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robininthelabyrinth · 3 years

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I love your Nie brothers content, all of it, but there is so little written about the friendship between Nie Huaisang and Wei Wuxian! We know they were friends in Cloud Recesses, but it's never explored how these genius guys, even if one is focused on magical inovations and the other on strategy and politics, got on. Something which shows how well they got each other would be great

Wei Wuxian’s fist trembled. How dare he – worthless peacock – my shijie..!

But before he could throw a punch, he saw a swirl of white – Lan Wangji, sweeping forward with a face like a graveyard, and Nie Huaisang cringing in his shadow – and suddenly he realized that he didn’t need to punch Jin Zixuan.

Speaking of others behind their backs is forbidden.

Sneering without reason is forbidden.

Arrogance is forbidden.

Do not be haughty and complacent.

Do not praise yourself and slander others.

Do not make assumptions about others.

Do not insult people.

Do not take your words lightly.

Wei Wuxian grinned with teeth. “Hey, Lan Zhan!” he sang out, and Jin Zixuan blanched. “Perfect timing!”

Later, after he’d laughed himself sick at Jin Zixuan’s punishment – humiliatingly perfect – and making his appreciation very clear to Lan Wangji, he went to go find Nie Huaisang.

“When did you go get Lan Zhan?” he asked, honestly curious. He hadn’t known he was going to get into a fight until he was there and it was happening, but Nie Huaisang, of all people, had apparently figured out what was going to happen before it happened and took steps to fix it.

“The second they started talking about girls,” Nie Huaisang said promptly. “It’s fairly obvious that Jin Zixuan is resentful of his parents managing his life and he’s lashing out at everything, including specifically your shijie, so a nasty comment was inevitable.”

Wei Wuxian blinked, derailed from his original line of questioning. “He – what? Wait, that’s why he’s so rude about my shijie?”

“Of course,” Nie Huaisang said, blinking back at him. “What did you think? That he just didn’t like her? He’s barely even met her.”

Wei Wuxian hadn’t thought about that way, but it made a certain amount of sense. “When did you get so good at reading people?” he asked, bemused. “I didn’t…uh…”

“Think I have any skills?”

Wei Wuxian coughed.

“I don’t!” Nie Huaisang beamed, clearly very proud of it. “But I do have a lot of expensive hobbies, and that means I need pocket money.”

Wei Wuxian wasn’t sure he understood the connection, and said as much.

Nie Huaisang laughed at him. “The Nie sect believes in self-sufficiency,” he explained. “My brother gives me a certain amount of money to spend, sure, but we’re not the Jin sect; I can’t just buy everything that I lay my eyes on and send the bill back home – my brother would break my legs! I’m expected to find a way to increase the money I get until it’s enough to cover both my needs and wants, necessities and luxuries both, and if I can’t, then I have to do without luxuries.”

Nie Huaisang has never, not once, in the entire few months Wei Wuxian spent in his company, done without luxuries.

“So,” Wei Wuxian said, feeling oddly unnerved and unsure why, “you learned how to read people because you want to act like…a merchant?”

Nie Huaisang lightly tapped his head with his fan, rolling his eyes at him. “Stop being such a landed gentry young master, Wei-xiong. There’s nothing wrong with trade! How much of your sect’s money comes from merchants interested in keeping their trade routes free of resentful energy?”

Wei Wuxian wrinkled his nose a little. “That’s cheapening it a bit, don’t you think? As cultivators, it’s our duty to stand up as heroes, to defend the innocent and defeat evil, to purify –”

“Right, right. Remind me again how the Jiang sect pays for all that pretty purple?”

“Well…I mean…”

Technically, yes, there were all the dye sellers and the fabric merchants, but…

Nie Huaisang was laughing at him.

“Don’t worry about it, Wei-xiong,” he said, wiping his eyes. “You stick to doing your own thing. If you ever need to sell anything, come to me.”

“Of course,” Wei Wuxian said, privately thinking to himself that he’d rather farm for crops than become a seller hawking his goods in the marketplace. “Hey, wait, what is it that you sell, anyway?”

Nie Huaisang sniggered and refused to tell him.

It was porn.

Also barbeque and liquor, although in that case Nie Huaisang mostly played the middleman between the vendors of Caiyi Town and the students stuck eating Lan vegetables.

Sometimes he could even be convinced to tug on his contacts for other things, too.

“You’re a true friend,” Wei Wuxian said, clutching the bottle of chili sauce to his chest. “A true and wonderful friend.”

“You still have to pay,” Nie Huaisang said, his eyes curving up behind his fan. “No discounts.”

“A ruthless, vicious, cut-throat friend…”

“I lend you the porn for free, don’t I?

“Wonderful! Wonderful friend!”

No matter what Jiang Cheng said, Wei Wuxian was trying to keep his head down during their time at the indoctrination camp. He was taking this whole thing very seriously: he wasn’t making a fuss (too much), he wasn’t being insulting (too much), he wasn’t even socializing (too much).

Lan Wangji didn’t count, anyway; after what had happened to him, he needed someone bothering him.

But Wei Wuxian was being good and keeping back from the rest!

Well, he was, except then he saw Nie Huaisang and just had to go over to say hello. It was only polite, and had nothing to do with the fact that during the months he spent at the Cloud Recesses, he’d learned that Nie Huaisang could sell anyone on anything.

“I don’t suppose you have contacts that will sell you barbeque here,” Wei Wuxian said as a greeting, because the food they’d received was frankly disgusting in a way that made him wistful for the Lan sect like it had been a gourmet restaurant.

“Well,” Nie Huaisang hedged, and Wei Wuxian’s eyebrows shot up. “Don’t get too excited, it’s not barbeque…”

It was meat, though, chunks of that had probably been roasted as skewers at one point, and Wei Wuxian didn’t even care that it was cold as he scarfed it down, immediately feeling ten times better than he’d been before.

“Where?” he asked. “How?”

“There’ll be a surprise inspection tomorrow morning,” Nie Huaisang said instead. “Keep your head down, they’re looking to make an example out of somebody.”

“How do you know that?”

Nie Huaisang shrugged. “I brought art.”

“To the indoctrination camp?”

“Wen soldiers get lonely and bored too, Wei-xiong.”

“You’re trading for information using porn?”

“Don’t be silly. I’m trading porn for meat, and getting the information while we’re chatting. A large number of the Wen sect cultivators used to be their own sects, you know, before they were absorbed, and not all of them are happy about what’s going on here. You just have to figure out who the loyalists are, avoid them, and focus on the rest, and it’s easy.”

“I still can’t believe you brought porn to the Wen sect,” Wei Wuxian said, shaking his head. “What’ll you do if your brother finds out?”

“You’re joking, right? He helped me pack it.”

Wei Wuxian will never understand the Nie sect.

Wei Wuxian stared wordlessly at his bowl.

There was a single slice of radish in it.

“Is this a joke?” he asked Wen Qing, because it might be, and she glared at him, meaning that no, it was not. “Don’t we have anything else?”

“With what money, Wen-gongzi? Do you think it comes from thin air?”

“I had a friend once who could make it come out of thin air,” he grumbled, looking down at his bowl. He’d practiced inedia, he didn’t need it, except for the fact that he really, really did. Not having a golden core made things hard. “He could’ve sold fish to fishermen, except he mostly just sold porn.”

Wen Qing rolled her eyes at him. “Wonderful story, Wei-gongzi. Positively heartwarming. But unless your old erotic art dealer is going to come to Yiling to help us sell some radishes, I don’t care.”

Naturally, that was impossible. Wei Wuxian was a villain now, his name blackened, the whole cultivation world against him –

Actually, as far as he could tell, the Nie sect didn’t seem to give a damn about him one way or another. From all the stories Nie Huaisang had told about his brother and from everything he’d seen in the war, Nie Mingjue wasn’t the sort of person to let evil sit around on a mountain while he was busy with other things – if he objected, he’d be there the next day with his saber, ready to put him in his place.

He hadn’t, obviously.

His hatred of the Wen sect was pretty well-known, but he’d taken no action at all to invade Yiling and demand that Wei Wuxian hand them over, and Wei Wuxian was mostly sure that it wasn’t because he was scared of what Wei Wuxian could do with the Stygian Tiger Seal.

…it was probably just the hunger getting to him and making him think crazy things. Not caring enough to go against him was pretty far from supporting him, after all.

But, hey, he wouldn’t be risking anything if he just wrote a tiny little letter asking Nie Huaisang for some advice on selling things, right?

I never thought I’d see the day my Wei-xiong finally became a merchant, the return letter said. I’ll be there in three days. I expect to see liquor.

Wei Wuxian took Wen Ning down the mountain and stood on his shoulders in order to emancipate a jar from the local tavern, but by the time Nie Huaisang arrived, there was, in fact, liquor.

Even Wen Qing – who had opposed the entire outing once she had heard about it upon their return – suddenly thought it was a perfectly reasonable sort of theft when Nie Huaisang offered to trade a giant crate full of meat for it.

“We had some leftovers from a boar hunt,” Nie Huaisang said mournfully, accepting the liquor and a bowl of radishes. “I need variety, Wei-gongzi, it’s terrible. You have to help me get rid of it; I can’t stand to look at it any longer.”

“You’re not supposed to be here,” Wei Wuxian reminded him in between glorious bites of pork. He was going to be a very good friend and do his best to ensure that Nie Huaisang’s request was fulfilled, even if it meant taking seconds and possibly thirds. “I asked for advice, not a visit.”

“You can’t expect me to put my good name on what could be inferior goods,” Nie Huaisang sniffed.

“Your good name? The one known for porn, you mean?”

Nie Huaisang rolled his eyes at him. “So show me what you have to sell.”

“It’s mostly just the radishes,” Wei Wuxian said. “I tried to tell Wen Qing that we should plant potatoes, but –”

“Forget the radishes,” Nie Huaisang said. “What’s this I hear about you designing a compass that pinpoints resentful energy?”

“Oh, that?” Wei Wuxian said, blinking. “Yeah, I made one of those – the Burial Mounds is the biggest source of resentful energy around, and it’s easier to have a compass that points home instead of north, you know? But what does that have to do with selling radishes?”

“Wei-xiong, you’re hopeless. Leave it all to me, and you’ll have your sect up and running in no time.”

“Yeah, that would be – wait, sect? What sect?”

“Actually,” Nie Huaisang said, tapping his fan against his cheek. He was just plain old ignoring Wei Wuxian now, which, hey! “I take it back – before you leave everything to me, show me what other ideas you’ve been cooking up. What about those talismans you used during the war? The spirit-drawing ones?”

“Spirit summoning,” Wei Wuxian corrected.

“Yes, those. Have you improved on those at all?”

“Uh, I mean, I guess…”

“Good. Show me everything.”

“So I have a sect now,” Wei Wuxian told Lan Wangji, who had come to visit. “We sell things to support it. Apparently.”

