#let’s play a game of ‘which one of these is from a magma’. I’ll give you a hint. it’s probably really obvious sifhsf
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hey. remember that old neon j art I made once. surprise.
(edit: added alt text, not sure how good it is. I’ll probably change it later)
#neon j#the disaster does art#no straight roads#nsr#neon j nsr#nsr neon j#let’s play a game of ‘which one of these is from a magma’. I’ll give you a hint. it’s probably really obvious sifhsf#Despite all these years. I still can’t format an art file to save my life. big apologies
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I wanted to add a Metroid character forever ago. I love the universe of Metroid and need to play more Metroid games, I’ve only played Prime 3, Prime hunters and Other M. I know, fake fan. I just never have money when new Metroid games come out. So bleh. Anyhow. Let’s get down to business!
Metroid doesn’t have a lot of characters in general, it’s a not story based series and a large part of the vibe of Metroid is being alone in space. That’s such an important part of the Metroid vibe and aesthetic and such, so characters aren’t plentiful. That being said, I somehow have only played the games that have more characters than just Samus. Shrug. That being said, Metroid probably has one character request as of recently and that is Ravenbeak from Metroid Dread. I’ll admit I don’t know about that at all outside what was shown in trailers, I wanna play it, i just don’t own it. But he isn’t my choice. I’ve chosen one of the hunters from Metroid Prime hunters! So when i first conceived this idea I had chosen Weavil. Simply because, i wanted a space pirate, but they added Ridley so i don’t need a space pirate representative anymore. For that reason, I decided i wanted one of the cooler hunters. My personal favorite was Trace but he’s a sniper with stealth abilities, I don’t think he fits into smash as well as other characters. I also almost chose Kanden because he’s a cool looking character with an interesting story. BUT instead I’ve chosen
SPIRE! Seriously, look at this guy! He’s SICK! (Note OP likes rocky stuff). Spire is a being from the species known as the Diamont. It’s a shame he was made for a DS FPS game. Seriously who thought a Metroid Prime game on the DS was a good idea? Metroid Prime hunters you’d think wouldn’t lend itself to creative move sets since all the characters were designed to be played in multiplayer but the characters were also designed to feel different in multiplayer so that gives me plenty of room for that purpose. I think he’d be a weight much heavier than Samus, maybe close to K Rool. I think he should feel like a bruiser, like a living armored tank. So let’s discuss move set! By the way, I plan to redo the first two posts to add move sets to those characters and not be so wishy washy on the DK section. That being said.
For his Neutral B he will use his signature weapon the Magmaul. In the game it’s a bit of a chargeable grenade launcher and when Spire himself uses it adds a damage over time effect and it splits into more projectiles when it hits. Obviously we’ll used both of those properties BUT, i won’t be using the charge property. Instead he’ll fire it slowly and be at the fully charged state by default. This way holding the B button allows you to change the angle at which you fire it.
For his Up B he briefly makes a platform of magma to jump off of, dropping a magma spike below him when used in the air like elwind or Sonic’s spring, and leaving a magma spike on the ground when used on the ground. This move does not induce special fall.
For his Side B his uses the Dialanch, his version of the morph ball in multiplayer. He unleashes spikes on his body and rolls in the direction you used the move in. Unlike similar moves like rollout it’s not a chargeable move and is not stopped when he makes contact, instead it does a bunch of hits, and keeps going until you reach full distance or press B again. If you hit a wall Spire will climb it, in this state he will automatically stop using the move when he gets to the top of the platform. When used in the air assuming you don’t hit a wall it does induce special fall. I see this mixing up his ledge options.
For his Down B he covers his body in magma and it hardens instantly. Now he moves even slower but every move now has 2 or 3 hits of super armor and he cannot be launched in this state, but he will fall significantly faster. But in this state even him falling does damage to opponents. Or maybe it should work like Monado Shield but i liked my idea so bleh!
I know this one is late and to make up for it I will be doing another character today so it still looks like daily posting. That being said i hope you all like this idea for a move set. I had a lot of fun coming up with this one. “Tomorrow” I’ll be doing a post that requires a small amount of research. I will probably start ending weeks with posts that require research until I have no other choice either way.
#super smash bros#daily post#unfiltered thoughts#rambling#super smash ultimate#smash bros#Metroid#Samus#Spire#metroid prime hunters#Metroid prime
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Adam/Shindo Ainosuke X Male Reader
Author's note : Adam needs a bit of love, don't you think? A little love that doesn't imply to hurt Tadashi. It doesn't prevent that it is certainly crap. English is not my main language and it must be awful.
Warnings : NSFW, spanking, degradation and all the BDSM pack.
You were a newcomer, a rookie here. In S. You had the time to watch the local legends fall from their safe sky on the large screens. The most incredible was the race against Langa. Well... You were still wondering if his name was really Langa. Maybe you misunderstood, hidden in your shadows. First Joe, then Cherry and finally Adam. You had to admit their style was eclectic. Even them had to learn again. They were believing themselves as gods because they were the founders of a clandestin course. It made you shrug a little while you were observing them.
People were people. Here, in S, freedom was at its most powerful. A place were no one could say, order to someone something he doesn't want to do. Everything was ruled by skateboard and the people's talent. You were quite happy of that. Because of an accident years ago in mountains with your motorbike while you were heading to the summit so as to practice snowboard. You had the ambition to reach the Winter Olympic Games in half-pipe. You fell from a cliff and you miraculously landed meters below with broken ribs instead of your backbone.
During years you suffered and your dream of medals in the Olympic Games was gone, vanished into the air. Your well-known recklessness almost hurried you in your grave. In the hospital, you spent the last three years to reeducate with an omnipresent pain in your back, anger against the people who had forgotten you when you would have given them your soul if they asked for it an ended alone. You nearly lost your mind when you woke up from coma and nothing appeared in front of you. You weren't able to see anymore. Time went by and you found yourself offered the chance to remedy to your blindness. But it doomed you to wear particular sunglasses every day of your life. A little cost considering what you've been through.
You suffered. You were still aching but less than these last month. Moreover you felt better each day passing. Only eternal scars remain. And to be here in S got you like you were free as much as before your accident. And you would thank Adam for this. Yet, you meant nothing, watching the same scenes which were playing in front of your eyes.
You were sitting on your motorbike far behind the last people composing the crowds ahead of you. Actually, the last time you came at S was when Adam had been defeated. Since then, you weren't coming as often as you should now. Everything was more peaceful and Adam abandoned this bad habit to smash people in the face with his own skateboard. Of course, the blue-haired show-off would never stop to make his little shows and big entrances. You don't think that one day his "hey bitches and bros and non-binary hoes" would leave your mind so easily.
Yet, even if you admired Adam as an remarkable skater, you wouldn't prevent yourself to hate him for everything he was aside all of it. He was "in love" as he told to anyone who would like to hear it with his partners of race. It was nothing like love. You didn't know how you manage to not go through the crowds to slap him right in the face. He didn't understand. He wouldn't anyway. Love is sweet, a fluttering sentiment which set upside-down your guts and your soul. It wasn't how you remembered this wonderful thing.
Anyways, Adam had been defeated by a rookie that you had the power to crush on a snowboard. Even if he was talented, had he the talent of someone able to go in the Olympic Games? You didn't think so. You had yourself a modified board. And right now before the attended race between two opponents, you were as if you were playing on the half-pipe near the start of the race.
You were jumping even higher than this little rookie and executing figures in air that were turning sick some of the people gathered in your audience. You were hearing the slight gasps of awe coming from several girls watching them. Even Langa applaused you in the distance with an annoying smile. That little group comprehending Shadow, Reki, Langa, Miya and the others was sincerely uselessly noisy. Though, they were sometimes giving you back a smile you had long forgotten it was existing. But you didn't care anymore. You were busy with your "switched back flip with nose grab" and to make people applause even louder around you.
They were kind and cute because even if the trick wasn't so hard, doing it on a skateboard was something else. And it earned you the nickname of Eagle in S. You were impressive to say the least and people were clearly stunned. What you didn't expect was to attract the boss' attention here. Adam. Actually, his little grieves left you as if you were like marble.
Not only was he sticking to you but he also was quite insisting in his behavior. You didn't like him at all. It may have been the second or the third night that you came on the half-pipe of S. No one challenged you that time. You just shrugged your shoulders and were going on the way to leave this place. The pressure, the people gathered here, the races and the clear lack of delicacy from them made you get away from here. A sort of repulsion ordered you to go away. A skatepark would be big enough to allow you to do the same show for any passerby. After all what was the point of tiring yourself by skating if no one could applause for your demonstration of pure talent. And today, several nights after Adam's defeat, you were leaving S for good this time. It has no point for you to stay.
Yet, Adam didn't want the same. He was observing you before Langa. So he caught you up while lights were dancing around him.
"Mmh... What a wonderful little bird I see here. Don't be scared my dove, I'm not going to bite you." Adam said both loudly and sensually, thus it made crowds look in the same moment towards you.
A heavy silence has just fallen onto the crowds. You have heard the wheels of Adam's skateboard behind you. And he came, leaving his hand on your hips, getting you closer and closer to him. You could feel his hands roaming and doing delicate circles on the fabric of your clothes. Such an intimate action while you could almost feel his head rest on your shoulder. He made a little comment about your scent. Does this man have really no shame ?
"Aren't you tired of your own bullshit, Adam? Losing once wasn't enough to bring humility in you?" you snapped back while the man gazed at you.
"Never, my sweet, stubborn little dove" Ainosuke whispered in your ear while his hands were circling around your waists.
His sweet, gentle, poisonous tone was near to give you shivers. You weren't able to discern within yourself if it was a sort of trespassing desire that was boiling in you or a fire of rage and the deep will to smash him with your skateboard. Probably both. Let's agree on the fact that this man was a living invitation to luxury and rough love. You were just a little smaller than him but strong enough to make him comply and kneel in front of you like a slut. You clicked your tongue and forcefully escaped from Adam's treacherous embrace.
"Alright Eagle. I challenge you into a beef" Adam called behind you.
"Carry on" You answered back while the crowds become immediately silent were watching you with great interest.
"A race. You and me. Right now. The loser become the slave of his opponent." Adam added with his usual disturbing smile.
For one of the first times since you were coming in S, it was one of your first beefs. Moreover, with the boss of all that mess. And finally, it involved something hidden behind all of this display. And you liked it. Why not enjoying fully the race and the aftermath. You used the back extremity of your skateboard you hit Adam in the belly and making him move backwards. You were almost ecstatic. You walked calmly until the start line, put lightly your skateboard on the ground and set your foot on the deck while you were waiting for Adam to come. Obviously, he made his way towards you.
"Mmh... I'll enjoy to turn you upside down after this race" Adam sensually whispered.
"Your self-confidence will kill you one day, filthy man" you replied with a dry tone.
"Let's say that now that I've lost my Eve, the only person in S having my attention is you my little dove. Be ready, I'm not going to be easy on you"
These last sentences would the death of you. His magma-like voice was burning your insides. How can someone warm you up so efficiently? That was a mystery. But you liked it. Adam was well-known to be kinky. You hated a little yourself at that time. You were falling for an insane guy who is now targeting you. Obviously, it was not in a romantic way. Yet, Adam remained a reachable fanstasm. And you were apparently one of his. The green fire came rapidly, thus the start of the race.
Adam became fastly the first. You forgot about everything and just tried to have fun. You were skating as if your board was a part of yourself, dodging rocks and Adam's attack. You knew very well that he didn't change that much after his first defeat here. He even did his little thing of holding you close to him with the sort of horns on his skateboard.
" I love the movement of your hips, so agile, so smooth, I can't prevent myself to wonder what it will feel like to love you fully until you will ache for attention under my touch. You are a snowboarder too, right?" Adam asked more or less.
"You could say that. But I'm not like that kid. I prefer half-pipes. Besides, you have really no shame, haven't you? Anyways, goodbye."
You increased your speed and left Adam behind. You were jumping the cliffs where the turns formed the shape of a snake with the lights in the night. While you were flying, you were shining with more and more complicated figures and graceful landings, making you significantly ahead of the blue-haired holy creature named Adam. He managed very quickly to catch you up. A little smile was playing on your lips. That was funny to see him a little bit in difficulty.
You were provoking him. That was unbelievable and remarkably bold of you to do so. You annoying smile was allowing to build desire and longing in Adam's heart. He was the king and yet, a little dove was playing with him shamelessly. Adam was so mesmerized by your own race that he barely realized he was in the factory. The screams of the people gathered in there dragged him from his thoughts. He saw you fly until the finish line and cross it. You win against him. A huge silent welcomed him.
"One of the first things you have not to lose when you run is your own concentration. I don't know what happened to you but it doesn't prevent that you weren't really skating. So for the beef, I cancel the slave thing." You declared when Adam went towards you.
You turned your back to him and headed to your motorbike followed by the blue-haired man. You didn't want to stay any longer. Adam's footsteps were soft behind yours.
"How can you cancel the slave thing, as you called it?" Adam demanded.
Seeing that he didn't have any answer, Adam reached you to catch your shoulder and make you turn to look at him.
"Because I'm the winner" you responded with a threatening tone.
"So having me doesn't interest you?" Adam questioned with a spark of deception.
"I didn't say that" you replied with a playful half-smile crossing your lips.
You were surrounded by darkness and no one cared anymore about you. For the people, you were remedying with your little issues about the beef. Nothing very interesting for them. Your hand climbed Adam's tensed thigh before going backwards to his ass and caressing it shamelessly. You heard the man getting a heavier breath and mumbling sinner sentences in your ear. You didn't even move when he came closer to enjoy the caress.
"Adam... You are such a slut... Look at you, you sound like a virgin discovering sex" You told with an incredible amount of heat on your voice.
You left your fingers coming down on his half-hard dick and rub it lightly. Just enough to give shivers to the man.
"Horny, aren't we?" you carried on while Adam was melting under your touch.
It was only simple caresses yet the man in front of you was letting himself go as if you were escaping and he won't have anymore opportunities to have you so close.
"More" demanded Adam while he has finally what he wanted so hard.
But you stopped here, creating frustration in the man.
"There's a love hotel down Crazy Rock. Come with your Grim Reaper costume." You requested with an overbearing tone.
Adam ordered to Tadashi who wasn't present in S that night to bring him to this place and the black clothes he was wearing against Langa. Once arrived in the building, he headed towards the receptionist who led him until the room. The space was dark and very classical for a love hotel but it was enough to arouse Adam. He felt as if your hands were still on him while he was changing his red costume. The memory of your hands trailing down his back to reach his ass and caressing it shamelessly was still unbelievably strong in his mind. Then he felt the touch join his cock, gently but still enough to make surrender to your touch. He desired you so much right now. Once he wore his Grim Reaper clothes, he laid down the mattress. He let himself go to the warmth he was feeling. He already wanted you so hard. He thought he was still dreaming when he felt the sudden touch of your hand on his neck.
"Ready to cum due to a shameless imagination. What a dirty little pet we have here. Were you planning to touch while you would wait for me? " You whispered in Adam's ear, getting him to have goosebumps.
Your fingers went down along his spine then reached the start of his ass. You were riding him from behind, each of your legs apart Ainosuke's body. You spanked his cheeks violently when you see you wouldn't get your answer, making the man moaning of both pain and pleasure.
"Use your tongue. You still have one, right?" you picked up after this unwanted silence.
"Yes" mumbled the submitted man.
"Louder. I don't hear you."you commanded.
"Yes"
He was speaking at the volume you wanted to listen. Loudly but not enough to disturb people out there.
"Better" you acknowledged with a neutral tone.
You got away from the position you have over Ainosuke. You were looking for the bad you brought with you. In the corner of your eye, you remarked the presence of a mirror. It could be useful but not now. You were secretly impatient to play with the king of S. You glanced at him and couldn't prevent a half-smile on your face. His hips were slightly higher than what would be normal. The blue-haired man was aching for your touch. Unhappily, it seemed sometimes you weren't as mean as some of masters with their human pet when it comes to tough, rough and painful but delicious sex. Well... It didn't matter actually. Your beautiful puppy lying on the mattress would love it anyway. You sincerely enjoyed the fact that this natural dominant male was completely under your control.
"Get up and kneel. Be rid of your clothes and keep your eyes on the wall. If you look at me I leave you here, tied and with a toy in your ass until you faint. Is that clear?" You ordered with a severe voice.
You didn't get any answer immediately.
"Yes". You heard behind you.
"Yes who?" You added.
"Yes Master" Adam ended while he just worked to be in his knees over the blankets.
The man got rid of his suit not so quickly. The fabric was comfortable and smooth, suiting perfectly his body. The memory of your touch was almost disappearing with him leaving aside all the clothes. He ended naked on the bed, his pale skin revealed to the air. He kept his eyes locked on the wall and he didn't have any access to the mirror to watch what you were doing. He only heard some noises somewhere behind him. Adam was shivering litghtly because of anticipation. He didn't want you to be kind with him. The rougher the better. Anyways, love and pain were both the faces of a coin, right? He submits but you serve.
Ainosuke felt your hand climbing along his leg and rest a few seconds on his thigh. You slided a lubed toy in his hole. You went as deeply as you could without bruising you pet and without leaving without any sensations. His insides were slightly stretched enough to emphasize the rubbing which you started from a few feets away.
You had the time to change in a black leathery pants and high boots, all black, with an open shirt lazily flying along your sides. After that, you were just watching Ainosuke's nakedness from behind. He was well-shaped. You couldn't say more. And this beautiful insane man was craving for your attention. You knew the effect the toy had. The more Adam was holding back his moan, the more the toy is going to make him lose his mind. You knew very well that the man had a certain endurance. Yet, it had no effect when the right points within his body were touched and loved.
You were still gentle. You could be more cruel and less careful about your little pet. Adam knew it very well. He was sure he looked like a little virgin taking pleasure for the first time but the thing inside of him suppressed all of his strength. He was grunting and moaning like a whore and he loved it. But it wasn't enough. It wasn't you.
"More..." Breathed the man while his whole body was totally shaking.
"More? Really?" you asked while you were enjoying the frustration on Adam's face and the red hue on his cheeks.
"Inside me... Touch me..."you went to caress Ainosuke's naked ass before spanking it another time.
"You have no permission to cum, dirty pet. I'll punish you otherwise."you warned with a threatening tone in your voice.
The heat was slightly consuming the blue-haired man and pleasure was way too heavy for him, almost choking sometimes. You would be the death of him if it carried on.
"Please..."Adam silently begged while you were heading to an armchair not far away from the display in front of you.
Were you sadistic? Probably. You had one of your legs hanging on the side of your seat and watching Ainosuke fighting the destroying pleasure inside of him. You were so desirable. No one would ever say the contrary. It was only the start for your adorable pet. But it wasn't enough for you.
"Come here." You commanded with a monotonous but commanding tone in your voice.
You saw Adam moving to reach you. He stumbled on the few meters he had to make to come at you. He knelt in front of you but it sounded more like he wasn't able to carry his own weigh. He was looking up at you with eyes tainted of pleasure. He caressed your legs as any good cat would do to please his master and get some food or any touch. Your hand reached his chin and you lift it without any delicacy. A few more and Adam was going to surrender and leaving himself being overwhelmed by pleasure. His red eyes were blurry and full of lust and you locked yours on his. Your hand went in his hair and you brought him closer to you.
"Take it. And do it well, slut" you requested with an overbearing tone.
You felt shaking hands roaming over your leather pants and undo the belts resting on your hips. His fingers freed your half-hard dick but he was too slow.
"Faster" you ordered.
Adam put his finger on the skin of your shaft, then his lips. You hardly held back a grunt of pleasure while you were feeling his hot mouth around your cock. That was divine but not enough. You settled your fingers in Ainosuke's hair and pulled it closer.
"Come on, slut"
The blue-haired man wasn't slow but it wasn't fast enough and it frustrated you. You ordered him for more speed and he did it. Adam was all focus on your pleasure, worshipping you with his tongue and his lips. It was warm inside his mouth. You wanted to dirty your sub with your seeds and make him feel like a doll in your hands. Besides, you increased the speed of the toy inside Adam's ass. He was fighting tou bring you pleasure and not to cum. His whole body must ache but you didn't really care. You wanted more. You helped a little Ainosuke with his movements. His tongue was caressing you shamelessly, and he was all focused on you. You were almost fucking his throat.
"You are really a whore my pet. Worse than a dog in heat. Loot at you"
You led his eyes to the mirror not far from you. Adam moaned when he saw the image of himself. The red hue on his cheeks while he was taking your cock into his mouth. The sight was mesmerizing. Then, lower, the pre-sperm was dripping from his own sex. Adam wasn't able to suffer it anymore and the last image had been the death of his limits and he cummed lankily on the ground. His muscles all tensed relaxed in a few seconds. He spilled his white liquid everywhere at the bottom of the armchair while he was moaning with your shaft still in his throat.
You raised your hand and gave him an echoing slap which made the blue-haired man fall on his back, covered of his dirty sperm. You perceived Adam hard cock raising between his legs.
"Kinky whore. You are not even able to handle it, right? Such a disobedient little puppy. You'll be punished, you know that, aren't you?" you threatened with a sweet voice, penetrating under Ainosuke's flesh.
You were watching your pet getting up from his position on the ground.
"Be happy that I'm not going to order you to lick it, silly kitten. On the bed, now. Twenty whiplash, and if you are not obedient, I'll double that number. Understood?"
"Please Master, no!" Adam surprisingly begged with and hoarse voice to you.
"This is the cost for your insolence and disobedience. It could be a hundred so take what I allow you" You replied without any softness.
You gave the order to your dog to be astride on the bed, on all four. Adam settled over the blankets and stayed still. The man heard you get the tool in your hand. And without telling him, he felt a painful burn on his ass, followed by your hand which rubbed it. Ainosuke heard himself grunt to the sudden soothing caress.
"It was the first. I won't be that kind after. Count them. At any mistake, It'll be thirty"
You blowed him again and your sub was counting but it was painful and red traces were appearing on his skin. You weren't soft with him and appreciated his delicious reactions of suffering and adoration. The toy was still in his ass, driving him crazy from both inside and outside. Adam wasn't able to keep up anymore and at the end on the punishment, he fell over the blankets, naked, full of shame, pleasure and love. He was crying due to the overwhelming amount of feelings. His shaft was so hard that it was painful and he wanted freedom from you. His pants were perceptible in the silence of the room. The blue-haired man felt your hand on his ribcage and forcefully turn him on his back.
He saw climb over the mattress and settle near him. Your finger roamed over your pet's belly and touch his nipples, making him shiver and grunt. Your softness was welcome for Adam. His body was aching due to tension and slaps but pleasure was still present in his blood and adrenaline was keeping him conscious. Suddenly, the toy Ainosuke had in his ass had a different movement, more intense, more rubbing and making him moan loudly.
"Did you seriously think it was ended?" you questioned with a playful tone. "No. Of course not".
You got up and put yourself in a riding way. You pushed your shaft inside Adam's mouth and start to fuck his throat again. Fingers curling down the sheets and becoming white. Your sub was testifying of this pleasure. And you were too. Your hips were getting faster and faster and Adam's eyes were rolling backwards while pleasure was burning him. You were silently moaning and keeping your features still but it was hard when your little pet's tongue was that agile and smart to find the areas able to make you shudder. It felt like eternity till you finally cummed inside of Ainosuke's mouth. Your sub swallowed everything and as a reward you ordered him to change of position and to rest on his belly. You removed the toy from his ass and caressed it softly.
"Master..." called quietly Adam.
"Mmh?" you responded with distance in your behavior towards him.
"Please. Fuck me." begged silently the man.
Where was Adam, the king of S, almost undefeated? Where was the show-off, the insane guy? You knew very well where he was. He was subdued to every of your desire now, drunken by pain and pleasure, knocked by envy. He wanted you in the simplest way. The incubus became the innocent virgin and you were his master. Nothing was left from the skater man that you met at the nightfall. He was just a body aching for softness after a hardship, pleading for quietness now. And more sincere than he never had been until tonight. He needed you.
"Please Master..." whispered again Adam.
But his begging stopped when Adam felt your dick against his hole. A slight moan escaped from him and you started to bury yourself in him. His insides were warm and comfortable but so tight. The rubbing was divine and you could help yourself but start to fuck his ass very slowly to push him to worship you. Adam had his hips hanging a little in air as you were thrusting to give you both an amazing amount of pleasure.
"P-Please Master... More..." moaned Adam while you were almost hitting his ass.
It was so nice to see the man so submitted to his needs coming from you. You couldn't help yourself but started to thrust more and more quickly and fastly. The sound of your flesh against each other was echoing in the room and you liked it. You got rougher and rougher but it was still nice and finally, you let yourself be. You felt Adam's hole tightening around your shaft for the second time. Your hands slide down his hips to find his own sex so as to apply languid caresses. It was too much for him and his muscled yet thin body sank on the bed and you followed him in his climax not long after him.
You were panting heavily and your pet was actually nearly fainting. You took him into a warm embrace and rubbed his skin to soothe him. You didn't have the time for a real aftercare because he fell asleep immediately. You would wait him to take a needed shower. For the time that you had, you left him be.
Adam had been a wonderful sub. You were happy. But you didn't have the intention to stay with him. If he wanted you, then maybe you should have a more serious and deeper conversation. But now, it wasn't what you wanted.
#sk8 adam#anime#anime boy#bad guy#ainosuke shindo x reader#sk8 ainosuke#shindo ainosuke#sk8 renga#miya chinen#sk8 miya#matcha blossom#sk8 scenarios#sk8edit#bxb#male reader#villain#lovers
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The Smell of Plum Blossom Tea Ch 19
Summary: Just like a butterfly wing, a single act of kindness can change the course of the future, it certainly did for MK as a black furred monkey put out a hand towards him.
Rating: Teen and up
Chapter 19: Got Your Back (And Maybe Your Heart)
“Okay let me get this straight-”
“No one here is, but go on.”
“Hush, I’m still mad at you,” Tang gave a stink eye to the Kappa before turning back to Macaque. “So let me get this straight, so not only are you the same Six Eared Macaque that has fought the Monkey King and the deity that’s known as the Wandering Healer-”
“Not actually a deity,” he inputted.
