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hello-eeveev · 8 months ago

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How to Rest: Director's Commentary—Chapter 3

This chapter has a bit of a different vibe than the rest of the fic because it features a Mighty Nein get-together, making it something of a spiritual successor to Miss You Dearly, I suppose. It’s about Caleb and Essek’s relationship, but it also deals with Essek’s relationship to the Mighty Nein as a whole.

I’m excited to discuss it!

(spoiler warning for the entirely of How to Rest)

The crisp, cool air of the Blooming Grove was a reprieve from the stifling heat and humidity of Jrusar’s rainy season when Essek teleported in.

lol can you tell that I started writing this chapter when Bells Hells were still in or around Jrusar? And then by the time I actually finished and published it, we were episode 60-something in campaign 3. Wild. Time is fake (sorry Essek).

Early stages of planning for this chapter included references to the Verin jam story because that dropped right around when I was formulating this whole story, if you can believe it! Ultimately it got cut, though I did drop some of the Verin discussion in this post!

He barely caught a flash of blue before the wind was knocked out of him and arms were thrown around his waist. “Hello, Jester,” he wheezed, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. “Hi!” Jester squeezed his ribs tightly, and he narrowly avoided getting hit in the chin by one of her horns as she pressed her face to his chest. “I’m so happy you made it!”

This scene makes me so happy!!! Jesties my beloveds!!!! I love every scene I write of Jester and Essek because they are always so fun and frequently so so cute, but this is one of my favorites! For a lot of reasons, including:

Essek having to dodge a horn to the chin

Jester making Caleb wait his turn for Essek hugs and Essek just accepting that

Jester looking up at Essek with big puppy dog eyes to convince him to go along with her usurping hug-time from Caleb

Jester-sandwich! Jester-sandwich!!

Essek using dunamancy to help Caleb pick Jester up

It’s just all so cute and I feel like it highlights the kind of friendship Essek and Jester (and Caleb too!) have and I love them so much I want to explode.

Caduceus rested a hand on his shoulder. “Of course. We’re always happy to have you. Here—” He bent down, picked up a wide-brimmed hat sitting on top of a pile of gardening supplies, and handed it to Essek. “It’s going to be sunny later today.” Essek took the hat in both hands, running his thumbs along the edge. It appeared to be the same one the Clays had lent to him after Ikithon attacked the Grove. It was a little more worn than the last time he had borrowed it, but he recognized the pattern and texture of the weave. He smiled, a gentle warmth blooming in his chest at the thought the this hat might have been saved for him. “Ah. Thank you.”

Even though this is quite thoroughly a shadowgast fic, I cannot (and wouldn’t want to) ignore that the entire rest of the Mighty Nein love Essek too. My go-to is jesties, but in this chapter, Caduceus is the one to show a very deliberate care for Essek by not only giving him a sunhat, but remembering which one was the one he used last time. I like that kind of… consistency? repetition? tradition? so I think that’s a very sweet way to show someone consideration :)

As he knelt and began selecting his flowers, he heard Caduceus sigh. When he looked up, Caduceus glanced at him for a moment before looking out over the Mighty Nein and all their colorful chaos, a warm, contented smile settling on his face. “Yeah,” Caduceus said. “This is gonna be great.” Essek followed his gaze and took in the sight of his dearest friends, gathered together as a whole for the first time in several months. Veth was nearby, already hard at work planting one of many yellow flowers she had beside her. Fjord was leaned up against Jester as she explained her vision for her plot, a fond expression on his face. A little off to the side, Yasha wove a flower into Beau’s hair, Kingsley resting at her back, his tail flicking happily.

Everyone in the Mighty Nein gets a cameo, even if they don’t play much of a role in this chapter. I love them. I am writing to paint a picture of all of them together to keep in my heart, just like Caduceus is doing with the flowers.

Caleb was rolling up his sleeves, and the diffused light of the sun through the clouds made the orange in his hair almost seem to glow. He was beautiful—always, but especially amongst the flowers and greenery in the Grove, his warmth all the brighter for the coolness that surrounded him.

Essek, you think he’s so pretty it makes you look stupid (affectionate).

Essek let himself look and admire and memorize. For so long, he had taken in the image of Caleb in glances, at first too ashamed and then too nervous to look at him for any longer than a moment. Now, he could observe and know that it was welcome. Know that Caleb would look back at him and smile. What a gift it was to see Caleb Widogast and be seen by him in return.

And then the comfort that Essek has grown into in this relationship!!! The confidence in Caleb’s reciprocation of his feelings!!!! They don’t have to be awkward anymore because they share an understanding!!!!!! I’m fine!!!!!!!

(anyone else do the thing where they get a crush on someone and immediately cannot physically look at them? Like if you look at them for more than a split second, they’ll know you have a crush on them, which is a fate worse than death? anyway yeah when I write Essek, I’m pulling a lot from experience lol)

Essek flushed and shook away whatever foolish expression was on his face.

Listen, just because he knows Caleb isn’t going judge him for staring doesn’t mean Essek isn’t going to judge himself sometimes. He’s still learning.

Now we get into the actual gardening bit. I did wayyyy to much looking into flower meanings and put wayyyy too much thought into something that went largely unused. I don’t even know if my sources were accurate. I don’t particularly care. (the main one is the flower meanings page on the old farmer’s almanac fwiw?) But from my notes, I have written that amongst Essek’s batch of plants is sorrel, which supposedly means “affection” and tarragon, meaning lasting interest. Caleb’s purple hydrangeas are meant to symbolize a “desire to deeply understand someone.”

They start out working separately but they just naturally stop caring about a hard separation. Almost like how they’re slowly but surely blending their lives more and more until they become one. wow! (listen, my brain is not built for esoteric and/or opaque metaphors, but a little bit of “this thing is like another thing”? that’s fine that’s good we can have a little fun with it)

Eyes drifting to the flowers they had yet to plant, Essek plucked one that Caleb had chosen. It was a bright, purplish blue, its pointed petals forming a ruff around the center.

The cornflower enters the picture, but Essek doesn’t know what it is. He just thinks it’s pretty and that it’s a nice contrasting color to Caleb’s hair.

Essek twirled the flower between his thumb and forefinger before brushing aside a lock of Caleb’s hair that had escaped its tie and tucking the flower behind his ear.

The rituals are intricate, etc., etc.

Essek adjusted the flower for a few moments more, making sure it would stay in place, and shrugged.

Yeah, bud. Suuure, you wanna make sure it stays in place, no other reason. Once again, intricate rituals.

“What is this for?” Caleb asked. Essek chuckled. “Do I need a reason?” Caleb grinned, the red of his cheeks deepening. “No.” [...] “It complements your hair.”

Heyyyy throwback to chapter 2! But now that I think about it, this repeated exchange is kind of an emotional intelligence practice and a way to become more comfortable expressing their not-so-conscious thoughts with with each other. Like, no, there don’t have to be reasons for impulsive displays of affection (and they are becoming more comfortable with that too!), but if they pause for a second to reflect on why they did something, there is usually some reason for it, even if it is as simple as “I like you” or “I thought these colors went well together”. It’s about building the communication and the emotional intimacyyyyy.

“Thank you, dear.” [...] Dear. He quite liked the sound of that.

I would like to thank Liam O’Brien’s usage of ‘dear’ at the end of Mighty Nein Reunited Part 2 for my life.

Warmth spread throughout Essek’s entire body, coursing through his limbs and settling deep inside his ribs. It was dizzying, this slow and steady burn that only Caleb was able to spark, but Essek was not afraid. Caleb was an expert with fire. He would tend to this flame well, and Essek would bask in its heat and light, granted a comfort and a safety he had never known before.

you ever—you ever just—

yeah.

Caleb is the only person for whom Essek has felt this depth of feeling, this kind of feeling. Vulnerability is frequently frightening, exhausting, especially if you have as little experience with it as Essek. But he knows Caleb well enough by now and trusts that he will not be careless with him. And it’s because of this confidence in Caleb that Essek is able to enjoy being vulnerable and being known.

“You have some dirt on your face.” He reached for Essek again and rubbed his thumb along his cheekbone. Essek squinted against the pressure but leaned into it anyway. “And whose fault is that, Caleb Widogast?” he said softly. “Guilty as charged.” Caleb ran the backs of his fingers along Essek’s jaw before letting his hand fall away.

It is endlessly funny to me that Essek is like “I will not kiss Caleb in front of our friends.” And then he’s doing this like, 20 feet from them. I don’t know, bud, this feels more intense than a peck on the lips to say hello, but you do you.

[…] the nearby trees grew up and over, their branches intertwining to create a natural canopy over the patio.

Being the keepers of the nature god’s temple means you can have some cool plant features. I love you, Wildmother <3

A shout came from the direction of the clearing. Essek tensed and leaned forward in his chair, placing his weight on the balls of his feet, ready for a fight. Caduceus merely chuckled. “Well, it was nice while it lasted.”

Essek plays it cool for the most part, and it’s not hard when he’s with the Mighty Nein, but he is stressed and afraid most of the time nowadays, and he’s ready to defend himself at a moment’s notice.

Essek whipped around, baffled by Caduceus’s non-reaction. Then he heard a loud, mischievous cackle that could only be Veth. There was more shouting. It was Fjord, he recognized. Of course it was. Shoving his paranoia aside, Essek could hear the good-natured tone of it all. The sharpness he had thought meant danger he now recognized as Fjord’s playful melodrama.

This is my love letter to the Fjord & Veth bickering. A special shout-out to “Critical Role: Sam vs. Travis vs. Fjord vs. Veth,” one of the best videos on the internet.

“I cannot say I have missed this part of the Nein,” he said. […] “But I cannot say I haven’t, either.” Caduceus raised his cup. “I know exactly how you feel.”

m9 latecomers bonding over loving the Nein while also being frequently overwhelmed by them <3

One of Caduceus’s ears flicked a few times, and he grinned, setting his now-empty tea cup down. […] Only a few seconds after Caduceus disappeared from view, another figure rounded the corner of the house. Essek brightened, the lingering pang in his chest morphing into something soft and sweet at the sight of Caleb Widogast.

Caduceus’s ear flicking is his insanely high passive perception hearing Caleb’s approach and he very kindly exits to give the wizards some alone time.

And Essek is smitten :)

He held out his cup to Caleb. Caleb nodded his thanks and drank from it. “Hm. Not bad.” “I quite like it,” Essek said, taking the cup back for another sip. Caleb gave his hand a squeeze. “I will have to ask Caduceus if I can bring some home, then.”

The little intimacy of casually sharing a cup.

Caleb!! making his home a place for Essek!!! with the things he prefers ready and waiting for him!!!

He cast about for a distraction from the flood of emotions. Caleb’s hair had fallen in front of his face in sweaty, unruly strands. He smoothed it back with his free hand, fingers passing over the blue flower still tucked behind Caleb’s ear.

Is playing with your beloved’s hair the best course of action when you are trying to distract yourself from how flustered you are because he is sweet to you? I would argue no, but Essek’s the one with the >20 intelligence. Surely his wisdom must match it? Surely. (/s i do not believe this man has a high wisdom stat)

“They are meant to symbolize good fortune and hope and—” He shook his head and held the cornflower out to Essek. “Anyways. This is for you.”

Blumenthal’s traditions that feature cornflowers are pretty much just European cornflower symbolism. However, there is one tradition that Caleb deliberately does not mention, which is that cornflowers are sometimes called bachelor’s buttons because they were sometimes worn in men’s buttonholes to show they were in love. Fun little fact for you.

While not in love with Essek yet, Caleb is having some strong falling-in-love type feelings towards Essek. He was having them last chapter, he’s having them this chapter. And talking about his happy memories of home and seeing Essek wearing one of the symbols of it is only working to make those feelings grow.

“I would very much like to kiss you right now.”

I realized after writing this that I pretty much wholesale yoinked it from the book I wrote in high school that will likely never see the light of day but is nonetheless so precious to me. I liked this line in its original context, I like it here.

“I see. Well…” Essek looked around at the quiet, empty clearing before turning back to Caleb with a grin. He lifted a hand to Caleb’s jaw, rough and warm. “That can be arranged,” he said, and he tilted Caleb’s chin up and pressed their lips together.

I get it, Caleb. I get it so much. You’re so lucky, my dude. Essek is so cute it’s unfair.

An unmistakable squeal pierced through the air, sending Essek reeling back. He screwed his eyes shut and dropped his head onto Caleb’s shoulder, hot, roiling embarrassment churning in his stomach. “Do you think if we ignore her, she will forget what she saw?” Caleb pressed his face into Essek’s hair and chuckled sheepishly. “Not a chance.”

I love putting Essek in mildly mortifying scenarios. It’s how I show affection :) And Jester getting as excited as me about shadowgast kisses is a great way to do that :)

Yasha, who Essek had assumed would show more discretion, smiled and nodded enthusiastically, giving him a thumbs-up. Essek smiled tightly and returned the gesture. Yasha was—thankfully—quick to recognize his discomfort. She wrapped an arm around Jester’s shoulders and herded her back in the direction they came, but Jester twisted in her grasp to give Essek and Caleb one last smile and an aggressive wiggle of her eyebrows before allowing herself to be led away.

Yasha is very supportive! Essek said “aww” when she and Beau kissed in Cognouza, so she’s just doing the same for him!! I love Yasha so much. She’s so silly and so sweet and I wanted to make sure that shows here <3

And writing Jester continues to be one of the most fun parts of writing critrole fics. Her mannerisms are so clear in my mind and I feel like they add such a good vibe to every scene that she’s in. Sometimes I have to restrain myself from not writing 1000 words of Jester every time she shows up.

“They are going to tell everyone,” Essek said as he watched them retreat, his cheeks still burning with embarrassment. “Naturally,” Caleb replied.

I imagine that they’re doing the thing where they’re saying this through their teeth while smiling and waving at Yasha and Jester.

“We are both very powerful wizards.” Essek turned to Caleb with a look that was as close to pleading as he could get without surrendering his final scrap of dignity. “What is stopping us from teleporting away before we are forced to suffer that humiliation?” “That we love our friends—” Essek wasn’t sure how much he loved them right now. “—and that Jester would find more ammunition in us running off together than she has from seeing a single kiss.”

embarrassed!Essek gets a little dramatic and I think it’s funny and cute. Also, I like the casual admission that he loves his friends by saying that he doesn’t love them all that much in this particular moment.

Essek lifted Caleb’s hand from his leg and threaded their fingers together slowly, voice quiet. “It is not that I am against them knowing, and I am not so mired in court propriety that I feel scandalized. Rather…” He held their hands to his sternum, just below the cornflower affixed to his collar. “This is not something I do lightly. I am not frivolous with such things. And I am unused to sharing that which is…” Several words flashed through his mind—important, precious, beloved—until he fixed upon one that Caleb used earlier. “…dear to me, with others. I was not made for it.” Caleb ran a thumb across Essek’s knuckles, while his other hand cupped his cheek. “I would not ask you to be,” he said. “I am happy with you, Essek. With us. Regardless of what the others know or think about it.”

hnnnnffghghnmm i’m fine i’m normal

Like, it’s the fact that it his relationship with Caleb is so important to him and he’s so emotionally invested in it that makes it hard for Essek to let anyone else see it. It’s like that quote from Emma: “If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.” (side note: bbc miniseries Emma and Mr Knightley? arospec icons i will not and cannot elaborate) To let anyone get a glimpse of how deeply he feels about Caleb is equivalent to baring his entire soul.

And Caleb is happy to take things slow and keep things more private. I’ve mentioned before/elsewhere that the fact that in all the post-campaign one-shots, Caleb refuses to talk about Essek and brushes off any bid from the m9 to bring him up is endlessly funny to me. He’s so cagey about his relationship and I think it’s hilarious. But it speaks to the idea that his relationship with Essek is something just for them. It doesn’t need to be loud or obvious or overtly romantic to be good.

Caleb’s line also harkens back (forward?) to something he says in On the Nature of Attraction:

“...they [the Mighty Nein] do not have any expectations in regards to how our relationship develops. And even if they did, it would have no bearing on what we do. Whatever pace you set is one I’m happy to match.”

Same thesis, different set dressing.

Figuring out the ending for this chapter was very difficult for me. I ended up just cutting at a place that felt… okay? I considered adding more to it for a while, which I don’t like to do after something’s been published, but when I looked at it again a few months later, I felt alright with where it ended. But let me give you some of the stuff I was considering because I do think some of it is pretty fun.

Caleb: “Is this any more frightening than Aeor? Or Cognouza?” Essek: “I don’t think you want me to answer that.”

Before they rounded the corner of the house, Caleb hesitated, tightening his grip on Essek’s hand. “Are you ready?” “No.” “Me neither,” he said. “If I die of embarrassment, will you avenge me?” Essek laughed. “Bold of you to assume it would not kill me first, Caleb Widogast.”

Images/thoughts we could leave off on: - Essek love Caleb so much - Caleb is a bit silly and Essek loves him - Walking into the mighty nein’s clearing is like walking into the pits of hell - Jester’s adorable laughter is a harbinger of doom - God (Jester Lavorre) won’t let me die

And that’s chapter 3! I like this chapter a whole lot. It’s got some silly moments and some sweet ones, which meant I got to have a lot of fun writing it. See you next time for chapter 4!

#i can't say that this chapter has some of my favorite moments of the fic bc HtR is full of moments that are my favorite #and which i cannot choose between #but this chapter truly does have some of the Moments of All Time #i am just so full of feelings about the wizards help #i love themmm #long post #eve talks #eve's writing #how to rest #how to rest director's commentary #chattering at birds #shadowgast #caleb widogast #essek thelyss

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sassyduckqueen · 2 years ago

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Miraculous: Rise of Anatis 74

I'm back!!!

Ok so chronically this is set just before Pumpkin King. I was intending to release it around Halloween but things didn't work out that way and I lost inspiration for a while. All the crap that is season 5 was putting me off because frankly it sounds so bad, I can't even deal with it. Luckily, inspiration came back and with good timing too as I heard about the spoilers for the end of season 5. I don't know all of them but from what I've seen it's going to be terrible so have some Anatis to cheer you all up. Also we're got some build up and new character kind of. Regarding Felix Sr, I did intend for him to simply be an Easter egg but this is also me we're talking about. Of course, it wasn't going to stay that way. Anyway, enjoy the chapter and fair warning. This is probably going to the last 'light' chapter for a while as we are going to be dealing with some dark stuff. Truth, Lies and Gang of Secrets are coming up but we also have Trio of Terror which is next, Assassin Bee and a chapter which is going to change everything for our heroes but I'm not gonna tell you who the villain of that one is. Get ready for one hell of a ride.

Also!!! I hope everyone have had good holidays and are looking forward to the new year!!

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Chapter Seventy-Four: Party Crasher

~Outside Agreste Manor~

The young man stood outside of Agreste Manor, repeatedly ringing the doorbell but getting no answer. His expression fell as he listened to the sound of people laughing and music playing. Why was he excluded? He was a friend of Adrien's right. Sure, he was his biggest fan and had a habit of getting excited in front of him but he had his number and email. He traded messages with him and tried to treat him with respect so why wasn't he invited? Did Adrien feel deep down that he was only a fan and not a friend? He frowned and took out his phone, dialling Adrien's number. It rang several times but no one answered.

"This is Adrien's voicemail," Adrien's voice declared, mocking his pain. "Leave a message,"

He hung up and looked up at the manor with tears in his eyes.

"Not only are you allowed to have friends over but apparently a huge party is no big deal either," He declared, looking down. "Why did you lie to me, Adrien?"

A single tear rolled down his cheek as the scene flashed like a broken tv, changing to a new one. This time, an akuma dressed in silver seventies dance gear kicked down the door of Agreste manor and began to attack people, absolving them into his disco balls. A number of them got away including Adrien but he was relentless, chasing after them. Luckily, Anatis and Lady Noir turned up, causing him to focus his attention on them. The three engaged in a battle, dodging each other's moves but somehow he was able to predict their moves. He kicked Lady Noir to the curb and went to absorb her but Anatis pulled her out of the way with his yoyo. However, the akuma fired at them, causing them to jump from where they were. Just as Anatis landed, the akuma hit him with his disco ball, absorbing him. Lady Noir cried out in shock but before she could work out what to do next, the akuma turned on her, relentless attacking her and forcing her to fight. She tried her best to fend him off but he was predicting her every move. It was obvious she needed backup as the scene once again flashed, changing once more. This time, Lady Noir was trying to catch her breathe as the akuma smirked at her.

"You can't beat me, Kitty cat," He declared as she tried to hold her ground. "I can read your every dance step and you're all alone,"

"She's not alone!" A second voice declared as the turtle hero Leatherback jumped down with Aspik and Valkyrie. Lady Noir couldn't help the smile that came on her face. "Don't worry, Lady Noir. We've got your back. Aspik!"

"Second chance!" Aspik declared as the butterfly mask appeared around the akuma's eyes. Up in the rooftops, Apollo lifted his bow and arrow, pointing it at the akuma as the mask disappeared.

"Flar-" He started but before he could activate his power, the akuma fired at him and absorbed him. Aspik flicked back the bracelet and went to throw his lyre at the villain but got absorbed and then the villain absorbed both Apollo and his arrow as well as Valkyrie. Leatherback then tried to protect Lady Noir with his shelter but like the others, he was taken out as well, leaving Lady Noir alone. Before the villain could attack her, Dame managed to knock him back and turned to Lady Noir.

"Get ou-" She didn't even finish her sentence before he absorbed her. Lady Noir backed away as ashes surrounded the area but the akuma slammed his fist towards the right side, absorbing Phenix too. Once again, Lady Noir was the last one standing and this time she didn't last much longer...

Felix Sr jolted awake with a startle, just as Lady Noir was absorbed by the akuma's power in his dream. He sucked in his breath as sweat dripped down his forehead and Bridgette made a noise, causing him to look over in fear. However, his eyes softened upon seeing her, cuddling to the plushie she insisted on having in their bed. He smiled a little and dropped a kiss on her hair before getting up and going over to their bathroom, glancing at the clock as he did. He regretted it instantly as it was 3.31am. That explained the dream. He shook his head and turned on the light, running the tap and washing his face.

"Damn witching hour," He muttered, grabbing his towel and drying his face. "Stupid dreams,"

He walked back into his room and sat on the bed, covering his face with his hand. He needed to do something about these dreams. He's had the same one for the last four days at the exact same time of 3.31am. He groaned as he thought about it. It was clearly an akuma and clearly Anatis and Lady Noir were going to lose but he knew they couldn't afford to lose. If Hawkmoth got their miraculous, it would be the end of the world. He knew what that wish did. He knew how dangerous it was but he swore he was done with this stuff. He didn't want to get involved. He shook his head and went back to bed, closing his eyes. However, the next moment he opened them, his location had changed. He was in the office and the clock read 3.31pm. His assistant manager was looking at him with concern.

"Sir, are you ok?" She asked, making him look at her. She honestly looked terrified. Looking down at the paper on the desk and the pen in his hand, he could see why."You zoned out and started to write like you were possessed,"

He ignored her and picked up the paper, frowning as he looked at the drawing of the akuma smiling like he had won the lottery. This was getting worse. He may need to talk to a therapist again or take something to repress it. He got up and threw the paper away before walking out of the room, ignoring his assistant manager's concerned look. As he walked, he blinked and found himself once again, waking up from his nightmare at 3.31am again. He groaned and blinked. Another day in the office with the same drawing haunting him. Another blink. Back to the dream. Another and back to the office.

"FINE!" He shouted after waking up from the dream again, causing Bridgette to jolt awake. "Fine! I'll help them ok?!"

"Felix?" She asked, causing him to look over as she sat up. "Are you ok?"

"No," He answered, making her frown and wrapping her arms around his torso. "The dreams are back,"

"What did they show this time?" She asked, placing a gentle kiss on his shoulder.

"The heroes falling to a new akuma," He replied, making her frown. "I can't stop that,"

"But can you change the outcome?" She asked, making him sigh.

"Maybe," He replied, turning to her. "But I'll have to go see her,"

"Want me to come with you?" She asked but he shook his head. "Ok but if you change your mind, just call me,"

"Thank you," He whispered, climbing back into bed and hugging her. She ran her fingers through his hair, soothing him. "I'll call into the office today and go find her in the park,"

"Tell her that I say hi," She replied, causing him to nod before they both drifted to sleep. A few hours later, Felix was walking towards the park, thinking about the events that were to come. He hated his dreams because he couldn't change the events that were shown in them. He tried but it never worked. He could only change the outcome which might sound like the same thing but it wasn't. If someone was meant to die, they would die but that doesn't mean that someone had to see it. In this case, the heroes would be captured regardless of what he did but that didn't mean Hawkmoth had to win. He could change that. He just didn't know how yet. He came to a stop as he saw an older woman sat feeding the birds and humming to herself. She had her grey hair tied in a bun and wore a yellow dress with a brown jacket. She glanced up with green eyes as he walked over.

"Felix Culpa," She smiled as he sat next to you. "It's been a while,"

"Grand Witch of London," He stated, making her smile. "I'm afraid this isn't a social call,"

"Oh?"

"Do you still have what I gave to you three years ago?" He asked, looking straight ahead. She pursed her lips and nodded. "Good. I need it back,"

"Are you sure?" She asked. "You swore you were done with magic and miraculous when you entrusted it to me,"

"Well, I was but my dreams are back, Marianne," He stated, looking at her. "And the universe keeps on bugging me,"

"I see. Does this mean you'll also be taking back your official title again?" She asked, making him but he nodded nevertheless. She nodded as well before pulling out her purse and opening it. "Well, then it's lucky for you that I had a feeling that I should bring this with me,"

She pulled out a collar brooch shaped like two black wings before handing it back to Felix Sr.

"Good luck, Felix,"

~A couple of Days later in Gabriel's office~

"Is everything going according to plan, Natalie?" Gabriel asked as he held the phone to his ear. Nathalie was driving 'him' to the airport for Tokyo's fashion weekend but in reality, he was using the peace and quiet to harvest his akumas and study the grimoire with Su Han. Of course, he still had to appear at the actual fashion day but luckily, he had already got a plan for that. As usual, he would appear in tablet form. The whole thing with him in the car was really just keeping up appearances but anyone who knew him knew he wouldn't actually appear in person.

"Yes. Enroute to the airport, Sir," Natalie confirmed, dragging him out of his thoughts. "You will officially be spending the entire weekend in Tokyo. No one will ever suspect that you stayed home. Just don't forget to pick up when it comes to the gala,"

"Perfect and I know," He replied before hanging up and walking over to the painting of Emile. He pressed the buttons in, activating the floor platform before it took him down to his butterfly garden. Nooroo flew out of his pocket and floated next to him. As soon as the lift door opened, he strolled across to Emilie's coffin and stood in front of it with Nooroo following him. "Emilie, we miss you so much but you'll be back with us very soon. Thanks to my akumas and my new mentor, it's only a matter of time before I take control of their miraculous. Merging them will give me absolute power to reshape reality and finally erase our past mistake,"

"As long as you keep your side of the deal," Su Han's voice echoed as shadows moved around the room, making Gabriel frown. Of course, he had no intention of keeping his side of the deal but Su Han nor his creepy little pet needed to know that. "You've seen what happens to those who fail or betray us,"

"Of course, I will honour my side," He lied, putting on a brave face as he turned around. He had no intention of ending up the same way as that fool Xavier. "But perhaps your beast should restrain it's hunger for now,"

And why should I do that? An echo-like voice replied, sending shivers down Gabriel's spine as the shadows moved around, constricting around his neck. Or maybe I should devour your soul too...

"Do that and I guarantee you won't find the mage," He replied, calmly as the shadowy snake hissed near his ear. "After all, once I have the miraculous in my grasp, we make the heroes talk and reveal who their guardian is and in turn, he will lead us to the mage then you can feast as much as your black heart desires,"

"Simme, enough," Su Han ordered, causing the spirit to glare at him with crimson eyes but it pulled away from Gabriel and slithered over to the window. “We’ll be having a meeting with the rest tomorrow but for now let’s continue your training,”

You two have no sense of humour but I digress... It hissed, climbing up the wall as both Gabriel and Su Han rose an eyebrow. I'm off. Have fun with your boring lessons and butterfly pickings...

Just as the shadow slid out of the window, a number of butterflies fluttered around.

