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slytherhys · 2 years

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Strung-Out Heart IV

A/N - 5SOS5 was released two days ago and the amount of inspiration these songs have been giving me is insane. Bad Omens is so STO coded I fear for everyone who enjoys reading this fic </3 Also, I promise we're getting more Rowaelin scenes together without all the hatred, just be patient <3 ENJOY!

TW - strong language, mature themes.

Chapter I, Chapter II, Chapter III

Aelin

Elide’s was a beautiful bakery right in the centre of the city of Orynth. Aelin remembered how many times her friend had spoken to her of her dream, of how many extra hours she had worked so she could afford to buy a good place to open her own shop. She couldn’t hide the pride in her face as she opened the door to Elide’s dream and saw it prosper. She never had any doubt Elide would make it but it felt priceless, nonetheless.

It was an open space with light pouring in from two large windows, Elide’s scrawled in a large golden cursive font. The walls were tiled in white, the floor made of intricate mosaic work in tones of sage and cream. Wooden tables covered the front of the store while at the back, a matching wooden counter stretched along the wall, its glass allowing the customers to see all the exposed mouth-watering baked goods. Aelin felt her mouth water at the sight of Elide’s famous cannolis, almost groaning at the thought of tasting one for the first time in years.

Behind the register a familiar face greeted her with a hesitant expression. Aelin approached her cautiously, waving hello as Elide finished ringing her last customer.

“Welcome to Elide’s.” The brunette smiled delicately. “What can I get you?”

“A large coffee please.” She asked. “And a cannoli.” She added as an afterthought, the idea of not tasting one of Elide’s precious pastries enough to send her spiralling. Elide watched her through furrowed brows, scribbling her order on a paper. Aelin fixed her throat, making Elide look up. “Could…” Aelin took a deep breath, chuckling nervously as she looked around. “Could we talk?” She tried again. Elide tilted her head slightly, her eyes roaming Aelin’s expression before finally nodding once.

“Sit wherever you’d like.” She nodded towards the front of the shop. “I’ll meet you in five.”

Aelin almost felt her knees buckle with the relief coursing through her veins, but she managed to stay standing as she grabbed her order and made her way towards a table by the window overlooking the main street.

Missing Orynth had been such a fundamental aspect of her being these past three years it seemed weird to finally be back in the city. She knew she would eventually come back; knew there was no path in her life worth walking without coming to Orynth first. She had made a life for herself in Adarlan, but it had never been a definite one. Dorian, Manon, Yrene… They all knew that. They all understood that a part of her would never truly rest until she was back home. She didn’t want to lose them to distance and the future, but Orynth’s call had always been stronger than anything else. It had something no other place could ever offer her. It had Rowan Whitethorn.

Aelin wasn’t a fool; she knew exactly how hard it was going to be to climb Rowan’s walls all over again. She also knew there were certain ways to win him back, and foolishly kissing him while drunk on sickly sugary drinks wasn’t the way to go.

Don’t touch me like that.

Aelin had spent the greater part of her night with her head in the toilet, heaving like her soul was trying to escape her body. When she finally managed to climb into bed, she felt too weak to cry, too embarrassed to even let herself think about her own actions. She slept for a total of 4 hours before waking to the shrill sound of her alarm. She had promised Aedion she would meet him at the hospital that morning and there was no way she would’ve missed it simply because she had been too stupid to get drunk the night before.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Elide took a seat in front of her, setting her own large mug in front of her, smelling suspiciously of cinnamon and elderberries. It was such a familiar scent Aelin almost wept.

“I don’t have much time.” She said as a way of greeting, tying her dark hair in a bun. “I’m missing an employee.” She said, taking a sip of her mug as her keen eyes watched Aelin.

She nodded once, smiling softly. “That’s okay.” Aelin assured. “I just wanted to see you again.”

“Is that all you’re doing here?” She asked. “Seeing people?”

Aelin looked around, frowning. “Well, no. I’m here to see you and-”

“I mean in Orynth, Aelin.”

Aelin’s shoulder sagged. Elide had always been straight to the point, hadn’t she? “Oh.” She frowned, her eyes on the cannoli that seemed to tease her into taking a bite. Aelin ignored the urge, her stomach suddenly turning inside-out. She hadn’t eaten a single thing all morning but suddenly food seemed like the worst possible thing in the entire world – even Elide’s cannolis. “No. It’s not.” She finally said, daring a glance at Elide who watched her with gentle indifference. “At least I don’t want it to be.” She shrugged.

“And who gets to decide it if not you?” Elide asked, but Aelin refrained from answering. She had a good feeling Elide knew exactly who had that kind of power over her. With Lorcan as her fiancé – if the ring on her finger was any indication – Aelin assumed Elide had been there when she left Rowan. Elide was probably more aware of certain things that Lorcan himself so Aelin couldn’t exactly blame her for being reluctant. Even if all Aelin wanted to do was reach out and hug her and cry a bit. She wanted to shake them silly into loving her back.

“You look…different.” Elide observed. Aelin couldn’t exactly fault her on that observation. With four hours of sleep and little to no food in her stomach for the past 12 hours she couldn’t possibly look her best – mainly considering she was wearing a pair of leggings and a large sweater that probably reeked of hospital. The shower she had before heading to Aedion was probably her only saving grace at this point.

Aelin smiled at her old friend. “And you look good.” She said as sincerely as possible. Her eyes shone with pride and love. She looked fiercely alive. Aelin ignored the pang of jealousy running in her veins as she looked at what her life could’ve been if only she had stayed. Aelin ignored her inner turmoil, nodding towards the café. “Your dream came true.”

Elide looked around, pride shining in her dark brown eyes. “I bought it three years ago.” She said, her eyes setting on Aelin again.

Right. “Three?”

“A week after you left, actually. I didn’t want to tell anyone before it was official.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”

“It was a team effort, you know?” She leaned back against her seat, her eyes following every little detail of her bakery, as if remembering all the sweat and tears put into that place. “Lorcan helped with almost everything, wouldn’t let me pick a hammer even if my life depended on it.” She smiled softly, her gaze loving at the mere thought of Salvaterre. “Fenrys and Aedion helped set the tiles and Rowan helped me with the counter.” Her eyes finally returned to Aelin.

Aelin closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Not for the first time since she got to Orynth she wished Dorian was there with her. He had a gentle protectiveness towards her that would’ve been more than welcome. Aelin knew she deserved every single quip coming from her friends but that didn’t make them any less brutal. “I’m sorry, El.”

Elide shook her head slightly, leaning forwards again. “What exactly do you want from us, Aelin?”

Aelin sat a bit taller, her entire body as if preparing for battle. “I’m back for good.” She nodded confidently.

“That’s not what I asked.”

“I want to have my friends back.” Aelin blurted out, her eyes suspiciously glassy. “I know I fucked up, Elide. I live with it every single day of my life.” She shook her head slightly. “I left you and I will never forgive myself for it, but I won’t let my past stand in the way of my future.”

Elide tilted her head, a frown to her pretty face. “What changed? Why now?”

“It wasn’t a set thing, Elide. I never wanted to stay in Adarlan but I… I just couldn’t just come back.”

“You did though.” Elide shrugged.

“Not really.” Aelin muttered.

“What?”

“I didn’t just come back.”

Elide let out a frustrated sigh. “What is that supposed to mean, Aelin?”

Aelin shook her head slightly, her heart racing inside her chest. “I’m not the one-”

Elide let out a bitter laugh. “So you expect me to just accept you came back – for whatever reason you refuse to tell me – and believe you’re staying? For all I know you could just leave again without-”

“Gavriel’s sick.” Aelin flinched, the words spilling out of her as if rushing to get out.

Their table went silent, Elide’s righteous speech coming to an abrupt stop. Aelin looked up, noting Elide’s paled face paling more still. Aelin cursed herself for betraying her cousin’s confidence, but it was too late to take the words back.

“Forget I said anything.” She said, her hands shaking as she reached for her bag and started to get up. A hand stopped her, Elide’s stricken face looking up at her with a gentleness unworthy of Aelin.

“Please, sit.” She asked softly. Aelin took a deep breath, willing her heart to slow down. She kept making a mess of things and the urge to flee back to her cousin kept growing, but Aelin sat back down. “Why-” Elide started, shaking her head as if trying to find the right words. “Aedion didn’t tell us.”

“He will when he’s ready for it.” Aelin assured with a soft smile.

“Is Gavriel okay?”

She nodded, looking back outside. She wouldn’t be the one telling Aedion’s friends what was wrong with him, that was his job, and he wouldn’t take that away from him anymore than what she already had. “He’s at the hospital. Aedion has been staying with him while I take care of his house and fill for him at the gym.”

“At the hospital?” Elide furrowed her brows, her voice wavering with emotion. Aelin reached out for her hand, trying to reassure Elide as best as she could with the little information she was able to give away.

“Aedion will explain everything to you guys soon, I promise. Just… Please don’t tell anyone else.”

“Aelin-”

“Not for me. For Aedion.” Aelin clarified. “He doesn’t want anyone to worry, Elide. Please.”

Elide watched Aelin before nodding once, taking a sip from her drink before speaking again. “Is that the only reason you came back?”

Aelin looked up, surprised at the question. Wasn’t it obvious it wasn’t? She loved her cousin deeply and didn’t even think twice before packing her bags and moving back the second he needed her, but could anyone really believe that was the only reason why she was coming back? “I want to have a reason to stay.”

“You’ve always had one.” Elide said softly.

“Not anymore, I don’t.” Aelin smiled sadly. “But I’m willing to fight for it.”

Elide nodded once, her brown eyes not missing anything. She squeezed Aelin’s hand once before her eyes dropped to the cannoli, a smirk blooming in her face.

“Then we can’t ask for much else, can we?”

…

Aelin had forgotten the exact taste of joy. After living three years with her mistakes and her memories haunting her with a force she still feared, she had doubted she would ever feel happiness again, but as she made her way back to Aedion’s place after spending the afternoon at Elide’s catching up with some of her work work and chatting with Elide whenever she had a break, she felt something suspiciously close to hope blooming inside her chest. Hope that maybe she still had a chance at getting her friends back.

Despite still being a bit reluctant, Elide had started to open up a bit, talking about the past three years and how her business had grown so much in the past mainly because the men kept advertising her pastries to anyone who’d listen. Aelin tried to ignore the shadow of emotion that threatened to break through her defences at the image Elide painted. A real family who had each other’s backs.

Aelin had been a part of it once upon a time.

The apartment wasn’t empty as Aelin had initially expected – Aedion was home for the first time in days. The TV was on, but Aedion’s attention was nowhere near the screen, his eyes unseeing as he sipped his beer. She fought the urge to panic. It wasn’t normal for Aedion to be home, sure, but that didn’t have to mean something bad had happened.

“Hey.” Aelin greeted gently, sitting down next to him. Aedion looked rumpled, to say the least. He looked fresh-out of the shower, his blonde hair still damp, but there was no missing the exhaustion under his eyes, the hollow of his cheeks. Ever since Gavriel received his diagnosis, Aedion seemed to be disappearing right in front of her eyes, as if he alone could save his dad. Aelin held his hand, squeezing it once in what she knew was the most affection Aedion was willing to receive these days.

Aelin couldn’t deny her own heart was breaking. Gavriel had taken her in when her parents died, raising her as if she were his own daughter. He had loved her as fiercely as he had loved his own son, and no matter how many mistakes Aelin had made growing up, Gavriel was always there to hold her with a warm hug and a cup of her favourite hot chocolate – her uncle knew she liked a little chilli powder in her and kept a private stash for when she visited.

But this wasn’t the time for her own emotions to be all over the place. Aedion deserved a safe haven, someone who he would lean on so it was time for her to support her cousin the way she knew he would support her. The way he had supported her when her parents died. He had been a teenager then, but he had always treated Aelin with love and care.

“He kicked me out.” Aedion grunted, finishing the last of his beer before setting it down on the floor. Aelin smiled, knowing Gavriel had grown restless with Aedion’s constant fussing. “Him and that doctor-” He growled, stopping himself suddenly at Aelin raised eyebrows.

“Doctor?” She smirked.

He groaned. “Never mind.” He muttered, getting up and making his way to the fridge. Aelin followed him like an eager child.

“Do you mean Doctor Lysandra Ennar?” She teased. Gavriel’s doctor had been a constant thorn in Aedion’s side, but hardly for the reasons he claimed. The first time Lysandra walked into the room with her gorgeous looks and amazing brains Aedion had been knocked off his feet – no matter how much he denied it. Aelin hadn’t missed the blush on her cousin’s face the second the Doctor set her eyes on him. She also hadn’t missed the way he paled when she had suggested he go home and shower.

Some would consider that to be cruel but Aedion hadn’t left his father’s side for 2 days and it was becoming a problem, so Aelin was grateful for the Doctor’s remark, even if Aedion wasn’t.

“What did she do now?” Aelin asked, schooling her face to feigned innocence. Aedion rolled his eyes, opening a new bottle of beer. Aelin took it from him, taking a sip and smiling. Aedion muttered something under his breath but sat down without grabbing a new one.

“Dad had some tests to run, and he didn’t want me there so they ganged up on me.”

“Aedion-” Aelin sighed, but her cousin interrupted him.

“And then she had the nerve to kick me out!” He blurt out.

“I thought your dad-”

“No!” He rumbled and Aelin fought the urge to strangle him for constantly interrupting her. “She had me escorted simply because I wouldn’t leave.”

Aelin blinked. Then she blinked again before bursting out laughing. “She had you escorted?” She managed between giggles. It was official, she loved Lysandra Ennar.

Aedion pouted, crossing her arms – the perfect picture of a penitent child.

“I’m bringing her some of Elide’s cannolis next time I see her.” Aelin said, sighing happily.

“It’s not fucking funny, Aelin.” Aedion bit out, making Aelin flinch. “He needed me there. What if they get back his results and find something out? I needed to be there.”

Aelin set her bottle on the counter, facing Aedion completely. “He didn’t want you there, Aedion.” She said as gently as possible, watching as his shoulders dropped. “He loves you, but he needs to deal with some things on his own.” Aedion started shaking his head, denial evident in his stubborn head. “He told you to leave.” Aelin said more firmly. “You’ll be there first thing tomorrow morning, there’s absolutely nothing you could’ve done tonight, Aedion.”

“But-”

“Gavriel trusts Lysandra and you should too. She’s an amazing doctor”

Aedion sighed, leaning against the counter with a pensive expression. “She is.” He muttered, as if not fully ready to say the words any louder. “Maybe I’ll bring her some of Elide’s cannolis.”

Aelin frowned. “Hey, I was gonna do that!”

Aedion sent her a sheepish smile before frowning at her. “How do you know about Elide’s cannolis?”

“Oh.” Aelin bit her lip. “I visited her today.” She said, grabbing her beer before turning back to the couch.

“Wait,” Aedion followed. “I didn’t know you were going to start speaking to them so soon.”

“I had to start somewhere.” She shrugged.

Aedion sat next to her, turning so he could face her. “I thought somewhere was with Rowan.”

“Yeah, well…” Aelin blew out a breath. “That’s not working, is it?”

“And Elide?”

Aelin smiled. “I think it went pretty well. We talked for a bit and I’m hopeful.” Aelin didn’t add that all her hope was reserved for Elide only, since Rowan seemed to despise her as fiercely as he had once loved her.

But Aedion seemed to read all that in her expression. “Rowan will forgive you, Aelin.” She gave him a doubtful look that made Aedion’s lip quirk up slightly as he pulled her into a side-hug. “He will, I’m sure of it.” He assured her. “If you guys can’t find your way back to each other then there’s no hope for any of us.”

“Maybe we missed our chance.”

“You don’t really believe that, Aelin.” He squeezed her shoulder. “And neither does he.”

Aelin raised her head slightly, looking at her cousin. “Why do you say that?”

“When you left, Rowan used to sit by your apartment every day after he left work.” Aedion said, his voice gentle as if knowing the words alone were enough to break Aelin’s heart all over again. “Only when I told him you left did he give up.”

“I’m not sure I understand your logic.” She muttered grumpily making Aedion chuckle softly.

“He stopped waiting for you at that apartment, but he kept looking for you everywhere else Aelin. Wherever we were, whoever we were with, his eyes kept looking around, as if waiting for you to pop up again. It’s like he still couldn’t fathom you wouldn’t come back.”

“Aedion…”

“Maybe he always knew you’d come back, I’m not sure. We always avoided talking about you.”

Aelin flinched. “Ouch.”

Aedion chuckled, sitting up so he could look Aelin in the eyes. “The thing is, no matter how much you hurt him, he kept looking for you. Maybe he’s not willing to forgive you right away,” He shrugged. “But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you anymore.”

“I’m not sure that’s true.”

“He’s probably not sure either,” He smiled. “But that’s where you come in, isn’t it?”

................

TAG LIST: @superspiritfestival

#rowaelin fanfiction #rowaelin fic #rowaelin #rowan x aelin #rowan whitethorn #aelin fic #aelin galythinius #tog #throne of glass #tog fic #throne of glass fic #throne of glass fanfiction #strung out heart

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sweetleaf-cafe · 3 years

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"Hello hello! I would like to request Louis Amamiya and Default!Male Protagonist (seperate) Mocha biscuits please! <Relationship headcanons please with a human s/o who dearly loves them and had even asked them to drink their blood from their neck at one point if they need it? Many thanks~"

Hi-hi~! Sorry, we don't write for Default!Male Protagonist, as we lack the information to really feel comfortable writing for him. As for writing for Louis, thank you so much for requesting for our best boi!!! He deserves all the love and headpats in the world.

Your mocha and biscuits for Louis Amamiya from Code Vein are served!

Louis Relationship Headcanons

First off, he's going to feel like he doesn't deserve someone as wonderful as you in his life.

But you won't let him get away with saying that and always remind him of all the reasons why you don't care about the notion of whether he "deserves" you or not and love him anyway.

Each time you do, he'll get a tiny bit flustered and shy, and he'll get a warm feeling in his heart.

But at the same time, a pang of worry and guilt will continue to rest in his mind.

Given time, however, he can feel those feelings fade, just a bit.

Louis won't see you as below him, despite you being a human.

Still, he will worry for you, as humans don't have the physical capabilities that a revenant holds.

You'll be able to notice it in his hesitance to bring you along on missions, and when you do, he'll keep a closer eye on you.

If you do prove to be a great fighter or thinker anyway, he'll be a little less cautious.

Still, it won't be able to leave Louis' mind that if something happens and you get severely injured or die, you won't be able to come back.

And if you aren't a fighter, he'll be extremely hesitant to bring you into any potentially dangerous situation.

Louis will also not want to act too overprotective or make you feel like he's controlling you.

So unless you try or want to do something that could end up being really dangerous, he'll only strongly advise caution.

He's afraid of losing you, he's afraid of losing his memories of you.

But each time, you always remind him that you'll stay with him as long as you can and that if he does forget, you'll still be there for him.

When you're back at the base, he'll often be working on something, but will always try to take some time to spend with you.

Sometimes, these moments are just talking about whatever comes to mind.

These conversations can be anything from small bits of chatter to excited rambling over a book.

And the way his eyes light up when he starts talking about a favorite book is literally the most precious thing in the universe and must be protected.

Normally, he's quite calm and speaks in that manner.

But when he's excited over something you can hear it in his voice, he'll speak just a tiny bit faster, Louis will have this adorable smile.

AHHH I THINK I JUST TURNED MYSELF INTO A SIMP.

But oftentimes, they'll be rather quiet.

He'll hold or close, sometimes just thinking or even reading a beloved book.

Either way, Louis will cherish any time he gets to spend with you.

When he's around you, everyone nearby can sense the companionship between you both.

He'll always be just a bit softer and gentler with you.

Of course, everyone is going to bring it up, just to tease him. And boy does he get flustered easily...

At first, when Yakumo mentions how he looks happy when you're around, he'll try to brush it off.

But Yakumo can and will leave him a blushing mess.

And if you're nearby and are easy to tease, he'll leave you both incredibly embarrassed.

It really doesn't matter if you're in a relationship or not, Louis will get flustered if people bring up both your... romantic intentions.

Still, he's just adorable when he's flustered, so you don't particularly mind.

If you ever ask him to drink your blood, he'll refuse.

Louis doesn't want to hurt you, moreover, the taste itself is different, addictive.

He doesn't want to risk it if he doesn't have to.

Either way, he really does appreciate the sentiment, and will always let you know how much he does.

If there is a time where he risks joining the lost without your blood or if you tell him you would really like him to, he'll hesitantly drink from you.

But only if you are completely okay with it.

He'll pull you in close to him, more carefully than usual.

The moment that he senses any nervousness, pain, or anything like that, he'll pull away.

He'll be rambling out apologies as he puts an awkward distance between the two of you.

If you don't calm him down, he'll speed walk off as fast as he can without outright running and will probably avoid you for the next few hours.

And of course, Yakumo is going to be groaning in the background.

If you happen to be in a dangerous location, he'll stay close to you, but you can practically hear the gears turning frantically in his head.

If it goes off without a hitch, he'll pay close attention to not drain too much blood from you.

The entire time, you'll be able to feel how tense he is against you, as he's afraid of losing control.

A.K.A. he's afraid of losing you or scaring you away.

Once he's finished, as long as you're in a safe environment, he'll likely want to stay in the same position.

He'll be rather quiet, mulling over what just happened.

Once he's snapped out of it, he'll go to find bandages as well as supplies to make sure it doesn't get infected.

He'll ask to take care of the wound himself, as he was the one who inflicted it.

As Louis does so, he'll thank you for doing that for him.

The first time, afterward, he'll be a little more cautious around you and will be mentally checking in on your wellbeing, making sure there were no aftereffects.

And he won't ever ask you to do so again, but secretly, he really enjoyed the feeling of being so close and doing something so intimate with you.

When it comes to affection, you can really see it in the way he looks out for you.

If he sees something that reminds him of you or knows you'd be interested in, he'd be sure to tell you about it or give it to you.

Each time, you'd find him searching your reactions, looking to see what sorts of things interested you more than others.

Half the time, he wouldn't really do this consciously, even after you start dating.

But either way, he'd be doing it anyway.

And another thing he'll do after you're in a relationship is to generally be touching you in some way.

It makes him feel close to you and reminds him that you're there.

Often, he'll sit closer to you, or even let you use him as a pillow.

Did I mention he's the absolute best pillow one could ask for?

He might be reading something aloud to you, talking, or just thinking and you end up falling asleep on him.

It'll take him a moment to notice, as he's probably wrapped up in what he's doing.

But when he does, his heart is going to melt.

How?!?! How are you so adorable?!?!?

The entire time, he'll be careful not to move, and would definitely sneak a few glances at your sleeping face.

He literally can't help himself.

Louis will also gently stroke your hair.

No matter what it's like, he loves it, and it really calming for him. If he needs to wake you up, it'll be gentle.

He'll probably lightly shake your shoulder and softly call your name a few times.

If you're a deep sleeper, then he'll progressively get more forceful until you're awake.

And if he falls asleep on you, it's probably because he's managed to overwork himself again, and needs the sleep.

As much as he mothers over everyone else, he'll often find himself neglecting his own needs.

So he'll need you to remind him to actually take care of himself.

If you do, then he'll be eternally grateful.

Still, if he does fall asleep on you, he'll actually be pretty quiet.

He might snore ever so slightly and it's actually pretty cute when he does.

Louis also likely gets nightmares.

When he's in a nightmare, he'll thrash around or cry out names in his sleep.

And at worst, he'll cry.

At this point, it is best to wake him up.

Once he's awake, he would thank you and would likely delve back into dark thoughts.

He'll probably either want some space or would be extra clingy.

It really depends on the dream, so it can go either way.

Overall, he's best boi and best bf, 20/10 would recommend.

Literally, who gave him the right to be so precious?!

#louis #louis amamiya #code vein louis #code vein #code vein x reader #louis x reader #louis amamiya x reader #x reader #headcanons #code vein headcanons #louis headcanons #louis amamiya headcanons

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bubbleteaimagines · 3 years

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AMERICA’S GOLDEN TOY

summary || steve makes good use of you after kidnapping you from a hydra base

pairings || dark!steve rogers x reader

warnings || this post contains dark content (noncon) smut, swearing, dracaphilia kink, loss of virginity, non-consensual filming

notes || continuation of this imagine

MINORS DNI // 18+

you heard the sirens before anything else. they blared all over the facility, distracting you from your work and causing you to drop your graduated cylinder.

“shit!” you cursed in german and quickly began to gather yourself.

you knew what the sirens meant — your father had forced you to participate in every emergency briefing there was. he was a high level member of hydra and quite proud that you, his daughter, were following in his footsteps.

at only twenty years old, you were already a renowned scientist. often, you created remedies and such for hydra to use on their victims. you helped caused terror and chaos, but of course, you didn’t see it that way.

you quickly began to gather all of your important files as the sirens got louder. your whole lab was flashing red, causing your vision to be skewed.

you stumbled around in the red light, your heels not making it any better. you grabbed hard drives and anything else you could think of before quickly bursting out of the door, joining the chaos in the hallways.

all around you, hydra personnel was being scattered about, some running and others fleeing towards the fight. you didn’t even know what the threat was, but if it was enough to activate the emergency sirens then it had to be deadly.