“Whatever, but I’ve been coming here for years and just now I find out that there are mythical deities and magical plants within the forest! The Yao grass that is said to be a component to the Immortality Pills, an actual Qilin living here?! And the brown bunny and that little shit stain, who probably wants to laugh his ass off, is actually a Kitsune and spirit!”
“Guilty as charged,” the Shui Gui chortled.
“Pretty much,” the monkey shrugged his shoulders.
“Yup,” Ní nodded in her fox form.
“…I am both very angry and very excited,” he grumbled. “Do you know how many questions I have?! Do you know how many things I could have tested? Do you know how long I have wanted to meet someone like you guys? Do you know how many questions I have?!”
“I think you already said that,” said the water spirit though he froze as he saw an ominous glint in his eyes.
“Oh yes I did, because by the time I leave here,” he mysteriously whipped out his phone, “I will have all my questions answered.”
“Just how many do you have?” Macaque cautiously asked.
Tang said nothing as he instead showed a folder containing many files within them. “Quite a few. Quite. A. Few.”
All three immortals, the ones who have faced many fierce opponents throughout their life, gulped at the looming trials ahead.
“Fuck,” they all unanimously said.
It was cold, damp, and thoroughly disgusting with all of the worthless piles of junk lying around, but she supposed she would have to work with what she had under these…conditions.
Lady Bone Demon quietly walked through the open sewer as she attempted to distinguish where exactly she should strike next while her underling, who has been waiting for all these years, searches for the one item she hasn’t quite found.
It was quite tricky, to say the least, all the rest of the ingredients she needed to procure, albeit a bit rare, would be much easier to obtain even if those incompetent bugs mess it up. It won’t be too hard to find a replacement for those, she just decided on them for the proximity, she does not desire to leave the city before she achieves her prize. The last item though is something that is an ingredient that is not so easily replaceable, so she will need to take her time and look through every crack and back alley down until she does.
It was quite irritating, from the conditions she found herself into the annoying bugs that seem to think they are above her to Sun Wukong.
Sometimes she just wished that she could be over and done with this little game entirely and reach the end, but alas that’s not how life works. But she will admit that it will be fun watching them all struggle to get one step ahead of her, though she can’t decide which one she’ll enjoy more, Sun Wukong look when she finally drains him of every last bit of power and torture what he cherishes in front of his very eyes or Spider Queen expression as she stabs her in the back when she becomes the component to her plans. Both sound absolutely delightful when the time comes, but for that to happen she suppose she will have to achieve this the long way, no shortcuts or cheats allowed.
But she doesn’t mind the wait, after all, she had been imprisoned for over five hundred centuries.
She has nothing but time and she intends to play this little game all the way to the end.
“So your not just some random ass immortal,” Macaque bluntly said when Shen met up with him again.
“Took you that long to figure that out,” the frizzy hair old man laughed.
“Well, how am I supposed to know that you were literally giving me Immortal wine when I have never tasted it before you all but shoved it to me?” He grumbled as he held the bottle of very rare wine once more. “You know I don’t really need this, I am still perfectly immortal without it.”
“Oh I know, Yama sometimes grumbled about it from time to time when we get together. Gods know he wants to strangle Sun Wukong's scrawny neck when he gets the chance,” he said while drinking some of the wine.
“You regularly drink with the King of the Dead?” He deadpanned, “Who the fuck are you? Cause that right there shows that you're not just a regular ass deity.”
“Hmm I’ll tell you if you tell me how you figured out how to make the Immortality pills,” he smirked at the monkey still look.
“What do you mean?”
“I may be old, but I can smell a lot of the ingredients for the pills in this forest alone. Yao grass, Biya berries, Voya roots, Gracidea flowers, just to name a few,” he tapped his nose.
“Can’t really hide the smell,” he clicked his teeth. “Alright fine I���ll talk, but you better keep your end of the deal.”
“Will do.”
And so they talked and talked and when Shen spoke of who he was Macaque all but threw the bottle in his hand.
“What the fuck Ping?!” He hissed out as he had to stop himself from bashing his head against the tree. “How the fuck?!”
“He was an interesting one,” he laughed. He met his old friend by the river where he was doing his laundry, they spoke and then he found himself another drinking buddy.
Macaque’s eyes twitched as he just slumped over and groaned loudly. “What the fuck!”
Shen just laughed wildly next to him.
“Yeah yeah laugh it up,” he hissed before letting out a sigh and sat himself up. “Shit I don’t know if I can ask you this but I might as well fucking try?”
“Hmm?” He curiously questioned.
“I may need something soon that I can’t quite get on normal means and I think-no I know I will need your help to get it,” he asked with an almost pleading voice.
“Hmm, why do you need it?” He noted the tone in his voice but didn’t say a word about it.
“There is a demon that wants to take over the land and almost nobody would be able to stop her,” the simian admitted.
“Eh, there will always be some creature that wants to take over the world, been there, seen that, but that never really happens now does it,” he easily dismissed it as he leaned in closer, “but why do you need it?”
“Because there are people that I want to protect and I know that they will be the ones that will be fighting against that monster and like hell I am letting them do this alone,” he growled.
“Oh now I have your reason, so here’s another question. How much are you willing to give for my favor?”
“Anything,” he determinedly said.
“Anything you say? Even your life?” His green eyes challenged his violet ones.
“Yes,” he replied with no hesitation as the question didn’t even make him flinch.
There was a long silence as both beings stared the other down until the red haired man broke off his gaze and chuckled lightly.
“…hehehe, always knew Ping was fond of the stubborn ones,” he grinned.
“Ping is an old coot with the perchance of running into the weirdest fucking things,” he huffed as the air around them seem to settle down.
“You're not wrong,” he nodded. “Alright I’ll help ya, but next time I drop by I expect some high quality drinks.”
“Tch, fine you alcoholic bastard. Hope you don’t mind Plum wine, have a few sitting for a couple of centuries.”
“Are you kidding? The longer the age, the better it is! It’s like you don’t know me sapling,” he said with a mock hurt expression.
“I mean I might as well as you just told me who the fuck you are!” He threw his hands in the air.
“But you know my wine tastes!”
“You've only given me one kind of wine bastard!”
“Still!”
“Don’t you fucking pout you overgrown child!”
“Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!” MK cursed as he dashed his way through the volcanic land and ducked from a large fiery boulder aimed straight towards him. “Why does this happen to me!?”
Now you may be wondering how and why MK found himself stuck in the volcano arena, well he was visiting one of the more interesting customers he had delivered to before, as in she was trying to learn more about magic, with Red and Mei. Which is cool and all, especially since she has mastered how to change her hair color on will, but she was showing him her more advanced spells. Now it was very fun with the Bull Prince trying to explain to the young girl how each spell works and how much energy must be put into it. They were even going to try out a new spell together, but the thing about her is that while she does have quite a bit of talent, she is extremely clumsy. As she took a step forward and accidentally pushed him into the symbol on the ground and then ‘poof’ he teleported right in the middle of the fire imp territory.
Usually, this wouldn’t be a problem, he can handle a few enemies on his own and he did with such ease that not even a scratch was laid on him. It’s just that the problem was that they all happened to be a bit too loud and woke up a humanoid creature that was three times his size, entirely made up of molten magma and rock crystals, and looked very pissed.
Needless to say all of them booked it as fast as they could, but unfortunately it had their eyes on one creature that looked different from the rest.
“Seriously!” He yelled as he climbed up the mountain and quickly hid and he held his burnt side. He knows that he is quick on his feet, but even he can’t dodge all of those boulders and swipes aimed at him. It doubly hurts as he can feel the burning of the magma touch his skin, he desperately wants an ice bath when he escapes this.
SMASH
But until then he will continue to make his way to the ocean ahead where he hopes that it would be enough to stop the beast in its tracks. He will swim all the way back home if he has to, he can deal with the sickness later after he saves his skin.
He felt the beast let out a devastating roar and a glance back he saw the creature lift the largest boulder that he didn’t even think he could dodge. So, he instead prepared himself as he was about to bring out his staff when-
“Here comes Jade Dragon/ Blazing Bull!” Twin voices shouted as the next second two terrifying forces slammed into the creature and with a pained roar he flew back.
He blinked as he saw Mei and Red Son, one who is surrounded by ethereal viridian energy and the other encaptured in a fiery crimson aura, jump in front of him protectively.
“MK/Noodle boy! Are you okay?!” Both of them have been trudging through not only ashes clogging their lungs and spot marking their skins, but also all different types of books and ruins trying to find the right activation phrase to reopen the portal to where their friend had disappeared to. They were tired, dirty, clothes ripped, and pissed off, but in MK eyes they were the most beautiful people he has ever seen as he couldn’t stop the blush forming on his cheeks as he took in their perfectly disheveled appearance, the muscles peeking from their ripped sleeves, sweat dripping from their face, and the worried look in their gorgeous eyes.
“Y-Yep!” He involuntarily squeaked. ‘I really should not have read some of those romance books with Jin,’ he thought as he cleared his throat. “I mean yeah, yeah you guys are perfect-I mean you got here at perfect timing!” He nervously said as he rubbed the back of his neck and tried to avoid eye contact.
“You sure you didn’t hit your head along the way,” she lightly teased as she kept a firm stance in front of him.
“Would be an improvement,” he smirked, but his eyes didn’t leave the Cherufu dazed form.
“Heyyy,” he whined before he realized what they said before, “Do you guys have names and you didn’t tell me!”
“Umm.”
“We’ll you see-”
“They are so cool!” His eyes sparkled, “they fit you both so perfectly, and the way you guys came in and shouted it made the scene even more awesome!”
Both of them couldn’t stop both smiles and blushes as their smaller friend, and small crush, kept on praising them, but unfortunately, their little bubble popped as the beast roared once more.
“Tch,” Mei irritably clicked her tongue at the beast ride interruption, showing off her fangs (after countless of honing to both tracing and the dragon sword, she was more than ecstatic to see that she matched with both of her boys) “I actually forgot about that.”
“You mean the walking miniature mountain that was just chasing me down,” MK huffed as he shook his head. Hopefully, the two would just blame his fluster on the heat and not drift towards the thought that he may like them more than friends.
“Yeah that.”
“You both need to really get up to speed with your Mythical beings,” Red grunted as he opted to not use his fire against the creature made of lava.
“Says the one who never knew what Advil was,” MK muttered.
“It’s not my fault you mortals inconsistently change their names for no reason!” He hissed as his hair flared up.
“Surrrreee,” both mortals said.
“Let’s just focus on getting out of here.”
“You just don’t want to admit that your wrong~”
“Shut it!
“And where do you think you're going?” Wukong flinched as he heard Macaque's voice behind him.
“Oh you know, just a little road trip,” he smiled wider than normal as he quickly turned around to hide his suitcase, “I thought that it was time I get off of my mountain and see what else I missed.”
“Uh Huh,” he noncommittally said as he casually walked forward, “and you just decided that right this week?”
“Yep!”
“Just out of the blue.”
“You know it!”
“With no thoughts in mind.”
“None whatsoever!”
“Sunny, I know you’re bullshitting me,” he bluntly said.
“Whattt?” He nervously laughed, “I’m serious, I am just going to go sightseeing for a bit and-”
“You still have that same tell when you lie, you know. Smiling too widely,” he pointed out.
“I thought I got that under control,” he muttered to himself and sighed, “alright yeah, you caught me. I was gonna go out and look for a weapon to stop her, but I have to do this, Lady Bone Demon is not someone to trifle with. You know how she can easily command someone under her will and that was when she just got out of centuries of captivity! Imagine what she could accomplish once she regains more and more power! I just can’t sit here and wait for that to happen.”
“I know, that’s why you're not doing it alone,” he pointed out.
“Huh?”
“Did you really think that talk we had the other day was just a one off thing? No no no, there are so many people and demons solely invested in this, because what Spider Queen did really pissed off a lot of people and they want revenge on not only her, but those who helped her,” he said as summoned a map and showed him. “Just see for yourself.”
The monkey took the map and he became confused about what he was looking at. “There’s just a bunch of doodles in certain areas.”
“Those are the areas that have been hit and investigated thoroughly, the ones with X are the no goes of anything suspicious or useful, the ones with question marks are the clues or hints, and the few with checks are the ones where they found positive report and/or confirmation on successful supplies that we need. All of these are for finding the necessary materials to end the Bone Demon life once and for all.”
Wukong's eyes were wide at the end of his statement, “You know how to destroy her?! How long were you planning this? How have you managed to search all of these areas?”
“Well, it helps that I have so many favors stacked up from my former clients. I usually don’t care what they pay me, but usually, it’s in either money, food, or favors and I have a lot of those. I mean just Po and his students alone have them all checking the western areas for it by themselves. He says it’s a good training exercise for them, but I think he just wants a break from those brats. And for your first one, we’ll ever since BK got possessed the family has promised vengeance upon her, and Queen Iron Fan happens to have knowledge of a permanent kill switch to ending that demon life,” he said as he showed him the formula.
Wukong examined it and after a while, he nodded his head and faintly said, “Yeah…yeah that might actually work…there is something to destroy her.” He still couldn’t believe his eyes, but it was right there in front of him, then the first part of his words hit him, “Wait, that long?”
“Yes that long,” he said with exasperation, “Am I the only one who found it fucking weird that the Demon Bull King, one of the strongest beings in the realm, got possessed out of fucking nowhere? That right there was already suspicious by itself and the ominous whispers were sure not helping her case, that just added it on. So we decided to get to the bottom of this and boy is this one deep chasm we got ourselves into.”
“It really is,” he agreed as he looked over the map and saw that some of the places that were marked were the ones he was going to go to, even some that only celestial beings can access, “You already investigated these realms?”
He looked over to see what he was pointing at and nodded, “Yeah, pretty much. As I said, I have clientele all over and I don’t really restrict unless they have really done something so fucked up that I would rather kill them.”
“You have favors with Celestial deities,” he emphasized.
“Just some minor ones,” the doctor tried to brush it off, but judging by his friend's look, it wasn’t going to be easy.
“Celestial. Deities.”
“How about we talk about this later.”
“Oh we are so talking about this later, but I still have to do this. I have to make sure that she doesn’t cause any more harm to people anymore, this is my duty that I have to do-”
“You're not understanding!” He gripped his hair in frustration. “I literally gave you a map and you still don’t understand what I’m trying to say!”
“What!” He threw his hands in the air, “What can you possibly-”
“You aren’t alone dumbass!” He hissed out and froze the Monkey Sage.
“Wha-” he was cut off once more by a furious finger poking his chest at each word Mac hissed out.
“You. Are. Not. Alone. I don’t know how many different ways I have to say this, but if it gets through your thick skull then god damn it, I will.”
“I-”
“I know what you were about to do, you were about to galavant off and try to do everything on your own and not say a single word to nobody like a stupid martyr, cause apparently this is a shared trait between you and MK about being so self sacrificial that you wish to take on the burden yourself! Well fuck that! I’m putting my foot down for both of you, you don’t have to recklessly go out there and hope that one of them will stick!”
“What else am I supposed to do!” He leaped to his feet, “I basically serve no purpose other than this glorified title of hero, which I am really sick of hearing, and that Bone witch could strike at any moment and we won’t be prepared. If I leave the city then that would mean that not only would I be faster on looking for the weapon, but I would be far away from her and her attempt to sap my power.”
“But you would also be away from the city and by the time you come back, there might not be anything left to come back to,” he said with a final tone. “No one would be able to stand against her, not the demons, not the people, not MK, not the Bull Family, not even me. We would all fall by the time the morning sun rises if we tried to face her head on. We would all be corpses below her feet.”
The Monkey King stilled as the morbid images flooded into his head.
City in ruins.
Bodies sprawled everywhere.
Familiar faces all dead eyed.
Bodies collapsed.
Heart stilled
His precious student.
All of his tribe members.
The rambunctious Demon quartet.
His family to the West.
The headstrong Dragon successor.
Demon Bull with his wife and son.
Yanyu surrounded by her siblings.
Macaque
Macaque
Macaque
They're all dead.
Dead
Dead
Dead
Deaddeaddeadeadeadeadeadead
“Wukong!” He snapped out of his thoughts by black furred hands and looked up to see Macaque worried Violet (alive there so alive and bright, so so bright and alive) eyes. “Are you okay?”
“I’m-” he stopped himself and remend what he was about to say, “I will be fine…I’ll stay.”
The Six Eared monkey let out a sigh of relief, “Good, that’s good. Sorry for putting that image in your head.”
“No, no I needed to hear that. I-I can’t be impulsive, not right now, not when things are becoming dangerous, I need to think things through,” he sighed as he sat down.
“You're not going to be out of the loop, you are the one who knows where a weapon may be hidden, so you can easily tell them which spot to tackle more thoroughly,” he reassured him as he sat by him.
“That would be more efficient than me just searching one at a time, okay I’ll do that,” he let out a small puff of air and managed a small smirk, “I guess that’s why I have you in my life, you somehow manage my little quirks.”
“‘Little quirks’ is an understatement,” he deadpans and leans on him, “but yeah we do fit well for some odd reason.”
“Like peaches and congee,” he grins.
“I think you are the only ones who actually dip it into the food.”
“Oh like I haven’t seen you do the same with mango,” he pointed out.
“There’s a difference okay! It just tastes better that way,” he huffed.
“Surrrre it does,” he drawled out.
“It does.”
“Whatever you say.”
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One Candle Still Flickers
Melizabethweek Day 2: Heaven and Hell
Please note that this piece contains mentions of blood and violence. If this makes you uncomfortable, turn away now.
Scorching heat. Blistering cold. Air that burns the lungs and tears at the sensitive tissue in the throat until even screams of agonizing pain become an impossible feat. And oh, does he scream.
Compared to even the foulest depths of Meliodas’ wretched hellscape of a home, the Demon Realm, Purgatory offers a charming hospitality no one can withstand for long. He tries, of course. Tells himself that he overcame worse pain, that the frostbites on his arms and the iron taste of blood in his mouth don’t compare to all 106 times he watched Elizabeth die, and that the shredded skin on his fingertips is an illusion summoned by his father.
After all, only Meliodas’ emotions roam the desolate canyons.
The weakest part of himself trapped in the cruelest part of the world.
Somewhere in the smoke-heavy clouds, obscured by the constant ash rain from volcanic activity, the Demon King laughs. Meliodas spits out a lump of blood and sends the towering frame of his father a humorless grin. At least one of them is having fun.
The next step costs him more energy than he has to give, and Meliodas falls to his knees. More ash under his fingernails, another lungful of distillated fume eager to kill him. The searing pain while his illusory organs devolve to embers for the thousandths time almost entices a begrudging respect for his father out of him. He has defied the scorching heat and the blistering cold since the end of the Holy War, and he still has the liveliness to laugh at Meliodas’ failed attempts to escape.
For how long have they played this game now? How many years, decades, and eons have passed since the curse pulled Meliodas into Purgatory?
He doesn’t know. The creator of this ugly fusion between a glacier and a volcano hasn’t bothered to install a clock.
Ash flakes tumble from above and leave black scars on the back of Meliodas’ hand. The forefinger twitches in a desperate struggle to hold onto life, hope, anything that will help him stand again.
“Elizabeth…” he whispers.
“Will you die with the witch’s name on your lips too?” The Demon King’s voice thunders in Meliodas’ head, and a fiery eruption from the nearest volcano punctuates his words.
Meliodas pushes himself on his forearms. “You made sure I can’t die, remember? You’re getting rusty, old man.”
“Your insolent tongue is just as worthless as the entirety of your emotions. They only hinder you from becoming my successor.”
“I’ll gladly take my insolent tongue over a world where I become like you.”
The Demon King points a finger the size of a grown man at Meliodas. “There is no stopping it now. As we speak, my loyal subjects are gathering the Ten Commandments, and your body will soon fuse with their magic. Then neither the Seven Deadly Sins nor your dear goddess will be able to stand against the reborn Demon King.”
“Then I guess I just have to find the exit before that happens.”
The Demon King’s laugh rings for a long time between the twisted rock formations. Meliodas climbs to his knees, but his shell of a body refuses to support the weight of his worries. More ash under his fingernails, another lungful of distillated fume eager to kill him. Another century gone by without a glint of success, without a glimmer of hope.
Purgatory may never kill him. But to survive in this world is to endure endless suffering where despair gnaws at him with every step until he loses himself in shapeless shadows, destined to wander the lava riversides and blizzard-coated mountain peaks for the rest of time.
Meliodas takes another step.
For her. Elizabeth.
He has to return to Britannia before the Demon King can reach his horrid claw around her. Before the curse claims her life anew.
Her face, in the variant as princess of Liones and all the incarnations before her, keeps Meliodas upright and pushes him to scale another cliffside, even as his field of vision shrinks and the shadows at the edge take over.
Golden Warmth. A liberating breeze. Puffy fine-weather clouds as far as the eye can see, an entire ocean of them. And in between these white waves float islands with alabaster towers and grass so eternally green it can only exist in a place far beyond all destructive influences. An endless summer sun caresses his neck.
Meliodas digs his fingers into the ground where he fell, although he hardly feels the sharp pebbles anymore.
Why do the memories of the Celestial Realm return to him now? Elizabeth, the very first incarnation he fell in love with, took him to her home once. They played a dangerous game of hide and seek with the countless Goddess warriors there. If even one of them had seen through Meliodas pathetic disguise, at least one of the parties involved would have lost their head. Despite the threat of discovery, Elizabeth dragged him to all her favorite places with a cheer she rarely allowed herself to show. A vast field of golden wheat hems. The top of an abandoned tower, half destroyed and seized by ivy tendrils.
Amidst the bloodshed of the Holy War and despite the feud that divides their clans, Elizabeth offered Meliodas a hand. With nothing but a smile and her belief in the good in others, she pulled him out of hell. Shoulder to shoulder with her, he saw heaven for the first time.
“Elizabeth,” Meliodas says. He hardly recognizes his voice. “I let you down again. If it’s always ending like this, why’d you take my hand that day? Why didn’t you give up on me?”
The warmth of her presence is so very far away. Where she used to stroke his arms, only freezing numbness remains. Where she used to kiss him, his lips only taste the burning aridity of Purgatory.
But even if she is so very far away, an incarnation of Elizabeth is still out there, alive. Maybe she is standing amidst the chaos of magical and hellfire explosions and leads the war against the cruel fangs of darkness as she always did. Maybe she is gazing into a star-sprinkled sky and waits for his return. Maybe she still believes he will fulfill his promise and free her of her curse.
A blood-red vail has overtaken Meliodas’ vision. When he struggles out of the dust to his feet, he has lost his humanoid shape. A shadow stands in his place, a perversion of the dragon creature with which he shares the name of his sin. Wrath.
Somewhere hidden in the smoke screens, the Demon King triumphs. At last, his son’s emotions have given into hopelessness.
But in a place deep in the insides of the shadow dragon, Meliodas keeps a flame alight. Elizabeth’s face kindles the spark, her gentle hands shield the candle against the hurricanes and hailstorms, and her voice, filled with tireless encouragement, nurtures the beacon.
She fought for him during the Holy War. They fought for each other against the overwhelming might of gods. Even if she is so very far away, Meliodas will fight for her.
As the shadow to her light.
Scorching heat. Blistering cold. Claws that dig into the most treacherous slopes carry him forward, step by step. He tears through Purgatory’s pitiful inhabitants and shreds any creature that hinders his search for the exit. For a moment, he may lose himself and taste this senseless wrath the Demon King wants him to dissolve into. But the flame inside endures.
Years, decades, and eons go by, glaciers melt and magma chambers freeze, while Meliodas fights. For her. Elizabeth.
The dragon creature which serves as Meliodas’ shell roars and bares its teeth. His current opponent is of the nasty type. He doesn’t yield. Neither does Meliodas.
They slam each other into the rock formations, break each other’s bones, and throw themselves at the other as though this brawl is all they’ve ever known and all that ever mattered.
Meliodas should hate his opponent. After all he, aside from the Demon King, stands as the only one with the power to deter his escape. And yet… this gritty, pesky bastard he crushes and is getting crushed by has the air of familiarity to him. Meliodas knows his fighting style. Furthermore, he knows all too well the flame that convinces his opponent to strike blow after blow until they collapse into a heap of limps and shadows.
They both feel the exhaustion in each haggard breath. And yet they both won’t die.
Meliodas’ opponent mumbles something. His words have never quite reached through the shadows clogging Meliodas’ senses, but they gain a new clarity now that the frenzy of battle flees him.
“…holding out for you in the land of the living,” a familiar voice says. “And I… want to see the woman who means the world to me.”
Yeah. I do too.
#melizabethweek#melizabeth#nnt fanfiction#nnt#meliodas#purgatory arc#seven deadly sins#nanatsu no taizai#my writing#I hope you didn't think I gave up on drama just cause my last entry was so harmless#hahaha never
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in the long night (Hawke x Varric)
Written for @oneshallop and also up on AO3. They requested Hawke and Varric on the Deep Roads expedition with some early hints of pining. I hope it fits the bill! 2836 words, Hawke, Varric, Act 1 of DA2.
***
It was dark.
Varric almost roared with laughter at the thought. Of course it was dark. It was the Deep fucking Roads, wasn’t it?
Sure, maybe in old dwarven tales these tunnels were supposed to be awash with red-gold, welcoming light, but every kid in Hightown’s dwarven quarter knew the Deep Roads had been overrun centuries ago. There were still some intact corridors here and there where you could see the magma channels lighting the way as they’d been intended… but there were far more lonely and dangerous areas, where the magma had long ago been freed in cave-ins and cooled into just another kind of rock. Those corridors sat empty in the long-forgotten dark.
The thing was, though, it wasn’t pitch black, at least not where they’d set up camp for the night. They had the torches and the campfire made of magelight to thank for that. The orange-yellow of torchlight, the blue-white of mage-fire, they cast deep and disturbing shadows in the dark. It disquieted him. He almost wondered if it wouldn’t be better to let the lights go out, except that was complete crazy talk.
He hunkered down, trying to find a comfortable way to sit. He could sit on this broken lump of rock, but then there was no back support. Sit on the ground and that would take care of his back, but then his ass would start aching. He decided on the floor, groaning under his breath.
This lead of Bartrand’s better pan out , he thought sourly. He cast a glance over his shoulder, where Bartrand and his crew had taken over most of the lower level. Their torches lit the place up a little more, but the murmuring echoes of the mercs he’d hired were weird and distorted in the high open ceilings. He tried to ignore the sound and the way it made his spine tingle.