"They're ready," Gabriel grinned before turning to Nooroo. "Time to Harvest,"

~The Next Day Outside of Agreste Manor~

"I can't believe Adrien actually decided to throw a party for Halloween. I'm so proud of him," Chloe gasped, pressing her hand against her heart as she pretended to wipe a tear from her eye before grinning. Marinette and Luka chuckled as they walked with her to the party. Alya had to babysit her sisters so sadly she couldn't come along at that moment but promised to be by later on. Luckily, Nino and the rest of the gang were there to keep him entertained as well as Kagami. Zoe was also coming along. They were originally going to come dressed up but Adrien asked them not to. He also only wanted a small number of people there but progress was still being made. Luka was still proud of how far he had come. "Admittedly it's a bit early since it's half way through October but needs must and all! I'm still proud of him!"

"Me too!" Marinette declared, smiling as she held Luka's hand. "I just hope nothing goes wrong,"

"Well, we have the Gorilla on our side," Chloe grinned. "Even Nathalie went behind Gabriel's back and gave Adrien some suggestions on how to make sure the house looked perfect once we're done,"

"Wow, I didn't expect that from her," Luka replied as they came to the gate of the mansion. They rang the doorbell and soon they were inside, hanging with Adrien. Luka couldn't help but smile as he listened to the music of the room. Normally it was an extremely sombre feeling that came from the manor and while it was still there, it wasn't the dominant song. Right now, a song of joy and fun was playing. Adrien was sitting chatting with his friends, visibly relaxed as Kagami stroked his hair. Nino and Max were playing with music and the girls were playing some pool. The Gorilla had ordered Pizza and not long after it arrived, Alya arrived as well, finally free from babysitting.

"So what did I miss?" She grinned, grabbing a slice of pizza. "And why is this music so quiet?"

"Ah that would be the sound control," Adrien replied, making her frown. "And not much. Lila attempted to come by but the Gorilla told her I was busy with my Chinese lessons so she wouldn't be able to tell Father what I'm actually doing,"

"Urg typical Lila," Alya rolled her eyes as Max sat at the computer.

"Well, we can't fix her but I can easily fix this volume," He replied, typing as Adrien gasped. "Don't worry it won't be too loud, Adrien. Marvok, care to assist,"

"Of course, Max," Marvok replied, flying over as Max typed before plugging himself in as Adrien watched with fascination. "I just need to hook into the home's electrical panel,"

"And we're in," Max grinned as the system appeared before he pushed up his glasses and began to read it. "Whoa,"

"What?" Adrien asked, looking over. Max turned round and glanced towards him.

"Your house's power supply is insane," He grinned, causing Luka to look over as Adrien got up and looked over. "This could compete with a nuclear power station,"

"For real?" Nino asked, making Luka more curious. Why did Agreste manor have such a power supply? He got up and walked over as Max typed.

"And a lot of it is being redirected somewhere," Max replied, making him frown as he looked over. He didn't understand any of it. "That is odd,"

"I'm not surprised," A new voice stated, causing them to look over before Adrien broke into a massive grin as he rushed over to Felix who was stood by the door. He hugged him, causing him to pat him on the back before he walked over to Max. "Uncle always had to have the biggest and best things. Chances are that energy is going to some weird fashion device that he just had to buy,"

"Sounds about right for Gabriel," Another voice replied, causing Adrien to look back. Felix Sr was stood leaning against the door, looking moody as usual as the kids looked over at him, unsure if they should continue with the party. "Oh, don't let my presence stop you from having fun. Adrien, rebelling against your father hm? I'm so proud of you,"

"Thanks, Uncle Felix," He grinned, causing him to walk over and ruffle his hair. "I didn't expect you to visit though,"

"If your father was here, I clearly wouldn't be," He replied, making Adrien. "But Felix happened to inform me that my dearest brother in law is out of the country at the moment and suggested I come by to spend some time with my nephew since I never get a chance too,"

"I'm so glad!" Adrien grinned, hugging him. Felix Sr seemed taken back by it but patted his back nevertheless. "I wish Father hadn't banned you from the house,"

"Well, that's Gabriel for you," He replied. "Ever so melodramatic,"

"Hang on!" Nino declared, making him look at him. "You're both called Felix?!"

"Yes," Felix Jr replied. "Family tradition,"

"It is believed that good luck comes to our family if the first born son is named Felix," Felix Sr replied, making the kids nod. "But since there's two of us, you can refer to me as Lex. It's the nickname I go by. Though I don't want to interrupt your party so I'll go chat with Anton,"

He turned on his heel and headed to the door.

"Of course, I would advise you not to post about this on social media," He stated, making everyone blink. "I'd hate for Gabriel's house to get trashed but then again, you can't really call this a party now,"

With that, he left, causing the kids to blink as Felix typed away on his phone.

"And send," He stated, making everyone look at him. "What?"

"Did you just post about the party on social media?" Adrien asked, a little panicked.

"Uncle's idea," Felix replied, smirking. "Besides, your old man isn't here and as long as we clear up, he'll never know so let your hair down for once and have some fun. Also I said it was my party, not yours. That way Uncle can't get mad at you,"

"Felix..." Adrien replied before grinning. "You're the best!"

"Yes, well someone needs to liven this party up," Felix muttered but he had a smile on his face and soon enough, the small gathering had turned into a full blown party with practically all of Paris' famous there. Luka smiled to himself as he sat next to Jagged on Adrien's piano as he played his guitar with his dad. It was perfect. Adrien looked really happy to have his friends around, Marinette was goofing around with Juleka and the rest of the girls while trying to get Felix and Kagami to join them in their dance. Even Felix Sr had also come back in and had started chatting with Anarka. Seeing an opportunity to share how proud of Luka he was, Jagged stopped playing the piano and asked Max to take over the music before joining in with the conversation. Despite the conversation and the clearly happy atmosphere, Luka couldn't help but noticed that Felix Sr seemed on edge but then again Felix Sr always seemed on edge. Luka just assumed it was his nature. He smiled and jumped down from the piano before placing his guitar on the side and began to head over towards Marinette, who was leading the charge as the girl squad attempted to dance. She marched up and down happily as Alya spun around before both girls ended up almost falling over. They caught each other and burst into laughter as he smiled. However, he stopped as a cold shiver moved down his spine, causing him to look towards the bar area. To his surprise, he saw Master Fu sitting there. His eyes widened in shock but he quickly hid the expression and looked back over at Marinette. She was now attempting to get Zoe to join in. He walked over and gave Marinette a peck on the cheek as Jagged declared that the music should be louder.

"Do you want a drink, Melody?" He asked, making her look at him.

"Yes please!" She grinned, making him smile back. Her song was so loud and full of energy that he could write a thousand songs and it would not be enough to describe how beautiful she sounded. "Can you get me a lemonade please?"

"Of course," He smiled, pecking her cheek again before heading back over to the bar area where Master Fu was sitting. He grabbed a can before looking for a cup near Master Fu before whispering. "Master... Why are you here? Are the miraculous... you know..."

"The miraculous are safe... besides, don't party like this is bound to attract some trouble, don't you think?" He replied, not even looking at Luka who frowned as he patted the cooler next to him. He had a point. Police could get annoyed at the noise. Not to mention that the Gorilla could freak out. "Mila is here too..."

Luka glanced around and noticed Mila chatting to his parents and Felix Sr.

"On top of that, Mila and I noticed a number of people of interest entering the building through the back way half an hour ago,"

"People of interest?" Luka asked, frowning.

"Yes, Mrs Bourgeois, Mrs Graham de Vanily and Mrs Tsurugi," He replied, making Luka frown even more. "Yet I heard that Mr Agreste isn't here,"

"So why would they be entering the building?" He asked, frowning as he put down two cups. "Did you happen to see where they went?"

"Interestingly enough, they went into Mr Agreste's office," He replied, making Luka frown. He needed to have a look. He still suspected Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth even though he got akumatized but why have a meeting when Gabriel supposedly wasn't in town? Not just that but why did this house have such a massive power supply and where was it going to? "I planned to stick nearby in case but this party gave me the opportunity to come in,"

"I need to have a look in his office," Luka muttered, frowning before he took the drinks and walked over to Marinette who was now joined by Adrien. "Here we are,"

"Thanks," She grinned, taking it and slipping the drink as he sipped his own. "This is the coolest party I've been to!"

"Thanks," Adrien grinned as Kagami smiled. "I didn't even know parties could be so cool. Even my chinese teacher came by and he brought his wife!"

Luka almost spat out his drink at that. Mila was pretending to be Fu's wife?! Seriously?! He coughed as Adrien made sure he was ok.

"I'm fine," He coughed, waving his hand. "But I could do with a little bit of fresh air so I'm just gonna step out. There's a lot of songs in this room. It's a bit overwhelming,"

"Oh, would you like me to come with you?" Marinette asked with a worried look but he gave her a soft smile and shook his head. "Are you sure?"

"Yep, I'll be fine," He reassured, pecking her cheek. "I won't be long,"

"Well ok but don't be afraid to get me if you need me," She replied, kissing his cheek. He smiled bashfully and nodded before leaving the room. As soon as he was out, he ducked into a separate room and glanced around, checking for cameras in case. Satisfied with his look, he took out a yellow magicron.

"Tikki," He whispered, causing her to fly out of his pocket as he held it up. "Time to test it out,"

"Ok," She nodded as he tossed it to her. She swallowed it whole.

"Tikki, power up!" He whispered, causing her to transform.

"Altikki!" She declared, causing him to swipe his ear.

"Altikki, spots on," He declared, transforming into a new form. His hair was completely black and he wore his usual suit but it was darker than normal and the red section had camouflage. He smiled before his suit shimmered, changing to blend into the place. In this case, it turned white including his hair making him blend in with the walls. "Time to investigate,"

~Underneath Agreste Manor~

"I hope you didn't just invite us here to harvest butterflies," Audrey stated, looking at the butterfly garden with disgust as Gabriel clipped them. "It's like you're not even trying to hide that you're working with Hawkmoth. How much is he paying you to do this? Is that why your fashion house has fallen on hard times?"

"I appropriate the concern, Audrey," Gabriel replied, placing a cocoon in the basket. "But whatever I have going with Hawkmoth is between me and him,"

"Alright, keep your secrets to yourself," Audrey replied, smirking. "But seriously why gather us here?"

"Because I asked him to," Su Han's voice stated, causing the others to look at him with shock as he walked over with his arms behind his back. Simme trailed behind him, munching on some pigeons. "I wish to know if any of you have made any progress with tracking down the mage,"

"I have not, grand master," Audery replied, frowning. "But my darling daughter is investigating a number of people. I have her look into-"

"I don't care unless they're the mage," He hissed, making her go quiet. "And you, Madam Tsurugi?"

"The mage has not made an appearance to me yet nor to my kin," She stated in her usual manner. "I have taken the liberty to contact my brother . He is flying to france as we speak,"

"Excellent," Su Han smirked. Tsurugi Zenaku was legendary in the underworld. A skilled assassin who could track and find any target and who didn't care whom he killed. He also had the Cobra Miraculous. Not that he needed it. "Send him my way when he arrives,"

"Yes, Grand Mage,"

"And you Amelie?" He asked, looking at her. "Any news for me?"

She went to open her mouth but before she could, the electricity shut off. All of them looked around before Gabriel gasped and left the area. Su Han narrowed his eyes before following.

"What is the meaning of this, Gabriel?" He demanded as the man checked on his wife before ignoring him and rushing over to the lift. He entered it but got stuck half way up. He slammed his fists against it before transforming into Hawkmoth and breaking free. He jumped down and rushed back over to his wife. "Agreste?"

"The electricity has been switched off. My wife's cryo chamber is using the back up energy but it won't last forever," He declared, glancing back over there. "I need someone to restore power from the outside,"

"So akumatize someone," Simme hissed before laughing. "Or your wifeicle will melt,"

"Hush," Su Han replied, narrowing his eyes at Hawkmoth. "Sort it out while I continue the meeting,"

"Of course," He replied, closing his eyes as Su Han walked back over to the other area. He tried to focus on a negative emotion. "I don't feel any negative emotion. There's only-"

His eyes snapped open and widened as he felt it.

"Joy!" He growled, getting annoyed. "What's going on in my house?!"

He closed his eyes again and focused harder, trying to track down any negative emotion. As he did so, Wayhem stood outside of Agreste Manor and repeatedly rang the doorbell but was getting no answer. His expression fell as he listened to the sound of people laughing and music playing. Why was he excluded? He was a friend of Adrien's right. Sure, he was his biggest fan and had a habit of getting excited in front of him but he had his number and email. He traded messages with him and tried to treat him with respect so why wasn't he invited? Did Adrien feel deep down that he was only a fan and not a friend? He frowned and took out his phone, dialling Adrien's number. It rang several times but no one answered.

"This is Adrien's voicemail," Adrien's voice declared, mocking his pain. "Leave a message,"

He hung up and looked up at the manor with tears in his eyes.

"Not only are you allowed to have friends over but apparently a huge party is no big deal either," He declared, looking down. "Why did you lie to me, Adrien?"

A single tear rolled down his cheek as Hawkmoth honed in on his pain.

"Ah! I can feel a negative emotion!" He declared, holding out his hand and screwing it into a fist. "At last, an unexpected and powerful wave of disappointment!"

He held out his hand, causing a butterfly to land on before charging it up with his evil energy.

"Fly away, my little akuma and evilize him!" He declared, allowing to fly off. It made its way to Wayhem and entered the prank glasses he had just as he walked off, causing the connection between him and Hawkmoth to open. "Party Crasher, I am Hawkmoth... so you weren't invited?! Well, I'm giving you the power to crash that party and end it for good! All I ask in return is for you to bring me Anatis' and Lady Noir's miraculous? Oh and to find the source of this power cut? Do we have a deal?"

"Let's get this party started, Hawkmoth!"

"Excellent,"

~Back in Agreste Manor~

Anatis frowned as he looked around Gabriel's office. Nothing seemed out of place but that's why he decided to try out the stealth suit. Not only did it allow him to move without being detected by anyone or anything but it also gave him some other useful abilities. He tapped the side of his mask, causing lens to appear over his eyes that allowed him to see footprints. He really should ask how Sir Rene came up with such an idea and how they worked in the ancient world. He glanced around and noticed several footsteps. So they had definitely been in here but they appeared to only lead into here. As far as he could see, they hadn't left yet but no one was in the room. He frowned and followed the footsteps, leading to the portrait of Emile Agreste. He frowned a little more and looked up. The portrait seemed fairly normal so he trapped his mask again, causing the lens to change once more. This time it allowed him to glance through the portrait. He could see there was a safe behind it but that made sense. Of course, Gabriel has a safe behind it but maybe there was a secret here that he couldn't see. He stepped forward and moved his hand across the frame, looking for a secret button. There might be a hidden passage behind the picture and safe but before he could examine it more, the sounds of screams caught his attention. He turned on his heel and rushed to the door, looking outside. The front door was missing, the gorilla was gone and the guests were running out of the manor, terrified. He frowned and shut the door.

"Tikki, spots off," He replied, turning back to his normal form before rushing outside and throwing his yoyo. To his surprise, the villain who looked like some crazy disco guy ducked down, causing his yoyo to miss him but luckily his target was able to get away. He fired a silver beam at Anatis who jumped out of the way as Lady Noir's baton flew at the Party Crasher. Once again, he ducked and fired at her but she grabbed her baton as she jumped out of the way, landing next to Anatis. "Alright, Disco guy. This party is over!"

"Fools!" He declared, pointing at them as he walked out of the house. "All I need is to touch you then your miraculous will be mine!"

"Well, obviously, we're not gonna let that happen!" Lady Noir shot back. "We'll free your victims instead!"

He charged at them, causing them to jump back into the street as they avoided his disco balls.

"Lady Noir, would you mind distracting our party fiend?"

"You got it, bug boy!" She winked before charging at him as Anatis threw his yoyo and flew up to a statue. He was about to summon his lucky charm when he saw Lady Noir being kicked by Party Crasher before he went to touch her.

"Lady Noir!" He called out, throwing his yoyo and pulling her to safety. "You ok, Kitty?"

"I am now," She grinned as he held her in his arms. "But how did he figure out my moves?"

"He must have anticipated our moves?" He frowned as he put her down. "We're gonna need to figure out how to surprise him,"

"How about we use some of that luck of yours then?" She grinned, leaning on her baton. "We might just need a party favour to sort out this guy,"

"Sounds good to me," He replied, putting her down and throwing up his yoyo, causing his outfit to transform into the power up version. "Lucky charm!"

The magical swamp appeared from his yoyo and formed a shape that dropped into his hand.

"An old cassette tape?" He questioned, looked at it but before he could work it out, Party Crasher fired at him and Lady Noir. Both of them jumped out of the way and Anatis went to land on the ground but as soon as he did, Party Crasher slammed his disco ball into him, causing his eyes to widen in shock before he disappeared.

"Annie!" Lady Noir screamed as he disappeared but Party Crasher soon came after her. She dodged and jumped out of the way but he was relentless in his attacks and she was clearly outmatched. She really needed backup and she needed it now.

~Meanwhile~

Felix Sr frowned from where he was. He was stood on top of Agreste Manor Anatis had been captured and Lady Noir was on her own, just like his vision showed. He narrowed his eyes and saw the guardian of the miraculous placing various miraculous to whom he would assume were temporary heroes. Not far from the scene, Dame and Phenix Rogue stood nearby, already instructed by their mistress on what to do. She was smart enough to stay out of the fight and told them to wait until things were truly desperate before joining this one. He understood why they weren't moving yet, even with Anatis absorbed. Giving away their positions right now would be a stupid move. Their mistress had taught them that. His eyes returned back to the scene as Apsik was absorbed. It wouldn't be long before the others were absorbed, causing Dame and Phenix to try and save her but they will be absorbed too then finally Lady Noir. He knew he couldn't stop it but he will not let Hawkmoth win. He took out a swan brooch from his pocket and fixed it onto his shirt, causing a swan like Kwami to manifest. It resembled a black swan in looks. It blinked as it looked at him.

"Fee!!" It declared, zooming around him. "I thought I'd never see you again!!"

"Likewise, old friend," He replied, smiling a little. "But my time with the miraculous is not over yet, Vinne,"

"Yay!!" Vinne declared, flying around him. "Let's kick butt!"

"Yes, let's kick butt indeed," He replied, swiping his hand over the miraculous. "Vinne, Assemblé!"

"Whooooo!!" Vinne declared as he was sucked into the miraculous, causing it to glow and charge up before he moves his arms up and across each other, causing a red glow to appear on his hands before bringing them down and causing it to absorb his body. When it disappeared, his suit had changed into a new outfit. He wore a red shirt with a deep purple waistcoat that had silver buttons and swirls on it. His pants were black and he wore brown knee high boots. On his hands were fingerless gloves and his nails were painted black. The red glow formed a silver brooch with a red gem inside before travelling down as it created a red ruffle on the shirt. It spread across his shoulders, creating a black feather cape before it flowed down in three different areas, creating the rest of the cape that was black faded into purple in colour. He held one of his hands up in the air, creating a glowing red orb that transformed into a wooden staff with a red crystal ball on top that was surrounded by a black swan. He brought it down past his head, causing a mask to appear over his eyes and his hair to grow longer and wilder. His mask resembled a masquerade one. It was black and red with a silver line and half of it flickered up, resembling feathers. His eyes had also transformed from grey blue to red with black siries and upon his left ear sat a silver earring with a red crystal hanging off it. With the transformation complete, he casted his gaze down to Party Crasher who was now talking to Hawkmoth. Atrarus narrowed his eyes before diving off the building and slamming his staff into the ground, interrupting their conversation. Naturally, he missed Party Crasher but he dodged the beam fired at him and using his foresight, blocked Party Crasher's arm and slammed his staff into his ribs, sending him flying.

"Now who's ruining my fun" Party Crasher demanded, glaring. Atrarus closed his eyes and saw Party Crasher coming at him, swinging his left disco ball before switching to his right. He opened his eyes as Party Crasher ran at him, swinging the left. He ducked and grabbed his right hand as he switched, throwing him over his shoulder and slamming him into the ground. "What?! How?!"

"Did you think you're the only one who predict dance moves?" He questioned, smirking a little as Party Crasher growled.

"Your miraculous is mine!"

"Really now?" Atrarus answered, jumping back as Party Crasher rushed at him before almost hitting him.

"Your miraculous won't help you predict my dance moves!"

"Funny because I'm not even using my miraculous power right now!" Atrarus replied, keeping up with Party Crasher's dance. "I'm using my own natural ability,"

"Natural ability or not, I'll predict your next move!"

"Predict this!" Atrarus declared as Party Crasher fired at him as he lifted his staff. "Temporal Hiatus!"

A red glow appeared in the crystal ball and echoed out, causing everything in its radius to suddenly stop including Party Crasher and his beam. Only Atrarus could move.

"Even an akuma like you is not immune to the laws of time," Atrarus replied before jumping over to where Master Fu was hiding before he opened the cooler where the miraculous were hidden. "Excuse me, guardian but I need to borrow the monkey miraculous and I have just the person in mind,"

He grabbed the miraculous and rushed back into Agreste Manor, heading into Adrien's room. When Party Crasher had crashed the party, most of the guests had ran out but to his surprise, Alya Cesaire, who previously had rushed head first with no regard for her own safety or her others, had actually used her brain and slipped into the bathroom instead during the chaos. Party Crasher didn't even think to look in there, he just assumed everyone had in fact left the building but Felix Sr had noticed her do that and saw the way to change the outcome because of it. He stepped inside the bathroom and saw her looking out the window. He only had a minute left of frozen time but he doubted that Party Crasher would follow him.

"Where did he go?!" He heard the sound of Party Crasher's voice and couldn't resist a smirk.

"Wasn't there another hero?" Alya asked herself, causing him to clear his throat. She screamed and turned around. "What?! But you were just next to the villain!"

"Yes and now I'm here,"

"How?"

"Magic," He deadpanned. "Now let's not waste any more time, shall we?"

"Huh?" She blinked as he held out the box with the money miraculous. "Wait, is that? Anatis told-"

"Anatis and Lady Noir are about to be delivered to Hawkmoth where he will then take the miraculous, merge them and use a wish that will destroy this world," He stated, shocking Alya. "And I have no intention of letting that happen so you're going to help me. Put that on and say the magic words,"

"I'm sure Anatis has a full-"

"Now Miss Cesaire before my patience wears thin,"

"Ok, ok!" She gasped, taking the circlet out and putting it on her head. A golden ball of light appeared and spun around before turning into a monkey miraculous. "Oh wow!! This is wild!!"

"Hey, what's going on here?" It declared, glaring at Atrarus. "You're not Anatis or the guardian!"

"No but I am an ally and the acting Grand Mage of Paris," He replied, making the monkey gasp and Alya stare. "Now hurry up before the butterfly man wins,"

"Right!" It replied, turning to Alya. "I'm Xuppu. To transform, just say Xuppu, showtime!"

"Xuppu! Show time!"

~Outside of the Manor~

"Excellent work, Party Crasher," Hawkmoth declared in his mind as he listened. "Now all you need to do is send me the miraculous!"

"What about that other hero?" Party Crasher asked, concerned.

"He's run off like a coward," He replied, not caring. "Besides, he can't stop me! Now send them to me!"

"Let's dance!" Party Crasher declared, using his powers to make a plane to get the miraculous to Hawkmoth but before he could get it to fly off, the annoying hero reappeared, slamming into him with his staff. "You again!"

"Yes and this time I brought a friend to the party!" He replied, jumping out of the way of his beam before a staff was thrown at him. Party Crasher growled as he dodged it before looking up as a new hero joined them. She was wearing a brown and white suit with dark brown detail on the legs. Her boots were combat boots and she had some leg warmers that resembled ropes around her legs. She wore an orange jacket with dark brown arm pads and had brown gloves on. Her hair was tied up in a very messy bun with strands of her hair looking like a mane with two stands of hair by the sides of her face. The color was red brown that faded into orange and she wore a golden circlet on her head. There was a brown mask around her eyes and she had a rope around her waist that resembled a tail. She grinned as she grabbed her staff and jumped over to a statue, hanging off it.

"Aww, you called me a friend!"She grinned before spinning her staff that turned golden. "Uproar!"

Her staff created a golden light that in turn created a toy banana. She caught it and squeezed it, causing Party Crasher to laugh as the little plane flew off.

"This is the best you could get?" He asked Atrarus who shrugged as the girl threw the banana. It hit Party Crasher in the chest and appeared to do nothing. "Seriously?"

She smirked as the plane turned into a silver lama, causing Party Crasher to panic.

"What's going on?!" He declared as the girl laughed. He stepped back in horror as his vision messed up, showing all kinds of things and colours. He couldn't predict anyone's moves right now.

"Sorry about Tamarin!" Atrarus grinned as she ran towards the lama and jumped up. "She just loves disrupting others' powers! Right?"

"Right!" She declared, slamming her staff into it. It exploded, causing a number of random things to rain down as she hopped back over to Atrarus as the other heroes and everyone else who had been captured appeared behind them. "Whoa, it worked!"

"And to think you doubted my plan," Atrarus replied, placing his hand to his chest as Anatis looked around.

"Everyone, get to safety! Me and my team will deal with Party Crasher," He ordered before turning to the new heroes. "Thanks for the assist,"

"Yes, well I'd rather not see the end of the world," Atrarus replied as Tamarin grinned before he pulled Anatis out of the way of another beam. "Leatherback is it? Protect us will you?"

"Yes, sir!" He replied, holding up his shield. "Shellter!"

The force field appeared around them as Anatis rubbed the back of his neck.

"Head in the game, Anatis," Atrarus stated sternly. "Now I believe you summoned a lucky charm before you were captured. Do you still have it?"

"Yes," He replied, taking it out. "It's a cassette but I didn't get a chance to work out how to use it,"

"Hmm, well Party Crasher's ability to prediction but clearly it's not on my level since I could easily outdo him,"

"Your level?" Lady Noir asked, confused. "Wait, does your miraculous give you the same abilities?"

"No," He replied, rolling his eyes. "I can simply see certain outcomes. Anyway, that doesn't help any of you. He can still predict your moves,"

"You're right," Anatis replied, looking at the cassette before it lit up, along with everyone else. "Unless he can't predict our moves! Valkyrie, teleport here and get something that can play this!"

"Yes, Boss!" She declared as he showed her a location, opening a portal and reaching in. "Sorry! I'll return it!"

She pulled out an old cassette player.

"Our friend here can predict our moves so the only way to defeat him is to make ourselves unpredictable," He declared, putting the casette in and pressing play, causing music to blast out as the rest of the group looked at him like he was insane. Atrarus had a feeling he was use to this. "In other words, freak out and show me your moves! Dame, would you mind making our dance moves better?"

"Of course," She grinned, holding up her sword. "Empower!"

The green glow went over all of them, making them feel stronger and faster.

"Well, here goes nothing," Phenix replied as Leatherback's shelter disappeared. Party Crasher grinned and went into a fighting stance but to his surprise and slight horror, the heroes just began to dance with no real rhyme at all.

"What are you doing?! It's nonsense!" He stepped back as his vision began to be disrupted. "What the?!"

He shook his head and charged at the group but thanks to empower and their own unique movements, they were able to block and dodge his moves before striking back. Phenix tripped him up and Dame aimed her sword at him, knocking him back as Apollo used Flare to blind him. He never got a chance to use it before he got captured. Aspik threw his lyre at his face as he charged at Valkyrie who ducked and kicked him in the back. He bounced back and charged at Leatherback who blocked his move with his shield then struck him in the gut, causing him to fall back. He growled and threw his fist at Tamarin who grabbed his arm and pushed him towards Lady Noir who kicked him in the first. Tamarin then struck him with her stick before Anatis jumped over and kicked him in the gut, causing his glasses to fall.

"Anatis! The Glasses!" Atrarus declared as he saw them. "That's where the akuma is!"

"Got it!" Anatis nodded and grabbed them, throwing them towards Lady Noir. "Kitten!"

"Cataclysm!" She declared, grabbing them. As soon as they touched her hand, they crumbled into pieces. The akuma flew out and Anatis took out his yoyo before throwing it to capture the akuma and brought it back to himself.

"Bye, bye, Little Butterfly," He smiled as he tapped open the yoyo and let the now purified butterfly fly out before he pressed stop on the music and took out the tape, throwing it into the air as his outfit turned back to normal. The tape exploded into the magical swamp and swiped across the area, fixing everything before disappearing as Party Crasher turned into Wayhem. Anatis helped him to his feet before turning to the newcomers. "Thanks for- where did your friend go?"

