#when one of their dragons speaks in the voice of the others' nemesis | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

remsmoonlight · 3 years ago

Text

— title : i need you

— word count : 2.1k words

— pairing : ryuji goda x reader

— summary : convincing ryuji of doing the opposite of what he’s set out to do is a pointless task, yet you will attempt if it gives him even one more day.

— warnings : blood, mentions of violence, some swearing, mentions of imagining of death, angst

notes : inspired by a prompt from here .. i had to do a self indulgent thingy for tumblr .. because why did they have to kill him off like that .. i tried to be dramatic as i possibly could

" none of this would've happened if you had just listened! "

A muffled silence drowns your hearing, the spinning of the Earth decelerates until it feels little more than a crawl with a weak grip. Rough cement scrapes the smoothness of your knee, leaving an angry blemish as grit fights to find its way into your bleeding wounds. No graze can pull you out of the deep end your heart finds itself fighting to stay above of, as you witness your worst fear painted perfectly on a canvas steeped in blood. The stillness of the air leaves you feeling flustered as your mind tries to make sense of what it observes before it, hoping that it’s no more than a deceptive trick played on itself by the fear you felt as you made your way up the tall structure.

A romantic thread of words have never failed in supply, but words left unsaid threaten to crush you under their weight, lost moments to time. A shudder of a breath shakily is let out, the cold air kick starts your body as you push yourself up and scramble to where the battered and bloodied body of Ryuji lays, almost motionless in pain. A childish cry to wake up from this nightmare is all you can think of, but reality does not bend to the whims of humanity, it continues with the path it has set. Resentfully, you can see the similarity that it shares with the male.

“ none of this would've happened if you had just listened! “ A broken cry full of fiery misery lick at the delicate snowflakes that descend from the heavens with a short lived grace, full of threats to burn as they penetrate your space.

The shock of the vibrancy of the liquid that escapes Ryuji leaves time standing still, you care not however, your fingertips gripping a heavy shoulder as the other lends a gentle touch to his cheek. Pain and grief masks itself as anger. You sorely wish to blame someone or something, but you had warned him.. You’d tried to reason with him that this course he’d set would leave him chasing an unattainable taste of sweetness of satisfaction that would dull with each day that dawns. A strong will that had left you in an addictive awe leaves you with a decaying taste in your mouth now, it creates an impossible amount of scars on your soul.

“ ‘Guess I should’a listened to ‘ya after all. “ He reluctantly answers, the humour unable to battle the drain out of his voice completely.

“ Why couldn’t you have just let this lie? “ A ticking pulls your attention away for a fraction of a passing second, a groan causes you to turn back.

“ Was always gonna end this way. “

A weakened grip that belongs to Ryuji ignores the resistance from his body, enduring the pain from the movement in order to experience skin against skin contact for himself once more. He wishes he could have found it within himself to have turned left, but he’d have lost himself without this self imposed purpose, fading into the background. It was selfish, to bring you into his world.. But to him? You’re an unfinished book, your words inked with glittering star dust that etch themselves into existence. He was unable to tear him away from your pages that you may have worn like wings. Selfish. To know how his story would end, yet knowing he would not be around for yours.

“ No. “ Your lips close, pushing against each other to numb the other, your features twisting into an aching grimace.

“ Can’t stop it now. “ he insists, brows drawing together as he scrunches his eyes up from the agony that throbs through every inch of flesh. “ Shit’s set in stone now. “

“ Stop it! “ You sob, hating how vulnerable you sound.

There is a sorrowful beauty in the scene, notes Ryuji. Pale beams of moonlight triumphant until the point of reaching your body that blocks it. Leaving no more than a radiant glow surrounding your head, providing an inhuman glow that illuminates your body as much as your soul — a wistful image that he’s glad to witness once more. Your being here is something of a majestic collision into a door to his person he’d fought to keep locked, if this is a departing gift he would gladly take it. He’d thought the last time he saw you would be when he unwillingly shared his plan, should this ending occur, he could take comfort in there not being a picture of you waiting at the door waiting for the other half of you to walk through the door, only to be met with a crushing realisation of never seeing him again. Only, he’d not expected you to follow in his tracks, not after he’s ignored your pleas of turning away from this path.

“ Ya better get outta here, ‘place is gonna blow soon. “

“ Not without you. “ you argue, refusing his direction — your grip strengthens ever so slightly, fearing the winter breeze has the power to boldly grow and tear you away from the man.

“ Ya got’a whole life ahead of ya. “ A twist of his heart is the dominant sensation he notices at the thought.

He wishes he could be there for it, to see the petals of your success bloom in the depths of your determination. One thing he could never understand was how, despite the tainted reputation that follows him like a shadow, never had been enough to put you off. Not a criminal tie to your name and you voluntarily merged your time and energy with his, with little care. Perhaps that’s where an addiction to his selfishness began. All his life and his Yakuza connections secluded him from genuine human connections and you’d trampled all over that with your impartial view. Many would prefer to cower in their fear, you’d scratched past the surface to see who he could be capable of being.

All the time spent together, and yet he still craves more. To linger in your orbit, time is his nemesis — for he still feels as if there has not been enough. Not the hours spent with the sun setting and you’re there by his side, when he’d spent more time committing the wonder at such a simple thing to his memory. Not the darkened hours spent together surrounded by silken sheets, and all that graced his ears was a musical symphony of breathy moans as you set about learning each other’s bodies. Never were the hours spent talking in order to hear the passion in your voice when speaking about something that interests you enough for him.

“ You can’t do this. “ You whimper softly, almost looking through the man you hold close. “ You can’t come into someone’s life, you can’t make them care about you and leave just because you want to. What did you think was going to happen? That I was going to sit by and let you do this? “

He says nothing, leaving space for a groan of pain to leave his lips as he tips his head back. He’s met with a darkened blanket where millions of stars are scattered so ungracefully, yet do not collide an uncoordinated dance across the sky. Uncertainty overwhelms him, over that is causing more pain — the wounds or the grief in your every word.

“ Just get the fuck outta here already. “ His voice echoes across the large space as he turns his attention back to you.

“ Were you lying all that time? “ You ask with a trembling lip at the thought of being without.

It feels like an endless amount of early mornings had been spent planning and chattering about the most random things. Your mind lighting up with the power of a thousand suns before the world had awoken around you. You can’t pinpoint the moment it happened, but the two of you awoke a little earlier than necessary to bathe in the image of the other — to forge a most perfect illusion of normalcy before stepping out into the real world. Mornings were not your most happiest bedfellow, yet you’d grown to love them just a little more when waking to the most simplest treat to sweeten your tongue.

“ What ya on about? “

“ All that time when we were talking, about what we were going to do? What we could do? ”

“ Why ya going on about that ? “ He asks curiously, eyeing you as you speak.

“ If you die, how are we meant to do any of it? “ Your words are rushed as you question him plainly.

“ Yer gonna .. just won’t be with me. “ Colour from the world feels as if it’s fading, merging into one bland monochrome depiction of a bright, bubbling city.

“ Can you stop?! “ A frustrated shriek tears from the bottom of your throat in response. “ I’m done talking in circles, I’m not dying here and neither are you. If I have to, I will drag you out with me. “

The world pauses in shock for a quiet fraction of a minute. To be spoken to in such a manner is not something Ryuji has experienced much in his life, even rarer by you — words that fell from your lips are always bathed in the sweetness of sugar, not an ounce of poison to anyone. Even the individuals who drew your temper out of its sleep were met with an incredible amount of restraint, he can hear the desperation — acting as a bucket of ice water to shock his nerve endings from the low temperature.

“ You did what you had to do. It wasn’t meant to be, but you can find another purpose. Build something else with your life, just.. Just come with me. Please. “

To be responsible for dragging you down with him, away from providing the world with your bright rays of sunshine in the bland day to day lives of everyone you came into contact with weighs heavily on his chest. Extra time spent with you, perhaps getting to know who his little sister has become are the treats tied onto a stick in front of him, life’s cruel bribe. He’d imagined how his ending would have been sketched by above, yet to have ties keeping him there had not been what he would have included. If he couldn’t be the one dragon, this would be a consolation prize that would allow for the petals of peace to bloom before he’d tear them down once more.

A strength he’d thought abandoned him glows with a dull hue, for a minute, he contemplates using that for Kiryu. Yet the other half of his soul wins the battle, a hand of his reaches out to push himself off from the concrete. It’s not an easy feat after being battered more than once, yet it’s not half as arduous as it could be with you supporting his weight — he’s fully aware how much of your strength he is using from your audible gasps of air.

“ Ya don’t gotta yell at me. “ he complains softly as he grips his side with as much force as he can dedicate to.

“ I don’t think it’s the time for this. “ You argue back quickly.

“ The red one. “

“ Huh? “ The sound escapes you as your features turn into a frown over how to get away from the ticking time bomb fast enough.

“ The lift, to get down. Press th’red one. “ He instructs you with a finger barely lifted, pointing in the direction of the button behind you.

You say nothing in response, the wheels in your mind working faster than your body as it moves purely on an instinctive reaction when receiving messages from your brain. Your stomach twists and turns from the descent to below, unable to process the way the city shifts into a state of obscurity from the swift movement. It would be a beautiful sight if it hadn’t attached a violent night as a parting gift.

“ You really scared me up there. “ You confess with barely a whisper. “ Can you promise me something? “

“ What’s that? “

“ That you won’t do something like this again. “ You say, with your heart hoping that he’d shy away from an impossible task should it present itself. Your eyes had seen enough hurt for one night, you’re confident you’d not be able to withstand it once more.

“ Wish I could. “

Teeth grind against the bottom of your lip, you should have known that he wouldn’t. Yet you also cannot find the strength to tear yourself away from the fire that burns within him, like a moth to a flame, you find yourself wondering how close you can stand against the heat before you flee from the pain it brings.

#Ryuji Goda x reader #Goda Ryuji x reader #Yakuza imagine #Yakuza fic #if this looks like it has been written in parts between the hours of 9 pm - 12 am #because it has #inspiration comes late

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equestrianwritingsstuff · 3 years ago

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For that follower game thing... The song 'Battle Cry' by Imagine Dragons, and villain.

Fear Driven

I love Imagine Dragons! Awesome workout songs and great for singing in your head when riding your fourwheeler and horse (or pretending to ride your horse while walking... story of reasons for another day).

Warnings: intensive talk of death, fear, and threats, death threats, character in a trance-like state, fear

Some argue that people don't kill others just for the sheer shrill of watching the light leave one's eyes. The undocumented pain that no autopsy can describe. The way that the body slumps lifeless to the ground, tears brimming the victim's eyes as their last breath leaves their pale lips.

There is a reason why one causes chaos. A reason for the death numbers increasing substantially. A reason that children are terrified to walk to school by themselves. There is a reason for all villainous acts committed by these seemingly soulless people.

Like every science experiment, small factors can change the outcome. Does the new criminal in town have unsatisfied revenge? Do they have a grudge against the city mayor? Or do they just need to get their anger out?

Or, in some instances, were their actions driven by fear and threats not for personal reasons?

Did that fear escalate into something bigger than the, "Kill that person, and I won't hurt you" threat?

Did it turn into a ticking bomb? Did it turn the innocent civilian into a full-fledge villain?

Did it make them unstoppable, knowing that if they faltered or stopped or quit they would be killed?

Or worse, their loved ones.

Did the public opinion of them- the press's proclamation that neither hell nor heaven wanted them that molded their mind into thinking that no one could save them?

Did it actually make villainy turn into a loved hobby?

Or did they just want that fire out?

We don't know. No one really does, not even Villain- the poor, unfortunate soul that we are speaking of.

The way threats wove their way into Villain's soul and actions like poison almost made it seem like the villain loved this. Which, in an unhealthy way, they did. It kept that poison at bay and allowed them to peacefully watch the stars at night.

Yet it was an act. They were afraid. Villain was afraid.

Their fake persona- the black masked villainous character that haunted children and adults alike- was a shield. A protection against death looming over them.

But the master was fear, which made understanding the real person under that costume, difficult.

Hero stared at the completely zoned-out villain with curiosity in their gaze. A silver jeweled dagger laid clattered on the ground next to their knees and the villain knelt, defeated.

Hero narrowed their gray eyes even further. Villain was so vulnerable, so vulnerable that unless something was wrong, they should be aware of it. Yet, their eyes. The dull brown eyes that just watched Hero's legs with no intent made it clear that Villain was hardly conscious of their predicament.

Hero crouched down next to Villain, feeling for the cold dagger. Upon grabbing it, they placed it under Villain's chin.

But there was absolutely no reaction. No flicker of emotion.

Not even nervousness.

Their eyes were long tunnels, so long that you couldn't even see the light when you turned to look at the entrance.

Hero blinked and lightly pinched Villain's cheek. A twitch, but no other reaction.

"Villain?"

That woke their nemesis up. The villain jerked away, staring at Hero like a deer in headlights. Pure terror replaced that emotionless gaze their eyes previously held.

"I-i-i-i," was the only broken sentence Villain was able to spit out.

"Villain?" A quizical ask.

"I didn't do it," Villain looked down at their lap, brow furrowing. "I need to." Villain stood up on shaky legs, forgetting about the potentially dangerous presence and walked away.

"Villain?"

"I made myself into this," Villain's voice hardened as it snapped back into reality, but only for a moment. It shortly faltered back into the raspy hum, "I made myself into a devil."

"You need help-"

"No one can help me, no one can save me," Villain's eyes filled up with tears. "But I can save them." Villain looked up, "I won't let them die. I need to kill them."

Villain turned around slowly, their left hand cradling their right elbow as they stumbled off, mouth hanging open and chin quivering.

And Hero decided right then and there.

Villain was driven by fear.

#villain whumpee #music whump game #writing #heros and villains #music whump #hero x villain #scared villain #crying villain #poor villain #manipulation #brainwashed #fear #tw death mention

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jedimaesteryoda · 4 years ago

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The Reader: the Crow’s Eye’s True Nemesis

Lord Rodrik “the Reader” Harlaw is introduced in Asha’s first POV. He is her (favorite) maternal uncle, and good-brother to the late Lord of Pyke (as well as possibly the eponym for Balon’s firstborn son). He is the Lord of Ten Towers, Lord of Harlaw.

Lord Rodrik was seldom seen without a book in hand, be it in the privy, on the deck of his Sea Song, or whilst holding audience. Asha had oft seen him reading on his high seat beneath the silver scythes. He would listen to each case as it was laid before him, pronounce his judgment . . . and read a bit whilst his captain-of-guards went to bring in the next supplicant . . . Lord Rodrik Harlaw was neither fat nor slim; neither tall nor short; neither ugly nor handsome. His hair was brown, as were his eyes, though the short, neat beard he favored had gone grey. All in all, he was an ordinary man, distinguished only by his love of written words, which so many ironborn found unmanly and perverse.

-A Feast for Crows, The Kraken’s Daughter

Rodrik is indistinguishable as far as physical appearance goes. He possesses neither the muscular frame of a warrior like Victarion, a handsome face like Jaime Lannister or even a disability or disfigurement like Tyrion. He is very unremarkable and uncharismatic, a guy who couldn’t stand out in a crowd as opposed to the handsome, charismatic Euron.

What truly distinguishes him is that instead of being a hyper-masculine warrior who likes to pay the iron price and has a gung-ho attitude towards the Old Way, he is, as his sobriquet suggests, a bibliophile in an anti-intellectual warrior culture that disdains reading, likely due to its association with greenlanders.

He also happens to be the guy who is always right: stating to Asha that she won’t win the kingsmoot, the Old Way is dead, that Euron’s plans to sail to Slaver’s Bay and attack the Reach were bad ideas, etc. Hell, his advice to Asha to read Haereg actually provides her the tool she needs to effectively overturn the decision of the kingsmoot.

One must also note his sigil: a scythe. While the scythe is often associated with the personification of death in popular culture, Death AKA the Grim Reaper, one must remember that, unlike the sword which is designed solely for war, the scythe is actually a farmer’s tool used for harvesting grain. The scythe stands in direct contrast to the House Greyjoy words “We Do Not Sow.” It fits with Harlaw being the most fertile of the Iron Isles, and the Reader’s more peaceful, constructive approach as opposed to the Greyjoys’ purely martial approach.

"Asha, my two tall sons fed the crabs of Fair Isle."

-A Feast for Crows, The Kraken’s Daughter

“The Old Way served the isles well when we were one small kingdom amongst many, but Aegon's Conquest put an end to that. Balon refused to see what was plain before him. The Old Way died with Black Harren and his sons . . . his dream of kingship is a madness in our blood. I told your father so the first time he rose, and it is more true now than it was then. It's land we need, not crowns. With Stannis Baratheon and Tywin Lannister contending for the Iron Throne, we have a rare chance to improve our lot. Let us take one side or the other, help them to victory with our fleets, and claim the lands we need from a grateful king."

-A Feast for Crows, The Kraken’s Daughter

His attitude towards the Old Way is the opposite of the general revanchist attitude seen among Ironborn like the Greyjoy brothers. He sees it as a bygone relic of a distant past that no longer works in the present. He knows the dream of Iron Islands independence is a pipe dream. Part of it is the personal losses he suffered in the Greyjoy Rebellion. He lost both his sons in that war, his sisters ended up going mad after Gwynesse lost her husband and Alannys lost her two eldest sons and her youngest was taken as a hostage.

Moving from that, and showing keen political acumen, he sees an opportunity for the Iron Islands to take advantage of to improve their situation. He suggests the Ironborn use their fleets as political leverage to gain some land on the mainland, which for millennia had been an Ironborn aspiration. During the reign of Qhored the Cruel, the Ironborn had an empire on the western coast that extended from Bear Island to the Arbor. The reign of the Hoare kings from Harwyn to Harren Hoare had them ruling the riverlands. These conquests provided the Ironborn with the resources that their small, rocky islands lacked with their holdings in the fertile riverlands and Reach providing them grain and foodstuffs, and even the poor Bear Island providing an access point for timber, the essential raw material in shipbuilding. Even Balon’s plan involved that aspect with regards to conquering the North. The Reader suggests gaining land on the mainland not through conquest, which in Ironborn history has always shown to be short-lived, but through diplomacy, a grant via negotiations with a king on the Iron Throne. This would allow them to have holdings on the mainland, but in a more stable and permanent manner than in the past given their dominion would be state-sanctioned.

Also, let’s look at a scene in Victarion’s last POV in A Feast for Crows.

In the yard Victarion came on Gorold Goodbrother and old Drumm, speaking quietly with Rodrik Harlaw.

-The Reaver

The Reader is noted to be talking with the Lords Goodbrother and Drumm. What do we know of them?

Gorold Goodbrother is Lord of Hammerhorn on Great Wyk. His fief is removed from the coast of Great Wyk, with much of his wealth being derived from his mines rather than the sea. He holds his maester in such high regard that he refused to let Damphair send him away.

Dunstan Drumm is Lord of Old Wyk. He is also one of the failed candidates at the kingsmoot.

What’s more, the fact that they are "speaking quietly” suggests that they are trying to avoid being heard. Just what could they be discussing? After, they were spotted talking, Rodrik and Dunstan voice their concerns about Euron’s taking of the Shield Islands and inviting the wroth of House Tyrell. The Reader was likely making alliances with other dissenting lords, and building a political base of his own.

Then, there is this scene later in the chapter when Euron proposes sailing the entire Ironborn fleet to Slaver’s Bay. Rodrik challenges his plan with facts.

"When?" The voice was Lord Rodrik's. "When shall we return, Your Grace? A year? Three years? Five? Your dragons are a world away, and autumn is upon us." The Reader walked forward, sounding all the hazards. "Galleys guard the Redwyne Straits. The Dornish coast is dry and bleak, four hundred leagues of whirlpools, cliffs, and hidden shoals with hardly a safe landing anywhere. Beyond wait the Stepstones, with their storms and their nests of Lysene and Myrish pirates. If a thousand ships set sail, three hundred may reach the far side of the narrow sea . . . and then what? Lys will not welcome us, nor will Volantis. Where will you find fresh water, food? The first storm will scatter us across half the earth."