Lan Wangji nodded, apparently already aware of this. “The clan elders have agreed that using your flags to draw fierce corpses and other creatures away from areas with innocent human lives is an acceptable use.”

“Even the Lan sect?” Wei Wuxian marveled. “No wonder we’re making so much money.”

Then he sighed.

Lan Wangji looked questioningly at him.

“Well, I have a sect now,” Wei Wuxian said. “Everyone’s expecting me to – you know. Form the core of the sect.”

“Marry,” Lan Wangji concluded. Possibly advised? No, that didn’t sound like he was urging him to go ahead, which made a total of one person. “You do not have to if you do not wish. You already have an heir.”

“A-Yuan’s too young to be a proper heir,” Wei Wuxian objected, though he was secretly gleeful that people were generally accepting him as one. “And obviously I can’t just pick anyone; how will I know if they’re a spy? Or if they’ll secretly dislike A-Yuan?” He sighed again. “The worst part is, I think Nie Huaisang is plotting against me, too.”

“Plotting?”

“Yeah! He’s encouraging people to ask me about marriage, when clearly it’s better for me to stay off the market…what about you, Lan Zhan? Are you planning on marrying?”

“No,” Lan Wangji said.

“We’ll be a bunch of old bachelors, then,” Wei Wuxian said. “You should come more often, A-Yuan loves you…hey! I have a great idea! Why don’t we get married? Then no one will bother us ever again!”

“Mm,” Lan Wangji said.

“Mm? What does that mean?”

“It means I will need to send Nie Huaisang his payment in the morning,” Lan Wangji said, and moved to sit next to Wei Wuxian.

“Payment? You bought something from him? What did you want to –”

Lan Wangji silenced him pretty effectively, no spell necessary, and by the time Wei Wuxian retained enough ability to think through what exactly the purchase must have been, he’d already been converted to thinking that it was a very intelligent purchase to make.

Nie Huaisang really could sell anything.

#mdzs #wei wuxian #nie huaisang #wangxian #my fic #my fics #sales pitch #violetablood

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xxfanfiction-emo-trinityxx · 3 years

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Ray Toro x Reader - Deadline - Part Two

Request: Ooh what about a part 2 for Deadline where Mikey doesn't know that they confessed and he goes to Ray and tells him and they just play along thxx

Summary: Mikey still plans to tell Ray you’re in love with him, not knowing Ray and you are already together

Word count: 1 276

Part One

Maybe it was mean. Maybe Mikey did not deserve it. But then again maybe he did. If he had not tried pressuring you into telling Ray how you felt about him, you might have told him about the turn of events, of how you had accidentally confessed your feelings for the guitarist, how you had kissed while watching the sunset. But because Mikey had teased you, you did not tell him. But you told Ray about what Mikey had been up to, and Ray being Ray, came up with a plan on the spot.

As much as it pained both of you not to be able to finally kiss and hug whenever you wanted, you decided you should wait until the following evening before revealing the newest development. After all, that evening Mikey’s deadline was running out, and if he really planned on telling Ray how you felt for him, that would be incredible amusing.

Sure enough you all had dropped down in the dressing room after the show was over, sweaty and exhausted, when Mikey shot you a devilish glance. Oh how much you wanted to hate him, but at the same time you knew that it was him he was going embarrass.

“So, (y/n),” he spoke up, speaking a little louder than he would have done usually to get everyone’s attention. Luckily nobody other than the five band members were present. “How’ve you been?”

“Dude, we’ve been spending the past three months on super tight space, you know how I’ve been doing,” you rolled your eyes, knowing he was simply searching for a way into the conversation.

“How’s that thing going?”

“What thing,” Frank turned around from where he had changed into a fresh shirt, eyeing you curiously, “are you working on that drum-solo again? Man, I sure hope you do, because it’s about fucking time you finally get one.”

“As a matter of fact, I have, Frank,” you grinned, shooting Mikey a smug grin. “I’m almost finished, maybe two more days? And then I could play it to you guys, to get your opinion.”

“You’re the drummer, (y/n). If you think it’s good enough, then it’s probably better than that,” Frank grinned. “I can’t wait to hear it.”

“Maybe you should play it to Ray first,” Mikey suggested, earning raised eyebrows from you, “you know, he’s a good drummer too. You two might want some alone time.”

“Oh, I don’t think there’s much I could help (y/n) with,” Ray laughed, knowing as well as you did, what Mikey was planning, “they’re a bloody brilliant drummer.”

“But maybe (y/n) would like to get some help from you, Ray,” Mikey teased, sending you a huge grin.

“Mikey, stop it,” you warned.

“Stop what?” Now even Gerard had noticed the increasingly weird conversation.

“Isn’t there something you’d like to tell –“

“Don’t make a fool out of yourself, Mikes,” you reminded him, but he only grinned wider.

“Ray, what would you say if I told you that (y/n) would like to… get to know you a little better?”

You could feel Ray’s side glance on you, before he spoke, and you had to try really hard to hold in your laughter.

“Get to know me better,” he asked innocently while putting down a water bottle he had been drinking from, “I think we already know each other pretty well, to be honest.”

“Yeah, but only as friends,” Mikey argued.

“Wait a sec,” Frank jumped up, wide eyed, “are you saying-“ he pointed between you and Ray

Mikey just shrugged.

“I knew it,” Frank cheered, “I knew (y/n) had a thing for Ray!”

“Wow, okay, calm down, Frank,” you rolled your eyes. How many times had you done that today already?

“What-? What are you saying,” Gerard asked, stepping closer.

“Just that maybe (y/n) likes Ray more than just as a friend, or band mate,” Mikey giggled.

“You sound like a twelve year old who just found out their friend has a crush,” you mumbled, and even though you knew that what Mikey so enthusiastically announced was no news to Ray, you could feel a blush burn in your cheeks.

“Well, I sure hope they do,” Ray shrugged carelessly, “otherwise me telling them that I love ‘em yesterday would have been very embarrassing.”

Ray’s casual statement had the hoped for effect. For a few seconds there was absolute silence in the changing room. The Mikey, Frank and Gerard all started talking at once.

“Oh, this is some good shit right there guys,” Frank laughed, “ha, I can’t fucking believe you just told him his lover loves him. Oh my god, Mikey!”

“When did that happen? Why didn’t I know of this? How come Mikey knew, but I didn’t? Am I that bad at keeping secrets? Hey, since when are you two a thing? You’re my best friend, Ray, how could you not tell me,” Gerard whined.

But shouting over both Frank and Gerard was Mikey.

“You already knew? What the hell? Were you just playing me,” he asked, gesturing wildly between Ray and you, “all this time I was trying to set you up, and you don’t even tell me once you’re actually together? How can you be so cruel? I just want you two to be happy and you-“

“That’s what you get for blackmailing me,” you laughed, “serves you right!”

“They do have a point, Mikey,” Gerard agreed. “You can’t just tell someone somebody likes them! What if they don’t feel the same! What if you would have embarrassed (y/n)!”

“Well, I knew I wouldn’t embarrass them, at least not for long,” Mikey defended, “because actually-“

“Actually I had already told him that I like (y/n),” Ray explained, “so from that perspective it was all fail safe.”

For a moment there was silence again.

“So in other words, Ray and (y/n) are dating now,” Frank concluded, and shrugged. “I can live with that.”

“Good to know you won’t drop dead now,” you joked, and Frank sent a mocking air kiss your way.

“So…” Gerard looked into everyone’s faces before turning to Ray and you, “congratulations or something?”

You laughed and Ray was about to reply something equally stupid when Frank interrupted him.

“Yeah yeah, rainbows and pink fluffy clouds and all that, but I’m hungry can we go out for dinner?”

Ray turned to you and shook his head before wrapping his arm around your waist.

“Such a romantic, isn’t he,” he joked, making you giggle.

“But he’s right, I’m starving too,” you admitted.

“So am I,” Mikey pipped in, “but actually I might just need a distraction from this embarrassment. You’re already together, oh man.”

“Dinner it is then,” Gerard agreed.

Frank cheered quietly, and one after the other left the changing room, until only Ray and you were left. When you were about to leave as well, Ray grabbed your wrist and held you back.

“Happy with your revenge,” he asked quietly, a soft smile on his lips.

“Very,” you agreed and smiled back. “but even happier about being able to do this.”

And with that you got on your tip toes and gently kissed Ray, making him smile. He was pulled you closer and was about to wrap you in a hug, when Frank suddenly shouted for you to come.

Unwillingly Ray pulled away from you.

“One of these days we might be able to kiss without being constantly interrupted,” he joked, taking your hand in his, just like he had done the day prior.

“While being on tour with those three idiots?” you asked, following him as he led you out of the changing room and down a corridor, “Keep dreaming.”

Taglist (if you want to be added or taken off, please let me know; crossed out are blogs i cannot tag anymore):

General: @alexstyx @recommendedattheprice @jayloverthe3rd @robinruns @lookalivefrosty @butterflycore @vamp-void @angelevansfalls

MCR: @deadlovers

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ambivalent-anarchy · 4 years

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The Spidey Squad Playing Among Us

Masterlist

Welp, this game is all the rave all of a sudden and irdk how since the game's pretty much been here forever lol but it's still fun so I had to jump on the bandwagon and here we are! Make sure you check go out @chaoticpete's new fic. Anyways here it is! If this gets enough likes I might do an avengers headcanon too.

Thanks to @angelsparkers for helping me realize I wasn't writing complete garbage and helping me to get through it even though she didn't even know she was doing that. So yeah thanks for that.

Peter

Crewmate: Peter is that crewmate that will 100% call you out on your bs, because he knows the game a little too well for you to be able to pull anything over him(because of all that free time waiting on patrol). You think all that stuff with the avengers didn't teach him strategy? Ha! This guy is PEAK detective. Gets his tasks done fast and when he's done is probably spending his time monitoring people on security or vitals. It only took him like 2 weeks to memorize all the maps and where everything is, so if you say you were in navigation, you better believe he's gonna ask you what task you were doing there. And if you don't answer to his liking, Peter will sound the "sus" alarm on you in two point five seconds and have everyone voting you out. He's probably the only person that could figure out MJ when she's the impostor. So if you're the impostor, watch your words and make sure your alibis are strong cuz little Petey ain't playin' no games. Definitely gets attacked from time to time by those people that are always like "sMaRt PpL rUiN tHe GaMe"

Impostor: He's pretty much the most average impostor. Sometimes he doesn't know what to say when people call him sus and he'll get voted out because he's being "too quiet" or because Ned keeps defending him. He'll mess up every now and then but for the most part, he's pretty decent. His style is usually to stay in the vents most of the game and kill when only one person's around. He probably bribes Ned to not rat him out by promising him that he won't kill him.

Name: It used to be just Peter, but soon he wanted an actual cool name so he chose Sherlock because of all the times when he was "too smart" and won the game too quickly and people would go "pack it up Sherlock" and vote him out.