"Huh?" Tamarin gasped, looking around but Atrarus was nowhere to be seen. It was like he vanished into smoke. "Whoa! I guess he really is magic!"

"Magic?" Anatis questioned before shaking his head. "Well thank you for the assistance, Tamarin but I'm afraid I can't let you keep the miraculous,"

"I figured as much, Anatis," She grinned as Phenix and Dame said their goodbyes and jumped away. "But how come they don't have to give them back?"

"They answer to someone else," He replied, making her nod as a number of the miraculous beeped. "I do have a lot to collect. Everyone, find a good hiding place. Lady Noir, could you lend me a paw to collect these?"

"Sure!" She grinned, following Apollo, Valkyrie and Aspik while Leatherback hid in a different area. Tamarin followed Anatis to an alleyway before her transformation dropped, causing Anatis to look at her. "Hey,"

"Alya Ceraise," He smiled as she handed him the circlet. "You did a good job today,"

"Thanks," She grinned, rubbing the back of her neck. "But I guess this will probably be the only time,"

"Keep on the right path and I'll be sure to call on Tamarin again," He smiled before swinging off to go get Leatherback's miraculous. Alya grinned and ran back to Agreste Manor to see if everyone else was ok from the attack.

~Underneath Agreste Manor~

"I was so close this time, Nooroo!" Gabriel raged, slamming his fist against the wall. He had practically won then that new hero had appeared with his sidekick and saved the day. How did he even disappear like that?! Nooroo flinched as he slammed his fist again before hiding as someone knocked on the door. He opened it and glared at Su Han. "What?"

"The meeting is to continue,"

"Yes, that makes sense," He muttered, leaving the room as he walked over to the rest of the group. He looked at Su Han who looked annoyed. "Master Su Han, tell me is there a swan miraculous?"

"Yes-"

"A Swan?" Amelie asked, shocked before jumping up. "Forgive me, I must sort out something urgent,"

With that, she rushed out. Su Han pinched his nose in annoyance.

"Fine, this meeting is over," He replied, glaring. "I expect better results when we next meet,"

The others nodded and left but Audery failed to notice Simme, following her. He tailed her inside the hotel then went his own way, searching. Not long after he came to Zoe's room and slipped inside as she sat in front of her vanity while her kwami brushed her hair.

"Zoe," He hissed, making her look over as he appeared in his smaller form. "I require your assistant,"

"Aren't you Master Su Han's kwami?" She asked, making him hiss and turn into his giant snake form.

"I am not a kwami, foolish girl!" He screeched, causing the shadows in her room to move and take scary forms. She gasped and jumped up in fear. "And he is not my master!"

"I'm sorry!" She gasped, bowing. "I didn't know!"

"Of course not, my dear child," He replied, changing back into his kwami form. "Now that we've cleared that up, I wish to have some fun and you're gonna help me,"

"H-How?"

"I want to join your school,"

"B-But there's no more openings,"

"Then make one!" He growled, making her gasp. "I'm bored and your school is a hot spot for akumas! A guy like me could have so much fun there. It's practically an all you can eat buffet,"

"B-But you joining and then suddenly an increase in negativity could look really weird," She gasped, making him look at her. "That would bring the heroes to your front step so to speak but I have an idea if you're interested,"

"An idea hmm?" He asked, moving around her as her kwami cowered away. Shadows wrapped around her neck making her gasp with fear. "It better not be a boring idea or I'll eat your soul,"

"We-well, th-there's a school sports contest that is going to occur this week," She gasped, making him hum with interest. "Y-You could join the other school and play everyone against each other without looking too suspicious,"

"Oh, my dear wasp," He smirked evilly. "Now that sounds like fun!"

~Felix Sr's House~

"So are we back as a team?!" Vinne asked, flying around Felix's head as he placed a crystal on his window seal. "We were the best team!"

"Well, I had every intention of leaving this world behind," Felix admitted as he waved his hand over the crystal, causing it to light up. "But apparently, it had no intention of leaving me behind so I guess we'll be working together but there will be some house rules. No dangerous pranks and you need to listen to me,"

"Of course, of course!" Vinne grinned, placing his wings behind his head. "Ah this is gonna be great!"

"I'm glad you think so," Felix replied as someone knocked on the door. "Vinne, stay here,"

"Yes boss!" He declared, saluting him with his wing. Felix rolled his eyes and opened the door to his study before heading into the hallway as Bridgette let in Amelie. "Amelie, what are you doing here?"

"I came because I need to talk with you,"

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

Next Chapter: Coming soon (hopefully)

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crowcryptid · 1 year ago

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spoilers for ac6 below :3

I just finished new game + and it’s obvious that they intended for you to do the fires route first and then do the liberator route.

Cause the new content is almost entirely about helping the RLF.

I did it backwards so it’s like. “Im helping! I’m being helpful! Ok now that I’ve given them false hope time to burn them to a crisp lol get trolled”

Don’t talk to me about Rusty that’s Not Real trust me in both endings he just um.. he just runs away it’s fine. :]

Ayres fight is SUCH bs oh my god. It just sucks to see the enemy dodge the second you press anything. I thought the chapter 4 boss was bad with the input reading, but she’s even worse. It only took me 3 tries but I got so close on the first 2 tries and died cause I couldn’t land ANYTHING once she got to like 10% health. Any other boss would have died but she perfect dodged literally everything and I died 5 seconds later. Even my assault armor didn’t do anything cause she would dodge out of it every single time.

I didn’t feel like spending an hour or two on it so I switched to zims. She just dodges like 90% of your attacks once she starts flying around. The shotgun spread is pretty much the only reason I was able to hit her with them. Didn’t even bother trying to melee her, I just used the 10 count missiles launchers and hoped for the best. But nothing survives the dual zim. Nothing.

I somehow managed to pick the harder missions every time in my first run. This one was so much easier. I did die once to the chap 4 boss though. Fuck that thing. Fuck those wheels too. I grabbed every log and part so I had to deal with them. They actually managed to kill me so I had to do that twice.

I can’t believe how much easier Walter is as a final boss. I definitely didn’t get to hear all his dialogue. It’s actually kind of sad that he’s so weak.

I guess to make up for the weak final boss you’ve got Chatty/Carla and Snail. I thought they were VERY annoying, but my first playthrough build was a slow quad leg so I could never dodge anything and that’s probably why I found those fights so annoying. Key word here is annoying, not so much input reading bs. Just spammy heavy hitting attacks + my slow giant mech meant I was getting melted.

The stuff they throw at you in the fires route is nothin. Didn’t even use 2 repair kits on those levels. But then it’s made up for by.. an annoying boss. So take your pick.

Liberator > Fires for me.

I still think the hardest thing in the game (so far) was Michigan. Mainly because of ammo. That’s the only mission I ever ran out of all ammo on, during multiple attempts. Finishing by punching while being so low on health was stressful. That’s also when I learned that punching has a cooldown meter?? Why?

All throughout new game + I used Walters armor with some high accuracy arms so I was a lot faster than my first run. Switched between machine guns, various pistols, and various rifles, except for the end where I said fuck it we Zimming. I mainly used the medium weight and heavy weight plain old lock on missiles and various melee weapons for my back slots. Everything else just seems too inconsistent, and multi lock deals with all the fodder to save ammo. I really wish the guns in this had more ammo. The pistols really need more shots. I think the energy pistols and needle guns ended up being my favorite, somehow. Also I really liked the basically lightsaber weapon u get but it was not useful for most bosses so I didn’t use it as much as I wanted to.

New game ++ begins now. I didn’t have this one spoiled for me so yay

Idk if I will have the strength to S rank every level. Some levels seem very tedious. Idk how tight the time limits are though. That’s what worries me. I’m bad at going fast against bosses.

#I tried to mess around with color schemes this time but #it didn’t last and I went through the last half of the game with a plain white mech lol #I see other peoples colorful builds n I’m like ‘cool’ but for whatever reason I can’t stand being brightly colored in games #even thought white is a bright color but u get what I mean. I can’t do like. pure red or blue or some shit it drives me insane

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btsmosphere · 4 years ago

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Crossfire | KTH

Moodboard Masterlist

~summary: The night your life blew up sent you on a collision course with the campus bad boy, Kim Taehyung. Though you were well aware of his reputation, it was his doorstep you ran to when you were bleeding with nowhere to go.

~word count: 6.4k

~gang!au, mafia!au, college!au, angst, fluff, action, strangers to lovers, friends to lovers

Warnings: swearing, injury, dangerous driving, mention of drugs (warnings apply to each part individually, please read them)

~a/n: I am actually super happy with this chapter, I hope you guys feel the same! Y/N and Tae go on a lil adventure... I also had to make up a name for a cartoon show for this lmao,, and as always, thanks for the love!!

Something was tugging you from sleep.

Softly, though, so you didn’t notice until it was already too late, and your senses were with you all at once. In one last protest against the waking world, you didn’t open your eyes, stubbornly lying there instead, your back to the side of the bed Taehyung used. Then the same something that had woken you up started again.

He was singing.

That was all it took, and your eyes were open, body stiffening. Taehyung, however, noticed nothing. His song continued, one you had never heard before, and his voice was beautifully soft and smooth, expressive even at such a low volume. Clearly he had been hoping not to wake you up.

Swallowing, you forced your eyes to fall closed again. After the initial shock, you soon found it easy to relax to his calming melody, the duvet and pillow enveloping you in combination with his voice. And despite the warmth in your little bubble under the covers, goosebumps rose along your arms.

You really couldn’t get your head round Taehyung.

Though you had seen him being silly, all that time at college you had spent at a distance from him, he had seemed cold, intimidating. It had been a shock to you when he had been so amicable those months ago, and that soon became the Taehyung you knew, but he was still a mystery… His singing had really thrown you for a loop, another puzzle piece thrown in amongst the jumble you were already trying to make sense of when it came to this boy.

All day, you couldn’t get his song out of your head. Specifically, his voice.

His voice. Singing his song.

Him, him, him.

Last night he had mentioned that the books he had brought you were some of his favourites. Another surprise: who would have known that Kim Taehyung, the king of bad reputation, had a hidden love of fashion, an inner art connoisseur?

Now the books meant something different.

You read them even quicker after that, drinking in every word as if there were a drought.

Perhaps there was.

When you finished the last one in the stack, you were instantly back to the real world within four walls. It was only morning as well, judging by the light. Brilliant. One whole day and nothing to do.

“Y/N!”

Obnoxious footfalls. Taehyung was taking the stairs two at a time.

The bedroom door swung open to a slightly breathless Taehyung, leaning his weight against the door handle he had yet to let go of.

“Sorry it’s so late. You okay?”

You were lying across the bed’s width, head falling over the end nearest him, hair brushing the floor.

“Yep. Do you want me to cook?”

He only frowned down at you for a second longer before continuing as if one member of the conversation wasn’t upside down.

“Ah, no. I didn’t get any food.”

“But we basically ran out yesterday,” you frowned.

“I know,” he said, “but today we are going to the food.”

Now that made you sit up.

“What?”

“Yep,” a proud smile made its way onto his face and he straightened up, “we’re going out.”

When your only response was a wide-eyed stare, he took it as his cue to elaborate.

“I know you’ve been going a little crazy inside, so I thought we could go for an adventure. Hobi’s racing tonight and he says we can join him.”

“Hoseok?” you questioned.

“Yeah. Sound good?”

It did. You knew it shouldn’t. You weren’t naïve – you knew what he meant by racing. Idiots breaking every road law possible for clout, or maybe money. It was precisely what you had always stayed away from.

But it sounded so good.

“Sounds perfect,” you grinned.

First, Taehyung helped you find the pair of his jeans you were most likely to fit into; since you had been at his, you had mainly worn sweats for comfort’s sake, but this occasion called for a change. Wearing a hoodie was non-negotiable though, to hide your face.

After rolling up the hem of his black jeans, you slung on the most nondescript hoodie he had. Shoes, however, were more of an issue, so Taehyung vowed to buy you some once you were out. Also wearing black, Taehyung looked much more stylish than you in cargo pants, a bomber jacket and a bandana.

“Did you take your painkiller?” was the last thing on the list before finally leaving, via the side door.

Night had descended completely by now, putting you more at ease. You walked far away from streetlights when you could, but as you drew closer to the city centre, that was the last thing on your mind.

Being outside was just what you needed. You breathed in the cold air and drizzle on your face, eyes following each car that whirred past and people’s boots splashing in puddles of melted neon. And what made it all the more thrilling was the knowledge that you were taking a risk.

So far, you had been clumsily walking around in Tae’s sliders, until suddenly a man came barging past you on the sidewalk. In your dash to dodge him, you tripped over the too-big shoes, barrelling straight into Taehyung’s stomach where his arms steadied you.

You barely had a chance to straighten before Tae had turned around, bent down and grabbed the backs of your knees, forcing you to fling your arms around his neck, shrieking as he hoisted you onto his back. Grinning while you complained into the back of his neck, he carried on, but soon he was dragging you into a store that was still open – though not for long – and you grabbed the cheapest sneakers going.

With that problem solved, food was the next priority. In the end, you chose a street vendor and headed to your rendezvous with steaming bags in hand.

Not far from the centre, once you wound through the smallest streets enclosed by the tallest buildings, you emerged onto a car park. It wasn’t as secluded as you had expected for underground racing, still lit up in colours by the signs of shops that backed onto it, the entrance opening onto a wide road.

Cars were lined up, one pulling up at the same time as you and Taehyung. None were flashy sports cars: instead the line-up came in various states of repair, altered by their owners with darkened windows, underglow, stickers, spoilers, you name it.

“Hoseok!”

Beside you, Taehyung shouted across the car park, waving an arm above his head. Then his hand wrapped around your wrist and he lead you through the thin crowd over to the older bangtan boy, who pulled his friend in and clapped him on the back.

Hoseok joined the two of you as you sat on the wall to eat, watching as the first few people showed off their wheel spins and donuts, revving engines mixing with whoops and yells from the spectators. Most were dressed in black like you. A handful of people came up to chat with the boys, with ‘haven’t seen you in a while’-s to Taehyung and offers of bets for Hoseok. Keeping your head well down, you just enjoyed your food, silently taking in the new environment.

The night had cleared up, the asphalt still shining from the earlier drizzle, but the puddles now lay still as glass.

Plenty of people had bottles in their hands, sitting around on the perimeter walls. In the opposite corner, those with hidden faces crowded together, almost hiding the exchange in their hands. Others sat on their bonnets, proudly talking to the interested huddle gathered around them.

“Right, I’m gonna get warmed up,” Hoseok dropped down from the wall and departed with one last wave to your well wishes.

As Hoseok pulled his car out of its spot, more followed. Rolling down his window, he rested his arm casually against the side as he guided his car round, revving here and there to elicit hollers from the crowd.

Laughing in the driver’s seat, he hit the gas, putting on a spurt of speed and skidding round in a perfect one-eighty. A cloud was thrown up by his back tyres, glittering as the droplets fell back down.

By now, you had finished eating and were anticipating some action. The buzz among the spectators grew more as each driver messed about in the parking lot, until at last they were filing out, lining the empty road along an imaginary starting line.

“Can we go closer?” you asked Taehyung as people gravitated towards the roadside, disturbing your view.

A smile bloomed on his face and he jumped down, ditching his takeaway.

“Sure.”

Weaving in and out of the rabble to reach the front, you stood on your tiptoes to spot Hoseok’s car in the middle of the line. Taehyung stood just behind you, already speaking to someone. From your left side, a taller girl pushed past you, striding right up to the curb.

In a ripple, the pack quietened. The girl raised her hand – was that a gun? – and a bang sounded, drowned out instantaneously by the squealing of tyres and growling of engines. Within seconds, the cars had sped out of sight.

“How long is the race?” you turned to Taehyung, whose acquaintance had walked away again.

“That depends how fast Hoseok decides to go,” he murmured back, perching on the wall behind him and kicking his legs out, “they’re on one of the city circuits, main roads, so it’s just about acceleration.”

Nodding in what you hoped was a casual manner, you returned your eyes to the deserted road.

“So he’s good then, Hoseok?”

You hopped up onto the wall beside Taehyung, but it wasn’t his voice that replied.

“Oh, he’s the best.”

Your head snapped around, leaving you face to face with Yoongi. Leaning against the end of the wall, smoke swirling up from a glowing cigarette end in his hand, he looked right at home. How long had he been standing there?

“I heard you were here,” he directed a rare smile past you to Taehyung, “everyone’s wondering if you’re gonna go for a spin.”

“It’s been a long time,” Taehyung chuckled.

“Beck’s next up,” he said, as if that was meant to mean something. Based on Taehyung’s reaction, it probably did.

Shaking his head, he laughed, then bit down on his lip, still smiling, and stared into his lap.

“I’ll think about it, okay?”

“Well you won’t have long,” Yoongi crushed his cigarette against the wall, chucking it carelessly to the ground. Sure enough, the screech of tyres and distant rumble of engines were once again becoming audible.

As Yoongi melted away into the crowd again, the sounds grew and you stood up again, craning your neck to see as far down the road as you could. Only seconds later, a pair of headlights blazed around the corner, drawing a line down your vision as the car flew towards you, followed by a tight group of others.

Stepping back, you watched as the first place car whizzed by, blowing your hair back and off your face, the rest piling across the line in a photo-finish a few seconds later.

While the cars slowed, drifting round to return to the car park and the assembled cheering crowd, an elbow nudged your arm.

“Do you fancy a ride?”

Your eyes slid between Taehyung and the cars re-entering the lot, quickly encircled by people.

What the hell were you thinking? Why were you even considering saying yes? This was crazy-

“Okay!”

Taehyung held you in front of him, shielding you as together you cut a path through the excited mass towards the victor of the last race. Hoseok was grinning from ear to ear, arms in the air, high-fiving people and showing off energetic dance moves in exchange for laughter and pats on the back.

Once again, Taehyung clapped his shoulder, this time leaning in to make his request. Hanging back, you were invisible in the crowd, your face obscured.

“Hey, everyone!” Hoseok shouted, causing a hush, “Taehyungie’s gonna do the next one!”

Cheers and excited applause erupted as Hoseok lifted Tae’s hand in the air. The older boy jumped around while Taehyung laughed, and before long the other drivers were back in their cars. Returning to the roadside, the crowd left you behind.

“Hop in,” Taehyung told you, making his way to the driver’s side.

Though not top-end, Hoseok’s car was not inexpensive. You slid into the leather seat and buckled up, Tae doing the same before gripping the wheel and getting it moving, out and onto the road.

“So where are we going?” you eyed the rabble from your window as you passed them, low rumble of the engine almost teasing given what was to come.

“Beck,” Taehyung replied, pulling into position, one hand staying loosely on the wheel, “it’s what we call one of the courses round the back alleys down by Beck square, and it’s sort of my speciality.”

You nodded, eyes falling back onto the wide open road in front of you. A few cars over, you saw the girl from before standing on the curb.

“You ready?”

A deep breath in.

“Yeah,” you smiled.

Bang.

Outside, the crowd blurred and disappeared, lights whipping past your window as you were forced back in your seat with the sudden speed.

Other cars encroached either side, penning you in but Taehyung kept his eyes ahead, locking the wheel all the way right to take you barrelling into a smaller road, with only one car ahead of you. At the back windscreen, purple headlights were bearing down on you, so close it was like a demon staring into the car.

Weaving, left, right, your car thundered after the red one ahead of you, but the gap only increased.

Snarling behind you, engine nearly as loud as your own, your main pursuer was on top of you. As you spilled out onto a wider road, it was gaining, crawling up your side.

With a glint in his eye, Taehyung took one look at the competitor, one glance to where the red car was turning the next corner some way ahead, and pulled the wheel.

Staring straight ahead, wheel at arm’s length, Taehyung pushed the car, the roaring engine riding a deafening crescendo as you powered ahead through the deserted alley he had taken you down. You winced as he rapidly squeezed past some industrial bins lining the wall, only grazing one with slight jolt – then it was a clear road to the growing exit.

Your car fired from the shortcut like a cannonball, Taehyung wrestling the wheel to bring the back tyres under control as you turned right, finding yourselves neck-and-neck with the red car from earlier.

Next, a drawn-out corner, and that was all Taehyung needed to pull away, expertly drifting around before flattening his foot to the ground, plunging into the darkest alley yet, lit only by your headlamps. But once you emerged, the wider road was back, shop signs and streetlights blurring outside.

Taking a glance behind, the red car was nowhere to be seen.

A laugh bubbled up from your throat as you fell back in your seat, exhilarated. And then there was the crowd, watching and waiting by the parking lot – you had won!

“Fuck me,” you breathed as Taehyung relaxed beside you, casually braking into a drift to turn around.

A hearty laugh returned from him as he pulled into the car park, soon getting swarmed. Exiting the car, you were both engulfed in the clamouring mass, though you managed to slip away to the midst of it. Everyone was the most interested in Taehyung.

At last, most had dispersed and only Hoseok and Yoongi were left congratulating Taehyung with hugs.

“Fun, right?” Hoseok smiled at you, inviting you into their conversation.

“Yeah.” Breathless as if you had just run the course, you laughed with them.

“Good job, you haven’t lost your touch,” Yoongi affirmed again as Hoseok left you to drive again.

By the sounds of it, the next race was a longer one. Bets had been made and you all held your breath as the cars lined up again. The starting gun did nothing to help your heart calm down after the adrenaline rush of Taehyung’s race, but you weren’t complaining. His face wore a similar joy to yours, the two of you happily sitting back after Yoongi left and laughing about the thrill of his driving.

“I dunno if I would have got away so well on the corner if Hoseok’s car wasn’t so good though-“

“Hey! Don’t downplay it, your driving was insane!”

“Maybe it was insane,” he looked down, bashful, but soon smiled back and shook his finger at you, “so don’t try this at home!”

But your laughter at his joke was interrupted.

Sailing over the buildings came the high-pitched wail of a siren. The group quietened. Listening. Perhaps it was unrelated?

A couple of people walked into the road, looking around to see if the vehicle was coming your way. It was definitely getting too close for comfort.

Taehyung stood, hand wrapping round your upper arm and lightly pulling you away from the front of the crowd, though both of you still stared at the road, hoping the sound would shrink again, pass you by.

Blue flashed against the rain-slick road, illuminating dark windows at the end of the street.

Bad luck.

“Run!”

Those who were standing in the road took off across it, away from the car park, while some scattered back to where they came from. The few cars left standing in the parking lot were starting up, leaving by the alleys. And in the middle of the crowd, you and Taehyung started running.

In seconds the parking lot had emptied, and now you were alone with Taehyung as other members of the party vaulted walls away from the sirens and shouting police officers, the slamming of car doors as they gave chase.

Air rushed in and out of your lungs as your feet pounded after Taehyung, going as fast as you could but still falling behind. Dark buildings either side of you were painted in blue as light fell down the alleyway from the cars that had scattered you. Up ahead, Taehyung rounded a corner, but it was lost in darkness and you weren’t sure which one he had gone down.

You didn’t stop running.

“Stop there! Police!”

A woman yelled from the other end of the street, making you push yourself harder.

Just then, Taehyung skidded back around the corner you had just reached and grabbed your hand before you could think, and now he was pulling you away, taking turn after turn through dark streets you had never seen before. Stumbling after him, you clutched his hand, your lifeline.

You must have lost them by now. No blue lights could be seen, no sirens or shouts heard, no other footsteps but your own.

You hoped you had lost them by now. Your heart was beating out of your chest and your head spun, lungs failing to cooperate, evicting air in heavy bursts, taking it in too slow. In your side, the pain couldn’t be masked by the painkiller anymore, pinching mercilessly with every step.

You had to slow down.

Legs failing you, you finally gave in to stopping.

The sudden tug and then loss of your hand in his made Taehyung turn around, finding you doubled over, panting and pale in the face. Eyes scanning the street beyond you for danger, he moved forwards, hands gripping your arms.

“Hey, Y/N, can you keep going?”

Only your hyperventilating answered him.

“Y/N? Can you hear me?”

Trying to pull you up to look at him, he was only met with your body going heavier in his arms, forcing him to scramble to wrap his arms around your back as you went limp.

Cursing, he lowered you to the ground but didn’t let go. Not taking his eyes off your face, he caught the moment your eyes opened again once you were leant against the wall.

A short breath escaped him, tongue darting out to wet his lips.

“Y/N? Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” you managed, breathing more even now, “my side…”

“It’s alright, you can rest for a bit,” he assured you, finally releasing you and sitting back on his heels.

One more check up and down the alley.

“Were we seriously just running from police?” you laughed slightly, bringing his attention back to you.

“First time for everything,” he mused, sitting down beside you.

“I guess,” you chuckled, still a little breathless, “so is the racing over?”

“For tonight. It gets busted occasionally, so when the others get back and see everyone’s gone they’ll know what happened.”

“Is Hoseok going to get arrested?”

“Shouldn’t do. He’s had plenty of practice evading cops.”

Nodding, your eyes returned to the ground. It was easy to forget how much experience Taehyung and the other bangtan boys had in all this; you were just here for the ride.

“You had your painkiller, right?” Taehyung broke the brief silence.

“Yeah, I did,” you quickly confirmed, “and I feel better now, I just, I dunno what happened…”

“And your iron pill?”

“Hmm? Oh, the red ones… no, I-I don’t think so.”

He clicked his tongue.

“That’ll be it then. You’re taking one as soon as we get home.”

Despite feeling a little like you were being scolded, you smiled, about to respond when a scuffle from the end of the street made you both turn your heads.

As you watched the dimly lit space, a silhouette ran past in a blur, followed by a slower figure, wearing an unmistakeable bulky police vest. They jogged past the opening to your street, but soon their outline reappeared, empty handed.

Breath catching in your throat, you went obligingly with Taehyung as he stood silently, his arm guiding you behind him without taking his eyes off the cop. As quickly as you dared, you both retreated, wincing at each slight crunch beneath your feet. In the silence, the crackling of a police radio, though incomprehensible, was clearly heard, and the officer mumbled back into it.

Spying an opening to hide you from view, you gathered this was your target. Holding your breath, you approached it, swinging around the corner at the first opportunity with only one glance back.

One glance that showed the cop’s head turning towards you.

This alley was much smaller than the other, and you found yourself facing Taehyung in much the same way you had in his hallway when you first came barging into his life. Searching his face, you wondered if he had seen what you did just now.

“Tae-“

His lips formed around a shushing sound that barely left his mouth, and in one small step, he was up against you, a finger steady on your lips to silence you. All you could do was hold your tongue and stare as he looked past you, tentatively dipping his head out of your hiding spot, never lowering his finger.

“They’re gone,” he spoke, voice still impossibly low.

Swallowing, you removed your eyes from his face, glancing up the alley you were now on. It was a dead end, home only to a large dumpster surrounded by smashed glass and needles. You couldn’t leave this way, which would explain why you needed to wait here, in case the cop was still close by.

What it didn’t explain was why Taehyung was still so close to you.

Although his hand had now lowered, you could feel his body heat from this proximity. The zip of his undone jacket brushed against the front of your hoodie.

Your tongue ran across your lips. Eyes finally diverted from the potential dangers outside, Taehyung was now looking at you.

“Uh…” you cleared your throat, regretting opening your mouth. You had no idea what you had planned to say.

Luckily, you were startled from the situation as a chiming ringtone broke through the moment.

Scrambling to scoop his phone from his pocket and answer it, Taehyung stumbled back, eyeing the alleyway outside in a panic. Thankfully, no one had heard. Better get moving.

“Hello?”

Not even getting a look at the caller in his rush to pick it up, Jungkook’s voice answering him was a relief.

Mindlessly grabbing your hand in his, Taehyung started walking with you beside him as he listened to the younger member. As you passed through the end of the street, he took a look both ways before leading you the opposite way to that the police officer had taken.

Holding Kim Taehyung’s hand was something you had never seen coming. But here you were.

You didn’t complain though. His grip was firm, comfortable, and walking with him this way felt… normal. How that was even possible, you didn’t know, and you blamed it on your lingering light-headedness – of course you would want to feel grounded.

But somehow, far away from all you knew in backstreets you had never seen before, after a very illegal night, with a gang member talking in serious tones over the phone next to you, you felt perfectly at home.

“Cheers, Kook. Night.”

Taehyung shut off the call, tucking his phone back into his pocket. By now you had reached more well-lit roads that you imagined would be busy by day. Now, of course, you were the only ones here. God knew what time it was.