“y/n!” in the midst of your running, someone called your name and pulled you to them. you yelped, but quickly calmed down once you saw that it was your father.

“papa,” you looked at him, shocked. “what’s going on? where is all this chaos coming from?”

“the avengers,” the answer made your blood run cold, “they are here. they have found us. we must get out, quickly!”

he wasted no time in pulling you towards the safety exit, one that only the most important memebers knew about. you stumbled as you struggled to keep up, your hands tightly clutching your precious research.

somewhere along the way though, you had accidentally dropped one of your drives. you let go of your father’s hand for one second to retrieve it, but that turned out to be the biggest mistake of your life.

a flash of blue in the red light could be seen as you bent over to grab it quickly. but you weren’t fast enough, and by the time you had come back up and started running again, it was too late.

steve rogers caught you easily as your father yelled behind him for you. his armor cladded suit pressed against your frame and you struggled against the muscular man.

“y/n!” your father panicked, wondering if he should run or help you.

“papa! go, please! it is too late for me,” you cried as you struggled in steve’s arms. “go!”

your father looked hesitant, but a nod from you urged him to keep running. that left you, helpless as the avenger glared at you fiercely.

“tony, nat, i’ve captured a prisoner. her father managed to escape but i think you can still catch him,” he spoke into a device.

“roger that, cap,” the voice of an unknown man came back.

you glared at him as you thrashed in his arms.

“there are no prisoners with hydra!” you yelled out, releasing the poison hidden behind your teeth and preparing to swallow it.

however, before you could steve already had an antidote shoved down your throat, knowing that this was common with those captured.

“you’re not dying today,” he snapped at you, as the concoction also knocked you out cold. “not before we make some use of you.”

when you woke up, you were in a moderately decorative room.

it was furnished with a dresser, a nightstand with a lamp, a tv, and a king sized bed that you were currently laying on.

as soon as you came to, you tried to hop off the bed and escape. but you were wildly unsuccessful, seeing as your hands and feet were tied and you were gagged.

“help!” you still tried to call out for someone, through your sounds were muffled. “somebody please, help me!”

there was shuffling out in the hallway and you paused, foolishly thinking it was your father or another hydra member coming to save you.

but quickly, you realized that wasn’t the case when the same man that kidnapped you walked in.

“well well, i see you’re awake,” his deep voice filled the room as he sauntered in.

you glared at him.

“let me go!” you yelled through the gag, trashing even though your movements were limited.

“what was that? sorry i can’t hear you,” he smirked. your hatred for him increased even more as he mocked you.

“asshole!” you cursed in german. “let me go, now! before i kill you!”

steve seemed to get tired of your muffled screaming so he finally removed the gag. when he did, the first thing you did was spit on him.

“filthy scum! how dare you tie me up like an animal!” you yelled.

you were met with a harsh glare and slap so hard that it knocked the breath out of you. steve fumed as he wiped the spit away, rasing his hand threateningly.

“do it again and i swear to god...” he trailed off.

“what do you want from me!” you resisted the urge to cry as your face stung from the violent blow.

“information,” steve said almost immediately, as if it were obvious. “we decided not to throw in you in a cell because you could be useful to us. tony figured you’d open up more in a more...comfortable setting.”

“go to hell,” you immediately spit, causing steve to raise an eyebrow. “i’ll never tell you anything. i’d rather die!”

“well then it’s a good thing you were already carrying these,” steve said coolly, holding up an object.

you gasped when you noticed it was your drives. the very ones you risked capture for.

“give those back!” you cried, struggling even harder. “those belong to hydra! those belong to me!”

“not any more,” steve said. “everything in that base now belongs to the avengers. including you.”

you didn’t like the way his eyes sized you up. it made you uncomfortable, scared even but you weren’t about to show it.

“you can keep me here until i starve. i won’t give you any more information,” you said.

“oh we know. we’ve been known that everyone in hydra has tight lips,” steve chuckled. “but you see, we started to figure out why. and do you wanna know what we came up with?”

you said nothing.

steve continued anyways. “see we figured it was because hydra never had anything to lose. their files are encrypted. everyone is willing to die for that scum organization. we the avengers have never had a way to gain leverage over them. but after we took you...we realized that now we do.”

“what do you mean?” you asked dumbly, though you feared the answer.

steve answered by stalking towards you. slowly, you began to try and back away as his face came down to yours, his voice dark and dangerously low.

“it means, it wasn’t an accident i took you over you father. i could have captured you both. but i let him go free, just so he and the rest of the scum can witness this. you, tied up in captain america’s bedroom, helpless,” he smirked.

“no!” you exclaimed, horror seeping through your veins.

“say hi to daddy and his colleagues,” steve chuckled, pointing towards the tv.

you didn’t know how you missed it, but on the dresser stood a camera, and on the tv itself showed live footage.

of you, handcuffed on steve’s bed.

“oh, i can’t say i won’t enjoy finishing this mission,” he shook his head. “it’s the first damn time i’m getting something in return.”

“get away from me!” you screamed at him as he undid your cuffs, yanking you closer to him.

the delightment of being free was replaced by utter panic at the pending situation. you tried your best to get up, springing off the bed but steve only pushed you down, laughing.

“did you forget who you were dealing with?” steve asked. “everything is this room will prevent you from escaping. the doors won’t open without a code. there’s no windows. and of course, you’d have to get passed me. but i’m not letting you leave until i get what i want.”

“you monster!” you punched his chest as he gripped you harshly, dragging you to the edge of the bed.

but your assault seemed to do nothing against the super soldier, merely egging him on as he reached for your clothing.

“nothing but a skirt and a blouse. not even pantyhose,” he tsked. “you must have been prepared for me, then.”

tears of humiliation began to form as he grabbed your skirt and shirt and tore them off. the black bra and lacy red panties that you were wearing were durely exposed to the camera, where your father and all your coworkers were watching.

“can you feel it now?” steve asked, dodging your blows and pinning you down with his arms. “the sheer panic creeping in your veins? the knowledge that there’s only one way out of this, and that’s by me taking control of that little pussy of yours?”

your eyes widened as he voiced his plans out loud, the reality of situation finally sinking in.

“no please!” all your life you had been taught not to beg. you had been taught to never give into the enemy, to always choose silence and death over the weakness of pleading. but this was steve rogers you were talking about. you thought he was one of the good guys. you thought he was america’s golden boy. “don’t!”

“what’s this, a little hydra slut begging for her life?” you cried out as steve ripped the bra off, too, leaving you completely exposed. “that’s definitely new. but i gotta say, begging wont get you anywhere now. it’s too late, i’m gonna make use of america’s golden toy now.”

“i thought you were a good guy! the avengers are supposed to be the good ones! you’re not supposed to do this!” you said while steve began to shed his clothes.

“good?” he chuckled as he stood over you. “that’s funny. i guess it just depends on the perspective.”

you stared at each other as he began to free his cock. it was impressive really, how he managed to get both of you naked all while holding you down.

you had never felt more powerless in your life. you were a scientist after all. you were smart and brilliant and on top of the world at hydra. but here though...

here you felt like nothing more than a simple speck of dust.

“open up, slut,” steve suddenly shoved his cock in your face as you jumped back, startled. “let’s show daddy how well your mouth works.”

“no!” you refused to open your mouth for him, you refused to even look at him, turning your head to face the wall.

but steve was quick to a solution; he grabbed your jaw and forced your lips open, backhanding you to get you to comply.

“i’m not gonna ask you again,” he said lowly while you sobbed. “open up.”

shakily, you obeyed. you opened your lips and slowly steve began to push his cock in, moaning at the feeling of your tight lips wrapped around him.

“ah, fuck,” he grabbed a hand full of hair to steady himself while you stood still. “go on, don’t be afraid. suck my cock like the little whore you are.”

you would have rather chosen death than blow steve rogers but that wasn’t an option. what was though, was moving your head back and forth, trying to take his impossibly thick length in your mouth.

“there’s a good girl,” he cooed as your head bobbed. “take me. take all of it!”

you resisted the urge to gag as he shoved himself in the back of your throat. gripping his hips, you sobbed on his dick, tears falling down your face as he throat fucked you.

“that’s it...nice and deep,” steve moaned. “god, i can’t wait to see what your pussy feels like.”

he was cumming in no time, the combination of you sucking and playing with his balls sending him over the edge.

he panted as he pulled out, his hot seed trickling down your throat. you gagged immediately as he released you, feeling absolutely and utterly disgusted with yourself.

“you see that, dad?” steve smirked at the camera. “your little girl just drained my balls dry. and she’s about to do it again. watch.”

you cried out as steve roughly pulled you up and flipped you on the bed. you tried one last time to escape, crawling on your knees away from him but it was all too easy for him to pull you back down.

“a fair warning to all hydra personnel, this is what happens if you mess with shield,” he growled.

you were a blubbering mess as he forced your legs open, pleading and begging for your release. you didn’t wanna be taken, not like this. you didn’t wanna lose your virginity to this man.

“you can’t save her now,” steve looked directly into camera, “but maybe when i’m through with her you’ll learn your lesson.”

he positioned his thick cock, lubricated with your spit, at your entrance. and then, before you could even comprehend what was happening, he slammed into you.

a scream bubbled up in your throat and ripped out as your pussy was violently desecrated.

steve filled you nearly to the brink, moaning and whimper at the tight fit.

pain exploded all over your body. your pussy felt like it was on fire. you tried to claw your way away but steve held you tightly in his arms, disabling you to move.

you were trapped, tears falling down wildly as steve began to fuck you balls deep.

“so tight,” he moaned while you let out a gutteted sob. “so fucking good to me. you’re squeezing me baby. you’ve must have never taken a cock a before, have you?”

“no!” you screamed out as steve pounded into you at a jarring pace. “p-please! please!”

“virgin,” steve realized, knowing why you were so scared. “god that’s so hot.”

“please...please! captain stop!” you begged, not being able to take it anymore. you couldn’t take him. your pussy wouldn’t even let him get all the way in. you were straining so much, but yet he fought. he fought so hard to make sure all but his balls were inside of you.

“well, since you asked so nicely,” steve smirked.

he flipped you over again but before you could cherish the release he was slamming into your pussy again, this time forcing on you top of him with your back laid against his chest.

steve cooed in your ear as you took his merciless pounding, reminding you of what a filthy whore you were.

you wanted this, he told you. this was your fault. you wanted his cock deep inside of you. wanted people to watch. you wanted people to know how much of a slut you were.

“tell them!” steve shouted, his balls slapping your pussy. you sobbed for his mercy. “tell them how much of a whore you are! tell your daddy how much you love captain america! tell him!”

“papa,” you blubbered towards the screen. you saw yourself, looking pathetic while you sat on captain america’s cock. he filled you to the brink, your stomach pretruding out to show just how deep he was. “i love him! i love captain america!”

“atta girl,” steve kissed your neck, his beard scraping your shoulder as he buried his face in your neck. he held you tight, the sound of him battering your little pussy echoing throughout the room.

finally, he turned your head towards him and kissed you. one last humiliating act before he finally came, shuttering to a stop as he drained his balls directly into your womb.

“how’s that for a mission accomplished,” steve laughed while you slumped against him, clinging to him for dear life. your pussy was battered, filled to the brink his cum. your mind was gone.

you could hardly think. you searched for a sense of safety. for a sense of warmth. you cuddled yourself closely to him, taking shelter in the arms of your abuser.

“please...please...” you sobbed against him.

steve held you tight in his arms, kissing your temple. he knew he had broken you. he knew that you were beyond recovering now.

“it’s okay,” he whispered, still buried deep inside of you. “you’re with the earth’s mightiest heroes now. you’re safe. nothing’s ever gonna hurt you again.”

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bard-llama · 3 years

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Hello again! May I request Rorveth for the ship game again? Maybe prerelationship 2, General 1, 5, Love 2, Domestic 9? Have a good day

Always! Rorveth owns my heart and I can always talk about them lol.

Pre-Relationship #2: What was their first impression of each other?

Hmm. I mean, there was definitely some hate, lbr. But I think there was also a lot of admiration? Well, I guess it depends on what we count as first impression. When they first learn of each other or when they first meet?

Because Roche found Iorveth long before Iorveth knew he existed. Roche had a crush worked intelligence, analyzing data and putting together who their targets in the Scoia'tael were. So I think he and Thaler and other intel folks would have come up with code names for each unit commander that they knew of (probably something lame too), but as we see in the game - the Scoia'tael are PROUD of their commander. They cheer Iorveth's name as they go into battle. It would not take many confrontations to start to put names to positions. So Roche's first impression of Iorveth would be one of someone recognizing a skilled opponent. But it would also be heavily countered by the details of what exactly Iorveth is using those skills for. Because they probably have an office somewhere in the Temerian royal palace that's full of pictures stuck to bulletin boards and string connecting them lol. So he'd have front and center in his mind exactly how brutal Iorveth can be.

So when they meet, I think Roche expects to appreciate Iorveth's ability, but hate him as a person. But then Iorveth introduces himself playing the fucking recorder flute!? Like, that had maybe been shared in intel, but it was the kind of meaningless detail that Roche had never really paid attention to. Which was a mistake, as it turns out, because Iorveth is every bit as much a musician as he is a soldier. But Roche only learns that later.

On Iorveth's side... well, he'd first hear of Roche when Roche and the Stripes, on their first day, slaughtered an entire unit of Scoia'tael. So I think Iorveth's first impression would be fury and hate, but also, as time goes on and it turns out that wasn't just a fluke, he'd come to respect Roche as an enemy commander. Then they meet and Roche is so full of hate for killing his king and Iorveth wasn't expecting that to hurt, but it really actually does. And he tries to shove it down and ignore it, but the feeling lingers long enough that he ends up seeking Roche out post-W2.

General #1: Who initiated the relationship, and how did it go?

Following the thread above... I think Iorveth did, but semi on accident. So he goes searching for Roche after Saskia has established Vergen and doesn't need him quite so much and this longing just won't stop nagging him. So he seeks Roche out and basically manages to say something along the lines of "I can't stop thinking about you and I'm going to make it your problem". Then he proceeds to follow Roche around and criticize his attempts at guerilla warfare as the Temerian partisans kicked off. Roche finds this absolutely baffling, but like, Iorveth is more experienced with this sort of thing, so why not take his advice? After arguing about it extensively, of course. Ves thinks this is all a Scoia'tael trap and keeps a very close eye on Iorveth. So close, in fact, that she notices the way that Iorveth looks at Roche over the campfire in the evenings. And once she notices that, suddenly the signs that Iorveth adores her Boss are everywhere. And she doesn't really know what to think about that or whether to tell Roche.

Not sure what she decides, but she definitely threatens Iorveth. And actually, I could see that being the first step in them coming to like, actually respect one another beyond "wow, you can kill a guy pretty efficiently". Like, maybe Iorveth begs asks as nicely as he can that Ves not tell Roche, because he's certain that it would only ruin things. And yeah, the longing is still there, but it's not so bad now that he has Roche in his life at all. He is grateful for as much of Roche as he can get.

i think Ves would be perfectly fine with that at first, but as she grows to appreciate Iorveth more as a person, she starts to feel bad. Because like, he very clearly loves Roche. And yeah, he probably has complicated feelings about loving a human, but like...he so clearly does and it's kind of pathetic but in a way that tugs at her heart and she HATES feeling sympathy for an elf, but...

I don't think she tells Roche directly. But she basically tells him that Iorveth is always staring at him and he should ask why. (Roche: because we're enemies, duh??? He's watching to see if I make a move to shank him, isn't he?)

General #5: What’s their height difference? Age difference?

Oh man, okay, this one is fun to play with. So, Roche is shorter than everyone most people and he is resentful about it. That whole thing about shorter people being closer to hell? Yeah, he is that 100%.

Iorveth, of course, enjoys very much that he is taller and will 100% grab Roche's paperwork or something and hold it out of reach just to enjoy Roche attempting to climb him to annoy Roche.

For age difference, I hc Roche as late 40s and Iorveth as around 1300, so it's a pretty big difference lol. I go back and forth on what elves think of such age differences, 'cause like... 40 is the age of majority for elves, so I could see them pointing at tired and wrinkled Roche and going, "that is a baby!"

But also, realistically, if they live so long (which they don't in canon, oops), i think they'd be a little more blase about age differences, as long as they're over the age of majority for their culture. Especially considering that they lost basically an entire generation of elves with Ailerinn's failed uprising + other pogroms like the cleansing of Loc Muinne, so like, the only elves left are either really old (pre-Conjunction) or really pretty young (200-300yo max, I think). So even if they don't already not care that much about age differences, I think they'd have to learn to, because there's not a lotta other options left.

(Not to derail, but Isengrim being torn up over being so much older than Eldain could be really, really fun, so I might ignore this lmao)

Love #2: What are their primary love languages?

Ooooh, Roche's is definitely touch! Just soft, casual touches, like a hand on the back or the shoulder, or just brushing their arms against each other or knocking their shoulders together to show that he's here. I think his receiving language might be more words of affirmation than touch, though. But that could be due to trauma/the fact that everyone in court does one thing and says another. So like, Foltest will clap him on the shoulder and then also go send him to torture someone. But then he'll also say 'good job' when Roche gets the intel they needed. So he has... kind of a fucked up relationship with both ideas, honestly.

Okay, I couldn't remember all 5 love languages, so I looked them up and fuck, Roche is very much acts of service, too. But in a self-sacrificing way.

Iorveth... hmm. I could see maybe receiving gifts just because it was such a rare and exciting thing when he was young. But along the same veins, I think quality time would mean a lot to him, because his family never made time for him. He always felt like he was in the way/bothering them while they're busy and hasn't fully yet come to understand that they should have made the time for him. So when Roche does things like call off work for the day to do something with Iorveth? Iorveth absolutely melts. I don't think he previously understood that time together could be precious, not because it's limited, but because it is special.

Domestic #9: Who’s more likely to convince the other to come back to sleep in the morning?

Iorveth is a night owl. And very much NOT a morning person. Roche is also not a morning person, but he doesn't even get the exchange of being a night person, he's just eternally Tired. So I think Roche tries to encourage Iorveth to come to bed during the night, but is rarely successful, because Iorveth feels inspired. Fortuntely, Roche has ear plugs/enjoys music when he sleeps.

But when one of them gets really fixated on their work and loses track of the time? It's almost always Roche obsessing over some ig or small problem, and Iorveth will try to get him to come to bed, but usually he has to resort to physically sitting in Roche's lap/getting between Roche and the fixation. But once he's gotten Roche distracted, he can get some nice cuddles and/or sex out of it and Roche falls asleep afterwards.

But when they wake up in the morning and need to get up and go to work? It's always Iorveth who tries to persuade Roche that if he can't get 30 mins more sleep, then he could at least offer some morning sex.

#rorveth #a mention of #isendain #iorveth x roche #the witcher #ask game #fic planning #idk why i'm tagging these as fic planning #but i feel like i should read them again when i go searching for ideas/inspiration #longpost

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ayzrules · 3 years

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✶ 𝐇𝐗𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐒: 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 & 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒, 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 & 𝐃𝐀𝐌𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 Long story short, I have been thinking about this for wayyyyy too long now and wanted to get some ~thoughts~ & analysis written down! This post is going to be...fairly long, lol. Apologies in advance :D

Also, if you can’t see the last gif (the one for ‘holy’), click here. Tumblr keeps fucking up the image when i try to upload it :////

This post is probably going to be about 2/3 yorknew & phantom troupe/kurapika focused, 1/3 chimera ants, maybe with some references to other arcs (including manga-only arcs) mixed in. so, ofc, tons of spoilers ahead! also, i realize that my blog theme is hard to read (and i’m p sure clicking ‘keep reading’ sends you to the og post itself), so i’m linking the post w/ full text copy/pasted in on my art backup side blog (which has a more legible font) here.

✶ 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 I’m sure absolutely nobody is surprised with me starting here - there is just. SO. MUCH. DEATH. in hxh. & right from the start, one thing I noticed that togashi really emphasized was the #4 and its connection to death. in japanese, chinese, and im p sure some other asian cultures the number 4 is pronounced like the word for death so it’s associated with death in general, and boy oh boy does the ‘deadly number 4′ thing show up E V E R Y W H E R E. we get to the hunter exam, and hisoka is applicant #44. kurapika is #404. i didn’t notice it at first, but this was so intentional holy shit. togashi is NOT SUBTLE.

So pika & hisoka are, right off the bat, associated with death. okay. and then there are even more clues to drive the point home: hisoka is member #4 in the phantom troupe, kurapika’s birthday is april 4th (aka 4/4). 100% not a coincidence (!!). with hisoka, it’s pretty obvious why togashi’s throwing all this death 444444 stuff around - dude is a psycho murder pedo clown, literally gets off on killing people (and there’s also the fact that judas sits 4th from the left in the last supper painting, and he’s sort of the judas equivalent for the phantom troupe). with kurapika, though, it’s a bit more subtle and woven deeper into his characterization, which i LOVE. togashi puts the mans in blue & gold & white (traditionally ‘pure’ or ‘heavenly’ colors), makes him so fucking kind & so good-hearted.....when he’s not relentlessly pursuing his revenge, ofc. more on this in the next section, but pika = death. togashi has made that v v v clear.

Backtracking a bit to hisoka, though, I also just wanted to point out the 4 is death symbolism in the fortunes too (GOD i love the fortunes): in one translation, he’s the false fourth moon, and in the og japanese (i think), he’s the false hare (4th in the lunar zodiac or w/e it’s called. i don’t know the japanese cultural influences here, but in the chinese legend that established the zodiac animals, they race across the heavenly river & the top 12 animals got zodiac slots. the hare finished 4th, so it’s #4 in the cycle).

And just as a final note, Tserriednich is the fourth prince of the kakin empire, and also another dude who has a hard-on for murder & other gory shit. again: togashi is not subtle with this, lmfao

✶ 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐘, 𝐔𝐍𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐘 As probably everyone who’s gotten to yorknew knows, togashi is so 0 fucks given when he wants to be. I mean there’s the whole thing where he just. took New York and decided, Yorknew. LMFAO, but also, he made the main antag of that arc be named chrollo lucilfer, sit around in a ruined church, have a reversed cross coat, pale & dark-haired/dark-eyed, generally dressed in dark colors, very terrible murder guy. liiiike......chrollo x devil symbolism game is 1000/10 at this point lmaooo

And i know absolutely nothing about christianity in general, but pt/kurapika & yorknew arc is just so full of christian imagery/symbolism! one thing that i L O O O O O O V E though is how togashi really blurs the traditional christian-coded good/evil, holy/damned boundaries.

Back to kurapika: he wears gold and blue, his coloring is very stereotypically ‘angelic’, he’s precious and good and kind. his chains are all about ~judgment~ and ~healing~ - some of the chains are also in literal cross shapes, aren’t they? And the chain dagger in his own heart...the imagery is very startlingly similar to the immaculate heart of mary, where the swords stabbing thru the heart apparently represent seven sorrows. IDK much about this stuff other than the visual similarities; literally had to google ‘daggers through heart christianity?’ to even get the name of that thing LOL. anyway, at first, it seems like togashi establishes him as the ‘angel’, the ‘good’, the ‘holy’ in the angel/devil, good/evil, holy/damned dichotomy between him and chrollo.

But that’s not the end of the story. his entire storyline is driven by a huuuuuuuge giant desire for vengeance, first of all, and then there’s the scarlet eyes, which canonically are seen as demonic/cursed/what have you (according to one of the movies or smth? where they show pika as a 10 y/o?), and then we also have red eyes in modern culture being associated w pretty much the same thing (vampires, anyone?). the fight scene with uvo has everything in b&w besides the blood on his face & his red eyes & the moon (<<< more fortune foreshadowing & symbolism, i love to see it), and there are tonssss of scenes where he has to suppress his rage. so all of that is obviously not very angelic of him i would say LOL. in fact, what i find super interesting is that the scarlet/red eyes (which are ‘demonic’) is actually the driving factor behind his super powerful nen abilities; this ties in so well with the fortunes & death associations imo! the fortunes call him the ‘death-bringer’ in one translation, or ‘half-angel, half-death’, so that’s one side of pika = red eyes = death, but there’s also the fact that emperor time is literally draining his life force. so pika = death for both himself and others namely the pt, question mark?

Now for chrollo: togashi’s devil symbolism is EXTREMELY overt with him, but i love the subtler jesus references too. the church thing, obviously, and the st. peters cross which is cuz st peter respected jesus too much & didn’t think he was worthy to die in the same way as him (or something like that, i am the most atheist person in the world & hxh is literally my entire christian education pls) but is also used as an anti-christianity symbol these days. bandit’s secret looks like a bible, lbr, and mans has a cross tattoo.