A smile played across Euron's blue lips. "I am the storm, my lord. The first storm, and the last. I have taken the Silence on longer voyages than this, and ones far more hazardous. Have you forgotten? I have sailed the Smoking Sea and seen Valyria."

"Have you?" the Reader asked, so softly.

Euron's blue smile vanished. "Reader," he said into the quiet, "you would do well to keep your nose in your books."

-The Reaver

While clearly not the kind of guy who goes looking for a fight, he is no coward either, given it takes guts to basically call Euron a liar to his face in front of everyone. With a simple question, he manages to be the only person to visibly get under Euron’s skin. It’s the only time we ever see Euron lose his cool as he basically responds by threatening Rodrik.

"Are we slavers now?" asked the Reader. "And for what? Dragons that no man here has seen? Shall we chase some drunken sailor's fancy to the far ends of the earth?"

His words drew mutters of assent. "Slaver's Bay is too far," called out Ralf the Limper. "And too close to Valyria," shouted Quellon Humble. Fralegg the Strong said, "Highgarden's close. I say, look for dragons there. The golden kind!" Alvyn Sharp said, "Why sail the world, when the Mander lies before us?" Red Ralf Stonehouse bounded to his feet. "Oldtown is richer, and the Arbor richer still. Redwyne's fleet is off away. We need only reach out our hand to pluck the ripest fruit in Westeros."

"Fruit?" The king's eye looked more black than blue. "Only a craven would steal a fruit when he could take the orchard."

"It is the Arbor we want," said Red Ralf, and other men took up the cry. The Crow's Eye let the shouts wash over him. Then he leapt down from the table, grabbed his slattern by the arm, and pulled her from the hall.

Fled, like a dog. Euron's hold upon the Seastone Chair suddenly did not seem as secure as it had a few moments before.

-The Reaver

The Reader is able to successfully get the whole room on his side in opposing Euron’s plan to sail for Slaver’s Bay with Euron effectively losing control of the situation, and fleeing the scene. While Euron was always able to effectively dispatch his fellow Greyjoys from his brothers to his niece, Rodrik manages to succeed in politically outmaneuvering him. He managed to go up against the man who decisively won the kingsmoot and win. The Reader is clearly no warrior, but he manages to be a skilled politician.

Euron has a formidable rival in Rodrik Harlaw. Unlike Euron’s fellow Greyjoys, Rodrik commands his own seat that can be used to oppose Euron. Harlaw being the most populous and wealthiest of the Iron Isles also effectively makes the Reader the most powerful lord on the Iron Isles. Rodrik’s vast store of knowledge from a lifetime of reading allows him to be the man who pulls Euron’s curtain, with actual facts being the antidote to Euron’s tricks. Not only that, but Harlaw has enough skills as a politician to potentially build a coalition to oppose Euron.

We shall see where it leads as the series goes on.

#ironborn #rodrik harlaw #iron islands #asoiaf #a feast for crows #euron greyjoy #euron #asha greyjoy #harlaw #goodbrother #westeros #victarion greyjoy #aeron greyjoy #house greyjoy #pyke

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chenziee · 4 years ago

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hello, can i request lawlu and frobin from outsider pov? thank you

Thank you, anon, for giving me an excuse to write this xD I hope you don’t mind some absolutely ridiculous, silly first dates with non-consensual meet-the-family.

This fic is the continuation to my Lawlu fic [Good friends (don’t) kiss] that I have wanted to write since publishing the original fic. It is absolutely NOT necessary to read the prequel to understand this fic :)

Enjoy~

Boyfriends (do) kiss

The innkeeper sighed as he leaned against his broom, looking around the mess that his cozy little inn had become. And the day began so innocently; quiet and slow like any other day. But now there was a charred table and burn spots on the floor, several broken chairs, with cutlery and shattered plates scattered all over. And that was him being lucky. He had been kindly informed some places hit by a similar disaster ended up with broken walls or windows—or both.

It all started a few hours ago when a couple of pirates came in. It was nothing to fret about; once in a while those sea rats would dock at this island and have a meal, then they would run off. None of them tended to stay very long or cause any trouble because of the small navy base just outside town, and even if they did start something, they were usually dealt with quickly. This was no backwater island with no police or competent security, after all.

So, when the two pirates entered, the innkeep paid them almost no mind. That is, until one of his regulars who had been eating his lunch at the counter whispered, "Hey, aren't those two…" He let his sentence fade out, only gesturing frantically in the direction of the two young men, making the innkeep frown and finally take a good look.

They were sitting at a table pretty much at the centre of the room, as if uncaring if anyone noticed them. That alone was not exactly normal in a marine town where pirates tended to keep low and hide in dark corners. The louder, seemingly younger one of them was stuffing his face with gusto, even stealing all the bread off of the other's plate while laughing and teasing his companion, who ate at a much slower pace.

The other one wasn't laughing along, having a much calmer and quieter demeanor, but there was an undeniable, if small, smile on his face. There was also a really familiar, yellow Jolly Roger contrasting against the back of his long, black coat but the innkeeper couldn't for the life of him place it. Narrowing his eyes, he wrecked his brain for where he had seen it, and for just who these people were.

And then his eyes fell on the straw hat hanging on the younger one's neck and it clicked.

Fucking Straw Hat Luffy and Trafalgar Law were casually having lunch in his goddamned inn. He really hoped they weren't going to be planning some big raids while at it or he would have to call the marines. Which he absolutely didn't want to do; there was always so much paperwork involved.

Praying to all that was holy that it wouldn't come to that, the innkeeper observed their interactions, watching for any suspicious movements. After all, two of the Worst Generation captains starting a fight with each other would be just as bad as them planing coups or navy base raids, as well as it was the last thing this old building needed.

Thankfully, it seemed like they were getting along just fine. They were both smiling, speaking quietly with each other and… holding hands? Ah no, that was just Trafalgar handing over the salt. Good. That would be awkward. The touch did seem a little bit too long for a casual contact though.

Just then, the door to the inn opened and in came a couple, a man and woman. Or a giant robot and woman? The robot had his arm placed gently around the woman’s shoulder so it looked like they were together at least.

“Oh! Robin, Franky, are you here to eat, too?” Straw Hat called loudly, waving at the newcomers enthusiastically, and only then did the innkeeper make the connection—they were two members of Straw Hat’s crew, the ‘Iron Man’ Franky and the ‘Demon Child’ Nico Robin. The innkeeper really didn’t like where this seemed to be going.

“That’s right, Luffy,” the cyborg said, equally loud, when the couple reached their captain’s table. “How’s the food here?”

“It’s great! Their bread is amazing,” Straw Hat replied and the innkeep made a mental note to relay the compliment to both his cook and the the town’s baker.

Nico Robin chuckled. “Torao-kun looks like he doesn’t agree.”

Trafalgar made a disgusted face before he looked at her and spoke up, “No, I don’t. But this bottomless pit ate all of my bread anyway and the rest is pretty good.”

“Of course I ate the bread for you, you hate it,” Straw Hat stated matter of factly before he grinned and leaned towards the other captain to give him a long kiss on the cheek, a gesture that earned him an embarrassed click of the tongue from the other pirate.

Oh. Suddenly, the innkeep remembered the newspaper article from three days ago, the one which had claimed the two were dating and which he had discarded as ridiculous and promptly forgot about. Maybe it wasn’t so ridiculous after all.

“You two are super cute,” the cyborg announced, making Straw Hat laugh and Trafalgar roll his eyes.

“Wanna join us?” Straw Hat gestured to the two other, currently empty chairs at the table. “We could make it a double date,” he suggested then, glancing to his boyfriend who only shrugged in response, apparently not caring either way.

The other two, however, shook their heads, and Nico Robin spoke up, “It’s your first proper date. You should enjoy it, just the two of you.” She smiled warmly at the two of them before she glanced up at her own huge companion and placed her small hand over his large one which was still resting against her shoulder. “We’ll get another table and we can meet for deserts later?”

“Sounds good!” Straw Hat and the cyborg agreed, both grinning, while Trafalgar only nodded silently at her suggestion.

The innkeeper couldn’t decide whether he was glad the four of them weren’t going to be a concentrated in one place, smack in the centre of the room no less, or if he was annoyed he would now have to keep an eye on two tables with high bounty pirates.

He barely managed to take notice of where the mismatched couple of the Iron Man and the Demon Child—who looked more like an elegant, beautiful lady than either a demon or a child—when someone at the counter called him over. He wondered when this young man got there; he hadn’t noticed him coming in or sitting down. Maybe because he was so preoccupied by the cursed sea dogs.

“Thank you for waiting, sir. What would you like?” the innkeeper asked the man with blond, wavy hair and what looked like a burn scar over his eye. There was a black top hat with a pair of goggles around it lying in the counter next to him.

The man smiled, putting a ten thousand beri bill on the counter. “When Trafalgar Law asks for a drink, can you add this into it?” he asked, pulling out a small bottle.

The innkeeper blinked, staring at the bottle for a moment before slowly looking up to meet the stranger’s eyes. “Are you asking me to poison a man worth 500 million beri?”

“It won’t kill him.” An unhappy, maybe even angry expression appearing on his face before he continued, voice lowering dangerously, “It will just make him regret every decision he had ever made that led to him being here.”

The innkeeper scowled, folding his arms across his chest as he regarded the man. “There will be no poisonings in my inn, lethal or not. I don’t care what your issue with him is but settle it somewhere else.”

“Damn,” the blond cursed, pocketing both the bottle and the bill. “Guess I’ll have to light his face on fire after all. Thanks anyway.”

As soon as he was done speaking, he turned around in his chair to glare at the table where his apparent nemesis was now ruffling his boyfriend’s hair while Straw Hat giggled, trying to push his hand away. When he finally succeeded, he didn’t let go; instead, he laced their fingers together and mumbled something that made Trafalgar look away in obvious embarrassment.

Suddenly, something bright caught the innkeeper’s eyes and when he looked what it was, he gasped. “Sir, you’re on fire!” he cried in alarm.

The blond startled, looking at his hand as if he only just realized it was engulfed in angry, crackling flames. “Whoops. Sorry,” he simply apologized, shanking the hand until the flame died down to nothing. After a mere second, it was as if there was no fire at all. “Glad to know Ace is angry, too.”

“Sabo! What are you doing here?” Straw Hat cried a moment later, jumping up and basically bouncing in place, and the blond cursed at being spotted.

He waved at the pirate awkwardly. “Hey, Luffy. Just—” he paused, seemingly wrecking his brain for a plausible answer— “passing by.”

That was the worst excuse the innkeep had ever heard, and that was counting all the excuses men have ever given to their angry wives who came to pick them up after a night of drinking.

But Straw Hat grinned, nodding happily as if it made perfect sense. Trafalgar Law, on the other hand, eyed the man suspiciously. “Your brother probably came to check up on you, Straw Hat-ya. Since the papers wrote about us,” he said flatly, making the blond glare at him.

Wait. ‘Sabo.’ Straw Hat’s brother. The Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army? That Sabo? This day was getting seriously ridiculous. What was next, a Celestial Dragon?

He barely managed to finish the thought when the entrance door burst open and in came two old men and a goat. The innkeeper couldn’t believe his eyes. They weren’t Celestial Dragons but at this point they might as well be. The goddamn Hero of the Marines Garp and former Fleet Admiral Sengoku had just walked into his inn and he felt like he might faint. Between four infamous pirates, number two of the revolutionary army, and two legendary marines, it would be a miracle if his inn was still standing by the end of the day.

“Luffy!” Garp roared, stomping forward.

Straw Hat flinched in response, immediately raising his arms in a attempt to block the fist that was coming at his head from above. “Gramps! What are you doing here?”

“Dating a pirate? You brat, you’re a hundred years early to pull something like this!” Garp growled, hitting Straw Hat once more.

“Ouch! Why does it hurt even when I use haki?” Straw Hat whined after taking a step back at the impact, his chair clattering to the floor. “And what do you care who I’m dating?” He went to punch back.

Garp side stepped him, grabbing his arm and stopping it from hitting some of the innocent customers who were scurrying to get out of the inn. “Because it’s a fist of love,” Garp said, as if that explained anything.

The innkeeper really wanted run away like his customers did but he was frozen in place, watching the scuffle happening. This was honestly the most bizzare pirate versus marine fight he had ever witnessed, possibly the most bizzare one anyone had ever witnessed. Neither was trying to beat the other, there was no attempt at capture or escape—if you didn’t count Trafalgar quickly backing away from the screaming duo in the direction of cyborg Franky and Nico Robin, who both looked entirely too entertained. At least Trafalgar’s face said he was about as happy about the turn of events as the innkeeper himself was.

A second later, in a flurry of flames, the revolutionary at the counter jumped forward, standing in between Straw Hat and Garp. “Gramps, wait. You should be beating up him,” he said sharply, pointing at Trafalgar, who was by then lounging in the chair next to Nico Robin, coffee cup he was offered by the woman in hand.

“Leave me out of this,” he called back, raising his free hand in a vaguely threatening motion, the air swirling around under his palm with in devil fruit power.

“Yes, leave him out of this!” Straw Hat snapped, throwing a punch at Sabo instead.

The bartender watched in horror as the punch went through the blond, spitting flames all around and setting a table on fire. At least the man quickly put out the flames but the damage was done and the table charred black.

Garp’s attention turned to the revolutionary then, his hand landing on his shoulder and squeezing until Sabo hissed in pain. “Hello, Mr Revolutionary. Do you care to explain?”

“Why are you so angry, we told you we didn’t want to be marines right from the start!”

“Baa!” The innkeeper’s gaze followed after the sudden sound, dropping from the scene of disaster to his knees where Fleet Admiral Sengoku’s goat was gently chewing on the wash cloth he had hanging from his belt. At least someone in here looked like they couldn’t care less about whatever it was that was happening around them. The innkeeper let go of a long, deep sigh, and stroked the goat’s head.

“Thank you,” he said to the goat earnestly, to which the animal only blinked and continued chewing.

Raising his eyes to look for the goat’s owner, he found the man slowly approaching the remaining three outlaws, dropping in the last available chair at their table—after turning it around to get a better view of the fight at the centre of the room. The three visibly tensed up at their new company, but Sengoku only looked at them blanky before raising the packet in his hand.

“Want a rice cake?”

The pirates stared at him, the cyborg moving forward a little to shield Nico Robin from the old marine.

Sengoku, however, only crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair, looking as uncaring as could be. “Relax. I’m retired. I have no obligation to keep up with any new wanted posters so I have no idea who you people are. I’m just here to enjoy the show.”

It was a transparent lie, there was no way the man didn’t know he was sitting at the table with a former Shichibukai and a woman who had been hunted by the world government for twenty-something years, and the innkeeper couldn’t help but stare at the scene before him with an open mouth. Was this seriously, seriously happening? In his inn?

When it became apparent that Sengoku wasn’t a threat to them right then, the strange couple and Trafalgar slowly relaxed and the marine smiled, gesturing with his packet again. Finally, Trafalgar reached forward, grabbing a rice cake and tentatively taking a bite.

Soon, he was followed by Nico Robin who pulled out two, handing one of them to Franky who thanked her with a quick kiss before he took it from her hand. For a moment all four of them simply munched on their rice cakes in silence, watching while Straw Hat, Sabo, and Garp bickered and wrecked the whole goddamn inn while at it.

The entire thing was so ridiculous, so completely absurd, that the innkeeper wanted to cry.

It took them almost an hour after that to finally file out of the inn, leaving behind only absolute mess and destruction. At least Sengoku had assured the innkeeper in passing that the Navy would pay for the damages while he had ordered a tea.

He really hoped the marines wouldn’t complain about it since he would be forced to bill them eight people worth of food on top of all this, as the four pirates didn’t even pay for their own food or drinks.

Pirates, he thought to himself, finally tossing his broom aside and opening a bottle of rum instead.

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iturbide · 4 years ago

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Crest Control Edelgard in Heroes

(CheeseAndCake here) You asked for Crest Control Edelgard in Askr, so here she is! My brain does not like being quiet, apparently. I want you to know that this is your responsibility now, Enjoy! (I also have no idea if this will work, so heres to hoping for the best.)

Note: The things Edelgard says/thinks are things she thinks are true, that doesn’t mean she 100% perfectly understands her past self.

______________________________________________________________

The former Emperor blinked as her surroundings disappeared and reshaped in a flash of light. What was-

Just a second ago, she was entering Queen Ivanna’s office to deliver news, and now she was standing at an altar, with a hooded figure in front of her, and no idea what was going on. She was still wearing her black dress with pink highlights, with her armour over said dress, hair still done up in a bun, and still holding her dagger, so if this was an ambush, it was poorly planned. She was pretty sure the Texts guarded by the church never mentioned this, and-

“Greetings, hero, welcome to the world of Ask.” The figure began, nodding their hood, “I am Kiran, the summoner who called you forth. This world is under attack, and in desperate need of aid, will you fight with us?”

“I am no hero,” She responded, knowing that anyone that referred to her as hero must not know about her earlier life, before she fought Those Who Slither, or have a gross misunderstanding of what heroes are, “But if you need my aid, I shall give it. I am Edelgard.”

That didn’t mean she trusted them, but if they were being honest, she would give her aid.

Kiran nodded, “Very well, welcome to the Order of Heroes. Here, different people are summoned across space and time, so you may run into people you know, or… other versions of yourself.”

That was… the last thing she needed, but she nodded anyway, and Kiran led her to what would be her chambers. This was a war. She knew war.

She nearly tried to sit Kiran’s throat when she thought heard a nearby child scream, but after a moment she realised the child- who she could see had green hair and wings now that she was closer- was laughing, as an older woman who looked similar to her smiled in response.

“You recruit children to your order?” She asked. She didn’t how dragon children aged, truely- there weren’t any dragon’s left when she escaped, after what she did- but she knew only children laughed like that. She made a mental note to talk to them later and ask about their beliefs and traditions, since there weren’t any dragons in Ivanna’s army, and it would be important to know.

Kiran sighed, “I cannot control who I summon, or from what time I do. Sometimes, they are children. I don’t let them fight, but they can stay if they want.”

She didn’t ask why they would want to stay in a country at war. If she had the opportunity as a child, she would have grabbed it with both hands.

“When it’s over, will they be sent back to where they were taken from?” If enough time passed…

“Yes, they’re sent back to the same place, without any time passing, but they keep their memories.” Ah, that’s… not the best, for the children in a bad position, but at the very least, no one will panic about her disappearance.

It was only when she turned a corner and saw a version of herself, not wearing any black, but an Emperor’s red and a horned crown, that she realised how bad this would be. A nightmare. This was a nightmare. But she’s lived longer than most, and she knows how to push down the familiar feeling of dizziness, and focus on following the white cloaked figure up the stairs.

She makes it to the second floor before she empties the contents of her stomach.

Kiran was yelling something, but she didn’t completely hear it. Something about a bad reaction to seeing counterparts?

Before she knew it, someone was leaning over her speaking in a deep voice.. It was only after a few breaths that she understood the words, and looked at the face of the person who came to comfort her, “-completely fine that you had a bad reaction, lots of worlds branch off, and- Edelgard?”

“Dimitri?” For a moment, she wondered if the stress finally broke her before she dismissed it. If it did, Dimitri would look like he did on the Tailtean Plains. He wouldn’t be so calm, wearing royal armour, or missing an eye.

“Which timeline are you from?” Kiran asked, voice breaking through her thought process and they helped her sit away from her vomit.

“‘Timeline?’”

“Ah, right. Each hero comes from their own individual world. In some worlds, different people won the war of Fodlan.” Kiran explained with a shrug, as apparently this was a common occurrence.

She turned to Dimitri, “I’m assuming that in your world, you won the war?” He nodded, wincing.

“Then I guess congratulations are in order.” Edelgard continued, giving a short bow before a thought struck her. “Tell me, what was the fate of- Professor Byleth in your world?”

