never told me about this! Haven’t you considered for a single second that I might have wanted to see you after you came back?”

The argument is clearly not finished, and now everyone is awkwardly standing around. Even Dream is poking his head around, taking a break from cooking, to see what the fuss is about. The whole scene playing out would be amusing, if not for the silence that falls in between each man speaking.

“So why are you telling me I’m brash and stupid?” Wilbur asks. “I’ve thought for months on this. Over a decade-”

“You’re brash and stupid because this whole time-” Phil starts, but he cuts himself off. Phil is not one to cry. Techno had never seen the man cry before. Phil is the type to laugh things off and let things go. Even at his angriest, he still somehow managed to remain calm.

Phil’s crying now.

“Because this whole time,” Phil continues, through clenched teeth,”I felt so guilty over what happened between us. The letters, me coming to see you only to find you begging for death, and...”

“Oh.” Wilbur softens. His shoulders deflate, he gently pushes Tommy to the side. Even his expression seems to soften. Is it a trick of the light, or do Wilbur’s eyes seem to turn a lighter shade of brown? He’s moving closer to Phil, reaching out. Wilbur grabs his father’s hands, clasping them between his own. “Phil I made some stupid decisions in the past, but this is one I’ve thought long and hard over. Call me evil, but I still don’t think so.”

“You’re not evil, you’re my son,” Phil whispers. “Stupid and impulsive, but I’d never think of you as evil. Nor Tommy, nor Ranboo.”

“Dream, maybe,” Tommy interjects. That earns a snort from Techno. Even Dream snorts. Tommy hadn’t said anything to anyone else about how he and Dream had seemed to bond, so it’s still somewhat of an inside joke to Techno, for now. He’s happy to keep it that way.

“So,” Techno says, when he figures the other two aren’t going to continue. “I take it we’re not being killed? Or ritually sacrificed on an alter made of like. I dunno, silver or something?”

Tommy and Ranboo both start laughing. “No Techno, why would you think-” Tommy doubles over, while Ranboo just points and laughs. Techno wonders if it would be a crime to behead teenagers, just for Dream to revive them.

“You don’t have to mock me,” Techno drawls. “This all feels too normal for a group of people about to end the world.” He lifts a hand, waving in Dream’s general direction. “At his word.”

“Correction: mine,” Wilbur states. “Don’t get me wrong, Dream and Ranboo helped set a lot of it into motion, but I was the one keeping things going behind the scenes, especially when Dream got all power trippy after I died. Someone still needs to knock him down a few pegs.”

“I can assist with that,” Phil chirps. Phil’s already reaching for a weapon with a twisted smile on his face. “Dream is a bit twisted, I’d have fun.”

“Wait,” Dream says, lifting his hands up in surrender. “I’m making you all food.”

“I already got him for that, dad,” Wilbur says. “I threatened to push him into the lava, because I don’t exactly like coming back to life to seeing Tommy covered in blood.”

“Uh, I don’t want to talk about this,” Tommy says nervously. “I really, really want to change the subject. Anything else.”

“When do we get to see the the dragon?” Techno has no reason to be malicious to Tommy anymore. Sure, Tommy is stupid and impulsive (gee, wonder where he gets that from), but they’re all on the same side now, and Techno isn’t actually angry anymore about his situation. He’s unhurt, Phil’s not being separated from him, and he’s even getting a delicious meal out of it. Win win win.

Oh, and dragons. That’s definitely a win.

“I can take you after we eat,” Ranboo says. When Dream clears his throat and shoots a glare at Ranboo, Ranboo grins. “Dream can take you after we eat. I’m not allowed in the end by myself.”

Dream nods approvingly. “We need to start setting the things up anyway,” Dream says. “The next several days are going to be hell, and we still need explosives, weapons, and anything to prepare us for war. That’s why we went to you two: because we know you’re able to grind and make shit. Though, this time, we intent to make it worth your while.”

“Oh, please,” Phil says. “You’re talking about total anarchy. Look at Techno’s face, I promise you that he’s excited about this. So what is it you need from us, exactly?”

“I got you,” Techo says. He starts listing off a checklist. “Netherite armor, enchanted bows, mending, sand, gravel, swords, more tools, I’m assuming all diamond and netherite?”

“The ground beneath us is untouched,” Wilbur says. “You and Ranboo can gather as much resources as you can find. While you do that, I was thinking of taking Tommy back into the SMP so we can start working on the perimeter. I think it’s high time we start planning for this.”

Phil nods. “I’ll go with you two, and Dream-”

“Don’t worry about me.” Dream smiles, something that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’m going to stay here and keep working on the portal. Gotta make sure a dragon can fit through it, and I have the know-how to make it work. In the meantime, dinner’s ready.”

There’s a mad scramble to grab plates and divide food evenly between all six of them. This cabin doesn’t even have enough beds for six people, but they know how to make it work. It’s not like it’s hard to make and cram extra beds in the place.

Everyone sits on the floor to eat, sitting around in a circle. No one says anything anymore, too focused on their food. The lit candles cast shadows in the dim room, and Techno takes a moment to study everyone. Shadows play with the imagination, causing everyone to look more sinister than they are. But Techno knows everyone, well, most everyone, is just some form of broken and beaten down. No one can truly be evil, only deemed the bad guys by other people who don’t know any better.

He’d thought he wanted the syndicate, but this is so much bigger. Even Techno would admit he’s nervous over the whole thing, but he focuses on Wilbur especially. Wilbur doesn’t look like a bad guy, or even evil. He’s grinning at Tommy, ruffling the boy’s hair and cackling when Tommy tries hard not to spray his meal everywhere with suppressed laughter. It’s all far too ordinary.

“I have a question,” Techno asks. He sets his plate down carefully. “What makes a person the villain? What separates them between good and evil?”

Wilbur leans forward. “Do you have attachments?”

“I have Phil.”

“How far would you go for him?”

“I’d do everything for him,” Techno responds immediately. It’s true. Phil is his best friend, the only one he’s ever trusted completely and totally. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him.”

“Phil?” Wilbur turns his gaze toward Phil next, who nods.

“I’d do anything for Techno, and you.”

Wilbur straightens up. “I care about all of you on various levels. Tommy, the most. No offense, but you know what I mean. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him.” His expression goes soft again as he presses a hand to Tommy’s back. “We all have attachments to people, even Dream, who pretends he doesn’t. We care about people, we care about material objects, like our weapons, especially after we name them. We care about things, we still do things for each other. Is any of that evil to you?”

“No, Ranboo says softly. “None of that sounds evil.”

“But we’re about to unleash a dragon and end the world,” Wilbur continues. “So by definition, that’d make us the bad guys. Even if we believe wholeheartedly that we’re doing it for good reasons, the others might not see it that way. Would you still call us evil?”

Tommy shakes his head. “I don’t feel like anything about me’s changed. I still feel the same as I did weeks ago. Except now I’m with you, and you’re still ugly.”

“So.” Techno picks his plate back up, using his fork to push the food around. “It’s all subjective? Basically, we’re slapped with a label we may or may not deserve because of goals we have?”

“Not everything is black and white,” Wilbur says. “Take you, for example. When you blew up L’Manburg, you did it because the government was corrupt and needed to die out. You were doing it for what you thought was a good reason, even though everyone fought you. I see this as more of the same: Everything is corrupt and we need something brash to start over. No one needs to hurt anymore.”

“So grey areas,” Techno continues. He’s understanding more. “Shades of grey is easier to swallow, because I’ve never seen myself as evil, or a bad guy.”

“I don’t think any of us are really villains,” Wilbur says. “We’re all just another shade of grey, and everyone’s version of right versus wrong is different. Extreme, but I don’t think it’s wrong. Dream doesn’t count though, he’s done unquestionably villainous shit. Almost like he was trying to get people to hate him.”

“It didn’t completely work, I’m still stuck with five of you,” Dream mutters. “And for some reason, five of you are calling me your friend.”

Ranboo snorts. “You’ll get used to it Dream. Wait, five?” Ranboo whispers ‘what?’ in Tommy’s direction.

“Yeah.” Tommy sighs. “He actually apologized to me, can you believe that? He apologized and meant it.”

“Can confirm,” Phil says. “Techno and I both heard it.”

“Wow,” Wilbur says. “Even Dream has a heart. Cheers, everyone, to Dream finally growing up and admitting his wrongdoings.”

Everyone mutters a half-assed ‘cheers’ before going back to their food. Techno leans back and stares at his plate. Wilbur is the only one to make him feel better about his own decisions. Sure, he always had Phil backing him up, but someone actively putting his own guilt to rest and telling him he’s justified?

Techno likes being a shade of grey. It’ll make the explosions of color later even more beautiful.

#dream smp #dream smp au #dark!au #cruelty of the beast #cruelty of the beast part 12 #wilbur soot #philza #dreamwastaken #tommyinnit #ranboo #technoblade #talk of morality #wilbur and phil bonding #this is the official calm before the storm #things are going to come to a head after this #the finale's about to begin #long post #miishae writes

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dekalko-mania · 4 years ago

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Things That Lurk in the Dark (Pt. 2)

Amity changed the day the portal opened, in more ways than one.

(Read part one here)

....

Vlad had resigned himself to an evening of prep work, monotonous planning and continuous meetings with Amity officials aware of their...dilemma. What he had not expected, or rather, what he had been hoping to avoid, was an interruption in the form of a teenage brat with a flair for heroics.

In the middle of what was surely an important conversation with the APPD chief of police (he was honestly only lending his partial attention), he found himself sighing at the crash of a piece of priceless furniture. Honestly, that boy had to work on his landings.

“Was that your cat, Mayor Masters?” Chief Bryans raised a brow at the stomps that followed the commotion.

Vlad huffed, internally affronted. His Maddie was much more well-mannered than that. “I’m afraid it’s a rather unwelcome visitor.”

Sure enough, his common room doors were soon slammed against the wall, revealing a fuming Phantom. Completely ignoring the other’s presence, he flew the rest of the way over to Vlad, fists trembling with barely-contained rage.

“You.”

“Wouldn’t it have been easier to go through the door? Not forgetting your powers again, are you?”

“Shut up,” Danny snapped. “Why didn’t you tell me? This whole time I thought I was losing my shit, but I was right!”

“I’m sorry, I thought you said Phantom declined to help?” Chief Bryans cut in through the middle of their stand off, eyes flickering between the two of them.

“You said what!”

Vlad scowled, eyes flashing over to the policeman. What a nuisance, he had completely forgotten he was still there. With only a subtle narrowing of the eyes, he summoned a duplicate to appear behind him, commanding the other to overshadow the man’s body and place him in a trance.

Once finished, he focused his attention back on his rival, words laced with irritation. “This is bigger than you, Daniel. Had you known, you would’ve gone in there yourself like the fool you are.”

Choosing to not say anything about his distaste of overshadowing for now, Danny scoffed. “So, what? You planned to send in innocent people when you knew the one most qualified to handle this situation was me?”

“Oh please, don’t flatter yourself so much.” Vlad stood, reaching over to a worryingly packed folder and shoving it into Danny’s arms. “Look at this, dozens of victims and you really think you couldn’t have been one of them? What would Maddie think, hm? Finding her son among the list?”

“Stop it, I know what you’re doing and I’m not buying it!” Danny dropped the folder back onto the table, already knowing its contents by heart, blaming himself for having not done anything sooner. “You manipulate people, it’s what you do. You act like you care, when all you want is credit for solving the problem without me."

Vlad scoffed, "I understand there's been a history of pranks among us, Daniel, and maybe that gave you the impression that I'm one for playground antics." He pointed over to Chief Bryan. "But something they don't know, something your own parents don't know, is that Phantom is not as free of fault as he thinks he is."

"What?" Danny's eyes flashed. "You're saying I'm involved somehow?"

"Oh no," Vlad grinned, sitting back down, an air of arrogance mixing with his anger. "I'm saying you're the cause of it. Your ectosignature reeks throughout the reserve. Whatever is inside, it's calling for you. But shame on me for wanting to keep you from entering an obvious trap."

“But I didn’t...” Danny paused, running a shaking hand through his hair. “I didn’t do anything. And none of my enemies has this much power, unless-”

“Unless it’s someone new,” Vlad interrupted. “That’s what I believe as well. And you’re mistaken to think you haven’t done anything. Think about it, when did this all begin, hm? What prompted such a drastic change to the city?”

Danny took a moment to wonder, going over the strange occurrences he had seen, when they first began. What could possibly have caused such a radical shift? When was the first time he doubted himself and his perception of reality? It was probably around his freshmen year when he noticed it, the sky having momentarily seemed to glitch one day on his way home. It could only have been for half a second, happening around the time when he had still not gotten fully accustomed to his powers. He had been gazing out the school bus window by coincidence, right around the time when...

“The portal.” He realized, breath catching in his throat. “It was the portal.”

“Exactly,” Vlad grinned. “I mean, what did you think? That ripping a hole into another dimension wouldn’t have its consequences?”

“I didn’t exactly think about that, it was an accident.” It was true. Danny never planned to open the portal himself, not at that moment. He had only wanted to explore it, to see if maybe he could point his parents in the right direction. He never thought that an experiment in his basement would cause so much grief.

“Of course you didn’t think, you’re a child. And children shouldn’t be involved in things they know nothing about.” Vlad’s tone was nothing short of condescending. “If it were up to me, I wouldn’t let your nosey little self anywhere near the reserve.

You had no idea what you were doing back in college either, Danny wanted to snap back. Instead, he took his victory for what it was, knowing it was over from the minute he discovered the truth.

“Which means you know you have no choice but to let me go.”

“Unfortunately,” Vlad sighed, summoning his clone back, and waiting as Chief Bryans blinked himself back into awareness.

The officer glanced around the room, eyes falling onto Danny’s much more relaxed form. “I’m sorry, I think I zoned out for a bit. What were we talking about?”

“It seems there was a misunderstanding,” Vlad drawled. “Phantom’s hero complex is as strong as ever. He’ll be joining our raid tonight.”

....

To say that his parents were not pleased to see him was an understatement. He had arrived with Vlad and Chief Bryans, having taken the rest of the day to catch up on the plan. According to the chief, they had decided to first send his parents and smaller ghost hunters into the area, accompanied by a squad of officers armed with ectoweapons.

There was a rough map of the reserve, littered with marks detailing emergency evacuations and possible things that may go wrong. From what Danny could gather, it had been a shoot first and ask questions later approach, his least favorite tactic. Vlad himself seemed opposed to it as well, knowing from his past conniving ways that matters were made better in one’s favor with patience.

It took a bit of convincing, but Danny had managed to alter it so that he made the first attempt. If he went in and failed to resolve the problem, he would begrudgingly step back and allow them to take over. It had added pressure, but made him all the more determined to end the issue once and for all.

What he had not counted on was the opposition of anyone outside Chief Bryans, a dumb assumption now that he thought back on it. As he sat still, letting an officer fit him with a set of Fenton phones and various gadgets, he couldn’t help but to notice the scathing glares being sent his way by his mom.

Out of both Fentons, she was the most angered by his presence, refusing to place the set on him herself. “Unless it’s to study it, I’m not getting closer than I have to be.”

He had to convince himself that he was used to it, ignoring the sting he’d felt at her words.

Officer Perkins stepped back, nodding when he saw the gear was a good fit. “Alright, we weren’t counting on someone going in alone, so we’re going to need you to narrate what you see when you’re inside. That alright?”

Danny nodded, taking the opportunity to avoid his parents’ gaze. Perkins was a much more comforting presence to him, resembling how he imagined Tucker would look like when older, minus the sometimes cocky attitude.

“Are the, um, the families going to arrive? To listen in.”

“The families of the victims you mean?” At Danny’s nod, Perkins frowned. “I guess they didn’t tell you, no one remembers that they’re missing.They did, at first, that’s how we got the news. But once they’ve alerted us it’s like they forget.”

“But wouldn’t they notice if they never came home?” Danny frowned. “That doesn’t make any sense. There had to have been an Amber Alert or something to remind them.”

Danny recalled that some of the victims were kids. Surely their parents would’ve noticed their disappearance, or at least been reminded of it when the officers went to update them.

“We’ve tried sending them out, hell, we’ve even tried to put up signs and post it on social media. Somehow the texts never send, or the flyers disappear. Shit’s weird.” He sighed. “They think their kid is at a sleepover, or that their wife is out visiting her mom. For some reason they forget, but we remember.”

Danny bit his lip, stewing over what Vlad had said earlier in the day.

“What would Maddie think, hm? Finding her son among the list?”

If he went in and never came out, would his family forget his disappearance too? Would Sam, Tucker, and Valerie not even realize that he was gone?

“I wouldn’t worry too much about that if I were you,” Maddie cut in, momentarily catching him off guard. “I’m sure there’s no one out here that would’ve noticed you gone anyway.”

Danny’s expression must’ve showed how painful the statement was to hear, because Officer Perkins immediately rounded on the couple.

“Is this how you talk to someone who’s trying to help?”

“Excuse me? Help?” Maddie frowned. “Ghosts don’t help because they care about people, it’s self-interest. He definitely has an ulterior motive.”

Before Perkins could intervene any further, Danny smirked, shoving aside his feelings for an undeterred facade.

“Don’t bother with them, they’re in their own world.” He met his parent’s gaze head on. “Probably wouldn’t even notice if their own kids disappeared in there.”

He knew he went too far when both Fentons had their guns pointed at him, so quick that Officer Perkins stepped back in shock. Still, he refused to budge, knowing that anything they said would hurt him more than a few shots. Somehow, that angered them even further, his dad’s glare intensifying as he stared him down.

“Listen, spook, you don’t know us as parents. So either you shut up or I’ll-”

“Geez, getting a little defensive aren’t you.” Danny released a humorless laugh. “Guess I hit a nerve.”

He leaned forward, placing his head mere inches away from their weapons.

“Tell me, did you even bother checking if they were home before coming?”

He could see the moment it dawned them that they hadn’t, his mom’s gun dropping by an inch. A sense of guilty satisfaction filled him, knowing that despite them being the threat in the situation, he had the upper hand. He would regret it later, he knew it, but somewhere along the way of becoming Phantom, it grew more difficult for him to compartmentalize his interactions with his parents.

Hard to be a good son when one second he was being held in a containment device, and the next found himself pressed tight against his mother’s side.

The tension was cut through with a loud sigh, Vlad and Chief Bryans suddenly standing at the entrance of their tent. “Officer Perkins, I left you here to control the situation, not stand there gawking.”

Embarrassment marring his features, Perkins placed himself in between the two parties. “Chief Bryans is right, we can settle this later. The truth of the matter is, Phantom’s here to help, same as you. So let’s focus on the raid for now, I’m sure your children are fine. You can call them if that’ll help.”

Danny saw the uncertainty in his parents’ eyes, worrying for a second that they would do exactly that, before seeing determination settle in his dad's gaze.

“No, it’s fine. It’s too late for them to be out anyway.” He grunted.

Danny scoffed, knowing they just didn’t want him to think he’s correct. Figures they would put their pride first. Without anything more to say, he stood, floating over to the two men.

“If that’s settled, are we ready to go?"

Vlad grinned, doing very little to hide his amusement with Danny's predicament. "We've finished the final preparations, yes. All we need is your approval and we’ll get into position.”

Danny nodded, looking over to the Fentons. “You ready?”

His parents’ scowls eased into quiet discontent, guns placed back into their holsters.

“Well then,” Vlad said, holding open the tent flap. “Lead the way.”

....

Danny had only gotten about a five minute walk into the reserve when he noticed the increase in supernatural activity. While Amity had bore many hints of it, the incidents were ones that left him second guessing himself, occurring so abruptly that they could be attributed to an overactive imagination. In there, following along the path of the main river, he struggled to find anything that wasn't out of place.

The first thing he'd noticed was the faint green glow surrounding the place, catching it even in the bits of sky he saw beyond the tree branches. It was as if someone had placed a filter over the entire area, having it resemble a darker version of Skulker's lair.

To his left and across the river, he swore he could see the occasional silhouette, figures peering at him from a safe distance. He wasn't yet sure if they were afraid or curious, but he hadn't gotten close enough to find out. Whoever they were, they weren't the missing people he was searching for. Even without the handheld radar he'd been given, his ghost sense was strong enough to tell that they were supernatural.

“Do you see anything?” Chief Bryan’s voice asked over the Fenton Phones.

Danny imagined them as they were when he’d left, squads assembled on the outskirts of the forest, while the main group of leaders were hunched over a desk of equipment in their tent. They were unable to get footage, but the verbal descriptions and data sent back from his gear was enough to maintain their attention.

He perused his environment, eyeing the various blob ghosts and unnatural bugs floating in his vicinity. “Nothing new, same as before. You?”

“Our readings are the same,” his dad’s voice responded. “Higher ectoplasmic levels than usual, but not too alarming. Can you describe the area again?”

Danny sighed, raising a finger and providing a perch for a small blob. “Other than my little ghost friend here, it’s mostly the same. There’s more trees, I guess. They’ve got these weird jags on their surface, like someone ran their nails down them. “ He shivered at the thought, looking over to the river. “The water here’s frozen over, but the temperature inside is low so it makes sense. And along the side there’s...”

Danny froze, sentence left unfinished.

“Phantom?”

He placed the small ghost on a nearby log, slowly approaching the river edge. “There’s a crack in the ice. I think it’s coming towards me.”

Sure enough, the jagged line ended directly in front of him. He debated whether he should step back, but decided not to move when he saw the fractures branching off into multiple ones. The quiet was replaced with sharp noises and the thumping of something in the water. Danny leaned down, fists raising in case he needed to blast an attacker.

The glow from his fists provided just enough light to see the appearance of a webbed hand pressing against the ice. Slowly, he moved closer, flinching when he saw a face just behind it. As if pleased that they’d been noticed, the creature pushed themselves into an area they’d be more visible, rapping their knuckles lightly on the film above them.

“There’s a girl here,” he realized. “She wants me to get her out.”

“Is it one of the victims?” Maddie asked.

“No, she looks like some kind of mermaid.” Danny placed his hand on the shadow of hers, noting a trail of bubbles escaping her lips as she giggled.

“Leave it then. We need to find the victims, get out of there.”

Ignoring her, Danny put his other hand onto the surface as well, summoning the powers from his cold core so that he could spread the fissures further. When he felt it was enough, he pushed down gently against the ice, breaking it apart so that there was a large open space available.

Slowly, a head of midnight blue hair broke through the surface, cyan face peering at him from beneath soaked bangs. She opened her mouth, once, twice, seemingly unable to utter a word, and then gave up in favor of reaching out to poke his face.

Danny remained still, confused as the girl gaped at him in awe. Once she seemed to regain her bearings, he felt her grab each of his arms, mischievous smile being his only warning before he was yanked into the river.

He struggled, shutting his mouth tightly on instinct as he was surrounded by what to anyone else would be dangerously cold levels of freezing water. Despite his attempts at breaking free, the girl’s grip was strong, and something about her kept him from going intangible. Try as he might, this was her territory, and he was weak to do anything but be dragged further down.

Be still. Trust.