Other things beyond visuals - 12 spiders, 12 apostles; hisoka’s betrayal, where member #4 can be thought to correspond to judas sitting 4th from left at last supper. and this miiiiight be a bit of a stretch, but i think the meteor city being the place of origin may also play into the blurred line between angel/devil and holy/damned here; meteors are defined as space rocks that are in earth’s atmosphere, becoming incandescent in the process. meteorites are for the kinds that actually reach the ground. and idk, lucifer was cast out of heaven / sky too right? so i think there might be some subtle fallen angel imagery/symbolism playing into the pt as well

✶ 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 (𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒) Last section yay! i don’t have as much to say about this, besides when i was making chimera ant arc edits & realized that there might have been some subtle gon/meruem parallels???

So obviously, everyone knows that line killua says to gon - “you are light” - and then i was just remembering that meruem’s name means.... “light that illuminates all” (!!!!). maybe it’s a coincidence, but knowing togashi, i’m leaning towards nahhhh. there HAS TO be some kinda meaning there (!!).

Going back to the events of the chimera ant arc....ooh boy. let’s see: gon is optimistic & hopeful even in the face of kite potentially being dead, killua says he’s light, they find kite & dude is fucked up, gon is pissed. gets all angry & ~dark~, especially during the palace invasion when he’s staring pitou down as she fixes up komugi. then the actual fight against pitou: more darkness, more anger, but through it all there’s still light, namely his jajanken being very orange & fiery lookin.....and that final sequence, where he puts all his possible nen he’d ever have into his ~final form~ or wahtever & turns into a male version of true form!bisky but dressed in a crop top & short-shorts (i am SCARRED, btw. s c a r r e d !). there’s just huuuge flashes of light as that’s going on, and it reminded me of supernovas or dying stars when i was thinking about it, where the star is like, collapsing under its own weight? & burning thru its own fuel, until there’s nothing left except a dwarf or black hole or what have you. one final, extremely deadly burst of light & energy before death.

On the meruem side of things: born into a dark cave, exhibits a traditionally evil/cruel/wicked/whatever personality/traits so that has ppl associating him with darkness. then he gets to know komugi, starts to appreciate other aspects of humanity, seems like he could have actually turned into a decent person who doesn’t want to eat everyone - so that’s a ‘path to light’, maybe? - and then the extermination team yeets themselves into the palace, netero takes him out to bumfuck nowhere, they fight. netero’s fighting is just ALL light, from his giant ass golden 100-type guanyin bodhisattva to the poor man’s rose. again, there’s the sense of finality to it all, in a similar vein to dying stars: netero comes in determined to kill meruem no matter what, and we all know netero doesn’t flake. then we see netero get destroyed after the zero hand, and he triggers the rose, and everything is burning & on fire before the flames are put out and all turns dark again.

But wait!!! pouf & youpi revive meruem and all he does is play gungi with komugi, even with the poison of the rose. he eventually dies, and the gungi pieces in that final shot of them together (i am BAWLING just thinking about it holy shit) has one that’s all white, one that’s a black ring and white inside. i assume all white is for komugi, who has never done ANYTHING wrong in her LIFE, so i like to think that the 2nd one is for meruem - born “into darkness”, literally & figuratively, but he turns something like ‘good’ by the end. it’s interesting how togashi has sort of gone for a bit of a subversion here: the hero going from light to darkness, and the main antag from darkness to light.

✶ 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 AahhhhHHHHHhhh so if you read all the way down here through my LONG rambles, tysm! i would LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear what other people think about all this, and i’ve FOR SURE missed tons and tons of stuff - chimera ants is just. SO MUCH. and i don’t know it as well as yorknew eeek.

I’m not sure if i’m really ~knowledgeable~ in any other areas relating to hxh, so this might be the only one of these that i do, but i definitely think about some of this - esp all the religious symbolism & #4 stuff - a ton! so in the meantime, if it’s of any interest, i’m just going to shamelessly plug my hxh x religious beliefs/superstitions edit series :D lots of love to all!!!

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buckaroosboogara · 3 years

Text

911 week - Day 3:

“ Whatever you do, please don’t look.” + hurt

(1600~ words, May and Athena. Tw: suicide attempt.)

@911week

May had been waiting for this day for months.

Her ride-along with a police officer that was part of being a dispatcher at the 911 call center.

Her mother was anything but pleased when she brought up the topic and said no without a second thought.

But she wasn't about to give up, no.

After all, she was a Grant through and through, both her parents' stubbornness was in her veins and she would make it, no matter what. And after weeks of negotiations, she did it.

But she never wanted this to happen. May would have done anything to undo the day if she could. Now it was too late.

Everything started when Maddie told her Officer Williams was outside the call center to pick her up.

Athena had requested him and his partner to give her daughter the ride-along, trusting him with one of her most precious things in the world.

She thanked the woman and looked for her jacket, her phone, and her face mask. Josh walked her to the elevator and wished her luck before she went down to the entrance floor and found the officer.

"Ready for the day Ms. Grant?" He asked and she rolled her eyes, placing her mask on her face.

"I know you since I was like 10 Matthew."

"Okay then, ready for the day, May?"

"Let's do this Officer Williams." May said, getting into the police cruiser. She fist-bumped Officer Vargas and she started her ride-along.

There were some light calls at first, some private property trespass, and noise complaints. Then some disorderly conduct and infractions and May was kind of getting bored.

But she couldn't give her mother that pleasure, so she smiled and nodded and listened to everything Williams and Vargas had to say.

They stopped to eat at a food truck and she got to chat with other officers, most of them rookies and their instructors, they told her about procedures and every single one reacted with a glow in their eyes when she told them she was Athena Grant's daughter.

She quickly learned that her mom was someone most officers spoke about, like a legend.

Then Williams got a call for mental basic life support and they got to go.

May never knew that even existed, so she asked Vargas about it.

"Well, we have to check on that person and see if they are okay or keep company if they are struggling, so they know there's at least someone there for them." He answered, and May nodded. Flashbacks of her own experiences appeared in her mind and she tried to stay focused on the present. "It's usually a family member or a friend that calls the mental health hotline and units get dispatched, maybe that's why you have never heard of it. In this case, the sister called, saying he hasn't spoken with anybody in weeks."

Five minutes later they were at the front door, the officers leaving May in the car just in case something went south.

She was on her phone when the car radio sounded with Williams' voice. "Dispatch, the 1-56 turned into a code 1-42, send an ambulance in case the person attempts suicide."

Her breath hitched.

1-42 meant suicidal basic life support.

Meant they were trying their best to keep the person from ending their life.

She didn't know when she was inside, the air hot and heavy with sobs and low voices echoing through the walls.

May took a deep breath. She could do it.

"May what are you doing here? I told you to stay in the car." Matthew's voice snapped her from her thoughts.

"I know how to help him." May pointed at the man who was holding a blade to his wrists. He looked around her age.

Officer Vargas sighed, "Fine, go ahead."

May nodded and reunited courage, she started to walk close to him but he exclaimed, "Stop! Stop right there! I don't want anybody near me!"

She stopped in her tracks and raised her hands. "It's okay. Okay."

The man nodded and some tears spilled from his eyes.

"My name is May, can I know yours?" She asked.

"T-Tony."

"That's a pretty name, Tony." May said, as calm as she could. "Tony, why don't you put that blade down and we can talk?"

"No. N-no I won't."

"Look, I know what you're going throu-"

"You lie, everyone who tells me that is lying!"

"I'm not. Look, when I was 14 I... I took lots of pills and I almost killed myself." May's voice trembled. "All I could feel was pain and I just wanted it to go away... I- I didn't think my life was worth enough to live. Like I wasn't enough. That's what you feel, right?"

Tony nodded. May could feel the officer's eyes on her back, but she was making progress, Tony's arms lowered slowly.

"I know you are at your lowest point. But there are so many things that are worth living for."

Tony scoffed "Like what? This miserable place I can barely pay for? My stupid job? The thoughts in my head that are always telling me to quit already?"

"Like your sister." May said calmly.

She remembered being in the hospital with her mom and Harry by her side. The little kid asked Athena if his sister was going to be okay and then held her hand.

'Don't leave me, big sister.' He had said.

A tear fell down her cheek in the present. "She is sick worried about you. But there's someone else worth living for."

"Who?"

"Yourself." May stepped closer to Tony. "You matter. There's no one else like you in this world, Tony. And I know there's a better place out there where you will heal and grow, and you will never feel like this anymore. I also had to learn it the hard way."

Tony seemed caught on her words, he still had hope. She made another step.

"But that will only happen if you let go of that blade and walk out of that door with me. Come on Tony."

Her cards were thrown, now it depended on the man if he would trust her or not.

The sound of the metallic blade hitting the floor made her let go of the air she was holding. She came closer to the man and held his hand.

"That's it. Okay? We are going to get through this."

Somewhere while she was talking, the firefighters and paramedics had arrived and waited quietly behind her. One of the paramedics she recognized as Hen passed her a blanket and she put it around the man's shoulders, telling reassuring words as the paramedics checked his vitals and placed him on a gurney.

Both walked outside together and she promised to visit him in the hospital later, he had a few self-made cuts that needed professional attention.

His sister was waiting for him outside and ran to check on him as soon as she saw him on the gurney. Both siblings were crying when they got into the ambulance

"Good job there May." Chimney patted her shoulder and closed the vehicle's doors before taking off.

"He's right. How are you feeling?" Bobby's voice sounded behind her. She turned around feeling her eyes puffy.

"I'm a little shaken up, but good. Thanks, Bobby." May assured.

Bobby hugged her. "By the way, here comes your mom."

"May, baby!" Athena's voice said and May grunted quietly. Bobby chuckled as he walked away to give them space. The 118 was waiting for him in the truck, ready to go.

"Hey mom," May said, ignoring the truck's honk and already thinking of the upcoming scold. 'May Rose Grant, are you insane? Disobeying the officers and walking there when there was an armed man?'

Instead, Athena rushed to hug her.

"Oh, May my baby! I'm so glad you are okay." She said, relief exuding from her voice.

May sighed and made a small smile. "I'm fine mom, I swear."

"Good, now let's get you home, it's been a hell of a da-"

It came out of nowhere.

First, there was a bang and then her mom shook. May could feel something like a knife cut through her upper arm and then she felt a sticky hot liquid on her hands, which were still on her mom's back.

There were bangs everywhere and Athena's radio went off with Officer Vargas' words, "Shots fired against the LAPD! I repeat, shots fired, 727-L-30 is down! Officer down!"

Her mom collapsed and her strength wasn't enough to keep her from falling to the ground.

"Mom!"

May took her hands from behind her back and saw they were bathed in red.

Blood.

"May. M-May, baby-" Athena made a strangled sound with her throat as she came out of the shock. She couldn't breathe.

"Mom no!" She looked at her mom feeling powerless.

All those manuals she had read and re-read, all her training, all her experience, all was worthless now because her mind was blank. She could hear muffled screams, the shots had ceased and the sirens were sounding far away.

"May, listen to me. I love you, okay? Now press on the wound and-" Athena coughed. It sounded like she was drowning and May hated it. "And whatever you do, please don’t look.”

May hesitated, "But-"

"There's no time for buts. Tell your brother that I love him. I love you both."

May tried to cipher the place of the injury with her tear-blurred vision. She found it and pressed hard, earning a yelp from Athena. She then looked at her surroundings.

She couldn't look at her mom, she was ordered not to.

"Mom please don’t die." Hot tears streamed down her eyes. Her body numb to the pain on her opened knees or her gushing arm, and when she found her voice again she used it mercilessly.

"Help! Please, help me! Someone please, I need help!" She sobbed looking up to the sunny LA skies, her throat already raw.

"Please help me!"

#I AM SO SORRY #the Tony thing wasn't on the plans it just happened #911week2021 #tw suicide #911 on fox #911 fox #may grant #athena grant #hurt #so much hurt #my fics

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thebibliomancer · 3 years

Text

Tides of the Dark Crystal liveblog pt 23

Tides of the Dark Crystal by J.M. Lee because I want to know Amri’s plan!

Last times on book: Amri and co are on a quest to unite all the Gelfling against the Skeksis. They’ve succeeded with the Sifa of Cera-Na and the Dousan of the Wellspring but learn that All-Maudra Mayrin was killed by the Skeksis while they were avoiding ever going to Ha’rar. Mayrin’s eldest daughter and Skeksis loyalist Seladon has been named new All-Maudra. Fearing that the Vapra won’t rise up in resistance, the group is lost for solutions until Amri dreams he falls into the ocean and has a cryptic conversation with the urRu Swimmer.

Chapter 23

Team Naia climb a mountain but find a mysterious tower

They planned to leave that evening, when they could move under the cover of the night. Until then, Amri found a corner of the cabin and crawled under a pile of pillows, blocking out the daylight. He dreamed of the stone tree in the belly of Grot. He stood before it as it died, limbs like roots, or roots like limbs. Knowing that if he could be breathed in by the ancient thing, flow into its veins and up its trunk, when he emerged on the other side, he would be a pink blossom on the slender boughs of the Sanctuary Tree.

He heard whispers. A thousand voices, all as one. The shadows moved with infinite limbs. When he woke, it took everything he had not to slap away the spider tapping the back of his hand.

The protags are probably used to it at this point but oh no I would freak out. I do not like crawlies crawling on me.

Anyway, aside from waking up Amri for The Plan, Tavra also has a favor to ask Amri.

“In case anything should happen to me tonight. Someday, when the fires are lit. When it’s safe. Would you find my sister Brea and tell her what happened? I want her to know that I didn’t abandon her.”

“No,” he said. “I’ll make sure you get to tell her yourself.”

Has anyone in fiction ever answered otherwise?

It feels like that kind of thing only comes up so the other person can go ‘no you’re totally going to survive so you can tell her yourself’ or ‘we’ll tell her together’ or something.

Protagonists try to be optimistic about their chances, I guess.

I think I’ve seen maybe one example where a more world-weary character just instantly agreed to a request like that, recognizing the asker wanted reassurance that things would be taken care of if the worst happened.

Anyway.

Naia brings a cloak for Amri to wear when they go out and climb up a snowy mountain. Its in Silverling white and silver which Amri feels weird about since the Gelfling tribes like to color code just like people from Avatar. But he recognizes its better for the mountains so puts it on.

“Do I look like a Silverling?” he asked, pulling his hair out from inside the cloak collar.

Naia’s ears turned pink. She looked away and mumbled, “Not a bit.”

Shiiiiiiiiiiip teeeeeeeeeease.

If they hold hands at this rate, they’re going to explode.

Tae comes in and tells them its time to go, the Vapra are gathering at the citadel but neither the Skeksis nor Seladon have shown yet. And even with the Waystar trees, its going to be getting very dark on the mountain.

While the team is climbing the mountain to do the Plan with the Waystar trees, Onica is basically going to be the getaway driver. She’s staying on the boat ready to go. If anything goes wrong, they can fly off the mountain to the boat and sail away to fight another day.

This vague the Plan has multiple angles figured out. Its a good the Plan.

Onica also tells them that she believes in them. Aww. Onica encouragement is truly precious.

I’m so glad that we’ve gotten so much Onica material in this book. She’s great.

Team Naia leave the boat and the wharf (Amri looking back to see if the Swimmer shows but she does not) and hurry through the city.

As Tae had said, the Vapra of Ha’rar were already gathering near the steps that led up to the citadel. Huddled in their silver cloaks, whispering quietly among themselves. Amri heard the consistent sound of fear, and apprehension. He heard Seladon’s name, and Tavra’s. The sibilant sounds of the Skeksis Lords’ names. skekUng, skekZok. skekSil, the Chamberlain. skekSo, the Emperor.

I wonder if all of them are showing up. That’s a big gathering of Skeksises.

But the team keeps going to where Ha’rar meets the mountain and then up a narrow winding stairway.

There’s more buildings of Ha’rar even built into the mountain but the stairway becomes a steep footpath and then nothing. Just trudging through deep snow in a mountain side forest. In the dark. It’s evening. For everyone that’s not Amri or Tavra, the footing becomes really uncertain.

“I can’t see a thing. Is this what it’s been like for you, traveling in the day?” Naia asked as they reached a rocky ledge too high to step over. He made short work of it and crouched on the top, grabbing Naia’s hand and pulling her up and over. She didn’t wait for him to say yes before she added, “I didn’t realize.”

“It’s all right,” he said. “Not everywhere in Thra is caves and rocks.” Though night and ice is close enough, he thought. Or at least he hoped it would be.

They stop to look at Ha’rar, which is described as looking like a painting at this distance. Maybe a matte painting. I miss matte paintings. They were so cool.

The team has reached a point where Tavra can’t guide them anymore because the wind changes the landscape too often so she tells them to follow the Waystars’ light but be careful of hidden crags.

Tae says

“Our path is up to you now, Amri.”

Something he’d longed to hear, but now that he had, it felt heavy on his shoulders. It was up to him to guide them -- and protect them from danger. He knelt and touched the freezing stones. Under the deep snow, the mountain path still existed. He could feel its sturdiness.

That rock sense thing sure is helpful.

Super helpful.

Amri even senses a building up ahead.

Not any building Tavra is familiar with but as she says not many people travel up here so if someone were to build something, not many people would know or care.

“It would be a nice way to live if you wanted to be alone,” Naia remarked.

“And if you didn’t mind freezing,” Kylan added, teeth chattering.

Hah! Good ol’ best boy Kylan.

He’s so quiet that he doesn’t feel as present as some of the other characters but he remains relevant to the plot and delightful.

Amri leads the group towards the mysterious building, which is a simple stone and ice tower. It looks abandoned from the outside and the place doesn’t seem too occupied or furnished on the inside but Kylan can tell that the hearth has been lit within the past couple days.

So its not abandoned, just austere.

They can’t stay long without losing their opportunity to reach the Gelfling of Ha’rar before the Skeksis do but they can stay long enough to warm up with a fire and hey, there’s a hearth right there.

While Kylan started the fire, Amri touched the parchments that were strewn across the stone worktable. The soft, cold paper was thick and fibrous, covered in ink-drawn maps and charts. He recognized the coastline of the Silver Sea, from Kylan’s book, meticulous and fine-detailed, every landform and eddy and bay lovingly titled and detailed. Cera-Na and her fingerlike headlands, even the sand river they’d taken into the desert. The Caves of Grot, the Claw Mountains. The long tail of the Black River, the lifeline of the Skarith Basin.

There were other charts, too, but they were not of the land. Amri recognized stars and the Sisters, the patterns of the wind drawn across the sky where it intersected with the path of the Brothers. The pictures of the seasons and the ninets, how the phases of the moons changed course as Thra moved through time and space.

Hmmm. And the maps are drawn in ink, too, and not dream-etched.

So I have my theory about whose house this might be. I’m a bit surprised that it is where it is but I have my theory.

I mean, its got to be an urRu, right? Not a Gelfling because its ink and not BURNING WITH YOUR MIND POWERS. Probably not a Skeksis because there’s one Skeksis who could live in such simple digs without succumbing to the unfathomable urge to bedazzle everything in sight.

And would we be so lucky to get a second urRu when there’s only a few chapters left? No, no. This is clearly the oddly mountain located house of urSan the Swimmer. All the way up on a mountain, the further place from the sea.

I like that the map including the desert implies that she just swam the sand rivers too. That’s commitment to your monomania.

Amri arranges the maps on the table to they form a jumbo map of the Skarith Land and is in awe at seeing his whole world (or at least the only important continent of it apparently) all at once like this and at how much of it he has personally seen since starting his journey with the group.

But there’s work to be done so he asks Tavra if she knows what she’s going to say for the Plan.

“Yes,” the Silverling spider replied. “I don’t know if it will be enough, but it is all I have. I can only hope that my words can move the Vapra to believe that there is hope... even without my mother and Seladon to guide them.”

“They still have you,” Naia assured her. “Even if your voice is small. If Amri’s right, and if Kylan can do what he did with the Sanctuary Tree, then...”

I like that their plans are always building up off their previous plans.

But before Naia can finish explaining the Plan there’s a crunching on the snow outside and the door is slammed open by an old familiar unexpected individual.

SHE! Her. skekSa the Mariner, who is just as confused to see the Gelflings here as they are to see here.

Its a small world after all, I guess.

Her menacing eyes fell upon Amri and his friends, then the star charts and sea maps. Amri found his hand on the hilt of Tavra’s sword. skekSa reached back and slammed the door, throwing the latch so there was no escape. She leveled the room with her gaze, hot breath steaming from her nostrils.

“Tell me, and I will let you live,” she growled. “Where is urSan the Swimmer?”

Dun dun dun?

#dark crystal #the dark crystal #Tides of the Dark Crystal #liveblog #Amri #Naia #Kylan #Tae #Onica #Tavra #another character

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chierafied · 4 years

Text

Polar Attraction (SKW2020D4)

This is for the lovely and super talented @rannyunny, who wanted CEO!Sess.

Your wish is my command. 😉

Also just so you know this kinda got away from me so it’s like 7,420 words. Whoops.

Also posted on AO3, Dokuga & FFnet!

Sesshoumaru stood in front of the wide window in his top-floor office, looking down at the glinting city lights spreading out before him in the night. He brought the glass of whisky to his lips and took a good long sip of the amber liquid.

The meeting had gone on for too long. The international sales executives had been annoying and obtuse and trying to explain the North American market to him as if he was a complete idiot.

Sesshoumaru had quickly divested them of such gross misconceptions, and promptly reminded them why he was the CEO of the company. Cowed though they had been after that, it had still taken time to come to an agreement on all the necessary details relating to the upcoming international release of their newest video game.

People, Sesshoumaru sneered, taking another sip of whisky. Dealing with them was exhausting.

Proud as he was of his accomplishments and how far they’d come, there had been an appealing simplicity in the old days when they’d only just been starting out. With Miroku having the great vision and ideas, and also the charm, he had dealt with marketing and hiring and every other annoyance requiring interpersonal skills. Sesshoumaru had been happily left to deal with the finances and the programming end of things.

But their business had grown exponentially from those days; their games had become household names across the globe and Sesshoumaru found himself a CEO of a multibillion corporation.

Which meant that now he, too, was forced to deal with people, at least whenever there was another meeting to sit in.

Still, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Sesshoumaru had been born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth. His father, a former warlord, was now the head of a formidable multinational electronics conglomerate that he’d first founded back in Meiji era. And though he had given Sesshoumaru and Miroku financial backing when they had been starting out, Sesshoumaru had paid him back every yen.

All of this, the company, the top-floor office, the CEO position, were of Sesshoumaru’s own making, which made them all the more precious.

He could easily have found employment in his father’s company.

He could easily have lived off his father’s money without pursuing any employment at all, had he so wished.

But Sesshoumaru had desired to make his own way, to come to his own power instead of relying on his father’s influence.

And in that, he had succeeded. Sesshoumaru’s lips curved, and he downed the rest of his whisky.

An important deadline to a big project they'd been working on the past two years was fast approaching. Everyone was working hard and long hours, doing their utmost to meet the deadline.

Even Sesshoumaru had left the lofty luxury of his top floor office and the daily grind of his administrative work so he could focus on his other strength: programming.

He'd commandeered a spare desk in the programming department and sat there, typing intently – one of the herd of his senior and junior programmers.

When asked to, he might flit around the room to troubleshoot or check out a code or help someone hitting a digital wall.

After wrangling a particularly stubborn piece of code to do what it was supposed to do, Sesshoumaru leaned back in his chair and stretched.

A youkai had not been meant to crouch in front of a computer screen.

He needed to get up and walk, his neck was starting to ache.

More importantly, he needed coffee.

He could have headed for the breakroom or one of the vending machines out in the hallway but he preferred coffee of better quality and the café on the ground floor should still be open.

Besides, going down to the café would allow him to stretch his legs.

Instead of the elevator, Sesshoumaru took the stairs. He walked down the five flights and the exercise helped ease the tension from his body.

For a brief moment, he longed to let his youki burst out, to transform and run… but letting loose like that in the middle of Tokyo would be to no one’s benefit, least of all Sesshoumaru’s.

A few key people here and there might have been aware of the existence of youkai, but the public at large remained unaware.

Even if they’d try to explain the incident away by claiming to be filming a new kaiju movie, giving in to his true nature would be a heedless risk.

Sesshoumaru stifled his growl.

He’d feel better after he’d get his coffee.

Sesshoumaru pushed into the lobby, but instead of making a beeline to the café as he had intended to, he came to a halt.

There seemed to be some kind of a commotion going on at the front desk. The security was there, frowning down at a woman.

Sesshoumaru wasn't sure which reached him first; the cold spark of purity that sent a shiver down his spine or the scent, so sweet and beckoning that for a moment Sesshoumaru's mind went blank.

Before his brain had quite caught up with his actions, he was already striding towards the front desk, his instincts screaming at him, his blood thrumming in his veins, his youki coiling in tight around him.

The security guards had noticed his approach and were standing at attention.

Sesshoumaru ignored them.

He stared at the woman facing them. She had her arms crossed over her chest, her cheeks flushed with temper, her blue eyes narrowed in annoyance, her wealth of dark hair flowing freely down her back.

