#brought to you by the fact that we did NOT in fact fight Medusa and instead maybe let her find happiness and health?????? maybe???????????
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Hadestown we sing it anyway 🤝 DnD
#brought to you by the fact that we did NOT in fact fight Medusa and instead maybe let her find happiness and health?????? maybe???????????#tomb of annihilation#was crying in the club#weirdly emotional about this
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After the Fire ~ Chapter Forty-Four
Summary: Following the Battle of the Five Armies, a grievously wounded Thorin is brought back to the kingdom of Erebor, which is still mostly in ruins. Although he’s survived the wounds he received at the end of Azog’s blade, his recovery is far from complete. Grief, regret, anger, all are making his journey that much more difficult and the physical recovery isn’t quite the most difficult challenge he faces.
Jasna Stoneham is no stranger to loss, as she is a survivor of Smaug’s wrath upon Esgaroth. When she is asked to help the dwarves healers of Erebor, her instinct is to say no, but she needs the job, and so agrees to it. However, no one told her that of all the patients, she would be responsible for the king himself, Thorin Oakenshield.
Unfortunately, the road to recovery isn’t necessary a smooth one, but if there’s one thing Thorin will learn, it’s that Jasna is just as stubborn as he is and for every step back he takes, she is there to push him three steps forward. And Jasna will soon find out that there is a gentle, softer side to the dwarf king, one that very few people have ever seen and one he fights to keep hidden from her as well. But like his recovery, that is also easier said than done.
Summary: In Dale, Thorin grows jealous of the attention Bard pays to Jasna…
Pairing: Thorin Oakenshield x ofc Jasna Stoneham
Characters: Jasna, Thorin, Óin, Bard, Sigrid
Warnings: None
Rating: T
Word Count: 2,785
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Previous chapters can be found here.
“Miss—er—Yer Majesty? Might I have a word with ye?”
Jasna rolled her eyes. “Óin, please, for the last time, Jasna is fine.”
“Oh, I couldn’t be so bold.”
“You can and you will if you wish me to answer you.” She turned toward him, hands on her hips. “I promise you, I don't mind. Thorin won’t mind. Neither one of us will mind, so please… use my name?”
He smiled then. “I have your final grades.”
Her belly did a slow flip and her mouth went dry. “Do I want to know?”
“Ye are now officially qualified to see and treat any body that comes through that door, whether Narnerra or I are here or not. Well done, Mrs. Durin.”
She smiled and without thinking, wrapped Óin in a tight embrace. “Thank you!”
“Thank you? Why are ye thanking me?” he carefully untangled from her and held out the long stiff envelope in his hand. “Ye did all of this yerself, you know. I told ye how ye had gift. Perhaps now ye’ll believe me?”
She took the envelope, her hands shaking as she opened it and her eyes filled with tears at the certificate proclaiming her as a healer. “Oh, I don't know… it still seems too good to be true.”
“Ye’ll still need to just run things by us, let us look over yer work when ye finish, but I daresay, there will be need for that for only a short while. Ye’ve done excellent work and I am as proud of ye as if ye were my own daughter.”
She hugged him again. “You have no idea what that means to me to hear, Óin. I know you w-w-w-weren’t exactly th-th-thrilled to have me here last winter.”
“I admit, I was hesitant but we needed a body. And I am not too proud to admit I was wrong about ye. We are lucky to have ye. Just as Thorin is.”
“Would you mind if I went to tell him?”
Óin offered up a long look. “Yer the Queen, Yer Majesty. I think it safe to say ye outrank me.”
“Óin!”
“Is he giving you a hard time, mesmel?” Thorin asked as he came into the infirmary. “Because if he is—”
“He’s not at all. In fact, he’s doing the opposite and killing me with respect.”
“As he should.” Thorin winked.
“Oh, no. Not you, too.”
“What is this?” He reached for the envelope, which she let him take, and as he slid the parchment from it, he smiled and nodded. “I can hardly say I’m surprise, amrâlimê. You are good at what you do.”
“I guess perhaps I am.”
He reached for her, drawing her into his arms. “You are. Now, I’m on my way to Dale, and while I hope to be back before sundown, it’s entirely possible the bowman will have me there far longer.”
“I can go with you, if you like. He doesn’t seem to give me any trouble.”
“That’s because yer far prettier than this old goat,” Óin broke in.
“Oh, that’s not nice, nor is it true.”
“It most definitely is true,” Thorin told her, grinning as he eased an arm about her waist. “You’re absolutely prettier than I am. And if you wish to come with me, I’d love the company. Let me just tell Dwalin and we’ll be on our way.”
“Did you have a chance to speak with Mr. Baggins before he left?”
“I did and he was a little hesitant at first,” Thorin admitted somewhat sheepishly, “but then invited us to pay him a call, should we find ourselves in the Shire.”
Jasna frowned. “That isn’t very encouraging.”
“No, it isn’t. And I don't suppose I might fault him, but at the same time…”
She sighed softly. “We don't have to visit the Shire. I’d rather not make him uncomfortable.”
“He has no cause to be uncomfortable. He and I were but friends.”
“Well, that’s how you saw it. He, however, saw it differently. It would be as if you and Shael had come to pay my mother a visit.”
“But, mesmel, Bilbo and I were not lovers.”
“I know that. But he still is in love with you and it does not matter that you have never felt the same way toward him.”
A pained look crept across his face. “Perhaps then we should avoid the Shire. At least for now. In time, his feelings might change.”
“They might, true.” Even as she said it, though, Jasna did not believe it. Somehow, she had the feeling Thorin was far more difficult to get over than he imagined himself to be. “I would like to see Rivendell, though.”
“And you shall. Rivendell and Mirkwood. And hopefully no spiders.”
***
Jasna tucked her arm through Thorin’s as they made their way along Dale’s main street. It was a beautiful day, although the summer’s heat crept in early and reminded her of why she preferred the colder months overall. But, autumn was only a short time off and then winter would return and she smiled, thinking of the leather bracelet she’d bought to give Thorin the day she and Narnerra ventured into Dale.
She glanced up at him. That day had ended so terribly and when she’d left Erebor that night, she was positive she would never see it—or Thorin—again. But the universe had a way of righting itself and now there she was, with him.
“What’s on your mind?”
His murmured question jolted her from her reverie. “I beg your pardon?”
“You looked up at me with a very serious expression. Am I in trouble?”
“Should you be?”
“I should hope not, but I’ve learned in dealing with my sister, women don't always tell you right away.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’ve much to learn about women, you know. Trust me, if you’ve angered me, I will definitely l-l-let you know.”
“I wonder if I should be glad or dread it.”
“I think it safe to say you will eventually find out.”
He chuckled as they made their way up the steps of the Provincial House and he rapped the brass knocker against the door. “I wonder if the older daughter will be her usual warm and friendly self to me?”
“Thorin, she’s not necessarily out of line to be upset with you.”
He offered up a long look. “Perhaps she needs to learn to let the past lie.”
Jasna gave his arm a squeeze. She certainly didn't want to fight with him, even if she understood exactly why Sigrid refused to warm up to him.
The door opened and Jasna bit back a smile as Sigrid said, “Miss Jasna! It’s wonderful to see you! How are you?”
“I’m good, Miss Sigrid, and how are you?”
“I’m fine. Da is in a bit of a mood, but otherwise nothing much changes here.” She slid her gaze to Thorin and her smile faded. “Good afternoon, Your Majesty.”
“Good afternoon, Miss Sigrid. I have a meeting today with your father and I hope neither of you minds that Her Majesty has come with me.”
“Of course not. We like her.”
From the corner of her eye, Jasna saw Thorin’s jaw tighten, and she cleared her throat, “Might we come in?”
“Oh, of course.” Sigrid stepped back to allow them room, then called, “Da! The King and Queen of Erebor are here!”
The Queen of Erebor. Jasna’s belly fluttered at the sound of it. She wondered if she would ever get used to hearing in in reference to herself. Somehow, she didn't think so.
“Ah, Thorin, Miss Jasna,” Bard smiled as he came down the main staircase, “or would you prefer I call you Your Majesty?”
She laughed, shaking her head. “Don’t you dare, Bard. I hear enough of th-that in Erebor from Narnerra and Óin.”
“They respect you, mesmel,” Thorin said, his voice low.
“I understand that and appreciate it,” she told him, shaking her head, “but I’ve assured them it’s quite all right to use my given name as they always did.”
“They won’t, though.”
“I’ve noticed.”
Bard looked from her to Thorin and back. “I’m sure they wish you to know they respect you.”
“I know they do. But it sounds so strange still.”
“You’ve only been the Queen a day,” Bard reminded her with with a chuckle, “it won’t always sound so strange.”
Sigrid looked from her father to Thorin. “Shall I fetch coffee or tea?”
“Tea would be lovely, Sigrid,” Bard replied with a nod. “And we’ll be in my office. Miss—Your Majesty, will you be joining us?”
“If you wouldn’t mind having me.”
“Of course not.” Bard glanced at Thorin. “I would be more surprised if you didn't wish to sit in with us. I know how your mind works.”
“Do you?” Thorin replied slowly. “For I am still learning.”
“Well, Jasna and I go back to childhood almost.”
“Almost.” Jasna replied with a grin. “You are still older than me.”
“Only by a few years. Not enough to matter.”
Sigrid smiled. “Wait, you knew Da when he was my age?”
Jasna nodded. “Oh, I did, indeed. And he was a tr-tr-troublemaker.”
“Da?” Sigrid stared up at him. “Are you serious, Miss Jasna?”
“Very much so, yes.”
“I was not nearly as bad as she likes to make it seem,” Bard broke in with a low chuckle. “In fact, you should only know what I could tell you about her.”
Thorin cleared his throat. “If we might…”
“Oh, right.” A hint of color showed along Bard’s cheekbones. “Of course. Right in here.”
Jasna bit the inside of her cheek as Thorin marched into the room ahead of her. If she didn't know any better, she’d swear he was jealous of Bard. Which was funny, really, as surely he couldn't think there had been anything between her and Bard. He knew for a fact he was the first, and only, man she’d ever been with.
So why would he be jealous?
And yet, he couldn’t look at Bard without a glare and Jasna knew Thorin well enough to recognize the tension in his jaw, the tension in his broad shoulders. He looked over at her and when she smiled, his eyes softened and she didn't know if it was intentional or not, but his hand came to rest atop hers, his thick fingers tightening slightly.
“So, are the first inspections ready to begin?” Thorin asked, his thumb brushing along the side of her hand.
“Yes and no.”
“Yes and no? How is that even possible?”
“Some of them are, but some are not. The pilings have been set, and are ready, but the contractor ran out of lumber before finished the docks and walkways.”
“Ran out?” Thorin shook his head. “You mean to tell me, the man whose job it is to know how much lumber he needed to build what he knew needed budding, didn’t know how much he needed?”
“Yes and no.”
Thorin scowled. “Again with the yes and no.”
“You and I need to pay Mr. Walters a visit. I have a feeling one of his men is trying to pad his coffers by pretending to run short on supplies. He has a yard here, in the northern part of the city, and I think that is where we will find his surplus.”
“So, you hired a man who in turn is attempting to cheat me?”
Jasna winced at the cold undertone of Thorin’s deep voice. “Thorin, I doubt Bard—” she began.
Bard interrupted her. “No, I hired a man who I’ve dealt with before, but who has hired an overseer for this project. The overseer is the one I think is trying to swindle us.”
“Us?” Thorin let out a thoroughly humorless laugh. “What us, Bard? I am the one being swindled. Erebor’s coffers are the ones being stolen from. If this man is stealing from me, I most assuredly wish to speak to him. Now.”
Bard’s eyes widened. “Now?”
“Yes, now. Should I wait for him to steal even more from me?” Thorin pushed back his chair and got to his feet. “So, shall we?”
“Very well.”
Jasna watched them both stand. “If you don't mind, I think I will stay here. Perhaps Miss Sigrid might catch me up on the gossip that I’ve missed, being in Erebor all this time.”
“Of course,” Bard said warmly, smiling as he added, “Make yourself at home, as always. Miss Jasna.”
Jasna didn't miss the way Thorin’s jaw tightened, and she held her breath as she waited for him to say something. But, instead, he just looked from Bard to her, and leaned over to capture her lips in a kiss that went from light to deep in the blink of an eye. He slid an arm about her waist, bending her back slightly as his lips parted and his tongue swept along hers to steal the breath from her lungs.
When he finally drew back, he smiled, his eyes soft as they held hers. “Behave, mesmel.”
“You as well. Make no trouble, Thorin.”
“I promise nothing. Especially if this man is truly trying to steal from me. I will not take kindly to it, you understand.”
She glanced at the sword on his back and offered up a silent prayer he didn't think to draw it on anyone. “I mean with Bard, too.”
“The Bowman would do well to watch his tongue where you are concerned. He seems a bit too friendly for my liking.”
“I’ve known Bard most of my life, Thorin. You’ve nothing to worry about.”
“Be that as it may, he is a bit too friendly for my liking.”
In the doorway, Bard paused as if he’d heard them whispering about him, and turned. “Are you coming, Thorin?”
“Yes, yes.” Thorin bent and brushed her lips once more, his kiss not quite as deep as before. “Do not gossip too much.”
“Go. And try not to hurt anyone in the process.”
“I promise nothing.”
***
“I admit, I am surprised you didn't send one of the others in your stead.”
Thorin glanced over at Bard as they made their way down Oak Street, toward the northeastern corner of Dale, where the lumber yards were located. “Why?”
“Well, your wedding was but a day ago.”
“And my bride understands that some things will not wait. Not even for a king. Or especially for a king.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
“What is your interest in Jasna?” Thorin asked bluntly, stepping before him and halting him with a hand to the man’s chest.
Bard seemed a bit surprised by the question, stopping suddenly, his eyes wide. “I beg your pardon?”
“I believe I was quite clear, bowman. What is your interest in my wife?”
“She is but a friend, Thorin. An old, dear friend, is all. Why?”
“You just seem to be quite at ease with her and I am not at all certain I care for it.”
“So, she is not allowed to have friends?”
“Friends?” Thorin snorted without thinking. “Am I to believe you have women friends, Bard? I’ve not seen you with any other than Jasna.”
“Just because you’ve not seen it, does not mean they don’t exist, my friend. And you’ve seen me with Jasna but once. And if I recall, you had another woman with you, didn't you?”
Thorin’s gut tightened at the quiet confidence in Bard’s low voice. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.” Bard shook his head and shrugged at the same time. “But I think it odd that you seem to be all right with having women as friends, but your wife is not afforded the same.”
“She can have all of the women friends she wishes.”
“You know what I mean.”
Thorin stared at him. “Miss Whitbow and I are friends and have been since we were much younger, and Jasna knows this. Miss Whitbow is also very nearly betrothed to my nephew. Unless things have changed, you are still unattached, are you not?”
“I am, yes.”
“So, again, I’ll ask you—what is your interest any my wife?”
“That of a friend alone, Thorin.”
“Good. You would be wise to keep it at that.”
“So I gathered,” Bard replied dryly. Then, he gestured on down the road. “Might we continue?”
Thorin bobbed his head, but as Bard moved on ahead of him, he continued to glare at the bowman’s back. Somehow, he didn't trust the man where Jasna was concerned. The sooner Esgaroth was rebuilt, the sooner Thorin would have no need to deal with Bard and the happier they’d probably both be.
#Richard Armitage#The Hobbit#Thorin Oakenshield#Hobbit Fic#Hobbit Fanfic#Fan fiction#The Hobbit fan fiction#Thorin x OC#AU#Thorin Fic#Is it hot in here?#Romance#Everybody Lives AU#The Hobbit BOTF
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@soulxmakaweek
Day 4: Apologize
I fell way behind with Soma week because I got slammed with work and this monster of a fic took me too long to write.
Summary:
Maka comes to realize that Soul had never felt fully comfortable around Crona, and in ignoring this entirely - she unknowingly hurt her closest friend.
Special thanks to Tori @chichirichick (she betas all of my dumpster fires, bless her) for proofreading this mess of emotions and also to Zi @azroazizah for coming up with the concept for this fic.
**Disclaimer** This story is not about putting blame on Crona, but instead about acknowledging the fact that Soul went through trauma due to their actions and it was never taken into consideration by Maka before inviting them into their friend group. I'm not saying Crona didn't deserve support, but it's also completely valid for Soul - a victim of Crona - to not feel entirely safe around them regardless of their tragic background and circumstances. If Crona is a big comfort character for you and you feel you would likely be upset by this concept, then I recommend not reading it altogether. We all interpret things different and we're all entitled to our own opinions, and I'm not going to get in arguments with people over this.
It’d been a while since the Spartoi team was all together again.
After the fall of Asura, they really had no purpose to join forces as a team. No big baddie to unite them in ass-kickery.
The skies were blue again. There were still Kishin eggs to take down, and a shaky new diplomatic relationship with the witches to maintain as well.
Things were more or less … normal. Boring, even.
The only big difference Blackstar could discern was that nobody seemed to have time to just hang out and be friends anymore.
Kid was over his head with his new responsibilities, and while he was doing an admirable job filling his father’s shoes; there was a steep learning curve and his perfectionist tendencies only made it more challenging to overcome. He upheld a calm and collected demeanor in the public’s eyes, but Liz and Patty spent most of their time holding him together behind the scenes.
Soul and Maka were a different situation entirely.
It was odd enough to adjust to the recent change in the nature of their relationship. They claimed to be the same as they’ve always been - just Soul & Maka. Only, they grew much closer after the hardships they had endured both in the book of Eibon and on the moon.
They had been close to begin with, but this was a different kind of close. Stolen glances, hands reaching for each other when they thought nobody was looking. Blushing for almost no damn reason.
Something was going on between them - he could be sure of that.
More recently, however, Maka had been particularly obsessive about solving the dilemma of Crona’s entrapment on the moon. She was driving herself to a slow-burning insanity, considering every moment that she hadn’t rescued them yet to be a personal failure.
She’d been spending much of her time in the restricted section of the library, consuming every piece of relevant research for hours on end. Soul often stayed up there with her doing the same, or at the very least keeping her silent company when he was too burnt out to read anymore.
He’d also spent much of his extra time with Stein, training to perfect his sound-wave abilities into his own form of wavelength attack.
He’d been giving his all ever since making deathscythe status to hone his strength and better serve Maka. He’d even been able to hold his own for a surprising amount of time in the sparring ring against Blackstar, and that was a feat in and of itself.
All of the focus on Crona’s rescue had appeared to be wearing on him, though.
Soul may have accepted Crona into his friend group for Maka’s sake, even empathized with them - but he had never fully trusted the demon sword meister. Although Soul was outwardly friendly towards them, Blackstar noticed the way his friend had watched them like a hawk before they turned back to Medusa. He was always ready for a scenario like that because he had never felt entirely safe around them to begin with.
Not that Maka had bothered to even take Soul’s feelings into consideration before forgiving Crona on his behalf.
She couldn’t have possibly been that dense. She had to have been actively ignoring the signs of Soul’s discomfort because she couldn’t handle acknowledging them.
And now she was doing the same thing all over again even with Crona as far away as the moon. It was obvious that Soul was doing what he always did - shoving his own feelings aside in favor of Maka’s. The loyal mutt of a boy valued her wellbeing far above his own, that was for certain.
He just seemed so exhausted of it all now. Searching tirelessly with Maka for a solution that may not even exist took up much of his time and energy.
He never had the time to shoot hoops or play video games like he used to, and Blackstar was far above begging for his attention. He stopped even bothering to ask him.
Just for one night though, by some divine luck - everybody was willing to clear their schedule to have a late night dinner at the most beloved and heart-attack inducing burger joint in town.
Every member of Spartoi was crammed into the largest booth in the restaurant and their chatter was loud enough to fill the whole section.
There were multiple conversations happening at a time, but Blackstar was zeroing in on Soul who had his chin resting on his palm and that stupid, dopey look he got on his face when he was proud of Maka. Yuck. Keep it in your pants, loverboy.
Maka was next to Soul, his arm stretched out behind her on the booth, while Ox engaged her in a fiery debate over god knows what across the table from her. Judging by the redness in baldy’s face - Maka was on the winning side. He really couldn’t understand Soul’s hard-on for a bossy know-it-all personality, but whatever floats his boat he supposed.
He decided he’d seen enough of that look on his best friend’s face and crumpled up a straw wrapper, dipping it in his soda and sticking it at the end of his straw.
He blew on the other end, sending the sticky wad of paper flying across the table. The projectile hit its target directly on the cheek.
“Fuck’s sake dude, how old are you?” he grumbled, reaching over the table to grab a handful of napkins to clean his face off with.
Maka snatched some of his napkins for herself, rubbing it vigorously into the flecks of cola that stained her uniform. “You got my shirt all wet, idiot.”
Blackstar simply threw his head back to cackle obnoxiously. “I just thought I should break up your lame little debate team fight before Ox over here pops a blood vessel. You know he can’t handle losing well.”
“I wasn’t losing!” Ox hissed under his breath.
Maka only met her opponent’s glare with a shit-eating grin.
“Hey, Maka! What had you stopped to talk with Professor Stein about earlier today?” Tsubaki cut in, obviously attempting to diffuse another argument between the two competitive brainiacs.
Maka’s expression relaxed into something a little more neutral, seemingly caught off guard by the question. Debate-mode successfully disarmed.
“Oh. Well… I just had some questions about my black blood research for him.”
Blackstar didn’t miss the way Soul tensed up beside her at the mention of black blood. His face was void of any distinct emotion, but something was off in his body language. The way his shoulders squared as if he were instinctively bristling.
Anyone with a shred of social awareness could have deduced that black blood, Medusa, and Crona were not Soul’s favorite topics. It wasn’t unusual for him to shut down and discontinue any contributions to a conversation when any of these things were brought up.
Unfortunately for Soul, all of those subjects were constantly on Maka’s mind since she began her obsessive pursuit for a solution to Crona’s ordeal.
“Oh? And what did he have to say?” Tsubaki pressed, completely oblivious to the tense situation she was potentially triggering.
“As you’re already aware, there’s not really any official research on the black blood that exists. We’ve been digging through countless books - gathering as much information about madness and Kishins as we can, but it can only get us so far. It would be so much more useful if we could get our hands on a physical sample of the substance itself.”
Soul’s eyes widened in concern, but only for a second before he slipped his usual poker face back on. His Adam’s apple bobbed nervously despite the veneer of calm he displayed.
“Anyways,” she continued, turning to look at Soul, “I was going to talk to you about this later, but maybe some of the black blood still remains in your system? I know we believed it was all gone, but surely there’s some residual amount of it lingering behind? Something we could maybe isolate, extract and create a concentrate of? Stein said it was unlikely, but technically possible. We have to try for Crona, right, Soul?”
He was no longer wearing his mask of apathy. Unmistakeable, visible discomfort was etched into his facial features and he was clenching his hands, knuckles whitening from the pressure. Everyone at the table was hushed and the tension was palpable.
“He doesn’t have to try anything,” Kid’s voice cut sharply through the silence, golden eyes flashing sternly at her.
A soft gasp escaped her and her eyebrows shot up, clearly taken-aback by the sudden burst of hostility from her boss and close friend. Her eyes darkened seconds later, determination setting in.
“I think that’s his decision to make, and I’d like to hear what he has to say,” she turned her attention back to Soul, hope still shining in her eyes.
He fidgeted with his necktie, loosening it and clearing his throat. “Yeah, s’fine. Whatever you need, I guess.”
Maka’s face lit up into a bright smile that turned Blackstar’s stomach and she pulled Soul into a brief hug. “I knew we could count on you, Soul! You’re the best partner ever.”
“Whatever, it’s no problem. Just try not to drain me of all my blood, alright?” he chuckled weakly, avoiding her eyes in favor of staring a hole in the middle of the table.
She gave an easygoing laugh in response, and went back to conversing with Tsubaki as if she hadn’t just pressured her partner into volunteering himself as a guinea pig for the sake of someone who had literally sliced him open from shoulder to hip and infected him with black blood to begin with.
Is she fucking serious?
Blackstar was practically vibrating with fury from the interaction he’d just watched, and Tsubaki’s normally soothing hand on his shoulder did little to calm him down. When he glanced at Kid, he instantly knew the death god had shared his frustration with Maka’s obliviousness.
It wasn’t long before Soul abruptly stood from his place at the end of the booth, pulling a twenty out of his wallet and placing it on the table in front of him.
“Soul? What are you doing? The food hasn’t even gotten here yet,” Maka blinked at him in confusion.
“I’m not feelin’ too great - gonna head out, sorry guys. Could you just bring my food back in a to-go box?” he said with an apologetic quirk of his lips. He squeezed her shoulder gently before turning on his heels and making his way out of the diner in long strides.
Why does she look so shocked? Does she really not understand that she’s been hurting him?
After that, the night passed by in a haze for Blackstar. He hardly spoke for the rest of the meal due to the fact that he was using all of his mental capacity to keep his impulse to stand up and loudly call his friend out in front of everybody in check.
The only thing truly stopping him was the knowledge that Soul would likely be embarrassed and more than a little pissed off if he’d made a big scene over something that he wasn’t even willing to talk about.
So he waited - held his tongue until he could lash out in private.
As everyone was saying their goodbyes, Blackstar watched her rise from her seat gathering her to-go boxes carefully and giving him a nod of acknowledgement before she headed out.
His eyes bore into the back of her head as she left, and Tsubaki’s hand clamped gently on him for the second time that night. Her eyes were crinkled with a gentle concern.
“I think you should leave this between them. If Soul wanted all of this out in the open, he would have had that conversation with her himself.”
A heavy sigh settled in his chest, “You know how he is. He’s the suffer in silence type and he always does her bidding. If nobody says anything, then nothing’ll change. I just want to talk to her - not like I’m gonna beat her ass or anything … unless she gives me a reason to.”
“Blackstar,” she chided, fully aware that he would make good on that threat.
“I know, I know. I won’t be long, see ya at home,” he said, throwing up placating hands before stuffing them in his pockets and striding in the direction Maka had gone.
_______________________________________________
Maka set her walk home at a leisurely pace, dragging her feet slightly as she watched the sunset bleed into the sky above.
It wasn’t that she was trying to prolong seeing Soul, or that she wasn’t worried about the way he’d acted back in the diner - like something was eating at him.
She was pretty positive that he wasn’t physically ill, which only left the option of it being an emotional issue.
And getting Soul to talk about emotional issues was like trying to pull teeth from a temperamental bear.
She had to figure out a way to go about this delicately, and she had to figure it out soon because their apartment block was fast approaching.
She stopped in her tracks when she felt the presence of a familiar soul behind her. His steps had been so quiet, she wouldn’t have even been aware he was stalking her from behind if it weren’t for her exceptional soul perception abilities.
“I know you’re following me, Blackstar.”
In moments, he was stepping out in front of her. “Wasn’t trying to hide. I need to talk to you,” his voice was uncharacteristically stern.
She wasn’t stupid. She knew Blackstar had some kind of problem with her since dinner. He was deathly quiet and glowering at her for most of the night; very unusual behavior from someone who never shuts up or hesitates to start a fight.
“Okay, I’m listening,” she said, already preparing to defend herself against whatever absurd argument he wanted to pull her into.
“The whole situation with Crona - have you ever once thought about how Soul feels about it?”
Whatever she had been expecting to come out of his mouth - that wasn’t it.
“What? I mean, I know how Soul feels. He wants Crona to be safe, just like I do. What are you trying to get at?”
“I’m not talking about what he thinks about Crona being stuck in the deathdamned moon, Maka! I mean have you ever thought about how he felt when you forced Crona into his life to begin with? After being sliced open?”
Maka’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline and her mouth opened and closed a few times, baffled by the question.
“Soul understands why I welcomed Crona as a friend. He trusts me,” she answered, hoping her voice conveyed the confidence that she couldn’t find in this moment.
This entire conversation was throwing her off.
“Yeah, okay. He accepted your decision because he trusts you, or loves you or whatever the fuck. We all know that - but that doesn’t mean he was comfortable with it. It doesn’t mean he felt safe. He just stuffed his own feelings down, because he knew it made it easier for you.”
Her throat tightened as her own conflicting emotions overcame her. He had no idea what he was talking about. Soul was fine. He’s always been fine.
“Did he say that to you? That he didn’t feel safe?” she choked out.
“Soul? You think he tells people things? About his feelings?” he snorted. “No, he doesn’t have to tell me shit. It’s clear on his face every time you mention Crona, or Medusa, or that fucking blood.”
“Maybe you’re just making assumptions about how he feels!” she shouted back, gripping handfuls of the front of his shirt.
He leaned in, completely unfazed by the rage burning in her eyes. “You ever noticed how when Crona was around, he was always watching them out of the corner of his eye - twitching every time they made some sudden move. You ever noticed how quiet and withdrawn he’d get around them? Or any time they were brought up? You didn’t - because you didn’t want to.”
“Shut up! Y-you’re making something out of nothing. Are you trying to tell me that I should just give up and forget about Crona? That they don’t deserve to have a friend?”
Some of his aggression was fizzling out as he released a heavy sigh, placing his hands calmly over hers, still clenching in his shirt. “I’m not trying to say that you shouldn’t have helped Crona, or that you shouldn’t keep trying to help them now. I’m only telling you that even if Soul has forgiven and moved on - he’s still a victim of Crona’s actions. He suffered trauma from that, even if he’s too fucking stubborn to admit it. Just acknowledge that maybe he needs a break from thinking about them - all of that shit that happened - every now and then. Get your head out of Crona’s ass long enough to check if he’s okay too.”
She stumbled over wordless sounds as her hands went limp and released their vice-grip on his clothing. She was trying desperately to think of a way to refute the awful things he was saying, but Blackstar wouldn’t give her the chance.
“If you gave him even half the thought you gave to Crona - maybe you would have noticed it like everybody else has. I just want you to think about it for a bit, that’s all,” his voice softened towards the end, shoulders sagging slightly as he turned away, leaving her to deal with the aftermath of his confrontation.