Knowing he had no choice, he let himself go limp, thankful that his ghost form didn’t need to breathe. By now, he could feel the pressure that the deep water bore onto him, shoulders feeling heavy as he was forced further down. He knew it was just uncomfortable, that he would be fine, but the dark water underneath him killed any enthusiasm to go deeper.

Too much, He thought. I’m gonna be crushed.

As abruptly as he was pulled in, he felt himself skidding to a halt, a wave of apology sent in his direction.

Forgive. Mistake. Wait here.

Releasing her grip, the girl gave Danny one final meaningful squeeze on the shoulder. Deciding he wouldn’t leave, she swam down past where the glow from the forest above could illuminate, disappearing completely out of sight.

As he floated there, left completely to his own devices, Danny scoped his surroundings, thinking it strange how a river could bare such a resemblance to the bottom of the sea. From just beyond him, he could see jagged rocks lining its sides, some looking as if they had engravings made along their surface. Had he not been told to stay where he was, he would’ve loved to trace his hands along them.

What caught his attention the most though, now that he’d gained his bearings enough to notice it, were the glowing dots interspersed throughout the water. If he was on dry land, he would’ve thought they were fireflies, an abnormal amount for the season. He was so entranced, it took him a second to notice that the girl was swimming her way back up, accompanied by an older woman.

Taking in her appearance, he saw that she was much older and wore a long gown that went past the length of her legs. On her head, she had a dainty crown, circular and bearing engravings similar to those on the walls. With an expression matching the awed one the girl had worn previously, she placed her hands on either side of his face and smiled.

Halfa. He said you would come.

Someone expected me?

So it was true, there was a ghost within the reserve that wanted him there.

Yes. You will see soon. The woman reached over to the girl, pulling her forward. My daughter, I told her to wait. You arrived. She brought you to me.

Hands practically shaking with anticipation, the girl pulled a tiny stone box from within her robes and handed it to Danny. Sensing that the gesture had importance, he took it from her politely, sending a thank you in her direction. Their demeanors remained encouraging, inviting him to look inside.

When he did, he saw that there was a ring made of black obsidian to match the woman’s crown. On it was carved an image detailing symbols that resembled the shape of water and a moon. Though it wasn’t flashy as ghostly artifacts tended to be, he could feel power pulsating from within it, fingers tingling where it touched him.

For you. Our king. Our people. With you.

Unsure what to say, Danny sent them another thank you, promising to take care of it. The choice of words struck him as odd, but he figured that it was similar to how Frostbite called him Great One. It didn’t mean anything, it was simply a show of gratitude. For what, he wasn’t sure.

My daughter, can accompany you to surface.

Suddenly remembering what he had followed her for in the first place, Danny shook his head. The reserve was huge, and it would take him much longer to find the lost citizens. If anyone knew where everything was, it would be those who inhabited it.

Actually, have you seen other humans come in here recently? They never came back out.

The woman and girl exchanged a meaningful look.

They sleep. On surface, I take.

Squeezing her daughter’s shoulder, the queen bowed at Danny and made her leave. He sent her one of his own, surprised when he turned to see the girl already waiting ahead of him.

Sensing his shock, she smirked.

Catch up, King.

With all the speed he could muster underwater, Danny swam, just barely maintaining his speed beside her. As they swam, he took note of his environment, in case anything of value appeared for him to report. Thankfully, the Fenton Phones were waterproof, but they were still too low for the signal to reach.

He wasn’t looking forward to the ear full he would get when it returned.

My name, Kara.

Danny felt shame rising within him at realizing that he hadn’t even thought to ask the girl her name before. Grinning sheepishly, he let her know he liked to be called Danny.

Danny? Strange for King. King Phantom, okay?

Figuring it wouldn’t make a difference, he shrugged, again feeling put off by the royal title. Before he could ask, Kara took a sudden sharp turn upward, heading towards a patch of light in the distance. His legs would be burning after this, that he knew.

Once he broke through, just a few seconds behind, Danny blanked. “What is this?”

Ahead of him stood a giant structure resembling a Greek temple, though it was black instead of white. Along its steps were stoic skeletal guards, donning armored uniforms and staring straight at them with glowing red eyes. The white light that they’d followed came from the gardens leading up to the structure, vanishing when it got too close, as if swallowed by the building.

People inside. He waits.

As if sensing that her explanation was not comforting enough, Kara bumped gently against his shoulder.

They live. Avoid attack. Go in.

Releasing a heavy sigh, Danny pulled himself out from the water, eyeing the temple one more time, before turning to give his goodbye.

“Thank you, really. And for the gift too.”

Bowing her head, Kara smiled. Nothing to thank. Meet again.

Seeing her vanish below the surface, Danny steeled himself, floating closer as he pressed a hand to the phones. “Hello, anybody hear me?”

When he was met with static, he decided communication could wait. He had made it clear that no move would be made until he had made his attempt. And besides, something told him that this was a part of the journey he had to take alone.

Making sure that he wouldn’t be affected by deadly plants, he kept his distance from either side of him, staying directly in the middle of the path. Strangely, most of the vegetation consisted of large pomegranate trees, an unnaturally red kind that seemed to pulsate in temptation.

From past experience with Undergrowth, he’d learned to remain cautious, and kept that attitude as he approached the steps. Out of all the reactions he’d expected from the guards, having them kneel before him in unison was not one of them.

“Um, you really don’t have to do that,” He tried. “A ‘come inside’ would’ve been enough.”

Realizing it wouldn’t make any difference, he decided to float by, wary for any signs of malice. They didn’t move an inch, seeming to view him with some level of respect. The whole situation was weird, nothing going the way he prepared for. It wasn’t a level of welcome he was accustomed to with the supernatural, making him all the more apprehensive for who exactly was waiting for him.

His worry rose as he arrived at the entrance, both guards on either side opening the set of giant wooden doors for him, before taking the same position as their comrades.

“What’s going on...”

He had only a moment to calm his racing heart, doors crashing shut behind him. The room was easily shrouded in darkness, torches along the walls providing very little visibility with their misty green appearance. He couldn’t stop the shiver racing up his spine as the shadows melded into nearly physical shapes, unable to focus on any one image with the amount of anxiety that replaced his determination.

The point of no return, he thought. This is what this feels like.

His fear escalated as he quickly realized that his powers were not cooperating, light refusing to appear on the palms of his hands. Even his glow was dampened, nothing appearing to relieve him of the absolute darkness.

With nothing to help him, he couldn’t stop his breaths from coming in rapidly, his Phantom form doing little to quell his rising panic. This was a mistake, coming to this place while aware that many couldn’t escape, it was wrong.

“Shit,” he whispered, trembling fingers yanking at his hair. The pain only barely kept him cognizant, all other thoughts melding into mush. “C-calm down. You’ve faced worse. Calm down, calm down...”

“My presence tends to make humans uneasy. Though, I would expect a future king to display his fear more honorably.”

Danny’s head shot up, latching onto the voice for something to focus on. Vision still not its best, he could only make out the silhouette of a bare throne, large and gnarled in design. Everything else was a washed out black, glints of stone shining at odd intervals.

“Good, it seems purpose grounds you. Come forward.”

Clenching his hands, Danny approached the misshapen figure ahead of him, stopping just before it. Most beings he knew were protective of their possessions, to a deadly point. He was not keen on testing whichever presence was in the room.

“Sit.”

He followed the voice’s command, holding back a groan at the sheer intensity of pressure crushing his core. Here, the dread was at its highest point, despair absolutely consuming him, darkness seeming to seep into him from his very pores. He closed his eyes, knowing that the dimness of his eyelids would be nothing in comparison to what surrounded him.

He was met with a sight he had not anticipated, confusion flooding him when he found himself inside the unopened portal in his lab. Ahead were him, Tucker and Sam, frozen as they stared off inside the gaping void. Inspecting the other version of himself, he saw familiar black gloves over a white jumpsuit.

“I’m...back in time?”

“Not quite.” The deep voice echoed, detached from any particular location. “We are in a memory. Events from the day we met have been suppressed in your mind.”

“So you want me to, recreate it?”

The sound of cracking of bones and crackling electricity played in Danny’s ear, a reminder of just how painful dying could be. He remembered the soreness in his throat that lingered for days after, made due to the force of his screams. From there, that was all he remembered, skipping forward to when he woke up in his friends’ arms.

“As I said, it’s only a memory. Yours is tainted, so I decided to show you through mine. Now, close your eyes and listen. I will tell you when to open them.”

Understanding dawning on him, Danny did just that, grateful that the man was not so cruel as to force him to watch his own body seizing in midair. The feeling had been awful enough, but to see it front row would have been even worse.

“I’ve always wanted to go in here.” His own voice said, continuing off where the scene began. “Who knows what awesome, super cool things are on the other side of that portal?”

The quiet padding of feet got closer, every sound amplified within the tunnel, before getting cut off by a scuffle and a yelp. There was a click and a whirring began building, increasing and soon joined by an excruciating scream. It was the same one he heard when doing his signature wail, haunting him even after he’d survived.

Even through shut lids, he could see the green blaze, stopping only when the howl was replaced with the sound of running water and the shriek of crows. He felt a nudge on his side, a signal that he could look.

The area confirmed that the man was telling the truth, a sense of familiarity greeting him when he saw his slightly younger self standing beside an elder and a small, beat up boat. He could only tell he was older because of his hunch and wrinkled hands clutching onto a paddle. The rest of him was covered by a black cloak. From the looks of it, he was engaged in a heated discussion with past Danny.

“I feel...empty.” Danny stared at the figure with a forlorn expression, as if desperately hoping he could fix the torn up, hollow sensation in his chest.

“Of course you feel empty!” He waved in Danny’s direction, distaste tinging his voice. “My purpose is to lead the dead across this river, and your soul has not even properly moved on!”

“I don’t...” He clutched tighter onto his suit, still fuming from the accident.

“Is that Death?” Danny could not help but ask.

An amused chuckle negated his question. “No, Death was only with you at the moment of your passing. This is Charon, she brought you to him.”

“Look child, I don’t have time for explanations. I have other actually dead souls to cross.” He reached out a hand, motion more gentle than his gruff tone. “Get in, I’ll take you to the boss.”

Danny slid his hand into Charon’s, scene switching the moment he made contact.

They were standing in a throne room, this one putting the one back in Amity to shame. It resembled a darker version of Olympus, akin to the old paintings depicting it that he’d seen in class. The skeletal guards were inside this one as well, hidden along the walls in the spaces between gigantic corinthian columns.

At the very end sat a huge man, face obscured by darkness and black robes shifting as if trapping lost souls. Beneath his throne stood Danny, arms wrapped tight around his midsection, while Charon finished explaining the situation next to him.

Once done, the large man finally spoke. “You were right to bring him. He does not belong here.”

“Wait, is that you? Does that mean you’re-”

“You humans have decided to call me Hades, yes, ruler of the underworld and what not. We have met before, once, in this memory. You do not recall it, but I remember very well.” His aura communicated amusement to Danny. “How could I ever forget, a child challenging me to a fight for his life. You were lucky that half your soul was still anchored to the earth.”

“Still, I have yet to decide how to handle this situation,” Hades commented. “This is the second time this has occurred. We can’t keep sending them back.”

As if waking from a dream, Danny’s eyes suddenly filled with anger, shoulders straightening despite still being obviously disoriented. “Obviously you let me go back to Amity. You said it yourself, and I can feel it. I’m not whole, I’m stuck there!”

“And who do you think you are? Telling me what to do?” A gust of wind shoved Danny to the floor. “I should dump you in Tartarus for daring to challenge me.”

“Challenge you?” Danny forced himself back up, glare stubbornly fixed on his face. “If you want a real challenge, then I’ll-I’ll fight you!”

Danny cringed, feeling worse than when his mom sent Sam home with a mug of himself as a baby. “I really said that?”

“Yes you were quite upset at me. Reckless thing you were, but I let you return. According to the rules governing the dead, you still had half a life to live.”

In their moments of brief conversation, several events had transpired, mainly Danny’s appeal as to why he would not allow himself to die. In the end, Hades deemed it a situation too bothersome to dwell on, deciding that the child technically did not meet the criteria to be there.

“I will send you home.” Sensing Danny’s relief, he held up a hand. “But I warn you, you will be considered a halfa, an abomination to both mankind and the spirits of the dead. Abominations do not typically have happy endings.”

“What do you mean a halfa? Is something going to happen to me?”

“Not now, but just know that when you truly pass, you will never be able to come back. Either you stay and pass on as half a soul, or you become one again, and be doomed to forever wandering the earth alone.”

Their setting reverted back to Danny’s basement, the moment where he was first reborn as Phantom.

“As you can see, your choice was obvious.”

If Danny had a physical form to view this in, he would have been shaking. He’d been living his life completely unaware of his fate, worrying over the ghosts, the pressure, his home and school life without knowing that the torment would continue even after he passed.

“So this is why you brought me here?” His voice wavered. “To remind me that I’ll never find any peace?”

“Actually, I had planned to keep that fact hidden until your day arrived. I’m not as cruel as my brothers or you humans seem to believe.” His voice lowered, edging on a whisper. “There was a turn of events I had not foreseen. A change of fate perhaps only Clockwork knew of.”

Their vision began clouding with bursts of color, a tugging sensation dragging Danny’s consciousness through time and space. It was like space mountain, the ride he had forced himself to go on in his childhood, only it came to a much more sudden halt.

Clad in his father’s energy draining invention, Danny pressed against the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. He feared he wouldn’t last, that the fight would have been in vain, were in not for a hand appearing and suddenly locking the coffin closed. When he knew it was safe enough to drop his guard, he turned to see all his enemies standing behind him in solidarity.

They had stopped Pariah Dark’s vicious reign for good.

“Although the other ghosts allied with you, you were the one that ultimately defeated Pariah Dark. You had secured your spot as next in line to be King of Ghosts. The realm between the living and the afterlife has experienced chaos for far too long, and it has finally come to an end with you.”

“Wait,” Danny balked. “So Kara and the queen...they were being serious when they called me that? But I’m just a kid! I wasn’t even given a choice!”

“You have a choice, don’t be haste. As for being a child, well...”

Scenes of Danny’s many fights played in a quick sequence, from his very early fumbles with the lunch lady, to his most recent and much cleaner fights with Freakshow and Undergrowth. He played through sleepless nights, and days where he felt like giving up, trapped in lockers by bullies, or looked at in disappointment by his parents.

It was disconcerting to know his life was under constant watch.

“I would say you’ve dealt with what’s been thrown your way pretty well for your age. The underwater kingdom has already pledged their allegiance to you, have even begun calling you king when you are still but a prince. Countless others wait to do the same.”

“You said I can choose not to be one though.” Danny returned to his previous concern. “What happens then?”

“To your life, nothing really. You live your days the same as you were,” Hades responded. “But know that as a prince you are granted a luxury you had not had before. You may choose your court. If they agree, they can spend their afterlife with you ruling the zone.”

“I won’t be stuck here alone?” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“If those you decide on agree, then indeed. They will be granted a place in your keep. I must say, being King of Ghosts is a much more fulfilling endeavor than wandering on your own.”

Danny bit his lip, eyeing the scenes still going on around him. “Do I have to decide this now?”

“What a convenient question, it brings us to our next topic of importance.”

Amity Park, in its days of small town glory, grew around them. To their left was a farmers market, people dressed in attire from the 80s flitting in between each stand. Behind a stall of oranges was a couple kissing, leaning against a black motorcycle.

“I want be your girl forever, you know that Johnny?” A whisper spilled between kisses.

“Only if I can be your guy,” the boy smiled, cupping his partner’s face. “Until the end of time.”

“Is that...” Danny choked. “I didn’t know they weren’t that old. They would’ve been my teacher’s age.”

“This is the same day they passed, a motorcycle accident. You would think they would’ve been limited to one place, or completely trapped in the zone, but your home is strange.” A breeze blew across the image. “Watch.”

“Ember said this is the last chance we have to come here, grab one thing and let’s go!”

“Wait, I think I see my old guitar up there, lemme just-” Johnny’s ghostly form flew up towards a shelf, grasping onto a leather case. “I missed this thing.”

“Johnny!” Kitty tapped her foot impatiently, glancing nervously over at a whirlpool of green in the corner of the dusty attic.

“Alright, alright” He dusted himself off. “I’m comin’.”

Back in his own body, Danny gasped, sensation of being dumped in cold water shocking him awake. He was back in the reserve, sitting atop a throne in an eerie chamber. He didn’t know what to make of the final vision, except for confusion at the fact that natural portals existed in Amity long before the Fentons had interfered.

“So Amity hasn’t been normal this entire time?”

“As much as hundreds of years. The supernatural has been attracted to this area, and it has grown over the ages. It’s been a gradual process, with the boundary separating the zone and Amity growing smaller.” A pause. “But ever since that portal was built, it’s been sped up. There’s only a handful of years left until it spills over completely.”

“So this really is my fault?” Again, Vlad’s words blared mockingly in his head.

“The opposite really. Had the portal been opened without anything to stabilize it, reality would have collapsed in on itself. As it is, it had a host.” A chuckle. “You were quite the conductor.”

Danny couldn’t help the nervous laugh that escaped him at the odd interjection of a dark joke. He had to hand it to the man, he knew how to meet Danny’s humor halfway.

“To answer your final question,” He continued. “You have until the Ghost Zone melds with Amity to decide whether you shall be king. If you decide you are not the one, the crown will choose the next candidate. The King of Ghosts shall work closely with me to ensure a smooth transition of dimensions. Choose wisely, prince.”

Without a further explanation, the lights in the hallway flashed, building melting around him to reveal what the reserve must have looked like prior to Hades’ arrival. The greenery that had once been there was back to being regular oak trees, with the occasional large shrub. In the distance, he could see shapes interspersed beneath a wooden canopy, moving slowly to sit up.

As he approached, Danny realized that they were the people who had gotten lost in the reserve, looking unharmed and rather sleepy. The nearest to him gasped when she saw him standing on the very edge of their group.

“Phantom?” She wiped at a red stain on the corner of her lip, shoving another young boy next to her. “Ross, get up, it’s Phantom!”

Danny knelt down, bracing a hand on the boy’s back so that he could straighten himself out. “Hey, are you alright? Do you remember anything?”

Apparently in too much awe to speak, Ross simply stared at him, muttering a quiet “cool” under his breath. Taking the lead, the girl rolled her eyes and answered instead.

“Sorry about that, he’s a huge superhero fan. My name is Jenny by the way.” She waved at herself and then Ross. “Me and my friend snuck out here last night ‘cause we heard this place was haunted. It was pretty spooky, but all I really remember was grabbing a pomegranate from a nearby tree and knocking out.”

“Why’re you here? I mean, not like it’s a bad thing!” Ross said, panicked. “It’s just, is this like part of your lair or something?”

“Stupid, lairs are in the ghost zone,” Jenny cut in.

Unsure how to best phrase it, Danny pointed over to the other people, some of which were eyeing him warily. Raising his voice, he decided to be blunt. “I’m here because you’ve been trapped here for days. There’s a whole rescue team waiting outside for you.”

“Days?” A middle aged woman in the crowd screamed. “But I don’t even remember knocking out!”

“I do,” answered a young man. “I would wake up every once in a while, but I wouldn’t be able to touch anything. It’s like I was stuck in between something.”

Leaving them to talk among themselves for a moment, Danny reached up and tapped at the Fenton Phones. “Hello? Can anybody hear me?”

A quiet sizzle of static filled his ears, before switching to the looming voice of Officer Bryans. “Phantom, what’s going on? We were just about to go in.”

“No need,” Danny replied, eyes flickering over to the group in relief. “They’re safe, we’ll be right out.”

...

The next day, Danny sat at the table pretending that the run down his parents gave him was new information. It was all stuff he knew, from Phantom showing up at the raid unprompted to how he’d come out with the group of missing persons fifteen minutes later. It had felt much longer to him, but he supposed that time ran differently when around Hades’ influence.

At his father’s insistence that the ghost was not to be trusted, Jazz sent him a worried look. Shrugging it off, he let his father rant, knowing that his explanation of the events had sounded sketchy to both his parents.

“He said that some spook got lost and mistook the Amity Reserve as his domain,” Jack huffed, stabbing at his pile of pancakes. “I can’t believe the other officers fell for it. This whole town is going nuts over that ghost!”

“I know, honey” Maddie rubbed his back comfortingly. “But he did manage to get those people out safe so at least he did something useful. Anyway, I’m sorry we couldn’t tell you sooner kids.”

“It’s alright,” Danny smiled, glancing over at Jazz so that she knew he was really okay. “I get it, top secret. We’ve kept our fair share too.”

“Still, I like there to be trust between us,” there was a momentary furrow between her brow, quickly exchanged for a more cheerful expression. “But forget about that for now, how have you two been? I know we’ve been pretty distant.”

“I got into the summer internship I applied for!” Jazz supplied.

As he listened to his sister go into detail about her future endeavors in psychology, Danny thought back to how starkly different the previous night had been. He’d expected a battle with fists, but was met with the offer of a new path he could take altogether.

He was aware that he was the best person to deal with the chaos Amity would face during the merge. He knew the town like he knew the constellations in the sky, and with the help of his friend’s and family, he had managed to keep it out of harm’s way. Whether he was alone or not, he knew he would keep doing so as a ghost when he passed.

He leaned back, a painful tension welling in his chest as he considered a future in eternal isolation. He imagined fighting ghosts, only to return to an empty lair, and then stopped as he entertained the other option.

Danny thought of settling truces, rather than fighting. Of being in a palace surrounded by those closest to him that had decided their fate was also tied to guiding the spirits of the dead. He could picture Jazz walking struggling ghosts through their pain and helping them move on, or Sam and Tucker trekking with him to undiscovered dimensions.

As he inspected his parents’ enthusiastic responses, he could even hope that one day they would use their passion for the sciences to help unite ghosts and humans, rather than divide him.

He closed his eyes, thinking back to the visitor that decided to appear in his dream last night. A sense of calm washed over him, knowing that although he was stripped of one option, he was left with many others.

Maybe he couldn’t be an astronaut, but being King of Ghosts didn’t sound too bad either.

....

He dreamt of a farewell feast in a dark temple, ripe fruits and fresh meats placed before him on a rounded table. By his side was a broad, bearded man, extending a platter of cheeses to him with a grin. He reminded him of Clockwork, only with a much stranger mix of strictness and sly character.

“Are you still afraid of what lurks in the dark, my prince?”

“It reminds me of dying,” Danny answered, passing it along to a woman sitting on his other side. “That was what it was like, right?”

“What you experienced was only a small fraction of it. Had Charon taken you to your true destination, you would have seen. It could’ve been to see your God, or to be reborn. Maybe it would have been to an eternal nothing. Who's to say?”

“I’m guessing you know then?”

“Yes.”

“And you won’t tell me?”

“You will see one day. Why spoil the surprise? Just remember, whatever they are, your beliefs hold value. Death is a personal experience, I would know.” He winked, raising a goblet up to the other occupants. “Now, let’s celebrate to a peaceful reign.”