Favorite color to be: It used to be red, but he quickly found that the more he was red the more people found him "sus" so now he's usually either blue or cyan

Ned

Crewmate: Pretty average crewmate. 80% of the time is covering for Peter, even if Peter is the impostor. Won't do much calling people out unless he's absolutely sure that he saw a kill or vent. Pretty chill and easily persuadable. You'd definitely want him on your team. If he ever gets wrongfully ejected he's the one that pitifully tries to plead his case saying stuff like "what???" and "guys it's not me!!!!" which doesn't really convince anyone and just makes him look more guilty. He'll still do his tasks after though.

Impostor: He's the impostor that doesn't want to be the impostor. If you're texting then maybe he can hold his own, but if you're doing voice chats, there's no way this guy is getting past ANYONE. He has so many tells that it's ridiculous. Is actually scared to vent too much because he's always paranoid that someone's gonna be right there when he jumps out. 8/10 the crewmates win when he's the imposter because he'll just kill like only two people the entire time or gets caught really early on.

Name: Probably some sci-fi reference like r2d2 or Potter

Favorite color to be: Yellow or white because he says those are the most "innocent" colors and he'll be less likely to get voted if he's those (not true but we'll let him believe it)

Crewmate: Suspicion times 100. Her motto: trust no one. Will get you kicked out in a heartbeat with a quick "trust me. if it's not them vote me next." An absolute unit but will never be caught getting emotional over a game. If she's ever wrongfully ejected her last words will be "whatever. go ahead. vote me and lose." She'll just come back in the next game with a vengeance and false accusations ready, not caring if the entire team loses because of it. She's especially dangerous to have because people usually trust her word. She always finds a way to seem the least suspicious. Though sometimes she'll get suspected because of her quiet nature. There's always that one guy that's ready to go "uR qUiEt ThAt'S sUs!!"

Impostor: If MJ is the impostor, you can just throw your whole phone away. You're not winning that game. Like, ever. She will do whatever it takes to win, even sell out her own her partner. On the off chance that you catch her being suspicious, she'll sabotage a bunch of things so that you can't call meetings and then she'll kill you when no one's around. She is ruthless and will hurt your feelings with the way that she will own everyone in the game. Hardly anyone ever expects her. Thrives on venting. You won't see her you'll just be doing a task and suddenly you'll be dead.

Name: Used to be just MJ but she got annoyed with all the people in the messages who always assumed she meant Michael Jackson or Michael Jordan so she changed it to Michelle

Favorite color to be: She literally doesn't care either way. Won't change the gameplay so why bother? Whatever color she ends up with she'll be fine.

Betty

Crewmate & Impostor: The most average player of them all. She wins some, she loses some. Nice partner to have though, because she'll never give you away. Probably the first to die most times. If she ever gets wrongfully ejected she's the one that uses her last words to say who she thinks it and doesn't even try to plead her case once it starts to look bad for her. She just finished the rest of her tasks.

Name: Probably either her name or some nickname or inside joke. Idk she just seems like the type of person to have a reference to something that absolutely nobody knows

Favorite color to be: Pink. Just because she likes pink.

Flash

Crewmate: Claims things are sus even if they aren't. Will totally be biased based on names. Anybody who knows him will never count him as a credible source. Gets voted out quickly alot because of how annoying he is in the game.

Impostor: He's the easiest to figure out. He's the impostor that obnoxiously accuses literally everyone else. And in all capital letters too. "ITS RED I STG. IF IT'S NOT HIM VOTE ME NEXT!" Calls everyone sus and always claims he's seen people running from the body. He usually self-reports and goes for the easy marks in electrical. He's not that good (even though he thinks he is) and it takes anyone with a brain to figure him out. Peter and MJ are bane of his existence in that game. If he gets wrongfully ejected he'll rage and probably leave the game like the little crybaby he is.

Name: Spideys#1 because he's really just THAT obsessed. Or when he's really feeling "teenage boy" he'll be cOchieman

Favorite color to be: Red because sPiDeRmAn'S hIs BeSt FrIeNd (ahahaha if only he knew)

May

She didn't know this game at all until Peter introduced her to it one day because he was bored. She LOVED it. He had to pry it out of her hands after she kept repeating "Hold on, one more!" So she downloaded on her phone and now she plays it whenever she's bored.

Crewmate: Average. Same as Betty.

Impostor: The way May can actually dominate being the impostor is sort of scary. And she'd always be the last person you'd expect because she just has that trusting vibe about her. Sometimes she'll mess up and give herself away, but for the most part, she's pretty good. Doesn't vent much. Just like Ned, she doesn't trust it.

Name: Madonna

Favorite color to be: She doesn't care much but she prefers to be purple, cyan, or orange

Funny Moment

《Peter calls an emergency meeting 10 seconds into the game》

- Michelle: what

- Betty: what

- Michelle: skip

- r2d2: bro already?

- Sherlock: okay everyone just listen

- k0chieman: bruh

- Michelle: okay listen to what

- Sherlock: flash what task are you doing

- Betty: alright were listening

- k0chieman: the divert thingy in navi

- r2d2: pete what is this

- Sherlock: yeah dude that diverty thingy is the second of two steps

- Sherlock: u never did the first

- Sherlock: which means ur an impostor faking

- Michelle: flash?

- k0chieman: no

- k0chieman: i did do it

- r2d2: the times low we gotta decide guys

- Sherlock: if you did it wouldve taken you 12-15 seconds to get there and were not that far in the game

- Sherlock: u cant already be doing it

- Sherlock: everybody vote flash

- r2d2: petes on x games mode

- Michelle: damn dude

- k0chieman: wtf parker

- Sherlock: bye dude

- Sherlock: worlds greatest detective strikes again

- Michelle: okay calm down pete

《couple seconds later》

. 　　　。　　　　•　　ﾟ　　。　　.

　　　.　　　　　.　　　　　。　　。　. 　

.　　。　　　　　 ඞ 。 . 　　 • 　　　　•

　　ﾟ　　 Flash was An Impostor.　。　.

　　'　　　 1 Impostor remains 　　　。

　　ﾟ　　　.　　　. ,　　　　.　 .

Best Imposter Combos

Peter & Ned: Goes without saying. Nine times out of ten they're in the same room while playing this so they can just talk strategy to each other and take everyone out really quickly. Really annoying for everybody else, but they'll win so they're happy.

MJ & Peter: These two together are a force to be reckoned with. The second they see that they're both impostors they call each other up and get to business like they're on a mission. This stuff is serious. (More for Peter than MJ. She has to keep telling him that it's just a game.) He stays on security stuff, telling her when it's safe, and she racks up the kills. When things get heavy, they sabotage and then go on a spree. These two hardly ever lose. (When the whole squad is together whoever's in charge [if it's not Pete or MJ] usually puts the kill cooldown at max just in case these two get that they can't be at full power)

MJ & Betty: Betty isn't afraid to sacrifice herself so that they'll win and MJ is ruthless and quick with her kills. Both have the smarts to be able to be extremely persuasive and you'd hate for them to pick you to frame. Because being put against those two in the chatroom will lead you nowhere but abyss of space.

May & Peter: Parkers united. 'Nough said.

Tagging: @spideyyeet, @soft-petey, @spidey-reids-2003, @spidey-boy-89, @sovereignparker, @bubblebucky, @underoosjae

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yfere · 5 years

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Shipping Calculus! Live Updates from C2E60

Hello, and welcome to episode 60, otherwise known as THE RISE OF YASHA SHIPPING. We’ve been waiting and waiting for it, and here it fucking is!! Masterpost here

+15 to Fjord/Jester as they gain many Flirting Points with cute little “Heys” at each other in combat, profferings of healing potions, that weird slightly in canon liminal area of drink sharing, winking madness, Fjord dedicating the dead jellyfish to Jester like he’s some kinda knight (+3 to Beau/Cockblocking for pointing out the disturbing murder of what was once a romantic Fjorester symbol). Jester asking Fjord if he’s okay and checking him for possession (Bonus points for Body Contact!) Points taken away for Fjord griping about Jester/Pets, saying “It’s not your pet, Jester!” while Jester shouts back that she doesn’t even like it, thank you, she likes animals but she’s not going to go gaga over a murder demon you absolute asshole.

+9 to Caleb/Caduceus as Caduceus continues his trend of enthusiastically supporting Caleb decisions that the rest of the party very much do not enthusiastically support. “Good call!” he says when Caleb goes to burn the bodies in the Bone Pit as an anti-jellyfish precaution. Totally down with Caleb murdering creatures down there as there’s “not anything good that’s living down there” and along with Yasha joining the Pro Caleb NPC Murder Club. Caleb very nearly setting Caduceus on fire as well but avoiding it through the power of luck love, being adorably distressed that Caduceus might have been hurt, relieved when he’s fine.

+6 to Caduceus/Fjord as Caduceus encourages Fjord to “Stick by me, and you’ll be fine.” Looking after Fjord’s welfare by encouraging him to stay in the Hut, and acting as dedicated translator for all of Fjord’s ridiculously curious needs. The pair of them same-hatting on asking every single person they happen to meet if they know of any answers to their god problems. Points taken away for Caduceus’ short term memory failing to recall the second of Fjord’s questions as he gets distracted asking about the Blooming Grove.

+32 to Yasha/Jester. Okay. Okay. So, trying to cooperate over turtle flipping: good. But the real thing. The real thing is. During Yasha’s first dream, Jester is the first body she sees after Mollymauk’s, the first and most important after him of the “somebody you’ve let in.” The only person she’s really willing to speak to after she wakes, despite her discomfort. The first person whose strength she thinks of when trying to break her shackles. The one she listens to, over Caduceus, when it comes to how to approach her god—to just try to talk to him, bring Jester and her friends along. The one she models when she tries to connect to the Stormlord—drawing a dick in the mud because if nothing else works, this has to, this is Jester. Jester being the most sweetly supportive of Yasha after her dream, even while Nott minimizes and Caduceus godsplains. Jester fucking….sleeping in the rain with Nott so that Yasha won’t be alone, enduring ridiculous amounts of discomfort and lost sleep just to be there for her. They are…..love. This is…..the true birth of Jestasha.

+1 to Beau/Yasha as Beau accomplishes an epic battle move by sliding between Yasha’s legs (just not in the way she was hoping). Looking piningly at Yasha’s sleeping face. But, as has been decreed by the Shipping Gods they are two ships passing in the night, destined never to meet.

-10 to Yasha/Nott. Nott initiates cuddles, but Yasha is uncomfortable.