The only light brighter than the streetlamps was the interior of a 24-hour convenience store, a good indication that it was by no means a civilised hour. Still without letting your hand go, Taehyung led you inside.

Standing in front of the wall of fizzy drinks, he ordered you to pick one before swiping a packet of crisps and a chocolate bar. The teenage cashier didn’t look you in the eye once as he rung you up, and then you were on your way. Only now did Taehyung drop your hand, passing you the chocolate with a command to get your sugar up and himself tearing into the crisps.

When you had worked through the first row, he spoke up.

“Jungkook was on the phone about your dad.”

“O-oh,” you stuttered, having just put another square in your mouth.

“Well he’s okay. He hasn’t been hurt, but as you know, Shinhyuk’s forced him to hand over your apartment for the gang to use. He’s forcing him to work for him, full-time, with the threat of harm to you if he doesn’t… Apparently he was accused of stealing drugs from a deal and that warrants all this – though it’s probably baseless. Shinhyuk had his eyes on your place already.”

You watched your feet as you listened. It had been easy to put your dad out of your mind for the sake of your sanity, the not knowing taking you round in circles, but hearing that he was still alive took a weight from you.

“I’m sorry,” Taehyung said, greeted with your silence, “we’re fighting against Shinhyuk, and we’ll try to help him. Try not to worry about him losing his job, I mean-“

“Worry?” you looked up at him, “He’s alive! There’s nothing to be sorry for! Can you thank Jungkook for finding this out?”

A small, relieved smile crossed Taehyung’s face.

“Course I can,” he grinned, then held out your Fanta, “now don’t forget about your sugar.”

After this, the walk home was surprisingly short. Given how lost you were, you had thought you were half the city away, but in next to no time you turned onto recognisable streets. Strolling through the dark eating sugary snacks, it felt as if you were coming home from the movies, or any venture more innocent than your night of racing.

As the pair of you were climbing Tae’s front steps, he offered to make tea to warm up. Needless to say, you were fully on board with the idea.

He set to work, the kitchen lit dimly by lights tucked underneath the cupboards.

However, leaning against the wall waiting for the water to boil, you began to feel just how tired you were, both physically and mentally. But you could sleep later: you didn’t want the night to end yet. Deciding on a middle ground, you gave in to sliding down the wall, seating yourself on the floor. Not a move you would have chosen at your most alert moments, but it couldn’t be helped.

At your downwards movement, Taehyung spun around, dropping the teaspoon with a clatter.

But then he saw you staring back at him in bewilderment, and his eyes closed as he huffed in equal parts relief and frustration.

“God, I thought you were passing out again,” he grumbled.

Soon the bag of red pills landed in front of you on the tile. Sheepishly smiling, you gulped one down, and then a mug of tea filled its space.

“Oh, we don’t have to stay here,” you frowned at Tae as he sat down opposite you on the kitchen floor, leaning his back against the cupboards as he cradled his tea.

“Nah, it’s a unique perspective,” he said, “I’ve never sat here before and it’s my house.”

“Yeah, I’m sure your kitchen looks super different from down here,” a smile threatened to break your baffled frown, though you did pick up your mug, breathing in the inviting steam rising from it.

“So was tonight okay?” Taehyung smiled over his mug, eyes creasing a little as they watched for your answer.

“Mmm, yeah,” you swallowed your first sip of tea, “I’ve never… done anything like that before. But I thought it was really exciting! Hoseok is so nice too, letting you drive his car.”

Tae let out a short laugh, eyes disappearing for a moment.

“I practically learnt to drive in Hobi’s cars.”

“Wait, cars? As in, cars, plural?”

“Yeah,” his wide grin stayed on his face, both rows of his teeth visible in the low light, “tonight was just small races, he didn’t get out the big guns. You should see his Bugatti.”

Your eyes bulged from your head.

“I’m not even going to ask where he got the money for that,” you mumbled, still in awe.

“He didn’t,” Taehyung smirked. Rolling your eyes, you breathed a laugh, soon diving back into your tea.

“Was it alright with Yoongi there?” he asked next. His eyes were wider now, curious, smile dimming, “I know he hasn’t exactly been…”

“No, it was fine,” you assured, “I get that he doesn’t like me, but he seems to tolerate me now, so I won’t push him.”

“He did sort of beat you up before, though,” Tae pointed out.

“I nearly beat him up back!” you joked, admittedly motivated by genuine defensiveness, “I could have handed his ass to him any time I pleased, but I chose to give you the satisfaction of saving me instead.”

Taehyung responded by snorting into his tea.

“You are so rude,” you tipped your foot over to playfully kick his thigh as you both laughed.

“Honestly, I’m glad you’re not too bothered by Yoongi,” Taehyung said once the laughter had passed, though his smile still lingered, “he looks so tough, but he’s a massive softie really.”

You simply raised your eyebrows.

“You’ll see,” he smirked.

“I’ll wait,” you scoffed, “although I don’t find him scary exactly… he sort of reminds me of that evil magician from Archie-wizz- did you watch that?”

“Yes! I used to watch that every day after school!”

“Yeah, so you know the one I’m on about, right? He was always lurking around corners, like, the camera would turn around and there he was, like he’d been there the whole time. That’s Yoongi!”

Tae barked a disbelieving laugh.

“You mean Count E. Vil? Yoongi would flip shit if he heard you compared him to a cartoon.”

“Count E. Vil? That was his name?”

“Yeah, and every time he appeared, Archie was like ‘didn’t see ya there!’”

“Yeah, yeah it is that one,” you laughed at the memory, “was that seriously his name? I must have forgotten.”

“You know, the more I think about, the more I can see it,” Taehyung was laughing too, “you just turn around and he’s like – bam – looking all cool…”

Taehyung schooled his face into a death stare just like Yoongi’s to demonstrate, making you crack up even more. He didn’t last long before the act broke down, laughter creeping into his poker mouth and now the both of you were bent over your knees with tears in your eyes, wheezing with the kind of infectious laughter that is most at home after lights out at a sleepover.

“Not a word of this to Yoongi, understand,” Tae joked when you had both calmed down, voice worn out from the laughing fit.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Comfortable silence warmed the room for a moment as you both drank more tea. Odd though your little scene was, with you both sat on the floor, legs outstretched in the middle, it was cosy. The glow of fading LEDs that barely lit your faces separated you from the darkness of the outside. In all the world, it felt as though you two were the only ones, safe in your unorthodox sanctuary.

“How…”

You spoke before you had figured out how to phrase your question, but now Taehyung had lifted his eyes back to you.

“How did you… Who started, I mean, with bangtan…”

“How did we get together?”

You gave a small nod.

“Some of us go way back,” he set his tea down, “I mean, I went to high school with Jimin. And Yoongi’s from the same city as me, and we used to know each other when we were tiny. His family was connected to Namjoon’s, and that’s where it started – their families started the whole crime thing, and they started training together.

“We all sort of fell together, I think Jin’s family needed help from Namjoon’s and he stayed on; Jungkook knew Jimin from childhood, and he showed up asking for help when we had already started; Jin found Hoseok at college. I started, and Jimin came along too, because Yoongi wanted me. We had been out of touch for years, but I still knew who he was.”

“Wow,” you breathed.

“It’s sort of complicated, I know,” he directed a shy smile at his cup.

“Well, that’s life,” you said quietly, “but you guys work so well together. I guess you got lucky.”

Taehyung’s nod was solemn.

“Yeah. But it’s more than just working – they’re my brothers now.”

Tilting your head as you listened, you believed him.

“You guys seem to understand each other so well.”

“We do – we always have each other’s backs, you know? I wouldn’t stick around in this for just anyone.”

“By ‘this’, do you mean…” you rested your chin on your knees, still listening intently.

“Everything we’re known for: drugs, fights, racing… I never intended to get into all that. I try to be careful, and moral, about it, we all do. But I wouldn’t have done it for anyone else.”

“Do you think you’ll stay in a gang forever?”

By now you were both talking in hushed tones as if you were huddled under blankets.

“No, I don’t think so,” he pondered, “I’m not sure what I want to be, though.”

“How about your art?” you smiled, “or fashion. Those books you got me were really interesting. Or your music? You’re a good singer-“

Cutting yourself off, your eyes widened. Taehyung had been nodding along, considering your options, but now he stared straight back at you.

“You heard me singing?”

“U-uh, yeah, I did,” you stammered, heat glowing in your cheeks, “I was half asleep, but I thought you were so good.”

“Thanks,” Tae’s voice was lower in pitch now, and he swallowed and looked down, his dark hair obscuring most of his face so he almost melted into the darkness. He cleared his throat, “I’ve never sung to anyone else before.”

“Well, you didn’t exactly sing to me,” you spoke softly, reaching a hand to his knee, “but it was amazing anyway. I mean it.”

You were glad to see a genuine smile blooming on his face as he looked back up again.

“Anyway,” he shook his head, “I’m not gonna leave the boys. Even when I’m not in a gang, they’ll always be my family. I’m not letting that go.”

“I understand.”

You really did. Your only family was across the city, torn from you and forced to work for Shinhyuk.

Hesitantly, you drew your hand back from his knee.

Draining the last dregs of his cold tea, Taehyung let the silence settle.

“I miss college,” you eventually confess into the quiet room, “I hope I get to go back.”

“Even Professor Han’s class?” Tae’s low voice joked.

“Oh, I don’t think I miss it that much,” you smiled, though it was overtaken by a sigh.

“You’ll go back,” came the reassurance.

A pause.

“We… we’re hoping we can beat Shinhyuk in this whole thing. We’re sort of working on a plan.”

Instantly intrigued, you stared expectantly across the kitchen at Taehyung, who heaved a sigh and began to explain.

“Shinhyuk has his weaknesses, and thanks to Jungkook we’ve found the worst. He works differently to us. He doesn’t care for anyone in his gang, and they don’t care for each other. Like your dad, he keeps most of them there with blackmail, so we’ve been trying to pick people off. If we can infiltrate well enough, guarantee his members a safe escape from the gang, or find some blackmail of our own to get them, we should be able to weaken him and catch him off-guard when his safety net isn’t there to catch him anymore…”

“Is it going to work?” you breathed into the still air.

Taehyung pursed his lips. You were very conscious of your breathing as you waited for an answer. In. Out.

“It has to.”

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themadlostgirl · 4 years ago

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When It’s Cold

*Felix simps come get y’all juice!

The hyperfixation hit me hard and because I just have to add backstory and character development to every single request I get, this one shot request is another mini-fic. I do not know how long it is going to be but I am hoping to keep it under ten. I already have like 5 chapters written now. Also, Felix deserves some multi-chapter love dang it!*

Prompt: Reader and Felix are stuck in Storybrooke together. What will happen next? Spoilers: it’s feelings and fluff and a horny teenagers being stupid.