#Danny Phantom #danny phantom fanfiction #things that lurk in the dark #my fics #it took me a hot minute but the final part is heree

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cassiecasyl · 4 years ago

Text

to be or not to be hugged

prompts: whumpay day 2: touch starved/touch repulsed + day 11: don’t touch me/don’t leave me

tw: panic attacks, nightmares

credit for the title goes to @official-wayward-fairchild <3

read on ao3!

Peter knew something was wrong. He was reminded of it everytime someone hugged him, hell, he was reminded every night. It was in the way his mouth filled with this ashen taste that’s just a little too close to the rusty dust of Titan whenever someone hugged him. The touch infected him with dread and panic, with screams and battle sounds, with memories. His spider senses yelled at him in precaution and Peter tensed everytime, even though he knew that there wasn’t anything to be scared of. He was just overreacting.

The first time it happened, he’d almost pushed May into a wall, had almost hurt her. He’d apologized profusely, his hands shaking, guilt rushing through his veins, but May had laughed it off. Yet, the worried glance she’d sent haunted him.

Worst of all were the flashes—when a simple touch brought him back to Titan, more powerful than Dr. Strange’s portals could ever be, and he’s fading into dust, again and again, and Tony looked so broken and as scared as he was (though they’d both tried and failed to hide it), and he’s begging for his life, for Mr. Stark to fix this like he always did—I don’t wanna go—while at the same time, he’s in the supposedly safe arms of a loved one. It was twisted torture in its on way, and Peter couldn’t help but be reminded of one of the stories Loki had told about the time he had been under Thanos’s regime.

They’d promised him might like he deserved, promised him everything he ever dreamed off, and then mixed it with obedience. Suspected him to pain and fire, sometimes ouf of fun—Loki said he got that—and sometimes framed as a test. His already shattered mind had been broken once more. There was a sense of belonging there, with the false love they gave him and the chaos they promised. The mind stone deconstructed and built him up again. Chaos was his element more than ever.

Maybe, he was being tested too, Peter mused. He died, after all, and now he wasn’t sure whether he still belonged into this world, with everybody finding someone new and moving on. May had Happy, Tony had Morgan and Harley, even Ned and MJ felt aeons away. No. Peter chided himself for ever taking this analogy. His misery was nowhere close to Loki’s agony.

Yet, Peter was living a paradox.

He stopped hugging. It hurt too much and had the tendency to rip him from reality, so he just stopped. There’s a few raised eyebrows and concerned looks at first, but they eventually succumbed to normalcy.

“Would you like to notify Boss or try any of the 173 tactics of falling asleep I've collected, Peter?” Friday asked for what must’ve been the upteenth time, shocking him out of his thoughts. He shook his head in a sigh.

“No, Friday. I’m fine,” he answered, lamenting his dismissive tone. She just wanted to help, there was no need to be so rude to her. “Sorry,” he mumbled. The word got half-caught up in a yawn, and he wanted to kick himself for it.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t tired. Peter knew it was late, and even his bones felt heavy with exhaustion, but he just couldn’t sleep. Not while he was at the Tower. He’d been successful in hiding his nightmares from May, but there was no way he’d be able to do so with Tony. Least of all when he had a perceptive AI on his side. Scratch that, two perceptive AIs. He’d almost forgotten about Karen, but he knew if he asked her for company, she’d eventually report him to Tony. Sleepy Spider Baby Protocol, or however it was called.