The heat of tears prickled behind her eyelids and she clenched her fists tightly to her sides.
She wanted so badly to swing around and scream at Blackstar’s retreating figure that he was wrong, that he had no idea what he was talking about and of course she thinks about her weapon.
But the longer she allowed his harsh words to sink in; the more she could feel the sting of truth settling into her heart.
Had she really been so blind?
_______________________________________________
Soul had been laying on his back in bed, hands resting on his stomach and eyes pointed at the ceiling, unmoving for some time. He wasn’t entirely sure how many hours, but he knew his playlist had ended long ago - no music played from the earbuds that were still jammed in his ears.
He couldn’t explain the heaviness in his heart. The anxiety that often set in whenever Maka mentioned Crona or the black blood. It was all water under the bridge, wasn’t it? There was no point in allowing himself to wallow in all the negative emotions that punched him in the gut at the mention of their name. It was selfish to feel those things - it was his job to give Maka his full support. His own feelings were irrelevant.
It was just harder on this particular night. Sure, she droned on about those sore subjects often. Their research revolved around it anyways. He’d just hoped that it could have been different just for one night.
He’d secretly been ecstatic when Maka begrudgingly agreed to shelve her research just long enough to get a late dinner with all of their friends. A break had been long overdue.
Things had been different between them, after all. They’d been sharing a bed, and they’d even shared a few kisses in the small, rare moments that they’d spent alone together - focused only on each other. They were chaste kisses, but he’d greedily take whatever he could get.
As she became more frantic about her lack of results in helping Crona, he may as well have not even existed to her.
He’d just needed that one dinner to pretend things were normal, to pretend as though he was on a date with her and she was willing to spend time with him and think about literally anything aside from her latest fixations. Instead, she’d asked him to play part in some unsound experiment - to prod for things that he hadn’t wanted to find again. It had only been made more uncomfortable by the scrutinizing presence of all of their friends.
He’d felt used.
Soul perked up at the familiar sound of the front door creaking open and slamming shut. He was immediately ashamed of the pavlovian response he had to the sound of his meister returning - the little flip in his heart that made him feel like a stupid dog wagging its tail at the sound of its master.
Just keep to yourself. She doesn’t need to interact with you in this useless state of self pity. You don’t deserve her comfort.
Self-loathing curled in his gut and he kept his eyes stubbornly trained on a water stain in the ceiling.
Suddenly, light flooded into his dark room as his door was hesitantly opened. He reflexively brought himself to sit up on his elbows only to meet a teary-eyed Maka.
All self-indulgent angsty thoughts instantly evaporated from his head, and he was ripping his earbuds out and swinging his legs over the side of the bed to get up.
She made purposeful steps across his room, throwing her arms around his neck and forcing him back onto the bed with the motion.
“I’m so sorry, Soul,” she warbled mournfully into his sweater.
“Huh? Sorry ‘bout what? What’s going on, Maka?” he tried to nudge her into looking up at him, but she adamantly refused.
She took a few shallow breaths before rubbing her wet cheek against the quickly-dampening fabric and looking up at him with dewy eyes.
“I haven’t been a good friend to you - have I?
Was that a trick question?
“I-I don’t get what we’re talkin’ about here,” he stuttered uselessly, attempting to compensate for his lack of eloquence by brushing his fingers comfortingly through her soft hair.
“I never asked if you felt okay with Crona being around you. I never asked you if you forgave them at all - I just brought them into your space, your home. I just wanted them to have a chance at a normal life so badly - I ignored your pain, and I’m so sorry,” she rushed her confession out like it had been a breath she was holding in.
He had to fight the urge to bark out a laugh. It wasn’t that he found anything that she said humorous - it was just so strange that she was addressing this out of the blue. She’d seemed completely unaware as usual back at the diner, where had this even come from?
He was so lost in thought, he’d almost forgotten to respond and instantly regretted the prolonged silence he’d left her in. “Maka, it’s fine,” he insisted, “I get why you forgave Crona. I admire you for it.”
“But that doesn’t mean you were okay. I should have at least checked on you, or asked you about how you felt - or literally anything,’ she mumbled numbly from his chest.
“Hey. Look at me,” he said, lifting her cheek from its resting place against his sweater, “Sure, I didn’t feel the most comfortable around Crona. I think it was pretty awkward for both of us to be near each other. That doesn’t mean I dislike them, or didn’t want you to be their friend. You can’t beat yourself up over something I hadn’t bothered to tell you.”
His words hadn’t brought the comfort that he’d hoped they would, and her brows remained stubbornly crinkled. “If it had been me - if I was the one who’d been cut by that sword, would you still say that you don’t dislike them? That you’re okay with us being friends?”
It was a question that he instantly knew the answer to, but he was reluctant to say it out loud. He finally caved, bringing his eyes back to hers, “No. I wouldn’t have been able to forgive them if it was you.”
She closed her eyes tightly, nodding her head in grim acceptance of that truth. She had likely known that would be his answer already, but hearing it must have been difficult.
“But I love that about you. You have so much compassion. I only care for the few people that I’ve decided I love - I don’t have room in my heart for others like you do. I’d like to be more like you,” he whispered reverently, taking her cheeks in both of his hands and briskly wiping away all of the moisture he could reach with his thumbs.
“I should’ve had more compassion for you,” she lamented softly under her breath, eyes downcast.
“You’re not a fuckin’ mind reader, Maks. It was my choice not to bring anything up.”
She nodded slowly, but the way her grip tightened on him only confirmed his suspicion that she wasn’t going to forgive herself for it.
Minutes passed before a word was spoken, but Soul eventually cleared his throat. “You know, I don’t expect you to ever stop being friends with Crona, or to give up on rescuing them. I don’t want that. I don’t mind helping you like you’d asked earlier tonight, too. If that’s what you need from me, then I’m here.”
She brought herself to her elbows on top of him to get a better view of his face.
“I know. I’m not going to give up on them. But It matters to me that you’re happy too, and if that means you need a break from all that, then I want you to know that it’s okay to ask for that.”
“Right, I’ll keep that in mind,” he said in a hushed tone, distracting himself with a piece of her hair twirled between his fingers.
“And I don’t want to use your blood for research. It was wrong of me to even think of asking you that. We’ll find another way,” she assured him, voice tightening with emotion, “I definitely got carried away with all of this. It wasn’t healthy, and I really am sorry I’ve pushed you away in the process. We can’t solve this thing if we don’t have time to properly take care of ourselves. You’ve been working so hard with me, and I think we need more actual quality time together.”
“Yeah, I could get on board with that. I kinda walked out on dinner tonight, so how about we do something - just you and me tomorrow? Movies sound good?”
“Movies sounds great,” she hummed in agreement, hands idly playing with his hair.
As much as he would have preferred for her to continue her ministrations, he stopped her movements to grasp her hand, bringing it to his chest to rest above where she knew his scar was. He pressed down on her hand lightly.
“I’m glad it happened. I’m glad they gutted me, ‘cause I hadn’t understood what you meant to me till that moment,” he muttered, pressing a quick kiss to the top of her head.
She only exhaled shakily, hand tightening against the evidence of his devotion.
“I just hate that it took a lecture from Blackstar of all people for me to realize that I’d been hurting you.”
His eyes widened a little at that new piece of information. Blackstar was the one that brought all of this on her mind? He could’ve sworn it would have been Kid if anyone. He couldn’t help but feel a little touched that Blackstar had been so concerned about him, but he was also somewhat irritated that his friend had distressed Maka as much as he had.
“Blackstar, huh? Remind me to have a conversation with him about mindin’ his own business,” he laughed half-heartedly.
“No, don’t. I’m glad that he said what he did - I needed to hear it,” she urged him.
“Doesn’t matter. He didn’t have to make my girlfriend cry from guilt over bein’ friends with someone,” he muttered, but his face immediately burned a bright red as soon as he’d caught what he’d called her.
She was a similar shade, holding her breath as well as his gaze with a tortuously difficult to decipher expression on her face.
“That is, uh- I mean… fuck.”
Very articulate. Great job, Soul.
He hadn’t needed to agonize over whether or not he’d just fucked everything between them for long because her face soon melted into a warm, genuine smile.
“Girlfriend, huh?” she said with a glimmer of mischief in her eye.
“I’d like that. If that’s w-what you want,” he wanted to kick himself for the voice crack he just experienced. Not cool in the slightest.
At least she got a good giggle out of it. The melodic sound squeezed something in his chest and he swallowed nervously as a response.
She brushed back his bangs, leaning in to place a soft kiss to his forehead. She peppered a trail of kisses down his cheek until she reached his lips.
This kiss was far from chaste. She cradled his cheek and jaw as she slanted her mouth sweetly over his, pressing fervently, constantly moving against him and eliciting a breathy moan from him that he would never admit to making.
When she tried to separate, he followed her, bumping noses for a moment and giving the corner of her mouth a few more enthusiastic pecks before backing up and allowing her room to look at his face.
“Girlfriend sounds nice, actually,” she smiled broadly, letting her fingers brush against the back of his neck.
“Glad that’s settled, then,” he laughed easily, not even bothering to feel any embarrassment over the flush of his skin or the lightness of his breath.
He crushed her to his chest, and they stayed like that for a while, just listening to the other’s loudly beating hearts until they were lulled to sleep.
He’d have to thank Blackstar with a game of basketball later.
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Continuation of this ask
Bedivere x Arturia - Ship it
What made you ship it?
TBH I was one of those few people who shipped it based on that like 2 second scene at the end of FSN. The Camelot Singularity just reinforced it. A lot came from the original Arthurian legend as well. Bedivere is similarly insanely loyal as he is in the game, and like in Fate lore, he’s been with Arthur longer than most.
What are your favorite things about the ship?
He journeyed so far for so long just to see her smile OH MY GOD BRB IM SOBBING HOLY CRAP CAN YOU JUST IMAGINE—
I’m a sucker for intensely loyal knights and I will always be. ALWAYS.
THE ANGST POTENTIALLLLLL but also THE FLUFF POTENTIALLLL
This man loved his king so bloody intensely. So strongly that his desire to see her survived the test of time. To be loved so much, so unconditionally for a thousand and a half years? Gods, that’s just too much, man. ;-;
And I absolutely adore how much it means to him to remain her knight, even if he tends to be insecure about the limb that he lacks, and how he believes he is nothing special in comparison with everyone else. I love that Arturia recognizes his strength and his worth, even if he himself can’t see it.
THE ENTIRE CONFRONTATION IN THE THRONE ROOM LET ME TELL YOU I WAS CRYING SOOOOO HARD THROUGHOUT THAT IK NIT EVEN KIDDING
THIS, the MINDBREAK Arturia goes through when she tries to remember
Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?
I think that THIS SHIP NEEDS MORE LOVE AND I REALLY OUGHT TO CONTRIBUTE
All the other answers below cut!
Irisviel x Arturia - Ship It
What made you ship it?
I think I was bound to the moment I watched Fate Zero. When I was younger it was overshadowed by the feels Diarturia brought and not to mention Kiritsugu and Iri but this ship is damn good on its own.
What sold it though, is the argument she and Kiritsugu have in Episode 16, right after the last Saber and Lancer fight. Irisviel, who we all know loves her husband so much, forced Kiritsugu to answer Saber. That’s just how important Arturia was to her.
What are your favorite things about the ship?
I think they both found in each other something they themselves lack. It’s actually kind of funny. Arturia is human, and yet she’s so heavily consumed by her ideals that she doesn’t act like one. Irisviel, on the other hand, is not human, and yet everything that she does and wants to do is exactly that.
Throughout the anime, Being with Iri puts Saber into such mundane, ordinary situations that it teaches her to live. The suits, the escorting, being a passenger instead of a driver, appreciating the water by the seashore, etc. It's like the woman wants to leave her with some appreciation for the world, especially when she herself doesn’t have all that much time left.
On Irisviel’s part, I think she found in Saber the companionship she would have wanted from Kiritsugu during the last few days she remained on the Earth. Arturia had been the perfect knight in shining armor, taking Irisviel around to see the world as much as they could amidst a war. If they’d just had more time, I have no doubt Arturia would have taken Irisviel even more places, you know?
It makes me sad :( but in a good way.
Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?
I’m pretty sure Irisviel would wear the pants in this relationship ya know what I mean? Hahaha
Much as I love this ship, I think that it becomes all the more valuable because of how it ended. To each other, they were this brief, fleeting feeling of happiness. A love that was so short and yet so strong.
Shirou x Arturia - Don't Ship it
Hooooooo boi. Hear me out, mkay ? But this is just my personal opinion so pls no hate
Why don't you ship it?
I’m gonna start out by saying I don’t think I need to, tbh. Hahaha there’s enough content for this ship being fed to us, so my liking it or not is immaterial. But the reason is well...I watched FSN and Shirou x Saber was...not the best thing about it (the best thing about it was the soundtrack omg iconic) Shirou comes off as a bit of a misogynist, and kind of immature, and the whole time it’s like he doesn’t really listen to Arturia at all. Plus, it’s kind of like he just likes her looks at times. The final deciding factor was the date scene. That was just unbearable.
But then I go online and I see all this good stuff about them. And my friend ships them cause they’re canon, right? So, I’m like okay, what if I judged too quickly, let’s play the VN...and I did. And I still didn’t like him with Saber at all. So, I played the next route, watched the next anime, trying to redeem 1st route Shirou as much as I could but it just....didn’t happen. I think I can safely say I tried to like them. I really did. But no.
What would have made you like it?
Removing the misogyny and the immaturity and letting him listen to her. Like he should have.
At no point in their interactions did it feel like they were standing on equal ground, ever. Either he was speaking over her or the opposite. So less of that and a lot more respect.
And when you compare this relationship to what he has with like with his other two love interests, it makes this ship fall completely flat. It’s pretty...bland and honestly kind of shallow. It’s like the story just tells you they’re in love but there’s no answer to why they’re in love. Make him fall in love with her for her without necessarily forcing his need to save everyone on her.
Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?
I may not like how they got there, but in the end Arturia was able to pass peacefully.
I acknowledge that Shirou was important and made a change in her life.
That ending scene where they meet after so long, NGL is pretty sweet.
A lot of my headcanons happen post-Shirou, so there’s also that.
Archer x Rin -Ship it
What made you ship it?
Tsundere x Cynic has gotta be one of the best dynamics out there.
What are your favorite things about the ship?
His true identity. The fact that she dragged him all the way across space and time to return as her Servant, that’s just bloody fate at work.
The fact that he keeps acknowledging she’s a strong Master despite his later conduct in UBW.
Archer is ridiculously crass and Rin is easily riled up. In the Fifth Holy Grail War, they had the best Master-Servant relationship period. They have this explosive chemistry that just works so well.
When he smiles at her at the end of the route, and you just know that Tohsaka’s gonna be stubborn enough to make sure Shirou doesn’t end up going down the exact same path.
I think it’s sweet that he ends up going along with her whims because he secretly likes housework.
THE PRINCESS CARRY/ CATCH. MAN OH MAN.
Unlike the previous ship mentioned here, these two actually stand on equal ground with each other.
Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?
I don't think it's exactly an unpopular opinion, but I think they really ought to have more official content y'know? Rin is important in every route, and Archer's the actual climax of UBW and also entirely significant across three routes.
Medusa x Sakura - Don't ship it
Why don't you ship it?
Because while journeying through the routes, I always saw Rider as more of a best friend/sort of motherly figure to Sakura.
Or that Rider fulfilled the kind of relationship that she wanted to have with Rin, while Sakura unknowingly filled the void Medusa's sisters left in her life. I thought she was more of a guardian angel really, not a romantic interest. Kind of like how Heracles was to Illya.
What would have made you like it?
If I could maybe forget about the threesome with Shirou and the implied romantic feelings Rider has for him in Ataraxia that would be great.
Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?
Sakura deserves all the happiness in the world and I really do believe that Rider could fulfill that.
This ship DEFINITELY DEFINITELYYYYYY NEEDS MORE CONTENT
Diarmuid x Cú - Ship it
What made you ship it?
oooh this probably sounds surprising since based on my content you'd think, no i dont ship this BUT I DOOOOOOO (i just happen to hc them as bros more often)
Honestly what did make me ship it is the parallels.
What are your favorite things about the ship?
IMO They have the biggest potential for hurt/comfort amongst all the ships mentioned here.
They can help each other get through their trauma. Their whole relationship would be extremely healing and supportive.
I love that Diarmuid seems to have idolized Cú Chulainn at some point and honestly who wouldn't be honored to stand beside him, no?
They could be up to the funniest shenanigans because Cú is chaos and Diarmuid would absolutely be an enabler because when he isn't angst-ing he's super damn chill.
Bros being bros hahahah...unless?
Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?
Not really. Maybe that I think Lancer Diar and Cascu would get along better and Saber Diar and Lancer Cu would also get along better but honestly any form is good this ship is good
#akampana asks#bedivere#arturia pendragon#artoria pendragon#irisviel von einzbern#emiya Shirou#archer#rin#tohsaka rin#Medusa#sakura#sakura matou#diarmuid ua duibhne#cu chulainn#long post
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Francis Forever
Five years ago, you ran away from Spencer. When a case brings him back into your life, you both realize how unfinished you left things.
3.4k, fem!reader
Warnings for the past death of Y/N’s family, mental health struggles
It’s stupidly hard to breathe, even more difficult to not start cursing out your therapist, who had been the one to recommend this trip. Go home, she’d said. Tie up the loose ends that keep threatening to strangle you. Well, you’re here now and everything feels worse. But you’re sick of running, so you push your shoulders back and walk into the dingy check-in room at the motel you picked. Five minutes later, you walk back out, key digging into the palm of your hand.
It’s been almost five years since the last time you were here. You’d held out as long as you could, hesitant to leave him, even if it was killing you. He’d noticed, of course he had. He was too smart and caring not to, and so he’d been the one to buy you the train ticket.
You’d promised to call.
You hadn’t.
The last time you’d met up with her, your therapist had brought up the idea of calling him. You’d promptly gone into a panic attack, whimpering that you couldn’t see him, not after you’d run away from him, ignoring that his worst fear was abandonment, stomping on his fragile heart in an attempt to save yours. Once she’d settled you enough that the tears were drying, she agreed that you wouldn’t have to see him if you didn’t want to.
You miss him, though. You do. You think about him more often than you want to admit, wondering how he’s doing, if he’s eating enough, if he’s still in the same job, if he thinks about you, if he’s happy, if he’s moved on in a way you haven’t managed yet. There isn’t a good point in wondering all of those things, especially considering you have no plans on seeing him while you’re here. In fact, you’re aiming to leave the motel room as little as you possibly can.
In your sleep, you dream about him.
“Y/N!” Spencer laughs, grabbing you at the waist and sweeping you off your feet. He spins you around like you’re a princess. This has quickly become a habit: he’s gone for a long case and then smothers you in affection when he comes back. You’ve already told him that he doesn’t need to feel guilty for being gone for so long. So far, he hasn’t been listening.
Taking advantage of your sudden height, you kiss the top of his nose, liking the blush that spreads across his cheeks. He puts you down after another second. You stay close to him. Even if you don’t like it when he feels bad, you really did miss him.
“How was the case?” You ask.
Now that he isn’t touching you, he fiddles with the end of your scarf. Throughout your relationship, you’ve noticed that he likes being close. Some days he’s okay with physical touch and some days he isn’t; regardless, he’s always either hovering near you or playing with an item of your clothing when you’re together. It should be stifling, would be if it was anyone else, but it’s terribly endearing when it’s him. There’s a gentle air to everything he does, the love evident throughout his words and actions. You don’t know if you deserve it. Hell, one of your worst fights ever with him was about that exact topic. Even if you don’t deserve it though, it makes you feel safe. He makes you feel safe.
He pulls a little at the scarf. “Good. We got him before he could kill his last victim.”
You don’t know how Spencer sees the things he does at work. Every once in awhile, you’ll watch the press conferences the team does, look up the cases they’re on or they solved previously. Bile always rises in your throat. You love him, you love his team, but you hate his job. You hate that he’s in danger, that he could end up like your family did, dead and alone. He knows this. He also knows that you’d never ask him to quit.
He doesn’t seem to be aware that you’re thinking too hard, since he keeps talking. “Rossi’s having a family dinner at his house tomorrow night. He said I’m legally obligated to bring you.”
You snort. “Legally obligated?”
“The logic wasn’t very sound,” he agrees, letting go of your scarf to brush the hair that was falling into your face. “I agree with his premise, though. You should come. They all miss you.”
“Alright,” you say, burying your face in the crook of his shoulder. “I miss them too.”
Three days after you get to the city, you leave the motel room for the first time, bundled up in an oversized sweatshirt and jeans. Normally, you try to dress up a little more, although you weren’t one to make yourself uncomfortable to look cute. You respect the hell out of those girls, though. They always look bomb.
Walking around the city was nicer than you thought it was going to be. The weather was just as you remembered, crisp but not cold enough to make you shiver. You end up at a park, feet swinging back and forth. The bench isn’t terribly comfortable. You don’t mind, though. It’s been near impossible for you to relax, so sitting here is the closest you’ve been able to get. It looks like it’ll start raining soon and other people start clearing out of the area. You don’t move, though. Once it falls, you let it hit your skin, let it cool the burning panic that’s been lying dormant since you arrived.
The second week in, the person in the room next to you gets murdered. You wake up to a scream, can hear something banging around. An idiot would join in on the chaos, would get themselves killed. That isn’t you, though, so you wait quietly, grab the knife you keep at your nightstand. Five minutes after you hear a door slam, you figure you’re safe enough to make a phone call. Red and blue lights come not long after, making you kiss any opportunity of a good night’s sleep goodbye.
After they interview you, you can hear whispers about this turning serial. You know where you used to live, you know the area, you know who they’re going to call. You bow your head and do your best to mentally prepare for this.
The BAU is there within an hour. Hotch sees you first. His eyes widen, only for a second. He’s too much of a professional for your presence to throw him off your game, even if you do see him glance back. When he approaches you, only JJ is with him. She has a stronger reaction to seeing you.
“Y/N?” She asks, frowning. “What are you doing here?”
“Reid isn’t here,” Hotch tells you before you can answer. “He’s at another crime scene.”
You don’t know how you feel about that. Every emotion within you is at war. You wring your hands together, looking down in your lap. “My therapist suggested that I visit,” you shrug. “Exposure therapy or something.”
They ask you the same questions that the officers ask you. You’ve never seen them mid investigation before, but they’re nothing like how they were back when you were still dating Spencer. Or maybe this was just because they hated you now.
Hotch walks off first, phone held tightly against his ear. That leaves you awkwardly hovering near JJ, who hasn’t taken her eyes off of you this entire time.
“What do you want to say?”
She flattens her lips, an expression Spencer told you a lot about. It was her angry face. “He’s going to find out that you’re back.”
“I know.”
“Were you going to tell him that you’re back?”
You shake your head. “I’m not staying, JJ. Like I said, this was my therapist’s idea.”
The disappointed look she gives you makes you want to rip your heart out and let her stomp on it.
“You need to talk to me!” Spencer is trying not to shout. You can tell by his posture, the way his voice catches at the end. “I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on!”
You’re angry. You’re angrier than you have any right to be. You know he’s just doing the best he can. Instead of saying any of that, you just keep yelling. “It’s none of your business!”
“You’re my girlfriend. I love you.”
The words make you flinch. You see him go completely still, like he just lost against Medusa. He probably thought Medusa was preferable to you right now. He’s hurt, you know he is. You’d never flinched away from him before, never had a reason to. You still don’t. Not a good one, anyway.
“I need to go,” you choke out. He lets you go without protest.
It takes eight hours for Spencer to show up outside your hotel room. Either Hotch and JJ kept your return a secret until the team was done for the night, or he knew and wasn’t allowed to leave.
He knocks on your door. You hesitate for a beat too long before answering, opening it just enough to let him inside.
“Y/N,” he breathes. You don’t look at him. You can’t. Earlier, you’d promised yourself that you wouldn’t run from this or cry over it. Your therapist better be god damn proud of you for this one. “You’re here.”
“Yeah.“
Out of the corner of your eye, you can see him start to reach for you. He stops himself, his hand falling back to his side. “When did you get here?”
“The beginning of the month,” you tell him. “I don’t know if JJ or Hotch mentioned, but it’s a part of my therapy. Coming back for a little bit.”
He finally finds the nerve to touch you, tugging at your sleeve. “Why won’t you look at me?”
You take a deep breath before forcing your gaze up. He’s just as beautiful as you remember, almost angelic. It makes you want to crumble on the spot, especially once you register the heartbroken look on his face.
“Why are you here?” You finally ask.
When you were eight, your entire family was murdered. It’s something you wait months to tell Spencer, once he starts bringing up taking you to meet his mother.
“Oh, god,” he says after a moment. He gathers you in his arms, holds you as you cry into him, wipes away your tears when you finally pull away, kisses your cheeks, shushes you when you try to apologize.
“Thank you for trusting me.”
Spencer is sitting on your bed, legs curled underneath him. He tries to get you to sit with him, but you refuse. Something about standing during this makes you feel less like you’ve lost any and all control.
“You never called.”
You close your eyes. “I know.”
“I wanted to let you have your space, I just didn’t-” he cuts himself off momentarily. “I didn’t think you were going to leave me.”
“I’m sorry.” It’s not enough. It isn’t close to enough. “I wasn’t strong enough to come back. I’m a coward. And selfish. I shouldn’t have run like that.”
When you open your eyes, he’s blurry. You belatedly realize that you’re starting to cry, notice that he is too.
“It’s okay to run. I just wanted you to talk to me, or come back, or something. I don’t know what I did wrong.”
You start to say that he did nothing, but he shakes his head.
“No,” he protests. “Not nothing. I didn’t help you. I knew you were struggling, I knew your PTSD was flaring up again, and I did the wrong things. I let you pull away, I didn’t fight hard enough for you to go back to therapy.” He takes a few deep breaths. “When the love of your life is struggling to stand upright, you let her lean against you. And I was too busy with work to be there for you.”
You sit down on the bed.
It’s incredibly obvious how much Spencer loves his mother. He talks about her constantly, updates you on her life, and worries endlessly in the periods where she isn’t doing well. So before you ever meet her, you know that her opinion matters enough to him that it could end your relationship.
“Y/N?” You hear him call for you, poking his head into the room. “Are you ready? Oh, you look really nice.”
It’s about time to leave. You’re in the hotel room, having just gotten ready to go meet Diana. It took you an embarrassingly long time to pick your outfit, since you really wanted to impress her. If she doesn’t like you, you’re fully prepared to start freaking out.
“I’m ready,” you say with almost no confidence.
He must hear the nerves in your voice, since he comes fully into the room, approaching you and putting his arms around your waist. “She’ll love you.”
You’re not sure if you believe him. You go with him anyway, watching him chatting with all the nurses as you waved awkwardly at them. After a few minutes of this, you’re finally standing in front of Diana Reid.
She pulls you into a hug before you can say anything. “Y/N!”
“Mom, don’t smother her,” Spencer chides gently, pulling you away from her. You smile a little when you can see a blush growing across his face.
“Sorry, sorry,” Diana says, grinning. “It’s just so nice to finally meet you. He talks about you all the time, you know?”
You smirk, looking back at your boyfriend. “Oh, really?”
“Shut up,” he mutters, but there’s no heat behind it.
Before long, Spencer has to leave the two of you alone so he can go talk to one of Diana’s doctors. You can tell he’s hesitant about it, but he kisses both of you on the top of your heads before he leaves.
“He’s happy,” she tells you. “He’s really happy with you.”
Now you’re the one blushing. “I really love him,” you confess. “I don’t know what I did to deserve someone as amazing as your son, but I feel incredibly lucky.”
She grabs your hand and squeezes it. “Thank you for looking after him.”
Spencer gets called back to work before you two can finish talking.
“Please stay here until the case is over,” he takes your hand, squeezing it tight. “I’m not letting you slip away again, okay? If you don’t want me anymore, you’re going to have to say it to my face.”
You don’t say anything. A small smile tugs at Spencer’s lips. He kisses your forehead before he runs off.
“You know, I never pictured Reid settling down,” Morgan tells you.
You’re all at JJ’s house for Henry’s birthday. The two of you had snatched up a table early in the afternoon, lounging as you watch everyone. So far, you’ve seen Will give JJ a piggyback ride, Penelope down two jello shots before declaring that a life of crime and alcohol just wasn’t for her, Emily and Rossi fight over who has more money, Hotch finger painting with Jack, and Henry chase Spencer around the yard. Morgan’s drinking a beer, you’re drinking a juice box.
You hum. “Do you think he’s happy?”
“Who?” Morgan looks over at you. “Reid? Duh. He’s happier than I’ve ever seen him.”
“We’ve been fighting lately.”
“It happens,” Morgan shrugs. “You should see Will and JJ go at it. That is not a woman I’d want to piss off. It’ll be fine, Y/N.”
You nod, even as this feels like the beginning of the end.
The BAU doesn’t think you’re in any danger, although that doesn’t do much to soothe you. All you can picture is your family, how were all supposed to be safe, how you came home on a Thursday after school and found your entire world bleeding and lifeless on the floor. You think Spencer’s aware of this. He messages you constantly, sending updates on the case as well as cute animal pictures. The latter makes you laugh, even though it’s a little wet. He’s trying to be here for you.
You know the second the case ends. Twenty minutes later, Spencer is back at your door.
“I didn’t know if you’d still be here,” he says breathlessly, and you realize he must have rushed over as fast as possible.
“We have stuff to talk about,” you shrug.
The two of you sit on the bed and face each other. It’s silent for a long beat before either of you speak.
“I miss you.” Spencer talks first. “Y/N. I think- I think you’re it for me. And it’s okay if you don’t want to be with me. I’ll respect it. But I want to try again.”
You make yourself keep looking at him. “I hurt you.”