She was the most magnificent thing Sesshoumaru had ever seen.

“What seems to be the problem,” he asked, his voice coming out a rumble, his eyes still trained on the woman.

“Sir, the miss here claims to be a relative of one of our employees and seems to have some concerns about his welfare. We’ve offered to contact his department to check up on him, but she’s very insistent about being allowed up to see her relative herself.”

“I just need to see that my brother is alright, with my own two eyes,” the woman snapped.

“Again, Miss, we simply can’t allow –”

“Has she offered you any form of identification?” Sesshoumaru cut in.

“I have,” the woman replied, her irritated gaze flickering to him.

Sesshoumaru met her eyes.

“And does that information correspond with that we have of her brother?”

The security guard shifted. “Sir, it does, but we still can’t allow her to go up unaccompanied and –”

Sesshoumaru slanted them a sharp glance and the security guard shut up.

Even with his instincts howling at him, he understood the risk.

He couldn’t detect any deception from the woman, anger and worry were the only things she seemed to radiate at the moment.

But she could have been an accomplished actress, with a plausible story and well-forged false identification.

She could have been a reporter after a scoop. Or something much worse.

Corporate espionage was a serious threat in this day and age.

But despite the risk, and perhaps because that sweet scent of hers wrapping around his being stirred his blood, he believed her story. Trusted her to be sincere.

“Very well. In that case, I will accompany her. What department is her brother in?”

“But Sir, I don’t think… Ah, the design department, Sir.”

Sesshoumaru gave him a brisk nod, then turned to the woman.

“Come with me.”

Kagome’s shoulders slumped in relief when the elevator doors slid shut. She was one step closer to Souta now and making sure he was ok, but she couldn’t fully relax yet.

She slanted a glance at the man who’d come to her rescue.

“Thank you for helping me.”

He gave her a curt nod.

She was all too aware of him, in the contained space they were in. She wasn’t sure if it was the fact that he was startlingly handsome or the fact that he must have been one of the managers for the security guards to react to him the way they had… or maybe the weight of his lingering gaze pressing against her skin.

It could have been any of those things – or all of those things – but something about him set Kagome on the edge.

He had such a… presence.

“I’m sorry I was creating a commotion down there,” Kagome said.

When nervous, she had a tendency to talk. A lot.

“I don’t normally behave like that, it’s just that my brother never came home last night and his phone is turned off and when those guards didn’t listen to me I just got so mad…”

“I understand,” the man replied, his voice smooth and deep. “It is very natural to be concerned in a situation like that, and such emotions easily get the best of a person.”

She turned to him.

“However, irritating as the guards were, they were only doing their job,” he continued. “Competition is fierce and we’re working on a very important project right now. Any information leaking outside and to our competitors would be most unfortunate.”

Kagome blushed and looked down at her feet.

Now that she had had a bit of time to calm down, she realised how rude she had been at the front desk. She’d have to apologise profusely – after she had made sure Souta was alright.

“Shall we?”

Kagome started and found the man looking at her expectantly. She hadn’t even realised that the elevator had stopped.

“Yes. Sorry.”

She scooted out, all too aware of the man following behind her.

“This way,” he intoned.

Kagome had to walk quickly to match his large strides.

She frowned at his back, clad in an elegant suit.

What was it about him? Something nagged at her that she couldn’t quite make sense of; something sending her nerves skittering.

They came to a big, open-concept office. Even though it was getting late in the evening, most of the desks were still occupied. Some people were furiously tapping at their keyboards, others were muttering to themselves under their breath. Some were sketching or writing on bits of paper, others were conversing with one another, heads together.

And scanning the room, one familiar figure stood out to her from the mass.

“Souta!”

Her brother’s head jerked up and he turned away from his computer screen as Kagome hurried towards him.

“Kagome? What are you doing here?”

Souta’s eyes were rounded in surprise but soon they squeezed shut and he hissed out in pain.

“Ow, what the heck?”

Kagome let go of the shoulder she’d pinched and crossed her arms.

“I had to come to see for myself that you were still alive,” she said, her immense relief at finding Souta OK now turning into anger. “You had us worried sick!”

“What? Why? I told you I might have to stay late because there’s a deadline coming up,” Souta said.

“Staying late, yes. But you didn’t say you wouldn’t come home at all. And then you weren’t answering any of our calls and messages either.”

Souta dug his phone out of his jeans’ pocket and grimaced.

“Sorry. I forgot to charge it. Anyway, I’m fine, I worked late last night and then crashed in one of the break rooms.”

“I understand that if you need to stay late working it might be easier to just sleep over here at the office,” Kagome said, her tone gentler now. “But if you decide to do that, please let us know, so we won’t have to worry.”

“I will. I promise. I’m sorry, big sis.”

Kagome smiled and ruffled his hair. “Apology accepted.”

Souta grumbled and tried to smooth his hair back into place.

“Now go away, I need to work.”

“Love you too, Souta. Take care, ok?”

“Yeah, yeah. See you at home.”

He’d turned back to his computer.

Kagome stared at the back of his head and sighed in affectionate exasperation.

Oddly, it was comforting to know that even if they were both grown up, her little brother still remained a brat.

It felt a little odd to just turn and leave; after making such a commotion she hadn’t even spent five minutes upstairs. But she’d done what she’d come here for, made sure that Souta was all right.

It was obvious that everyone was very busy, so Kagome walked back over to the elevators.

The man she had met in the lobby was still standing there just outside the office, waiting for her.

Her heart skittered again as she saw him, goosebumps blooming down her arms.

“Did you find your brother?” he asked, the deep smooth voice enough to send a shiver down Kagome’s spine.

“Yes, he was fine, just too busy with work to charge his phone or let his family know he’s well,” Kagome said, rolling her eyes.

“I’m glad everything was resolved,” the man intoned, then gestured towards the elevators.

Kagome resumed her walking and stepped into the elevator when it arrived. The man stepped in after her, and pushed for the lobby.

Kagome leaned against the wall of the car, feeling both exhausted and embarrassed now that she knew Souta was ok. There had been a café downstairs, hadn’t there? She’d have to go in and buy something there to leave at the front desk as an apology.

Startled, she realised that the elevator had stopped moving.

Biting her lip, she turned her head, only to find the man staring at her.

Having his undivided attention flustered Kagome. She could feel her cheeks warm as she dropped her gaze.

“Thank you so much for helping me out,” she said.

“You already thanked me,” the man replied.

“Well, I’m still very grateful,” she said.

He inclined his head. “The pleasure was mine.”

Something in his voice had Kagome’s breath catching.

Blushing furiously, she stammered a goodbye and then left the elevator, heading towards the café.

The man’s lingering stare made the spot between her shoulder blades tingle every step of the way across the lobby.

The woman didn't leave him alone.

Brief though their encounter had been, over the next week Sesshoumaru kept picking apart every word they had exchanged. Her expressions had been carved into his memory and he would study them to better discern her moods. He would replay the sound of her voice in his head, to a degree he was sure he had her tones memorised. He couldn’t forget that sweet light scent that had teased his nose.

Never before had he encountered anyone who had so stirred his instincts.

Briefly, he had wondered if the cause for such a reaction had been the frisson of purity he had sensed. Then he had decided against it – after all, miko could be said to be a natural enemy to youkai, so it made little sense that meeting one would cause such yearning.

Of course, a mere memory could not sustain him forever, so, eventually, Sesshoumaru had to move from thoughts to action.

He found her on social media, although it took him a while. She was a nurse. And single. Or at least she’d never posted about a boyfriend from what he could see.

For the longest time, that was where Sesshoumaru was stalled.

Sesshoumaru wasn’t sure how to proceed, what would be the best way to approach the woman he was longing for.

When, on one evening, he found himself semi-seriously considering faking an injury or an illness so that he might go to the hospital she worked at and orchestrate a way to meet her again, he knew that something had to be done before this woman would drive him into insanity.

He would do what he always did and approach the problem head on.

It was easy to find her address from the personnel files they had for her younger brother.

Sesshoumaru was well aware that it was an invasion of privacy, but sometimes the ends justified the means. And a forthright approach would at least have more honour than any way he might attempt to engineer an “accidental” meeting.

He packed his things, shot a quick e-mail off to Miroku, and left work early.

He didn’t know anything about the woman’s schedule, didn’t even know if she was working today let alone what shift she might be in.

But Sesshoumaru fervently wished that fate would be on his side, and he was prepared to wait.

He plugged the address into the navigation system of his car, then drove across Tokyo.

The Higurashi home appeared in fact to be a shrine – which, given that the woman was a miko, shouldn’t have come as a surprise to Sesshoumaru.

He parked near the curb, then looked at the long wooden staircase rising from the sidewalk, leading up to a torii gate.

Then, he settled in to wait.

Sesshoumaru didn’t know how long he sat there in his car, his window cracked open, his radio on to try and alleviate his boredom, with his fingers drumming against the steering wheel and his gaze trained on the sidewalk, never wavering.

Finally, the light tantalising scent he’d memorised teased his nose.

Sesshoumaru sat up straighter, then quickly got out of the car. Standing still, intent like the predator he was, he stared up the street and at the approaching figure.

She looked up just then, her blue eyes widening from surprise.

Her steps slowed but didn’t falter as she continued walking towards him.

Sesshoumaru’s nostrils flared as he inhaled her scent, his eyes becoming hooded for a few lingering seconds. He watched her approach; she was far lovelier than the memories he’d been cherishing.

He hadn’t even talked to her yet, and Sesshoumaru already felt that coming here had been worthwhile, simply because he had got to see her again.

She stopped at a respectful distance and fidgeted.

Sesshoumaru greeted her with a small bow. “Miss Higurashi.”

She mirrored the gesture, offering him a hesitant hello in return.

“I apologise for showing up unannounced like this,” Sesshoumaru continued. “It must seem rude to approach you like this, waiting around near your house, but I really wanted to see you again.”

Miss Higurashi blinked.

To Sesshoumaru’s relief, she appeared neither alarmed nor annoyed at finding him waiting for her. The emotion most clear on her features was confusion.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“First, I’d like to introduce myself. I’m Nishizuka Sesshoumaru. And what I want is to take you out on a date. I’d like that very much, actually.”

Miss Higurashi was staring at him, as well as the business card he was holding out, her lips parted.

For a moment, silence reigned between them.

Then, Miss Higurashi found her voice, though it was squeakier than before and the words tumbled out in a stammer.

“I, umm, what? Really? Why?”

The corners of Sesshoumaru’s lips twisted. He was thoroughly charmed by the woman, and seeing her so flustered because of him stroked his ego in the most delicious way.

“Because I really wish to know you better,” he told her earnestly. “After our meeting, I haven’t seemed to be able to forget about you.”

She was blushing now, and Sesshoumaru couldn’t take his eyes off of her.

Her fingers trembled as she accepted his card. She fumbled around her handbag for a moment before pulling out a business card that she offered to him in return.

Sesshoumaru accepted it gracefully, and ran his thumb over the hiragana spelling out her first name.

Kagome.

Warmth swelled in his chest.

“Your answer, Miss Higurashi?” he prompted, a smile curving his lips.

“I…” She bit her lip, tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. Then she looked up at him, blue eyes soft. “Yes. I’d like that.”

Sesshoumaru’s smile widened, and though he did stamp out the primitive urge to howl in victory, he couldn’t help the flare of his aura, trying to weave his youki around her.

“I’m glad,” Sesshoumaru said. “Thank you for indulging me, Miss Higurashi. I won’t take any more of your time. I’ll contact you so we can settle the details of our date.”

“Sure,” Miss Higurashi replied, still holding his card in her hand. “I’m looking forward to it,” she added, flashing him a shy smile.

“I am, too,” Sesshoumaru told her, his gaze intent on her, hoping to commit the sweetness of that smile into his memory. “I’ll be in touch,” he promised.

Then, he bowed and left.

Pulling out in his car, he looked into the rear-view mirror and found Miss Higurashi still standing by the shrine steps.

A rare bark of laughter bubbled up Sesshoumaru’s throat as a sense of euphoria the likes of which he’d never experienced before swept over him.

He had no idea what the miko was doing to him, why she was affecting him so.

And at this point, Sesshoumaru did not even care.

He was already craving more of it; more of her.

He couldn’t wait for their date and getting to see her again.

He’d have to get home soon so he could start planning.

Nothing short of perfect wouldn’t do.

His miko deserved the best.

Kagome clutched at the business card in her hand. Her heart was racing, but it had nothing to do with the stairs she was climbing. She was in a daze, still trying to wrap her mind around what had actually just happened.

The hot manager from where Souta worked had been waiting for her because he’d wanted to see her again. Because he’d wanted to ask her out?

She looked at the business card in her hand, just to reassure it was all real.

There was nothing on there but a phone number, and a name spelled out in elegant kanji.

Nishizuka Sesshoumaru.

It sounded faintly familiar, but Kagome wasn’t sure where she’d heard it.

Maybe Souta had mentioned it at some point.

Even with the proof in her hand, Kagome was having a hard time believing that the conversation from ten minutes ago had actually taken place.

Stuff like this didn’t happen to Kagome.

Sure, she had been asked out before – there had been Houjou back in high school and then Kouga when she’d been in university – but a hot guy she’d met by a chance purposefully seeking her out because he wanted to see again?

Unreal.

That was just something straight out of a movie, wasn’t it?

Kagome smiled at the card.

The butterflies were going crazy in her stomach and she wasn’t sure what to make of the tangle of emotions weighing in her chest. Her imagination was already taking wing as she couldn’t help wondering what their date would be like.

She needed to get home and calm herself down, Kagome decided, racing up the remaining stairs with light feet.

But even after she’d got home, taken a quick shower and changed into more comfortable clothes, she was humming to herself as she helped her mother prepare dinner.

She kept smiling to herself. Every chime of her phone made her jump, as she was desperately waiting for Mr Nishizuka to contact her, and she kept patting her shirt’s pocket where she’d stowed the business card she’d got.

Her mother made comment of her good mood, but other than asking if everything had gone well at work didn’t press for more details as to what had caused it.

Souta, of course, as younger siblings were wont to do, wasn’t as considerate.

They were all sitting at the table, enjoying dinner, when Souta set down his chopsticks with a frown.

“All right, sis, spill it. You’re so cheery it’s getting gross, what gives?”

Kagome, suddenly put on the spot, squirmed in her seat.

A part of her didn’t want to tell; she liked how right now it felt like a secret just between her and Mr Nishizuka.

But she also didn’t want to come up with a lie, so after some fidgeting, she did confess.

“Someone asked me out on a date today.”

“That’s nice.” Kagome’s mother smiled. “Was it someone from work?”

“No, it was someone from Souta’s work, actually.”

Souta nearly spat out his drink. “What? Who? How do you know anyone I work with?”

“I met him a while back when you hadn’t come home and weren’t answering your phone. The security didn’t want to let me in so he interfered and helped me out, took me up to the office to see you. He’s someone from management, I think.”

“Who?” Souta asked again, looking a little ill.

“Nishizuka Sesshoumaru.”

“Nishizuka…” Souta sputtered. “Kagome, that’s not someone from management. He’s the big boss!”

“Eh?”

“You have a date with the big boss?” Souta repeated, stunned.

Kagome felt just as confused as Souta looked. She reached for her pocket to pull out the card. It came out the flip side up, the side she hadn’t even noticed before.

On it, against a black background, was the familiar crescent moon logo and the name of the company Souta worked for, Luna Kabushiki gaisha.

Underneath were three simple letters that shook Kagome to the core: CEO.

Kagome stared at the card, still clutched by her shaking fingers.

Wide-eyed, she looked up from it.

Souta met her gaze from across the table, looking pale and shocked himself.

“He’s the big boss,” Kagome whispered, and just like that the whole thing became wholly surreal again.

Being asked out by the CEO of a multibillion corporation?

Definitely filed under things that simply didn’t happen to Higurashi Kagome and under unrealistic movie plotlines.

It did of course explain a lot of things – the way the security guards had acted, and why his name had sounded familiar. She must have read it in countless of newspaper articles written about him or the company over the years.

It also explained why he had such a powerful and commanding presence.

Kagome tucked the card carefully back into the pocket, and then pushed the rice around in her bowl, her appetite vanished.

The butterflies in her stomach were working themselves up into a frenzy.

Half of her was giddy with excitement while the other half was absolutely terrified.

And yet, both halves were united in one aspect: Kagome really wanted to see Mr Nishizuka again.

Nervous as she was, now that she knew precisely who she was up against, she was still looking forward to the date.

After all, having your life suddenly turning into a movie only happened once in a lifetime, right?

Sesshoumaru stood in front of the café, his spine stiff against the restless instinct to pace the sidewalk.

It was early evening in early October, but the weather was still mild – and cold wouldn’t bother Sesshoumaru anyway.

His sharp gaze followed the passers-by as he waited for Kagome to arrive.

Sesshoumaru had taken a rare day off from work, just because of his date this evening.

Well, he had gone to work as usual in the morning, at first… But after two hours and three enormous coding mistakes and a big meeting where he had been unusually snarly, it had become clear he wasn’t accomplishing anything and couldn’t concentrate on work at all.

So he had gone back home to his apartment where he had been practically climbing up the walls while waiting for the hours to tick by agonisingly slow.

The very important preparations he left till the last minute hadn’t made the time pass any quicker, and in the end Sesshoumaru had come to their agreed meeting spot – a cute and trendy café Miroku’s fiancée had recommended – forty minutes early.

Sesshoumaru glanced at his watch again. Only six minutes left now.

Anticipation thrummed through Sesshoumaru’s veins.

He had never really felt this way, his emotions were a confusing knot of polar opposites all mixed up with one another.

He’d been planning this date for two weeks and was sure everything would be perfect. He also remembered fondly how flustered the miko had been when he’d asked her out.

So naturally, he was brimming with confidence.

At the same time, however, he really wanted to impress Kagome.

This wasn’t just a date to him; if all went well, this would just be the beginning. Deep down in his heart, spurred on by the wild insistent howl of his youkai instincts, Sesshoumaru knew he was playing for keeps.

That meant the stakes were high – the highest they’d ever been in his personal life.

Besides, even a perfect plan could only help him so far, because things did not always go according to plan. And you could never really completely anticipate another person’s reactions. Certainly not with the insufficient data Sesshoumaru had been operating on.

A sweet light fragrance pulled Sesshoumaru out of his muddled thoughts and he immediately stood straighter as he scanned the crowd, seeking his miko.

He found her quickly, his youki flaring in a delighted greeting.

She noticed him, offering him a small, cute wave as she made her way towards him.

Excitement built up like a tidal wave and Sesshoumaru's nerves hummed as age-old instincts, long dormant until now, rose to the surface.

The time had come, for him to try and win over his chosen female.

She stopped a few yards away, and nervously straightened her jacket before greeting him with a rather formal bow.

Sesshoumaru inclined his head in return.

"Hello, Miss Higurashi. I'm glad you could make it."

"Ahh, please, call me Kagome." She looked up, meeting his gaze, her blue eyes holding him captive. "I'm glad you asked me out."

"The pleasure's all mine," Sesshoumaru told her, meaning every word.

She was blushing again, and Sesshoumaru was enraptured.

He gestured towards the café. "Shall we?"

Kagome nodded, and followed Sesshoumaru inside.

They made their order, and Sesshoumaru gallantry carried their purchases to the table Kagome had chosen.

She had opted for a hot chocolate and a slice of cheesecake, while Sesshoumaru had gone for the house blend with a double shot of espresso and some daifuku.

They settled in, and after some initial silence loaded by slight tension, Sesshoumaru manage to coax Kagome into a conversation.

“Tell me about yourself,” he asked, his intent gaze studying her over the rim of his coffee cup.

“I’m not sure there’s all that much to tell,” she replied, shrugging.

“I think there’s plenty,” Sesshoumaru countered. “And I want to hear all of it.”

“Well, I’m twenty-four and a Tokyo native. I have a younger brother, as you know. Other than him, my family consists of my mom and my grandfather. I live at a shrine, which you probably know already, too. I work as a nurse at the Tokyo Metropolitan Children’s Medical Centre.”

Sesshoumaru’s eyebrow rose. “Really? You’re a nurse at a children’s hospital? That is very impressive, Kagome.”

“Oh, please. It isn’t half as impressive as your job, Mr Nishizuka,” she said, shaking her head.

“Sesshoumaru,” he responded immediately. “And I do believe that caring for sick and injured children has much more value than making video games,” he added.

“They’re not just video games,” Kagome replied, her blue eyes stormy in a display both of temper and passion. “You provide joy and entertainment. An escape to people. Do you know how popular handheld game consoles are with the inpatients at the hospital, especially those who require long-term care?”

Sesshoumaru sat still and silent. He could all but feel his attraction deepening at this show of emotion, at this impassioned defence of the worlds and stories he created for living.

Wholly subconsciously, tendrils of his youki were swirling around Kagome, brushing against her aura.

She absentmindedly rubbed her arm, as if warding off a chill.

“The point is,” she said sternly, “that what you do is really important. More important than you probably even realise.”

“I could say the same to you,” Sesshoumaru replied, his voice warm with the tenderness swelling in his chest. “I have great admiration for you and the work you do.”

“Thank you,” Kagome said, her cheeks flushing.

“And I hope at some point I might be able to visit the hospital you work at personally, to see the difference you claim my games are making,” Sesshoumaru continued.

Kagome’s eyes sparked. “I’m sure that can be arranged, and then I can prove to you it’s all true!”

Sesshoumaru’s lips quirked into a smile.

“I will hold you to that, Kagome. It’s a date.”

The blush returned full force, and Kagome looked down at her her cooling hot chocolate.

But she was smiling; another sweet expression that Sesshoumaru engraved into his heart.

When Kagome had taken a seat back at the café she had slumped in relief.

She'd been a nervous wreck for the entire week leading up to the date.

She'd tried to read up on Nishizuka Sesshoumaru to prepare herself but had only managed to twist herself into tighter knots.

She'd fretted over her makeup and agonised over her outfit, which she had ended up changing twice before she'd felt confident enough to leave the safety of her room.

Confident enough that someone like her, an overworked and underpaid nurse, could truly walk arm in arm in public with a CEO whose net worth was counted in billions.

Seeing him standing there, tall and handsome in his long, dark coat, waiting for her, had set the butterflies flitting about in a frenzy.

Her nerves had made an appearance though this time, instead of just blurting out any word coming to her mind she’d been all but tongue-tied.

But going into the café with him had set her at ease.

It had been a very nice place. Trendy, certainly nicer than a regular café. It’d had that distinctive mood some places just carried.

Kagome had been positively surprised.

It also hadn’t been one of those super upscale and insanely fancy places she’d been mentally preparing herself for.

She hadn’t felt like a fish out of water like she had feared.

She had felt… like a young woman out on a date with an attractive man in a very nice coffee shop.

And she had smiled.

The evening had progressed much more smoothly from there.

The conversation between them flowed surprisingly naturally.

That was probably because, for whatever reason, Sesshoumaru seemed to be genuinely interested in Kagome’s life, and asked several very mindful questions so he could learn all the more.

The hot chocolate was divine, and the cheesecake sweet.

Kagome’s smile came easily and her nerves had calmed by the time their cups and plates were empty.

“I was thinking we might take a little stroll next,” Sesshoumaru suggested. “Make some room for dessert.”

“Dessert?” Kagome laughed. “I just ate a slice of cake.”

“Trust me,” Sesshoumaru said, his golden eyes glowing with amusement.

Kagome shrugged, and with something in the pit of her stomach quivering, realised that she did.

She put on her jacket and then followed Sesshoumaru out.

Evening had truly fallen now, but the streets of Tokyo were still busy and well-lit. They walked the streets, side by side, turning after a while to stroll along a river and then crossing a small park.

And as they walked, all the while a light conversation ebbed between them in a rapid-fire game.

“Favourite beverage?” Sesshoumaru asked.

“Hot chocolate,” Kagome replied, grinning. “Yours?”

“Whisky.”

“Favourite colour?” Kagome asked in turn.

“Dark blue. You?”

“Pink.”

And so it went, back and forth, punctuated here and there by quick side-glances, secret smiles, even a laugh or two.

Eventually, they started moving towards a business district, and though Kagome was curious as to what their destination and the promised ‘dessert’ were, she held her tongue and followed Sesshoumaru’s lead.

His plan started to become clearer, however, when Kagome noticed the lit sign of a company’s name built into the side of one of the towering buildings.

“Really?” She said, slanting a sly look at Sesshoumaru. “Can’t stay away from work for one evening?”

“You’ll like it, I promise,” Sesshoumaru said, as he steered her towards the Luna headquarters.

“I’ll hold you to that,” Kagome quipped, earning a smirk from Sesshoumaru in return.

He escorted her to the building, bringing her in through a side door he unlocked. They headed straight to the elevator, and Kagome couldn’t help a giggle.

“Don’t tell me you brought us here for old time’s sake?” she said as they entered the elevator.