“They became Archbishop of the church of Serios.” Dimitri responded, starting to look concerned, but she didn’t care. That Byleth didn’t follow her, and Those Who Slither would have destroyed the church if they had a pawn in such a high position, which meant…

There was a world where Byleth lived their own life. Free.

She pushed aside any bitterness that it wasn’t her world that had that Byleth. She played her own part in what happened, and now all she could do was move forward.

“Did I join you, or die?” Now Dimitri was openly staring at her, and she quickly schooled her expression into something more neutral.

Dimitri glanced down, and in that moment, he looked exhausted. “You… died, El.”

She winced at the old name, “Please don’t call me that.” Her death really wasn’t a surprise. She knew how stubborn she was in the past, and how stubborn she can still be.

“I would apologise for all the heartache I put you through,” she began, standing up straight, “but we both know an apology won’t fix anything. I can only try to make it right with my actions.”

“It won’t fix anything,” Dimitri agreed, his single eye almost looking into her soul, “It’s start, though.”

“…I’m… sorry, for everything.” The words felt like lead in her mouth, but once they’re out, she didn’t feel any lighter.

“Thank you.” He sounded sincere, and that just make it worse.

“Don’t thank me. Not for this.”

————————————

It’s later, when she was directed towards a woman named Kagero after a few questions, that she thought about what she was about to do.

She knew herself well enough to understand she only had one chance at it, and if she ruins it, would take much more time and effort to reach the same goal.

Her past self did have a very narrow mind view, so presentation would be half the battle.

She looked at the small drink offered with a bone deep wariness, and asked “Is the drink alcoholic?”

“Yes,” The ninja- who was currently dressed as a maid- nodded as she cleaned one of the glasses, “I can get a different one if you want.”

“No, thank you, I’m going to need this.” She drank the entire thing in a few gulps, willing for the contents of the glass to give her confidence and numb any pain that would come.

“Don’t let me have any more,” Edelgard said as she passed the glass back to the server. “I’m going to need a clear head for this.”

“Working together with an enemy for your world?” The ninja asked, as if it was something that happened every week.

“Something like that.”

—————————————

“In my world, Those Who Slither won.” That was all she needed to say to quiet her student self enough to listen. Despite all the time that passed, and everything that happened, Edelgard still knew how to stand and speak like a ruler, and she used every lesson she learned into what she had planned to say here.

“They won, because my war created instability instead of destroying it. Afterwards, they took me back to that godforsaken dungeon and continued their experiments. You know, when we were younger, they needed to keep us alive.” She didn’t bother trying to hide her bitter smile, “They didn’t need to keep us alive this time, so they didn’t restrain themselves.”

It wasn’t a kind thing to say, but Edelgard wasn’t kind. Kindness didn’t win battles, but violence didn’t win hearts.

“Do you know, why, in the end, they failed?” She continued before her student self could interject, ignoring any memories or emotions that surfaced, “Because Dimitri’s cousin and Claude came back to Fodlan- after years of hiding- to help the people. If we killed them that night in the forest, I never would have escaped. I would have died just another nameless experiment.”

The ‘like our siblings’ goes unsaid, and Edelgard wondered if her younger self even heard it.

“You still think it’s a fairy-tale where the fight will be the hardest part, but war… War will be the easiest thing you’ll ever do. The most natural thing you’ll ever do. We grew up on the stories of freedom through violence, of Nemesis and Serios. We have enough resources to sit upon a throne without thinking about who died for it. We’ve been exposed to bloodshed since we were a child, so killing will be easy. Being remembered will be easy.”

Because at the end of the day, that was all her past self was: a child who wanted to be strong and free like Nemesis. The church was the most visible cage, so it was the first one she tried to destroy.

Edelgard looked her past self in the eye, making sure that if nothing, she heard these words. “Building something after you destroy everything will be impossible for you, because you don’t even know what will come after. You haven’t even thought of it.”

It didn’t take a mind reader to know she’s shaken the girl, but it only took a moment for her past self to deny it.

“You’ve clearly been corrupted by them, if you believe that humanity won’t be able to build themselves up once the church is gone!” Her past self had a fierce look in her eyes, and she knew at this moment the conversation wouldn’t get anywhere.

“Maybe I have,” Edelgard agreed easily, because she never did find out what it was like to have her free will taken from her. Maybe it felt like you were in control, maybe you were aware the entire time, unable to call for help, maybe it felt like you were half asleep.

She hoped that it was the last option, because if it wasn’t she didn’t know what she would do, but she knew better than to hope.

“But I’ll ask you this:” She continued, because her past self might not bother looking for anything that will change her view, but Edelgard knew her past self’s fears and hopes, and she knows just how stubborn she can be. “Do you honestly think that every act in history was created or twisted by dragons? You claim that humanity is strong, but then claim that they have no agency.

“I’m not foolish enough to try and convince you otherwise.” Edelgard turned to leave, “Nothing but your own consequences will do that. I’m just telling you to prepare for the worst.”

She took a few steps down the hallway before stopping. “Of course, if you want to learn how to limit casualties in the upcoming war, come to me. It’s a useful thing to know.”

Because she can’t force anyone to do anything. She doesn’t have the right, but if her past self is curious enough to listen, she will tell the truth, without hesitation.

Fodlan had already paid enough for her ignorance.

______________________________________________

I’m not gonna lie I’ve read through this at least three times now in my inbox and I just love all of it??? Holding strong even after seeing another version of herself until she’s safely away and then completely losing it? Coming face to face with Dimitri, saying she won’t apologize for the heartache she caused because it doesn’t fix anything, but when Dimitri says that it’s a shart she does it (and it doesn’t feel any better but she did it and I’m proud of her)? Steamrolling her way through the start of her conversation with her younger self because she knows that it’s the only way to get a word in edgewise? It’s all fantastic and I love it and I want to see more of it

Also I felt compelled to try sketching out a conceptual CC!Edelgard take this as either thanks for sending this or a bribe for more or both your choice

#submission #cheeseandcake #fire emblem: three houses #fire emblem: heroes #fanfiction #crest control #i love this so much #i want to see more of cc!edelgard in heroes #hanging with claude and arvis and lyon #and talking to the dragons #there are so many interesting possibilities

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time-to-cause-chaos · 4 years ago

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catch me to infinity

5 times Wanda catches Peter, and 1 time she doesn't know if she can. (Reblogs appreciated <3) (st*rk*r shippers, pls DNI) (also this is PLATONIC, not slash so yeah, pls don’t read this as slash)

AO3 link WC: 5,738

1. Accidentally, off a couch

“Wanda” Peter says, laying across his chair, feet dangling idly in the air.

“Wandaaa”, Peter whines again. His half-finished hot cocoa sits abandoned on the coffee table while Wanda sips hers quietly.

Wanda pauses the tv, raising an eyebrow and looking over to Peter with an unimpressed look.

The guy on the screen is leaning against a wall, mouth half-open, caught in the middle of a joke.

“We’ve watched this episode like a million times. I can probably tell you every single line and scene by heart at this point.”

Wanda sighs, “Which one should we watch then?”

A quick glance at the window says they’re still stuck inside, if the storming winds and downpour mean anything. They didn’t have a problem with some light rain, in fact, if Tony and Steve hadn’t expressly told them they couldn’t go outside, they would already be soaked and muddy. The last day they’d gone outside in the cold though, the next day was full of fevers and snotty napkins so it was decided they’d actually listen this time. That rainy day had still been awesome though and there were absolutely no regrets, even when Peter was delirious and giggling everywhere in a haze.

The sitcom playing in front of them was one of Wanda’s favorites - probably why Peter had put up with watching it for the millionth time - but at this point, she was barely making it through the episode without wanting to rip her hair out.

She was bored.

Peter came around her and sat on the back of the couch, his feet planted on the cushions. Flipping through the shows was a waste, they’d also gone through nearly every episode they could and starting a new show right now sounded exhausting.

Wanda slumped and Peter got up, standing on the sofa, “There are so many things we could do, we’re in the Avengers Compound, there can’t be nothing to do.”

“We could go swimming?” Peter asks.

Wanda groans, “Then you’ll be the one explaining why we got sick again”

“Wanda, it’s indoors”

“N-o” she spells out, “No swimming”

“Well what about-”, Wanda doesn’t figure out what Peter was going to say because his balancing act comes toppling down, maybe balancing on his heels and pacing on the headrest of the couch hadn’t been one of his best ideas.

Peter yelps and his arms come over his head as he crashes to the floor.

...Except the crash never comes.

Instead when Peter opens his eyes, his nose is one inch from touching the floorboards and his limbs are covered in bright red ripples of light.

“Whoa”, he breathes, uncurling himself and spreading his arms out, as if he was floating.

Wanda scoffs and with a flick of her fingers, let’s go of her hold on the mist and helps him close the gap between himself and the floor, dropping him harmlessly on the floor.

He picks himself up and looks at her, mouth agape, “Wands, you have powers!” he shouts in glee.

She rolls her eyes and snorts, “Really, Peter? That is news to me.”

“No, no I mean imagine all the fun things we could do with this”, Peter’s hands flail wildly to emphasize his point, “we could prank the others, for one”

She smirks up at him, “That’s actually not a bad idea”

“When have I ever had a bad idea”

Wanda’s eyebrows pinch together in exasperation, “The swimming idea?”

“Okay, fine moment of weakness but anyways,” he grins, “We need supplies, I’m going to get supplies”

He snaps his fingers and is out the door before he can hear Wanda yell, “If Tony grounds you, it’s not my fault!”

2. Mysteriously, for the suspense and drama

Peter laughed into the comms as he kicked one of the bad guys down, “Was that a dad joke, Mr.Stark?”

“It was a pun, there’s a difference Spidey” Tony grunts, blasting up into the air and firing another guy down a stairwell.

Clint pops on the comm link, crackling into their ears, “I’m pretty sure that was a dad joke Tony”

Peter shoots a web onto the ceiling and swings around, webbing up the last few people in the room, “Mr.Stark, just make sure to give us a warning before you go full dad-mode and start playing golf and bringing us our lunches”

“I actually think I did bring your lunch to your school that one time”, Peter doesn’t have to see Mr.Stark’s face to know he’s smirking.

“Nope, nuh-uh, no I definitely don’t remember that”

“Oh yes you do,” Tony laughs, “Your face was red the entire time”

Peter grimaces,”No idea what you’re talking about”. Oh he definitely did, it had been embarrassing, god and Ned’s jaw was practically on the floor while MJ watched unimpressed as the entire class’s eyes bulged.

“I think I saw some dudes slip up to the roof, I’m going to go grab them” Peter says, changing the subject and looking for Tony for confirmation.

“Go ahead, Underoos. I’ll be right behind, just going to make sure law enforcement have a hold of these guys, first.”

Peter nods and slips out of the room, already running up the fire escape.

He bursts out onto the roof and immediately has a gun trained on him.

“Make one move, Spiderman, I dare you”

“Well, I do love a good dare”

Peter ducks behind a potted plant just as the guy fires a bullet. Spinning out from his hiding place he yells, “I’m going to call you Boots!”

The man was wearing heavy black combat boots with large wedges, a short person’s true love, Peter thinks.

He had thick wedges too on most of his sneakers, but he assured himself Tony he only wore them because they were fun to wear.

Speaking of, he was pretty sure Mr.Stark made his shoes with wedges in them too-

Peter yelps and ducks as the gun fires again, missing him by a foot this time.

Anyways, he was average height, thank you very much. Anyone who said otherwise could eat his webs and dirt.

Peter notices a slight hesitation in his opponent’s movement and immediately shoots a web out, yanking his gun arm down.

He flips behind him and punches him down right before the man flips back up, nailing Peter on his nose and forcing him back.

Peter yelps and realizes their fight is nearing the edge of the roof, which had a good 8-story drop behind it.

He tries to push his punches in another direction, trying to redirect them both before one of them goes over but the man stays strong pushing them closer and closer to the edge.

Wanda’s voice comes in through the comms, “Peter, where are you?”

“Roof” Peter barely gets out through his grunts.

“I’m under you” she says.

Ironman comes out through the roof access door and watches as Peter stumbles, barely inches from tipping over the side.

He raises a metal hand, ready to shoot but Peter stops him, “Just trust me”

He would’ve let Tony handle it, but the blast could knock him off too, not just the other guy, and if he was going to plummet off a building today, he wanted to do it on his own terms.

Balancing on the small wall, the only thing keeping him from falling off, Peter jumps sideways just as the man raises a leg to kick him down.

Peter smirks, using two fingers to salute, “Sayonara, sucker” he laughs as he pushes off and starts free-falling backwards, wind and gravity pushing on him.

That was so cool, he thinks. It was a perfect reenactment of those scenes in movies where a character will dramatically fall off a roof narrowly escaping their nemesis and then gets caught by like, a dragon or a flying pirate ship.

It’s called a fashionable exit, to all the uncultured misfortunes who think it’s stupid.

Mr.Stark was probably pretty confused about what just happened though.

He plunges through the air for a full three seconds before he’s caught by Wanda’s magic, floating mid-air.

He catches a glimpse of her pursed lips and smiles, “You’re so dramatic” she tells him, concealing her amused eyes.

Wanda takes them both up to the roof where Mr.Stark already has the man Peter was fighting, tied down.

Tony groans in exasperation when he sees them both, already having figured out their little magic act.

They just laugh.

3. To annoy, off the counter

It’s a Friday and the essay sitting on the table next to Wanda has already been long abandoned. He was not going to waste another minute trying to figure out what personal connection he could make the short story they’d been assigned to read during class.

He related to it because he’d been in a similar situation maybe?

But anyways, he wasn’t going to waste time trying to find a way to spread that over 8 detailed sentences and supporting textual evidence.

He’s sitting on the counter and watching Wanda and Vision read books next to each other on the chairs. Wanda’s legs are resting on Vision’s lap and as fun as it was watching them both, he was still exhausted and not in the mood to face the dangers of his other homework for tonight.

Didn’t Mr.Stark say not to risk his life unnecessarily? This should definitely count because just looking as the textbook took away two hours of his energy, at this rate he’d be on his death-bed by nightfall.

Munching on a protein bar, he looks up at the ceiling.

The only one in the building right now, besides Vision and Wanda, was Steve - well technically Mr.Stark too, but he was in a board meeting that Pepper begged him not to bail on so he was off-limits.

He glares at Wanda, trying to get her to notice him bored out of his mind, but she stubbornly stays focused on the page.

She’s actually reading Harry Potter, the result of Peter’s pestering, and she loved it. The plan to get Wanda to do something with him was interfering with the joy he would usually feel though.

Like yay, my pseudo big sister is finally catching up on all the books and movies she’s missed while working with evil people but also please please please notice me before i throw my stupid homework into the sink disposal-

His alarming train of thought still didn’t catch her attention so he slumps before getting up and deciding to walk all over the counters and ceiling. You know if that mark on the wall from when someone - ahem Clint ahem - had thrown a pen on the ceiling, acted like a mark he could pretend he was doing an obstacle course.

Yes, he could see it now, he’d do a cartwheel over the pen mark on the ceiling, then run on the wall, then he’d jump over the couch, and jump back onto the counter, the living room was plenty big enough.

Wow, this is a sorry excuse for fun.

He did the course three times and was skittering across the ceiling when Steve walked in and immediately shook his head at him.

Peter freezes in surprise and looks guiltily at Steve.

“I’m guessing the homework didn’t get done”, Steve says.

Peter sits criss-cross on the ceiling, if he gets down, he’s probably going to be guilt-tripped into doing his homework and no thank you.

Steve sighs and looks at him, “At least get down, you’re going to fall and get hurt.”

“No I won’t. I’m part-spider, this is like my natural territory”, Peter says.

“You have the traits of a spider”

Why did he always have to pull out the school detention PSA voice?

“But look! I can do a cartwheel on here, I’ve been doing them and I’m fine”

He’ll get down, as soon as he does just one, little cartwheel to annoy Steve.

Of course, that’s when his body decides to betray him and he slips, losing his grip on the ceiling.

He wasn’t worried about falling and smashing his nose at all, he knew Wanda would catch him every single time, in fact he’s already crossing his arms over his chest and scowling as he hovers on his back 3 feet above the ground.

Steve walks by him, still suspended in the air, and ruffles his hair, “Homework now”, then probably feeling bad for Peter, he adds, “Tony said you can use the lab later if you finish early”

Peter groans, “Fine”

Wanda puts him on the couch and he walks over to her and drops in the chair next to her on the table. She hasn’t looked up once this entire time, not even when she’d caught him in the air, only unlatching her fingers from Vision’s and stopping his fall with her powers.

Now she looks up and smiles at him, poking his forehead and pushing his computer towards him.

He groans again.

4. To spite and win, off the balcony

Peter licks his lips, running through the plan again.

There’s someone coming down this hall, he can hear their soft footsteps padding on the floor. Peter’s going to jump out and get the offending person out of the game, it’ll be easy as long as he times it right.

He jumps out from where he’s hiding behind the door frame and pulls up the gun aiming it at the unsuspecting form.

His paintball gun chooses right then to stall and dang it, that means that he has no defense or attack.

He looks up to find Clint grinning at him coyly, gun already trained on him and finger poised on the trigger.

He yelps and jumps out of the way just in time, the purple paintball splattering against the counter.

Peter runs back through the hallway, getting away from Clint and his treacherous smile (it was the smile of a deranged man who would do anything it takes to win paintball) and finds a cleaning closet to hide in while he fixes his gun.

Did the plastic pieces just have to jam right then? Talk about shitty luck.

He picks at the inside of the barrel with a toothpick and grins as a faint click ensures that the machine is functioning again. The paintball that had gotten stuck shoots out and Peter ducks out of the way as pink splatters against the dark wall.

He knows Clint’s prowling the halls for him right now and he prays the man didn’t just hear the shotgun go off.

Slowly creaking the door open and making sure there’s no one there, he tip-toes out and runs to the balcony, it’s the perfect place to hide out and wait for his next victim. The second anyone enters the living room, he has the perfect view on them and nobody looks at the balcony until it’s too late, which means more wins for him.

He underestimated Clint though.

The older man jumps out (umm where did he come from??) and kicks Peter’s gun away from him with a triumphant laugh. Peter backs up against the cool metal railing and looks at him imploringly, “Can we talk this out?” he offers weakly.

He really regretted voting for the no superpowers rule now.

“Any last words, Parker”

Peter turns his head around, looking for a way out. It was too high to jump from without his webs and it won’t be possible to run around Clint without getting hit by a paintball.

Right before he decides to accept his inevitable defeat he sees a flash of bright red hair hiding in the branches of one of the thick, green trees below them.

“You know what, you got me Clint” he smirks, letting Clint bask in his moment of victory for a second, “Just kidding” and he flips himself back off over the railing.

He really wishes he could’ve seen Clint’s face at that moment, sadly success came with a price.

Right on schedule, the sharp red crackles of electricity catch him a couple of feet from the ground and he plants his feet on the ground, turning around to face Wanda.

“Thanks Wands”

“Oh I didn’t do it for you”

It takes him a second too long to figure out what she means but by the time he does it’s already too late, a dark red paintball slams into his protective vest.

“You’re a traitor, Wanda” Peter sulked, wow and here he thought he could actually win - or at least come second to Nat.

“All is fair in love and paintball”

5. Unwillingly, off a stage

Wanda had decided to pick Peter up from his Decathlon practice, it was always Happy who did it but he was sick and plus, they could grab some ice cream and talk before they had to head back.

She tapped her fingers idly on the steering wheel, rapping out a misplaced tune and glances again at the school gates.

She fixes the rearview mirror and frowns, Peter should have come skipping out 15 minutes ago.

Wanda steps out of the car and smooths her wrinkled hoodie, running her fingers through hair once in the window before walking towards the school.