A rustle at his side. He nearly reached a hand toward Bianca, but this sound was familiar, somehow. Safe. He followed it to the source and saw the elder Hawke slipping out of her tent to tend to the fire, her hair mussed, her robes rumpled.
“Trouble sleeping?” Varric asked.
A startled look crossed her face, followed by a shrug once she realized it was only him. Shadows pooled along her cheekbones, dark semicircles cupping her keen eyes. “I could ask the same of you. Isn’t your bigshot brother paying for extra guards? No need to keep watch, I thought.”
Varric chuckled, letting discomfiting thoughts about the long tunneling dark fade away. This was a good distraction. “You really think Bartrand managed to convince quality muscle to come along with us? Oh, Hawke, he talks a big game, but I wouldn’t trust him farther than I can throw him.”
Her eyebrows leapt up somewhere in the vicinity of her hairline. “You do realize this doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in the expedition. Or in the Tethras name.”
Varric waved her protestation away. “Bartrand not having an ounce of charm in his body is his problem. I, fortunately, do not suffer from the same issue. Ergo, I was able to find some decent people for this thing. Such as yourself, partner.”
She let out one of those sharp-edged laughs he was beginning to know well. “You do have quite the silver tongue, dwarf, I’ll give you that.” She bent over the fire, concentrating. It flared up before her, dancing bright blue-white against the shadows.
“Thanks,” said Varric.
“I can’t stand it being so dark down here in the lower levels,” she said, leaning against a chunk of paving stone that had been torn from the main floor. “It’s unnatural.” Then she glanced at him. “Er, I mean, for humans,” she said clumsily.
Varric held up his hands. “Believe you me, Hawke, I’ll moan and complain about the Deep Roads as much as any human. Dwarves get some things right, sure -- they know what they’re doing when it comes to smithing and bullshitting -- but living underground forever, it’ll never play right for me.”
“You were born on the surface, then?” Hawke asked curiously.
“Born and raised,” said Varric. “Family had a nasty fall from grace in Orzammar when Bartrand was a little kid. They were forced to run from their fuckups down here up to the surface. My dad died not long after I was born, and my mother never recovered from the move. Not sure if Bartrand ever did, either.” He gazed into the fire. Silver-white sparks leapt from its flames.
“Oh,” said Hawke, first looking taken aback, then her face softening. “I’m sorry -- I didn’t realize.” She could be startlingly empathetic when she wanted to be, he’d noticed.
She sighed, shaking her head. “Family. Dreadfully inconvenient, aren’t they?” Then again, she was just as likely to laugh the big stuff away, just another joke. He liked that about her. Liked it in himself, too.
He chuckled. “You realize Carver is literally five feet away, right?”
She glanced over at her sleeping brother. He’d said he felt claustrophobic, setting up a tent in a closed tunnel, and had instead opted to sleep out in the open. She watched his chest rise and fall for a few beats.
“Carver’s different,” she said, “despite the way we fight. It’s our fighting, right? That’s the important bit.” She flashed Varric a too-tight grin.
Varric thought of Bartrand, all family name and getting ahead, all Brother, you have to take this seriously or they’ll eat you alive. He thought of just how often he’d been an absolute shit of a little brother, and how much Bartrand had really deserved it (completely, most of the time).
“There’s something to that, I suppose,” he said cautiously. “But Bartrand really is an ass.”
“So’s Carver,” Hawke laughed in that bright, airy way of hers. For a moment, though, her face slipped into genuine fondness. “That’s part of his charm.”
Varric snorted. “That’s one word for it.”
“Hey, hey, hey,” said Hawke in mock-offended tones. “As the eldest sibling, I’m the only one permitted to say such dreadful things about my own brother. Which I have before, and which I’ll do again, thank you very much.”
Varric shifted positions, sitting up on top of his chunk of rock, seeing if that would help his aching back. Eh. Not much difference.
A thought struck him, one he knew he shouldn’t say. You never talk about the other twin that way. But that was something private, wasn’t it, something he’d only gleaned from weeks of dropped references in casual conversation with the Hawke siblings. At first he’d wondered if Bethany was a cousin back in Fereldan; a distant relative long-forgotten. It’d taken an overheard conversation between Hawke and her mother for Varric to figure it out, and an aside with Aveline, plied with more than a little ale, to confirm it..
He stuffed the information back down, watching the firelight flicker in her eyes. If she wanted to tell him about Bethany, she’d do it, and it didn’t gain him any advantage anyway, knowing the blow she and Carver had suffered. He held his tongue.
“You’ve gone quiet,” she observed. “You never did say what you were doing out here. Something nefarious, I’m certain.”
“Oh, you know me,” said Varric loftily. “I’m just here for the scenery.”
Hawke giggled, loudly enough that Carter grumbled and rolled over before lapsing into a loud snore. She stifled her laugh, just barely.
“Ah, yes. Creepy empty caverns, moldering ruins, the endless dark. You really know how to show a girl a good time,” she teased.
He shivered. Or was he blushing? He wasn’t sure. Something squirmed in the pit of his stomach.
“Where better than the ass end of Thedas for a little romance?” he asked, in a voice that felt a good deal less smooth than he’d meant it.
Hawke wiped a tear away. “This is why I like traveling with you. You’re right. If Bartrand had been doing the talking, Carver and I would never have thrown in our lot with you.” She let out a long breath. “Ah, thanks for that. I’ve been feeling rather uneasy down here, to be honest. A good laugh’s a bit of a relief.”
“Varric Tethras, at your service,” he said cheerfully. Funny, though, that little bit of disappointment threading through his words. Why was he thinking of Bianca now? He shook his head. “Well, Hawke, you’re not the only one with the creeps down here. I thought maybe keeping an eye on camp would make things feel more normal, but turns out the place is damn spooky no matter where you sit.”
She nodded. “I could see my fire fading through the gap in the front of my tent. Didn’t feel right to let it go out. So I’m keeping an eye on it, for now at least.”
“Seems like you’re getting better at them to me,” said Varric. He didn’t know much about magic, but he’d long noticed that Anders was the one running around throwing fireballs while Hawke was much more likely to somehow conjure up a miniature earthquake.
“That’s sweet of you to say,” said Hawke. “Anders is much better at elemental magic than I am, but since he’s still up surface-side, I figured now was a good time to practice. It wasn’t my father’s strength, either, as far as I know. Or maybe he thought it’d be harder to hide fireball lessons out back of our farm.” She shrugged. “But I’m learning things, much as I can with the Chantry breathing down my neck.”
“Maybe it’s for the best Anders isn’t here. I gather he’s spent way more time in the Deep Roads than any sane person would ever want to,” said Varric. He could just hear Blondie’s complaints starting up in the back of his mind.
“It’s one reason why I didn’t ask him to come with us,” said Hawke cheerily. “Felt sorry for the poor fellow. I’m sure he’s enjoying the sunshine from Darktown. ...come to think of it, it’s not that far off from being down here, is it?”
Varric laughed. “Good point. Though sometimes I swear you can see the sun through holes in the walls there… and it smells better here.”
“Do you miss it? Not Darktown, obviously. Kirkwall,” said Hawke. “It’s been… what, a good three weeks now? It’s the longest I’ve seen you away from the city.”
Varric considered. He’d gone on long journeys before, been away from Kirkwall for weeks, even occasionally, months at a time on Guild business, especially after their mother died. Bianca flitted through his thoughts again, Bianca and intrigue and furtive meetings in shitty towns. But none of that felt right to bring up here, not to Hawke with the fire’s reflection in her darkened eyes.
“I miss the Hanged Man,” he said honestly. “Every time I try to lay down for bed here, I just think back to my bed back in the inn, and think ‘Tethras! You’ve gone insane.’”
“Ugh, you and me both,” said Hawke. “I think I’ve got bruises on bruises from all these rocks. Hopefully we’re not down here too much longer.”
“We can always dream,” said Varric, but the words felt hollow in the dark, and he drew his coat closer around himself.
Hawke nodded, but she seemed pensive. “I suppose,” she said. She shifted, sinking deeper into her robes. “Hmph. Well, as long as we aren’t sleeping, care to join me in a snack?”
“Depends,” he said cautiously. He’d had her cooking before. Carver’s was far and away the better meal.
“I’ve been saving these. For a special occasion, as it were.” She rummaged in the pack beside her. “I figured the special occasion would be for when I absolutely couldn’t tolerate another bite of Lowtown hardtack, but what d’you know, sharing it with a friend sounds all right, too.”
“You actually have something good in there?” Varric asked in surprise. The perishable stuff had all gone a few days ago, and he’d started his grumbling about the salted pork that morning, right on cue.
Hawke pulled free a waxed paper bundle, tightly wrapped. “I may have tried a spell of stasis on these,” she said. “I’m still working on the technique, but I think I’ve got it down for little things like this.” She unwrapped the bundle and a tiny flash of light dissipated from the contents, the spell breaking at its maker’s touch.
“Chocolate almond biscuits, from Camille’s in Hightown,” she whispered, looking downright conspiratorial. “It was the end of the night, that last night in Kirkwall. The bakery was just about to close, but I saw them packing these up off the cart outside. The baker’s girl told me they were getting a bit stale, but did I want to buy them anyway, half price? Carver ate his straight away -- didn’t see the point in them getting staler -- but I wanted to save them. Don’t know why.”
Two biscuits sat in their waxed wrapping, delicate golden squares worked with scrolled lustrous chocolate, stamped with the Kirkwall crest. He’d passed them up a hundred times, sweet sugary nonsense meant for nobles with more money than sense. Bartrand would have scoffed. But they smelled amazing.
“Aw, come on, Hawke,” tried Varric. “They’re yours. You should have them.”
“A good biscuit’s better shared, or at least it’s what my father used to say. Probably so as to keep his children from fighting amongst themselves for the last one, but it’s a nice sentiment regardless,” said Hawke. She shoved the biscuits at him. “Go on, then.”
“All right, all right. If you insist. Only because you’re a powerful mage and I don’t want to get on your bad side.” He reached out and took the top biscuit. It was a solid thing, sturdy in the hand. The chocolate beneath his thumb tip began to melt, soft and silky against his skin.
“Cheers, Varric.” Hawke took up the other biscuit and nudged it against his, then took a bite. “Mmm,” she hummed, closing her eyes. “Just as I’d hoped it would be.”
Varric bit into his biscuit. It snapped satisfyingly against his teeth. He tasted buttery almonds first, then a deep, complex sweetness tempered by smooth bitter chocolate. He paused, savoring it. “Damn. No wonder they charge an arm and a leg for these.”
“Worth every copper,” Hawke agreed, a silly grin spreading over her face as she finished her biscuit. Varric finished his a moment later, regretfully licking the last of the chocolate from his fingertips.
“Thanks, Hawke. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Oh, I know,” she said, her eyes twinkling.
The fire rolled and flared, almost a living thing, fighting against the shadows. He half thought he could see a pattern to it, a heartbeat, a touch of Hawke herself within the flames.
Silence grew between them, a comfortable, familiar thing like the weight of a good blanket. Or the taste of secret chocolate in the dark. It felt good, until it was broken by a yawn Hawke tried to hide.
“You should get some rest,” Varric said softly. “The fire’s a good one, Hawke. You don’t need to worry.”
“Hmm, but I worry all the time,” she chuckled, yawning again. “But don’t tell anyone. It’s a secret.”
He felt a pang, though he wasn’t sure why. “Dwarf’s honor,” said Varric. “Assuming you put stock in such things.”
“In yours? Of course I do,” she said. She gave him a tired smile. “All right, then. I’ll get some sleep if you promise to do the same. It wouldn’t do for us to be too tired to carry back our fabulous treasure.”
“Imagine if we’d have to leave it behind due to exhaustion. It’d be a crying shame. We’d never live it down,” said Varric. “All right, you’ve convinced me.”
He got to his feet, his back and ass aching as predicted. He reached out a hand to Hawke and she gripped it, hard, her calloused hand small but steely against his own as he helped her up. “Thanks, Varric.”
“No problem. See you in the morning, Hawke,” he said.
“If you can call it that,” she said. “But I’ll see you then.” She slipped back into her tent, and Varric returned to his.
He stretched out on his bedroll, staring up at the ceiling. The blue magelight -- Hawke’s light -- seeped in through the cracks of his tent flaps. He watched its delicate choreography through drowsy eyes.
They had this. He knew it now in his bones. Bartrand had his team and his map, and that was all well and good, but Varric had Hawke and her people, and he’d put the money on them every time. No matter what they found on this crazy expedition, they’d be ready.
He smiled tiredly. Yeah. He had Hawke.
The tent was still and quiet. His eyes fell shut; his breathing slowed. He drifted off to sleep in the long night of the Deep Roads, still tasting chocolate.
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“pigstep” || tomura shigaraki
➾ “You and Tomura explore the new Nether update together. After a tragic accident with lava and a hoglin, you’re there to comfort him.” [842 words]
a/n: sorry the banner looks weird. i had to save one of the banners from tumblr after realizing i no longer had the og format saved, so it was already blurry to begin with, and then i put non blurry wording in, so it’s all just blegh. i should just change all the banners tbh. i hope the fic is good tho. i’ll write shigaraki taming every cat in the game next! and thank you all so much for supporting this series. it means a lot to me that yall enjoy reading it as much as i enjoy writing it!!!! [navigation] [minecraft with shigaraki masterlist]
edit: i made new banners LMAO
“Make sure you always have your helmet on. I’ve got a spare if it breaks.” Tomura didn’t answer, opting instead to continue shooting the small, splitting magma cubes near the lava lakes below. You set up the respawn anchor and charged it with glowstone. “Do you have the scaffolding?”
“Yes,” He mumbled. You smiled and slid closer on the bed until your legs brushed together. He leaned into you in turn. “You barter with those piglin shits. I’ll deal with the ghasts.”
“Alright. Just be careful of hoglins, okay? They’ll be in the crimson forests. Like that one over there,” You said, pixelated arm swinging towards the red biome not too far from the platform on which you’d spawned. “They hit really hard.”
“How do you know everything about this update, already?”
“I watched a few videos. I like to be prepared.” You also liked to make sure Tomura had fun while playing the game, which meant making it as safe as possible by informing him of new dangers. But you wouldn’t tell him that. A part of you thought he probably already knew about your plan, anyway.
“I’ll go barter with the piglins. Do you mind going over to that warped forest and getting us some warped fungus? We’ll need it to ride the striders later.”
He grunted and set off. The New Nether obviously wasn’t updated to make things easier for the players, that much was certain. Even as you descended the scaffolding into the nether wastes, where there were only piglins and their zombie counterparts around, you still didn’t feel the least bit comfortable. Every time you looked at a piglin, you waited for it to lash out at you, even while sporting your golden helmet. You felt a bit safer chucking some gold at them whenever they got too close for comfort, which was beneficial in that they gave you some decent stuff in return.
You leaned your head on his shoulder and focused on your half of the screen, hardly paying mind as hoglin sounds came out of the speakers by the TV. You also didn’t pay much mind to the lava sounds, nor the sound of hits being landed on Tomura’s player- until the hitting sounds were constant, and his screen became fiery orange.
He tensed up under your head as the “You Died” message popped up onscreen. You reached down to hold his wrist, slight panic setting in. His controller crumbled to dust in his hands.
“Tomu, honey…” You slid onto your side to face him. That was his first death ever in Minecraft- and it perhaps was the worst way to die, since all of his stuff was probably burnt in the lava. You swallowed and ran a hand through his hair. “...you didn’t have much on you that isn’t easily replaceable. You had only iron tools and armor, right?”
He swallowed. You could tell he was trying his best, deep breaths expelling from his nose as he nodded. Your hand moved down to rest atop his own.
“We’ve got a lot of iron back at home,” You spoke softly, sliding closer. “And we’ve got a whole other stack of arrows to replace the ones you lost. We’ve got a lot of steak from cow farming, too. You’re gonna be okay.”
He swallowed again. “My controller.”
“It’s okay. I’ll go and get you a new one in the morning. You can use mine, if you want?” You picked up your controller and presented it to him, but he could only give a deep sigh. “Or we can just stop playing for now and cuddle?”
“...Yes.”
You smiled and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He hadn’t let you kiss his lips many times since your first kiss together (he didn’t have to tell you he was self-conscious about them; you already knew) so you hoped a cheek kiss would help calm him down. You wouldn’t tell him how proud of him you were at that moment for staying so calm, at least externally. It was a big difference from the way he’d acted when you’d met him.
You closed the game and shut off the TV, not bothering to take the game out of the console as you set the controller aside and slid under the covers. It took some coaxing to get Tomura to join you, but when he did, your head was on his chest in an instant. His arms slid around your waist, and your hand reached up again to run through his hair. He was still tense beneath you, but you knew he was doing all he could.
The room stayed silent that night, and he eventually loosened up beneath you as he slowly fell asleep. You made a mental note to get breakfast as well as a new controller in the morning, knowing he probably wouldn’t be completely fine by then. So you’d get him his controller, maybe a muffin, and give him some more cuddles after. He could only stay angry for so long, you mused to yourself.
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“K - THE FIRST STORY”
CHAPTER 6: SIN (Complete)
* K - The First Story (List of Chapters)
* Projects & Chapters
Translation: Naru-kun
Raws: Ridia
"I will be a servant of the king."
When he first told him that, he thought this kid might be a little crazy.
Suoh met Tatara Totsuka when he was a high school student and Totsuka was a middle school student.
Suoh at that time was not yet a "king", he was just a boy who was strong in fighting. Rather, Suoh, who was rejected by those around him, did not socialize, and lived properly alone, was far from being a King.
However, Totsuka appeared at one point and followed Suoh calling him "King". At the end of the day, he said, "I will be a servant of the king."
He thought he might be crazy, but Suoh did not reject Totsuka. He thought it was okay for him to like him, and the friendly but not greasy Totsuka was not unpleasant, and when he realized it, he was like a friend.
Because he was close to Suoh, who had many enemies, Totsuka had been lynched. However, Totsuka, who broke his leg, broke the bones in his arm and fingers, broke his forehead and was lying in the hospital bed covered in bandages, laughed without breaking his usual tone. He shook off the question of who had hurt him and enveloped him in smoke. Although he called himself the servant of a king, he was too free to answer even a question from the person he called king.
"For the time being, I'll be going home."
Suoh was amazed and said that. It was a summer day shortly after Totsuka's wounds were completely healed.
Suoh went to the festival with Totsuka and Kusanagi. Kusanagi and Suoh, who were seniors and juniors from the same high school, naturally mixed with Totsuka, and by that time, it was becoming more common for the three of them to hang out together, and that day too, when he was walking with him. at night, he hears the noise of the festival passing by.
"I want to eat takoyaki! Come to the festival." Totsuka said, and Suoh replied, "I'm sorry." Totsuka looked a bit thoughtful and suggested, "Then the person who loses the game will go buy it." He said that thinking it was a good idea. Even if Suoh had a sour face, Totsuka was ready to say "Janken...", Kusanagi laughed and joined in, so Suoh made a move as well. Suoh takes his fist out of him, but Totsuka and Kusanagi spread their palms open. Suoh got even more astringent, but it was a game that he accidentally got into. When he silently turned towards the hustle and bustle of the festival, Kusanagi said in an interesting voice, "Unexpectedly disciplined.", and Totsuka said, "It looks like fun, so let's follow him, Kusanagi-san."
He then thought he should go, but in the end he let his like it and the three of them walked between the stalls.
The crowd was woody, but hunger was fueled when he walked in the sound and smell of baked food.
Wandering the stall-lined streets, he bought some food, sat on the stone steps of the shrine, and Suoh looked good-naturedly at Totsuka piercing the takoyaki as he polished grilled corn with the fragrant aroma of burnt soy sauce. "What are you coming home to?" He said.
Totsuka tilted his head with a sharp look.
"You are not a servant, no matter what you think."
"Sure. I don't think there is any servant who wants to let the king go buy takoyaki."
Kusanagi puts the yakisoba on his knee and breaks the chopsticks.
Totsuka frowns in regret.
"I didn't let you go. I played fair. After all, the three of us went shopping."
"You do what you want."
Laughing at Kusanagi, Totsuka put a regretful look on his mouth. He was flirting with the heat.
"Your vision of the servants is certainly a mystery. No, when you said you would be a servant of the king, I had already thought that your idea was a mystery."
He swallowed the Takoyaki and thought Totsuka was weird. Kusanagi turned the tea from the side.
"Mikoto, King. What do you want to call him?"
"Oh, that's right. King, I wanted to call him 'King' because he felt like a king from the first glance."
Totsuka made a serious face and looked straight ahead.
"I think one day he will be a great person in the midst of people. At that time, I will work harder than I do now."
"What a servant job."
"In that case... Do you give the king a good laugh?"
"He is an entertainer who makes you laugh."
Totsuka laughed and saw Suoh.
"I'm the one who brings 'fun'. I'll keep doing it until King says he doesn't need me."
"I do not want."
"Bye."
"Hey. Isn't it useless to say no?"
He was a strange and energetic guy. But in the end, Suoh really enjoyed the festival that day.
King was supposed to be just a playful nickname given by Totsuka, but three years later, Suoh really became known as the King.
It was an awakening in the conflict. There was a big dispute involving the entire city of Shizume, Suoh was attacked by a man and during the fight, the Slate called out to him.
In the darkness he was thrown into, losing sight of his surroundings, Suoh felt his heartbeat synchronize with something.
The moment he instinctively felt that it was the beat of the "Slate", the power, memory and intention of the "Slate" flowed towards Suoh.
Suoh became "King". A huge red sword floated in the sky.
The Sword of Damocles.
A test of the "King", a symbol of the power of the "King", and a sword that judges and kills the "King".
Shame made him feel lost, which was rare for Suoh. Totsuka also thought that he might have been chosen by a strange man and because he called him by a stupid name.
Kusanagi and Totsuka looked at each other stunned, and Suoh spread his flaming hands and asked, without giving any explanation.
"Would you like to hold my hand?"
Suoh knew from "King's" instinct that if this flame passed, a part of Suoh's power would take root in them, but they didn't understand exactly what would happen if they took that hand. Others would not have. Still, they took Suoh's hand on fire without hesitation.
At that moment, Suoh chose a path. It is a way of making friends. It is a lie to say that he never thought that his choice was wrong, but it is also different if they ask him if he regrets.
Kusanagi and Totsuka also chose a path. They took Suoh's hand, and chose a path where they could enjoy Suoh's flames.
As soon as they took his hand, Kusanagi's and Totsuka's body was engulfed in flames. The flame did not burn them, but settled on their bodies. He did not inflict a single burn, but instead left proof that they were members of Suoh's clan on their bodies. On Kusanagi's right shoulder blade and Totsuka's left shoulder blade, a red figure of a flame emerged. The shape of the flame that inhabits the interior has emerged on the surface of the skin and is now permeating as a symbol of "Homura".
Even if Totsuka unexpectedly noticed the claim to "become a servant of the king" as the playful words he said when he was in high school, nothing changed.
As usual, he was free, he did not listen to Suoh's words and he lived happily as he liked.
Suoh offered a hand to anyone who asked, so the number of friends increased one after another. People who do not have a container to accept the flame will see pain, but many people who are prepared to hold the burning hand manage to accept the flame and gain power.
The ritual that gives birth to a Clansman. It seems that rigid people call it "installation", but in "Homura", the term "test" was repeated, and the number of people increased, and Suoh was placed on top of many people. He had the appearance of a "king".
Kusanagi and Totsuka formed, turned and organized a group of friends named "Homura" instead of Suoh, who was there. Kusanagi ran the organization with his skill, and Totsuka with his natural personality became a lubricant among the people, and created a place where the people gathered there could think of a "whereabouts".
It was just when he became a member of "Homura".
That day there was a silly conflict with the mob, and Suoh came out. He left behind the swirling flames and heat in his body and went all the way to radiate even a little.
The power of the "Red King" was out of control for Suoh. A mass of power like magma was so close to Suoh's nature and desires that he often seduced him.
The temptation to unleash all power, burn all the bonds that cling to him, destroy all the fences around him, and turn the area into a free and wide desert.
Even before he woke up as "King", that urge slept deep in his stomach. But he now he has the power to do it. If Suoh wants, he can destroy everything and turn the world into a scorched field.
Suoh had no choice but to suppress the pesky temptations and urges and sometimes diverge the power from him in small amounts.
That's why he also went to the battlefield that day. However, the result was only a punishment. They were just fragile humans, trying to pull the opponent's weapons from him, the mob, and Suoh could only make the gesture of wielding a small limb by gently shaking his fist, which was restrained. Only the disease of the weak, as if intimidating, was left as a harsh aftertaste.
"I'm stressed."
When he returned to the HOMRA Bar, Kusanagi muttered with a sigh that seemed astonished. Anna, who was waiting at the bar, ran over and sat next to Suoh, who sat on the couch. Suoh looked at his right hand on his fist, not looking at her.
It is a fist that has just hit a person. The people around him flew and fell just by waving their arms without taking a step. If he put a little more effort into it, the shape of the person would surely collapse, and if he had increased the flame output a little more, it would have been burned to pieces.
Energy and heat with nowhere to go corrode Suoh from within.
He was so frustrated that he couldn't breathe. When he impulsively stood up, a soft, carefree voice rang out.
"Today's dinner is Thai soup!"
At that voice, the pressure that was tearing the outer skin from within Suoh relaxed, and Suoh stopped. He relaxed the fist he was holding firmly enough to make a sound. He looks up.
On the couch opposite, there was a bundle of white blanket. The edge of the blanket turned and Totsuka who was lying down came out.
"Are you here?"
"Of course. This is my place to nap. Thanks for your hard work."
Suoh lowered his fist in dismay at Totsuka, who was waking up with a relaxed voice.
"What job? It was a boring skirmish."
Totsuka finished waking up and got up. The blanket was still covering him, making him look like a monk.
"Kusanagi-san was wondering why King would move."
Suoh looked at Kusanagi at the counter. Kusanagi is polishing the glass as usual. Suoh himself was aware that he didn't need to do anything today. Although they didn't need to have Suoh, he came out and shook his fist, and as a result, he was recruiting more people.
A small sentence leaked out, leaning against the couch as if to throw it away.