Peter sighed. He was so tired. He just wanted to feel safe.

~~~

Red sand tickled his throat, and the wind began nibbling at his feet as he stumbled forward. Soon, he’d join the sand, dust to dust, like it had happened countless times before. At this point, he was more scared than confused. He knew what would happen. He just didn’t know why.

Peter looked up, his eyes scanning the battle field for his mentor. He had to be here somewhere. He always was. In panic, he turned around, ignoring how his toes disintegrated with the movement. Had he died? It happened before. Thanos’s stab always seemed worse in his dreams. But he couldn’t even find a body on the ground. He was all alone. Did he leave him? Did the wind already take them away, leaving him to die alone? He choked on a sob.

“Peter?” A voice asked behind him, scared and tentative. Tony. The teen spun around, and more fell than ran towards him. The man was perched on the ground, holding his guts together. He was crying.

“Mr. Stark,” Peter whispered in a plea. Tony looked up at him, but he was looking right through him, as if he was already mourning. His features aged momentarily, his hair turning grey and wrinkles closing in on pained eyes. A quiet, hopeful and sad smile adorned his face, the same one with which he sometimes watched Morgan. Peter could feel himself fading.

The boy crumbled before Tony, reaching out to him in a desperate cry for comfort. “I’m sorry,” he said, right before his vocal cords left him. At the last moment, Tony’s fingers grazed his, and in horror Peter watched as the dusting didn’t stop with him, but extended to Tony, moved up his right arm and eventually his face.

Peter lost his eyes before it was over.

He woke up with a start, eyes wide but unseeing. They were still gone, dusted, he’d be dead again, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. The air escaped him between sobs and panic. “Hey, hey, it’s alright, breathe, Peter, I’m here, it’s alright.” Suddenly, there was comfort. Peter blinked, and instead of complete darkness, shadows started to emerge.

“Tony?” he asked, hope tearing through his throat.

“I’m here, kid,” he promised. It was all the invitation Peter needed, and he shot forward, latching onto the older man. He breathed in the scent of motor oil and iron that never quite left Tony, and he was home. His heart beat faster than normal, but it beat, sometimes stumbling in a familiar way, and that was all that mattered. Tony was here. For the first time in a long while, his spider senses remained quiet. They were safe.

“Shh, it’s okay, kid,” Tony shushed him, gently rocking them as they sat on Peter’s bed. “I’m here,”—Peter tightened his grip at the words—”I’m alive, we’re both alive. We’re in your room at the Tower and it’s 4:14 am on a Saturday morning. It’s raining lightly outside, can you hear that, Pete?”

The spider stilled, focusing his senses on the weather outside. He panicked slightly as Tony’s heartbeat quietened, but his hand fisted around the hem of Tony’s shirt, and Tony’s constant assurances of it’s alright grounded him. Soon, his ears picked up the light pitter-pattern of rain. Peter nodded.

“Good!” Tony praised as if he’d just done the most amazing thing in the world. Without him noticing, his breathing had calmed. The air wasn’t evading him as it was before. Tony’s arms around him were warm and safe and Peter sighed in content. He missed this. God, how he’d missed this.

Tony’s hand found his, the one that was hanging onto the neck of his shirt, and covered it. Peter’s eyes widened as he remembered a flash from his dream. No. He couldn’t infect Tony. He couldn’t let him die, not again. Never. Peter coiled away from the touch suddenly and violently, ragged breaths returning. There was already dust in his lungs. No.

Tony followed him, but Peter fell to the ground as he hastily retreated, leaving his mentor standing there with raised hands signaling that it was alright. It wasn’t though. He’d infect him, and the dust would find him again, travel up his arm, take him away. It was in his name after all, wasn’t it? He petered out, faded gradually until there was nothing left, until his existence came to an end. He couldn’t spread that to Tony.

“Peter?” The man crouched down before him, slowly as if he was a scared animal. Peter shook his head. “What’s wrong, buddy?” he asked, hands reaching out.

“Don’t,” Peter pleaded, recoiling from his mentor’s safe hands. Oh, how he craved their warm embrace. But he couldn’t. He’d kill him. “Please don’t,” he cried, “I’ll infect you.”

“Okay,” Tony breathed, “okay. Infect me with what?”

“Dust,” Peter answered with a hiccup. At Tony’s puzzled expression, he elaborated: “I’m dust, and it’s gonna spread to you. It’s in my name.”

“Oh, kid.” Peter could practically see how a part broke away from Tony’s heart and fell down. That’s how it started, he thought, reminding himself of videos he’d seen of mountains eroding under water. “You’re not dust, not anymore,” he said, searching the room for something, “I brought you back, remember? I wouldn’t bring you back half-baked, Peter. All or nothing, that’s the deal.”

The kid nodded, still watching him with big eyes. He mustered the veins of scar tissue raking up his right cheek, and suddenly his dream made sense in a different way. Still, he wouldn’t wanna test it. He couldn’t kill Tony too. He wasn’t worth two of his father figures dying, let alone three.

Tony stood up and fear gripped Peter. He had enough of him. He’d realized the threat he was and would get himself to safety now. Only, that meant he’d leave Peter behind. “I’m not leaving, Pete,” Tony promised against his anxiety spouting lies, “I’m just getting something. See? I’m not even leaving the room.” He held up the water bottle Peter always kept on his bedside table to show him.

He came back. Peter almost wanted to smile, but his dust-infected body was way too numb to do anything but watch. “Now, could you stretch your arm out for me?” Tony asked. Peter sucked in a panicked breath. “I’m not gonna touch you, I promise.” Slowly, Peter nodded.

Cold water touched his skin as soon as he did what Tony asked of him, shocking him back into reality. “See?” the genius asked, “You’re solid. No dust here.” Peter nodded, blinking and staring at his hand, wet and still in one place. He looked up at Tony, who was smiling assuringly.

“Solid,” Peter repeated, the remains of the nightmare slowly leaving his body. “I’m solid,” he laughed.

“That’s right, Pete,” Tony praised, his hands switching towards him. He still slightly shied away from the possibility of touch though. His mentor fixed him with that concerned gaze, the one with which he could read him like no other, that implied that he was trying to figure out what bothered Peter.

“Can I hug you?” he asked. Peter shook his head. It was tempting, but he wasn’t sure whether he was ready for that yet.

“Rather not. Sorry.” Tony nodded, quickly hiding the sadness.

“That’s alright. Thank you for telling me.” He stood up, mindlessly extending his arm to help Peter up, but then taking it back with a scolding shake of his head. Peter chuckled. “Sorry, didn’t think. So, anything else you wanna do? Catch some sleep, watch a movie?”—he glanced at the time—”Oh, what about a hot chocolate? Rhodey should be up by now ‘cause he has an early meeting or something, and he makes the best hot chocolate in the Tower.”

Peter stood up with a laugh. “Hot chocolate sounds great.”

“Hot chocolate it is then,” Tony confirmed with a warm smile. “Friday, warn Rhodey if he’s awake, we’ve got a spider baby to pamper.” He left the room before Peter could object, and Peter quickly followed him.

tag list: (let me know if you wanna be added/removed!)

@starrynightdeancas @spookyscarykittycat @sherlock-who-mentalist @lost-lunar-wolf @aixabi

#irondad #hurt/comfort #hurt peter parker #tony stark #tony stark acting as peter parkers parental figure #hugs #Whumpay2021

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phantomphangphucker · 4 years ago

Text

Ectober Week Glow Stick/REDRUM - Glow Snap

Danny’s been king for a while and that means helping ghosts out sometimes. And that helping has repeated required dealing with humans treating ghosts like crap. But farming ghosts for glow sticks is a new one.

Danny Phantom was beginning to get used to his role as High Ghost King, the balls, the parties, the formalities and respect. The fashion was more difficult to adjust to than everything else in all honestly. Frock coats and even dresses. At least usually all he had to wear was his cape, that was just part of him now though. Another thing he had to get used to were the royal attendances, where he effectively had to just sit at his throne and hear ghosts out. Only if he accepted their request for an attendance of course. He usually rejected the Observants and Vlad, generally on principal alone. Especially since it was nearly a guarantee they were just trying to annoy him. If the eyeballs really needed to see him then they could go through ClockWork and Vlad could literally just show up at his house.

Now if anyone else put in a request to have an attendance with him then he usually paid attention, since that was a rare thing. Most ghosts wouldn’t even dare due to the ‘behaviour’ of Pariah giving the entire throne, title, and crown a really nasty reputation. Most of the Zone simply assumed or worried that this Phantom fellow, who defeated Pariah, was just like him or worse. The ghosts that knew him didn't even bother going through official routes, they just showed up in Amity or invited him to their lair. So when he got a attendance request from a ghost he’d never heard of representing an entire species of ghost that he hadn’t yet met, he accepted without hesitation and felt rather worried. This Brextex likely only knew the High Ghost King as the guy who overpowered the evil tyrant Pariah and was thus taking a chance by willingly asking to be alone in the throne room and lair of the new King. It didn’t help that most of the rumours about him involved the fact that he beat up other ghosts and had made powerful allies. So either this ghost was desperate, out of options, or just recklessly curious. Just in case it was either of the first Danny had elected to stick with his true ghost form rather than ageing himself up to look more ‘adult’ and imposing (or in the Observants case, remind them of Dan). Sure his true form was more visually impressive than it was when he was fourteen, but his seventeen-year-old ass did not nearly have the muscle, size, or defined body structure his mid-twenties self would. He’s honestly wondering when the heck that growth spurt was going to hit him in genuine. But hey, at least his fangs had grown in and he’s pretty sure his ears are beginning to taper.

But anyway, accepting that attendance request is what finds him sitting at his throne, one leg over an armrest and drumming his fingers in boredom on the other armrest. He’s tempted to start pulling down his crown in front of his face only to let go and watch it spring back up, small amusements. The FrightKnight comes in just as Danny had decided to go ahead and do that.

Danny rights himself as his High Dread Knight speaks, “Brextex has arrived, your highness. Are you content to see him now?”. Danny just nods and absently waves for the guy to just go ahead and let the ghost in. He honestly would appreciate the FrightKnight relaxing more on all the formalities, not going to happen but still. His knight nods, letting the ghost in and going to stand outside the doors.

Danny will admit, this is one of the odder looking ghosts he’s seen. He looked kinda like someone who was nothing but skin and bones but the bones under the skin glowed. The skin didn’t though, and he just had glowing light in sunken eye sockets rather than physical eyes. The fact that he walked across the hall towards Danny rather than floated was pretty odd for a ghost too. Eh, maybe he just preferred walking on solid ground; Danny often did.

Brextex immediately kneels when he’s considered officially close enough, not coming any closer. Which was pretty typical for ghosts who had never met him. What does catch Danny’s attention is that he can hear the ghost's bones creaking and straining as if they were real solid bones that had seen plenty abuse. Danny’s joints and spine would creak like that sometimes. “Bless you for seeing me, High King Phantom. May you bless me speak?”.

“You may”. Danny makes a point to smile warmly when Brextex raises his head, which seems to startle the ghost for a second.

“I’ve come to request aid, your highness. My kind, linchens, we- we’ve been suffering for a long while��.

Danny squints a little and leans forward, “how so?”. He thought he had made it clear to the FrightKnight that he wanted to know about any groups, clans, kingdoms, or tribes that were genuinely struggling. Either he’ll have to have a talking with him about what qualifies as ‘struggling’ again, or he didn’t know himself. The Zone was large, so he couldn’t really fault him if that was the case. But the FrightKnight was old, reasonably he should know about all of the different groups. “The FrightKnight was supposed to inform me of any genuine suffering or issues”.

Brextex shifts slightly, maintaining the kneeling position though, “well sire, I don’t believe the... FrightKnight looks beyond the Infinite Realms. See, my kind haven’t been part of it for ages. We’re... located in the Mortal Realm”. Okay, that gets Danny’s attention real fast. He probably looks more than a little surprised, since ghosts weren’t generally capable of staying in the human world for very long. Obviously this kind of ghost, linchens, could. But then that’s kinda weird that he hasn’t run into one yet. Heck, showing in Amity would have been easier than finding a portal and coming to see him formally. It’s not like the hunters in Amity were much of a threat now after all the truces he’s formed. Dora could come without a human disguise and buy tea even. Maybe these ghosts simply didn’t know?

Danny nods, “feel free to explain the issue then, I’m often in the Mortal Realm so I can certainly help”.

Brextex just blinks at him for a bit before standing up quickly and motioning with his hands as he speaks. Clearly forgetting the ‘proper etiquette’ at the serious possibility of Danny not being an unhelpful asshole. “Pariah used to keep us as pets to break our bones for fun so when one of the old ones found a portal to the living world we all fled there. But the living were quick to capture us and decided they liked our bones to and somehow broke our connection to the Infinite Realms”. Danny doesn’t like where this is going and if the G.I.W. have anything to do with this he’s going to be having some words with their head boss... again. “Or that’s the story that’s been passed down. Ever since they’ve been keeping us and harvesting our bones until we fade from the-”, Brextex jerks a bit likely from Danny’s eyes flashing a little angrily. By the ghost swallows and continues “-from the draining. The others were able to get me out since my ecto-field’s weaker and young. We had heard about a new king and thought that- that you would maybe be different. We had to take the risk. We had to-”.

Danny holds up a hand to pause the ghost, because frankly he doesn’t even need to hear more to be willing to help. A group of humans actively murdering ghosts to collect their bones? Hell no. That is absolutely not something he’s going to let fly. But right now he needs to get across that his flash of anger wasn’t aimed at the ghost. Brextex does not need to start begging to him. Standing up, which Brextex looks a bit freaked by, “I’ll help. Absolutely I will”. Walking down the throne steps, Brextex remembering himself and kneeling again as Danny approaches. Danny making a point to reel in the anger, because he does not need to stress this ghost more, and patting Brextex on the head, “you're fine. Humans treating ghosts like monsters and whatnot is something that ticks me off and that I’ve gone well out of my way to deal with. And to hear some have been murdering ghosts, I don’t give a flaming crap why, that is unacceptable”, sighing, “now come on, get up. I should probably at least know why, or what you believe to be why, you and the rest of your kind are being treated worse than animals at an unethical and illegal slaughterhouse”.

Brextex stands up more than a little stiffly and eyes him warily, giving a strained, “bless you”, then clearing his throat, “well... our bone enamel glows really strongly if we snap or break a bone”, he digs in the small little beat up bag he’s got around his waist and pulls out a little bag. Handing it over to Danny though clearly avoiding actually touching the king. “They shave our bones down after harvesting so they’re opaque-”, pointing at the bag, “-and look like that. We’re not really sure why and we honestly don’t care“.

Danny nods and scowls, opening the bag and pulling out a bunch of freaking glow sticks. Danny blinks, honestly a bit too shocked to really feel much of anything, “glow sticks?”. Sure his parents had used to rave about a conspiracy theory that glow sticks were filled with ectoplasm and had thus banned them from the house. But them being actually right was utterly insane.

Brextex furrows his brows, skin pulling tight, “you’ve... seen these before? Why? What are they for? Their purpose? Are they needed? Do the living need to do this to us?”.

Danny shakes his head immediately, because holy shit no. “They’re used for cheap entertainment. Completely unnecessary entertainment”, then scowls deeply, even growling a little, “this is absurd and I’m not having it”. Looking to Brextex, who looks nervous, “where are the other linchens being kept? Because I’m about to have some very not nice words with whoever assholes thinks torturing and murdering anyone for freaking glow sticks is remotely okay”.

Brextex nods and grins a little, “I can take you”. While Danny lifts a hand to form a portal in the air, the ghost watching in a bit of amazement. Danny doesn’t need to tell the FrightKnight he’s heading out, the guy can sense it just fine.

They step out onto a rooftop in Amity, Danny sending away his crown and cape as he turns to look at Brextex who’s looking around, “this place... it is your lair too”, then adding on like he’ll get in trouble otherwise, “your highness”.

Danny waves him off, trying not to seem ticked off, “don’t bother with royal titles here. Humans don’t know and I'd mostly prefer to keep it that way”. The G.I.W. knew but that was purely so he could threaten them more effectively. “Yeah, welcome to Amity Park, the place I usually am. The one place the G.I.W. are banned from”.

“The... G.I.W.?”.

Danny shrugs almost aggressively, “group of anti-ghost terrorists. Almost blew up the Zone once. I’ve had words with them”, nodding curtly, “now, where to?”. Brextex stares at him for a bit before pointing off to the east, a bit of green light sting shooting off. Danny plucks it to see how far it goes. The area seemed just a bit outside of a populated area.

Danny nods, “alright, I’ve got it”, looking to the ghost, “do you want a place to rest? I live with ghost hunters but they’re cool with good ghosts that don’t run around attacking humans. They’re pretty knowledgeable too, so if you need anything they can help. My friends could keep you company too. I don’t want you coming off with me and straining or hurting yourself”.

Brextex stares a bit more before furrowing his brows, “you are... very different. Kind”. Danny smiles at that, “my friends say I’m a little too nice sometimes”, and quirks an eyebrow.

Brextex nods a little, “I’ll... take the offer then”.

So Danny teleports them down into an alley and changes back human. Though that makes Brextex jump back and look incredibly confused. Danny chuckles and rubs his neck, “ah guess you don’t know. I’m a halfa”.

“A... halfa?”.

Danny nods and starts walking, the ghost following behind, “yup, half a ghost, half a human. This is how I look as a human. The people I live with are my human parents”. Danny sends off a quick text for his friends to get their butts over to his house as he pushes in his home’s front door, “mom! Dad! I’ve got a friendly that needs a place to crash for a bit!”.

His mom sticks her head out of the kitchen, glances at the ghost and back to Danny, “well he’s an interesting one”. Danny doesn’t even let her finish that and points at her, “no labs”.

“Alright, no worries sweetie. He’ll be staying in your room?”. Danny just nods as he heads upstairs, his friends joining him and Brextex just as the two had gotten halfway up the stairs.

“Oh! New ghost huh dude?”.

Sam just smiles at the confused-looking ghost.

Danny nods at Tucker, “you guys hang with him while I go unleash ghostly wrath on some people”.

Tucker pats the ghost on the shoulder and the two walk into Danny’s room. Sam raising an eyebrow at Danny, “what is it this time?”.

Danny scowls, “glow sticks are ghost bones apparently”. She scowls immediately herself, “you have my full support”, and nods at him as he turns to leave. Danny promptly teleporting away as soon as he’s back outside.

Danny floats above the little factory-looking building, arms crossed and scowling. It’s not even a debate him taking his mid-twenties full ghost looking form, the fact that his royal cape had a flaming white collar and large green skulls pinning it shut with a shadowy chain only made him look slightly more threatening than Dan did with his simple tattered cape. His crown wrapped around the flaming hair pretty darn well too in a way that just emphasised the crown even more. But before he does anything drastic he’s going to check this place out invisibly.

And what he finds inside is frankly, disgusting. The first thing he comes across are these tools that looked like potato peelers and piles of what he’s sure are ‘bone peels’; which he scowled at, feeling his lips pull over his other fangs. The second looks to be a literal vat of ‘discarded’ glow sticks, ones that were misshapen, damaged and leaking; the fact that they were taking these ghosts body parts and just throwing them away very explicitly pisses him off. Who knows how many ghosts faded for these damn scraps. It wasn’t like fucking glow sticks were important or even necessary, to kill to make them was beyond wrong and idiotic. The room with just boxed up glow sticks doesn’t really bother him beyond just how much was here. How many ghosts had faded in this place? Was there a risk of extinction? If he were to ask the FrightKnight the guy would probably claim to have thought this species of ghost already had gone extinct.

Getting to the centre of the factory is when he finds the ghosts. There are at least twenty or so ghosts that looked similar to Brextex stuck inside plastic cases that were practically skin tight around them, with little hinges and doors that could be opened for access to their arms, legs, fingers, toes, and ribs. There was tubes hooked into the back of the cases that appeared to be feeding the ghosts ectoplasm, Danny can tell by smell there’s some kind of drug mixed in. He’d place money on it being a type of tranquilliser or complacency drug. Especially with one of these linchens ghosts having escaped recently. He can tell from looking at the ghosts faces that the drug(s) definitely weren’t any kind of pain medication.

Floating over to one of the cases and putting his large clawed hand on it, he can sense the ghost inside is a child ghost. Scowling, first thing first, he needs to get them out of here. At the very least there are no alarms set to the cases, even if there were cameras he quickly shorted out with a little ecto-electroshock, meaning he can immediately start disconnecting the drugs and start tearing open the cases; duplicating so he can catch/carry the ghosts when they effectively fall out, either too weak or too out of it to really be aware of him or what’s going on fully. One of the ghosts particularly worries him as she’s gooey to the touch; making damn sure to teleport her to his room immediately with a duplicate, the rest he gives a more thorough look over to before sending them off.

Glancing around the room and nodding to himself with a huff. All clear. Now to scare the crap out of some assholes. Letting himself return to visibility as he heads to walk out, slapping a hand on the wall to send ice out coating everything in the room. Try ever using any of that shit ever again.

It doesn’t take long for an invisible duplicate to find the boss over in the ‘office’ building section, which he smirks over as he kicks in the main doors and blasts blue ecto-flames around him; making damn sure his footprints scorch the ground. The receptionist and people hanging around in the lobby jump over the loud sound before standing up and freaking out. Danny comes to a stop and crosses his arms, forcing anyone with the guts to try and flee to have to squeeze past him. He has no clue how involved any of these people are so he’ll let them off with singed jackets, jolts of cold, and a healthy dose of fear. Most people chose to just huddle in corners and radiate fear.

Danny huffs after a bit and continues stalking towards the big bad bosses office, completely ignoring the secretary as he goes. Though he does grumble with a deep voice, “I suggest you get a better job. There won’t be much left of this company soon”. Let her take that threat however she wants to. He wasn’t about to burn the place down, but an ecto-blast or two should do the job.

Kicking in the bosses door hard enough to blow it clean off its hinges and into the far wall, it just skimming past the guys head. Said guy is too stunned to do more than jerk and stare at him, which Danny snarls at him for. But at least that makes it easy to grab the guy's face and slam his head into the back wall, hard enough to give him a nasty headache but not outright kill the guy. He’s not here to add on to the death-toll.

“Alright fuckface, you and I have a few issues to settle. And this is a non-negotiable communication offer. Specifically about your little ghost harvesting setup”. Dropping him and watching the guy groan before scooting away from him across the floor with his hands and feet. While Danny moves his hand to coat the open doorway with flames, blocking off the only real exit here. Flicking a wrist to make one of his thrones form, simpler than his official throne but still pretty stunning-looking; all in sharp angular black and white and peppered in ectoplasmic gemstones.

Danny sits down while staring the guy down, growling at him, “I suggest you take a seat”. The guy nods and scrambled up without hesitation, reclaiming his average black office chair. Danny snapping immediately, “name and position”.

The guy swallows, “Brillar Glühen. Head of the Kialuma Company”, Brillar clearly tries to force himself to relax into the back of his chair, “and you are?”.

Danny grins very meanly, making sure his fangs are very noticeable, “Phantom, High Ghost King and ruler of the afterlife”, then just to be mean, “some might prefer to call me Hades or perhaps Satan”. No one called him Satan, like, ever. But there were plenty who considered the Zone to be Hell, so he’s fairly sure he can claim the name just to scare some asshole.

Brillar is visibly shaken and swallows, “nice to... to meet you”. Which Danny huffs a mean laugh at, “no it’s really not”, Danny scowls and leans forward on the guy's desk, “look here fuck-stick, I don’t know how someone who’s clearly barely fucking thirty is running a company older than that, but not only do I not care but I also am not going to change my course of action because of that”, pointing a clawed finger in his face, he’ll give him points for not moving back even if the prick goes stiff as a board, “obviously you damn well know how your company goes about getting its end product, if you don’t then you’re an idiot that deserves to be yelled at anyway”. Brillar nods stiffly so Danny scowls at him before continuing, “tell me then, why the fuck do you think it’s okay to tear out a beings bones repeatedly till they effectively die just to sell as a party novelty item”, growling, “last I checked, even humans knew better than to commit needless murder”.

Brillar swallows, “the creatures are already dead-”. Danny snapping, “so’s your mother, your point?”, making the guy jump a little.

“They- they don’t feel pain and-and one moving on is a mercy”,

Danny rolls his eyes harshly, “let me guess, you got that load of horse crap from the previous boss or the G.I.W., well here’s a tip for you. That’s wrong. We feel pain as much as the living. And since you might as well be an informed asshole, ghosts can not ‘move on’ by being murdered. It happens naturally”, scowling, “so knowing that, you see why you and I might have a few issues”. Brillar gulps and nods slowly. Danny growls over the lack of an actual answer, so he stands, grabs the guy's collar, and smacks his face down onto the desk. Lighting a ball of ecto-fire in his hand and holding it in front of the guys face, growling, “so what are you going to do about our little issue?”.

Brillar sounds more than a little shaken, “f-find a different resource. And- and let the-the glowing creatures- uh, ah, ghosts go?”.

Danny bares his teeth in his face a bit, “don't say that like a question, mean it”, shoving his head against the desk a bit more before releasing him and sitting back down, “this is a company that sells a cheap novelty item, that’s it. You have no place torturing sentient beings. And bones? Seriously? Do you even think the living public would be okay with that? You disappoint me”, scowling, “at least if you were some kind of ecto-phobic bigot, your stupidity and cruelty would make an ounce of sense”, shrugging aggressively, “and I’d have an excuse to beat the shit out of you”.

Brillar sits back up slowly and stares at him, Danny flashes his eyes just to freak the guy out more. Brillar swallows, “I- please don’t”.

Danny sighs and rolls his eyes, “I won’t. You’re just an idiot fed some bullshit information and handed a company that was already spinning its wheels financially fine so you felt no need to change anything. Ethics, common sense, and basic decency be damned. Oh and if you think I can’t use human methods to sue you into oblivion or politically murder you, then you are gravely mistaken. So take fucking heed and watch your shit or I will be far far less nice if I have to show up here again”, snarling, “now good day and have fun fixing all the shit I destroyed in your factory”. Then making his throne and himself burst into flames before turning invisible. Let the prick think he ‘road the fires of Hell’ or something. He does have to restrain a laugh when he invisibly watches the guy right himself, pull out his phone while shaking so bad he can barely type, and says, “h-hey dad, uh, can you um, when does the church open?”.

Danny smirks to himself and decides to speak as darkly as possible into the phone, “someone needs to repent and get off of Hell’s naughty list”. Making the guy shriek, launch himself across the room, and throw his phone into the air. Danny rolls his eyes and silently snorts as Brillar eyes his phone warily.

Danny flies out, gathers all the ‘discarded’ glow sticks/bones and the ‘bone peels’, then teleports home. He’s honestly not surprised to see his friends and all the ghosts in the yard rather than in the house. Brextex looking to be fretting over the other ghosts of his kind. All the ghosts jump and go bug-eyed when Danny suddenly appears. All the ghosts quickly and jerkily moving to huddle together when they actually get a good look at him; obviously frightened. Brextex looks less frightened but far more confused than the others.

Ticker comes over and smacks him on the bicep, “dude, maybe take your true form and cool your jets before you scare them even more”.

Danny rolls his eyes, “yeah yeah, but first”, snapping a clawed finger and making all the ghost parts he stole/reclaimed appear in his yard, “you know I have more energy at my fingertips like this”, then changing back to his true ghost form.

Walking over to the group of huddling ghosts, who shrink back from him some. The whole being feared thing may please his ghostly nature a lot but he still doesn’t particularly like being feared. Brextex is the only one who doesn’t actively noticeably shrink away or seem fearful. Danny waves and smiles friendly at them, “relax, please. One of my powers happens to be a pretty heavy dose of age slash form manipulation. That previous form happens to be good for scaring the crap out of assholes”, smirking, “I don’t think you have to worry about being bone harvested anymore and a few humans definitely need to change their pants”. Tucker snorts on the side, the ghosts just look slightly confused but do relax some. Danny looks around and spots the child ghost he was the most worried about, promptly moving to her and kneeling down. Grabbing her hands and checking her energy levels, “glad to see you’re looking a bit better”, frowning slightly, “you’re still lower than I’d like, you can take some from me if you like?”.

She shifts and fiddles with his fingers some, “really?”. He nods so she grabs him and gets rather clingy, Danny picking her up and standing; carrying her around as he moves to check on the others. Easily hearing Sam laugh a little and speak at some of the more surprised looking linchen ghosts, “told you he was a kind soul who’s stupid protective”. Catching a few ghosts looking at her and nodding jerkily, but the group of ghosts do start to seem less nervous and timid around him.

