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ali-kitkat · 3 years

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Strangeness and Charm

MGI 2021 One-Year Anniversary Gift Exchange

hello, im back for a little post for @khneltea you are the recipient for enemies to lovers and by gods i hope you like this! romantic, or well its implied, daminette enemies to lovers! also tagging @issaxcharlie as per requested in the server!

fic is under the cut!

Marinette understood that the bat team was sent to Paris to help her; now that it was just herself against Papillon, but she really wanted to kick Robin’s teeth in. She couldn’t stand him. He was a self-centered, entitled, little shit. How dare he come into her city and tell her how to do her job?

The akuma attacks had been sporadic since she had revoked Chat Noir’s miraculous and the only attack that had occurred since Robin and the rest of the bats had arrived was Mister Pigeon. However, if she was being honest with herself that hardly counted as an attack in her or anyone’s books anymore.

It took all of her self control to not throttle him on the rooftop, after she had cast the miraculous cure, when he said “If this is what qualifies as an attack for you, I would hate to see how you would fare against even one of Gotham’s villains.” She was livid, he had based his opinions on akuma attacks by one attack and one attack only.

He had only been in Paris for a week and this is how he treated her, because of one little flare up by their resident akuma magnet? He had no idea what even counted as an attack in Paris nowadays.

Mister Pigeon? Definitely not.

Siren? Absolutely.

Due to him being close to her in age, she had constantly paired up with him during her nightly patrols and she hated it. She wondered if this was his team's way of trying to get him to socialize or work on his people skills. If so, they were doing an absolutely shit job of it.

At this point she really had debated whether or not being on Batman’s shit list would be worth dangling Robin from the Eiffel Tower by his ankles. She could do it. She knows she could, she had done it before in fact, to Chat before she took his miraculous away from him. In the end, she decided that it wouldn’t be worth the trouble it would cause her; but if she did accidentally hit him with her yo-yo while patrolling with him that night, no one would be the wiser.

She elected to ignore the muttered curses and detoured from her usual route in an attempt to get away from the miserable bastard. Of course, Robin then scolded her for running away and being an inferior hero. At that point she decided to put even more distance between them, only to prevent herself from injuring a potential ally. If he could even be called that with his constant berating and demeanor.

It was then that she heard a scream, an akuma. Kwami, she hoped it wasn’t Sandboy again, especially since his usual appearances were during the night.

She cast a quick glance at Robin and decided to leave him be. She took off in the direction of the scream, he was preoccupied by something on his gauntlet, if the blue light it was emitting was an indicator. Besides she had been fighting akumas for years now, the last thing she needed was Robin’s attitude and chiding rather than his help.

He didn’t need to see her nightmares either if it was in fact Sandboy who was akumatized as well. Sure, she wasn’t exactly the same thirteen year old girl she was when she first started battling akumas but Robin certainly didn’t need any more ammunition to use against her.

He didn’t need to see that her nightmares were of herself, whispering in her ear, telling her to give up. That she was a failure, that she should just let Papillon have the miraculous. It would all be over, it wasn’t like she would remember that she was Ladybug anyways. Whatever wish he would make would erase the current timeline out of existence. She hated seeing it.

When she touched down on the street, the first thing she noticed was that it was empty. There was no sign of any akuma, no destruction or frozen bodies. There wasn’t anything, it was too empty, as if the people had just up and disappeared. It was incredibly unnerving.

Casting another look around, she saw something dart into the shadows of an alleyway. She jumped to a neighboring rooftop and looked down. There it was, the akuma. They didn’t look like anything special, no obnoxious colours or outrageous outfits. Just someone in a simple, sleek suit in muted colours, their hair tied back in a dark braid and a drooping butterfly mask that looked like ruined eyeliner.

They looked up and made eye contact. She flung herself back on the rooftop. The akuma’s eyes looked empty, there was no emotion or life in them. It was disconcerting.

She looked back down into the alleyway to try to get another read on the akuma. They were gone. She rose to her feet and looked around again, just in case she missed something.

“Well, well, well. Look at what we have here,” a low, gravelly voice called out. It sounded as if they had gargled glass. Marinette quickly turned around to see the akuma at the other end of the rooftop. “A little ladybug all alone. Let us see what kind of memories you hold, heroine.”

Then suddenly the akuma was in front of her, arm outstretched and their hand was pressed against her forehead. She watched as her memories played out in real time before her and the akuma. She watched as her memories played side by side, all at once. It was headache inducing.

Marinette saw the first friend she made in almost a decade. She saw Lila threaten her and her friendships. She saw the day she had met Tikki, and the day she had received guardianship of the miracle box from Fu. She watched as flashes of her homelife flashed by, the few happy memories of her parents before the bakery’s popularity increased, before they began to neglect her. Before Lila’s honeyed words ruined what little she had left of them.

She watched as memories of previous akuma attacks played out. Of how Chat Noir acted away from the crowds and cameras, how treated her like an object to be won rather than a person. She watched as she had scrubbed herself raw in the shower after he had touched her, as she scrubbed her teeth after he forced a kiss on her.

She watched as the attacks ended and her reunions with her friends had turned into screaming fits. The shouts of how she was flakey and that if she was just going to hang out with them only to ditch them halfway through their time together that they were no longer going to be friends anymore, that they were better off without her. She watched as Lila smiled from across the room, where she comforted her former friend. As Lila’s promises came to fruition.

She watched as her nightmares flashed by just as quick of her looking in the mirror, looking at the scars that the miraculous cure hadn’t healed. As her reflection had started to speak. That she should give up, let Papillon have the miraculous. That she wasn’t worth it, that she was all alone. As the whispered words of her former friends had joined in. She watched as images of Chat had appeared telling her that she was his and no one else’s.

She watched as she was left to pick up the pieces of her life.

Suddenly she was wrenched back and someone was holding her against their person. She could see one of the bat-themed vigilantes fighting against the akuma, it looked to be Red Hood with the way the streetlight was glinting off his helmet. She could hear herself breathing heavily and could feel the tears streaming down her face as she was swung away from the akuma.

When the person holding her landed on a different rooftop, she wrenched herself out of their arms. She hit the rooftop with a thud and scrambled as far away from them as she could possibly get; then she buried her face in her knees. She covered her ears with her hands, hoping to block out the unrelenting images of her memories and nightmares. She didn’t want to see or hear anything. She certainly didn’t want to see anyone’s pitying looks or hear their scorn. She just wanted to forget, this akuma was most definitely Papillon’s newest masterpiece.

She flinched when a hand settled on her shoulder and tried to inch away from it, without removing her hands from her ears. Unfortunately, the hand remained, grounding her ever so slightly. Finally she gave in and looked up. Robin was watching her, but rather than disdain or pity, his face was pinched with concern. She huffed out a laugh, it was weak and made Robin flinch. She shrugged his hand off and stood; she held her head high and wiped her tears away. Ignoring his questioning looks, she tossed her yo-yo out.

“Ladybug,” he said softly.

“Don’t. Whatever you have to say, keep it to yourself. I don’t care,” she croaked. She didn’t want to hear anything he had to say, she just wanted to be done with this night and its horrors.

“Ladybug,” he repeated. “Regardless of whatever you might think or feel, you are not alone. There are plenty of other heroes who know exactly how you feel, who have been exactly where you are.”

That stopped her in her tracks. Of course Robin of all people had seen her memories, her nightmares and her fears. She turned and glared at him, though she imagined it wasn’t all that effective. What with her tear streaked face and red eyes.

“I know how you feel,” Robin sighed and she deflated. “That your best is not enough, that you, yourself are not good enough. I have been in your shoes. I have felt alone.”

“Well, you certainly don’t act like it,” she sniped bitterly, closing in on herself.

“I apologize,” Robin stated.

“What?”

“I am sorry,” he repeated. “I realize that I may have come off as too brusque and in doing so have diminished your accomplishments.”

“Why?” she asked. “Why are you apologizing? You have nothing to be sorry for. You were right, I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m just playing at being a hero. My villain just found out my identity and so did all of you and your team.”

“That being, it was not, nor is it, your fault,” he replied. “I made assumptions of which I am at fault for, and of which caused the predicament of which you have found yourself in. You cannot quit or give up because of several imbeciles, because if you do, you let them win. You do not strike me as a sore loser, Ladybug.”

Marinette let out a laugh and watched as Robin’s expression shifted. He no longer looked concerned, but was now smiling wryly at her. She returned the smile. “Thank you Robin.”

“You are welcome,” he said. “Now I believe you have an akuma to take care of? Would you care for some assistance?”

“I would,” she replied.

“I look forward to working with you more,” he said, “Marinette.”

Marinette nodded, feeling her face flush at the way Robin said her name. “I do too Robin. I do too.”

#maribat #daminette #mgi 1 year anniversary #ali-kitkat's writing #ali-kitkat writes #i live

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spiderling-space · 3 years

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This idea is inspired by @zozobegone ‘s this post

Setting: Grim goes platonic yandere mode when he realizes MC is going to go back to their world

It is written from Grimm's perspective

Italics indicate thoughts

🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱

The Great Grimm

Warning: Unhealthy dependency and friendship

"Henchperson, give me those candies!" Grimm ordered (Y/N) after trying so many times to reach the top shelf.

"Aw, you couldn't reach yourself?" (Y/N) had seen Grimm jumping and trying to climb to take the candies. They didn't do anything but watch him fail for the last 10 minutes, they couldn't help themselves as he was being so cute. "What's the magic word?"

After grumbling a little, Grimm spoke coercively, "Please..."

"That's a good boy!" They patted him on the head before grabbing the candies and giving them to him.

He started devouring them the moment he got his hand on the candies. He thanked them quickly before focusing entirely on his food. They were just so delicious, he couldn't resist it!

"Honestly Grimm, what will you do once I'm gone?" They sighed as they took a seat in the kitchen.

The words didn't register for Grimm at first. "Eh?" He stopped eating for a moment and looked at them. "What nonsense are you babbling about?"

"Hmm? Oh! Well, you know, it's been months and lots of progress have been done. Crowley finding a way for me to return home is right around the corner." They spoke as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"That birdman doesn't do anything but whine and pin all the tasks on us."

"I convinced him to do the actual work and he made a progress on finding a way for me to go home." (Y/N) stood up, walking toward him and kneeling to his height. "I'll give you a secret, I haven't told anyone this." They gulped before smiling, "Crowley found the way for me to go back. We just need ingredients and get some tests done then I'll be able to go back. I haven't told others about it yet because I wanted to have something concrete but since you are like my second family, I wanted you to know first."

Huh, he thought.

Grimm continued eating, ignoring what (Y/N) had said who got up and left the kitchen after sharing their secret. At that moment, it didn't bug him at all since he thought they were joking.

🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱

It didn't even pass a week that (Y/N) started to tell the others that they would be leaving soon and ask their help to get the ingredients and spend their last days together. Meanwhile, Grimm became more and more irritable as the days passed by.

Grimm didn't have a family nor a friend. When he opened his eyes to the world, he was in a back alley by just himself. He fended for himself and decided to become the greatest magician when he heard people talking about Night Raven Collage. He didn't have anyone who supported his dream nor he needed one. He would accomplish it on his own and show everyone how great he was. Of course, things didn't go as planned and he got thrown off the moment he revealed his true self at the entrance ceremony and was even threatened to get eaten. What's worse was that when he returned to NRC, showing the persistence of an NRC student, he was about to be thrown again. That would be the case if it weren't for (Y/N) sticking up for him. He wasn't a sentimental monster and he hated to be called cat by (Y/N) despite his catly activities as they called it. However, deep down he knew it was because of (Y/N) that he became a student in the NRC, getting one step closer to achieving his dream. Heck, he and (Y/N) were considered one student together.

It wasn't just (Y/N) creating him an opportunity that made him care about them, it was everything. They studied together; they slept on the same bed, shared meals and snacks, played games, did homework, complained about the school and students together. Not to mention, how much he enjoyed getting petted, belly rubbed and washed by them. They had each other when no one was around and always stood against overblot student together. In Grimm's eyes, they were an inseparable and astonishing duo; even a family he never had, not that he would say it out loud.

Maybe that was why he was miffed by everything that was going on... What would happen to me if (Y/N) were to go back? Become alone again? Get kicked out of NRC? Have no friends and family? No, that's not going to happen!

As the days passed, the attention he got from (Y/N) diminished gradually, came to a point that he only saw them in classes and when they got back. They were out with another person every day, not sparing enough time for the Great Grimm.

How dare they, he thought while heatedly huffing and puffing on the couch.

Grimm dearly missed the old times when (Y/N) wasn't obsessed with going back. He didn't even receive enough petting last few days nor they studied together. His mind wandered to their time spent together when he noticed something. (Y/N) would leave everything behind regardless of how important it was when he got into serious trouble or got hurt. They would sweep in to save his neck. It just clicked at that moment.

He would get into trouble or injured to get their attention on him. However, then the other minions would gather around them too and their attention would be divided. It was not something he wanted. An idea struck in his head after a few minutes of thinking. As expected out of the Great Grimm, it was a brilliant plan.

🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱

"Oh my goodness, Grimm! What happened to your paw-paw?!" (Y/N) rushed to his side, kneeling and examining his paw.

Grimm grumbled acting as if he didn't want to tell them. "Nothing, Great Grimm is fine!"

"Don't be ridiculous! It looks broken!" The worry on (Y/N)'s face was gratifying since he got their attention back.

"Ask your best friends," He answered with faux melancholy, withdrawing his paw near his chest and turning back as if he would leave.

"What does that supposed to mean?" They asked, confussion evident on their face just like Grimm wanted.

"Azul tricked them into doing his work and asked them to collect all the feathers on the roof. Ace and Deuce took me with them then we got into a fight and I fell off the roof." He lowered his head for extra effect.

"And they didn't even take you to the infirmary?!" He managed to get them riled up.

"It was my fault th-"

"That's not an excuse! For fuck's sake! C'mon, we are going to the infirmary." (Y/N) wrapped their arms around Grimm and lifted him en route to the hospital wing.

"Hey (Y/N)! Do you -"

"I can't believe what you two did!"

"What we did?" Deuce mumbled, fearing their wrath.

"Don't talk to me for some time and at least take responsibility and apologize!" (Y/N) stormed off before Ace could finish his sentence. Both Ace and Deuce look perplexed as (Y/N) marched away. Grimm was looking at them over (Y/N)'s shoulder, taking in their puzzled looks and flashing a grin as (Y/N) walked away.

🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱

For the next two weeks, Grimm continues with his plan.

"I swallowed a lot of soapy water." Grimm said as he was rubbing his belly, it genuinely hurt. Swallowing soapy water was more awful than hurting his paw.

"Azul! You promised to not do this and shame on you Jade, Floyd!"

3 more down, plenty to go...

"Leona, have you seen Grimm? He is way smaller than you! How couldn't you realize what your claws would do on Grimm?"

"Ruggie, Grimm got food poisoning because of you! You could have just stolen his food instead of replacing them with expired ones."

"Jack, I've never expected this from you. I'm very disappointed."

"What? What are you talking about?" Jack asked hastily but it fell on deaf ears as (Y/N) didn't even listen to him, grabbing Grimm and leaving them standing.

Woo hoo! My plan is working fantastically!

"He could have died Kalim if it were higher!"

"Jamil, I thought you would stop making people poison taste. Grimm has been puking all day long because of you!"

Grimm grinned wickedly as he was once again carried by (Y/N).

Wait until I'm done with all of you! HAHA, You cannot defeat me!

Grimm was thinking of new original ways to distance (Y/N) from the rest of Heartslabyul, Pomefiore, Ignihyde and Diasomnia. The last one would be the hardest as he had a powerful competitor who also sought (Y/N)'s attention but it didn't matter, Grim would be the only one!

That was what he thought until Birdman came bearing the news...

"(Y/N)! Good news! All the tests we did on the mirror worked! You can go back now!"

Everything stopped right there and then.

Grimm was so focused on getting (Y/N)'s affection and attention that he forgot about the tests they were doing on the mirror.

Now I am too late...

"My goodness! Thank you! I missed my home so much! I'll start saying my goodbyes!" (Y/N) spoke rapidly, they truly were happy to hear the news.

Happy to leave me all alone!

"No worries, they all gather around the magic mirror, waiting for you." Birdman informed, "Are you coming now?"

"Yes!" (Y/N) said before turning to him, taking him in arms and carrying him outside.

That is not how it was supposed to go...

As they were walking outside before leaving the Ramshackle perimeter, Grimm jumped on the ground.

"What's wrong?" (Y/N) stopped to ask.

"What's wrong?!" Grimm couldn't contain it anymore. everything was too much.

"(Y/N), do you need a moment to say goodbye to the dorm?" Birdman questioned, getting closer to where they were standing.

"Uhm... yes... I mean I spent months here so I should say goodbye to it. You can go, we will catch up in a moment."

With that Birdman walked away, leaving (Y/N) and Grimm alone.

"Is there something you wanted to talk about?" They asked idiotically.

Are they too dumb to understand?

As Grimm was about to tell them what was on his mind, unfiltered, he felt a power within himself. A power that wanted to surge out of him and he let it since he had nothing to lose anymore.

"You will leave me all alone!"

"But you already knew that, Grimm. This place isn't my home and if I took you with me, you would be discovered and people would do experiments on you." Their voice was so soft as they tried to reason with him but none of them mattered.

"We are one student together, you can't leave until I graduate!" The power inside of him grew even more.

"Well, Crowley said he-"

"We fought the monsters together. We are a team, you called me your son!" He could feel that power getting closer

"I-" He wasn't going to let them speak anymore!

"So you see me as a family but you abandon me!" He felt the power leak outside and he didn't even care about it.

"GRIMM!" (Y/N) yelled, taking a few steps back. "I, I, I changed my mind, we will be together!"

"You want me to have no one again!" Grim screamed, not even noticing how his voice changed. "AAAAAHHH!"

Everything went black for a moment and the second he reopened his eyes, everything was different. He was no longer looking up to (Y/N); he now was looking down on them. They were so tiny.

"YOU CANNOT LEAVE!" Grimm screeched when he saw (Y/N) backing and running away. He jumped, landing right in front of them who fell on the ground from the shock and still trying to crawl away.

"G-Gr-Gr-Grim, i-i-it's me! We are friends, remember? I know you wouldn't hurt me because we are family, innit?"

"It is too late for everything but you are right. We are family..." Grimm said, his voice echoing, giving it more menacing feelings.

Grimm was no longer waiting for (Y/N) to understand that they couldn't leave him. He had no intention of waiting anymore. He leaned towards them slowly, biting their clothing and lifting them.

It was always (Y/N) who carried Grimm around relentlessly now it was Grimm's turn. Once he was sure that they wouldn't fall, he took off, running away from the Ramshackle, leaving NRC behind.

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst grim #twisted wonderland grim #twst mc #twisted wonderland mc #mc/yuu #yandere twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland yandere #yandere twst #twst yandere #yandere #yandere grim

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the-infamous-coat-of-baron-zemo · 3 years

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Missed Opportunities - Helmut Zemo x Reader | Chapter 2

Here it is! I'm managed to whip up another part to this story. I hope you all enjoy this next bit!

If you missed out on Part 1, it's here.

Word Count: 2300 and some change

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Side Note: Obviously, I have taken some liberties with the plot and timeline of TFATWS. So this will be loosely based on the timings of what has happened, but will not be a chronological order of events occurred.

Much love to you, and thank you for the inspiration! And yes, there will be a Part 3 because this was more of a set-up chapter. So hopefully you won't be too disappointed with this one.

~Sandra~

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

As things turned out, your conversation with Bucky and Sam went surprisingly well. Once you were finally able to say your own piece and explain the entire story, a lightbulb seemed to have gone off within both of them.

Sam, of course, was the most understanding, realizing that the reaction Zemo had was surely due to the intense trauma of what happened. He went on to explain; he had seen those types of emotional outbursts between complete strangers who had similar experiences when The Blip happened. They would come into support groups to tell their own stories, once upon a time when the world began trying to make sense of what happened.

He said it was normal. And Sam was right, he's always right. It was a perfectly logical explanation, and those are the things you look for and stood by.

Except, this.

Nothing about Zemo's reaction felt normal. The connection upon seeing him again twisted up your insides and set your nerve endings on fire. None of your previous interactions ever gave you pause like this. No, this was different. Seeing the raw emotion on his face. The intensity of how closely he wrapped you into his body, as if he were trying to consume your entire being. You were held so closely to him, you could felt the beat of his heart, hear the raggedness of his breath, and sense the tremors beneath his fingertips.

Clearly what happened had changed you both. It would be hard not to given the enormity of the event. Again, you tried to think back to your time visiting him over the past couple of years in prison. Was there always a connection between you? Simmering beneath the surface? And The Blip was simply the catalyst to uncovering something hidden? You scoffed. Now you were just entertaining nonsense. Yes, it was emotional, but this was Zemo we're talking about. There's always a reasoning behind his actions, and they're usually executed in ways that only benefit him.

And just like that, logic and sanity had finally returned to you, like a cold bucket of ice water dowsing you over the head.

You remember looking to Bucky after Sam had finished his explanation and acceptance of everything that had transpired. You had sagged in relief noticing he had taken the information in stride and was no long on the defensive. However, in the following days after, you would always catch him now and again eyeing Zemo with some sort of suspicion. You figured with how manipulative the slightly unhinged genius could be, James was simply keeping a watchful eye on him. And why should he? We all should. Zemo was not to be trusted, and yet - deep down, you felt as if you were lying to yourself. That when push came to shove, you could trust him.

And that scared you.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

All of you were gathered around the kitchen island discussing tactics on where to locate Karli. Bucky had pitched we should be looking in isolated and abandoned areas, but Sam had different feelings on the subject. He felt they should be looking in more highly populated areas, as he believed they would want to try and blend in with the community like normal citizens.

So of course they start bickering, again.

You wanted to roll your eyes at them in utter exasperation, but held back. Instead you settle for a face palm as you continue to map out possible routes Karli and the Flag-Smasher may travel to stay accessible, but not completely visible to the public eye.