+17 to Fjord/Caleb as Caleb tries his damned hardest to use his spellwork to protect Fjord—and failing. But it leads to Body Contact nonetheless, and a terribly sweet “sorry, big guy” which only means more with every NPC under the sun (looking at you, Soorna) continuing to poke at Fjord by calling him “small.” More Body Contact with Caleb switching over to Fjord as his chosen squeeze while looking through Frumpkin. As with Jester and the jellyfish, Fjord looking towards Caleb to check if he’s noticing him Being Cool with the three point landing (Do I spy +1 to Caleb/Fjord/Jester?) Fjord as always putting way too much stock in Caleb knowing everything, all “Caleb, think of every blue fabric you’ve ever seen” as he attempts to CSI the riftmaking device. Fjord also as always being Caleb’s #1 Magic Fan, going absolutely NUTS when Caleb polymorphs the giant, ruffling his hair and screaming “YOU BEAUTIFUL WIZARD BASTARD” and probably coming close to fucking breaking the wizards’ concentration in the process. Points taken away as Fjord realizes just how scary the turtle still is and how this horrible snapping thing may still cleave him in half. But at the rate Fjord is escalating the Magic Love, you just know eventually Caleb is going to cast a spell and Fjord is going to get so excited he kisses the wizard.

+5 to Caleb/Being a Trendsetter as comically exaggerated pronunciations of Eldritch bleeeeeeeeehst are now officially the standard for all members of the party.

+10 to Travis/Dice Superstition as he picks new dice after rolling ones, runs dice competitions to decide which is worthy to play with, and Very Superstitiously dreading a 666 of failed wisdom saves from Fjord, Beau, and Caleb.

+10 to Caduceus/Excitement. “There’s something in the pit.” His head lowers and his hands shake when he gets stressed, but bless him his voice is as calming and monotone as ever.

-100 to Fjord/That Spoopy Shit as he spends most of the battle screaming his (average sized, thank you) lungs out

+2 to Caleb/Cat Shaped Creatures at Cat’s Ire was finally allowed to do its killing work!

+20 to Jester/Beau as Jester gives Beau a 7 for the holy hell she causes with her punching! To which Beau gives a funny little bow. But most, most importantly, Jester noticing Beau staying up reading and worrying to death, giving her a massage and Body Contact to calm down and sleep #TheyAreMarried and fuck Travis/Fjord’s Attempted Cockblocking because that was the most transparently and extremely romantic moment in the entire goddamn episode. Points taken away for Jester saying Beau’s drawing looks “kind of shit.” Maybe now that she’s granted permission for Beau to draw dicks she’s concerned Beau will start infringing on her Territory as the resident artist.

-1 to Nott/Detective Work. She did find the riftmaking device, but unfortunately it was circumstance that brought her back to the Bone Pit, and not her Keen Detective Mind remembering at that moment to investigate the area as Soorna’s stated origin of the demons and a trash bin’s status as an Excellent Hiding Place. More points taken away for Destroying Evidence when she shot the device and scattered the liquid inside to be lost forever.+12 to Nott/Gunslinging though.

+1 to Fjord/Detective Work as he continues to bargain and push for important information about the way the world works and what is happening from the people he encounters—gaining Soorna’s story in exchange for their efforts. He didn’t gain information immediately relevant to the Case, but it is good Detective Practice nonetheless

+5 to Beau/Detective Work as she finds the scrap of fabric in the Riftmaking Device—a solid Clue! Genuinely looking for links between the riftmaking device and her own vestments, comparing notes, looking for the black liquid and brainstorming with Caleb over potential motivations for creating Abyssal rifts. Points taken away for misidentifying beds as sarcophagi, which sort of casts a pall over her detectiving skills.

+20 to Beau/Nerdom for being more interested in explaining books and theorizing to Caleb than actually fighting. It is something when you can stand next to Caleb and make him look like a jock in comparison to your nerdy antics. Never change, Beau.

+6 to Caleb/Lethality as unfortunately he has murder on the brain so much that even when he’s not trying to make things deadly, he still manages to incinerate a poor innocent little goblin, barely skirt blowing up Caduceus, and morph what he meant to be a harmless turtle into a killing machine.

-2 to Caleb/Jester. Caleb is a fan of Jester’s smart idea with the Tiny Hut. But between accusations of criminality and Jester’s extreme distress over Caleb’s Goblin Roasting, ‘twas not the best week for these two.

+2 to Nott/Jester. Beau may have gotten a 7 for battle maneuvers, but Jester gives Nott 8 points!!! Nott cuddling with Jester at night, waking with her to reassure Yasha. There’s the sense Nott went out into the miserable rain maybe a little more to spend time with Jester than anything else.

+12 to Nott/Being a Team Player as she throws herself into harm’s way to defend Fjord from Caleb’s horribly botched polymorph! She is too small to be much defense but damn if she’s not going to try!

-3 to Nott/Fantasy Racism as despite her conflicted feelings over goblins she attempts to respectfully lay Caleb’s murder victim to rest. +10 to Caduceus/Cockblocking for undermining the moment by sticking the whole goddamn corpse in his bag so he can question it in the morning

+5 to Caleb/Kooky Comparisons as he compares farming the Beacon for Luck potions to getting eggs from the golden goose. Caleb thinks almost entirely in terms of fairy tales and farming/peasant idioms, and one of these days someone needs to collect all of the little oddball things he says.

+50 to Kord/Midwifery “STRUGGLE. PUSH. STRUGGLE. PUSH.” Rhythmic, firm, supportive but also tough, which is exactly the kind of midwife you want during your existential rebirth.

#critical role #cr spoilers #jestasha #fjorester #widofjord #clayleb #widojest #widofjorester #nott the best detective agency #fjorclay #beauyasha #shipping calculus #lavorregard #beaujester

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thwippyparker · 4 years

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Try To Fix You- Chapter 4

Masterlist

Read Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3

Read Chapter 5

Feel free to comment, like, or share this if you want to be added to a tag list, or you can add yourself HERE. Enjoy!

Eventual Peter x Reader, Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, ANGST ************************************************************************** It had been 2 weeks since you had last heard anything from Detective Stacy when you finally felt comfortable in the apartment on your own. Harry’s request for bail had been revoked and he was quietly awaiting trial. In that 2 weeks, you and Peter had both worked from home with him taking a short hiatus from his nightly Spider-Man rounds. You had tried to act like nothing happened when he left the first night, only to end up sitting in his room with the door locked and your hand on your phone the entire time waiting to dial 911 if need be. When he climbed through the window at close to 2 A.M., you screamed and threw the phone at him. From then on, he didn’t really leave until you felt safe. If he left, it was usually to get food and he had Ned or Aunt May stay with you while he did. Neither one of you had talked to or about MJ since the awkwardness that occurred when she helped you move. But on the 15th day of living with Peter, the world came crashing down just when you felt like maybe the other shoe wouldn’t drop.

You were just getting back from your lunch break when you received a call from Detective Stacy about Harry trying to get a plea deal.

He wanted the stalking charge dropped and the domestic assault charge lessened to bodily harm. He would serve barely any time but would have to go to counselling and would be on parole for 3 years. Detective Stacy stated that going to trial might get a worse sentence, but he could also get off on all the charges. The thought of him walking around and preying on you and possibly other women scared you if he was declared innocent and you weren’t sure if you could honestly handle seeing him in a trial. You asked to have 24 hours to think on it and texted Peter, Aunt May, and Ned on your way home for them to meet you so you could get their opinions.

You met up with them at Aunt May and Peter’s favorite Thai place and when you showed them all of the notes you had taken when on the phone with the Detective, it was clear that no one was happy but especially not Peter. Your anxiety heightened when you took notice of his state. His eyes were glazed over but if he was trying to hide his anger his body was doing a piss poor job of following along. He sat rigid with a clenched jaw and was bouncing his leg up and down as if he needed an outlet or else he’d explode. You knew after the spiderbite all of his emotions were heightened but it had been so long since you had seen just how angry he could be and that had been the prevailing emotion on and off for the last few weeks. It scared you but also comforted you at the same time. It showed how much he hated that all of this was happening to you but seeing as how an angry man got you to this point in the first place it also set you on edge. As if he could read your mind, it was then that Peter took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He ran a hand through his hair and his shoulders started to slump. You could tell he was really trying not to let his anger explode but already knew that with all of this he’d spend most of the night on patrol just to be able to clear his head.

“Are you fu-- Are you kidding me? Parole? No, this is not okay.” He stated while clenching and unclenching his jaw. “It’s the stupid lawyers’ fault. They’re trying to sweep this under the rug because of who his daddy is.”

“Do you want me to hack his phone? See if there’s any evidence you could use in court? Oooor, alternatively if he’s even remotely found innocent, we could always have Spider-Man handle him the old fashioned way” Ned interjected, gesturing to Peter. You wondered when Ned became so willing to break the law. Being ‘the guy in the chair’ is one thing, but literal assault was a bit much. “Not that he doesn’t deserve it…,” you think. You shake your head to clear the nasty little thought away before it festered and got the best of you.

You began fiddling with your hands while looking at a spot on the table. “Just because he’s an ass doesn’t mean we stoop to his level,” you stated as you stabbed a piece of meat with your fork and pointed it in Ned’s direction to hopefully get your point across. “It’s not like I can afford a better lawyer, Pete. I have to use the public defender they gave me, moving and buying new furniture cleared a good chunk of my savings and it’s not like lawyers are cheap in this city. Unless you have any better ideas, I’m gonna have to choose between accepting this deal or risking him getting off scot-free for what he did to me. What he could do to more women. If I don’t accept the deal, and he walks, any hurt he inflicts on any of you for protecting me or any other woman just because he knows now that he can get away with it… that’s gonna be partially on me...”

“Y/n, sweetheart, you cannot blame yourself for whatever he could do. Those actions are his choice and nobody else’s. His hands aren’t tied, he doesn’t have a gun to his head to make him act this way. He chooses to and you don’t deserve to take the blame for his actions if the justice system fails you and in turn them. That being said, I know you and you won’t listen to me because of that thick skull of yours and your love for denial so I don’t know what you should do in this situation,” Aunt May said while grabbing your hands and trying to soothe you. “Peter, is there any way you can-” Before she could even finish her sentence, Peter had his phone in his hand.

“I’m already on it,” he said, typing away on his phone at a speed you hadn’t seen before. You looked between him and May quizzically before looking at Ned. He simply shrugged his shoulders, having just as much of a clue as you. When Peter finally looked from his phone, he looked slightly less annoyed, his face less pinched. “So, you’re gonna have to fire your lawyer, y/n.” You were astounded by how flippant he sounded. Like he was telling you to order a topping on a pizza, not fire someone who could at the very least get your abuser to admit his wrongdoing. While the deal was horrible in your eyes, you couldn’t exactly see you representing yourself in this case and it not resulting in a breakdown or him being found innocent.

“What?! Why?” You noticed some of the other patrons turn to look at you from the outburst, so you quickly shoved some food in your mouth, hoping they would turn around and do the same. When they finally turned around, you looked at May and Peter with squinted eyes and tried to figure out what exactly they were up to.

“Because I- well Mr. Stark, just got you a new one. Best one in the entire state according to him. I guess he helped him out in some of Mr. Stark’s more wild days?” He said the last part as more of a question, not quite sure what Stark had meant by that. You looked at him incredulously, the boy you once knew that was afraid to disappoint Tony was now just asking him for a lawyer. You were sure he hadn’t given Tony the full story or even part of it. “He probably just saw the name Osbourn and figured it would be a way to tarnish one of his direct competitors.”