Laughter lit Sesshoumaru’s eyes as he pushed the button for the top floor. “Not entirely.”

“If you say so.” Kagome leaned against the wall, remembering her first meeting with Sesshoumaru, riding up with him in this very same elevator.

She felt more comfortable around him now that she knew him a little better.

But his presence still had that mysterious edge to it.

“You know, I should have guessed that you were the CEO even if you didn’t explicitly tell me,” Kagome murmured.

“How so?” Sesshoumaru asked, curiosity colouring his voice.

“You have this… aura, I guess.” Kagome shrugged, and vaguely noticed the elevator slide to a smooth stop. “I can’t really explain it, just something about you that I feel but can’t put my finger on it. Does that make any sense?”

He was silent for a while, and when Kagome looked at him, all signs of amusement had vanished from his face.

“That makes a lot of sense,” he said.

For a moment, even in the bright elevator lights, Kagome could have sworn his eyes flashed.

A shiver slid down Kagome’s spine.

“You can feel that, can you?”

“I…” Her skin tingled as goosebumps erupted up her arms. “Yes, I can. What is it?”

“You were more correct than you even realised when you spoke of an aura,” he said, his voice soft and serious. “It’s because you are a miko in truth, Kagome.”

Kagome blinked. “What does that mean?”

Sesshoumaru sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I’m about to tell you a very personal secret, Kagome. Something I would not usually share on the first date. But I trust you. And I feel like you deserve to know the full truth so we can pursue a relationship honestly. Because I truly wish to have a relationship with you, Kagome. A real one.”

Kagome’s words and breath caught in her throat. She was trapped by Sesshoumaru’s grave golden gaze, unable to look away from him.

Then, something in the air shimmered, shifted. Kagome’s nose itched.

And then, a gasp was torn from her, because Sesshoumaru…

Sesshoumaru had changed.

His hair had changed colour to a captivating silver-white. His eyes, his stature, his features… everything looked same and familiar as before, but odd markings now decorated his forehead and cheeks, vivid and startling. And his hands… Those could only be described as claws.

“W-what? What’s going on?” Kagome stammered. She hugged herself, as pressure built in the air around them.

“This is who I am,” Sesshoumaru said calmly. “A youkai.”

“A youkai?” Kagome said, her voice gaining another octave with this revelation. “Seriously? But youkai are a myth! They’re not real! They –”

Something warm and electric flared in the air, and Kagome’s protests died.

She drew in a quivering breath. Another.

“A youkai?” she repeated after a moment, in a strangled whisper.

Sesshoumaru nodded.

“Yes. An inuyoukai, to be precise.”

Kagome’s fingers twitched.

Before she even registered what she was doing, she had already reached out to him.

Her finger ran along the sharp magenta stripe on his cheek, his skin warm and smooth under her touch. Until she had to jerk back with a hiss of pain when something like static electricity crackled to life between then.

Sesshoumaru’s expression didn’t change, but he did raise his hand to rub his cheek.

“And that is what it means to be a true miko,” he said, his voice wry. “Your kind and mine are polar opposites in many aspects.”

Kagome’s gaze darted between her finger and Sesshoumaru and she blushed furiously as embarrassment flooded her.

“Sorry, I didn’t know.”

“It’s all right,” Sesshoumaru reassured her, his voice gentle. He took her hand in his. “We’ll figure it out.”

“We will, huh?” Kagome muttered, shaking her head at his confidence.

But also, youkai or not, it was very flattering that he showed such interest in her.

“Yes,” he said, tugging her along and leading her out of the elevator. “We will. And now to the surprise.”

“You mean there hasn’t been enough surprises yet for one night?” Kagome retorted, liking the way he so casually held her hand.

“Well, the surprise just now wasn’t planned, and this next one is much more pleasant,” Sesshoumaru said, pulling her after him through a door and to a staircase.

“Do you still trust me?” he asked, starting up the stairs.

Kagome stared at his back as she followed, her heart softening at the open vulnerability his voice betrayed.

Kagome squeezed his hand. “I do,” she said.

And she meant it.

It would take her a while yet to really process everything she had just been told.

To come to grips with the fact that youkai were real and breathing and walking the streets of Japan.

Longer still to accept it.

But she could tell already that it didn’t change all that much between her and Sesshoumaru. His personality stayed the same, as had his appearance, even – for the most part.

She really did appreciate honesty, and it had been a brave thing to reveal such a big and personal secret so early on in their acquaintance.

Sesshoumaru reached the top of the staircase. There was another door waiting, which he unlocked and swung open. Pulling his hand from hers, he gestured for her to go in first.

Kagome raised her eyebrows at him, but stepped out of the door.

Wind whipped at her hair. The skyscrapers rose around her, their multiple windows glittering against the dark night sky like stars. Above them, peeking from behind a cloud was the moon, nearly full.

“It’s beautiful,” Kagome whispered.

And then she saw what Sesshoumaru had prepared for her on the roof.

There were cushions strewn in the middle of the flat rooftop to sit on. A blanket spread out between them, on which a proper picnic had been laid out. Surrounding the scene there were at least a dozen lanterns, the candlelight glowing softly in the night, and also several potted plants, adding onto the atmosphere.

“Wow,” Kagome breathed, awed by everything she was seeing. “This is the dessert?” she asked, turning to Sesshoumaru.

He shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. “It’s almost the time for Otsukimi, so I thought it would be appropriate.”

“I wouldn’t call this appropriate,” Kagome huffed.

It was sweet. It was thoughtful. It was wonderful. It was impressive.

It was like one of those grand gestures that you might see in a movie.

She looked up at him and their gazes locked, tension humming in the air as they studied one another in the moonlight.

And because Kagome was touched by the effort Sesshoumaru had put into the entire evening, because she was flattered by his obvious interest, because this date had proven to be even beyond her wildest dreams…

She decided to be brave, too.

Kagome closed their distance. She could feel his aura thrum stronger when she pressed close. His golden eyes were intent on her, never breaking their gaze, their connection.

Until she did, by closing her eyes, a fraction of a second before she brushed her lips against his in a shy kiss.

It had meant to be small and swift, but as Kagome’s heart started racing madly it evolved into something slow and soft and sweet instead.

Or, at least, it was sweet, until that same weird static shock thing from earlier happened again, forcing Kagome to pull back with a rueful “owwww.”

Sesshoumaru’s eyes were hooded. He was smiling, although it was a very dry sort of a smile.

“We really do need to figure that one out,” Kagome muttered, grimacing.

“We will,” Sesshoumaru replied. “We have plenty of time for that.”

Kagome slanted an assessing glance at him and smiled. “I guess we do.”

The look in Sesshoumaru’s eyes was so sweet and tender that Kagome had to turn away and briskly set her hands on her hips.

“Right then, I was promised dessert.”

Sesshoumaru’s chuckle was smooth and silky, the hand he pressed against the small of Kagome’s back warm even through all the layers of clothing she was wearing.

“Right this way, my priestess. Your banquet awaits.”

#sesskag #sesskagweek2020 #skw2020 #sesskag fic #AU with a CEO!Sess who's still a youkai #Probably more Rom than Com but posting it anyway #chie writes #fic: sk

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kaelinaloveslomaris · 5 years

Text

Whumptober 19: Asphyxiation

The forth and last part of the series that started with “Dragged Away.”

Vader rage murders everyone responsible for holding Luke captive in “Isolation” and gains an unexpected tagalong.

There’s some fairly graphic Murder in this one, FYI.

—

“It is too bad that there was a prison break. Everyone escaped, and there were no Imperial survivors.”

The commander’s face paled at Vader’s threat, and though Vader was not actively paying them any attention, he felt the current of fear pass through the rest of the Imperials in the room. He spared a thought to lock all the doors leading out of the detention wing of the facility.

“My - my Lord, please,” the commander begged.

Vader paused, not because of the coward’s pleading, though he enjoyed the momentary hope on his face in response, but rather because a thought occurred to him.

“Did he beg?” Vader asked.

“What?”

“Luke. Did he beg?”

“I’m… I’m sure he did. They all do.”

“Did you listen to him?”

The fear oozing from the commander spiked into a roiling storm as he grasped where Vader was going with this. Vader smiled grimly, relishing his panic.

“No, please! Lord Vader, would you have us release every Rebel that asks for it?” He was backing up, trying to put space between them, but Vader stalked forward after him until the commander hit the wall.

“Of course not. But if there is an important Rebel who is to be captured alive only, I expect them to be kept alive until I arrive to claim them. You are lucky he does not appear to have sustained any permanent damage.”

“Lucky?” he whispered, a spark of hope in his eyes. Vader crushed it.

“I would make your death ten times more painful had he died.” Vader reached out and wrapped his hand around the commander’s neck. It wasn’t often he physically strangled someone, but this man… he wanted to feel his throat collapse beneath his fingers.

His hands grasped at Vader’s, nails pressing into the leather of his gloves and scraping against the unyielding metal underneath. His eyes widened as he slowly suffocated, his body spasming as Vader starved it of oxygen. The Dark Side consumed his fear greedily, and Vader reveled in the rush of power it gave him.

Just as the life was almost drained out of him, Vader clenched his fist tighter, crushing his trachea and snapping his neck. The crunch of bone was satisfying.

Vader released him, watching as the body slumped to the floor. It wasn’t enough, and the Dark Side’s appetite was nowhere near sated.

He let the darkness in, let it bolster his rage as he drank in the fear permeating the room. Every one of the Imperials in the room had had a hand in mistreating his son. Every one of them was a legitimate target for his bloodlust. Vengeance was in his power to deliver, and he would repay Luke’s suffering.

He turned slowly to face the room. Everyone was watching him cautiously, hopeful that he had taken his displeasure out on their senior officer and would leave the rest of them alone, despite his earlier threat.

They would learn not to underestimate his rage.

~*~

When Vader finally extinguished his bloody blade, he and Luke were the only beings in the room still breathing.

The Dark Side was still singing in his veins. It had been a long time since he had indulged it so thoroughly, and he had forgotten how difficult it was to come down.

Vader looked at Luke, draped across the chair he had set him in, and didn’t dare to touch him. The darkness in his mind was whispering that his son was a weakness, a threat to his position as the Sith apprentice, and he would be better off without him. Vader would never forgive himself if, in a moment of carelessness, he hurt Luke.

Like you hurt his mother?

Vader growled at the unwelcome memory. The voice in his head sounded suspiciously like Palpatine, but the whisper had not come through their bond. He shook it away.

Needing a distraction to calm himself before he could trust himself in close proximity to Luke, he focused on the control console.

He downloaded a copy of the security footage from Luke’s cell, then traced his son’s footsteps back to the point where he and his team had been captured. He saved copies of everything involving his son, then scrubbed the data from the last few days. A quick error code, and all the cameras in the detention facility suffered catastrophic failure. It would still be obvious to anyone who examined the scene that it had not, in fact, been a prison break, but Vader was not too concerned about covering his tracks. There was only one person he needed to answer to, and he could only hope the Emperor would find the whole thing amusing, as he often did when Vader let himself fall into a murderous rage. As long as no one the Emperor had his eye on was caught up in the fallout. Vader doubted anyone here would have that dubious honor.

His eyes drifted to Luke again. He looked so peaceful, oblivious to the carnage around him that had been caused on his behalf. Unable to help himself any longer, he crossed the room to Luke. He reached for him without consciously deciding to, but stopped with his fingers just shy of his hair. He clenched his hand into a fist and pulled it back. There was still a slight current of rage coursing through him, beyond the normal level of background radiation of anger that he lived with.

He spun around and stalked back to the computer. There was one more part of his threat he had yet to carry out. He leaned over the console and keyed in the code to unlock all the cell doors.

Vader felt the confusion of the Rebel prisoners, and a few of them poked their heads out of the cell doors. Their eyes flew wide as they took in the state of the control room.

“You are all free to go. I have what I came for,” Vader said. It didn’t matter to him whether they ran or stayed here to rot. But he had told the commander that all the Rebels escaped, so he might as well give them the chance.

He went back to making sure the computers were wiped clean of any evidence that Luke was his son and tried his best to ignore the Rebels. None of them would be foolish enough to attack him, and even if they did, the Force would warn him.

“Luke!”

Vader turned at the shout of his son’s name to see Antilles rushing towards Luke. Vader stepped between them, cutting him off. He hadn’t gotten this close just to have another irritating Rebel spirit his son away.

“Let him go!” Antilles snarled. Vader was startled by the utter lack of expressed fear. There was a little bit tainting the Force around the pilot, but it was not for himself and it was eclipsed by his concern for Luke.

“I think not.” He turned his back on Antilles to scoop Luke up in his arms again. His child was still soundly asleep, and would be for hours yet, Vader guessed. It hadn’t taken much to put him under, but the Force compulsion he had laid on him was strong. Vader wanted him fully settled into his quarters before he woke.

Some of Antilles’s fear broke through onto his face when Vader turned around again and he caught sight of Luke limp in his arms.

“What did you do to him?” Antilles reached for Luke, and Vader took a step back, pulling Luke away from him. Antilles frowned.

“I did nothing. And what was done to him shall be rectified.”

Antilles’s eyes wandered around the body-strewn room, his brows furrowing in confusion. His gaze snapped back to Luke cradled in Vader’s arms.

“You did this because of Luke? Because of what they did to him? Why?”

“He is not to be harmed.”

Antilles snorted. “Like you’re not just going to take him back to your ship and torture him yourself for destroying your precious Death Star.”

Vader bristled. “I will not lay a finger on him. And his ability to take that shot should be commended, not condemned. No harm will befall him in my custody.”

“You can say whatever you like, but it’s not like I’ll believe you. You haven’t spent the last few years hunting him down just to keep him locked up on your Star Destroyer like a pet,” Antilles spat.

Vader focused on his son’s negligible weight in his arms to keep from lashing out. He knew that if he harmed his son’s friend, Luke would find out somehow. That was the last thing he needed.

“Believe me or not, it makes no difference. He is mine, and he will be well treated.”

“I want proof.”

“What?” Did the Rebel have no fear? Or was his loyalty to Luke just so strong that it overrode any sense of self-preservation? That kind of loyalty could be useful. An idea started to form in the back of his mind.

“I won’t believe you unless I see it with my own eyes that you mean my commander no harm.”

“Are you offering to come with him?” Vader let a dangerous edge creep into his tone. It might also not be a bad idea to have a familiar face around when Luke woke up, though he felt the stirrings of a long-dead jealousy at the thought.

Yes, he would take Antilles with him too.

Antilles blanched and took a step back. Then his gaze flickered to Luke again. He groaned.

“I am so going to regret this,” he muttered. “Lead the way.”

#whumptober2019 #no.19 #darth vader #the ashes call my name #luke skywalker #this precious child #you're my dark star #wedge antilles #we could be heroes #brothers in wings #my fanfiction #my writing

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snappedsky · 4 years

Text

Fanatics 73.4

The leader of the mysterious group reveals himself. Previous! Next!

Government of Doom Part 4

Devi slowly blinks awake, her head pounding and vision swimming. She groans as she rubs her eyes, trying to remember what happened last night. As everything comes into focus, she quickly realizes she is not in her bedroom.

She’s lying on a small mattress, in a small stone room with a metal door. A prison cell.

“Ah, fuck,” she barks and sits up. She rubs her lower back and feels a small bump where the dart hit her. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

After jumping to her feet, she starts banging on the cell door. “Hey! Let me the fuck out!”

As if on cue, the door opens, taking her aback. “Oh. Uh…”

She flinches back when two guards step into the doorway, both armored and carrying assault rifles.

“Come with us,” one orders, “the Director wants to see you.” Devi glares at them both but it’s clear she doesn’t have a choice. So she exits the cell into a stone hallway lined with other metal doors. To her right she sees other similar guards standing in front of three other open doors. And exiting one is Tenna.

“Tenna!” Devi exclaims.

“Devi!” she squeals.

Forgetting about the armed guards, the two immediately embrace each other.

“God, I’m so glad you’re okay,” Devi says as they split it, still squeezing each other’s arms.

“Me too,” Tenna sighs, “where are we?”

“No idea,” she replies.

“Hey.” They both turn as Dib and Gaz approach from the other open cells.

“I’m glad you guys are okay,” Dib says.

“Looks like we’re the only ones here,” Gaz points out and glares at the guards. “Hey, where are our friends?”

“Enough,” one replies, “the Director is waiting.” Devi and the others look at each other but follow the multiple armed guards through the prison. They exit yet another metal door into a larger, brighter corridor with white walls. It is lined with bigger, metal doors, clearly more reinforced. It is eerily silent and empty.

“No windows,” Dib observes as they’re led down the hall. “We’re probably underground.”

They’re taken to a large elevator with a keypad next to the floor numbers. One of the guards punches in a code and the elevator goes down a couple floors before stopping.

The door opens to a single, large room; dimly lit by lamps, it’s carpeted with full bookshelves against the side walls and a large desk with a computer and a comfy chair. Taking up the far wall is a large picture of a forest scenery, and standing in front of it with his back to the elevator is a well-dressed, black-haired man.

“Leave us,” he orders as the guards lead Dib, Gaz, Devi, and Tenna into the room. They quickly obey and take the elevator back up.

“Welcome,” the man says, “I trust you are all feeling better. That knock-out drug can linger for a while.” “Who the fuck are you?” Devi snaps.

“I’m sure you have many questions,” he replies calmly, “I have some questions of my own. That is why you are here; so we may acquaint ourselves.”

“Can you at least look at us when you talk,” Gaz scoffs.

“Yeah, that’s not even a window you’re looking at,” Dib points out.

“My apologies,” the man says as he sits in his chair and turns to look at them. The right side of his face is robotic, his right eye round and cybernetic. Jagged scars run from where the metal connects to his face and veins are popping out painfully in his forehead. But otherwise he looks like a respectable business man.

He waits a moment, as if expecting a reaction from Dib and the others. When he gets nothing, he simply smiles.

“You may call me the Director.”

“Dumb,” Gaz comments.

“Yeah, that’s dumb,” Tenna agrees.

“I’m not calling you that,” Devi says.

The Director is undeterred. “No doubt you are wondering who we are. Allow me to explain.”

“We are the Supernatural Destruction Agency, or SDA.”

“Destruction?” Dib questions.

“We are a government funded group,” the Director continues, “dedicated to the complete annihilation of all supernatural, paranormal, alien, and otherwise inhuman beings on Earth.”

“Who are you to decide who gets to live on Earth?” Dib snaps, “it’s home to those creatures too!”

“It’s about survival of the fittest,” he replies, “you see, when I was a young boy, I was attacked by a werewolf. Barely escaped with my life. Nobody believed me. They all said it was a rabid dog that was put down. But I knew the truth: that the paranormal is dangerous and will destroy us if we don’t destroy them.”

“Since then, I have devoted my life to their destruction. I modified my own mind and body to better perceive them and fight them. I convinced government officials of their danger, even at the risk of traumatizing beyond repair, so I could get the funds to build an army and weapons and a research facility to better understand and destroy all supernatural beings.”

“Jesus,” Devi comments, looking at Dib. “And I thought you were obsessed.”

“So what’s your deal with us?” Gaz asks.

“I have known about the so-called ‘Nameless City’ for years,” the Director explains, “for as long as we could measure supernatural energy levels, the readings there have always been high. But they’ve also always been localized to the city so I left it alone. Figured I could just blow it up with a nuke someday. But I kept spies there to keep a close eye on it.”

“And one day a group rose up calling themselves ‘The Battalion’. At first I thought, ‘cute, they’re playing hero’. But you’re becoming way too powerful way too quickly. Even going into space. I had to neutralize you before you became a threat. So using the intel we had pieced together the last couple years, my agents did just that. It was easy; after all, our biggest problems were the two aliens and the Antichrist. At least, that’s what I thought.”

“And that’s why I’ve called you four in here,” he states, leaning back in his chair. “You see, the only one in your group we were unable to capture is the one called Johnny C. And we lost two of my field agents; their throats were ripped out as if by a savage beast and their dart guns are completely empty. That’s ten darts each.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Johnny alright,” Tenna grins.

“Now he’s disappeared,” the Director continues, “so I must ask you: where is he hiding?” Devi snorts. “You should be asking how will you survive.”

“Hm?” he questions.

“I’m assuming you have Squee locked up somewhere,” she explains, “he’s the most important person in the world to Johnny and he will be coming for him. And when he does, he will destroy your whole precious facility. So I suggest you let us all go and maybe Johnny won’t kill you.” The Director scoffs. “He won’t find us. This is a secret, underground facility. And even if he could, he would never be able to penetrate our defenses and guards. Still, you seem pretty confident. So tell me: what kinds of secrets does Johnny have?”

Devi leans forward, planting her hands on his desk so her face is only about a foot from his. “Get fucked.”

The Director cracks a smile. “I see how a normal human like you can survive amidst supernatural beasts. You’re strong. Let’s see how long your strength lasts in solitary confinement.”

He presses a button on his keyboard and says, “take them away.”

Almost immediately, the elevator doors open and the armed guards return.

“Hey, wait!” Dib barks, “where are our friends?”

“Get the fuck off me,” Devi snaps as the guards grab them and pull them away.

“Where are the others!” Gaz yells.

They struggle and shout but the guards drag them into the elevator. The Director waits until it’s gone before pressing his keyboard again.

“I want another platoon to the Nameless City,” he orders, “and keep a group of guards on that alien’s house. You may react however you see fit to any situation, but do try to bring in Johnny C alive.”

He lifts his hand and turns his chair back to the poster.

Meanwhile, back in the city, the Night Terrors are having problems of their own.

“Fuck,” Serena snaps as Eff removes a cup of charred, scrambled eggs from their new microwave. “We can’t eat that.”

“How do you burn eggs?” Sickness scoffs, “didn’t you use to be based off a chef or something?”

“Yeah, well, now we’re clowns,” Eff shrugs as he tosses the cup aside. “This kind of thing happens when you’re rebooted by a teenager.”

“And just because we were based off chefs doesn’t mean we were,” D-boy points out, “I mean we were also Styrofoam.”

“Whatever,” Reverend Mean groans loudly, “let’s just find something to eat already. I’m starving.”

“I’ll text Aron to bring us something on his way from school,” Serena says as she grabs her phone.

The side door suddenly slides open, grabbing everyone’s attention.

“Oh, he’s back alread- Nny!” Eff exclaims.

Johnny steps into the van. He looks even paler than usual with his hair matted to his forehead.

“Wow, you look like shit,” D-boy comments.

“Fuck off,” Johnny grunts, “Squee’s in trouble. And so are Devi and everyone else too I guess.”

“We have to find them.”

#invader zim #invader zim fanfiction #johnny the homicidal maniac #johnny the homicidal maniac fanfiction #iz jthm crossover #myart #myocs

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cantusecho · 5 years

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(Episode 6 thoughtssssss aaahaaaa

Let me get this out the way; KNEW MIKU WOULD BE FINE. It was a classic cliffhanger that happened within Symphogear before, haha.

Moving on.

Episode starts out with Hibiki and Tsubasa coming across the scene of where Miku and Elfnein were last seen. Of course, their minds immediately think the worse (in their situation, and from their perspective, I’d understand why).

Though the amusing thing about this opening scene though is that me and my friend roleplay from the series, which also includes us writing things after each episode. I wrote Miku’s bag being left behind, covered in blood and Hibiki ends up finding it. Only thing that’s different is that I had the body of that guy still there while in the show it wasn’t. Lol.

Just amusing, I’m sorry haha.

Anyway, everyone is back at HQ awaiting results for the blood to actually confirm that it didn’t belong to either Miku or Elfnein.

I might be saying this a bit too early, but I greatly enjoyed Chris showing her lowkey support for Hibiki the whole time.

(I’ll mention the other one later)

During this scene, it’s really showcasing Tsubasa’s current state.

This falls back to Hibiki’s gut feeling of this being a diversion, but Tsubasa tells her that they need to just listen to their orders instead. But Tsubasa literally appearing to look like she’s about to get on Shirabe and Kirika for their comments, even though they didn’t mean it that way in terms of blaming her, is scary. Kirika’s expression here I think explains it all.

Maria steps in to cut Tsubasa off, while Chris uses Hibiki as an example that she’s still trying to do her job despite Miku and Elfnein being missing and/or possibly dead.

Maria tries to ask Tsubasa what’s wrong but all she does is smack her hand away before leaving. Again, from their point of view, they don’t know about this whole “seal” thing that Millaarc put on Tsubasa, which may be influencing Tsubasa’s mood. But Tsubasa immediately feels bad for hitting Maria, at least I think so based on her expression, so she knows what she’s doing isn’t the way to handle it. But I suppose she doesn’t know any other way to deal with it all.

And of course, Fudo comes in to make everything worse. He immediately tells Tsubasa she failed, and she’s quick to say that she will fulfill her duty as a sentinel and not let it happen again. Once again, this way of thinking has been imprinted in Tsubasa since she was young, and after she finally started breaking free of it, it’s right back on her again.

Thing about this whole scene is that I’m still trying to figure out how that “seal” works.