As you were zooming into a particular area that looked promising, you felt the brush of someone's hand against yours to the right of where you were sitting.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who it was. Sam and Bucky were still debating who's idea would bring around to most promising results in the short amount of time we had before Karli decided to strike again.

You peered up at Zemo thinking he was hovering to catch a glimpse of what you were working on, but instead you were surprised to see he had simply poured you a cup of tea and set it next to you.

The brush of the hand was deliberate though. This you knew for a fact. Over the past few days since your little reunion, you noticed Zemo had been silently giving you brief bouts of physical contact. Nothing overtly sexual in nature. In fact, they were quite light and fleeting. Sometimes, it was a brush of his hand against yours, a soft touch at your lower back or the slide of his fingers against a hip as he walked past you.

You weren't quite sure what to make of the actions. They certainly didn't disrupt you, but your body always took immediate notice when he did it.

The chair you were sitting in had swiveled when you went to look at Zemo. You had planned on quietly thanking him, but he had already moved to the opposite side of the island to observe the land markings Sam had drawn up on a paper map.

You gently picked up the tea cup and brought it to your lips. The warmth of the tea emanating from the cup was a balm for your hands. Before taking a sip, you closed your eyes and inhaled the scent of the tea. Ah. Cherry blossom. Apparently, a favorite of his according to James.

When you opened your eyes, Zemo was now watching you. You tilted your head to the side and smiled graciously at him, mouthing a 'Thank you' in reply to his kind gesture.

The corner of his lip twitched up in response to your thanks, nodding back at you. He held his gaze as you took a sip of the tea.

Your eyebrows shot up as you swallowed the tea. It was quite delicious. You pointed to the cup and nodded your head up and down in quick succession to show your appreciation.

You could tell Zemo was holding in a chuckle, but refrained from expressing himself fully. You had narrowed your eyes, and thought about calling him out on it, but ultimately decided against it. Instead you motion your head to Sam and Bucky acknowledging their ridiculousness. Zemo just dismissed them with a, 'What did you expect?' type of look.

Finally you had enough of the two knuckle-heads on the other side of the kitchen and decided to intervene on their behalf otherwise they would never accomplish anything today.

"You guys planning on coming to a conclusion any time soon, or should I start selling tickets to this show?"

James stopped his rant and turned to you, "He started it," pointing his finger at Sam. "Sam just doesn't want to admit that my prospective places have added value that his don't."

"Now wait, that's not entirely true Bucky. I just think -," Sam started in again, but you had cut him off before he could finish.

"For the love of - how old are you two? It amazes me Steve got as much done as he did with you two around," you shook your head in feigned disbelief.

You might have felt bad about your slight outburst, but it was absolutely worth it to witness the sheepish expressions on both Sam and Bucky's faces. You wished you had snapped a picture. Definitely would have made it your new lock screen on your phone.

"If it's okay, I'd actually like to offer a third option," you said, motioning them over with a flourish wave of your hands.

As Sam and Bucky moved over to you, you shifted your eyeline to Zemo, "You too Zemo. Let's get your opinion on this as well since you are a resident to the area and more familiar with its surroundings than we are."

Zemo rose from his place and came to rest at your side, hovering, but not in a suffocating manner.

Even though Zemo had kept a reasonable amount of distance between you, Bucky seemed to show some displeasure as you saw him scoot him a bit out of the way as he tried to put some distance between the two of you.

You bit back a comment in favor of going over what you had discovered and turned to Sam, "I know we want to locate Karli as quickly as possible, but there are too many variables to account for when scouting buildings that they could be hiding out in. I propose we search in hidden pathways that could quickly get the Flag-Smashers in and out of different parts of the city without being readily detected."

"Alright, that does make sense, so what are you suggesting?" Sam tilted his head in agreement before gesturing for you to continue.

"Take a look at this map," you swipe your hand up the computer screen to show a holographic image of an underground rail system.

"Those look like the old track lines from a railway project that was never completed. If I remember correctly, the government abandoned the project when they ran out of money. Most of the tunnels were built, but never quite finished," Zemo interjected.

"Exactly," you turned to him beaming.

You moved your hands animatedly as you were excited by this prospect, "These tunnels travel throughout the entire city. Karli and the rest of the Flag-Smashers can easily maneuver where they need to with these routes. If I were to put money on it, I'd bet you could find their insignias left on the walls of the tunnels below as a potential guide that could -"

"That could lead us straight to their hideout," Zemo finished, smiling with what could be described as something akin to pride, clearly impressed with the astute observation you made.

"I see where you're going with this. You know, you might be onto something. Especially with our truncated time table," Sam chimed in. "Bucky? What do you think?"

You turned your chair around so you could face the three of them fully.

"Yeah, I agree. I think there's a legitimate chance we could find some clues at the very least," Bucky replied, leaning in over your left shoulder to get a closer look at the image.

Memorizing it most likely.

"If I may suggest, here?" Zemo said, pointing to a location not far from them.

You saw Sam and Bucky turn to each and nod in agreement of the starting point.

"That's good. It's also close to one of the last places we spotted Karli, so it makes sense to check it out first before branching off somewhere deeper," Sam assented.

You turn back around and start typing on the keyboard. A few moments later a ping erupted from everyone's phone.

"I sent the map to all of us, so we each have a copy," you stated.

You closed the laptop and hopped off the chair you had been sitting in, packing your stuff up into your backpack off to the side.

"Whoa. Whoa. What are you doing?" Bucky said, placing his vibranium arm on your shoulder to pause your movements.

"Getting ready to go?" you questioned slowly, as if your actions weren't obvious.

"You're not coming with us," James stated sternly.

You turned to look at Sam.

"Listen, Bucky's right," Sam answered. You saw him hold his hands up in the air and shrug before placing a hand on your shoulder before continuing, "I know, it's a shocker, having Buck and I agree on something - but when it comes to your safety, we both feel the same."

You chewed on your inner cheek, knowing this was going to most likely be a losing battle. You pursed your lips, closed your eyes slowly, and sighed before lolling your head to the side in defeat.

Sam grinned knowing he won and dropped his hand from your shoulder, as he left the kitchen to go get his gear.

Bucky came up from behind you and gave you a quick hug and kiss on the head.

"Thank you," James murmured before moving to the door.

"You can't fault them for caring," Zemo said, voice carrying softly through the air.

You pivoted around to where Zemo was, watching him adjust his holsters and making a move for his coat.

"I know," you begrudgingly admit.

Zemo put on his coat and walked over to stand in front of you.

"It may not be completely dangerous, but there's always a chance, and it's not one your friends are willing to take with you," Zemo stated.

You drop your head slightly to stare at the floor. He was right. Sam and Bucky just wanted to look out for you, but that doesn't mean you couldn't be helpful down there. You do know some self defense. You spent 10 years around Steve and various Avengers over time, it's not like you weren't going to pick anything up.

"Zemo let's go," Sam said briskly, as he walked past them to meet Bucky at the front door.

You lifted your head up and saw Zemo give a curt nod to Sam before focusing his attention back on you.

Zemo started to walk by you, but paused to lean into, grabbing your wrist to gently rub his thumb over your pulse point and whisper, "And neither am I."

With that, he abruptly walked off to join Sam and James.

Your wrist was tingling with sensation even after Zemo had left your side.

Before they all left, you managed lean over the island to strangle out, "Please play nice with each other and come back in one piece!"

You could hear the huffs of laughter as they left and the door clicked shut behind them.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

#helmut zemo x reader #tfatws #helmut zemo #baron zemo #sam wilson #bucky barnes #my writing #missed opportunities #team zemo #mcu fic #the falcon and the winter soldier

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iknowicanbutwhy · 3 years

Text

Heads up we got an

Adult Hikikomori Sunny AU

I've been waiting to find an AU after the neutral end of the Hikikomori route for a while. What happened to Sunny? How did his life go on after that? Did he go to college? Did he get a fulltime job? Did he figure out what he wants in life?

these are all very good questions because literally anything could be the case. So this AU is just gonna be stuck in a hospital setting for a while.

Here's what I got so far:

Past:

Hospital Psychiatrist (practicing? Training?) Doctor Hero

I imagine after Basil's death, Hero would (eventually) turn to learning how to identify and help people with suicidal tendencies, if he's gonna be a doctor anyway.

In a choice between psychologist and psychiatrist, Hero went psychiatrist. Hero's parents would pressure him into getting a more lucrative job. PLUS psychiatrists go to college for 8 years, then take four more of psychiatry residency. Hero might feel just a little more accomplished, just a little better about himself for earning a higher degree, just to reassure himself that he's working hard and doing his best towards helping people.

Hero did extra studying in psychotherapy. He tried doing it at the same time as he did medical college. He's not.. the best at it because of that, for several reasons, but he knows it's better to combine medicine and conversation. When he has his head on straight, he can manage it.

I have.. no idea whether to put Hero into practice or residency. He'd have to be at least around.. 31, if he were in practice. That's a long time to have unresolved trauma. That's a nice hunk of research i gotta do.

That's it that's all for Hero. His goals are set in the present and focused around other people, as per usual.

Sunny is... not doing so well. He lied about going to college when he moved into some hole far away from his mother. He has no reason to get up in the morning when he can just lie around. He doesn't enjoy whatever hobbies he used to have.

He doesn't even know Basil is gone and he's so bad off.

He's honestly convinced himself that he doesn't care about anything. He still cares about people, however. He'd have stayed with his mom and burdened her with himself if he didn't. When they had moved from Faraway, it was to a cheaper, smaller place. That meant Sunny's mom didn't have to work so much. That meant more time with Sunny. He decided it was.. preferable not to stay.

The only times he does anything is when he tries to remember the past and relearn the person he used to be. What did he do? What did he like? He'd play games, and read comics, and would get frustrated? move on to something else when those did nothing for him, searching for.. some feeling to occur. And then he'd question why, why, why.

Why can't he enjoy anything? Why does he want to feel enjoyment? Why can't he just do something and be happy? Why can't he just do nothing and be fine? Why does he need to exist? Why does he want to move? Why does he want, but can never have, can never get by himself?

If there's nothing he can do, then what is he waiting for?

Vague memories would become clearer with introspection, until he would feel something, finally. An old guilt aching from deep inside his bones. A haunting self hatred, ripping away whatever minuscule strength his limbs had to try anything fun. A sense of iron resignation blanketing and anchoring his body, reminding him that it's much too late to try getting up now. Ironically, apathy got him up in the morning, as much as it keeps him from enjoying anything enough to stay up.

He was always a little too thin, but he used to force himself to do things like eat and work enough to survive. Mostly because to sleep means to not have headaches, and to not have headaches means to eat well enough, and to eat well enough means to have food, and to have food means to have money from a job.

But it's not as if he was all too desperate to sleep, anyway. His dreams have stayed the same for years. They're more eventful and colorful than bland reality, but it's a mix of the same thing every day. Staring at the swirling kaleidoscope of his dreams is exactly like observing the same beige ceiling for hours on end, until it all mixes together into the same shade of empty grey.

It probably doesn't help Sunny's mood that he thinks dramatic things like the previous point, just to pass time.

He only got worse once he was forced to move into one of those really bad apartments. You know the ones, with the rusted metal stairs nobody wants to risk their life on, and practically no privacy with four-to-five thin-walled neighboring rooms, and bad heating in one corner of the apartment. But it was cheap. Too bad he had to go up and down the stairs all the time.

He didn't have a problem with them when he just moved in. Generally, the most he notices is starting at the top, teleporting to the bottom, and a slight shaking of his hands that he barely glances at with empty curiosity.

As it is, some part of him knew this was going to happen. That he'd have one of those terribly introspective weeks, when he just so happens to have his new job with a boss ready to fire him and his sullen face and poor (somehow complete neutrality is offensive) attitude. He's emotionally vulnerable, and the memories on top of the stairs are devastating.

A week goes by. He's fired. He doesn't look for another job. He hasn't gone for groceries in a while. He's exhausted.

He was waiting for death, he guesses. He still wants, still feels that urge in the buzzing of his fingertips, the ghost of movement from his limbs, the phantom shiver in his back - the intent of every muscle in his body one after the other pleading with him to move, but never all at once - and Sunny laments that the human body is pretty stupid. Moving wont help. What would he do, make the end come quicker? He's already thrown away too many chances for that.

He'll stop wanting once he's gone. That's what happens when you get what you want, right?

His landlord finds him. He forgot the rent. He's taken to the hospital. Ugh.

Present:

Sunny is stunted and underweight. He wears baggy shirts stuffed into slightly less baggy hoodies, and sweats. Warmth. He couldn't find his hoodie after they took it off to put in an IV on his first trip to the hospital.

Usually nurses do things like bring food to patients, but Sunny only ever interacts with Hero and Hero wants to make sure Sunny is okay anyway. Not that it's much easier for Hero to encourage Sunny to eat.

Sunny stresses Hero the hell out. But Hero kinda missed Sunny, and his depressing and concerning reappearance brings with it a deadpan, world-weary, often childish humor that fails to take anything seriously when everything in Sunny's situation should be taken seriously. It's as much a relief as it is incredibly frustrating. Some days Hero loves it. Some days it makes him angry. Some days it makes him want to cry.

I tried doing research into the conduct Hero should display regarding patients/clients in general but it just. Any professionalism quickly devolves between him and Sunny.

As in, at one point, him and Sunny were whaling on each other about having no lives. Hero felt really bad afterwards; he had no idea what came over him. It was a great way for both of them to let out some hidden frustration, though, and they turned out fine afterwards. They even lowkey pick on each other every now and again.

Sometimes one or the other gets a bit too accurate in their teasing, however.

Psychiatrists are supposed to be able to understand, diagnose, and treat mental, emotional and behavioral disorders. So, if Hero were a completely capable psychiatrist, which he is, he wouldn't break down in front of his client. But Hero's late teenage years are wrought with so much grief and trauma, so to see Sunny and not just another client in this state is.. something i imagine he'd break down about eventually. There's also the fact that Sunny is mostly closed off to any help, which only makes things harder.

Hero is trying his best, but after years of never understanding why Mari died, years of thinking and wondering and second-guessing himself, years of guilt after never visiting Basil before he died, years of doing what he was told was "best" yet failing in what's most important to him (his friends) - his best never feels good enough around Sunny. It feels too little, too late. For this reason, and possibly because even if Hero were able to keep himself together he may just not be the right psychiatrist for Sunny, it would be better for him to find another psychiatrist for Sunny. He won't, though.

Hero really needs some time to himself to just think, or perhaps he needs someone else to talk to. Kel is nice, but Aubrey would have better experience handling emotions.

I have a very limited idea of what Aubrey and Kel are doing. Aubrey is a childcare instructor to parents and works in child services. She has studied child psychology. She has studied how childhood affects adulthood. Kel's off trying to make a name in basketball while giving kids high fives and heartfelt support.

Hero, in fact, does not like to be called Dr. Hero, but his shyness (feeling of unworthiness) about it only endears everyone to call him that more. He tells the kids that everyone calls him Hero, but the adults merely find out from the other doctors and nurses. Hero tried introducing himself as Henry to the other doctors, but Kel told them his nickname, and it stuck for obvious reasons.

Sometimes, on days when Hero has to wear his lab coat, he ties it around his neck like a cape. The kids like it, say it makes him look like a superHero.

Hero doesn't really cook. His schedule is always too busy to make anything that isn't quick. But he does eventually figure out that cooking for Sunny is the best way to entice him to eat, so when he makes something, he makes enough for both of them. They eat together.

Hero had to gather Sunny's change of clothes from his apartment when he found out that the reason Sunny has been in the same clothes for the last week is because he's had no one to visit him. Not even his mother. Why?

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sweet-evie · 3 years

Text

The Emperor's Wish: My Personal Favorite [Fanfic Commentary #10]

Fanfic AO3

His final judgment is at hand. The price is set and the plan is in motion. But Emperor Lelouch uncovers his lover's secret, and it will haunt him beyond his own death.

[FANFIC COMMENTARY]

Legit, I’m proud of this one. I don’t know why… Probably not the best either. But this was incredibly self-indulgent, and hey, it turned out so well. Would you find it funny if I told you that this fic premise was in my head ever since I wanted to write for CLuCLu? Like, after watching the movie, I was always imagining how it would pan out so differently if Lelouch had a child, and C.C. is left to care for her lover and her son.

This is my baby and my pride and joy. My only one probably 😅 There are lots of made-up quotes in that fic that I’m really (and I mean, really proud of, and I don’t say that often because my writing is ~Hit or miss~ )

Unlike One Day at a Time, this one took a genuine effort to understand characters and how they would react in this what-if situation I created in my fucked up head. 🤣😂

It was written during the thick of quarantine and lockdown last year (April 2020), and I guess that helped fuel my timeliness and speedy updates. Because I was writing fanfic for the majority of the day, with minimal breaks in-between. Some of the reviewers on FFN can attest to the daily updates I had for The Emperor’s Wish.

It started as a one-shot with the Prologue, as my way of testing the waters. When I felt secure and sure that I could finish it, I went headfirst, never looked back, and came out of the other side, proud of myself for not abandoning a WIP 😅. But that was also because I had so much fun with it. It was nice to imagine a world where Lelouch had proper closure with his friends and family.

My favorite moment from The Emperor’s Wish (aside from the blatant CLuCLu romance) is Lelouch and Suzaku’s relationship. I love how I wrote them there. I love their bromance, as well as the subtle Ned Stark & Robert Baratheon allusion towards Chapter 11: Rewriting the Stars.

Suzaku never had a brother. And Lelouch never truly liked any of his… But even if they weren't bound by blood, theirs was a bond built on so much more.

For you are the brother I chose…

Perchance if some reader is as obsessed and familiar with George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire as me, then I bet they would have caught that… Or not. And it was simply self-satisfaction for the writer. Either way, I. Don’t. Regret. It.

And of course, I loved writing it mostly because of the star of that fanfic: Alexander Lamperouge himself. 🤩

He’s now in my Sims 4 universe, as a spellcaster. 😂

My Loves and Regrets

I LOVE how I wrote Nunnally here, honestly. She’s not a character I’d imagine that I could ever pull off flawlessly, and while I don’t think I accomplished the ‘flawless’ part, I think I did a decent job fleshing out her reaction and what a decent conversation with her older brother and C.C. could have gone like, also her reaction to finding out she had a nephew.

I REGRET that I didn’t get to write a lot about Lelouch’s other friends -- Shirley, Milly, & Rivalz, to be honest. It just felt so out of left field for me to force their story somewhere in the fanfic retelling considering the entire story did revolve around the CLuCLu family. In my own way, I tried writing more for the three of them separately, but that didn’t push through, because for some reason my brain doesn’t work. The only one I made a decent attempt at is Shirley, but I didn’t publish the fic either. It was about her meeting with Lelouch again after a year or two. It was set somewhere in Dubai. She was supposed to meet his son, and see C.C. again, and the ending was supposed to have C.C. and Shirley hugging and Shirley tells C.C. to take care of Lelouch. It was a very bittersweet one-shot/drabble/plot idea that was never publicized.

I LOVE my shoddy attempt at drawing parallels between certain scenes in The Emperor’s Wish. One of the readers, Kurosawa Ayumi, actually caught it and mentioned it in a review. It was the scene where Alexander was playing with his Knightmare toys (Lancelot & Gawain), and how Lancelot was cleaved in half from being accidentally thrown or dropped, and then how Jeremiah put him back together again. And then I transitioned to the annals of the prison in Grahlbad where Lelouch and Suzaku were about to confront each other after two years of not speaking and assuming one was dead.

I REGRET that The Emperor’s Wish isn’t longer. Like, I wish I took the plunge to create complicated twists, but it just… didn’t feel right at that time, you know? 😅🤔 Considering how I framed the fanfic as a retelling and reimagination of Re;surrection’s plot from the start, I feel like it would be too far-out to suddenly make things overly complicated than they already are. Also, there literally wasn’t much information available about Shamna, Shalio, and the rest at the time.

I LOVE the scenes I added in the fic, and the ones I put my own fanfic twist on. Re;surrection was a movie, so for obvious reasons, there’s time constraints and not as much time to flesh out characters like in a series. I tried doing that in my own way in this fic, and whether I succeeded at adding believable details to their interactions or not, it’s up to the reader. I’m just relieved that I actually managed to pull it off, given how sucky I am lately.

The Epilogue

The epilogue for The Emperor’s Wish went through a lot of rewrites.

At one point, it was supposed to overtly show the CLuCLu family traveling through Georgia, Lebanon, etc., and about how exhausting and challenging it was to hunt Geass fragments, gather intel, and take care of a baby at the same time. But I scratched it in favor of the first scene in the epilogue that we have now -- which is Suzaku and Nunnally discussing the latest Black Knight report, and the convenience of the entire operation because L.L. and C.C. were involved in some ways.

Hence the lines:

"They were responsible for stopping that criminal, weren't they?" She asked even when she already knew the answer.

"Highly likely. Probably stripped him of his powers before they abandoned him to be caught by the Black Knights."

And then I decided to take the steamy-but-not-really route for the final scene. The vague lovey-dovey between Lelouch and C.C. There was also a slightly vague allusion to them getting married underneath a poplar tree.

Plus, the last line was the cherry on top of my favorite fic so far:

— professing over and over again how fortunate and how blessed he was to have and to hold her for better or for worse…

And not even Death was powerful enough to tear them apart.

And on that note,

It wasn’t the longest fic I would ever write, nor is it the best, but it’s definitely one of my favorites. 😊😍🥰 And I loved every second of writing it. 🥳

#code geass #fanfiction #the emperor's wish #lelouch x c.c.#c.c. x lelouch #cluclu #lulucc #lelouch vi britannia #c.c. (code geass)#lelouch of the resurrection #fukkatsu no lelouch #wbad blog #wbad fanfiction #fanfiction commentary

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shoichee · 4 years

Text

Red Rose

Part 3 of the Pun Fest collection!

Akashi x Reader

Word Count: 4,355

Synopsis: You made it a challenge for yourself as the esteemed 1st year class clown to get a reaction out of Akashi. Not just any Akashi, however. Boku-Akashi. Things quickly get too out of hand.