Requested by: anon

~~~

“I blame you.” Felix said.

“How is this my fault?” I retorted. Felix and I sat on the docks of Storybrooke overlooking the water.

“You’re the one that convinced me to come to Storybrooke with you. Now look what’s happened! Pan is dead and we have no way to get back to Neverland.”

“We’ll find a way back to Neverland.”

“And how do you figure that? There is no more shadow to ferry us, we have no magic bean, or any pixie dust to fly us back. We are stuck here!”

“Will you calm down?”

“You want me to be calm? How can you expect me to be calm after everything that has happened?”

“I don’t know but you panicking is not going to help us any. Storybrooke is the only town in this realm with magic. If there is a way to cross realms we will find it here so stop worrying so much and start brainstorming. Like you said, there is no more shadow so our reliable way of getting back is gone. Magic beans are scarce if any even still exist. So our only option is to find some method of transportation that can either fly us back or we become mermaids and swim through the realms. So we gotta sprout wings or gills. Ideas?”

“Well I can’t swim worth a damn so I guess we’ll need to find a way to fly.”

“No point staying here.” I got up, “We were fine camping in the woods but that’s not going to serve us well much longer. Winter is rolling in and neither of us have ever lived somewhere that wasn’t tropical and humid all the time so I don’t think we’ll survive long on our own out in the wilderness. We need to start looking into different housing options.”

“You sound like an adult.” Felix groaned.

“I hate it too but there’s not much else we can do unless we want to freeze to death. Come on,” I held a hand out to him, “The sooner we find someplace the sooner we can start dedicating our time to finding a way out of here.”

“I’m coming,” Felix stood up, ignoring my hand. We walked all around Storybrooke looking for someplace to hole up in. My main concern was having a place with heat which left a lot of the vacant houses out since their utilities were shut off. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t for the fact that there were no fireplaces so starting a fire to keep warm was also out of the question.

It was getting late and our search had yielded nothing. I had a bad feeling that if we couldn’t find somewhere suitable through our own means we would have to resort to actually paying for housing somewhere. Which meant we would need money which also meant we would need to have jobs. Paying bills, having jobs, this was a nightmare!

We shuffled back to our camp and checked the traps we had laid for any game but only caught a small rabbit. Barely big enough for one person. Better than nothing at least.

As Felix roasted the rabbit over our fire I sighed, rubbing my arms to keep off the chill of the late autumn.

“You know what I’ve noticed these past couple days?” I said.

“Hm?” Felix hummed not bothering to look up.

“This is the first time in all the years we’ve known each other that we’ve ever really hung out.”

“Guess so.” Felix shrugged.

“Is that not strange to you? We’ve known each other for decades on Neverland. We hunted together, played together, fought together with the boys but this is the first time us two have ever been alone together. How do you not find that strange?”

“It’s not like I was close to everybody on the island.” He took the rabbit off the spit and cut it in two, “Besides, you were always off galavanting with Artie and Frank. What’s it matter if we ever hung out?”

“I guess it’s just making me wonder.”

“Wonder what?”

“Why you followed me here?” I answered as he handed me my half of our dinner. “You didn’t know that Pan had switched consciousness with that Henry kid until after we left Neverland. You could have stayed on Neverland with the other boys. You didn’t need to come with me when I asked you to. So why did you?”

“Let me ask you something,” Felix dodged around the question, “Why is it that you asked me to come with you in the first place? You had your friends on that ship already. Why take me along? Why is it that you’re roughing it in the woods with me when you have friends that are snug and cozy in that fairy monastery? Answer me that.”

“I--I--” The words were caught in my throat. Why had I asked Felix to come with me? I knew the answer lay deep in my gut but I couldn’t for the life of me bear to bring it to the surface. I bit into my rabbit with a small scowl.

Felix gave a small exhale before diving into his dinner as well. The conversation thoroughly ended. I curled up to go to sleep near the fire. Our only source of heat. I really did miss Neverland. I would deal with a million humid heat waves if it meant that I could be warm again.

Sometime during the night a gust of cold wind snapped me awake. I huddled in closer to myself trying to retain some warmth when I felt something being draped over me. I peeked an eye open and saw Felix lay down again and curled more into himself. I looked to see what he had done and realized he had draped his cloak over me. His only form of heat, thin as it was. I decided at that moment as I watched him violently shivering on the cold ground that I would gladly grow up a little and get a job if it meant we would have somewhere warm to sleep tomorrow night.

The morning came and as casually as I could gave Feilx back his cloak. I made no mention of his generosity. I knew he wouldn’t appreciate you pointing out his selflessness for whatever reason. Too proud to accept my thanks.

We went back into town and I sent Felix off to find some cheap accommodations for us while I walked along main street and hopped into every store that I could looking for work. Unfortunately it looked like no one was hiring. Dejected and pissed after the tenth shop owner denied to even let me fill out one of their ridiculous applications I stole a handful of dollars from their tip jar. At the very least I could buy us a decent meal tonight.

We met up again outside of the diner. Felix had no luck finding a place to stay either. Everyone just shrugged him off. To my delight though he had the same idea as me and produced a wallet he had pickpocketed off the landlord he had spoken to. A couple of twenties tucked safely into the worn leather. We may not have anywhere warm to sleep tonight but at least we could get a hot meal.

We entered into the diner and immediately were met with stares. It was the same stare I got from everyone I asked a job from. I tried to shrug it off and sat down with Felix at the counter. We ordered two plates of the lasagna. The waitress was kind enough but everyone else at the counter moved away from us when it was evident that we were staying.

“Felix,” I whispered, “Is it just me or is everyone--”

“They don’t want us here,” he whispered back, “They’re not saying anything but they’re making it obvious enough. The reason no one will give us a job or let us live anywhere is all for the same reason. We were here for Pan and even though he’s gone they still don’t trust us. Just eat your food and we’ll go back to camp.”

“Do you think we have enough money to maybe spend just one night at the bed and breakfast?” I asked, hopeful.

Felix shook his head. “Even if we did I think we should be saving this for food since game is proving difficult to come by.”

“You’re right,” I stabbed into my lasagna. “It just gets so cold…”

We finished our meals quickly and left just as fast. At least I was more full than yesterday. We started on our way back to camp when I noticed a trail I hadn’t seen before.

“Where are you going? Camp is that way?”

“I know but I need to see something.” I told him as I started running down the other trail.

“Wait!” Felix ran after me. I kept huffing and puffing down the trail until it opened into a large field. In the distance was a huge house. A mansion by the looks of it.

“Whoa,” Felix said as he took in the sight of the mansion. “How did we miss this?”

“I don’t know. Let’s get a closer look.” We ran across the neatly trimmed lawn and hopped over the fence onto the mansion grounds. The lights were off inside. Whoever lived here was either gone or asleep. We checked the garage and found no car. Peeking in as many windows as we could it didn’t look like anyone was home.

“Should we?” I asked Felix. The temptation was too great. “Even if someone does live here it’s so big I doubt that they would even notice us staying here as well.”

“Let’s take a look.” Felix grinned. Strangely enough the front door was left unlocked. I tried the lights and was delighted when I realized that the electricity was working, there was running water too. Even better was that there was heat! Heat and dozens of bedrooms.

The place was so clean and orderly but yet there were no signs of it being lived in. No pictures on the walls. No food in the fridge. All the doors and windows were unlocked. There was a large kitchen, dining room, multiple rooms just for sitting in, a dozen bedrooms, and even a ballroom with a beautiful crystal chandelier. All the windows had the most spectacular views of the ocean or the mansion’s garden.

“This place is amazing!” I picked up a strange cylindrical paperweight with stars painted on top of it and tossed it in the air. “Felix, I don’t want to get our hopes up but I think we found a place for us to stay.”

“And you’re sure no one lives here?” Felix gazed around the room we were standing in.

“We searched all the rooms we came across and found no one. The place has been cleaned out of food or toiletries. Either whoever lives here desperately needs to go shopping or they just don’t exist.”

“You think we’re really that lucky?”

“I think we’re owed a bit of luck. Even if someone still does live here do you really want to spend the night shivering outside or spend a night wrapped up warm in a bed and run the risk of someone chasing us out in the morning?”

“You make a compelling argument.” Felix grinned, “Race you for the master bedroom!”

“Felix!” I chased after him as he went flying up the stairs. He got to the room first and flopped down on the large king-sized bed.

“I win! Go take one of the lesser bedrooms.”

“You only won cause you have those long lanky legs.” I flopped down beside him and sighed as I sunk into the soft mattress. “I don’t think I can move from here. It’s way too comfortable.”

“Too bad. My room.” He pushed me off.

“Hey!” I laughed as I stood back up. “Fine, you can have the master bedroom but only on the condition that you find us more money to buy food and toiletries. Got it?”

“Sounds good to me,” Felix stood too, eyeing the bathroom attached to the bedroom. “Soap or not I think I am going to indulge in a hot bath.”

“That does sound heavenly.” I haven’t had a hot bath in decades. “Have a goodnight, Felix. We go grocery shopping tomorrow.”

“Night,” Felix gave a wave as he closed the bathroom door behind him.

I left the room and wandered around the hall looking for a space of my own. I found a nice bedroom that felt just as grand as the master bedroom. I went into the bathroom and drew myself a piping hot bath. I nearly moaned when I sunk down into the water. Even if this lasts for only a night I’ll be happy. One night of warmth.

After my bath I wrapped myself in a large fluffy towel and went back into the bedroom. I really didn’t want to put my old dirty clothes on my clean body. I opened the dresser drawers hoping maybe the resident left behind some old clothes but they were all empty. I crept out of my room and checked the other guest rooms surrounding me but all their drawers were empty too. There was one place I hadn’t checked. If the owner did leave something behind it would probably be in the master bedroom. I glanced down at my towel with a grimace. It covers everything at least. I tentatively knocked on the door but was met with no answer. I cracked it open and sighed with relief when I saw no Felix in sight. He must still be in the bath.

I went to the dressers and, “Nothing? Really?!” I slammed the dresser shut again. How is it that there isn’t so much as a single shirt in this house?

“Why are you making so much noise?” Felix stepped out of the bathroom in a billow of steam. My throat went dry when I caught sight of him. Completely naked except for the towel hanging from his hips and still dripping went. His blonde hair that usually hung in his face was brushed back opening his face up more. His torso had an array of scars I never knew he had before. That wet chest that was impressively chiseled…

I shot to my feet clutching to the towel covering me. “Sorry! I was just looking for some clean clothes.”

Felix gaze swept me up and down. He took a deep breath and grabbed something from inside the bathroom and tossed it to me. It was a fluffy white robe with a monogrammed M on the breast. “There.”

“Thanks.” I slid the robe on over my towel. “Anything else in there?”

“Nope. Just that one.” Felix turned away from me. His face looked red and I could only guess he was angry at me for barging in. “Now scurry back to your own room.”

“Right. Thanks.” I rushed back to my room, my heart hammering in my chest. That was certainly new. I never thought I would see that much of Felix. I mean why would I ever want to see his wet, practically naked, and not so shockingly buff body? No! Bad! Impure thoughts I should not be having about my...my…

Huh. What was Felix to me? On Neverland we were Lost Ones but that didn’t really fit here. I don’t know if I could exactly call us friends either. Roommates? Was that what we were now? We have been living together at our crappy camp all this time and now we’re staying in this mansion together. I guess that’s what we would call one another. Roommates.

I dropped my towel and pulled the clean robe tighter around me. My thumb traced over the M stitched on the breast. This house has no food, no toiletries, no clothes, not a single photo on any wall but yet there was a single monogrammed robe. Who was M? Who had lived here?

Those were questions for the morning. I sunk into bed and this time I did moan as I cuddled under the many thick blankets. Finally warm at last.

---

(Next)

#felix imagine #felix x reader #ouat felix #ouat #neverland #request #peter pan ouat #roommate au #i'm just gonna put this in the tags since it doesn't actually matter to the story but #they are in the sorcerer's mansion introduced at the start of season 4 #the place where they find all the blank story books and rumple and belle have their honeymoon #that's it. just let my kiddos have a warm place to sleep. they deserve it.

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fireemblems24 · 3 years ago

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SS Chapter 18 & 19

Whew, felt like it took a long time to reach this next chapter. Life's been busier than usual lately, but here we are.

Spoilers possibly up until Silver Snow Chapter 18 (and other routes around the same time).

Pre-Battle 18

Should I tag this as Verdant Wind spoilers since they basically follow the same plot? Only slightly kidding.

We storming the capital now! Woot! Is Edelgard really going down in one freaking chapter though?

Are they finally going to acknowledge that Byleth's marching to chop down his former student? Because so far he's felt exactly nothing about Edelgard. Not regret, not longing, not horniness, not anger, not vengeance. It's like she's some faceless evil emperor he's never meant before for all the emotional impact their former relationship's had in part 2 so far.

ARE WE GONNA GET RHEA BACK SOON??? Please. I want to see what role she's going to play. There's still so much I don't know about her.

Ok, seeing the map, I don't see Edelgard, but I do see both Hubert and the Death Knight despite defeating them a million times already.

They really shouldn't let us fight the Death Knight so many times if they wanted him to come across intimidating. Even early on, Lysithea with Dark Spikes and Dimitri with a horse killer weapon just melt him. Maybe it's harder on Maddening.

Battle 18

Ugh, I hate split maps. No, Seteth, I don't want to split up.

Hubert sounds so sinister. OMG I love him. He doesn't care - at all - that there were his former classmates.

So Lysithea nuked the Death Knight into another dimension . . . again. Is he dead for real this time? Because it seemed official this time. Finally.

Oh, unique dialogue with Hubert and Ferdinand. The drama. Too bad his Boltings have a 0% hit chance on Ferdinand.

Now time to waste Hubert's second Bolting.

LAMO that Imperial Soldier lady also has Bolting, but Linhardt just waited her out. She did a total of 1 damage to him lol. She's got 5 though and that's annoying, so Petra just took her out.

Having Byleth finish Hubert off since I bet there's more unique dialogue.

Hubert threatening Byleth. Name a more iconic duo.

OMG Byleth' gaunlets broke lamo. Guess someone else will actually finish Hubert.

Wow, Hubert's generic dialogue "not even death will make you consequential." Told that to poor Bernie. Still took an arrow to the face though.

And seems like he's dead-dead this time.

Does he always give you a Goddess Icon when he dies. Because that's funny if he does.

Oh - MVP Petra! She deserves it. She's really catching up to Ferdie and Sylvain. It's just - she never dodges like Ferdinand does, and can't take the punishment Sylvain does.

Post-Battle 18/Pre-Battle 19

WAIT - WAIT - WAIT - WAIT. DEDUE. DEDUE IS HERE? MY BOY? HE'S HERE. WHY IS HE HERE? 😭😭😭😭😭😭

Yeah, wtf is he doing in Enbarr?

Oh - Dedue here's for Edelgard's blood. Nice.

Does this mean I get to use Dedue????

Holy shit, Dedue. He infiltrated Enbarr and gathered intell?

What a champ.

Dedue is low-key the best spy in this game guys. Gathered intel to help an invading army take a castle literally under Edelgard's and Hubert's noses and let's not forget how he broke Dimitri out of prison.

Dedue 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

And Rhea's inside! We get to see Rhea AND Dedue again.

Wait, why is Dedue leaving me? No 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Don't worry Dedue. In another playthrough, I am pampering you and Dimitri and in the next one, you two are getting married pairing up.

I'm guessing we're not going back to Garreg Mach between these battles? Because that would be - eh - make no sense.

Oh, so now we have the "I don't want to kill Edelgard" or "Can we walk the same path as her." Why are those two my only options though? Where's the "fuck yeah" option? It's way more fun to embrace the kill 'em all thing. Except Dimitri and Dedue because my heart

Ok, Caspar, you're forgiven for your CF nonsense calling Edelgard out.

Why is Seteth always lying to me? He keeps saying "I'll leave it in your hands." But then doesn't and yells at me.

Battle 19

Ok. I decided I'm playing these two back-to-back.

Does Verdant Wind do this too? Fight Hubert and the Death Knight, then jump straight to Edelgard, no month in-between?

Because it if it does - it's going to take forever to get to Azure Moon, because, unfortunately, I won't be able to play this game for close to a month after this because of work and other stuff.

Mannnn, I am NOT looking forward to this map with my VW gang. In SS, my Sylvain, Ferdinand, and Petra are all super reliable. And Lysithea can nuke anything. No one in my VW gang is as good as any of those four (though, Claude has gotten more speed lately - thank the stars).

OMG DEDUE IS BACK. HE came, but he's green. WHYYYYY.

So . . . does Dedue have unique battle dialogue with Edelgard? She's all that's left and he's marching towards her. I think I'm going to test this. I'd laugh my butt off if he crit and killed her.

No unique dialogue, but it feels good letting Dedue get a hit on here. I get Dedue could kill her. I could just keep healing him, and she's got no one left. Should I do it guys?

I think I'm going to do it.

I'll let Byleth peck at her with his puny magic damage so I can get that dialogue, and then Dedue's killing Edelgard next round probably.

LAMO Sothis is a false Goddes, but like, she's living in Byleth's head so. We know she's not false.

Oh, well, Edelgard crit Dedue. So I just reset things and my ever reliable Lysithea nuked Edelgard onto another planet, as she does.

Weird she and Lysithea got unique dialogue though.

Ohhh cut scene. Why does Edelgard have a sword though?

Why is Edelgard asking Byleth to kill her? I guess it makes sense. He was her teacher here.

She does know all these people are killing each other because of her, right?

Oh, wow, he just lopped her head off. That's maybe as badass as when Byleth just offed Randolph (or however you say his name). I'm legit impressed the game didn't milk that harder.

Though they did that "I wanted to walk with you line . . ." Which . . . I'll take it. That's not too bad. She did, but what a twisted path she's walking.

I'm a bit conflicted about her death here though. It seemed kind of . . . weird? I expected Edelgard, from the way she talks in CF, to do down fighting. Not pleading to "my teacher" on her knees and panting.

MVP Lysithea. Guess landing that last hit on Edelgard motivated her.

Post-Battle 19

Are we finally gonna see Rhea?

Why did Hubert right us a letter?

Oh, it's about those mage people. And they want revenge. How original. If they're the enemies of all of Fodlan, why did you fight with them? Like why not take them out, then Rhea, who doesn't . . . you know . . . want to destroy the world?

Hubert and Dedue the real MVPs of this route though.

I can't with the name "those who slither in the dark" though. How lame.

Seteth said "kill every last one of them" though.

RHEA. REAH's BACK. 😭😭

And her hair is down! She looks pretty. She looks sickely though.

Oh, we going to learn some stuff now?

I don't remember who Nemesis is. So he's a grave robber. And a genocider. Wonderful. So is that when Seteth's wife died? Or?

I'm guessing we don't get playable Rhea, though I bet someone would've told me already if we did, because she's in such poor shape.

Now we get to kick the people's ass who killed Jeralt?

RHEA IS COMING WITH US

OMG Caspar wants to carry Rhea on his back 😂and then Dorothea has to point out how that might not work for our short king.

No one really mentioned Edelgard and Hubert dying though. Maybe in the monastery?

Guess I'll find out later. Now to go play these exact same maps, but with the Golden Deer!

#fire emblem 3 houses #fire emblem three houses #silver snow #dedue molinaro #rhea

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kinglarrykoopadx · 4 years ago

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Ranking the bosses of Origami King

I have stated many many MANY times that Origami King is my favorite Paper Mario, hell, one of my favorite games of all time. And if some lunatic waltzes into my house and gives me a choice of either liking TTYD or die, I’d rather be dead. But what’s the worst and best boss in the game? Today, we’re gonna rank all the bosses in Origami King. Also, it is recommended that you finish the game to view this post, cause this is a spoiler zone.

17. The Shifty Sticker, Tape

The most annoying and unfun boss to cap off a great tribute to Wind Waker fans, all the positives Tape got was having a bopping as hell music and a really great 1st phase. But that’s where the positives end, cause the 2nd phase is where it all goes downhill. Tape glues parts of the ring meaning you can’t slide panels and some parts of the rings are connected together. And when a lot of tapes are in the ring at once, it’s pretty annoying. And this may just be me, but when there’s too much tape in the arena, Tape straight up gobbles up the tape in the arena to restore HP and it is annoying as fudge. Oh and did I mention that to damage this boss, you’re forced to use the 1000 fold arms? And did I mention that any other form of offense is next to useless? Needless to say, this is one of the worst bosses I’ve had the pain to endure.

16. The Freezing Finisher, Ice Vellumental

The first phase of Snowy The Bear over here is surrounded by an icy forcefield and you must use the Fire Vellumental to melt down his barrier which is, pretty alright for a first phase (I mean your sliding is not locked this time so that’s a plus), but then, there’s Ice Maze to make up for all that fun. For those of you unknowing fools out there, Ice Maze is an ability of this guy where large parts of the arena are covered in ice, and the only way to get through it is find a way to the Action Panel or an active Fire Vellumental Magic Circle without being frozen so you (kinda) won’t have to endure his greatest attack, Ice Age. Problem is, that even for me, who has a strong memory, I can’t seem to solve it. Why this is less dreaded than Tape for me despite the monotony is that you can kinda cheese it without Fire Vellumental. By collecting coins, you can stock on Shiny Fire Flowers and basically fireball this boss to death (and they said coins are useless). Even so fuck this fight man.

15. The Blazing Bird, Fire Vellumental

This phoenix right here is possibly the smartest of the Vellumentals. Why is that, you ask? Easy. He lets you damage yourself. Using his special move, Hot Wings, he basically spreads his own wings (which takes a chunk of his health) and lets you damage yourself until you reach an Action Panel. Once you’re in the Action Panel, use your Iron Boots and jump the shit outta him until his feathers are all/almost gone. Then, use Water Vellumental to shower it to its doom, and lastly, for the coup de grace, pull off his hair and humiliate him in front of a bunch of Toads. The only reason this chicken wing is higher is because jumping him with Iron Boots is as fun, if not more fun than using the Fireballs to cheese the Ice Vellumental.

14. The Apocalyptic Abomination, Paper Mistake Buzzy Beetle

By far the most gruesome thing in Paper Mario franchise, it starts off with you hammering the Dry Bone heads it spews out using Kamek’s magic. Then, after enough heads were smashed, Kamek reveals himself and you have to pull him outta the beetle’s nose which is more satisfying than it should be. And then after that, you smash him in the gut 4 times to win. Needless to say, it had its moments.

13. The Elastic Entertainer, Rubber Band

4 numbers later and we are back to the Legion Of Stationary. This time, it’s Rubber Band. While I can see why people like this boss, keep in mind I’m doing all these on a no Game Over run, which makes the boss less fun for me. The Bumper Bands are a mere nuisance, but get caught in Rubber Bind and kiss your health goodbye. Solo Snapback isn’t much better either, for that attack, pray you have a 1 Up left or at the very least can endure that attack or say goodbye to your health. However, despite doing this on a no Game Over run is hell, why is it this high though? you may ask, well, simply put, the Rubber Bands are better projectiles than the Hot Wings, Icicles, and Tape combined.

12. The Chaotic Cactus, Mega Paper Macho Pokey

Tower Power Pokey is back, but this time, he’s made some changes to the battlefield. Now, instead of fighting in some egyptian temple, you fight him inside of a tornado. This segmented spiky monstrosity has 3 attacks. Creating tornadoes, stalking you from underground, and trying to squash you with its body. This time, to defeat him, instead of using some Baseball Bat sticker bullshit, you must wait until his glow fades and approach him with the Boot Car so you can deliver the smackdown. And, pro tip : if I were you, I wouldn’t get caught in the twisters.

11. The Groundshaking Gut-Slammer, Earth Vellumental

God to all Koopas, the Earth Vellumental is pretty fun for a tutorial boss. You use your hammers to smash its limbs till eventually you hit its tender tail, and it’s more fun than it had any right to be. Once the tail is pounded to perfection, flip it with your 1000 fold arms and smack the living daylights out of it.

10. The Trial Of Toughness, Scuffle Island Boss Rush

An optional boss accessible in Chapter 4, the Scuffle Island Boss Rush is fun for a miniboss rush. You get 7 tough Paper Macho opponents ; Goomba, Shy Guy, Koopa, Boo, Paratroopa, Stone Spike, and Buzzy Beetle, each bearing 2 more hitpoints than the ordinary Paper Macho enemies and having a large attack boost. It’s a test of learning the patterns of the Paper Machos and is way more fun than it has any right to be. Although the Paratroopa did gave me some troubles, like, seriously, if you beat this guy’s 1st phase without a guide, you’re a pro.

9. The Stormy Guardian, Boss Sumo Bro

A clever reference to NSMBU and Super Mario World, Boss Sumo Bro stands on his mighty thundercloud at first, until you take out his goonies. Then, once you’re done with his goons, he’ll charge up his unblockable Mega Thunder attack and to stop it, you must use the Fire Vellumental to take him down. It’s admittedly pretty fun.

8. The Missile Maestro, Colored Pencils

One of the most fun tutorial bosses, Colored Pencils has a simple but really fun 1st phase. You have to close its lid to pull off a Fire Vellumental, and on the 2nd phase, it gets better. You have to use his Rainbow Roll against him and smack the living daylights out of him. It’s a great boss, buut problem is, it’s a tutorial boss. It had not much of a chance to make it to the top 5.

7. The Final Destination, Paper Plane Strike Force

This game consists of you shooting a bunch of Bob Ombs to pave the way to the final level of the game Origami Castle, which is, much sadder than it may seem. It’s fun as heck shooting down the paper planes, and the Squadron where you have to shoot like a million Bob Ombs to its face is by far personally the most fun part of the game. Why it’s this low is that it’s one of the 2 non-rematchable bosses. Once you’ve gotten to Origami Castle, this minigame won’t be accessible anymore.

6. The Submarine Sinker, Water Vellumental

This overhydrated water dragon is one of the more strategic bosses. You must take note of the water twisters and prevent them from getting in your way of making it to the Action panel to jump him and hit him with the hammer. And then, once he’s gonna blow, make your way to the Earth Vellumental Magic Circle to dodge his Mega Wave attack, which is pretty powerful. It’s personally one of the more fun bosses this game had to offer. It’s not in the top 5 since the water twisters can be pretty annoying though I never had a problem with them personally.

5. The Disco Devil, Hole Punch

The groovy lobotomiser’s 1st phase is pretty annoying, you have to find his tender spot to deal decent damage to him, while having a reduction in health, but slamming the ever loving shit outta him when he tried to pull off his special attack is fun as hell. It makes up for the horrid 1st phase. And pulling off the rubber case as the finisher is waaayyy more fun than it needs to be. Also the music is a freaking jam.

4. The Tentacley Terror, Paper Macho Gooper Blooper

This Mario Sunshine nostalgia fest is hella fun. The 1st phase has you hammering his tentacles which is way more fun than it should be, and the 2nd phase has you hammering his eye, which is, again, way more fun than it should be. This boss is just really, REALLY fun.

3. The Dual Bladed Duelist, Scissors

One of the harder and more intense bosses, Scissors’ first phase is putting on a case for his blades for the sake of a fair fight, but once that’s done, it’s all intense, bloodpumping action from here. Scissors will use his unblockable special attack, Final Cut, and you must time your jumps to prevent an instant KO. I felt a strong urge of satisfaction when jumping over Scissors’ special attack countless times, it’s not even a laughing matter.

2. The Roshamboa, Handaconda

The first phase has you hammering him to get Olivia out of its grasp, and then, the 2nd phase is where the true fun begins. The Magic Circles are swapped with panels with images of Rock, Paper and Scissors and you must observe his hand patterns to get a chance to rush attack him with the 1000 fold arms. It feels so satisfying when you beat him in Roshambo and smash the living daylights out of him.

1. The Royal Rebel, King Olly

One of the best final bosses of all time, Olly is a culmination of what you have learned throughout your journey. The 1st phase consist of you retracing the weaknesses of the Vellumentals and using it against them, the 2nd phase consists of you slamming the ground to give Origami Bowser a helping hand in dealing the semi finishing blow towards Duraludon Olly, and the final phase has you fixing a jumbled up Giant Magic Circle while Olly bombards you with attacks that lead to quicktime events that are way more fun and dramatic than they had any right to be. Needless to say, Olly is the best boss in the Origami King.

#paper mario the origami king #boss rankings #handaconda #king olly #rubber band #tape #colored pencil #vellumentals #paper mario #hole punch #boss sumo bro #scissors #fuck thousand year door

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danwhobrowses · 4 years ago

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One Piece Chapter 1009 - Initial Thoughts

And we are back, happy Good Friday

though every day’s a Good Friday when One Piece is out 1009 is in, and it happens to be my 200th post (admittedly kinda kept that way since I skipped doing a Godzilla vs Kong review)

So let’s get to it

Spoilers for Chapter 1009, Please Also Support the Official Release

Starting with a Color Spread. It was cute, sweet baby Tama in Ringo with the crew, I was curious abut the coat of arms on Franky’s jacket, plus there’s another ‘Zoro consumes something with a blue dragon on it’ - his scabbard isn’t Enma though, it’s Black - and I later realised that Tama is wearing an outfit that isn’t patched up which made me feel warm

But the statues discern me, Five praying statues, four with the Akazaya hats. If this Oda hinting at the deaths? Four Akazaya dying? Tama’s bringing a straw hat to the other so are we death flagging a potential Straw Hat too? Or is it just a non-Akazaya? The first could be Ashura considering that Nami is tying a scarf on it, their fate ‘sealed’, or maybe I’m just looking way too into it

The chapter title isn’t foreboding as well

Of course we were all in the group of ‘Why is Orochi burning Onigashima, is he dumb?’ group, and motive wise he still is, but I did come to a realisation on why this is a problem. Onigashima is in the air, there can’t be much water around to douse the fire

Orochi and the Akazaya finally cross paths for the first time since Oden’s death

Interesting note by MegaForehead, maybe that’s strategic?

I don’t see a missing head from his transformation, though he only used six heads and Orochi has at least 8

Kin’emon is in No Mood

*Insert GTA Wasted scene here*

Kiku far side with one arm just with the most disappointed look ever

And Raizo is next to stay behind to fight with his old rival

I don’t think Orochi is done though; either he still has one more head or they grow back. The Yamata no Orochi couldn’t regenerate heads so it’s the most likely, but we can’t rule out hydra rules

Back to the dome roof though and we learn something new from Law, a strong enough Haki can fight his Shambles, it’s a decent limitation from the OP OP Fruit

A combo attack from two Yonko though is something you need to be scouting for very early guys

Ocean Sovereignty is definitely no joke...though it didn’t slice off the other horn

Roronoa ‘Let me block a Yonko combo attack’ FUCKING ZORO

Okay I take back the horn comment it’s a different direction

What is this dome’s structural integrity anyway?

Law of course pulls Zoro out of the line of fire because he can’t hold it off forever, Kid with the backhanded compliment though

You hurt one of Luffy’s nakama though, so that always leads to Luffy charging in

Luffy’s got a point, why dodge if it’s not affecting you? That’s how Luffy knows he’s doing something

Kaido did not like that insinuation though, he can still shoot dragon fire in Hybrid form and that’s a big ouch for Ragnarok

So now Zoro is pissed off because you hurt his captain, but he’s gotta stick to the plan

Zeus always getting yoinked, this time put in a box

Then Zoro out here cutting up Prometheus while Killer picks on Napoleon

Could be a telling thing that BM doesn’t even consider saving her homies, just that she finds it a poor strategy

Big ouch for Kid though, right in the smush

But part of the plan, putting all the metal on her to magnet her away, then Law with the boulder

BM’s about to be dumped into the water, now she’s scared

But I would worry about Zoro coughing blood...

I don’t think BM is done right now, I think there’s 5 options that’ll save her right now: Prometheus - reforming because Zoro’s body gave in a little, Kaido - since nobody’s paying attention to him after flattening Luffy, her crew down by the water that have been following the island, she Homifies some of Kaido’s fire clouds or she falls but not in the ocean - instead she crashes on land and it causes her amnesia again.

There were only really 2 parts of this chapter: Orochi vs Akazaya and the Yonko vs Supernova. Neither of which I feel are going as well as it looks. Orochi will probably survive once more which can cause trouble for the lagging behind Raizo. The Supernovas are still struggling with the attrition problem, to cause minor problems for the Yonko they have to wear themselves down hard, to the point where it’s almost pyrrhic. Oda has however done a good job in making sure any doubts about Kaido’s hybrid form have been kept at bay, he is still as vicious and agile as before.

I don’t think Luffy nor Zoro are quite done yet, Luffy is resilient and he’s got his Haki back, he just is mulling over the situation: his attacks hurt Kaido which is why he dodges, so how will he use that to his advantage? As for Zoro, he’s taken a heavy hit yes, if BM is delayed Law might be able to doctor him a little but I don’t fear too much for Zoro because injury seems to bring out the best in him. And blocking Ocean Sovereignty even for a short while is a hugely impressive feat.