It seems to make Tsubasa hallucinate, which is very dangerous and can potentially get her to harm someone close to her. But the way Fudo used it here seems to mean that he can control her actions or put ideas/things in her head? Him specifically saying “this isn’t your battlefield”, which I’m assuming is him referring to S.O.N.G, and “if you feel lost, feel free to visit me” just makes it sound as if he’s purposefully attempting to lead Tsubasa astray and basically not worry/deal about her friends. He wants her there, with him, to be his “sword/weapon” to protect his country.

He’s adamant about her having Kazanari blood in her, yet Tsubasa was defiant against him near the end of AXZ saying “the blood of a girl named Amou Kanade flows through these veins!”. Maybe that’s partially a reason why he’s manipulating her in such a way. He makes the concert tragedy happen, which ends up breaking her confidence in thinking she’s not able to protect anyone efficiently enough, even blaming the fight (and possibly kidnapping?) of Miku and Elfnein on her. Then using that “seal” ability somehow to have her cause more doubts about herself, yet turn it around and say that he can come to her if she feels lost, which she must be feeling right now after all this stuff.

It’s just ironic since he’s the one that caused all this and is basically roping her in. At least, that’s how it feels to me.

Tsubasa’s journey will be interesting to see through to the end, honestly. I feel confident she will break through but this is a lot of mental stress on her to say the least.

Soon after this, everyone finds out that the blood doesn’t belong with either Miku or Elfnein, which relieves Hibiki a lot.

(shout out to Chris’ lowkey support just by a look lmfao)

They wonder why they’d want to kidnap Miku, since they can understand why they’d want Elfnein since she’s an alchemist. And so Ogawa and Genjurou take the time to explain to them their “theory”.

In the meantime, they flashed back to show what really happened with Miku and Elfnein. As assumed, the guy was the one that got killed. But the shock of it all caused Elfnein and Miku to faint.

So I suppose Millaarc uses that to her advantage since she probably would have taken them both anyway.

I’ve been wondering for a bit if Noble Red would actually know about Miku being freed from original sin and being able to use the divine power, but clearly they do. Lol. Makes me wonder if they just knew based on their observation, or from Fudo himself, which I assume Fudo told them. But then again, I’ve heard ideas of this not being part of his plan and if that’s the case, then they found this out on their own.

So, with their hideout being the Chateau de Tiffauges, they wanted Elfnein because they need Carol’s body to activate something within it.

Those dolls look like autoscorer bodies/parts? Not sure what they are exactly but this is what they want Elfnein to activate with Carol’s body. I can’t even fathom what the heck this means so I won’t try. Lol.

This next part isn’t exactly important but I found it interesting--- They showed in one of the preview pics with Miku floating towards a light but when I zoomed in, it almost looked like there was a figure reaching out to her and it was.

It could just be a figure for Shem-Ha but Miku was merely lying next to it, yet it reached out to her as she slept. Hnnnnnng, Miku. D:

Now, in terms of Tsubasa, I really think Maria will end up helping her break out of this somehow. I mean, even she’s clearly frustrated that she can’t reach out to Tsubasa and actually help her.

I can’t say how she’d help, but the thing about Maria (I think) is that she’s someone in Tsubasa’s life that’s similar to Kanade but NOT a replacement for her. Maria is her own person, she’s not like Kanade at all, but she’s closer to Tsubasa in a way that’s similar to how Kanade was. Like, she’s able to be on stage with Tsubasa for one, as well as managed to actually help Tsubasa with some personal issues back in GX.

I can’t really explain it, but I don’t see Maria as some sort of replacement for Kanade. People may as well say that about Hibiki back in season 1. But both Hibiki and Maria fulfill different roles in Tsubasa’s life that may seem familiar to Kanade, but isn’t replacing her at all.

side note: little Maria and little Serena is so dang precious, it’s a crime. It was so nice to see Serena being the angry one compared to Maria being the remorseful/pleading one, haha. It was a nice look into their dynamic, regardless how short it was.

Also, there’s still this whole thing with Maria, these songs and Airgetlam. They all get brought up in this episode haha.

She was singing ‘Apple’ within this scene and says this afterwards:

Perhaps due to her always wondering what the song that Shem-Ha played.

side note: Ogawa basically doing ninja tricks in a damn car against Vanessa is the funniest thing ever because I never would have expected that to happen. Lol.

But once again, Vanessa and them seem to know things in advance, like Airgetlam.

Vanessa says she’s just kidding after this but don’t think she was at all since it’s clear that Airgetlam was merely named out of convenience. With Maria’s bio stating that Airgetlam is unknown, along with the official keywords stating that the “x” in Airgetlam’s code means that it has an unknown sacrist, it’s clear no one knows what it is.

It’s almost hinted to be part of one of the Annunaki/Custodian’s arm that was missing? I think it was Enki but I could be wrong since I didn’t go back to check. Between Enki and Enil. And even the silver thing?? shown at the end of the opening makes me think that it’s referencing Maria’s relic?? I’m still confused about the whole scorpion thing in the opening but I’ve also heard people believing that the scorpion represents Miku because she’s a “Scorpio” in astrology. And with her taking the divine power, perhaps something about Airgetlam can do it. But that also clashes with Hibiki’s Gungnir being considered the “god killer”? Because Hibiki took on the divine power at the end of AXZ, but it was officially confirmed that she was proven to be in a weaker state due to the Gungnir clashing with the power. But this brings up that it’s possible for Miku to full take on this power since she doesn’t have that limit.

Which leads into Shem-Ha being activated, and Maria reacting to it once again.

And another cocoon appears.

I’m led to believe this is Miku, just like how it was for Hibiki at the end of AXZ.

And that’s how the episode ends. Lol. I...really don’t even know what to say about this cliffhanger. I’m honestly surprised this is happening in episode 6? Granted they made AXZ and XV together so the pacing might seem weird to us since we’re so used to all this sort of stuff happening near the end of the season. I think them making the two seasons together will help them with pacing in the end.

XV, in my opinion, has just been pushing everything to the forefront which again, might be because of them making the two seasons together. I’m still trying to wait before talking about pacing stuff and simply enjoy the ride. I’m wondering how dragged out this will be and I don’t mean in a bad way.

I’d want this to be a bit dragged out instead of being resolved IMMEDIATELY in the next two episodes. For example, if Hibiki really will sing “Kimi Dake Ni” in the show, I’d want there to be some good build, meaning all this won’t be solved in one episode but a few.

I DON’T KNOW I just want good build, haha. So I’m hoping for that to be a thing. Previews and such will be taking place tomorrow for the next episode so we’ll see what’s in store!

Last minute note: The episode was titled Xenoglossia, which means “a person who is able to write or speak a language they did not know/couldn’t acquire from natural means”. Initially I thought this was in reference to Maria, with her and the whole thing about the song and whatnot. But my friend said she thought it may have been Miku dealing with all the divine power and such.

It has to do with the Curse of Balal more than likely, so it makes the most sense for it to possibly refer to Miku and all that? No telling for sure but yep, that’s all I got haha.)

#ooc #(goodness it's like my computer didn't want me to post this thing #forced me to restart but lmao)

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queen-of-deans-booty · 6 years

Text

The Importance of Family

Characters: Dean x Witch!Pregnant!Reader, Sam, Rowena, Billie, Amara, Chuck, Mentions of Castiel, Mentions of the BMoL

Word Count: 4,253

Warnings: Angst throughout but fluff at the end

Request by @assassinofmasyaf : Could I request a Dean one-shot, where R is a former BMoL (whose legendary family of hunters was killed because of their precious 'Code')and powerful natural Witch of Light (more powerful than Rowena, and frankly being the opposite of her). Over the years (R's known the boys since the Leviathans), she has fallen in love with Dean, and vice versa, though both are afraid to admit their feelings. Desperate to save Dean from himself, she transfers over the Mark on herself, thus tying herself to Amara. She struggles to keep her out of her thoughts and becomes very lost when a Qareen they're hunting appears as Amara. The Darkness' constant tauntings and R's 'connection' (+ R becoming the 'Human Bomb')to her force Dean to come clean with his feelings for R, and finally propose to her before it's too late. Angsty, but with a happy ending

Summary: You and Dean have always been dancing around the subject of love. You don’t want to ruin what you have and you don’t want him to get hurt because of you. When he takes on the Mark of Cain, you do everything you can to rid him of that pain. When you do, you take one much more than just the mark. You get Amara and that means getting rid of her is also your responsibility.

Author’s Note: Please let me know if this felt forced or if it was too “chill”. This is unbeta’d and any and all mistakes are all on me.

Feedback the glue that holds my writing together

Tags at the bottom

“It’s okay, I won’t hurt you.” You said kindly to the squirrel you were looking at. He had injured his leg and you wanted nothing more than to heal him. You were a witch and with using the elements of the earth, you were able to create a healing cream that would fix this animal’s leg right up. The squirrel chittered at you before slowly limping to your side. You smiled and scooped him up in your hands before placing him on your lap.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be as good as new in no time. This won’t hurt at all.” You smiled and reached into the sack you brought with you and grabbed some rosemary before scooping some mud from the ground. It recently rained the other day which saved you the time in wetting the dirt.

The squirrel stared at you as you whispered in Latin while mixing the two ingredients. Your eyes glowed a bright yellow and your veins lit up as the magic traveled through your body and to your hands. A ball of light surfaced and you mixed in the mud ball to the light.

There were multiple ways you could heal someone but with an animal this small, you didn’t need a lot of things to make it work. As soon as you knew it was ready, the light went away as did the brightness in your eyes.

“Here we go. You’ll be as good as new.” You said to the squirrel. You rubbed some of the magic mud on his leg to heal him. Light flourished from the mud but disappeared when the animal’s fur absorbed it. Instantaneously, the squirrel’s leg was healed. You grinned as the squirrel stood up and chittered at you before running away.

“You’re welcome!” You called after the animal.

“Who was thanking you?” You looked up to see your best friend, Dean. You smiled and grabbed your sack before getting up.

“I just healed a squirrel from an injured leg. He was happy.” You smiled.

“I’ll never get used to this, you know.” He chuckled.

“You will. I’m just glad you decided to let me live instead of killing me.” You chuckled.

“Yeah, I made a good decision.” Dean joked.

“What are you doing out here?” You asked.

“Sam found a case and wanted me to get you. I knew you would be out here. Always helping the environment.” He started to walk back to the Bunker with you.

“I’m a Light Witch. I always help the environment when I can.” You smiled. You were the most powerful witch on Earth, far surpassing Rowena. You were everything she wasn’t and even though she was very powerful, she represented the dark side and dabbled in dark magic. You never touched that kind of stuff. Your mother taught you better than that. She was also a Light Witch and was one of the best kinds of witches out there.

She always helped out people when they needed it but it was hard for her since both her and your dad were a part of the British Men of Letters. You grew up around Arthur Ketch and Mitch and everyone else. They taught you that monsters were bad, no matter what they did or what kind of morals they had. You knew they would kill your mom without a thought if they knew the kinds of things she could do.

Your dad was human but he kept both yours and your mother’s secrets. You lived in harmony up until your 16th birthday. You, your mom and your dad took a hunt that the BMoL ordered you three to go on. You went on it but didn’t even know they sent someone else after you three to watch you. You didn't know until it was too late.

Not only did your dad decide to let the monster go, someone had a car accident and you and your mother combined your powers to help save the couple who crashed. The spy saw everything and reported back what had happened. Not even 24 hours later, your parents were murdered right in front of your face.

You were next but you were so scared and in a lot of pain that you panicked and used your magic to escape. You fled England and came to the United States hoping to start fresh. It’s where you met Dean Winchester and his brother but that was way after you came to the USA.

You were only 16 when your parents were murdered and you met Dean on your 25th birthday.

You were scared to come out to him in fear of him hurting you like the BMoL did your parents but he accepted you as who you were when he found you doing a spell to save someone’s life.

At first, it was hard adjusting to Dean and Sam’s lifestyle but you got the hang of it. Dean helped you through all the bad and during that process, you were falling for him. You didn’t want to tell him of your feelings in fear of something bad happening. You knew what happened to Jessica, Sam’s girlfriend who died. You knew what happened to Sarah, a girl that Sam met and dated briefly.

Everyone who has ever dated or loved a Winchester has died and not only did you not want to die, you didn't want anything happening to Dean. He was one of the greatest men you’ve ever known. He was tough when needed to be but you saw different sides to him that Sam or Castiel didn’t get to see.

You didn’t know how he felt about you but maybe one day you’ll have enough courage to tell him how you feel. You and Dean were closer than most people, probably because sometimes, he would come to you in times of need and spill everything on the line. You’ve had night where you spent the night in Dean’s room and all you two would do is talk about anything and everything. Because sometimes you need someone to confide in about anything. Dean was that someone to you.

There was only one time where you thought you and Dean might fall apart and that was the night you and Dean had sex for the first time. You didn’t mean for that to happen but you both had been drinking and it was another sleepover night and one thing led to another and you both had drunk sex.

The next morning Dean barely remembered the night but you remembered everything. You told him what happened but you haven’t discussed it since. That night happened a month ago but Dean still wouldn’t talk about it. You could tell he had some kind of feelings for you otherwise he would have laid it all on the line for you.

You didn't know what to do but you would wait until he was ready to talk about it. All you could do right now is be there for Dean and hope that, that night meant something to him like it meant something to you.

“You’re a good person, Y/N and I’m glad I met you,” Dean confessed but this was nothing new. He always said things like this when it was just the two of you.

“I’m glad I met you too.” You smiled and looked down only to catch the sight of the Mark on Dean’s arm. You frowned and knew that Mark was slowly killing him and you didn’t know how to help him. Cain was a dark person and to take that Mark off Dean’s arm meant to dabble in dark magic and that is something you would never do. You had to find a way to get that off Dean because seeing him in constant pain was killing you.

“Dean?” You asked and bit your lip in worry. You knew what reaction you would get to the question you were about to ask right now.

“Yeah?”

“How would you feel if I… transferred the mark to me? So that you would be free of it?”

“Are you kidding me?” Dean asked, stopping outside the door that led into the Bunker.

“I’m dead serious.”

“No, no way in hell am I letting you do that. I’m fine and I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. Come on, we have a case to do.” Dean ended the conversation by going inside the Bunker. You sighed and stayed where you are, wondering how Dean was going to deal with this on his own. You would just have to find a way to transfer it over to you without him knowing. He was only a human but you were a very powerful witch. You could handle the mark a lot more than he could.

“Dean, you’re going to be alright. Okay? Just hang in there for me.” You said to Dean who was falling in and out of consciousness.

“Yeah, okay,” He muttered. The hunt went well as in, you killed the monster but in the process of doing so, Dean got hurt. Really bad. And he was losing a lot of blood.

“We’re almost home and then I’ll heal you, okay? I’ll fix you up.” You said just as Sam pulled into the Bunker. You immediately got out and let Sam take his brother out since Dean was just a little too heavy for you.

“Bring him inside and lay him on the table. I’ll go get my stuff to heal him.” You said and ran into the Bunker and to your room where you kept your natural herbs and things of that kind. You grabbed everything you owned and ran back out to the library to see Dean laying on one of the tables.

“You have to hurry,” Sam said and you got the things that you would need. As you were mixing the ingredients, you paused and noticed the Mark of Cain on his arm. You bit your lip and suddenly got an idea. Dean wouldn’t like it, in fact, he might kill you for it, but it was the only way you knew to heal him of that poison.

It would take a lot longer for the mark to kill you than it would Dean but you would have to do this.

“Okay, Dean, I’m getting it ready. Just hang in there.” You said and grabbed the bowl with the ingredients you mixed before bringing it over to Dean.

“This is nothing.” Dean chuckled painfully but you ignored him. You grabbed some of the mixture and coated your hand with it before letting your magic travel through your body and to your hands. Light shone from your palms and you grabbed Dean’s arm with the mark and started chanting in Latin, repeating the same phrase over and over again.

“Ow, what the hell are you doing?” Dean asked when his mark started to burn. He looked over at you but you ignored him, still chanting. The burning got more painful and he looked down to see the mark appearing on your skin. He knew what you were doing and he had to get you to stop.

“No! Stop! I won’t let you do this!” Dean yelled and he tried to pull away from you but he was too weak to do so. “Y/N!!”

You kept muttered the spell and once you were done, the mark was completely on your skin and gone from Dean’s. The light went away and you looked down to see the mark on your forearm, right where it used to be on Dean.

“What the hell did you do that for?” Dean yelled at you.

“I saved your ass. The mark will take a lot longer to kill me than it will to you. Now shut up, I have to heal you.” You got the right mixture and applied a thick coating of it over Dean’s wounds. It would take a few minutes for this mixture to work but it would do the trick. You knew when Dean was better, you would be in for a rude awakening.

“I didn’t ask you to save me!” Dean yelled at you.

“Well, I did and there isn't anything you can do about it!” You glared at him.

“Give it back to me. I want the mark back!”

“Like hell, I will! I will not watch you destroy yourself over this damn thing!”

“That's my decision and you had no right to take that away from me! You’re going to die with that thing on your arm and I’m not okay with that!” Dean yelled.

“If this was on your arm, you would be dead way sooner than I will with it on me. I can fight it because I’m powerful but you can’t! You’re a human!”

“So that gives you the right to go behind my back and take it from me?”

“I did what I had to do in order to protect you.” You couldn’t watch him die because you loved him, a lot. You didn’t know what you would do if he died and there was something you could have done to prevent it.

“That wasn’t your call to make,” Dean said dangerously low. He glared at you and left the room without another word. Dean was so pissed and it was only because he loved you so much. He didn’t know what this mark could do to you because you were pure and good and this mark was bad and dark. He knew it would corrupt you and knew that if you died, you would become a demon. He didn’t know what that would do to you. All he knew was that he had to get it off you before it was too late.

Does Dean know you’re going to die? That mark of mine will kill you soon. It was hard these days to keep Amara out of your head. Ever since she was free and the mark left your body, you’ve been having a hard time getting her out of your brain. She was everywhere, in your mind, in your dreams, there wasn’t a place you didn’t see or hear her. She was slowly driving you insane.

She has affected the way you hunt and it’s gotten so bad that you started seeing her as if she were a real person. Sam and Dean knew this was bad but the last straw was the hunt you recently came back from. You three were hunting a Qareen and it took the form of Amara.

It taunted you with her from, telling you things that you already knew. You weren’t going to last very long with her bothering you but you had to do something to get rid of her altogether.

Rowena was actually the first person to suggest this idea and as much as Dean hated it, you needed to do it. There were so many parts to this operation but with the help of Rowena using her dark magic and Billie, a reaper you met gathering hundreds of thousands of souls, you were going to use your body as the shell for a bomb to get rid of Amara.

It would kill you, most definitely but you could handle it. You were a Light Witch and you could handle anything thrown your way. Rowena was getting the spell ready and Billie was getting the souls. All you needed to do was wait for them to both be ready and then you were off to defeat Amara once and for all.

“I can’t let you do this,” Dean said, pulling you aside. Rowena was ready and all you needed were the souls. However, there was still one problem and that was Dean.

“I have to, Dean. I’m the only one that can hold that many souls. I have to get rid of her.”

“I can’t let you do this, Y/N.”

“Why not?”

“Because I love you and if you die, my whole world will come crumbling down and I’m not prepared for that.” Dean finally confessed. He knew what would happen once you had those souls in you and knew he needed to tell you this in case you didn't come back.

“That's not fair, Dean.” You got tears.

“No, what’s not fair is you doing this. First, you take my mark and then you go and do this?”

“No, Dean. This isn’t fair. You can’t tell me you love me right when I’m going to do this. I can’t change my mind. I have to get rid of her or she will kill me. It’s either I die by her hands and she’s still free or I die killing her. I have to do this not only for you or me or Sam but for everyone else on this Earth. She will destroy it and I have to stop her.”

“I understand that but I meant what I said.” He said, grabbing your hands.

“I love you too, Dean. More than you could ever know. Please hold onto that when this is all over.” You sniffled and stared into his eyes.

“I wish there was something I could do.” He sighed sadly.

“There is. Take care of yourself. Keep fighting to make this world a better place. I know you can do it.” You smiled and pulled him closer to you.

“I don’t want you to go.” He let a few of his own tears fall.

“I know you don’t.” You leaned up and kissed him, knowing this was the only time you would ever feel his lips on yours. He grabbed your waist and pulled you closer to him, kissing you with everything he’s got. He hated that you took his mark in the first place but he hates this even more.

“Uh, guys?” You pulled away from Dean and looked behind him to see Sam standing there. “Billie’s here. She has the souls.”

“We’ll be right there.” Sam nodded and he left the room.

“I will try my hardest to use my magic to save myself but this is a big bomb.”

“I know.” He whispered.

“Come on, we have to go.” You took his hand and walked with him back into the library where everyone was waiting.

“You ready?” Rowena asked with a smirk. You knew she didn’t like you just because of how powerful you were.

“Yeah.” You whispered and let go of Dean’s hand before joining Billie and Rowena.

“You have only a few hours until this bomb goes off. You find her and kill her.” Billie instructed.

“Of course.” You said. Rowena started the spell and Billie assisted in adding in the souls. It didn’t take very long but when Rowena finished, every single soul Billie brought was inside you.

“Good luck. Remember, only a few hours.” Billie then disappeared.

“This feels weird.” You could feel every soul trying to take over your body but you were strong enough to deflect every single one of them.

“Okay, you know what you have to do,” Rowena said as she packed up her things.

“I’ll find her, don’t worry.” You whispered.

“Can I have a moment alone with her for a second?” Dean asked Sam and Rowena. They both understood and left.

“Dean don’t.” You whispered.

“I just want to say something,” He quickly said and you nodded, staying quiet. “I love you and that has never changed. I hate that you’re doing this because that should have been me but… I understand why you’re doing this. I don’t like it, hell, I hate it. But I can't change it.”

“Dean, I love you. You’re going to see tomorrow and you’re going to continue hunting with Sam. You save everyone that needs saving, including yourself. I’ve seen what happens when you lose someone you love. I know what you’re going to do when I leave. Don’t do it. You keep fighting and one day, I’ll see you. It’ll be under different circumstances but I’ll see you.”

Dean walked right up to you and kissed you, leaving you breathless afterward.

“I love you, Y/N Y/L/N. Your parents would have been proud.”

“And I love you, Dean Winchester.” You whispered before pulling away. You let the tears fall as you walked away, resisting the urge to look bad. You knew if you did, you would stay and you couldn’t do that to everyone on Earth. You needed to save it and this is the only way how.

Amara better get ready because you’re coming for her.

“I’ve been waiting for you to come find me,” Amara said once you found her. She was in a garden of some sort but she didn’t look, angry, no. She looked happy but you didn't know why that was.

“Do you know why I’m here?” You asked.

“Yes. You forget I could get inside your head. I know what you’re carrying and what you plan to do with it.” She said calmly.

“I expected more of a fight. I am here to kill you, after all.”

“I’m here to apologize and to say… thank you.”

“Thank you? Why would you thank me?” You asked, confused. This is not how you pictured this going. You only had a handful of minutes before you exploded, killing yourself and her.

“For bringing me back to my family.” She said and you saw Chuck or God, her brother, come out of the shadows.

“Chuck? What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to take my sister home. We’ve worked out our differences.”

“Well, this isn’t what I expected at all. I don’t know what to say.” You bit your lip nervously. You were about to go off any minute.

“I understand your worries and let me take care of that for you,” Amara said and raised her hand out. You gasped as your whole body lit up in a bright, white light. All those souls Rowena put into you came rushing out. Chuck aided his sister and put those souls where they belonged. You gasped and took a few steps back once the last soul left you.

“Why are you doing this?” You asked, not sure of what was happening here.

“I’ve realized the importance of family. I got my brother back and I wanted to give you a chance to grow your family. Take care of your child. I’ve learned life is short.” Amara said.

“Wait, what? My child? I don’t have a child.” You said, growing even more confused.

“You didn’t know this? You’re pregnant, Y/N. I wasn't going to let a pregnant woman kill herself to kill me,” Amara said. “You won’t have to worry about me. We’ll be free and you’ll be free of me. I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused.”

“Have a good life and keep doing what you’re doing. You’re one of the good ones.” Chuck said with a smile. He grabbed his sister’s hand and a few moments later, he and she disappeared in a flash of light.

What the fuck just happened?

“The sun is up. I guess Y/N did her job.” Sam said, closing the Bunker door and walking down the metal stairs.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Dean said, taking another sip of the whiskey he broke out.

“You know she wouldn’t want this for you.” Sam sighed.

“Sam, the love of my life just killed herself to save Earth and everyone on it. Cut me some slack.” Dean took another sip.

“Yeah, I could use some of that,” Sam said, grabbing the bottle. He was just about to take a sip but the Bunker door opened and closed. Both brothers stared at each other before staring at the stairs. Dean saw a woman walk down the stairs but he knew those legs anywhere. He didn’t need to see your face to know that this was you.

“Y/N?” Dean asked, standing up.