"Why did I become a 'King'?"
"I knew from the beginning, that you were different from other people."
From the moment they met, Totsuka called Suoh "King". At the time, it can be said that Totsuka seemed to be crazy, but in the end he was right, and Suoh became the "Red King".
However, even now, Suoh still feels awkward about being in the "King" position.
Yata and the others treat "Homura's scarlet" as the most important thing. He is proud of the "sign" that appears below his left clavicle as proof of his partner, he looks at Suoh with hopeful eyes and defines "Homura" as the place where he lives. It's not just Yata. This is the case with many people in "Homura".
However, that power was also a straitjacket.
"I seem to attract everyone's attention. What kind of king is that?"
"Even if you say that, you are very important."
Totsuka said that with an unexpectedly serious voice.
He can't argue with him, Suoh folds his mouth into a U shape.
Totsuka smiled and pointed to the side. When he shifted his gaze according to Totsuka's fingertips, he met the big eyes of Anna sitting next to Suoh.
Anna's red eyes see through many things. Suoh was reluctant to see what was inside her in her eyes, and gently moved his gaze from her.
He cannot argue with Anna, the flame-burning friends with Suoh, Kusanagi and Totsuka, who have been by his side since he was a student, and this place where they meet.
But because of that, Suoh also feels clinging. He can't go anywhere because it's important. And if he makes a mistake, he will burn them.
Suoh looked at his palm. This is probably the hand of the mighty King.
But what is the "King" for? What will this hand, which has the power of destruction and the power of ruin, do in the future?
"I will one day."
Suoh spilled those words.
"Hey. Somehow, everything will work out."
Totsuka said that in a singing voice and stood up slowly.
"You have always been the carefree type."
Suoh said that with weakening consternation, and Totsuka came around the table and approached Suoh.
With a soft, confident smile, Totsuka looked at Suoh.
"There is nothing to fear. You are a King. Your power is not to destroy."
Totsuka points his fist towards Suoh, who reflexively catches it with his palm.
"It is there to protect."
Totsuka laughed, putting his powerless white fist in the hand of the "King" who has the power to destroy everything if he wanted to.
"I assure you."
Suoh looked at Totsuka for a while.
Totsuka once said that he would be the one to bring "fun" to the king. When he caught on, Totsuka certainly brought fun things to Suoh one after another, making an increasing number of friends laugh and creating a nice place to stay.
Suoh's power is said to be to protect, although the place may be erased.
Although he is not ignorant of the horror of fire.
He thought he should say something, but no good words came out, and in the end Suoh said in a silly voice that it didn't matter.
"What kind of soup?"
"Have you never tried it? It's like a hot and sour soup. It's reddish and looks really spicy, but it has an unexpected complex flavor."
Totsuka happily talks about a soup with a strange name that seems to be today's dinner. Anna, who had been sitting next to Suoh in silence until then, leaned forward a bit.
"It's red?"
"That's right, it's red. Anna, let's do it together."
"You are going to cook?"
Totsuka made a peace sign and laughed.
"I really like to cook right now."
Totsuka was an amateur. He tried to do what he thought was fun and his friends were involved in that hobby.
The Thai soup, which Totsuka made with Anna, seems to have been a time when cooking was among his hobbies, it had many spices and fragrances that Suoh would eat for the first time, and it certainly had a complicated taste. It seemed to be redder than usual, probably to please Anna, who can only see the color red. The shrimp inside were delicious.
Suoh often has nightmares.
The dream usually comes when Suoh is about to lose power stability.
In his dream, Suoh is rumored to be on fire. The flames in his body roar in search of freedom.
The flame erupted violently from inside the body, and Suoh shed his fangs, driven by the sweet temptation to release it.
Suoh, who removed his fangs, turns into a beast. Human society, thoughts, ethics, emotions and all that kind of thing disappear and they become a fiery beast that is just instinct.
The flames thrown by Suoh turned into a fierce fire and swallowed the city. The familiar cityscape is burned by flames, swallowed up by boiling magma, and collapses.
The creatures evaporate blood, bones melt, and even ash disappears.
Suoh felt overwhelming pleasure as he gave in to the urge to destroy and blaze through him. The soul cried out for joy as it submerged freely and became a mass of pure power.
However, in a world where flames have witnessed it all, the city has dwindled and no one is alive, including his friends, Suoh stands up.
The world where the flames were extinguished was cold, and Suoh knelt to collapse.
In a cold world that has changed from the previous one, only Suoh is hot, and Suoh's breath is tinted white as smoke.
He is afraid of this all the time.
He feels that that moment will come one day.
Even if the world cools down, the flames in Suoh will not go out and the black charcoal will spread from Suoh's palm to the entire body as if the flames were eroding.
Suoh was terrified, as it seemed to be a sign that he himself was no longer human.
No, he is no longer really human. That hand is the hand of a monster that destroys everything.
At the top, he can hear the collapse of the sword of Damocles. It will soon reach the head of Suoh, who has lost his qualification of "king".
"Hey, I'll do something about it."
He hears a soft voice. Suoh raised his face like an idiot.
In a world where everything burns, Totsuka was standing and smiling.
Incorrect. Because he is gone.
"Your power is not to destroy, but to protect."
Totsuka says that with the same voice as that day.
At that moment, Suoh believed those words. He decided to believe him. By defining his power in that way, he looked away from the work that was under him and covered it.
However, the lid was opened.
Suoh was in a position, covering his face with his burned hands.
Suddenly, he heard a song of joy.
When he looks up, the abandoned castle of Suoh's burned remains and Totsuka's figure disappeared.
There, on the rooftop of the building at night, a boy standing by the fence is singing a song with his back to him and shaking his body.
The boy shook his shoulders and laughed, then turned and fired.
A gunshot sounds and a burning fever and severe pain spread through the stomach. Suoh slowly looked at his belly. He looked at the red blood spreading and touched it with his palm. He had the feeling that blood was pouring out of the hole in his stomach.
Well, Suoh wondered if he was shot dead like that.
"Is it a good night? Oh, sure it's a good night!"
The happy voice of the boy who shot echoed.
A flame rises from Suoh's body. Suoh has now completely renounced control of the flame.
The fire spreads like a red tsunami with Suoh as the center of explosion. The flame that turns everything into a desert perfumes the world.
Perhaps something important was coming out of the hole in his stomach along with the blood, and Suoh's insides were empty, and he felt a terrible loss. But at the same time, he was also impressed that it was so easy.
Unleashing the flames, Suoh spread his arms and looked up at the sky.
The sword of Damocles, which no longer retains its original shape, loses its light and begins to fall as if the thread had been broken.
"Mikoto."
A girl's voice reached his ears. Anna. A young but mature girl who snuggled close to Suoh. Totsuka told him that she was important and he couldn't argue with him.
She is calling Suoh.
"Mikoto, don't go."
But it's too late.
The tip of the falling sword comes close to Suoh's eyes.
++++++++++
When he opened his eyes, his heart was screaming out loud.
He was sweating all over his body.
Suoh blinked several times, realized that he was dreaming and exhaled slowly.
He was in the "Scepter 4" detention center. Suoh lay on a board where he slept badly, staggering, and apparently had a nightmare that was a little different than usual.
He exhaled a long, warm breath.
Suoh did not make the world a scorched field.
Suoh's sword has not fallen.
Not yet.
When he curled his back a little, the chain on the deck made a loud metallic noise.
"Fool."
Poisoned by a person, Suoh closes his eyes again.
++++++++++
He doesn't know Tatara Totsuka. He hasn't killed anyone.
Although he was convinced of that, the boy had a sense of anxiety that he could not erase.
The boy must have been in Gakuenjima at the time that person named Tatara Totsuka was killed. He has that memory in him. However, no one clearly stated that the boy was there.
Also, the bloody shirt that was shoved into the back of the boy's closet was a big problem.
"Here you have!"
A cheerful voice was heard, and a tray with a plate of steaming, good-smelling grilled fish was placed in front of the boy.
The boy comes to, and raises his face.
The boy stopped by a convenience store called "Yamadaya" during the purchase requested by Kukuri. It was an old shop with a retro interior and a simple menu, but it was a popular shop with Gakuenjima students because it was cheap and had an exceptional taste. Since it is located near the connecting bridge that connects to Gakuenjima, it is a favorite shop for commuters, and students living in dormitories often stop by when they go out in search of a warm family treat.
The boy has also visited this store many times with Kukuri and the others. That should be it.
The boy shook his head slightly when he realized that he had lost confidence in everything.
Freshly baked and fragrant horse mackerel, plump white rice, and hot miso soup. Did he really eat this menu many times?
Neko, beside him, happily waved the horse mackerel.
"Hey, what are you thinking? I'm telling you we're not done yet."
Kuro shook his eyes and said that looking at the boy.
"Ah, what?"
"There is still a suspicion against you. If you are not the murderer, then there must be someone who impersonated you."
"Oh, it's true..."
When he found that bloody shirt, the boy quickly hid it. Perhaps it was one of the clues to the true criminal that he hid that shirt, since he may have been beaten by the true criminal.
But he did not. When he saw that blood, he felt a sense of fear and self-doubt. He felt the existence of "Isana Yashiro, who was in Gakuenjima on the night of December 7", which he had taken for granted until a while ago, was reeling.
The boy is now more confused than Kuro and begins to doubt himself.
Neko, unaware of the boy's anguish, was secretly reaching for his chopsticks to steal his food after eating his own horse mackerel. Kuro slaps her hand without looking at her.
The boy smiled and transferred his portion to Neko's plate. To be honest, he now he didn't have much of an appetite.
When Neko received the horse mackerel she raised her hands and was pleased, she looked at him with a bitter face.
"We came here just because you keep complaining that you're hungry. Shut up for a bit."
After looking at Kuro who was scolding her like a mother, Neko, who was in a good mood, ate the delicious food without worrying about it. The boy looked around the store with his chopsticks stopped.
He is too early for dinner, so there are no customers but them. The owner crouched at the entrance of the store and gave a piece of fish to a stray cat. The owner who gleefully looks at the cat sticking his face into the plate and eating gently is a great cat lover, and this shop is popular not only with Gakuenjima students but also with cats, and there are stray cats coming frequently.
Looking further, he notices the cork board on the wall. There are plenty of snapshots with handwritten messages like "It was delicious!" And "I love Yamadaya-san's shop." There was also a photo of Kukuri, Inaba and Mishina.
"Sir, this photo..."
When the boy called him, the owner who was watching the cat's food got up and came over.
"Oh, these are photos of my usual customers. They have always been posted here."
"I don't see mine here."
"Oh, really? How strange. You're a regular customer."
The merchant mysteriously twisted his head.
The boy looks at the photo of Kukuri and the others. If he sees his friends being photographed like this, he should take the initiative to enter the scene. The merchant will probably try to point the camera at the boy. But why isn't there a photo of him? Did he happen to be busy when the boy came and wasn't trying to take pictures? For some reason, he can't remember well.
After finishing the meal, he left the store. As he moved on to Shizume, the boy couldn't get back on track.
Even when Neko spoke to the boy, which is usually vague, it was a distant feeling, like being called from behind a wall of glass.
"Hey... Hey, Isana Yashiro!"
Called by Kuro in a scolding voice, the boy raises his face. When he realized it, he was in front of "Kagitamaya". It's the place where the people from "Homura" attacked him right after he bought the fireworks the other day.
"He's too lazy for a while. Do you know exactly what Kukuri asked you to buy? What kind of fireworks do you buy here?"
"Uh, yeah, wait a minute. I've made a note..."
He handed the note he took out of his pocket to Kuro. However, as soon as he received the memo, he made a bold face.
"You... how am I supposed to read this?"
"Oh, I do not know..."
The boy's shopping memo was written in mysterious characters like hieroglyphs. It was terrible.
Maybe he was distracted by something else, he didn't write in Japanese, and in fact for some reason things like the alphabet got mixed up here and there.
Kuro drew a blue line.
"What good is a note if you can't read it ?!"
"Oh, wait, wait. I'm trying to remember what I was thinking about as I was writing it."
"You…"
Kuro stood up, but sighed a little as if he had immediately given up.
"Okay. All you have to do is contact Kukuri."
Kuro takes out a PDA from his pocket. Then suddenly...
"Nya!"
Neko screamed and ran towards Kuro.
"What?!"
"Why would you call her?!"
"What does that mean? I'm requesting contact information for this kind of time."
Kuro shows the PDA with a suspicious face. The boy was also dismayed by Neko's sudden uproar.
She was always energetic and noble, but now she had a surprisingly troubled face.
"You can go back and ask her directly! Hey, Shiro, let's go home!"
The boy was filled with words when they called out to him with narrowed eyes.
"Why do we have to go back? What do you think we have phones for?"
"Wow, I hate phones!"
"Why?"
Neko flushed and fell silent, eyes rolling uneasily as if she were searching for an excuse. However, maybe she didn't come out at all, she scratched her head with a crying face and yelled "Nya!" again as if she had a habit.
Immediately, she disappears and a little kitten appears more familiar to the boy than a girl. The kitten ran away with a strangely sad voice.
"Neko?"
"What was that?"
Kuro was looking in the direction Neko was leaving with a face mixed with confusion and dismay, but he operated his PDA as if he had regained his mind, and called out to Kukuri. He offered the boy the ringing PDA, so that he could speak for himself.
"Hello."
Immediately the phone was connected and he heard Kukuri's usual bright voice.
"Ah, it's me, Isana. We're here buying the fireworks, but..."
"Isana? Who?"
He hears Kukuri's mysterious voice.
The boy's breathing stops for a moment.
"What are you talking about? It's me, Isana Yashiro. You know, Shiro."
"Shiro? Sorry, but I don't know anyone named Shiro. You must have the wrong number."
The call was hung up while the boy was away and silent.
(Welcome, Shiro-kun! Come back early!)
Kukuri's voice that said that and laughed a while ago and Kukuri's voice that mysteriously said "Who?", overlap.
His feet wobble and the sense of reality disappears. The boy wandered in fear and anxiety that what he believed was broken and crumbling.
"Hey, give it back to me."
Sensing the change in the boy, Kuro seems suspicious. However, the PDA is no longer connected to Kukuri.
The boy was stunned and slowly lowered the PDA that he was holding to his ear.
"What happened?"
"Kukuri doesn't remember me. She says she doesn't know any Isana Yashiro."
For a moment, Kuro frowned.
"Was she kidding?"
"It didn't feel like a joke."
In contrast to the boy, who appears annoyed, Kuro seems to calmly think about the direction Neko was running.
"Neko was acting strange. She may have done something to Kukuri. For the moment, let's go back to Gakuenjima."
Kuro started walking without waiting for the boy's response. The boy silently grabs Kuro's hand. He felt Kuro stop and turned around, but the boy remained depressed and didn't look up.
"Hey, Kuro... can I borrow your phone again?"
"What are you going to do?"
"I'll call my parents' house."
"Why?"
"I want someone to tell me that I really am Isana Yashiro."
Then the world of the tottering and collapsing boy could rebound.
The boy writes the parents' house number, which he remembers slightly on the PDA, and gently holds the PDA to his ear when the call rings.
Oh, by the way, he thinks it's been a long time since he has talked to his family.
As he closed his eyes and waited nervously, he heard a small sound that made a call.
"Hi, I'm Yashiro..."
"The phone you called is not currently in use. Check the number."
The boy's world collapses.
++++++++++
At dusk, the angled reddish sun shone through the window.
Kusanagi finishes a few work calls alone at the quiet HOMRA bar. He hasn't been able to open the bar properly in recent days, but he can't blame the business associates. He made his feel a bit resentful of his nature, causing him to change his daily life properly even in such an emergency.
Anna, who continues to use her responsiveness and eventually finds out where the criminal is, is tired and sleeping upstairs. It seems that Yata, who jumped, joined Kamamoto on the way and entered Gakuenjima as expected, but not only did he have no results, but after fighting with Fushimi, he was stopped by Lieutenant Awashima. There was a report by phone.
When Kusanagi wondered what to do next, the doorbell rang.
Kusanagi smiled seeing the woman enter the bar with the sound of stomping on her heels.
"Before the store opens, okay?"
"How can I oppose such a beautiful lady? On the other hand, I heard you went after my boys."
A beautiful woman in an elegant dress, and decorating her neck and her wrists with pearl accessories, walks around him. Her chest-length hair was pulled down and slightly dislodged.
She walked over to the counter, took off her coat, and sat on the stool.
"How was your order? Lieutenant Awashima Seri from "Scepter 4". Also known as the merciless woman."
"Can you tell your boys not to do those things?"
"But Seri-chan, you are as cold as ice."
Awashima, when dressed in the uniform of "Scepter 4", is as strong as a man in a masculine, cold and scary society (this is why the nickname "merciless woman" suits her perfectly, as opposed to appearance Kusanagi), the atmosphere becomes a little softer in private, showing the femininity of a normal age.
She was a hidden customer of this bar.
"A Martini."
"Oui, mademoiselle. What's your recipe today?"
"Let me see… Four parts gin and one-part vermouth. And I'd like 5 parts of anko, please."
This order that destroys the Martini, as a master of a bar who loves cocktails, he was already used to.
"Oui, mademoiselle."
Kusanagi replied in a painful voice and took the container full of anko out of the refrigerator. Unfortunately, this bar always has anko to fulfill her special requests.
Dry martini with strong gin. Normally, an olive is added, but a large number of anko balls are added instead. Kusanagi doesn't want to call this desperate cocktail Martini, but Awashima always asks for this terrifying drink that makes the Martini taste disappear.
"That is one of the parts I can never love about you, Seri-chan."
In front of Kusanagi, who changes his expression, Awashima gracefully drinks the delicious Martini, whose anko balls sink thickly.
"What is the 'Red King' thinking?"
After putting down the glass and taking a breath, Awashima said in a low voice.
"Oh, right. Sounds like our boss is giving you a hard time."
"Your 'King' was captured by another 'King', but you look quite relaxed. What are you planning?"
As she says that clearly without changing the expression, Awashima breaks the anko dumplings with the toothpick and mixes them, turning the transparent Martini into a cloudy color.
"Oh, that's not a nice thing to say."
"I don't know why you're calm. I'm sure you're conscious, right?"
"What?"
"Weissman's deviation from the 'Red King' is reaching its limit. You know what will happen if he continues to exceed the limit."
Kusanagi smiled at Awashima, who did not allow him to dodge, and replied.
"You mean Kagutsu crater? It's a disturbing story."
A dozen years ago, Weissmann's deviation from the predecessor "Red King" exceeded the critical value, and the sword of Damocles fell. Called the case of a royal blast, it is a leak of enormous energy possessed by the royal authority, and it causes a large explosion that involves not only the royal authority but also a radius of several tens of kilometers. The predecessor, the "Red King", Kagutsu Genji, who was the head of "Purgatory", obliterated the entire southern region of Kanto, killed about 700,000 people and created a large crater in the belly of the Japanese archipelago.
"That is the power of the 'King'. If he loses control, the terrain of Japan will change a bit like then, are you saying that it is okay for this city to disappear?"
Awashima drinks when she makes a muddy cocktail. Kusanagi muttered as he stared at her white throat.
"That is why he is with you."
He may be a little tired too. Is it some kind of indulgence for her, or is it her honesty that he may be struggling with?
"At least you have someone who can stop him. Maybe he wanted to sleep without worrying about accidentally burning everything around him for a while."
Kusanagi laughed bitterly, thinking about what Suoh feared.
"He hated being patient, in control, and annoying things forever."
Awashima, who was holding the toothpick on her cheek, exhaled through her nose as if she was amazed.
"He is not qualified to be 'King'."
He is not going to argue that. He's sure that's what Suoh thinks more than anyone. Suoh is not suitable to be "King". However, he is an essential champion.
"He would probably have been happier, if he had been born as a lion somewhere in the savannah."
Kusanagi lowered his eyes, imagining a beast running alone, freely in the savannah.
"You are a surprisingly sentimental man. Well, we just do our job."
Awashima put the empty glass and the price of the cocktail on the counter and got off the stool. She tried to leave as she clicked her heels, but stopped midway.
She was looking at the bonsai and the projectors on the edge of the counter and the guitar leaning against the wall.
"One of our members brought that in. He was a guy with a lot of hobbies. Thanks to him, the inside of the store has become strange."
It seems that Awashima immediately realized who Kusanagi was talking about. She made her face look a bit understanding.
"I've never had contact with him. He was a non-combatant. The number 3 of "Homura", the weakest executive, the first member of "Homura" along with Izumo Kusanagi, Suoh Mikoto's friend for a long time. That's all I know. What kind of person was Tatara Totsuka?"
Kusanagi left the counter and lined up next to Awashima. Look at the things Totsuka left behind. Until a few days ago he used to tell him that he shouldn't take anything he liked to the bar and take it to his house, but now he doesn't feel like getting rid of those things anymore.
"A tamer of beasts."
"Beast tamer?"
"Oh. Most of our guys are tough, right? Normally, to bring them together, we use a kind of bond on the team, but there are also many who hate that kind of thing. "Homura" is basically a free spirit principle, even so, the reason I didn't have a problem with "Homura" was because Totsuka was slightly softening our beasts in a loose atmosphere."
Kusanagi remembers seeing the bar with Totsuka. Even in the now quiet bar, when friends gathered and Totsuka was in the middle, they were usually overjoyed.
Totsuka was interested in Yata's skateboard and began practicing skateboard tricks at the bar with a table to one side. At that moment, Totsuka was surrounded by everyone and made everyone laugh. Yata got good at teaching Totsuka how to skateboard, Kusanagi scolded the skateboarders inside and Suoh sat on the counter and looked at everyone in a vague but relaxed way.
"That's why he was a beast tamer... I wonder if the best beast is the 'Red King'."
Awashima's calm eyes gaze at Kusanagi. Kusanagi shrugged slightly.
"Totsuka was... because he befriended a ridiculous beast like Mikoto."
He reached out and played the guitar that Totsuka used to play. A sound that was kind to his ears rang out.
(Can you sing something?)
Anna sometimes asked for a song like that.
Music was also one of Totsuka's hobbies, and Totsuka showed his own songs written and composed for everyone in addition to playing the guitar. "I'll do it thinking about all of 'Homura'!"
The song, which Totsuka laughed a bit shyly at, had a soft sound.
Suoh also listened to the Totsuka song, sitting on the bar and gently looking down.
Perhaps the tone of the guitar and Totsuka's voice probably had the power to put the beast to sleep.
"But the beast tamer is dead."
Awashima said that in a cold voice on purpose.
"If the beast tamer dies, the only thing left is to lock up the beast. That is true."
Turning her back on Kusanagi, Awashima heads for the bar door. The doorbell rang. Awashima stops once with the door open a little and looks at Kusanagi.
"But I wonder if there is a place to plant a bomb with a broken safety device."
Having said that, Awashima did not ask Kusanagi for an answer and left.
Kusanagi laughed a bit at the bar after being alone.
"It's tough, Seri-chan."
He muttered.
++++++++++
"Take an umbrella."
His sister said so and offered him a red umbrella.
"But today is a good day, right?"
He looked up at the blue sky and laughed. But her sister gently held an umbrella in her hand.
"Because you are afraid."
She said that and smiled at him a concerned smile.
When they told him that, he suddenly felt that something was empty, and that something scary was coming from the sky, and he opened his umbrella even though it was not raining.
The umbrella his sister gave him covered the sky and he was relieved to feel protected underneath.
When she saw him, she reached out her slim white hand and touched his cheek.
"Come on, kid."
He thought that.
He was haunted by the feeling of discomfort that he did not understand.
It must have been a lonely dream, but the awakening came with a painful movement.
He went on the train. Yes, remember to go to his parents' house now.
After that call, the boy decided to go directly to his parents' house with Kuro. It seems that the boy took a nap on the train on the way and dreamed.
"What happened? Did you have a nightmare?"
Kuro, stood in front of the boy without sitting on the seat even though the inside of the train was empty, and said that. The boy laughs warmly and shakes his head.
"Yes, something like that. I dreamed that I was with my sister. It was a dream that felt strange, but... a dream is like that."
The boy has an older sister. His sister is his favorite and important to him. He remembered that and dreamed of going to his parents' house.
(When I return home, my real sister will meet me and welcome me. I'm sure of that.)
Even trying to think about it, the boy's frustration and anxiety didn't subside at all.
The automatic, inorganic voice that answered the phone call to his parents' house is still spinning in his ear.
"When I called my parents' house, they told me that currently that number is not in use. What can you think of in this case?"
At the very least, the boy moves his mouth to shape the whirlwind of frustration and anxiety. Kuro didn't reply and silently looked at the boy.
"One, I made a mistake on my parents' number. Two, something happened and they changed the phone number without telling me. Three, I'm lying."
From Kuro's perspective, the boy was originally a suspect. He believes the third possibility is the highest among the three, and a selfish smile comes to mind. However, Kuro has a very calm voice and follows the boy's words.
"If not, four, are your memories flawed?"
The boy was surprised, he opened his eyes and looked at Kuro. Kuro's eyes seemed clear and flat, not the hostile ones he encountered the first time, nor the suspicions he had when he was looking for an alibi.
The boy squeezed his hand on his knee into his fist, trying to regain his feelings.
"I'm Isana Yashiro. It's mediocre, but I have a pretty happy family, and now I'm away from my parents and I go to school, I'm a school student."
He looked at the red umbrella leaning to one side. The umbrella that his sister gave him in his dream. What is his sister doing now? Two years older... Did she go to college to study because she was a very smart person?
Somehow his mind was confused, and the boy seemed far away as if he wanted to shake off.
The train rattled and there were no other passengers. An empty box, where the setting sun was shining faintly, continued to shake regularly.
"Where did Neko go?"
The train enters the tunnel and the inside of the carriage sinks into darkness.
++++++++++
Kusanagi remembers the last call many times.
When the call came, Kusanagi was about to leave the bar and go home with Yata, who helped clean up to the end.
When he closed the bar door and put the key in his pocket, the PDA announced the incoming call. When he took out the PDA while he was thinking about who he would be, at that moment, Totsuka's name appeared.
"Hello, Totsuka."
He answered the phone in a loose voice because it was his friend, Totsuka, but didn't get an answer right away. There was a subtle silence, and when Kusanagi shook his head in a strange way, he heard a painful little voice from the other side of the PDA.