Note: I will be trying to avoid describing the “color” of Akashi’s eyes because they are actually a non-diegetic effect, where the animation/visuals are flashy/emphasized for the audience to see, but in the canon universe, they don’t actually look like that and no one will actually see said animations, and such.

»»—————　☼　—————««

“...and after that, his ass fell flat on the floor right in front of everybody! Can you believe that?”

As your voice chimed throughout the halls, your fellow classmates were stifling their laughter but chortles still escaped from their suppressed lips. Hayama smacked your head in utter embarrassment.

“You’ve already told that story to everyone, c-cut it out already!”

“Kotarooooo,” you pouted. “Not my fault that they kept asking for me to retell it again.” You stuck your tongue at him.

“Tch,” he clicked his tongue, figurative irk marks popping up on his temple. “You needa show some more respect to your senpais!” With that, he started grabbing your head to mess with your hair.

“H-Hey! It’s not my fault that you tried to impress a passerby 3rd year girl by doing a failed dribbling trickshot,” you vehemently protested, trying to rip his strong grip off your poor hairline.

Your classmates were either watching with complete entertainment or with concern for your safety as both you and the Uncrowned King were duking it out and sidestepping each other.

… That is, until they grew increasingly uncomfortable after spotting a particular redhead walking in their direction.

You and Hayama were too invested in the playfight to notice the unforeseen deathly silence and chilled air that accompanied it.

“Kotarō.”

With a simple call from his airy tone that still somehow glaciated the sunniest of atmospheres, he halted both of you (with his hand still fisted in your hair and you still pulling his cheek) to turn your attention to the person to whom the voice belonged.

Akashi Seijuro.

“C-captain!” Hayama separated from you at an inhumane speed that rivaled his lightning dribbling. You stiffened yourself straight like a plank.

You’ve heard the rumors. From whispering gossipers to personal testimony from your blonde best friend, you knew his presence meant anything but pleasant.

“Did you forget that we had practice today?”

Holy shit. You glanced in the corner of your eye to see Hayama paled before he gulped. Was he gonna be okay?

You dared not move a muscle from where you stood, hoping not to attract the basketball captain’s attention, but you knew you stuck out like a sore thumb after seeing how all the students huddled closer to the walls while you were stuck in the middle along with Hayama and Akashi.

“I knew that you forgot, so I came by for your sake so we can all start practice together as an absolute team.”

Ah… there was his infamous favorite word.

Akashi flickered his catlike gaze to you. He didn’t miss the way your body was paralyzed by fear, but he slightly narrowed his pupils at the fact that you almost looked curious about him.

“We’re going.” He gracefully pivoted around to walk the opposite direction in where he came from.

“I-I’ll see you later, dummy,” he whispered, giving you a playful wink before he strode up to Akashi’s pace, but you knew from his tense back that he was scared shitless of whatever inevitable punishment drill he was going to be tortured by.

You recovered from your stupor and tried to ease Hayama with a joke. “Don’t act all tough, Kota! I know you’re gonna akashit your pants!—” You snorted trying to finish your one-liner but finding your own joke funny. “P-pf-pfft, don’t slip on the floor again, okay?”

And just like that, with your words, the students around you eased up and let out soft chuckles.

Hayama turned back around even as he continued walking. “Oi! Watch it, kid!” He made the motions of pointing his eyes to you, but you knew that he was grateful for you in trying to unravel his bundle of nerves.

Akashi, still walking, merely glanced back at your figure, unamused at your “joke” but nonetheless almost impressed that you actually had some type of leadership charisma to be able to uplift a crowd’s mood in an instant.

. . .

Everyone released a huge sigh of collective relief once the basketball-player duo was out of sight.

“Are you insane, (l/n)?” Another good friend of yours went up to your side. “You had the balls to literally say such a thing in front of him? Of all people?”

“Well, it’s not like, I’d get sent to the faculty office because of him…” you muttered. On second thought, you probably would. This was Akashi Seijuro you were talking about.

Everyone started clamoring as they all started seeing you in a much higher regard; some of them even looked at you with starry eyes and others swore to be your new admirers. The rest, though, thought you had just sealed your fate by getting under Akashi’s radar.

“You’ll be missed and honored,” a classmate said, giving a solid pat to your right shoulder. “What type of flowers would you like for your funeral?”

“Hmmm,” you hummed, pointing to your chin and staring at the grand ceiling. You turned to them. “Roses as red as Akashi’s hair and the blood of his victims.”

“(l/n), you did not—”

“Oh my god.”

“Is it too late to become religious just to pray for your wellbeing?”

You just summoned chaos in the hallway for the next hour.

---------

The next morning was just another indication of a mild, warm day in Kyoto as you walked past Rakuzan’s school gates. Or at least, you thought the morning would be fine. Even with your thick uniform blazer, you swore that you felt cold chills running down your spine every now and then when you were strolling your normal route to your class.

There’s the cold chills again.

You stopped and looked around your shoulders and behind your back. No one shady was near; they were all too busy chatting with their friends or changing their shoes in their lockers to care much for your presence. Those who noticed you nearby had already given you a friendly greeting.

You hesitantly walked again, being your usual carefree self but now being hyper aware in tracking the students around you. Your eyes widened.

There.

Had you blinked in that moment, you would have surely missed it, but a flash of red flitted around a corner of a hallway. You sighed and groaned inwardly.

Your classmates were right: you were going to die by the hands of a certain redhead.

This was the price you had to pay for not passing up the perfect opportunity for an iconic line.

---------

“Say,” you said turning to your friend once you entered your classroom. “Has Akashi ever shown a side other than being a calm freak?”

“I don’t know if you ever wanna see anything different than that,” she replied, looking up from her homework.

“Imagine him laughing, though. That’d be news of the century.”

“Dear god, I can’t imagine him laughing other than the kind of scheming cackle you’d get from the TV show villains.” You bursted into a fit of snorts while other students, who were secretly eavesdropping out of curiosity after hearing Akashi’s name, snickered.

Another student wedged himself into your conversation. “No one’s ever seen him show any side of him though. Honestly, he’s like a demon.”

“He’s a 1st year student just like the rest of us,” you chided. “Come on, he’s human too. He wasn’t born to be a calculating machine.”

Everyone in the vicinity gave you incredulous looks (for valid reasons, to be fair).

“Hmph!” You crossed your arms. “I’ll prove it to you guys! He’s not as stone-cold as you think!”

“(y-y/n)-san…” Your friend from earlier tugged onto your sleeve. “You’re really fun to hang around with and all, but…”

“Yeah, um… We know you’re competitive and don’t like to back down, but I think you shouldn’t tread into this type of… dangerous territory.”

“Did you already forget what happened with Hayama-senpai yesterday?”

Pretty soon, a large chorus of agreements and mumbles spread throughout your class. Irked, you pouted as you continued to cross your arms.

“I’m gonna make him laugh, and I’ll do it.”

“Uh..”

“Um…”

No one had the heart to disagree with you when you looked like you sparked a fiery aura around yourself as you raised your fists, ready to take it as a challenge for yourself.

Your classmate sighed. Welp, there’s a reason why you got along with Hayama so well in the first place.

You were both so overly enthusiastic and reckless.

---------

You’ve been thrumming your fingers on your desk throughout your classes, staring blankly as you start stringing up ideas on how to accomplish your “challenge.”

Succeeding in making Akashi laugh is like Hayama agreeing to let the dentist extract his snaggletooth. You’re basically asking for the impossible.

Maybe you should’ve settled for a more realistic goal, but then again, this entire ordeal was an entire miracle on its own.

Ah ha. You stopped your finger taps, hitting a fist to your palm in realization. Maybe you just need to get a reaction out of him, and the rest will eventually fall into place.

At the same time, your friend looked at you in worry; you were making odd hand gestures and mumbling to yourself as you went too deep within your thoughts to regard your surroundings.

Oh dear.

---------

Once lunch began, you immediately left class after incoherent chants of “seeyah” and “gotta go” to go look for Hayama’s corpse and pay your respects for the poor 2nd year after yesterday.

You bought sweet bread from the student store for his offering before you went to look for him.

At the sight of the completely lethargic Hayama, you ran up to him in mock grief.

“Ah, spirit-sama!” you cried out, bowing with your hands clasped together (the bread secured in between). “Please at least tell me that Kota died peacefully—” He interrupted you with a chop to the head.

“Ow! Please don’t curse me, spirit! I didn’t treat him that poorly when he was alive…” You winced, rubbing your head in an attempt to soothe the impact.

“I’m not dead, idiot!” he retorted, but his banter lacked bite, and both of you knew why.

You sighed before you flashed him a genuine worried expression. “Are you okay, though?” You promptly handed him the bread, and he immediately did a 180, hooting and having starry eyes at the package.

“Of course I am,” he said, munching on the bread. “Not! He made me do so many extra drills and exercises that I seriously thought I was gonna die!”

“Okay, before you totally freak out, but please don’t freak out,” you started. You told him about your plan about Akashi.

“You’re gonna WHAT—”

“SHHHhhhHHH—” You clamped over his mouth despite him still chewing. “What did I just say?”

“Reo-nee! Ei-chan!” he called out while you still attempted to close his yapper. “Save meeeee!”

The said Uncrowned Kings nearby eyed you two before looking at each other and shrugged; they strolled up to you.

“Oh? (y/n)-chan?” Reo tucked his strands behind his ear. “Has he been causing a ruckus?”

“I have not—”

“Actually, since you’re here anyways, I wanna ask you all something,” you said. “What do you know about Akashi personally?”

“Huh?” was all you heard from the Uncrowned Kings.

“Well…” Reo hummed. “I might know a thing or two about Sei-chan…”

“I’ll just go get lunch,” Nebuya called out.

---------

Day 1 of the Challenge.

Thanks to Reo, you knew most of Akashi’s schedules so you can find the perfect opportunities to “safely” encounter him.

You waited behind a corner of the hall that you knew Akashi would walk through to get to the student council room during lunch. Peeking out, you looked for scarlet hair, ignoring the judgmental (and curious) glances thrown your way here and there.

The moment you saw that everyone instantly collectively vanished, you knew Akashi was extremely nearby. You took a huge breath, expanding your chest to the point of exaggeration, and turned around the corner to finally meet the infamous emperor.

You casually strolled, putting up an impeccable act that you were naturally there rather than staking out the same spot for 20 minutes.

There he is.

You purposely got closer, hoping the closeness between you two would catch his attention. He walked without a change in expression, however, impassively eyeing you before turning his gaze back to the front. That’s when you saw your opportunity.

You almost bumped into him, but you jumped away at the last second while putting your hands up in surrender.

“W-whoa! Wahh, sorry, Akashi-san!” you quickly apologized in a bow. “Luckily, I had my emperor’s eye to foresee the future and prevented any mishap on my part.” You peeked up from your position to see him standing with his back to you, head turned to the side.

A few beats of silence passed before he said, “Your head is too high.”

“Huh?” You were thrown off. That was the last thing you expected him to say. “Wouldn’t my head not be high because I’m bowing?”

He was still assessing you from the corner of his eye, and you willed yourself to return his stare.

“Stay out of my way.”

“Then you should take your own advice,” you huffed, getting up from your bow. “Yesterday morning, I knew you were watching me at some point before you disappeared.”

But he just turned his head back to the front and continued his intended course for the student council room.

Day 1 Results: he scared the daylights out of you instead of you trying to unnerve him.

---------

Day 2 of the Challenge.

What the hell did he mean by “your head is too high?” You still couldn’t decipher his cryptic line. Maybe he just said it to everyone, but that would be really corny of him; he wasn’t that type of person.

Did he think you were too much of a peasant to even talk to him?

You gritted your teeth. You weren’t gonna give up any time soon.

When everyone was dismissed after school, Hayama let you accompany him to Rakuzan’s spacious gym, under the belief that you were going to go home right after.

As soon as you were both in front of the bulky front doors, you marched right in, catching the blonde off guard so much at the fact that you waltzed in there (full knowing Akashi was in there). He couldn’t yank you out in time even with his lightning reflexes, and you skipped around, being careful to stay near the gym walls to not disrupt anyone. You plopped yourself on one of the further benches where you knew none of the players would ever sit, and as soon as you knew Akashi was in earshot (who was ignoring your existence), you smirked.

“Hey Kota!”

“Huh?” He looked up from rummaging through his duffel bag.

“I’ve heard shogi is being played a lot more by people our age for once, but don’t you think it’s such a dread to play such a dull hobby?”

“Yeah, righ—oh.” He swallowed back his answer in seeing Akashi behind you a few meters away, being as still as a statue.

You gleefully looked behind you, hoping for any entertaining response.

Without moving, he slinked his pupils to you before grabbing a water bottle and leaving.

“C-c-can you just drop this entire thing already?” Hayama runs to your side to give your shoulders a firm shake. “I swear to god, you’re not gonna live at this point!”

“You’re right,” you said. “Just for today, I’ll have to retreat before I’ll die.”

“Not just today!” He shook you harder. “I mean stop this for good!”

“Kota, I already signed a death certificate the moment I bumped into him yesterday. Might as well go all out.”

“Oh god, you started this yesterday?”

“Well, I gotta go! See you tomorrow!”

“... More like see you never.”

Day 2 Results: his reaction was inconclusive, but it was more of a failure than success.

---------

Day 3 of the Challenge.

You were pondering about how to annoy Akashi next, both excited and terrified about where this was going to end up.

“(l/n).”

“Y-yes?” You stood straight up from your seat the moment your homeroom teacher called you.

“During lunch, please make your way to the student council room. You’re needed.”

What in the world was going on?

You fidgeted in your seat for the next few hours, shooting anxious glances at the clock every so often. All your classmates’ words of encouragement went through one ear and out the other.

“You’ll be fine!”

“I’m sure a teacher just wants you to help out with some workload…”

“We’re rooting for you!”

As the lunch bell rang, you braced yourself before you promptly made your way to the room that reeked of that particular chilled atmosphere that repelled most students away.

You prodded the door open, slipped in, and softly clicked the door shut before turning around to face the poker-faced terror sitting on his desk, watching your every move.

“Right on time.”

“You called me here?”

Akashi paid no heed to your outburst and continued. “I’ll admit. I’m quite interested in you. You have the innate sense of magnetism that draws others in.”

D-did he just compliment you?

“I would like to put your leadership to the test. You’re now vice.”

“What? You can’t just make a decision like that!”

“I ordered him to quit. There shouldn’t be a problem.”

What the hell?

What the hell, what the hell, what the hell—

Akashi looked at you like he was peering into the depths of your conscience and simply gave a civil smile.

“I hope you will contribute greatly to this school.”

Day 3 Result: a miserable failure.

---------

Day 4 of the Challenge.

You’re stressed, and it’s all Akashi’s fault.

Which made you even more determined to ruffle his feathers and rile him up.

When news broke out of your new “promotion” as vice president, your classmates celebrated for you and your already high popularity skyrocketed. Your teachers didn’t want to hear you talking about quitting when you “haven’t tried anything yet to know if this job was for you.”

The Rakuzan’s basketball starters (minus Mayazumi) were initially ecstatic for you as well… until you told them about Akashi’s string-pullings.

“I’ll make sure Sei-chan won’t do anything, okay (y/n)-chan?”

“Thanks a bunch, Reo-kun… or should I say… Reokunma (Rilakkuma bear)?” You snapped your fingers at him. He just stared at you and patted your head, totally disregarding the fact that you made a pun.

“Just pack in the muscles and you’ll have nothing to worry about!” Nebuya flexed his biceps before getting a scolding from Reo.

“Shortie! Call me whenever you need help!” Hayama dropped his elbow on top of your shoulder to emphasize his point.

“Argh, Kotarō! You’re not that much taller than me at all!” You rolled your eyes. “If anyone, why don’t you say that to Akashi?”

“Say what.”

Oh fuck.

“S-Sei-chan!...” Reo walked over to Akashi. “If you’re here for us, I thought practice didn’t start until much later!”

“I am here for (y/n).”

His irises contracted, highlighting his feline pupils. “I am depending on you as vice president to make this school an absolute powerhouse.”

He still somehow made that sound extremely condescending, like a king encouraging a mere peasant.

You were scared out of your wits, but you weren’t going to crumble so easily. Not until Akashi did first.

“Buh-bye, everyone! Good luck in practice later!”

. . .

The walk back to the office was painfully silent. You decided to break it.

“I’m not taking back what I said, prez, you’re a shortie.”

He paused in his steps. “You run your mouth while knowing no bounds.”

“You’re just a spoilsport, y’know.”

“My orders are absolute.”

“You know, you’re scary as shit, but the whole ‘absolute’ line kinda grows old when I hear it every time I talk to you.”

Palpable silence blanketed between the two of you once again at your words.

This guy can’t even crack no matter what you do.

You stepped into the office and followed him to his desk. He walked to grab a pen from a drawer before he approached you.

He stepped forward, thrusted the sleek, black fountain pen to your face, and jerked back the writing instrument at the last millisecond.

You froze, forgetting to breathe as you felt the pen nib harshly prodding the tip of your nose.

“Do not make me repeat myself. My orders are absolute.”

He then gave you some paperwork and assignments to complete like nothing ever transpired.

Day 4 Results: you thought being relentless in your attacks would prove beneficial, but you’re starting to regret everything.

---------

Day 5 of the Challenge.

Maybe you needed to avoid direct confrontation, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t get a reaction from him in other ways.

One small perk of being vice was the fact that you no longer needed to tail around Akashi in order to bump into him “coincidentally,” but you’re not sure if this sole advantage could outweigh the disadvantages, particularly one that might result in your early death.

You’re frankly not as scared as you should be, even though you definitely were at those times you were with Akashi. If anything, it pissed you off that he’s always able to get you to jump out of your skin.

He’s just a 1st year. He’s just a 1st year.

You went to the student council room early to tape on a note to his desk, so there wouldn’t be a chance that it would “fall off his desk” and that “he didn’t see it.”

Roses are red,

I suppose you’re “absolute.”

You’ll still be knocked dead,

And there’ll be no dispute.

You snickered. It was too funny to pass up.

Before you left, you took the time to survey around and get a solid look at the office interiors for the first time (since Akashi’s presence made it impossible for anyone to not pay attention to him).

It was ridiculously tidy, all the wooden furniture polished to the point where their mahogany varnishes shined. Books were meticulously ordered by alphabetical order and genres, and they looked like they were all dusted at every free chance. The rugs showcased simple circles, but the minimalism of them added to the office’s air of crisp cleanliness. The gray curtains gently framed the wide window behind Akashi’s desk. But what really caught your eye was a board of shogi and its pieces tucked away in a corner on a high shelf.

Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try knocking on Death’s door again.

. . .

Akashi’s shoe clicked on the floor as he opened the door. His steps continued to echo throughout the small room as he walked to his desk to start his work, that is, until he saw your note.

“Oh?” A grin snaked its way onto his face by the time he read the last line.

He severely underestimated you. You unexpectedly had tenacity.

No one has ever defied him repeatedly so openly before.

His expression put the notorious Cheshire cat to shame, his ulterior smile occupying half his face as his eyes widened in excitement equivalent to a predator.

Feeling pumped for the first time in a while, he decided to expend his energy on shogi. He carefully brought down the board and placed it onto his desk, going through the familiar motions of unpacking and setting up a game, before he froze.

There were various pencil doodles on each shogi piece. All of them were variants of :/ and :).

You were taking a jab at his personality as well as his mannerisms.

He barked an amused harsh laugh.

. . .

Day 5 Results: truth be told, you were too scared to see him face to face right after your double stunts; since you knew his schedules, you only came into the student council office when you knew he wasn’t inside.

---------

Day 6 of the Challenge.

Continuing to avoid him would already confirm to Akashi that you were actually shaken up by the high possibility of him retaliating, and you definitely weren’t about to give him the satisfaction.

You went to class as always, and by break, you feigned innocence as you strolled into the council room, seeing Akashi leaning against the table.

“Good morning, Akashi.”

He nodded in acknowledgment before he gave a full, predatory smile, his pupils focused on you.

“To continue to fuel diligent work, it’s beneficial to recognize one’s efforts by giving gifts.”

What? Was he not going to bring up what you did yesterday?

He pulled out a single red rose and gracefully tilted it for you to take. You warily plucked it out of his hand.

In a different context, it would’ve been sweet or even romantic, but you knew Akashi ticked a different tune.

“I do hope that you will continue to stay and become even more efficient with your work.”

You gazed at the rose at your hand, confused, as Akashi started walking back out, heading for the door.

You gasped.

“... Did you overhear our conversations the other day in the hallway?”

He chuckled.

“I know the future, because I am absolute.”

“Bastard.” You clicked your tongue, turning to Akashi. “You knew the entire time?”

“Shogi is easily applied to every aspect of life. Move the correct pieces and you will always win.”

You turned back around to avoid letting Akashi see you in an embarrassed state. He played you like an absolute fiddle.

You scowled, and you were about to cross your arms in defiance until the sunlight from the window cascaded on something where your “note” used to be.

“Akashi, what’s that on your desk?” You tentatively walked up to the table to see a stainless glass vase with a single dark burgundy dahlia resting daintily against the inner rim.

His hand was on the doorknob before he turned back to face you.

“Dahliang,” his tone of voice light, almost mockingly saccharine. “Do be careful from now on.”

He left.

Day 6 Results: he completely destroyed you at your own game and sealed the final nail to your coffin with a pun.

---------

End Note: Black dahlias (which are actually dark burgundy in color) symbolize signs of warning, betrayal, and other negative emotions.

#knb #knb x reader #akashi x reader #akashi seijuro x reader #akashi seijuro #akashi scenarios #kuroko no basket #kotaro hayama #hayama kotarou #reo mibuchi #nebuya eikichi #rakuzan #knb scenarios #punfest series #bokushi #boku-akashi #ore-akashi

146 notes · View notes

babyybitchhhwrites · 3 years

Text

Toji x Reader 18+

Rating: Explicit/R-18+

Words: 4562

Warnings: incest, father/daughter, noncon, manipulation tactics, degradation, choking, creampie, unprotected sex, dead dove do not eat

A/N: Heed the warnings, this one is not particularly nice. Big brother Megumi has tried his best to make up for Toji's emotionally unavailable father schtick but it just didn't work the way he'd hoped.