“He wants the two of us to meet the lawyer at the Tower so we know it’s a safe location in case Harry is having you followed. We should probably get going, he wants us there ASAP,” Peter stated, grabbing his coat off of the back of his chair and putting it on before handing some money to May to cover the food and kissing her on the cheek. He looked to you still seated in your chair, a dumbstruck look on your face as your brain tried to comprehend what was happening. You were trying to wrap your brain around how nonchalant he was being about the whole thing. From texting Tony for something that you’re sure is going to cost him quite a lot to casually referring to Avenger’s freaking Tower without fanboying, it was a lot to process. All you could mutter out was “B-but I’m not dressed to meet the Avengers let alone IRON MAN.”

Suddenly you were a 17 year old girl freaking out over the Avengers and how cool they were as Peter told you stories of the times he got to work with them and thinking how you wish you could be that lucky. Now that the opportunity was here, you just felt sick to your stomach. You felt your breathing speed up and your stomach churn and began to wonder how close you were to passing out.

As Peter made his way around the table towards you, he could tell you needed help grounding before your slight freak out became a full blown panic attack so he grabbed your hand and made you stand up, pulling you quickly into a hug. “”Breathe, n/n, follow my breathing.” He breathed in for a few seconds, held his breath and then released slowly.He continued, making sure you were following until he heard your heart rate slow slightly. At that point he realized other’s were talking about you and looking at you.

“N/n,” he whispered in your ear, “I want you to just hold my hand and keep your head down, okay? Just until we get out of here. Then we can talk it out on our way over, alright. You look great and they won’t pry or look down on you. They’ve all heard a lot about you and if anything, they’ll probably just make a joke about Tony having another person under his wing. They are all broken people and know how to respect boundaries. Okay?”

You nodded, putting on your hoodie and throwing the hood up. Grabbing your purse and throwing it over your shoulder, you kept your eyes focused on your shoes. You willed your feet to move one after the other, until you crossed the threshold of the restaurant and felt the wind lightly caress your face, breathing in deeply. Peter, making sure you were okay, began to walk with you slowly in the direction of Stark Tower.

There was too much happening that you felt your head spin as you got closer and closer to the giant tower. You had always thought it was a bit ostentatious but to be fair, that seemed to just be Tony Stark’s public persona. It was weird to think that you were getting ready to meet the man you had idolized so much growing up, much to your mother’s chagrin. She had always asked why you picked him of all people to latch onto; in her eyes he was a show off and was in it solely for the ego boost and press. You couldn’t explain it, but he was your hero in every sense of the word. That is, until your best friend became a hero in his own right.

When Peter came clean about the bite, meeting Tony Stark, Berlin, and patrolling, you were completely awestruck. You couldn’t believe that your best friend could actually keep a secret, especially one about a man you both had idolized. But from then on, you had a new favorite superhero. You weren’t sure if your other would’ve been happy about that, seeing as how she saw all superheroes as reckless and that was the last thing she wanted you to be. She had lost your father to addiction when she was pregnant with you and she couldn’t stand the thought of losing you too. That was one thing you were thankful for in the maze that had been your life thus far. She never had to have that last fear actualized, even though it hurt every day since she had died. You wondered how she would have felt about the situation you were in now, on the front step of a building she despised about to meet a man she couldn’t stand you idolizing.

Peter squeezed your hand in reassurance as he turned his head to face you. “You ready, n/n. I’ll be with you every step of the way.” Your anxiety was through the roof but, with Peter’s hand in yours, you knew deep down that everything would eventually be okay as you walked over the threshold.

**************************************************************************

Masterlist

Read Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3

Read Chapter 5

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stroni-bomb · 6 years

Text

Lion Chapter 2 - Angel!Taeyong

Previous Chapter / Next Chapter / Masterlist

Taeyong is finally introduced in this chapter, I know it took me a while, but he’s here! Also the third chapter will come much faster, this one only took so long because I got super sick :/

~ Cherry

The outside world was horrible. Humans were always doing the worst things and then you had to hold yourself back from clawing out their throats. Your job was a nightmare and you were surprised you hadn’t killed anyone yet. The fast food industry was likely your most hated profession, and you'd been through a lot of jobs since coming here…

Your mother had gotten you a place to stay but you had to pay for water, electricity, food, all things provided for you before. And you had to cook! You were a teacher, not a chef! Microwaved spaghetti seemed to be the only thing you could feed yourself.

With all of these new stresses you had to deal with, you'd become less alert and you were sure your lowest point was when that human snuck up on you. How did he do that? You're a supernatural being who doubles as a lion, how could you let anyone sneak up on you?

He was behind you with a knife to your throat, but he didn’t say anything. He was completely still.

“Do you want my money or…?”

“No,” he said. “I was supposed to kill you.”

“So are you gonna do that?”

“Uh…”

Stupid humans with their horrible follow through.

You sighed and grabbed his arm, easily twisting it away from you before forcing him up against the wall. You took the knife but before you could stab him with it like you were planning to, you noticed it was silver.

“Really?” You muttered. “Silver. You’re obviously a hunter. But fucking silver?”

“Well, that’s how you kill shapeshifters… right?”

Yeah… this is definitely a low point.

You threw the knife away and backed off of the guy. He turned around and rubbed his shoulder, looking between you and the knife.

“Don’t bother, I could kill you in a second,” you leant next to him against the wall. “Are all hunters this bad at their jobs or just you?”

“I’m new,” he responded. “Give me a break.”

“And do all hunters like to casually chat with the supernaturals they’re meant to kill?” You continued.

“Maybe,” he said. “I’m new, remember?”

Whoever this person was, he didn’t match the descriptions your teachers had given you of hunters. You had to admit that you were a little curious.

“You don’t need silver to kill me,” you told him. “Anything that can shapeshift, silver will fuck them up. Not spirit animals. Any knife will do the trick for a spirit animal.”

“Oh, do all spirit animals like to tell people exactly how to kill them?” The hunter questioned, mimicking your tone.

“Not if we actually find the person in question threatening,” you sent a glare his way.

“Is that why you haven’t tried to kill me yet?” He asked. “We’re in a dark alley… no one’s around.”

“Not in the mood for casual murder, I suppose,” you told him. “You hunter’s think all supernaturals are evil, right?”

“Well, my uncle certainly does,” he glanced down. “I mean, yeah, you guys are like, satan or something. Totally evil, gotta defend innocents or what the fuck ever.”

You raised a brow at him and he sighed. “I already know it’s bullshit. I’m just here to appease my family. Turns out killing people is a little harder than I thought.”

“Oh, so you were going to kill an innocent person, namely me, just to make your family happy?” You asked.

“Basically.”

“Too bad they didn’t teach you well enough to know a spirit animals true weakness,” you told him. “Threaten their spirit form and you’ve got them. Spirit quartz are harmless little gems until someone tries to shift and it steals their spirit.”

“Oh, sure, keep telling me all your weaknesses.”

“You were hunting a spirit animal, how didn’t you know that already?” You asked.

“Well…” he glanced back at the knife on the ground. “I thought you were a lampago.”

Oh, that did it.

“A lampago?” You asked. “I’m a lion, not a tiger. A lion! Why would you think I’m some stupid shapeshifting tiger, you absolute-”

“Really? This gets you angry but not the whole ‘trying to kill you’ thing?” He interrupted you.

“Listen, a severe injustice has been done to your education,” you grabbed his wrist and started pulling him after you. “I’m going to fix that.”

“U-uh… where are we going?” He didn’t resist much as you dragged him out of the alley and out into the streets.

“A library. Obviously the people who taught you don't even know what those are,” you grumbled. “This is why human hunters never succeed, they don't teach their young.”

“Wait, why are you taking me to a library?” He asked.

“I like to have a reference when I'm teaching,” you told him. “We’ll get some books about the supernatural and I will make sure you know how to differentiate between two completely different species, one of which is vastly superior.”

He was quiet for a moment, trying to think of what to say. “So you're planning to teach me about supernatural creatures… which I hunt?”

“Please, if you could actually hunt, we wouldn't be walking to the library together because you would have stabbed me in the back by now and I would have mauled you,” you told him.

“The first supernatural I meet and you’re a complete weirdo.”

“I'll choose to take that as a compliment,” you responded.

Maybe it was just because you really missed your old job, but you felt some sort of need to help this idiot who couldn't differentiate between a spirit animal and a lampago. And you weren't going to educate him on fighting supernaturals, just their culture and all the interesting things you were passionate about.

You were excited actually. After two long months, you finally had a chance to teach again. It was your dream, but you needed qualifications out in the real world so you couldn't continue.

Usually though, the first step of teaching is getting to know your students, but you still didn't know this hunter’s name.

“I'm Y/n,” you told him. “It's nice to meet you.”

“Changkyun,” he responded. “Nice to meet you too I guess.”

This human? Dumber than you previously thought.

“No, mind reading and empathy aren't seeker abilities, only some seekers can do it,” you explained for the umpteenth time.

“But it is a seeker thing, it's just that not all of them can do it,” Changkyun responded. “See, I pick up on things.”

“What are the other special abilities a seeker can have?”

“Uh…”

Well, at least he had the other two down.

“Alright, that's fine, we'll work on that,” you said. “Do you know the factions?”

“Guardians, thieves, all those other ones that… exist…” he listed.

“You're less receptive than three year old lions, Changkyun,” you told him. “You do realise this, right?”

You’d only known him a week, but you could see clearly that Changkyun was very different from any of the hunters you’d heard about from your family. And you still had yet to figure out why. People are products of their environment but somehow, Changkyun had never taken to the lifestyle his family leads.

Something had to be different.

“Teach me something interesting then!” He leant back in his chair. “Tell me about soulmates.”

“What do you wanna know?”

“How does it work?” He asked. “Does everyone have them? Do some have more than one? Platonic soulmates, all that jazz.”

“Yeah, everyone has them, I’ve never heard of someone to have more than one, but I suppose it’s not impossible,” you answered. “And platonic soulmates exist for… everyone except werewolves, I believe.”

“Why not werewolves?” Changkyun was absorbed into the lesson now.

You supposed whether he was receptive or not had to do with whether the topic interesting him or not.

“I’m not entirely sure,” you said. “They experience the bond stronger than anyone else, and werewolves are already naturally loving and caring.”

“What about hybrid werewolves?” He asked.

“Them too,” you answered. “But the bond get weaker with the less werewolf blood they have in them.”

“And human-werewolf hybrids… they can’t shift, right?”

“Why are you so interested in this specifically?” You questioned.

“Curiosity,” he shrugged.

Changkyun was good at pretending, but you could tell he was acting. Trying purposely to be casual.

“They cant,” you eventually answered. “Not unless they’re turned into a full werewolf by being bitten by another.”