No break next week means we might get a quick resolve, or we might just see more Akazaya having to fall behind, King and Queen still don’t have fights and we don’t know where Sanji is right now, Perospero and CP0 have been quiet and if Onigashima does indeed have ocean below it then they’ve not made landfall in Wano’s main island yet (contrary to the mountain we saw in an earlier chapter)

it’s still worth reminding though, we are probably due a tragedy at the end of this act...until Act 4 it’s best not to expect a climax

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whirlybirbs · 5 years ago

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— tenderly feral, ii.

summary: you are starting to trust daryl, but neither of you trust alexandria. pairing: daryl dixon x female!reader rating: t for violence, references to murder/assault/loss, s5 spoilers, if that matters. word count: 2.3k a/n: set mid-season 5. this is shorter, but there’s some bonding + touching, so pls enjoy daryl & boston becoming closer and closer. also, @thatdamnokie made a playlist for this fic and i cannot say enough good things about it. please give it a listen!

✘ previous chapter. ✘ next chapter. ✘

Deanna seems... nice.

All of this seems nice. Too nice.

Like a dream.

(You’re waiting for the twist; when does this dream turn into a nightmare? When does someone pull a gun, force you to your knees, and pull the trigger?)

The floorboards creak under your boots as you move through the living room, eyes drawing up the walls decorated with wallpaper and photos and curtains and... life. This home is full it, bursting at the seams with it. It smells like vanilla and laundry. Outside, the birds chirp and the sun filters in through the windows to dance on the carpet.

It feels like some sick joke.

“Do you mind if I film this?”

You swallow, lashes kissing your cheeks as you blink away your cynicism. Your head swivels, flying to find Deanna standing in the doorway. There’s a creeping feeling under your skin; it’s a mix of distrust and confusion and fear...

“Who are you?”

“I could ask the same of you,” she says softly, settling in, “So sit. And we’ll talk.”

So you do.

✘

You leave the house after an hour.

A shaky breath falls from your lips as you pull the door shut and find Daryl lingering on the porch. He turns, cigarette hanging between his fingers as you wring your own hands. Blue eyes slip along your form, eyeing your posture and expression -- worry flashes across his face like a lightning strike.

(He’d been waiting close by. Didn’t wanna leave you alone. Not with some stranger. Not in some... house. Daryl doesn’t trust this. You don’t either. He can see it on your face.)

“You okay?”

His voice is a rumble. Like thunder on a humid night.

“M’fine,” you breathe, stepping forward. The others watch the exchange from the lawn. You move to pass but slow up, letting your shoulder touch his. After a beat, your raise your chin you speak lowly, “Be nice.”

His lip quirks. Like a snarl. He flicks his cigarette off the porch and drops his head. He exhales a laugh.

He’s last to go.

“Me?” he croaks, brushing by, “M’ always nice.”

✘

“What did you do?” Deanna had asked, “Before all this?”

Your lip had twitched. You had fussed in your seat, crossing your legs and leaning forward and shaking your head. The look on your face, at that moment, was steeped in an emotion shaken and stirred with nostalgic regret. You scratched your brow as your mouth moved... but, nothing came out.

So, Deanna waited.

Your eyes traced the pattern in the rug for the hundredth time.

Then, you cleared your throat and spoke.

“I was a teacher.”

✘

Rick insists on sleeping in the same house tonight, together.

While everyone begins to hunker down, you poke around the house. It’s nice, something that would go for a million in the suburbs outside of Boston. It’s got a lotta space and good lighting and better bones.

Michonne catches you in the upstairs bedroom. She leans in the doorway, head tilting as she watches you fleet from wall to wall. When she does speak, her voice is soft. You jump.

“There’s a change of clothes in the dresser,” she says, “Should fit you... and the shower’s open.”

You blink at her. Shock draws up your brows.

“Shower?”

A nod.

“... Hot water?”

Michonne just smiles.

(The paint in the bathroom reminds you of your cousin’s house. Heron grey.)

You spend a good hour in there -- scrubbing and washing and grinning ear-to-ear for the first time since this whole thing went down. The shampoo smells like a life you lived before and when you step out into the steam of the bathroom, you can almost pretend the world is normal again. The towel is soft and the air is warm and your happily pull on the pair of jeans and sweater that Michonne had laid out.

You pad downstairs, face happy and eyes heavier.

Daryl is in the kitchen, poking around for a snack, when you wander in.

You smell like... fruit. Flowers and fruit.

He squints.

“You clean up nice.”

He means it.

You snort through your nose and snake around the counter. There’s a basket of fruit there -- so you pluck an apple from the bunch and move to lean against the marble island. Daryl, still dirty and still fussing, continues to dig through the cabinets.

“You gonna shower?” you ask after a few bites of the apple.

“Nah,” he spits, “Later.”

You roll your eyes. Daryl catches it. He drops his crossbow on the counter with a rattle and hops up, legs swinging. You move closer, crossing the kitchen to lean against the counter next to him and look out the window above the sink. In the next room, the chatter of the group washes out the silence.

You raise the apple, offering it.

The moon hangs high in the sky.

He takes it, bites, and hands it back.

“Think we’ll stay?”

“Dunno,” Daryl mumbles, “... I dunno.”

You just nod and chew your apple.

✘

“We have a school,” Deanna had explained, “And we need teachers. Our children... they’re our future.”

You fell quiet, arms wrapping around yourself as your knee bounces.

It hurts to remember your classroom -- to remember your kids, your coworkers, your school. When things got bad, FEMA rolled in and made it a shelter, but with no National Guard left for stationing and a rampant looting problem spreading through the city, things went south fast. Those children... your chest aches to think about where they are now. If... If they are... if they just are.

“I know that.”

“Will you help?” she asked, “Teach them? Math, art, science, history... anything.”

“I taught fourth grade.”

Deanna smiled at you like you were the sun, then.

And you felt sick.

✘

The living room is full.

There’s a roof over your head and food in your belly and a pillow under your head. You’re safe, as safe as you probably could be. Behind two feet thick steel walls and the four more that make up this damn Alexandria mansion. Rick and Michonne and Daryl are here. Glenn is here. Maggie, Sasha, Carol... Everyone.

Except Tyreese, except Beth.

But, you’re here. And you’re safe.

And still, you can’t sleep.

You roll, hips complaining from the position you’d taken up in the corner. The blanket around your shoulders is warm, and falls around your waist as you sit up, hair wild, and sigh.

Daryl, still perched at his spot by the window, can see the frustration written on your face from across the room.

Your eyes catch his, and he speaks softly.

“Wanna go for a walk?”

✘

You wrap your arms close around you, steps falling in line with Daryl’s as you sniffle and shiver a bit. It’s getting colder now with autumn creeping in -- it’s not as cold as Boston, though, so you suppose you’re thankful. The first winter there was miserable; the walkers froze solid, so it was safer, but with no heat and no food?

You were as good as frozen.

The sound of a pack of coyotes baying in the distance brings you back.

Alexandria is quiet -- the only lights come from the moon overhead and the candles glowing in windows here and there. The tops of the trees bleed into the horizon like ink in water. It’s peaceful, air filled with peepers and crickets and the kiss of the wind in the trees.

Daryl’s hands are shoved in his pockets.

His breath, glowing in the cold, curls around him as he speaks.

“... She give you a job?”

You’re quiet for a while after he asks. As Daryl walks, he watches your face out of the corner of his eye. You’re thinking -- your face is warped into a look he’s never seen before. It’s heavy with concentration. But not on the conversation.

Once you hit the end of the block, you shrug.

“Yeah,” you mutter, “She did.”

Daryl blinks up at the stars. Tries to play off his interest.

“Somethin’ good?”

“Somethin’ I used t’ do.”

His brow lifts. “Before all this?”

“Yeah,” you parrot with a lack of substance, “Before all this.”

His head falls. His hair is in his eyes when he stops short and looks at you.

“Why?”

Your nose scrunches.

“Why what?” You keep walking.

Daryl hops to catch up.

“Why th’ whole...” he gestures at you, “... Why’re y’ mad?”

“I’m not mad,” you mumble as you walk, shaking your head. You turn to catch his eyes. In the light of the moon, he seems more boyish than before. A little worried, a little scared. You slow down to let him catch up fully. “It’s just scary. I don’t... I don’t trust all this.”

“Yeah,” he breathes, “Neither do I.”

“That why you weren’t sleeping?”

Daryl nods. You hum.

“You?”

You laugh bitterly as you round another corner, shoulders brushing his. “I’m just... I haven’t slept in a house in... months, maybe. Not one where I didn’t have to keep an eye open, or... Or one where I knew I was... safe. But, I don’t know that. I don’t know that I’m safe. I want it to be true, but...”

“But, we don’t know.”

You cross your arms tighter and inhale as you stop, facing him fully. He takes pause, too, and rocks on his boots. As your eyes scale him, his drop. He shrinks, then, toeing the pavement.

“What did you do,” you ask then, spurred by a moment of wonder, “Before all this?”

Silence is the response. Then, he reaches and digs out a cigarette from his vest.

“Does it matter?”

His lighter clinks open, then closed. His face is illuminated by the embers of the Marlboro.

“It did,” you shake your head, eyes glimmering with exhaustion and sadness, “To them.”

“I was nobody,” he chirps, wetting his lips and shrugging. He turns on his heel. You follow, “Nobody.”

“You were somebody to someone,” you mumble, not complaining when his arm brushes yours. He’s heading back to the house, “Right?”

He dodges the question, fast and hard. “What about you, huh? Before shit went down, what’d y’ do?”

“Fourth grade.”

“What?” he squints.

“I taught,” you laugh a little, dry and sad, “I taught fourth grade.”

Daryl slows up, for a second, and lets his face soften. He can see it now -- you, showered and in fresh clothes and looking happier. He could see you, wrangling in a bunch a’ screaming kids. Teachin’ math, or arts ‘n’ crafts. He can see you being not-so-feral. Reading along, recess duty, and PTA meetings.

You note the expression on his face. Yours warps into one of sheepishness.

“What?”

“Nothin’,” he chirps quietly, taking a drag of his cigarette, “I can see it, s’all.”

“You can see it?” you jab, knocking his arm, “What’s that mean?”

Daryl just shrugs. And you let the ghost of a smile play on your lips.

As he makes his way up the steps, you linger. He takes note and leans against the porch beam.

“Y’know,” he rasps, “This is th’ most you’ve ever talked, but you ain’t sayin’ much.”

You guess he’s right.

So, you follow him inside.

✘

“Your friend outside... Daryl, is it...?”

You pulled up your gaze from the carpet, a soft look flickering there. Deanna saw it. It brought a smile to her face, then, and she nodded knowingly -- her hands were knotted as she spoke.

“Is that what you are...?” she asked, “Friends...?”

You felt like you’d got cottonmouth.

“... Why don’t you ask him that?”

“Oh,” she laughed, “I will. But... I have a feeling he’s gonna give me a run for my money, isn’t he?”

“... He saved my life.”

“You owe him,” she spoke quickly, “Or... you... feel like you do?”

“Maybe.”

She hummed.

And you let that hit you like a ton of bricks.

✘

“Quit squirmin’.”

You’re tossing and turning and it’s not until you’ve accidentally elbowed Daryl twice in five minutes that he speaks up. The whisper falls on your ears with a pointed edge, weighed with the bleariness of sleep. The archer kicks his legs then, rolling to look at you from over his shoulder.

You groan, palming at your eyes as you roll flat on your back and huff.

You croak out an apology.

Daryl exhales, making a point of his sleep-driven irritation, before he rolls back over to face the wall.

He, however, does not go back to sleep. Instead, he stares at the wall and thinks.

Daryl Dixon does a lot of thinking -- might not show, but he does. He sure as hell doesn’t speak his mind, but the man works things out up top before he acts. He’s grown past firing from the hip... most of the time. Doesn’t mean he doesn't get angry or frustrated or violent. Just means he’s careful.

And right now, he’s got a lot on his mind.

Your breathing never evens out -- it’s still shallow and you’re still fussing. So, Daryl decides it’s in his best interest to do something. Y’know, so you won’t keep him up and he can get some damn sleep.

He promptly rolls flat on his back and hauls his blanket up over the two of you.

He sees your lashes dances as you blink, confusion flying across your face as you turn to eye him. He dodges your glance, eyes focused on his hands as he tucks the blanket over you and rolls to lay on his stomach. He drops his face into the pillow, ignoring the way your shoulder fits up against his ribs and how your legs touch his, and croaks out a grouchy:

“Go t’ bed.”

And that’s that.

#daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon fanfic #daryl dixon x you #daryl dixon imagine #twd imagine #twd reader insert #the walking dead imagine #norman reedus x reader

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sweetescapeartist · 4 years ago

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DBS MANGA CHAPTER 66 REVIEW

[SPOILERS]

Alright! So here's how imma do this. There will be a 3 sections:

"Good"

"Bad"

"How I would've written it"

So here we go...!

"THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE REWRITE"

---

GOOD

When Vegeta tells everyone to get off the ground so Moro doesn't absorb their energy, 17 & 18 don't move. Smart attention to detail.

The way UI Goku effortlessly fights Moro is cool.

Earth-Moro was a fun idea & all his arms to fight Goku was interesting.

Interesting that Beerus was gonna join in. But smart how they were summoned by the Grand Priest so now mortals have to fend for themselves.

Whis effortlessly blocking Moro's attack with his finger was great. Good way to show off his power. Whis' confidence in Goku was nice.

So there is Otherworld/Heaven after a character dies & now we know that where the Grand Priest & 2 Zeno are is part of the Angel Realm. Good to know.

Vegeta using Forced Spirit Fusion was expected but still good.

Goku rushing at Moro & dodging & going through Moro's fists was a good visual.

Piccolo had a smart idea then the Z Warriors started giving Goku energy.

Loved seeing the Z Warriors working together. Roshi has been absent tho. Could it be he isn't strong enough to contribute? And some ppl were actually saying Roshi was the strongest Earthling. Smh.

Smart that Bulma & others were on Kami's Lookout. Moro can't drain their ki.

Goten & Trunks help out a little. At least they're involved a bit.

Vegeta sends the ki to Goku & it gave him enough energy to go SSB & push forwards. Looked cool. (It was just ki, not genki)

Goku's SSB is powered up & he inches closer. Makes sense because its just Goku getting an energy boost like he did in the BoG movie when SS Goku had power transfered to him before Piccolo pointed out it wasn't god ki.

Goku admits his mistake. So that's a good start.

The Z Warriors discussing what to do was great interaction. I'd like more of that.

Moro has lost his mind. Lucky he did or he could've absorbed the energy that was meant for Goku.

Krillin, out of all the characters, decided to go help Goku. He can't let his best friend die in such a way. & Gohan says he will help. Then Tien & Yamcha want to help too. Really good stuff.

Yamcha is sad he's never gotten married. He's a good dude that just wants a family. Some will see it as making fun of him but I liked it.

Uub having divine power can be smart (I hope). It could help make sense of the final 3 episodes of DBZ when DBS is taken into consideration. But that also means other characters like Piccolo, Krillin, & Yamcha could attain god ki too. No excuse not to level them up now.

Goku recieves the energy & creates a giant Goku body made of energy. Awesome idea and looked pretty darn cool.

Goku pops out and destroys Moro's crystal. Moro is destroyed.

Goku's son & Goku's best friend are ecstatic for him. Goku turns around & give a thumbs up. Chapter ends.

---

BAD

Vegeta say "Dammit, Kakarrot. You've managed to screw up again!" But Vegeta also failed to kill Moro because Vegeta wanted to gloat. Both have made dumb decisions & big mistakes this arc.

I'm confused if Beerus is being written as stronger than Goku or if Beerus has special techniques that gives him the advantage. Moro later stops UI Goku, so if UI Goku is stronger than Beerus, then Beerus would add nothing. Beerus having Hakai isn't special because manga Goku can use Hakai too.

Moro is absorbing energy from everyone in contact with the ground, so why are Krillin & Jaco on the ground? Why is Goku fighting on the ground? They can fly.

Why does Vegeta rush in & tell Goku to move just to punch the ground? Couldn't he punch the Earth from anywhere & have the same effect? Maybe the effect is stronger the closer he is? Idk

How does Vegeta know Moro's weakness if Whis didn't tell him? Just a question.

Goku's fist is about 7 feet away from Moro's crystal when he is captured by Moro. Why not shoot some sort of energy blast? Why not a Destructo Disk? Or a Spirit Sword like Vegito has & that Vegeta used in the manga ToP? It's like Goku forgot about using ki.

Goku says "Darn... Merus did it so why can't I? I guess I still don't have enough god power!" Is this implying Merus' power is still above Goku' UI power? Or is it's just saying Merus did it & now Goku is stronger than Merus, so why can't Goku defeat Moro.

UI powers down just like any other transformation. I get Moro is sucking his energy so it makes sense here. But what happens later adds to UI changing from state of mind to transformation.

Vegeta was written to learn Forced Spirit Fission just so that he could do what Goku has done. Sad that he's written to play catch up to Goku.

This is a criticism to Vegeta fans. Piccolo is the hero in helping Goku win against Moro. It was Piccolo's idea to give Goku energy. Vegeta was the middle man. If DB fans say Vegeta played a crucial role in defeating Moro, Piccolo contributed just as much. They won because of Piccolo's thinking, Vegeta's technique, everyone's energy, & Goku being the vessel.

If they're sending energy to Vegeta so he can give it to Goku, why are they still on the ground? Moro can steal their energy that way. Would it not be smarter to just gather energy in the sky?

Wait... Dende can gather energy from ppl too? So Dende has something similar to Forced Spirit Fission? It's cool I guess BUT that also means there is no excuse for Piccolo to not learn such abilities since he is a Namekian & has godly knowledge. Actually why doesn't Piccolo know those abilities? Kami would.

Sucks that this is the only appearance of Goten & Trunks contributing since BoG.

Doesn't make any sense how Goten & Trunks could not sense the energy of everyone fighting. They would know there was a battle going on. And if Moro is stealing energy from all the the ppl on the planet, wouldn't Goten & Trunks feel their energy being drained? The dialogue makes zero sense when we take into account what we know & have been told in DB.

Forced Spirit Fission was just a way to give Vegeta a "Goku moment." On Namek when Piccolo was about to die, Gohan transfered Piccolo energy to keep him alive. Goku gave Freeza energy that kept him alive and regain strength. In the first Broly movie, Piccolo, Gohan, Trunks, & Vegeta gave Goku energy to defeat Broly. In the BoG movie when they did the SSG ritual wrong the first time with only 5 Saiyans, they transfered their power to Goku. "Reverse" Forced Spirit Fission isn't truly necessary to give Goku energy.

Vegeta remembers the first time he saw a Spirit Bomb & copies Saiyan saga Krillin when Krillin threw the small Spirit Bomb at Vegeta.

Somehow Moro doesn't absorb the energy as you'd think he would. I guess he stopped absorbing energy now?

Goku is powered up again but still doesn't shoot an energy blast or beam at Moro's crystal.

Piccolo: "Why won't he use Ultra Instinct?" Vegeta: "Not 'wont'... he can't. Not even with ki from all of us!" Giving more power is not how Merus explained how UI works. Goku isn't in the the right state of mind to activate UI.

Dende is the new Kami of Earth so he is granted divine knowledge & abilities. But Piccolo having fused with Kami would mean he would have divine knowledge too. And yet no development for Piccolo. Missed opportunity for anime & manga.

Goku: "Sorry... guys... this is all... my fault..." Mostly your fault. Vegeta's at fault too.

Another non-criticism. Why not use the Earth Dragon Balls to freeze time on the planet but don't freeze time for the Z Warriors? I wonder if that could work.

Uub sent energy even though Vegeta wasn't using Forced Spirit Fission. That just shows that the ability wasn't necessary to send energy. But it would suck if Moro suddenly absorbed it before Goku. Got lucky there.

I don't understand how all the Grand Supreme Kai's power went to evil Buu & not good Buu when they split apart. Does that mean Kid Buu had god ki & Goku defeated a character with massive divine energy before Goku learned god ki? But the Grand Supreme Kai in good Buu's body was using divine energy to fight Moro earlier. Would it not make more sense that half the power went to Uub & the Grand Supreme Kai/good Buu had the other half? Then when together (like Kami & Piccolo) they were able to send the full amount of the great divine energy. That would make more sense.

Then Vegeta remembers watching Goku throw a Spirit Bomb & copies that. I mean... Anyone can grab hold of energy and throw it. This makes sense tho because only Vegeta & Goku know how to control divine energy, he only he is capable of throwing it. But Vegeta gathering energy like a knockoff Spirit Bomb is simply fanservice.

Moro could have absorbed the divine energy from Buu but didn't for plot reasons. It litterally hit his giant hands.

Okay... So either 1 of 2 things.

Goku regained UI from being hit with divine energy. And if divine energy was needed, wouldn't SSB Vegeta contribute enough? Isnt SSB Goku in a divine form? But the bigger question is this... Is it Ultra Instinct at this moment or is it a completely different form? We never saw UI like this so maybe it's something different.

UI is not written as state of mind anymore. It seems anyone can get it if they train their body & get injected with enough divine energy. You just need tons of god ki to attain UI. Which contradicts DBS CHAPTER 52 when Merus explained to Goku that Ultra Instinct activates when the user achieves self-control in the face of a jarring shock to their emotions. Now I guess Merus was wrong & its just "Get a buncha god ki & boom! You got UI."

Giant Goku looks cool but comes out of nowhere without explanation. It might be explained in a later chapter. But if not, it just came out of nowhere just to look cool without any explanation. Not a bad thing right now but could be bad or good depending on wether & how it gets explained.

Goku really wanted to punch that crystal, didn't he? I guess he did forget about ki blasts.

When Merus cracked Moro's crystals, Moro lost the power but didn't die. But when Goku punches the crystal, it kills Moro. Why did Moro not just lose the power & pop out from the Earth? Where did all of that angelic power inside the planet go to? If we get an explanation next chapter then great. If not then this criticism remains.

Not a criticism but too bad 17 & 18 didn't contribute. They were written out of this chapter.

---

HOW I WOULD'VE WRITTEN THE CHAPTER

Their energy is being drained by Moro so Vegeta tells everyone to fly off the ground. (17 & 18 stay since their energy cant be drained. Or at least thats how chapters before were written)

Moro keeps draining energy as Goku battles him. Goku flies off the ground so Moro can't absorb his energy.

Beerus decides to join the fight. He says he will finish it quickly. Krillin asks what is Beerus going to do. Beerus smirks & has a sweat drop. (Let's the reader wonder if Beerus is unsure of himself & just wants to help. Or maybe Beerus has power or a technique we don't know bout yet. Keep it mysterious)

Whis tells Beerus they are being summoned by the Grand Priest about Merus' erasure. Beerus panicks a bit.

Goku keeps getting pushed back & Whis chimes in to tell Goku how to defeat Moro as Whis blocks Moro's punch with 1 finger.

Before Beerus leaves he tells Krillin & Jaco that the Earth is their problem now. Beerus yells at Goku "I'm expecting a feast after my business is done. Y'hear me?!", showing he has confidence in Goku. Then Beerus & Whis leave.

Krillin tells Jaco that he might want to get somewhere safe to which Jaco agrees & flies to the Lookout.

Goku goes for the crystal but Moro grabs Goku & drains his power causing Goku to go back to his base form. Moro's crystal has disappeared & Goku thinks its too late. SSB Vegeta rushes in & destroys Moro's hands to release Goku. They fly up to the sky as Moro laughs & smiles at them in amuzement, confident of victory.

Vegeta asks "So... How do we defeat him, Kakarrot?" Goku informs him that they need to destroy the crystal to finish off Moro but... The crystal is deep inside the planet now.

Vegeta sweats & tell Goku that he will pull the crystal out. Then when its out, Goku destroys it. Vegeta dashes at Moro & dodges his giant hands.

Vegeta closes his eyes, uses the gigantification technique he learned & creates a giant semi-transparent version of himself with a monkey tail (Heck! Just make it an Oozaru projection because, why not?). He shoves his hands into the Earth & begins pulling Moro up by the neck.

Piccolo, Gohan, Tien, Chiaotzu, Yamcha & Krillin meet up with Goku to help. Goku says he knows 1 sure fire way to defeat Moro & it's the Genki Dama. Piccolo says it might kill the ppl Moro already took energy from. Goku is silent for a moment. He doesn't know what to do next & they're running out of time.

Krillin tells Goku to recharge with their energy. Everyone agrees. Gohan says they need to give all they have just as Vegeta is doing right now. They form a circle around Goku & transfers energy to him. Piccolo telepathically tells Dende to have the Dragon Balls ready to save themselves if this plan fails. (17 & 18 are up there now). Jaco arrives & asks where is Buu so that he can go help Goku & the others. Bulma tells him Buu is sleeping in the ship (but the ship appears to be empty). Then Piccolo contacts Goten & Trunks (who are flying off the ground) and tells the boys to send energy for Goku.

Vegeta has pulled a giant Moro up from the earth. Moro's hands grab Vegeta and begin draining him of his energy. Vegeta sweats but remains calm and focused as he continues to use Forced Spirit Fission against Moro, weakening him & causing the crystal to slowly resurface on his forehead.

Vegeta suddenly gets hit with energy & gets a burst of strength. He looks in the direction of the energy & smiles "...Trunks." Trunks is giving all his energy to Vegeta in hopes of him staying strong.

Vegeta begins breaking Moro's arms off of him & uses everything he's got. The crystal is almost all the way out as Moro panics.

Goku is recharged. He closes his eyes, breathes & activates UI again. The Z Warriors express their confidence in Goku. Goku says "Guys... letting things get this far... It's my fault..." Then Goku looks at Krillin. "I acted selfishly when I took the senzu... Krillin, I'm..." Krillin responds "Worry about it later, Goku. Go finish that creep off!"

Goku & Krillin give each other dap. Then a giant amount of energy appears above the Z Warriors. They're astonished & surprised by how much energy is there.

Grand Supreme Kai is beside a confused Uub. Being the reincarnation of Buu, Uub has great potential but hasn't been taught how to use it yet. But together, Grand Supreme Kai is able to draw out the power from Buu's other half. With his divine energy & Uub's potential being pulled out & sent by Grand Supreme Kai, they send a great amount of energy to Goku.

Dende is excited and says "Grand Supreme Kai must be pulling out Uub's latent power, merging it with Majin Buu's magical energy & Grand Supreme Kai's own divine energy! And now that they're together, their great power is being used to help Goku!" (Kinda like how Kami & Piccolo achieved their true power once they fused again.)

Vegeta yells for Goku to finish him now. The crystal is fully out & Vegeta is running out of energy to keep two techniques going at once.

Goku absorbs the divine energy and is astonished by the great power. Then he grips his hand and makes a fist. He looks at everyone over his shoulder. He smiles, puts 2 fingers to his forehead & disappears.

Vegeta loses the gigantification form. Instantly Goku reappears between Vegeta & Moro's face. He punches with everything he's got to destroy the crystal, but an invisible shield is stopping Goku. Then Vegeta joins in beside Goku & uses Forced Spirit Fission to destroy the barrier as Goku pushes forwards to crush the crystal.

The crystal cracks. Whis smiles, knowing they pulled it off.

Vegeta & Goku go back down to their base forms after they punch through Moro's head & Moro breaks apart. The old goat man appears and looks badly damaged. Goku & Vegeta are exhausted & turn around ready to fight. Moro yells "I... I still have enough power to kill you where you stan-!" Then all the energy Moro stored in the Earth erupts & lava from the crater below him. He was killed by the power he stole. The falling debris covers the Z Warriors. They push the rubble away and rush to the giant crater where Goku & Vegeta are.

The Z Warriors surround them & shout "Yes!" "You did it!" "We won!"

Vegeta & Goku are back in their base forms. They are exhausted & sitting down. Both look back at their friends, Vegeta smirks while Goku smiles & gives a thumbs up.

CHAPTER END

Alternate version

Before Beerus leaves, he puts unknown ki in Krillin's hand and orders him to give it to Goku. When they power up Goku, Krillin delivers the energy from Beerus. (Reverse moment when Goku gave Krillin energy for the Spirit Bomb) Goku recieve the power in his hand. The fate of everyone is in Goku's fist. Goku flies at Moro, Moro grabs & stops Goku from moving, then Goku uses the unknown power gifted from Beerus. Goku turns into a dragon and bursts through Moro's crystal and wraps him up then completely destroys Moro. (So Beerus' godly technique that he gifted Goku was the Super Dragon Fist)

#dbs manga #dbs manga chapter 66 #dragon ball super #dbs #dragon ball #the good the bad & the rewrite

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gofancyninjaworld · 5 years ago

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OPM in 2019, part 2

Yup, this was all too long, so I now have to attend to the manga. This year, Murata kept his promise from 2018 to deliver regular chapters. Even the passing of his father only made him take a few weeks off.

By the numbers. This year, Murata delivered 24 updates consisting of 624 pages. It may not be the banner year of 2017 2018, but it still averages out at more than 50 pages a month. He also drew 113 pages for volume releases in extra chapters, volume-only content and chapter redraws. We thank you for your hard work, Mr. Murata!

As to the words and pictures, much more below the cut!

beautiful and poignant -- probably the best cover this year.

Be warned: this contains major plot spoilers

Broad Strokes

Last year focussed on the Hero Association response to the Monster Association, gathering up heroes, sorting out battle plans and sending them into the field. In the course of the war effort, the characters whom we’ve been following most consistently all got parked in one place or another. We turned decisively away from Saitama, Genos, Garou, Fubuki, Bang, and King to focus on what the other heroes were doing, getting to know many more of them.

This year, we’ve seen the first triumphant contact the heroes made gradually be eroded away as the monsters launch their counter-attack and one by one the parked characters have been brought back into the story to varying effect.

2020 is promising to be the showdown year that will give us the final denouement, but I can’t promise that. What I can promise is a closer look at the major themes of 2019.

Orochi

From half-assed plot to bad-ass plan

The first big thing is just how important Monster King Orochi has been to the story. More specifically, it's crazy how vital a linchpin he has been to Psykos’s humanity extermination plan. The webcomic that doesn’t have Orochi makes her plan a sick joke. Like, seriously, how was Psykos planning to take over the world? In the webcomic, if things had gone to plan and she'd gotten rid of the heroes sent to the Monster Association, what then? Not enough monsters to kill billions of people and no way to get the monsters that she does have there. Monsters are also terribly uncooperative and undisciplined. The long-term cooperation to kill billions of people just isn’t going to happen -- without the clear, limited goal that killing Class S heroes was, they’ll just split up. Society wasn't about to fall into a weeping puddle: we’ve seen both in the manga and the webcomic that there are loads of strong people, and that people are resilient and adaptable. It's like, that was a total idiot plot from the outset. It’d end in failure as society adapted faster than the bickering monsters (those that didn’t leave) appreciated.

yeah, you and what army?

On the other hand, Monster King Orochi makes Pyskos's dream a credible reality. First, thanks to him, she got the cooperation of monsters like Elder Centipede, who was particularly important in the lead up to the Monster Association’s declaration of war. It dug enough tunnels that monsters could appear simultaneously in multiple cities throughout the world. Second, thanks to Orochi, she got millions of monster cells which meant that huge chunks of the population could be simultaneously monsterised in multiple locations, each able to help kill off the rest of humanity. Their dry run two days previous to the current manga events confirmed that humanity simply couldn't cope with monsters showing up in so many places at once and yes, now they had a shot. They could kill off the powerful organised heroes and then quickly make civilised life impossible before any credible fight back could be organised.

This plan works.

when you realise that it’d only take a couple of hours to replenish the Monster Association’s forces

If that's all Orochi could do, it'd be plenty. It made a bad, half-assed idiot plot into a real threat. But that's not all. He's a crazy powerful monster, one Psykos was counting on to deal the death blow to the most powerful heroes, especially Tatsumaki.

Unfortunately for Psykos, Saitama seems to have given Orochi a bad case of the deads. And Amai Mask seems to have destroyed her precious store of monster cells. Unless she have a back up depot of monster cells, her humanity extermination plan has hit a real snag. Many fans do hold out hope that Orochi isn't dead-dead and may Awaken to be real trouble. But we'll see.

Acceptance

Speaking of Saitama and Orochi, something very important happened to Saitama’s character development that simply hasn’t happened yet in the webcomic. Saitama accepted that yes, he’s just the strongest being alive.

We’ve seen Saitama struggle with not finding a worthy challenge. He has bargained with it, dreaming of being weak enough to find the Subterraneans a threat. He has been angry about it, shouting his outrage when Vaccineman died after one hit. He has been depressed about it; we saw his whole collapse in the wake of the Superfight which led him to opening up to King. And now, when he heard Orochi trying to introduce himself, he realised that this was just another useless blowhard like the jerk who’d kicked him to the moon and cut it short. ‘What makes you so special?’ ‘Come at me then, but I’m expecting nothing.’

all according to expectation

It’s so rare to see Saitama show any character development, so this moment, small as it is, is really a profound step forward for the character. We will see what happens as a result in chapters to come.

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity

Good luck that is. And that’s been shining on Psykos despite the setback of losing Orochi. All the work we’ve seen her put in since chapter 57, observing heroes, sending out monsters to attack them and then seeing how they respond, has finally paid off.

Between chapters 94 and 112, the manga really showed us precisely why the Class S heroes were so respected as the ultimate answer to the worst of the worst monsters.

And now, by carefully siccing the right super-powerful monster on hero, Psykos has achieved what looked impossible: defeat Class S heroes en masse.

and bad luck is what happens when lack of preparation meets a challenge

It’s perfect, save monsters have a long-documented love of savouring their prey and aren’t killing the heroes as fast as they should. Silly things: they leave the window open to rescue.