: ^ )

♥♥♥♥

You’re half awake and only distantly aware of the mattress dipping behind you. It feels like a dream at first, one you can’t quite shake even when you open your eyes and groggily blink into the suffocating darkness that surrounds you. There’s some kind of disconnect between your resting body and your waking mind which all too readily tries to write it off as your brother crawling into bed with you even though you haven’t slept together in ages. Even though you know in a vague, abstract sort of way that he has school in the morning and wouldn’t be caught dead sneaking into your room under normal circumstances, let alone in the dead of the night. There was too much risk involved and not enough incentive to take the chance. He’d never done this before, so why start now?

Even knowing - despite knowing it can’t possibly be Megumi for a multitude of reasons, you still want to accept this explanation and go back to sleep. You have school too, after all. There was a big geometry test awaiting you during first period. Or was it biology? You can’t quite recall, still mostly asleep and too tired to think properly. It didn’t really matter what it was though, because you’d never hear the end of it if you were too indisposed to concentrate and ended up with a failing grade. That was the very last thing you needed right now.

Deciding to take the easy route and just ream him a new one in the morning, you snuggle into your pillow with a quiet, sleepy groan and make a conscious effort to drift off again. You barely make out the gruff responding laugh over the rustling sheets and then he settles in behind you.

Your eyes immediately snap open again. That is not Megumi. The build was all wrong. Too big and too firm with hard musculature that does not match your brothers lean body composition. Whoever was behind you felt massive in comparison, as oppressive as they were imposing, and it quickly becomes apparent that you can’t turn a blind eye anymore when they snake a steel corded arm around your middle. You start to quake.

“Wha -“

“Shh. You don’t want to wake your brother, do you?”

It’s as if a rug had been torn out from under your feet.

“Dad?” You warble into the void, hardly daring to believe it was really him. He’d been gone for almost three weeks now and this was how he chose to announce he was back?

“Of course. You weren’t expecting someone else, were you?”

Although his tone is light, bordering on playful, you couldn’t have missed the hint of something far more dangerous lurking just below the surface of that question even if you’d wanted to. He was teasing you, yes. But he was also testing you.

“Don’t be silly.” You murmur, glad your voice doesn’t crack under the pressure. “You just surprised me, that’s all. I was sleeping.”

“I know. I didn’t want to wait until morning to see you though.” Issuing a soft sigh, Toji presses his mouth to the nape of your neck in a chaste but not quite innocent kiss. Goosebumps erupt across your skin and you involuntarily shudder, clutching the bedsheet in a death grip that only becomes tighter when he presses himself right up against your back. You’re not sure how you didn’t make the connection sooner when that hard muscle mass was so uniquely his. “Did you miss me?”

“Yes. I always do.”

Humming in a rare show of approval - something he kept in reserve specifically for times like this - he slowly drags his calloused hand up your twitching stomach one agonizing inch at a time. The thin tank top you’d put on for bed bunches and you find yourself arching into his touch when he not so gently palms the weight of your breast before giving it an encouraging squeeze. A gasp rattles out of you and in to the night, which he responds to with a dull groan of his own.

“That’s my girl. Always so good for daddy.”

You whimper, screwing your eyes shut against the onslaught of conflicting emotions that constantly follow in your fathers wayward path of destruction. It wasn’t that you didn’t realize this was wrong. The exact opposite, in fact. No matter how much you might have wanted to, there was simply no denying that something was inherently inappropriate about these clandestine encounters with him or that this was not a normal parent-child relationship. You knew none of your friends let their dads touch them like this. You also knew Megumi wasn’t on the receiving end of any such preferential treatment. Just you.

But there was still a very real part of your psyche that enjoyed this time together, even if it was twisted and fucked up. Fushiguro Toji was not an easy man to live with and he wasn’t exactly forthcoming when it came to affection. For as long as you could remember, you’d grown up believing wholeheartedly that he hated you. Wished you’d never been born in the first place. It was impossible not to think that way when he was so distant, both physically and emotionally, even when you were too little to understand that that's just how he was. Your older brother had been more of a parent to you than he ever had.

That changed shortly after your thirteenth birthday though, when you were well into the throes of puberty and he suddenly became keenly aware of your developing body. You’d caught him staring more times than you could count, not so subtly eying you up in every room of the apartment like a predator taking stock of its next potential meal, and even now you were ashamed to recall how much that had delighted you. He’d never given you so much attention before and you were desperate for more. Hadn’t even realized that you were so starved for his approval until you started parading around in close to nothing, much to Megumi’s barefaced horror, but you were far beyond the point of salvation at that point. You needed your father to like you in some capacity, even if it meant acting like a brazen little slut to accomplish that.

It worked, too. Of course it did. How could you have ever expected anything less when the shorts kept getting shorter and you refused to wear a bra no matter how sore your budding tits got from rubbing against the inside of your shirt? You were essentially tossing a slab of meat into the wolves den, and he’d responded in kind. Met your challenge head on and with even greater ferocity than you could ever have hoped to muster. You hadn’t exactly planned on becoming a stand in for your deceased mother but, well … there was only so much poking and prodding an apex hunter would put up with before asserting his dominance. You’d brought it on yourself, really.

And now he was groping your chest with a steady hand, not even a hint of reluctance in his body language. He had accepted your naive, childishly issued invitation and the parameters were set in stone the moment you’d submitted to whatever maladjusted treatment he felt the need to dish out. There was no going back now, no room for hesitation. Not from either one of you. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, you knew that it was wrong but if this was the only way for him to accept you …

“Daddy!”

Toji shushes you again, yet he doesn’t let up on the nipple cruelly pinched between his fingers. He gives it a rough tweak and then a twist, clearly delighting in the shudder that dances through your body in response. “Keep it down. You know how thin the walls are.”

You do know just how thin they are, so you force your fingers to uncurl from the sheets and bring your hand up to cover your mouth. Megumi could never find out about this. Not ever. You weren’t even particularly worried about yourself but, rather, you just didn’t want him to hate dad. And he certainly would. He was protective of you in a way Toji probably should have been but even that was not enough to satisfy your miserable need for a relationship with your actual father. It was pathetic.

“You’re even more sensitive than usual,” He muses, oblivious to your self deprecating thoughts as he slowly releases one aching bud in favor of reaching for the other. “Did you spend the last few weeks wet and neglected? Huh? Poor baby. You know you can touch yourself when I’m not around to do it for you.”

Writhing when he indelicately tugs at your nipple, you outright seethe. The heavy weight of his growing erection becomes even more apparent and it twitches eagerly against your upper thigh, encouraged by the needy grind of your hips. He nudges even closer in search of more direct friction which your wriggling ass all too readily provides and he groans in approval. That low, rumbling sound goes straight to your thrumming cunt and you instinctively squeeze your legs together as a strange sense of joy floods your chest like helium filling a birthday balloon. Sometimes it really did feel like you could just blissfully float away if he gave you enough praise, whether that be verbal or otherwise, and the validation of his cock was easily the most potent of them all. You were soaring.

“It’s not the same when I do it …” You mewl into your palm, aching at how true that statement rings.

“I know, sweetheart. I know. You’re just daddy’s needy little cock sleeve, aren’t you?” Toji’s warm breath puffs against your neck when he speaks. It tickles and you shake for him so enthusiastically that your spine pops with a faint crack. He laughs, very faintly, but it sounds more like a muttered curse in the dark. His hand shifts against your breast and possessively squeezes the firm, supple swell of flesh in a pinching grip so tight that his blocky fingers sink into the skin, and you keen. It hurt, yes. It was painful enough to make your eyes water and yet it also made your gushing cunt spasm, clenching so violently it almost punched the air right out of your lungs.

Dizzy with want and teetering on the edge of delirium, you snake your unoccupied hand underneath the covers, blindly fumbling for your pussy. The pressure was simply too much - you needed relief, even if it was only temporary - but he’s just as quick to abandon your tit in favor of crowding his hand between your legs right along with yours.

The broad expanse of his palm absolutely engulfs your knuckles, pushing down and manually guiding you into rubbing the apex of your slit until you tremble against him. It’s not quite enough to shove you over the edge, the unfocused stimulation only serving to make you even more wet and desperate, but the stark intimacy of being directed to massage your sticky cunt is undeniable. The absolute, unfaltering control he had over the body he’d helped bring into this world was staggeringly erotic in its own right and you couldn’t get enough. It felt a bit like being teased, though. Your orgasm hanging precariously over your head like the sword of Damocles, a looming threat in the back of your mind, but you were more than prepared to beg for the killing blow at this point. It’s not as if you really had any dignity left anymore.

“Daddy, please ... I want to cum, I wanna’ cum so bad! I need it!”

“Mmm. You think you’re ready for my cock, princess?”

You jerkily nod your head. “Uh-huh!”

Toji draws a slow, anticipatory breath. Lets it hang in the air for a long beat before actually speaking. “Alright. Can you keep quiet, or do I need to find something to gag you with? Be honest. You know I wont put up with any lying.”

You try to give that its due consideration but it's a struggle just to get your thoughts in order. All of your focus is on the worryingly damp spot between your thighs and the shameful way your flushed body practically sings under his attention. It certainly wouldn’t have been the first time your father had ever gagged you but … you’d rather not have him shove a pair of your underwear so deep into your mouth that you retch around the balled up cotton if you could help it. “I can be quiet. Promise.”

He makes a sound like he doesn’t quite believe that but relents all the same. Both of you knew the punishment for failing to meet his expectations, especially after you swore to it, would far outweigh the offense itself, so there wasn’t any reason to linger on the topic. Your ass was on the line, not his.

Pushing up on the bed, he rises over you and tugs you onto your back. Your heartbeat doubles now that you can just barely make out his silhouette through the veil of darkness, the familiar figure of your father proving a great comfort despite the ugliness of what you two were doing together. Biting your lip, you twist to help him get your pajama pants off only to flush when he clucks his tongue at the lack of panties underneath.

“You were just hoping I’d come home and pay you a visit, weren’t you, slut?” He snarks, impatiently tossing your discarded bottoms to the end of the bed.

You whimper at the degrading name but a pleasant shudder works its way down your back when he goes up on his knees so he can unfasten his slacks. The zrrt of his zipper sounds impossibly loud in the dark and your pussy flutters with sick anticipation, surely drooling all over the sheets now. He’d trained you well. Taught you that the only source of true pleasure and validation you’d ever know would come from him and him alone. Not anybody else and certainly not from yourself. You were entirely reliant on him for everything. Your sense of worth, your self confidence, your mental and emotional wellness. Toji had all that and so much more right in the palm of his hand and, as always, he wasn’t particularly inclined to be nice about it.

“God, I can smell you from here. That hungry little pussy of yours is gonna’ shave ten years off my lifespan, you know that? So fucking needy.” The rustle of pants being shoved down bare legs makes your breath come quicker. He reaches for you then, big hands winding around your calves and yanking you further down the mattress so that your upturned ass is securely slotted between his knees.

A choking gurgle of excitement rises in the back of your throat, quickly stifled, as you clamp your hand more firmly over your mouth. Thoughts briefly drifting to Megumi again, you offer him a silent apology. He’d practically raised you in Toji’s stead but, no matter how much he may have tried, a brother's love could never adequately replace that of a fathers. It didn’t even come close and now you were laying on your back, getting ready to take the very cock that had given you life. It was abhorrent.

“Daddy …”

He doesn’t even pause though. “You really like it that much, baby? Can’t even make do with your fingers or settle for someone your own age? I didn’t realize I was raising such a shameless whore this whole time, but I can’t exactly say I’m complaining.” Leaving one of your legs to uselessly flex in the air, he reaches down to fist himself. You can hear the silky slither of moving skin when he pumps his dick a handful of times before settling closer and guiding the blunt head to your weeping entrance. Breath catching, you squeeze the lower half of your face so hard you can feel nails sinking in and threatening to break the skin. He merely swirls the bulbous glans through the sticky sheets of slick oozing out of you though, coating his cock in arousal and then dragging it up higher to nudge at your receptively engorged clit. “Tell me how bad you want me inside you, sweetheart. Let me hear it.”

“It’s all I want!” You automatically blurt even as you jolt and twitch at the teasingly light contact. It’s hard to tell if he can even make out what you’re saying with the flat of your hand muffling your voice, but he doesn’t ask you to repeat yourself so you just keep babbling; obedient and embarrassingly stupid for him. “I haven’t been able to think about anything else since you left, daddy. I need you to fill me up and … and fuck me hard, please. It feels like I’ll die if you don’t. I hate when you have to leave for a job. I’m so lonely without you and nothing I do makes the ache go away. My pussy hurts, daddy … please!”

Toji softly coos at you, but it's the farthest thing from sweet. He was mocking you. “Aww, does it really? Poor thing. You just need me to take care of you, huh?”

You nod, whimpering into your palm.

“Well,” He breathes out when he redirects the tip of his cock back down to your ripe little hole. “I don’t know how hard I can fuck you right now with your brother in the other room but …” Hefting your captured leg a bit higher, he uses his opposite hand to push himself into the velvety soft folds of your cunt one torturous fraction at a time. You go ramrod stiff underneath him, holding your breath until the ridged glans eases past the first tight ring of muscle and he momentarily stills above you. A stuttering sigh rolls off your lolling tongue as Toji reaches for your other ankle, leaving just the head wedged inside as he spreads you open for him. By the time he’s got you positioned how he wants, your thighs are splayed in such a wide V that it actually rides the line of real discomfort but you don’t even think to complain. How could you when he was giving you exactly what you wanted?

Still holding your feet aloft, your father eases his hips forward and applies just enough pressure to sink in deeper. The penetration is deliberately slow and it forces you to acknowledge each individual centimeter of rockhard, silky flesh that dips inside your body and you seethe, biting back an almost hysterical wail of pleasure. Your pussy never did seem to get used to that impressive girth no matter how often he used it and the stretch was still exquisite. It made your toes curl, eyes tweaking and rolling towards the back of your skull when you feel relief in every throbbing inch of your nervous system. This was exactly what you’d been pining for since he’d left.

“Shit. You’re never gonna’ stop feeling like a vice, are you, sweetheart?”

You can hear the grit of his teeth but he doesn’t stop. Continues to work himself into you one shallow thrust at a time when your squeezing cunt puts up too much resistance and he has to pause, pull back and then try again. The sear of penetration has you gasping wetly behind your hand and you finally allow a single, faltering groan to rattle up through your chest when he eventually settles against you some time later. It’s an incredibly tight fit. The pressure almost too much to bear for as transcendental as it is. Toji’s cock was far from small and, sometimes, you could hardly believe that it actually fit.

“Oooh … daddy …” Your clit throbs impotently, alive just as if it had its own heartbeat. You were so close. So horribly, wonderfully close you could practically taste it on the back of your tongue.

“Hush. I’ve got you, princess.” He murmurs, keeping your shaking legs up in the air with a deceptively gentle grip. “Just keep that pretty little mouth of yours shut and you’ll be off to sleep again before you know it.”

Grunting softly, he gradually withdraws half of the way before sliding straight down to the hilt again. Now that the path had been cleared once and your slopping juices were thoroughly coating every hard inch of him, the friction became easier. It wasn’t quite so hard to move inside your guts anymore, and his pace steadily builds until the soft, sticky click, click, click coming from between your legs morphs into a steady beat. You squirm at every jostling thrust, biting down on your tongue to keep your groaning pleasure to yourself, but every once in a while a small meep still escapes the confines of your trembling hand. Your father laughs at each one, the sound strained and tense and coming out of him in increasingly hearty puffs. All while he continues to fuck you with a mere third of his usual strength.

Even that much was enough to make you heave around him though and you toss your head on the pillows, silently reminding yourself to keep quiet. It only takes a short few moments for the pushing drive of his thrusts to send you over the edge, the coil snapping so abruptly you actually lurch underneath him. Your father reacts quickly though and, as soon as he feels your pussy start to shudder, one of his hands shoots out to grab you around the neck. Your eyes grow impossibly wide when he pushes up on your constricting throat, mercilessly cutting off your air supply in the process. All you can manage is a croaking, barely audible groan of intense pleasure, the sound rattling around inside your skull like a maraca as you dissolve into full bodied shudders underneath him. You’re acutely aware of how your cunt enthusiastically creams on his cock but he doesn’t slow down, the quick pace of his hips milking your orgasm to the point of discomfort, and you start to panic. It’s instinctive, the way you weakly thrash against him.

You desperately needed to breathe and your face was starting to grow numb the longer he kept his fist locked around your throat but Toji was as unyielding as iron. Your consciousness just starts to blur around the edges when he suddenly releases you, air flooding your windpipe as you immediately suck in a haggard gasp. That’s all the reprieve he allows you before his palm smacks against your wide open mouth and shoves you down into the mattress so hard the springs creak.

Hot tears track down your cheeks as he leans over you and pins you to the bed with the heavy weight of his body. His once evenly tempered thrusts turn brutal and he slams into your squelching cunt viscously enough to make pain shoot out from between your legs and into the rest of your abdomen. It hurts, it hurts so bad that you actually wail into the flat of his palm, but he doesn’t stop. For a painfully long stretch of time, he just pistons into you without a second thought to the matter, even when the bed frame begins faintly rattling under the two of you. He doesn’t seem to care, clearly, and that thought terrifies you more than anything. Megumi couldn’t find out. He couldn’t.

“Yeah. Right there.” He snarls, barely getting the words out through his gnashing teeth. “Take it, baby. Take it! That’s right. You take daddy’s cock so fucking well, you know that?”

You squeeze your eyes shut against the aggressive way he spits in your face, praying that he reaches his limit before your brother stirs at the noise. While not exactly loud, Toji was certainly making enough of a scene to draw unwanted attention and you didn’t want to think about what would happen if Megumi came to investigate. It didn’t even make sense. Your father was the one who’d reminded you of how thin the walls were so why was he recklessly throwing caution aside like this?

A few minutes pass in which all you can do is lay there and take it, helplessly ragdolling with his hand still covering your mouth to keep you quiet, and you’re sure the jig has to be up. There’s no way your brother is still asleep in his room. Toji was a man possessed, flexing against you like a rutting hellbeast that couldn't be bothered with silly notions of decency. But then, as if hearing your silent pleas, his body starts to tense up and his shoulders quake. You latch onto that brief glimmer of hope, reeling at the pain as his hips slap against your ass with one last surge of monstrous energy. Once, twice, three times - and on the fourth brain rattling jolt, he stills.

His breath is ragged and quick against your face. You can feel the oppressive heat of his excitement bleeding into you, threatening to burn you up, but he doesn’t attempt to move off your shell-shocked body just yet. Rather, your father waits until his balls have finished draining into your throbbing cunt, thoroughly painting your pink innards in thick, creamy white, before he slowly removes his hand from your mouth. You gasp thickly into the darkness, practically choking on it.

And, true to nature, he quietly shushes you again. “Shh. It’s alright. I’ve got you, baby girl. Just breathe for me, okay?”

You nod, fighting back the hurt little hiccups that try to work their way up your bruised throat. It takes a prolonged moment to start coming down and, as always, he just keeps softly petting your hair until the tension finally gives way to exhaustion. Only when you’re a limp sack of flesh underneath him does Toji shift to get off you, but not before shoving a perversely affectionate kiss to your damp forehead.

“That’s my girl. I’ll see you in the morning, sweetheart. Sleep well.” And he’s gone, just like that and as quietly as he'd entered. It was almost like he'd never even been there in the first place.

You shudder in the absence of his body heat, refusing to move from the spot where he left you. The splintering pain is almost too much to bear but you breathe through it, one second at a time, until it becomes a bit more manageable. Even then, you can’t quite wrap your head around his total disregard for discretion. Your father was not a nice man, and that was likely all there was to it. He could be downright mean when the mood so struck him and that had never been more apparent than tonight, but it still didn’t change the fact you were his daughter. He cared about you, surely, even if it was ass backwards and twisted well past the point of what would be considered normal. You were lucky to have him, even if you did have to put out just for a fleeting moment of his attention. At least you could lay claim to that much. Beggars shouldn’t be choosers, after all.

“Good night, daddy." You whisper into the still darkness. "I love you.”

#jujutsu kaisen #toji fushiguro #toji x reader #self insert bullshit #my writing #tw incest #tw noncon #dark content #idk what ya'll want from these tags so feel free to offer suggestions

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ask-prime-starscream · 3 years

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She-Ra Review (Better late than never)

Okay, I just watched the first episode of the original She-Ra and... PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF! I think we evolved quite from that. Even though Bow used to have more male empowerment by showing off even more skin, lol.

But here it is. Review of the new She-Ra:

So, for me the show overall used to be quite in need of getting used to. I guess because the stakes are rather low and I preferred more adult-orientated shows. Falling from a high point and not getting hurt or getting hit by a laserbeam and just stumbling backwards wasn't doing it for me.

But after giving AtLA a chance, I was able to go back to more child-like shows and to just roll with it. The plot never really interested me. We need to do this or that in order to accomplish this- fine by me. Just do what you do.

I never cared much about the kingdoms or the people living there. It was just decoration. Some interesting character designs in the background. No culture. When the evil-doers took the decoration away, I didn't care. I was missing some "war leaves scars, in people and the landscapes". Sometimes wounds can't be healed. Sometimes we can't return things the way they were. Make the loss of something count so you see its worth.

There was also never a moment where I wanted to know more about the lore or the past. How it all functions. What carried the series were the characters. But a lot of them are more like a walking gimmick and aside from that nothing.

I think Bow is one of the best characters. He has some nice, positive masculinity going, he is a mediator, he tries to find solutions and tries to keep the team together. When he later just snaps and says "I can't be the happy one all the time!", I felt that. He has a right to be mad at someone too (Glimmer) and he doesn't have to instantly forgive. Lol, I had people say you are immature if you don't forgive and stuff. And dozens of characters who constantly have to be the bigger person, no, more like they have to be Jesus in order to keep the rest happy and zero damage is shown. Their psyche doesn't matter.