Changkyun stared at the floor for a moment, expression unreadable, before resuming his casual act. He put his feet up on your coffee table, and got comfortable again.

“What about magic?” He asked. “Magic is pretty cool, I’d like to learn about that.”

“Get your feet off my furniture, or I’ll break you.”

He rolled his eyes but did as told. “Sure thing, teach.”

All of your lessons went much the same with Changkyun. Sometimes you thought he wasn’t even trying to listen to you, but he did pick up some things. Mainly just the things he thought were cool.

Still, it was a good way to pass time. He came by anytime he could get away from home, and you’d spend a couple hours together to teach him. It was actually kinda fun.

Changkyun also helped you adjust better. And helped you learn how to cook, though he wasn’t that good at it himself.

“I was never taught how to cook,” he told you. “I just figured it out myself. So, if I burn your apartment down, I’m sorry.”

“You couldn’t possibly do worse than me.”

About three weeks into it, you started to think that things were actually going… well.

But the day you had that thought, Changkyun stopped coming by your apartment. On the first day, you’d assumed he was busy. Then it was five days with nothing.

You hated that you were more worried than angry that he missed your lessons. But you just tried to tell yourself that some random supernatural had killed him and there was no point dwelling on it. Some random hunter didn’t matter.

Even if he was… kind of… your friend.

When you heard a knock on the door, you were hopeful it might be Changkyun but your hopes were soon crushed. Usually he’s the only one who visits you unless you’re late on rent and your landlord decides to wake you up at two in the morning to yell at you about it. But today, a stranger greeted you.

“You’re Y/n, right?” He asked. “I’m Yejun, a friend of Changkyun’s.”

And already, you knew things were about to loop right back around to being horrible.

“Sorry, wrong person,” you told him. “I don’t know a Y/n.”

Before you could shut the door, he pushed it further open and came in uninvited. You could barely contain the urge to shift on the spot and attack him.

“I suggest you get out before I hurt you,” you growled at the intruder.

“Please, go ahead and shift,” he held a crystal in front of you. “A spirit quartz. I do my research.”

“You think I need a lion to kill you?”

“I don’t want to harm you,” Yejun said. “At least not yet. I’m here to talk about Changkyun.”

“Talk fast. I don’t have much patience,” you backed up to the kitchen counter and grabbed a knife to hide behind you in case the intruder tried anything.

“Dad was furious when found out Changkyun was sneaking out,” Yejun said. “It was entertaining, really, to see him so red in the face.”

“I don’t care,” you told him. “Tell me what you want and get out.”

“I want you to leave Changkyun alone,” he answered. “I was planning on simply killing you, but I promised my sister I wouldn’t. So I really hope you’ll leave the city, rather than force me to break a promise.”

“Why should I?” You responded. “Is Changkyun not allowed to have friends?”

“No,” Yejun said. “He knows the rules, contact with people outside of the family is prohibited for him.”

“Why? And why only him?” That didn’t seem fair. “Did he do something?”

“He never told you?” Yejun asked. “He’s a mutt, half werewolf.”

And the switch went off again.

A mutt. Exactly what Geon had called Lupus. Notitia had called him that too. Same with plenty of others in your clan. He couldn’t help that he was wolf.

You barely registered that you’d even moved before you found yourself right in front of Yejun with a kitchen knife buried in his chest. But you’d never thought to check him for weapons, and you didn’t expect him to react so quickly.

You stumbled back when a bullet ripped through your stomach. Yejun dropped the gun the moment you backed off and reached up to the knife still inside of him.

“I thought most supernaturals were smarter than that,” he grunted.

“You just happened to find one that's a little… on the angry side,” you fell back against the kitchen counter and pressed your hands against the wound.

You tried to use the counter to help you up, to get to your phone, call the police or an ambulance, but the moment you tried to move, you felt the pain in your abdomen shock you back to the ground. You felt your skin tear as you fell back down but refused to give Yejun any indication that you were in pain.

But you couldn’t move, and the gun was right beside Yejun…

As if the odds weren’t already in his favour enough, Yejun yelled out for someone and two more people entered the apartment to help him. You had no hope against two completely able bodied men in this state.

You tried again to stand, but doubled over in pain the moment you did so. The only hope at this point was to run, but even that wasn’t a viable option.

Why didn’t you check for a gun? Why didn’t you search him?

This is your own fault, you heard your mother’s echo voice inside your head.

The tiniest bit of hope returned when the door opened again and Changkyun made his way to you. “What did you do?”

“What did I do?” You returned. “That fucker over there is the one who shot me.”

Changkyun clenched his fists, but focused on helping you. He removed his jacket to press against your wound. The new pressure against the injury made you want to cry out but you forced yourself to stay quiet.

“Changkyun, what the fuck are you doing here?” One of the men asked. “I thought Dad locked you in the basement.”

“Oh, he did,” Changkyun said. “Obviously not such an effective tactic anymore.”

“Don't talk back, just come here.”

Changkyun was reluctant to move away from you but he eventually headed their way after placing your hands over his jacket to hold it in place.

You couldn’t hear what was said but one of the hunters passed Changkyun a gun and shoved him towards you. It wasn’t hard to guess what they wanted. You would die soon anyway, wounds like these were hard to treat.

Changkyun kneeled in front of you. “They want me to kill you.”

“As long as you don't kill me with the spirit quartz in the room,” you said. “I don’t want my lion trapped.”

“I only agreed to get the gun, do you actually think I would kill you?” He asked. “Your lack of faith in me is insulting.”

Before you could get another word out, Changkyun stood back up and grabbed your phone from across the room. He began calling an ambulance but his cousins interrupted him.

“What are you doing now?” One of them asked.

“Helping my friend,” Changkyun pointed the gun at him. “So back off, or I’ll shoot you.”

The first intruder only laughed. The knife was out now and his friend was holding a folded up sheet to his chest. One of your folded up sheets… they were staining your sheets. Your newly washed sheets.

Bigger concerns, y/n. Bigger concerns.

“We should have known you’d betray us,” Yejun said. “Just like your mother. It runs in your blood.”

“Leave her out of it.”

“But I’m sure she would have been proud to see her son followed in her footsteps,” he said. “You know, sleeping with the enemy.”

“Changkyun, give me the gun, his mouth speaks dumb things and I’m obligated to silence it,” you glared at the intruder.

“Trust me, Y/n, he keeps talking and I’ll silence him myself,” Changkyun said.

“It’s such a lovely story though,” Yejun continued. “Like Romeo and Juliet, and just as nuclear of an ending.”

“Shut up,” Changkyun sent a glare his way, focusing the gun on his head.

Why he hadn’t shot him already, you had no idea.

“Why didn’t you tell the lion about it?” Yejun seemed completely unphased by the gun, he must have known Changkyun couldn’t pull the trigger. “Were you ashamed? Was it too depressing?”

“Give me the gun, I’ll do it,” you reached for Changkyun’s hand. “Visions a little blurry, but I could still kill all of them.”

Changkyun was going to hand it to you. But then Yejun opened his mouth again.

“Did you not want to admit that your own mother abandoned you?”

That struck a chord. Changkyun dropped the phone and the gun and ran at Yejun. He was already bleeding, but Changkyun hit him with enough force to make his nose bleed as well.

A second later, the other two grabbed Changkyun and pulled him off of Yejun. Things went downhill again, and you couldn’t do anything as Changkyun tried his best to fight off three people.

What could you do? How could you help him? The pain was starting to numb, but you couldn’t even shift your weight without feeling dizzy. The only thing that could save you at this point was divine interference.

Actually… that might work.

“Whichever one of you is listening right now,” you whispered to yourself. “Please get us out of this… please.”

For a second, you thought it didn’t work. That no one was coming, and that you and Changkyun would both die there.

Then a bright light forced you to cover your eyes. When you were finally able to open them again, a stranger was looking at you with a concerned expression.

The fight stopped immediately as everyone stared at the newcomer. Changkyun quickly recovered from the shock though and came to stand beside you in case he was a threat.

“Angels do listen,” you almost couldn’t believe it.

The angel figured out the situation quickly and it was only a moment before he had a hand on yours and Changkyun’s and the bright light surrounded you again, forcing your eyes closed once more. This time though, you didn’t have the energy to open them again.

“It’s okay, you can rest,” you heard the angel speak. “You’re safe here."

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zutaraverse · 7 years

Text

Chapter 8: Finding The Right Path

"Aren't you a little young to know what that kind of heartbeat means?" retorted Katara with a nervous laugh, composing herself while Zuko was still opening and closing is mouth like a gaping fish. Toph had just metal bent her way into his private arena while he and Katara were getting more than comfortable in one another's arms.

Toph stood taller than either had seen her, and had lost much of her childish fat, leaving her much thinner and more shapely than before. Her figure could even be described as delicate when she wore some of her traditional dresses — but she was rarely seen to do so.

"Ha!" she replied, flicking her head so that some of her bangs moved from her face, "I'm fifteen…Tell me Sugar Queen, how old were you with Jet?" Toph grinned broadly. She already knew she had won this.

"I… That's beside the point! It was war, we could have died any day!" defended Katara, feeling her face redden.

"Yeah well, Sweetness, you weren't the only one who grew up during the war — we're all children of conflict here and we all grew up far too fast. But, whatcha gonna do about it - I was never going to get my kicks from normal things! Might as well enjoy what we've got - I see you two are taking that on board," she said nonchalantly but with a strange drawn expression hovering over her features.

It was true. All of them had been thrown into a world that adults found hard to navigate. They were all too young and too innocent — but somehow, against all odds, they had survived. But surviving had cost them their innocence and their childhood. There they stood, considering their lives and the way they had been affected. Toph, 15 years old, had fought against her parents' captivity and left home at 12. Katara, now 17, had taken her mother's place at far too young an age. Zuko, 19, had never felt his father's love and had been banished at the age of 13. The start of each of their journeys had thrown them together at the hardest of times. None of them could relate to a normal child's found solace in other people like themselves, but mostly in one another. There was no need for explanations for their sadness when they remembered the war, nor pity when they confessed what had happened to them. Simply understanding and camaraderie.

They snapped out of their reverie as Katara approached Toph and threw her arms around her. Surprisingly, Toph didn't squirm away as she usually did - instead she hugged her back tightly, feeling tears prickling behind her eyes. She had missed them. This was her true family after all.

"I'm glad you have clothes on Sweetness! Not that I would have minded…" she added. Katara considered the girl in front of her.

"Do you play for both sides Toph?" asked Katara, slightly surprised. She had never noticed this preference in her friend before.

"Mmmm you could say that. You want to watch out Fire Prince Sparky," she giggled, winking at him. "Right, well I will leave you to get decent and meet you in that room with all the cushions and tea," she said confidently. "I'll take my hug from you when you are less… ah… preoccupied with other things… Bye!" and with that she bent her way out the same way she came.