"Kusanagi... san..."
Kusanagi's spine froze due to the weakness of his voice.
"Hey, Totsuka? What happened? Hey!"
The sound of dropping the PDA reached his ears. The impatience increased even more when he heard "Kusa..."
"Kusanagi-san, what happened?"
Yata leaned forward to see Kusanagi's extraordinary appearance.
"Yata, come with me! Totsuka..."
"Eh?"
Kusanagi ran into the parking lot and grabbed the car key. Yata runs through the grass without knowing why.
Meanwhile, Kusanagi continued to call Totsuka. When he pressed the PDA against his ear so that he could pick up any weak voice, he heard Totsuka's voice a little further than before.
"Kusanagi-san… Can you hear me…?"
He was breathing harsh and painful, but it was a calm voice.
"I have been happy."
Kusanagi was horrified by the words he heard.
"I still believe it..."
"Idiot, Totsuka!"
From the other end of the phone, he heard a slightly laughing exhalation and a painful cough.
Kusanagi kept calling Totsuka many times. Totsuka seemed to say something, but he groaned and couldn't quite reach Kusanagi's ears.
When he got into the car in sweat and frustration, he started the engine, he told Totsuka forcefully.
"Wait a bit, let's go there."
"Yes I'm waiting."
Totsuka's answers came to Kusanagi firmly. It was a weak little voice, but it was a tone that didn't lose the character of Totsuka even in that case.
He knew about the places Totsuka used to go for night views. Hirasaka Building. It is a building that even outsiders can climb to the rooftop from an external emergency staircase, and there is also a height from where you can get a panoramic view of Shizume city.
Kusanagi broke the speed limit, ran in front of the Hirasaka building, and climbed the emergency stairs with Yata. When he reached the rooftop, he jumped into his eyes the figure of Totsuka lying on his back without strength and a large clot of red blood underneath.
Kusanagi stood up for a moment, but Yata immediately yelled, "Totsuka-san!", And ran to support Totsuka's body.
Totsuka was still breathing and conscious.
"Totsuka-san! Hey! What happened?!"
Totsuka groaned and opened his eyes to Yata, who screamed in a crying voice, and looked at Yata. He seemed to vomit blood while he waited and his mouth was soaked with blood.
"King... Colorless..."
Totsuka squeezed the words out quietly.
"'King Colorless'…? Totsuka-san, were you attacked by another 'King'?"
"Yes, Yata. Don't force him to speak."
Unable to see it, Kusanagi said that in a murderous voice.
Totsuka, who said that he was waiting, was certainly waiting for Kusanagi and his friends. But at a glance he knew what was happening.
He could feel that the Totsuka flame delivered by Suoh, was about to go out, as he was always by his side as Kusanagi's partner.
Yata seems to be trying to hold the wound and puts his palm around Totsuka soaked with blood on his belly. The coat sucked up most of the blood, which was now coming out with a slight noise.
"It's okay, Totsuka-san. We are calling a doctor right now, you can get rid of this kind of injury right away..."
Yata, desperately trying to cheer him up, had his face close to tears. Totsuka's face, which was supported by Yata's arm, could have looked good. He looked at Yata with a concerned face and managed to lift his weak arm and reach Yata's face.
"I'm going to get rid of that..."
Totsuka touched Yata's cheek to comfort him, but his hand was exhausted and he fell, leaving a trail of blood.
"...I'm sorry."
Somehow, it will be fixed.
It was a Totsuka habit. He always laughed and said it, and his unique optimistic ease made him feel like he could really handle it.
But now the power of that word is gone, with Totsuka's life.
Totsuka opened his eyes and stopped breathing with a worried look.
"Totsuka-san...?"
Yata's hand shook a little.
"Totsuka-san... Hey... Don't be sleeping... Wake up... Hey!"
Many tears welled up in Yata's eyes. Holding Totsuka's cold body, he hugs him and cries.
Kusanagi silently turned his back on Totsuka's body. He walked slowly towards the ancient chamber that Totsuka used to carry, and that it was lying on the concrete of the rooftop. Totsuka's blood was also on the surface of the camera.
Passion did not bother Kusanagi. The sadness, anger and intense emotions that seemed to slow down his thoughts were suppressed and he decided what he should do now.
He grabs his PDA and call the person he had to report to.
On rare occasions, the other party answered with a call.
"Mikoto, I have bad news."
Kusanagi remembers that night many times.
Kusanagi, who had told Awashima about Totsuka that night, silently lowered his gaze.
It was getting dark outside and it was starting to rain. A whispering rain envelops Kusanagi's lonely bar.
Kusanagi walked over to the shelf where the Totsuka relics were placed, placed the palm of his hand on the Totsuka camera at the end, and patted it lightly.
Totsuka, who had many hobbies and changed his interest to various things, had the most enduring hobby, the camera. There are many images of friends that Totsuka left behind. Everyone in the video used to laugh.
They also seemed to be a sign of Totsuka's love and attachment to "Homura". Since Totsuka was always handling the camera, there were few images that showed Totsuka himself.
(Hey, hey, somehow...)
Relive his laughing expression after saying that.
"Just say irresponsible things and go your own way."
He put his hand on the camera in his fist and squeezed it hard.
"Fool."
Kusanagi closed his eyes, muttering resentment against his deceased friend of his.
++++++++++
The boy was standing in the stadium on a downpour night.
He was terribly shocked, but not surprised. He somehow he had felt that way since the phone call to his parents' house failed to connect.
"This is your house?"
"It was here, it should be. I left the station and went straight down the street... here was a house with a little garden..."
What spread out in front of the boy was a large stadium and empty audience seats.
There is no such thing as "Isana Yashiro's mediocre happy house" in memory of him.
Kuro looked at the boy with calm eyes.
"You don't seem like the type of person you think you are."
"…Yes."
He has been raining a lot. The raindrops falling on the stadium lawn made a flapping noise. Both the boy and Kuro were drenched. There is no point in putting an umbrella on now, but the boy slowly opens the red umbrella that he was still hanging in his hand.
An umbrella that his sister told him to carry in his dream, when he was afraid.
But in reality, the boy may not have had an older sister.
No, on the contrary.
"It may not be Isana Yashiro in the first place. I mean, maybe there was no person named Isana Yashiro."
"Oh."
"I felt like something was wrong. When I tried to remember the details, sometimes it didn't work."
He tilted the umbrella to hide his face and spun it like a rusty hand.
He hears Kuro's voice from the other side of the umbrella.
"Who are you?"
"A murderer?"
When he answered that, the words made the boy hurt more than he expected. He stopped the spinning umbrella and squeezed the handle hard.
"I can't say there is absolutely no chance. I can't believe in myself anymore."
From under the umbrella, the boy gave Kuro a weak smile.
"You want to kill me?"
Kuro looked at the boy and was silent for a while.
Eventually, however, he takes up the sword stance and touches the sword's handle.
The boy closes its eyes when he sees it.
He didn't know anything, but the boy no longer thought he was an innocent person. He also thought that if he killed him for something he was guilty of, he should accept it.
Kuro's breathing changed. The boy was ready to give up closing his eyes tighter at the sound of his breathing.
The next moment, he hit the boy.
"The final curtain falls the moment a person enters."
It was a haiku, not a hit.
The boy opens his eyes, surprised.
What Kuro had in his right hand was not the handle of his sword, but the "recorder with the haikus recited by Miwa Ichigen" that he appreciates.
At that moment, he picked up the recorder with a satisfied face.
"What beautiful words."
"Were you listening to me...?"
"Is it a story you can't believe? It's weird, I don't believe you either, long before you can't believe yourself."
The rain hits the umbrella. Kuro, who had no umbrella, was soaked in the rain, but he stood up straight without shrugging his shoulders.
"I believe in only one thing, the words of my late master. Ichigen-sama told me to find out. I have not yet given up. Therefore, I will not close the curtain."
Kuro looked directly at the boy.
"What about you, Shiro?"
For the first time, he called him Shiro.
It was not out of trust or affection, but he showed that he was not an enemy, but that he had reached the position of a neighbor who was seeking the truth together.
Kuro's righteousness gradually permeates the heart of the desperately fleeing boy.
"Don't give up? Yes. That word is correct."
Kuro perhaps thought the boy was praising Miwa's words, and his cheeks flushed like a child. He had a rough nose.
"In any case, I can allow you to repeat this sentence. When you say Ichigen-sama's words, your heart will clear."
As usual, words of revulsion rippled in the boy's mouth. With a smile, the tense thing loosened, and his eyes were about to get wet with water that wasn't rain, and the boy covered his face with the umbrella.
"Rare."
The whispered voice was loose and a little wet.
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You say the story of Rescue Team frustrates you? How come?
Rant ahead. Rant ahead about a game I unironically love, but I spend far too much time overthinking the plot of, hence my grievances.
Maybe I just held it to unfair standards on account of playing it for the first time after Explorers of Sky. Which is easily the greatest pokemon game ever made, accept no substitutes. Nah, Rescue Team DX is addicting, the music is incredible as always in these games, and the gameplay has been massively overhauled and made far superior to the original, which while fun, was pretty buggy. And the game does have some pretty cool characters, too. Like...whatever I may yell to the heavens about Albus Dumbledore from HP, make no mistake that he’s an exceptional and three-dimensional character. Same goes for Snape. And that applies to this game as well.
The main reason this game’s story irritates me comes down to Gengar and Alakazam. Again, they’re very well written characters...but I hate them. I despise both of them. I don’t know what it is, but Alakazam rubbed me the wrong way right from the start. Him and his whole team are so self-important, so arrogant. They condescend the MC and act like they’re the ruling body of the town square. Alakazam goes around telling people that he knows everything. That’s a god complex if you ask me. At several points, the characters make decisions based on the assumption that he is stronger than the MC, which you as a player never get to challenge. (Think of Leon from Sword/Shield, but a million times worse.) The Partner character is so in awe of them, so enamored by them. Yet behind MC’s back, Alakazam knows (or suspects) them to be the human of legend and doesn’t tell them “for their sake.” Which gives me strong Nozomi (SMT IV: Apocalypse) vibes, since later on he ignores all responsibility for having been "complicit" with the MC's secret.
The Fugitive Arc doesn't make any damn sense. First of all, Xatu claims that the disasters, all of the trouble, are being caused by the Human from the Ninetales Legend. Ninetales later debunks this. When I first played this game, I legitimately thought Xatu would wind up being some kind of secret villain, that he had lied, and that the Fugitive Arc was all started by him. This doesn't wind up being true, and we never get an answer for why he thought the Human of Legend was responsible for the state of affairs, nor did anyone question his being wrong or acknowledge his role in all this. But the one who really started everything was Gengar. He doesn't really annoy me until the Post-Game (I'll get to that) but everyone else's reactions to Gengar's story bother me. He is a known liar, a known trouble-maker who no one likes. It's well known that he has a vendetta against the MC. He has no proof whatsoever of his allegations. And everyone just buys it, despite MC now having a great reputation, because...I guess MC didn't actively deny it? Which the player was given no agency in? And it doesn't stop the accusation from being ridiculous?
Enter Alakazam. Apparently, everyone held a town meeting that must have taken all of ten seconds, to decide what to do about MC. They held this meeting without MC or the Partner present, because having them there would make too much sense I guess. Team A.C.T. prepares to...I guess kill MC? As well as the Partner, even though they're completely innocent. Before Alakazam hesitates and decides to give the MC a day to run away. Hold on, if he is so convinced that MC has to die to save the world, how do he justify letting them go? I guess the same way he justifies how he "knew" MC was the human of legend this whole time and said nothing about it? He bids MC to run, and throughout the entire Fugitive Arc, his team is the looming threat. Which was quite frustrating for me, already a Diamond Rank and probably higher leveled than Team A.C.T, because I would have been happy to settle things with Alakazam right then and there. It is beyond frustrating that the story denies me this chance. Not to mention, half of the town shows up to say goodbye when MC and the Partner take off. Like...okay, at least half of the town believes in MC. How in the hell is this even happening? Why do we have to flee when so many characters are on our side? When there's no proof? Why is Alakazam's word just considered law? If he “knows everything” how come he doesn’t know that Gengar is human as well, if he could sense MC’s humanity?
You don't know how badly I wish there was a fight with Team A.C.T. when all was said and done. And the game could have done it, too! Just have it take place at the top of the Mt. Freeze, before Ninetales shows up. They have a skirmish that takes place in a cutscene, but even in the remake - there's no boss battle. Why not? It's not like this dungeon has a boss battle otherwise. Wouldn't it have been a fitting conclusion to this arc? Maybe I'm biased, maybe I just think it would have been cathartic to kick Alakazam's ass, to make him put his money where his mouth is...because again, the arrogance. He demands Ninetales tell him what happened, and that "depending on your answer, I may be forced to eliminate MC" Ah, slow your roll there, buddy. Ninetales already broke up the fight and made it clear that it's not going to happen. You're a guest in their domain. On top of that, Team A.C.T. basically forbids you from going to Magma Cavern to challenge Groudon. As if you haven't just proven yourself capable of braving dangerous dungeons. As if, after they chased you halfway around the world and were proven completely wrong, they have any right to talk down to you or tell you what to do. Again, I so, so wish we could have fought them and taught them a lesson.
In general, this is a consistent thing with the other characters, following the Fugitive Arc. Everyone focuses on how happy MC and the Partner must be to have their names cleared, (Again, the Partner was accused of nothing. Like, literally nothing.) and no one stops to address that everyone in the Town Square should be falling to their knees and begging our forgiveness for what they put us through. Several of them tried to kill us. Upon returning to the Town Square, Gengar acts like MC is turning them-self in because they don't have any proof, even though he never had any proof to begin with, and it's only after MC is "cleared" by Team A.C.T. that everyone remembers that Gengar is untrustworthy. Reading the words "under the watchful eye of Alakazam" has always made me extremely salty. I don't have much to say about the Mankey brothers but they irritated me as well. Maybe I was just out of patience after the Fugitive Arc but I found myself wondering why we appeased them at all. Initially, we give them the chestnuts because they attack us if we don't. No matter how many times we beat them, they keep attacking if they're told no. I realize it's a staple in Pokemon games to have false yes/no choices, but those are especially noticeable in the games that focus on story. And sometimes the excuses are just pathetic. Meanwhile, the other pokemon continue to treat you as rookies, as kids. You are once again "forbidden" by...um, the other townsfolk, from going on the Rescue Mission until you talk them into it. It's like...guys. You put us through hell. We could have died a dozen times over, because you bought into the mob mentality for no good reason. How does everything just go back to normal after that?
I don't mind Gengar at first. He's a villain, and a well-written one. He's got a clear personality and there's hidden depth in there as well. He's one of my favorite characters in the game, easily. And all of the stuff he does in the main story? Stealing the mail, manipulating Caterpie, and the stuff during the Fugitive Arc? That weird psychedelic sequence where he's dragging MC down to hell at the end? (Or whatever that was?) All fine by me. He's a villain. He's doing bad things. But sweet Arceus is Gengar annoying in the Post-Game. I wonder if this must be how Merula Snyde Antis feel, over in the HPHM Fandom. Because the MC has absolutely no motivation or reason to help him out. He just demands that they act as his bodyguard, offers nothing in return, and won't leave you alone until you say yes. Buddy, my team has like thirty pokemon at this point and they're all hanging out in the Friend Areas a few feet away. You think you can intimidate me? The only reason I'm helping is to progress the storyline. And throughout this entire storyline, you have to help Gengar even though he hasn't earned it.
He does not deserve forgiveness, or a reconciliation with Gardevoir. What if I don't want to help him because I don't think Gardevoir would want to see him? What if I think that it would do her no good to see him? He's unrepentant and awful, the story does the bare minimum to suggest that he's changed. Now I will admit one thing: I love the moment that Ninetales first appears, sees Gengar, and simply goes "...What do you want." Like. Like that was the moment that I put it together, before he went on to tell the rest of the story. I love simple moments that make the big reveal crystal clear without needing to directly tell or show the audience. I've always dug that. But everything that happens after that is frustrating. Gengar demands the curse be lifted, despite having no justification to offer Ninetales. He threatens to attack them, but then clarifies that MC will be the one doing the fighting. Excuse me? Why would I ever do that? MC just found out the truth about Gengar, what he did to Gardevoir, and then how he pinned it all on them during the fugitive arc. Gengar, why would I attack Ninetales after this, instead of attacking you? Tell me I don't initiate battle against you right now? Thankfully MC doesn't have to actually fight Ninetales, but they are still forced to testify at Gengar's "trial" and it's a forgone conclusion because no matter what answers you give, it's treated as MC acknowledging his growth and he is forgiven at the end.
Oh, I’ve just thought of something else. MC isn’t given a reason for why they have to leave the Pokemon world, or why they were able to return. Explorers gave a reason. Gates to Infinity and Super Mystery Dungeon made a whole post-game story out of their reasons. Here? We get nothing. MC’s “role” has finished and so they have to return to the human world. Never mind what they want. Not until after the dramatic moment where they have to leave has passed, anyway. That voice at the end who suggests that we may be able to see our partner again just by “wishing.” Who the hell was that? What did they mean? Look, by Pokemon standards, the Rescue Team story is quite substantial. By Pokemon Mystery Dungeon standards? It’s...probably the weakest story. I mean, to be fair, Super Mystery Dungeon had the endless schoolhouse arc that added up to nothing in the second act. But hell, that was still fun. And I suppose the Fugitive Arc and Gengar’s “redemption” were fun too. Just frustrating as well.
#Pokemon#Pokemon Mystery Dungeon#Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team DX#pokemon mystery dungeon rescu#Team A.C.T.#Pokemon Team A.C.T.#Pokemon Games
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Now you've been asked what you do like about him what about the opposite what don't you like about goh?
Aw man, this is gonna hurt.
TL;DR - Goh’s a completely lovable character, but I have three particular issues with him that I feel could become worse if not taken care of properly.
First off, DISCLAIMERS!! To all my fellow Goh fans, please know that writing this, I do not mean any hatred to Goh in anyway. I LOVE Goh, and if you’ve seen literally ANY of my past anipoke posts, you would already know that. These are just issues I find with his character that I want to be changed for the best.
Now with that outta the way, here’s what I don’t like about Goh:
1. His iffy character development. While he’s doing fine in becoming more open to people and more willing to help Pokemon, his fighting skills are what I have trouble with it. Let’s go back to his first ever official battle.
It was at Hoenn’s Frontier Cup where he used Scorbunny and Scyther against a trainer’s Mightyena. Despite having a type advantage with Scyther, he lost horribly, which is completely understandable. He’s a beginner and doesn’t possess the same kind of street smarts and experience Ash and many other trainers have. Alright then, so maybe this will lead to a change in character of wanting to become better in battles by getting some training with Ash, who made quick work of that Mightyena trainer. Surely we’ll get some development over this topic after this episode!
He beats Saffron City’s Karate Master and scores a free Hitmonchan.
...Okaaaay, I mean, we’ve never seen the Karate Master in battle before, so perhaps it was just another fodder trainer the anime is filled of. I sure we’ll get some more Goh development after thi-
He easily defeats and captures a powerful Flygon.
.....Alright, alright, it was only a wild Pokemon. Everyone can beat those, right? Heck, in the next episode, he technically suffers a curbstomp loss against Kiawe and admits he only battles Ash every so often. Perhaps this loss will encourage Goh to train more with Ash so he could become a stronger trainer. I mean, despite his good luck with Pokeballs, he’s gonna need to be as strong as he can be for tougher mons, like Legendaries. I’m 100% sure we’ll get something out of thi-
He takes down a wild Zapdos and NEARLY captures it.
.........Uh, okie dokes, it wasn’t a successful capture, and who knows? Even though we have not seen him battle/train that much on-screen, maybe he just got a little lucky. Even in the games, it happens to the best of us. Perhaps this barely missed victory will finally give Goh the time to actually development more on-screen so that he could have a better chance agai-
He defeats Oleana’s Milotic, using his fire-type Raboot who only wanted to use a weak fire-type move.
..............Allllriiiiight, maybe Oleana just got a little cocky later on. Plus, Raboot finished Milotic by evolving in Cinderace and finishing it off with Pyro Ball. With this powerful evolution in hand, maybe Goh will finally realize that, in order for Cinderace to reach its greatest potential, he must start training for once and obtain some proper development for a chance against stronger threa-
Cinderace fights decently well against Mewtwo, even lasting longer than Pikachu and being on-par with the more trained Lucario.
....................At this point, I’m all out of excuses for him. Overall, Goh’s development as a trainer is very rushed to the point seeing him achieve numerous victories despite all odds being against his favor to be iffy.
2. Slightly touchy topic, but there are some negatives with his whole catching all Pokemon goal. So Goh wants to catch every single mon he can in order to reach up to Mew, as he said to Mewtwo in episode 46. And yes, this includes Legendaries as well. Unfortunately, this is where my issues with his goal starts. First off, where in the world will Goh keep any Legendary he encounters? Cerise’s glorified garden dome? Yeah, keep Dialga and Palkia, literal beings of space and time, inside a glass dome with a bunch of weaker mons. And speaking of which, wouldn’t catching mons like the Creation Trio or the Island Guardians cause quite the upset in, well, y’know, the natural balance of things? Sure, Goh technically hasn’t caught a single Legendary yet (Eternatus doesn’t count because it had to be sealed away), with how the anime is playing out, issues like this will surely rise throughout the series.
And yes, the anime is playing it out for Goh to indeed catch every single mon before reaching Mew. If you pay attention to the openings as well as many of Goh’s own character moments, such as episode 46, then you can easily see the signs telling us that Goh is bound to catch them all, just as Ash is bound on defeating Leon. In the past, pretty much all of Ash’s traveling companions had their own goals as well, but it’s usually because of those goals is why they leave Ash by the end of their journeys, like May and Dawn pursuing contests in other regions, Brock wanting to become a doctor, Iris wanting to find more Dragon types, Kiawe wanting to become an Island Kahuna etc. Because of that, it becomes up to the audience’s interpretation (and fanfics) on how they achieve their dreams and what challenges they could face throughout the way. With Goh, there will a lot more focus and emphasis placed on his goal, and while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s too bad there aren’t really any stakes or obstacles in Goh’s journey!
Really now, another glaring issue with Goh’s goal is that he has NO trouble going through with it at all. From his very first fodder capture, all he has to do is get a good throw and then PING! Pokemon caught. Guess the thing of having to weaken a Pokemon first before capturing it has been retconned out of the anime forever. With that said, there’s absolutely no struggle for Goh to overcome in his journey, which kinda makes things boring. Where’s the challenge? Where are his rivals? Are there any doubts? Does he have any issue of having to catch and connect every single mon in existence? No, well then good for him I guess! Sad thing too is that he catches so many Pokemon with so much potential, but they then disappear completely after their debut.
Remember that free Hitmonchan he scored from Saffron’s Fighting Dojo who seemed completely willing to train with Riolu and Farfetch’d? Never seen again. That female Raichu who loves giving berries? Completely forgotten about. That Aerodactyl Goh resurrected and bonded with before catching? Thanos snapped. The Heracross Goh obtained from a trade at the cost of a second Pinsir he worked hard to find? Literally who?
3. And my biggest issue with Goh. The fact he’s somehow on the same scale as Ash.
Don’t believe me? Well, let’s go back to the ending of episode 46. After Mewtwo teleported him, Ash, Pikachu, Lucario, and Cinderace back home, Goh said this: “We’ve still got a long way to go.”
Excuse me, but WHAT?!?!?!
You BOTH got a long way to go, even though you both suffered a complete curbstomp from a mon that would probably even make the likes of Lance, Cynthia, and Leon comparable to Youngster Joey?!?! What the Distortion World?!?! Why is Goh and, by extension, the writers implying he and Ash are on even terms when it comes to being a trainer? Goh, as a reminder, you literally only began your trainer career 45 episodes ago!!
Alright, let’s talk about Ash for a second and what he’s been through since he started his trainer career. Ash started in Kanto, and while he really only fairly achieved three out of his eight badges (Brock and Misty’s were givens, Erika’s was a thank-you gift, Sabrina’s was all Haunter’s doing, and Jessie and James are complete jokes that no one should take seriously), he still partook in as many battles as he could against tough trainers while getting some pointers from the much more experienced Misty and Brock. After that, he went on to become a much more impressive trainer in later journeys. Instead of a full recap, I’ll just list two impressive things Ash has done in each region he’s journeyed through after losing in the Kanto League.
Orange Islands: Won his first official double battle with Pikachu and Charizard despite neither initially getting along at first and then defeated the Orange League champ, Drake.
Johto: Survived an entire forest of bloodthirsty Ursaring with his friends and defeated Gary’s Blastoise with his Charizard.
Hoenn: Helped stopped both Team Magma and Team Aqua’s elemental threats and reached Top 8 in the Hoenn League despite only two of his mons being fully evolved with one being a glass cannon bird.
Kanto again: Conquered the Battle Frontier and tied with May in his first ever contest.
Sinnoh: Helped protect a Riolu from the famed Hunter J and knocked out two of Tobias’ Legendary Pokemon.
Unova: Defeated Iris’ Dragonite twice (Charizard pretty much had the high ground in their fight) and helped protect Meloetta.
Kalos: Defeated four Mega Evolutions (Lucario, Abomasnow, Absol, and Sceptile) and was one of the main heroes against Lysandre.
Alola: Became an Ultra Guardian and conquered the Alola League.
And right now as of Journeys: Defeated Korinna’s Mienfoo and Mega Lucario with only Dragonite right after the two curbstomped Gengar and defeated Chairman Rose.
And this isn’t even scratching the surface, and yet, somehow, Ash is still on the same scale of Goh. This doesn’t make any logical sense, it completely negates Ash’s experience while over-wanking Goh’s, and it ruins any semblance of power scaling between the two. Logically, Ash should be leagues above Goh and the latter should always confide to Ash whenever he needs assistance or pointers, not “Oh, we both lost to a powerful legendary, guess that means we both have stuff to learn and we’re both beginners lul”. It’s like Deku and All Might both losing a villain that’s beyond both of their capabilities, and then Deku saying that they BOTH have much to learn afterwards! Does it make sense? HECK NO.