He nods. “We hurt each other, I think. I’m not saying we don’t have things to work on. We do. But I’m not ready to let you go again.”
The day after you leave Spencer, your phone never stops ringing. He’s usually the one calling, but there’s a few from Morgan and Garcia, too. You don’t answer any of them, choosing instead to sit alone and cry so hard you throw up.
When he kisses you for the first time in years, it feels familiar in the best possible way. He always kisses with his entire body, pressing up against you and framing your face with his hands. He holds you like you’re something special, like you’re a priceless treasure he’s protecting with his life. Tonight, you aren’t going to do anymore more than kiss. You’re both feeling vulnerable and uncertain, your second chance at a relationship newly established. You don’t need it to go any further, though. You already feel happy enough to burst at the seems.
Now that you’re back together, you promise each other to be better about working through bad days together. Needless to say, you’re both prone to bad days.
You haven’t officially moved back to the area yet, but you’ve been spending a lot of time there, thankful that you’re able to do a large portion of your job on your computer.
“Y/N!” You hear him shout when he comes into his apartment. You suck in a breath, taking note of the panic that’s laced through his voice. You put your computer down, rushing out into the living room. He practically slams into you, pulling you into a hug and picking you up. Instinctively, you wrap your legs around him to keep your balance.
“Hey, hey,” you soothe. “What’s going on?”
“Family annihilator. I couldn’t…I couldn’t stop thinking about you and I just-”
Your blood chills and you both hold onto each other a little tighter. “I know, sweetheart.”
He carries you to the bed, where he gently lays you down before settling his body on top of yours. You press kisses to the skin you can reach until he relaxes.
You fall asleep in each other’s arms.
“I’m having a bad day,” you whisper into the phone. It’s a weekend that you’re home, even if its been feeling less like home lately.
“What’s wrong, love?”
It’s hard to keep your voice from rising to a wail. “I don’t know.”
He tries to comfort you over the phone, but it’s only somewhat effective. When you two hang up, you’re still feeling weird and empty. He texts you periodically, making sure that you aren’t spiriling again and calling you the time you don’t answer him.
The next morning, he surprises you by showing up at your apartment. He sweeps you into a hug, closing the door behind him and resting his chin on the top of your head. You feel yourself melt into his arms.
“What are you doing here?”
“You needed me,” he says, like it’s that simple. Maybe it is. “So I’m here.”
Two months later, you wake up next to him, running your fingers through his hair. It’s a fluffy disaster, making it a bit of a task to not get your hand tangled up in it. You’d hardly want him to wake up because you were yanking his hair out accidentally.
He wakes up not long after you do, a smile already playing on his lips. “Morning,” he mumbles.
“Hey.”
“I love you,” he whispers, taking your hand out of his hair and holding it.
“Love you more,” you tell him, smiling when he shakes his head.
“Impossible.”
#spencer reid#criminal minds fanfic#spencer reid x you#spencer reid x reader#spencer reid fic#criminal minds#criminal minds reader insert#spencer reid reader insert#dorothywrites
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The notes I took while reading the comics are under the cut. These are not my ordered thoughts, just thoughts I had while reading. I’ll write something more coherent a bit later, once my thoughts are sorted better than these
APOCALYPSE SUITE
Diego repeatedly stabbed a Caravaggio, which just personally offends me. Also @ Reginald the fact that you left a Caravaggio in reach of your KIDS, who have KNIVES, is just as insulting. Someone save that Caravaggio since anything and anyone else is beyond saving
“Inexplicable resemblance to an Ingmar Bergmann extra” askjdsgbkdsbhsd Gerard sir that is so oddly specific. Is Reginald an Ingmar Bergman fan. Is that what you’re trying to tell us. Or is Klaus just a silent movie type
Right off the bat, the comics universe is so much more interesting than the show universe. They have boxers who beat up squids like??? Give us an adaptation with the comic world, preferably animated
The kiddos were all born to “mostly single women” dsbksdgbksdgbdsg??? Did the magical alien thingamajig check their relationship status first?
“Inventor of The Televator, The Levitator, The Mobile Umbrella Communicator, and Clever Crisp Cereal” dgdsghsgdhjsdkjhg Reginald names his inventions like Dr. Doofenschmirtz from Phineas and Ferb
Also the page that reveals/introduces Reginald is SO good, just the panelling and the action tells you so much. There’s dead bodies and excavations and masks in addition to text. It’s great.
“The Day The Eiffel Tower Went Berserk” is an EXCELLENT hook to a story
“It’s your Eiffel Tower, it’s gone insane and must be stopped at all costs.” Dksgdhjbkgsdhjbdsghjb the show could never
This comic keeps disrespecting cool art. Why is it doing that to me. Don’t let the musée d’orsay get robbed
Okay, luther came through for me on that
Dsdhlsdghlgsdhldsh the siblings arguing while the Eiffel Tower is falling apart around them had me cackling
“WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE” dsbdgsbgsdbdgsbklsd okay diego
“And just as I suspected – ZOMBIE-ROBOT GUSTAVE EIFFEL!” hello I need at least three comics of back lore on this. Why does luther have that hunch. Why is Gustave Eiffel a zombie-robot. How did we get here. Please I want answers
The missing line on the ‘e’ of ‘touché’ makes that dramatic moment way less dramatic and more funny ngl
Oh but you can be bothered to put the accent aigu on ‘séquence’
“And while you lost the Eiffel Tower, you saved Paris.” I am laughing too hard by this point. How dare this be a barely brushed upon adventure. Please I need to know more about zombie-robot Gustave Eiffel
Te Ben-robot makes me emotional and “Only my father calls me Number One”? ouch.
Also for the record, I love Luther’s design SO much
“Hello your father is dead. Please audition for my orchestra for revenge. Many thank. Bye.” Okay Conductor, whatever floats your boat, I guess
“and something worse is coming” dbhsdghbjgshbjsgbjhkgf okay Five, whatever floats your boat I guess
Allison immediately coming in with the ‘I know everyone blames you for Ben’s death, Luther, but honestly, who the fuck knows?’ dsbgbhdgshbsgdhkbj
Klaus has such an entrance and I honestly didn’t know that Claire was a comic character
The introduction to the apocalypse comes SO the fuck out of nowhere, but grumpy little Five with the ‘I knew I shouldn’t have run away from home’ speech bubble? Awesome
Also just genuinely interesting that Five truly hated Reginald and was aware of these feelings
The apocalypse introductions in the show and the comic are going for different feelings but they are both equally devastating, which is a nice touch
Also someone give show! Five a sword
Comic Diego is a fuckboy, and that’s obvious from a hundred paces
Apparently Grace makes me sad in any incarnation
Okay but the backdoor of the Icarus in the show is lifted straight out of the comics
I love the Conductor’s design so much, and his introduction is so good
Oh my god someone get a language checker, The Orchestra Verdammten doesn’t even make grammatical sense
I love the Conductor, he is so extra and just the concept of a piece of music that destroys the world…….it fucks so hard
This comic just throws wild shit at you and expects you to keep up
Just read the instructions Dr. Terminal gave his bots. Is he okay.
Why does Dr. Terminal want to eat Finland. Please I need to know what’s going on in that head of his
Gabriel Ba has excellent comedic timing
Five is a bitch and I love him
Diego hiding in a haunted house…….what a drama queen
Klaus is so fucking funny oh my god
Diego is so hilariously bitter towards Vanya. No need to destroy her like that, asshole
Love how Diego single-handedly brought about the apocalypse. What an idiot.
Dr. Pogo deserves the world
The Vanya reveal of powers is a bit. Uh. Underwhelming. Love the Frankenstein set-up tho
The art, man……..it’s so good
Comic Luther is SO savage holy shit
I love you Mister Conductor, but please stop butchering languages I know, thanks
I knew he was gonna die, but I am still hurt. Please bring him back, he’s the best character in this
“I don’t know where to begin…But I suppose I should start with the Kennedy assassination.” Okay five you drama queen
Allison is a bitch, and I mean that as a compliment
Honestly these Five and Vanya are made to be enemies, it’s great
HELL YEAH YOU GO KLAUS
This wraps up a little too nicely. Where did the moon boulder go
DALLAS
Sagfdghjasfkjghdsfjhksfhkj it opens with a ‘by the way, I’m still dead’ from Pogo
I can’t believe TUA directly inspired Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian
No seriously, I knew about sentient monument Abraham Lincoln but this entire scene FUCKS
Dsbksgdbhsgbhksgdhbkj Celebrity Surgery, the big popular reality TV show, I’m laughing
Luther and Klaus are both such messes jeesus, even if Klaus is coping better
Allison immediately kidnaps Vanya and exposes her to all the horrible shit she caused?? Dbgbhjdgkjhbgdhkj I love these versions of the characters
While Show!Diego is Walmart Batman, Comic!Diego is Walmart Rorschach
I thought I got the gazelle speech but now I’m just confused
It literally is an epiphany AND WHAT GOT HAZEL AND CHA-CHA SENT ON HIS ASS I’M
CACKLING
Also that one wordless Hazel and Cha-Cha panel……..so good
Five is a communist lmao Diego
Luther and Diego arguments are tedious in both versions
I hate the Marilyn Monroe ape scene. With a passion. It is so cursed
Also show Hazel and Cha-Cha were partners that grew apart. I think comics Hazel and Cha-Cha are in love
I am every killer ever. That is one cute puppy.
Also Klaus and God is great in every universe
Dsjfghjdhjdgjhbdgbjhkdbkjhgb Five’s face when he is outfoxed
Why do dream!Luther and Allison have am ape cyclops daughter
I love the Luther&Klaus dynamic
This is just a remix of Watchmen
I have no idea why they suddenly know what Five is up to, from the corpse of a Commission agent. What.
Wait now they can use corpses as time travel devices. What.
Okay, Klaus accidentally blew up the world. Cool?
I am so confused
Now Diego Klaus and Luther are fighting vampires in Vietnam and hurling mummies through the bush. Okay.
So Pogo always knew what kind of disasters they’d turn into? Dskbgdsbkhsdgbkgsdkh
THE WHOLE JFK ASSASSINATION ARC IS AMAZING
HOTEL OBLIVION
Hotel Oblivion really just presents a cockroach on a plate to you, huh
Reginald’s aesthetic is seriously so much cooler than he deserves
EVIL IS THE NAME OF THE FIRST PART OF HOTEL OBLIVION?!? I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE MR. AIDAN GALLAGHER
Five is a hired gun now?!? Man, that dude cannot catch a break ever
“TV is a healthy alternative to dying” esjkdsgbkgskbhdsgkbes
Who is Luther’s Japanese bro?!?
Also I just kind of really like the Luther&Diego dynamic in the comics
The show robbed us of Allison helping Vanya recover. It robbed us of Vanya getting injured in the first place, so what recovery, but still. This is incredibly sweet
God, all the villains in this universe are so intriguing. Except for Knock-Off-Adrian-Veidt, I keep forgetting that Perseus exists
“I’m a haunted house.” Is so metal as a self-descriptor
What the FLYING FUCK is Klaus doing there
Giant chicken?
The Enterprise???
“What are you doing?” “A report. I’m really interested in capitalism.” Djhsgjgskjvsevksevjesvjsefjv maybe Diego is right and Five is indeed a communist
“I know what it feels like to be unloved. I was born an object, and never treated as anything but.” It really was that bad, wasn’t it?” “For the both of us, yes.” B R U H
Evil Grace is fun
I love Allison and Five and their relationship so much
Five is interested in the stock market??
I am way too emotionally invested in whether Murder Magician and his baby make it out of there
Oh I CANNOT believe their romantic loves for their SISTERS is what unites them. I hate this.
What on earth is going on with Perseus and the flying head of Medusa
Alive Ben 😊☹
I am an idiot for not making the Perseus-Medusa connection sooner.
The Eiffel Tower now looks like the love child of the actual Eiffel Tower and the Atomium.
And now the Dr. Manhattan knock-off is here
God I love Allison so much
What the fuck is Pereus on about
Terminal eats a zoo
Scientific Man borders on plagiarism I’m sdhbgshsvjhksfvjksdjhkdsj
No no no no no not the Murder Magician
This whole baby arc makes me so soft
HELL YEAH LUTHER
Well this ended on a cliffhanger
#Lizzie reads the comics#i mean i made the notes might as well share them#i made progressively less because i really got into some of the parts of dallas and hotel oblivion
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It Takes Two: percabeth!au
chapter two :)
Mattie Jackson and Hayley Chase meet at the start of summer and discover that they are each other's identical clone. With a little more investigating, the two girls discover that they are, in fact, twins. Things only get crazier when they find out that their adoptive parents were once in love. Now, they have to work together to reunite Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase before Mattie’s dad ends up dating the new camp counselor and Hayley’s mom gets married to a kid hating, gold digger.
And what better way to do that than to switch places?
or
i rewatched It Takes Two and decided to make it percabeth :)
read on ao3
chapter one here!
************************************************
The faded white stone was the first thing Annabeth Chase noticed when she and her daughter pulled into the driveway of their summer house. Well, summer house was a loose term now. Annabeth had been living here all year while working on a new project. One that was very near and dear to her heart. When Chiron called and asked if she would be willing to redesign the old camp, she was more than happy to. She even threw in a family discount, because that's exactly what he was. Family.
Annabeth Chase was a very famous name in the architecture world. She graduated top of her class at Berkeley and quickly got a job at Medusa & Co. Architecture. Her coworkers were somber, but the work was good. Working for a big company like Medusa & Co. brought on a lot of challenges, but that's what drew her in. Annabeth loved a challenge. What she didn't love were the rumors and scandals constantly going around about faulty cement, old metals, and rickety wires being used to create their buildings in an attempt to make more money. When she decided to investigate and learned that the rumors were true, Annabeth just had to leave. Creating her own Architecture Company took some time, but the exposure and resources she acquired while at Medusa & Co. helped her along the way. And the money she got from her tip to the media about what was really going on at her old job didn't hurt either.
Now, she was the proud owner and head architect at Parthenon Architecture. Having expanded her company to five different states all over America, Annabeth was a busy woman. So busy that she never really had time to think about her life outside of work. She knew she wanted to get married and have a family. Something permanent. But even with the casual dates, her friends insisted she go on, Annabeth never felt that spark that she knew made something worth pursuing. She knew what that felt like. She'd experienced it before, with-
"Woah," The sweet voice of her daughter broke Annabeth from her thoughts, "Remind me why we don't stay here more often?"
Annabeth didn't have time for romance, but she wanted a family. Thanks to adoption agencies, she could have that. But honestly, Annabeth wasn't even sure if she was ready to be a mother when she went in for a consultation with the agency. Her parents divorced when she was young, and due to her mother's career in government at D.C., Annabeth was left with her father. Eventually, her stepmother came into the picture and the blonde little girl was pushed into the background. The woman wanted absolutely nothing to do with Annabeth and her father did nothing to help. Things only got worse when her little twin brothers came into the picture.
Annabeth's mother would come back every other month and the two would spend the day together, but she couldn't be there every time the girl needed her. The best thing her mother did for her was sign Annabeth up for Camp Half-Blood when she was a seven. That first year at camp changed her life. She made friends who became family and finally found a place that felt like home. People who felt like home. A boy who felt like home.
"Remind me how often we come to Rhode Island?" she teased the ten-year-old.
The girl turned back to her mother and responded with a straight face, "Ha-ha."
Annabeth laughed at that, "Come on, Hayley, let's unpack. I wanna show you something in the house."
Despite her estranged relationship with motherhood, Annabeth never had to think twice about adopting Hayley. Before adopting the girl, she did her research. Apparently, Hayley's birth mother moved to California a week after she was born, hoping for a fresh start with her new child. Unfortunately, her new life didn't have room for a baby. The woman tried for about two months before abandoning the little girl at an adoption agency. Annabeth knew what it was like to feel abandoned, so she was happy to claim the two month old as her own.
She tried her best to be an attentive and caring mother, and being her own boss helped make that possible. Still, with Annabeth being so busy with the camp reconstruction plans, she and her daughter hadn't been able to spend as much time together this year. Hayley had spent the greater part of last year begging her mom to let her join them in Rhode Island, and as much as Annabeth wanted her around, she wasn't about to pull her daughter out of school for a whole year. Especially with everything they've gone through at past schools.
Much like Annabeth, Hayley Chase is a famous name. Hayley wasn't a problem child. She is a good kid. A good kid with bad luck. Getting her daughter into schools was the easy part. As the granddaughter to a Congresswoman, an American and Military History professor at West Point, and the daughter of the third most famous Architect in the United States, schools were eager to have Hayley in their programs. And having an eleventh-grade reading level didn't hurt either. It was when the school year began that things usually went south.
Wrong place, wrong time basically sums up Hayley's life. Nothing too crazy happened, but it was usually enough to ensure that the girl wouldn't be getting an invitation back. So far, she had been kicked out of three schools. Once for getting too many detentions due to 'continuous disrespect,' which is just a fancy way of saying, "You're child pointed out too many of my teaching mistakes and I'm sick of being contradicted."
Another time was when a nasty girl in her class tripped Hayley in the lunchroom. The girl's tray went flying, and the food fight that ensued was blamed on her. The last incident was the result of a classroom fire, but there's really no time to unpack that. Hayley never meant for these things to happen. She knew how hard her mother worked, and she admired her greatly for that. The last thing she wants is to add stress to her life.
What Hayley didn't realize, however, was that she made Annabeth's life anything but stressful. The woman couldn't be prouder to have a daughter as clever, kind, and patient as Hayley. Annabeth spent her whole life wanting to build something permanent, but when she finally did, she looked around and realized that it's wasn't worth much without someone permanent beside her. She wants to do right by her daughter, and that's one of the reasons why she was so excited to finally have Hayley over at the summer house with her. Not only would she get to spend time with her daughter again, but Annabeth would get to show Hayley where she grew up. Her home.
Camp Half-Blood.
Hayley was now carrying a backpack over her shoulders and tugging a suitcase behind her as she walked up the steps to the giant house, "What is it?"
"It's a surprise," The woman answered, simply. Annabeth had just dropped her bag onto the porch and was currently scrummaging in her bag for the door keys.
"What kind of surprise?" Hayley pressed while admiring the exterior of the house. The two story mansion had once belonged to her great-grandmother, but it hadn't been used in years. The green-eyed girl suddenly found herself hoping that the surprise wasn't spiderwebs and dust. Then again, her mother had been living here on and off again for the past six months. If there was even a hint of spiders, the house would have already been hosed down by exterminators, "Surprise like, 'I'm doubling your allowance for not causing trouble this year!' or surprise like, 'Grandma's coming to visit'?"
Annabeth had unlocked the door but held it ajar, "Actually, yes, your grandma is coming in a few days to visit."
A grim look overtook Hayley's face. It's not that she didn't like Grandma Athena, it's just that she was very... controlled. Hayley always assumed that it was the Congresswoman in her that made the old lady so uptight. Every time she came to visit, her mom would get anxious and start to stress work. The little girl knew all about her mother's upbringing. The mother-daughter pair were very close, and Hayley was protective of the people she loved, so she never enjoyed seeing the effect her grandmother had on Annabeth.
"Why is she coming here?" The young girl asked, trying her best to hide her disapproving tone, "The only thing she does when she comes over is stress you out and give me passive-aggressive looks for not indulging myself in nonfiction books."
"Hayley, if you want to read Agatha Christie, read Agatha Christie. If you want to read Marvel Comics, read Marvel Comics. Don't let her make you feel bad about your interests," If there was one thing Annabeth was willing to face her mother for, it was her daughter. It pissed the woman off to no end when her mother, the one who had basically abandoned her as a child, tried to tell Annabeth how to raise her daughter.
That's another thing Hayley loved about her mom. No matter what she did, her mom was right behind her with unconditional support. When Hayley entered the Spelling Bee, her mother stayed up the night before and helped her practice, even though she had scheduled an early meeting the next morning to ensure she would be off on time to attend the contest. When the girl wanted to join an art class, Annabeth went out and bought her a whole new art supply kit. When, at the age of four, she decided that blue and yellow were magic colors, and her mom decided to make blue cookies for her. She only made them once, and Hayley was young when she did, but the girl still could have sworn she remembers her mother tearing up when her daughter took her first bite of the blue food.
And there was the time when she was three, and Hayley had her first asthma attack.
Annabeth had been a wreck for the entire process. Of course, Hayley had recovered quickly, and thanks to her Flovent medication, she hasn't had a major attack in years. All thanks to her mom. If Annabeth Chase was anything, it was a planner. Hayley was on a strict schedule when it came to taking her medication. Even though her daughter's asthma hadn't acted up in years, she wasn't going to chance losing her ever again.
"Rebel against Grandma?" Hayley joked, "Sounds like a plan."
Annabeth huffed out a laugh, but Hayley could tell something was off. She just now noticed that her mother hadn't been looking her in the eyes and that she was still standing in front of the cracked open door, blocking the girl from what's inside. She also noticed that her mother didn't answer her question about why Grandma Athena would be visiting.
"Why don't we go inside? I may have lied about the surprise- or rather, the extent of it. There is actually more than one."
Hayley's confusion must have been very noticeable, because right as she was about to ask more questions, Annabeth opened the front door to reveal two people waiting inside.
"Piper! Leo!" Hayley dropped her bags onto the porch and ran to her godmother and honorary uncle. The two dropped down and hugged the little girl with just as tightly as she did them.
"Hey, Hay!" Leo teased the girl as her arm wrapped around his neck.
"Oh my goodness, there is no way you got this big over one school year!" Piper exclaimed as she pulled back from the girl's other side, "You get any taller and you're gonna outgrow Leo."
While that was definitely an exaggeration, Leo still scoffed at the girl. Watching as the three got reacquainted, Annabeth picked up her daughter's bags that were abandoned on the porch and laid them inside. After she placed her own bags on the floor, Piper's dark eyes shot up and reached Annabeth's gray ones.
The woman smiled down at Hayley before walking over to give her mom a big hug. Piper McLean and Annabeth had been friends for years. The two met in the third grade. They bonded over daddy issues and a mutual love for Skittles. You know, normal kid stuff. After decades of sleepovers, secret handshakes, bad haircuts, and One Direction phases, the girls were still inseparable. If anyone could read Annabeth like a book, it was Piper. They were a fantastic duo. So much so, that Piper was her personal assistant. Technically, she was here for work, but Annabeth was just grateful to have her best friend here for the occasion.
Annabeth met Leo Valdez in college. He was the smartest person on the robotics team and the two shared many classes together throughout the years. They became fast friends, bonding over conspiracy theories and arguing over who was the better Property Brother. When Annabeth needed a Head of Construction at her firm, she knew exactly who she wanted by her side. Leo was more than happy to accept.
Leo and Piper were great employees and even better friends. They were supportive when she told them she wanted to adopt. They were always there to remind her that it's okay to take a break. And whenever one of them decided to take her out and let her live a little, the other would watch Hayley. And they both loved Hayley.
"Glad to see you're still alive," Piper's tone was flat and quiet against Annabeth's ear. She knew her friend didn't want Hayley hearing what she had to say, and honestly, neither did Piper, "Oh, and look at that. Is that a phone sticking out of your back pocket? A phone that I have been trying to reach you on for the past hour?"
Annabeth pulled back from the hug and Piper could finally see the guilt written on her face, "I know. Look, I'm sorry I didn't answer, but I knew what you would be calling about. I couldn't exactly have you yelling at me with my ten-year-old in the passenger seat."
"So, she doesn't know then?" The black-haired woman knew the answer, but the way she was now staring Annabeth down -arms crossed, eyebrow raised- made her realize the real question she was asking went along the lines of, what the hell is your plan here?
"No," Annabeth sighed out, "I was going to tell her on the drive over from the airport, but there was just so much to catch up on-"
"Yeah, Annabeth!" Piper whisper-yelled as an exasperated look took over her face, "There is so much to catch her up on. Starting with-!"
"Hey, you two," Leo coughed out, loudly. As the girls turned their attention back to him and the little girl, they saw Leo motioning to Hayley. Annabeth's daughter sent confused glances to the three adults, "Annabeth, why don't you show Hayls what's outback?"
Annabeth clasped her hands together and moved past Piper, who was now giving Leo the death stare, "That's a great idea, Leo. Come on, Hayley, there's another surprise waiting for you."
Hayley loved a good surprise as much as the next girl, but she was very aware of the mumbled bickering going on between Piper and Leo as she and her mom walked to the back of the house. That kind of put a damper on things. There was definitely something being kept from the little girl, and she had an idea that whatever it was wouldn't be found outback.
"Come on, kiddo," Annabeth said as they reached a little study. Hayley almost missed the door as they walked up to it. The wood of the door matched the wall around it, and a few strayed out plant decorations hid it even more. It was like the room was intentionally being hidden away. Once her mother opened the door, Hayley could see why. It appeared to be a private study- a homey, little room. There was a desk that sat in the middle, surrounded by comfortable looking chairs and giant bookshelves. To the side, there was a giant bay window that let the sun in and overlooked the coastline. A telescope stood off to the right of the window and a globe of the world to the left.
"Wow," The girl breathed out. Hayley stepped into the room and heard her mother chuckle from behind her.
"Just wait," Annabeth took her daughter's hand and lead her to the giant bay window. Annabeth sat down on the cushion while placing the little girl in her lap. She pointed out towards past the water and to an open area that was covered by what looked like to be a camp.
"Is that the camp you've been working on up here?" Hayley asked, eyes still set towards the campground, "It looks beautiful."
From what she could see, the cabins were beautifully designed with different symbols on each building, "What do the different symbols mean?"
"Each camper is placed in a certain cabin based on what you designed your schedule to look like. For example, if you wanted to spend the majority of your summer in the gardens, you could request to be placed in the Grain cabin. It's just to help to keep campers organized," The woman explained, "Obviously you could still participate in the camp singalong with the Lyre cabin, or go swimming with the Triton cabin, but this way you could be focused more on your interests and be surrounded by people who shared them."
"You said you went there, right?" Hayley turned to look back at her mother, "What cabin were you in?"
"I was always in the Owl cabin," Annabeth grinned at the memory, "We spent a lot of our time in the arts and crafts department. We also held the highest number of wins in Capture the Flag."
"Capture the Flag?" The girl stared at her mother with an amused expression, "What's that like?"
Annabeth grinned down at Hayley, "Well, I guess we'll have to go over there one day and let you find out for yourself."
Her daughter's green eyes widened as she jumped from her mother's lap, "Wait, really? I get to go?"
"Well, since we won't be here the whole summer you're not an official camper, but yes. I talked to the activities director and he said they would be happy to have you come down and join in on the fun," she explained, "My only condition is that you aren't allowed to ditch me when your grandma get here. THAT, and I want a ceramic mug."
Hayley wrapped her arms around her mom's neck, "I will, I promise! It'll say Worlds Best Mom and everything."
There were many surprises in store for Hayley Chase this summer, but her daughter finally getting to experience Camp Half-Blood was Annabeth's favorite. With the architect's demanding schedule and her daughter's extracurriculars, the two didn't have a lot of extra time for just them. Summer was when they could be together the most, and no matter how much she wanted her daughter to experience the same joys she did at camp, Annabeth didn't want to send Hayley to the other side of the country without her. And there was no place for Annabeth at camp now.
However, due to her new project being Camp Half-Blood, Annabeth had the perfect excuse to bring her daughter to the place most special to her. She wanted to share her experiences with her daughter. Show her the giant pine tree right at the camp entrance where she would sit under the shade and read. Tell her about the firework show that the camp would have every year. Share every strategy she helped come up with to win almost every game of Capture the Flag. Bring her to the dock where she spent almost every day with a boy. A boy with messy hair and sea-green eyes. Green eyes that Hayley's own resembled. Annabeth wasn't sure if that was a blessing or a curse. Looking into those eyes remained her of the boy she loved. The boy she wanted to build something permanent with. The boy who teased her, encouraged her, and stuck by her no matter what. Her best friend.
The boy who she tried to keep. The boy who she couldn't keep. Annabeth thought fate was a cruel being. For years, the blonde girl just wanted someone who would stay. Someone who wouldn't leave. And when she finally found that someone, life forced the two apart. Although she hadn't seen him in years, Annabeth would still think of that boy and wonder about the man he became. While working at camp, the woman was reminded of him more than ever. The memories -and feelings- they shared.
Yes, Annabeth wanted to share her experiences with her daughter, but she could not share him. Annabeth could not tell Hayley about the boy who was shorter than her for a majority of their youth together, and how he would glare at her when she teased him about it. She could not tell her daughter about the boy who would sit through every one of her architecture rants with a smile. She could not tell her daughter about how he could coax the truth out of her with a single look, and hold her when it hurt too much to talk about.
Annabeth could not tell her daughter about her first love, P-
"Annabeth!" A voice shook the woman from her thoughts. As Annabeth's daughter pulled away from her, she noticed that her once ecstatic expression was now replaced with a look of confusion. And it wasn't hard to figure out why.
When she turned her head towards the voice, Annabeth came face to face with Luke Castellan, her fiancé.
#i decided to edit and post this instead of doing my school work lol#percabeth#percabeth au#percabeth fic#percabeth fanfiction#percy jackson au#percy jackson#annabeth chase#pjo au#pjo#pjo/hoo#pjo/hoo au
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A Lake of Sand and Glass || Zinnia, Winston, & Jasmine (POTW Finale)
TIMING: Current
PARTIES: @zinniarhee @danetobelieve @halequeenjas
SUMMARY: A plan has been formed to get rid of Bloody Mary and Sandman forever. Winston and Jasmine perform a ritual with Zinnia’s help after another group lures Bloody Mary and Sandman to the lake, but this does not come with out consequences.