Once Danny’s satisfied with the state of everyone, eyeing the child ghost, “Alright, you’ve had enough. No getting greedy now”, she just hums innocently at him as he puts her down. Turning to face the group, “so I have a question for you all, Brextex said y’all have been disconnected from the Zone. So my question is if you want to stay here in the living realm or be reintroduced into the ghost realm”.

Danny watches as they all look to a linchen with stringy red hair and red ‘eyes’, he felt older than the others so Danny’s guessing he’s their leader, or as close to one as they have. He clears his throat and steps forward, “we don’t have... fond memories of this realm. While we believe our kind left the Infinite Realms for safety... I don’t believe we have to fear there anymore. You... are not Pariah. We’d like to go home... your highness”.

Danny nods curtly and smiles, “then that’s what we’ll do. Now it might take some time for you all to reconnect fully and properly. That’s just the nature of things I’m afraid. So I’ll have some knights keep guard over wherever you chose to set down your roots, that way the miasma and local flora and fauna won’t damage any of you. Alright?”. They all nod looking a bit stunned though. Danny gestures to the bone stuff he brought with him, “these are yours to do with as you wish, as far as I’m concerned they belong to you. If you remember your traditions for respecting the faded, then maybe these will help you do that”. They just nod, clearly only getting more stunned; which makes Danny chuckle a bit.

Sam and Tucker share a look and shake their heads, while Danny makes a portal and guides the ghosts through.

Danny speaks at the FirghtKnight while watching the linchens settle down from afar, “let me guess, you thought they were extinct?”.

The FrightKnight nods, “I rather assumed that when they disconnected from the Infinite Realms it was due to being whipped out. Ghosts being able to exist amongst the living indefinitely as you do is uncommon, my king”.

Danny snorts, “I’m uncommon, Frighty. There any other ghost species that fled to the human world and were never heard of again?”.

The FrightKnight seems to almost sigh, “��fraid so sire. The fallen mad king chased many off”. Making Danny actually sigh, guess he now has a bunch of things to look into. Hopefully there wasn’t, like, horror movie companies using real ghosts as movie ghosts.

End.

#ectober #ectoberweek2020 #Danny Phantom #phandom #danny fenton #the frightknight #ghost king danny #implied/referenced murder #implied/referenced torture #glow sticks #dark history #unethical #fan fic #phan phic #my writing #have a fic suck my dick #phantomphangphucker

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old-hyper-super-clover · 4 years ago

Text

Omoi yo Hitotsu no Nare

Feelings, become One

Part 2 of 2

find part one here

Writer's block is being rough on me, so the only thing I was able to create lately was a short story of my MC Clover and Leviathan. It shows their adorable friendship as they experience an idol live show together.

Enjoy 🧡

"Wooaah... I can't believe I'm really here..."

Her mouth opened wide, Clover looked at the Tokyo Dome with big, sparkling eyes. Taking in the astonishing view, her heart was beating fast already. "Look at how many people are here...!"

Levi gave a nod. "It's impressive, isn't it? Normally I would hate being surrounded by so many people, but it's different for such events. Everyone came for the one and same reason."

Clover's lips curled into a smile.

"To cherish what we love."

When making their way to the entrance for their seating section, the mass of people grew denser the closer they got to the Dome. Eventually, Clover had troubles staying next to Levi's side, which let anxiety to rise within her. She was afraid of getting separated, especially since she hasn't taken Solomon's translation potion yet. The sorcerer warned that the magic could wear off a little too soon, so Clover wanted to drink it right before the live would start.

Hence her panic, as suddenly it seemed like a literal train of people crossing their path would separate her from her demon friend.

"L-levi!!" she screamed on impulse while fiddling to grab his coat's sleeve.

"Uwah, Clover!" Levi huffed, turning towards her in irritation. Being used to go to events all alone, he had kind of forgot for a second that he should match his pace with Clover's.

But even now as he had slowed down, the girl wouldn't let go of his clothes.

"U-uhm... I panic when getting separated in places I've never been to..." Clover explained as she noticed Levi's confusion. "It calms me when I feel you're here by my side, so..." she gently tugged on his sleeve while unintentionally giving him her biggest pleading face. "Could we stay like this? Just until we're at our seats of course."

A little flustered, Levi played it cool and gave a shrug. "S-sure, if you feel safer that way..."

And so, the two continued their way, the demon hiding how soft this whole ordeal had made him inside, while Clover was following along like a mildly frightened puppy.

Once inside the hall, Levi and Clover had no troubles finding their seats. Thus, they were quickly established, and while the Otaku explained some insider facts about the Tokyo Dome (that he might have googled beforehand as he was afraid to sit there in awkward silence), the hall was steadily filling with more and more fans.

The anticipation was almost painful, Clover really had to put energy into calming herself down. Especially since Levi wasn't a help at all. He was a strong fan of idols, so naturally his hype was increasing at least as much.

The two were almost bouncing in their seats, as finally, the lights dimmed, and a live orchestra started playing the anime's main theme...

Talking about the full concert would truly be a task too big for this little story (even though I could surely gush about it for hours straight).

But there were a few highlights worth mentioning.

Beforehand, Clover had been worrying over whether her shy personality would allow her to cheer and sing with all she had. But when the idols appeared on stage, all doubts were blown away immediately. Crying in overwhelming happiness, she sang along and shouted from the top of her lungs to Aqours' songs, Leviathan of course doing the same next to her.

They were enjoying themselves so much.

There wasn't a single moment where they weren't.

Oh, well, maybe there was a split second for Levi.

One of the idols had a call and response which animated the crowd to hug a person next to you.

And so, while Levi was preparing emotionally to ask Clover for a hug, said idol called out her catch phrase. But as Levi turned to his human friend, he saw how Clover was turned to the person on the other side.

It appeared the stranger next to her had asked her for a hug, and, awkward but nice as she was, Clover couldn't reject the request.

It broke her heart into pieces as she quickly turned the other way around afterwards, checking on Levi and seeing his disappointed expression.

"Don't worry sweetie, you'll get a hug too!!" She called out and wrapped her arms around him with almost too much force.

"I've been planning to give you a biiig hug since we started practising the call and responses...!"

Gosh, I really want to fangirl about these amazing idols for longer, but I will not torture you with that.

But there is one last event I have to address.

About in the middle of the live show, the girls were dressed in the outfits for a very special song.

A song they have been avoiding to perform after a member broke into tears in the middle of the performance.

Still, there she was, Rikyako, next to a piano once again.

And let me tell you, the crowd was going WILD. Levi and Clover were by far not the only one's in awe over how on the big screens, you could see how Rikyako was giving her fellow members a confident nod.

Then she started playing while the others were beginning to sing the song "Omoi yo Hitotsu ni Nare".

Clover was already in tears at this point, proud to see Rikyako was about to conquer this piano piece once more.

Then, however, Rikyako suddenly stood up, but the music was continuing to play a soft piano medley.

Visibly at the edge of tears, too, the pianist made her way to her friends, and by now Levi (and probably all other fans) have lost it as well.

Rikyako, as well as the other eight members, had gathered on the central stage, to then put their hands together, their eyes glistening in determination.

"Sh-she's joining the performance?!" Levi squealed.

"No way!!" Clover cried. "This is so cute oh my lord I cAN'T-!"

And they sang, the performance now officially beginning. It was a song about being connected, being there for each other. There couldn't have been a more fitting gesture to show this than bringing the pianist, once struggling, into the performance.

And while Clover listened in to their singing, to the message they conveyed...

She truly understood what had been going on the last few weeks.

"Kakegae no nai hibi o sugoshitetanda"

'I was amid days that could never be replaced'

She was down, broken, had felt miserable.

She had been trying to hide it, deal with it in her own.

But her friends had known.

And they've been by her side.

"Imasara wakatta hitori janai."

'I finally realized I'm not alone'

Even when she had somewhat pushed them away, they where there.

Somehow it occurred to her only now that their small gestures, everything up to the invitation to this live show,

They haven't been coincidences,

But were doing this explicitly to cheer her up.

Clover turned her head to look at Leviathan.

"Kakegae no nai hibi o tsumi kasanete"

'Those irreplaceable days continued on'

And to her surprise, Levi had been looking at her, too.

When their eyes met, he smiled.

A small smile, but warm and gentle.

So, with hot tears rolling down her cheeks,

Clover smiled back.

"Imasara wakatta..."

'I finally realized...'

The girls on stage grabbed each others hand, And so did Levi bashfully move his hand to link his pinky finger with Clover's.

They exchanged a tiny nod.

"... hitori janai!"

'... I'm not alone!'

And went to cheer their hearts out for the rest of the live show, too. Connected by the hands they did not part until the end.

Late in the evening, the oldest brother Lucifer was waiting at the portal to the human world to welcome the two back.

While Levi was looking fine, he was shocked to see Clover with swollen red eyes, tired as if having run a marathon just now.

"Are you alright?" Lucifer raised an eyebrow, mustering the girl.

Having only like five percent left of her voice, Clover assured him that she was more than fine.

"I cried so much" she laughed in a hoarse voice. "It was amazing."

"You really cried SO much more than I did lol"

The avatar of Pride didn't quite understand the connection between "crying lots" and this being "amazing", but he saw how truly satisfied both of them were, so a content smile spread on his lips as well.

"Then let us head home" Lucifer said. "It appears both of you could use a good night's sleep."

At the house of Lamentation, Levi had checked his D.D.D., and something must have prompted him to hurry back home as he had left the two to walk alone for a bit.

Clover took this opportunity to address the oldest brother in this quieter moment.

"Lucifer? Thank you for letting us go to the human world today. It means a lot to me."

Eyeing her sparkling expression, Lucifer couldn't but let out a happy exhale.

"I am glad your spirits have lifted. I was displeased to see you in this saddened state, but it seems like my brothers took great care of you."

Clover smiled, watching how Levi was urging to open the mansion's door.

"They really did."

The smile seemed to be contagious, as soon, Lucifer wore it too.

"However, you should thank Levi thrice as much. You don't want to know what measures he took to convince me to let you two go out today."

The girl's eyes widened, glistening with gratitude.

"Yes, I will."

And so she dashed after the avatar of Envy.

She reached him in the entrance hall, where he was arguing with Mammon over whatever.

As soon as this had been resolved, Clover dashed into Levi to hug him yet another time.

"E-eh?! Seriously, Clover, y-you can't just hug people whenever you like-"

"Thank you, Levi" she interrupted him in a gentle tone. "I'll never forget this."

Blushing, Levi returned the embrace.

"It wasn't much, really..." He mumbled bashfully.

But Clover shook her head.

"No, I mean it." She mumbled into his clothing.

"I'll never forget your kindness."

And with that, she pulled back...

But placed a sweet, little kiss of gratitude on his cheek before quickly making her leave.

"Good night, Levia-tan!"

Holding the place where her lips had touched him, the demon looked after her.

"Good... night..." he mumbled in a baffled response.

But ultimately, he smiled, knowing that he, the anti-social, shut-in Otaku, had not only managed to cheer someone up,

but also felt how he had grown closer to a person very dear to him.

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

Here's a link to the song's performance in case anyone wants to watch the one for 'Omoi yo Hitotsu ni Nare' (and there are a bunch more of Aqours, go support them they're precious 🥺)

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me levi #love live sunshine #aqours #short story #obe me mc #clover

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spiritualgateway · 4 years ago

Text

We are not impressed

wiritten by Steven Black:

Welcome.

This is mission control. We come with greetings from home and some thoughtful words. When we wrote you in the manual to act like natives on Earth and act just as narrow-minded, alarmist and ignorant as the majority of this planet lives, we did NOT mean this to be a permanent condition. It was only meant to allow you to pass as natives and be accepted as the same. We brought you, the troublemakers and rebels of the universe on board to kick the butts of the powerful on the planet hard, get things moving and wake up the sleeping majority rudely.

You've done a wonderful job of that. We are pleased about that. However, we are not impressed by the fact that a lot of you have been treading water ever since, doing nothing but creating more excitement and spreading some sensational information. No, folks. There was nothing about this in the manual and it wasn't planned that way. Seriously, we are not amused.

A few of you are running around proclaiming, "look, the end is near," and other participants in the cosmic plan suddenly desperately want to be Germans, Austrians, or whatever, and are indulging in national small-mindedness.

Hello, seriously now?

At the beginning some of us found it funny to observe beings, which were always known in the universe for expansion that they were suddenly occupied with shrinking and decreasing. Meanwhile, we don't find it so funny anymore. We find it quite exhausting. Like, by the way, some of the other things you fabricate there on Earth.

For the majority of the planet it is an accustomed, acceptable condition to see themselves only as receivers of information. You can just slap everything around their ears. And it is considered completely normal to simply pass on any information, no matter how negative and fearful it may be. They however should know that they are receiver AND transmitter of information. Please use your consciousness and your mind in the future, when you receive negative information again, before you simply pass it on. That is what a mind is for. You use it. Please be aware that any information should be checked for validity and sense first.

Further, make sure that what you want to pass on is really useful and helpful to other people. As a sender of information, you have a responsibility. Ask yourself, is this really the kind of energy I want to send into the world? It's not about not giving criticism. It's about examining that criticism for validity and usefulness. What is of no use to anyone is a waste of time - and energy.

Whether something is true or not cannot be evaluated by internet. None of you know the people behind who spread such information. You know neither their motives, nor the personal backgrounds to judge something like that. And the anonymous sources they refer to - well, the mainstream media work the same way. They know that, "close intelligence circles said, blah blah blah." Meanwhile, the "alternative media" is starting to work the same way.

Anyone can claim to care about humanity, the people or whatever. Most of the time other interests are at the forefront. Their predictable reaction when they believe this is fear, resistance, powerlessness, anger, hatred. It lowers their personal energy vibration to a little light that may just be blinking.

Did you know that there are more and more "social bots" in your so-called "social networks"? These are small programs that collect and spread information, especially used in political discussions, but also in sports and dating portals. Various political and economic interest groups use this tool to create the "right mood".

The postings are attributed to real people, but in fact various "News" are generated automatically and by machine. These social bots are so adaptable that it is almost impossible to distinguish between human and machine. At least not if you don't bother to check these "news".

Today, hate propaganda and xenophobia is often created by software and scattered on the Internet. There, this "fake news" meets people who, without checking, simply believe it because it seems to fit with their worldview - and off it goes, creating shitstorms. Be very clear about this. Just because something is possible doesn't mean it has to happen. But it can happen if you are not aware that your reaction serves the interests of power groups that are masters in creating enemy images and are very adept at turning people against each other.

There is a war going on on your planet for the information interpretation sovereignty, because "the power behind the throne" is fighting for its survival. Hereby it is tried to direct your attention and to areas which are far away from your personal life. Population management means arousing fears, reducing positive energies, injecting powerlessness and victim consciousness, and psychologically overwhelming the citizen in order to channel a reaction of anger, indignation, rejection. If consciousness has been successfully directed to a situation with a lot of information, some of it contradictory, and the individual is confused, the desired reaction occurs.

Stirring up trouble and waking up are only a tiny part of the multi-step plan, the main part is that you come back into your full power and demonstrate to the earthlings how to radiate from within. You seem to have completely skimmed over this chapter, or, knowing you, you didn't read it at all. This is bad. For us and for you. Not to mention the majority of the planet. All this 3 D actionism is starting to worry us. We get the strong impression that some of you are stuck in the middle of the process.

You are just repeating the information education that we started since the 1990s. All the information about the elite of this planet, mental manipulation, pharma, military, politics, wars, etc., served a purpose, but really should not be used for you to go here and point fingers at the supposed bad guys. Nor should you fight against them. We were hoping you would see the bigger picture in this. By processing the information given and really getting the point in what it's all about - which is you, personally - and realizing how the planet is controlled so YOU could stop falling for it and raise your personal vibration. Okay, didn't work so well, at least not for many of you.

Please try to understand that the power behind the "official power", basically profits from hatred, anger, powerlessness, even if this hatred may be directed against them themselves, or various political, economic interests in which they have invested and are involved. Because anger, fear, rage, hatred, powerlessness, victim consciousness and helplessness are very low vibrating energy fields, the more people are stuck in it, the bigger the field and the easier it is to maintain the "status quo" and carry out their plans.

The fear of a world war and/or an irrational religious war of course works very much into their hands. This is how the old energy works, always has and it is now fighting for survive. Scattering fear, uncertainty and doubt are a powerful weapon in the hands of those who for millennia have power over the planet.

In the course of the further step ignition it comes now to the intensified dissolution of your energetic barriers, within their multi-dimensional bodies. You have probably already noticed that they are becoming more permeable. That is why these fear-inducing messages have such an impact on you. And if you do not make an effort to clear your emotional body, you may not succeed in overcoming the low vibrational fields. Because these go into resonance with repressed and hidden contents IN your own consciousness and your emotional field.

You are here to raise these fields. Since we cannot need energetic blockages, or various subtle constructs that block the energies we send to your material body and Mother Earth through YOU. Because if you are not free of these blockages, the soul parts and energies that we send to you for support keep coming back to us. We send in, it comes back. We send in, it comes back. We find this annoying, constantly operating in repeat mode without getting anywhere. So please, finally take care of it.

We are very aware that you are tired and very disillusioned. We told you at the beginning - going to Earth is one of the hardest jobs in the universe. But we also know you can still do it, and you will. Apart from that, unfortunately, there is no alternative. There is only you. You are all we have and we put all our trust in you - still, because we have no other choice.

While the denial of the facts staggers along its peak, the biosphere contains less and less oxygen, the food is enriched with more and more toxins and the ecological balance mutates to a term that mocks every serious description. However, there are no other special forces which we could send to mankind to hold it back from the abyss of self-destruction. They are on their own. You all knew this before and now we remind you again of the briefing that you found so boring.

They were so full of themselves and thought it would be a piece of cake to take care and clean up on Earth. But the 3 D Matrix had them all under its spell. Unpleasant surprise, isn't it? In our experience, it takes a good 30-50 Earth years to fight your way through it. We gave you that time, but believe us - if you had paid more attention during the briefing and read the manual or at least just the emergency edition, you would have been spared a lot. Hopefully, that will teach you a lesson for the next time.

Please be aware, we need you! Mankind needs you, the earth needs you. And we have heard your personal calls for more help, which you sent to us on behalf of the people. But since this is probably a big misunderstanding on your part, we would like to remind you of another section of the briefing:

YOU are the help you are calling for! You and all other suicidal volunteers ARE the help we sent!

Pretending now that you are not in charge and hoping others will do the job will not look good on your leadership record. And demanding that God finally step in and fix this problem (yes, we heard that exactly) gives some of you an even less appealing report card. People caused the problems, people need to solve them too. Besides, God is at present fully occupied with the re - organization of universe and the creation of new codes and must not be disturbed (HE has given us personally to understand this).

You are on earth. You are responsible. You wanted the job and YOU also got it. So you make now obligingly something halfway reasonable from it.

Your present reality on earth looks honestly quite shitty. And that is actually good and wakes you up. There are truly more uplifting images we can imagine than watching a world afflicted by madness, whose social, economic and political world structure is falling apart, die. But that, of course, is what it's all about - dying. Your old, familiar, accustomed world is dying and there is nothing you can do about it. But many of you still try to stubbornly hold on to the old reality - and stop the dying process.

Things are changing, sometimes tremendously and in ways that none of you can oversee. However, you can help shape the way it happens. How chaotic it becomes is entirely in your hands. Some helpful points in this regard, for your kind attention:

Keep a little distance from the free will of others and tame your spiritual ambition. Or best of all, direct the energy of your ambition toward the avoidance of spiritual ambition.

If someone is desperate to spin the wheel, don't stop him. Cheer him on, because only a crash landing will bring him back to his senses.

Please give up your remaining victim attitude and switch into the responsible creator mode. We certainly understand and know from our own earth experience how difficult it can be to discard cherished worries and various notions of how small and helpless you are. It's so terribly convenient to rant about everything and name culprits, there's no need to get off your own butt.

Spread courage and optimism, no matter how little it may seem to be justified - but appearances are deceptive, they are always blinding. NOTHING is as it appears to be.

Please stop trying to dissolve your ego. Instead, see to it that you get a reasonably sane ego that is at peace with itself. You cannot dissolve your ego, you can only split it off. And that is not something we would like to see in you. "The ego" is your vehicle through which you were able to have an experience in the first place.

Please do not pretend that you are invulnerable and untouchable. What is happening here hurts, allow that pain. Meet the shadows inside you, integrate and digest these inner shadows. This will hurt, real shadow work breaks you open. This is a good thing and prevents the pain inside from forming into a weapon that turns against you.

Stay with yourself even when the world around you seems to be going crazy. Sweep outside your own front door, there is plenty to do there.

Rise above the low fields and try to wring something good out of your life.

Never forget that you are a star child who has successfully completed this task in many corners of the galaxy. Earth may be a particularly stubborn nut to crack, but you will crack that nut. In any case, giving up is not an option. Please pull yourself together and hold out, that would be even nicer.

Come on, impress yourself! Show us who you are and please stop playing the tourist!

Written in the style of E.T. 101.

Nothing you read here is THE truth. It is my truth, my perception and how I see things – now, in this moment.

Until next time same station ..

THE INFORMATION SPACE

#spiritual

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perfectcomputerclasses4 · 4 years ago

Text

Top 10 Benefits Of Having A Digital Marketing Career - 2020

Though the idea of digital marketing in India is not a new one, its implementation and rapid growth fairly and comparatively rare. In contemporary times. It can transparently be seen that the mainstream of businesses is shifting from traditional to digital marketing day by day. To be precise, up until 2010, the traditional business models were dominating the field of Indian business arena and practices. One of the biggest reasons for this happening was the attitude of the entrepreneurs who simply did not want to leave that kind of traditional business media practices.

However, after 2010, a paradigm shift started to happen when these entrepreneurs started to understand and appreciate the stuff that digital media in the fields of business was offering.

Before starting to talk about the opportunities and perks that having a career in digital marketing presents, let's understand the scopes in India in contemporary times. The Indian government has started a program with the name inverted "Digital India" which created a lot of opportunities in the digital marketing branch in order to empower Indian society and economy digitally.

Benefits of having a Digital Marketing Job :1) Freedom :

Freedom is one of the biggest perks having a career in the digital marketing field. Any kind of freedom be it artistic or creative, it is one thing that can be guaranteed in this career as there is a lot of scope for reaching the goal. Depending on how the temper of your employees is, it may also be possible for you to continue your work from home.

It is pretty natural for people to want to use all the platforms in the Digital world in order to provide and sat updates. For example, the official Twitter handle of Mumbai Police is very very active and they provide details of each and every minute to the citizens by using those tweets. In order to make it much more attractive and interesting to be yours especially young ones sometimes the contents which are used are pretty creative. Therefore the freedom that is present in the careers of digital marketing is not just about the culture but also about the quality of work.

2) Demanding Future :

The scopes of digital marketing careers are on the rise constantly. One of the biggest reasons for that being possible is the versatile and flexible nature of the work which makes it so attractive to clients as well as marketers. People who are trying to enter the arena of digital marketing and associated careers have a lot of room to get into.

Those geeks who are savvy with technologies like SEM and SEO and are confident in their technical intellect are especially perfect for this career. Most of the businesses of the whole world are turning towards shifting their marketing techniques to the digital arena and looking at that, marketers can predict that the demand for digital marketing in the future will rise and get doubled up.

3) Scope :

One of the most important things about this career is that it is always engaging and ever-changing. That's what attracts most of the people to work in this field as there is always something to learn. The other thing is the adrenaline rush of getting to do adventures with new clients everyday especially if you are working with an agency.

if you don't want to work under a boss per se, a lot of freelancing options are there too. Portals like Indeed, Freelancer, Upwork, Naukari have freelancing opportunities that they can provide you as a freelancer.

4) Financially Good :

Marketing is one of the key tools for business. Because most marketing today is done in the digital field, the salary of digital marketers is on the rise. It has been calculated that a decent digital marketer on the time of demand can earn $400,000 in a year. One other big plus point is that the rays that you want to get exist at regular intervals. The better you are at your job and the more you are able to upgrade your skills, the higher the chances are to get big fat checks at the end of the day. Those who don't have much experience to start with can also earn around $300000 to $1,300,000 per year.

5) Not a Hectic Job :

Digital marketing is not a job like sales. Unlike traditional marketing where you had to go in order to promote and sell your services here, you can reach your potential target audiences through the web.

Not just manufactured products but also services sectors like restaurants and hotels are also taking the help of online platforms in order to promote their services. Because of the revolution in the technological field, it has been possible for people to promote and market their products and services from one place not roaming around

6) Easy to get into :

High qualifications and technical training to get into this field of career are not very important. There is no defined specific qualification that is required to be a digital marketer. If you are thinking about getting into this field and you worry that you don't have any specific qualifications then the good news for you is that you only need to be serious, creative and must have good communication skills, that's it.

Though it is better to have basic knowledge in the marketing field which you can get from digital marketing courses which are available today everywhere.

7) Discovering professionalism :

As the field that we're talking about is booming with the growing development in the technological sector a lot of opportunities are opening up. Associating oneself with these opportunities can provide a hard-hitting experience with professionalism which one can enjoy thoroughly. The diverse nature of this field can introduce a person to various sides and various ways of the world which eventually can lead to being a better professional.

8) Wide Range of jobs opportunities :

The digital marketing field is not restricted to only one kind of job structure or portfolio.

If you get into this field you will be exposed to jobs like :