If they had to have Goh comment about their loss, why couldn’t he say something that would’ve made more sense? Maybe say something like “Wow, I can’t believe I lasted that long, honestly.” And then Ash would say, “Hey, you’re only getting better. And me and my team will always be there in case you need more training.” Have the two acknowledge the fact that even trainers like Leon wouldn’t fare any better than them against Mewtwo. Just absolutely anything that doesn’t completely ruin what we know of these characters to the point the two are considered equals, despite all the evidence saying otherwise.
I’m getting a little exhausted now, so I’m done, but thanks for asking, anon!
And for anyone reading, please feel free to agree or disagree. I’m completely acceptable to anyone else’s thoughts/opinions over Goh and would love to hear them.
#anonymous ask#pokemon journeys#anipoke#pokeani#goh#scorbunny#raboot#cinderace#sobble#scyther#flygon#heracross#aerodactyl#raichu#hitmonchan#Golurk#ash ketchum#pikachu#lucario#professor cerise#eternatus#darkest day
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Home Support (part 3)
Tags: @elmokingkong, @kuroko26, @votederpycausemufins, @redscarlet95, @amayakans, @yin-390, @susiej1118, @toodaloo-kangaroo
Her arms ached, her brow was dripping with sweat and the Akuma was hot on her heels. So much so that she could feel the heat they were emanating on her back, if it wasn't for Tikki's protection, she probably would have burned up by now.
She was trying to push the Akuma closer to the seine, closer to water, where she hoped to be able to dunk the Akuma into to combat the flames that engulfed them. Only then would she stand a chance. If only the Akuma didn't keep bringing up massive walls of flames to block her path.
At the very least, she had managed to scout out the Akuma's abilities. They could only being up one massive wall at a time, so as long as she didn't trap herself in (which is kinda hard when you can vault over every building around) then she could keep up with their game of cat and mouse.
Speaking of cats.
Chat Noir was following behind the Akuma, slightly off to the side. Normally this wouldn't be a problem but the damn cat was choosing to just watch from a safe distance, instead of trying to ambush Hawkmoths victim of the day.
She was so having choice words with him later.
She swerved to the side as a fireball flung past her head, she was certain that a few hair had to have been burnt from that. She had yet to see the extent of that move yet, but she would deal with it later.
The Akuma took priority, she swung around a corner, pulling herself up and over the building before her before touching down into a sprint that resulted in her jumping over gaps between buildings and streets. The Akuma left growing flames everywhere they went, leaving the fire department severely overworked and undermanned as they tried to fight the flames for the sake of the civilians.
She could see the seine just over the cusp of the buildings, feeling her determination grow she put all her effort into getting there as soon as possible.
It seems, however, her ladybug luck could only last so long.
As she flung her yo-yo onto a lamppost a blast of flame hit it, melting it instantly. She had already been lifted into the air slightly when it happened, expecting to simply vault to the closest building. Instead, she took a sudden dive towards the ground, hitting it full force as she skidded across the tarmac.
Thank Kwami for the magic that protected her.
as she turned to look up, she saw the Akuma hovering above her, the sharp symbol of Hawkmoth over their pure white glowing eyes. Without a word the Akuma raised their arm and pointed it at Ladybug, a large stream of fire escaped from their Palm and was heading her way.
She was frozen to the spot, unable to move, her yo-yo was too far away for her to use, having skidded away from her during her fall.
"LADYBUG!"
She was certain she was hearing Chat shouting her name but couldn't pinpoint its origins.
Just before the flames got to her she felt a massive hand grab her shoulder, pulling her backwards effortlessly as something big and round was planted in front of her.
The flames hit it, spreading around it as it was forced to come in contact with the... Thing... The tarmac around them began to bubble. After a few more seconds of the onslaught of flames, they stopped. The light of the flames had left her momentarily blinded, yet she felt... Safe.
She's stood as her eyes adjusted back to normal, before her stood a very large and very broad man. He was wearing large thick green boots, a thin dark green undersuit was covered with near black coloured sections around the thighs, shoulder and wrists. His stomach was more a yellow green giving off a pattern similar to... It clicked.
her eyes darted to large shield in His hand, to the turtle miraculous on his wrist then to the man's face where it was shrouded by the dark hood and goggle like mask.
There was fondness in those eyes that she couldn't immediately place. There was only two people who knew where to find the miraculous and only one of them were like the man before her.
"Papa?"
He, her father, smiled at her in that way that she knew meant that she was loved and cared for.
"Hello my little macaroon."
Marinette was about to open her mouth when another person, her Maman no doubt, landed next to them both. She would honestly admit to everyone around that she was jealous of her mother's attire.
Sabine's suit was designed like a hanfu dress, the deep red colour was accented by the shiny silver lines that made the entire suit look scaly. Sitting in the centre of her chest was a dragons head, wide open as if ready to bite, between the teeth was the three elemental symbols for water, air and lightning. The dragons neck when up and around her mother's neck where it went back down, seemingly under the head and towards her right hip.
The body of the Dragon circled around her waist until the tail hung loosely off her front. The large sleeves were designed to look like Dragon wings but clearly were unable to hold any real weight. Sabine's eyes had gone a golden yellow and sliced like a reptiles, the red mask that covered her eyes gave off the impression of an open maw, there were two horn like additions to each side of her head, almost looking like a crown.
She looked glorious and Marinette was jealous that her mother got to showcase her heritage better then she could.
"Perhaps it time we get a little... Lucky, ladybug."
Sabine jolted her head to behind them as she returned Ladybugs yo-yo to her, giving a quick look back she spotted Alya hiding behind a trashcan, phone trained on the three of them.
Great, Just.... Great.
"Protect me." She stepped back as her father pulled his shield up in front of them both and her mother drew the sword from her back, it look no different from the one Ryuoko used. "Lucky Charm!"
From the cloud of Ladybugs emerged a... "Fire blanket?"
" figure it out, " Her mother spoke fiercely. "I'll handle them for now." Like that she was off the ground, jumping from outcrop to outcrop while trying to get close to the Akuma.
Her sword would swing at them as she got close, forcing the Akuma to drop lower down or move back. Her mother was a little too fast for the Akuma to keep up with.
Ladybug scanned around her, her vision darkening as she tried to figure out a solution. There wasn't much to go off of right now just...
Her eyes darted to her father, then her mother, to the blanket and then the fire hydrant down the street, where to Akuma had been forced back towards.
"I got it." She quickly tied the blanket to her left arm, not wishing to lose it. "Help her push the Akuma back and down more, be ready to activate Shell-ter on my mark."
Her father gave her a nod before he ran down the street, not nearly as agile as the two of them. She was quick to fling her way to the hydrant, wrap the wire around the end and brace. Then she waited.
She watched her parents fight, her mother tried to stay as airborne as possible, bouncing back and forth between buildings and truly looking like a dragon.
Her father stayed down, drawing the heat - literally - to himself. Just a little closer.
"Hey bugaboo, look a little busy there, need a hand?"
She groaned internally, not letting the irresponsible hero get under her skin. "Not now Chat, talk later." She heard her earrings beep once and ignored the weight that was out on her shoulder.
A little more now.
"So, patrol tonight?"
" Can't... Family business. " Which for once would not be a lie.
"You can keep playing hard to get all you want MyL-"
"Now!" She pulled back on the hydrant , breaking it and allowing water to spray upwards. Directly into the Akuma.
they were put off by the force and their flames dulled due to the moisture but they didn't extinguish. They hit the ground close to her father, as he raised his shield up, her mother dropped next to him.
"Shell-ter!"
The large dome encompassed the three of them, leaving Ladybug and Chat Noir outside it. Despite this it still seemed impossible to retrieve the Akumatised object as it had to have been below the flames, they couldn't see it.
"Hold your breath." The two adults looked at each other in understanding. " Water dragon! "
As quickly as one could blink the dome filled up with water, it filled the flames until they extinguished and even then the water stayed a short moment after. As her earrings beeped a second time ladybug unwrapped the blanket from her arm, she knew what she had to do.
As quickly as it started, the shield dropped and the water flowed everywhere, leaving her parents both standing above the Akuma. Ladybug wasted no time in trying their hands together with one end of the blanket before she used the other end to pay down the Akuma still hot body.
there were cracks running up their body like magma was trying escape from underground. She quIckly found the object, a fancy looking lighter, before she smashed it on the ground under her foot.
She untied the blanket before repainting into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!" Like that all the damage was reverted, fires where extinguished and the hard working rescue services could relax once more.
As the corrupted magic dissipated off the victims body ladybugs earrings beeped a third time, this time she brought a hand up to them before she turned to her parents.
"Go, we'll handle this." Her mother was already kneeling by the victim, trying to comfort them.
" purr-haps I should take you home Milady? We still need to have tha-" Chat Noirs words were interrupted by his yelp of pain, caused by her father dragging him backwards by his tail.
"Actually," the larger man spoke, putting an arm around the feline hero. "Why don't you help us speak to our... Dedicated reporter." He gestured to Alya as Ladybug Yo-Yo'd away, greatful for her parents.
After a few minutes of gushing and - with somewhat scornful looks sent the man's way - asking questions they ended off on the important one.
"So, what done a call you two?"
"Fēilóng." The Dragon weilder spoke, authority and power coursing in her voice.
"Tortue." The turtle weilder spoke with pride in his own voice, a sound that made others feel at ease and safe around him.
quickly the two of them jumped up to the closest roof, gave each other a sparing glance before parting ways, as if they didn't know each other. Leaving a grumbling cat and slightly disgruntled reporter behind.
-
Later the family was sat at their dinning room table enjoying their dinner, as they spoke about pleasant nothing's. As if the three of them had never gone out and fought a magic enhanced villain with the help of magical mini-gods.
said Mini-Gods were sat in the centre of the table enjoying their own food and even tea from their miniature cups. Marinette had been more then willing to allow her parents to keep the miraculous, both so she could have back up and so the Kwami themselves could enjoy the world more thoroughly.
She knew Wayzz needed more time before he got over the loss of master fu, what better way then to find with someone new?
She's knew he wouldn't be decent for a while and she didn't blame him for it at all.
"Tikki?" The tiny red God looked up to her chosen not noticing, or choosing not to acknowledge, the glint of mischief in her yes.
"Yes Marinette?"
" Could not be possible to... say... Pass a message onto Plagg for me? It's important. "
"I would have to visit him personally and inform think that's wise. "
"Well," the bi-racial girl started. "I don't think we'll get an Akuma tonight, so it should be safe. I just need you to ask Plagg How he feels about his holder and what he's doing to correct his behaviour, he was pretty game today after all."
" Very well, do you wish for me to depart immediately or later? "
"Soon. It would be best so we can get to sleep early tonight, I'm exhausted. "
"Very well." Despite her size , Tikki was quick to pick up a cookie and carry it with her. "I shall return as soon as possible."
She went through the open window , unable to phase through it while holding her sugary treat. Her parents looked at her oddly and she was quick to withdraw a box from her bag, pulling the miraculous out of it she didn't flinch at the bright golden light in front of her. She clipped the comb to one of her ponytails before facing her parents.
"Lets go get the ring back. "
#Home Support AT#dragon!sabine#Turtle!Tom#miraculous au#marinette deserves better#guardian marinette
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Hello I love your penumbra art and I showed some to my friend who finally started listening to Juno Steel and she said that she's been enjoying penumbra fanart but keeps on seeing fantastic Peter designs and then having to ask where his pockets are. This is not at all a criticism I just needed to share the thought because now I'm wondering too
OKAY THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION so here’s a trio of highly unlikely options for your consideration (put into fic format by someone who has little to no experience writing fic and is, to be completely honest, miles outside of their comfort zone):
nureyev’s pockets contain a - for the lack of a better word - pocket dimension
“You’re full of shit, Steel,” Vespa says. “If you wanna brag about sticking your hands down the thief’s pants, go find someone else to do it to.”
And really, Juno has been at the business end of Vespa’s blade before, but twice in one morning is probably a new record. He bristles. “Okay, first of all, would it really kill you to not wave your knife at me every single time we’re in a room together? Can’t we have one conversation where this doesn’t happen?”
“You started it! You got your finger all up in my face!”
“Yeah, well, my finger doesn’t have a long and celebrated history of gutting people when-”
“Keep it civil, sweethearts,” Buddy says from the other side from their makeshift recreation room, where she and Jet are playing a game Juno has never heard of involving a set of oddly shaped dice, some old Uno cards, and, inexplicably, a pineapple. Vespa moves to sheathe the knife, but makes a whole show out of doing it without averting her icy stare for even a split second. Juno has to suppress the fleeting urge to do something petty and potentially life-threatening, like sticking out his tongue at her.
“Second of all,” he continues, his voice only slightly lowered, “you asked! You asked me about Ransom’s - about his pocket situation, I’m just telling you what I know. And for the record, I never said anything about anyone’s pants. Or where I’m sticking my hands. Or, you know, whatever. Shut up.”
Vespa still hasn’t broken eye contact. “No, Steel,” she says, “I asked you how the thief managed to get an entire cupboard worth of Ming dynasty porcelain off of Titan and onto our ship. What you’re telling me is that he has magical mega pockets that are bigger on the inside, which isn’t a thing.”
“That’s what I used to think about teleportation, and mind reading, but here we are.” The truth is that the porcelain thing is a mystery to Juno as well. He has asked Nureyev, of course, but all he got in response was a that’s for me to know and for you to figure out, isn’t it, detective, which is more than a little annoying. “All I’m saying is that it could be an option. Don’t rule it out just yet.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Vespa says. “Ask him to pull, I don’t know, a live rabbit out of his breast pocket, and maybe I’ll buy into it.”
Juno has to roll his eye at that, and immediatey realizes he’s lost their little staring match. Not that it matters - the odds were stacked against him from the get-go anyway, with Vespa having a whole extra eye to look pissed off with. “Fine, whatever. But just for the record - have you seen a rabbit lately? Because I can guarantee you those things won’t go down or come out of anyone’s pocket willingly, regardless of pocket size.”
It might be a trick of the light, but for a brief moment, he thinks he sees the corner of Vespa’s mouth quirk up just a little.
a strategy once used by juno himself: Just Put It In Your Mouth! it’s mother nature’s built-in pocket!
“Uh oh,” Nureyev says once Rita has successfully hacked the giant metal door to slam shut behind them and they’ve skidded to a halt. He tentatively presses a hand to his throat.
“What- are you-“ Juno wheezes from where he’s doubled over, "Are you okay? They didn’t hit you, right?”
Nureyev makes a dismissive fluttery motion with his free hand. “Nothing of the sort.”
Juno squints at him, giving him a once-over, and seems to sag with relief once he sees Nureyev is not actively bleeding. It’s a little bit endearing, Nureyev thinks. “Okay, whew, good,” he says. “So then - what’s the ‘uh oh’ for? We got the blueprints, we-”
“Let’s say,” Nureyev interrupts him, “hypothetically speaking, that there was some ancient and priceless treasure in the vault we took the blueprints from.”
“That’s not really a hypothetical,” Juno says. “There was enough old Earth monarchy junk in there to bedazzle the entire Carte Blanche with.”
"Right. And now let’s say, once again purely hypothetically,” Nureyev continues, “that someone with only the noblest of intentions noticed the Koh-I-Noor diamond among that treasure, and that that someone decided to free it from the monstrously tacky diadem contraption it was stuck onto, because it’s a waste for something like that to be gathering dust in a vault.”
“You know,” Juno says warily, “I’m not sure I like where this is going.”
“The problem is that this outfit, while very stealthy, does not provide a great amount of secure pocket space, so i had to improvise.”
“Oh no,” Juno says.
“So I put it in my mouth, but then the guards arrived and while we were running I-”
“Oh no,” Juno repeats, a little louder this time. “Ransom, you - did you eat the Koh-I-Noor?”
“I accidentally swallowed the Koh-I-Noor, there’s a difference-”
“You ate it. You- Ransom, who would even-”
“Who would even what, Juno” Nureyev interrupts him, “There’s this old saying, something about a pot and a kettle, I believe.”
Juno’s comms crackle to life. “RIGHT,” Rita chirps loudly, “I know the both of you are very busy talkin’ about who ate a conifer and why - and i’m not judgin’, mista Ransom, you eat your greens however you wanna! That’s what my mom told me that time I dipped my green beans in marshmallow fluff - which I wouldn’t recommend, by the way, at least not with the beans, it was a WHOLE mess. Maybe with some broccoli, though, or baby carrots, or - anyway, what I was gonna say is they’re about to crack this door open, so I’m just thinkin’, maybe now isn’t the best time for this conversation?”
“He didn’t eat a conifer, Rita, it’s - actually, don’t worry about it,” Juno says. “Let’s get moving. I’m sure Vespa can figure something out to make you hurl the thing up again. But for the record, Ransom, don’t expect me to ever let you hear the end of this.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Nureyev replies. Juno grins a little, crooked and pretty, and Nureyev’s stomach almost somersaults enough to throw the stupid diamond out.
and lastly - why use your own pockets when you can use someone else’s?
“Nureyev,” Juno says against his neck, “can I ask you something?”
They’ve folded themselves onto Nureyev’s cot, neither of them up for more than just lazing around. Nureyev has been trying to study some floor plans for the last twenty minutes, but if he’s being honest with himself, he has no idea what building, owned by what person, built on which planet in whatever system he’s been looking at. He’s mostly been lost in thought, only grounded by the weight and warmth of Juno pressed against his side. He had thought the lady asleep until now.
It’s a little ridiculous, the effect his own name being spoken by Juno Steel has on him. He’s fairly sure that with Juno this close, he should be able to feel the shiver it sends down his spine, pick up on the stutter in his pulse. It’s okay if he does, he tries to tell himself, it’s okay, it’s only Juno - but at the same time Juno is infinitely, immeasurably more than 'only Juno’ to him.
“Of course,” he replies. “Anything, anytime.”
Juno hums. “Earlier, when we got back from the media bigwig backstabbing competition-”
“It was an award show, dear Juno.”
“I said what I said. Anyway, when we got back, there was something in my pocket that I definitely didn’t put there myself.”
Oh.
“A flash drive,” Juno continues, “that had the name ’M. Valderrama’ engraved into it. And a crazy amount of plastic rhinestones glued to it, but that’s not the point. I didn’t wanna risk it containing a virus and blowing up the ship, so I didn’t plug it into anything. But I did do my research, so I know Mignon Valderrama was at the backstabbing- I mean, the award show, and is the acclaimed director of titles such as ’The Notebook Part 44: This Time They’re All Ancient Mercurians’, the entire ’Ultra Magma Tsunami’ franchise, and the upcoming-”
“The upcoming blockbuster ’Cerebral Cephalopods: Rise of the Mathematician Octopi’,” Nureyev finishes.
Juno shifts against him. "Yeah, that’s the one. Didn’t know you were a fan.”
“Oh, I’m not,” Nureyev replies airily.
“Still,” Juno says, propping himself up on an elbow. “I have to wonder. How and why did mx. Valderrama’s flash drive, rhinestones and all, end up in my pocket?”
“Hmm. Would you believe me if I told you mx. Valderrama tripped, and the drive flew out of their pocket and into yours?”
Juno shakes his head. “C'mon, Nureyev.”
And for a moment, he hesitates. It’s not the best of stories. There’s no real noble, for-the-greater-good, Robin Hood-esque reason for him stealing the drive. He didn’t do it for the challenge, either - Valderrama might as well have presented it to him on a silver platter. Sure, he could make something up, spin a tale, make it sound big and impressive and sensible. But despite the alarm bells going off in his mind, he also thinks it might not be so bad to tell the truth, to bare his throat to Juno just a little. Of course, his own voice echoes, anything, anytime.
He sighs. “I might not be a fan, but I believe your secretary is. She’s been talking about those Magma Tsunami movies for days. They are horrible, by the way - she made me sit through two of them and I can’t believe I’m never getting those four hours of my life back. Valderrama should be liable for damages to my psyche. The drive, as you probably guessed, contains what I’m pretty sure is the final cut for whatever that octopus movie is supposed to be, so I snatched it up for her. My dress didn’t have any pockets, so I slipped it into one of yours. I must have forgotten to slip it out again.”
Juno frowns. “Wait - Rita? Did she ask you to? Because at this point i’m pretty sure she could hack into the studio’s servers in a heartbeat, and rip the whole thing-”
“She didn’t ask,” Nureyev says. “It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing. But she wouldn’t have been able to get her hands on this by hacking. Valderrama is famously paranoid about leaks. All of their works-in-progress are stored on only a handful of physical drives until the day of release. One of the drives goes into a vault with a nightmarishly difficult analogue lock, one goes to the executive producer, and Valderrama keeps one of them on their person at all times. I saw my chance, so I took it.”
“Huh,” Juno says, “that's… that’s kind of sweet of you, actually.” He prods Nureyev in the chest with a finger. “And very illegal, and you shouldn’t do it again. But still. That's… yeah. That’s sweet. She’s gonna be over the moon.”
That’s what he’d been hoping for. He smiles, shrugging a little. “We’re space pirates, Juno. Most of what we do is illegal. We got into the award party illegally, and for illegal reasons. Valderramma will make their billions with or without that drive. It’s just-” he sighs again, raking a hand through his hair. “Rita is very important to you, which - which makes her very important to me. She’s been there for you all these years, and she’s never been anything but kind to me either. I’m not trying to buy her friendship or her appreciation, I suppose I just… think she deserves something nice, especially if that something is within arm’s reach anyway. Even if that something is a movie about hyperintelligent squids taking over Mars’ moons.” He lets his head fall back into the pillows. “I know that might sound a little foolish.”
Juno leans into him a little more, cupping Nureyev’s jaw in his warm hand, looking a little bit puzzled and a lot fond. “I’m pretty sure you already know that I love your particular brand of foolish,” he says after a second.
And before Nureyev has the chance to think about what that means for too long, Juno is kissing him, wiping any semblance of thought from his mind.
#the penumbra podcast#i have no excuse for this i literally just kinda slipped into a fugue state on the bus and wrote tgis#I'M... NOT A WRITER... and i'm already lowkey embarrassed but! whatever!
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Smaugust 06 - Magma
A human wants to accompany his dragon girlfriends on their magma-diving outings, but they don't think he's ready. Yet.
Lily glanced at the clock. "Oh, Verrea," the blue dragoness said, pointing at the hanging timepiece, "it's past two. We'd best get going if we want to return before sundown."
With mumbles of affirmation, her friend in green scales rose and stretched her wings. "C'mon, L, I usually get my trips in three hours."
"I suspect you wouldn't if I stopped letting you eat my rubies." She looked to their other partner, a human named Ben, and gave a sheepish smile full of sharp teeth. "Sorry, forgot to tell you. We should be back for dinner, though."
Ben looked up from his game of virtual alchemy to give the dragons a thumbs-up. "Sure thing, you two. Where are you girls headed?"
"Volcano," Verrea replied casually, "looking for gems. They grow fastest at the bottom."
The blue dragon rolled her golden eyes and huffed, a wisp of smoke trailing from her nostrils. Ben watched it rise and dissipate, hoping that it wouldn't set off the smoke alarm - fortunately, it didn't. "It's not a volcano!" she admonished, "Mount Ternen is a mountain with a volcanic flow inside it."
"Magma stream."
"Lava," Lily corrected.
"It's magma if you go down far enough," Verrea shot back with a grin and a playful flick of her bladed tail. This earned her a forked tongue being poked out at her, to which she retaliated by tapping her muzzle against Lily's.
"Oh, that sounds cool," Ben remarked ("more like hot," said Verrea), "can I come with?"
The dragonesses both shook their heads. "Sorry, Ben, far too dangerous. More a dragon thing, anyway."
"Eh, alright. Have fun you two." He waved at them, letting his gaze linger as the green dragon teased him with a flick of her tail, then tried to get back to his game. But no matter what, he kept thinking about his friends swimming through molten rock. So he gave in and searched for information on Mount Ternan, looking at maps and photos. Sure enough, the maps he found all had a section labeled something along the lines of "closed to tourists," "staff/experienced cave delvers only," or, frankly enough, "lava past here." He printed out one of the more detailed maps of the area and checked for any tours of the caverns... so that, of course, he could avoid them.
Phase one complete.
---
The next day, he was looking at the map over breakfast when Verrea walked up behind him and laid her chin over his shoulder. "Whatcha got there, Ben?" she asked, her breath smelling of bacon and... well, mostly more bacon.
He reached his arm up to pat her head. "Oh, you girls got me thinking about that mountain. I don't think I've been there, and it's only half an hour drive or so, so I figure I would go and walk around. Look at the stalactites, stalagmites, and stuff."
"Hey, that's cool. It's pretty pretty in there, at least for dragons. Dunno what it's like with human vision, of course." The dragoness grinned, Ben catching the glint of her fangs in the corner of his eye, and continued, "hey, if you want something extra to do there, see if you can figure out which stalagmite I use to get off when I visit?"
"Wh-what?"
"She's messing with you," Lily chimed in from across the table. She sent the last of the sausages on her plate to their demise before carefully picking up the plate in her mouth and carrying it to the sink. "And even if she wasn't, she's hopefully not stupid enough to do it anywhere a tour could see her."
Verrea departed from Ben's shoulder to brush her wing against Lily. "So far as you know. The imminent danger of being found out is part of the fun!" she purred, before winking at them, "but no, I didn't. Dirty rocks where who knows how many other dragons and humans could further mess with it? I treat my body well; give me a nice tongue or dick any day of the week. Well, maybe not today, since you're doing stuff. Though, Lily..."
"I JUST ate," the blue dragoness replied. Ben excused himself from the table to get ready and not let on how much Verrea's casual teasing had affected him. A few minutes later, the scaly pair waved goodbye to him as Lily settled down in front of the television, controller in paw, and Verrea sprawled over the couch.
---
"...and as we come down here, you'll see a really cool formation. Us tour guides, we call it the snowman, on account of, well, it looks like a snowman. There it is. See the body, and the head?..." The tour guide's voice faded out as the last of the group walked out of sight around a column. Ben looked around him. Nobody in sight. Moving quickly, he stepped over the chain rope marking the path, and strode swiftly into the dark tunnel beyond. He kept careful track of how many steps he was taking, marking them down on a makeshift map of the... less than publicly available section of the caverns. A wide flashlight beam kept him from stumbling over rough parts of the floor or falling into parts where the floor simply stopped existing as much.