So. Big <3 for Bow and his only weakness: A covered belly! x'D

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Scorpia is probably the heart and soul of the series. And after seeing how her original was... that's fucking evolution times ten! xD She is just so genuinely likable and clueless while also being insecure. When she wears the princess-prom dress for the first time and blushes... what a cutie! I was going AWWW! And when she finally realizes that Catra is no friend material and Catra realizes who she chased away with her behavior: That was true loss! I felt that. I didn't do wrong to Scorpia, but I felt the pain anyway. So, like Bow, Scorpia didn't stay the punching bag forever and reacted. I like that!

10 out of 10 scorpions for Scorpia!!

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Entrapta has a really cool design, especially with her moving hair. All the budget to the hair! For some reason I also like her name a lot! It's rather extraordinary, heh! Unlike "Glimmer" or "Bow" which are rather on the nose. Normally I dislike the "limitless young genius" trope, but Entrapta at least had some limitations (mostly when they were plot-relevant, though) and she is a princess after all, so a special affinity to something (and if it is machines) beyond a normal person's grasp is believable. Unlike others... (Raph from TFP. "Hacking into the FBI? No problem!" H-How?!) And while she is in regards to anything else rather airheaded (uhm, robots kill people. Well, not on screen, but... I'm sure they killed someone), she at least realizes that later and it got her a connection to Hordak which no usual good guy could have done.

An army of robots for Entrapta!

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Hordak the missed opportunity. Not enough screentime at all. They gave this cliché evil guy a soul and they did next to nothing with it. All his good scenes are with Entrapta and there are only a few. Later he sheds TEARS when he realizes she never betrayed him! Why can't we get more scenes like that? Him being a failed clone is a good backstory and a scene with the creation of Imp would have complimented that a lot. Imagine the half-dead baby lying there and it's about to be flushed away, but Hordak hesitates. He picks Imp up, looking at him. Discarding him because he is not perfect? Because he will never be what he was supposed to? But who says that he can't accomplish something? Hordak sees himself in the baby and shows fate the metaphorical middle finger. He presses the baby tightly against his chest and murmurs: "We will show them...", accepting the baby and ultimately himself...

In the last season we get Wrong Hordak and while having someone around who is completely pure and naive to a world beyond the hivemind (just like a person escaping a cult) is important to show so we get the clones's perspective, we kinda lose on the real Hordak there. All he does is stare at that one crystal sometimes... until the end when he does the "throw the emperor in the pit Darth Vader style!" thing. Lame. He should have been with the good guys sooner and shown some recovery there.

A baby bottle for Hordak so he can feed his future robot children with Entrapta.

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Glimmer. For some reason I always saw her as a side character who somehow got cast as a main character. She just constantly slipped out of my mind. Oh yeah, she has mother issues and a whole family and kingdom, but... she just seems so flat! You could put Adora in her position and nothing of value would have been lost. Still the main hero who fights evil. Maybe without fancy glitter magic. When she becomes queen and later almost a tyrant, that's when she gets more interesting, but still... I was just "where is Adora?" whenever she hogged the screentime. Not interested in this character in the slightest. No glitter for Glimmer.

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Adora. Does the main character things. Even doesn’t hesitate sacrificing herself for the greater good. Is the typical main character. Doesn’t think things through, runs towards the enemy, is immature, gobbles down food. Main character. I don’t like this kind of main character, but I don’t hate her either. Neutrality for Adora.

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Catra got too much screentime. Yeah. We get it. She has issues. She makes bad decisions. Very bad. She regrets it. Is hurt. But can't be the bigger cat. When she later visits Glimmer constantly in her prison, I was just groaning. Give someone else the screentime! We get it! We get Catra's problems! Sometimes less is more!

I don't know how people viewed her coming together with Adora in the end, but I was glad they were allowed to kiss and say I love you and so on. Not that I shipped it, but hey, be happy. They were all over each other throughout the series. Just let them be happy. Yeah, Catra did horrible things (but what I said about lasting damage in this series. It ain't there.), but if Catra was Starscream, I wouldn't object either and I have to stay fair here. If Starscream is a war criminal and I still simp for him, then I have to give other villains the same treatment without finger pointing and screaming "Abusive! Toxic!". Except I want it to be, but that is another story to tell...

Aside from that, Catra showed regrets and emotional pain. Starscream is entirely different there. I love him the way he is, but... sometimes it's hard to stay on his side. But that's the writers's fault. I also like about Catra that she just laughs into villains's faces. I didn't expect that character to be able to carry a whole army on her shoulders and lead them. With nothing but cat powers, lol. That thing with electrocuting Entrapta and pushing the "planet gets blown apart" button... juuuuust stop. It ain't worth it. That's some serious own grave digging there.

A cat for Catra.

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The lesser princesses. Why are the elements so weirdly spread? We got magic, plants, water, ice, lightning bolts. And some others who don't have crystals. But the main elements are really weird decisions. From the traditional elements we got only water and it hogs two crystals! Then we got the element of magic which is okay in the context of this world. Then plants and red electricity which is also okay on a greater Pokémon-esque scale. It feels like something is missing there. Especially when they talk about their weaknesses "Fire, fire, fire..." Where is the fire princess? The earth princess? These are two main elements and if you don't want to go the traditional route then make all elements something out of the ordinary. Not water AND ice if you only have five crystals around.

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Frosta could have been entirely cut. She says nothing of worth and adds nothing of worth. Her gimmick is "Toph" but with heart and soul cut out. When she was introduced I expected her to be the most mature, raised from a young age to act more adult than she actually is, because she needed to grow up fast in these times. Her country is the largest and with great power comes great responsibility. We could have gotten quite political here, how complicated it can be. The hard decisions you have to make and the compromises you have to take. All for the sake of keeping your people safe. Her character arc could have been about that and about finding her childish side again which was denied from her. There. Also her big country is meaningless aside from her introduction episode. Since she always fights with the princesses alone with ZERO bodyguards and all... Where is the power of that country??

A snow-less winter for Frosta.

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Mermista's gimmick is "snarky". When she shows new parts of her personality like reading novels, it's a one-episode thing. It takes quite a while for her to get actually likable. Not that I disliked her, she just had no presence. When she later leads a mission we get to see more of her, but those are the moments where I feel like we are missing a couple of episodes that should be dedicated to the other princesses alone or with them as the focus. They are just shoved into the background so much by Adora, Bow and Glimmer, that shouldn't be. They are in the opening after all as if they are part of a group that is always together.

Sea Hawk is constantly dancing on the thin line between okay and annoying. Though I like that it is a fabulous guy having a relationship with a girl and not the "boring guy". But the men of She-Ra are mostly beyond the usual men tropes of angry, stoic, boring, stupid dude. So it doesn't even stand out as much as it should, lol. Like I hate this trope that the most beautiful girl/sexy woman of a show comes together with "the average Joe" or "comedic relief who is also often times small in stature". I guess... I know why that is... Anyway, the main girl/more chaste woman gets together with the main hero. Mr McBoredom but strong! While the fabulous guy... is either evil, has a bad character, is not traditionally manly, is just shallow. No pretty men for the girls. Well. Not anymore!

A dolphin for Sea-Ra and what she could have been if she had more screentime.

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Perfuma is the hippie princess and I guess my favorite from the lesser princesses (though, there is no real competition.). The way she handles things are in line with her beliefs and sometimes she says some actual intelligent remarks, but isn't listened to because she isn't the brash one, but the harmonious one. Which is sad. Everybody rather calm down and meditate instead of getting in each other's faces. That could work wonders sometimes. So, she actually is the first to see that Scorpia doesn't want to attack them when she left Catra while the others just keep attacking. Her shtick really is taking into consideration when she is written in a situation. However, sometimes it is a bit too much. Power of friendship isn't going to break the mind-control chip and they all saw time and time again that IF the controlled person can get a grasp on themselves again, it's only for mere seconds. So cut the crap, it's not against your beliefs when you stop thoughts-and-prayers-ing for something that won't change without actually doing something against it. Fun fact: Because she was so insisting of poweroffriendshipping Scorpia out of control, I was almost expecting a digivolut- uhm, a transformation there, lol! Especially because they mentioned before, she could be one of the strongest princesses. Well, of course she wouldn't become more forceful. Except she might get the power to swipe negative thoughts away and disperse fighting will. Now... that didn't happen, but still... (Also a nice episode with her having to admit she doesn’t get cacti. There is actually some character development here!)

A beautiful flower for Perfuma!

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Spinnerella and Netossa. “The biracial gay couple” hanging around in the background until they became characters in the later seasons. Finally! I found the “biracial gay couple” trope so often in shows, it’s like they want to stuff as much diversity as they can into two characters and then keep everything else conservative. Thankfully She-Ra shows a lot of diversity everywhere.

A net carried by wind for Spinnerella and Netossa.

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Swift Wind. Back to the sketch block. Nothing of worth was done or said. He is supposed to have this super important magical connection to She-Ra, but she hardly uses him. He is just another fighter... somewhere else. If he is there. And he stands out like a sore thumb as the only talking animal. Maybe you could make it a gimmick for a toyline that every princess can summon a pet to ride. That would have been cool. Or if he stayed mute and acted just like a horse. Then you could have had the cuteness factor. And the animal behavior factor which is also cute... and funny. Think of Pegasus from Disney's Hercules. That's a good horse companion! But Swift Wind? Annoying. Unimportant. Waste of time.

No unicorn for Swift Wind.

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Shadow Weaver. Didn't like her. Wanted power, got what she wanted, but too much. Ugly now. Her powers are rather weak. I didn't even pay attention to the episode where she haunts Adora. As if that's gonna do something in the long run. Then Catra stole her job. Rightfully so. She got imprisoned, then fled, then became an ally. When she later sacrificed herself and said to Catra that she is proud of her, well, did she say it so Catra would do what she wanted or did taking off the mask symbolize that she finally said the truth? We might never know and we might never care.

No dark magic for Shadow Weaver.

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Emperor I have two many eyes. (Badumm-Tss!) "I want to destroy the universe!" What a lame motivation. What can I even say to that? Of course only mind-controlled people would follow this goal and I remember a series where someone carried their own clone and said "It's sad when oneself is the only one you can rely on/trust". Yeah.

Why did Hordak even build an empire when everything was supposed to be destroyed? Why open a portal to the asshole who didn't want you in the first place? So many toxic parental figures in this series. And the children won't stop wanting their approval. When Prime shows Glimmer the last pieces of destroyed worlds or gives her food that is made of things that could only be found in these worlds, one gets a glimpse of the horror he represents. He could be the most horrible gourmet of all time "I only eat things made out of extinct lifeforms". Petty. But oh so scary. When you are so powerful that you can destroy worlds, what do you care about the ants living on them? But nah, he has some pseudo-religious thing going, assimilating people into his hivemind like the borg in Star Trek do. Actually, just assimilating people and growing his army and enriching the collected wisdom of galaxies could be a motivation, too. Then the good guys could make a stand for individualism. But eh, too complicated.

No green juice for Horde Prime.

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Prepare for Trouble and make it Double. Double Trouble. I learned something about the incompatibility of neutral pronouns and my native language. Their gimmick is "actor" and it's pretty over the top, it gets annoying fast. Not even the gayest nurse I'm working with talks like that and they would make any gaydar explode in a second. Maybe they could have gone a little deeper with that and give them some meta jokes about how scenes are gonna unfold and give us some surprises there. I don't like the opportunist crap they pull off, why even bother working together with Catra in the first place? Always join the winning team? What a Knock Out. Get out of here, before I make you swallow your own tail! Yes, I’m still salty about that. Fuck you, Predacons Rising! Fuck you!

A mirror for DT because after all they still have a sexy body.

#she-ra #princess of power #I guess you won't mind this more than an answered ask bomb

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rebelsandtherest · 4 years

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(Un)civil

A FACE-family-centric (heavily centered around the North America twins) retelling of the American Civil War, told in 28 parts through anecdotes, letters, and telegraphs. Rated M for language, themes of and depiction of death, other dark historical themes.

FF.net | Ao3

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Part 1:

September 9, 1859, Quebec The new capital (for the second time) of the Province of Canada

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Arthur Kirkland was stressed more often than he was relaxed, and the tension he carried in his shoulders alone could've fired an arrow clear across the Indian Ocean. Still, to him this seemed a small price to pay for enjoying a throne atop the rest of the known world. Unfortunately, for all others not named The British Empire, Arthur Kirkland's stress quickly became their stress when the Englishman decided to pay a visit.

Matthew didn't mind. It'd been decades since he'd seen Arthur in person, and despite everything, he'd missed his mentor terribly. Sure, his stomach had turned in several terrified flips when he'd received the letter announcing Arthur's imminent arrival, and sure, Canada hadn't exactly been a docile place for England's Empire types in recent decades, but Matthew was beyond proud of the progress they'd made since Arthur had last visited. Back in the 20's, the Act of Union hadn't been enacted yet—so much had happened in the last nineteen years alone! Matthew was ready to show off his accomplishments: massive railway networks, new trading routes, new trading treaties, prosperity even in the midst of a recession, and most of all, Anglophones and Francophones living together under one united government.

"Do you know, I've never visited Quebec whenever I can possibly avoid it," was the first thing Arthur said to him when he got off the train. The steam hissed loudly all around them, but Matthew could still hear the distaste in the Brit's voice. It was always so when Arthur had to listen to French. "You really ought to stop relocating your capital, especially to these god-awful French parts. I do hope you've done something to improve the place."

If it was as close as he'd come to a compliment for the next three weeks, Matthew would still be willing to accept it.

They took their business to a local restaurant—an Anglophone establishment, Matthew assured Arthur—a short stroll away from the train station. Matthew tried not to look shocked when he realized he was now as tall as Arthur, and tried to distract Arthur from noticing this same fact by pointing out new buildings in town and explaining each river barge and the treaties it observed as it passed by.

Once seated and waiting for lunch, Matthew ceded all conversation to Arthur. The Empire had come here expressly to let off steam, so Matthew said nothing while he ranted about his new Prime Minister, his new Parliament, the frustrations he felt because of the disagreements between Victoria and her new head of state. He complained about Australia, and India, and even of Canada—though in far softer tones than with the others. Matthew knew that Arthur complained of government, not of nations themselves. Arthur had never held anything but affection for Matthew, and Matthew was well aware of this distinction. Arthur could never hate him, just as deep down, despite whatever he said, Arthur had never hated and could never hate—

"Your brother has become something of a sticking point with this new fellow, Temple," Arthur confided in sour tones. Matthew held his tongue. Whenever he kept company with an irritated Arthur, the conversation would always come around to Alfred, one way or another. "He seems to think that England is only so strong as America is weak. What a pillock. Honestly, has he done any reading into history?"

Matthew chose to sip at his tea and let Arthur rant. He refused to fuel Arthur's grudge. Alfred's economic prosperity was Matthew's prosperity. Their 1854 treaty had solidified that much. Though Matthew detested Alfred in a myriad of ways, he still loved his brother dearly, a love which he knew Arthur also held but would never own.

"Alfred isn't interested in stealing business from you," Matthew said after a while. Arthur had a tendency to assume the world revolved around him. While Matthew appreciated this may be true in Europe, the New World operated on its own terms. "I assure you, he's too caught up in his own affairs to be bothered."

"His own affairs?" Arthur had asked. Whether he'd been offended or confused, Matthew could not distinguish. "What affairs has he to be concerned about?" After a moment of consideration, Matthew shrugged.

"I'm not entirely sure," he'd told Arthur truthfully. "It's been a few years since I saw him in person, but in his letters he always seems troubled by something or other. Complains of headaches often. Says the bickering of Congress makes him sick." Matthew thought that such a report would give Arthur, who'd always been a little bit of a sadist, satisfaction. He was surprised, then, to see such blatant concern play out on Arthur's face.

"Headaches?" the Empire repeated. His thick eyebrows drew low over his summer-green eyes. "What, because of the elections?" Arthur had always been terrible at tracking American politics. Matthew shrugged.

"I don't think so. There aren't any big ones this year, last year was only midterms," He said. "There's been shakeups here and there, but nothing catastrophic." Matthew had never given much serious thought to Alfred's comments, as his twin loved to complain. "The headaches have been around longer than the electorate, I think." This must've been the wrong thing to say, because the vague concern on Arthur's face escalated into something more serious.

"For how long? Did he speak of anything else?" Matthew was surprised by Arthur's interest; he usually avoided talk of Alfred at all costs.

"I don't know. As I said, it's been a few years since I last saw him," he said, giving a shrug as he tried to remember. "In '54 he stayed with me and was acting a little odd. Scatterbrained, really. He kept forgetting where he was and what he was supposed to be doing." Matt shook his head ruefully at the memory. He wasn't used to playing governess to his fully-sovereign twin. "As in his letters, he complained about migraines almost daily."

"Daily?" Arthur interjected. Matt looked up to meet his eyes. Arthur looked frightened.

"Well, yes," Matt said. What have I done wrong? Hell, what has Al done wrong? "But it wasn't a big election year," he demurred, or tried to. "It was just some senate races. I'm sure he was just being melodramatic, you know what he's like." Though Matthew had been trying to assuage Arthur's apparent worry, this only seemed to make it worse.

"Has he since spoken to you of anything else? Fevers? More migraines? Blackouts?" Matthew set down his fork and stared at Arthur. He'd never seen the elder nation become so worked up about Alfred since 1814, and certainly never out of pity.

"I have no idea," Matthew said, wishing Arthur would snap out of it. "And to be honest, even if he's still got something to complain about, he hasn't complained to me, and I'm grateful." Then, hesitantly, "why do you ask?"

Arthur looked up at Matthew, and for a split second the younger nation thought the Empire would deign to give him a full, truthful response.

"It's no matter," Arthur said instead, lips thin and taught like they always were when he was keeping secrets at bay. Matthew strove to not look disappointed. "Tell me more about this railway of yours. I hear it goes all the way out to Montreal. Where else does it go?"

Given such an opportunity to boast his own accomplishments, Matthew pushed aside all thoughts of Alfred and his headaches and related all the boons or having a shiny new railway network.

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Historical Notes:

1. “Quebec” here refers to the city (now Quebec City), not the modern Province. At the time, The Province of Canada consisted of very roughly the regions of what is now Ontario and Quebec, with the other colonies (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward’s Island, Newfoundland) remaining separate. The region had up until 1840 been referred to as Upper Canada (The southern portion of Ontario and Quebec, around the Great Lakes) and Lower Canada (the southeastern portion of what is now Quebec, in addition to Labrador). The regions experienced considerable division between Francophone and Anglophone spheres of administration and civilian life. The Act of Union joined the two under one government, a measure that is often interpreted as an attempt to establish the supremacy of English over French by establishing it as the language of administration in the entire Province of Canada.

2. Canada experienced an economic boom in the middle of the 19th century which both coincided with and benefited from the establishment of the first large railways in the colony. A 1854 Treaty of Reciprocity (also called the Elgin-Marcy Treaty) between all colonies of British North and the United States was a large step toward free trade between the two entities. Near the beginning of the American Civil War, many of the railway companies (notably the Grand Trunk Railway) suffered losses during an economic downturn. Nevertheless, Canada continued to grow, particularly in the main Provincial region.

#aph america #aph canada #aph france #aph england #hws america #hws canada #hws france #hws england #hetalia #fanfic #civil war #american civil war #my fanfic #my writing #alfred jones #matthew williams #arthur kirkland #francis bonnefoy

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douxie-casperan · 3 years

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a memory of their father :)

The first few months behind the looming walls surrounding the castle’s innerworkings were proving stressful to say the least. Everything was so different to what Douxie had grown used to from the clothes he was expected to wear, the strict rules he was expected to follow and court manners which he was having additional instruction on multiple times a week on to ensure he could only ever give the best impression. When asked why this was so important the answer he received was a simple one, it is better to put your best foot forward than start on the back and have to work even harder to reach the same place. Prodding for clarification because that didn’t make much sense, after a small sigh he was informed that should anyone regardless of status discover his origins after he had already proved himself with a willingness to adapt it should not hurt his personal standing with them. Politics of the Court are like an ever evolving yet constant game of chess and by doing some of the leg work himself it would improve how people would interact with him more than relying entirely on his title of apprentice to carry him through.

To the now 10 year old it still sounded a bit silly but if it would help make life easier in the long run and given who said it, he didn’t see any reason to argue though he could not wait for those lessons to finally be over lest his head simply fall off from the amount of information he was being expected to memorise just to blend in.

Now for him the biggest novelty of being in Camelot as a citizen (?) was never having to worry about food after a lifetime of it being a constant worry and in how the kitchen staff sometimes snuck him a little bit extra for his plate or pouch and fussed as if he was one of their own. He always did try to be polite if he saw any of them, maybe that had something to do with it? Then he’d managed to try so many brand-new things already too! Lumbolls were possibly one of his favourites, those and the ryschewys though in both cases they are a bit on the special side in not being made often but whenever he got his hands on either after splitting them in half to share with Archie just like they used to while savouring each and every bite down to the last tiny pastry fleck.

His day to day duties when not indulging his ever growing sweet tooth weren’t quite what he had been expecting but he took to them with great enthusiasm anyway with an underlining fear of seeming ungrateful at the unique chance he’d been given accompanied if he did otherwise. These were often in the form of cleaning with a broom or scrubbing with a brush where directed, fetching enchantment ingredients required from the stores or occasionally elsewhere, sorting the books on shelves to finding one that might be needed and more often than not simply carrying things or acting as an extra pair of hands when the wizard needed. He didn’t mind particularly, it felt like he was being useful with the knowledge that if anybody asked he could truthfully respond that he was an errand helping the nerves. Sure they might have used the odd opportunity to do some exploring where they probably shouldn’t have been but knowing the terrain was important as was a quick escape route when knights are wandering around. Being a bit late from going the long way was a much better option than running into any of them, if the life before now had proved anything it was that being cautious was wise, the ones who disappeared were usually the ones that relied purely on luck and didn’t have at least three places to bolt for if things started to turn…

He wasn’t about to let his fear of where a mistake could lead him hold him back from doing anything but he wasn’t exactly about to ignore it completely either. Week by week his mental map was growing and most simply assumed he was getting better at navigating the halls which was true in a sense at least.