Winston had seen some bizarre shit in their time being aware of the supernatural. It was what ten months now? They’d seen zombies, werewolves, ghosts, ghouls and a hundred other weird, wonderful and downright terrifying spectacles. Yet, as they stood on the edge of the lake with two others that they barely knew, they decided that this was perhaps the weirdest thing that they had ever been privy to. “Okay, I’m glad we’re all sure on the plan.” speaking out loud helped them communicate their thoughts and after everything that had happened with Roland, Winston wasn’t going to just let anyone get hurt by this. They were here to make sure no one else was hurt. “The bait team brings the Sandman and Bloody Mary to the lake, we then you know, we do the magic exorcising ritual and bing bang boom we’re all gucci…” Winston swallowed, it sounded so much more simple then it was going to be. They were sure of it. “Remember, water is our friend and try to have fun. Ha. Joking obviously. I hate White Crest.”
This whole thing with Bloody Mary and the Sandman was definitely a little more intense than anything spirit related Jasmine had dealt with in the past. From the books she was reading, she’d picked up on that most people just banished Bloody Mary, but that still left room for some idiot teens to summon her again. Some further group research indicated Mary and the Sandman were linked somehow. Clearly, no one had actually tried this ritual before and it took some coordinating between her and Winston to come up with it in the first place. “Yep. we’re yeeting both the Bloody Bitch and Sandy Asshole out of existence as the kids would say.” Her tone sounded more confident than she currently felt. Banishments were one thing, but this was entirely new and experimental. The other group was already luring them over so there was no room for hesitation. She laughed at Winston’s joke despite her own nerves. “Oh yeah, we’re having a real party over here.” Any moment now, they’d be ready to begin.
The only reason that Zinnia had agreed in assisting the group was because people she had grown to care about, against her own omission, were now in danger. She guessed she, too, was now in danger-- a reflection of a woman with a penchant for taking down those who had reckoned with death on their own terms. She and Bloody Mary were a lot alike, but apparently, she did not think so. She had little to offer aside from brute force and the ability to get away quickly, as well as assisting in healing any injuries that might’ve come from the excursion, but she needed to help, because if she didn’t, then when would it end? As they walked towards the lake, she tossed Winston a glance with a nod. “You both have interesting nicknames for these beings,” she commented with a low chuckle. She knew enough about magic, had seen it been done-- to others, she, herself was full of magic. She supposed she could get away with aiding the two of them in more ways than one. “Try not to look either of them in the eye, I bet that Bloody Mary figure really likes the eyes,” she said, a previous experience coming to mind.
“The kids say that?” Winston asked somewhat skeptically. They weren’t technically a kid anymore but still the way that slang was changing over the years was beyond Winston and they couldn’t help but feel somewhat older then they felt that they should. Unfortunately Winston was far too familiar with both of these things to feel entirely confident that they were going to be able to just stop this but they had to make an attempt. For the good of everyone else. It wasn’t something that you could just leave to hurt people. From Winston’s research however they had a pretty good idea of how they could bind and banish both these entities. “Fun nicknames and humour are defense mechanisms that stop me from going completely insane in the face of all of this death and destruction.” Winston wondered if Bloody Mary was like medusa. “If I look at her through a selfie camera on my phone do you think I can make eye contact then”? Laughing nervously, they quickly fell silent. Swallowing, Winston looked around for some sort of sign or signal that they were ready to go. “I’m sure we’ll be starting … any minute now….”
“At least that’s what I gather from the internet,” Jasmine said with a nonchalant shrug. She liked to think Nell kept her somewhat up to date on the new slang. Most of her clientele was older so she never necessarily went out of her way to keep up with it. She couldn’t help but laugh at Winston’s remark. “Hey, sometimes that’s all you can do.” At the mention of not looking them in the eye, she nodded quickly. “Yeah, definitely not planning on having a romantic heart-to-heart where we gaze into each other’s eyes with either of them. My taste is a little less dead and sandy.” She could see the other group towards the other side of the lake and saw both Sandman and Bloody Mary with them. She took in a deep breath and said, “Alright, here goes nothing.” She took Winston’s hand in her own and told Zinnia, “For now, we’ll draw in intention from you, too, but if things get dicey, we may need you to keep these bastards in the lake.”
Zinnia blinked at Winston, gaze curious. She wasn’t caught up on the lingo from those who were younger than her-- she had tried her best to stay “in the know” but it seemed as though those who were older having a difficult time in understanding what younger people were talking about wasn’t as uncommon as she had once thought. Still, she forced out a laugh at Winston’s words and gave them a firm nod, “I suppose that is a way to deal with it.” She hunkered lower to the ground, her palms digging into the mud. “I would hope that your taste is far better than dead and sandy-- you’re far too pretty to be involved with the likes of either of them.” So maybe she wasn’t stellar at knowing what not to say. Zinnia narrowed her eyes, then looked behind her to Jasmine. She gave a curt nod. “Do whatever it is you need to do, I’m here to help.” Here to keep my people safe, Zinnia thought quietly. To think she now had people, both Scout and Alcher coming to mind-- Kaden, to a degree-- for Abel, clearly. Though, she wouldn’t mind taking Abel if Kaden were no longer capable. “I think I see them--” Zinnia’s thoughts came to an abrupt stop at the sight of a ghostly figure.
The sound of laughter, as uneasy as it was - well it was at least a little bit gratifying and kept Winston from fully panicking. They were completely far from used to any of this. They wondered when the moment of clarity would come where fighting evil, beating bad guys and saving the day wouldn’t be the single most terrifying thing that Winston had ever had to do. Honestly, they weren’t entirely sure why they kept doing it but despite everything here they were still. “I guess flirting is also a defense mechanism for some,” Winston commented with a quirked eyebrow. Spotting Bloody Mary and the Sandman, Winston swallowed nervously and tried to center themselves as they had done thousands of times before now. They had everything ready, or as ready as it would be. “I definitely see them,” Winston said, their eyes immediately flashing to the floor so they didn’t catch Bloody Mary’s eyes. This was the part where they really had to help. This was the part where they really had to work their ass off to keep two completely figures who were enshrined in folklore from killing them. “Okay, here goes nothing,” Winston raised their hands and began to chant the words of the incantation that they had designed with Jasmine. A combination of exorcist practice and magic. It was probably sloppy, but they prayed it worked.
This was unlike anything Jasmine had ever tackled head on before and the feeling of doubt it brought was hard to ignore. If she messed this up, others would be the ones paying the price. She and Winston had been very careful when creating this ritual, but the fact still remained it had never been tested. How could it be? There was only one Bloody Mary and Sandman. If there had been a successful go of this in the past, neither of them would be here. The humor did help a little. “You’re not wrong,” she agreed with Zinnia as she took in a sharp breath. Here went nothing. She closed her eyes momentarily and let her words sync up with Winston’s. Precision was a must and she was careful with every single syllable and could feel the familiar buzzing that came with exorcisms. It was hard to explain, it was both familiar and unnerving in the same vein. Still, she chanted the Latin phrases over and over again and could feel something happening. Her eyes fluttered open as she peered across the lake. If there was any commotion going on with the other group, she’d be unable to see it in the dark. She could see Mary’s reflection in the water when she glanced at it and the water seemed to be almost vibrating. They were doing something.
Zinnia was careful to avert her eyes. One look at Bloody Mary and their plan could fall right from underneath of them. The sound of mumbling-- no, chanting, caught Zinnia’s attention and she twisted to watch as both Jasmine and Winston began to speak incantations, or so she believed them to be. It was palpable, the energy in the air, and she wondered if this was what it felt like, to be zapped of energy. It felt close to when she’d use her healing. Slow, moving like quicksand. With every move she tried to make, she felt it heavier in her limbs, the exhaustion. They needed her help, though, and this was how she would assist. She focused on the lake, the water rippling frantically with every word that either Jasmine or Winston spoke. Zinnia kept quiet, not wanting to break their concentration. She wondered how they would trap Bloody Mary, because the Sandman was clearly an easy target-- sand and water didn’t go quite well together. Zinnia watched, alert, despite the aching in her head.
Swallowing, Winston’s mind flashed back to the work that they had put into this with Jasmine. It hadn’t been easy. Creating spells never was. Actually magic in general was hardly something that Winston was adept with. Normally you would prepare for something like this with an actual drawn outline. The whole bit in horror movies with pentagrams wasn’t so far from the truth although in it’s own way it was pretty far fetched. But around the area that they had decided to carry this out in Winston had placed cylinders that they had built. They liked to call them beacons but the truth was that they were little more then extensions of Winston’s will. They would extend Winston and Jasmine’s incantation and hopefully truly prevent either of them from escaping. Without missing a beat, Winston kept chanting. They were glad they’d played all those rhythm games and Guitar Hero in college because it made keeping up with all of this a bit easier. A ripple spread out across the lake and Winston blinked and snapped their eyes to their feet as they spotted a ghostly outline.
As they kept with the rhythms of the chant, Jasmine could feel her necklace vibrating against her chest. It was the same one her aunt wore for years as her focal point and she found it gave her more control when performing rituals. While similar enough to an exorcism, the magical aspects of it were starting to show as the lake water began to swirl. Usually, she could feel the air swirling around her during a banishment, but this was different. Her eyes fluttered open though she never lost a beat with the incantations repetitive as they were. By all indications, the ritual they came up with seemed to be working. Mary was reflecting in the lake and the Sandman seemed to be being pulled toward it. They couldn’t stop now. Mary was unnerving, but she wouldn’t look in her eyes. The water seemed to be rising higher around the lake which only pushed her to keep going. Just a little bit longer and this would all be over with. There was no room to let the reflection of Mary that was approaching throw them off their game.
Zinnia watched, her gaze unmoving from the two figures who were drawn to the lake. The low rumblings from either Jasmine and Winston were low enough that she didn’t think either of the individuals could be heard, but something-- a distraction, the slightest sound, had the Sandman’s head swiveling towards them. The course he had been set on towards the lake was now broken, and he was headed towards the trio. Zinnia cursed under her breath before she gave a backwards glance towards the two. She pushed herself off of her perch on the ground and started towards him. What she was going to do, she wasn’t sure. She was quick-- quick enough to confuse something slow like him, but he was sand, and she hadn’t ever fought an individual made of sand before. Careful to not disturb Bloody Mary, Zinnia launched herself at the Sandman, her leg coming to swipe underneath of him. He crumpled to the ground, the sand building on top of each other to recreate the beast she had dismantled. This was going to be a lot harder than she thought.
It was like something out of a superhero movie or a comic was all that Winston could think as they watched Zinnia’s leg dart out, cleave clean through the Sandman’s leg and then just watch it reform as he collapsed for a partial moment. Winston swallowed nervously between words of the chant. They were shocked that they hadn’t made a mistake yet but the adrenaline that was buzzing in their head seemed to be keeping them on task. Fortunately, neither Bloody Mary nor the Sandman seemed to have noticed them, in fact, Winston was almost certain that they were after Jasmine, which was both comforting and … well not. Winston didn’t need to lose another friend to anything malevolent like these two creeps. However, Zinnia was doing a pretty good job of keeping this thing busy, but Winston knew that she wouldn’t be able to keep it up forever. This was something that they were going to need to end and quickly. They were nearly there, Winston knew that much, they just wished that there was more they could do to help. Just don’t look in her eyes, that was all they could do for now. The lake seemed to be responding to their magic and Winston knew that this was all only a matter of time.
By all indication, their weird hybrid of magic and exorcism was working which brought some relief to Jasmine. It felt like it had been forever since she’d gotten a decent night’s sleep with Mr. Sand Creep plaguing her. As if sensing her there, he was making his way toward them. Well, crap. Now wasn’t the time to cower though. Sure, physically speaking, she wasn’t the biggest and baddest to fight, but she was smart and they had a ritual here. He was trying to interrupt them for a reason so she steeled her resolve and stood a bit taller. Zinnia seemed to have chopping the Sandman handled even though he reformed entirely too quickly for her liking. Her free hand wrapped around the amber stone on her necklace to give her some additional focus. Now that the sand was back in shape, it seemed to be coming toward her, but she refused to be shaken. She just said the words even louder hoping it’d make this whole thing go quicker. It felt unnerving to not flinch in the face of danger, but she had to trust Zinnia was going to keep them safe while they finished this. She could feel the pull of their words keep Mary in the lake, soon Sandman would follow her, too.
“Oh, no you don’t--” Zinnia seethed as she twisted around, whisking a branch off of the ground. She cut it through Sandman’s chest, impaling it. It did very little, but the sand began to reform over the branch, now making it a part of him. That might work, it’d give her something to grab onto. Zinnia couldn’t let it get to either Jasmine or Winston-- if it did, their plan would be ruined. She grabbed another branch off of the ground and quickly thrust it adjacent to the first branch. Once the sand formed over it, she gave a swift, quick tug. They moved, but just barely. Zinnia tightened her grip and tugged on the branches, yanking him away from both Jasmine and Winston. The sandman twisted, falling onto the ground further away from the two. Good. Zinnia approached him again, ignoring the way sand began to crawl up her arm as she held onto the branch tightly, dragging him further away. The exhaustion she had begun to feel was weighing heavy on her now, but she had to make sure that the witches weren’t interrupted. At any cost. Zinnia yanked again, one of the branches coming clean through the sandman, making her falter backwards. Zinnia moved forward again, ripping at the second branch and tugged as hard as she could, sending the Sandman flying towards the lake, just a few feet from the shore.
Winston’s fingers twitched as they watched Zinnia take on the Sandman. Watching someone beat the ever loving shit out of something as cemented in folklore as the sandman, with nothing less than literal sticks was maybe one of the most impressive things that Winston had ever seen and they were almost certain that there was a good chunk of experience there. As Zinnia fought the Sandman back towards the lake, Winston could see the beacons hum and resonate with power, it was as if simple technological objects could feel the itch of the magic and were begging to get to work. Technomancy was a touchy thing and Winston had never tried combining it with magic that exorcists used, it was similar but very very different in so many ways. “Get him into the circle so we can banish him.” That was all Winston had time to say before the next round of chanting could begin.
With the Sandman not rapidly approaching her anymore, Jasmine was able to let out a breath she hadn’t realized was lodged in her throat. Her heart was still booming, but they had to move on to the next part of the ritual. The water around the lake seemed to be rising which had to mean this was working. All they needed was to get the Sandman in the circle so that he’d eventually get pulled into the lake with Mary. Thankfully, Winston already called out the directions. She could see the beacons they set up starting to do something. She didn’t understand them, but she trusted them when it came to the magic stuff. This part of the incantation was more familiar to her. Most of it was derived from the normal banishment ritual she used with a few adjustments to fit this situation. Experimenting wasn’t exactly her thing, but dire situations called for dire measures. She kept her focus steady and trusted Zinnia had the Sandman handled. She’d been doing one hell of a job so far.
Zinnia heard Winston’s voice and she flickered her gaze back towards them. She gave a curt nod before she approached the Sandman again, grabbing onto the stick that was beginning to slip out of his chest. She gave him one swift shove, careful to avoid his body, just in case he decided to close around her instead of the stick that was still protruding out of him. He hit the water with a resounding splash and Zinnia quickly backed up, unsure of what the magic would do to her if she were too close. She kept her eyes on the Sandman, and on the back of Bloody Mary’s head as she took careful, but quick steps back towards the other two.
Whoever this was… what was her name? Zinnia? Well whatever it was, she seemed to be very good at what she was doing and Winston was glad that she was on their side and not against them on this one. As the sandman splashed backwards into the water, Winston poured their will, energy and desire into the spell. It had been carefully crafted and carefully designed to lock the pair of them into a magical pocket that would prevent them from escaping again. Winston was frankly exhausted. A combination of late nights working on this and the energy it was taking. Sweat beaded on their forehead and Winston spotted the surface of the lake beginning to shimmer and harden, that wasn’t meant to be happening but Winston wasn’t about to stop now. They couldn’t stop now. They had to keep going. People in White Crest were depending on them to do something and if they didn’t then who knew how it would go?
All Jasmine could think as Zinnia threw the Sandman into the lake is how grateful she was for the internet. Her energy was fading quickly and she was sure they would have been actual toast if it hadn’t been for her keeping the Sandman away. The combination of lack of sleep and the effort that went into exorcisms made every limb in her body feel as if it was full of stones. She felt weighed down, but there was no giving up now. The town was depending on them to get rid of these malignant spirits even if they didn’t realize it. Though her throat felt like sand was still scratching it, she kept her chanting loud and consistent. From what she could see through blurred vision, it was working. The water was higher, but looked as if it was turning solid? Maybe that was just the exhaustion that kept pinching the edge of her eyes playing tricks with her vision. Even if it was solid, they had to keep going. Anything else would mean these two harmful beings would be free to plague the town once more. So she pushed forward, even though every muscle in her body felt as if it was on fire.
The closer Zinnia got to the two, the more she could see their exhaustion. She knew it all too well. Their expressions and hunched figures were similar to her own when she would have to pour healing into an individual or being that came to her while injured. Her lips twitched into a frown as she reached them. Silently, she extended her hand and placed it onto Winston’s shoulder. It was an attempt, and she wasn’t entirely familiar with the way magic really worked, at least, not the kind that Winston was pouring from their tongue. Hopefully the connection would help. She stared across at the water, watching as the water continued to vibrate. The mumble became a song about what was taking place, and Zinnia found it hard to focus on the Sandman as he began to stiffen.. She wondered if this was it, if the two were actually going to do it.
Bones feeling like led, Winston had to admit that usually they didn’t like being touched without warning. But when Zinnia did it in that moment, they were shocked by the energy that shot through them. Their back went stiff, their body reinvigorated with new life as an almost unbelievable well of energy was suddenly open to them. They had been previously concerned that they just didn’t have the energy that was required of them, but with whatever the hell was in Zinnia now available to Winston they felt that energy overflowing from them and expelling itself. It flowed into the spell like a river that was flooding past the barriers of a dam and Winston could see the Sandman dissolve into the water faster as the water began to solidify. Winston wasn’t sure if this was doing what it was meant to be doing. But what they were sure of in that moment was that without Zinnia this would’ve all certainly failed.
They were all together now and Zinnia’s presence seemed to be giving them the last bit of energy they needed to complete this ritual. They were so close and Jasmine pushed herself to keep saying the incantations strongly despite how weak her body felt. This was the last leg and they’d come too far to fail now. The energy was swirling through the air around them and she saw the Sandman disintegrate into the lake. There was the familiar feeling of relief, but they weren’t quite done yet. One more verse was all it’d take. She repeated the words that felt like sand on her tongue and watched as the lake seemed to glass over somehow. The final words left her lips and she found herself wanting to sink into the ground, but they needed to make sure this worked. “I think we did it,” she said with the edge of exhaustion prevalent in her tone. Her running shoes became covered in mud as she approached what was the lake. It didn’t look like water anymore, but rather glass. That wasn’t supposed to happen. She frowned, but it seemed both spirits were trapped beneath the surface. “It looks like they’re trapped, but the lake isn’t doing so hot.”
Zinnia’s skin felt alive, buzzing with electricity. The longer she stood there, her hand on Winston’s shoulder, the more she felt like she’d dissolve into the earth below her. She tried to focus, tried not to think about other things. If she kept her mind clear, maybe that would help. She had run into spellcasters, into witches, they all operated differently. If she hadn’t owed a favor, she rarely helped them, her own skin too important to protect at the risk of divulging what she was. The Sandman and Bloody Mary, however, they needed to be taken care of. If this were the way to do it, then Zinnia would comply. She had done her fair share of taking out those who needed to be dealt with, but Bloody Mary did not take kindly to reason, no matter the extent of how innocent the deceased had been. Zinnia blinked a few times, watching as the lake was shiny and reflecting. Jasmine’s words cut through her daze and she glanced over to her, removing her hand from Winston’s shoulder. Zinnia followed Jasmine slowly, her gaze fixated on the lake. “Is that not what you meant to do? What was supposed to happen?” She asked, unsure.
Swallowing, Winston sank to their knees by the edge of the lake and tapped it. A dull, hollow noise rang out as the glass echoed with the rapping of their fists. “Well, I mean, I’m sure that we trapped Bloody Mary and … and the Sandman,” Winston was out of breath and somewhat flustered, this whole thing had been draining and it felt like there were weights tied to their ankles, “but … I ... “ their brain was moving at a million and three miles per hour as they tried to work out how exactly this had gone so wrong. “I don’t know why it’s turned into glass, the amount of energy we transferred would be more then enough then to turn this into glass but the truth is that there’s nothing in the magic that we did that would lead to this and I’m not really sure that it makes any sense for it to have transmutated into glass. Like … obviously I’m not an expert on alchemy but this is beyond the scope of the magic that we just used.” Winston swallowed and frowned. “I just… I don’t get it.”
It seemed to Jasmine that all of them were equally as perplexed by the lake turning to glass. As far as the ritual went, Winston was right, nothing they’d written out seemed to add to this outcome. At the very least, Bloody Mary and Sandman would be gone forever now. That was what really mattered though this could certainly turn into an ecological disaster. There’d have to be some sort of fix that they’d work out later. As it was, Jasmine’s legs felt like jelly and she had the familiar sensations of fatigue that usually came post exorcisms. She let out a resigned sigh and took a few steps closer to the lake. She clicked her heel against the shore only to hear a slight clunk as it clicked against the glass. “Well,” she started with hands on her hips, “There’s not much we can do about the lake now. At least, Bloody Mary and Sandman are gone. Fixing the lake will be our next project I guess.”
The exhaustion began to bloom in the set of Zinnia’s shoulders. She hadn’t realized how much energy she would need to give Winston in order to make their spell work, but she had more than enough to supply. She reached up to rub the back of her neck as she looked onward towards the lake, searching for any sign of movement, any sign that Jasmine’s and Winston’s enchantments hadn’t worked. “Whatever you did, it worked.” She looked behind her to look at Winston. She forced a smile, doing her best to make it look lively. “For now, this is what needed to happen to ensure everyone's safety.” Her own safety, too, was a major catalyst for her involvement in the banishment to begin with-- she was a target, of course. “I don’t believe I’ll be of much assistance with the lake.” Zinnia smoothed her hand against the back of her neck. “I’m glad, however, we were able to work together to get rid of these beings.” She looked between Jasmine and Winston, making a note of them-- they were more powerful than she had considered.
Winston curiously wrapped their knuckles against the reflective surface of the lake, the glass echoed as their fists bounced against the surface of it. “You were kind of amazing,” Winston admitted looking at both of them, “I know that this was a team effort and I definitely couldn’t have done any of this without you guys.” Winston had known Jasmine for years but Zinnia was completely new to them on this. “Thank you for helping me with the energy and thank you for helping me with the spell.” Winston leaned back and sat on the edge of the lake, taking a long deep breath and sighing gently. “We really did it, we really … we really just destroyed Bloody Mary and the Sandman. Before this month I didn’t even know that they existed but somehow we’ve managed to destroy two of the most iconic folklore myth things … ever. Fuck.”
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Supergirl and What it Means to be Marketed To
i think what bothers me the most about supergirl ending isn’t necessarily that it is, itself, ending. that’s a weird sentence, sure, but i’m not entirely attached to the show as other people in the fandom are. i might be 150 thousand words deep into a crossover with the show and being told “hey it’s not going to get another season after the next” was a pretty significant blow to my motivation (which i think i’ll get over) but overall i always found the show... mediocre? okay? perfectly adequate for what it was (with a few choice exceptions)?
supergirl was never bad, but to a point the day-to-day episodic nature of it didn’t really catch me like it might’ve others. maybe i’m just full of myself but i felt like i could figure out what the moral quandry of each episode generally turned out to be, so long as it was one of those episodes in which a specific moral judgement was to be made. medusa focuses on how fucked up the luthor family is, and it wasn’t hard to predict that kara’s own family might be brought up as a contrast. episodes generally had a formula and that’s, fine? okay? sometimes it grated that i could understand what the plot was about fifteen minutes into an episode, but it was, like, fine.
no, supergirl no longer having episodes isn’t what bothers me. the cast has their own reasons to call the curtains; melissa wants to raise her kid, which is a decision i think was made with a lot of thought and care, covid-19 has rendered shooting kinda risky in general, etc.
it’s none of that, it’s the fact that supergirl felt like a show for me.
it’s hard to explain, i guess? but like, i go into comic book-related shows (and to an extent sci-fi in general) expecting myself, a trans woman, not to be even remotely the target audience. at all. like maybe they might make token efforts to be inclusive? but i realize from the very beginning that i’m not the people they really wrote the show for.
supergirl was different.
supergirl is probably the first and only comic book-focused series that i felt was made for me. it felt like a comic book show for women, and did its best to include different types of women from different walks of life. i might be leery about its weird fascination with rich women and stuff but... it felt like it was written for me.
which is a very alien experience as a trans woman. literally sweet fuck all is ever written for me. even shows which ostensibly include trans women generally include them for shock value, to be sexualized, or generally exploit their presence as not something that is normal, but something that is other, just to varying degrees of bigotry.
comic books especially are bad about this. they’re bad about marketing towards women in general (despite, you know, women being showed to buy comic books if they’re written by someone who has met a woman before) and as a result the setting of a comic book serial has always been vaguely out of reach for me. i could never fully get into them because, even before i figured out i was trans, it all felt very... male-focused. female characters were rarely the viewpoint of the story or the focus, and when they were it was a genuine dice-roll if you would get a realistic depiction out of it.
not only that, but female side characters always ran the risk of being bizarrely sexualized or twisted into knots over male characters, usually the main.
point is, supergirl didn’t feel like that. supergirl felt like a show written by someone who was marketing it towards a female audience and not in the misogynistic way sitcoms and shit market towards women with shallow approximations of abusive relationships played off as ‘quirky’ or ‘broody’.
even throughout all of its incredibly... interesting choices it still never felt like the show had suddenly become a show for guys. it was always grounded in feeling like it was written for women, regardless of its ups or downs, and that was very, very nice.
and now it’s going to be gone. i’m not... really attached to supergirl as a construct, as mentioned before, it’s more that i’ve attached myself to the idea of supergirl. the idea of a mid-budget superhero show marketed for women and not being weirdly exclusive about it. not just that, but it wasn’t a show featuring teenagers--it wasn’t about young girls, or coming-of-age, it was about women who lived and existed in a world and who occasionally had to fight aliens. it was nice, it wasn’t perfect, sometimes i put the speed on 2x to skip through some of it, but... it was there. it was an option. i could, after slogging through another release of a comic i had high hopes for but had long since abandoned them, gone to it and went ‘yeah, sure, things might suck on that end, but at least i have this’.
which i don’t anymore. i get that batwoman and legends will still be around, i do, but... neither of them felt, like, as resonant with me as supergirl did. neither of them focused on marginalized groups of people like supergirl did (with it’s aliens -> immigrant allegory) and frankly none of them had a trans character.
as much as i might not be 100% in the brainia camp, i can at least appreciate that the one trans character wasn’t left out of the romantic weirdness of cw shows, the constant rotating door of interpersonal drama. it was nice to see a trans woman on screen and not feel like a shoe is going to drop and i’m going to have to endure The Transphobia Episode, where the main character - not the trans one - comes in and stops the bad things from happening so as to be elevated into being more morally good than anyone else.
i never had to worry about nia nal being written... well weirdly. you know what i mean, right? when a show gets an lgbt character or a poc and there’s just something very subtly wrong about how they’re written vs your experiences? i get that experiences aren’t universal and vary wildly depending on where you live (me being in canada has separated me from the severity of transphobia in places like the us and uk) but even then you can just kinda tell that whoever wrote the character doesn’t... really understand them, either.
i never had to worry about alex being turned into a predator, and however much i might fucking hate them reusing the old weird fixation with lesbians hating the idea of kids, it... still wasn’t that horrifying. people split up for reasons surrounding kids all the time, i did. i have experiences that mirror that, though we split up more amicably than others.
the point is, supergirl always felt very safe. it always felt marketed at me, it always felt like it was meant for me to watch, and that wasn’t something i’d ever experienced as someone who deeply loves comic books. it has always been out of the range of my expectations to find something that resonates with me despite its plot, despite everything.
and now it’s going to go away.
and i’m upset about that, i guess.
because i’m not... entirely sure there’ll be another. i desperately want there to be, but you have to understand my expectations are absolutely rock bottom. supergirl is not the change in a stale river to me, it’s not the turning tide, it’s the outlier. it came from cw for gods’ sake, noted bury-your-gays enthusiasts. i went into it expecting exactly the same thing i expect out of every superhero franchise, marvel, dc or otherwise.
and it completely blew my expectations away. it made me feel like it was for me in a way not even some of the better written-by-women comics have, despite everything, which is why i stuck around even through the weird shit around lena/kara, even through all the posturing and alex/maggie’s breakup and mon-el and season 5 as a concept and, and, and...
now it’s going to be going away, and i’m not entirely sure how to handle that.
i know i can rewatch it, i know it’ll always be there, even if netflix takes it off. i know.
but it means someone won’t be writing a woman-focused superhero show anymore, and i’ll really miss that.
#supergirl#supercorp#supergirl season 6#supergirl spoilers#kara danvers#lena luthor#alex danvers#nia nal#rambles#dc legends of tomorrow#arrowverse#the cw#batwoman#dc
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Shattered Chains of Fate Ch. 18
Water Fights and Yet More Strays
Ichigo eyed the water speculatively.
“I don’t like this,” he said loudly. Achilles, who was the one who had put him up to this in the first place, grinned like the asshole he was.
“Just try it. You never know, you might have an affinity for water magics.”
“I don’t think I have an affinity for any magics, but whatever,” Ichigo grumbled.
“Who knows, maybe you have an affinity for Imaginary Numbers,” Cu suggested. Ichigo made a face.
“I still don’t understand how a number can even be imaginary. It doesn’t make sense in math and it doesn’t make sense in mystic crap. How can anything squared be equal to negative one?!”
“And to think you once missed school,” Medusa teased.
Ichigo flipped her off without looking. They were gathered in the kitchen of his house, with Achilles sitting backwards in a chair while Medusa sat on the island and Cu leaned against the fridge. Ichigo stood above a sink filled with water, with a carefully drawn rune glowing faintly on the back of his left hand.