"I'm fine now!" Zuko called after her. He was still standing where he and Katara had been embraced, and looked stunned at the exchange that had just happened. Since when had these girls he had grown up with become so open and confident about their sexuality?

Katara walked back to him, apparently at ease now, and wrapped her arms around him for a quick kiss.

"Katara you know I can't stay long with you and Toph… I've got those reports from the colonies to get through," he said regretfully. Although he would have preferred it if Toph had not interrupted them, spending time with the two girls was second on his list of things he would rather be doing.

"No, I understand. At least stay for a cup of tea?" she asked, looking up at him hopefully. He kissed her nose gently.

"One cup," he promised. Katara smiled up at him. "Why do we always get interrupted though!" he moaned as they walked out of the arena. "I build a fucking impenetrable metallic arena and of course the world's only metal bender has to arrive," he grumbled half to himself.

Zuko couldn't keep his one-cup-of-tea promise before being called away, leaving Toph and Katara alone to catch up.

"So, Sweetness, heard what happened with you and that general…" started Toph. She was never one to be subtle about hard conversations. Katara sighed, forcing down another gulp of tea.

"It was a captain. How did you hear about that?" she asked quietly. Toph shrugged.

"News spreads pretty quickly when you know what to listen for. Although I think the story may have been exaggerated somewhat… One version makes you some merciful saviour while the next tells of the bloodthirsty water bender! Did you really skewer him with an icicle eight feet long?" She was leaning forward now, all interest and excitement. Katara let out the breath she had been holding quietly - Toph wanted to talk about the Agni Kai, not the reason for it.

"No, I did not! I did trap him in a ball of water suspended in the air until he almost drowned…" Toph made an appreciative noise, "But I didn't kill him - I spared him his life. His admiral killed him when he had lost and still attacked me. You aren't supposed to do that in an Agni Kai and apparently its a big deal."

"You didn't kill him? Why? He fucking deserved it!" grumbled Toph, slightly put out by the lack of violence.

"It was supposed to be a political move; as in if he could rot in a deep, dark jail for the rest of his life then people might get the message that it is not alright and not pass it off as personal revenge… as it turned out, though, the admiral's finale brought much more attention to the situation. I hope it sends a message," she explained bitterly.

"I think it did. There are little girls all over wanting to be you! They were doing it all wrong though, I had to teach them to be more bossy!" Toph grinned as Katara punched her playfully in the arm.

"How are you though Toph? What have you been doing?"

"Eh, this and that. Mama and papa Bei Fong have finally accepted the fact that I'm my own person, so at least that is sorted out." Toph took a sip of her tea.

"That's wonderful Toph! Its good you can go back to your family. You really missed them," encouraged Katara, not without sadness at the thought of the split in her own family since she had met her father in the North Pole.

"They still need work, but I'm happy about it. Other than that I've just been travelling and rebuilding. I spent a lot of time in Omashu with Bumi - I love that guy! He's amazing! And… eh… yeah. I can't compete in the Earth Rumble anymore because apparently 'it isn't a competition if you always win'," Toph made a face, "Those stupid cowardly bastards! I'll tell you what though, I'm sort of craving something long to do. I've… I've not been happy recently. Maybe happy isn't the right word. Maybe 'content' is a better word. I just feel like there is something missing," she looked down at her hands, a sadness lining her features that made her look much, much older than she was.

"Oh Toph," said Katara quietly, reaching out and taking her hand.

"Its alright. I'm not the type to give in… I just… I guess I'm just a little lost," she admitted, a familiar lump rising in her throat. Somewhere in the back of Toph's mind a younger version of herself was horrified at her breaking down in front of Katara - but a wiser version told her that Katara was probably the only person who could help her. She had been more of a mother to her than her own mother, and she needed someone - anyone - to understand. Katara had gone through shit, so she would probably get it… right? "I just, I don't know if I can ever find a path again," she continued, letting tears slide out of her sightless eyes. "Its as if everything is dull - like I'm feeling everything through sand and I'm stumbling around in the middle of nowhere!" she choked out. She felt Katara shift and found herself wrapped in the older girl's arms.

"I know how it feels," she cooed into Toph's black hair, "everything is distant and you can't connect to reality. You feel like you've been swallowed up somewhere and you might never feel the sunlight on your skin again. You are cold even in the sweltering heat, and physical pain hardly affects you at all. You try everything to force some life back into your system but nothing works." Toph nodded into her shoulder, overcome by an intense gratefulness for Katara's understanding.

"But you are still here Toph, and you will get through this. It is horrible and affects every part of your life, but I'll help you. Stay here for a while? Zuko and I know very well how you are feeling. You shouldn't be alone right now," she continued gently, rocking Toph in her arms.

"Thank you K—Katara!" sobbed Toph, shaking in her arms.

"Hey, thats what we do for family," she whispered, her own throat closing at her words.

Toph had fallen asleep instantly after her exhausting day. Katara listened for her light snoring at her door before walking past and heading for Zuko's rooms. She knocked but received no answer, and so peaked in to find the room still dark and uninhabited. Quietly, she entered, shutting the door behind her and lighting the candles adorning the room.

It was late. Where was he?

She looked around his room and settled in one of the armchairs to wait. However, as time ticked on, she became uncomfortable and drifted to the large double bed. She lay down on it - just to see what it was like - she told herself. As soon as her head touched the soft pillow, though, she too fell asleep.

Zuko finished reading through the uselessly detailed reports very late into the night. He made a note to hire somebody to go through the reports for him and only hand him the ones that were worth reading. Sighing, he put out the lights and wondered towards his room. He frowned. There was light coming from under his door…

Slowly, he crept to the room and pushed the door ajar quietly to peak in. He relaxed as he took in the half melted candles and a sleeping Katara on his bed. He felt an inexplicable surge of pride at the sight of her in his bed. Zuko hovered in the doorway, unsure whether to take her back to her room or to leave her sleeping as she was. He bit his lip. He should ask.

Gently, he tapped her shoulder and called her name. Her eyes cracked open, before she realised where she was and she sat up blinking away the cobwebs of sleep.

"I didn't mean to wake you completely - I just wanted to know if you wanted to stay here or if you wanted me to take you back to your room?" he asked, taking in the image of a sleepy, messy-haired Katara with amusement.

"I… We need to talk Zuko," she said, yawning.

"I think we should wait till tomorrow morning - you look like you're about to nod back off!" he said mockingly, taking off his outer robes and shoes.

Katara shook her head.

"No, we need to talk now while Toph is asleep!" she insisted. He sighed and sat cross legged across from her on the bed, waiting to hear what she had to say. A part of him was disappointed that she only wanted to talk, but he smothered that train of thought.

"Toph is depressed. Seriously depressed or she wouldn't have talked to me about it. I'm very worried about her Zuko. She was so young during the war!" Zuko sighed.

"We were all young during the war, Katara," he reminded her.

"Yes, I know. But we have all found some sort of a path; you as Fire Prince, Sokka as future Chief, Suki as Kyoshi Leader and future Cheifess, Aang as restorer of the Air Nation and me with this whole research thing. We've had our down times but we've all created something to keep ourselves occupied, to fill the void opened up during the fighting. Toph hasn't. All her projects were short term and she's lost, left to face her demons with no distractions. We need to do something!"

Zuko considered her words. She was right. Toph was possibly the most powerful and yet the most lost one of all of them. And she was still so young!

"She can stay here for as long as she likes, just to calm down and find her way?" he suggested. And Iroh would adore having her around.

"I was… see I was thinking, what if we - uh - taught her?" Zuko's eyes widened in realisation.

"Do you think that's wise? I mean its already a risk that there are two of us practicing fire and water every day!" And , he added mentally, we wouldn't get to have fun on our own!

"I've been thinking about it a lot. Yue said that not everybody is like us and that we are drawn to one another like the tides. Well, the tides are turning with everything I have discovered and everything we have learned. And suddenly Toph appears wanting some reason, some mission, some meaning to who she is. When I teach you blood bending you will be able to feel it too, but she is just as strong as either of us, you know. I've been observing and not everybody is like this; the other fire benders have sort of chi pooled in the areas typical of fire bending. That means that even if I were to redirect their chi flow, hardly any would reach the other patterns. You and I, though, we have equal amounts of chi flowing throughout - and so does Toph. I don't know why. I've been thinking about this since we spoke to Yue…" she trailed off, looking to him for his reaction.

Zuko considered it. To learn earth bending would be incredible. It would give Toph something about herself she never knew, and it would further whatever this was Yue was letting them do. On the other hand, the more people knew, the more people risked finding out. Although, Toph was as tough as they came and would defend their secret to the end.

"Don't you think it is a little dangerous teaching a blind girl to shoot fire?" he asked. It wasn't an objection exactly - just a consideration. He had already accepted Katara's proposal.

"I've been thinking about that too; the way you felt the heat in the room today - it was like I feel the moisture. If there is anything Toph is good at it is feeling things she can't see. Maybe she wouldn't have to bend fire - she could learn to understand heat like she learned to understand earth."

"It would give her a new way to see," he said, half to himself. Katara nodded. Zuko sucked in a breath, screwing up his courage. They were walking a very thin, very dangerous line as it was.

"When do we start," he asked. Katara looked relieved at his acceptance.

"Well there is no point starting tomorrow - we would have hardly slept and we need all the concentration we can get! Maybe tomorrow we can talk to her about everything. She might not want to be a part of this, after all. And then if she does we can start the day after?"

"You're right. She won't be responsive until lunch though, so we can talk her through things then?" he reasoned. Katara nodded in agreement and smiled at him.

Zuko frowned as something occurred to him. "You know its not actually that late right? We could still get enough sleep to do our routine…" he suggested. Secretly, he wanted to spend some time alone with her before Toph started interrupting everything.

"I know what the time is. I was kind of thinking that if I stayed here tonight we probably wouldn't end up getting so much sleep. But if you'd rather train, I can go now," she said lightly, turning as if to leave.

"No, no!" he cried, a little too quickly. Ah yes, the good old show-her-how-desperate-you-are-trick. Well done, Zuko. You sound even more pathetic then usual! He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I mean, who needs training right? I don't, in fact, I can function really well without any…"

He was cut off by Katara's laugh and the now-familiar sensation of her lips on his. Pulling her close and under the covers, he snuffed out the candles with a flick of his wrist and decided that his bed was far better with her in it.

Neither really remembered how they had got to their underwear, nor did they care where their discarded clothes had disappeared to. Zuko ran his hands all over her exposed skin, memorising the patterns of her body; the feel of her ribs through her skin, the arch of her back, the curves of her legs as they wrapped around him. He felt Katara doing the same, but she seemed to enjoy the feeling of his chest and stomach most of all. He rolled them so she was on top of him and she could have access as much as she liked. She seemed to enjoy it.

It was slightly unfair that his chest was exposed and hers wasn't. No, unfair was the wrong expression. It was simply annoying. He wondered how far he could go before she asked him to stop. However, when she started kissing his jawline and letting her teeth graze his skin, he decided it was worth trying.