The other important note was how use of any form of magic was not permitted unless under the strict supervision of his regular lessons which included the cuff being held in Master Merlin’s workshop as a precaution both as much for himself and any who might realise it was more than for mere decoration. He was also told that if he stuck to this very important rule while being careful about how much he said beyond the closed door he would be allowed to keep his familiar with him if with an additional request that he posed as a cat. In both cases neither would be forever, it was simply important to keep up appearances and thus help ensure their safety in turn. Both figured the room they had been given Archie would be allowed to stretch his wings but they were always careful just in case someone might barge in and hoped might even be allowed to while being tutored as well soon. They were allowed to talk as long as there was no risk of being overheard mind, it was such an ingrained habit at this point neither could figure out why it needed to be brought up in the first place.

Today though was one of those that felt like the work was never done thanks to a chore list longer than a horse’s leg designed to keep him out of everyone’s hair while a big meeting was going on about things he didn’t have the privilege to hear even a hint of. Presently that left him on his hands and knees scrubbing away at the floor that had suffered more than it’s fair share of feet tracking through and was starting to become unsightly as a result with a cat, sans glasses just in case, pointing out any spot he missed while enjoying his own opportunity of being leisurely in the quiet afternoon sun. While he works it is the man who had been so curt in the morn who is currently occupying his thoughts, the same who felt like a as enigmatic now as he was the day they had first met.

"Hey Archie, is this what having a father is like?" Douxie asks suddenly out the blue whilst sounding a mite unsure, his previously focused expression turning into a frown that stares down at the brush he is holding.

"Or parent even, I don't really have any point of reference."

“Hmm? Ah, you are referring to the Master Wizard I presume.” He gets a nod in return and is given rapt attention by his charge.

“Certainly strict as one I would say and he does at least appear to have your interests at heart even if his methodology I cannot say I always agree with.”

“How so?”

“While there are times where your exact pronunciation matters such as spellwork for instance needing to be very precise and yours can lapse at times, he seems to act like any of the descriptions of usage is somehow beyond your reading comprehension unless a single sentence is stretched out by the syllable then repeated over and over until we’re all positively bored of hearing it. Quite a contrast given he still expects you to transcribe extracts to improve your handwriting ability,” comes an answer with a tail twitch.

“You will struggle to say some words in the expected manner which is more than fair but that does not mean you are unable to read anything put in front of you when it is the common language you are already used to.”

“Oh.” Douxie’s brow knits together in thought as it did make sense but there had to be a reason, never he did was without one, he’d come to realise that already.

“Unless it is something I should not be seeing yet?”

“Perhaps, it is not the impression he is giving me however. I do wonder however if he’s stalling deliberately? We are being kept in the dark there might be something else going on we are yet to be aware of.”

“Well he is the Master Wizard that must mean you have a few secrets and I am sure we will find out eventually!” He says taking a moment to give his arms a good stretch, a firm shake then goes back to scrubbing humming away a little as he does.

“It has only been a few months so far, maybe being mysterious is his big thing and it is all a test.”

“Indeed, we just might yet.”

It was late eve by the time he was finally finished with everything which had culminated in locating an older tome documenting the usage of tools from his sneaky glance at the first few pages though he darted away at the first sign of footsteps coming. Merlin had returning bringing a distinct lack of tension in his shoulders compared to what had been there for what felt like weeks causing the pair to look at one another confused not daring to say a word. The meeting is not mentioned nor is any question directed in regards to what had been accomplished either which was very unusual when he seemed to be keeping tabs on what sorts of things they had been up to when not under his feet. After checking that what he had asked was not sitting on the bench with a satisfied sound that could almost be taken as relieve, his cloak sweeps round as he takes the few steps to place a hand on the young boy’s head with a smile akin to the one he had once given at the gates causing him to blink a little bewildered.

“Well my boy, it would appear your patience has paid off. From tomorrow how do you feel in regards to learning some real magic?”

Douxie’s grin could not have been any wider if it tried.

#trollamulet #No facts truer than a good meme #Camelot of ages past

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henshengs · 4 years

Text

Hunger Games AU, part four

Parts 1-3 now up on ao3! I think I’ll probably post 1 chapter there for every 3 here.

Meng Yao can’t remember with precision when exactly he first heard Lan Xichen’s name. His memory isn’t perfect, despite the considerable effort he’s gone to in order to create that impression. At some point he learned the names of each current Sect Leader and their heirs. He knows that when he watched the broadcast of Nie Mingjue’s victory tour, from the security of his tiny office in Qinghe, he was able to put a name to each face that flashed on the screen as Chifeng-zun was introduced to various sect leaders and their families. In Lanling the eighteen-year-old victor was the guest of honor at a lavish banquet, provided with alcohol he did not drink and food he barely touched. In Yunmeng he was challenged to a sword fight by a young, bright-eyed boy who was promptly slapped on the back of the head by sect heir Jiang Cheng. In Gusu he climbed the winding path to Cloud Recesses, accompanied by gasping out of breath camera crews and guards, and was greeted with gentle politeness by a tall and photogenic boy who Meng Yao knew must be Lan Xichen, heir to the Gusu Lan sect.

The cameras tried to get good looks at Lan Xichen, who after all was first on the list of young cultivators and a frequent topic of tabloid speculation, but Lan disciples blocked them from getting too close, and the cameras returned to their current darling, the young sect leader and child killer Chifeng-zun, with his thrillingly intimidating glare, his broad shoulders and haunted eyes.

Chifeng-zun stepped across the Cloud Recesses boundary, and the cameras tried to follow- and cut out, the live image flaring and dying to blackness.

Meng Yao doesn’t know what apology or excuse was later given to the Wens.

Apparently not one good enough. Or perhaps that was only one tiny incident among a larger pile of insubordinations. Or perhaps the reason for Gusu’s punishment had nothing to do with rebellious sentiment. Perhaps there was an economic or logistical reason.

Half prone on the garage floor, Meng Yao watches the Qinghe carriage pulled out of the way so the Lan carriage can go ahead of them. This is accomplished via sliding rails underneath parts of the floor. The horses, blinkered, are unalarmed; Meng Yao is bitterly jealous of them.

His stylist injects something into the tender skin around his eye and jaw; “It’ll delay bruising, at least until after the parade,” she says. She reapplies his makeup, with emergency powder and brushes she apparently keeps on her person for such situations as this. “Get him on his feet,” she says, and Nie Mingjue’s hands tighten on Meng Yao’s shoulders, his body tense under Meng Yao’s back, before reluctantly lifting Meng Yao gently upright.

Someone in a medic’s robes is there, with a suddenness that makes Meng Yao think either they have someone waiting in the garage for situations exactly like this, or one of the batons hit his head and he’s losing time. He should feel more alarmed about that than he does, he thinks. The medic waves a wand over his body and applies gentle pressure to his acupoints. This must not reveal anything immediately fatal, because he’s being bundled towards the carriage.

“Wait,” Nie Mingjue demands hoarsely, and there’s a pause brief enough for Nie Mingjue’s hands to find their way back to Meng Yao’s shoulders, to squeeze as though he wants to fold Meng Yao into his arms. Don’t, Meng Yao thinks, still muddled. Footage from inside the garage will almost certainly not be televised, but the Wens will still see it. Meng Yao can’t control the reaction he’d have, right now, if Nie Mingjue were to be tender with him.

He’s not sure if he’s relieved when the tenderness doesn’t come.

“It won’t be for long,” Nie Mingjue says, something cresting under the dark water of his words, the unrevealed shape of it distorting his voice. “Just get through it.”

Meng Yao nods.

The guards lift him into the carriage, his stylist barking out sharp instructions somewhere in the dark. Zonghui puts out a hand to steady him, when he nearly tumbles out. “Thank you, shijie,” he says, quietly, as the carriage starts to move.

She snatches her gloved hand back as though away from a boiling pot.

He hates her, then, but that’s fine. That only makes it easier to turn his head away from her and say, even quieter, “We should be allies. For the sake of Qinghe. If one of us wins, Qinghe will receive the benefits and honors.”

He waits, as the horses begin to trot, gilded hooves striking sparks on the cement. The light at the boundary of the garage approaches. Just before they cross the threshold, he hears her say flatly, “Agreed.”

So tonight has not been a total loss, he thinks, as the carriage emerges into the city night and his senses are overwhelmed with lights and the sounds of huge crowds of people cheering and calling out. A flower petal hits his head, lightly, and he looks up into a cascade of them, tossed from windows high above the street. It is silky soft, and he rubs it between his fingers for an indulgent moment before letting it drop. Before forcing his eyes to seek out the giant screens set up at intervals along the parade route.

He already knows he’s lost any advantage he might have gained through the parade, through his stylist’s costuming choices. The Gusu carriage is ahead of them now, and he can hear the shocked murmurs and mutters rippling through the crowd as it passes. Two male tributes, at least one injured, and both sect heirs with famously handsome faces. No one will be paying attention to anything else tonight. Meng Yao can’t blame them. The cameras keep returning to the two tall pale figures, both standing ramrod straight, both with bloodstains on their robes. One of them looks younger- Meng Yao calculates quickly in his head and decides that Lan Wangji must be fifteen now, the same age as Huaisang. The young face is cold and rigid as ice. The older Lan brother holds himself just as expressionlessly, but there’s something softer about him. He’s eighteen, Meng Yao knows. Eight months younger than Nie Mingjue. A few more weeks, perhaps, and the Wens would have needed to break the rules even further to include him in the Competition.

With reluctance, the cameras quickly skip over the other competitors. They linger on the Yunmeng carriage, because the boy- Wei Wuxian, dressed in purple so dark it looks black in the nighttime lighting- is putting on a show, perching on the edge of his carriage blowing kisses to the crowd, throwing paper talismans into the air where they burst into showers of sparks and butterflies, responding to the shouts of the crowd with big wide grins and words Meng Yao can’t hear but which must be entertaining because laughter follows him in a swell. The girl, dressed in pale lilac and garlanded in lotus blossoms, is clearly not a performer like her martial brother, but she’s laughing and smiling at his antics, which is probably half the purpose of them. Meng Yao moves Wei Wuxian up his mental list of likely threats. This boy’s going to gain himself a lot of fans. Some of them will pay well to keep him alive.

He sees only flashes of the other carriages. The blind Shudong competitors, dressed in funerary white as though resigned to their fates, the boy’s white bandage matching the girl’s white eyes, are holding hands. Their carriage is emanating a spray of white fog, making nearby observers shriek and shiver. The Lanling carriage is shimmering gold, exuding wealth and luxury, the boy and girl both wearing elaborate headpieces that drip jewelry as though they’re being married. The Yingchuan competitors are very clearly dressed to mimic the Wens, in recognition of their favoritism. Meng Yao catches a glimpse of himself and Zonghui, before the cameras rush back to the Lans, and at least his face looks unmarked, at least his smile is impeccable despite the dizziness in his head.

The ride can’t take longer than half an hour, but it feels like an eternity before the horses clop to a halt, each carriage arranged in a semicircle below an enormous lofty balcony. Meng Yao squints up, through the lights and the still-falling petals, and does his best to get an in person look at the Chief Cultivator.

He’s not disappointed. The figure on the balcony is distant, but there’s still something in the air, a coldness, a sense of power draped around Wen Ruohan like a cloak. When he speaks, giving the traditional welcome and then segueing into a speech about the importance of unity and power, the crowd listens, silent, spellbound. Then he turns, and disappears through the giant doors behind him, and the spell is broken. The horses take each carriage back to the Training Pavilion.

The huge doors slide down and Meng Yao is left blinking in sudden darkness. Zonghui has to help him down from the carriage, because his feet are unsteady and there’s a ringing in his ears. He looks through the gloom, looks for Nie Mingjue, expecting at any moment a steadying hand on his shoulder, but the familiar outline is missing. He was probably removed from the garage, Meng Yao realizes, to prevent another incident when the carriages returned. The other competitors are getting out of their carriages, too. The nearest ones are the Lans. Meng Yao sees a flash of white ribbon. Meng Yao had a plan, and it involved the other competitors and their mentors, he knows it did. He takes a step forward, but someone is catching his arms. Someone’s fingers are on his face, pressing a pill through his lips. He stops moving. He swallows. The ringing in his head grows quiet. The flash of white is gone.

After Nie Mingjue came back from his victory tour, he’d write letters to Lan Xichen, and receive them, in return. Correspondence between sectors was a privilege of the gentry. Meng Yao has a feeling that this may no longer be an accessible privilege, but he can’t know for sure. What he knows for sure is the way the paper envelopes felt smooth beneath his fingertips, the hand-written characters on the other side of the folded paper just barely visible through the thin skin of the envelope. What he knows is that each time he received a letter, Nie Mingjue would smile, and for a time he would be happy.

Nie Mingjue’s happiness was rare, after his return, and had come to be a treasure Meng Yao prized above all others. He had hunted it with luxuries carved out of Nie budgets already strained by new Wen taxes, with humorous anecdotes of Huaisang’s misadventures, with gentle pressure to tense back muscles, late at night in the Sect Leader’s quarters. Nothing had worked.

Meng Yao doesn’t think Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen were lovers, because on the first night of his return Nie Mingjue had clung to Meng Yao’s naked body, his head resting on the softness of Meng Yao’s stomach, and whispered that there had been no one else for all those months, that some of the Wen-dogs had tried to touch him but he had not let them, that Meng Yao was the only one Nie Mingjue wanted touching him. The kinds of words men said to their lovers all the time, but from Nie Mingjue, Meng Yao knew that they were true.

And yet Nie Mingjue had smiled, every time Meng Yao delivered a letter, smiled as though he had suddenly found himself in the most beautiful garden in the world, with his favorite person standing on a low bridge in front of him, like the moon come down to earth.

Meng Yao finds himself craving a glimpse of that moon, but instead he’s being led back into the glass elevator, away from the heat and the beautiful horses. There are too many reflections in the glass. Zonghui’s gloved hand is on his arm again, and he catches himself leaning into it, as though she were Huaisang, and that unnerves him enough that he jerks himself in the other direction, leans his forehead against the cool glass and lets time slip away.

The Nie delegation has the fifth floor of this vast building to themselves. There’s an impression of red and gold paneling- typical Wen interior decorating- and then he’s on a rosewood couch, dark cushions under him, and the medic is back, light fingers brushing over his meridians. They expertly tap his chest and he finds himself coughing up blood, feeling it dribble down his chin. The medic wipes it away. His makeup must be a mess.

“How is he?” Meng Yao hears Nie Mingjue asking Zonghui.

“The medic says he will be fine tomorrow,” Zonghui replies, voice clipped and professional. He can’t help but admire her. She’s as good as he was, at her age. “He does not seem fully aware of his surroundings. The medic advises rest.”

Meng Yao hears Nie Mingjue grunt. Can imagine the sharp, decisive nod. “You should also go rest,” Nie Mingjue says. “We will start training early tomorrow.”

Silence, as Zonghui bows. Then Meng Yao hears her say, “Yes, Sect Leader.”

Her feet make a very soft sound on the wooden floors. She must have taken off her heavy boots at some point. Did Meng Yao? No, he thinks his shoes are still on. He wonders if Zonghui will be able to remove her elaborate clothing by herself, or if an attendant will be present in her rooms to do it for her.

The medic steps back. Meng Yao pushes himself to his feet. The world stays where it is, around him; good. He bows, deeply. The medic bows back, not as deeply but still, it’s nice that they do it at all. Meng Yao waits until they have turned and left through the beautifully wrought doors of the suite before sitting back down and removing his shoes.

Nie Mingjue is at his shoulder. “Are you all right?” he asks.

“Yes,” Meng Yao says. His voice sounds acceptable, he decides. “Please do not worry on my behalf, Sect Leader.” He looks around. “Might this one trouble you by asking if you know where this one is to sleep?”

Nie Mingjue clears his throat. “Come with me,” he says.

Holding his shoes in one hand, Meng Yao follows. Out of the main open space, down a corridor and into a large room with a wide bed. Nie Mingjue goes to the far wall and touches a panel, adjusting something until the black walls suddenly come to life, showing a calm scene of falling water over smooth stones.

“Your room is on the other side,” he says. “But they’re more or less the same.” He flushes. “You can stay here, tonight.”

Meng Yao tucks his shoes under his arm and bows. He feels himself wobble near the nadir of the bow and lets it happen, so that Nie Mingjue will swallow up the space between them with his long stride and catch Meng Yao’s arms. “Here,” Nie Mingjue says, and he takes the shoes, and sets them down, and then his large hands begin the process of undressing Meng Yao. There is something perverse in having a Sect Leader undress a commoner, but it’s not the first time this has happened. Meng Yao lets himself enjoy it.

“I need to remove the makeup,” he says. “Is there a washroom?”

There is.

In the small illusory privacy of the washroom he stares at his own face in the mirror, until he feels dizzy again. He washes off the makeup, and braids his hair for sleep. He walks out, naked, uncertain what will be required of him. Nie Mingjue is undressed but clothed in night robes. He is holding out a soft gray robe for Meng Yao. Meng Yao shrugs it on. When Nie Mingjue lies down on the wide bed, he lies down too, and lets Nie Mingjue wrap an arm around his chest and pull him close. The room darkens, but the sound of flowing water remains.

Nie Mingjue’s breath on Meng Yao’s ear makes him shiver. “Xichen,” Nie Mingjue breathes. “Did you see him?”

Meng Yao shifts, rolls over in Nie Mingjue’s arm so he can whisper his response into Nie Mingjue’s neck. “He didn’t look too badly hurt. I think his brother has a broken leg.”

He feels Nie Mingjue tense in anger at that, and then sigh, and slowly relax. “Thank you,” Nie Mingjue says, into the dark. His arm tightens, pulling Meng Yao closer. Meng Yao wonders what the hidden cameras in the room are making of this. How he can spin it to his advantage. He wonders if Nie Mingjue will still want to hold him like this, if he survives the next month. After Lan Xichen dies in the arena. Because whatever Meng Yao’s chances are, he knows that Lan Xichen’s are less than nothing. No matter what Meng Yao does, that rare smile of happiness on Nie Mingjue’s face will not survive.

#nieyao #nielan #meng yao #my fic #the hunger games au

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bikeforlife · 3 years

Text

Bike Tour Blog

I honestly can’t believe I made it from the Pacific to Atlantic. This morning I woke up in my own bed for the first time since early February. Oh my god it felt so good. If a mattress maker wanted a testimonial, today would definitely be the day to get one from me. After 45 days straight of being on a bike it feels really good to be home.

On the first week we made from San Diego to Tucson Arizona. This section had some significant climbs through places like Alpine CA and Pine Valley CA and lots of desert riding in eastern tip of California and the state of Arizona. We camped in San Dunes CA where ATV’s are very popular and in places like desert view towers that had insane views of the Ko-Pah mountains. We also slept in a town park in small town in Arizona called Welton. I did snap my chain in Pine Valley but Tone was right there to help out. It was also the first time I rode my bike on the interstate and the first time I ever had rode a bike 10 miles straight downhill from the Ko Pah Mountains to Ocatillo California.

The next few week would take us through New Mexico and the beginning of Texas. The highlight of this section was the climb through the Gila National Forest on our way to Emory Pass. This section had absolutely breathtaking views and an abundance of nature. We climbed to over 8200 feet of elevation at the peak and went through awesome towns like Silver City NM and Hillsboro, NM. A couple days later we crossed the border into Texas at El Paso. This mammoth state would be approximately 1/3rd of the total miles we would cover. Many parts of the Us but especially Texas had recently experience significant weather event with snow, freezing conditions, and a failure of the local power grid. Fortunately we got to the state about a week after the weather had passed.

In Eastern Texas a significant portion of our miles would be on US highway 90. This would feature some awesome small towns like Marathon and Sierra Blanca Texas. The route also had remote areas of riding where there wouldn’t even be a gas station for 80+ miles. I found myself having more to think and unwind than at any part of my adult life. It was also during this stretch that we stayed at some great state parks. Seminole Canyon State Park and Lost Maples State Park in particular stood out to me. There is something magical about looking at the stars on a clear night without light pollution.

Eventually we went through Austin, Texas and I got to reconnect with my friends Jason and Max. After so much time pedaling through remote areas it feels really good to see friends and be in a city. Austin as a city has grown so much since I was there last. I ate great food during our off day and found an amazing bike mechanic that help me resolve a derailleur issue that had been lingering since San Diego.

We would hit a few more state parks on the eastern half of Texas and eventually crossed into Louisiana. After being in a very dry part of Texas the swamps of Louisiana offered a very different riding experience. For the most part the terrain was flat and the roads were in good condition. This part of the tour was special to me because of the amazing friends we made. During one week we stayed with Mandy in Deritter, LA and Perry in Jackson, LA. These amazing people took us into their homes and did everything they could to be helpful and make us feel at home. We were able to take a day off in New Orleans which was awesome. My friend Chris and his friend Bobby came down from from Jackson Miss and we all got a chance to hang. It was great to see Chris again after almost a decade of not seeing him. Hopefully I’ll make it to Mississippi at some point

The final stretch would have us riding through Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. During this time we met even more incredible hosts. Kellie/Mason in Bay Saint Louis and Dave/Stacy in Bagdad, Fl were both incredibly kind and generous. Thank you for everything. The ride took us through places like Dalphin Island, Alabama. I never knew there were islands in Alabama . They are absolutely gorgeous.

We stayed in a couple more awesome state parks in this stretch. In Bainbridge Georgia we stayed in the east bank campground operated by the army core of engineers. They gave us a site right by the water and it was a pretty magical experience. The final section of the tour featured a massive uptick in the number of bugs in these parks. I found that during camping were almost always under attack from mosquitoes or being visited by either argentine ants, caterpillars , or bees. Bug spray can help but sometimes you just have to cover every single bit of skin on your body.

During the final day push to the ocean Tone and I split up. The original route that we were using had us going through Jacksonville to Saint Augustine Florida. He wanted to stick to the route while I made a decision to go directly to Jacksonville which was more direct to the Atlantic Ocean. For me the final day was filled with a range of emotions and thoughts. Admittedly even 10 years later I still have some anxiety of my past medical condition. As i’m riding i’m feeling a huge sense of accomplishment and simultaneous release of anxiety/stress. To be able to survive a full coast to coast tour of the United States on a bike is the kind of proof that the only limitations are the ones I place on myself. I think about my life with Riana over the past 10 years and how fortunate we’ve been to be able to experience living in larger cities, traveling abroad, and getting to start our own business.