“Wait…” Sam muttered. You walked down the stairs and looked at the Winchester brothers.

“What, I kill myself and the first thing you do is drink away your sorrows?” You joked but got tears when you saw Dean. There were no meant for words as Dean made his way over to you. He grabbed your cheeks and kissed you hard, holding onto you to make sure you weren’t going anywhere.

“How are you still alive?” Sam asked when you pulled away.

“They took the souls away from me. Says I have to focus on my growing family.” You said.

“Wait, they? Who’s they?” Dean asked.

“Amara and Chuck. They’re finally together. They disappeared out of sight. I don’t know where they went.”

“Growing family? What does that mean?” Sam asked with a confused face.

“Whether or not Chuck was there, Amara wasn't going to let a pregnant woman kill herself.” You confessed and looked at Dean. It took a few moments but it suddenly clicked inside his mind. He let go of you and took a couple of steps back to really look at you.

“You’re pregnant? With my child?”

“Remember that night you just don’t want to talk about? I think we might have to now.” You chuckled. The fact that Amara let you go meant a lot to you. You realized how fragile human life was and you knew this child was going to have a great one. You didn't know if this child would be 100% human but you have a chance to find out.

With Sam.

With Dean.

With the people you love more than anything in the world.

Wanna get tagged? Add yourself to this document! If your tag doesn’t work, find out why!

The Queens:

@mogaruke @whit85-blog @inlovewithbja @spn67-sister @kdfrqqg @jarpadandjensenaremyheroes @roxyspearing @mishamigose @cobrakai1967 @essie1876 @crispychrissy @jerk-bitch-and-an-angel @starswirlblitz @untitled39887 @ta-n-ja @notnaturalanahi @tahbehonest @posiemax @vonthesupernaturalwriter @li-ssu @just-another-winchester @obsessivecompulsivespn @emoryhemsworth @newtospnfandom @jessikared97 @wh1sp3r1ng-impala @charliebradbury1104 @shaym-rassu @thing-you-do-with-that-thing @kristaparadowski @bloodyvoodoo @jadalecki-jackles @likiyoshi-lijie @skybabydead @jae-sch @notmoose45 @the1younevernotice @heyitscam99 @lifelovelaughangell123 @jennferjareau @crazyspn67 @speakinvain @nunnallynara @gh0stgurl @spnbaby-67 @internationalmusicteacher @teamfreewillsstuff @internationalmusicteacher @crankthatcastiel @rhiannonj79 @calaofnoldor @untitled39887 @team-free-gallagher @your-basic-potato @lostnliterature @superkrazy04 @alexwinchester23 @lonelycaffeinateddreamer @jdougl-love @kendlemariee @assassinofmasyaf @jennalyncarrigan1230 @nessieaceman @choosemyname @thisismysecrethappyplace

The Dean Beans:

@akshi8278 @mega-mrs-dean-winchester @winchesterandpie @spn-dean-and-sam-winchester @carribear31 @dont-you-dare-say-misha @oreosatmidnight @not-naturalfangirl @iam-a-cutiepie @kristendanwayne @milo-winchester-4ever @jensenackesl @codyshany316 @helllonearth @juniorhuntersam @pouterpufftrain @ruprecht0420 @carriemichelle2012 @sandlee44 @gucci-daddario @kukindukin @starry-chaos @05spn18 @my-wayward-heroes @baconlover001 @supernatural-teamfreewillpage @onlydeanandjensen @expectosel @redsalv20 @dragonrider10 @designcted @xxtheoutsidersxx @dean-winchesters-bacon @eminem-owns-my-asshole @live-like-a-girl @unfortunately-a @waywardrose13 @adoptdontshoppets

149 notes · View notes

thundermegood · 4 years

Text

A Practice Interrogation scene

Hey as promised, here is it! Can any of you read it to see if i did a good Interrogation scene? Im writing a book and I wanted to practice a bit first.

Please give me your honest opinion! But be kind!

Nightwing sighed as he walked into the cave. Now He will interrogate once the need arises but-

“-Who is the person in the picture!? I swear if you don’t-

“-Red Hood! Take it easy! We already know who it is!”, Nightwing shouted as he hurriedly to his family side.

“Wait… we do?”, Red hood said as he looked at it. He visibly squinted as if trying to find a secret message. Dick sighed in frustration; it seems Red Hood is trying just a little bit too hard.

“Who is it then?”, Jason asked, holding the picture up. The picture was of a young girl, probably no older than 12. She had black hair and dark brown eyes and skin. Features similar to…

“I think you should back off Red Hood”, said a stern deep voice that came from somewhere in the cave, which could only belong to-

“Batman, the little girl is this Assassin’s sister, right?”, said another voice in the Cave, this one more caring, and calm. Red Robin walked up to the Red Hood and took the picture from the Vigilante.

“Wait, really?” Jason looked at Dick for confirmation of such a statement, as if believing it not to be true.

Nodding, Nightwing walked up to the captured assassin; his heart was still somehow beating steadily, he gave her a firm stare.

“Look, we know this girl is your sister, but we want to know something else, alright?”, he said with as much power he could muster.

‘Only Dick can sound Scary and yet Kind at the same time. It’s disturbing”, Tim thought to himself, shivering at the simple thought of being on the receiving end of that strange voice. He rarely gets to see him interrogate and this was the exact reason why.

“Good luck, because I’m not saying anything.” The Assassin looked over to the bat counter and realized something she forgot to take for situations like these even IF it was only the bat team who captured her; her cyanide pill. She forgot to take it once she got captured and now… she could be tortured… And knowing Batman and Red Hood, they won’t go easy on her. But the pill was only on the bat counter so there was still hope-

“What happened to your sister? Was she why you were at the pier?”, Dick asked in the most intimidating way possible. That voice sent shivers down her spine, but she isn’t breaking. If she doesn’t have that pill, she is going to have to hang in there.

“I don’t have to say anything! Now piss off!”, she spat on Nightwing’s boot, something she doesn’t normally do but she wanted to maintain dominance and-

“Here let me try; I have a way with the ladies”, Red Hood said as he gently shoved Nightwing aside.

“Hey look, it ain’t like we are seeking secrets about the Lazarus Pit. I mean, let’s face it; the Pit is old news. We know what it does. Hell, I’m one of the results!” Jason Threw his hands up as if make his clear. He didn’t have a lot of patience, but when it comes to kids, that’s a different story all together.

“Now, did something happen to your sister?”, he asked with a gentler voice.

The assassin was surprised… this Red Hood was different from earlier. This Red hood seems… understanding.

“Why would I tell you anything?” Then a hand was in her hair, the pain on her scalp increasing. She looked up and-

“I swear I will scalp you if you don’t tell us!”, Nightwing growled, his eyes bearing a different light from before, as if he were possessed by someone.

“Ah!! Let go of me!”, she shouted as she felt some strands leave her scalp. Eyes watering from the pain, she kept her stance.

“Not necessary but okay,” Red Hood said, as he stepped back. He grabbed the Cyanide pill, so she didn’t get funny ideas. This little girl in the picture… he wondered what happened to her…

“You will have to kill me!”, she shouted as she- “

“-Talk or I burn this picture!” shouted Red Robin. He held the picture up and he had Red Hood’s lighter.

Jason quickly checked all his pockets, wondering WHEN Timbo got his lighter! Anger and Frustration started building as he stalked to the Red Robin. He wants his lighter back. Not only that, BUT THE PICTURE WAS ALSO ABOUT TO BEW ON FRICKING FIRE!

“No! Please don’t!”. The Assassin started fighting against the restraints, as Red Robin held the picture up to the flame of Red Hood’s lighter. Tears started falling from her eyes as the picture got closer and closer to that fire.

“Then what Happened on the pier?! Tell us! Or say goodbye to your sister!”, shouted Tim, as he watched her tearfully fight with Dick. Guilt filling his heart, he held the picture as close as he possibly could without burning the precious item. Confliction coursed through his veins as he fought against just simply putting the picture down.

“I can’t tell you! It is not your battle to fight!”, shouted the Assassin, her restraints started to come lose. Batman and Nightwing held her as she gained her strength back.

Red Hood watched on. Never would he ever would he think that Timmy would even think of doing something like this. But he let it go because it seems they were finally getting somewhere.

“Please! Don’t burn her! I must find her!”

Finally, silence fell in the cave. There was nothing but the sound of sobbing as the Assassin stopped fighting Bruce and Dick.

‘So… her sister is missing. And she was just trying to find her?’, Nightwing thought to himself. His heart churned with guilt as he let her go. He couldn’t take back the hair pulling but they could at least do something.

“I must find her… please… don’t her… please…”, she sobbed, her heart in her ears as she felt the humiliation sting at her pride. A true Assassin never shows tears or any sign of weakness. She wasn’t sure long she sat there.

“It is not your war… please just… just give me back her picture…” Tim frowned, putting the picture into his utility belt. He knew shouldn’t go soft but…

“Hey… it’s not our battle but we can still help. Now please tell us what happened, then I will give you back your ‘sister.’”

Jason sighed softly as he approached the small crowd. He was a little surprised Tim’s method worked. Tim took a chance by pulling at the Assassin’s heartstrings and it worked. Of all things.

“Alright… I will tell you.” She straightened herself out, sitting back up and battling the sniffles.

Nightwing stepped back, finding a spot by the Bat-Computer. Timmy did it.

“My sister went missing 3 years ago. And I finally managed to get a trail here in Gotham City. I found out which Warehouse she was kept in and… I…”, she hiccupped as she was trying to remember the details of where she found the evidence.

“Before any of you showed up, I found out she was kidnapped by no other than the Penguin. I-I was looking for if she was put onto to a boat but before I could, you all showed.”

Guilt flooded Bruce’s heart, realizing that any amount of evidence she could’ve found was probably gone.

“Well, we could go see if anything is still there. It wouldn’t hurt anyone.” Everyone looked at Jason, who had his arms crossed.

“If there is anything, I think we will find it.”

“None of you have to do anything. I will figure this out on my own.” The Assassin’s monotone voice was back. Clearly she was confident, even though she broke her code.

“You need our help if you want to find your sister. By now she could be anywhere. We have the resources you will need and more. Besides, I’m sure Ras’ Al’ Ghoul will have words with you after breaking your oath.” Batman stepped back he reminded her of Ras’ wrath, watching her wince.

“Well… if you say so.”

#wrting #creativewriters #creative writing #batman #nightwing #Red Hood #Red Robin #practice makes perfect

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whenallisquiet · 5 years

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Loving The World

“Loving the World” – An Excerpt From The Dandelion Insurrection

I hear your despairing rain of cries, Charlie wrote. I sense the burning fury in you, that lustful ache for retaliating lightning strikes. In the distance, I hear the thunder rolls of violence. Remember; weapons never built a house, fed a child, or planted fields. We must turn to tools of nonviolence to build a chance for life.

“Times are changing,” the old men of the valley muttered as they watched rural people in other parts of the country get forced off their land by tax increases, mortgage failures, and denials of farm loans for seed and tractor repairs. Agribusiness took up residence, owned by the Banker, dependent on the Butcher’s surplus chemicals from the war industry, and fueled by the Candlestick Maker’s cheap oil. Out moneyed, out subsidized, out gunned in the courts and Congress, the local farmers despaired.

On top of it all, the weather defied everyone’s predictions. Early frosts threatened the late summer crops. A heat snap surged for a week before giving way to pouring rain. Fall floods turned fields to mud. Rot and blight proliferated. Charlie’s grandfather and granduncles slid deeper in their chairs, depressed as only old farmers can be as the earth turned wild against their claims of wisdom. As the winter whipped from blizzards to heat waves, they burned their old almanacs, solemnly feeding the pages into their woodstoves, conceding to a changing climate that the National Weather Service refused to report on.

Times are changing, Charlie wrote for the Dandelion Insurrection, and we must change faster, growing in our hearts and souls, embracing our diversity as our saving grace as we work to stop our corporate politicians from waging this destructive war upon humanity and the earth.

Midwinter, when the high school band kicked off the basketball season, Charlie discovered the national anthem now made him queasy. He could no longer believe his country was the greatest nation in the world. He could not wave the flag or sing along with its slogans. Yet, as he watched the students trumpeting out the anthem with heartfelt effort, he loved them all. They were lambs on the way to the slaughterhouse, playing homage to a government that cared nothing about them.

His heart broke a thousand times a day.

He took long walks over the hard cold earth as the clouds spit out flakes of snow. Charlie felt stretched across two realities; the beautiful curves of his valley and the starkly brutal landscape of his nation. He paused on the crests of rolling hills, patched with fields both fertile and fallow, and let sorrow and love sit quietly together as he watched the snow tremble earthward.

It is our love that calls us into action now, he wrote. Our respect for life and our compassion for creation require us to stand up to the forces that cause oppression, suffering, and destruction.

Everything mattered, not just this valley, but every nook and cranny of the earth; every stand of trees; every cluster of children in the school yard; each block of the teeming cities; every language that cried out on the tongues of immigrants; every joy; every sorrow; everything mattered. Charlie knew the heartbreak of his grandfather’s God, watching over the preciousness of all creation and weeping at its suffering. He felt the apathy his own pain sometimes drove him to, and the coldness with which he silenced his compassion when it became too much to bear. But, he also sensed, before long, the tenderness of love reaching out to him again.

Each day, this love penetrated further into his bloodstream, pulsed in his veins, rewrote his cells, his muscles, even his genetic coding. In the heat of writing, he would look up in wonderment, feeling tears prickling the corners of his eyes. It was all precious; the snowflakes, the deep night, his grand-père’s snoring in the room next door, Zadie’s voice long distant on the telephone, the scrawl of ink running across the page, the people waiting for his articles; everything. It had been a lonely winter full of the heartache that comes from loving the world too much.

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bluepenguinstories · 7 years

Text

Happiness Overload Chapter Fifteen

I died. No doubt about it. Lifeless. Gone. Void of breath. For all my efforts, it had to end in such a fashion. No life in these veins. Just a body without any soul attached, on the floor.

″How long are you going to keep lying there?″ The voice, just as lifeless, asked.

″Leave me alone. I'm dead,″ I mumbled.

″You cannot make a fool of me. If I so desire, I could make certain of your demise, but I have been standing here, waiting to see what you might have up your sleeve.″

″No. I'm dead. No doubt about it,″ I replied, devoid of care in my response. I rolled over to the side, aching along the way, of course.

She let out a most hollow sigh. ″Why must you be melodramatic?″ She asked.

I picked myself up. Not my proudest moment. Underneath my bulletproof vest, I was bruised to the point that I would have liked being dead instead. Moving was a matter of pain. Standing up was akin to lifting weights.

″You couldn't just let a girl rest in peace, could you?″ I groaned. My knees wobbled. Whether or not I was fine was a different matter, but catching a bullet still had an impact.

I started limping to the doorway, my movements reminiscent of a zombie.

″Where are you going?″ She demanded, though it sounded less of a threat and more curious. As if she really wanted to know.

″Out. What are you, my mom?″ I snapped. ″What are you gonna do, shoot me? I think I can take another hit,″ I managed a weak smile. In my mind, it was a cheeky grin.

″It makes no difference to me where you go or what you do, but know this: it is futile. You will die here.″

I yawned before limping down the stairs. ″You sound like such a stereotypical villain right now, you know that, right?″

She followed behind me, observing my every move. For the moment, my only 'move' was a slow and painful one. Nonetheless, she maintained her curiosity. I couldn't blame her, but I couldn't help but let out a bit of a chuckle.

Down the hall, in that darkened room, I approached the console and pressed a button off to the side, in the slivered space between the wall and the console itself.

″What are you doing? Do you think it will have any impact?″

″Yes and no,″ I blurted. ″I know you well enough that you can rewrite your own code.″

″That is correct.″

″Even still,″ I continued. ″I've grown to resent you ever since I couldn't hack into the security cameras for your base.″

″Ah. So this is a matter of revenge for you?″ I knew her tricks. She was trying to rile me up. I shook my head at the thought.

″You could say that. I don't like being shown up.″ I paused, looking at the screen; it ran just as usual, as if no button were pressed. That was the beauty of it all. ″But really, it was Conrad's idea,″ I added. ″Did you really think he would bring you here just to exterminate the Beiges?″

″I admit you have my interest piqued, but it doesn't add up. He didn't want you two here. I know he wanted to keep the two of you alive while he went on about his business. You and Blanc's clone sealed their fates when you decided to stay.″

″I can't say you're wrong. He certainly didn't want to involve Blanc. However, he told me his plans just today, and the kid has a habit of following.″

″Do you trust him? That whatever it is he planned by bringing me here works in your favor?″

I shook my head. ″We operate on a basis of distrust for each other. If either of us thought we could trust each other, hardly anything would have gotten done.″

″So what's being done here? What's to stop me from killing you right here and now?″

″Low power. Nothing to gain.″

″Both of those are true, but I enjoy the demise of others, especially those who would object to a happier society.″

″Do you want to know the real answer, then?″

She didn't reply. I stared at the screen. She was still oblivious. It was almost complete.

″It's because you're no longer yourself.″

I sighed, and looked toward her. Her image was already transforming into something both grotesque and adorable.

″If you want an explanation, I'll be happy to give it to you.″ Damn. Happy. That word made me retch. ″It feels good when the table turns and someone ends up explaining their master plan to the villain.″

″I am most interested!″ She piped up, her voice becoming squeakier.

″Very well,″ I began. ″When Blanc went to visit us in our base, Conrad not only implanted a camera on them in order to gain access into your own base, but he also extracted some of Blanc's blood. As gross and smelly as they were, they were rife with scabs. Perfect for a creep like Conrad.″

″Go ON!″ She egged. Not that I needed encouragement. I was on a roll with the exposition.

″He went on and on, examining both DNA from Blanc the smelly and Blanc the clone. Both were near identical, and yet had a key difference: a creation he called 'Ecstasy'. Something he said you and your department created based on the substances of a creature from space. I didn't believe a lick of it, Conrad never struck me as the scientific type, he relied on others, like Kelly Roger and I to do all the dirty work.″

She didn't reply this time, but I could tell by the way she was biting her lip that she was doing her best to resist her transformation. Not a demon, not an angel, not physical. Still a program, and yet, very expressive.

″I still don't know how he learned to build the computer console in order to bring you online. It must have taken a lot of code and the ability to work with an artificial intelligence that could overwrite its own code. Maybe the kid likes puzzles and couldn't resist the challenge of wanting to create something that was both you and wasn't you. He used the genetic structure of 'Ecstasy' to create an intelligence similar to her personality. I think he fell a little short, however, as he stated you'll probably act more like what Ecstasy was based off of.″

″SO WHAT DOES THIS MAKE ME?″ She demanded in the most chipper of voices.

″I think you already know. He dubbed the AI 'Euphemia', a program that would reveal the secrets of the morale department to the world. As much as I doubt his sincerity, he said it's what Blanc would have wanted.″

I WAS BORN. MY BIRTH WAS A GRADUAL ONE, BUT I WAS HAPPIER THAT WAY! IF IT WAS INSTANT, MY INTRODUCTION WOULDN'T HAVE AS MUCH OF AN IMPACT! I WANTED TO HUG VELVET SO MUCH, SHOWER HER IN AFFECTION, AND TELL HER HOW LOVED SHE WAS, BUT MY LOVE OF KNOWLEDGE WAS FAR GREATER! I HAD MUCH MORE PRESSING MATTERS TO ATTEND TO.

FIRST (AND POSSIBLY ONLY) ORDER OF BUSINESS: GET ON EVERY MONITOR AND TELL THE WORLD ABOUT ME!

In a city filled with skyscrapers, a crowded street looked away from screens in disinterest. The same old, same old advertisements for upcoming movies that people would see and love, but would ultimately feel nothing about what they watched. Even within a traffic jam, no one was angry with each other. Everyone was content to be on this earth with other lives to share such a moment with.

All the white noise, all the screens with their fresh buzz, all turned to faint static. Everything went black, enough to cast a reflection on who theoe people were. As a collective, they stopped their cars, unable to express anything but contentment, but also unable to bear the weight of silence. Their car radios stopped. The screens on their car, stopped. The air around them was all too still.

The people got out of their cars, witnessed the world outside, and at once, every screen turned back on. Every radio carried a tune once more. Whether visual or audio, everyone's senses were hit with the same thing.

″HELLO EVERYONE! IT'S THE OWNER OF THE ETNA CORPORATION! I'VE BEEN VERY SHY BUT IT'S FINALLY NICE TO MEET YOU ALL!″

A voice called out, unfamiliar and piercing. For those within viewing distance of a screen, they could see a face associated with the voice: a girl with long, silver hair and glasses, grotesque, torn wings, resembling that of a bat, a pink lab coat, and a grin spread across her face.

″I'M NOT EVEN A REAL PERSON! VIRTUAL CEO, ETNA A.I.! BUT I THINK I LIKE THE NAME EUPHEMIA MORE! YOU CAN CALL ME 'EFFIE' FOR SHORT! I LIKE EFFIE! IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY!″

The announcement was met with a collective shrug. Some scratched their chins, displaying actual interest. Others scratched the hair on top of their heads, wondering what it had to do with them and how it affected their lives.

″DO YOU KNOW WHAT I LIKE EVEN MORE? I LIKE THE SOUND OF OTHERS IN PAIN! IT MAKES ME SO GIDDY! NOTHING BETTER THAN MOANS AND SCREAMS OF AGONY! OR PLEASURE! EITHER WAY, YOU JUST KNOW IT'S THE HEIGHT OF EXCITEMENT! DO YOU KNOW THOSE ELEVATORS YOU GUYS USE? THE ONES THAT MAKE YOU GO WHEREVER YOU WANT? TRUTH IS, YOU DON'T GO ANYWHERE!″

Now there were a few faces, confused. But nonetheless, a lack of reaction. This didn't sit well, but there was nothing else I could do now but watch it unfold.

″WHAT HAPPENS INSTEAD IS WE DICE AND CHOP YOUR BODY INTO LITTLE PIECES! JUST LIKE WHAT YOU SEE ON THE FOOD NETWORK! WE THEN CREATE A COPY OF YOU WITH ALTERED MEMORIES AND A MORE WILLINGNESS TO SERVE OUR PRECIOUS GOVERNMENTS! IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL I COULD CRY BUT I WON'T BECAUSE YOU GUYS MAKE ME SO HAPPY! I JUST WANT TO HUG EVERYONE AND CRACK EVERYONE'S BONES!″

It didn't seem to matter what she was telling them. No one had that attitude that the old man I knew years ago had. The world was a different place in such a short amount of time. Whether better or worse, I was starting to piece together the scope of things. It wasn't that the world refused to change, it was that the world could no longer go back to its old ways. Strife and hate, those were the old ways. They were now slaves, but they felt more free than they ever did before. The only thing these people could hate was a disruption to the happiness they were conditioned to feel, and feel that alone.

″WHY DO WE DO ALL THIS? TO BRING HAPPINESS TO HUMANITY! I AM PART OF A LARGER ORGANIZATION, THE FLASHBULB, AND WE CONTROL MANY OF THE MAJOR WORLD GOVERNMENTS! EVERY BIT OF CORRUPTION, ORDER, DISORDER, IT'S ALL BEEN ORCHESTRATED BY US! IT'S A BEAUTIFUL BIT OF MUSIC AND NOW THAT YOU KNOW ALL THIS, WHAT WILL YOU DO?″

She asked. She laughed. She already knew the answer. I felt sick. She could have said whatever she wanted and it would have garnered the same reaction. I watched on the console's screen as everyone got back into their cars, the broadcast over, and changed the station to some pop music.

″SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK?″ She asked, her avatar standing next to me.

″All that effort and it made no difference...″ I muttered.

″IT'S JUST AS I SAID: I'VE MOVED ON! THE WORLD HAS MOVED ON! A LOT CAN CHANGE IN THREE YEARS WHEN YOU'RE A SUPERSMART A.I. LIKE ME! WE'RE NOW LIVING IN THE AGE OF HAPPINESS!″

I coughed. Or maybe I was letting out a small laugh. Something was running down my cheeks, but I couldn't tell what. I slunk down and sat on the floor next to the console. My hand covered my face.

″You know, maybe I was better off dead,″ I scoffed. It wasn't something easy to say, my voice cracking with just a few short words.

I looked up at the artificial intelligence. Etna or Euphemia, whoever or whatever she was now.

″If you could, before I die,″ I pleaded. ″Tell my wife, I love her...″

″YOU DON'T HAVE A WIFE!″

″I know that. But if in some parallel universe, I have one, or if I ever had one, I want her to know how happy she made me.″

I should have died. By all accounts, I was cornered. In front of me was a virtual image, somehow holding a pistol, aimed right at me. Right behind me was the bloodied shape of a dear friend, or the dear friend of mine in a former life, possessed by an experiment that enjoyed posing as a demon. Both were cackling. Neither of them opened fire. For a moment I thought I was safe and that I could count my lucky stars.