Content marketing managerDigital brand managerContent writerDirector of digital marketingInternet marketing specialistInternet marketing directorContent brand managerSocial media marketing managerSocial media marketing analystSEO manager

9) Opportunity to show creativity :

If you are creative and actually in love with expressing your thoughts in an attractive way then this is true "The field" for you. Digital marketing provides various opportunities to showcase your creative skills as part of your portfolio.

10) Get Involved with a change :

Evolution is happening in the field of marketing. If you get involved with digital marketing jobs you will be a part of this revolution. The confinements of traditional media opened its doors to digital media. After that happened, automatically the various kinds of prospects that were intermingled with the digital media started to go up.

Getting associated with the digital marketing field especially in a booming time like this has no cons. If you are truly creative and passionate about your work then this is the appropriate job title for you. Increasing popularity simultaneously generated the rise of career opportunities which eventually in the digital marketing form led to the foundation of various kinds of institutes exclusively to teach and research digital marketing.

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damienthepious · 6 years ago

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lizard kiss time thank you

The Rite of Movement (Chapter 2)

[Ch 1] [ao3] [Ch 3] [Ch 4] [Ch 5]

[Fandom: The Penumbra Podcast

Relationship: Lord Arum/Sir Damien/Rilla

Characters: Lord Arum, Sir Damien, Rilla, The Keep, Original Monster Character(s), Sir Marc, Sir Talfryn, Sir Angelo, Quanyii, Sir Caroline

Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Engagement, Post-Canon, Domestic Fluff, Romantic Fluff, Poetry, Presents, Monster Customs, Dancing

Fic Summary: Arum has a surprising revelation about his own feelings, and then decides to take matters into his own claws since his humans don’t seem to realize what they are denying themselves.

Chapter Summary: A conversation over breakfast. Hashing out the details, as it were.

Notes: Sorry for the long delay between chapters, I don't have as much of a well-defined plot for this one as I did for Reckoning, so Reckoning took precedence until it was done. Hopefully, this story will just keep going until we hit the actual wedding. Will I be able to actually WRITE said wedding, as an unmarried enby who hasn't been to a wedding since I was maybe eight years old? WE SHALL SEE.]

It isn’t until the next morning that Rilla remembers to question the technicalities, and Damien starts to worry again in the general sense.

“It’s one thing to be engaged,” Rilla says gently as Damien scoops out scrambled eggs and a vegetable hash onto their plates for breakfast. “There’s no law against engagement, regardless of how many people are involved or whether any of them happen to be monsters. But actually getting married… I don’t know if there’s a priest in the world who would-”

“I told you not to worry about what is possible, Amaryllis,” Arum says, voice warm and content and a little bit smug. “You are thinking too small. A human priest? Admittedly, you would be hard pressed to find one amenable to our situation. But your world is larger than just the realm of humanity now, is it not?”

“You are suggesting a- a monster priest?” Damien says, his voice lilting up in disbelief as he sets the skillet back on the counter and comes to join them at the table.

“Probably not a priest as you would recognize. But- there are monsters who oversee such ceremonies.” When they stare at him, doubtful, he scoffs, but he’s still smiling. “What, did you think that committing to each other was a strictly human desire? Not every monster wishes to, and some who desire commitment simply decide that they are married without the pomp and circumstance. But still others have a fondness for attention, ritual, the involvement of friends and rivals and underlings- you understand my meaning.”

“It wouldn’t matter that there are three of us?” Damien asks curiously. “I know that two in unity is a very human concept, but-”

“Monster unions are often complex, and often even more complex than three. Sometimes unions are more practical than romantic, sometimes they are mergers of families, sometimes a commitment of monsters will fall out of love and hold an extravagant ceremony of parting. Three instead of two in the human way is an unchallenging thought, honeysuckle. There is only one rule, for monsters.”

“And marrying you off to a couple of humans…” Rilla trails off.

Arum shrugs. “I know one or two powerful monsters who live far from the Citadel, who hold no specific grudge towards humanity, and if I asked them to oversee the ceremony for me… I think I could convince them.” He pauses, clears his throat. “I… may have already opened a correspondence or two… to test the waters.”

“Wow,” Rilla says. “You’ve really been thinking about this a lot, haven’t you?”

“… yes,” Arum admits, his tail curling around her ankle gently. “Yes I have.”

“A monster wedding,” Damien murmurs. “Saints, how my life has changed…”

“Does the idea bother you?” Arum asks, tone carefully blank.

“Once upon a time it would have,” he says with a wry smile. “Now I’m merely considering how to go about telling Sir Angelo about this without him accidentally revealing to the entire Citadel the event we are planning.”

“Oh, damn,” Rilla says with a sigh. “Working out the invitations for this is going to be interesting, huh?”

Arum gives a long-suffering sigh. “Marrying a knight, I suppose I shall have to endure a limited number of other knights in attendance,” he grouses. “I shall not be inviting many guests myself. The Keep shall be my most important witness.”

The Keep gives a joyous trill at that, and Arum hides a smile as he takes a bite of his food.

“Hm.” Rilla taps her fork against her plate absently. “Angelo obviously, and Tal and Marc and Dampierre…” she sighs. “We can’t invite Sir Caroline, even if we did kind of reach an understanding. She’ll still walk in and behead the monster that’s supposed to marry us in a heartbeat, no doubt. And I would invite Quanyii, but I have no idea how to get in touch with her, and, well-”

“You think she’ll start asking for my thumbs again, Amaryllis?”

“Oh hush, I was desperate and I never promised anything.” She pauses. “But I really don’t want her to bring it up again, yeah.”

“I am amused that you should wish such a chaotic creature attend our ceremony at all,” Arum says with a laugh.

“She was instrumental in the saving of our Citadel,” Damien muses. “I’m sure if we are determined, we can find a way to contact her.”

“Maybe,” Rilla says. “Either way, I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves a bit. Saints… I can’t believe we’re going to have to plan a wedding. I had resigned myself to perpetual engagement, to be honest.”

“It can be done however you want it to be, Amaryllis,” Arum reminds her, trying not to sound too eager. “You need not adhere to any human traditions that you do not find appealing. And the Keep will help make any arrangements with the space that we need, of course.”

“Will we hold the actual ceremony outside?” Rilla asks, tilting her head. “I don’t imagine that you would want any knights and critters running around the inside of the Keep at will, wedding or no.”

“I had-” Arum pauses. “I hadn’t thought of that. I had been imagining-” a new song filling the greenhouse, hopeful and content instead of yearning, this time. Arum clears his throat, continues, “imagining it in the greenhouse. But outside, yes, I suppose that makes more sense-”

“The greenhouse,” Rilla sighs. “It is the most incredible room in the Keep, I think.”

The Keep sings a soft pleased note at that, and Arum scowls but does not mean it in the least.

“And we could have the Keep seal it off,” Damien suggests, “and only have the guests come in through portals, limit access to the rest of the structure, if only to keep things simple and contained…”

“Yes,” Arum says, fiercely glad that they appear as enthusiastic about the idea as he is. “Yes, I think that will work quite well.”

“How soon were you thinking that we would hold the actual- ceremony?” Rilla asks, watching with amusement as Arum clenches and unclenches his fists, not meeting her eyes.

“I… a month, perhaps?” he suggests, his heart thudding, not sure if that time frame is at all reasonable by human standards. “Small ceremony, shouldn’t require too much planning, just- need to see if our ‘priest’ is willing, make sure those we want will be able to attend- and-” he sighs. “I am due to molt soon, and I had wanted to wait until after that unpleasantness for this.”

“M-molt?” Damien asks, voice tilting up.

“Lizard,” Rilla chimes, and Arum scowls.

“I am a magical construct-”

“Who just so happens to closely resemble a bunch of lizards and shares many biological similarities with them,” Rilla says with a shrug and a grin. “You haven’t noticed, Damien? The Keep’s been trying to keep him all moisturized and cared for, but poor Arum’s scales have been all dry and pale lately.”

“It isn’t exactly a pleasant process,” Arum grouses.

“But I bet you’ll look pretty incredible when it’s over.” She pauses, eying him. “Shiny new husband,” she muses, mostly to watch the way his posture freezes, the way his eyes go wide, and then narrow.

“Shameless tormentor,” he mutters, fondly, leaning so he can nudge an arm against hers. “So. After I molt at least.”

“Let’s wait until we hear from your monster officiant, and when we know they’ll be available we can start inviting the rest of the little group.”

“You are being remarkably quiet, honeysuckle,” Arum says after a moment, and Rilla feigns a wince.

“Oh, don’t get him started,” she teases.

“It’s only-” Damien laughs, possibly at himself. “I’m so happy,” he says wonderingly. “It’s quite overwhelming, actually. Distracting, even- I keep thinking about-” he glances towards Arum, then gives another pleased little laugh. “I keep half expecting to wake from a dream. This seemed impossible only a day ago, and yet-”

“The impossible is my business, honeysuckle,” Arum says mildly.

“I am overwhelmed by my love for the both of you,” he says, and Rilla smiles and sighs and reaches out to grip his wrist.

“You know we love you too,” she says gently. “No need to get worked up this early in the morning. Besides, you might wanna start saving up your speeches for the wedding itself, don’t you think?”

“I am going to preemptively set a time limit on any speechifying or poetry-reading during the ceremony,” Arum barks quickly.

“At the reception, then,” Rilla concedes with a smile.

“The what?”

Rilla blinks, then bursts out laughing. “Okay- I am asking this completely seriously, I’m not laughing at you, I promise. Have you ever actually been to a wedding, Arum?”

“Of-” he snaps his mouth shut, his snout wrinkling in irritation. “I-” he bares his teeth, and then his shoulders sink in defeat. “Of course not. When would I have ever? Who do you think would have invited me?”

Damien is making a face like he’s about to declare that he would, of course, he would invite Arum anywhere, for the rest of his life, anywhere and everywhere, all the most beautiful places- but Rilla steers the conversation before the poet can make Arum any more uncomfortable.

“It’s not a big deal, Arum. I just- didn’t want there to be any big surprises for you if you didn’t know what to expect. Usually after the whole actual ceremony, there’s a reception. A party, really. With food, and dancing, presents, and stuff like that. We don’t have to do that if you don’t want to, though.”

“… dancing?” Arum echoes.

“Dancing,” Damien agrees in a dreamy tone, his head tilted and eyes looking somewhere distant.

“I… enjoy…” Arum pauses, frill flaring enough to reveal his embarrassment. “I enjoy dancing,” he says quietly, and then he coughs and sticks his nose in the air just a bit. “Of course, I’m sure your human dancing customs are just like all of your other customs: rigid and ridiculous and if you put one claw out of line someone will mock you for it.”

Damien, affronted, opens his mouth to retort, but Rilla gets there first with a laugh.

“Some dancing is like that,” she admits. “But obviously if you wouldn’t like that sort of lock-step, organized dancing, we just wouldn’t do it. I mean, I don’t really like that kind of dancing either, so that’s fine with me.”

Damien ducks his head slightly, almost pouting, but then he sighs and admits, “Most of that choreography is designed for… groupings of two, anyway.”

Arum wrinkles his nose. “Ugh. So invariably dull. You creatures cannot even cavort without putting restraints on every little step and turn.”

Damien frowns in earnest, now. “You don’t seem to mind terribly the restraint on my every little step and turn when I go through my exercises each morning, when you so often conveniently happen to be nearby and observing.”

“I-” Arum’s eyes dart to the side in a way that fails entirely to be stealthy. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I mean, I do,” Rilla says with a shrug. “Watching Damien stretch is my favorite part of my morning routine, just barely beating out coffee.”

Arum laughs. “Fine, fine. I suppose restraint can have its place.”

“What I’m getting from this is that you do want to dance, though,” Rilla says slyly.

“Dancing, food,” he deflects with a shrug, “none of that sounds… disagreeable.”

“How coy your phrasing,” Damien says, voice lilting. “Who would have suspected that a monster could be so very meek about the simple matter of a dance?”

“Meek,” Arum growls. He clearly knows that Damien is goading him, but he narrows his eyes and stands regardless. “I will show you meek, little knight. Keep?”

The Keep sings, then, but not in the usual way, not in its harmonious vagueness, but with rhythm and purpose. A full song, not a phrase of notes. Arum lifts Damien out of his chair with a hand on each side of his waist, and the movement glides easily into a waltzing turn. Arum is substantially taller than Damien, and Damien is less used to following than he is to leading, but he adjusts quickly with a laugh on his breath as Arum guides him through a series of steps that manage to be both unpredictable and elegant at the same time. Monstrous, but controlled. He turns Damien in a tight circle, and his movements to the music are measured and slow compared to his typical blurring speed. Finally he dips the knight back, leaning in close to nip at his jaw as if he just can’t help himself, and when that startles a more enthusiastic laugh out of Damien, Arum pulls him back to stand again, looking equal parts smug and smitten.

“Wedding ceremony planning, version two, entry one,” Rilla chimes into her recorder with a grin, and both of her breathless fiances pause to look at her. “Dancing at the reception is non-negotiable.”

#elle's fanfic #the penumbra podcast #second citadel #rad bouquet #lord arum #amaryllis of exile #sir damien #links will be added in a second because i want to see if this will actually show up in the tag if i don't put them in #it's actually a couple hours BEFORE #lizard kissin' tuesday #by my time but i'm UNWILLING TO WAIT #okay cool even with NO links this still didn't show up in the tags #hey thanks tumblr you dipshit #the rite of movement

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choiceslife · 6 years ago

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When Worlds Collide: Part Five (Limited Series)

Disclaimer: Based upon characters in Choices - Endless Summer, It Lives in the Woods, The Royal Romance, #LoveHacks, Home for the Holidays, and The Elementalists series. All characters presented are the property of Pixelberry Studios. I claim no ownership. This story is purely the work of the poster as fanfiction.

Overall Series Rating: 18+

Warnings: Adult Language, Adult Content, Sexual Discussions. Future chapters may contain SMUT and Gratuitous Sexual Descriptions

Overall Series Summary: The sisters are together again and Ava Cunningham believes only they can help her.

Author’s Note: This Limited Series is a companion/sequel to Divided By Circumstance. I suggest you at least read that series in order to understand this one. As with most of my stories, this is a crossover and is part of my interconnected Chromatic AU. My MC’s are as follows: Carrissa Monroe (TRR), Abby Bennett (#LH), Scarlett Joy (HFTH), Taylor Reed (ES), and Donovan Bailey (TE). Previous Chapters can be found in my Master List located in my header.

Tag List: @cinnamonroll-duffy @darley1101 @debramcg1106 @brightpinkpeppercorn @katurrade @ladynonsense @luxurylives @regrettingnathan @teamtomsato @akrenich @riseandshinelittleblossom @kinkykingliam @jlouise88 @eileendannie @marshmallow-ortega @littlecrookedheart @i-choose-liam @tmarie82 @bobasheebaby @boneandfur @europeanguy @walkerismychoice @pixieferry @sstee1 @endlessly-searching-for-you

***

New York City, New York

Carissa, Abby, and Scarlett removed their hands from the amulet that Ava had instructed them to hold. They couldn’t believe the visions the ornate piece of jewelry projected into their minds. As sad as the three women felt to learn of the terrible price their mother paid to bring them into this world; just knowing the lengths she went to protect them gave the sisters some closure.

“So our mom knew about the powers we possessed? And she knew that birthing us would kill her?” Abby wiped a stray tear from her eye. Knowing the sacrifice her birth mother made broke her heart.

Ava placed the amulet back into the black velvet bag which Cora kept it stored. She could have told the sisters the lengths Cora went to hide them from the world, but Ava thought it better for the three to see for themselves. “From what I could gather from the amulet and Cora’s journals, Anastasia figured out sometime after the first trimester that she was carrying babies with extraordinary abilities. It was Cora that let your mother know the likelihood of her surviving the birth was extremely low. Carrying three of the most powerful beings in the universe takes a toll on the human body.”

“What about the fact that the late Senator Vega is our father?” Carissa questioned. “Mom clearly feared him finding out about us.”

“Thankfully we won’t have to worry about him.” Abby placed her hand onto Carissa’s shoulder to calm her worries.

“Are either of you upset that everything we have is because Cora set things in motion to keep us apart as her way of keeping us safe?” Scarlett questioned. Tears were also in her eyes as she looked at the tall woman standing before her. “Why couldn’t she find us when we became adults and tell us about our birthright?”

“I think Cora did what she felt was best. She certainly nudged some things, but you three are where you are because of your own strengths.” Ava took a seat across from the sisters. She took a deep breath, knowing that the trio had a lot to process. “Perhaps we should...”

Carissa rose from her seat on the couch, which immediately silenced Ava mid-sentence. “It seems that Cora went to great lengths to keep my sisters and I apart. Fate of the world and all that. But you’re wanting us to use our powers for some purpose that you haven’t quite explained. Why risk something that Cora worked so hard to prevent?”

“Fate actually brought you together with your sisters after Cora’s death, Your Majesty,” Ava answered. It was true. Without Cora Pritchard around, the universe set in motion to bring The Sisters back together. “When you three came together, you felt something. A spark. You broke Cora’s binding spell. My original plan was to come tell you about your powers and then re-engage the binding spell with some tweaks so that mere touches between each other wouldn’t break it again.”

“Original plan? What changed?” Carissa asked.

___

The groups stepped away to mingle, giving Ava some private time with Carissa, Abby, and Scarlett. The shaggy haired pilot found a corner of the room that gave him a vantage point to watch the others while he got lost in his own thoughts.

Cade mingled with Griffin and Zeph, taking a moment to feel the former’s biceps, while Lucas teetered on the edge of the group. Stacy seemed to marvel at Shreya’s fashion, while Donovan and Beckett snuck flirtatious little finger grabs with each other. Mara checked up on Eagle Eye stationed outside the door, as Dan pulled up a seat beside Jake.

“You’re never much for group chats are you?” Dan questioned as he playfully punched Jake on the knee. The pilot smiled back with a low laugh that caused Dan to tingle inside. Something kept pulling him back to the gruff smart ass he’d known for all of a few days, despite Jake’s attempt to steer him towards Lucas. Dan liked Lucas for sure. He’s smart, attractive, and a phenomenal friend. Yet something was missing. Dan didn’t feel that spark. His breath didn’t hitch in his throat like it did the first time he saw Jake. It was wrong to feel this way. Dan knew he was here to help Jake get Taylor back; but part of him imagined a future involving the brash, ex-military guy with a penchant for nicknames.

“Not particularly Mop Top, but I don’t mind talking to you.” Jake flashed that underwear dropping grin of his and Dan swore he felt himself tighten against his jeans. Jake noticed, but before he could give his new friend grief, he spotted the Queen approaching out of the corner of his eye. “Your Majesty,” Jake said jumping to his feet and pulling Dan up with him in the process.

“Please, you don’t have to do that. Sit, sit. Call me Carissa. You’re Jake, right?” The Queen inquired, extending her hand to the shaggy haired man before her.

“Yes ma’am...err...Carissa. And this here is Mop...Dan.”

“Pleasure to officially meet you both.” Carissa took a seat beside the two men, gesturing for them to sit back down. Although she didn’t know him, the dog tags around his neck gave her some confidence that Jake would be trustworthy and honorable enough to be forthright with her. She had been through so much in Cordonia before marrying Liam and her emotions were on overdrive the past week after meeting her sisters. And now she had a gaggle of strangers telling her that she was part of a powerful witch trio. To say that her mind was blown would be an understatement. At this point, Carissa was beginning to doubt her sanity. The scariest part to her was that she believed them. Hell, someone could show up next week and tell her that Justin was abducted by an evil corporation and replaced with a murder prone robot and she’d believe it. “So Jake, tell me something. What made you believe Ava’s words? I have to think a military man like yourself isn’t someone that is easily swayed by simple stories.”

Jake ran a hand through his hair as he contemplated Carissa’s question. Why did he believe Ava? His very first interaction with her, she used her friend Dan as a thirst trap. Yet it worked and after speaking with the two, Jake felt a level of comfort that was quite rare for him. The last time he trusted that quickly was the day he met Taylor. “To be honest Carissa, I wasn’t swayed by Ava’s words. Something inside told me that I could trust her and Dan.”

“She believes that Taylor left a bigger impression upon you and your friends than Vaanu expected. The feeling Ava got from her interactions with Taylor was that he was supposed to fade from your memories in short order after he left, but the love you all have is willing him back into existence.”

“Sounds like Taylor,” Jake chuckled. “Things happened on La Huerta that nobody will ever know. Taylor saved the world, but he also saved me as a person.”

“Thank you Jake,” Carissa said as she clasped his hands between her own. She left the two men back to return to their conversation while she rejoined her sisters.

“So? What do you think?” Abby asked with baited breath. Her mind had been made up rather quickly. Abby thought it would be super fun to experience magical powers. It must have been Ben’s comic book imagination rubbing off on her. Scarlett was a little more reserved, but was willing to try if precautions were in place. All that remained was Carissa.

___

Griffin gathered his friends beside Ava. It was time for them to return to Penderghast. The had work to do on their own mission. “I wish we could stay cousin, but circumstances beckon us back home.”

“Yeah. Donovan has Thief practice tomorrow and he’s gonna need to focus. Especially since he missed the first game,” Zeph remarked.

“Thief practice?” Stacy arched an eyebrow at Zeph’s words.

“It’s like flag football,” Donovan answered. “Just with magic.”

“Yes. Well, while you all entertain yourselves with sport, I’ll be studying in the library,” Beckett scoffed.

Shreya and Zeph chuckled at Beckett’s expense before the two groups said their goodbyes. Cade hugged Griffin just a little longer and tighter than the others, much to Stacy’s chagrin. Ava watched her girlfriend forcefully whisper to their friend after his embrace as Griffin’s friends made their way back through the mirror portals.

“So you’re all going to forget about this as soon as you go through?” Ava questioned as she hooked Griffin’s arm before he could depart.

Griffin nodded to his cousin. He knew she was slightly sad that he’d forget seeing her again after so many years apart. “It’s for the best. The Sisters need to stay safe. Just remember what I told you about the potions and the talisman. If they agree to help you, the talisman will keep your location hidden. I imagine magic that powerful will be sensed by many attuned beings rather quickly. Once you’ve completed your task, use the potions for binding and memory alteration.” Ava hugged her cousin one last time before watching him disappear through the mirror to rejoin his friends.

___

The Queen and her sister’s gathered the attention of those that remained. “I’m surprised to see your cousin leave us so soon Ava,” Carissa said, a hint of dejection in her voice

“He and his friends have some matters to handle back in their realm, but I assure you that Griffin put precautions in place to keep your secrets safe. He also provided me with a few items that should assist with the spell if you, Abby, and Scarlett are willing to help.”

Carissa looked between her two sisters, both of whom were smiling greatly before confirming to Ava their willingness to try and restore Taylor to the timeline. “We were talking between ourselves about what to do. Something you and Jake mentioned struck a chord with us. You said Taylor has been trying to will himself back into existence. And Jake mentioned that lots of things went down on La Huerta. If we are going to have the best chance of being successful, I think we need to go where Taylor’s Earth presence was strongest.”

“You’re saying we need to go to La Huerta,” Jake grinned.

“Precisely.”

“Well then Your Majesty, I’m sure you’ve got access to a Royal jet. Think you can take this motley crew with you? I need to make some phone calls and arrangements for some others to join us. If we are going to be successful, then we won’t only need La Huerta. We’ll need those that still have Taylor in their hearts.”

The Queen nodded in agreement while Stacy practically bounced off the walls, excited no doubt to get to fly on a luxurious royal airplane replete with every amenity imaginable.

“Excellent,” Jake replied. “I’ll send you the coordinates and let Malfoy... errr, Aleister know we’re coming so arrangements can be made for your arrival. La Huerta here we come.”

***

(To be continued)

#playchoices #choices fanfic #choices fandom #endless summer #the royal romance #it lives in the woods

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alwayslilmisstreated · 6 years ago

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Alice the Third

*(This is an idea a friend and I played around with once I introduced her to Ike/Rev. It is nowhere near complete but I’m really enjoying making it come to life! Without further delay: (Modern day)If Alice marries Sirius and her sister comes to Cradle.)

The story starts out innocent, but it will build in language as well as content. You have been warned.

Rated: Explicit, 18+

Chapter 1 - Strange Meetings

“Are you, Mari?”

My head snapped up at the sound of a gentle male voice. Slowly I took one headphone out and studied him before answering.

The circumstances were weird enough, even for me, and I was the only female Major in the English Army. I hadn’t seen my little sister Alice in almost six years, and about five months ago out of nowhere I started getting these letters from her. Although I wasn’t living full time in London anymore, always ready to go wherever the war took me, rumors of her sudden disappearance still reached me.

Naturally when she’d appeared in my flat one night, I was angry as hell at her for not telling me where she had went, but being me, I had shut up and listened. She hadn’t told me everything, just that she’d traveled to another world and she’d found the love of her life and she was getting married, and she wanted me to be there. Are you fucking kidding me?

Alice stayed in London that month and disappeared the next, just in time for my next job assignment in Germany.

So here I was, in St. James Park at eleven o’clock at night, meeting a strange man that Alice had sent to bring me to wherever she was for the next month.

“Are you the White Rabbit?” I tested, standing up straighter and watching his eyes. I could always spot when someone was lying to me.

The man chuckled, shaking his head and pushing his glasses up his nose. “You’re just like she said you’d be.”

I raised my eyebrow at this. Just what else has she been telling you...?

“I’m Blanc Lapin.” He continued, holding out his white-gloved hand to me.

I shook it firmly, releasing it just as quick, still not sure what to make of this guy. He was impeccably dressed, but very twitchy. I was a female soldier wearing leather pants and boots of all things.

“We should go, we don’t have much longer before the portal will close.” He nodded to my oversized army issue duffel bag strapped to my back, and a small black leather bag at my feet. “Is that all you have?”

Rolling the muscles in my shoulders to loosen the strain from the weight, I nodded. “These are mostly presents, I hope that’s okay. She didn’t really tell me about anything I couldn’t bring..”

Blanc nodded, grabbing the small bag and started quickly walking down the path, beckoning me to follow. “You’ll have to talk to Ray about that when you get to Black Territory, but I think you’ll be alright, as long as strange hands don’t get a hold of any weapons you may have brought anyway.” He eyed the belt at my waist where my issued pistol sat on my hip.

“This is my personal protection.” My tone was unintentionally sharp. “But if it’ll protect my sister, I’ll hand it over...”

I promised Alice I wouldn’t cause any trouble. That included many things, particularly back talking her new friends and family.

“I’ll explain more when we get there,” Blanc promised. He suddenly stopped, holding out his hand so I wouldn’t walk past him. “This is it.”

I didn’t see anything. It just looked like open space to me.

“Just relax.” Blanc smiled, before he stepped forward and disappeared into thin air.

“What the fuck?!” I spun around, but sure enough he was gone. I pinched myself. “Fuck!” I yelled into the night once more. I took the step.

The world spun upside down and the park was quickly out of sight, replaced by the vast night sky illuminated by a full moon and twinkling stars. I was falling, down a hole that seemed as wide as it was long.

If Alice could travel back and forth I would surely be fine, right? I tried to shake the thoughts away that I may become a pancake at the end of this. Why hadn’t I taken a sip from my flask before we stepped through there?

It wasn’t until I realized everything around me was moving slower, wait, was I floating? I couldn’t see the bottom, how deep was this hole anyway?

When I looked up to see where we had fallen from I was startled to see the exit falling out from under me.

I continued floating through the air, slowly approaching a landscape unlike any I had ever seen before.

There was a deep, dark forest, a large city to the North and, a sister looking tower that appeared bigger than the Eiffel Tower. Shivers ran down my spine as I glanced it over. Something wasn’t right about it.

How any of this was possible, I didn’t know, but I knew for a fact I wasn’t dreaming.

Moments later, I felt my body growing heavier, and I began to fall faster.

I squeezed my eyes shut and hit the ground with a crouch. The impact was harder than I imagined, but I refused to show any pain, gritting my teeth I rolled to my feet and stood, taking in my surroundings.

I was in a rose garden that looked like it was straight out of a fairy tale. Off in the corner was a large hole with a preternatural light shining out of it from above.

“Are you alright?” I jumped as Blanc suddenly appeared at my side, almost losing my balance in the process. He reached out to steady me before I had even registered his movement. Rabbit like, indeed. His touch on my arm was warm, but I still stepped back, putting a safe amount of space between us.

“I’m better than alright.” I grinned at him lightly. “Let’s go.”

Blanc led me through a nearby door, which led to a huge spiral staircase that appeared to be a housed in the middle of an official building of sorts.