I think about how grateful I am to Tony for doing this tour with me. I’ve known him for 15 years and he’s always pushed me to do things outside my comfort zone. From helping me get first passport stamp, to hosting great events, to now riding through the US on a bike. Particularly on this tour he went above and beyond. He help me with mechanical issues which i’m not particularly good at, he lead our route navigation almost every day, he found places for us to stay, and helped lead us through all kinds of unique day to day challenges.

My tour came to a strange end. I was on my way to stay at my friends Stephanie’s house in jacksonville when I stopped at a convenience store. When I came out my bike and all of my gear was stolen. This included my passport, clothes, tent, sleeping bag, paneers, bike tools, food, journal, and more. I tried my best to look through the neighborhood and called the police but no luck in recovering any of it. As unfortunate as this situation is, I'm grateful it happened on the final day of the tour just a couple of miles from my friends house. I won’t let that person take away my memories and diminish the experience. They are worth infinitely more than the material value of the bike and my belongings.

As i’ve had a couple of days to relax before going back to work i’ve been reflecting on the experience more. I absolutely would recommend doing something like this to anyone I know for a few reasons. It’s a great way to decompress. You have time to actively think and it helps your focus significantly. The riding is tough but manageable. I only rode my bike on a couple training rides beforehand. I was also asked a ton of questions from people about my experience. So I wanted to answer them one by one below.

What did you eat?

Being a vegan on a bike tour has its challenges. I ate a lot of clif bars, peanut butter banana burritos, trail mix, , Fritos chips, subway Veggie Delights without cheese and Impossible burgers from Burger Kings. Honestly a lot of days on tour it was challenging to find vegan friendly dishes. Thankfully our hosts made some really nice home cooked vegan meals and every large city we visited had great vegan options.

Where did you sleep?

It was a mix of hotels, backyards , rv parks, state parks, town parks , and then random wild camping. On nights where it was too cold to camp we opted for hotel most of the time.

What gear did you have? This was my packing list before the bike was stolen.

Tools Bag

Park tool Allen key Hand pump Kevlar spoke Back up derailleur Baby wipes Chain scrubber Degreaser Spare tube x2 3 tire lever adjustable wrench Poncho Hand warmer Head lamp

Food Bag Varies but generally 3 portable camp meals Clif bars

Back paneer 1

Extra water plastic jug - Nalgene Sleeping bag (40 degrees) Sleeping bag liner. (10-15 degree etc) Micro fiber Towel Waterproof socks Large winter gloves Small gloves Zip ties

Back paneer 2 Short tech shirts (red and green) Socks (long wool, short cotton Medium wool Blue t shirt

-Toiletries bag

Deodorant dr Bonner liquid and bar soap, bug spray toothbrush toothpaste back up Masks Hand sanitizer

Electronics bag Solar charger Headphone and charger Cell charger Extra water container - 3 liter emergency

Duffle Sleeping pad Wind pants Under armour Long sleeve shirts (grey , black , blue yellow winter Jacket

What was the hardest part? I suspect every single rider will have a different answer to this . For me there were two things that probably equally as challenging. First and foremost there are large portions where people are not wearing masks. It was very demoralizing to be in situations constantly where people have made a conscious decision to disregard the health of others. Since the services were so spread out I found myself having to get food from places that have anti mask propaganda on their front door.

Secondly this tour really taught me that I am more comfortable in cities and around people. It was charming to spend days riding our bikes through farm country in remote roads but eventually it began to wear on me and I found myself crave cities. Also in cities the percentage of people wearing masks shot up significantly.

What was your favorite small town?

I really enjoyed Silver City New Mexico. It was a quirky mountain with good architecture and really nice people. There was also a very helpful bike shop, great co-op, nice motel, and the town was filled with cool art.

What was the weather like?

For the most part we had good weather. I would say were typically 50-60’s during the day on the first half but colder at night. We were able to avoid some of the extreme weather that hit Texas but still found ourselves that was a little too cold to camp in. Most of the biggest issue that would we would face would be consistent headwinds. After a first week full of tailwinds the rest of the tour would almost always deal us 10-25 mph headwinds.

How many issues did you have with your bike?

There are always some day to day issues but the most common were flat tires ( I think i had 5 throughout the trip), My front derailleur was a consistent issue. The fenders on the bike were kind of a pain. However for an old 80’s bike with an older drive train it held up pretty well. I would recommend to anyone thinking about touring to consider customizing their bike to their own needs as opposed to buying a brand new touring bike. There will always be maintenance.

How did your body hold up?

For the most part I wasn’t in a lot of pain on this tour. Everyone’s body is different. I found that if I got a majority of my miles during the morning I would do much better. However on days where we were riding until close to sun down i found myself in a lot of pain near the end of the day. Most commonly knees, butt, lower back, quads. Occasionally my hands would be numb on long riding days.

How long did it take?

45 days coast to coast. During that period we took 3 full days off and had a number of short days (30-40 miles). I’m told that this was a very quick trip as many folks take between 60-70 days to complete this route.

What would you recommend to someone doing this?

There are a million things but i’ll try to summarize here.

If you’re touring with other people try to have honest conversations in advance about things like how many miles you want to shoot for a day. How early in the morning do you want to start pedaling. Where you are you comfortable staying. What kind of timeline you’re under with work? What food you’re comfortable sharing. If you’re comfortable deviating off the route to save miles/time. Ultimately the more you and your riding partners discuss this in advance the less confusion you’ll have day to day.

With your work I would communicate to co-workers honestly how involved you want to be while away. Some have traditional jobs that allow them to totally leave work and decompress. In my case as an entrepreneur I found myself involved on almost daily basis with work. For me that was comfortable but for others it might take away from their experience.

I would also make sure that you have a good instinct for eating food even when you’re not hungry. I had to learn this throughout the tour as my food options were limited with a vegan diet.

I would recommend that you try to do some level of training in advance. On my first bike tour I did almost no training and I was in pain almost right away. On this one I did some cross training and some scheduled rides. It made all of the difference in the world as far as my day pain levels.

Would you do it again?

I don’t personally know if I would do a tour of this length again. While I enjoyed the experience and the bucket list aspect of it I found myself going through the motions on a lot of days. I think I would enjoy much more doing a tour of a 7-14 days. Possibly if I’m ever retired I may feel differently but the looming pressure of my career was a bit hard to get through mentally.

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savagematchmaker · 4 years

Text

violet poppies (deaf!Shintaro AU)

@rxxshintaro i wrote you a lil something! (lil meaning like 4k hahah.) hope you’ll like it! this is the first chapter:

also found at: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25107196

Kano was having a bad day.

Really, it was that simple. It had started with him waking up because of a damned mosquito, which had managed to get itself into his room at some point during the night before proceeding to incessantly buzz at his ear only when his palms were too far away from the fiend for him to utterly destroy that fucker. And, of course, when he went downstairs there were no mosquito repellers left. And, of course, that when he went to the coffee shop at six A.M. they were out of cocoa, therefore unable to satisfy his hot chocolate cravings. And, of course, that on his way back home, a random dude wearing noise-cancelling headphones would block his way. Of course.

So yeah. Kano was having a bad day.

“Excuse me?” he tried for the third time, still keeping his polite smile on. He was way too tired for conflict.

The teen before him remained silent, staring at his phone’s screen as he took multiple pictures of some poppies on the side of the road- he was probably even unaware of Kano’s presence.

Sighing, Kano contemplated inching past the boy. But no, if he tried passing through he’d most likely end up in the other’s personal bubble, squeezed against the other- which he definitely did not want to accomplish. Which meant there were only two options left for him:

Turn around and take another route home. The exercise would do him good anyway.

Get the other to notice him via (shudder) human contact.

Turn around and take another route home. The exercise would do him good anyway.

Get the other to notice him via (shudder) human contact.

While option one was very tempting and probably the more advantageous option of the two, it also meant admitting defeat. Although Kano didn’t know the boy before him, a part of him bristled in indignation at the thought of giving in to the other’s despotism. No. Kano would not give in— he would bypass his usual mentality regarding his aversion to human contact and he’d (shudder) pat the other’s shoulder to get his attention.

A sigh.

“Excuse me?” he asked once more, this time lightly tapping the teen’s shoulder while ensuring that the rest of his body was a healthy distance from him— wary of giving the other the wrong impression, whatever that would be.

It was just a light tap, even by Kano’s standards, yet the boy violently flinched away. Confused, Kano took a careful step back, his hands lifted in a nonthreatening manner; the other took a deep breath, his frame relaxing when the distance between them lengthened. Kano waited for him to take off his headphones, yet they remained on. Instead, the stranger just pocketed his phone, then, with his fist, made a circular motion on his chest.

Once, then twice.

It was during the third circle that Kano realized what was happening. His bad mood suddenly disappeared, replaced by burning regret, and he agitatedly shook his head.

‘No, I’m sorry,’ he signed to the other.

The black-haired teen lightly smiled and stepped aside, clearing the way for Kano. Signing a small ‘Thank you,’ the blonde passed him and continued his walk back home, shoulders slightly hunched as he attempted to fight off the lingering embarrassment.

Shintaro regretted many things, starting with him getting in the accident that led to his deafness and ending with him letting Ayano convince him to come visit her home.

A terrible decision, really. He came off as dark and brooding at best and misanthropic at worst; there were few exceptions to this general rule, like Momo or Ayano.

Ayano, who was currently grinning at him as if he’d just told her he was getting married. Not a very good comparison, but still. Weren’t her siblings sixteen? Didn’t teens that age hate absolutely everybody and everything? Or was that thirteen? Shintaro could no longer remember, but his belief did not waver. Ayano’s siblings would for sure hate him; that meant that Ayano would soon hate him too.

Taking a calming breath, Shintaro hit the breaks in his spiraling. Everything would be fine. He’d live for a couple of months in his room until people forgot his face— he could ‘borrow’ from Momo’s dried squid reserves.

At his side, Ayano was still smiling, slightly facing him at all times to make sure that he could read her lips. They’d abandoned ASL after some disastrous accidents rooted in Ayano’s attempts to learn it, and although lip-reading wasn’t that accurate, there were very few people who knew sign language well enough to communicate with him. Stifling his swelling apprehension in face of the imminent awkwardness, Shintaro fidgeted on the spot.

“I’m home!” called Ayano as she toed off her shoes. A couple moments later, her siblings showed up, all of them hosting wary expressions bar one. The familiar blond’s eyes were wide in recognition.

‘Hey,’ signed the blond. Beyond his cheerfulness there was defensiveness Shintaro was pretty familiar with, piled upon what was probably fierce protectiveness of his sister.

Shintaro decided not to get into either of them. ‘How come you know ASL?’ he asked instead.

‘Was bored,’ replied the other, grinning dismissively. Then, his eyes suddenly flicked away from him and towards a green-haired girl; someone had asked something and Shintaro had missed it, <strike>as always. Torn between reading the girl’s lips and the blond’s, Shintaro hesitated for a moment before settling for the boy. “...met him yesterday, on my way home. Want me to introduce you guys?” the blond said.

Shintaro felt Ayano tense up at his side. He knew her well enough to know that she was feeling jealous for not being the one to introduce Shintaro and hating herself for it. Probably a lot too.

Pulling in his usual reservation, Shintaro comfortingly took her hand in his. She tensed up, then relaxed and smiled at him. Reassured, he turned back to her brother.

He was staring at them strangely, but went on and signed anyway. ‘I’m K-A-N-O.’ He pointed to the green-haired girl. ‘K-I-D-O.’ Then to the tall boy. ‘S-E-T-O.’ And the small, white-haired girl hiding behind Seto. ‘M-A-R-Y.’

‘Nice to meet you,’ replied Shintaro, trying his best to smile politely. Damn his awkwardness and social conventions. The latter most of all.

Why was he here again? How should he handle this? Did normal people even ask themselves these things? What was ‘normal’ though—

Ayano elbowed him and his spiral screeched to a stop.

“Anyone want to play Mario Kart?” she asked, her eyes sparkling in fierce competitiveness. “I’m really good at it now.” As a rare show of caring, his competitiveness reared its head at the statement.

‘I want to be Princess Peach,’ he declared, slightly smiling. Really, he’d smiled a lot today. Weird.

Competitiveness brings out the worst in people. This is known well enough by countless people everywhere: professional or amateur, young or old. Kano supposed that their game of Mario Kart was proof of that fact. Kido, as Luigi, had been kicked off-route so many times that she’d finally huffed in exasperation and blamed her lack of proficiency on her remote. She dumped it in Seto’s lap, then got up to make lunch. Seto was relaxed, Ayano was fierce yet three laps behind. And Kano and Shintaro… Kano and Shintaro were the living proof of the aforementioned universal truth.

Once more, a shell knocked into Kano. Once more, the air around Shintaro started stinking with smugness.

Kano was gonna destroy this bastard.

Easier said than done. For the third time in a row, Shintaro won first place, Kano second, Ayano third, and Seto a very much left behind fourth. He didn’t seem bothered by it. Only smiled at Mary and handed her the remote, asking her if she wanted to try playing.

Just as Kano opened his mouth to demand a rematch, from the corner of his eye he glimpsed Shintaro turning to Ayano and signing ‘Should we help your sister?’.

Ayano seemed surprised by his offer. “No, she usually does it herself— she really likes it. Once, she kicked me out of the kitchen, saying that I was too clumsy to help her cook,” she replied, laughing at the last part. Shintaro’s shoulders slumped in relief.

So Kano’s initial opinion of Shintaro had been true. The guy really was a selfish bastard most of the time.

He’d have to keep a close eye on him.

To protect his sister, of course.

#fanfic #ao3 #kanoshin #kagerou daze #mekakucity actors #kagerou project #mekakucity daze #mekakucity project #kano #shuuya #shintaro #kisaragi shintaro

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threadofdestiny · 4 years

Text

The opportunities we may take

(The Picture was a comission I odered from a friend. Check her out -> Fantasiamind_art)

Sinbad x oc

Soulmate AU

Part 1

The path he refuses to go

---In the middle of the sea, on the way to the dark continent---

„Go to sleep Ja´far. I´ve got this!“, the young man assured, while he kept one hand loosely on the steering wheel. His golden eyes fixed on the compass which rests in his other one, blinking ones, twice, before he looked up to gaze at his silent companion.

“Are you sure, Sin? You look like you've barely slept for days, either”, the younger one asked, after looking thoughtfully at his friend. Ja´far came a step closer to him, examining his physical state doubtingly.

“You look like shit!”, the white haired teenager finished his investigation, entwining his arms stubbornly in front of his chest.

“Ouch, don't be so mean! Now I want you to go. Get some sleep and let me smolder”, Sinbad answered, as he theatrically digs his fingers in his tunic that lingers above his torso, as if Ja´fars words had actually hurt him. Before Ja´far could start again, Sinbad interrupted him, waving the younger one of: “In a few days we are going to reach our new destination. I´ve got plenty of time to rest until then”, Sinbad responded now with a broad smile on his lips. Still unconvinced, but finally giving in, Ja´far nodded as he slowly turned away.

“Well, if you say so...but before I lie down, I ask Hinahoho to replace you later”, He responded over his shoulder, referring to the nordic tribesman who had accompanied them since the beginning of their journey, before he disappeared into the darkness to go to the sleeping quarters.

Now on his own, the only noises that broke the silence around Sinbad were the calm waves hitting the ship's wood and the wind that made the sails flutter.

A sigh emanated from the young man as he let his gaze glide over the stars that filled the night sky. His next destination was the dark continent, looking there for a place where he can found his own Kingdom.

He knew that he was someone special. That he was bound to do great things. Blessed by the rukh with a view of this world that no one else was able to see. He had a vision that he strives to accomplish and the gods gave him the skills to do just that. If he concentrated he could see it. His next step to achieve his goal. But not just that... He could see them all clearly in front of him. All those people that are destined to cross his way. Although they were still unknown to him, he could identify every single person that would be important to him in the future. Like waves they are connected to each other.

Friends

Foes

In the end they will all be the key to his eventual success.

Many various paths opened up to him, ready for him to choose which way to go, but he normally has always been someone who prefers the direct route. The clear route. It´s not like him to bother over an occasional storm that crosses his path, because he was flexible and confident in his skills. He wouldn't let anything stop him. No way. Even if the straight path is going to be a stony one, he would pay the price if it means that he accomplish his goals in the end. Furthermore, a few hurdles on his journey makes the adventure exciting in the end after all, right?

Reader of the waves. First class singularity

Many followed him because of his courage and his determination. Because he seems to know where to go and how to archive his goals. Despite his chaotic nature, he always overcome his own destiny, bending it to his will, while he was able to convince the people around him to follow and aid him. No matter how far-fetched his plans often seemed, he knew that he was charismatic enough to convince them all that he knows where the path will take them. Yes ... he was indeed blessed.

But sometimes he secretly finds it hard to keep his eyes on the thinks his mind was set on...

It was completely contrary to his character to question himself, but here he stood, doubting his choices.

His gaze once again wandered over the clear lines that drew all those possible paths he could choose to take, until he got stuck with a very specific one.

At the end of this line stood the silhouette of a young woman. Her back was turned towards him as she gazed up at the stars in front of her, like she was waiting for someone. Her braided brown hair was lying over her shoulder as she slowly raised her hands in front of her chest and out of his view. As he imagined her to slowly turn her gaze in his direction, he hastily turned away.

It seemed silly to him that he was so anxious. That every time he thought about her his heart thundered in his chest for a girl unknown to him, but he couldn´t give in to this infatuation, because while after every other person he would meet on his way, a clearer path continued in his line of sight, the lines became pale and inaccurate behind her. It was as if her mere presence blurred the paths so much that he could no longer make them out. But why? He had no choice but to speculate about it, but he had never come to a result that seemed to please him.

As he squeezed his golden eyes tightly to get rid of the image of her, his heart painfully pulled together, taking his breath away in a strangely manner.

He couldn't follow her path.

No.

Because he has to have his goal in his mind. He couldn't be distracted. Not now. Not after he had come this far.

Convincing himself to keep his course to the dark continent, he was comforted by the thought, that he might follow her path at a later date. Yes, that's what he kept talking to himself for a while now. At some point he would visit her after he accomplished his goals, or maybe if he was willing to accept the uncertainty that seems to come with her presence. And then he would finally find out why he was so attracted to her. Why he felt so keen to get her to him. Because this was something that just didn't make sense to him. He didn't know her, didn't know who she was and why his feelings went crazy, when he thought of her.

How ironic to see every path except that one that would come after hers, as if his own abilities wanted to mock him and his strange desires.

For now it was better as it was at the moment. He was young, just 17 years old. He wanted to experience so much more, discover new places, make friends, meet women without bindings...

At this thought, a cheeky grin spread on his lips. Deeper feelings, whatever they may be, must not stand in his way. Yes, she could wait, he lied to himself.

And yet, as he now clutched the steering wheel tightly with both hands, while he kept his gaze stubbornly in front of him, he wondered why it felt like he was sacrificing something important just to fulfill his goals. Only so that he can continue to see the path clearly in front of him.

---- Far away, on the island of Dalmasca-----

Candles that have been distributed individually on the furniture shrouded the room in a soft light. On a bed, a young girl, barely 17 years old, crouched down as she cried bitterly in her pillow. The silk curtains attached to the bedposts cast a shadow over her, as she leaned against the backrest. Little golden birds, that were invisible for most humans, chirped carefully around her as if they wanted to comfort her, but she had heard enough, she just wanted to process what was going to happen now. Or rather what will not going to happen.

He won't come

As it was now, it shouldn't have been, shouldn't it? She was told that when the time came, she would stand alongside the next singularity. That he would come for her, to take her with him, so she could be there for him. To aid him. To guide him. To protect him from himself. To keep him in the light. Were they all wrong? No, they can't have made a mistake, because it was the will Solomons, right? The prophecies cannot be wrong. But were they perhaps misinterpreted? Wasn't she created for him? But way does she feel their connection, then? Doesn't he feel it, too, the pain of being separated? But what was fate in the eyes of the only man who able to see it in front of him? Whoever can control it the way he wants it?

It doesen´t matter what the scriptures say, if the reader of the waves don´t want to collect the listener of the flow, she will have to live with it.

Too bad she always wanted to be with him.

“Why wouldn't he want to come?” she asked sadly as she lifted her face and stared heartbroken at her bracelet. Her braided brown hair fell off her shoulder as she moved. Some strands that had detached from her braid stuck to her tear-strained face as she tried to blink away the next tears that gathered in her eyes. Her fingers trembled over the engraved octagonal star, that glows on the center of her jewelry, but as always she received no reaction from the creature who lived in it. If she didn't know better, she would slowly doubt that it existed at all.

“Alexander, please tell me”, she whispered. However, she only got more silence from her supposed aid.

Why wasn't she strong enough to get her Djinn to hear her plead?

The rukh chirped louder, gained her attention when they took it upon themselves to fill the silence. Mildly comforted, she raised her hands in front of her chest and folded them into each other while she closed her eyes, listening. All at the same time they whispered to her, pleased to speak to the only person who could truly listen. They spoke so quickly that she struggled to understand what they wanted to explain to her, when it suddenly knocked on the door.

Shocked, her concentration slipped away as she cracked her eyes and let her gaze drive towards the noise. She hurriedly wiped her face free from her remaining tears and brushed her loose strands of hair behind her ears.

“Y-Yes?” she answered aloud.

“Salome? Are you okay? You missed dinner. May I come in?”, her younger brother's muted voice sounded from outside.

“Of course!”, she answered as she crawled to the edge of the bed, pillow long forgotten at her side.

The door opened slowly and revealed a slightly younger teenager with the same shade of brown hair like herself, tied together in a short tail at the back of his head. His searching gaze became soft when he saw his sister's weeping face.

“Heya...I brought you something to eat” he whispered gently, as he lifted up the tray he was holding in his hands.

“Thank you, Malik”, Salome returned, while she accepted the food. Now that Maliks hands were free again, he lifted them to her cheeks and gently wiped over them as he slowly settled beside his sister.