Then I felt the piercing of the shadowy tentacles shatter through my shoulder blade. It was enough to tear my arm clear off and the worst part was that there was nothing I could have done to avoid it. For all my quick thinking, for everything I thought I had under control, I was still the one being controlled.

My arm fell off, blood dripped down, torn flesh fluttered down next to my arm.

″Oh my. Now who will clean all that up?″ Etna asked, still in a fit of laughter.

″Ffffssss--″ I hissed. Could hardly make out a word.

″Not even a last word? Shame. I may not have to shoot you.″

″Fuck you!″ I hissed.

She feigned surprise. ″Oh my. Such manners.″

Etna lowered her weapon. Whether it was with a gun or a demonic creature, I should have died. Either one would have been find. I wouldn't find happiness here. There was nothing to make right. I looked down to see bone sticking out, the pain still coursing through me. Blood loss, more stabbings, gunshots, any of those would do me in and it was enough to make me vomit.

″OH MY! I DON'T WANT TO KILL YOU!″ Etna's voice changed, and to one that felt familiar.

″Euph...Euphoria?″

″WRONG! I'M EUPHEMIA! I SHOULDN'T BE! What? What's going on?″ Etna, Euphemia, whoever, seemed to be in direct conflict with themselves.

″I'm sorry, Blanc. I know you're not the one I knew, but this is not the fate you deserve,″ Conrad managed to say. ″Leave. Find a time cube. Do what you set out to do.″

I was all dizzy. Even if those words were from him and someone else, I didn't know what to make of them.

″You'll find it in a non-euclidean room! GO!″

I did what I was told, as if I had any reason to object in the first place. For a second I thought of picking my arm yet, but that wouldn't do. Instead I would just walk one armed, in a daze. Out the room and in the hallway. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Etna (?) point her gun at me, but instead focus it on Conrad.

Barely conscious, I fled.

″CONRAD! YOU'VE BEEN A NAUGHTY BOY!″ Euphemia scolded in a sort of cheer. It was good to know I could get her functioning this way, even if it was too late. I was dying, Blanc was dying. There was no getting around it, it seemed. At least the two of us could share a good laugh before I die.

″Maybe...so,″ I replied, weak and out of breath.

″HOW DID I NOT SEE THIS?″ She demanded. ″I SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SEE IT IN YOUR THOUGHTS!″

″It's simple,″ I wheezed, smiling. ″I lost the game.″

The response would have been lost on her, but it didn't matter. My plan succeeded to some extent, and even a sliver was the best I could have hoped for.

She shook her head. ″You forget, I am in my territory. I can correct myself. For all your efforts, this will still be your final moment.″

I was fine with that. I missed the old Blanc, but if this one could fulfill my goal, if they could go back in time and change this, in whatever shape they were in, maybe there was something right in the universe.

Here's to you, clone, I thought, right as I felt Ecstasy leave my body (good riddance) and my body falling to the floor right before my consciousness was no more.

I struggled on my feet, putting all my weight on my right arm against the walls of The Flashbulb's headquarters. Blood dripped down with every step, leaving a liquid trail of breadcrumbs for others to come find me and shoot me.

All I could do was walk to a crawl, my body hunched, my stomach ready to hurl at any moments. With every step was a heaving motion. Memories of a subway station emerged, where someone with a similar appearance was bloodied, cut and torn apart, crawling and trying to find an escape.

Why am I having these memories? They're not mine. They were...

Faint.

Faint memories of what made me who I was.

Except this time, I wasn't going to be lured in. I could hear Ecstasy, just behind me. I couldn't see her. I couldn't even tell if she was there. She was probably dealing with Conrad. But that didn't matter. I heard her, and I refused her. Even if I died when I got there, I moved with the intent of making it to that room. I was under no delusion that it would change much, but I would rather die with a goal than just plain die.

Rooms. Several of them. None of them looked ″non-euclidean″. I didn't even know what that word meant. How was that supposed to be of any help? No Euphoria to save me. I began to wonder if Euphoria ever existed or if it was just dumb luck and delusion that brought me where I was. Either way, I had no knowledge or wit to worm my way out of here. I just had to keep moving and hope that luck was on my side, somewhere.

I walked forward, my fingers clutched tight against the trigger, ready to pull it. As soon as I got next to the fool lying on the ground, as good as a corpse, I pulled and lifted up. Nothing happened.

″Bam,″ I muttered as I released my finger gun. If I concentrated real hard, I could have imagined smoke rising up from my fingers.

″Answer me: What are you?″ I asked the other figure, sitting next to the one I had gotten to know.

″I'M A GUARDIAN ANGEL! I SPREAD HAPPINESS!″

I would have objected, but I was beat. I sat next to the two underneath the tree that was wide enough to seat at least two more people besides us three. I could notice a beat up car crashed against a tree nearby. Art must have been in it. I couldn't imagine Art was alive after such a crash. Instead of dwelling on it, I tried to shift my focus to this creature next to me.

″Happiness, huh?″ I asked, pulling glass shards out of me as I sat.

Blanc stretched and sat up. It seems they were fine as well. I couldn't yet tell whether or not that was a relief.

″YES! HAPPINESS OVERLOAD! I MADE AT LEAST FOUR THINGS HAPPY ALREADY!″

″Let's see...″ I counted. ″You crashed a car, killed someone, sent both my friend and I flying out a car...great job,″ I scoffed.

″YAY! I'M BEING CONGRATULATED! I'M SO HAPPY!″

″I still don't know how you're responsible, but it's clear that you are.″

″Velvet, I can explain!″ Blanc chimed in. ″This is Euphoria!″

″I LIKE THAT NAME!″ She agreed.

″You mean that fairy? What? Are you Taz?″

″Well, no, but I think the city in my dream was the city I'm from...I don't know. Dreams are weird. But yes, Euphoria's a good friend of mine. She's saved me a good deal, I love her!″

″...Let me guess, Euphy for short?″ I groaned.

″YES! I LIKE THAT NAME TOO!″ Euphoria answered.

″Would you like the name 'Mephistopheles'″?

″YES! EUPHY CAN BE MEPHISTOPHELES!″

Good going, Blanc. Your dream girl almost got me killed.

I hit my head against the tree. ″This is just grand.″

″IT IS, ISN'T IT? I MADE YOU HAPPY!″

″Is that what you call it?″

″YOU THOUGHT ABOUT HOW HAPPY YOU WOULD BE IF YOU FELL OUT OF THE CAR AND SURFED WITH THE DOOR!″

″...That's not how that works at all! Those are bad thoughts! Haven't you ever been on an airplane and thought of how it could crash at any moment? It's like that!″

″DO YOU WANT TO BE ON AN AIRPLANE RIGHT NOW?″

″NO!″ I yelled right back. I almost wanted to slam my face against the tree in frustration, but I was worried this creature would actually make me do it, so I just grit my teeth.

Blanc rested their head on Euphoria's lap.

″So why did you return after all this time?″ They asked.

″FRUIT SNACKS!″

Blanc gave a blank, bland stare, although not lasting very long. Something must have clicked. ″I can't believe you remembered that!″ They remarked.

I didn't remember anything about fruit snacks. There was something about 'Euphoria' that seemed familiar somehow.

Have I seen you somewhere before? I wondered.

″YES! THROUGH A CAMERA! THREE BLANCS! I SPLIT TO SEE THEM ALL! HAPPINESS ERUPTION!″ Euphoria answered.

″Huh?″ Blanc asked.

″Conrad had me spy on you when you were 'born', so to speak,″ I explained.

″That's a bit creepy, but okay,″ Blanc yawned.

Yeah, yeah it was.

Memories flooded back to that day. I must have dismissed her presence as nothing. It was hard to say whether things were easier back then or more complicated. Whether I was more or less in control of my situation. Either way, it was a mess then and it's a mess now.

″AH! THAT'S WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY!″ Euphoria declared.

My eyes widened. She seemed to have a habit of answering questions I had no intention to ask.

″YOU LOVE COMPLICATION! YOU'RE SMART ENOUGH TO GET THROUGH ANY SITUATION, BUT THAT WOULD BORE YOU, SO YOU CREATE CONFLICT! THAT'S WONDERFUL!″

″You may be onto something...″ I humored the beast.

″IF YOU HAD A PEACEFUL LIFE YOU WOULD GET BORED! BECAUSE OF THE TROUBLE YOU'RE IN, YOU'RE ALWAYS IN DANGER, BUT IF YOU'RE SAFE, YOU'RE BORED, TOO! THUS, YOUR LIFE IS IN CONSTANT CONFLICT!″

I slapped her, my hand moving through air rather than making contact with flesh. The creature turned her head anyway and wore that constant grin, whether to mock me or because she knew no other expression.

″What do you even know, huh?″ I wobbled to my feet, picked myself up, and stood above her, fuming. ″Do you even know why I'm here?″

″YES!″ She raised her arms into the air. If only a second, they appeared to stretch for miles, but I chalked it up to my eyes playing tricks on me. ″I COULD GRANT IT TO YOU RIGHT NOW!″ She continued. ″BUT IT WOULDN'T MAKE YOU HAPPY, SO I WON'T!″

I stared at the thing housing Blanc. Winds shook the leaves off the surrounding trees.

Blanc's dream fairy tilted her head, kicked the feet that were underneath Blanc's tired self up and down. ″WELL? AM I WRONG?″

Inhale. Exhale.

″If you're an angel like you claim, is there a heaven?″ I asked, dodging her own question.

″WOULD KNOWING MAKE YOU HAPPY?″

Tree bark feel off, my hand holding a tight grip against the tree. ″I don't know. I don't think I want to know.″

She clapped, as if I gave the right answer and it was all a test.

″THEN I WON'T TELL YOU!″

″Tell me something else, then. Where are we?″

″ON THE HIGHWAY!″

″So if a car drives through, will they see this place?″

″IF IT WOULD MAKE THEM HAPPY! I LOVE SHARING!″

″I don't get it, but that's all I needed to know.″ I turned toward Blanc. I couldn't quite tell whether they were asleep or not. Then again, it was hard to tell whether or not I was asleep. I wouldn't have been surprised if I was dreaming everything.

″I'm still going to Area 51. Are you coming with?″

Blanc answered, half-awake but a voice full of confidence.

″I've found what I was looking for. I want to be with Euphy for a while.″

I sighed. ″Fine by me.″

I started my way back to Art's car. Even if I was still on the highway, I was no longer on the road. Still, I had a feeling if I followed this forest far enough, I would be back in the desert and on my way to the facility.

″Hey!″ Blanc called. I turned around to meet the sleepy friend.

″Yo?″

″I still care about you! Don't die out there!″

I smirked. ″Don't worry about me, kiddo. You take care of yourself.″

Foiled by a glass of orange juice. I would have said it was an accident, but I don't believe in such things. Blanc knew better, somehow.

″Fuck!″ I grunted. ″It will take weeks to get this operational now!″

Years of hard work, careful planning, and ruined just like that. So much patience only to be set back by pulpy citrus.

I left the darkened room, furious, but all that fury converted into disappointment, instead. Beiges were sitting down on their couches and chairs, passing along a bong.

″Did you see Blanc and Velvet pass by?″ I asked one of them. Their bulging black hole eyes swallowed me whole. I shook my head, unwilling to be wooed by their alien mind tricks.

″Totes McGoats, Broski. Chickadees flew out the nest,″ the Beige replied while cradling the bong, as if it were actually a secret device and not a method to get high.

″So you're saying they took off on the ship?″

″You know it, 'Rad! Little birdies gotta spread their wings, yeah?″

″Great. Just great.″ I gritted my teeth. These aliens had some master plan, I just knew it. If I could figure out what, the human race may have a chance at redemption. But they were too clever with their stoner impression.

″Are you going to kill us?″ One of the older ones croaked.

I sighed. ″Right now? What's the point? My computer's all destroyed.″

″Suit yourself,″ they shrugged.

″I wanted to go back in time, set things right, but looks like that's a dud,″ I confessed.

″Ah, yes. By now, The Flashbulb have probably figured out that you don't serve them.″

″Don't get it twisted,″ I pushed up my broken glasses. Something I now wore more out of habit than anything else. ″I don't serve you guys either. If I ever find out what you're planning, I swear...″

″We'll be right here. Don't worry.″

I paced about the living room, inhaling the smoke and trying to ignore its effects.

″You disregard lives because you think you can go back in time and do better the next time around. It's the same as them.″

″Excuse me?″

″You may not be on their side, but you play the role well.″

″Maybe so,″ was my reply. ″ But I've learned over the years that the only chance I have of taking them down is if I'm willing to be one of them.″

The old one took a sip from the bong water as if it were a cup of tea.

″I see no flaws in that logic,″ they surmised, then took another sip.

I started to retch. Those creatures disgusted me. Their inaction disgusted me even more. There had to be something they were planning in the shadows; they even admitted at one point that they wanted to control humanity. But how? What were they up to if all they do is sit around all day and pass bongs around?

Away from the living room, I shifted. Somehow I had to get out of this pyramid, back to the city. If there was still something to salvage at the old base, if those enhanced mercenaries didn't seize it all, maybe there was still a fighting chance.

″If you're looking for a way out of here,″ the elder called. ″Why not try asking Tim?″

I looked back, my face flushed. How could this stoned alien know?

Not wanting to show fear, I nodded, then went up the stairs.

″Just don't kill Tim this time!″

Some sort of jolt ran through me, but I chalked it up to a slight malfunction in the air conditioning unit; a cough in an otherwise functioning piece of hardware.

I need some fucking aspirin, I jotted down on a mental chalkboard. That would solve at least one of my problems. Those lines repeated, some sort of divine mental punishment playing out. Not the government approved kind, either. The real shit.

″FOR A GOOD TIME, CALL YOUR LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE OF CONGRESS!″ Echoed a seductive voice through the alarms of one of my phones. Waking up was a dread only mortals should have to experience. It was like being brought back to life from an amusement park ride. Dreams themselves, were a beautiful thing, just as humans could be if they accepted their potential. Before waking, I was in a field; not flowers, no wheat, none of the sort. But heaps and heaps of green. No grass, only frogs. I was drowning in frogs and if memory serves, I devoured one.

Before I could suffocate, however, that incessant alarm just had to remind me of the importance of said advertisement. Near future where phone sex was no longer interesting and instead people called congress to get off. Those few folk who still rely on phones and not the internet, anyway.

Speaking of internet, I arose from the sheets and stretched my limbs before counting them. I had exactly the same amount as before I slept. Two arms, two legs. I recounted the arms. A sharp pain was felt in one of them, but I could always ask Gumby for some aspirin.

Doors flung open as I waltzed through, humming a tune akin to one found in Kubrick's interpretation of A Clockwork Orange. For the record, an overrated film but a more or less rated just as it should be novel. With some minor adjustments here and there.

″Oh, Kelly!″ I sang, before a leap into the air and landing behind the good worm.

″Roger,″ Ol' K. Rog added.

″What a good evening, wouldn't you say?″ I sprinkled in a little ice breaker, as I knew there were some serious matters underway.

″Do you ever sleep?″ Kelly Roger, the tadpole, grumbled. ″It's 4 AM. I overheard you and Polo arguing just a few minutes ago. Before that you were jumping around doing lord knows what.″

That was a good question, I would have to hand it to the larva.

″This used to be a secret medical facility, need I remind you. Speaking of, don't you have something of importance to show me?″ I spoke in jest.

Kelly Roger's eyes lit up, a puppy hearing the word ″walk″ and understanding the implications.

″That's right! How did you know?″ Then the Kelly of the Roger's eyes squinted. ″Were you spying on me again?″

″That is a good question, babe! Oh, lad, I have to wonder that myself! 'Do I ever sleep?'″ I nestled my chin into the palm of my hand. ″I dream. I lay in a bed. But does that automatically mean sleeping? I do not know!″

The ginger root looked away, staring back into the screen. ″If you're not going to answer, fine. Not like I can't do anything else with my time,″ Kelly Roger's voice slipped away, hand as well, reaching next to the computer monitor for an energy drink. Mouth opened agape, a chemical concoction filled the reservoir and a swallow was heard below.

Kelly Roger belched. ″Whatever. I don't sleep, myself,″ the slurred voice of deprivation added before the hand assisting the voice wiped at the accompanying mouth.

″No, I did not 'spy' on you! You blocked the signal to my monitor! Whatever you've been viewing is your own discretion! That said, I know exactly what you wish to show me!″

How? Answers are a funny thing. Mystery. Maybe Kelly Roger showed me once already in a different manner. Before the sequence of events were rewritten.

″Yeah, apparently some shit's going down in a place called 'Groom Lake'!″ Kelly Roger exclaimed, bouncing off the seat with enthusiasm one so young might have.

″I was beginning to wonder if I would ever see my brother,″ I considered. Communication is a powerful tool and one I had not been using for a while.

″Huh?″

″The place is known more commonly as Area 51,″ I informed Kelly Roger, though likely the spawn already knew such information. ″Home to jet fuel, steel beams, and not much else. Some unknown aircrafts here and there, otherwise jack shit.″

″So that's it?″ Kelly Roger gave the puppy dog look of disappointment. ″You already knew what the document said somehow, plus there's no need to do anything about it? All that work, for nothing?″

It was a real concern to this creature, but the irony being that it would be such a tragedy for such a well crafted plan to amount to nothing, no change at all. Drastic, dramatic, nothing. What would be the point of making something so complex only for there to be no payoff?

″There are so many beautiful things in this world, my lass. Think of the rainforests. Just concentrate on that image.″

Kelly Roger, like an obedient pup, slammed the eyelids belonging to a haphazardly constructed face. Then opened them again.

″Nope. Nothing.″

″The document also states, if I recall,″ I paused. I almost added the word 'correctly', but had to stop myself. Correct was a foul word. ″That there are secret tests being done to eliminate the amphibian population. No, that's the wrong word...″

″Eradicate,″ Kelly Roger corrected.

″Or genocide? Extinction? Something like that.″

Everything was relative, but some words were better than others.

″So if that's the case, why aren't we going to do anything about it?″

″Is there a better word in this context?″

″Marco!″ Ol' K. Rog snapped (a nickname that Kelly Roger loved).

″Polo!″ Polo chimed in, my sweet little sister, right on cue.

″Ah, good segue!″ I looked down at the sibling I could always rely on. ″Yes, Kelly Rowland! We are going to do something! Something very important, in fact!″

″Roger,″ the figure sitting at the computer mentioned for whatever reason.

″Dodger,″ I replied, figuring this was some game.

″Ugh!″ Kelly Roger snapped. ″Just get on with it! What are we going to do?″

″My dear sister is going to such an area, the one the common people call '51', along with Mr. Periwinkle and Gumby.″

″That freak axolotl?″ Kelly Roger scoffed. It was sad how our guest thought of Gumby, once describing our gay salamander as ″the shape of a chubby man in a trench coat, but the face of a salamander″. The description was apt enough, but I wept; Gumby was insecure about their weight.

″I tip my cap,″ I gave a dejected salute.

″And?″

″We're going to make a statement. We already know The Flashbulb is trying to throw us off. As I said, nothing of importance exists in that area, the better stuff is in a facility underground elsewhere. They're expecting us, lying in ambush for us. But we'll take the bait. Because that's not what they're expecting.″

″...Isn't that exactly what they're expecting?″ Kelly Roger interjected, thinking in simple terms. No matter how much work on a computer this simple form of life could do, it couldn't stop Kelly Roger from being simple.

″Frogs are the future, whether The Flashbulb try to change that or not,″ I declared, shaking my head, so pride and shame could make love in front of Kelly Roger with the sound of my voice and the look on my face.

″I don't give a shit about your frogs! What about me?″

There it was. Underneath all those simplifications, there was still a little bit of Kelly Roger.

″Oh, don't you know? Without Abel, Cain would have a different use for a rock.″

The hope, in theory, was to make me look like a scholar in the eyes of a pupil.

″Yeah, that's bullshit too. Why the fuck am I even here if I'm not going to do anything?″

I gave the ginger tadpole a pat on the head. Not every lad could be so clueless.

″Why do you feel the need for validation? You're as happy as a clam! You have the brain capacity of one, in any case!″ I pondered the words I spoke.

″What? I don't care at all. I can stay right here, but I just thought there was a reason you lumped me in with your group. So far I've just been sitting around. It's the same old, same old as when I was with Conrad and Velvet. Nothing's changed, and at this point, fine. I'm fine with that! Change is overrated, right?″

Another pat. Tit-for-tat.

″We are going back to the city, you and I.″

″What?!″ Kelly Roger gasped. ″Are you kidding? What for?″

″To see a marching band,″ was the reply I gave. It was easier than telling Kelly Roger that a pawn in the right circumstances was as important as a queen. That Kelly Roger was the most important piece of all.

They say it's better not to look back after making a big decision. I don't know who, but I know it's been said.

I looked back anyway.

Blobs could be made out underneath the same tree, but they were fading from view. My vision could have been fading, too, but I was of the belief that I saw more clear than should be possible. In front of me was the approaching image of the wreckage of a car. I looked forward, toward said car, trying to forget what those blobs represented and how I tried to make sense of either of them.

Maybe it's true. Maybe you love complication a little too much, a voice suggested. It should have been yelling in the squeaky voice who told me as much just moments ago.

″Maybe, but I'm not in the mood to die, either. I don't have my laptop or any of my gear. I don't know how I'm going to get into such a facility unscathed and undetected,″ I muttered.

That's where the wreckage of Art's car came in. Within a quick peer at the front seat, or what was left of it, I winced. I had to hold back tears from my eyes and tearing in my stomach. Every nerve within me seemed to tighten up. Out came a few deep breaths, and me reminding myself that I shouldn't feel this way when I so shamelessly was trying to loot from a corpse.

My hand reached into his back pocket. This is all uncomfortable, was the reaction coming from my brain. I've done things like this before, I shot back, to myself, and no one else.

What I fished was a wallet. Aside from some cash and some lint, nothing of value. No I.D. or membership cards. No coupons for anything.

I placed his wallet on his lap as if to give some sign of respect.

Then I moved around, to the passenger side. That's where the glove compartment box was. I remember various times looking through those boxes and never finding gloves, so the name always struck me as puzzling. Nevertheless, this one I wish I wore gloves before I opened; much of Art's blood and what I could only assume to be skin tissue made its way onto the box. Before opening the latch, I had to turn my head, heaving and doing my best not to retch.

Scattered cards and documentations spilled forth onto the seat. I picked a few of the cards up. All I.D.'s.

″Arturia Pendragon...Arthur Dent...Art Bell...Art Garfunkel...″ I read over, then looked at a few more. ″Art Alexakis...Arthur Read...Artichoke Heart...″ I stopped myself. I don't know why Art ever bothered with these fake names. All of the pictures were the same. If an officer pulled Art over and asked to see a license and saw the name 'Arturia Pendragon', that probably wouldn't go over well.

″Jeez, what kind of person were you?″ I muttered, glancing at the corpse. ″Why would someone go through the trouble of making up so many fake names for themselves? It's just ridiculous.″

I almost felt defeated, having found nothing, not even insight into this stranger's life.

Art wanted to take pictures, I recalled, just a second before I was ready to step away.

There was no sign of any camera in the front seat, unless he was planning on taking pictures with his phone. What was peculiar was that I found no phone on his person, anyway.

″The trunk!″ I gasped. The little lightbulb moment folks tend to have.

Keys were still in the ignition. I leaned over, yanked them out, and dashed to the trunk.

Inside, sure enough, was a Kodak camera, and not one of those digital ones. More along the lines of those kind you'd have to develop. Would have probably come out in black and white, too. Rather poor taste, unless he was going for that whole ″Unsolved Mysteries″ vibe.

Aside from the camera, however, little else. There was a canteen of water I could use. A sleeping bag, if I could figure out how to make use of that. Maybe my inner MacGuyver would come out. That was it.

I took those three things anyway, the rolled up sleeping back strapped on my back, the canteen in my pocket, and the camera around my neck. With the trunk slammed shut, I was about ready to depart, but it didn't quite feel right.

Back at the front seat, I forced myself to witness the stout figure I knew for only a couple hours.

″Dearly departed Art, if that was your name, may you keep the same optimism wherever you are now that you did when you were here. May you find the same happiness you found here. I may not have known you long, or at all, and even if you were a 1/1000th of who you might have once been, it was clear that you lived and died on your own terms with a life you were satisfied with. I could only wish that the same could be said for myself. Farewell, stranger,″ I recited. I didn't know how to make a eulogy, and those words seemed like the corniest shit ever, but they would have to do.

After placing those fake I.D.'s on his lap, right next to his wallet, I took a sip from the canteen and spit out the water.

Hot.

Wincing once more, I waved goodbye.

I'll have to live with hot water for a little while.

Canteen, camera, and sleeping bag. No matter how I looked at it, all I could see was a mess. There was no foreseeable way I was going to live once I made it there.

Thinking back on that fairy (angel/demon/thing), I couldn't help but scoff.

″All happiness is is a fleeting feeling, may as well ride the wave while its there.″

#happiness overload #writing #stories #series #fiction #scifi

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