“Did we really just land on the roof of this place?” I asked, pulling my flask from my pocket, unscrewing the lid and taking a deep swig. I passed it to him, but he politely declined.

“We did, indeed.” He smiled brightly.

Shrugging I took another sip as he led me down a hall and another flight of stairs. Blanc opened the front door for me, leading us out onto a moonlit cobblestone street where a carriage was waiting.

Blanc opened the door for me, helping me step up with my bag on my back, sliding in across from me with the rest of my luggage. A voice from the driver’s box called down, “I see you secured the other idiot. Congratulations.” I heard the crack of the whip and we were off.

“Did he just call me an idiot?”

“You’ll get used to it.” Blanc answered, sitting back in his seat to study me. “Just how much did Alice tell you about Cradle?”

I hesitated answering him. What if I knew too much and it got Alice in trouble?

He seemed to sense my thoughts. “I encouraged her to tell you a little actually. That way it might not be so much of a shock.”

I relaxed a little and told him all that my baby sister had told me about her new home. Magic Crystals, 500 year feuds, fictitious characters that are actually real that I may or may not have tattooed on various parts of my body.

“She said something about people from our world being able to repel magic,” I started, not really sure how this would sound. “Can I do that too?”

“Yes,” he smiled. He then showed me the map he had once showed my sister when she first came here. “The West is ruled by the Red, while the East is ruled by the Black. We’re currently in the Central Quarter, which up until recently was the peaceful ground in between. The place where we landed is called the Garden. This is where Cradle’s most powerful figures gather for debates and trials. Usually everyone except for high ranking army officials and myself-- the official record keeper-- are forbidden from entering, but since we are at peace and King Lancelot is Sirius’ best man, some strings were pulled in your case.”

This was a lot more complicated than I originally thought. I just hope I could keep my promise and not cause any mayhem in my time here. Alice had her secrets, and I had mine, but sooner or later they would come to light.

“There’s one other thing,” Blanc said, startling me out of my thoughts as I stared out the windows of the carriage, watching the strange lights from the crystals dance.

“What’s that?” I asked, taking another sip from my flask.

“I have a feeling everyone with the Black Army is going to be quite taken with you.”

“How is that a problem? I’m going to be living with them for the next month, isn’t it best we get along?”

“There is a rumor going around that someone from the Red Army wants to tempt you as well. It’s highly unlikely that some unforeseen difficulties may arise between you and a certain someone. Maybe even myself and Oliver.”

“What are you talking about, Lapin?” My military voice was coming out and my tone was sharpening. “I’m not going to cause any problems for my sister or anyone--”

“Listen well, Mari.” He cut me off. “I gave this same warning to your sister months ago and it didn’t do any good. Let’s see if you’re better at listening than she is. If you want to make it home, there’s one kind of magic you must not fall under the spell of. It’s the strongest, oldest magic in this land-- love."

“Love?” I scoffed, rolling my eyes at him.

“Strictly speaking, love on its own doesn’t constitute magic. But what I just told you wasn’t just some silly metaphor about life either. Only tragedy awaits those who fall in love with somebody from a different world. If you dream of going back to your world, it will remain nothing more than that-- a dream.

Other than my sister I had never loved anybody before. Being in the military, you learned not to get attached to anyone, because you never knew if you were going to live throughout the day. This was going to be a piece of cake. Nobody could fall in love in a month, right? Oh wait, Alice..

“Don’t worry about me, White Rabbit. I’m the last person you’ll catch falling in love.” I turned my gaze back to the window, letting myself get lost in the differences of our worlds. So I didn’t hear the words Blanc muttered under his breath next.

“If I had a tart for every time someone said that to me....”

Little did I knew then that I was about to fall in love with someone from Cradle, the country shrouded in magic and mystery that would be my home for the next month.

Blanc smiled at men and pushed his glasses further up his nose. "It seems we have another problem. I never told you my last name."

13 days remained until the wedding.

And 30 days remained until the next full moon.

#ikemen revolution

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incorrectdanganronpaquotes · 7 years ago

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“Ultimates Play” (a.k.a. Let’s Player AU)

Hey, Mod Snake here! So I realize that I’ve been sort of lax on my part in the 2K celebration. This has been mostly to the fact that I’ve been working on my senior thesis, and it’s been absolute hell trying to motivate myself to do anything with that nightmare hanging over my head. But now the thesis is officially over and I can finally get around to posting something I’ve been meaning to post for a while: an AU concept called “Ultimates Play!” The idea of this AU is similar to the Talent Development Plan ‘verse, except that the DR1, SDR2, and NDRV3 characters share a gaming channel on YouTube called ‘Ultimates Play’. Over the years since it started, the channel has evolved into sort of a Rooster Teeth-style project, with dozens of different series done by many different hosts. There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s just jump right in!

General Concepts:

As you can imagine, Chiaki was the one to set up the channel; in fact, the channel was originally called “Chiaki’s Gaming Corner”, and the channel URL still reflects this. Hajime quickly became involved in the editing process, since Chiaki would frequently fall asleep before uploading the videos. Chiaki then gradually began introducing her fellow classmates, who had become interested in the games during Class 77’s meet-up times (everyone involved refuses to call them “classes”), as hosts of their own series; before long, this spread to other classes entirely. And thus, Ultimates Play was born.

Junko in this AU is still technically in despair, but the passion for video games she developed after spending some time with Chiaki helps keep her Ultimate Analyst abilities occupied, preventing her from becoming bored enough to lash out at the world. She is still extremely competitive and aggressive, particularly towards Mukuro, but in general it is typically safe to be in the same building as her.

This AU uses the “Class 79” canon for the V3 kids, similar to the Ultimate Talent Development Plan, since the Tragedy doesn’t happen in this AU.

As the channel started to get big, the group decides they need a headquarters in which to stay; they end up building it a few blocks away from Hope’s Peak. Very few of them live in the building full-time, but the building is equipped with dozens of beds anyway just in case they all happen to crash there overnight at the same time. There are also multiple TVs, so that different students can record series at the same time.

The channel is one of the top 10 most subscribed channels on YouTube, due in part to the variety of content. Of the series, Chiaki’s and Ibuki’s typically have the most views, while Celeste’s and Hajime’s have the least views.

Even though Komaru isn’t technically an Ultimate, Makoto and Toko both begged Chiaki until she was allowed to join the channel.

Individual Series:

Makoto and Kyoko have “Detective Training,” in which they play mystery games together; typically these consist of point-and-click adventure games, although sometimes they’ll do other genres if there is a sufficient mystery element. Kyoko almost always figures out the entire mystery from the start, so she basically spends the whole time trying not to spoil the twists and puzzles for Makoto. Shuichi occasionally guest stars, but he’s too self-conscious around Kyoko to make regular appearances.

Sakaya and Kaede share a series where they play rhythm games like DDR, as well as general music-themed games like Rockband; they alternate off randomly between which one is the host, never appearing in the same episode.

Toko’s primary series is “Toko’s Shovelware Spectacular”, in which she plays the worst of the worst games on the iPhone and Android app stores. Komaru makes an appearance every time there’s a multiplayer game, or whenever Toko is so genuinely shocked by a game’s shittiness that she needs a second person to confirm she’s not imagining things.

Neither Togami nor the Ultimate Imposter have a consistent theme for their series (although they tend towards real-time strategy games); however, there is something of a running joke between them. Every time Togami uploads a video on a game, Twogami will then upload a video on the same game, starting off from the same place Togami left off and claiming to be the next installment. Togami is consistently infuriated by this, but he can’t figure out how to stop it. There’s a running debate in the comments about whether the ‘second Togami’ is actually a distinct entity or just Togami playing an elaborate practical joke; this, for Togami, is the worst part of the whole thing.

Ishimaru has a series called “Upholders of Justice”, in which he plays crime-themed games (GTA, Saint’s Row, etc.) while breaking as few laws as the game will allow him to. If you’ve ever seen the Saints Row the Third episode of Monster Factory, it’s sort of like that.

Hifumi and Kazuichi have a shared series called “Love Quest 3000”, in which they play dating sims together; this is ostensibly for the purpose of figuring out how to get better at real romance, but they have yet to achieve any success in this field.

Celeste has a recurring series on gambling games, such as video poker and virtual slot machines. To her eternal fury, they are by far the least-viewed videos on the entire channel; this may be because she always wins, or because her commentary consists almost entirely of A) ‘advice’ on how to win at gambling (which boils down to “be lucky and don’t panic”), and B) reiterations of how successful she is.

While Junko doesn’t actually have a standalone series, there is a playlist named “With Junko” on the channel. This is because, rather than star in her own series, Junko will occasionally crash episodes of other series and serve as a guest commentator for the episode, typically without the approval or knowledge of the players in question. HOWEVER, Junko does co-star in a regular series called “Rose and Thorns”, in which she and Mukuro play co-op games like Portal 2 and New Super Mario Bros. You can probably imagine how well their interactions go.

Hajime did an Undertale LP.

In her continuing effort to be the most meta human being in the universe, Ibuki has only a single ongoing series: “Ibuki Plays Danganronpa”. At no point in the series does she comment on the fact that her fellow Ultimates- and indeed herself- appear in the games; the closest she comes is her DR2 LP, in which she off-handedly remarks on the similarities between herself and Ibuki in the game. There is only one exception: every time game-Ibuki’s corpse is on-screen in Chapter 3, real-Ibuki goes absolutely silent until the scene changes or she turns away. None of the other Ultimates can figure out where the hell she got these games, and she refuses to provide a straight answer.

Hiyoko and Mikan, of all people, have a shared series entitled “Super Bestest Friends Play!”; it consists pretty much entirely of Hiyoko forcing Mikan to play the weird Flash games you find on various “gaming” websites (i.e. bootleg Frozen games and the like). Hiyoko uploaded the first episode without permission from the others, and promptly found herself being threatened with stabbing by Maki, who is always on watch to make sure things don’t get too upsetting for Mikan; every once in a while you’ll hear a soft click in the background of the episodes, at which point Hiyoko will immediately and urgently apologize to Mikan and suggest a tamer game. Also, every once in a while the situation gets shaken up a bit: on at least a couple of occasions Mikan very visibly starts getting aroused by the games in question, which freaks Hiyoko out more than anything else the other Ultimates have ever seen (this is the main reason they allow the series to persist).

Gundham and Sonia have an ongoing series in which they play horror games together. Gundham constantly pretends not to be freaked out by the jumpscares, even though he is. Sonia constantly pretends to be freaked out by the atmosphere, even though she’s not. They are exactly as adorable together as you can imagine.

Gundham also has a recurring Pokémon series, covering at least one game from every Generation. He makes a dedicated effort to capture one of every Pokémon, and at the end of each playthrough he hacks in any that he can’t obtain legitimately that Gen. His videos are each at least an hour long because he can’t make himself stop playing with his Pokémon. He also cites Pokémon-Amie as the single greatest innovation in the history of the franchise.

As more and more shows started appearing on the channel, Chiaki started putting out less and less content- which suits her just fine, since it gives her more chances to play games with herself and her friends, without having to worry about making entertaining commentary. Her only ongoing series at the time of the AU is a gaming news show, where she reports on announcements about games she’s interested in, as well as discussions about what she’d like out of future games. Hajime is a recurring guest star on the series.

Komaru has a series where she plays whatever games she happens to like at the time; most of these are Nintendo games, and almost all of them are on the casual end of the spectrum. Toko regularly drops in without warning.

Mitarai has an ongoing visual novel review series, which frequently devolves into tips about drawing and commentary on anime he likes or dislikes.

Himiko has a series of RPG playthroughs, many of them unfinished. The only playthroughs she will consistently finish are Final Fantasy games, since they’re Tenko’s favorites. She also did exactly three episodes of a Kingdom Hearts LP before abandoning it, citing the story being too confusing.

Maki has a recurring series in which she plays first-person shooters in order to test their accuracy. To the hastily-suppressed delight of Kokichi (and the well-disguised amusement of everyone else in the building), Maki usually turns out to be absolutely terrible at these games, being so used to real combat situations that she can’t adapt to the artistic license of most FPS’s.

Kokichi Oma has only one series, which is entitled “Kokichi Plays Minecraft”. The series is well over a hundred episodes long, and not a single damn second of that is from Minecraft. Instead, every episode is taken from a different game, with no apparent pattern; each episode has Kokichi acting as if he’s been playing this game for several episodes, as well as alluding to various incidents that happened previously in the game (which, of course, the audience doesn’t get to see).

Tsumugi’s series is literally just makeup tutorials for cosplayers. She doesn’t seem to realize that it’s otherwise pretty much exclusively a gaming channel, and no one else has bothered to tell her.

There are plenty of other series not listed here, including some that pop up without warning and only air one or two episodes before ending. In general, every character from the games has at least one recurring series, each with wildly different schedules.

One series in particular doesn’t have a single consistent host; it’s called “Ultimate Date Night”, and the commentary role shifts between various couples within the group- Akane and Nekomaru, Himiko and Tenko, Sonia and Gundham, Kokichi and Shuichi- as they play various cooperative and competitive games together. There is also a spin-off series called “Double Date”, in which two such couples square off in team-based competitive games.

Other Headcanons:

At one point, Hifumi and Kazuichi definitely played Doki Doki Literature Club, and spent the second half of the series alternately screaming and crying. They were not ready.

For one April Fools’ Day, everyone on the channel traded series for the day; Makoto and Kyoko hosted “Love Quest 3000”, Celeste and Ishimaru hosted “Super Bestest Friends Play!”, Hiyoko and Mikan hosted the horror game series, Maki hosted “Detective Training” (with special guests Kaito and Maki), and so on. The only exception to this was Kokichi; the thumbnail for his video showed Mukuro as the host, but Kokichi introduces himself as usual at the start of the video and does his usual thing. Also, Junko cameoed on multiple series that day.

Makoto and Kyoko definitely played through Ghost Trick together, and Makoto cried multiple times throughout the game, particularly near the ending.

The only time anyone in the group has ever seen Junko legitimately cry is that one time when Mukuro beat her at Mario Kart 8. Mukuro has never let her forget that day.

Maki was banned from “Double Date” after her first and only appearance ended with extensive property damage and Fuyuhiko (who was on the other team with Peko) being rushed to the hospital with multiple broken bones.

Games Komaru has played include Super Mario Galaxy (finished, though not 100%), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (unfinished), Thomas Was Alone, and Miitopia.

Chisa regularly visits the Ultimates Play headquarters, bringing snacks and encouragement. Everyone is happy to see her, even Togami and Kokichi.

Himiko was the first non-Class 77 member of the channel; no one is quite sure how she ended up joining, least of all Himiko.

Let us know if you like this idea, and if you have other headcanons regarding this AU! Maybe you’ll get featured in a follow-up post or something; who knows? Anyway, hope you enjoyed whatever this was!

- Mod Snake

#not quotes #au ideas #mod snake #ultimates play #let's play au #let's player au #danganronpa au #lots and lots of characters #chiaki nanami #that's probably the main one

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escaperiesworld · 6 years ago

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Sustainable travel and ecotourism are gradually getting more and more popular. According to Forbes, the so-called last-chance tourism is the top travel trend for 2018. The number of travelers globally skyrockets and the appetite for unique destinations is heating up. Forbes notes that the last-chance travel is leading to rising interest in ecotourism and sustainable hotel experiences.

So far ecotourism has not been the most popular way to travel and it is still far from reaching its real potential. It has been more like an exclusive service with an added value for the people who are very much into nature. Yet everything changes rapidly. People are looking for more authentic escape travel experiences and are willing to get the most out of their travel adventures.

Here are the ten reasons why you must choose authentic escape travel and look beyond Google page 1. These will help you to turn away from environmentally harmful mass tourism madness and choose authentic and green travel instead. Let me show you the ecotourism’s potential from a whole new perspective. Get amazing new escape travel experiences, leave a positive impact, help local communities and the environment all at once.

Natives on Orinoko River in Venezuela

#1: Why you must go for authentic escape travel experiences

I am pretty sure you want to get as much as possible out of your travel experiences. If you choose a real escape travel that is authentic and green you will inevitably discover more of the original beauty and will get more positive emotions visiting ANY destination.

So what is authentic escape travel?

When you go to the rain-forest, you probably expect to find real jungle and not a palm plantation there. By going diving and exploring the coral reefs let’s say somewhere in the Red See you expect them to be actually there, colorful and healthy; not over-exploited by the tons of irresponsible divers and unsustainable diving services. If you want to see or take part in local traditions with local communities, you expect to experience them as they are naturally supposed to be. A fine-tuned crap made for sucking out the money from tourists is a no-go today. Also, the last thing I want to do is to buy let’s say a “local” plastic souvenir of Eifel Tower in Paris that is made in China. If I buy anything at all it should be the stuff made by locals. These are a kind of rough examples of authenticity vs non-authenticity.

Unique Latvian Sauna Ritual

When the travel dream turns into a nightmare

Going the “beaten-path” is tempting

It is very easy to bring the tourists to the beaten path travel hotspots. It is also easy to market these places. Just take the stock pictures of let’s say stunning islands of Thailand where the movie “Beach” was filmed, and the visitors cannot resist them. The pictures are usually taken when there are the least visitors. They are also very much improved in the Photoshop or similar post-processing tool too, of course (you can remove people from the picture in Photoshop if you want). Sitting somewhere in the office of a Northern county like Finland on a dark winter’s day you are hooked by these pictures though. You are fed up of the 6-months long Finnish night and you want to get where the sun shines, the food is great, and there are no worries.

Not everything is gold what shines

It is only when you get there you realize that the place is not exactly what you saw on the dreamy picture. It is crowded, loud and there is no space on the beach. There are lots of stinky speedboats and the sea is so polluted with plastic bags and bottles that you actually see more of this stuff than the fish out there. Finally, literary everybody wants to get as much money from you as possible before you leave. You try to find a place to take a picture with the least people in the background. Yet year by year it gets more and more difficult. You can try to fool your friends on social media with a fake smile, but you cannot fool yourself. You don’t feel that you got what you were coming after. Sounds familiar? Well, that’s a rough picture of non-authentic mass tourism travel experience.

You will get about the same stuff in all the travel hotspots widely advertised by travel agencies especially if you go there peak season.

#2: Pristine nature heals

So, why not choose less popular places of authentic and green escape travel instead. There are also less crowded islands in Thailand and even in Greece. Actually, there are pristine nature spots left not far from mass tourism hotspots in most of the travel destinations. You just have to explore a bit and you will be greatly rewarded for this small effort.

Choose nature! Pristine nature heals. It gives you a sense of freedom that nothing else can compare to. Add some ecotourism activities (like hiking, kayaking etc.), and you will return home charged.

Canaima National Park in Venezuela

You will get a great gain from spending your time outdoors. You just have to choose the best time depending on where you plan to go.

When to go?

For example, a diving holidays in Malaysia or in Bali are the best during the dry season (from April to September). The stunning northern beaches in Latvia are the best in the late spring, summer and early autumn months (which is also from May to September).

Diving in Bali

Sandy beach in Latvia

Egypt is super hot in the summer months but very pleasant during the winter (from October till March), when it is also a perfect place for diving.

If you want to explore the rainforest the best time is again the dry season that depends on the place you choose to go.

Hiking in lowland rain-forest in Costa Rica

While enjoying the boreal forests in Northern Europe would be better in early spring (April – May), late summer (August) and early autumn (September – October). In the summer months, northern forests turn in the heaven for the mosquitos. Yet you can always choose a summer kayaking trip along the wild forested riverbanks in Latvia instead. Mosquitos will not bother you in open sunny areas.

Boreal forest in Northern Europe

Kayaking along the forested riverbanks in Latvia

The bogs and mires in Latvia are the best to be visited in the autumn when they get the most beautiful colors and are rich with wild berries.

Pristine boglands in Latvia

Any hiking/trekking in the mountains are the best in the summer months. And so on.

You will always enjoy nature. Just choose the right time to go. The bad experiences are mostly due to bad planning.

Stunning mountains in Georgia (Kazbegi)

#3: Be careful with the “must visit” places

Let’s be realistic. Despite Google’s huge efforts to give the best information on its search engine’s first pages, they are not always that successful. You might need to look further to find the best and most authentic information.

International sites with high domain authorities mostly prevail on the first Google search pages. The Hubspot says that 75% of Internet users never scroll past the first page of search results. The influential digital marketing expert Neil Patel confirms this. This is why all the websites strive to get on the first Google page at least in some niche. It is not hard to imagine that the ones who started earlier and/or have more resources have a huge advantage in the world flooded with digital information.

In most industries being on Google page 1 really means you are the best. Yet it is not that straightforward when it comes to travel. Sometimes it might be too bad for you if you are among those 75% who stick to the Google page 1.

While there are good reasons why authoritative websites rank so high, it is not guaranteed that you will find the information about the best and most authentic travel (and any other) experiences on the Google’s first page. You must look for the local sites first!

Why you should go beyond Google page 1

Let’s look at an example I know the best. In the case of Latvia and the other Baltic States, I can tell you for sure that non-local travel sites that rank the highest in Google for our region reveal only a very small fraction of the things to do and places to see here. And almost none mentions ecotourism. The simple fact is that they just don’t know enough.

In the picture below you can see the first five results on Google page 1 for the query “places to visit in Latvia” (it is very similar for the “things to do in Latvia”). The very first one is the article in the official travel portal of Latvia – a very general one. None of the next five and further on up to the Google page 3 are local. You can also see the average position of my page that is actually very much dedicated to providing detailed advice for the travelers to Latvia.

To get to my site you actually have to go to the Google page 3. The screenshot below shows the two local (Latvian) sites on this page including mine. And that’s it.

There is no way that most of the average travelers would look for these sites. Yet they actually include among the most useful information. You may say it is the problem with my site that I cannot rank higher. Yes, it is. However, is also the problem of the travelers that do not get the best first-hand information actually.

Note that for less popular destinations most of the high-ranking sites focus on more traditional highlights. You have to be a local expert or a very dedicated traveler to know that Latvia is actually a Nordic paradise for ecotourism. Being an average traveler, you just don’t have a clue about this. It is about the same all around the world; especially if we speak about destinations less uncovered.

Be critical about what you read on the Internet. Why the local’s advice matters?

The travel sites of higher authority on the first Google pages often focus on multiple travel destinations. It also means they are much more general than any local information source of a good quality. Authoritative English sites often rank high because of good content writing skills, longer experience, lots of back-links, and long-term running domains and not necessarily because they have more knowledge.

While they give good general insight, these sites often lack the level of detail that you actually need while planning your trip. This is where you should seek advice from a local.

The best way to get the most amazing authentic travel experiences is to consult a knowledgeable local guide. Or you can ask somebody who can do it for you and plan your escape travel trip as you want it to be.

Check for alternatives

For more authentic and specific results you may also have to look for the local websites that very often rank lower. Or you should do your research when you are at your travel destination. This way you might get to know a lot about hidden gems to visit and unique local experiences to have. Besides, you will also help local sites to rank higher in Google. Ultimately this will be a clear gain for you and for other travelers, who will find the local experts easier.

Remember that there is no way that any non-local blog site (even TripAdvisor or Lonely Planet) would know something about the destination better than an experienced local. No matter how good it is written and presented. It is not the first-hand information. Give more chances and trust local information channels and local businesses, at least those who speak your language.

While it is not guaranteed that the local sites and experts will always help you to travel greener (although very often it will be the case), they will be more authentic for sure. They might also lead you away from mass tourism to real destinations showing you amazing places and things you might never imagine exist.

Razna National Park in Eastern Latvia

A beach western Latvia

This all does not mean you should compromise the quality, of course. You have all the rights to demand the best and most reliable information both from international and local travel experts.

#4: Make sure that the ecotourism service is really “eco”

“Eco” gains for travelers

Many travel ecotourism destinations and service providers tend to use prefix “eco” for marketing purposes. Yet ecotourism does not always mean green travel, at least for now. I’ve been in many places around the globe that position themselves as ecotourism destinations. While there are lots of great examples, a good bunch are also far from being environmentally friendly.

Beware of the ecotourism service providers that promise you to spend amazing time in pristine nature but don’t care much on the impact you leave on these sites.

Seeing rare species and stunning wildlife may be exciting. Yet you might not notice at what cost it actually sometimes comes for the local ecosystems, species, and communities. The unique experiences may also make you neglect the problems with trash disposal and other environmental problems that are not uncommon today especially in developing countries.

Keep you “paradise” alive

By coming back to the same place that seemed to be a paradise when you first visited it, you may face the harsh reality some years later. You may not find a paradise there anymore just because you neglected the importance of sustainable travel principles for the first time you went there. Always be aware of what an ecotourism service provider actually sells and do not hesitate to write reviews about your concerns. Reviews are often the most effective tool to affect any travel service provider as the travel businesses rely on them very much.

Responsible ecotourism service providers will take care that your travel experience is truly green. They will search for the best solutions to leave a positive impact on the environment and local communities. As a traveler do not hesitate to credit them for these efforts. It is often neither easy nor cheap to keep this kind of service level.

“Eco” gains for ecotourism businesses

If you are a long-term thinking ecotourism service provider, I will dare to assume that you want the best of your guests to return. You also want that people recommend you to other travelers. Well, then you must ensure that your services are top notch sustainable in a long run.

As from the travelers’ perspective, there is nothing worse than coming back to his/her “paradise” and finding that it has turned into a miserable, worn touristic spot. You will lose not only one client and his friends. You will lose many more and you definitely risk losing your whole business.

Remember that you cannot have a great sustainable ecotourism destination and get more visitors by compromising environmental issues all at the same time. A sustainable ecotourism place is usually not compatible with big public events and masses. You will have a much bigger gain by improving your services, limit their accessibility and making them greener and more authentic from year to year.

#5: Travel is not a competition