As he pressed on, further into the dark cave, he realized the temperature was rather quickly climbing. What began as rather cool, somewhat stale air had soon become midsummer temperatures, with no sign of stopping. Before long, he was forced to turn back before he dehydrated from sweating. His map proved quite excellent for his purposes, and he was soon able to see the lit part of the caverns. He shut off his flashlight, and waited until he was sure no other tour groups or wayward tourists were around before scurrying back to safety. As he made his way back to the mouth of the tunnel, two conflicting emotions dominated: he could probably do it with some help, and how could he be so dumb as to forget that magma was over 500 degrees Celsius. Well, either way...
Phase two located.
---
Ben lay amidst a tangle of limbs and scales. Lily was purring hardest, Verrea having elected to simply pass out. "Alright, I'll give you that," the blue dragoness said, "that crystal you got is more than a little overkill, but powers excellent heat resistance potions. Good luck convincing Verrea to lay with you without expressing herself in fire again." She nuzzled the human. "Not that I'll be all that much easier, of course."
The human stroked her neck, pressing his fingers in just the right way to get her to coo and nuzzle in against him. "I'm just glad it worked so well. You'd think she'd try the effect out on my hand or something, first, not my dick. And you're not so innocent there, either, miss 'oh good you can handle my deep internal temperature.'"
Lily flopped her head over and gave him the most innocent stare she could muster. "What? You knew I like my throat played with. Just because she's more open about it doesn't mean I can't be a weird dragon with weird dragon kinks."
"Still. My entire arm? I was half-worried you were going to see if you could deepthroat the rest of me, too." He booped her snout; she poked out her forked tongue.
"Aww, you think I'd be able to do that?"
"Yes."
She nuzzled her snout into his neck and flicked her tongue at the sensitive spots. "Good boy~"
They lay in silence for a few minutes before Lily tapped her paw on him. "By the way, magma is roughly twice as dense as honey, and therefore much, much slower to move in than water, so we have to manage our air well when we dive. Or use magic."
Ben felt his heart rate jump. "Uh... why do you mention that, Lily?"
She gently nipped at his neck, teasing him with sharp fangs that never broke skin. "Call it draconic intuition. And, I'm not sure if you picked up on this, but I do like having you alive rather than paying for the mistakes of a lack of research."
"Well... thanks, then. I'll take those into account."
Lily resumed purring, her legs and Verrea's holding him securely between and under them. "Very good boy."
---
A few days later, Ben was watching some speedruns on their TV screen with a blue, scaly pillow and a green, scaly blanket. He could feel Lily's muscles tense under his head as the race they were spectating entered the last level with barely two seconds difference between first and last place. And while he wasn't looking at their girlfriend, he figured she was more watching the two of them rather than the screen.
"Oh, wow, all of them got first try on that wallclip," he remarked. A quick glance to Verrea confirmed that Lily had started tapping her tail rapidly against the green dragon.
"I think upper-right got the best of that speed rule. Gap's closing," Lily said as the goal drew into sight.
Scant seconds later, the results were in. Ben's head sank into Lily's side as she relaxed and exhaled.
"Hey, speaking of time," Verrea spoke up, "isn't two the time you were shooting for, L?" And just like that, a bit of tension was there again. Ben and Verrea got up to let the blue dragoness out, and the green soon joined her.
"Mount Ternen again?" Ben asked, getting nods in response, "Can I come along this time? I finally got all the stuff needed to join you two."
Lily shook her head. "Sorry, Ben. We'd love to take you along, but still not yet."
Ben quirked an eyebrow at her. "Still? What am I missing?"
"It's... hard to say, really," Verrea chipped in, "it's like a thing about dragon stuff. Physical and mental, and you don't have it. But hey, you're doing better. And if nothing else, you got us some fun toys for the bedroom."
A blue muzzle tapped a green one. "I love you, Verrea, but do you ever think about anything else?"
"Of course I do! You think I'm that one-track-mind?" she scoffed, "there's so many other places I can fuck you two. Kitchen, living room, a few thousand feet up..."
"I... may have to take you up on that last one, if we can figure out a harness..." Ben said, successfully distracted.
"Mm. Keep it in mind, cutie! Back for dinner!" Verrea waved goodbye with her tail as the two dragonesses left.
---
"Hey, Verrea. It's been a couple weeks. Wanna head out?"
"Sure, I'm running low on smoky quartzes."
Ben got up and grabbed the magical tools he'd acquired about three weeks prior, before they'd previously refused him. Lily watched him.
"Ben-"
"I'm coming." he stated. The two dragons looked at each other for a second, then smiled.
"You sure are. Riding or driving?" Lily asked, ignoring a "phrasing" from Verrea.
"Driving." Ben looked at them. "Was that really all?"
Verrea grinned. "Dragon thing needs dragon mind. Welcome aboard, honorary dragon."
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Chapter Ten: Street Fighting
Slateport was a bustling port city that had slowly taken over the entire cape and began to creep inland. It wasn’t as built up or modern as Kogane, in whose shadow Ren had spent her childhood. Instead it reminded Ren of the more distant Asagi, complete with a towering lighthouse shining above it all.
Ren bought them fresh Carvanha fritters and kumara chips in the crowed market by the fishing docks, then picked up a bag of ginger-coconut biscuits at a bakery as they wove their way south. She’d been missing fish and there was nothing like getting the morning’s catch before noon—even if it wasn’t quite the same as the Koiking korokke and roast yakiimo she used to pick up on her way into town.
Slateport’s beaches were enormous—the largest Ren had ever seen. They wrapped two-thirds of the way around the city and stretched at least a hundred meters beyond the dunes and smooth slate walkway. There were sandbars out further still that people and pokemon had swam to. Ren took off her boots and let her feet sink into the dry, shifting sand. She winced at the scorching heat until it was up to her ankles, but Tāraki flopped down and let out something akin to a purr as he splayed out.
“According to the visitor’s guide, all the battling in the city takes place out here,” Ren told her team.
Māia gave a few experimental flaps on her shoulder. “Excellent! The wind is perfect!”
Panahi clacked her beak in agreement.
“Akahana, you should still be taking it easy, so just let me know if you’d rather rest in your ball.” She nodded. “Iki.”
The Surskit startled out of Ren’s shadow. “Y-yes?”
“I want you to take the lead, if you feel up to it.”
“What?”
Ren rubbed at her shoulder. “Sometimes it seems like you still don’t think you’re a battler. But that’s my fault for neglecting your training. If you give me another chance, I bet I can prove to you that you can be.” Iki fidgeted. “What’d ya say, little bug? Want to give this a go?”
Iki glanced at Akahana before squaring up to Ren. “Y-yeah, let’s do it!”
Was it hope, or did you see potential in her?
“I knew she could be great. Even though it scared her, she always had such unshakable dedication. It ran deeper than even I knew. She threw her all into every fight. The fear never made her freeze, it only made instincts keener. There was no way she wouldn’t become a top battler.”
I see.
“Is that why I chose her in the first place? I thought…”
Do not doubt yourself. The way you have sought to heal and empower all of those bonded to you—to use your strength to protect even strangers—is why I chose you. It is at your very core, Ren.
“You’re right. I’ve always wanted to do good with my abilities, even when I still wanted to do great things.”
It is my belief that you will do both.
Trainers were scattered all around and battles took place wherever they could find enough open space between the other beachgoers. Much to Tāraki and Māia’s delight, there were more than enough opponents around the right badge level for Ren’s entire team to get some practice between Iki’s bouts.
The matches by the seaside were particularly exciting and informative. Water moves could manifest so differently with a source so readily available, and fully aquatic pokemon could maneuver in in wholly new ways. And Iki could skate across the waves with a speed and grace that blew her movements across dry land out of the water.
But high on the beach, where the sand was loose and drifting, her spindle legs sunk beneath the surface and her speed fell behind the Slugma she was facing. It glided across a layer of glass melted by the heat of its magma, and Iki only managed to escape by turning more sharply than it was able. She zigzagged away from a Rock Throw only to be driven further into the sand by an Ember. Ren could see her trembling.
“Dig deep, Iki! You can do this!”
The shaking stopped as the Slugma surged forward, but instead of ducking down for a Fell Stinger, Iki stood tall and released a rushing stream of bubbles from her open mouth. They burst and hissed upon impact, splattering the Slugma’s viscous skin asunder until is disappeared in a cloud of steam.
The sea breeze cleared it a moment later, revealing a sunken puddle of black rock with magma glowing through the cracks
“Oh,” Iki murmured in shock.
“That was Bubble Beam!” Ren cheered. “You have a water move now! This is gonna change the game for you!”
“Really?”
“Absolutely, little bug!” Ren grinned wide and Iki smiled tentatively back.
The other trainer stood back up from inspecting her Slugma, and withdrew it. “I’m gonna take Mote to the Pokemon Center.”
“Thanks for the battle!”
“Oh, uh, you too.” The trainer almost turned to go, but hesitated. “You said this was your first time in Slateport, right?”
“Yeah!”
“Then you might not have heard, but they hold tourneys at the Seashore House every Friday. It’s a bar just down there on the west end.” Ren followed where she was pointing and spotted a blue roof a ways off on the beach. “It’s worth a go if you’re still in town tomorrow. I always go.”
Ren threw her an appreciative smile as thanks. “Sounds great! We’ll be sure to check it out.”
“Maybe I’ll see you there then bye!” She said in a rush before jogging off.
Ren turned immediately back to the task at hand. “This is perfect! We just need to do a little target practice and we’ll be ready for thing!”
Iki looked over at the sunken hole where the Slugma had been. “If you say so.”
...
The pink and orange of sunset painted the horizon and set the sand alight as Ren and her pokemon set out the next evening. The Seashore House was packed when they entered—filled to the brim with trainers and their pokemon. A smiling middle-aged man and a Tentacool bustled behind the long bar serving up drinks while one harried waitress took orders from the seated patrons. Buoys and lifesavers splashed bright color across the slatted wood walls, and the smell of fried seafood wafted powerfully from the direction of the kitchen. The room was buzzing with conversation and pulsing with excitement. Ren felt her heart beat a little quicker and a grin overtake her face.
She drifted outside with the rest of the mingling trainers to find the large stone patio being cleared. She grabbed the end of one of the remaining picnic tables with some of the others and set it down in the sand in line with the rest now encircling the patio.
“Hey, y’all! Listen up now!” A voice boomed from an amp near the side door. The buzz quieted and everyone’s attention turned to a girl who couldn’t have been over twelve, mic in one hand and the other thrown in the air, standing on a crate to see over the sea of heads.
“This is your Master of Ceremonies, your Officiator of Fun and your ultimate Judge of Battle Badassery, KAT KORRAAAAA!”
The regulars roared their approval while some of the new initiates clapped unevenly in confusion. Ren whooped. After an appropriate amount of adoration, the girl lowered her hand and all fell quiet.
“Let me lay out the rules for the new blood and all them that’s just passing through. All matches are one v one, standard League rules. The first tournament is for greenhorns through two badges. Next is for three and four badges, so on and etc. You get the idea. Winner of each tourney gets as many free drinks as they can knock back! Remember, you can only lose once, but you can win again and again so step right up hopefuls, gather round spectators and prepare yourselves for the BEATDOWN!”
Ren waded through the crowd and wrote her name in the bracket beside the building. Spectators filled the picnic tables while pokemon took the edge of the patio for a better view. Ren and her competitors surveyed each other appraisingly.
“I’m seeing a lot of plant, dark, and fire-types.” Ren whispered down to her team. “This is yours to win, Iki!”
Iki was trembling, but she nodded resolutely.
Pride mixed with excitement rushed through Ren’s veins and had her tingling down to her toes by the time her first match was called. Her opponent sent in a Houndour against Iki, and Ren glimpsed Akahana don a matching grin.
Ren had Iki douse the ring with Water Sport to dampen its fire and use the puddle to hydroplane around its jaws. A Quick Attack to each flank had it staggering and third to its shoulder brought it down before it had managed to land a single hit. The swiftness and decisiveness of the victory caused a moment of quiet before Kat shattered it with her judgement and sent Iki skittering back between Ren’s legs.
They faced a Seedot in the next round, which proved tougher. But Ren correctly guessed that its joints were the most vulnerable, and Iki had the precision to follow through with Fell Stinger. The third round was a Numel whose combination of Magnitude and Flame burst had Iki quaking, but once again she didn’t freeze and it succumbed. The fourth was a Cacnea, whose troublesome Sand Attack they beat back with Bubblebeam. It was difficult to land any effective hits without getting in range of its Needle Arm, but they managed to distract and encumber it enough to get a decisive hit on its vulnerable crown.
The crowd grew more and more raucous as each successive tier of the bracket filled until the final battle was announced. A trainer with a mohawk and piercings stepped into the ring with his Boldore opposite Ren and Iki.
Finally a real challenge! Ren felt her body lower and her hands come up like she was preparing for a judo bought, and Iki mimicked the stance in front of her. The other trainer sneered and his Boldore postured to play to the crowd. It was about four times Iki’s size and must have been near ten times her weight. They would have to be quick and careful to beat it, but that was where they excelled.
You seem to think of your confidence as a weakness of late, but to my mind, it is perhaps your greatest strength.
“Thinking I could handle things I couldn’t has gotten pokemon killed! You know that! You’ve seen it!”
I disagree. Look again, Ren. Look harder.
Ren and Iki waited for the opening move they knew was coming, and the Surskit sprang to the side to dodge the rock launched at her. It shattered by Ren’s feet, but she felt rather saw it as her eyes followed Iki’s zig-zagging path around the edge of the ring. Three more rocks narrowly missed before the attack was spent, but by then Iki had lined up a clear shot and hit it square in the leg with Bubble Beam.
The Boldore stumbled in surprise, but then leapt back at her with a Smackdown. Instead of running, Ren had Iki parry with Fell Stinger, which unbalanced and sent it stumbling back.
The crowd roared almost as loud as Ren’s heart in her ears, the pitch of it climbing at her audacity. But Iki paid the price when her own unsteady legs failed to carry her out of range of a Headbutt. The crowd gasped as the force of it pinned her to the ground. There was no getting away this time, and the Boldore raised a leg to stomp her.
But Ren didn’t reach for her ball or call their surrender. Instead her command rang out in the relative quiet as the audience anticipated the end. Iki raised her head and blasted the Boldore point blank in the face with Bubble Beam. It staggered as the first bubbles exploded against it, wobbled as Iki pressed the attack, and collapsed as Ren and Iki’s strength outlasted it.
The crowd went absolutely wild. People and pokemon were jumping and screaming and cheering. Iki didn’t jump this time. Instead, light suffused her and a breeze rushed out from her, quieting the crowd.
Iki emerged from the shell of light looking unlike any of the many Masquerain varieties in Ren’s Pokedex. Her head was crowned with a pointed, golden helm with a plume of red rising from the back. Her false eyes were a stark and hypnotizing contrast of black and white, and her mask was a deep shade of pink. She was amazing.
“What a tournament! What an upset!” Kat yelled over the mic. “Folks, it looks like we have our winner! Give it up for Ren Kosugi and her MVP, Iki the Surskit!” The crowd cheered wildly again and the girl waited for a lull to continue. “Or should I say Masquerain? Let’s congratulate her on that awesome evolution!” The cheering picked up again, but this time with more applause and a few lycan-whistles. “I think we can all agree we’ve never seen a bug quite like that folks! What a sweep! Be sure to collect your reward, Ren!”
Iki’s head was tilted down, trying to catch her reflection in the sheen of water over slate.
“Iki!” Ren called.
Iki turned and looked up, but her eyes found Akahana instead. The Poochyena’s black lips curved upward in a rare smile. Iki’s wings began to beat furiously, propelling her up several feet before she got them under control. Ren ran to her rescue, scooping Iki up and hugging her in her arms.
“You look awesome, little bug! I’m so proud!”
Ren felt Iki press her face into her shoulder. “Thank you.”
In another moment, Ren loosened her grip enough to look down at her pokemon “So do you believe me yet?”
Iki took a moment to answer, but there was hope and happiness in her eyes.
“Yeah.”
...
Later that night in their room in the Pokemon Center, Ren was drifting off on a bunk with Akahana already snoozing beside her, when a low whistle pulled her back to consciousness. It repeated, sharper this time.
“Iki!” It was Māia.
Ren cracked an eye open and saw Iki’s red plume jolt in the shade-filtered moonlight.
“Y-yes?”
“The others and I wanted to congratulate you on your evolution,” said Panahi gently.
“Really?”
There were murmurs of ascent all around.
“Of course, dear. You worked very hard, and you did so well. We were all impressed.”
Iki fidgeted in her cushion. “Oh, wow, thank you. I-I mean that’s very kind. I didn’t think I was doing that great…”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” hissed Māia. “That tournament was awesome!”
“Especially that last battle!” Tāraki gushed. “The way you received that Smackdown with your head spike!” He was on his feet, imitating the motion with the frond sprouting from his head.
“That took guts!” Said Māia. “And I would know.”
Iki was quiet for a moment, then ventured: “because your ability is called Guts?”
“Yeah!”
“Oh.” Then Iki let out a little tinkling sound that might have been a giggle.
Ren pressed her hands over her mouth to stop herself from squealing and giving herself away.
“You see?”
Yes. I see a trainer who cares very deeply about her pokemon and their happiness.
“I—You!—Don’t laugh at me after being so kind!”
Only if you cease mocking your virtues.
“Personally I liked the way you used Water Sport to speed yourself up and Bubble Beam to slow the others down,” said Hakeka. “I didn’t know you were so clever.”
“Ren helped me with—”
The Shroomish interrupted before Ren could: “still, props on the execution.” Iki did not deflect again and Hakeka continued. “Now that you’re talking to us, I’ve got a question for you—if I may?”
“Um, sure. What is it?”
“Why do you hang out with the grumpy Poochyena so much?”
Ren saw Iki rise up off her cushion, false eyes flaring. “Aka is not grumpy! She’s really nice!”
“Yeah, lay off her, Hakeka!” Māia chirped. “Akahana defeated me in battle. She’s super cool!”
“Whoa! Alright, okay. Clearly I’ve been missing out on something.”
Tāraki started giggling, and soon the rest of them joined in until Panahi gently shushed them and made them go to sleep.
...
Ren wove between the colorful stalls of Slateport’s central market, laden down with bags and Panahi perched on her shoulder. The crowds dissipated as she made her way north to a small park in the shadow of a large, gaudily decorated building. She collapsed onto a bench by a fountain that shot elegant arcs of water from the snouts of patinated copper Horsea, Seadra, and a single Kingdra atop the rest. Panahi hopped down to float in the pool and Ren leaned back to let the mist cool her face.
“I hate shopping.”
“Well I love it!” Panahi declared, paddling around placidly behind her.
“Happy you’re a trainer’s pokemon now?”
“I can no longer deny it has its benefits.”
“That necklace was one pricey battle item, so I’m glad you’re happy with it.”
Panahi huffed. “You think I got this for me? Please, Honey, this is a service to humanity! Just look at me. I’m radiant!”
Ren craned her neck at an awkward angle to watch the Wingull puff out her chest with pride. The cerulean jewels twinkled in their web of delicate silver chains like the warm shallows off the beach. Ren hoped the rest of her team was half as pleased with their gifts as Panahi seemed to be.
Ren sat up as people began to pour out of the building opposite, their excited murmuring overtaking the peaceful splashing of the fountain behind her. Some of them dispersed, but many hung around—in anticipation of what, Ren couldn’t be sure.
“Goodness, that’s a sizable flock,” Panahi commented.
Ren shaded her eyes and squinted to read the golden lettering above the doors. “Oh, it’s a contest hall. One must have ended.”
“Are contests where pokemon put on performances instead of battling?”
“I think so? I’m not so sure exactly what happens. We don’t have them in Johto.”
The crowd suddenly parted to make way for a news crew as a woman in a frilly costume and her equally adorned Altaria emerged. She smiled wide as she answered questions and the pair posed for pictures.
“Must be some life,” Panahi sighed.
Ren turned back to her, and all bubbly satisfaction from earlier was gone. Panahi absently preened one of her primaries that was nicked by a move the day before.
Ren sucked on her tongue as she fought with herself about what to say. “Ahi, you know you don’t have to be a battler, right?”
“Don’t worry about me, Honey,” Panahi said, brushing the thought aside with a wing. “I don’t mind pulling my weight, even if I’m not as enthused as the chicks.” She yawned. “I could use a nap though.” Ren pulled Panahi’s pokeball off her belt. “Send one of the others out to keep an eye on the shopping,” Panahi instructed sternly before tapping the button and flowing inside.
Ren turned the ball over in her hands. She’d have to think of something. But maybe now wasn’t the time.
Does this Ren seem selfish to you? Impulsive?
“I suppose not. No… I guess I have been a little hard on myself lately.”
Ren stowed Panahi’s ball and tapped Iki’s. The Masquerain emerged in a flash of red light.
“Do you mind being out for a bit? It’s fine if you’re still tired from last night.”
“No, I don’t mind.”
She drifted on whirring wings and landed with the tips on the surface of the pool, hydrophobic coating keeping her afloat while Ren set up her vapor box. She lowered her purchases into it, watching them melt into the wood one by one. Behind her, Iki was staring down at her reflection. She raised her false eyes for a moment and then slowly let them droop. Ren opened the last package instead of stowing it and held it out for Iki to see.
“These are for you.”
Iki snapped out of her contemplation and peered at the pair of polished blue stones instead. “So pretty.”
“They’re mystic water gems. You can wear them in battle to boost the power of Bubble Beam.”
“Oh, that’s so kind of you. Thank you, Ren.”
“I thought we could mount them on your helmet instead of a necklace. What do you think?”
Iki tilted her head, watching the sunlight play through them. “I’d like that.”
“Great! The vendor said we could go back and she’d help me attach them.”
Someone passed by them, and Ren’s eyes caught on a dark, tattooed forearm. She glanced up and, even in profile, the broken nose and scared lip were unmistakable. Ren jumped to her feet.
“Josh!” The tall, gangly teen startled and stopped in his tracks, shoulders hunching. “What are you doing here?”
He turned around slowly. “Hey, R-ren.”
Ren’s cheeks puffed out as she bit back whatever she was planning to say. Her eyebrows furrowed in concern. “How do you know my name?”
“They, uh, s-s-said. On the news.”
“Right. Shit.”
“I d-d-d-d—” He stopped, took a breath. “Your f-father is a gym leader?”
“Yeah, um—”
“Wow, your M-m-masquerain is—wow.”
“I know! Isn’t she beautiful?” He nodded and Iki glanced between them, pink mask flushing redder. Then Ren remembered who she was talking to and the warm feeling vanished as quickly as it had come over her. “Wait! Stop that right now! We are not friends, Josh. Remember? I didn’t call you over for small talk!”
Josh flinched and looked down at his feet. “R-right, yes, yeah, of course… Sorry.”
“Good. Now, what are you doing here?”
“N-n-nothing! N-not st-st-stealing! J-j-j-j-j—I’m running some errands!”
“You can’t even lie properly? Why did they hire you?”
Josh swallowed hard, eyes scrunching closed for a second as his adam’s apple bobbed. “Who? What—”
“Cut the crap! You aren’t just some thief trying to make a quick buck.”
“No!” His brows lowered into a scowl, then his eyes widened as he realized his mistake.
“You work for Magma. You’re here for them. What are they doing here, Josh?”
“I’m not—They—N-n-nothing illegal! A n-normal errand! I have to go!” Josh took off running and Ren ran after him.
“Ah, so this is why we’re here?”
You would rather move on?
“I know our first two meetings were important but— I’d rather not dwell on this one. Makes me feel stupid. I should have seen that stunt he pulled on Mt. Pyre coming.”
I had thought his actions there might have gone some way towards mending things. But perhaps you did not see?
“See what?”
He followed you to the peak. He risked his life to make sure you were unharmed and in safe hands.
“Oh… I suppose that makes us even again. But, uh, what did you want ask about this moment?”
Why did you confront him?
“Ah, that’s fair. Of course I wanted my involvement with Magma to be over after what happened in Granite Cave. But it also made it hard for me to [i]not[/i] be involved. I couldn’t just let him go and learn later on that I could have helped but did nothing… Oh, I think I see your point.”
Before Josh had run thirty feet, he stopped abruptly and Ren nearly crashed into him. He pulled something out of hip bag as she recovered her balance and pressed it into her hands.
“This is for you.”
Ren was so startled that took it without thinking. It was something light and flat in a brown paper bag. She reached in and pulled out a TM.
“What—?” She meant to ask him, but he was already gone. “Ugh! What the hell was that? He just—and I—I can’t believe he tricked me into taking this! He probably stole it!” She flipped the TM over and growled in pure frustration. “Smackdown? What kind of joke is this? Why that beanpole son-of-a—”
“Maybe it’s not a joke,” said Iki by her ear.
“What?”
“Maybe it’s a gift. You did save his life.”
“That doesn’t mean he wasn’t just trying to…” Ren trailed off and took a breath. “You know, you’re probably right.” Ren cast around one last time before returning to her abandoned vapor box on the bench. She stowed it and Iki’s gems in her shoulder bag. “Let’s go get you fixed up!”
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I Think I Like You Too
Word Count: 1967
Summary: You hate Carol but then you like her (solid summary, right?)
Warnings: Um, maybe a swear? I don’t think there’s anything else.
Pairing: Carol Danvers x Reader
A/N: This was requested by @gigglygwil and woah, this was fun to write. It turned into more of a one-sided hate but I like how it turned out and I hope you do too. (Sorry if you hate the ending, but I liked ending it there) :)
You hated this ‘Captain Marvel’ ever since she walked through the door with her master plan to beat Thanos. Who did she think she was, waltzing through the door and acting like you and the team hadn’t just lost half of Earth’s population to the same guy? You were frustrated and heartbroken at having lost half of your team in the fight and her stating that now with her you would be able to defeat Thanos made you see red. And of course, to make the whole situation that much better, the entire team just up and went along with this complete stranger’s plan. Even Thor ‘should’ve gone for the head’ Odinson agreed and he had just spent the last few weeks brooding and avoiding everyone. Screw the rest of the team, you sure as hell weren’t going to just hand over your last ounce of hope and trust to someone you didn’t even know.