Machinations

A cyborg makes wild accusations...

Holy moly, has any hero’s stock risen and sunk as fast as Drive Knight’s has? In the space of a month, two updates, this enigmatic hero went from the new darling of the fandom to at best, a very self-interested ‘hero’ and at worst, the very traitor Metal Knight warned Child Emperor about.

We’ve known nothing about Drive Knight, what he did and just why he had a top ten ranking. Well, we got a great masterclass in why when with a fantastic combination of power and guile, he defeated the cadre Nyan, making him the first hero other than Saitama to do so. In fact Drive Knight is so polished in both the type of technology he has and the fluency with which he wields it that he makes Genos look like a glorified garage project. Oh wait... that’s accurate, isn’t it?

looking like Boros’s long-lost cousin, Drive Knight’s gold splendour

It’s what Drive Knight did next that set audiences against him. First, we learned that he watched the support heroes get cut down while he formulated the perfect plan. Okay, maybe he’s just a cold operator. Second, the terrifying efficiency with which he pumped Sekingar for information on the vulnerability of the Hero Association, then failed to protect him when G-5 showed up to stop Sekingar from reporting back to the Hero Association. Third, while we’ve known that Drive Knight is no fan of Metal Knight, accusing the latter of deliberately supplying the Monster Association is another story. It has left us wondering whether Drive Knight is simply paranoid -- or is looking to deflect suspicion from himself. What is not in question is that there really is a visitor from The Organisation harvesting the very data Drive Knight is worried about for the very purposes he outlines.

Drive Knight did not look best pleased when Genos intervened in affairs and destroyed G-5, but handed over (or cut his losses?) peaceably enough. For some reason, Drive Knight still seems to think that Genos is on his side, still going ‘we’ and making a distinction between them and the rest of humanity when explaining his desire to leave with Nyan. Why?

We have no idea when Drive Knight will reappear or quite what side he’s on, but one thing is for sure: he’s a powerful mover in this world and is bound to pose some dread challenge when he does.

...but a greedy old man looks set to pay dearly

Top shadenfreude for me: if G5 didn't successfully remotely transmit everything it'd learned about the Metal Knight back, then Bofoi will be in the painful position of having to acknowledge that Genos got his wrinkly little nuts out of the fire. Yup, that guy Bofoi refused to help and left to die the first time he met. That guy he started a whispering campaign against at the Hero Association. That one.

By the time Sekingar gets back and gives his story, Dr Bofoi will have most of the story. Once Child Emperor reports in, Bofoi will have put all the bits together. He’ll understand that he dodged a very large bullet as The Organisation had successfully hacked into his robot. And he was lucky their emissary didn't live to report its findings.

How did Bofoi get in this shitty position? By getting greedy. He was so desperate to get a sample of Elder Centipede’s armour that he had his robot cling on and get carried into the Monster Association base. And then let it sit and listen in. He didn’t budget on Orochi being able to disable the robot before he could trigger its self-destruct sequence.

unfortunately for Bofoi, the Monster Association isn’t quite as selfish as he is and had no problem letting The Organisation harvest what it could of the machine they couldn’t themselves use.

It’s super unlikely that the Hero Association will take Drive Knight’s words uncritically, but they’re not stupid people -- they’ll understand that a major security breach has occurred. Suffer a little, Dr. Bofoi.

Old Players, New Roles

This year we have had no new characters introduced. But we have had cause to re-evaluate several that we thought we knew.

Sekingar was totally the breakout star here, surprising himself probably more than anyone else in finding that he truly did have what it took to be a hero. I won’t go into it, full breakdown here. What I will say is that unlike someone like Suiryu, who is just an ordinary person, Sekingar is very highly placed within the Hero Association and looks set to be promoted further. What he has to say and enact about the way heroes operate WILL have a disproportionate effect on the Hero Association, its future and maybe humanity’s safety.

heroism is what you find when there are no good options but you do the right thing anyway

Genos continued to develop this year. Last fight, he’d been devastated at not having been able to save any heroes. This time out, saving people and showing a real resolve to take the fight to the monsters is front and centre of his actions, finally ending the hostage rescue part of the Hero Association plans.

it’s one thing to see a hero standing on top of a dead monster, but seeing this tiny guy on an armoured carrier and knowing that he could kill everybody in the convoy effortlessly did more to sell the insanity of Class S to me than many monster fights could. No wonder ordinary men call them monsters.

Two big changes from the webcomic to the manga have been first, splitting Genos off from the rest so he has to act out of his own heart rather than being carried along/supported by others. And second, giving him information about the monsters so he can descend to Hell with open eyes. If any webcomic readers thought that Genos was being impulsive and naive when he took on the cadres rather than brave, the manga decisively lays that to rest. This boy is truly courageous.

Finally, the hero most known for scheming to lord it over others (in order to feel better about herself), Fubuki, closed out the year by showing an amazing side to her.

She’s long hated dealing with strong monsters and Overgrown Pochi is her worst nightmare -- a true terror of a monster. She feels it all: inadequate, scared, frustrated, vulnerable. Accepts that she’s almost certainly going to die. And then uses her delusion of leading Bang and Bomb as a source of strength to bolster their bodies and protect them from harm for long enough for them to counter attack.

The bloodshot eye, the veins standing proud out of the sheer effort wrung out of her, the blood running down her face as she faces the monster. No fucks given about decorum or looks: she’s going down swinging. Bravo!

Oh yeah, and Garou woke up. He seems a bit mad.

the second-best cover of 2019

#OPM #meta #2019 review #manga #heroes #Orochi #Psykos #Saitama #Drive Knight #Metal Knight #Dr Bofoi #Genos #Sekingar #Fubuki #Bang #Bomb #Garou #we wait to see what 2020 will bring

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thecorpulentbeagle · 5 years ago

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Okujima Week 2020: Alternate Universe

We are nearing the end of this challenge – I hope that you have enjoyed so far!

This story is AU, or Alternate Universe. I spent much less time than last year deciding what universe to set this in. Anyone who knows me knows that when I’m not writing fanfiction, working, sleeping, or eating, I am playing Fire Emblem Three Houses. It’s a really fun game, and a lot of the mechanics are similar to Persona 5 (it even has some of the same voice actors). If you like Fire Emblem (or are a fan of medieval times) and Persona 5 (which I assume that you do since you have read this far in the challenge), I encourage you to pick it up!

I would like to ask those who are commenting to please make sure that you mark if your comments contain spoilers for Fire Emblem Three Houses! Though I have personally, many people may not have finished all of the routes yet, and I’d like to keep them spoiler-free. This story will only feature information that can be obtained in Part One – basically information that you learn in the beginning of the game so that you know how the world is set up, and basic facts about the characters. If you are still unsure, feel free to skip this chapter and come back once you have finished Part One.

One more note: I began writing this before the “Cindered Shadows” DLC, so characters and plot points from that route will not be in this story. However, one class will be in this story, but that in and of itself isn’t a spoiler.

Here is the fanfiction.net link.

Please enjoy this sixth part of the Okujima Week 2020 Challenge!

As always: THIS STORY WILL NOT CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR PERSONA 5 ROYAL, BUT WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR PERSONA 5.

Okujima Week 2020 Challenge:

Not Just a Crest:

Alternate Universe

-Haru-

“Rah!” Haru swung her training axe down, flinching slightly as she made contact with her opponent’s training gauntlets.

“Ha!” Makoto batted away the weapon with one hand, using her other to punch her opponent’s side.

However, Haru jumped back, bringing her axe back to her side to ready it for another swing.

“Great dodge, Haru!” The girl in question smiled at her companion’s compliment.

“Thanks! You’re doing well too. I can imagine it’s hard to block a heavy swing like that with one arm.”

“Thank you! But flattery will get you nowhere!” Makoto moved forward, swinging her right fist.

Haru moved out of the way and quickly swung her axe to collide with Makoto’s left arm, hoping that it would sting enough for her to lose use of it for a moment.

Her prediction worked. Makoto’s arm dropped to her side, and she prepared to strike with her other.

But Haru expected this, so she made a quick feint and punched Makoto’s exposed side.

“Gah!” Makoto flinched.

Haru took advantage and swung her axe back up, striking the very place she had just hit.

Makoto jumped back, holding her side. “You’re relentless!” She seemed happy and animated despite the obvious pain she was feeling.

Haru merely smirked before charging in.

But now it seemed that she had fallen for Makoto’s trap.

While Haru was stronger, Makoto was faster. The brawler quickly dodged out of the way of Haru’s incoming axe and slammed her gauntlet into the small of Haru’s back, effectively knocking the wind out of her.

Before she could recover, Haru felt a strong force in her abdomen, and realized that Makoto had kicked her there.

She couldn’t fight anymore without being able to take deep breaths. Haru dropped her weapon and raised both hands, the universal signal for surrender.

“Giving up so easily?” Makoto taunted.

Haru nodded her head, not able to breathe enough to form words.

Makoto seemed to realize that something was amiss. Her confident smirk faded and was replaced with a look of utmost concern. “Haru? I didn’t break anything, did I?”

Haru smiled and shook her head. It seemed her diaphragm had stopped its spasms enough for her to breathe. “I-I couldn’t catch my breath…. f-for…”

Makoto was by her side at an instant. “Hey now. Don’t force yourself. I did hit you pretty hard. I’d be more surprised if the wind wasn’t knocked out of you.” She unstrapped her gauntlets from her hands and let them drop to the floor with a clatter. She rubbed a circle on Haru’s back, which soothed the girl.

Haru took a few more deep breaths. “I always forget… that brawlers… kick as well.”

Makoto chuckled. “Yes. Brawlers tend to be a little more versatile in their fighting techniques. We don’t always hit hard, but we can surprise you. Although I must say that I’m surprised as well. You don’t usually use your fists. Have you been training some in gauntlets as well?” Makoto asked.

Haru nodded. “Yes. I’ve asked the professor for some extra training. It’s nice to have a back-up in case my axe breaks or something.” She bent down to pick up the weapon and twirled it in her hands. “I’ll admit that I’ve learned some techniques from sparring with you as well.”

“Well, I think that’s enough training for now.” Makoto moved her hand away from Haru to rub her own side. “I can already feel the bruise starting to form. You really do hit harder than almost anyone I know.”

“I suppose we have my Crest to thank for that,” Haru automatically replied. She regretted it almost instantly. It was a hard habit to break. She had been told her entire life how important her Crest was, and that it was the only reason for her strength. Her family (specifically her father) had said to her many times that she should bring up her Crest in conversation whenever possible. It was the only thing that she was good for, and it would be what would land her a rich and noble husband one day.

Makoto reached out and placed a hand on Haru’s face, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Perhaps in part, but it’s also due to your training.” Then, she added the sentence she always did when Haru’s spirits fell in such a way, “You’re more than your Crest, Haru.”

The girl nodded. “You’re right as ever.” She reached up a hand to place it on Makoto’s. “Thank you, Makoto.”

“Of course.” Makoto stroked Haru’s cheek with her thumb, which caused her to sigh and lean even more heavily into her comforting palm.

“I’m glad that the Dining Hall had these today!” Haru cheered, sitting down at a free(ish) table with a plate of the Sweet Bun Trio. These were among her personal favorites.

“Indeed.” Makoto chuckled at her friend’s behavior and sat down across from her.

Haru knew that Makoto was not as fond of sweet food as Haru was (well, maybe not so much sweet as unhealthy), so she appreciated that she was supporting Haru by copying her food choice.

A lighthearted chuckle brought both girls’ attention to one of their many dining companions. Mercedes was looking at the two younger students, her eyes bright. “It makes me very happy to hear how excited you are about this meal.”

“Ah. Did you prepare it with the professor, Mercedes?” Makoto asked.

Mercedes nodded. “I did! So I hope that the two of you enjoy.” She lowered her voice. “I saw how dispirited Haru looked when you both entered the Dining Hall, and the best cure for sadness is sweetness!”

Haru hadn’t realized how publicly she had been displaying her emotions. Though it was common knowledge that Mercedes was particularly adept at reading people. Either way, Haru needed to acknowledge her kindness. “Thank you, Mercedes. I really appreciate it.”

“Of course! Thank you for talking with me. I’d talk with Annie, but she’s a little preoccupied at the moment.” The three girls looked over at the aforementioned student, who was currently stuffing her face with the delectable sweets. It didn’t even look like she knew that she was being talked about.

Haru giggled.

“She does look… happy…”

Haru cleared her throat with surprise. It sounded like she herself had spoken those words. It seemed as if Makoto and Mercedes had thought so as well, as the two looked at her curiously. However, even though the voice was similar, the tone was decidedly more somber than Haru’s usual inflection.

A thought struck her. Turning her head to see who else was near the group, she saw whom she had suspected. Marianne was sitting next to her, also with the Sweet Bun Trio dish, and she was looking at the group with a sad smile.

“Ah, Marianne! I’m so sorry. I thought that you were Haru.” Mercedes bowed her head slightly towards the girl.

“No need… for apologies…” Marianne poked at her food. “I know that I sound… very similar to Haru.”

Haru giggled again. The similarities between their two voices was a hot topic of discussion among the residents of Garreg Mach. It was said that the two were actually the same person that had been split in two, with Haru inheriting the more bubbly and happy aspects, and Marianne displaying the calmer and more depressed ones.

Haru didn’t appreciate that people thought of Marianne as only a sad person, as she herself had seen the girl smile. Though Haru had to admit that sight was rare.

Wanting to see that smile, Haru placed her hand on Marianne’s free one. “We should use it to distract our enemies. Think of how confused they would be to think that one person was in two places at once!”

Marianne gave a small smile, but didn’t look up from her food.

“Forget Haru and Marianne!” The group once again turned their collective heads towards the latest dining companion. Caspar gave a loud belch as he pounded his chest with his fist, which caused Makoto to scrunch her face up in slight disgust. Haru realized with amusement that Linhardt (who was sitting next to him) was making a similar expression.

“You know who really sounds similar? Makoto and Lady Rhea!”

“That’s true!” Annette had paused from her meal to join the conversation. “You really need to take advantage of that, Makoto.”

“Oh, Annie. You’ve got crumbs all over your face.” Mercedes proceeded to raise a napkin to her best friend’s face, wiping them off as the other protested about not being a child.

“I’m not going to do that.”

“Why not?” Caspar whined. “You could get away with all kinds of stuff! Excuse yourself from class… excuse me from class!”

“Exactly why did you enroll here in the first place?” Linhardt spoke up, rolling his eyes at his friend.

“Shut up!” Caspar roughly shoved the other boy, who grumbled. “I meant the boring stuff, like reading.”

“I happen to like reading,” Makoto replied.

“Can you even read, Caspar?” Annette teased.

“Besides,” Makoto hastily interrupted before Caspar (who had opened his mouth to retort) and the girl started a fight, “how would I do that? I’d have to be standing behind a wall or a door so the person couldn’t see me.”

“Lady Rhea is a very public figure. She enjoys being with the people, so that would be a difficult thing to accomplish,” Mercedes added.

Knowing he was outnumbered, Caspar merely mumbled something unintelligible before turning back to his meal, which caused everyone to laugh.

The rest of the dinner went by in a similar fashion, with the students conversing about what they had done today, and what they were looking forward to (and not looking forward to) tomorrow. Haru eased herself into the rowdy yet comfortable atmosphere, trying to forget about her worries from earlier. Even though Garreg Mach wasn’t perfect, it allowed people from all walks of life to spend time together, and Haru deeply appreciated that.

In the Dining Hall, she was just Haru the student, rather than Haru Okumura, the heir to one of Faerghus’ noble houses.

Before too long, Haru had finished her plate and turned to look at Makoto, who had finished a few minutes prior. The other girl was talking with Mercedes and Annette, who were laughing and nodding at whatever she had been saying.

Haru was glad to see Makoto getting along so well with her peers. When the two had started at the Academy together, Makoto had been more reserved. Not as much as someone like Marianne, but Haru could tell that she was not comfortable conversing with others when there wasn’t a specific social protocol to be following.

Haru had done her best to break Makoto out of her shell, and over the past few months, it seemed to have worked. She was also delighted to have gained a good friend in the process.

The two hadn’t really talked about their social standings, as it wasn’t a concern for them. However, Haru had been able to parse out that Makoto was a commoner from Faerghus with an elder sister. Neither of them had a Crest, though that didn’t stop either of them.

Sadly (and this had taken Haru quite some time to get from Makoto), her mother had passed early, shortly after Makoto was born. Her father had been a knight, and he had passed away a few years ago in a fight protecting merchants from wild beasts. It was a common occurrence unfortunately, though it didn’t make it any easier for those who were left behind. Sae, Makoto’s older sister, had had to put her own plans of becoming a knight on hold to help care for Makoto.

It was a testament to Makoto’s skill that she was able to get into the Academy at all, given how expensive the tuition was. Since Haru was from a noble family, it was a non-issue for her. However, Makoto had demonstrated talent early on, and her father’s and sister’s reputation helped her get recommended and eventually accepted.

Despite all of these setbacks, Makoto had persevered and had actually thrived. Haru truly admired that.

Even though Haru had entered the Academy with relative ease, she also had a difficult family situation. Her mother had passed early on in her life as well, and she did not get along with her own father at all.

She’d been a little bit cagier with her history, going so far as to not even tell Makoto that she was a noble, as she had been burned in the past. It wasn’t that she wanted to lie to Makoto, but she didn’t want the other girl to only be friends with her because she was a noble. However, Makoto did know about her family affairs, and she sympathized with her.

But then, Haru realized, she was getting caught up in depressing thoughts once again. Banishing the thoughts from her mind, she smiled and tapped Makoto’s shoulder, getting her attention. “Ready to go?”

Makoto nodded. “Yes. I can walk you back to your room, if you’d like?”

Haru blushed slightly. It was hard for her to not feel flattered. Considering how much she respected the other girl, it came as no surprise when, one day, she realized how deeply she respected Makoto. It also helped that the other girl was polite and charming, even when she wasn’t trying to be.

“That would be wonderful, thank you.”

The two rose up together, with Makoto picking up both of their plates and cutlery. “That’s very sweet of you,” Haru commented.

She smiled when she saw that she had drawn forth a blush on Makoto’s face. “O-Of course! You’ve had a rough day. It’s the least I could do, really.” She hesitated before adding, “Especially considering that I hit you so hard that I knocked the wind out of you.”

A chuckle drew their attention to Annette, who was grinning at them. “What were you two getting up to? I mean, I know that people are into different things, but what –ow!” Her wide smile collapsed and turned into a snarl as she looked at Mercedes, who was smiling sweetly at her. “What was that –?”

“Have a good evening you two!” Mercedes waved at the pair, interrupting whatever Annette had been planning to say.

“Thank you.” Makoto bowed her head slightly before turning around to leave, Haru following after her after exchanging goodbyes with the rest of the table.

After depositing their items at the counter, the two students walked outside, the slightly cool air feeling good on Haru’s skin after being in the crowded Dining Hall.

“It’ll be autumn soon,” Makoto commented as the two made their way to the dorms.

“Yes. I love all of the seasons, but fall is especially beautiful.”

“Hm.”

The two walked in silence, though it wasn’t uncomfortable. However, Makoto seemed to think it was.

“Apologies for… not saying much.” Makoto laughed nervously.

“Not to worry!” Haru bumped her playfully on the shoulder. “I know crowds can wear you out. I’m perfectly content walking without saying a word.”

“I see.”

Haru took a deep breath, appreciating the calming atmosphere. Most students were either in the Dining Hall, the Training Grounds, or in their own rooms. The few people who were outside were fishing, and they were silent, trying not to scare the fish away.

She saw that one of the people fishing was the professor, who currently had a basket of fish lined up next to them. She giggled as Byleth whipped another fish out of the water and calmly plopped it down into the already overflowing basket. The professor merely pulled another basket towards their side and cast out another line, either ignoring or being oblivious to the small crowd that had gathered and was currently ogling them and their large haul.

After a few more minutes, the two reached the second floor, where Haru’s room was located.

Haru opened her door and beckoned Makoto inside, who nodded and followed, closing the door behind herself wordlessly.

“Please make yourself comfortable.” Haru gestured towards one of her chairs as she situated herself on her bed. Makoto did so.

“Would you like to talk?” Makoto asked quietly after a brief moment of silence.

“About what?”

“Haru, there’s no need to have your defenses up with me. You know that.” Makoto crossed her legs and folded her hands together, resting them in her lap.

“Are you going to be my therapist for this evening?” Haru joked, not wanting to launch right into a serious conversation.

Makoto laughed. “That is one of the few things Garreg Mach cannot prepare you for.”

Haru lied down on the bed on her back, straightening her skirt. “Perhaps, but a War Cleric can probably solve a lot of problems.”

“True. A Warrior would be helpful as well.”

Haru giggled, acknowledging Makoto’s compliment.

“I’m not going to force you. But I want you to know that I’m here for you.”

Haru sighed. “It’s nothing more than my Crest.” She raised a hand and looked at it before making a fist. “I know it’s a blessing to have one… but I can’t help but notice… how many problems it’s caused in my life.”

When Makoto said nothing, Haru continued, “Everyone here is nice, and no one cares whether or not I have one. Well, other than Professor Hanneman, but his is more of a professional interest.” She placed her hand back down at her side. “But I can’t help but worry that, once I’ve graduated, my father will put his foot down and force me to take a husband to pass on this… horrible blessing.”

“What if I have a child that bears a Crest? Of course, I’ll need to continue having children until one inherits mine.” Haru shivered slightly at the thought. “Once I do… then I’ll be forced to watch my own child be put through the same fate as me. The cycle will continue.”

At Makoto’s continued silence, Haru turned her head to see what her reaction had been to Haru’s sudden monologue. “I… haven’t put you to sleep, have I?”

Far from an expression of boredom, Makoto had a look of intense rage on her face. Her eyebrows were so furrowed it looked painful, and her frown was similar to when she was about to slay one of her enemies. Haru’s heart skipped a beat seeing such an expression on her usually calm friend’s face.

“Haru. You never have to worry about talking about your struggles. I’ll listen as much as you need me to.” She breathed out roughly through her nose. “And I will always be as furious as I am now when you talk about your family situation.” Haru saw that Makoto was making fists. “The fact that you have to worry about any of this… is appalling. And worse yet… I can’t help.”

Haru looked at her confused. “But Makoto, just being able to talk about my problems with you is enough.” She gave her a sad smile. “Having these thoughts and feelings without having an outlet for them… would be maddening. I’m able to deal with them because of you.”

“That’s not what I mean!” Makoto stood up, causing Haru to sit up. Makoto immediately looked sheepish and lowered her voice. “That’s not what I mean,” she repeated quietly. “I meant… that if I were a nobleman, I could help. I could marry you, and then your fate would be a little bit more bearable.”

Haru looked at her incredulously. “Marry…?”

“However, I am neither a noble nor a man, so I can only stand by and offer support.” Makoto sat back down, looking tired. “You deserve more than that fate, Haru… so much more. I know that being a commoner presents its own struggles, but a noble’s… are awful as well.”

“You…” Haru was shocked. Too many surprises were hitting her at once, and she was already struggling to keep her emotions in check. “You would want to marry me? And… you know that I’m a noble?”

Makoto gave a small smile. “I feel that neither of those facts are particularly shocking.” She stood up and sat down next to Haru, resting a hand on one of hers. “Those with Crests tend to be nobles. Plus, commoners usually to get to marry who they want. I have no such restrictions, for example.” She squeezed her hand. “True, there are some commoners who worry more so about their marriage partners, but worry to this degree is restricted to nobles. In addition, look where we are right now.”

“Hm?”

“The second floor is for nobles, with very rare exceptions,” Makoto explained. “Finally, my father and sister served and want to serve as knights for the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, and I’d like to as well one day. We know the names of all of the royal houses, and once I learned your surname, well… I put two and two together.”

Now that Makoto said it all out loud, it seemed silly that Haru could have ever hoped to keep her status a secret to her. But there was a more important fact on her mind now. “And the marriage…?”

Makoto blushed. “Um.. yes. That.” She cleared her throat. “Haru. I know that we’ve only been friends for a few months now, but I do care about you.” She laughed nervously. “I don’t want to propose marriage right now, as that’s a bit soon, and it wouldn’t work in your situation. However, I would like to court you, if you would allow it.” She raised a hand to Haru’s cheek. “I know… that your father probably already has a husband lined up for you the moment you graduate and return home. I’d… like to support you, have you enjoy these next few months so that when you do marry… at least you’ll have made some pleasant memories about romance in your life.”

Haru was speechless. Apparently, she had been too consumed with not showing her own feelings that she hadn’t realized how strong Makoto’s were in return. “Makoto…”

“If you’d rather not, either because you don’t care for me in that way, or you just don’t want to because you’ll have to stop eventually, then please let me know. All I want… is to make you as happy as you’ve made me.”

“I do care about you in that way. Truly, Makoto,” Haru finally responded, turning her head to kiss her friend’s palm gently. “You’re right that I distanced myself because I didn’t want to… lead you on, only to have to suddenly break up with you to pursue a husband.” She sighed. “I’m sorry about not telling you that I was a noble. I should have guessed that you would’ve been able to figure it out, but I so desperately wanted someone to like me… for me, as cliché as that sounds.” She giggled.

“Even if it is cliché, it’s the truth, and I can understand your desire for it.” Makoto wiped a tear off of Haru’s face. She hadn’t even realized that she had been crying.

“And if I might offer a glimmer of hope. That situation may not even happen. The three lords that are currently next in line all seem to have much more… lenient attitudes towards status and customs.” Makoto smiled. “Each generation becomes slightly more progressive, so hopefully, Crests and the like won’t matter so much.”

“As much as I’d like to believe that, I’m afraid that change doesn’t happen so quickly without a catalyst.”

“Perhaps. If that doesn’t work out, how would you feel about eloping?”

Haru choked on air, spluttering at the suggestion. “You would really consider that? We’d have to leave the Kingdom to avoid my father’s wrath.”

Makoto shrugged. “People have done that in the past, so it’s not technically unprecedented. I would miss Sis though.” She shook her head. “But all of this is a bit beside the point, as we haven’t even confirmed if we are going to be a couple.”

“Oh, of course.” Haru cleared her throat. “I would be honored to be courted by you, and would like to court you as well, for as long as we are able.”

Makoto chuckled. “Another thing that gave you away was your formalities.”

Haru laughed. “Hey! You speak formally as well sometimes. And I noticed that you didn’t give me an answer.”

“Should I? I offered first and you accepted.”

“I would like you to say something.”

“Of course.” Makoto cleared her throat. “Thank you, Haru,” she said earnestly.

“Thank you, Makoto.” Haru leaned over and gave the girl a kiss on the cheek, which caused her to blush.

Even if it was only temporary, Haru was determined to spend as much time as she could with Makoto. And to figure out how many ways she could tease her, as she was quite cute when she was embarrassed.

Haru was chained to her fate, but chains could always be broken. And they would find a way to do just that.

Together.

For those of you who played both Persona 5 and Fire Emblem: Three Houses, I’m sure that you heard the similarities in voices of some of the characters. I remember when I heard Rhea’s and Marianne’s voices for the first time – I immediately looked at the voice cast for the game, and confirmed that Rhea/Makoto and Marianne/Haru share voice actors!

It was hard not showing preference to any house, but now that I’m writing comments, I feel comfortable in saying… Blue Lions Best House!

Just kidding! All houses have their merits, and Golden Deer and Black Eagles are both great. I just have a bias towards Blue Lions since I played that route first. Feel free to let me know which house is your favorite in the comments!

Anyway, I hope that you all enjoyed. I will see you tomorrow!

#okujima #okujima week #okujima week 2020 #makoto niijima #haru okumura #makoto x haru #haru x makoto #p5 #persona 5 #fe #fire emblem #fe3h #fire emblem three houses

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ohmygoodnessgraciouss · 5 years ago

Text

Heist (Loki x Reader) Pt. III

Masterlist

Haven’t started this yet? Read the first part here!

Y'ALL BETTER LOVE ME FOR THIS ONE BECAUSE I AM DODGING VIRUS AFTER VIRUS ON POP-UPS TO GIVE YOU LINE-FOR-LINE DIALOGUE IN THE SCENES

*ENDGAME SPOILERS*

Taglist: @angelofasgard16 - @it-jinxed-us - @dark-night-sky-99 - @pyrowolfgirl1408 - @heartsxhoney - @twhgirl - @xavierwoodsxkofikingston - @panda-duuu - @nonsensicalobsessions

Up until meeting Thor again you have line-for-line scenes. I was writing the Thor scene while waiting to see Endgame and the bonus features.

I apologize, there is no Loki fluff in this one. A lot of this, you can really skip for now, but there are some relationship developments. You’ll see that the next chapter is going to be really good. I mean, look at how this one ended.

After Steve comforted you you asked him if he could help you with the necklace. You weren't sure if you could bring yourself to do it alone. He, of course, accepted to do it as you watched him carefully place it around your neck in a mirror. Looking back at the two of you were faces that looked like they were several years older. More mature, older, and as if they knew better. It was as if your reflections showed what was slowly dawning on you.

The years passed by quickly after that. You'd travel over to Tony and Pepper's place for Morgan's birthdays, where you were unsure what to get her for the first couple years due to Tony and his money. He could get Morgan anything she ever wanted in the world, so it made it a little difficult to shop for her. Morgan quickly became attached to you though and acted as if you were her aunt. Neither Pepper nor Tony missed that, and they would joke about you being her godmother.

Watching Morgan grow up forced you to realize how quickly time was moving. It made you realize you wanted kids in the future too. Perhaps if you could find someone else, you'd be able to settle down as Tony did. It wasn't that you didn't try, but no one ever seemed right for you. You tried getting help from Pepper and Nat about it, but it didn't matter in the end. Pepper would take you to places to meet guys, Nat would dress you up in skin-tight outfits, and you'd meet guys who were great people. The problem is, they weren't him.

They didn't have his charm or his looks. They lacked intelligence or mischief which you desperately needed. You understood you would not find another Loki, not exactly like him. But you had a type, and you were sticking to it.

Unfortunately, it seemed like every guy that was like that had vanished. Instead, you were stuck with people who couldn't get over the snap just like everybody else. It was understandable, but you had to move on. Nothing was going to change.

The 5th anniversary of the snap was a larger one than all of the others. Morgan recently turned 5, so everyone was there for that celebration. It was the only good thing that happened a few months before the anniversary. Shortly after, Rhodey went off on a mission. Nat asked him to work on finding a new assassin who came out of nowhere. The people called him Ronin, and Natasha was convinced it was Clint. It made sense. The camera footage you had of him killing someone looked almost exactly like his fighting style.

You hoped it was him, but at the same time, you wished it wasn't. It'd mean so much to Nat if he was back where she could find him. On the other hand, it'd be a shame to see him like this. He was going off the deep end, to a darker part that nobody else went into. To be fair, you couldn't blame him.

You were walking in with Steve right as Rhodey "left" the room. Nat was in a meeting with him, Rocket, Carol, and Okoye to make sure the missions were going well. Just as she took a bite of her sandwich you walked over to her. You could see the puffiness around her eyes.

"How are you feeling, Nat?" You asked her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"You know I'd offer to cook you dinner, but you seem pretty miserable already," Steve said while leaning against the shelves. Nat looked at you and smiled slightly before turning towards Steve.

"You came here to do your laundry?" Nat questioned. For the past year, Steve had been constantly going on missions. It was as if he didn't want to stay here anymore.

"I'm here to see a friend. Two friends actually," Steve smiled at you both.

"Clearly your one friend is fine," Nat leaned back on her chair, "And your other friend has been around here enough to help your first friend." There was a bitter edge to her voice.

Steve looked down at his keys while trying to find a way to change the subject. "You know I saw a few whales while coming over the bridge."

"In the Hudson?" She almost seemed to laugh.

"Fewer ships, cleaner water."

"He does have a point. 5 years ago that would've sounded like insanity," You laughed.