“Aren’t runes more germanic than greek? I don’t think-”
“Fucking do it already,” Achilles finally shoved his shoulder. Achilles’ orange scarf was draped across Ichigo’s shoulders again. It felt right to have it. He’d had it for the entirety of his last three singularities.
“How do you even know how to do this?” Ichigo grumbled, but dipped his hand in the water all the same. “I thought you were a fighter, not a mage.”
“My mother is a sea goddess,” Achilles reminds him. “Now go!”
Ichigo scowls fiercely but obediently pumps mana through the marking on the back of his hand.The water starts to glow around his hand softly, pale blue and growing brighter and brighter the more he pushed into it until it was borderline silver.
Slowly, Ichigo pulled his hand up, and brought a square of water with him. It shuddered and rippled before it starts sweating down the edges and the whole thing collapsed. It slammed into the basin. Ichigo jumped back with a startled shout.
Achilles howled with laughter while Ichigo glared at him, the whole front of his shirt soaked. Ichigo shoved his hand back into the water, shoved as much mana into it as he could and yanked his hand out and towards the Rider. The square exploded a second out of the water and pelted his servant mercilessly, sending the great hero shrieking and diving for cover.
Ichigo tried to keep a straight face, but when Achilles poked his head up from where he’d dived behind the island, his hair plastered to his skull and dripping water down his sharp cheeks, he cracked.
Ichigo grinned at him. “I don’t think I have an affinity, but you were right. It was fun.”
“I regret answering your summons,” Achilles lied. He stood slowly and grabbed a dish towel to try and dry his hair with.
“No, you don’t,” Ichigo said flatly.
“No, I don’t,” he agreed a second later. Achilles didn’t hold many grudges. At least not against Ichigo.
“You’re both clowns,” Medusa told them, shaking her head at them.
Ichigo subtly exchanged a loot with Achilles, who started to grin and turned away to hide it.
Ichigo turned around to the sink and started the water again. He made sure it was nice and cold before he picked up the spray hose and turned around.
Achilles shoved Medusa off her perch towards Ichigo just in time for him to pull the trigger and spray her straight on. Medusa screamed and threw her hands up to protect her face while her hair whipped out violently in hissing serpents.
Ichigo dove for Achilles, who grabbed him around the middle and shot out of the room with snakes hot on their heels. Ichigo gripped his shoulders tightly while Achilles spirited him away at high speeds into the other room.
They hid out behind the couch, waiting.
Medusa was a creature of vengeance. She would never stand for their sneak attack without retaliation.
Ichigo leaned against Achilles, his shoulders shaking with muffled laughter. “That was awful. She’s going to kill us.”
“It was totally worth it. Did you see her face?”
“I did. She looked like she was going to kill us.”
“Don’t worry master,” he patted his head. “I won’t let you die.”
Ichigo puffed at him. “I wonder what’s taking her so long.”
“You know, I have the strangest feeling I’m not gonna like the answer to that,” Achilles mused. He peeked over the back of the couch and paled. “Oh. I was right.”
Ichigo followed his example. Somehow, Medusa had enlisted Cu into helping her, and now each serpent in her hair was holding a ball of water with one of his runes in their mouths, like some horrifying gorgon water balloon launcher.
“Oh. Oh we’re dead.”
“Uh huh.”
The two looked at each other and booked it for the door. Ichigo shoved Achilles behind him, shouting, “Human shield!” and busted out into the sunlight just in time to get beaned in the back of the head with an absolutely freezing ball of water that sent him skidding face first across the grassy lawn.
Ichigo spat grass out of his mouth and got up on his knees, water dripping down his orange hair. He shook himself out and sat back on his heels. Behind him he could hear the sounds of an war starting in his house.
Cu came wandering out a few minutes later, looking no worse for wear.
“I can’t believe you’re not getting involved in that,” Ichigo told him. Cu was usually always up for a good fight. The Caster shrugged.
“It seemed like more fun to come see you. I’m going fishing this afternoon.”
“That was a great non sequitur,” Ichigo said idly. Cu gave him a hand up and Ichigo brushed dirt off his shirt. He was a mess, wet and dirty and covered in grass stains. Yuzu was gonna have a fit.
“I’d like to come with, but I’m taking the girls over to Uryu’s this afternoon to start their training. He might not be able to use quincy powers anymore, but he can still see spirits, so he’ll be able to tell us if we’re doing something wrong.”
“Good luck,” Cu patted his shoulder. “You should get out of here before Medusa is done with Rider.”
Ichigo winced and agreed. Yeah, he really, really should.
“I’ll see you later,” he promised, and ran off before Medusa could come after him.
*
Ichigo didn’t like this.
In fact he hated this.
He wasn’t gonna kill a kid! But, this kid hadn’t just put people to sleep. This kid had actually killed people. A lot of people. Like the entirety of Scotland Yard. It was just… she seemed sad. Desperate and desolate. How could he tell Mash to kill her? How could he push his Mana into Mordred and support her swinging her sword at a little kid?
Ichigo wasn’t even mad at the girl.
He was mad at ‘P’.
The idea that he would sent a child to kill people on his behalf made Ichigo’s blood boil.
Which might have been why he did one of the dumbest things he’d done this year.
He launched himself past the the little Assassin and threw a vicious punch at the Caster.
It was a testament to Ichigo’s training, and a bigger testament to the Caster’s physical weakness, that his hit landed so hard it sent him stumbling back with a red cheek.
“Master!” Mash screamed from behind him.
“What’s wrong with you?!” Ichigo roared at him. “You’re over here bitching about the incineration of humanity, as if you’re not complacent in it? Aren’t you the one that ordered Jack to kill all those people? Haven’t you been here the whole time and you’re not doing anything about it?!”
P touched his cheek, his eyes wide and fixed on Ichigo.
“There’s nothing helping it. The incineration is inevitable, whether we do it or someone else does-”
“Shut the fuck up!” Ichigo snapped, lunging for him. A strong, armored arm wrapped around his middle and forcibly held him back. “You can’t say shit like that when you’re not even willing to step up and stop it! Aren’t you a heroic spirit? Doesn’t humanity mean anything to you? People are hurt, people are dying and losing loved ones and you’re responsible for part of it!”
Mordred grunted and dragged Ichigo back, kicking and screaming at P.
“How many people have died? How many kids have no parents? How many parents mourn their children because you won’t say enough?!”
“Master, please calm down!” Mash planted her shield in front of Ichigo so he couldn’t get past and attack him again, no matter how much he wanted to.
Jack, meanwhile, had stopped her attack to peer at Ichigo curiously.
He ignored her and favor of shouting at P further, until he finally teleported away like a coward.
They were left alone with Jack the Ripper, who hadn’t moved since Ichigo started yelling.
“You’re a very weird man,” Jack said. Her grip on her knife’s was loose.
Ichigo forced himself to calm in the face of the child. “I’ve been told worse.”
Jack approached, slowly, the fog growing thicker and thicker. This was different from the demonic fog. It tasted like despair. This was the same thick mist that had come to encompass them the last time they’d been pit against Jack. Ichigo shifted closer to Mash, touching her shoulder.
This wasn’t good. He couldn’t see Jack, or even Mordred anymore. He could barely see Mash and she was right next to him.
“Mash,” Ichigo said quietly. “This isn’t great.”
“I know. Just have faith, Master. No harm will come to you.”
Ichigo sighed. “I believe in you,” he promised. He touched her shoulder and pumped mana into her body.
Ichigo stayed as close by her as he could, but it was hard to see and it was hard to stick close when Mash had to move to swing her massive shield. There was a thin line between staying close and getting in the way, and Ichigo ended up stumbling back one step too far.
The mist closed in and he was alone.
He could hear the two girls he’s come with. Mash’s shouting, and Mordred's clinking armor, but he couldn’t see either one.
He could see the little girl that stepped out of the mist. Her hood was down. Her eyes were two different colors. Her face was covered in stitched tight scars and her hair was short and choppy. Jack. Everytime he lost sight of her, he forgot what she looked like.
Ichigo stared at her warily.
“Why were you so angry? About children without their parents?” she asked, her head tilted. “We don’t understand.”
“Because- Because kids shouldn’t have to lose their parents,” Ichigo said. What was going on? Why was she even interrogating him instead of attacking?
“Look,” he went on, “That P guy said you were looking for your mom, right? Maybe we can help you find her. And even if we can’t, we’re at least nicer people than that guy. Will you know. Morals.”
“We don’t care about morals,” Jack said quietly. “We just want to go back to where it’s warm. With our mommy. But she’s not here…”
“Hey,” Ichigo’s voice gentled. He slowly unbuttoned his jacket. This was probably the stupidest thing he could do but… “Come here,” he motioned to her.
The assassin walked closer to him, her mis-matched eyes looking up at him.
Ichigo carefully took her shoulders and pulled her against his chest. He closed his jacket around her shoulders.
“It’s not a mothers embrace, but it's warmer than the fog at least. Right?”
Maybe he was too soft for war. Maybe he was too gentle to be a proper magus. Maybe all those people frozen on ice in Chaldeas would have done better than he.
In the end it didn’t matter. Here, now, he wouldn’t fight this child. Not when her knifes tucked away and her fingers dug into his shirt. Not when she clung to little heat he could offer her.
The mist departed. The sorrow that swelled around them ebbed. Ichigo stood, for the second time in just as many days, with a little girl who had once tried to kill him in his arms.
He looked up in time to see Mordred and Mash look utterly exasperated. A man with dusty blond hair stared out at them from a window across the street. Ichigo blinked and he was gone.
* *
When Ryuken answered the door he didn’t look particularly happy to see Ichigo. Of course, he never looked particularly happy about anything at all.
Not that stopped Yuzu from bouncing cheerfully up to him.
She took his hand and dragged the poor man inside, already asking him questions about himself and his home.
Ichigo and Karin trailed after them, exchanging a glace. No one could resist Yuzu when she turned up the charm. Ryuken wouldn’t be any exception to the rule.
“I want to make it clear,” he said as he led them into the backyard, “That I don’t approve of what you children are doing. You would be better off if you focused on the living. Not the dead.”
“We’re doing this so we don’t die young,” Karin said bluntly.
Yuzu added, much softer, “And to be closer to Mom.”
Ichigo softened. Yeah. To be closer to mom. That was what this all circled back to in the end, wasn’t it? Ichigo had been nine when their mom had died. The girls were only five. Ichigo had four more years with her than either of the girls did.
For so long it had felt like he had robbed them of their time with her. He had stolen the sun out of their family when she died because of him.
Now, he knows a little better.
Grand Fisher had killed her. It wasn’t Ichigo’s fault. If Masaki, a fully trained Quincy, couldn’t take down the hollow then Ichigo, who couldn’t even form a bow, had no chance. He’d gotten his revenge. He’d killed the Grand Fisher when it showed up and came after his sisters.
Ichigo followed Ryuken and the girls into the backyard, where Uryu was waiting with a thin wooden box.
“I still don’t approved of this,” Ryuken said to all of them.
“We’re not asking for your approval. Or your permission.”
Sparks threatened the fly between the pair of them. Ichigo didn’t know the full story, but he knew there was a lot of tension between father and son.
Somehow there was less between the two of them now than there was between Ichigo and his own these days. Ichigo still wasn’t speaking to Isshin when he could help it, and Isshin hadn’t tried to start any new conversation with Ichigo either. It made the house tense and quiet for the first time in Ichigo’s life.
Ichigo walked up behind the girls while Ryuken left them alone with his son.
“Thanks for doing this, Uryu,” Ichigo offered him a smile. Uryu, who was much less surly than when they’d first met, merely huffed at him.
“Don’t thank me yet. This training isn’t easy, and you’re so old it’ll probably just be harder,” he warned. All three Kurosaki siblings just looked at him expectantly. Uryu sighed. He should know by now, once a Kurosaki has an idea in their head, there’s not changing it.
He turned to the wooden box and opened it up. He turned around and showed it to them. Inside were small pendants attached to short silver chains, like the one Uryu wore on his wrist at all times.
“These are Quincy crosses,” Uryu said. “They’re a tool for focusing spirit energy Quincy use them to help form bows. Each of you take one,” he instructed.
Both of the girls picked one with five points. Ichigo’s had eight.
“...My father probably won’t admit it, but he was the one who provided these for us. He said they belonged to your ancestors, and so they should return to you in turn. Or something like that.”
“I knew your dad liked me,” Ichigo grinned at him. Uryu rolled his eyes, but he was struggling to hide a smile.
“Uh huh. Okay girls, come over here and we’ll start practicing forming your bows. You’re going to draw the reishi from the area around you into your body and convert it into a bow in your hands.”
Yuzu raised her hand.
“Yes?”
“What’s reishi?”
Uryu shot Ichigo a glare. “Didn’t you tell them anything?”
“I’m not much of a teacher,” he shrugged casually. Uryu flipped him off when the girls were looking and started explaining things to them.
Ichigo watched, turning the quincy cross over in his fingers. Tensa had said that his quincy powers weren’t made for combat as much as his shinigami powers were. Yet Tensa himself took the shape of a sword.
There was something strange with Ichigo’s quincy powers. He knew that much. So for now he left that to the girls.
* * *
“At this rate,” Jekyll says with no small degree of fondness, “Even I will run out of space to house everyone.”
“Sorry,” Ichigo says, even though he isn’t. “At least it looks like the authors are going to be cooped up in the same room?”
“If we’re lucky,” Mordred pipes up from halfway up the stairs. Fran, a step ahead of her, nods in quick agreement.
“You have the most horrible habit of befriending people who try to kill you, did you know?” Jekyll asks redundantly. Ichigo rubs the back of his neck and looks away.
“It’s not my fault!”
“Of course,” Jekyll says sagely, “You’re accidentally charismatic.”
“Yes! Exactly! Only I’m not that charismatic. I just… I dunno. I treat people like they’re people.”
Jekyll’s eyes softened. “Sometimes that’s more than enough to make friend.”
“I know,” Ichigo does. “That’s just sad.”
“But it is effective.”
“I guess,” Ichigo shrugs. “It worked on Jack, Alice…Hyde.”
Jekyll’s shoulders tense at the mention of his darker side. Ichigo nudges him lightly.
“Don’t look like that. He’s a degenerate and an asshole, but he hasn’t hurt me any.”
“ Yet ,” Jekyll says quickly. “You have to be careful with him, Ichigo. He’s not a safe person to be around.”
“A lot of people I hang around aren’t. Heroes and villains seem to flock to me.”
“Hyde is different. He has no morals to speak of. He’s violent and atrocious, and he’d as soon kill you as look at you.”
“Yeah. But he’s also protected me at least once,” even if he did hold a knife to Ichigo right after… “Don’t worry about it, Jekyll.”
“Easy for you to say,” Jekyll lamented. “You take so few things seriously, Ichigo, I don’t understand. The world is literally on your shoulders, but when it comes time to fight you’re as relaxed as Mordred is!”
“I dunno. Experience does that to you, I guess. If I worked in a lab and I tended to light things on fire I’d probably stop freaking out every time I saw a fire, too. It’s like that. Just a little more dangerous.”
Yeah, just a little.
Jekyll looks incredulously at him, but he gives up fighting Ichigo, who is apparently insane.
* * * *
It takes him all of five second to realize that Shinji is shanghai-ing him right in the middle of the day.
It started innocent enough. ‘Let’s eat lunch together’. Fine, they’ve had lunch together before. And Shinji still hasn’t stopped coming to his school for one reason or another. He can’t tell you why it’s just a fact. Even though their business should be concluded, Shinji still looks at Ichigo like he’s a crying statue sometimes, when he isn’t pretending to be a bizarre but friendly young man.
So Ichigo agrees. Only Shinji decides that they’re going to get lunch off campus, and drags Ichigo away by his arms, willingly or unwillingly.
When his three servants fall into step around them Shinji looks only mildly miffed.
“Can’t a man get some privacy around here?” Shinji asks irritably.
“Not until we know your intentions for our ma-” a vicious glare from Ichigo has Achilles changing words last second, “-an. Our man.”
“Your man?” Shinji looks over the three. Even though Cu and Achilles are rather laid back in general they don’t laugh or dispute the claim. It’s the truth. Ichigo is theirs, whether he likes it or not. They all know this.
“Did I stutter?”
“...Ya really know how to pick ‘em, huh Ichigo?”
“I have impeccable taste,” Ichigo says firmly. He doesn’t shake Shinji off, or order his servants to attack and free him. Not that he’d need to. Shinji can probably beat him in a serious fight, but that’s not what this is.
This is just a mild kidnapping, thats all.
They make their way down to the docs, where Ichigo is escorted into a warehouse.
It smells like food, cologne, and cleaning supplies.
It’s set up like a house, almost. Ichigo catches sight of a comfortably sitting area, an elevated kitchenette up on a ledge. There are people here. Powerful people, and Ichigo will put money on them being Vizard.
Ichigo ducks when a sandals foot launches itself at Shinji’s face.
“Why did you bring so many people here? Idiot?!”
Ichigo watches Shinji go flying. A young girl, or maybe an old one, lands next to him. She looks wild, nearly feral. Ichigo winces minutely in sympathy before deciding that no. Shinji deserves a sandal to his face.
Ichigo snickers at his misfortune before the girl turns her sights on Ichigo.
“You!” she shouts, pointing at him. “You’re the one that thinks he has a handle on his hollow?”
Thinks? Ichigo is getting really sick of this. He can feel his eye brow starting to twitch in irritation. What’s with these people thinking that he doesn’t know his own mind? Why are they all so sure they’re right?
If it wasn’t such a bad habit to get into, Ichigo would just start stabbing people who started this shit.
“Are we still doing this?” he asks irritably. “Because I’m done with this shit. I’m seriously done. I’m not gonna spend my whole life proving my sanity to you people. I’ve got better things to do. Like going to school. Where we both should be, Hirako,” he shoots a pointed glare at Shinji.
Shinji sat up, nursing his bloody nose.
“Hey, hey, it’s not like I actually need to go to human school.”
“Then you’re just there to hang out with teenagers? That’s so creepy. What kind of pervert are you?” Ichigo asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
“What is this, bully Shinji day?” Shinji complained loudly. Ichigo ignored him entirely because all of a sudden the girl was throwing herself at him, a sword drawn.
And Ichigo, stuck in his human body, prepared to counter without a single weapon.
He needn’t have bothered. As soon as she was in the air chains snaked out of nowhere and she was slammed bodily into the ground hard enough to crack the cement.
“Now that was just rude,” Medusa said, prowling forwards slowly. Her eyes glinted dangerously.
Cu and Achilles appeared on either side of Ichigo, a staff and spear in hand respectively.
“What the hell-”
“Sneak attacks are unbefitting, especially towards someone as straight forwards as Ichigo Kurosaki is,” Medusa went on, her heels glittering. Ichigo was aware of other people dropped down around them, swords equally in hand.
Ichigo lifted his hand and touched Medusa’s shoulder.
“Easy. That was hardly a sneak attack. Besides, this is a fight for me. Not for you. If she’s so desperate to see what I can do, how can I refuse?”
Ichigo can see the predatory smile creeping over his face in the reflection of one of the men’s sunglasses.
* * * * *
Dull teal eyes look into the depth of the void. A hulking figure stands beside him, and another man stands at the side of the split between worlds.
“Don’t forget,” he says in a voice like velvet. “No matter what happens, you must not kill the boy. Maim him if you please, fight to your own content, but if he dies so too will you.”
“Understood,” says the shorter of the pair. The massive man merely grunts.
“As long as I can get something to eat while we’re there. There’s gotta be a few strong souls there, right?”
“Be quiet,” his companion scolds him. “We will do as we are told.” He bows shortly, and the pair step into the darkness, out of the chalk white city.
* * * * * *
#Ichigo Kurosaki#bleach fanfiction#BAMF!Ichigo Kurosaki#Ichigo Kurosaki is Ritsuka Fujimaru#bleach/fate grand order#Kon bleach#medusa fate grand order#cu chulainn#Achilles#Achilles Fate#hirako shinji#hiyori sarugaki#jack the ripper#jeckyll and hyde
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Fanservant: Hestia
Class: Ruler
AAABQ Deck
The Goddess of the hearth has manifested in response to the pruning of the timeline. Although not a goddess that intervenes much in the affairs of mortals, she has heard of a tragedy that has befallen her family in another world and as the eldest it is her duty to look after her siblings. She is summoned as a demi-servant of one of her priest, using Chaldea itself as a summoning catalyst.
Personality:
Hestia is a friendly older lady, that wants everyone to have a good time. She is uncannily good in making other people open up and is always willing to lend an ear with some good advice. If someone has trouble or needs someone to talk, she wants to be the first one you think of.
A goddess that favors humans but never directly intervened on their behalf. Behind her easy smile and motherly attitude hides a sense of great responsibility and shame. She regrets the fact that she never tried to help humans directly or even to prevent her siblings from causing as much harm as they have. This is her wish. To act in this new manifestation as someone she wished she was back in the Age of Gods.
The Greek gods are machines that, through their interactions with humanity, become more human themselves. Hestia is the one that was affected the most by this exchange, since she was a widely worshipped deity and one many people prayed to. However, she never talked her siblings out of their cruel behavior, thinking that it was not her place to speak against them. Manifesting in the modern World, Hestia is overjoyed that women no longer have to hold their tongue and seeks to live life as she pleases. She will be sure to say when things bother her, or speak up against all manner of cruel behavior.
Appearance:
Hestia looks like an older woman in a white Greek toga. Her first ascension has her add a cloak. In her third ascension she swaps the white toga for a gold one with intricate designs. She also gains a crown
Stats
Strength: D- Endurance: A+++
Agility: C Mana: EX
Luck: B NP: EX
Passives
Hearth of Olympia EX
Hestia is the metaphorical hearth of Mount Olympus. Where she is, the concept of “Home” follows. A variation of the Territory Creation skill
Increase own Arts Card effectiveness by 15%
Goddess Essence B
Skills
Peaceful Hearth A++
An Authority that prevents battle and strengthens bonds. A good meal that is shared with your chosen Family and brings you close together. Although this skill isn’t suited for battle, Hestia unintentionally activates this skill by worrying over her teammates
Heal all allies and increase their debuff resistance and buff removal resistance
First Rights B+
Hestia is the oldest of the immortal Gods of Olympus and received first offerings at every sacrifice. So now let your older Sister/Aunt be the first to protect you too
Applies a taunt to Hestia and charges her NP
Flame of Protection EX (Sealed)
Hestia is a peaceful goddess and doesn’t like fighting. That said, she helped her siblings overthrow the Titans and her divine Flames are a Force to be reckoned with. The Flame that Prometheus gave to Humanity is the Flame of the divine Hearth and the Flame that will chase away the Darkness. However, Hestia refuses to use this power offensively and instead uses the effect to protect her family. (A certain Titan might possess this skill too, but Hestia isn’t talking about any potential connection between them)
Grant Invincibility to all Allies for one turn and increase their defense
NP
Polýolvos ÆSTÍA
Home is where the Heart(h) is
Arts – Support EX-Rank
Hestia’s Authority of Family and Home given new Form. Wherever Hestia is, there will be a Home for everyone. Allies will be reminded of their Home and have their fighting spirit strengthened, increasing their attack and defense. A healing effect will also be applied and their debuffs will be cleansed
This Noble Phantasm is not the Authority of a goddess that forces reality to act in her will, but the power of the bonds of Chaldea, given new form through the blessing of a beloved Family Member. Hestia is overjoyed at Chaldea’s existence and will heap blessings upon blessings upon it. A found family is still a family
Dialogue:
Summoning: Hestia, the Goddess of the hearth, home, domesticity, family, and the state. I have manifested to help out. Master, is there a hearth to gather around?
Bond 1: Chaldea is a great place. But it can’t compare to my hearth on Mt Olympus. I’ll show it to you sometime.
Bond 2: Hm? I’m not what you were expecting of a greek goddess? Well, I prefer to be outside the spotlight, so it might be that.
Bond 3: This body is the body of one of my beloved priestess. Have you heard of the Vestal Virgins? This one has offered herself as a temporary body for me.
Bond 4: My siblings have caused so much harm to humans. I love them still, but I do wish I intervened. But that is why I am here now master. As the eldest it is my duty to be an example to my younger siblings.
Bond 5: I see now Master. You are Chaldea’s hearth. You hold it all together. I know that burden and that is why you can always come to me with your problems. I will support you. That is what a family does.
NP Line 1
This is the shining flame that warms Mt Olympus. Come together, let us enjoy our company. For one moment, let us all be peaceful my siblings. This is my greatest Wish
Polýolvos ÆSTÍA
Np Line 2
This is a time to spend among loved ones. Heroes, remember your Heart. Your Home is far, but you carry it in our hearts. The Blessing of the eldest Olympian manifests
Home is where the Heart(h) is
Np line 3
This is a time to spend among loved ones. Here at the edge of the world we join once more. The ideal dream, this second lives greatest treasure
Chaldea Unison
Servant Reactions
Artemis: Artemis? Is that you? What are you doing with that poor human? What if your hunters could see you like that? I know that you love him but that is to much. We are going to talk about your relationship. Seems like you need help with that
Paris: Is that… Apollo?!? Young man, you better have an explanation why you brought this child…. Oh. That is Paris? Hmm… if you ever need someone to talk about that day, my dear, my door is always open
Heracles: Oh my lovely nephew. How are you. You have grown so big. How is Hebe? Oh, you’ve found a friend? My, how lovely. You must tell me everything. Auntie Hestia is going to cook some meat for her big, strong boy
Asterios: Oh you poor, poor boy. There, there. How about I make some big cookies for you?
Medusa: Ah, it’s you. I am sorry for what has happened to you. At my hearth, there’s always place for one more, so if you wish to join me, feel free to do so.
Altera: YOU! MONSTER! WHY… I see. You are a servant of humanity? Hmm… I guess that makes sense. You seem to have trouble on your own. How about we sit together and talk? It doesn’t have to be about anything important. I’d just like to get to know you.
Irisviel: Oh, what a lovely young woman. Still, you seem burdened. Would you like to join me for a nice meal? I’d love to hear about your life my dear.
Da Vinci: You are the caretaker of this facility? We don’t have much in common but I must say, you do an excellent job. I hope you find joy in the family you have found.
Tesla: Oh dear. You managed to replicate my brothers lighting. How incredible. Humans are truly fascinating. Let me talk to my younger brother before you meet him though. He doesn’t take such things easy.
Tiamat: Oh, the great mother. It pains me to see her fallen so far. I thank you Master for freeing her.
???: Oh, I should have known you would show up. If I’d have known about the consequences of your plan, I would never have given you my flame. But now, being here, I am so very glad I did. Look at them. They have come so far
SPOILER
Lostbelt Zeus: How…. You… I… I never expected you to be able to… Your Children! OUR BROTHER!! You finally did it. You broke the family I so desperately wished to protect. For you, I think I will rekindle the sparks that burnt the Titans. I hope it was worth it..
#fate#fanservant#guys i love hestia so much#so i tried to make a fanservant with her#since that seems to be in right now#also fits with atlantis and olympus on the horizon#If anyone got questions I'd love to answer them#fate hestia#i hope you guys like it
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After the Fire ~ Chapter Thirty-Nine
Summary: Following the Battle of the Five Armies, a grievously wounded Thorin is brought back to the kingdom of Erebor, which is still mostly in ruins. Although he’s survived the wounds he received at the end of Azog’s blade, his recovery is far from complete. Grief, regret, anger, all are making his journey that much more difficult and the physical recovery isn’t quite the most difficult challenge he faces.
Jasna Stoneham is no stranger to loss, as she is a survivor of Smaug’s wrath upon Esgaroth. When she is asked to help the dwarves healers of Erebor, her instinct is to say no, but she needs the job, and so agrees to it. However, no one told her that of all the patients, she would be responsible for the king himself, Thorin Oakenshield.
Unfortunately, the road to recovery isn’t necessary a smooth one, but if there’s one thing Thorin will learn, it’s that Jasna is just as stubborn as he is and for every step back he takes, she is there to push him three steps forward. And Jasna will soon find out that there is a gentle, softer side to the dwarf king, one that very few people have ever seen and one he fights to keep hidden from her as well. But like his recovery, that is also easier said than done.
A bit of family drama, and a party…
Pairing: Thorin Oakenshield x ofc Jasna Stoneham
Characters: Jasna, Thorin, Fíli, Dís, Arabella
Warnings: None
Rating: T
Word Count: 3,405
Tag List: @tschrist1 @i-did-not-mean-to @lathalea @linasofia @fizzyxcustard @legolasbadass @kibleedibleedoo @xxbyimm @arrthurpendragon @exhausted-humxn-being @rachel1959 @laurfilijames @sketch-and-write-lover @sherala007 @enchantzz @knittastically @notlostgnome @myselfandfantasy @medusas-hairband @guardianofrivendell @jotink78 @sorisooyaa @ruthoakenshield @dianakc @frosticenow @quiall321
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Previous chapters can be found here.
The soft knock at the door came as Thorin was brushing any remaining lint from the left sleeve of his royal blue robe. It had been some time since he’d last worn it, as it had been what felt like a lifetime since the last dwarven celebration.
“Who goes?” he called, swiping at the sleeve one last time before setting the lint brush back on the low chest.
“It’s Fíli, Uncle. May I?”
“Of course.” Thorin crossed from his bedchamber to the sitting room and tugged open the door. “What is it?”
Fíli limped into his chambers. He moved well, considering just how seriously he’d been injured, and Jasna had told him, as well as warned Fíli, that the limp was most likely permanent. But, she was quick to add, it would not impede him much once he grew used to it. He still walked a bit more slowly than he did in the days before Ravenhill, but he walked and that was all that mattered in the end.
He was also dressed in finery for the evening’s festivities, in black trousers and a dark green robe edged in gold thread, and he smiled as he said, “It’s been some time since we’ve had a party. I don’t think Bofur’s song and your dance in Rivendell count.”
Thorin smiled. “I didn't think anyone had noticed that.”