I know it may be tempting to go with the flow and list as many countries and “must visit” places that you have been to as possible on your Facebook or Instagram account. However, it will not make you happier (or this fake happiness won’t be lasting). Neither it will impress a lot of people because these days you will hardly surprise anyone by being a traveler.

Why not enjoy your travel instead in a much slower way?

Running from one destination to another and ticking them on your “places to visit” map will just add more stress in your life.

Travel is not a competition. It is a way to get amazing experiences, meeting new people, getting connected and overcoming prejudices. It is not about “Ha, I’ve been to more countries than you”. Running through a city’s dome square and some shopping centers nearby no way means that you have truly been, seen and felt your travel destination.

#6: Going off-the-beaten-path (or track) is still trendy and will always be

I know that off-the-beaten-path is quite a worn term that many want to replace it with something fancier. “Road less traveled”, “under the radar places”, “remote travel”, “being nomad” are frequently used today. Well, I am probably too old but I still think that “off-the-beaten-path” still compiles the very essence of authentic escape travel.

Going off-the-beaten-path: You can get to Iquitos town in Peruvian Amazon jungle only by plane or boat. There are no roads going there

You choose to get outside your box, to dare. You also choose to get out of your comfort zone and “risk” to be transformed in a good way.

“Off-the-beaten-path” is not the same as “far away”

If you want to see more authentic, less disturbed places and enjoy your freedom during your trip, you must seek off-the-beaten-path places in any destination you go. It is that simple. And the good thing is that you do not always have to travel to a remote jungle lodge to get off-the-beaten-path (although this is a nice option too). Just look around any mass tourism hotspot. You might discover amazing things just slightly going off-the-beaten-path. This is a great escape travel strategy.

Amazing ancient monastery complex and natural area just in one day trip from Tbilisi in Georgia

Stunning secluded beach in Jurmala city just 30 minutes from Riga – capital city of Latvia

If you do not have time and you do not want to do your own research, ask somebody to do that for you. It will be much more rewarding than going the “easy way” and sticking to the “beaten path” all the time. This way you will get the most out of your escape travel.

Off-the-beaten-path is also greener

Going off-the-beaten-path often means that you will travel greener too, as you will reduce visitor pressure on the mass tourism hotspots and in a way may help them to recover. Reducing the problem of over-tourism in many travel destinations is a very urgent and challenging task. You can help a lot.

Going off-the-beaten-path also means that you will leave more of your travel budget in local communities rather than in already rich touristic hot-spots. This is how your escape travel experience will also bring a number of benefits to other people and will help the environment.

#7: Try traveling “off-the-beaten-time”

Ok, this is something I like to use often, but it probably needs some more explanation. It is clear that by visiting any country you may also want to see the usual “must visit” places. After all, these are the places any travel destination has become popular for. Hence, you inevitably come back to the “beaten path”.

Teide National Park in Tenerife Island (Spain) is not that crowded if you go hiking there off-season in November

Yet you can choose to visit a “must see” place not during the peak season or holidays. Go there off-season or even during less crowded hours! Believe me, you will be the biggest gainer from this strategy.

Get up early and visit Machu Picchu in the morning before it is flooded by the crowds of tourists

#8: Beat your fears with awareness

Unless you are a world traveler with a huge experience, some fear about going to a new destination is inevitable. It is just natural to fear the unknown. The problem starts when you make all your decisions based on fears.

Believe me most, and I mean the most, of our fears, are nothing to do with the reality. They are based on our prejudices well rooted in us by media. Most of the so-called “dangerous” destinations are much safer than your own suburbs wherever you come from.

Granada in a nice, colorful and welcoming place in Nicaragua to go

What’s safer? Off-the-beaten-path vs beaten-path

Besides, the more authentic and off-the-beaten-path destination you choose the safer it is. There are exceptions though. Yet, most of the crimes against travelers actually take place in the mass tourism hotspots. It makes sense as the criminals gather where most of the money comes to, of course. It has always been the beaten-path.

There are exceptions everywhere. This marketplace in Iquitos – Peru is not the safest place. Yet it is ok to visit it with a local guide

You should always check the real situation before you go anywhere but you must also avoid any old prejudices. They are very often hindering you from having truly authentic and amazing new experiences.

The good example of this is Eastern Europe. The region used to be associated with the dark Soviet regime for many years. Yet today most of the Eastern European countries are fast developing places, many being the members of European Union. It is actually safer to travel there than in most of the Western Europe cities.

A beautiful and tranquil Sabile Town in Latvia

Welcoming streets of Tbilisi – the capital of Georgia

By overcoming your fears, you will see more, enjoy more, understand more and experience more. And this is what escape travel and any travel is all about. Isn’t it?

#9: Ecotourism can be fun. It really can!

Ecotourism has not been the most “sexy” topic so far. Yet any travel must be fun if you want to enjoy it. This is where my colleagues’ conservationists often fail. Ecologists are trained to be serious scientists and experts. They take their stuff seriously; sometimes too seriously.

I am a biologist and I know that on the everyday basis my colleagues have a great sense of humor. This is until the discussion comes to the nature conservation. That moment any ecologist turns into a furious justice fighter. Some are even ready to sacrifice progress and people in the name of nature. While this is an admirable level of passion on its own, it is no way working with most of “normal” people.

When we come to the green travel and ecotourism we have to focus on the gains for each of us. Again, travel is primarily fun and entertainment. Saving the planet may not deeply appeal to everybody (until it is personal); at least at that level, a typical conservationist thinks it should. We need to see our personal benefits and/or solution to our problems.

Any travel experience should be engaging and fun. If we enjoy authentic experiences and nature in a fun way, we will be more motivated to save these values for the future.

Improv-travel approach

As an eco-tour leader/guide I have incorporated a whole new approach in my tours and experiences. Instead of giving the people long boring factual information I combine interesting facts with improv theater elements(!)

Apart from being a passionate traveler, I am also an improv theater actor. Both travel and improv have the same positive impact actually. They connect people and encourage them to step out of their comfort zone. And it works. People are more engaged with nature in a fun way. They care more, they have more positive emotions and they are motivated to return. This is a clear personal gain.

Whatever is your approach to ecotourism it must be fun and engaging. There are endless ways to reach it. Just don’t be boring and too serious. People want to relax and enjoy their experiences. If you can not ensure this, be honest and find-hire someone who can.

#10: Raise awareness

Ecotourism is a perfect way to raise awareness. You visit new places, do things and get engaged with nature all at the same time. No awareness-raising campaign can replace a personal experience.

Most of the nature conservation and environmental projects have public awareness-raising actions. Yet they are always considered to be secondary. While they must be primary. None of the projects can be sustainable without success in raising awareness.

Besides informing the people and getting them engaged are two different things. Well planned and fun ecotourism activities may serve the latest tremendously.

There is a big difference between just visiting a protected wetland area and helping to clean it from excessive bushes. The traveler’s gain is a great sense of accomplishment, while the natural habitats get restored.

Hence any volunteering project is a great way to travel and leave a positive impact at the same time.

Summary

There are many good reasons why authentic escape travel and ecotourism experiences can make a huge positive impact on you and on local communities. They can also help to solve many environmental problems.

Authentic travel will allow you to enjoy the original beauty of any travel destination and will cut the huge problem of over tourism in mass tourism destinations;

Pristine nature heals and charges while crowds take the energy away from you;

Going beyond Google page 1 will allow you to find hidden gems and unique local experiences that you might even not imagined exist;

The real ecotourism service is sustainable and helps the environment. Be sure that it is real“eco” and always leave feedback;

Escape travel and going off-the-beaten-path is trendy and it will always be. Try going off-the-beaten-path wherever you go;

If you cannot or do not want to go off-the-beaten-path, got “off-then-beaten-time” (off-season);

Step out of your comfort zone and beat your fears! They are not real anyway. You will discover many new destinations and experiences;

Ecotourism can and must be fun. Look for escape travel experiences that bring you joy;

If there is a perfect tool that raises awareness about the importance of environmental problems, then it is ecotourism?

Have you been to an ecotourism trip? Do you enjoy green travel? What are your reasons to choose authentic travel and ecotourism? Leave your opinion in the comments or write me a message to [email protected].

10 Reasons You Should Go For Authentic Escape Travel And Look Beyond Google Page 1: Tips For Travelers And Ecotourism Businesses Sustainable travel and ecotourism are gradually getting more and more popular. According to Forbes, the so-called…

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juniper-rose-blower · 6 years ago

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A Detour of Violence

(( The official lead-in to pre-BFA content and Teldrassil! Enjoy!!! ))

"Starstrike! There's been a disaster!"

As Xuen shifted to one side to allow the Demon Hunter entry, June looked at him in worry as she saw his medallion clutched in one hand with a death grip, knuckles turning practically white.

Mal tilted his head first in surprise at hearing his name. It was the last thing he expected. Then he saw the demon hunter rushing in with a deathly stare on his face. He held up a hand. "Slow down, what are you talking about?"

But Leon said nothing. He only held out his crescent-shaped medallion, which was glowing faintly as a woman’s hysterical voice cut in and out from it:

"Le...on!...ave to... get ba....orde atta… Darksh..." It was clearly Bellalily's voice, but she sounded like she was shouting over the roar of a building on fire. June started at the string of broken words, catching two that made the hairs on her neck stand on end. Leon looked like he was itching to draw his glaives, only controlling himself out of respect for where they were.

Malodar listened intently to the broken voice. Even after it broke off, he replayed it over in his head, trying to piece together the words. "The Horde attacking Darkshore… why? Wait… she wasn't going there, was she?"

Leon shook his head, "She was going to Ashenvale to deliver some supplies, but I think her escort got routed." His expression looked fierce and yet worried, like a bear fearing for its cub. June looked between the boys and the Tiger, determination on her face, "Is there a magus or maga nearby skilled in portal creation? It sounds like we are needed immediately elsewhere?"

Mal looked down at the ground for a moment in contemplation. Finally he looked up with a somewhat uncertain look. "I could...try something. It won't get us there but...I could at least see if she is safe."

The White Tiger was still looking with interest over Leon's formidable shape when June asked her question. He hummed in thought before looking back her way, "Elder Sage Le-Sing, who saw you in, can get you where you need to go... just remember what you learned here today: rage will seek to haze your mind. Do not let it. Keep clear and level, and you can achieve anything. Our paths will cross again, I am sure."

Leon looked between the Tiger and Mal, "If the Elder has a faster mode of transportation than those damned cranes, we need to take it." He looked to June as she went to retrieve her push daggers, then back to Mal, worry deepening the lines in his face, "I need to know Bells is ok... what can you do?"

Malodar took a step back and dark patches of void started to creep up his skin, more quickly and aggressively than ever before. His eyes dimmed and similarly replaced the glowing light with a dark void. "It isn't pleasant but I can peer through the void..." His head hung back and he took deep breaths.

Leon seemed to lean forward on the balls of his feet, watching Mal intently. June rejoined the pair, starting slightly at the sight of the void in use by the priest. But she said nothing, not wanting to break his concentration. "Well?" Leon asked a little impatiently, hand gripping his medallion tightly. June quietly stepped forward to take the medallion out of his hand and stand up on her tiptoes to put it back around his neck. His shrouded gaze shifted down briefly and he gave her a nod of gratitude before looking back to Mal.

Malodar had disappeared into the void, the purplish blackness slowly consuming his entire body. He was oblivious to their questions and concerns. He was drifting through an endless, yawning abyss. Nothing around him on any side gave any hint of direction, yet he seemed to know the way. He descended upon the shores of the Veiled Sea. The void realm was a twisted simulacrum of the physical world, but it reflected its events, if ethereally. He saw the war machines of the Horde advancing along the forest paths, northward toward Darnassus. He could speed up and down the shore and the forests faster than any gryphon could fly, seeking out the form of the Kaldorei girl in the chaos.

Mal's shadow journey would lead him all the way to Maestra's Outpost in Ashenvale's northwestern area. As he saw myriad fires burning around him, he'd catch sight of her shouting to a pair of Sentinels, carrying a bow in one hand, and leading a young Kaldorei child with the other away from a burning house nearby.

His ethereal form descended upon the scene, closing in close to her. And he couldn't help but do whatever equated to a smirk in this form as he saw the farthest thing from a cowering, fearful girl. He came within feet of her and reached out to her with tendrils of the void, a drastic measure he would only employ in such a desperate situation. The power brought to her mind a message. "Hold on, we're coming." The strain was starting to get to him and he could feel his grip on such a lengthy projection failing. At the last moment he spotted a second form, creeping through the brush behind her: a Forsaken shadowblade keen on taking her down. With a firmer connection he could've obliterated the threat, but with his strength fading, he shot out a second, more urgent message, little more than an echoing suggestion in the back of her mind. "Behind you!" And with those words he was ripped out of the void. He caught a glimpse of the temple before he collapsed to the side. Crumpled on the floor, he lost both his stomach and his consciousness for half a minute before slowly reawakening.

Back in the Temple, June jumped back as Malodar got sick and passed out. She immediately dropped to her knees, grabbing water to clean around him as well as clean his face directly. She was careful not to pour water into his mouth directly - the last thing he needed was to drown - wetting a piece of cloth and patting his head in worry. Leon was decidedly less calm, hands opening and closing into clenched fists as he waited for Mal to regain consciousness. He nearly jumped out of his scaley fel-pocked skin when his medallion around his neck glowed again faintly, Bells' voice echoing from it brokenly as before: "Tell...al thank... We're sa....eaded nor..." but then her voice cut out again.

June looked up to Leon briefly, patting at Malodar's forehead with the damp cloth, "She sounds quite tough... I'm sure she'll be ok."

The damp cool wetness brought him back to consciousness, blinking rapidly as he readjusted to the real world. "Unpleasant..." he muttered, the void effusion fading from his skin. "The refugees are retreating north, fleeing from Lor'danel on the remaining fleet." He paused. "The Horde have overwhelming force..." His voice carried the weight of just how dire the situation was.

June frowned as she looked between Malodar and Daer'Leon. Her expression was set, determined, and stony. "We need to get going..." Pale eyes looked over Mal with worry, "Are you well enough to come along, or should I send you back to Stormwind?"

Mal waved her off with a look like 'Really?' He pushed himself to his feet and brushed off his tunic. "I'm fine. And time is short, so don't argue. Let's get moving. He began to lead them out of the temple.

Juniper continued to frown as she watched him go, but nodded and followed him out, Leon on their heels.

As the trio crossed the bridge down from the Temple, the Pandaren that greeted them earlier ran up to them looking more urgent. "The Great Tiger said you would need this," the Elder said as he handed June a piece of paper - a voucher of some sort, from the look of it. June blinked down at it, then looked back up at Elder Sage Le-Sing. He pointed to it, "Keep it with you - it's a portal voucher to use when you reach the Shrine of Seven Stars. The kites here are enchanted, so your trip will take less a few hours from here to there." He motions to the grummel, speaking briefly in Pandaren before nodding again. The grummel was already preparing three kites for them. "May your rice bowl be full. You still have much to do, so we hope to see you back soon."

The corner of Mal's mouth twitched both at the notion of taking the portal and even worse at the suggestion of taking the kite to the shrine. He clenched his fist but resigned himself to power through it. "Let's get this over with..." He said as he awkwardly began to climb aboard one of the enchanted kites.

As the three of them got settled, the grummel spoke a few words they did not understand and the kites were off without a hitch. Surprisingly, the flight was not unbearable - they seemed to have a small barrier around them, protecting them from the worst of the wind. Considering the speed with which they were flying, that was definitely a good thing. True to Le-Sing's word, they arrived after about an hour and a half of flying through the chilly air. As the kites drifted downward through the clouds, the land below was quite a sight to behold. The magnificent golden facade that was Mogu'shan Palace, decorated in jade and stone and lanterns, was marred by ugly sha-touched land surrounding it. Toppled statues laid broken on withering hills. But they had little time to think about such a thing at the moment.

Mal clung very tightly to the kite for the entire length of the journey south to the shrine. The landing in particular turned his face somewhat pale as it descended quickly and came to a hover over the stone flooring. The moment he was able, he slipped off the frame and strode away, taking deep steadying breaths. "One horrific journey down, one to go. Let's get this over with."

June and Leon both looked significantly less bothered by the flight - apparently travel by air was far less dizzying than portal travel for the both of them. June nodded, giving Mal a look of empathy, "I'll fix a remedy for you once we get where we're going." With that, they headed inside to get their portal situated.

Mal rubbed a temple as he trudged along toward the portal room. As they marched inside his eyes turned outward, remembering for a moment that there was rumored tavern of special interests nearby, but unfortunately priority took them elsewhere. He took another deep breath and steeled himself for the worst of the trip thus far.

Leon looked back at Mal as they walked, "Bells managed to make contact before you came to. I think they were headed north from Ashenvale, so we should probably start there." June gave a nod and stepped ahead to speak with one of the portal mages. After some frantic back and forth, the graying mage nodded her head and motioned them forward.

Malodar nodded solemnly. "Its difficult to see anything other than what I focus on, but the woods were overrun by Horde. The roads are not safe, hopefully she'll stay off the path and hidden."

June nodded in agreement, followed soon after by Leon, "She'll probably be working to help as many as she can along the way, no doubt, but she's smart enough to keep away from danger she can't handle."

With a soft inhale, June glanced between them, frowning. "We should probably make sure our gear is settled and ready before we go."

Mal nodded and moved to wait by the portal. "Check what you need, I have everything I need already." He patted the dagger at his side and adjusted his tunic slightly. "We need to move quickly, even if she stays off the roads, who knows what scouts they'll have out looking for stragglers. It...didn't look like a strategic victory, it looked like they intended to burn the entire forest to the ground...and everyone in it."

Leon seemed ready as well, though he did step off to one side to pick up a whetstone from a vendor against the wall, using it to sharpen his glaives. June dug through her pack, pulling out her armor. With a small nod, she ran off to find a quiet spot to change. When she arrived again, she was decked in her leathers, with her lupine hood resting behind her head. "Are you boys all set, then?"

Malodar nodded none too patiently as he sincerely wanted to get this uncomfortable trip over with. He stepped up to the portal and waited for the signal from the mage. When he waved, Mal stepped into the portal and felt the uncomfortable squeeze of being forced through space to the other side of the world. June and Leon followed soon after, knowing there was little time to lose.

(( mentions: @malodarstarstrike @moonsorrowhouse @bellalily-moonsorrow ))

#June #Malodar #Daer'leon #rp #plot #pre-BFA

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arcane-fire · 6 years ago

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It was still dark, though nearly morning when Pamina decided to step out of the house and walk to the water’s edge. Everything had happened so fast over the last few days, it was still so convoluted and jumbled in her mind. She wasn’t unhappy by any means. She was overjoyed, in fact, if not a little concerned about her state of mental health. Even if she was crazy, she was happy. They were happy. That didn’t make her crazy, right?

Pamina peered into the water, particularly at the waning moon’s reflection, as the tide washed over her bare feet before rushing out to sea again. She never thought she would be content so far away from the city, but she had been living in Pandaria for the better part of nearly a year and had never felt so relaxed. Something about the area and it’s solidarity was calming. She loved it.

Her reflection in the water skewed, or rather, the space behind her did. A dark shadow formed, wispy and swirling. Pamina was more than used to rogues crawling out of the shadows just behind her after so many years, enough that having it happen never seemed to unnerve her. But this presence didn’t feel right, didn’t feel even remotely familiar. The spellslinger frowned and turned her head to look over her shoulder as the figure took shape. Sort of. It was shrouded in dark clothes, it’s face hidden behind multiple scarves. All she could see was the fel burn of their eyes, and they were staring intently at her.

“Your mother requests your presence at the estate.” It said simply, the voice almost like liquid silk sliding along her skin. Not a rogue, but one of her mother’s Shadows. Lovely.

“Tell her we’ll be around when we can manage the time.” Pamina said with a roll of her eyes and a toss of heavy curls over her shoulder. She turned her attention back to the sea.

“Not ‘we’. You. She wants you to come alone. Immediately.”

Pamina paused at that. That couldn’t be anything good. Alone, and now? What could she possibly want?

“Why?”

“She did not say. Only that I was not to return without you.”

The spellslinger frowned. She never spoke of her mother’s Shadows, nor was much known about them outside of the immediate family. They were her most elite guards, her personal assassins, elves with no personal ties and nothing to lose, mostly women. Never had she heard of them failing a missions and generally, when her mother sent them after someone, she never heard from that someone again. Aiden was just inside, asleep, but close enough that she could be heard if she called for him. The problem was that she wasn’t sure she would be alive in the short time it would take him to reach her.

She wouldn’t risk it. She wouldn’t risk him.

“Fine.” Pamina conceded with a sigh. She turned toward the Shadow to find her already tearing open a portal in the empty space behind them, signifying that the heiress had never had an actual choice. Once it was open, she stared at Pamina expectantly. Another sigh left her lips before she stepped through it, the Shadow close behind her.

When they reached the other end of the portal, Pamina had to fight not to stumble as she stepped on to steady ground. The portal wasn’t like those of her own design and honestly made her a little nauseous, but she supposed it was better than traveling by foot. It took no time at all for her to recognize her surroundings as her mother’s office in the estate, and even less time to notice the extravagantly dressed woman standing on the other side of the desk. Cherry red, glossed lips broke into a sly smile as she tapped a manicured nail against them and looked over Pamina from beneath long, dark lashes. She always overdid it, Pamina thought, when her most exciting activity for the day was likely eating breakfast. Did she even eat breakfast? Did she eat anything anymore? She wasn’t sure.

“Nostariel,” Her mother said, looking her up and down. “It’s been some time. I see you couldn’t be bothered to wear shoes.”

Pamina looked down to her bare feet, both of which were still damp from the sea. The hem of her skirt matched them. “It’s the middle of the night. I’m meant to be asleep, yet here I am, catering to your whims as usual. What do you want?”

“Can’t I just want to see my daughter? It has been so very long, after all.” Xrystiana said. When Pamina raised her eyes and stared at her, the woman laughed. It wasn’t a pleasant sound, Pamina decided. “No? You don’t believe that. Fine. Straight to business, then.”

Xrystiana moved from behind her desk and walked toward her eldest daughter. Even against the plush carpet, her heels managed an authoritative clack with every step. She stopped before Pamina and placed her nails under her chin, digging them into her flesh as she raised it to ensure she would meet her gaze. “As you and very few others know, my time here now is not without consequence. The sustenance I require to remain existing on this plane is costly; no meager, weak magic will do. My sources are running dry, and you and I, we’d a deal. I intend to collect.”

“What deal?” Pamina frowned, eyes locked on her mother’s without any choice. “We didn’t have a deal. You threatened to take my child. That’s not a deal, just as your circumstances for being back aren’t my problem.”

“On the contrary, they are solely your problem.” Xrystiana corrected her. She released her chin and turned, making her way back to the desk. She turned and hopped on to it, crossing toned, tanned, and all too visible legs at the knee. “You see, the less sources for magic I have to...borrow, the faster the clock ticks down on YOU. We both know what will happen if it comes to that. You won’t last forever, and there will be nothing between me and your daughter. Really though, you could just skip all of the unnecessary steps and just give her to me. All of the power contained in her little body is far more than enough to sustain me, and it’s not as if she’s experienced enough of the world to miss it.”

Pamina opened her mouth to protest, to say anything, but Xrystiana continued. “There is also the other issue that we need to resolve.”

The spellslinger closed her mouth and blinked, thrown off by how openly and casually her mother was willing to speak of snuffing out her youngest child’s life. “What...other issue?”

“The full of the D’athion line and our aligned houses still expect to see you as my successor. That means they expect to see you in the spotlight, doing your duties as a magistrix and as a lady of this house. The expect to see you out in public, wed to someone worthy of our name. Not rolling around in the dirt with three bastard children.”

“They’re not...bastards.” Pamina stammered. Her head was spinning. Her mother was speaking to her about killing her child as if they were making plans for dinner. She was discussing reputations and politics with her like their last encounter hadn’t been solely because Xrystiana had drugged and kidnapped her. She could slit her throat where she stood or light her on fire, but she wasn’t sure the Shadow at her back would let her leave alive. In fact, she was positive that she wouldn’t. There had to be another way, some way she could get just as close, with less risk, and-

Unless...

“I’m engaged,” Pamina said finally, straightening and raising her chin almost defiantly. “To a man I think you would find more than worthy of your legacy. You needn’t worry about appearances. Nikklaus is no more.”

Xrystiana looked down her nose at her daughter for some time. “And Ithilwen?”

“You are not getting to my daughter.” Pamina spat. “If you’re so intent on being on this planet well past your time, then we will find another way, but it won’t be at the cost of my children’s lives.”

Xrystiana D’athion raised a sculpted eyebrow and her lips curved into a smirk. “I think I’d much like to meet this new lover of yours. He’s given you something I’ve never seen in you before.”

“And what’s that?” Pamina asked dully.

“Courage.” Xrystiana answered simply. She hopped off of the top of her desk, leaving a dumbfounded Pamina gawking at her backside as she moved to sit in the large, cushy chair behind it. She picked up a quill and began writing on a piece of parchment. “Dinner, then. It is decided. The two of you will come here in two nights time and you will introduce him to the lot of us officially.”

“Officially?” Pamina repeated, blinking.

“Yes. To the other authority figures in our line.”

“You mean Kerynza.”

“She is part of it, yes.”

When Pamina didn’t reply, Xrystiana looked up from her writing. “You say that he is worthy of my legacy. I would like to see if such claims are true or not for myself. If the rest of our bloodline finds him a suitable fit, then we’ll have no issues accepting him into our family with open arms.”

“Okay.” Was all that Pamina managed to reply.

“Two days. Formal attire. Your attendance is intended to captivate and impress, after all. Perhaps by then you’ll have come up with a solution to our other predicament. You are dismissed.”

She didn’t have time to argue, nor did she think she knew the words to say if she did. Her mother’s Shadow had already opened a portal behind her and had stepped between the Lady D’athion and Pamina, ushering the spellslinger out with merely a warning look. She didn’t need to be told twice.

As she stepped through the portal, her mind was racing. Aiden knew Iriseli, Aela, and Melidias, but in the grand scheme of her family, they weren’t anything to worry about. What would it be like if he met the real threats in her bloodline? What would her mother do if they simply decided not to show?

What if...introducing Aiden to them and following the guise of aiding her mother was integral to getting close enough to her to end her reign of terror on her siblings and everyone else close enough to be caught in her sights?

She’s a lot to think about, and a lot to discuss with her new fiancé. Hopefully, just hopefully, the two of them could put an end to the D’athion catastrophe once and for all.

( @the-shadows-queen @killerpersonality )

#don't be silly dear everyone wants to be us — ( house d'athion )#ithilwen shadecross #xrystiana bloodsinger #she who walks the floors of Hell finds the key to the gates of her own Heaven buried there — ( aiden )#every experience written down for the world to consume — ( stories )

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