“Are you alright?”

“You don´t have to worry, brother”, she dodged his question, while hoping that he would not continue to rake. In response he smoldered his lips, as he thoughtfully looked at her face.

“This is not the answer I wanted to hear, sister. It doesn´t matter anyway, It´s plastered all over your face. You are all red from crying. Quite ugly if you ask me.”, he teased, as he dodged her newly found pillow she was trying to attack him with.

“You are so mean. If you just want to annoy me, you can go again right away”, She whined, as he yanked her pillow out of her hands to gently punch her on the head with it.

"I don't like it when you cry!" He chided softly before sitting down next to her and stroking her back without another comment. A faint smile spread across her lips when she understood that he was just worried about her. Quietly, they looked at each other smiling sadly as they enjoyed the silence around each other. After a while, Salome made institutions to break the silence, however, the relaxed mood abruptly faded as it knocked urgently on the door again.

Before either of them could answer, the door was already opened and a man in his mid-20s, with blonde wild curls and wide flying robes, stormed in. Surprised by the new guest's appearance, the siblings stared at him in shock, waiting to see what he wanted to tell them. An uneasy feeling spread in Salome, when the Rukh began to flutter in panic, just to match the ones that twirled around the older men´s.

“Salome, The other priests have confirmed it, the wall is weakening. You were right, they will come to get you ”

What the reader of the waves didn't know was that it will probably be too late if he changes his mind to come and get her. That this was probably his last chance after all.

Now surprisingly calm, the brown haired girl rose from the edge of the bed and walked quietly past the two men, approaching her window. Once again, her gaze wandered to her bangle, hoping to get a reaction from her metal vessel. Nothing. With a sigh on her red lips, she looked out of the window as her long, slim fingers slowly danced over the cool glass. The oppressive silence of her two companions was only tempered by the quiet chirping of the golden birds, but she hardly cared as she looked up at the stars and listened to what the rukh were trying to tell her.

How ironic it was that they say that her time had not yet come, as if they didn´t told her earlier, that her live was about to fall into pieces before her very own eyes.

But she knew it for a few days now. She could feel it. However did that give her the necessary strength to change something on time? Unfortunately not as she would´ve liked, but that was fine for now. When the time came, she would be ready. At least she hoped so. All she knew was that she was not going to give up. Not now, nor ever.

“I already know. Let´s prepare then”

#adventuresofsinbad #ocxsinbad #sinbadxoc #sinbad #adventures of sinbad #magi #sinbad magi #fanfic #xoc #romance #magi kingdom of magic #magi labyrinth of magic #adventures of sindbad #sinbad no bouken

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thebibliomancer · 4 years

Text

Essential Avengers: Avengers #210: You Don’t Need the Weathermen to Know Which Way the Wind Blows!

August, 1981

Wow that is one hell of a title! At least in terms of length.

Not the best though.

That still belongs to Avengers #12: “This Hostage Earth!”: In Which the Mighty Avengers Battle to Save Their Beloved Planet From a Fate So Deadly That None But the Macabre Mole Man Could Have Devised It!: A Marvel Tale of Most Compelling Excellence!”

The title to this one being a Bob Dylan reference gets its some bonus points though.

Hmm, this issue is written by Bill Mantlo and he’s also the co-creator of Rocket Raccoon, originally an extended reference to a Beatles song.

Guy loves his song references.

The cover is also pretty excellent this time too. Damn but do I miss covers like this. Four different perils befallen the Avengers separated by the presumed villain’s helmet crest.

So take us away, Mantlo.

We start the issue with the return of the ridiculous four-sided television for the Avengers meeting table. Except now its five four-sided tvs on one pole for maximum media absorption from multiple angles.

And the Avengers are watching THE WEATHER CHANNELS!

Scarlet Witch: “Why have you summoned us, Captain America? What new menace confronts the Avengers?”

Wonder Man: “Wait until you hear, Wanda! Cap’s called us together to watch the weather report!”

Don’t be so surprised. The title and the cover are all about weather.

Cap though says that this weather channel may be showing THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THE WORLD!

But surely he’s exaggerating. Even if 2012 the movie ridonkulous weather disasters happen and wipe out humanity, the world will keep on zooming through space. Its a persistent rock.

End of humanity is pretty bad too, from the point of view of humanity. Which the Avengers either are or aspire to.

So there are excessive tornadoes in Kansas. So far, of course.

London is flooding.

There are unnatural thunderstorms and torrential rains in New York, so bad that Thor has decided to show up without being summoned to go ‘hey how about this weather, right?’

Buenos Aires is freezing, baffling and befuddling bikini beach goers.

Which Beast ogles.

Beast, pls. The fate of the humanity is at stake here.

And there’s a heatwave over Antarctica melting ice and raising the water levels, threatening low lying countries. Or mostly just England somehow.

The government’s weather monitoring space station with a weird name Samarobyrn has determined that these weather disruptions are too systematic to be natural so the Avengers are going to split into five groups to investigate the five places I’ve already mentioned, since they’re the five places most seriously affected according to the satellite Samarobyrn.

Beast is going to go to Buenos Aires, to his delight.

Wanda and Vision will go to Kansas.

Beast: “The perfect place to send the Good Witch of the East!”

The Wasp and Wonder Man will head to Antarctica.

Wasp: “Great! Finally I get a chance to wear my new fur coat!”

... Wasp. Heatwave.

Thor will investigate the thunderstorms in New York.

And Cap and Iron Man will go to London.

Not sure what they’re going to do against large-scale weather disturbances. Can’t exactly punch the climate. At least not personally.

Maybe punching a weatherman will help. Can’t make the situation worse.

Anyway, the Avengers all head off to their own destinations, with Beast snarking “Say, shouldn’t someone yell ‘Avengers Dissemble’?!”

So, this reminds me of something, really briefly. There was an episode of Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes that used the title This Hostage Earth (sadly sans the rest) and also coincidentally seems to share some elements with this story. The Avengers split up to investigate seven different anomalies with Iron Man wryly commenting that he should say Avengers Dissemble.

Doesn’t have much of anything to do with this. I was just reminded because of mentioning This Hostage Earth ect earlier.

Anyway, while all of the other Avengers dissemble, Thor tarries.

So he’s still in the meeting room when Jocasta arrives and wonders what the hell is going on. She only found out there was a meeting at all because Jarvis told her.

Damn, that’s rude, the other Avengers.

Thor: “An oversight, surely. Our ranks have swelled of late, and with no permanent chairman, ‘tis hard to know whose responsibility ‘twas to summon thee.”

Jocasta: “True? And yet I have felt... apart from the others. Being a creature of cybernetic circuits and not flesh and blood, I am always aware that I am... different.”

Thor: “And thou thinkest we do shun thee for it? Nay, milady! The Avengers are a composite of mortal and immortal, android and man-beast, man and mutant! Different, Jocasta? Aye, so are we all!”

Oh, hey. There’s that arc about Jocasta feeling disconnected from the other Avengers. We haven’t touched on it for a while but it was a running thing in the Shooter run previously. She tried to make friends with various Avengers but they tended to inadvertently blow her off due to their own preoccupations or just getting distracted.

So, no, Thor, I don’t think that the Avengers are intentionally shunning her. But I do think that none of them have really been reaching out to her, either. And you’re all she has.

Thor heads out to his mission and this time Jocasta tarries, thinking about things and stuff.

So she’s still in the meeting room when the computer pulls up some exposition based on a random thing Beast asked rhetorically.

“Origin of the word Samarobryn in the disaster prophecies of Michael Nostradamus... Samarobryn one hundred leagues from the hemisphere. They will live without law, exempt from politics.”

Huh!

I don’t think I knew that Nostradamus had a first name!

Weird that someone would name a weather satellite after a disaster prophecy that predicted famine caused by excessive rain. That’s like naming a communications satellite Babel.

Anyway, the Avengers all head in five different directions with four Quinjets and one Thor and Jocasta takes a fifth Quinjet and heads off into space.

Huh! They have five whole Quinjets now!

Thor flies up into the sky and begins yelling at the clouds, as one might expect from Thor.

Thor: “The storm rages as it hast for hours, with a fury that doth threaten the very existence of the Midgardian mortals dwelling below! ‘Tis time to leash the lightning -- to put the rain to rout! Cease, storm! ‘Tis the god of thunder who dost command thee!”

And then Thor gets hit in the face by lightning.

This storm is a rude.

Thor is stunned by all of this lightning in the face, I guess backing up Clone Squirrel Girl’s use of electricity to knock out Jane!Thor that one time, nearly falling out of the sky before whirling Mjolnir like a helicopter to land smoothly.

And then Thor goes back to yelling at clouds except this time not just clouds because he spots the one who hit him with lightning and it is a who and not a what.

Thor: “Descend, Villain! And if yon storm be thy doing -- desist!”

Weatherman: “Have a care, god of thunder! Not even you can command... a WEATHERMAN!”

I have queried an expert who has told me that yes, this guy looks a bit tokusatsu.

(And he’s orange. Spoilers: There’s a different colored one wherever the Avengers go. A full color-coded team.)

Anyway, two hours later and over in London, England, Iron Man and Captain America arrive to deal with London being flooded.

Iron Man: “Do you realize just how selective these disasters are, Cap? After all, England and Holland border on the same body of water -- and the first’s been inundated, while the second hasn’t been touched!”

Huh! That is weird. And seems incredibly implausible or like someone or thing incredibly powerful is also incredibly angry at the English.

While Iron Man flies around shooting the water with repulsors to... shove it back into the ocean? Is that what’s going on?? I mean, if the water is disproportionately high on England’s side of the channel then I guess you could just shove the water and accomplish something but I thought there was something going on with Antarctica melting which would indicate that the sea levels are also rising but then why would it be affecting only England and oh no comic logic has broken me

Anyway, while ^ that is happening, Captain America lands the Quinjet on Parliament since there’s not many good places to land and really, how often can you say to have landed a jet on a government building?

He’s old, let him have his fun.

But it’s not just fun! He’s Captain America, the man who wakes up at 4 AM to go for a ten miles jog so he can be showered and ready to superhero by 6 AM, probably!

He notices some kids clinging to an overturned double decker bus (because how would we know it was London without?) and he jumps from Parliament to swing on a Union Jack flag to the bus.

And then he uses the flag to create a tether to a rescue boat that the kids can cross over on.

AND THEN THE BLUE WEATHER RANGER! appears.

Flying around on a hoverdisc and creating a localized tidal wave. The wave smacks Cap off the bus into the water as Blue Weather Ranger gloats.

Weatherman: “Let that be a lesson to you not to wrest lives away -- when they’ve been claimed by... a Weatherman!”

And now a scene transition to sunny Antarctica where Jan van Wasp is finally getting the idea that heatwave means that her fur coat is superfluous.

While melting Antarctica temps might still be cold, this specific melting Antarctica temp is almost tropical!

And its not just sunny, it seems like the sun is moving closer, like the angry sun from Mario Bros 3 because iiiiiiiiits.... THE RED WEATHERMAN!

Weatherman: “Die, Avengers! The only fate for those who would defy... a Weatherman!”

The Red Weather Ranger blasts them with heat beams of a thousand degrees, melting the ice right out from under them.

Wasp figures that the Red Weatherman is radiating heat in waves so she could hypothetically hit him between cycles.

Hypothetically.

Because she can’t figure out the frequency and instead the Weatherman sets her wings on fire. And her wings are an organic part of her and she hurts when they hurts. So she plummets into the water to put herself out.

Hmm... the yellow and black look good on Jan and fits with the Wasp name but sometimes she doesn’t look dissimilar to an X-Men.

Wonder Man does what Wonder Man does and picks up a heavy thing and chucks it jerkwards.

But they’re in Antarctica so heavy thing is a giant ice chunk and jerk is a really hot guy so the ice chunk melts midflight pelting the two Avengers with boiling rain.

Wow, this is going poorly so far!

Who’s next?

Scarlet Witch and Vision are next! And they’ve gone to Kansas to fight tornadoes.

I’m. Not sure how that’s going to play out. I really feel like the Avengers are out of their element trying to fight the weather. Is it too late to call in the X-Men and specifically Storm?

She’s doing a crossover with Dazzler this month in 1981 so its not like she was too busy.

Anyway, Scarlet Witch flies the Quinjet at a tornado and then is shocked when the jet gets swept into the funnel cloud and spins out of control

She wonders why Vision is just standing there but he learned a thing from the Yellow Claw two-parter and isn’t just standing there.

He actually makes his mass so heavy that it forces the Quinjet to the ground with a WHRUMP!

I can’t imagine that’d be good for either the Quinjet or the passengers but I’ll give Vision this.

Its cool that he can do his thing without outwardly expending any effort.

Scarlet Witch: “Yes, neither of our powers are quite so flamboyant as Cap throwing his shield, or Thor his hammer -- but they have proven most effective, else we would not be Avengers!”

And then she uses her witchcraft to force two of the tornadoes to slam into each other and cancel out.

This also seems dubious. Since tornadoes tend to spin the same direction you’d think that instead of cancelling, they’d become one giant super tornado. Them cancelling each other out seems quite improbable actually. Which is probably exactly why it works.

Take that, SCIENCE.

But there’s still one tornado left and its coming for them! And since it appears to not be naturally formed, it defies Wanda’s nature based magic! Curses!

Annnnnnnnnd... It’s a WEATHERMAN!

The ebony Weatherman. Although he looks purple to me.

Weatherman: “Stand or flee, it will make no difference! Your lives are in the hands of a... WEATHERMAN!”

And another scene transition.

Geez, this plot split the party hard. And I think it’s beginning to realize how hard it is to split the story between six groups because this vignette gets four panels before moving on.

Beast lands in beautiful snow-covered iceberg infested Buenos Aires and takes a brief moment to be horny about a bunch of bikini women who have been frozen alive.

Beast: “Oh, my stars and garters! Those bathing beauties I saw on T.V. -- they’re frozen solid! Maybe I could take one or two back to thaw out in my room at Avengers mansion?”

And then as if to punish him for this, the white WEATHERMAN! immediately appears and freezes Beast solid.

Weatherman: “You will need to unfreeze yourself first, man-beast! So says... a WEATHERMAN!”

Beast: “Yoiks!”

Good thing freezing is basically harmless in comics.

And our final party, Jocasta IN SPAAAAAAACE.

Because Quinjets can still just achieve escape velocity. That’s some good super-science.

Jocasta: “Samarobyrn, Earth’s first weather-monitoring space station! It’s so... beautiful! A shimmering silver wheel in space -- a triumph of science and engineering, created to faithfully serve its creators... as was I. Perhaps that is why I alone thought to come here.”

And since she’s a robot, she just jumps out of the Quinjet airlock that it definitely always has had and uses her EYE BEAMMM to basically propel herself away from the Quinjet and toward the Samarobyrn station.

That’s pretty cool, actually. I’m not sure if, scientifically, laser eyes would actually propel that much, but its a cool thought.

Of course, Jocasta has to do all of this cool stuff because the space station didn’t respond to the docking requests Jocasta sent. So she has to go in through the manual override airlock.

In the station, Jocasta finds no signs of life even though it was supposed to have a five man crew.

She finds her way to the hub of the station where the computer monitors are all monitoring the five separate Avengers missions.

So she’s pretty sure her suspicions were correct.

Jocasta: “The five foes facing my fellow Avengers must be the five crewmen of Samarobryn! They have distorted this station’s functioning from that of weather-monitoring to weather control -- and now exploit it for their own evil ends!”

Samarobryn: “You are wrong, silver sister!”

WELP!

The space station computer has gone all HAL. Dammit, this always happens!

So Samarobryn decides to explain it all.

It had a humble beginning as a computer for the U.S. Weather Service’s Project Earthwatch. But then one of the programmers added something extra to the concoction: NOSTRADAMUS!

No but seriously. The programmer decided to download the disaster prophecies of Nostradamus into the computer in addition to weather data.

And particularly the ones dealing with that Samarobryn prophecy, the one Jocasta read part of earlier. So when the comptuer was installed in a space station named Samarobryn, it went ‘hey that me!’

And decided to expand operations from weather monitoring to weather control.

How does a space station outfitted specifically to only monitor the weather make the jump to controlling it? Fuck you, this is comics.

When the crew grew suspicious, the computer rewrote their brains to become the Weathermen.

Why did a computer designed to monitor weather have the ability to-

Look, this is comics. Where Hank Pym, biophysicist, built a computer with a gun pre-installed and was surprised when it shot him and tried to take his wife. THIS. IS. COMICS.

Anyway, speaking of weirdly sexual computers:

Samarobryn: “I sense that you are a machine like me -- created by others but obedient to none! Join me! Be my bride! Together we will cleanse the Earth of imperfect humankind and stand guard over the paradise which remains... as gods!”

Geez, its just like Aaron Stack all over again, way before the fact. Also, Ultron. A certain type of AI is just attracted to Jocasta, huh?

Anyway, Jocasta lets Samarobryn down easy by shooting him with EYE BEAM!

Jocasta: “Nothing would remain but a lifeless mokcery of a world! No! I reject you! I was created to be the bride of another such as you -- but robot though I am, there is still some spark of humanity burning within me! I cherish it -- and would not see its source snuffed out!”

Samarobryn may be a load bearing computer pillar without arms or legs but it still manages to defend itself.

BY FLOODING THE CONTROL ROOM?

I guess everything in this room is waterproof??

And also by shooting lightning, also in the control room. Where I guess everything is lightning proof.

This is a bad plan.

More than I thought, even, because by shifting attention to defending itself up in space, Samarobryn leaves its Weathermen high and dry.

The Orange Weatherman stops being able to throw lightning bolts so Thor clobbers him.

The Red Weatherman chills out so Wonder Man and Wasp can get close and put him in a headlock.

Uh. I’m not sure if Blue Weatherman actually is affected or not because Iron Man just punches him in the back of the head while he’s distracted.

The Ebony Weatherman’s whirlwind vanishes so Scarlet Witch and Vision can kick his ass.

And Beast unfreezes as quickly as he froze and kicks the White Weatherman’s helmet off. And apparently the helmet was maintaining the mind control because the Weatherman is suddenly confused about where he is.

And with the Orange Weatherman beaten up, Thor senses, with his god senses no doubt, that the Orange Weatherman wasn’t the one commanding the weather. So there must be an unseen agent who arranged this.

So his course is clear.

Thor shoots a giant lightning bolt into space and hits Samarobryn.

He doesn’t know that the station is to blame. He’s just shooting a giant lightning bolt into space because he’s pissed that someone used lightning against him.

I guess when you’re the god of thunder, you can get a little homing capability out of your giant space lightning bolts.

Still though. Wow.

Meanwhile, in space, Samarobryn is still trying to woo Jocasta. For a certain value of woo.

Samarobryn: “It is still not too late, female! Accept me! Accept what must be! I can make you love me!”

Jocasta: “What can a machine who would destroy all those I have come to care for know of love?”

Samarobryn: “Nothing, as humans understand love -- but together we can redefine the word on the basis of our own coexistence!”

Jocasta: “Can you not understand? The fact that I am a machine does not make me less than human! I am, as Thor said, merely... different! I would try to live in their human world -- to understand how to retain that difference that makes me unique -- and yet be accepted!”

This is an interesting conversation but wouldn’t you know it? There’s a power surge. Seems like a space station got hit by lightning.

And when the lights turn back on and Jocasta wonders what happened:

Samarobryn: “I am weather-monitoring space station Samarobryn. Your question is not pertinent to weather evaluation. This unit cannot compute.”

So you know how sometimes a program crashes and you lose all your progress?

Samarobryn hadn’t backed up its sapience and the power surge effectively lobotomized it back to factory settings.

Geez.

LATER

All the Avengers stand around congratulating Jocasta for the good job and apologizing that they overlooked her.

Apparently new safeguards were put in place to prevent Samarobryn from attaining sentience again. Probably stuff like ‘don’t download doomsday prophecies into a weather satellite.’

Hm. I know Samarobryn was trying to destroy the world and all but the cavalier lobotomization of an enemy because it was a computer and thus disposable sits wrong when the Avengers have two AIs on their team. Really, the fact that it was an accident is pretty much all that lets it slide by.

Also: I’m kind of peeved that Jocasta didn’t get to resolve the situation, given that this was blatantly a Jocasta focus issue. She does pull a lot of weight, being the only one to figure out the real source of the problem and distracting Samarobryn long enough for the Avengers to beat the Weathermen. But it feels like Thor swiped the big win from her even though he didn’t even know about Samarobryn. Just shot some lightning into space and resolved the plot.

That plot resolution should have been Jocasta’s!

Anyway. Scarlet Witch says that Jocasta being overlooked like she was indicates that the Avengers need to reorganize and Vision suggests that they vote on a new chairperson.

But they’re interrupted by Cap.

Captain America: “Iron Man, Thor, and I have given some thought to the directions this team has taken -- and should take! I open the floor to discussion! The first item on the agenda being: THE OLD ORDER CHANGETH!”

Which basically means a roster shakeup.

Funny that the Avengers have had a period of disorganization and aimlessness when they didn’t have a permanent writer and now that they are getting one, they’re going to try to get their shit together.

Whatever I do, I shouldn’t miss next issue.

But before then, there’s an Avengers Annual that has to fit in somewhere and since it uses this roster of the team, might as well fit it in now, before everyone changes and it makes no sense. And its a fairly well-known Avengers Annual.

The fairly well-known Avengers Annual that looked at Avengers #200 and said ‘actually this is bullshit.’

Follow @essential-avengers. Also please like if you liked. Its good to know that somebody is reading.

Also, consider donating to the Bill Mantlo Support Fund if you enjoyed vicariously experiencing this issue or if you enjoy Rocket Raccoon or his other stuff like Cloak and Dagger, Micronauts, or Rom.

#Avengers #essential avengers #essential marvel liveblogging #Jocasta #Samarobryn #Thor #Captain America #Iron Man #the Wasp #Wonder Man #Scarlet Witch #the Vision #Beast #the very concept of weather #its out to get us #the mega-TV #too cool to exist #space lightning #regrets that no giant robot was summoned and fought

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