“We all did. Everyone notices when you do something, Uncle, especially when it is something you would consider frivolous, such as dancing.”
“In my defense,” he countered, “I’d had more than a goblet of wine.”
Fíli chuckled. “Will you dance this evening?”
“With Jasna? Absolutely. With anyone else? Not likely.” Thorin leaned against the sofa arm, folding his arms over his chest. “What brings you down here? Is something the matter?”
“No. No, in fact, everything is going wonderfully well. I’m almost concerned, it’s all going so well.”
“Miss Whitbow plays a large role in that, I suppose.”
A hint of blush stained along Fíli’s high cheekbones. “She does. I… I never understood it before, how you were so willing to walk away from the throne for Miss Stoneham. But now… now it makes more sense to me. And I am so very relieved I will not ascend the throne now. I am in no way ready for that at all.”
Thorin chuckled, shaking his head. “You would have done fine. You’ve a good head on your shoulders, you know. And I felt absolutely comfortable with my decision. Erebor would have been in good hands.”
“No. I am not nearly so levelheaded as you and no one else here would ever see me as filling your boots. You are the king and thank Mahal it will remain that way!” Relief flooded his voice, which made Thorin smile.
“You do understand, if Jasna and I have a son, it will move you down on the ladder.”
“Uncle, you are free to have as many sons as you can manage. I’d rather not have all that responsibility, to be completely honest. This leaves me free to do what I wish to do and not what I must do.”
He said it with such seriousness, that Thorin frowned. “What is it you wish to do?”
“I’ve been thinking about seeing parts of Middle Earth I’ve not had the chance to visit. Kíli talks of venturing back to Mirkwood to find Tauriel, perhaps if he does, I’ll go there and visit. Or perhaps to the Iron Hills. I don’t know. All I know, is there is plenty of world to see and I’ve traveled only a fraction of it.”
“And what does your mother think of this? Or Miss Whitbow?”
“Shael is keen on traveling. As for ’Amad? Let’s simply leave it that she is less than enthusiastic about it. And I think she thinks it’s Shael’s wish pushing me to decide to do it.”
“Is it?”
“No. I traveled so much, from Ered Luin to the Shire, to Rivendell, to Mirkwood, and I saw so little because we were constantly on the go.” Fíli limped over to the chair and sank onto the arm, wincing as he straightened his left leg. “I’d like to actually see it. Bilbo made it clear there is a standing invitation for all of us to visit him in the Shire and it’s so very peaceful there…”
Thorin nodded. Bilbo had departed Erebor a day or two after Jasna left upon learning about Miss Whitbow. Thorin planned to invite him back for the wedding, but he wasn’t entirely certain the hobbit would accept. Erebor was quite a distant from the Shire, after all, and not all of it was through friendly territory. “I’ll wager Miss Whitbow would enjoy that visit as well.”
“And Rivendell is amazing, I should like to go back there and just wander about some. Just enjoy the peace and tranquility.”
“Then you should do that. You should travel and do so far and wide. There is a whole world out there to see.” Thorin sighed softly. “If I were in your position, I’ve no doubt it’s what I would do.”
“But you already have.”
“I have, but not to enjoy. I did it to survive. To provide for your mother and you and your brother and our kin. You, Fíli, have a freedom I will never have and you should take advantage of that. But, there is one thing I would like to know. What are your intentions where Miss Whitbow are concerned?”
Fíli smiled. “I would like to marry her. In time.”
“Do that before you decide to traipse about the world. Just… trust me on that. And I’ll talk to your mother in the meanwhile. I know she worries about you and your brother.”
“She will never not worry about us. Especially now.”
“No,” Thorin shook his head, “she most likely won’t. And neither will I, for you and your brother are as my own sons and you know that. But, the time’s come for you to also both strike out on your own and live your lives. Be it here, in Mirkwood, the Shire—where matters not. You’ve both come too close to losing so much. Now it’s time for you to experience all the things you can.”
Fíli smiled as he bobbed his head. “If you’re on my side, convincing ’Amad might not be that difficult.”
Thorin chuckled. “I wouldn’t count on that at all. But, we’ll work on her. She’ll come around in time. Now, come. I need to go and find Jasna.”
“You—you don’t know where she is?”
“Of course I do. She and her mother were in with your mother. And it was probably an interesting place to be, as I’m fairly certain Jasna’s mother and your mother were at odds about something earlier.”
Fíli rolled his eyes. “Just what we need.”
“Right?”
Jasna rolled her eyes. “Must we argue about this now?”
Mama glared at Dís, who glared right back. For the last half hour, they had been bickering back and forth over a necklace. Well, two necklaces, actually. Not one for either of them, but one for Jasna. One had belonged to Jasna’s grandmother and was very understated, while the other one belonged to Dís and had belonged to Thorin’s mother. The pieces were very different, but very beautiful and Jasna wished they would both just be quiet and ask her which one she’d rather wear.
“This has been in our family for generations,” Mama said, still glared at Dís.
“This was mined by my forebears and has been worn by every Ereborian queen since the first Durin held the throne,” Dís countered.
“Would you both please stop?” Jasna rose from her chair. “I am n-n-n-nervous enough about th-th-this, you know. And you are b-b-b-both tiresome.”
“Do you not see how important this is, Jasna?” Mama looked from Dís to her. “You have come from such a humble background, and now, you will be the Queen Under the Mountain. It would mean so much if you wore my great-grandmother’s necklace.”
Jasna’s stomach twisted. She was in a no-win situation. If she made Mama happy, she would make Dís mad. If she made Dís happy, she would make Mama mad. Although, at the moment, she didn't care if they were both mad.
The knock at the door brought her a bit of respite and when Dís opened it and said, “Thorin? What are you doing here?” Jasna breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’ve come to collect my bride,” Thorin replied and she could hear the smile in his voice, and that made her smile as well. “Is she not here?”
“No, I’m here,” Jasna emerged from Dís’ bedchamber, “and you have wonderful timing.”
He looked from her, to his sister, to his future-mother-in-law, his brow furrowed and his expression wary. “Have I missed something?”
“No.” Jasna closed the space between them and slipped her arm through his, leaning close to whisper, “Get me away from here.”
“What’s going on?”
“Jasna was just about to don a necklace that has been in her family for generations,” Mama said before Dís could speak up.
“No, she was about to wear ’Amad’s diamond and ruby necklace, Thorin. Wait and I will—”
Jasna stared up at him. “We should go. Now.”
“Not without—” Mama began.
Thorin cleared his throat, cutting her off softly with, “If you both wouldn’t mind, I actually have a gift for Jasna that I was hoping she’d wear tonight instead. And if you will both excuse us, I would like to give it to her privately.”
Jasna held her breath as both Dís and her mother’s lips disappeared into thin white lines. But then, both women sighed and Dís nodded. “Of course.”
Jasna gave his arm a squeeze and once they were out in the corridor, she stepped in front of him, let her head come to rest against his broad chest, and breathed, “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Rescuing me. My mother and your sister are relentless.”
He smiled, his eyes dancing with mischief. “I didn't rescue you, mesmel. At least, not intentionally. I really do have something for you and really did wish to give it to you privately.”
He stepped back, his gaze roaming slowly over her. “And you look absolutely beautiful, by the way. This is far cry from the trousers and shirt you always wear in the infirmary.”
She smiled. She’d been worried that her simple emerald green silk gown would be too plain by dwarven standards, but it was the finest dress in her otherwise meager wardrobe. “I own two dresses and this is one of them.”
A slow smile crept over his face. “It suits you.”
“It isn’t too simple?”
“Not at all.” He traced a thick forefinger along the sweetheart neckline, just brushing the tops of her breasts. “I like how this looks. Perhaps your wedding dress might have this neckline as well?”
“Thorin!” She burst out laughing at the hopeful tone in his voice.
“What? I like how it accentuates this part of you.”
She cocked her head as he traced back the opposite way. “You are terrible.”
“I am honest.” He lifted his gaze to meet hers. “And I love you.”
As he said it, his finger slowed and sent shivers rippling thorough her. In that moment, all she wanted to do was push him down onto the nearest flat surface and have her way with him. As if reading her mind, he bent to her, his lips warm and soft as they caught hers in a lingering kiss.
He broke the kiss, sweeping his lips along her jaw, down along her neck, and she shivered as he reached the curve of her shoulder. A chill rippled through her when he lingered there, and she scrunched against him with a laughed, “Thorin!”
“What?”
“You’re giving me the shivers.”
“That’s a good thing, though, isn’t it?”
“Yes and no.”
He straightened up. “Come with me, amrâlimê. I was not joking when I said I had something for you. It’s in my chambers.”
“Thorin, we’re expected above soon…”
“It’s not that.” He slid an arm about her waist and gave her a squeeze. “Although, I do like the way you think and I have every intention of whisking you back to my chambers this evening. And trust me, you will be seeing it when I do.”
“My mother will never agree to let me pass the night here with you, you know. Not while she is beneath the same roof, so to speak.”
He shrugged. “We will get her drunk and it won’t be a problem.”
“Thorin!”
“What?”
“We could do that.”
He winked. “We will do that.”
She slid an arm about his waist. “Have you any idea h-h-how happy I am?”
“Good.” He pressed a kiss into the top of her head. “And Mahal willing, that will not change.”
His growly words brought a smile to her lips as they made their way back to his flat. A fire crackled softly on the heart, warming the sitting area. He closed the door behind them and said, “Wait here, mesmel. If you come into my bedchamber, we are probably not making it to the party.”
“Wasn’t the river enough?”
“Of you?” He paused on the threshold of his bedchamber and shook his head. “There is no such thing, Jasna. We will be old and gray and I will still be chasing you about as I do now.”
A wink accompanied his words, one she felt clear through to the center of her being and she smiled as he vanished into his room. Somehow, she didn't doubt him in the least and she looked forward to those days with every fiber of her being.
He emerged from his bedchamber a few minutes later with a long, narrow teak box in his hand. “Now, unlike my sister or your mother, I’ll not claim this has been in my family for generations, because Balin only finished it earlier this afternoon, whilst you and I were enjoying ourselves by frightening all of the fish in the river. And if you don’t like it, I do hope you will be honest with me and tell me.”
She met his gaze, shaking her head. “I can’t imagine I won’t like it, Thorin,” she said softly.
“Even so, if you don’t, please tell me. I can have anything your heart desires made for you, Jasna. Any jewel you can think of, in any metal you wish. Say it, and it is yours.”
“I don’t need any of that, though. I’ve everything I need right here, with you.”
“Be that as it may…” He set the box on the low chest behind the sofa. The lid opened without a sound and when she peered in, her eyes misted over.
Tucked within the teak, on a bed of dark green velvet, was a necklace unlike any she’d ever seen. Delicate diamonds, interspersed with equally delicate emeralds, strung on wire so thin, they appeared to be floating, sparkled up. “Thorin,” she whispered, her voice cracking as she gazed up at him, “it is absolutely beautiful.”
“There is a necklace in Balin’s workshop off of which this was modeled,” he said, reaching around her to lift the necklace from its bed of velvet. The stones threw off flashes of light in all direction, sparkling as if the sun itself glinted off it. “It is called the White Gems of Lasgalen and was what caused the rift between the dwarves of Erebor and the elves of Mirkwood. Thranduíl covets it, for reasons only my grandfather most likely understood. Because of that necklace, the elves turned their backs on us when Smaug came.”
As he spoke, he moved to stand behind her, laying the necklace about her throat. The cord wasn't wire at all, but what felt like a very delicate silver thread, and while it was heavy at first, it took only a few minutes before she grew accustomed to it.
“The diamonds and emeralds were mined here,” he explained, fastening it at her nape. “But, the chain is from Khazad-dûm. Moria. It’s mithril—silver-steel—and is stronger than any other metal found in Middle Earth, and is far more delicate than the lightest cord. My forebears mined just about all of the mithril from the ground and only a small amount remains. Your wedding ring will be fashioned from it as well, along with any stones you wish to have set in it.”
“Thorin,” she turned toward him, her eyes stinging, her mouth dry from the significance of what he’d just told her, “I need nothing more than a plain gold ring.”
“My wife will have more than a plain gold ring. Erebor’s Queen will have more than a plain gold ring.” He smiled, his eyes soft, his voice low and serious. “And you will allow your husband—the king, remember—to spoil you, as you deserve to be spoiled, Jasna. And you do deserve to be spoiled, mesmel.”
He stepped away from her then and said, “Come and see how it looks.”
She followed him into his bedchamber, where he had a looking glass set above his chest of drawers and as she stared at her reflection, she brought a hand to her throat. “This is so beautiful,” she murmured, tracing her fingertips along the brilliant gemstones. “It’s breathtaking, Thorin. Thank you.”
He slid his arms about her waist and drew her back against him. “Fit for the future queen of Erebor.” He pressed his furred cheek to hers. “Maralmizi, ghivashel.”
“Maralmizu,” she managed to whisper back. “Nalish.”
****
It was a wonderful evening, with lively music and dancing—and she even learned a few dwarven dances compliments of Thorin, who moved with far more grace and agility than she would have thought possible—and even her mother and Dís seemed to no longer be annoyed with one another. Thank Mahal for small favors, and all.
The slow dances were her favorite, though. Nothing could compare to the feeling of being wrapped in Thorin’s thick arms, her head resting against his barrel chest, as they swayed together, oblivious to everyone and everything around them. More than once, she spotted Fíli and Miss Whitbow dancing the same way, and Jasna smiled. She was so happy they found one another. Fíli had his Miss Whitbow, and Thorin told her that Dís had agreed to allow Tauriel of Mirkwood to venture to Erebor for their upcoming wedding, so soon Kíli would have his love with him as well. Jasna looked forward to meeting the Mirkwood contingency. She was curious about the elf who’d won Kíli’s heart.
“What are you thinking about?” Thorin murmured, his lips brushing her ear as they danced oblivious to everyone and everything around them.
“I look forward to meeting Tauriel,” she told him, lifting her head to meet his gaze. “I’m curious about her.”
“She is tall and skinny, with red hair, and will give him a run for his money, I think.”
“Aren’t all elves tall and skinny?”
“Yes. That’s why I cannot understand how she caught his eye.” He clasped his hands at the small of her back and his fingertips brushed lightly along her backside. “I prefer my women smaller and softer, without the sharp angles.”
“So not so skinny?”
“I did not say that.”
“You implied it.”
“I did no such thing.” He tugged her closer. “You, mesmel, are just right. A woman should have curves. She should be soft. She should be beautiful. And you are all three.”
“Nice save, dwarf,” she told him with a hint of a smile.
He bent to her, his lips brushing hers gently at first, but then his kiss deepened. He seemed not to care that they were in the Great Hall, with everyone around them, as his lips parted and his tongue caressed hers. She melted against him, her arms about his waist, her hands flat against his back to pull him more firmly against her.
He broke the kiss slowly, nibbling playfully at her lips as he whispered, “We should sneak out of here, mesmel. I have this incredible need to not share you with anyone.”
She smiled. “Can we do so without being caught?”
“I think so.”
“Then let’s sneak out of here, shall we?”
#Richard Armitage#The Hobbit#Thorin Oakenshield#Hobbit Fic#Hobbit Fanfic#Fan fiction#The Hobbit fan fiction#Thorin x OC#AU#Thorin Fic#Is it hot in here?#Romance#Everybody Lives AU#The Hobbit BOTFA
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Keywords #5
Theme: Intelligence
Rating: PG / T
Word Count: 2,057 words
Bruce had no clue what was going on around him. He heard Diana ask that the goddess of witchcraft send him away and that her request was obliged. The words he wanted to say in protest felt like they evaporated in his mouth as he traveled through space and time to some foreign location.
He landed on his knees, surrounded by a crowd.
“Warriors!” a chorus of angry voices shouted as Bruce tried to recalibrate himself after such a forced teleportation.
There was the distinct shifting of armour amplified by the thousands reverberating around him, like a shockwave that was meant to knock him to his feet. All it managed to do was seize his heart with panic as he lifted his head to stare down his foes.
It shocked him more than he’d care to admit when he came face to face with an army that was made up entirely of women. Donning leather armour with ancient designs and medieval weapons in their hands, the female cavalry that threatened to skewer him with spears and swords and arrows reminded him of the costume that his so-called partner wore…
“Intruder,” roared an authoritative voice from behind the readied warrior. “Identify yourself.”
With all due respect, Bruce kept quiet while her surveyed what little terrain he could make out from the gaps in their forces. He spotted grass that was the color similar to emeralds, and trees that sway in the seabreeze. There was the sound of the ocean somewhere close but he couldn’t make out the direction it was in, meaning he had no obvious means to escape the angry women’s wrath. Carefully, monitoring them to determine whether or not he was allowed to move, he took the chance to see if he was enclosed in a circle by their army or if he was his back against a wall of some kind.
No matter which direction he cast his gaze, there were hundreds of furious glares staring right back at him.
“I won’t ask you again!” Warned the assertive voice from before.
Bruce knew that he should not press his luck any further he wanted to make it out of such a sticky situation alive, so he turned back around and replied with just as firm a tone, “Am I on the private island of the Amazons?”
Meeting their demands with a question urged the arches to pull on their drawstrings and the spear-throwers to tug their arms back. Furious, the supposed commander howled at him, “You were warned. Atta--!”
“Heads up!” Cheered a familiar, cocky, unwanted voice the second before something sharp landed in front of Bruce. The way it embedded itself into the ground was so fierce, he took a step back for fear of being associated with the soaring trident.
“Dammit,” he hissed to himself as many of the warriors turned to face the direction from which the weapon was thrown. Thinking on his feet, Bruce blurted out the only thing he could think to say in order to diffuse the arising tension. “We mean you no harm! We must speak with your queen--”
“Silence, heathen!” Demanded a woman with long brown hair, sitting on horseback and armed with nothing more than her animosity.
Bruce met her hatred with his signature indifference when a gust of wind rushed by him. “Hey Batman,” said the Flash, as chipper as ever. “Glad we got here when we did.”
Bruce had so many things he wanted to say to that, such as an inquiry about how they got to the seemingly secret island, or why he let Arthur announce their arrival like that. However, he lost his chance to when Victor landed next to him and filled in the gaps faster than the speedster. “Your magician friend really saved your ass just now.”
“You really couldn’t have picked a worse time.” Bruce said, vehemently.
Ignoring his derision, Cyborg scanned the group and whispered to him nothing more than a number, “Five thousand.”
The army was larger than he first anticipated. Unwilling to participate in a standstill any longer, Bruce kicked Aquaman’s trident down from its upright position and stood over the holes in the ground that its prongs had made. Then, he made sure that his voice carried its signature boom when combined with the distortion application in his suit as he proclaimed, “We seek an audience with Queen Hippolyta, on behalf of her daughter Diana! There are demons being made in the Underworld that threaten all of mankind, and she is down there fending them off on her own! She needs your help, now!”
The lie he told was small, but it helped to sell the emergency he was presenting to the army and their commander. As Arthur was pushed through the crowd with his hands in the air, his shirtless body offending the women greatly, Batman stood tall at the front of the haphazard Justice League in the hopes that his stoic demeanour would prove to them that his claim was legitimate and worthy of their attention.
It took longer than he would have liked - with images of Diana battling those lava rock-made demons passing through his mind at lightning speed sending him into a spiraling state of concern - but eventually, the commander spoke over the silence and the chirping cicadas to decree, “Bring them to the queen’s palace.She will know if he speaks the truth.”
Not one to bask in the feeling of relief, Bruce released an involuntary sigh when his spontaneous scheming managed to keep him alive. Considering the chaos that his involuntary teleportation caused, any turn of events that didn’t end with him being sliced in two gave him a fighting chance.
And, as a result, Diana too.
__________________________________________
The great hall of the palace was shrouded in gold, almost as if every inch of the room had been bathed in the metal. Filled to the brim with what he assumed to be Amazonian council members, none of the other women had the same presence in Bruce’s eyes as the queen herself. Hippolyta stood in front of her circular throne, appearing domineering and spiteful as she glared at the gathered members of the League.
The gathered men.
“You four are quite brave,” remarked the queen with a false tone of admiration. “Traversing the Underworld, facing off against demons while some of you are nothing more than mere mortals, staring down one of my strongest fleets and commanding them to bring you to me.”
“If it makes you feel any better,” Arthur thought it was wise to chime in at that exact moment. “I’m not mortals like them.”
Hippolyta cracked a smile, Bruce noticed, but it most definitely stemmed from her righteous sense of hatred. “I know, Atlantean. You’re merely the one who threw his weapon at my warriors.”
No one in the room spoke, awaiting Arthur’s reply. Thankfully, the silence drew out over many beats, which was music to Bruce’s ears.
“Tell the queen what you told me, Bat-man.” Ordered the general from the field. Though he’s never told her his heroic moniker, he figured that it wasn’t that difficult to identify him in such a way given his costume.
“My name is Bruce Wayne. Your majesty, I didn’t mean to randomly appear on your island.” Bruce apologized in his own way.
“No? You materialized in the very spot where a raging purple fire spawned in our field.”
Bruce used her words against her, “You said it yourself - you know I’m mortal.”
Hippolyta’s eyes narrowed as she spat, “Then who sent you here?”
“Hecate.”
The mention of the goddess sent the Amazonian council into a frenzy after a collective gasp filled the space. For the first time since he met her, she reminded Bruce of Diana. When she was too distracted by his circumstances to present herself as the matriarch of the island, she had the same emotional pair of eyes as her daughter. Her shock, her cautious joy and her immediate curiosity all fought for dominance over her expression, painting a rather human depiction of the queen of the Amazons.
“What nonsense is this!?” Screamed the general.
“Menalippe!” Scolded the Queen, regaining her composure by the time she finished saying the woman’s name.
Menalippe was taken aback, but she refused to cease her inquiry. “He mentions a goddess from our history and expects us to believe him!? What, were his friends brought here by Poseidon!? Were they flown in on the back of Zeus’ eagle!? Our gods are not for you to speak of so lightly!”
Unaware of the fact that the Amazons thought of their gods as deceased, Victor raised his hand at Bruce’s side. “No, we were brought together by the magician Zatanna. She told us that Bruce needed us, and her portal brought us here.”
“Diana and I visited her—“
“Mentioning my daughter now too?” The wayHippolyta hissed at him made it easy to compare her to what he imagined Medusa would have sounded like.
If she was real.
But she wasn’t.
Bruce hoped, at the very least.
Unafraid by the growing animosity in the great hall, Bruce approached the bottom step of the staircase that led to the infuriated queen. There were whispers that also reminded him of snakes, but he persevered. “We know your daughter. She is a founding member of our team and all we want to do is to keep this world safe. She was with me while I investigated these strange stone-made creatures that were gathering… in the North, and it led us to ask a magician I know—a sorcerer who could help me locate the place where these monsters come from.”
He expected someone to interrupt him, to insult him or question his legitimacy. When no one made a sound within a millisecond after he said his last word, he decided to keep going.
“She sent us to the Underworld, and we met a woman in a cell. She said her name was Hecate. She had no idea just how long she had been trapped down there, but Diana realized that it had to be for thousands of years based on a story you told her about a battle between your gods.”
“And somehow, only you escaped?” Scoffed the general, all while the queen tried to hide her sparkling eyes by closing them tightly.
Bruce could tell that he was breaking through to Hippolyta. Her heart was drawn to his story and desperately wishing it were true. He couldn’t guess when she last saw Diana, but—
He knew when she had last seen Hecate.
He climbed a single step, much to the frustration of the Amazonian council. Menalippe even drew a dagger out of its hilt from her back and readied herself to strike. Bruce didn’t care for her threatening behaviour, not when he had a goal. Not when he knew he was so close.
“Your majesty,” he tried to coddle her before he would have to push her back into some of her deepest memories. “You didn’t know that Hecate was alive, and she didn’t know that the war with Ares ever happened. Her last happy memory is when you dressed her for her wedding to Hades. She was honoured to meet your daughter, and now they're fighting alongside each other against Hades’ demons in the Underworld.”
He knew that what he had said was a lot to digest, and it took the queen some time to fully comprehend what he was telling her. With her eyes still shut, Bruce could still make out the pride she felt given the way the corners of her mouth quivered as they fought off the desire to smile. Her expression was so telling, the typically combative Menalippe called to her with an uncharacteristic softness. “My queen?”
Bruce climbed another step and was immediately blocked by the general’s body. She leapt down to the stair right before his and leered at him. Unperturbed, he decided it was time to get to the point.
Bruce knew that the reason why Hecate sent him here was so he could ask the queen of the Amazon one thing. “So, your majesty, I have one request of you: please... take us to the gates of hell. The same one you took Hecate through all those years ago. Let us help your daughter. Let us defeat Hades.”
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The Tower - Chapter 26
The Tower: An Avengers Fanfic
Chapter 26
Series Masterlist
Chapters: one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten / eleven / twelve / thirteen / fourteen / fifteen / sixteen / seventeen / eighteen / nineteen / twenty / twenty-one / twenty-two / twenty-three / twenty-four / twenty-five / twenty-six / twenty-seven / twenty-eight
Word Count: 1943
Warnings: angst, action, violence
Synopsis: Elly and Alexa escape the SHIELD compound. Elly finds out exactly what HYDRA are up to and what they’ve been doing to her missing family members.
Author’s Note: Co-written with @fanficwriter013
Chapter 26 - M.E.D.U.S.A.
Alexa lifted her head as I entered the room. I wasn’t worried about her telepathy. The way she had messed up her DNA had meant that she was able to project thoughts, but not read them. I was terrified though. Terrified my body language would give me away. Terrified she’d spot Scott as he hid on me. My heart was hammering as I went to the cell with the ‘stolen’ passcard and typed in the code. The door clicked and I pushed it open.
She got to her feet and approached me hesitantly. “Are we leaving?”
I nodded. “We don’t have much time. They’re all in the conference room. You need to be quiet because Steve can hear really, really well.”
“Let’s go,” she agreed.
I led her quickly down the halls and outside. The SHIELD headquarters were underground and quite remote. I only really had a vague idea of where to go. The others had been sure Alexa would call for someone to collect us, but just in case I was told to walk North and eventually we’d hit a town.
“I haven’t been outside the building before. I looked at maps before we left, I think there’s a town that way,” I said, pointing North.
“Do you have a phone with you?” Alexa asked.
I nodded and pulled my phone out of my pocket.
“We’ll need to ditch it. But for right now…” She started tapping away on the screen. “We’re walking in the opposite direction of the town,” she said and tossed the phone.
I followed after her as we jogged along. “Where are we going?” I asked.
“You’ll see soon enough. Thank you for letting me go,” she said.
I shook my head. “I can’t… I couldn’t do what they wanted me to,” I said and held out the tablet. “I brought my work. Maybe you can use it to fix the mistakes in your genome.”
She gave me a dark smile. “Maybe you’d like to help me do that.”
“I can try… but I don’t know… I can’t do … If I do…” I stuttered.
Alexa grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to her. “Quiet,” she said.
I perked my ears up and heard the engines of a jet. I could see it off in the distance flying low to the ground. We started walking toward it and as we neared it Alexa waved her arm. The jet looked similar to the Quinn but less sleek. It landed and we boarded quickly through the back. It was in the air again before the rear had even closed properly and we hurriedly buckled into jump seats. When we were at altitude Alexa got up and moved into the cockpit. I could hear her talking but not what she was saying.
I felt Scott crawling around and he rested against the shell of my ear. “You’re doing great”, he whispered. “Hang in there.”
The jet touched down and Alexa came back out of the cockpit followed by the two pilots. “We’re here. Let me show you around your new home.”
She led me through the hanger and into a brightly lit building. This is MEDUSA. We create pharmaceuticals. That pays for our other research,” she said as we beelined straight to an elevator.
“I’ve heard of Medusa. You guys put a 200% markup on that HIV vaccine,” I said.
She smirked at me. “It’s all business.”
When the elevator stopped I was led through into some labs. This will be where you’re working. There are 15 floors dedicated to R&D. The first five are the legitimate business. Up here is where it gets fun. You will get your own lab and a team working under you. However, you will also be monitored. At least for a while. We have to be sure you’re not going to do anything stupid. I felt Scott run down the back of my neck and the next moment he was running along the floor. No one else seemed to notice so I just kept following along after Alexa as she led me through the labs. “For that reason too, you won’t be able to leave. Not until we’re sure.”
I looked over at her. “I’m a prisoner now?”
She laughed like I had said something so blatantly stupid she couldn’t keep it in. “Only until we know for sure you’re with us.”
“But I let you go. I risked everything for you,” I protested.
She patted me on the back. “Then you have nothing to worry about.” She led me back to the elevator. “Now we’re going to scan you to see if you have been bugged at all, and then I can take you to see your ex-lovers.”
She took me to another lab, this one more medical in nature. I had blood taken and I was put in an MRI. I wasn’t worried because the tracker was so small it wouldn’t show up on any kind of scanner. It was a couple of hours later when Alexa came to collect me.
“Let’s go see the soldier first, shall we?” She said.
We took the elevator down into a sub-basement. She led me down a dark narrow hall and I could hear him screaming even before we got to where they were keeping him. He was in a room on the other side of a two-way mirror, strapped into a machine and it looked like they were electroshocking him. It stopped just as I saw him and I ran to the window putting my hands on the glass. “Bucky!” I yelled, completely forgetting everything I was here to do.
Bucky looked up his eyes wild. He spat the mouth guard out and started fighting in his restraints. “Elly?” He shouted. A few guards rushed over and one injected something into his neck while he struggled. He quickly became sluggish and passed out.
“Well, now. That was an interesting response you both had,” Alexa said.
I turned to face her. “Why are you torturing him?”
“He’s our property. We’ve lost the old trigger words, so we’re programming some new ones into him,” Alexa explained. “Why do you care? You left them.”
I balled my hands into fists. The nails biting into my skin. “He’s still a person. He never tried to force me to do anything,” I said, almost snarling the words. “Besides we … they treated you well.”