Her sneakers squeak, echoing loudly through the empty hallways and she has to wrinkle her nose at the spitballs stuck to the walls and lockers. Someone’s book report flits around in the air and suddenly, she’s incredibly grateful she never had to go to a real high school.

There’s a piece of paper with a handwritten “Academic Decathlon” scribbled on it taped loosely on heavy, wooden doors and she pushes them open, shivering at the rush of cold air that bursts out.

Peering in, Wanda sees Peter on the stage but he’s not alone. There’s another high-schooler gripping hard at his shoulders and sneering at him, speaking words Wanda’s not close enough to hear. It doesn’t take any amount of genius to know the two boys weren’t friends/

She doesn’t even have time to intervene because Peter’s pushed off the stage, it’s barely a 2 foot fall but Wanda doesn’t care, she’s angry.

Peter looks at her in surprise with dark red cheeks once she puts him, gently, on the floor. He practically curls in on himself and she honestly wouldn’t be surprised if her skin was a similar shade as his, just not for the same reason.

She stomps up to the other boy who’s looking at her in alarm and pokes a harsh finger at his chest, “You. bastard.” she accentuates each word by pushing her finger even harder against his t-shirt, “What’s wrong with you?!”

She may not have gone to high school but she definitely knows what a bully is. She’s had plenty of her own in the past, even if she hadn’t realized it at first.

It wasn’t fair Peter had to go through the same thing, school wasn’t supposed to be like this. It was where you were supposed to goof off with your friends and learn, not get pushed around by kids because they think they’re better than you.

A hand tugs at her wrist and she’s so wound up nearly forgets to soften her face when Peter tugs again, silently asking her to just drop it.

She looks back at the bully who’s gone pale and pushes him, sending him stumbling back a few feet.

“Don’t touch my little brother again, asshole” she snarls before whipping around and dragging Peter out the doors by his backpack.

By the time they get to the car, Peter still hasn’t said a word and instead opts to look out the window, not even sparing Wanda a small glance.

Her face is still aflame and her hands are still clenched around the wheel as she pulls to the side of the road and parks, looking over at Peter. His eyes are tinged red.

“I’m sorry” he whispers, the second they’re parked.

“Don’t say sorry, it wasn’t your fault, but why didn’t you fight back? Just one shove”. It doesn’t make sense, Peter is strong enough to take on super-soldiers, he practically is one himself with all his advancements, so why doesn’t he just push back? He doesn’t have to get hurt like this, he doesn’t deserve to.

“I’m just Peter Parker. I’m not Spiderman at school so it wouldn’t make sense, I can’t just do that”, his fingers dig into his thighs and he kicks lightly at his backpack.

“Then you could’ve said something to us,” she’s looking up at him, eyes almost crazed. It’s not okay, it’s not even close alright, it’s awful that this happens to him.

And she knows it’s not just a one-time thing.

Not when bullying at Midtown has been discussed far too many times for comfort, not when he’s come back with bruises and marks even when he hasn’t patrolled in days, and definitely not when Peter just tried to subtly wipe a tear from his cheek.

She feels tired all of a sudden, as her raging wave of anger reaches a crescendo and plummets to the ground, scattering, dropping her intentions to take care of anyone who even comes close to hurting Peter with some well-placed punches and kicks.

Wanda sighs and squeezes her eyes shut, blindly, she grabs Peter’s hand and asks, “Was that the Flash guy?”

“No, Flash never gets physical, he’s not too bad. This is someone else”

“So you’ve been getting bullied by multiple people?”, it’s not a question, she already knows. “Peter, you’re Spiderman, you know this isn’t right so please, please the next time this happens just” she exhales, “Just please, promise you’ll tell someone, anyone and they’ll take care of it”

“Promise” Peter breathes from next to her.

“Okay” she pulls back into the traffic, “I’m getting cookie dough ice cream, which one do you want?”

+1. This one was definitely not supposed to happen, shit, shitshit

It’s getting really hard to breathe.

Which should probably not be happening, but in Peter’s defense, he hadn’t even wanted to skip class. MJ had told him to, quote, “Get out of here before your dumbass throws up on someone’s shoes” and for once he’d actually listened, deciding going home and sleeping his fever off was better than being stuck in a stuffy old classroom, doing schoolwork.

The heater of the apartment sounded like heaven and sunshine right about then.

He was just going to take the subway when one of the tv’s turned on, flashing a news report about the Avengers fighting the group of people near the tower.

According to the news channel, they had a whole lot of advanced technology, from ray guns to shapeless contraptions you couldn’t tell heads or tails of.

And there were a lot of them.

So of course, Peter had immediately donned his warm hoodie and jeans and switched into his suit, already swinging towards to get there, it made his stomach queasy and his head spin, but it was fine, he was already almost there.

“Peter, you’re not doing this right now, stop it and go home”, Tony’s voice is playing through Karen the second he’s in range.

“Technically, I’m supposed to be in school right now, Mr.Stark”, Peter swings onto a roof and crashes against someone, knocking them down before looking at the metal cube object they had abandoned.

It was glowing a light purple, which should probably not be happening.

He walked cautiously around it and his eyes widened as the glow got brighter and spread more, covering the entire cube now.

“Shit!”

Peter manages to scramble back before it explodes, leaving a black scorch mark on the floor and the smell of smoke in the air.

“Peter!?”

Oops, he’d forgotten Mr.Stark was there.

“Yeah I’m fine, just where did these people get all this stuff?”

“No idea, but Pete, I swear to god get out of here, or else I’m calling your aunt”, there’s a strangled grunt and the comms go silent.

“Mr.Stark??”, there’s no answer, “Karen, take me to Mr.Stark”

He swings two buildings away and lands on the 9th floor balcony, entering and running towards the signal. When he enters the room, Tony’s being held up against the wall by someone who’s wearing heavy metal body armor, it could pass for an Iron Man cosplay if you squint really hard.

He jumps over, kicking them down and ducking a punch. Grabbing the wrist of the armor, Peter twists their arm and slams them on their back before immediately looking back at Tony and helping him up.

“You okay?”, Peter questions.

“Yup, something she used fried the comm link though, I can’t get to to anyone else”

Peter nods and they both run through the halls, racing to get to the top of the building.

“What do they want?”

“I don’t know, but right now I think they’re just trying to blow stuff up”

Bursting onto the roof, there’s only one person there with some weird silver spear, which honestly looks pretty harmless compared to everything else.

The man there, sees them and immediately backs off, dropping everything and stumbling away with a forced smile.

Tony still closes in on him and Peter webs his wrists and legs to the floor, just in case.

They’re both looking down onto the other rooftops for trouble when the headache Peter has been ignoring grows, and he stumbles back feeling his fever spike.

Tony approaches him and kneels down next to him where he’s sprawled on the floor waiting for the dizzy spell to pass.

“Kid, you have a fever”, Tony says after asking Karen for his vitals.

Peter swallows and fights the urge to keel over and vomit, “I’m fine”

“If I had a penny for every time I heard that” he jokes, voice unbearably soft, “Listen, you stay here and I’ll come and get you when this is over, ‘kay?”

Peter’s about to nod when someone flies onto the roof, they’re wearing goggles and using mechanical wings to help them fly.

Peter’s too dizzy to do anything so he watches as Tony raises a gauntlet and fires it up with a low whine that resonates in Peter’s keyed-up ears.

“Back off”, Tony says as a warning.

The girl smiles and takes off the goggles, slipping them up on her head with a puckish smirk, folding her wings in.

“Pleasure to meet you Iron Man, as well as you Spider”, she has a lilting accent that Peter can’t place.

The gauntlet doesn’t falter, even as Tony shifts so Peter is stuck in his shadow, “What do you want?”

“I want one of your inventions. I may not be in charge of all these idiots, but my best friend is our leader and if you get me what I want, this can all be called off.”

“Best I can do are scraps from the intern labs, sorry.” he says, before firing a repulsor as she ducks out of the way.

“I wasn’t going to this the hard way but I suppose I’ll have to”, her curly, brown hair whips in her face as she puts it up into a ponytail, still dodging Tony’s blasts.

Peter’s spidey sense flares just as her wings do and she’s coming at him at full speed, lifting him up and flying up, past the buildings. Oh he really has to hurl now.

Tony swears and tries to blast up, only to realize the girl had stuck a small square chip on him and his suit’s shutting down, his breathing clips and he looks up to where Peter’s being flown up.

He gets out of the suit and runs to the edge of the roof, “Wilson!” he calls, signaling Sam over from where he’s hauling debris out of the street for a car to get through.

Sam flies up to him and without a word, grabs him and flies him over to where Clint, Natasha, and Wanda are a few buildings away. The whole 30 seconds he hasn’t taken his eyes off the Peter-shaped speck in the sky that’s getting harder and harder to see.

He stumbles over to Clint who’s looking at Wanda in concern, arms braced behind her to catch her if she falls.

Tony briefly wonders what’s going on, before looking up at the collapsing building in front of them, the scarlet circling her wrists, and the sheen of sweat covering her forehead.

Clint looks over to him, swallowing, “Steve’s in there trying to get the rest of the people out, we can’t get in though, it’s too unstable. The second Wanda lets go, the entire place is coming crashing down”

Tony can’t hide his panic anymore and he points up the sky, “Clint, it’s Peter”

Clint follows his finger and he jerks, seeing the red and blue suit in the distance, “Oh god”

The comms finally crackle back online and Tony swears his heart skips a beat when he realizes the bird lady just dropped Peter, oh my god.

They’re well over 4,000 feet up and his heart is in his throat as Peter’s screaming floods through the comms.

Wanda hears it too and her hold on the building falters as she falls to her knees, eyes squeezed shut. Clint moves to hold her but hovers around her instead, glancing back up at Peter when Wanda has a semi-stable grip again.

Natasha kneels on the ground next to Wanda, “You’re going to have to catch him”

Wanda’s voice teeters on a cry, “I’m trying”

Tony holds back his own cry and desperately tries to speak into the comms, if Peter realizes Tony’s trying to get through to him he doesn’t acknowledge it.

The comms are filled with wheezing and rushing wind and Tony’s gripping his arm so tight because that’s his kid dammit, and he can’t do anything.

Wanda’s attempts at catching him are proving futile, she can’t handle anything else without dropping the building which she can’t do, not when Steve and a whole lot of people are depending on her not to let it go.

“Sam, can’t you take your wings up and get him?”. He doesn't care how panicked his voice sounds right now.

“One of the guys stuck a chip on it, the thing’s dead-weight now” Sam says, voice filled with sorrow.

Tony gulps in a breath and falls on his knees next to Wanda, “You have to catch him, Wanda” there’s a grim undertone in his voice hiding the waver and pure terror flooding through his veins.

Wanda grunts, tears are shining in her eyes, if it’s because of the strain or Peter, he has no idea.

“GUYS! Guys, guys, I’m falling!” Peter screams into their earpieces, voice cutting out, hot tears squeeze at his eyes.

Wanda looks up with a new sense of determination and her eyes flash, Tony suddenly knows that anyone going toe-to-toe with her would probably run first chance instead of fight.

“You can do it Wanda, come on” Tony pleads.

Peter’s form is getting bigger every second, little by little.

At around 500 feet, a faint glimmer of red runs over his body but it’s not enough, it slows Peter’s fall the tiniest bit before he’s hurtling through the air again.

‘Tony, Tony, Tony” Peter says his name like a prayer in the comms and Tony clenches his fist again, switching between looking at Wanda and Peter so fast, he wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up with whiplash.

The strain on Wanda’s forehead grows and her eyes squeeze shut as she tears at her limits.

Tony stands beside where she’s kneeled on the ground, trying to see if he’d be able to catch Peter if this didn’t work. He really hoped it didn’t come to that though, he didn’t have his suit and with the speed Peter was falling at, he didn’t know what would happen.

Eyes focused on Peter, Tony realizes a thin, flickering layer of red is very slowly growing over his body. Relief bubbles in his throat and Wanda is able to slow Peter enough so that he and Sam can grab onto him, they all fall to the ground in a pile of limbs.

Tony grabs Peter under his shoulders and holds him upright as he gags and chokes on nothing, taking off his mask and brushing his curls off of his sweaty face.

Tony’s ears ring with the lingering screams of Wanda and Peter, his throat feels raw and he realizes that in his panic, he had been screaming too. And it wasn’t just his ears that were buzzing, it seemed like everything was still ringing, the air vibrating with panic.

Peter was held close to Tony’s chest as he shook with heaving gasps and suppressed sobs, dried tear tracks streak the sides of his face and Tony tries to comb his fingers through the knots in Peter’s hair.

Looking around, Tony took everything in, everyone’s faces were pale and Wanda was barely holding herself up on her elbows, her heavy pants were forced through clenched teeth.

She’d let go of her hold on the building as Steve had come running out, waiting till he was out of the damage zone before sending it all crashing down. All of that had happened just seconds after she had managed to gradually slow Peter down and get him to the ground in one piece.

A sigh of exhaustion huffs through Tony’s nose and the team sits in silence for a few minutes, trying to process all the chaos that had just happened.

Clint was helping Wanda, shakily, sit up and Peter crawled out of Tony’s arms to her before wrapping his trembling arms around her shoulders and whispering something to her.

Tony doesn’t know what was said but Peter was safe, everyone was safe. They were all alright and his breaths started to come easier.

Natasha sat next to him giving him a small, reassuring smile. He leaned back and shut his eyes, making a mental note to add a parachute to Peter’s suit, among many other things. Also to thank Wanda, because if she hadn’t been here...Tony didn’t want to think about it.

That was done now though. Tony’s chest feels much lighter when Peter smiles at him over Wanda’s shoulder, the type of smile that conveys a million emotions, with nothing else.

He gives a shaky grin back.

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incorrectsmashbrosquotes · 4 years ago

Note

hey just wanted to ask as i was curious about the Palutena Party, how did Palutena break the news to Gabriel about taking in Sothis and Rhea as he's now a dad to the green dragon gremlin and granddad to the lovely pope of Fodlan? I know Palutena was estatic about them, but hows the depressed Vampire Lord taking in the news of new family? Also what does Trevor, his son, think of the new family members? (I offer you a copy of Pikmin 3 Deluxe and Hades as payment)

The worst part was the silence.

Even as they wandered through through the canyon, stained red with the blood of the innocent. Even as they passed the still smoldering fires. The worst part was the hollow echoing silence.

Palutena’s light was dim, and the only thing illuminating the wreckage and ruins of the Zanado. But there was no joy or warmth in her light. Beside wer walked the blank faced Dracul. Dracula. Gabriel.

They stopped before the ruined palace. Still burning. Still blood soaked.

The place their daughter had been murdered.

“They cut her to pieces,” said Gabriel in a tight voice. “Into pieces. They forged a sword from her bones and heart,”

Palutena bowed her head. “Sothis... oh Sothis...” she said, tears running down her face.

A strangled scream loosed from Gabriel’s lips, more that of a beast than a man, and he hurled a piece of fallen column into the side of the canyon. “ANIMALS!” he screamed. “She gave them everything and they slaughtered her like the animals they are!” Fire and shadow burned at his fingertips, his eyes wild and hungry.

“Burn. They will all burn! I will deafen them with the sounds of their own screams!” he declared.

Palutena said nothing, torn between her natural compassion and her grief. She longed to try and talk Gabriel down, but at the same time she could not ignore the blood-soaked ruins of genocide around them.

Before she could make a choice a voice rang out.

“Father! Lady Palutena! Over here!” It was Trevor, or Alucard as he was known these days. “I have found survivors!”

The young Nabatean woman before them was barely more than a girl. Her long green hair was ruffled and matted with sweat and blood and her eyes were those of a cornered animal. The dagger she held shook in her hand.

Behind her were a small handful of Nabateans, all about her age. They huddled together away from the strangers.

“L- leave us!” cried the girl. “Leave us! Y-you h-h-ave taken everything al-already!” she seemed on the verge of tears.

Palutena laid a gentle hand on Gabriel’s shoulder, stepping in front of him. “Child, we are not your foes. We are your family,”

At the girls confused look, gabriel spoke. “We are the parents of the Goddess Sothis. Dracula: the Lord of Darkness, and Palutena: Lady of Light.”

The girl shook her head. “P-parents? The Goddess- Mother- had parents?!”

Palutena turned to Gabriel. “Show her.”

Gabriel nodded, and the shadows and blood bent to his will. The darkness wrapped around him and twisted. Molded. Changed to suit him.

Moments later, a great black dragon stood before them. A dark shadow of Sothis’ form.

The knife clattered from the girls hands and she fell to her knees sobbing. Prayers came out in a jumble, the other survivors quickly joining in.

Palutena kneeled down and wrapped her arms around the child, her grandchild, and whispered gently. Moments later, Gabriel assumed his true form and joined them.

“All will be well, little one. All will be well,”

When the girl had calmed down a bit they rose together. “Now then, tell us your name child.” Said Palutena.

The girl bowed her head. “Exalted ones. I am Seiros. Firstborn daughter of Sothis, the Progenitor God.”

They stayed with Sothis and her small band of survivors for some time. They taught them their magics, their powers, and how to take their beastly forms at will. They guided her, taught her rage and mercy. Taught her compassion and cruelty.

They stood by her as she raised an army of those still loyal to the Goddess Sothis. Those who were horrified by the genocide at the Red Canyon. Many were even family of the Ten Elites, horrified by their relatives actions. They stood by her as she became a leader. A hero. A Queen.

Her army grew with every smashing victory. Her strength grew, as did the legend surrounding Seiros, the Chosen One.

And when the moment of her final victory, the killing of the traitor King Nemesis, they stood by here there too.

Seiros sat in her tent, staring down at the sword in her hands. The last thing that remained of her mother. Her final legacy. She traced the bumps in the bone, the rune engraved on the Crest Stone, her calcified heart.

She was barely aware when Dracula and Palutena entered the tent.

“You are leaving now,” she said, not really asking.

“Our time in this world grows short.” said Palutena gently. “Justice has been done. Our daughter may sleep easy now,”

Seiros clenched her jaw. “You can forget her that easily?” she asked clodly. “Cast aside her memory like so much trash?!”

“Never,” said Dracula firmly. “She could never be forgotten. But We must let her pass on. We must let her rest,”

Tears fell upon the Sword of the Creator. “I don’t know if I can,”

“Then try, Seiros,” said Palutena gently. “Try. That is all we ask,”

Unable to speak past the lump in her throat she nodded once. Stiffly. “We love you child. Your mother did as well. Never forget that,” said Palutena as she embraced the girl. Dracula did as well.

A moment later they were gone.

Seiros stood alone in the face of the rising sun. The Ten Elites had been executed for their crimes, their remains returned to their families. She had shown a measured hand and spared them. The cycle of vengeance must be broken.

Macuil, Cichol and the others were travelling around, seeing to their forces, but Seiros could only feel a tremendous sense of... futility. Her people were avenged. What now?

“Milady!” cried one of her Generals, coming up to her. “Milady, we await your orders.”

For a long moment Seiros said nothing Finally, she said “Your Goddess is avenged. Go home,”

The general said nothing for a moment before he spoke once more. “With all due respect, your Holiness, we did not fight for the Goddess,” Seiros turned to face him, her face lined with confusion. “We fought for you.”

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dsoe-masteroftheheavenlyyard · 4 years ago

Text

Chapter 6–Not Eve; Scene 5

master of the heavenly yard pages 156-168

Once they arrived in Beelzenia, Allen and Nemesis were stunned at the scenery before them.

“That’s—a ‘Blackbox’!?”

The wreckage of the enormous device lay tumbled over the ground.

And an even larger skeleton giant was sleeping with it as a pillow, letting out thunderous snores.

“Er, and that is—”

“The ‘Worldeater’, Allen. One of the dead soldiers that serve Banica. And…a former forest spirit.”

“I see, so that’s Worldeater. This is my first time seeing him in person. I didn’t realize he’d be this big--Oop, looks like he’s waking up.”

The Worldeater sat up and looked at Allen and Nemesis.

“…Who’re you? Yer voices are a jumbling racket in my ears.”