While the rest of the team grabbed their combat gear and started suiting up, you sat in a chair, arms crossed and scowl in place. When you heard the telltale sound of combat boots clicking in your direction you scooted back further into your chair and clenched your jaw. The owner of the boots approached your chair and stopped in front of you.
“(Y/N)? Why aren’t you getting suited up?” Nat asked. You groaned inwardly, of course it was Natasha who had found you, the one person who could and would find a way to rope you into going along with this plan.
“I can’t trust a stranger, Natasha. She could so easily just lead us to our deaths. How can you possibly be going along with her insane plan?”
Natasha sighed. “Look, (Y/N), under normal circumstances I would never trust someone I’ve only just met but these aren’t normal circumstances. Half of our friends are gone and if this is the only chance we have to get them back, I’m damn well gonna take it and you should too. I don’t know what kind of petty issue you obviously have with Carol but whatever it is, now is most definitely not the time. Get off your ass, go suit up, and climb into that spaceship because I’ll be damned if your stubbornness screws up our only chance.”
You couldn’t find any sort of argument after Natasha’s speech so you decided to just do what she said. Before you knew it you were strapped into a seat in a spaceship and on your way to what you could only see as certain doom. Of course she was driving the spaceship and you seethed in your seat at the sight of her. Her hair was long and blonde and she had a cocky smirk on her face that you couldn’t help but want to slap off. She and the talking raccoon shared a laugh after they had asked who had never been to space and saw almost everyone’s hand go up. You wanted to snarl at her for laughing and cursed whoever had put you in this situation. Oh wait, it was her. Damn her, you thought.
The spaceship landed back at the compound and you ripped your buckle restraints off and stormed off the stupid ship. That purple monster, his taunting words spun around in your head. ‘Used the stones to destroy the stones’ that meddling, no good, bastard. You felt like you were going to burst into tears and hell would freeze over before you let Carol Danvers see you cry. You marched straight to your room and as soon as you shut the door behind you the tears started flowing. Your friends and family were gone and there was nothing you could do about it. The stones were gone and couldn’t bring them back, the only good thing that came out of that trip was watching Thanos’s head fall to the ground, lifeless. You flopped into your bed and let the sheer exhaustion overtake your body as you drifted off to sleep.
You woke up at the crack of dawn, which made you roll your eyes at your luck. You got up and decided to go workout to start your morning off, still feeling a little angry at yesterday’s events, though most of it had faded to hurt. You weren’t feeling up to a full body workout so you had just decided on hitting the punching bag for now. After you finished wrapping your hands, you threw a few punches into the air to warm your arms up a tad. Once you were good and ready you starting hitting the bag at a steady rhythm, pushing all other thoughts from your mind completely and just focusing on the sound of your fists colliding with the leather bag.
Thump, thump, thump, the creek of the door, thump, thump, thump, footsteps.
Wait, what? You were trying to comprehend the last sound you heard when someone tapped you on the shoulder. You turned in surprise but before you could see who had tapped you, the punching bag swung into the back of your head and knocked you to the ground.
“Ow,” you whined pathetically. Your head was throbbing against your skull and you hissed in pain.
“Oh my god, are you ok?” The voice sounded concerned but you couldn’t make out who it belonged to.
You turned your head up into the direction the voice was coming from and then you saw her. Anger seeped into your body like hot magma into a volcano before it erupts.
“I’m fine,” you growled.
She flinched away from you at your tone but you saw her face harden, “What is your problem with me?” she snapped.
Two could play at that game, she was messing with fire here. “My problem is that you think you’re the shit. You came to Earth from god knows where and claimed to be the solution to all of our problems. To put it simply, your ‘holier than thou’ attitude pisses me the hell off.”
You didn’t miss the way her whole body practically glowed in response but you weren’t scared. She clenched her jaw and glared at you before replying, “Oh woe is me,” she mocked. “I had bigger fish to fry in space, sweetheart. Not everybody gets a team of heroes who protect their planet at any given drop of a hat. Turns out that even with a team of about twelve, you still failed and half of Earth’s population is gone.” She took several intimidating steps towards you before she loomed over you, her body now glowing completely. She continued, “Nick Fury assembled you guys because of me. Everything you’ve ever done is because of me. So don’t think for one second that I’m not stronger than you, I act the way I do because I’ve earned to do so. Step off your high horse and see the truth.” By the end of her tirade you were squished up against the wall and huddled into yourself, sobbing. She had twisted the knife of all your current insecurities and you couldn’t keep yourself together anymore, finally feeling the pain you were pushing away after the battle with Thanos. You cried for your friends, for your family, and for all the innocent people that you had failed in saving.
Carol was shocked at what she said to you. Yes, you had pissed her off but in no way did you deserve that verbal lashing. She knew she had gone too far and her heart ached at the sight of you curled up against the wall and crying. The truth was that as soon as she had seen you she thought you were beautiful. Your hair color was unlike any she had ever seen and your eyes were prettier than any of the galaxies she had come across in her travels. She wanted desperately to talk to you but you had given off such a cold attitude towards her that she forced herself to stay far away. When you stormed away the night before she had asked Natasha about you, to which Natasha had answered that you were normally unbelievably kind but that the recent events had caused you to become angrier, which she chalked up to be what your hurt was masking itself as. In that moment Carol had decided that she wanted to know you, the real you, not this mangled, broken version that you were portraying and she vowed to do whatever it takes to get past your angry walls. Apparently, whatever it takes had included breaking open your newly healed wounds. Carol was upset with herself, she let her frustration get the better of her and her chances of getting you to talk to her had lowered significantly.
She dropped to her knees beside you and wrapped you up in her strong arms. “Oh god, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to say any of that. Shh, shh, I’m sorry, it’s ok.” You struggled in her embrace for a little bit before you just gave in and sunk into her. She stroked your back and whispered words of comfort to you until your sobs turned into hiccups.
Your voice was hoarse when you tried to talk again, “I’m sorry I was so rude to you, I was just scared of facing what had happened. I shouldn’t have blamed you,” you mumbled quietly. Your anger towards Carol had disappeared completely and now all that was left was shame. You looked at her, really looked at her, for the first time. Hot damn. Her eyes were full of concern and their warm brown color made you inhale sharply. Her hair was clearly straightened and it looked as though your fingers would glide right through it with no resistance. In your unwarranted hate for her you had completely missed the fact that she was breathtakingly gorgeous. You wanted to stay in her arms forever, they provided emmensless comfort to your quivering body. You wanted to tell her how beautiful she was but you realized that she’d probably think you were insane, so you held off.
While you were busy examining her, Carol felt her heart flutter in her chest. Please like what you see, please like what you see, Carol pleaded in her head. Now that you weren’t trying to bite her head off you were giving off such a soft vibe and Carol wanted to swoon. You made her feel things she hadn’t felt before and her heart picked up its pace again. You looked like you wanted to say something but at the last second you held off.
The two of you looked into each other’s eyes and Carol knew you could feel what she was feeling too. “I like you.” She blurted out and then covered her mouth in shock. Fuck. Did she really just do that? Dammit Carol, she just stopped hating you before you went and opened your trap.
You tried to stifle a giggle at her reaction to what she had confessed. While hearing her say that made your heart soar, you were still a bit unsure of yourself. She turned towards you slowly, as if she were afraid of what awaited her. When her eyes scanned your face and saw only your happy expression looking back at her she felt relief flood her system.
“Uh, so that wasn’t supposed to come out. I know I just made you cry like ten minutes ago and-“ You cut off her rambling with a chaste kiss to her cheek. Her face flushed which, cute.
“Can we start over? The me you met wasn’t really me.” Carol could only nod her head dumbly, which made her want to be sucked into a black hole. “Hi, my name’s (Y/N) and I think I like you too.”
A/N: I wrote this on my phone because my laptop can go die in a hole so if you see any mistakes go right ahead and call the police to report me. As always, check out my other writing and/or send in a request of your own. Or neither, I don’t control your actions. I think you are all great and deserve to win an award for something that you’re good at. Thanks, Viv :)
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bold of any of you to think i’ll ever let the fandom acknowledge what s8 has done. THIS is how the last season went:
the first episode starts with their discharge from the hospital. on his way out, shiro notices a familiar figure in one of the hospital rooms, sitting on the bed with his head that’s wrapped in a dozen bandages facing the window, face unseen. however, shiro thinks it’s just his imagination and tries not to dwell a lot on it and swallows his hope. he needs to stay strong for the universe, for “him”, just for a little longer.
lance asks allura out in the first episode, and she accepts. the klance sunset scene still happens the way it did. but when they go out on the actual date, she tells him that she doesn’t think a romantic relationship between them will work out, that she does care about him and cherish him, but only as a dear friend, and not in the same way he cares about her. she rejects him softly and gently, tells him that he’s a great guy and that many would be lucky to have him. it’s just that she can’t see her and his future together playing out well, and that maintaining their relationship as friends would be much better for both of them. she also tells him that he deserves someone who’d love him and cherish him the same way he would for them, a person with a heart full of kindness and love like lance’s. tells him that that person already exists, and that lance knows who they are without her specifying anybody. she thanks him for always being a good friend to her, and hugs him tight. lance accepts her rejection with no hard feelings, yes, he’s a little heartbroken, be he somehow feels relieved. relieved that he has realized that he doesn’t need to be in a romantic relationship to have others care about him and value him strongly and love him for who he is. relieved to still have allura as a friend, and relieved that she was honest with him, and that he didn’t force her to do anything she didn’t want to. he just wants her to be happy. they spend the rest of the night hanging out, and lance is content.
the next day when keith sees lance, he asks him how the date went. lance smiles bittersweetly and tells him that it didn’t work out. he still feels heartbroken a little, but not at all as bad as he thought he’d be, and will feel better in a couple days. keith’s eyes become gentle, and he puts his hand on lance’s shoulder to show his support and smiles softly. he tells him that he will find happiness one day, and that he will be there for him all the way if he needs any support. that he is there for him now in case he needs some comfort. lance smiles and tells him that some sort of distraction right now would be great, so they go racing down the mountain on hoverbikes. lance feels much better afterwards.
lance still provides allura with emotional support like always, and she’s so grateful for that.
shiro gets a new prosthetic arm (this time a normal one) and it glows like the old one, though it also leaves a trail of sparkles when he swings it. romelle suggested that, and, well, shiro kinda likes it if he’s honest with himself. it also has the sky symbol of the black lion on the bicep which keith insisted on adding, since shiro will always be the rightful leader of voltron and the best of them. lance seconds that and tells shiro that he’ll always be his role model and his hero. and yes, shiro is still part of team voltron and goes on missions with them, along with krolia. he also dyes his hair black. when he looks himself in the mirror and sighs “god this looks so much better on me” allura glares at him and asks him if he has a problem with white hair. she glares daggers at him for the next five solid minutes he fumbles to find words. keith saves his ass and tells her that black happens to be shiro’s favorite hair color and that he has nothing against her white hair. allura doesn’t look convinced though.
the small, intimate, private talk between lance and keith still happens, though lance is worried about what lies ahead in the final battle, and if all of them will make it out, and even when he feels that he’s grown a lot since their journey started, he worries that he still might not have what it takes to ensure everybody’s safety. keith reassures him that it will all work out fine because they have lance on the team, and tells him that they’ll always have each other’s back and protect each other, and that he’d never let anything harm anyone on the team. lance laughs softly and points out how keith has changed a lot since the beginning too, and they spend time reminiscing about the past and how far they’ve come. they clasp hands, but it lingers longer than necessary as neither of them attempts to let go that quickly.
there has been also another thing on lance’s mind... but he doesn’t tell keith that because it revolves around keith himself.
before they all go to space again, the team takes allura, romelle, and coran to an amusement park. the alteans have the time of their lives. allura breaks the high striker strongman game. she looks so proud of herself, and everybody’s impressed, but not really surprised.
i have no idea what the plot was or who they fought or what happened outside of character interactions this season because i didn’t watch the past two, but during one of their battles, lance uses his altean broadsword. he conjures it to strike someone aiming for shiro’s back, and keith stops mid-battle to just. gape. he would’ve had his ass handed to him again if lance didn’t turn his bayard into a riffle again and accurately shot whoever was aiming for keith. lance smirks and teases him: “cat got your tongue, keith? never seen a handsome sharpshooter who’s also a swordsman in your life?” and he winks. keith’s flustered for just a second before he smiles softly and tells him while they resume fighting: “yes, lance. you’re the first handsome sharpshooter swordsman i’ve seen.” allura is heard giggling somewhere from behind them while chopping off some dicks with her battle ax bayard and krolia shouts “good one, son” while judo-flipping some guy and breaking his neck. lance just stays silent, and when keith looks over to him, his face is hidden, and lance just mumbles “let’s just get this over with.” keith and lance fight with their swords back to back.
lance unlocks his own voltron bayard upgrade, which is a cannon on each of voltron’s shoulders - one shoots magma, while the other shoots a freeze ray.
when they go to haggar/honerva to stop her from whatever she’s doing, they meet lotor trying to do the same. everyone is shocked to see him back, especially allura. hunk places his hand on her shoulder. lotor tries to ignore them, to not look at them, and focuses on defeating haggar. they’re fighting somewhere near a neutron star like the one keith and krolia orbited on a space whale. the imbalance in the threads of space-time lets them see some of the horrid memories lotor went through because of zarkon. and since haggar is trying to open a portal to jump to other realities or whatever, they got to see how other realities are like, where zarkon and his family are not zombies thirsting after quintessence - where they’re a normal family. this, however, is hard for lotor to see. he’s about to charge at haggar in anger and frustration when allura grabs his arm and tells him not to, that he wouldn’t be able to defeat her alone. long story short, allura finds a way to defeat her, though a sacrifice on her part must be made, since she holds all the magic.
so, in order for allura to let haggar and lotor die in peace and return to the realm of the dead, she sacrifices her altean alchemy knowledge and her marks of the chosen. she won’t be able to use magic anymore, and all her knowledge of altean alchemy would disappear, along with the lions’ connection to her life force. so she gives that up, and while doing that, she rises to the sky and shines like an actual angel, light that appears both plain white and vividly colorful emitting from every inch of her. the lions are heard roaring, letting go of their connection to her. the light then starts to morph into the shape of a white lion above her. her eyes glow a bright, beautiful turquoise, and when she looks down at haggar and lotor, the white lion charges at them with its fangs fully exposed, but instead of attacking them, it passes right through them, and they’re flooded with light surrounding them from all sides. before their souls disappear into sparkles, lotor and allura lock eyes, and they smile gently, and both honerva and lotor thank her. before the light fades out, alfor appears semi-transparently, and tells allura that he’s the proudest father in the universe. with that, the universe is saved.
they go back to earth to rest for a couple days after all of this. with her magic gone, the pink in allura’s eyes disappears, and they become just turquoise (that’s like, to physically showcase that she lost her magic). romelle, hunk, and lance assure her that she’s still as beautiful as ever. since the connection between the lions and her life force is gone, so is her bond to blue. she goes to her to tell her how grateful and honored she feels that she’s got to pilot her, and that she’ll never forget that experience. blue keeps purring softly at allura. lance is with her, keeping a respectful distance for some private chat between her and blue, glad to see that both of his beautiful girls are safe, happy, and doing fine.
the night they return from space, after he and allura return back from where blue was and have dinner with everyone, with lance sitting next to keith like always, lance goes to see shiro before bed. lance tells shiro that he’s always liked keith, and that he wants to start something with him, but he’s afraid that it’s still too soon and that he’s rushing things, especially that he got over allura just awhile ago and should probably wait a while longer before he starts confessing romantic feelings to anybody again. he knows that keith cares about him, because it shows, but he’s... afraid that it might not be in the same way he does. shiro breathes out a soft laugh and places a hand on lance’s shoulder, saying: “keith reciprocating your feelings is the last thing you should worry about. you’ll be surprised when you find out.” lance just stares at him confusedly, and shiro continues “if you need time to put your feelings into words, then take however long you need. keith will be waiting for you. he’s always been.”
lance spends the next two days staying close to keith, hanging out with him and stuff, contemplating whether things between them might work out after all or not. they clean their lions together, prank slav and coran, race on their hoverbikes, teach allura and romelle about pokemon and how to play it (romelle especially is hooked), make sure shiro is getting enough rest and is relaxing and not falling asleep in the gym, play with lance’s niece and nephew, and watch the sunset together (lance still doesn’t know how this part is considered “hanging out” but he’s not complaining). lance never misses the soft smiles and tender glances keith keeps sending his way, so he makes up his mind,
on the third day, lance tells keith that he wants to talk to him about something. they climb the black lion and sit on his head (this has become their usual private spot), and lance begins talking...
“i’ve always wanted to explore the skies and to become a pilot. i loved looking at the stars and dreaming of discovering the secrets they hold as much as i loved the ocean and- and you know how much i love swimming, haha.... anyway, when i got into the garrison, i was extremely joyful and excited. there, i met you.... the little bratty lonewolf mullethead who never talked to anyone and kept breaking the rules and- yes it’s true, keith, don’t deny that, you were such a brat when you were a kid i swear- but- but as much as you annoyed me and got on my nerves, i loved seeing you fly. you made it seem so natural, so smooth, so easy, so liberating. you were... really amazing... and you were my goal. you made me want to become better and better, and do my best to be as good as you are. i admired you so, so much. i won’t deny that i didn’t have any feelings of jealousy though.... haha..... i was...... pretty jealous of you too.... like you were close to shiro, my number one hero, and you’re a natural prodigy who barely put in any effort in training and yet bested everyone, even the instructors, and you were really popular, man, like even i- *awkward cough* anyway, i tried my best to reach you on the top, because if i reached the place where the best pilot is and then surpassed him, i’d be considered the best, and then i’d be recognized and acknowledged, and gain what i’ve always wanted before: attention and glory. but you never noticed me, and that really saddened me and got on my nerves.... made it seem like you were a stuck up belittling me and thinking that i’m not worthy of your attention, so.... so i created this rivalry with you... deluded myself that i hated you.... tried to grab your attention in the pettiest ways because you would never look at me otherwise........ but when we got trapped together in space and were forced into a team together, i learned more about you, and even though you look like an intimidating mulletted emo from the outside, especially with that intense frown of yours that never left your face and that made me think you’re always plotting someone’s murder, you’re just a stupid dork with a soft heart from the inside... and..... and i grew to like your soft mullet, your murderous frown, your rough voice that can grow exceptionally soft at times, your eyes that harbor numerous galaxies inside of them, your impulsive tendencies - even though they make you seem suicidal sometimes which is not acceptable at all, you idiot - your cute smile, your fighting style....... i grew to like you, keith. deep down i knew it, but for some reason, i didn’t wanna admit it. allura... allura was my ideal. she’s a perfect goddess who everybody is captivated by, and it was only natural that young, stupid, flirtatious, immature me would try to score with her..... but i grew to genuinely care about her too.... though it was... more platonic than romantic at first. i started caring about her as a friend more than anything... and i was about to give up on liking her romantically in favor of being friends especially that... that you and i grew closer after shiro disappeared, and i thought- i thought there might be... some chance for me to accept my feelings for you and to voice them when i’m ready, but you left for the blades, and any hope i had for anything between us shattered... heh... i know it might sound silly coming from me of all people at that point of time but - but i took your abandonment of the team pretty hard.... you have become the closest person to me, and i used to spend most of my time with you... so when you left... i felt so lonely, especially that the rest of the team have each other and know their place... i used to be your right hand man after shiro disappeared, and you always listened to what i had to say... gave me the acknowledgement and validation that i was in need of.... treated me as an equal.... and listened to my worries and reassured me... so when you were gone, i lost all of that... clone shiro didn’t need a right hand man in the first place, and nobody seemed to need me around.... so i started doubting my place on the team and my self-worth again, and i thought maybe... maybe if i found love, i wouldn’t feel like that anymore... so i turned to the only other person i’ve had feelings for - allura, and i... tried projecting my feelings for you onto her, but somewhere along the line, those feelings became genuine, and i truly liked her, and i thought, maybe this would work out after all, and when i came to you, you encouraged me too, which... which made me think that maybe it’s time to move on from you now but.... when allura rejected me, i was heartbroken, but not as much as i thought i would be? i felt some kind of... relief. i felt complete. that i’m my own person, and that i should be proud of that... and i finally realized that i don’t need a romantic relationship to feel validated... allura still cares about me and i care about her too, and that didn’t change and won’t change, whether we were in a relationship or not. romance isn’t the solution to everything, and i shouldn’t pursue it thinking that it is. i’m really glad that it ended like that between allura and i. this way we can comfortably be friends without any awkwardness or discomfort or mixed feelings, and it’s not just allura who accepts me for who i am. i have a lot of people who i cherish and cherish me back - shiro, romelle, coran, hunk, pidge, my family, and most importantly.... you, keith. you were actually the one who provided me with the most emotional support that i badly needed to realize my worth and place in the universe. you are always there for me when i need to talk and you always comfort me.... i feel most comfortable around you. talking to you is easy and comes naturally to me, and you always make me feel better when i’m feeling down. this is why- this is why i want to always be with you, keith. you make me feel happy, and i want to make you feel happy too. i really, really, really like you, kei- whoa! dude?!?!!?”
when lance turns his head away from the sunset to look at keith after the longass heartfelt speach he gave, he sees that keith’s face is smudged with tears... no wonder keith stayed silent without a word for this long because the boy looks barely able to breathe, let alone speak. lance is taken aback, and tries to ask keith if he maybe said too much or something wrong when keith jumps on him and stuffs his face into lance’s neck, holding him really tight. lance relaxes into the hug and holds keith just as tight. keith mumbles through the tears: “i really like you too, lance. i always have”
the next day, the go on a date to the beach, except that everyone else tags along, and they only spend like 30 minutes of walking alone together on the beach shore, fingers intertwined and swinging between them, before they hear everybody shouting and race back to see that coran thought that the watermelon was a beach ball and threw it to allura and romelle who wanted to play beach volleyball, and when allura tried to spike it, the watermelon burst open and fell all over her face. they thought hunk was crying because he was scared allura got hurt, but it turns out he’s just tearing up with his face in the sand because he’s laughing too hard. when he looks up with his face covered in sand and tears, he says: “me? scared that allura would get hurt by a watermelon???? this is the funniest thing i’ve ever heard since we knew zarkon had a son!” and then he dissolves into half-laughing-half-crying in the sand like a dying ostrich.
the garrison along with the rest of the planets in the galaxy prepare a prodigious festival to celebrate the defenders of the universe’s victory. when shiro is about to pass a corner to go to his room to get ready, he bumps into a tall man with slightly wavy chestnut hair, bangs falling to his eyes, one of which is lightless, rectangular glasses framing them, right side of his face paler than the rest of his tan skin due to a scar extending from his neck to the corner of his eyebrow. he forgets how to breathe, and so does the other person. me manages to let out a chocked “adam...?” before his vision goes blurry and his eyes well with tears. they hug, forgetting everything else for now that they’ve finally found each other after so long, and go to talk in shiro’s room. when shiro tells adam that he thought he was dead, still dumbfounded that he’s alive, adam deadpans: “talk for yourself. if you think i’ll ever forgive you for making me believe you were dead for good and have me grieve over your stupid soul for years without even thinking of sending me a text message once to reassure me you’re not and then coming back with the title of “defender of the universe” after you’ve adopted like five kids besides keith and transferring your soul into body that was your clone’s is just straight out unacceptable, takashi, hope you’re ready to pay for all of the compensations.” and shiro is horrified and feels really guilty for not taking adam’s feelings into consideration, so he tries to make it up to adam and take responsibility: “i’m ready to pay all the compensations and more if it means that you won’t be mad at me anymore.” adam looks at him and says: “well, the first thing you have to pay for is a house. if you want to move in together again then at least buy a better house this time than that ugly apartment, takashi.” shiro looks up at adam and stares. adam’s face softens and he continues: “i was mad at you because i loved you, and i’m still mad at you because i still love you. you make me worry too much about you, takashi. if you promise you’d take better care of yourself, i’d consider participating in paying the expenses of the wedding we planned before instead of throwing all of them in your face. so, what do you say?” shiro is still staring at him. he snaps out of it a few moments later, and his eyes go tender and teary: “trust me, i have experienced enough things to last me ten lifetimes. i want to do nothing for the rest of my life besides drinking orange juice on the beach sand with you.”
“are you really solo-planning out the rest of my life for me, takashi?”
“you still have the option to accept it or reject it”
“you idiot. you know that i’ll accept it”
shiro and adam have their wedding that they’ve always deserved and it’s a huuuge one! when adam throws the flowers, they fall into lance’s hands. a second later, another bouquet falls into keith’s, and when they both look up, they see shiro and adam winking at them, and adam says: “takashi and i both bought flower bouquets for each other. convenient, huh? now you both get to have one to gift the other after the wedding.”
as for their future, they rebuild altea all together as their final mission as voltron. allura becomes the queen of the new altea, with coran and romelle as her advisors (romelle is only an advisor in title though, she mostly spends her time gossiping with allura). hunk is a galactic diplomat, and he visits shay constantly, and sometimes works alongside allura, or for her. he also still works in the garrison as engineer, but only when he’s needed. pidge builds a robot factory, and works as a technician and inventor in the garrison. despite what shiro said, adam and shiro still work in the garrison as instructors, but only part-time. they love flying way too much to abandon their jobs, honestly. keith stays in the blade with his mom along with lotor’s generals, and the blade of marmora becomes a humanitarian and direct relief organization. lance becomes one of the best instructors of the garrison and a renowned pilot. he’s sometimes asked to do other, very unrelated jobs, like modeling for a fashion magazine, or helping out hunk with his diplomatic work, or teaching kids how to milk cows. he’s also become part of the blade of marmora with keith and helps him out occasionally. keith and lance take vacations from time to time and go to different planets on dates.
they’re all happy and safe. and that’s a constant in every reality.
#and that's the tea i have to offer :)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))#this is what im gonna believe happened!!!!!#klance#lance#keith#allura#shiro#adam#adashi#shadam#coran#romelle#krolia#pidge#hunk#voltron#s8 spoilers#spoilers#mp#text#laith#fanfic#bc it basically is lollllllllll#space family#and yyyeaaahhhh you guys are free to reblog since some are asking#sorry that i didn't put it under readmore but i want people to see it and read it till the end so that they feel better!
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