“Except for the fact they were going to kill me,” Alexa countered.
I slumped. “He’s still a person.”
“He’s our asset. But I’ll remember how he responded now. We took the archer to try and get him to comply. He always remained quite stony-faced. I guess you’re the innocent one though aren’t you?” She said. “Shall I take you to see the Witch too? Keep in mind, that she also belonged to us. We are just taking back what is ours.”
I frowned nodded my head.
I was led down to another room. This time I was taken right into the room with her. She was strapped to a bench, her arms locked into place, hands covered, and pointing into her face. She had a cap that with wires coming from it attached to a machine and several IVs in place, including one that seemed to be collecting blood. She was pale and looked out of it. I had to hold myself back from rushing to her side.
She looked over at us as we entered. “Elly?” She said, her voice sounding both weak and confused.
“Wanda,” I answered.
“What are you doing here?” She asked.
“I couldn’t stay with them anymore. Steve… he said…” I trailed off hoping really hard she could hear my thoughts, though I knew she couldn’t. I also hoped that she’d read between the lines.
Wanda started to cry and once again I had to remind myself what I was doing here. “I loved you, Elly. I love you. How could you?”
“Okay, enough talk,” Alexa said. “Elise, you’ll be using samples from her and the soldier to help correct my DNA. I want the healing factor, the strength, and the little witch’s powers. You think you can do that?”
I nodded my head. “I think so.” It was an outright lie. I had never done anything like this and I knew for a fact that the serum used on Bucky and Steve made people like her even crazier, but it wouldn’t be much longer. I just needed to wait until Scott had backed up the company’s data and he’d call the others in to save us and arrest everyone.
“Excellent.” She gestured for the door and I gave Wanda one last look before I left the room. She started ushering me down the hall. “Now I’m taking you to your cell. We’ll bring you food and something to drink. Take this,” she said, putting a buzzer in my hand. “You can press it if you need anything at all. I don’t trust you fully yet, but that doesn’t mean I won’t take care of you. It’s a temporary situation.”
I nodded my head.
“Cheer up, Elise. We’re going to do some amazing things you and I,” she said, patting me on the back. She led me into a group of cells. There were twelve in all, 6 on each side of a hall. When we reached the one that was meant for me, someone rushed to the bars on the cell opposite.
“Elly? They caught you too? What happened?” Clint said, staring at me. He did not look good. He normally was covered in bandages from cuts he’d received. Now he was more bruises than not. He was covered in cuts. Many covered up, some not. Some still seemed to be bleeding.
“You can catch your ex up if you like. I’m sure he’d love to hear it,” Alexa said, shoving me into my cell. “Get a good night’s sleep. We have work in the morning.”
I waited until I was sure she was gone and turned to Clint. “Ex? What does she mean, Elly? What’s happened?”
I frowned and looked at him. “I had to leave,” I said, making my voice shake a little. At the same time, I signed the word ‘cameras’ to him.
“I don’t understand, El. What do you mean you had to leave?” He said, his voice sounded both hurt and confused but at the same time he signed ‘Fairly sure halls only.’
“They told me… they told me I had to do a procedure that would have killed her, Clint. That’s murder. I can’t murder anyone,” I said, feigning a desperate need for him to understand all the while I was signing, ‘We have a plan. They’re coming. Just waiting for the signal from Scott.’
‘Took you long enough.’ Clint signed back with a wink. “So you betrayed us? Is that it? You joined fucking HYDRA! I trusted you!” He yelled the last bit and it actually made me jump. He signed ‘sorry’ after I did.
“You don’t understand, Clint. I can’t kill people. Even if they are the bad guy. The fact they even asked me to do that…” I said while signing to Clint about what happened.
“They’re torturing us! You’re okay with that?” Clint yelled and started telling me about what they’d been doing to the three of them.
That’s how we talked. Him yelling at me while I pretended to get more and more withdrawn. And signing the whole time. Eventually, we decided it was best if we stopped and got some rest. I signed ‘I love you’ to him. And he signed it back.
#the avengers#steve rogers#bucky barnes#tony stark#natasha romanoff#bruce banner#clint barton#wanda maximoff#sam wilson#avengers fanfic#avengers x reader#steve rogers x reader#bucky barnes x reader#tony stark x reader#stucky#clintasha#natasha romanoff x reader#wanda maximoff x reader#clint barton x reader#bruce banner x reader#sam wilson x reader#all caps#science bros#romanogers#buckynat#birds#fanfic#fanfiction#smut#fanficwriter013
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Week 5: Battalion of Brothers
Another weekend, another thrilling battle report from Herosand V!
Game Setup:
We've reached 600 points! Normal detachment rules now apply, so I've expanded to create a battalion:
Our Heroes
We have Captain Incusator in Grav Armor. I've increased our intercessor count up to 15 for three squads. You are all of course familiar with Reginald, our Dreadnought. Finally, we've added Lieutenant Marculus, wielding a master-crafted stalker bolt rifle. Since I now have eight CP to play with, I've spent two to make Incusator a Chapter Master.
The mission type was Secure and Control.
Match 1:
Imperial Guard
Their Forces:
Company Commander, Tank Commander, 3x Infantry Squads, Astropath, Bulgryns, and Heavy Weapons Squad with Mortars
My Narrative:
After word reached back to Medusa of the difficulties the Iron Hands had faced, they were bolstered with reinforcements, with the third and sixth squad filling in. Captain Incusator was given an updated list of the latest in tactics and strategy and promoted to Chapter Master. Now suitably fortified, it was time to march across Herosand V and take back the planet from the vile forces of... Well, pretty much everyone else. There had been a lot of confusion and fog of war, and now even Imperium forces were fighting each other.
Soon, their mettle and metal would both be tested.
quote:
"It's good to have you aboard, Lieutenant," Chapter Master Incusator said, patting the young man on the shoulder.
Marculus stumbled forward, nearly losing his footing. "Erm, yes sir," he said. Then he flinched and nearly fell again as an explosion shook the earth beneath his feet. "What in Terra's name was that?" he said, his voice cracking.
"Oh, it seems the Astra Militarum are getting ideas again. No worries. The Medusan Academy might have taught you a lot, but one thing they didn't teach you: The flesh is weak!"
"But... but they did teach me. That was in Tactics 101, Iron Hands Doctrine, and Advanced Ways in Which the Flesh is Weak. It was on every test!"
But the chapter master was already walking away, ready to give those pesky guardsmen a pop quiz!
Tanks for the Memories
I got to pick the deployment, and I picked spearhead. My idea was that I didn't have much anti-armor and I'd need to get the dreadnought and chapter master up where they could open the tank like a can opener. Armor is honestly my biggest weakness right now, and I'll probably struggle with it until I get to 800 points at the earliest. We each had an objective in our backline. Mine I had in some nice convenient ruins that partly blocked line of sight. I parked a group of intercessors on it (just out of sight to the right) and deployed the rest of my forces with an eye to moving them up the board. He parked his mortars behind a magic box and set of the rest of his gunline.
Ignore the strip of tape. Previous rounds were 2'x4'. We're now playing on 3'x4' sections of table to accommodate our larger armies.
I seem to remember there being guardsmen here.
Two rounds of shooting saw all of his troops gone. By this point, though, my dread was down to about half health and I was starting to realize that getting all the way down to the other end of the field was easier said than done. However, I also realized that I had first blood. So long as I could keep control of my objective, and not let him kill my warlord, I'd win on points at the end of the game. If the tournament was tracking how many points people got, I might have considered keeping up the fight, but as it was, only victory mattered. I had a near-guaranteed shot, so long as I could get my army into cover and out of range of most of his guns.
"Why is the dreadnought ticking?"
The bullgryns held me in combat just long enough to help him get another round of shooting. My dreadnought died finally went down to the tank commander's weapons. I probably should have used Vengeance of the Machine Spirit to give him one more round of damage on the enemy. I didn't get my stratagem cards out, and I ended up with four CP left at the end of the game unspent because I kept forgetting what I could do, aside from Duty Eternal to buff my dread for a phase.
However, by this point, I had gotten the Tank Commander down to just a few wounds left, so its movement wasn't up to chasing me all the way down the board. It was now time to make the march back to my objective. You can see where I have my intercessors parked in a cozy little hut with the objective.
Snug as a Bug in a Rug
I was down to four intercessors in three squads, my lieutenant, and my captain left. I was about to have my army either in cover or behind boxes. So long as he didn't take out my captain by the end of the game, I was going to be a point ahead. We were starting up round six. I would have at most two more rounds to survive his mortar fire.
Then one of my intercessors managed an extremely lucky shot and took out his tank commander. He rolled a six on the explosion, and it also took out his astropath and hurt his company commander. At that point, he conceded the game and we shook hands.
I'm starting to learn to think a bit more tactically. At the start, I felt my best route to victory lay in getting into melee with the tank commander. But once I realized I had the advantage on points, I went for the surer path.
I will say that the Chapter Master was pretty clutch. Being able to reroll all hits was a lifesaver at points. The rerolling of 1s on wound rolls was helpful too, though not quite as clutch.
I also need to remember to use the auxiliary grenade launchers. Frak grenades are better against armor than stalker bolt rifles. When I can, I need to remember that I have them.
Match 2:
Necrons
Their Forces:
Overlord, Necron Warriors, Flayed Ones, Lychguard
quote:
"What did I tell you, Lieutenant?" the Chapter Master said. "Hardly broke a sweat."
The lieutenant looked at the repairs on Reginald, who was booping and beeping in a rather sad way, and then insisting that he was not actually sad, as robots do not have emotions. "Er. Yes sir. Though, the tank seemed a bit of a problem."
"Bah. Easily dispatched with a little stalker bolt fire. After all, Marculus, flesh inside of a tin can is still nothing more than flesh! Right, Sergeant?"
"Yes sir. Very good, sir. Almost self aware," said Caminus.
"Yes, rather, I--Wait." The Chapter Master started to turn to the sergeant when a green flash flew past his head.
Necrons surged over the hill in closed silent ranks, completely refusing to provide witty banter for the battle report. The fiends!
Iron and Steel
My opponent chose the deployment zone. He put his flayed ones into deep strike, hid his warriors behind some LOS-blocking terrain, and kept his overlord with his lychguard. He went first, and he started moving his lychguard and overlord on the far side of the field. He moved his warriors forward, putting as many as possible on top of the building in front of them. They managed to take out an intercessor, but with most of them still behind cover, he wasn't able to do much.
My dread went and took out eleven of his 12-necron squad. I was also able to take out all but one of his lychguard with stalker bolt fire. The remaining warrior in the squad skedaddled in the morale round. The other warrior squad would stay in cover for the rest of the game, around his objective.
Warriors from the Dark
On his next turn, he brought his flayed ones out of deep strike. And here I made a mistake that screwed over my opponent. I used Auspex Scan and played it on my dreadnought, who promptly took out the entire unit. I missed that Auspex Scan can only affect infantry. It likely didn't change much, but it would have at least kept the gaming going another turn or so, depending on what he ended up charging. I brought it up to him after the game, and he was fairly cool about it. We're both learning the rules of the game. I'll remember next time.
His lychguard regenerated two models, and he used a special ability to move his warlord and the lychguard into my backline, charging me. The lychguard made it into combat and took out all but one of the intercessors in that squad. I removed all of the models near his lychguard to get out of melee range. We both forgot about the consolidate part of the fight phase, so the lychguard ended up getting shot up when my turn came.
Hmm...
And now he only had his remaining warriors behind cover, and his warlord.
Hmm!
With his warlord dispatched, he conceded and we called it.
I feel pretty bad about the rules I forgot here. I need to read my stratagems more clearly so that I don't make errors, especially not ones that give me such an advantage as forgetting the Auspex Scan limitation. I also keep forgetting the pile in/fight/consolidate order. In this case, we both forgot, but if he'd remembered, removing the models as I did would have given me no benefit (especially since I took out my sergeant to try and build space).
Still, I'm looking up less than I was last week, and far less than the week before. I'm starting to get better at grasping the fundamentals. I just need to get the details of my army down.
quote:
"Ha!" said the chapter master. "Xenos steel can't stand up to good Imperial Iron!"
"Our armor is actually made of plasteel and ceramite," said Marculus helpfully.
"I was being poetic!" Incusator snapped. "Can't a man have a moment of quiet glory?"
"Ah, um, sorry, sir," the lieutenant said.
"Oh, go drill the men." Incusator turned and brooded as he looked to the horizon. Soon, he thought, they would be marching across it, bringing the glory of Medusa to all before them.
He was, in fact, turned around and facing the way they'd come. But in a more poetic sense, his point still stood. What adventures await them?
We're now halfway through the League. I'm 6 for 8 fights and standing at #11 in the league. I'm currently at halfway through painting my 800 point increase, and then just three units to get me to 1000. It's very exciting, and I can't wait to play some of these units!
#warhammer 40k#WH40K#40k#space marines#iron hands#adeptes astartes#Battle Report#batrep#imperial guard#astra militarum#necron#necrons#miniatures#minipainting
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Gravity Soul chapter 13: Return to the Falls, Trust No One? (originally posted on August 12, 2019)
AN: As Doctor Stephen Strange once said, "We're in the endgame now." I'd like to thank everyone who has stuck by me since Thanksgiving 2017 as I laughed, cried, cheered and felt myself die inside while this saga progressed. They always say parting is such a sweet sorrow, and I have a feeling it's going to be even more sorrowful for me since this story holds a special place in my heart as a crossover between my favorite anime and one of my favorite cartoons. But enough sentimentality, let the final battle against KISHIN CIPHER begin.
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--
There was dead silence in the now red-lit forest of Gravity Falls. Kishin Cipher's fortress the Fearamid continued to hover above the Oregon town that barely had any life left inhabiting it now that the townspeople were either transformed into building blocks for his throne or hiding in the shadows.
However those shadows would finally see a beacon of light shining nothing but hope upon the desolate village in the form of the Mystery Meisters returning to the falls at last. Out of a portal came Dipper and Mabel first, their bond broken and repaired within the span of a few hours after the boy went out of his way to save his sister from the grasp of Kishin Cipher and Anti-Mabel.
Next came Stanford Pines, Maka Albarn, Black Star and Death the Kid along with their respective weapons Azusa Yumi, Spirit Albarn, Tsubaki Nakatsukasa and Liz & Patty Thompson. "This is it everyone. Beyond these woods, our final battle with Bill and Asura awaits." Ford boldly declared. "Is everyone ready?"
"I definitely am. And I'm ready to save Soul as well." Maka responded willing to risk her life for the sake of her Demon Scythe. "As am I dudes. We're coming for you Mr. Pines!" Soos added also ready to rescue his father figure and former boss Stanley Pines. "We haven't got a moment to lose, but I suggest we find shelter before he finds us." Franken Stein suggested turning his screw while Wendy, Crona, Ox, Kim, Kilik, Gideon, Pacifica, McGucket and the rest of the team followed behind. "Any ide-"
"Mystery Shack." the kids stated in unison before Stein could even finish. "Well aside from the fact that that's where we stayed at last Weirdmageddon, there's also a mystical barrier made out of unicorn hair protecting it from weirdness." Dipper explained. "Wait, unicorn hair?" Black Star wondered. "Tell me more!"
"How about later? We gotta get moving!" Mabel said racing to find the Shack. The group then followed the sweater girl but without their knowledge, an Eyebat peered at the party before flapping its wings and soaring to the Fearamid.
The eye creature entered the pyramid and faced its master Kishin Cipher as he schemed on his human throne. "Okay, gimme reports little guy!" he commanded the Eyebat with a poke of its cornea. It rumbled a bit before a holographic image of the Mystery Meisters running away from him. "Well well well, can't say I'm not surprised!" the Dream Kishin commented with a sneer. "Now we can finally start the welcoming party!"
His minions all assembled before their master and took a bow as Kishin Cipher gave orders. "Okay, I'll need all of you circling the town in search of any survivors!" he stated. "Arachne, Shaula, Mosquito, Giriko, Shifty, you follow those mortals and terminate them! Henchmaniacs, blow that cabin to bits and take out anyone inside! And Horsemen?"
"Yes Master?" the Madness of Greed formerly known as Grunkle Stan wondered planting his sword in the ground while his eight-legged horned possum Shanknir scampered to his side. "I've got a special assignment for all of you. I need the four of you to fight alongside me in the eventual big showdown. You up for it?"
"As always mighty God of Weirdness and Madness." Medusa Gorgon, the Madness of Wrath, answered loyally. "And I trust that you in particular won't try to turn on me and take my power?" K.C told the witch. "I sincerely promise you that I have no ulterior motives."
"Very good." Kishin Cipher smirked, feeling ready to destroy all in the fated clash.
--
"We should be getting close everyone, I can smell the cheap money." Dipper stated hiding in the bushes as he spotted the tourist trap from afar. "It feels like it's been so long since we've last seen that old place."
"Really? Cause it felt like we've spent an entire night searching for Pacifica and then a few days in Death City." Mabel added stacking her head on top of her brother's. "Well no matter, we're finally home." Ford continued stepping out of their hiding spot to knock on the door. "HALT! WHO GOES THERE?!" a familiar voice screamed. "Can you shut it Rumble? You'll get us caught!" another exclaimed harshly. "Besides, who knows who it could be?"
"Is that Eruka?" Dipper muttered in shock. "And that other guy sounds really familiar." Soos replied. "But let's barge in just to be safe!"
"That is rather rash and could be dangerous, but okay I believe you." Maka stated preparing to bust down the door. "Let's do this."
Battle cries were all around as the Mystery Meisters charged into the Shack with weapons raised high and a little resistance within the hovel roared as well. There were however a few familiar faces among the resistance's ranks. "Eruka, Free?" Dipper and Mabel exclaimed in unison. "Kids?" the frog and wolf responded just as stunned when the Multi-Bear stepped out of the bathroom. "Just so we're clear, we're all out of toilet paper." he announced amidst the awkwardness. "Did I miss something?"
--
"Are you making yourself at home Stanley?"
Stan sluggishly smacked his lips with a grumble and slowly opened his eyes to discover that he was now in a black and red room with a lamp as its only light source and a choppy record player nearby. Stan was bewildered as last he remembered, he & Soul sacrificed themselves to protect their loved ones and converted into minions of Kishin Cipher. He decided to get up from the chair he was sitting in to get a better look, but instead found himself chained to it. "Let me ask you again. Are you making yourself at home Stanley?"
"Hardly!" Stan exclaimed struggling to break out of his chains. "Where am I and who are you anyway?!" he asked. "Oh pardon me sir. Allow me to introduce myself." the voice's owner, a fine-dressed imp with a wide grin on his face, apologized. "I am the little demon now residing in your heart after you accepted the Black Blood within you."
"Hey, doesn't Soul have a weird little man kinda like you inside of him?" Grunkle Stan asked. "And why am I in this Sunday best getup?" He then brought attention to his current attire of a tuxedo with a red bowtie and a diamond ring on his finger. "Though I do like this ring."
"Why it's simple. As a fellow host of the Black Blood, you are one of four people forced to serve your new master. Though only one wasn't unwilling." the Ogre explained snapping his fingers to reveal the other hosts; Preston Northwest, Soul Eater Evans and Medusa Gorgon. Medusa was the only one to not be restrained to a chair, implying that she was the willing one.
"You won't get away with this you crimson cretin!" Preston shouted before the Ogre made a gag appear with another snap of his fingers. "Oh you Northwests don't know when to quit or shut up." the demon commented. "He's right you little twat, the twins will find a way to save us!" Soul added just as defiant. "Just why are we all here?"
"The master simply wants us all to be in better harmony." Medusa explained picking up a violin from a table out of two other instruments. "Make your choice." she commanded allowing the captives to get up from their chairs to choose. "I call dibs on the saxomaphone." Stan declared snatching the brass instrument. "Guess that leaves me with the clarinet." Preston added picking up his chosen woodwind. "But what about the boy?"
A spotlight shone on a grand piano behind Soul. "Of course." the scythe muttered sitting down and preparing to play. "But still, what's with all the harmony crap?" he asked the ogre. "Even though you are completely powerless to stop everything that you're perfectly aware of, there still has to be teamwork amongst Bill's slaves." the imp remarked. "NOW PLAY!"
The three unwilling Madnesses slowly warmed up under the watchful glare of Medusa who began expertly leading the way on her violin. Soul unwillingly but just as beautifully followed up with his piano while the Gravity Falls citizens just awkwardly looked at each other. "Do I see reluctance?" the Ogre snarled viciously electrocuting the two. "PLAY!"
"Okay, keep your pants on Lucy!" Stan growled playing the saxophone while Preston began his clarinet. Although their number was a nice piece, it symbolized how the three males were completely reluctant to serve Kishin Cipher.
--
"So that's the whole story?" Dipper asked Eruka while the group sat around a campfire inside the Mystery Shack that the resistance against Kishin Cipher had made their homebase. "Yeah, when we found your weirdo little house, there were already a few other people taking shelter as well." the frog witch answered. "Yeah, and a ton of strange characters too!" Free added. "Like those minotaur guys, the little dwarves, a couple of video game characters and whatever that bear is supposed to be!"
"Hey for your information Bigby, we're gnomes! The dwarves hang around in the mountains." Jeff exclaimed standing up next to Free. "But what of the strike force Death sent in?" Kid wondered twiddling his thumbs. "Most of them didn't make it." Sid stated. "Justin tried to kill that monster, but he was made a part of his creepy throne. Djinn Galland, Tsar Pushka, Feodor, Tezca Tlipoca and Mifunewould meet the same fate."
In a dark corner, Zubaidah & Enrique comforted a grieving Angela while Dengu & Alexandre leaned on the wall with Pitt colas in hand. "We're trying to do the best we can to fight back, but Kishin Cipher is pretty much all powerful." Mira explained. "The only thing that can keep us safe from him now is that unicorn hair shield keeping his powers at bay."
Suddenly rumbling footsteps sounded outside the Shack. "Uh guys, we got a situation!" the resistance's lookout, the wax head of Larry King, announced. "Those Henchmaniac guys are heading straight for us! And I am honestly surprised it only took them until now to find us."
"Everybody, battle stations!" the dating simulator character Giffany shouted taking position at a nearby window as the Henchmaniacs finally arrived with Moonlight, Kaguya, White Rabbit and the Black Clown leading the way. "Come out come out wherever you are." White Rabbit chimed in a sing-songy voice. "Your hair shield may not be penetrated by us, but we will find ways to penetrate you."
"NONE SHALL PASS!" Manly Dan screamed putting up his dukes. "You're only just making us want to tear you all to bloody shreds even more." Paci-Fire boomed telepathically. "Why the hell are we only cowering inside the Shack when we could be out there kicking their asses?" Black Star asked. "Also, what kind of monster is that ugly baby?"
"We're just not ready yet. Our forces are strong, but we still need something even stronger to stand a chance." Candy answered. "Candy's right you guys. We need to save Soul, Stan and Mr. Northwest if we want to save Gravity Falls. They're part of that big wheel Ford talked about." Maka responded. "Exactly, but how can we rescue them in their current states?" Stanford pondered. "By the way, do you think they can hear us?"
"Yes, yes we can!" Pyronica called out, causing the polydactyl author to angrily pound the wall. "Dammit!" he groaned agitatedly. "Well, time to cut things short. Kid, Kilik, Wendy & Dipper, you're all coming with us." Black Star declared. "The rest of you hit the deck!"
"Are you truly sure about this kids? These demons may look rather ridiculous, but judging by their apparent connections to Bill they must be insanely powerful." Stein observed. "We have to do this to protect the Shack while the rest of you think of a new plan." Kid replied beckoning Liz and Patty to his hands. "You're right. Stay safe out there." Maka promised the tourist trap defenders.
"Hey Henchmaniacs, we're right here for you!" Dipper announced grabbing Excalibur on his way out the door. "Well look who we have here, the master's favorite Pine Tree." Kaguya purred. "He always has talked about how much he hated you the most."
"Listen you creeps, just tell us where Soul & Mr. Pines are or you'll go from monsters to targets." Kid threatened. "We're basically saying prepare to get wrecked you rejected Pokemon!" Wendy added tossing her axe at one of the demons aiding the monsters. The creatures were silent for a moment and then, roared before charging.
"Incoming!" Kilik declared yanking Paci-Fire's binkie out of his mouth and stabbing him in the eye with it. Kid meanwhile shot right through Keyhole's namesake forehead at Lavalz. The amount of bullets put through the lava lamp creature's body were so plentiful, they put him on the brink of death. "Please boy, I beg you to have mercy!" he begged the son of Death. "I can do whatever you please! I'll be your servant, I'll turn on my fellow demons to assist you, just please don't kill me!"
"You know, come to think of it." Kid contemplated before a shadow rose from behind him. "This was all a trap and there's someone behind me, correct?" he wondered aloud shooting Amorphous Shape in the eye without even turning his back. "Now Dipper!"
Dipper cut Amorphous Shape to pieces while the creature's guard was down and he screamed loudly as he was reduced to just his soul. "Aw snap, he just killed Morphy!" Kryptos shouted. "This one'll be for him you freaks!" Pyronica shouted lighting her fists aflame. The opposing sides charged while everyone else in the Shack concocted a plan of attack.
"So I suggest we try using a human sacrifice." Stein revealed. "I like it!" Soos agreed. "No, I don't think that will be necessary." Maka rejected the idea to everyone's dismay. "We need an approach that'll involve everyone of us working together."
"OOH, OOH, OOH! I GOT ONE!" McGucket cried raising his bandaged hand. "All right, what do you got Fiddleford?" Stein asked the rich hillbilly. "Giant robit! We already did something like that last Weirdmageddon!" Fiddleford answered excitedly. "Funny story, that's almost exactly what we did when we fought Asura." Azusa stated. "Coincidence, I think not."
"But how are we going to get one? Especially in a place like this?" Crona wondered. "We can use whatever we please around town. Like we said, worked last time." Wax Larry King answered. "Is anyone else going to question why this wax head can talk?" Sid offhandedly pondered. "Whatever, let's get moving!"
As for Dipper's group, they were all backed into a corner by the surviving Henchmaniacs. Lavalz, Paci-Fire, Keyhole and Hectorgon had now joined Amorphous Shape in being destroyed, but their friends were now even more furious and taken them all down. "Well Dipper, where does this fit into our battle plan?" Kilik grunted awaiting his fate. "I'm sure something will turn up for us." Dipper replied optimistically. "Is that so?"
Standing before them, Arachne had just joined up with the former Nightmare Realm prisoners alongside Mosquito, Giriko, Shaula and the Shapeshifter. "And where were you this whole time?!" White Rabbit exclaimed hotly. "We were simply biding our time. Besides, it was fun seeing the children try oh so desperately." Arachne added. "And speaking of which..."
"Don't even think about trying anything funny with us or the Shack!" Wendy threatened. "Is that so little redheaded bitch?" Giriko snarled menacingly. "Well let's make a compromise. We'll do something funny with your little friends who are no doubt trying to escape."
And indeed Giriko was right. Maka was leading a group of the survivors out of the Mystery Shack consisting of herself, Bud Gleeful, Thompson, Ox, Sid, Mr. Poolcheck, Tyler, Free & Dengu. However the party would immediately be blocked by the Shapeshifter. "Stop, right, there. Which one of you wishes to die?"
"Hands off you glowing bastard!" Free snarled baring his claws. "Aw, poor little Free. It seems that you couldn't stand being a pariah for what you did to Maba, so you decided to betray your master for these weaklings she wants destroyed."
"For your information Xenomorph, Medusa was kind of a pretty awful boss and we just moved to a different one." the wolfman responded with a stupid grin on his face. "Can you not doom us right now?" Mr. Poolcheck and Thompson said in unison. "As you did serve Kishin Cipher, it is most unfortunate for you that I must slay you to prevent the rebels from gaining any information on him." the Shapeshifter deduced preparing to strike. "Make your last wishes."
"Stop right there!" Maka cried pointing her father's weapon form at the alien creature. "I won't let you harm anyone here today. I bet you won't even last until tomorrow to come back and kill us all!"
"Very well, then we'll strike again within two days!" the Shapeshifter replied. "How about three?!" Black Star butted in suddenly. "Four!"
"Five!"
"Six!"
"Seven!"
"MAKA CHOP!" Maka cried smacking Black Star on the head and knocking him out. "Tomorrow it is then." the Shapeshifter declared. "Okay everyone, pack it up! We can start again the next day!"
"Aw man." the rest of Kishin Cipher's present minions groaned like disappointed children. "SUPER anticlimactic." Kaguya complained. "I know right?!" Giriko replied. As the monsters began to leave, the rebels raced back inside the Shack to form a plan.
"So what were you doing out there leading those guys?" Ford asked Maka. "We were coming up with attack plans while Dipper was out fighting and someone made the suggestion of turning the Shack into some kind of robot."
"That's exactly what we did to beat Bill last summer!" Mabel exclaimed. "Exactly!" McGucket added. "Seems like we made it safe to go outside again, so let's get to work." Tsubaki stated. "But where can we find what we need?"
"Don't worry everyone," Dipper announced. "Mabel and I know where."
--
One montage of working hard on the resurrection of the automated tourist trap later, the rebels snuggled up underground in Ford's laboratory watching for signs of trouble. "Status update: K.C's forces have kept their word." Tambry announced peering through the periscope disguised as the totem pole outside the Shack. "Good work, we still got time left." Ford applauded. "Time left til we can get Stan and Soul back."
"And my father?" Pacifica asked innocently. "Sure, him too." the scientist answered. "Can't you show her a little sympathy? Her old man is currently forced to fight for an all-powerful demon thing and even showed willingness to help us before that, yet you still have that grudge against him." Liz stated. "Yes I apologize for being a bit insensitive, but the other two are still most important." Ford claimed. "Now then, have we worked any kinks from the last time?"
"Well, definitely got more unicorn hair to fully shield us." Candy stated in the midst of cutting Celestabellebethabelle's mane. "And it can fly now too!" Grenda exclaimed. "Is there anything this town can't do when they come together?" Melody said.