Nat ignored you and looked up at the ceiling. "You know, if you're about to tell me to look at the bright side," She paused before continuing, "I'm about to hit you in the head with a peanut butter sandwich."

Steve walked over to the front of the desk and sat down. "Sorry, force of habit." He tossed his jacket off to the side and placed his keys on top. They made a small jingle as Nat lifted the plate with the sandwich and placed it in front of him.

"You know I keep telling everybody they should move on," Steve commented. The small smile you still had dropped at his sentence. "Grow. Some do. But not us."

"I wish we could," You quietly replied.

"If we move on, who does this?" Nat asked you both.

"Maybe it doesn't need to be done."

You realized this may be the time to leave, to let them talk to each other. You had been around Steve and Nat enough to know when they needed just each other. You excused yourself quietly before leaving the room.

The building seemed dark with no one else roaming the halls. Even five years later, it still seemed empty and desolate. You could light this place up with walls made of fire and it'd still feel cold and dark.

The halls held memories of accidentally blowing things up and running away from an angry Steve. They were all such good times that you didn't expect to lose so quickly. It's 2023, and 2016 feels like it was a long time ago.

You didn't have a lot of time to distract yourself with the past, however, because you walked into the security room. Donned with dozens of monitors tracking everyone's move around the building, three of them had a person in it. One was the room where Nat and Steve were, and two showed the front by the gate. You could see the back of the person, and the other monitor had the front of him. It looked like he was waving frantically.

"Hello?! Anyone there?! It's Scott from a few years ago!" He yelled. Your eyes widened as you ran to the gate.

"I'm sorry, that must have been a very long 5 years," Nat commented as Scott told us where he was.

"That's the thing. It wasn't. For me, it was 5 hours," He said.

"How is that even possible?" You asked.

"See the rules of the quantum realm aren't like how they are up here. Everything is unpredictable. Is that anyone's sandwich? I'm starving." He made his way towards the sandwich and took a bite of it.

"Scott, what are you talking about?" Steve turned around to face him. You and Nat shared a worried look.

"So, what I'm saying is, time works differently for the quantum realm. The only problem right now is we don't have a way to navigate it." Scott started pacing across the room. "But what if we did?"

"Are you trying to say what I think you're saying?" You asked him as you started thinking about it. He wants to control time.

"I think so," Scott paused momentarily to answer your question, "I can't stop thinking about it. What if we could control the chaos and we could navigate it? What if there was a way we could enter the quantum realm at a certain time, but exit the quantum realm at another point in time?" He stopped. "Like, like before Thanos."

"Wait, are you talking about a time machine?" Steve asked.

"No, no, of course not."

"But that's what this is, isn't it? You want to go back to a point in time where Thanos didn't snap. Scott, this is a time machine!" You exclaimed. "The only difference is... It's not as poorly designed like the ones in movies."

Scott turned towards you with a thankful look. Nat and Steve looked skeptical about it all. "I know, it's crazy."

Nat took a step towards him. "Scott, I get emails from a raccoon. So, nothing sounds crazy anymore."

"So, who do we talk to about this?"

Tony and Nat both looked at you. "Why are you looking at me for? It's not like I know anything about... Oh, now I see where you're going with this."

Steve pulled up to the lakehouse before stopping by the stairs to the porch. Tony was walking up to the house with Morgan in his arms. Everybody climbed out of the car, and Tony looked at you before turning back up. Morgan spotted you and smiled. You grinned and winked at her before looking at Nat. She gave everyone a nod and you made your way to the stairs.

Tony started pouring a drink as you stayed on the deck. "Now, we know what it sounds like," Scott started after he brought up his idea of time travel.

"Tony, after everything you've seen, is anything really-" Steve was cut off.

"Quantum fluctuation," Tony starts, "messes with the Planck scale, which triggers the Deutsch Proposition. Can we agree on that? Y/N, you of all people should agree with me on that. You're a scientist," He gave the drink to Steve who thanked him. "In lamest terms, it means you're not coming home."

"I did," Scott began to argue.

"No, you didn't. You accidentally survived. It's a billion-to-one cosmic fluke. And now you wanna pull a, what do you call it?" He handed Scott the next glass.

Scott looked down at his drink shortly before answering, "A time heist?"

"Yeah, time heist, 'course, why didn't we think of this before? Oh, because it's laughable? Because it's a pipe dream?"

"The stones are in the past," You said. "We could go back, we could get them. We could stop it from ever happening."

"We could snap our own fingers, we could bring everyone back," Nat said, determined.

"Or screw it up worse than he already has."

"I don't believe we would," Steve commented.

"I gotta say, sometimes I miss that giddy optimism. However, high hopes won't help if there's no logical, tangible, way for me to safely execute said... Time heist. I believe the most likely outcome will be our collected demise."

"Not if we strictly follow the rules of time travel," Scott walked up to Tony as Nat walked over to Steve. You stood your ground by the front door, and you could see out of the corner of your eye, Pepper talking to Morgan. "That means no talking to our past selves, no betting on sporting events-"

"Let me stop you right there, Scott. Are you seriously telling me that your plan to save the universe is based on Back to the Future?"

"Didn't you tell me five years ago when you came back, Tony, that Peter saved Dr. Strange and the Time stone by basing a plan off of Alien?" You fired back.

Tony sent you a glare, but you knew it wasn't a spiteful or hateful glare. It was full of hurt. You knew it was a sore spot for him even after all of this time, but you had to push him.

"Either way, that's not how quantum physics works."

"Tony," Nat spoke, "We have to take a stand."

"We did stand. And yet here we are."

"I know you got a lot on the line, you got a wife, a daughter, but I lost someone very important to me. A lot of people did. And now, now, we have a chance to bring her back," Scott raised his voice, growing agitated, "To bring everyone back, and you're telling me that you won't even-"

"That's right, Scott. I won't." There was a shared silence amongst everyone as Morgan ran out and ran to her dad.

"Mommy told me to come and save you," She said as Tony picked her up gently.

"Good job," Tony said, "I'm saved. I wish you came here to ask me something else. Anything else. I'm honestly happy to see you guys. Oh, and the table's set for seven-"

"Tony, you can forget it. I'm really happy for you, you know I am. But this is a second chance." Tony stopped in front of Steve as he talked, and you could see Morgan there. She smiled at you again and you held your pinky up. She took it with her own pinky. It was a little promise you made her a year ago that if she ever needed her Aunt Y/N (as Tony and Pepper put it) then she could always tell you by the "secret handshake." In the end, she just started doing it every time you'd come over.

"I got my second chance right here, Cap. If you don't talk shop, you can stay for lunch." Tony walked away and you waved goodbye to Morgan.

The four of you walked down the stairs and towards the car. Nat started speaking first. "Well, he's scared."

"He's not wrong."

"Yeah, I mean, but what- what are we gonna do?" Scott asked, stopping in front of the car. "I mean are we gonna stop?"

"No, I want to do it right," Steve said, coming up with a plan. "Y/N, are you sure you won't try this by yourself?" You shook your head.

"Even if I played around with it for hours every day for a month, I wouldn't be able to figure it out. I haven't worked in a lab for years."

"Then, we're gonna need a really big brain."

"Bigger than his?" Scott pointed back to the house.

You all sat in a booth in a diner in the middle of New York City. You were tightly packed as Bruce sat in his own chair at the end. Plates filled with dozens of pancakes, sausages, and large bowls of scrambled eggs sat on top of the table. Bruce wasn't the big guy, but he wasn't human either. He was like a mixture of both.

"Come on, I feel like I'm the only one eating here," He said, "Try some of that," He pushed the bowl of eggs towards you and Scott.

"I'm so confused," Scott said. You nodded your head in agreement with him. You hadn't seen Bruce in a long time, but you didn't realize how much you had missed.

"These are confusing times."

"Right, no, no, that's not what I meant."

"Nah, I get it, I'm kidding! I know, it's crazy. I'm wearing shirts now," He motioned towards himself.

"Yeah, but how? Why?"

"Five years ago we got our asses beat. Except it was worse for me, 'cause I lost twice. First Hulk lost, then Banner lost. Then we all lost."

"No one blamed you, Bruce," Nat said.

"I did. For years I've been treating the Hulk likes he's something to get rid of like he's a disease. But then I started looking at him like he's the cure. I put the brains and the brawn together. And now, look at me, best of both worlds."

You started zoning out after Bruce was asked by a few kids to take a picture with him. Scott took the phone and snapped the picture for them. You were starting to second-guess this. A chance to bring everyone back. Does that mean you could bring Loki back too? Or would it change things completely?

"Bruce, about what we were saying," Steve broke your train of thought as they went back onto the subject.

"Right, the whole time travel do-over? It's outside of my area of expertise."

"Well, you pulled this off. I remember a time when that seemed pretty impossible too."

"And so what if it's outside of your area?" You asked. "Isn't it a scientist's goal to discover something new? Now's the time to get out of your comfort zone and help us save the universe."

The next morning, everyone was at the Avengers Building. It was certainly strange to see everyone there. It was a sunny day at least, so the sunlight poked through the windows and shined in. It seemed like a day of hope finally.

When you walked to where the training room typically was, there were machines scattered across the large floor. Computers and wires were set up, and you nearly tripped over every single one of them. A van was pulled into the room with another machine. You assumed this was the gateway to the quantum realm that Scott was telling you about.

"Okay, here we go, time travel test number one! Scott, fire up the van thing," Bruce called out as Scott moved to the back of the truck, directly in front of the machine. He had a suit on to protect himself while he's in the realm. You stood far back behind Bruce.

"The breakers are set. Emergency generators are on standby. You're ready to go," Steve walked towards you both.

"Good, because if we blow off the grid, I don't wanna lose tiny here in the 1950s."

"Excuse me?" Scott asked, annoyed. You laughed as Nat told him that Bruce was kidding.

"It was a bad joke," Bruce replied.

As Scott walked away you looked up at Bruce. "You are kidding, right?"

"I have no idea! We're talking about time travel here, either all of it's a joke or none of it is. We're good!"

As Bruce fired up the machine, Scott went flying back into the machine. He returned only a few seconds later as a kid. Trying to get him back was the toughest part. Scott would come back as a baby, an old person, but when Nat shut off the power, he came back normal.

While Bruce saw it as an achievement, the rest of you were exasperated, to say the least. It's not really time travel considering it barely worked. Either way, it was a start.

You, Bruce, and Scott decided to order tacos from a nearby restaurant for lunch. Steve had gone outside in the meantime where Tony arrived with the answer to your prayers. With his knowledge combined with Bruce's, this thing could actually work.

Just as you grabbed a couple of tacos and started making your way to Scott, Nebula passed by you and you shared a nod. Rhodey landed right next to Scott. As you sat next to Scott you realized he lost his taco. You laughed while Bruce handed him a taco.

Bruce then motioned for you to follow him to the ship. You did as he asked. "What's up, Bruce?"

"Y/N, I know you don't want to see him again, but I could really use your help."

"Bruce, he and I... I didn't leave him on the best of terms, you know that. I basically yelled at him for not fighting and that was that."

"It can't just be Rocket and I going in to tell him. Maybe, if you're there too, it'll be easier to convince him."

You hesitated for a moment, trying to decide which would be easier.

"Okay, I'll go."

The ship landed and you, Rocket, and Bruce hitched a ride on a truck to the rest of the way to New Asgard. Bruce had never been to New Asgard, so he was constantly looking around, admiring the small town the Asgardians had created.

You stopped on one of the docks, where Bruce asked you where Thor was. "You shouldn't have come!" Valkyrie yelled out to your group. You smiled slightly.

"Ah, Valkyrie," Bruce walked up to her, "Good to see you, Angry girl."

"I think I liked you better as either of the other ways," She looked up, surprised.

"This is Rocket." Rocket nodded towards her with a small comment. "And I'm sure you know, Y/N."

"Ah, yes, we met quite a while back, didn't we? Three or four years ago, yes?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right," You answered.

She looked between the three of you. "He won't see you."

"That bad, huh?"

"We only see him once a month. To get his... products," She said, looking back at the large crates of alcohol.

"He never left that stage, did he?" You asked. She shook her head, confirming your suspicions.

"Come on Y/N, we have to go get him," Bruce motioned for you to lead the way.

Climbing up the large, grassy, hills to Thor's house wasn't as easy as expected. They didn't have paths leading up to it, and with all of the farmland around, you didn't want to walk on that. Bruce had an even harder time because he was so big.

When you finally reached the house, you refused to knock on the door. You didn't really want to be here in the first place anyway. Bruce knocked on the door slightly and it opened.

"Thor? Are you in here?" Bruce called out. There was a rustle and a bang off on the side.

"Bruce? Oh, Bruce! Come on in, the door's open!" You see a silhouette move across the hall and into the living room. He was going off mumbling about something.

The three of you shared a worried look before walking into the home and finding Thor. "Thor?" Rocket spoke up this time.

"Ah, rabbit!" Thor turned around to see the three of you. He was shirtless, exposing his large belly now. His hair was long and greasy. "Bruce, Y/N! So good to see you!" He hugged everybody tightly.

"You too, Thor..."

"What- what are you guys doing here?" He asked excitedly.

"We're here to talk to you about something." You said.

"Well, there's beer in the cooler over there," He motioned to the cooler where a few beer bottles were left, "And you can sit wherever you'd like!"

"Thor, we've come to fix everything," Bruce said.

"Fix what? Oh, the cable? That has been driving me bananas for a long time."

"No, we can fix what Thanos did." Thor's lazy smile dropped at the Titan's name. He walked over to Bruce, looking straight up at him as he gripped Bruce's shirt.

"Never say his name," Thor choked out.

"Please let go of me," Bruce slowly took Thor's hand off of him.

"Come on Thor, we need you. We could save everybody." You pleaded with the man as he sat down on the chair.

There was a shared silence between the group as Miek and Korg played more of their game. "There's beer on the ship," Rocket said, crossing his arms.

"What kind?"

Lifting the heavy metals for the machine was the least of your worries considering you could move them with your powers. Your main priority was setting up the fuses because of how intricate they were. Even the smallest mistake could throw it all off. That's why you were getting annoyed at Tony with his need to play music while you, Rocket, and himself worked on it.

Just as you placed the last fuse in, you heard Tony walking up with some more parts. "Drifting left! One side there, Lebowski." You turned your head to see Thor walking up with a can of beer. You almost rolled your eyes at him.

"Ratchet, Space Girl, how's it going?" He asked the two of you. You climbed down to where Rocket was and started helping him out.

"It's Rocket," He replied, annoyed. "And take it easy, you're only a genius on Earth, pal." Thor hid his agreement with a burp, but it was obvious what he said.

Rocket screwed in the last part needed to finish the machine. Tony started turning it on while Thor went to get Bruce and the others. You walked up to Tony.

"Tony, could we bring others back from the past besides the stones?" You asked him.

"What do you mean? If this works, we'll bring everyone back with the stones instead."

"There's someone I want to bring back with us if I can."

"Who is this person? A lover?"

Your hand landed on your necklace subconsciously, fidgeting with the stone. "Something like that."

Before Tony could question you further, Clint walked up to the machine in the suit, the GPS on his wrist. "Are we ready?"

"Yep, just step on up, Legolas." Tony motioned for Bruce to take over this time.

Clint walked up to the center and put on the helmet. "We'll send you back before the snap and give you a few minutes there. When we bring you back, it'll seem like only a few seconds for us." Bruce stated. "Going off in 5...4...3...2..."

He suddenly disappeared from view. You all watched hesitantly, waiting to see if he could come back. There was a knot in your stomach as the seconds felt like minutes. Suddenly, Clint came back and collapsed onto the surface.

Everybody ran up quickly, Nat being the first to get to him. She helped him up. "Are you okay?"

Clint nodded, "Yeah, it worked," He looked up at Tony. "It worked."

Later that same afternoon, everybody sat in one of the meeting rooms. Across the walls were computers and simulators galore. Holograms were showing the 6 infinity stones along with where they were seen. "Okay, so the 'how' works, now we gotta figure out the where and the when. Almost everybody in this room has had an encounter with one of the six infinity stones," Steve said.

"Or substitute the word encounter with damn near been killed by one of the six infinity stones," Tony commented. You agreed with him, and that wasn't even by fighting Thanos.

"Well, I haven't," Scott replied, "But I don't even know what the hell you're all talking about."

"To give you a brief history, Scott," You started, "The stones control the fate of the universe. They're super powerful and could blow up a planet. That's just with one. With all six, you can do whatever you want."

"Good to know."

"We only have enough Pym particles for one round-trip each, and there have been a lot of places with these stones," Bruce said, walking around.

"But we can only go in our history. There are not a lot of convenient spots to drop in on," Tony countered.

"Which means we have to pick our targets," Clint seemed to ponder the idea momentarily.

"Correct."

"So, let's start with the Aether. Thor, what do you know?" Steve asked him. Turning around to face Thor in the corner, he didn't move. All eyes were on him, and Nat asked if he was asleep. Rhodey replied with the idea of him being dead and you nearly snorted.

When Thor finally got up after several minutes of poking him, Tony turned all of the screens into information about the Aether. A picture of the Reality Stone appeared, along with several news articles about it. Jane Foster and Erik Selvig's pictures appeared next to the stone.

"Uh, where to start... The Aether, firstly, is not a stone. Someone just called it a stone before. It's more of a, uh, angry sludge, sort of a thing. So, someone's going to need to amend that. Here's an interesting story about the Aether though. My grandfather, many years ago, had to hide the stone from the Dark Elves," He made a few sound effects as Nebula and Rocket looked annoyed.

"Scary beings, so Jane, actually," He continued, "Actually, Jane is an old flame of mine. She stuck her hand inside a rock this one time, and, and, the Aether stuck itself inside her, and she became very, very sick, so I had to take her to Asgard, which is where I'm from. And uh, we had to try and fix her. See we were dating at the time and I got to introduce her to my mother," He started slowing down, "Who's dead, and, oh you know, Jane and I aren't even dating anymore. But you know, these things happen, and they don't last forever-"

He was cut off when Bruce started making a hand motion and you got up to lead him away. He was rambling too much and he was about to put himself in an even more depressed state.

Moving onto each stone individually, you all learned about them quickly. Nat was able to figure out that three of the stones were in New York City at the time of the Battle of New York. They decided that a team of four could get the Time, Space, and Mind stone from 2012. Another team would go to Morag and Vormir in 2014, while another team went to Asgard in 2013.

The teams were simple. Nebula, Rhodey, Nat, and Clint decided on going to 2014. Tony, Steve, Scott, and Bruce would handle 2012. You, Thor, and Rocket would go to 2013 for the Reality stone. You didn't mind it at first until you realized that Loki would still be in his cell at the time. You weren't sure if you'd be able to handle being so close at the time.

"Thor, do you think anything bad would happen if I talked to Loki?" You approached him after the teams were set.

"I don't think so, why?" Thor asked. After the past few years of drinking, he had forgotten some of the important memories. Well, it was more like they were cloudy until someone knocked some sense into him.

"Remember, Thor? We were dating until he decided to fake his death?"

"Oh! Oh, that's right!" He laughed slightly. "Well, I don't suppose it would at all. Rocket and I could handle grabbing the Reality Stone, right?" Rocket nodded, knowing exactly what would happen.

"You two wouldn't mind?"

"Y/N, if I had the chance to talk to one of my trusted friends or family, I'd do it," Rocket said, "We can handle the bastards who'll protect the stone."

"Thanks, Rocket," You smiled.

You were suited up and ready to go. You placed the GPS on and made your way out to the others. Everybody else was in a similar outfit, and Cap held his shield. You made your way up to the machine as Bruce started programming everything in.

Before starting up the machine, Steve held a hand up to tell Bruce to wait a moment. "Five years ago, we lost. All of us. We lost friends, we lost family. We lost a part of ourselves. And today we have a chance to take it all back. You know your teams, you know your missions. Get the stones, get them back. One round trip each, no mistakes, no do-overs. Most of us are going somewhere we know. That doesn't mean we should know what to expect. Be careful, look out for each other. This is the fight of our lives. And we're gonna win. Whatever it takes. Good luck."

"He's pretty good at that," Rocket said. Scott agreed with him. Clint carried a small version of Rocket's ship in his hand. "You promise to bring that back in one piece, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. I'll do my best," He gave a weak smile.

"As promises go, that was pretty lame." Bruce walked up and everyone formed a circle.

"See you in a minute," Nat smiled.

One by one, everyone's helmets came on. The top portion of the machine started lighting up and spinning. You were terrified of it but hopeful, excited.

It was time to take back what Thanos stole.

Whatever it takes.

Ready to see a memory of Thor’s? Read part three and a half here!

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rayonfrozenwings · 6 years ago

Text

WAITING IN THE FREEZING DARK: CHAPTER 9 - We All Have Battles

Spoiler Alert: Contains references to ACOFAS.

Authors Note: So it’s been a very long hiatus, because Kingdom of Ash destroyed me and stole all my creative energy. But New Chapters!!!

A Nessian Fan Fiction: Characters all belong to Sarah J Maas and her book series A Court of Thorns and Roses. This Story takes place after ACOFAS. The story has Multiple POV’s, taking place in the Illyrian camp, Windhaven, Nesta and Cassian are living together at the behest of the high lord and lady of the night court.

Chapter 9 - We All Have Battles

Previous chapters are here: 1, 2, 3, 4 , 5 , 6, 7 ,8 , and Masterlist here.

I have also put this on AO3: Series Link :)

WC: 2068

Chapter 9 - We All Have Battles

Nesta

It had been a week and still there was no sign of Cassian, the silence echoed on and Nesta had taken to spending her days with Emerie and her nights alone. It was currently one of those nights. Her books sat on the coffee table, next to a glass of water, and her furs over the chair. She looked at the stack and wondered which one to read. She sat there locked in a moment of indecision.

The nights were the hardest. Being alone was harder. It was why she went drinking in Velaris if she were completely honest with herself. You don’t need to be alone with your thoughts if you have people to talk to and strangers never ask the real questions. She hadn’t had to be alone with her thoughts for a while. Cassian was often at home and as soon as he left she would turn to her wine. Wine that Emerie said she still didn’t have stock of. So now she was stuck here with her thoughts and a cold glass of water. Completely unacceptable; but she had run out of options.

Nesta stood and walked around the dark room, no fire warmed it, she still preferred the cold and being bundled up in her furs to the sound of cracking bones. Emerie’s shop always had the fire burning low and slow with red coals. Peaceful warmth compared to the roaring flames she was used to. It never seemed to make the same sounds as a fire that was just starting, or one that never seemed to have enough wood. Emerie's fire was a like a loving embrace that crawled along the floorboards to meet you.

She had looked over this house so many times now, her prison without bars. But she missed him. His smell was fading from the home. It had only been a week. She had been left all alone. It had only been a week. Did his room even have his smell anymore? One week. She opened the door and was hit by his scent, a deep musk with a leather and sandalwood undertones.

Nesta breathed in deeply and walked into his room. That stupid pack was still sitting on his bed. She walked over and pulled the heavy bag towards the desk. Why did he need to take weapons to Velaris? He should have learned how to pack light by now, he was ancient! Would she ever get to tell him how stupid he was for packing blades?

Cassian you are so stupid sometimes.

Nesta looked over his desk and saw a few papers and letters of correspondence, nothing pulled her attention. Walking to the windows she pulled the drapes across, the cold glass chilling the room was quickly banished. He had some huge furs on his bed and a book on his bedside table.

Nesta picked it up and smiled. It was one of hers, she devoured books like wine and thought she had misplaced this one. Turns out Cassian liked to read about handsome men too. She smiled her secret smile, the one she hid behind books when she watched Cassian in the house of wind. She sat down on the bed, pulling her legs up beneath her and started flicking through the pages. Smiling as she read and thinking of Cassian reading the same passages.

I’m glad you like my taste.

Nesta had decided to meet Emerie at the glen north of their camp. The sun was low in the sky and the light filtered through the trees sending shadows across the mossy ground peppered with small rocks. The map she had was crude, and if she couldn’t find this place soon she was heading back home. Emerie had been training with her friends, it started a few days after they made their plan. She said it was going well and they had worked out the logistics so now Nesta could come and have a go.

Nesta started hearing the sound of laughter and slowed her pace, making sure that she was encountering who she thought she was. Female voices bounced off the rocks and then she heard Emerie.

“Shut up Mara, I’m out of practise!”

“Maybe you should practise more with me then, alone perhaps?” the tone of the second voice seemed so familiar.

“Mara, cut it out, Nesta will be here soon and I need you to be on your best behaviour!”

“Only my best for you.” Mara replied

“I’m serious.”

“So am I”

“You’re never ser- Nesta!” Emerie called out to Nesta as she peered around a rock, trying to get a better view of Mara. Slowly she walked into the clearing and was stunned to silence. An effect that Emerie’s friend seemed to have over her. Nesta quickly masked her features and smiled to Emerie,

“Sorry I’m late, the map was missing a few landmarks.”

“Are you sure you can read a map?” Mara asked

“Mara. Be. Nice”

Nesta just smiled at Mara and Emerie and then saw a third illyrian sitting off to the side watching the whole thing.

“I’m Nesta, shall we get started?”

“We already have love, but Emerie cannot keep up, so you can be her partner while I do the dance with Ceinwen.”

Ceinwen stood and grabbed her blade, her hair brushed her shoulders, although she was shorter she looked Elegant and strong, and aimed her blade directly at Mara. Mara quickly sidestepped and pulled out her twin blades from over her shoulders. It really was a Dance, Ceinwen with her smaller frame and long sword and Mara tall and lithe with her blades dancing under the arc of the blade. Not the typical fight, with the taller one doing all the dodging and thrusting while the smaller one lay on a full attack. At least not like Nesta had seen before. Nesta was mesmerised, not once did their blades touch.

“Nesta, did you want to try?” Emerie asked.

Nesta just watched, they were so fast and agile. Nesta had done nothing in regards to training, she hadn't even tried to build muscle, or wear her illyrian leathers apart from today.

“Can we watch for a little longer?”

“Of course.” Emerie replied.

So they watched them. Their movements began to get laboured and their breath shortened. It slowed down, Ceinwen’s blade met Mara’s with the ring of steel echoing around the clearing. Nesta was taken back to broken bodies, swords being raised in a last effort and her father’s death. She could feel the blood draining from her face, the light vanishing, the darkness crawling up her skin. And then she couldn’t breathe. Stars came across her vision, blackness engulfing her and then she-

Emerie

Nesta had been so enamoured with the fighting that Emerie didn’t see what was happening until Nesta fell next to her. But Mara did. She shouted out and rolled towards Nesta, catching her before she hit the ground.

“Holy Mother Emerie, What just happened!”

“I don’t know, she was fine, I don’t know.”

Emerie was still stunned, she hadn’t moved, she let Mara hold Nesta and check her over. Ceinwen had walked over afterwards a blank expression on her face, watching the situation.

“Well, she’s breathing, and I managed to stop her hitting the ground… again…this high fae has a habit of falling.”

“Again?”

“We met once in passing a week or so ago, she probably doesn’t remember, it was such a non-event.” Mara quickly threw the words out as she kept checking Nesta over.

“But you remember?” Emerie said, some hurt in her voice.

“Of course I remember, I remember everything, and I’m the hero! Why wouldn’t I remember that heroic feat to tell my fans later!” she threw an apologetic smile at Emerie, the bravado always a show.

“Yea, I suppose, is she ok?” Emerie’s voice was becoming pitched.

“What if she wasn’t?” Mara asked quietly.

“Mara, no games! Is she ok?” Emerie was getting worried, the light fading as they sat around an unconscious girl, what would happen if Cassian found them like this. They might be fighting but she would bet her life that he would want vengeance if she was ever hurt. He protected those he loved.

“She’s breathing, her pulse is weak but I think she just fainted, we just need her to wake up.” Mara said with a seriousness she usually held close to her chest covered in layers of sarcasm, bravado and laughter.

Ceinwen passed Mara a rolled up coat to use as a pillow, and Mara placed it under Nesta’s head and stood up looking straight at Emerie.

Emerie wasn’t used to the attention, she had brushed off Mara’s advances since solstice, it seemed easier than dealing with her feelings, it was just easier being friends than something more. Mara looked at Emerie with her warm eyes like she was looking into her soul. Emerie couldn’t think of any words to say.

Mara was incredibly attractive, and they had spent time together in the past, but Mara wanted more and Emerie wasn’t ready. She wasn’t ready for whatever was happening right now either. Ceinwen had walked over to the other edge of the clearing lighting up her cigarette, no point staying close to witness whatever was going to happen next.

“Do you want her?” Mara asked quietly.

“Nesta?” Emerie asked shocked.

“She’s beautiful”

“So are you” Emerie reached for Mara’s hands hanging at her sides.

“That doesn’t answer my question, do you choose her?” Mara asked again, with hurt in her eyes, looking down at Nesta sleeping next to them.

“Mara, I choose no-one, I’m not with Nesta, she is my friend.”

“You choose no-one…” she trailed off.

“I’m not ready.”

“You’re afraid.”

“Yes” Emerie replied. Their whispered words feeling like nails in a coffin, bringing their friendship to a place Emerie wasn’t ready for. She knelt down next to Nesta and watched as Mara moved back running her hands through her braids, pulling them together with her leather band and walking away from Emerie. Packing up the weapons and putting them in a bag.

“I think training is over for tonight, I’ll head home once I know your friend is ok,” Mara said.

“We can talk more later, but right now I need her to be ok,” Emerie replied.

And they sat there in silence, Mara on a rock, Emerie by Nesta’s side and Ceinwen smoking on the edges of the clearing.

Nesta

Nesta slowly opened her eyes and could see nothing but darkness around her, the ground was cold and she could feel a mist clinging to her skin. The dreams hanging from her still, that wicked cauldron haunting her. Why was she on the ground?

Nesta! Are you ok?

“And the Princess awakens!” came a voice with bite to it.

“Nesta, are you ok?” Emerie asked

“I don’t know,” Nesta asked, her surroundings were unfamiliar and her memory was as insubstantial as the mist around them, “where am I?”.

“You fell-”

“You mean I saved her life again!” Mara shot out, kicking pebbles as she walked over to join them.

It all came rushing back to Nesta, the fighting, the slowing down of every action or every movement, taking her back to the battlefield and then somewhere she only went in her nightmares.

“I'm fine.” Nesta quickly said.

“Its ok if your no-” Emerie said as she placed a hand on Nesta's own.

“Great! Let’s go then, She’s fine Emerie! I’m tired, Ceinwen left an hour ago and it’s freezing. Emerie’s house is always warm so I say we go and make sure you are really, fine, ok! Great! Decided.” Mara interrupted, stood and started grabbing their gear, making all the decisions for them.

“It’s late I should go home” Nesta replied pulling her hand away from Emerie's own and rubbing her head as she tried to pull together her thoughts.

“Mara is right, you are freezing from being on the ground and you need to warm up, my house has the fire going, come back and have some food with us and stay the night, let us know what happened back there, we can’t have you fainting every lesson.” Emerie was concerned and exhausted, Nesta’s fainting must have scared her more than she realised. So they walked back to the warm house, Mara, Nesta and Emerie, with a weird tension between all three and no-one discussing it.

Tagged by request: Sorry if some of the urls are wrong.. its been a while since I updated this fic, urls have changed its been so long lol, just let me know via ask if you want to be added or removed from my tag list for this. :) @fucking-winchester-trash @rhysanoodle @velarxs @lorcanswife @my-fan-side @wolffrising @bellsqueen @aelinashgalathynius@booksaremymate@themoonunderstoodmynightmares @prxthian @nessian-girl@fuzz-dog @archeron-queens @acotar-feels @wickedfangirl99 @empress-ofbloodshed@ame233 @tswaney17 @kefeira @rhysandsdarlingfeyre@abillionlittlepieces@ofstarsanddreams @booksaremymate@ambrosemiller@saltydreamcollector @imfandomtrash-vi @aedionashryver-wolfofthenorth @pinkjem30 @urbisie, @howtotameyourillyrian, @illyrianbeauty, @fae-queen-of-the-easton, @faeriequeenofthewest, @aqueentorattlestars, @acoaas @nephelle-warrior-scribe @librarian-of-orynth @anoverstuffedkindle, @miladyaelin, @acoaas, @tntwme @photofeesh @theyretheirthere

#waiting in the freezing dark #reneewritesfanfic #waiting in the freezing dark chapter 9 #acotar #acotar fan fic #fan fic #waitinginthefreezingdark #post acofas fan fic #nessian #nesta #cassian #emerie #tw: abuse mention #i couldnt wait and had to post some more #especially since the chapters are so short #it feels mean #ill wait to post the next one tomorrow #try to hold myself back #especially since this is like the worst time of day to post because everyone is sleeping

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