Allen unthinkingly took a step back at that echoing boom of a voice.

“Long time no see, Eater,” Nemesis greeted the giant calmly.

“Ah!? …Do I know you?”

“—If I said I was Levia would that ring a bell?”

“Never heard of ya.”

“…So, you haven’t remembered that far, huh. Then—what about Elluka?”

“Hmph…Ah! Yer that sorceress! Ya look really different.”

“Well, you know how it is. –What on earth happened to this black box?” she asked while pointing at the remains of the ‘Blackbox’.

“This? It came here with some soldiers, so I crushed it. Lich told me to.”

“So that means…you aren’t a soul either.”

“I’m a dead soldier. I have been since before the world got blew up. …I mean, my body did get all scattered for a bit, but Lich made me a new one with mud.”

“And where is Lich now?”

“He’s in the mansion with Lady Banica and the others.”

“Could you show us inside?”

“Sure.”

Eater sluggishly stood up and started to walk.

“Let’s go with him,” Nemesis said as she began walking too. Allen followed behind her.

“…Despite his appearance he seems pretty docile,” Allen whispered to Nemesis as he looked up at Eater from behind.

“Eater’s a good kid. He’s just clumsy, and he’s never really had many friends. –Aside from Lich. The two of them were…childhood friends, so I’ve heard. More than that I can’t say.”

“I see…”

Eventually a red-walled mansion came into view.

--Banica Conchita was in the middle of eating, but when she saw Allen and Nemesis she stopped moving her fork.

“—You over there,” she said, pointing at Nemesis with her fork. “You look pretty hungry. …If you like, you should have some.”

Banica gripped a plate with food on it and hurled it at her.

Nemesis soundly caught it, and then looked at what was on it.

…On the plate was some sort of eight-legged animal, charred black.

“—I’ll have to decline. It’s an illusion, so it wouldn’t fill my stomach anyhow.”

“Oh? Shouldn’t you ought to stop thinking with common sense? The ‘Rules’ of this world have already widely diverged from the ones that you know—Isn’t that right, twin dragon god Levia?”

“…Huh. You could tell my real identity from only a glance.”

“It’s not me. Vlad, inside me, knows about you.”

Vlad—that was the name of the demon that was “eaten” by Banica.

Thanks to that deed, she herself had become the “Demon of Gluttony”. A rare being that was a “contractor” and a "demon” both—that was Banica.

“But my current appearance is different from the one Vlad knows,” Nemesis argued, and Banica’s brows slightly drew in.

“True. That body is the spitting image of your old apprentice, Gumillia…No, this kind of thing isn’t limited to just you two. As I have lived in the glass I have seen people with similar faces born through the ages countless times over. –The people of this world. There are surprisingly few patterns to their appearances. And now this happens.”

“…”

“And what’s more—you are, of course, the one who destroyed the world. But before you did, many bizarre changes were occurring throughout it. For example, the failure of the rule regarding one’s inherited genetics. The father of the physical body you inhabit was Marlon, and your mother was Jakokuan, correct?”

“Yet I was born with green hair…a feature of the Elphe people.”

“You having that appearance is two inexplicable events in one. …We, each having memories as a crewmember of the ‘Climb One’, need to treat this quite a bit more seriously—don’t you think so?”

Nemesis tossed the plate of food off to the side, her expression severe.

“What are you trying to say?”

“This world is not the one that the ‘gods’ were once trying to create. –To my eyes it looks far more incomplete than that. It’s full of peculiarities…But the people of this world don’t think anything of it. For, having known no other world, these things are common sense to them.”

Banica gave a somewhat lonely smile.

“My servants…Arte and Pollo are the same way. The two of them are the ‘Twins of God’, and yet they are still only beings that were born in this world. So it’s quite fortunate that I was able to meet Lich and Eater. However…I would like to let Arte and Pollo know of the world outside this too, if I can—That’s how what I’ve started to think lately.”

“…I don’t much care for this. You’re talking as though you yourself are one of the ‘gods’. You may have Vlad’s memories, but you’re still little more than a resident of the ‘Third Period’, Banica.”

“If you’re going make that claim, that applies to you as well, doesn’t it? You may have originally been a ‘god’, but currently you are a mere human. Aside from being ageless you have no other redeeming features.”

Allen could sense a hostile air between the two of them.

Perhaps it was best to change the subject before this escalated to a brawl.

“We saw that the Tasan army attacked here too,” he cut in, speaking to Banica.

“Indeed. Lich and Eater came back to help me. As you can expect it was a bit much to bear for Arte and Pollo alone to take on the might of their forces.”

…Conversely, from the looks of things those two had managed to repel both the army and the “Blackbox” all on their own.

“Where is Mr. Lich now?”

“Do you have some business with him? I’ll call him over.”

Banica clapped her hands and a man immediately came out from an interior room.

“You summoned me, Lady Banica?”

“This boy wishes to speak with you,” she said, pointing at Allen.

“Oh my…Well well.” Lich gave a smile of satisfaction. “So now Allen Avadonia has made his debut. And—with Levia along. Today is quite a bustling one, hm.”

“Mr. Lich, and Lady Banica. You both once lived in the theater in the forest for a time. Do you know of where its former residents are now?”

Lich and Banica shared a look, appearing to be signaling something to each other. Eventually Lich nodded to Banica, and then replied, “The ‘Doll Director’, ‘Gardener’, and ‘Gear’ are all still residing in the theater. The ‘Master of the Graveyard’—in other words, Lady Banica—is right before you now. As for the ‘Sorceress of Time’ and the ‘Waiter’…That we don’t know.”

“They haven’t visited or--?”

“No.”

“…I see.”

Allen knew that Riliane had been called the “Waiter” in the theater.

I guess even here there’s no clues on Riliane.

His shoulders slumped.

“Is that all you needed? In that case—”

“Wait a second.” This time it was Nemesis who asked Lich a question. “Lich. What do you—intend to do now?”

“…I don’t know what you mean by that question.”

“What will you do with this world? You—experimented on Arth to make a mud human, didn’t you?”

“Ah…Ha ha, I did do that. That wound up being even more of a masterpiece than I had imagined. To think, I made him well enough to even have a child with a human—”

“You never could stand that it was Behemo who created the bodies for the humans in this world. And it’s because of your antagonism towards him, having once been your assistant, that even after becoming a spirit you continued to try to make a new race of humanity. You becoming Banica’s underling was also to research dead soldiers, wasn’t it?”

“…”

“But in the end you were never able to surpass Behemo. You were unable to make any new ‘works’ that were better than Arth.”

“…Did you just come here to mock me?”

The smile had left Lich’s face.

“That’s not my intention. Only—I just figured that our current situation might be the chance you’ve been waiting for.”

“What do you mean?”

“Everyone in the world has lost their physical bodies from ‘Punishment’. So if you were to prepare new bodies for all of them—”

“You’re saying I could become a ‘god’ of the new world. …Unfortunately I have no plan on doing that.”

“…”

“Certainly, I did once hold such aspirations…But I’ve come to enjoy serving Lady Banica far more than I had anticipated. I have lived in this world for many long years, but I have never found any other woman who holds as much appeal as she does. To just stay with Banica as I am now—I think I’d be satisfied with that outcome.”

“Huh…I see. –I’m relieved.”

“…?”

“If you were to try to become a ‘god’, I’d want to stop you with all of my might.”

“…Heheheh, sounds just like you.”

Appearing to grow bored of their conversation, Banica abruptly stood up from her chair.

“Is the talk concluded? –Then shall we head out now?”

She once more clapped her hands.

This time her twin servants came racing out from further in.

“You called us!?”

“Lady Banica!”

“What’s your report, Arte, Pollo?”

Between the twins it was the boy—Pollo—who spoke first. “Right, we have soundly finished torturing the captured Tasan soldiers! They’ve said that ‘Evils Theater’ is still floating as it was before, in the same spot.”

“I see—then let’s head over there.”

Allen walked up to the other servant…Arte, and spoke to her in a low voice. “—What’s going on, Ney?”

“…Ah!? You’re—Allen!? What are you doing here—”

“Well, let’s just leave that be for now…Do you really plan to go to ‘Evils Theater’?”

Allen had called Arte Ney; that was her other name.

Like Riliane, she was also a being that could reincarnate.

Once she was Gretel, another time she was Arte.

And…her name when she had worked in the Lucifenian palace alongside Allen had been Ney.

Arte looked a little shaken up, but she answered Allen’s question.

“…That’s right. Banica’s pretty ticked off that the ‘gardener’ that we’d thought of as being only good for doing odd jobs has been sending soldiers at us. So—”

“So you’re going to head over and get even with him yourself?”

Listening in on the both of them, Nemesis thoughtlessly let out a snicker. “My…That’s good to hear.” Then she turned to speak to Banica. “Banica Conchita! –Is it alright if I come along with you?”

“Goodness…Why?”

“I also have a bone to pick with Gammon.”

“—You’ll give us your divine assistance, huh? That doesn’t sound too bad. …Alright. Come with us.”

“Thanks for keeping the discussion brief.”

Banica lifted her hand into the air. When she did, all the surrounding walls, decorations, the table, and the meals laid out on top of it all vanished in an instant.

“I was getting tired of living in an illusory mansion anyway. …This is perfect. We’ll take over the theater and then make it our new home.”

Banica started to walk north, and Lich, Eater, Nemesis, Arte, and Pollo followed after her.

--But Arte quickly stopped and turned around.

And then, noticing Allen waving as though to see all of them off, she pulled back to his side.

“Allen…Aren’t you coming?”

“I have other business to take care of. –I have to find Riliane.”

“Riliane? Isn’t she in Lucifenia?”

“The same forces that came here also went to Lucifenia. Riliane escaped from them and went missing.”

“…I see. Do you have any leads?”

“I came here looking for some… Well, I guess I’ll try going around the whole Evillious region until I get a hint.”

On hearing that, Arte appeared to be pondering something.

“Hmm…Hey, Allen?”

“What is it?”

“I think you ought to come with us after all.”

“No, I just said that I—”

“I just remembered, with Riliane’s personality…You think she’ll just keep running away from the people targeting her forever?”

“…Ah.”

Not a chance.

--Ultimately Allen decided to join Banica’s troupe.

Believing that Riliane was also heading for their destination…

Their goal was “Evils Theater”.

At last, the time had come to settle the score.

<<prev------directory------next>>

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sablelab · 4 years ago

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Covert Operations - Chapter 144

SYNOPSIS: Madeline returns to Section One and gives Fergus some tasks to do to set things in motion before she meets to debrief with Operations about her meeting with Mr. Lambert. Murtagh helps out his friend and Fergus finds out new intel about the Rising Dragons from his informant.

Chapter 143 and all other chapters can be found at … https://sablelab.tumblr.com/covertoperations

THANK YOU all so much for following this story week in and week out. You are all the BEST!

CHAPTER 144

Madeline returned to Section One after her enlightening talk with Mr. Lambert with her agenda achieved and with a better picture in her mind as to the treachery that Colum had instigated in regards to the Rising Dragons' mission. Feeling a wry smile bow her mouth, she entered the underground parking lot after parking her BMW, and headed towards the elevator that would descend into the hub of Section One. She stopped when she reached the doors and activated the secret code. The doors soon opened and she entered with resolve and a self-satisfied look on her face. This had definitely been a win-win for her, Operations and especially Section One. She knew that Dougal would be pleased with the outcome and hence they may not see as much of Colum as they had in the past. His impromptu visits may have just been curtailed for a while by the powers that be.

After her discussions with Mr. Lambert it was much clearer now that Oversight’s leader indeed had a file on Sun Yee Lok as well as Jamie and Claire. Although Mr Lambert’s explanation was valid, she was still a little perplexed as to why Colum would want one on their two best operatives. That was a conundrum to think about. His informant, Jurgen, had passed on Intel concerning the triad, some which they knew of and some they did not. It was now up to them at Section to beat him at his own game and keep him out of their affairs. Making Mr. Lambert aware surreptitiously that Colum may have had ulterior motives in regards to the Rising Dragons' mission had indeed been cathartic. Madeline was sure that their superior would rein Oversight’s leader in and they would not have any more interference from him. In so doing, he would be on notice that Mr. Lambert was aware of his meddling when there was no reason for it about the mission. Colum would no longer be able to give him false Intel again about the state of play to where Section was at in regards to capturing the Dragon Head of the triad. The other great news was that Frank Wolverton-Randall would be returned to Section One where they could keep a close eye on him and any transfer of data secretly back to Colum.

Madeline's Mona Lisa smile increased at the thought of these outcomes.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The metal doors closed behind her and the elevator whooshed quietly into the depths of the earth. In no time it came to a swift stop, the doors opened and Madeline exited through them to her familiar surroundings of Section One and made her way through Van Access. With every step she took, her resolute footfalls echoed on the floor of the stark corridor as she headed further into Section One. Anyone observing Section's Head Strategist pass by, would have seen her determined gait indicating that she was a woman on a mission. When Madeline was in this frame of mind operatives knew to stay clear.

She walked along the corridors towards the Common Area on her way to the perch to see Operations. Meanwhile several operatives were nervously talking to each other behind her back as she passed by their stations, but that was a common reaction whenever she was out of her office. She intimidated people and operatives were scared of her … but as far as Madeline was concerned that was a good thing, as you could not be too familiar with your workforce. She and Dougal ran a tight ship and their operatives knew exactly where they stood. Insubordination was not tolerated and failure to perform resulted in cancellation. Although operatives were busily engaged in their duties, Madeline felt the air of trepidation that surrounded them. The atmosphere was so thick you could cut it with a knife while eyes seemed to follow her every step but then quickly glance away to carry on with whatever they were supposed to be doing.

Section’s doyen knew people were anxious by her presence but she liked it that way as it kept the operatives on their toes. Too much familiarity was frowned upon thus they were wary around her. Nonetheless she liked that situation and it had always worked well for her in the end. The only thing she was ever concerned about was Section and that their operatives did their jobs thoroughly to the highest standard.

As she made her way to the Perch to debrief with Operations, her thoughts turned to the conversation with Mr. Lambert.

It had been very enlightening and she knew exactly what needed to be done to rectify Colum's meddling in their affairs. She realized that Centre's leader had provided her with valuable Intel that had to be confirmed as soon as possible. Fergus was the go-to man for this assignment. She needed to address him to give him the heads up on what Mr. Lambert had told her and her instructions to deal with it. The Macau information was a valuable piece of news to her, so Section needed to act expediently before Colum set anything tangible in motion. Time was of the essence. Fergus needed to move swiftly to neutralize any Intel that their nemesis may already have on the Rising Dragons and plant a red herring that would send him off on a wild goose chase. It was also imperative to act and act quickly before Colum Mackenzie got wind of her discussion with Mr. Lambert but she wouldn't be at all surprised if Centre’s leader hadn’t already contacted him and hauled him over the coals.

This brought another smile to her face. Her mission had been accomplished. Dougal would be pleased.

Fergus has a visit from Section’s Head Strategist ...

Before she spoke with Operations, Madeline needed to speak with Section’s communications expert first and made a beeline to Fergus Claudel with instructions for him to carry out. When she approached his station, he looked up a little surprised to see her standing at his desk, however, judging by the look she gave him, he knew that Section's second-in-command had something important to reveal.

True to form, Madeline didn't mince her words. "Have you found any new Intel about the Rising Dragons or Sun Yee Lok?"

"I've put out feelers but nothing yet." "What about John Grey our informant in Hong Kong? Has he been in touch?"

"I'm still trying to locate him to see if he has any fresh Intel on the triad."

"What's the problem?"

"He's not responding to communiqués."

John Grey was rather partial to the high life and from time to time communicating with him was difficult. This was a cause for frustration and it echoed in her voice as she spoke to the techie. "Work on it. This is top priority. You'll need to move faster. Find out if he knows anything about the Rising Dragons planning a move into the casino business in Macau."

"I'll get on it right away," Fergus reassured her emphatically.

His superior gave him a piercing look. "You need to pull out all stops on this one Fergus."

It was evident that Madeline was quite adamant in her orders and would bode no hesitation in them being carried out. "I understand."

"And find out any an Intel you can on Colum's informant Phil Jurgen. Find out where he is located and how close he is getting to the Rising Dragons."

"Understood Madeline. Anything else?"

However, her next order was a surprise. "I want you to contact Jamie and Claire and inform them that they are to return to Section One."

Fergus' mind went into a spiralling downfall at the thought of that being a possibility as previous times that he'd tried to reach them he'd come up blank. If Jamie and Claire didn't want to be contacted then it was nigh on impossible to do so unless they initiated the contact. Knowing the answer already, he still stated the obvious.

"But their trackers are down … they are not contactable."

Her concise answer was not unexpected. "I'm sure you'll find a way Mr. Claudel."

The computer expert knew this was a direct order and Madeline would not accept a negative response to her request. "I'll do my best."

"Your best isn't good enough. I expect more."

Section One was under the pump because of Colum's obvious interference about the Rising Dragons’ mission and Frank Wolverton-Randall's involvement with passing on information, however, of what and how much was still to be known. He quite understood why Madeline was so adamant that things happen quickly. Excuses would not be tolerated. "Okay."

"Oh, and there is one other thing that you need to be aware of."

"Yes?"

"Frank will be returning to Section where we can keep a closer eye on him."

"I see." Fergus was not a happy camper at hearing this news despite the need to keep tabs on him. "Why? Can't we do that given what we already know about him and Colum?"

"You need to keep your enemies close Mr. Claudel. If he is here, we have more control over what we allow him to do and see."

"How will this come about?"

"Mr Lambert will request that Frank be transferred back to One to help you with collating Intel on the Rising Dragons."

"I see."

"Thus, we'll need you to plant some bogus Intel about the triad that Colum will think is legitimate to keep him off our tails and that Frank will need to follow up that will send him off on a wild goose chase. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Madeline."

"Good. Do it."

All Fergus needed to do now was to follow up her orders and verify the Intel about Macau so that a new profile could be put in place. All the pieces of the puzzle were finally coming together while the last piece she needed was for Jamie and Claire to return to Section. But how in heavens name was he to do that was the conundrum he faced, knowing that if he could not contact them his head would be on the chopping block. There was only one person he could think of that could help ... his buddy Murtagh.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Walking away from Fergus' station, Madeline was extremely happy with the plans she had put in place to curtail Colum's efforts to undermine Section One. Hostilities had existed between Section and Oversight for some time, but with Colum's interference in this mission, this had only escalated their contempt for him. She couldn't wait to debrief with Operations but once he heard what Colum had been reporting to Mr. Lambert there was no telling what he may be inclined to want to do. He'd already suggested assassination as his favoured modus operandi but she'd diffused that situation for the time being, but it was highly probable that this would be back on the table once she reported their situation.

They had all tolerated each other over the years, but the suspicions between her and Dougal on one hand and Colum on the other had caused a large chasm that widened with each impromptu visit from him. This hostility had only been exacerbated during this mission to where his interference was intolerable given his subterfuge. There was certainly no love lost between the brothers whatsoever and now, if anything it had intensified. This time Colum had gone too far. Most times any encounter between the leaders resulted in a stalemate, but this time it seemed that Section One may just be able to checkmate Colum at his own game. Given the fact that Mr. Lambert was now aware of his agenda, Madeline was sure that he would not try and interfere anytime soon, but nonetheless if Colum acted on their bogus Intel, it would indeed prove that he had gone behind their backs and in contravention of direct orders from Mr. Lambert. Failure to obey his supreme leader may just be the answer to their problems. If Colum was stupid enough to go behind Mr. Lambert's back then he deserved whatever punishment their leader would dish out. It could possibly be a win-win for Section One without any involvement from them whatsoever. This thought would please Operations no end.