Meanwhile in the attic, Maka gazed out the twins' bedroom window at the blood red sky in silence. "Don't worry Soul, we'll be there for you soon."
"Did we hear you talk about Soul?" Mabel asked suddenly interrupting their older friend. "Gah, you guys!" Maka squeaked. "Aw don't be so skittish Maka, we just got a little feeling you like him." Dipper replied. "As in, like him like him." Mabel added beaming which made the scythe Meister blush like mad. "Oh quit blushing, you know too!"
"Okay, you got me!" Maka finally gave in. "I really do like him. He may be rather distant and cold, but he's just that much of a loyal friend who would do anything to protect me!" she confessed to the twins. "That's why I'll protect him in exchange, and maybe we could finally make music again."
"And you've been hiding these feelings for how long now?" Mabel asked Maka again. "I mean, I've heard that you two often argued like you were married or something."
"But let's try not to hyperfocus on that for now, cause I've also heard that if you do so, you can get distracted a bit too much and even get mad when people try to keep you away from your-" Dipper responded before Maka shushed him. "Okay okay, let's just keep up the fight against Kishin Cipher. Hopefully no one heard us."
"I did." Soos stated suddenly appearing by the door. "Don't mind me dudes, I just knew it from the moment we all first met."
--
Meanwhile at the Fearamid, Arachne was forced to give Kishin Cipher the bad news about the results of the attack.
"YOU DID WHAT?!" the Dream Kishin screamed loudly, causing enough vibrations to cause miniature earthquakes. "YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT YOU LOST MOST OF MY MEN TO A BUNCH OF PUNY MORTALS HIDING IN A CABIN, AND THEY MADE YOU AGREE TO TRYING AGAIN TOMORROW?! HOW STUPID CAN YOU ALL BE?!"
"My sincerest apologies master, we just arrived too late." the Spider Witch revealed bowing to the ground with her two subordinates and youngest sister. "But still, we might as well prepare for the final battle." she assured him. "You got a good point there Rachney." Kishin Cipher agreed spawning a wineglass filled with time punch. "In that case, I propose a toast! First one goes to absent maniacs."
The army of demons began mourning for the fallen Henchmaniacs while holding their own wineglasses. "Morphy was just too young!" Kryptos bawled into Pyronica's cape, blowing his nonexistent nose on it. "Did anybody else catch the lava lamp guy's name?" Moonlight asked Xanthar, who simply replied with a shrug. "This one is for you Keyhole." 8-Ball declared drinking the glass and tossing the time punch away hard enough for it to explode.
"But I would also like to propose another one." Kishin Cipher solemnly stated when his mournful expression turned into a fierce sadistic grin. "TO OUR ONCOMING VICTORY!" he cheered tossing his glass to the ground and smashing it underfoot. "MAZEL TOV TO ALL OF YOU! MAZEL TOV!"
The otherdimensional freaks began cheering for their master as his speech continued. "I'd like to thank all of the following for helping us make it this far!" Kishin Cipher announced splitting himself into Bill Cipher and Asura for the first time in what felt like ages. "First off, I'd like to thank my number one fan here for making a deal with me to exact our revenge!" the Kishin exclaimed fistbumping the dream demon. "And I'd also like to thank that pigtailed scythe-bearing brat for giving my new partner here that stupid courage punch!" Bill responded. "Without her, we wouldn't have met and become an unstoppable team!"
The duo merged back into Kishin Cipher who picked up a microphone while a large projector screen appeared behind him. "And in addition, we are also thankful for all the idiots that led themselves to their doom!" The screen began picturing many of the Dream Kishin's enemies and all they've accomplished in accidentally guiding the monsters to victory while the minions continued cheering. "It brings a tear to all three of my eyes to see so many freaks of nature all under one roof to celebrate the coming end of the universe! Especially you creature with like eighty-eight different faces! There, are you happy now?!"
"Actually, I've grown an eighty-ninth face!" the aforementioned multi-faced trog declared revealing a very handsome face to have sprouted. "Oh my, look at that thing!" Kishin Cipher exclaimed revealing the face's turquoise humanoid form. "Isn't it just dashing?!"
The creatures began oohing and aahing at how bizarrely attractive the new face was before Kishin Cipher returned to his speech. "As I was saying ladies, germs and unspeakable horrors of all shapes and sizes, this is it!" he declared making double peace signs over a podium while the projector screen made a large portrait of himself appear. "Tomorrow is the day that sanity goes completely down the shitter and pure madness reigns supreme! How excited are you!?"
"VIOLENTLY!" his army chanted arming themselves with torches, pitchforks and all sorts of stereotypically uber-violent tools. "And how bloody will our enemies' deaths be?!" Kishin Cipher continued. "INSANELY!" the monsters screamed pumping their fists. "Yeah, that's all I wanted to hear!" the leading abomination shouted raising his arms. "Come on everybody, let's get weird!"
Elsewhere in the Fearamid, the Four Madnesses meditated while their harmony exercises continued. The horsemen sat in utter silence until the Madness of Greed opened a single eye. "Kids."
--
The next day, all was silent once more in the forest. That is until a large mechanical being ambled among the trees, casting a shadow over the flora. Metallic footsteps thundered while leaving large car-shaped footsteps behind until finally, the Shacktron 2.0 reached the clearing where the Fearamid was situated. "Are we ready everyone?" Ford asked taking the pilot's seat. The rest of the rebellion nodded in response while preparing for war. "Good. Time to make our claim."
A large megaphone placed at the deck of the Shack was turned on by Dipper before he spoke into it. "Kishin Cipher, this is the Mystery Meisters telling you to surrender now and give back our friends or prepare to fight!" the boy threatened with an amplified voice. However, there was no answer. "D-Did he just give up already?"
"I'll say." Kishin Cipher sarcastically answered while suddenly appearing in front the young Pines brother and giving him a scare. "Long time no see Dipper, been a long while since we had a one-on-one chat!" the Dream Kishin casually greeted his archenemy. "And did you lose weight or is the stupid cosplay just throwing me off?"
"It's not stupid cosplay, my sister had it specially made for me!" Dipper declared defensively clutching onto his scarf. "Oh come on brat! It's too obscure, too ugly! I don't know which is worse!" K.C continued insulting making his hand violently detach itself. "I might just split a seam now if I don't die laughing first!"
"Not if we have the last laugh! NOW!" Dipper commanded allowing the rest of the crew to start firing all sorts of weapons at the Dream Kishin. "You can't break the Shacktron this time, we got unicorn hair from head to toe now!"
"Oh my, you're actually giving me a challenge?" Kishin Cipher quizzed while his forces spawned behind him. "Well what're you waiting for mortals?! Come and get me!"
"This is it everyone, we can do this!" Maka exclaimed taking control of the Shacktron 2.0. "Keep firing at them all!"
"But Maka, we can't just blast cannons at him forever!" Tsubaki advised. "You ready Black Star?" she asked her Meister holding out her hand. "Like Hell I'm not!" the ninja responded taking up arms and leaping outside the Shack, clashing blades with the Madness of Greed. "Been waiting for a proper rematch old man, haha!"
"Bah, you are simply a child dressed in a silly outfit. In fact, you are all children in silly outfits compared to us and our master." the old man in the golden armor scoffed taking out the Shadow Weapon Meister and making him fall to the ground. "NOOOOOT SIIIIILLLLYYYY!" the teen shouted faceplanting into the dirt. "Wait, are these clothes really that stupid?"
"Is there any way we can free Stan, Soul & Mr. Northwest without K.C getting in the way?" Dipper asked Stein. "The freeing our friends part is quite simple Dipper, we call it Chain Resonance where our souls must be on an equal playing field to do great things." the scientist proclaimed. "The keeping Kishin Cipher from interrupting part is much harder."
"How about the important guys, that's you guys, take on the Madnesses while everybody else keep the big guy at bay?" Free suggested warding off the Eyebats with his ice magic. "Good idea Free, and good luck too." Dipper agreed. "Okay everybody, we're gonna tackle the Madnesses ourselves!" he announced to the Mystery Meisters currently not occupied with fighting the monsters while Black Star crawled back up to the Shack. "Any last words before we go?"
"I got one." Pacifica stated turning to her mom. "Mother, I promise we'll bring Dad home."
"I love you." Soos said to Melody. "I know."
"If I don't come out of this alive," Gideon announced to his father and Ghost-Eyes. "tell my widdle ol' story."
"No offense to any of you guys," Azusa said to Ox, Harvar, Kilik, the Pots, Kim, Jackie, the NOT class girls and Hiro. "But you didn't do that much. Like I said, no offense."
"Eh, I'm used to it." Hiro replied giving a salute to the Mystery Meisters. "Now godspeed, all of you."
"Thanks everyone." Dipper said gratefully taking Excalibur by the hand and putting him in the sheath Mabel made for him. "And don't worry Stan, we'll be here."
"Hey hate to interrupt, but do you think these outfits look kinda dumb?" Black Star asked. "We don't have time B-Star!" Mabel exclaimed hurriedly. "Mabel's right, let's get a move on!" Maka announced arming herself with her father.
--
In the distance, the Four Madnesses were now benched after Greed's brief clash with Black Star watching their master take on the Shacktron from the Fearamid. "When do you suppose we shall strike once more?" the Madness of Sloth snarled biting on the tail of the eight-legged possum Shanknir. "We'll come back once Kishin Cipher is done with the mortals." the Madness of Wrath stated. "But speaking of which, I can sense a certain few of them coming our way."
"We've got you now Medusa! Release our loved ones, and others, or else!" Ford exclaimed leading the Mystery Meisters in cornering the four Madnesses. "It's absolutely hopeless now for all of you." the Madness of Envy purred menacingly while spinning his scythe. "Soon, Kishin Cipher's madness shall flood this town and once we bypass the barrier surrounding this town, we'll move onto the rest of reality as well."
"Barrier?" Marie asked turning to Ford. "That's the law of weirdness magnetism, whatever bizarre thing comes in can't get out." the author briefly explained. "But it seems that through Kishin Cipher's unlimited power that I'm sure he keeps pulling out of his behind, he won't need a special equation I've memorized to lower the shield around town."
"Doesn't matter if he's able to do that anymore, since our lord can warp all reality to his whims." the Madness of Sloth stated. "But enough about him, let's kill you!" The Northwest-turned-beast summoned his giant bell and slammed it onto the ground, creating a small crack in the floor of the lair that began getting larger. "Just wait til this hole begins to get larger and soon you'll fall headfirst on the ground below! I hear mortal brain-matter is delicious this time of year!"
"Listen daddy, I know it's still you underneath that hideous body!" Pacifica called out. "Please, just do anything to tell you still recognize me! I'll even take you ringing that stupid bell again if it means I'm still seen as your daughter!"
The Madness of Sloth prepared to smack his bell again before the girl's words reached his ears. "Pacifica?" he grumbled mid-attack. "He's open, now!" Maka shouted slashing the monster across his face with her father. "You brat!" the slovenly monster roared. "Black Star, tie those three up and we can begin!" the Scythe meister commanded the ninja who readied his chain scythe and lassoed up Sloth, Greed & Envy. "Dipper, did you bring the journal?"
"You bet I did!" Dipper proudly declared fishing Journal 3 from his backpack. "The three of you into position and get your wavelengths rolling!"
"Okay, this is it." Kid remarked as the three formed a circle around the three captured Madnesses. They began forming a connection with their soul wavelengths that built up a forcefield surrounding them. "No, you won't get away with this!" a frantic Medusa howled trying to stop the Resonance, but the barrier had other plans that caused it to send her flying toward her master's throne.
"Everyone, together!" Ford commanded placing his hand on the combined soul. "Wait, is this even possible?" Crona asked the author. "I honestly have no idea, but let's just improvise." Stanford answered while the rest of the group placed their hands on the soul. "Dipper, if you please."
"You got it." Dipper declared opening the journal with his free hand and beginning to read. "Videntis omnium. Magister mentium. Magnesium ad hominem. Magnum opus." he began chanting and everything took on a brilliant cyan glow, from the Mystery Meisters' eyes to the soul surrounding Maka, Black Star and Kid. "Habeas corpus! Inceptus Nolanus overratus! Magister mentium! Magister mentium! MAGISTER MENTIUM!"
In a similarly-colored explosion, all were fast asleep.
--
In a pitch black ethereal realm solely inhabited by three pillars with stained glass portraits depicting the trapped trio, Dipper & Mabel landed on the one depicting their lost great-uncle. "This has to be the place, especially with all the quiet Latin chanting around us." Dipper declared adjusting his cap while Ford, Wendy, Soos, Black Star & Tsubaki landed behind the twins. "And that must be Stan over there!"
Indeed, the boy was right. However, Stan has now been regressed in age in this spiritual plane with his only companion being a silhouette of his father in front of them. "Wait, I remember this! It's like when Crona chatted with his shadow in his soul!" Mabel exclaimed trying to walk towards the shrunken Stanley, when suddenly the shadow blocked her path. It remained completely silent for what seemed like hours before pointing at the group with a earsplitting loud, unearthly shriek while the three pillars rapidly drifted apart from one another.
On the pillar inhabited by Soul, he was currently held in a straitjacket with the Little Ogre holding him on a leash when Maka, Spirit, Crona, Marie, Stein, McGucket & Gideon. "What have you done to Soul you scarlet shithead?!" Spirit screamed preparing for a fight. "What have I done you may ask?" the Ogre snickered while the Latin choir was now backed up by a choppy record player. "Why, I'm simply helping your friend follow his destiny."
"Well what kind of destiny is forcing him against his will to serve a monster?" Marie argued. "Why not just ask the boy." the imp chortled letting go of the leash he held on Soul. "Now go on my boy. Show them how much the master has improved you."
"Like hell I-" Soul began trying to resist control before Ogre pulled hard and electrocuted him. "Make it stop! Just make it stop!"
And finally on Preston's pillar, he was tied to a fancy chair with his head forcefully bowed down while faced by his daughter along with Azusa, Kid, Liz & Patty and Blair. "Dad, can you hear us?" Pacifica called for her father. "What brings you here daughter?" Preston glowered in defeat. "Don't you know that I am beyond redemption?"
"Don't be like that daddy, it's like what Grandpa Auldman said! Even the blackest of hearts have a speck of light within." Pacifica tried comforting Preston, but her hand was slapped away by the bandage tendril of Kishin Cipher. "No no no Llama, YOU shouldn't be like that!" a figment of Bill Cipher scolded the blonde. "It was thanks to me your family was able to rise to the top, but then your generation just had to screw everything up! Need I remind you?"
With a clap of his hands, Bill conjured up a giant bell to threaten Pacifica with. He began ringing it violently, forcing the girl to stand down. "Wait, you're afraid of a bell?" Kid asked her. "Pavlovian conditioning." Preston grumbled. "My wife and I basically made her our bitch with that accursed bell. Go on, shoot me now and end this. All of you know I deserve it."
"No, we haven't lost yet!" Pacifica cried trying to resist the bell and slowly marched towards her dad. "Our...family...name is broken!" she growled in her struggling. "And I'm...going...to...FIX IT!"
"How are you fighting back?! It's like he said, you're his bitch!" Bill screamed continuing to ring even louder before Kid and Azusa shot at him. "And you're all pretty much Shinigami's bitches too, having to do the dirty work while he lazes about because his stupid soul protects that even stupider city!"
"I don't think so Bill." Kid scowled. "Now Blair!" he commanded the cat, who let out a loud "Halloween Cannon!" and blasted the bell out of Bill's hand. "This isn't over you all!" the triangle screeched angrily while fading away. "I'm only a figment of his mind, preparing all of you for the real deal!"
As soon as the imaginary Bill faded, Pacifica made a beeline for her father's prison and released him. "P-Pacifica?" Preston stuttered before his daughter hugged him tight. "B-but why? Bill was right, I was a monster!"
"I know you are, but you can be something more." the blonde said softly. Suddenly, the spirits of every Northwest before them appeared lining up beside the two and facing them. With soft smiles, the ancestors vanished just as quickly as they materialized, leaving a fade to white behind.
--
"More firing, more! More!" Grenda hollered as the Shacktron soared around the now giant Kishin Cipher like a biplane, continuing to shoot at the monster while he waved his arms around trying to swat them down. "Uh gang, don't think we're gonna last any longer out here!"
"Don't lose hope everyone! The unicorn hair will protect us!" Sid exclaimed while in command of the flying hovel. "Though I'm mostly saying this because I've already died before. The rest of you might not be so lucky, not gonna lie."
"If that's the case." Wax Larry King solemnly declared turning to Hiro and Dengu. "Then gentlemen, it's been an honor." He grabbed a violin with his teeth and began playing it with the bow he bit down on, before a large crashing sound was heard. Appearing from the distance was Death City itself, now with its own set of limbs equipped with larger copies of Death's gloves.
"Are you kidding me right now?" Kishin Cipher began chortling at the walking city. "I mean, what's a literal walking town gonna do to-" Before the Dream Kishin could finish, the Death City Robot gave him a fierce jab to the eyes. "THE HELL?!" he screamed falling to the ground. "Seriously, is that you in there old man?!"
"You bet it is Cipher!" Lord Death called from the Secret Vault where he piloted the machine. "Time for us to settle the score, and this time this shall be the day your madness ends forever!" The mobile city then held out its hands and scooped up Kishin Cipher's unconscious form. "Special Attack:" Death announced. "COFFEE TABLE FLIP!"
"SO AWESOME!" the boy band clones Sev'ral Timez cheered. "Who digs giant robots?!" Hiro exclaimed. "I dig giant robots!" Nate replied. "We dig giant robots!" Chutzpar added. "Chicks dig giant robots!" everyone else answered in unison. "Nice!"
--
Back in the mindscape, Soul and Stan were the only ones remaining of the present Madnesses. The shadow form of Filbrick continued his horrible shrieking for another few seconds before abruptly stopping. "Is that your old man?" Black Star asked Ford. "Exactly Black Star. Though he was most certainly a hardass in life and not very kind towards Stan, he was a very mediocre guy very deep down." Ford answered. "Allow me to make peace with him."
The author stepped forward towards the facsimile of his long-deceased father and extended his hand out. "Hello there dad, or at the very least some spawn of Hell taking his form." he greeted Filbrick. "It's me, Stanford. I know this may seem like much, but could you please kindly let my brother go free so that he can join us in saving reality from utter destruction?"
"Not impressed." Shadow Filbrick snarled glaring at his descendants. "Not impressed with what?" the six-fingered genius asked. "With what you've become." Filbrick answered. "Look at you my son. Workaholic, haughty, unforgiving."
"That's all in the past!" Ford argued. "Okay, maybe I'm still a little too focused on my research, but still you have no right to call me out like that!"
"You tell 'em Ford!" Mabel exclaimed before Shadow Filbrick forced a barrier around the others and another over Stan. "They are insignificant, especially to you!" the shadow stated. "Your family is suffocating, correct?"
"No, stop all these lies at once!" Ford continued shouting. "You should watch your tone around your father!" Shadow Filbrick scolded. "I thought your brother was the only ignoramus between you two, but it seems you're just as foolish!"
Stanford didn't say a word after that, except for the growl he let out as he clutched his father's faker's neck tightly. "You take that back about us you faker!" he roared. "I know what you are, you're nothing but a manifestation of our negative emotions!"
Suddenly the barrier lowered around the rest of Ford's party and prepared for a fight. "Get them!" Shadow Filbrick choked commanding an army of duplicates. "Black Star, help me here!" Ford shouted to the ninja. "Yahoo, a chance to show my skills at last!"
"Finally time to put "that" to good use." Tsubaki grinned before they declared in unison, "Let's go, Soul Resonance!"
Tsubaki's weapon form changed from a chain scythe into a katana blade and then into a kunai that Black Star used to create afterimages of himself while running circles around the Filbrick shadows. "Try and catch me suckers!" the man who would surpass God cried out brashly. Sadly for him, the shadows were able to find out which was the real one and apprehend him, snatching Tsubaki away. "Don't worry, I got this!" the Shadow Weapon Meister declared preparing another move. "Ultimate Move: Black Star Big Wave!"
Black Star zoomed in for the kill, elbowing his partner's captor in the back while forcing his palm out, creating a large electrical force in the shape of a star that dissipated the shadow and freed Tsubaki. "And now, onto you!"
Jagged black lines began decorating Black Star's face as his sword finally shattered the shield around Stanley, and the de-aged grunkle looked up. "Black Star, what're you doing back here?!" Stan cried trying to protect himself from the scrambling shadows. "Just saved your life kid. Come with us if you want to live some more!" Black Star exclaimed taking the boy's hand as Stan slowly began returning to his normal age. "Yo Dipper, Ford, we got Stan!"
"Excellent work you two! Now let's finish this." Ford congratulated the pair letting go of his father's impersonator to prepare for the final blow. "Everyone, mobilize!" he commanded standing alongside his returned brother. "Good to be back in the fold poindexter." Stan said with his voice returned to its normal gruff octave. "And thanks for helping me out there kid."
"You're welcome old man!" Black Star replied beginning to charge towards Shadow Filbrick alongside the Stans & Dipper. "Now let's end this!"
"What are you doing?!" Shadow Filbrick cried out in horror before Dipper and Black Star's souls formed a connection. "Twin Blades of Legendary Justice!" the two boys announced their new attack as they stabbed their enemy in the chest while the Stan twins punched him on both sides of his head. "Y-y-y-y-y-you haven't won, YEEEETTTTTTT!"
Those were the final words of the fake Filbrick Pines before he exploded into pure light that covered the entire mindscape, along with similar blasts coming from the other two pillars.
--
"Oh geez, what happened?" Stan groaned slowly getting up off the wet ground and noticing the sky was a beautiful blue. "And where are we? Are we dead? I was betting on biting the dust like a hero."
"I don't think we're dead Grunkle Stan." Dipper stated gazing at Tsubaki standing nude, glowing and covered with black stripes in front of a large deer-like creature colored black with white markings. "Everyone, this is the will of my clan." Tsubaki introduced the creature who glared at the three Pines. "I see you have taken on a pupil of your own my camellia blossom." the will of the Nakatsukasa clan remarked gazing at Dipper. "And it seems he wields the legendary sword Excalibur."
"Yeah, good observation there." Dipper remarked. "So are you going to like, bless me or something?"
"Such a modest young man." the Will of Nakatsukasa commented. "Reminds me quite a bit of Masamune before his fall." he added turning to Tsubaki. "A little, I guess." the young woman replied stepping down to look at the boy. "Are you ready for the next phase of training?"
"Uh, uh, yeah?" Dipper stuttered while he face turned red from trying not to look at Tsubaki's spiritually bare form. "Hey guys, am I late?!" Black Star hollered rushing towards the group. "Hey, we gonna knight Dipper or something?"
"Sure, go ahead Black Star." Dipper answered proudly before the ninja summoned his sword and knighted his newfound equal with it. "Hopefully you can be just as badass as I someday."
"You got it." Dipper answered his new brother in arms with a firm handshake and the realm went white once more.
--
"Please Maka, just kill me and put an end to this! It's the only way I can be free of him!" Soul begged his Meister as the Little Ogre continued pulling on his leash. "Just do it!"
"No Soul, I can't!" Maka cried. "I won't let you die like this, not after all we've done for each other." she stated letting a few tears fall. "We may bicker a lot, but you've done so much for me. I'm your partner, best friend, closest confidant. And maybe we could be something more."
"Called it!" Marie cheered. "Oh, my baby girl!" Spirit replied feeling proud of his daughter. "Wait, when was that a thing?" Gideon wondered. "Bah, don't think the power of love can stop me!" the Ogre scoffed yanking on Soul's chain even harder, the pain forcing him to change into his Madness of Envy form. "Now my slave, finally destroy them!"
Maka armed herself with her father and got to work on trying to free Soul. However for the latter, he had a scythe of his own that is pretty much an exact double of his weapon form. "So it's come to this old friend. Scythe to scythe!"
"Meister to weapon!" Maka replied clashing blades with Soul. "Soul to soul!" Their weapons collided and ground against each other, causing sparks to literally fly. As for the rest of Maka's group, they were forced to fight more shadows similar to Shadow Filbrick.
"We need to find a way to get Soul distracted so that we can save him!" Stein exclaimed while taking command of Marie and fighting back-to-back with Crona. "Anyone have ideas?"
"Why don't we, I don't know, get 'em to kiss?" McGucket suggested. "But how can we do that?" Crona wondered. "Simple, just gotta shove 'em into each other!" Ragnarok suggested. "But we'll have to take out all these first to make more room and make things go smoothly."
"And where have you been this whole time?!" Gideon asked Ragnarok. "You've barely been useful to us for most of this journey ever since we left for Death City!"
"Hey, shut up kid!" the Black Blood sword argued just as McGucket split them up. "Alright you two, let's just get a move on."
"It's like my master said, the power of love is fruitless against me!" Soul hissed proceeding to gain the upper hand on his former partner. "What makes you believe I can be cured?!"
"Because she's got help!" Crona declared trying to push the Madness of Envy towards her. "Quick old man, start playing!" Gideon cried shoving Maka forward. "You got it!" Fiddleford exclaimed beginning to play a romantic tune on his banjo while Stein cleared out the remaining shadows. "What trickery is this?!" the Ogre yelled as Maka & Soul began slowdancing. "Don't fall for that music, just kill them all!"
"W-what are you trying to do Maka?" the final Madness asked slowly beginning to turn back into Soul. "Remember how earlier I said we can be something more?" Maka asked softly. "Well it's because, I do kinda have a crush on you. I mean, after all we've done for each other I'm surprised you haven't admitted that either."
"Yeah, gonna be honest, I do too." Soul confessed. "Even this music is something we made together, isn't it?" he asked slowly bringing his partner in for a kiss. "Yeah."
"NO! NO NO NO! I can't be foiled by the power of cliches, what will Master Cipher think?!" the suited imp panicked trying to separate the newfound lovers. "Well we think you need to go." Crona snarled shoving him off the pillar and into the inky blackness below. "I know he'll get you for all of this!"
As Maka and Soul finally kissed, the mindscape went completely white.
--
"Yeesh, couldn't wait until after we saved the world, huh?"
When the pair broke, they found themselves back in the Fearamid with the entire Mystery Meister crew, plus the recently returned Stan and Preston, surrounding them. Spirit burst into tears about his daughter finding love, Mabel & Marie highfived each other for a match made and Black Star gave his buddy a thumbs up. "My man!"
"Everyone." Soul gasped looking at them all. "And Mr. Pines too!?" he exclaimed staring at Stan. "Yep, in the flesh Sharkbait." Stan cackled and took a deep breath. "Real nice for us all to be back together."
"So where do we go now?" Preston nervously asked and Dipper, Maka, Mabel & Soul looked onward at Kishin Cipher being double-teamed by the Shacktron and the Death City robot. "Kishin Cipher." they declared in unison.
Speaking of which, Kishin Cipher found himself backed into a corner by the two mechanized homes. "So, any suggestions my surviving goons?" he asked the remains of his army. "Well, it seems you can't directly hit the Shacktron." the Summerween Trickster analyzed. "So we must hit something with it!" Wax Sherlock Holmes added. "Like the other robot!" the Flying Dutchman concluded, which gave Kishin Cipher an idea. Shrinking down to regular size, he warped above Death City and extended his arm into its underground to seize Lord Death from his current hiding spot. "Not so all-powerful and all-knowing now, aren't you father?!"
"If this is part of another scheme, that's not going to happen!" Death shouted smacking Kishin Cipher in the face with his glove while being held by the antenna on top of his head. "I'll let you run free, if you hand over my soul." K.C. offered threatening him with an energy blast on his middle finger. "Or perhaps you'd much rather prefer being murdered on the spot in front of your soon to be dead son!"
"I'd never!" the Death God refused. "Well, suit yourself." the Dream Kishin casually answered carelessly dropping Lord Death on the ground from high above before his arm next searched the Death Room, eventually finding Asura's soul buried underneath one of the crosses within.
"Come to papa!" the monster announced swallowing the soul whole and beginning to get more stronger. Tiny bat wings emerged on his head which became more angular & chiseled, his arms more comedically muscular and the bandages forming into demonic wings. "And now for the main course!" he roared excitedly grabbing Death City by the large rock formation underneath and smashing the Mystery Shack into pieces, potentially killing everyone inside. "Oh no, I murdered everyone you love! Ah, don't be a bunch of sadsacks, cause you'll be joining them pretty soon!"
The Mystery Meisters stared in shock, horror and sadness at what just happened. Soos started crying uncontrollably at the possible loss of his fiance, Preston futilely reached out for his wife, Ford dropped to his knees in defeat and everyone else was in mourning.
All except for the Mystery Twins and Maka & Soul, who were absolutely furious at Kishin Cipher. Dipper held Excalibur tightly while tears leaked from his enraged eyes, Mabel stuck to her brother's side, Maka simply glared and Soul clenched his fists in fury.
The final battle for the fate of all humanity has finally begun. And in the distance, a certain clergyman stood atop a tree watching with a wolfman.
--
Hey there boys and girls, sorry this took so long! I just got tied up with so many things that this chapter took me nearly most of the year. But hopefully this is all worth it, even with some parts feeling rushed in my eyes. Is the resistance truly dead and has Kishin Cipher finally won?! Well, I guess the final line might make it pretty obvious. Join us next time for the epic final clash where the fate of Earth and all reality shall be decided.
#gravity falls#soul eater#crossover#fanfiction#gravity soul#dipper pines#mabel pines#maka albarn#soul eater evans#stanley pines#stanford pines#black star#tsubaki nakatsukasa#soos ramirez#wendy corduroy#death the kid#liz thompson#patty thompson#crona gorgon#ragnarok soul eater#spirit albarn#franken stein#pacifica northwest#preston northwest#lil gideon#old man mcgucket#marie mjolnir#azusa yumi#excalibur soul eater#blair soul eater
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