Armed with new Intel about the Rising Dragons … compliments of Mr. Lambert … they could now get back to what was important and at the same time make Colum look like a fool. Her mind had been focused on nothing else since her meeting and she couldn't wait to set things into motion back at Section. She had given Fergus his orders and was confident that he would be able to expand this new Intel and put Section One back behind the eight ball. The Rising Dragons' short reprieve, like Jamie and Claire's, was over. It was time that Section brought the Rising Dragons’ mission to a closure before Colum could usurp their authority and undermine them even more.

Suddenly another thought popped into Madeline's mind that gave her cause to smile enigmatically … If ever Operations wanted to take over Oversight, this might just be his opportunity to show his true mettle. Colum would be under suspicion from Mr. Lambert and if anything jeopardized the mission because of Oversight's intervention… then Operations would come up smelling roses. That thought was indeed worth thinking about.

With her inscrutable Mona Lisa smile on her face, Madeline continued on towards the perch where she knew Operations would be eagerly awaiting her return from Centre. She was most satisfied that she had set things in motion to expedite the Rising Dragons’ mission and get Section back on the right foot. All they needed was the Intel to pursue the triad and the operatives to carry out the mission. They already had one … all they needed was a window of opportunity to make a strike on the Rising Dragons and its members. She was counting on Fergus to come through with information that would facilitate a new profile as quickly as possible if they were to usurp Colum and his delusions of grandeur.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The added spring in Madeline's step was clearly noticeable as she continued on to the perch.

Fergus watched Section's Head Strategist leave his station after giving him his explicit orders. His eyes followed her progression away from his computer terminal, noting Madeline's determined gait and unwavering mindset … just like her words had been to him … succinct, resolute and needing answers as soon as possible. He had his instructions and all the things she'd asked him to do were all major concerns. There was no time to prioritize any of the commands for he'd been well and truly put on notice; furthermore, she wanted him to start straight away. However, Fergus decided that he would try and contact John Grey again as his first strategy followed by the request to release false information for Frank Wolverton-Randall to chase. Then he would try to find a way to contact Jamie and Claire.

He knew he would have some difficulty in contacting them and that he may need Murtagh's help for that. Given the mood that Madeline was in it was obvious that she wanted everything done yesterday. Her words had an urgency to them that gave Fergus little doubt that she and Operations had pressing plans in mind for Jamie and Claire. That would explain why the two recovering operatives had to return to Section early even though they still had a few days remaining on their downtime. Madeline had been adamant in her orders, so obviously whatever had been discussed between her and Mr. Lambert had warranted this move. Her meeting must have been productive and had caused her to rethink their strategy on the Rising Dragons' mission. No doubt there would be a briefing to outline a profile for continuance and he guessed that when Jamie and Claire returned this would be put in place.

The fact that Madeline wanted him to plant some false information to head Colum off on a different tangent meant that he must be getting too close or could jeopardize the mission by his interference. Either way, things would be go, go, go as soon and Jamie and Claire returned. He only hoped that they were well enough to resume the mission.

Putting his head to the grindstone Fergus began the tasks at hand.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Climbing the stairs up to Operations' office, Madeline was extremely satisfied with what she had set in motion. Her return to Section One after her meeting with Mr. Lambert, had given her the momentum to dive into the Rising Dragons' mission armed with new Intel that could finally lead to Sun Yee Lok and other triad members capture. Not only had the meeting given her new data but it had also allowed her to checkmate Colum and stop him in his tracks. She had managed to kill two birds with one stone and the fact that Frank Wolverton-Randall would be under their watchful eye was an added bonus. They could keep a close watch on him and leak Intel that would backfire on Colum. Yes, revenge was best served cold … it was a very satisfying feeling.

Madeline couldn’t wait to debrief with Operations.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Fergus returned to his station with a heavy heart. His superior had given him a directive he may not be able to carry out and failure to do so could result in severe consequences. Being put into abeyance was not his idea of the best outcome for something he may be unable to control. His failure to contact John Grey was a frustration he didn’t need on top of all the other things he had to do. Fergus Claudel seemed as if his back was up against the wall. Not only that, but he had to come up with some plausible Intel on the Rising Dragons that would persuade Frank Wolverton-Randall to follow up with his usual thirst to be the first to one upmanship him in any way shape or form with the powers that be. Planting a lure could be tricky but not insurmountable. He had already thought of a few believable scenarios that Frank might take the bait for. Knowing the type of character that Wolverton-Randall was, he knew that his nemesis was always too cocky when it came to the way he did things, and if Frank could make him look incompetent in front of Mr. Lambert, Fergus also knew he would have no qualms about doing so. Frank’s lust for the ultimate accolade to everyone else’s, but especially his detriment, was typical of his need to fuel his narcissistic personality. Just the thought of Wolverton-Randall losing face and to come tumbling down a peg or two gave him immense pleasure.

A wry smile bowed his mouth, but soon disappeared when his thoughts turned to the problem of contacting Jamie and Claire to return to Section. Although they had not gone dark whilst on downtime, getting in touch with them was another huge setback. How was he ever going to contact them when they were off the radar? If Jamie didn’t want to be contacted then there was little chance of anyone doing so before their downtime was up. There was only one thing he could do and that was to turn to his friend Murtagh in an effort of finding a way of getting in touch with the two operatives.

It was in this sombre mood that Murtagh Fitzgibbons found him when he appeared in systems.

A visitor arrives at Fergus’ station ...

“Hey buddy why the long face?”

Fergus gave him the look indicating that what he was about to say was something that Murtagh knew would require some underhand manoeuvring by him to solve whatever was troubling his friend.

“I have a problem A huge, big problem. Madeline wants me to contact Jamie and Claire, among other orders, and as you know they are somewhere where they are not reachable. They could be anywhere.”

“Yes, I see what you mean. That could be quite difficult.”

“What are we going to do?”

“We?” Murtagh replied raising his eyebrow at his friend’s assumption that they, not he, had the problem.

Fergus ignored his buddy’s mocking reply and pleaded his case. “Things will be dire if I cannot get in contact with them. What am I going to do?” he implored knowing only too well that whenever he had a predicament his friend always came to his rescue. “The only thing I can think of is a broad view sector breakdown and then I’ll need to comb every inch of this planet to find them.”

“I really don’t think that will be necessary,” Murtagh added with mirth in his voice.

“Really?”

“Yes. Leave it with me. I have my ways and means of getting around this problem.”

“How?” Fergus looked at the wise operative and saw the slight glint in his eyes.

“Well, there are a few tricks I haven’t told you about. Now first, you …”

“No, no, that’s okay... I don’t want to know. I get the message.”

Murtagh Fitzgibbons gave him a slight smile and raised his eyebrow in a mischievous way that his buddy had come to understand.

“Thanks, Murtagh. Owe you one.”

“I’ll add it to my list,” he retorted with a look that Fergus knew so well as he left his friend to tackle the other orders Madeline had given him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Relieved that this major problem had been solved he tried once again to contact the elusive John Grey. Fergus tapped his fingers on his desk in quick succession in extreme frustration and annoyance that once again John was unavailable. Any Intel from the informant was getting critical to the mission status especially now that Madeline was on the war path. He needed something … anything … that may prove useful for Jamie and Claire’s return to Section. Time was of the essence and he knew that his head would be on the chopping block if John came up empty handed. Time seemed to stand still as Fergus waited for his connection, and the more he became worried, the more his fingers tapped on the desk. However, after a short time he finally heard the inimitable English accent of the elusive Mr Grey at last.

This time he’d been successful and not at a moment too soon.

Meanwhile Fergus makes contact with his informant ...

“John? Is that you?”

“Fergus my old pal … my old buddy! What’s up?”

The young techie had been on the edge of his tether waiting for his informant to make contact and now that he had, his patience was wearing thin. “Cut the crap Grey. Where the hell have you been?”

“Now … Is that any way to treat an old friend? You are joking right?”

“No … I’m not,” was his adamant reply.

“Ooh lardy da! Someone’s stroppy! Got your knickers in a knot hey Fergus?”

Biting his tongue at his reply, Fergus repeated more succinctly. “Where have you been John?”

“Keep your pants on old chum.” John Grey heard silence at the other end of their connection and knew that he had strung the young guy along long enough and finally replied, “Busy.”

Knowing how important any Intel could be, Fergus answered in a calmer voice. “Okay … busy doing what?”

“Par-taying … of course. You know me. I’m just a party animal. Love a good party. I just go bonkers for the ladies in Honkers! … Hmmmm … mmmm!” John Grey enthusiastically relayed where he had been and what he had been doing.

Aggravated with his stalling and knowing that he needed Intel ASAP Fergus let his frustration get the better of him. “John! Talk! Right now!”

Lost in his own little world the informant was quickly brought back to earth from his recollections as he could sense the techie’s disquiet. “Is this a bad time? I’ll call back when you’re in a better mood.”

Placated, Fergus realised that he could lose this long sort after connection on one of John Grey’s whims if he wasn’t careful. “No! … Listen John … I need a favour.”

He heard the apprehension in Fergus’ statement. Becoming decidedly more serious, he eventually answered in a more composed manner, “Anything for you Fergus … That’s what I’m here for. To make the bad times good. Right? What do you want to know?”

Pausing before taking a breath, he then continued, knowing that whatever John Grey had to tell him could be crucial to the mission. “Do you happen to know of a man named Phil Jurgen?”

The wheels of his memory were turning. “Jurgen you say?”

“Yes. Have you ever met this guy?”

His voice was upbeat. “Yeah sure. You know me, I know everybody. Jurgen and I go back to club days in London.”

“What can you tell me about him?”

Curiosity ate at him as to why Section One would want to know about Phil Jurgen but he had had his suspicions about him for a while in regards to questions he had thrown at him about the Rising Dragons triad. He felt it was strange that two informants were after the same Intel.

“In what regard?”

“Do you know if he has been snooping around and asking questions about the Rising Dragons for instance?”

“Come to think of it … he has been prying that’s for sure.”

Fergus called the man out. “He’s not passing Intel on to Section John.”

“I gathered that. I’ve had to fob him off a couple of times in my inimitable way.”

“Good.”

“We might move in the same circles but he doesn’t know what I know about the triad … that’s for sure.”

“How can you be certain?”

“Because … I value my life … That’s why.”

Fergus smiled at his answer especially knowing what Section One would do to John Grey if he lied and was found out. “And?”

“I’ve had to throw him a few red herrings to send him off on a tangent. He had been prying about the triad but had gone cold on any new leads about the Rising Dragons’ leader and has now moved on to greener pastures.”

“How do you know?”

“He flew to Abu Dhabi yesterday with Sheikh Abdul al-A’zam on his private jet. I drove him to the airport myself, but I’m sure Section will verify this.”

He didn’t answer, knowing that he would indeed check if this was true. Things were decidedly looking up, but he still needed John Grey’s information about the triad. “You’ve got the connections John; I need to know if you have any new Intel about the Rising Dragons and their members. Where they are … and what they are doing.”

“Do you?” was his canny reply.

Fergus could hear the smile in Grey’s voice as though he held all the cards and if the truth be known he did. He was convinced that John had very important Intel … Intel that Section One needed as soon as possible.

“Anyone in particular?”

It was obvious that the informant was stalling as if he had Claudel squirming on a hook. “Yeah … you know who John and quickly.”

“And what is in it …for me?”

“Jamie and Claire won't break every bone in your body when they find you,” was Fergus’ short and snappy reply.

Once again Grey gave his flippant retort. “Hmm? … Claire hey? I never could resist a woman like her in distress. My one weakness, really.”

“Okay … tell me everything you have and … fast.”

“Oh, it’s big Fergus. Very big. It’s like this …”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

He was all ears as he listened intently as John relayed his information knowing the importance of this new Intel to the mission end game. Whatever info they learned would be a major factor in how Section approached the next stage of capturing Sun Yee Lok. “Go on.”

“New players, lots of disgruntled members within triad factions, could get out of control. These people are very serious. Good lot to stay clear of and I plan to stay clear of them.”

Fergus knew that this was new Intel that Section could use. “Who?”

“Samuel Li. He’s Black Panthers. Not a very friendly chum. Middle of the totem pole but very ambitious. He’s gone up against Sun Yee Lok. He wants to be Dragon Head. Meeting happening as we speak, but low and behold a surprised guest arrived unannounced.”

“Where do we find them?”

“Aberdeen.”

Aberdeen was diverse. The meeting could be taking place anywhere in the surrounds of the province. He needed more clarification. “More information!”

“Oh right. Jumbo Floating restaurant. I’ll send pictures.”

As John Grey gave him the location Fergus brought up the map of the Aberdeen area to see what teams were close by. If the triad leader was in the vicinity he needed to be tracked.

“And Sun Yee Lok’s daughter?”

The mention of Karen Yee brought a smile to John’s lips. This girl was a stunner. Powerful, sassy, rich … but dangerous. “She throws the best parties … just went to one. Great looking birds … big hoot…”

Fergus cut him off before he had finished. “John!”

There was silence at the other end of the line as John Grey reminisced about the last couple of days spent at one of the best parties he had attended. “What?”

“Where John?”

“Hang on to your horses … Can’t a man have his memories for a moment?”

Frustrated with his informant’s tangent thoughts he asked, “Where John? Where was the party?”

“At a casino in Macau … The Golden Dragon.” As the IT specialist digested all the Intel he had supplied, John Grey continued raving on. “Great night … plenty of booze … lovely ladies … get my drift.”

However, Fergus interrupted him again while he was speaking, “Anything else?”

“Oh, yeah … Nearly forgot. There are rumours that Alvin Tang, is siphoning off money from the casino for his own benefit.”

“Who is he?”

“Sun Yee Lok’s deputy. He’s been in Macau for a year or two and has been running the casino for the triad. Apparently, Karen is learning the ropes from him. She may find out more than she bargained for though, if you get my drift?”

“Is that all?”

“Yes,” he finally replied.

Knowing that this Intel would be very pleasing to Madeline and Operations, Fergus added, “Someone will be in touch if we need anything else.”

“Yeah baby! Claire Beauchamp, I hope,” was his candid reply. “That woman has legs to die for … I could see them wrapped …”

Having heard enough Fergus cut off his rambling words once more. “Bye John.”

“Oh … Oh right then ... I’m off to get a cure for this raging headache of mine.” And with that he was gone.

Now all Fergus Claudel had to do was to inform Madeline and Operations about what he had discovered about the Rising Dragons and hoped that in the meantime his buddy Murtagh had been able to contact Jamie and Claire.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~to be continued Friday 18th September

#jamieandclaireau #Jamieandclairefanfic #outlander fanfic #the lallybroch library #crossover outlander/lfn spies modernau #LFNoutlander #covert operations

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emsartwork · 5 years ago

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World of Winx Nemesis! Nemesises? Nemesi??

what.

Vertigo, Banshee, Obscura, Petra(Stoney) Metallica (sinka), and Virus

So the nemeses are created beings, drawing power from Bella Tinker and the Source of Dreams on Neverland. They aren’t “alive” technically, and are something more like moving dolls connected to the source, which in turn is tapping into each of the winx’s unconscious fears. While they appear solid, they’re kind of glitchy when it comes to the physical world, clipping through objects and walking “not quite right” as gravity affecting them is hit or miss.

Vertigo is... weird. She’s tapping into several fears of Bloom’s, but primarily Bloom’s fear that she’s a fake. They she’s not as good as people see her, that her accomplishments are virtue of the dragon flame and not HER, that one day she would wake up and everything about the winx her past and being a fairy would just be a very vivid dream. Vertigo wears at Bloom’s mental state with mirages and “glitches”, making her feel paranoid and panicked, She also impersonates Bloom a couple times, making Bloom think she’s had black outs/missing time. Bloom defeats her by accepting that she might not always know whats happening but she’s choosing to put her faith in herself and her own heart.

Banshee taps into Musa’s tumultuous relationship with music and people. Musa views music as connection, she feels the most understood and authentic when speaking through song. Banshee layers whispers into Musa’s music, telling her everyone will leave her and she can never truly connect with others. In France Banshee uses her manipulation of sound to prevent Musa from properly hearing voices or music, further separating Musa from communication. Musa defeats her by meshing her own melodic style with the discordant noise Banshee creates, essentially accepting rejection and disagreement as parts of connection and using those to create and build from instead of cutting them out at the cost of the song.

Obscura pulls from Stella’s fear of rejection. Obscura uses shadow magic to prompt others to either only see the bad in Stella, or not see her at all. Stella is eventually wrapped in the shadow of her own past rejections when she genuinely believed herself to be worthless. Obscura taunts Stella with a revolving flashbacks, pushing her farther and farther into shadow until she thinks Stella is completely with out light. Unfortunately for Obscura, Stella notices she is giving off a faint glow even trapped in complete darkness. Stella defeats Obscura by acknowledging the strength of her own light and realizing she doesn’t need others to see it to know its real (aka her worth and value aren’t dependent on other’s acceptance or rejection of it).

Petra is an odd one, Flora doesn’t have a lot of obvious fears besides loosing a loved one, but subconsciously she’s afraid of her own power. Flora is a healer, a supporter, and an observer by nature, but she knows she could be one of the most deadly/destructive magic users ever if she wanted to. Petra confronts Flora head on instead of laying a groundwork first like the other nemeses. Petra doesn’t give a shit about peter(who also happens to be there) but focuses all of her power on Flora, pushing her to her limits and forcing her to use more offensive attack magic and shaming her for defending herself. Flora eventually defeats Petra by accepting her dual nature of rose and thorn. Violence is part of nature, and even if Flora chooses to heal instead of

Metallica is a triple threat, she taps into Aisha fear of being trapped, her insecurity about pushing people away to protect herself, and impulsivity. Metallica is another one that attacks directly (or at least she seems to). Her first attack she lets Aisha defeat her, giving her a false independence/confidence boost, while leaving a her gold rings as a lingering spell around Aisha that eventually activate, trap Aisha’s wrists and feet, and drag her to the bottom of the ocean. Aisha’s morphix lets her breath underwater but she starts to panic being trapped and powerless in the dark. She defeats Metallica by using a meditation technique Flora showed her to calm down, a light spell from Stella to see what was trapping her, a heat spell from Bloom to melt the rings, and then a frequency spell from musa combined with a metal spell she learned from tecna to turns them on Metallica in a calculated effort to ensure destruction this time.

Virus is pretty straightforward, Tecna is all about that control. She liked to know exactly whats happening and what to expect from any given person or situation. She is easily overwhelmed when things don’t go to plan, so Virus infecting all her tech, taking over her friends, and controlling Tecna’s environment is a recipe for panic and fear. Tecna defeats Virus by releasing her control and working purely off instinct instead of logic, she specifically channels her magic in the form of raw electricity, striking haphazardly instead of powering it through a circuit like she normally does creating an unpredictable attacks in bursts that Virus can’t avoid.

After each nemesis is defeated the girl’s Dreamix starts to change, but more on that in the Dreamix/Onyrix post.

Design notes! (for those who are interested? i guess?) These guys were pretty easy shape wise, the only one I majorly changed was Stoney, who has that weird bird(?) associated in canon lmao. The hardest part was actually picking colors, originally I was going to work off of the winx’s pallets, but every variation on that theme just turned out weird... eventually I ended up using the winx pallets, put that through a layer filter that made the colors more “dreamy” and off, then used the nemeses og colors as a base to lay the dreamy colors over them lightly. if that makes zero sense im sorry i literally had no idea what i was doing either.

“Dreamy” color versions below because they’re actually kinda pretty just not what I was going for

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kazeofthemagun · 3 years ago

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Kaze - Character Tropes

[A thing I compiled for fun for my portrayal of Kaze and all my headcanons. There is so much stuff on TVTropes that I may keep adding as I go. He does have a page on it but it's lackluster for my taste XD but here it is.]

[Putting all this crap under a read more cuz that is long.]

Purpose-Driven Immortality / Regenerative Immortality - as long as the prophecy holds and Chaos still exists, Kaze cannot die. When his body is killed, he comes back through regeneration, centered on the Magun.

Soul Jar - the Magun, specifically, his heart that had been transplanted into it and bound him to the Gun Dragon sealed in the Demon Weapon. The vial is warded by very potent magic - supposedly, only another Unlimited has the power to break it.

Touched by Vorlons - granted immortality by Bahamut, the Gun Dragon, upon being accepted as Magun's prophecized perfect wielder - Unlimited.

Cybernetic Mythical Beast - the Gun Dragon and how he came to be - made from the slain Bahamut's corpse and infused with tech, animated by his still-living soul. As such, all Summon Spirits that come from the Gun Dragon and his Magun are also biomechanical in nature.

Dracolich - Gun Dragon is technically undead, while also reinforced with machinery to create a "perfect Weapon". He's forged from parts of his own corpse, bones showing through such as the arms, legs, exposed spine.

Draconic Abomination - Gun Dragon.

Dragons are Divine - Gun Dragon as the Windarian God of Destruction - the title gets passed on to Kaze as his chosen and vessel. Also War God.

BFG - Magun is fucking massive.

Bling-Bling-Bang! - Magun seems to be made of gold, but is really composed of an unidentified alien metal. Shiny tho.

He Who Hunts Monsters - fanatical levels of obsession with hunting everything Chaotic. (His title of choice being literally the Hunter of Chaos, Hunter for friends.) Definitely partially a personal vendetta - his whole world was devoured and his own mind was ripped nigh to shreds - but also a purpose felt strongly through the connection with Magun/Gun Dragon, a Demon Weapon forged specifically to combat Chaos that activates only at its scent, pre-repaired verse. Almost leads to a Van Helsing Hate Crime against Ai and Yu - luckily, Kaze is not that merciless and spares the kids for wanting to live as humans and not demons. All in all, Kaze/Gun Dragon are a cosmic force that opposes Chaos till the end of time. Also Married To The Job.

Collateral Damage - piss him off and you're gonna go. Alongside everything in approximately a 5 mile radius of where you're standing. (Thankfully he learns more restraint with time, attempting to minimize casualties where possible. Still, if ending Chaos requires sacrifices.. so be it.) Probably also Inferred Holo//caust in FFU. He had blown up huge chunks of land to end his foes. Likely killed people or at least animals :/

The Stoic - His personality archetype.

Weak to Magic - Blue Elenium, a special type of water magic that corrupts Soil. As an extension, Kaze is harmed more by water magic in general, seeing as the energy messes with Soil flow.

Trauma Button - having his hand held/touched suddenly. It brings painful memories of his sister, Aura, who died holding his hand. Under Chaos' influence, it was one of the only memories Kaze still had of her, rendering the trigger particularly intense and sending him into dissociative episodes. Furthermore, a fear of Gaudian flowers - the blue phantom flowers that herald the arrival of Chaos. Suffers from visions and nightmares of a very gory nature that involve said flowers.

Shell-Shocked Veteran - of the War with Chaos.

Loners are Freaks - he is an introvert born to a society that abhors weakness as disgraceful and sinful. Has trouble connecting with people - but he also (mostly) doesn't need to. Due to the nature of his quest, accepts his fate as the one who will never fit in anymore. "I am the monster who hunts monsters so that you may sleep at night human. It is a thankless job."

Beware the Quiet Ones - his silence precedes a storm. When he speaks, his words boom as thunder - be they a roar or a whisper. This man wastes no words.

Aloof Ally - self-explanatory.

Tranquil Fury - most of the time. Also, Rage Breaking Point applies when facing Kumo mid-show. Except Kumo promptly wrecks him, without much effort involved. It is only later (After-series) that Kaze recovers most of his power and sanity, and gains equal footing to his rival.

Firing One-Handed - can only do so this way. Only has one hand 99% of the time, the other is bound to the Magun and is reformed only to fire it.

Guns vs Swords - him and Kumo - Demon Gunman vs Demon Swordsman. Gun Dragon vs Sword Dragons.

Hand Cannon - Magun, to a lesser degree Orthrus.

I call it "Vera" - with Orthrus, named after the patron shepherd dog spirit of the sun's blood-haired children.

Improbable Aiming Skills - especially with the Gun Demon sight.

Overheating - the Magun when too many summonings are performed too quickly. As an extension of it, Kaze himself. May result in a death via Spontaneous Human Combustion.

Sawed-off Shotgun - Orthrus, double barreled.

Sniper Pistol - Orthrus.

Trigger Happy - self-explanatory.

Ancestral Weapon - the Magun, passed down the line of the Windarian summoner prodigies.

Made of Indestructium - the Magun, which cannot be broken by anyone short of another Unlimited.

Living Weapon - the Magun. Also, Legendary Weapon.

Shapeshifter Weapon - the Magun, a part of Kaze's body - gauntlet, windmill, gun. Replaces his right arm.

Only the Chosen May Wield - the Magun.

They Call Him "Sword" - except, gun. Kaze views himself as more of a weapon than a person at times. Makes sense, considering he is one - his true body is the Magun, which houses his heart, binds his soul and consciousness, and serves as the core from which his regenerative immortalitysets to work.

Nemesis Weapon - Kaze's Magun to Kumo's Maken. While forged for the same purpose, they govern conflicting energies. Also, Sword vs Gun.

Weapon Wields You - the Magun to Kaze with its funky laser-guided teleportation, always going after Chaos. Oh, Chaos' signature is underneath the ocean? Too bad.

Equippable Ally - Kaze, after reducing himself to the Magun and having Kumo and Lisa wield him to bring out the Gun Dragon.

Human Weapon - Kaze, literally.

Become Your Weapon - Kaze with the Magun.

This is a Drill - the Magun's Soil engine that activates Soil through spiral motion. Combined with a wholeass windmill.

Spectacular Spinning - the Magun's windmill. Plainly put, Spin to Deflect Stuff. Also, Blow You Away applies due to the Tornado Move.

Deadly Rotary Fan - the Magun's windmill used offensively.

Swirling Dust - Soil Spiral on the winds generated by the Magun.

Transformation Is A Free Action - seems to be the case in the series. May not be the case always.

Mechanical Lifeforms - Gun Dragon and all its summons.

Badass Cape - of course.

When Things Spin, Science Happens - the Magun's spinning shenanigans empower Soil.

Stock Footage - the summonings. He is become budget, Destroyer of Chaos. Also Transformation Sequence. Guy has a routine.

Running Gag - his spontaneous appearances, seemingly from nowhere.

Emergency Transformation - soul reforged into a Soil bullet, summoning himself as the Gun Dragon.

Elemental Powers - all the summon spirits.

Soul Power - Soil.

Soul-Powered Engine - the Magun/Gun Dragon.

Merger of Souls - Kaze with all of Magun's leftover Soil, as well as Bahamut's soul that animates Gun Dragon. Also Many Spirits Inside Of One - Endless White as the confluence of all the colors.

Emphatic Weapon - the Magun has a mind of its own, considering it is a vessel for the Gun Dragon.

Shoot the Hostage Taker - with Soljashy. Goddammit, Lisa.

Theme Music Power Up - Demon Gun Dissolve and Demon Gun Shot.

Black Blood - Kaze's blood, corrupted by the Magun's smoke. His earring, made of his own red blood mixed with tree sap, is a reminder of when he was still fully human. Technically also Machine Blood - it serves as a coolant for Magun and catalyst for Soil. Furthermore, My Blood Runs Hot - whenever Magun malfunctions. May be dangerous, as already mentioned.

Important Haircut - Kaze wears his hair long specifically as a "fuck you" to Windarian folk beliefs related to the blood hair curse.

Dark-Skinned Redhead - self-explanatory.

Death Glare - his usual go-to method of communication.

Icy Blue Eyes - a cold stare.

Eyes Do Not Belong There - Gun Dragon, with four eyes on the chest and one on the belly in addition to the four already on its head, also, many other summons, such as Phoenix or Raiden.

Glowing Eyes of Doom - Kaze's special Gun Demon crosshairs eyes, for when the time comes to be particularly scary.

True Sight - Kaze is capable of seeing through most basic illusions due to an extremely sharp spirit sense. Can see certain types of ghosts. Also Supernatural Sensitivity.

Cool Shades - wears a dark lens over his left eye to minimize distraction via Orthtus' muzzle flash. Also, Sunglasses At Night.

Megane - lol.

Lean And Mean - also lol.

Jerkass - he is. Sometimes Jerk With A Heart Of Gold.

Facial Markings - the wave on his nose and the solar marks under his eye.

Power Tattoo - the Embrace (Gun Dragon's claws upon the shoulders.)

Fingerless Gloves - wears an archery glove that covers the pointing finger and thumb only.

Eccentric Artist - also outside of battle. Primarily a poet, draws sometimes.

Being Tortured Makes You Evil - by Chaos, after being possessed. Returned to being good-aligned after some time.

Brainwashed And Crazy - by Chaos, to obsessively hunt Kumo. Now recovered. Also Mind Rape.

Laser-Guided Amnesia - his memory loss and subsequent insane pursuit of Kumo mid-show.

Curse - according to his people's folklore, the unusual color of his hair.

Stress-Induced Mental Voices - happens a lot, bothin hallucinations and the Soil speaking.

Heroic Willpower - to stand strong against Chaos.

Dark and Troubled Past - everything about him. Everything. Also Born Unlucky - cursed from the start.

Sole Survivor - of Windaria's fall.

Last of His Kind - last Windarian.

Meaningful Name - Black Wind.

Rite Of Passage Name Change - from the nickname "Wolf" to his current name, as granted by his clan.

Driven to Madness - first somewhat by his pursuit of power, then more so by Chaos.

No Medication For Me - good luck getting him to medicate for his issues. Chances are it would not work anyway due to his altered nature.

There Are No Therapists - on Windaria.

Good Thing You Can Heal - gets injured or killed multiple times during his quest. Good thing he's immortal, right?

I Can Still Fight! - frequently, especially when Kumo is somehow involved.

Organ Dodge - his heart is no longer in his chest.

Wound That Will Not Heal - still feels a type of phantom pain where his heart once was - the surgery scar is the only scar that refuses to heal.

An Arm And A Leg - the Magun essentially removed his right arm below the elbow.

Arm Cannon - the Magun.

Artificial Limbs - the Magun, replacing Kaze's right arm.

Handicapped Badass - despite possessing only one hand (when Magun not thawed).

Don't You Dare Pity Me! - Kaze and most of the Wind Warriors' culture in general.

All Are Equal In Death - as Soil.

Anti-Hero - also Pragmatic Hero.

The Cynic - self-explanatory.

Badass Creed - “From the Glory of Death, for the Glory of Life.”

Battle Cry - “Soil is my power!” Also Catchphrase and Calling Your Attacks.

Pre-Asskicking One-Liner - sometimes. "What is the matter with the Magun? Why won't you use it?"

Giving Someone the Pointer Finger - “The Soil Charge Triad to use on you has been decided!”

Big Brother Instinct - around Aura.

Parental Abandonment - never knew his parents, grew up on the streets as an orphan.

Summon Magic - Soil-Adherents train in Soil summonings - the Magun allows Kaze control over all summons, except ones of Mist.

Summoning Ritual - the Soil Charge Triad.

Offscreen Teleportation - played for comedic value. Is actually Soil Spiral teleportation, though.

Forced Sleep - induced by Kumo, causing Kaze to slumber for twelve years. Sleep, bitch!

Mage Marksman - self-explanatory.

Warrior Poet - "The gilding of a blood indomitable... True Sanguine."

Religion is Magic - the Soil poetry is sacred to Windarian summoners.

Dark Messiah - as the Dark Unlimited, Hunter of Chaos.

Duelling Messiahs - him and Kumo, who fits the light end of the spectrum. But will Makenshi's purity serve him? Hmm...

In Love With Your Carnage - You can kill efficiently and potentially kick his ass? Hot. Also Power is Sexy.

Magitek - the Magun and all its summons.

Human Alien - Windarians, Kaze's species. Also Proud Warrior Race.

Martyrdom Culture - the Missionary caste Soil-martyring for the Adherents.

#[[headcanon #[[muse meme #what the fuck am I doing? I dunno

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boukenboy · 4 years ago

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#17: セブンスドラゴン2020 / 7th Dragon: 2020

The year is 2020. The world is under siege by murder hornets, political unrest, a pandemic, and swarms of ferocious dragons. The fact that only one of the above is fake speaks to how much of a dumpster fire this year has been. Personally, as an "essential worker" who runs a coffee kiosk, some of the behavior that I have witnessed with regards to masks and general safety has taken what little faith I had in humanity and ground it into dust. I have been gaming - and drinking - much more than I ever used to, and while it has saved me money in the long run, I sometimes feel guilty with how much I've dove into this hobby. But who cares, really?

I discovered 7th Dragon 2020 through a random late-night Google search: I occasionally dig around the Japanese side of the internet for research on what games I'd like to play next, and the moment I realized that this game was set in post-apocalyptic Tokyo, in the year 2020, I knew I had to play the absolute hell out of it, regardless of quality.

Art imitating life? We love to see it!

As stated above, 7th Dragon takes place in Tokyo, Japan. You begin by creating your main character, choosing a class and appearance. What really surprised me, however, was the sheer amount of voices you can choose from - I'm not really an anime fan, but according to the game's official website, quite a few famous voice actors lent their talent to the game, and they're all full of personality. Want to make a foul-mouthed gothic lolita? You can. A beefcake with the voice of a 10 year old? You can do that too.

The game features 5 different classes to choose from: Samurai, Destroyer, Psychic, Hacker, and Trickster. Out of these five, I decided to make my main character a Trickster - all classes in 7th Dragon are essentially a sort-of "two-in-one" deal, and in the Trickster's case, their skills are divided between gun and dagger skills, and they both do very different things. Daggers tend to focus more on applying various debuffs to enemies - such as poison, silence, and so forth, while with guns, you'll be avoiding enemy attacks, employing counters, and inducing critical attacks. With the proper set-up, gun Tricksters can then apply constant damage with a possibility of avoiding enemies entirely. To round out the party of three, I then chose to make a Hacker and Destroyer.

Destroyers are your main brawler class, but with an interesting twist. Their abilities all revolve around applying what is called a D-Counter to enemies - certain attacks increase this value, and you can only perform the more devastating attacks once you raise this to the appropriate level. D-Counters wear off over time, too, so it is important for this class to keep up offensive pressure in order to be effective.

Alternatively, you can develop them to become more of a tank: Destroyers possess a stance that draws enemy attention. Once attacked, they'll respond with a powerful counter - this is obviously a great way to protect your squishier party members, and it is extremely satisfying when you successfully bait enemies into destruction. Later on, you'll learn more specialized counters that will allow you to ignore enemy damage entirely, but there's a catch: you have to predict what type of attack they'll use - will they try and bite you, use their claws, or cast a spell? You'll have to pay attention to not only monster anatomy, but to attack patterns, too.

Hackers are the main support class in 7th Dragon: they have the bog-standard buffing spells, but I have to give special recognition to the developers of 7th Dragon for going out of their way to come up with some unique abilities that I have yet to see in any other game. For example, Hackers can set-up a "safety net" that will automatically revive fallen party members at the end of a round, but it is required to be casted at the beginning of that turn. Know a boss is about to end you with their strongest attack? Cast it and hope for the best. They can also decrease the amount of turns your party suffers from status effects, and even increase the rate at which your auto-skills activate.

They can, true to their name, also "hack" into enemies. I haven't played with these skills as of this writing, but it involves the Hacker inducing a status effect of the same name, and then causing all sorts of shenanigans. Other classes possess abilities that can make enemies weak to hacking, which reduces the amount of set-up required. In my case, I decided to focus on the support abilities due to the gaps in my party's defenses, but I can easily see how a more offense-focused Hacker can be a huge asset in battle.

As stated earlier, 7th Dragon 2020 takes place in Tokyo after a sudden and cataclysmic invasion by hordes of enigmatic dragons. Their ultimate objective is unknown, as they do not speak or interact in any manner that is not hostile. You play as a member of the government organization Murakumo, lead by an alarmingly busty woman known as Natsume. Determined to take back the country, you are then sent out into various Tokyo neighborhoods, warped by the dragon's magic, in order to discover the true nature of your nemesis.

I really enjoyed how little you know about the reptilian threat: it reads almost Lovecraftian - these beings are beyond human comprehension, and have the ability to warp reality as they see fit, resulting in some fantastic environments. One of my favorites is the sky-high giant sphere of railroad tracks in Ikebukuro - traversing it feels like you've really stumbled upon some twisted version of our own world.

Along the way, you'll encounter the members of an organization known as SKY - initially the villains of the game, you'll eventually become allies in their search for the one with what they call "the power." If you have played any RPG at all, I'm sure you can figure out just who that is. There's also a large variety of secondary characters, but overall, the game's plot isn't very innovative, but it's serviceable. What surprised me, however, was just how dark some scenes were. In one instance, you cooperate with the Japanese military in order to stop a massive dragon-made cannon, only to watch dozens of your fellow soldiers die in front of your eyes.

7th Dragon isn't afraid to kill off your friends, either - there are sections in the story that are utter bloodbaths. Certain characters the game seemed to favor early on are promptly killed off at random, and the way the survivors react to the trauma of losing their companions is a major story-point that resounds throughout the later chapters of 2020. I was surprised as to how the allegiances between the cast shift as the game progresses - their relationships, and the way they evolve was, to be honest, way more intriguing than the main plot of, "Dragons are bad."

7th Dragon also features a base development system, in which you'll use materials gathered from defeated dragons to add new weapons to shops, create more residential spaces for refugees, and unlock optional side-quests. You can also recruit Hatsune Miku, because of course you can. Why wouldn’t you? Doing so unlocks a remixed soundtrack featuring said vocaloid, but nothing else. It's a curious addition to the game, and the re-done tracks are pretty cool. Unfortunately, the side-quests in 7th Dragon tend to have poor rewards and vague objectives, so I abandoned doing them around halfway through the game.

I can see fans of the Shin Megami Tensei and Etrian Odyssey series finding a lot to love in 7th Dragon. Creating a party that works well together is extremely satisfying, especially given the high level of challenge the game has during boss battles. The plot isn't anything impressive, but the ensemble cast and the blood-soaked shenanigans more than make up for it. I can confidently recommend this game to anybody who seeks a marginally less horrifying version of our current apocalypse. But who knows? If 2021 brings us dragons, I can only pray they eat me first.

#gaymer #review #jrpg #7th dragon 2020 #7th dragon series #etrian odyssey #shin megami tensei #smt #psp #sega #hatsune miku #apocalypse #gaming blog #game review #retro gaming #retro game

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shimikonde · 5 years ago

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Romeo and Juliet and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Return of the King pt. 4 (4th light novel, pg 108-117)

part 4/5 of 1-b’s school play is finished!! i can’t believe that there’s only 10 more pages of this to translate now we’re almost finished!!

this chapter is a wild ride LMAO thank you so much to @rachiebird for betaing this again!!

also thank u to the people who remind me to get off my butt and actually do this it rly makes all the difference lmao

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

“My pocket?”

As Romeo took the ring from his pocket, a dazzling light shined down across the entire stage. While the audience was still disoriented from the light, the gold-painted slice of chikuwa posing as a ring was lowered down. The plan was that, by the time the audience’s eyes had adjusted, it would look like the ring was floating.

Right then, Shiozaki appeared as the Spirit of the Ring and descended decinely upon the backs of Pony and Juurouta, a pair of hippogriffs. The howls of the hippogriffs only heightened Shiozaki’s aura of holiness, and the crowd let out cheers of delight in response. However, Monoma frowned as he noticed an unexpected smell, sniffing the air to find the source. It was the ring right in front of him.

“I am in no way the Spirit of the Chikuwa… I’m the Spirit of the Ring… No matter what anyone might say.”

It was from Shiozaki’s adlibbing and the meekness in which she did it that Monoma knew what the ring really was.

(Why chikuwa?!)

He held in the urge to shout out the retort with all his might. Monoma twitched a bit as he put on a surprised look at the Spirit of the Ring that had just appeared. “The Spirit of the Ring…?!”

“Listen closely, Romeo… The ring is with you… When you wish it, the ring will become your power… Furthermore, I am not the Spirit of the Chikuwa…”

Having reminded them, Shiozaki retreated back to the ceiling along with the roaring hippogriffs. Whispers of “why chikuwa?” came from all across the hall, but Monoma brushed aside their questions with his own booming voice. “Just now! What was that…! The Spirit of the Ring… You mean to say it’s the spirit of this ring, the ring that has been passed down through the royal family generation after generation…!”

And then he had a sudden realization, continuing, “There’s no time for this. I need to hurry and rescue Juliet, or else…!”

His expression was resolute as he stared far into the distance, the mood in the auditorium returning to normal. To Monoma, who had made it happen, all of the people in the wings sighed in relief, “He made it through.” Their roles having ended, Shiozaki and the rest also returned to the wings, relieved.

“I knew it, that guy really is amazing…”

Having said that, Tetsutetsu wolfed down a bite of the remaining chikuwa. It would be his turn on stage soon, so he was psyching himself up with a quick meal. The climax was quickly approaching, filling the wings with a sense of elation. After this, Count Paris would defeat Master Obi-Wan, declare himself Romeo’s real father, and then their confrontation would follow.

“Everyone, we’re going to cut the lights. This is the last set change, let’s do it.”

Everyone set their faces at the sound of Honenuki’s voice and went in standby positions for the set change. Next would be Count Paris’s castle, the scene of the final battle.

“Blackout in… six, five, four, three… cut the lights. We have fifty seconds.”

When Honenuki’s countdown reached ten seconds, Kaibara was heard saying, “I said we can talk about it later, break a leg!” before running off into the wings. Monoma looked after him like he wanted to say, “No, you’re misunderstanding…” but as the lights switched back on across the stage, he immediately switched over to Romeo.

“I finally made it… So, this is the castle that Rey said she saw…” Monoma muttered as he looked up at the eerie backdrop of a stone-cut castle. In the wings, the stagehands and the people whose roles had already finished were already acting as if the play had ended, having just managed to overcome the final major challenge.

In the midst of them, Honenuki never lost his cool, watching over the stage while giving the next directions.

“After this we still have the aerial combat. Standby positions.” Following Honenuki’s words, many people hurried over to various places in standby. “I’m counting on you, everyone…”

Tetsutetsu was waiting beside him, looking a bit nervous as he waited for his cue, so Honenuki called out to him in a quiet voice. “You’ll be fine. You’ve done this fine during practices. Just put your all into it. Ah, but you should still try to keep your voice down a little.”

“Yeah.”

Kodai, who was just behind them, nodded her head as if to say, “You’ll be fine.”

Tetsutetsu nodded back at the both of them. “Right, I can do this. Just leave it to me…”

At Honenuki’s signal, Tetsutetsu entered the stage. Recalling all of the instructions about acting that Monoma had given him during practice, Tetsutetsu waited for the right moment to draw the audience’s attention and spoke slowly and quietly, in a low, carrying voice.

“…my, I don’t remember inviting any guests. But I’ve been waiting for you, Prince Romeo.”

(…that’s right, just like that.)

Monoma gave a small smile at Tetsutetu’s performance before plunging himself into his own role.

“As suspected, that suspicious man was you, Count Paris! Where is Juliet?!”

“What I do with my possessions is my business…”

“It seems you have no intention of returning her… In that case, I’ll take her back myself!” Monoma let loose a roar as he slashed at Tetsutetsu. However, Tetsutetsu-as-Count Paris brushed him away in a single swing. Blown away, Monoma let out an awed, “This is no ordinary man…!”

“Wait, Romeo. Let me be the one to face that man.”

“You’re… Master Obi-Wan? Why?!”

Bondo-as-Master Obi-Wan appeared, lead by Nirengeki and Awase as Frodo and Sam.

Nirengeki said, “While we were searching for the king, Obi-Wan appeared before us. He said that he had something of the utmost importance to convey to you…!”

“Romeo, you often skipped out on your Force training, and you were by no means a good pupil. However, ever since you were born I’ve always thought of you as something of a grandson… That’s precisely why I, now, must be the one to defeat this man…”

“You’ve got quite the nostalgic face, Obi-Wan… But rather than a joyous reunion, I think it’s more befitting to call this a final farewell.” With his volume suppressed and a penetrating gaze, Tetsutetsu-as-Count Paris emitted a huge amount of presence just by standing, intimidating the audience.

In the wings, people were getting excited over Tetsutetsu and co’s performances.

“Tetsutetsu! That kid can do anything if he sets his mind to it!” Tsuburaba said while nodding his head up and down.

“What are you, his mom?” Kaibara quipped.

On stage, Tetsutetsu was completely villainous, casting out a menacing aura that made the two of them hold their breath and watch how the rest of the performance played out.

“This man is a ghost who was confined to Azkaban… A being who does not belong in this realm…”

Kuroiro fidgeted in the wings, as if Obi-Wan’s line had tickled his chunibyo heart.

Monoma-as-Romeo shouted in surprise, “In the infamous prison, Azkaban?! What horrible crimes could he have committed?”

“I died in Azkaban, and I was reborn. All in order to fulfill my duty.”

“Don’t say another word, evil being… Ha!”

Raising his hands, Obi-Wan turned to face Count Paris. “Oof,” Tetsutetsu said as he was attacked by the Force, getting blown back and floating in the air just like that.

“It seems your power has not faded over the years, Obi-Wan.”

“Master Obi-Wan!”

“All of you, stand back! I’ll…”

As he said that, Obi-Wan drifted up to the sky. From here on, it would be aerial combat using the Force. Using Pony’s “Horn Canon”, Tokage’s “Lizard’s Tail”, and Rin’s “Scales”, the two of them were able to be manipulated freely through the air.

“Ha!”

While showing off each Force attack, they flew around over the heads of the audience. Kaibara matched their blows, set off firecrackers that he’d prepared on the walls. Startled by the overflowing presence, the audience was unable to turn their eyes from the two of them. However, as if to control the enjoyment of the audience, Count Paris stared at Obi-Wan coldly and declared, “Obi-Wan, You haven’t changed at all… But I have… Since the last time we met, I’ve obtained tremendous power…!”

Count Paris landed the finishing blow on Obi-Wan. As Obi-Wan was blown all the way back to the stage, Romeo and the others rushed to him.

“Master Obi-Wan!”

“This can’t be… The most powerful man in all of Gondor has…!”

“Romeo… This is the one man we must never allow near our country… Okay…? You’re the one who will lead Gondor in the future…”

As Obi-Wan let out his death rattle, Romeo began to break into tears. “No… Obi-Wan, you can’t… I still have so much to learn from you…”

Count Paris approached him. “Prince Romeo… No, Romeo…”

“My prince!”

Romeo looked back at the sound of Frodo and Sam’s voices, then startled.

“Juliet!!”

Kodai-as-Juliet was standing on the castle terrace. Behind her, as if using the castle as a perch, a growling dragon leered at Romeo’s group.

Drying his tears, Romeo stood at once, facing his arch nemesis, Count Paris.

“My name is Romeo! Ghost of Azkaban, Count Paris! I’m tacking Juliet back!!”

But Count Paris turned, making a sorrowful face as he opened his mouth to speak.

“Romeo… You must have heard from Obi-Wan about your father. Him being the Kingdom of Gondor’s king… That was a lie.” Count Paris suddenly took off the hood he’d been wearing up until now and said decisively: “Romeo, I am your father.”

“YOU’RE LYING!!!”

Shock didn’t even begin to describe what Romeo was feeling, his emotions accentuated by theatrical acoustics and even further by the lights bathing him.

Having learned the shocking truth, all the audience could do was look on in mute awe.

“Now, how about you call me dad!”

“Never!!! What a foul lie! I can’t believe it, that you could be my father…! Besides, my father is alive! He’s not in the country now, but I will definitely find him!”

“That meddling Obi-Wan, filling you with lies. Listen, your father is actually—”

“Do you think I’d keep listening to your nonsense?! I’m saving Juliet, now!” Saying that, Romeo swung at Count Paris. However...

“…huh? Is something wrong with Tetsutetsu?” asked Kaibara from the wings, noticing Tetsutetsu’s state. The plan was that he was supposed to beautifully avoid Monoma’s attack, but instead he was hunched over, holding his stomach. Monoma also seemed surprised at the sudden development, appearing unsure of how to continue.

“He looks kinda pale… Is he not feeling well or something?” said Honenuki, who had noticed the same thing and was now looking worriedly at Tetsutetsu on the stage.

“Ah, could it be this?!”

Setsuna, flustered, was holding the plastic bag the chikuwa had come in. The expiration date had passed a fair while ago. Everyone’s heads swung back to Tetsutetsu with concern, watching Tetsutetsu writhing from the pain of his sudden stomachache.

This is what Monoma had been trying to say earlier, that the chikuwa smelled as if it’d gone bad.

“Jeez! He never pays mush attention to these things!”

Komori was so worried that she’d worked herself into an angry huff, which Kuroiro tried to calm with a, “Th-there, there.”

Thinking carefully, Honenuki played the role given to him and said calmly, “In any case, we need to get Tetsutetsu off the stage. At this rate, he won’t be able to do anything.”

After seeing Tetsutetsu’s state, there were no objections. That said, there was one problem.

“But how?”

“Not to mention, how are we going to even do this scene without Tetsutetsu? We can’t just rely on Monoma alone... We could tell Tetsutetsu to leave the stage for health reasons, but if we do—”

It would mean they had to completely change the script and end in adlib. But was that even possible?

“Rather than ending on a bad note, maybe it’d be better to quit while we’re—”

Honenuki shook his head at Rin, who had offered the suggestion merely as one possible option.

“…The show must go on. Once the curtain’s drawn, we can’t close it again until we’ve finished the play. It’s out of respect to the people who came to see us, and also our pride as the people putting on the play.”

“…!”

Looking at everyone’s surprised faces, Honenuki continued, “…is what was written in the Stage Director’s book.”

“The book?!” Tsuburaba shot out, but Honenuki continued to speak gently, in an attempt to calm everyone down.

“But, you know. We’ve all worked so hard up until now, just for this day. I don’t really want to end it half-way, either.”

From the day they decided on the program, all of their weekends, their time after school, and even their breaks had all been dedicated to bringing their strength together and making a great play. They only had one chance to perform: it was all for this play.

Even before Honenuki said anything, everyone was already overflowing with passion.

Rin spoke for everyone. “Let’s do it. To the end.”

Class B had made up their minds. Now they just needed to figure out how.

Honenuki spent a short time organizing his thoughts before saying, “First, in order to get Tetsutetsu back, we need to avert the audience’s attention from the stage.”

#bnha light novel #class 1-b #bnha #juzo honenuki #monoma neito #tetsutetsu tetsutetsu #ibara shiozaki #sen kaibara #kojiro bondo #ok there were more but i'm done tagging characters #UM wow is all i can say #they rly went there #i'm so proud of all of these kids tho they're trying their best #honenuki for president #every single day i marvel at the fact that this is canon

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princess-sengoku · 4 years ago

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Secret Santa Fanfic

@hunny-pp This is for your request in Secret Santa for this year. I hope this is great. Merry Christmas to you and Merry Christmas to everyone else. AAAA My first fanfic to be posted on Tumblr :')

Carnival Competition

Rating: K

Modern AU

Summary: Shingen and Kenshin are going to Osaka carnival to see who can win the most games at the carnival.

The carnival's in town as everyone from all over the land of the rising sun go to one of the most underrated festivals in the land; Osaka Carnival. The fun games, great food, and amazing rides that it had was all in good fun for everyone to enjoy. Once Shingen heard for himself that the carnival was going to be in town tomorrow, he just had to call Kenshin to join him for the carnival. He was disappointed that he didn't show up last year, then again they weren't dating at the time. Maybe this year would go in his favor? He and Kenshin could at least compete in the games, kinda like a battlefield? Shingen was in Osaka for a quick vacation and the carnival would be the top of the cake. With that in mind, Shingen picked up the phone and began to text to Kenshin.

Shingen: My stoic dragon "nemesis", are you still awake?

Kenshin was comfortable on his futon at his Castle, just starting to head off to bed and sending a quick prayer to Bishamonten to thank the god of war for allowing him the pleasures of life. There was wine, business, and finally Shingen. Shingen was probably one of the most worthy friend and business partner he could ask for in this life. Although he didn't show much happiness on his stoic face, his actions show that he cares for him, especially when he accepted to be Shingen’s boyfriend. Speaking of Shingen… 'Bing Bing'. Kenshin heard his phone go off. "It is almost time to go to bed… Who's texting me?" He said, visibly annoyed. He picked up his phone and once he saw the message, he softened a little bit. It was Shingen.

Kenshin: Tiger of Kai, my "nemesis", I was about to go to bed, but I can talk for a bit.

Shingen gave a good-natured chuckle at Kenshin's message sent a couple of minutes later. Of course he forgot that Kenshin would be getting to bed around this time.

Shingen: Sorry about that, I was hoping maybe this year we can go to the carnival together. Think of it as a date.

"A date?" He mouthed to himself. When was the last time they had a date together? It had been a while. They were both taking it slowly so they wouldn't be discovered and to have it at a carnival, that everyone was going to…

Kenshin: Are you sure you want me to go?

Shingen was not giving up on making him go to the carnival. They were always competitive when it came to the games. A lightbulb went off in his head. He can use the games as an excuse for him to go.

Shingen: I bet I can win a lot more games than you. Don't worry I'll give you some prizes :)

Shingen always knew how to push Kenshin's competitiveness button. They both were like strategists in their own businesses but eventually one must come on top eventually. He really now was interested in this carnival but he would conceal his intentions to him.

Kenshin: It is tempting to go to the festival to have a friendly competition. Go have fun. Good night "nemesis"

Shingen shrugged at his message. At least he tried to convince him to go. At the back of his head, he did feel that Kenshin would come here. He just had that hunch.

Shingen: Good night. Don't have a rough night.

As soon as he got Shingen’s message, Kenshin got dressed again, called his limo driver, and took a blanket. He would now begin to surprise Shingen to the festival date. "Shingen, let's see who wins the most games." he thought with confidence. They always liked competitive plays over each other. He just thought of what kind of games would be there to play as the limo left with him inside, going to Osaka, as he drifted to sleep.

~The next morning- 8 AM~

Shingen saw the shining sun glimmer in the curtains as morning came and he was just starting to wake up from the tiger's slumber. This short bald man yawned as he sat up in the bed, slowly getting his act together. It was also very hot today when the festival and vacation was in the summer. He could only imagine what the south had to deal with like the Shimazu in the summer. After 10 minutes of just sitting there, he finally got up to brighten the room. The curtains opened and Shingen shielded his eyes from the brightness a bit. Once it got adjusted, he finally saw a limo in front of the hotel. It had the Uesugi symbol on the side and the limo was white. He could see Kenshin come out the doors. "Hahaha, I knew Kenshin would be here!" Shingen said to himself. He put on a tiger print t-shirt with some khaki shorts and some sandals.

Kenshin walked out of the limo with a nice short sleeved buttoned white shirt with white pants with some nice black loafers. He was casually sleeping the whole ride so he would be well rested for today. Carnivals are mostly energy sucking. The driver let him know he's here so he doesn't have to rest during the day. "Great Bishamonten, please give me strength to have fun today and beat Shingen in a whole bunch of games." He prayed. They both met in the lobby and gave a hug. "Haha, I knew you would come. So are you ready for the carnival?" Shingen asked. Kenshin gave a small smile and nodded. "I am. Looking at the clock means that it had just started." Said Kenshin as he looked at the clock which read 9:00A.M.

Looking out at the carnival laid out before them, it was full of life and high fun energy. Many games, food stands and other attractions can be seen before them. People were walking around them full of laughter and friendly talk. You can't really hear what they had to say because there were so many people and they were loud. Shingen and Kenshin simply walked side by side together holding pinkies looking out at what games they should play.

The first game they saw was kinda strange with a huge log and there were lines in the ground. Musashi was actually the one hosting that game. "Hey you two! Do you want to try the log toss? 1 yen to try it and the rules are clearly read on the sign." He managed to get Shingen and Kenshin's attention. "You want to have a go Kenshin?" Asked Shingen. "Sure" said Kenshin blatantly.

They both walk up to the wooden sign. It was well made with no chances that anyone can get a splinter and it looked really smooth for writing on as shown in words that are painted on. It says the following:

Log toss:

'You throw a log as far as you can. This can be played for competition. If you are solo, you win a prize no matter what. If you are against each other, then the winner gets a prize.'

Shingen was known to do some lifting at the gym sometimes, Kenshin watched him while he worked so he knew as well. They've decided to do the competition version. The prizes included stuffed animals, posters and pins. Shingen went first as he went and picked it up by the sides then he spinned around a few times getting ready for the wind up. He threw it up and away pretty far and it landed with a thud and the ground shaked a bit. Musashi ran to where the log went with a measuring tape and a flag. "150 feet-1st person!" Musashi announced. Kenshin smiled at Shingen’s impressive performance. It was as expected for him as was a worthy challenge for Kenshin to try to beat.

"You're next Kenshin." Shingen said as he stood back with a smirk, a smirk that Kenshin loved a lot. "I have practiced a bit in lifting." Kenshin remarked as he picked up the log. He winded up by standing back a bit then using the force that he gathered to launch the log forward as he stepped forward. It flew not as high as Shingen did but it definitely was going far. There was a thud in the distance and Musashi was running fast with the other marker. "Not bad! It's about… 160 feet. The second person wins!" Musashi announced happily as he went to pick out a prize. Kenshin kissed Shingen on the forehead proud of his own victory. "Well done 'nemesis'." Shingen said, congratulating him. Musashi gave Kenshin a big tiger plush. 'It would be perfect for Shingen.' Kenshin thought.

Many hours go by with more prizes, food, the times they went through a funhouse and a haunted house in a succession while holding many little toys, pins, posters, more stuffed animals. It was a lot to carry for a long time, then again they had played lots of games. Games were ring toss, balloon pop, guess what's approximately in the jar, bumper cars, test your strength, and many other games.

It was the last few minutes of the carnival to be open for the day. There was one more game they wanted to try for a magnificent dragon plush. Shingen was immediately reminded of Kenshin when he saw that plush. "Kenshin! Before we go let's try this game!" They both look at the bucket of water with ducks floating right along. The sign read the following:

Lucky Duck:

'You hook a duck on the hook stick provided to you. Get a star duck (which the star is on the bottom) to win any prize you want.'

"This game sounds simple and quick." Kenshin remarked. "You can do this game." Said Kenshin as he gave the game owner 1 yen to play the game.

Shingen concentrated on the pond itself like a fire trying to get hotter by the minute. Any of those ducks could have a star on the bottom and any number of the ducks could have stars. They all looked the same. All he could do would be to guess which one had the star and which ones didn't. He took the hook stick on the ground and just went for it, eyes closed. When he opened them again, he looked underneath the duck and a gold star was at the bottom. He won the game and the dragon. "This is great!" thought Shingen as he got the dragon in his hands.

As Shingen turned he saw Kenshin take the tiger plush out of the mass of prizes they won and handed it out like it was a gift for him. Shingen saw a slight blush on Kenshin's stoic face. "So umm… this is for you 'nemesis'." Kenshin said in a softer voice than usual. Shingen laughed out of kindness a little, knowing that Kenshin wasn't used to the sometimes sweet moments of their relationship. "Thank you 'nemesis'. In return, I will give you this dragon I just won." Shingen blushed a little bit as he received the tiger and Kenshin received the dragon. They soon divided all of the prizes in between them. Shingen’s vacation would go on and Kenshin would join in for the last week that Shingen had left.

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

P.S. as a bonus I give you some headcanons of the pairing on google slides that I made myself. This helped me create the fic lol.

#pokemon conquest secret santa #samurai warriors #kenshin uesugi #shingen takeda #shingen x kenshin #musashi miyamoto

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