He ran his fingers all around her top wrappings, trying to find an opening, but cursed under his breath when he couldn't find it. Katara had stilled under his touch and was laughing slightly at his fumbling fingers. Gently, she took one of his hands and guided it to the middle of the front of the wrappings, letting him feel the slight bulge of the coiled cloth. He pinched it and pulled, letting the rest unravel and be pushed aside.

Zuko regretted having snuffed the candles. He wanted to see her! But there would be time for that, he hoped, at another point. The important thing now was that she was comfortable. Slowly, she lowered herself so she was once again lying on top of him, but this time instead of the rough cloth, he could feel her warm breasts pressed against him. He caressed them gently, savouring their softness on his fingertips. He decided to change their position again so she was below him and he could explore her with his tongue. Her nipples hardened under his kisses, and in a daring move he trailed his lips lower.

Suddenly, he encountered rough skin where there had been only smooth before. It took him a split second to realise these were her burns! He gently explored the whole area, ignoring her stiffening at his attention. There were lots, he realised with dismay. Many more than the ones he had half-glimpsed that day in training. They stretched across her whole width, just underneath her breasts - many were small, some were larger, but he knew they would all have burned just the same.

He carefully kissed as many burns as he could find, feeling her relaxing under his touch. It struck him as though this were destined to happen ever since she touched his scar underneath Ba Sing Se. She had offered to heal him and he was doing his best to heal her now.

She gently pulled on his shoulders to signal to him to rise back up her body, and kissed him with a ferocity he had not felt from her before. He vaguely noticed that her face was slightly damp with salty tears as she caressed the burned side of his face.

They did not go any further together, not wanting to ruin the beauty of the moment with something that may turn out to be emotionally disastrous. That was more than fine though, this was far more than either had ever expected to experience.

Tired but more comfortable than either had been in a long time, they fell asleep curled in one another's arms.

#zutara #zutaraverse #blood chi and full moons #atla #avata #avatar the last airbender #fanfiction

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agent-7-at-your-service · 7 years

Text

Future Plot: Project Titanomachy - Chapter 20 (Part 1)

(( Camille belongs to @inklingleesquidly

The green moth belongs to @son-of-joy and @twelvetailedkitsune

Those not mentioned belong to @myzzy @agenttwo @alpinesquid @a-demo-of-a-hero and others.

Author's note: The mental breakdown was based offKatniss Everdeen’s breakdown near the end of Hunger Games Mockingjay. I kind of fear that this scene ould be reviewed as kind of poor, and you guys might want more from it.))

For the past 3 days, Camille was exiled to the Strofades, still in her green tunic-like dress. This was before she was stripped of her divine champion role and tortured by facing 12 fights against creatures that Heracles fought or obtained for Olympus. However, Agent 0 and Hermes were clever enough to convince Choadis to sent her to the islands immediately, and that was while she was facing a deer she refused to fight.

The island has been left abandoned during the Mollusc Era, the rocky beaches have been turned into sandy shores from water erosion. The vegetation on the island had created forests and fields while willows were introduced to the island. Birds continue to visit the island during migrations, and crabs and turtles roam the beaches.

Camille had to use sail tarps from a shipwreck for blankets, towels, and a cloak, grass and washed up wood for tinder, and some metal scraps for tools. She lacks all the survival skills one should have in the wild, but at least she can try to acquire them while she's in exile. She didn't think of leaving the island.

She also worried about her family back in Inkopolis. She has never been away from her family for this long. She's starting to miss them and her friends.

At one time, she stumbled into an abandoned monastery that once housed monks.

She noticed a green moth at the entrance room and sighed.

"Get out..." Camille ordered.

The moth didn't move. Camille, at this point, has had enough being an Olympian, but not like this. The deaths of Emerald and Sapphire are haunting her like ghosts of warriors killed. She didn't want to be reminded of these great failures of an Olympians.

"I said get out!" Camille yelled at it.

Again, the moth didn't move.

"Get out! Emerald's gone!" Camille noticed some small porcelain ornaments on a shelf and threw it at the moth, but each throw misses. "Emerald’s gone! She's gone! She's gone! And she's not coming back! Get out of here! Don't--!"

Camille trips and almost collapses. As she was on her knees she covers her face, beginning to weep. The moth opens and closes her wings and flew towards her. She notices the moth come close and she reaches out to it to let it land on her index finger.

While tears still ran down her cheeks, she looked carefully at the moth. Could it be her? She thought.

All that matters was that she can't go back. She was scarred and betrayed, and now she was pushed to the point where this exile was her ending. Her dreams, shattered; her future, non-existent; her hope.... there was no hope.

An Exile's Beach, Strofades (Strofadia), Greece - Morning

Iris, the rainbow-haired inkling in divine radiance and clothes, has been Camille's only companion during exile. She made sure the Harpies never bothered Camille during her exile.

Iris has been visiting Camille to listen to her story while delivering food, clothing, and supplies to her by the request of Hermes. In addition, she provided her home -- the monk's monastery that was once a fortress-- to her along with orchards and necessities that make the place a small town. It's least she can do for someone that's so helpless during exile.

Whenever Iris asked Camille to continue telling her story in the mornings, Iris would offer some sweet bread and grape juice, sit at the beach, and sink their feet into the sands. It would get cold in the morning, so Iris offered a blanket for warmth.

Camille was already finishing up her story.

"Chaodis was Strife... I gave the Omphalos Stone to Strife," Camille narrated, "I am such a fool for loving him." She then looked at Iris. "And I was deemed a traitor for swearing some oath to Eris... Now everything I did as a champion is gone to waste."

Camille took a bite of her sweet bread, chewed, and swallowed. She then takes a few gulps of grape juice from a canteen.

"Hermes is aware of this too," Iris confesses.

Camille looks at her. "He know's my innocence?"

"And you expect him to defend you during that time?" Iris raised an eyebrow while taking a serious pose.

"...Good point." Camille sighs. "So is this story enough to prove my innocence?"

Iris nods. "I just need to tell this last bit to your friends and they'll decide--"

Soon Nyctimene, the large little owl, crashes into the sand, moving Camille and Iris out of the way.

"Nicky!?" Camille walks over to the owl. "Don't ever do that!"

"Who..." Nyctimene gets up and looks dizzy again. "Who....Who...."

"Hermes sent you?" Camille is surprised to see her bird companion again. "To tell me what?"

"Who..." Nyctimene turns her head all the way.

"My exile's shortened.... for how long?" Camille asked.

Iris walks over and saw the size of the little owl. She didn't expect Hermes to do this.

"Who..." Nyctimene shakes her head and no longer looks dizzy. She sits down and sleeps.

"2 days..." Camille said to herself, "Today and tomorrow....." She looked at Nyctimene. "Why?"

"Who..." Nyctimene was not going to tell her.

The simple message actually changed her. Her story has not ended yet, and the message proves it.

Iris decided to stay with Camille to accompany her. Camille was still thinking about Chaodis and how she was going to beat him up once this is all over. For now, she has to just last today and tomorrow, and she'll return the day after.

Somehow, she still has Mnemosyne's amulet and Phoebe's book, but she hasn't used it, there wasn't really anything in the book that can help her now. There was nothing else she had in her inventory, but then found something: a magenta racer's scarf. The same scarf her mother gave to her. The good luck charm for racing is now a memento that keeps her close to her family.

When it was night, she was personifying Princess Camilla again in her dreams, finding herself in the piers of Troy with Athena. The two were meeting in secret. The dream was longer than she expected, and it's Turf War wasn't like any turf war.

All Camille and remember as Camilla was that they were spending their last days before the war. Camille taught Athena how to play her invention, the flute, Athena taught her how to play the lyre with a plectrum, and the two enjoyed racing in the wilderness near Athens while exploring the forests.

All that was behind her now in this dream. Athena was ready to go her separate ways with Camille.

"Before you leave, Camilla... get on one knee..." Athena takes out her spear.

Camille did so and wonder what it was for.

Athena gently places the head of the spear on Camille's left shoulder and then on her right shoulder. She then puts the spear away and places her hand on Camille's forehead. She rubs her thumb on her forehead.

"With my blessing... please... guide those you find worthy to be my champion," Athena blessed.

Camille looks up at Athena and nods. "I will, Athena."

Soon after, they go their separate ways.

For the next few days, Troy will be at war. Camille will be leading Amazons under the orders of Artemis, fighting for the Trojans. Apollo, Ares, and Artemis were there to support their sister Aphrodite, Leto was there because of Apollo and Artemis, and a few Greek Heroes were there to support the gods that helped them.

During the war, the Trojans were already losing their Greek Heroes while the Amazons that Camille led were uncontrollable yet they pushed the Greeks back.

It was only on the second-to-final day where Camille was going to meet Camilla's demise.

Camille has already organized the Amazons on that day, and their mastery in archery has always been valuable to Troy. Every time they fire, the Greeks always retreat to the beaches every time and wait for their ammunition to go out.

But that was about to change: An Aegean blue inkling named Achilles gathered his bravest chariot men and attempted to climb the walls that protect the Trojans and Amazons. He had his men bring light shields on their chariot charge and disguise the horses as deer. And this has worked on the Amazons, but not Camille.

One at the walls, Achilles and his chariot men proudly climb their way to Troy and attacked the Amazons once at the top. In addition, he used his chariot to kill a Trojan named Hector just to break the morale of the Trojans defending. Only Camille had the mind to fall back and try to regroup, but Achilles's attack has turned the tides. The Greeks leave the beach and join with Achilles on the siege. Troy now had to fight with doors open to the enemies.

Camille decided to go after Achilles, leaving what's left of her Amazons to help Troy. She chased him down a city street and then a racing alley where she freed a dead Hector from Achilles's chariot. But now she had to deal with Achilles chasing her down.

And with just a few turns and u-turns to try and fight back, Camille's chariot crashes into a garden where she ends up injured. She can see the Trojans and Amazons fall back to an inner part of the city, the Citadel. The Greeks were victorious for another day with red ink staining a part of Troy.

Achilles approaches Camille with a spear prepared in his hand.

"Please no...," Camille begged, "By Athena's blessing, please don't..."

The spearhead was dipped in ink. He grabs the injured Camille and has her pinned to a wooden pillar. When he was going to deliver a thrust to the heart, he stopped, looking into Camille's eyes.

"I...I can't do it." Achilles said to himself, lowering his spear. "I just can't harm a beauty like you....."

But an Achaean Hero and his battalion arrived and were shocked to hear him say it.

"She's an Amazon, Prince of Skyros!" An Achaean Hero argued.

Achilles and the Achaean began to argue until the Achaean decided to kill her for him with just one stab to the chest.

Camille gasped.

"No!" Achille attacked the Achaean Hero, but a deformed commoner knocks him out.

Camille quickly wakes up from the dream. She would no longer dream as Camilla. As she woke up, she finds herself in an antique bedroom in the monastery where Iris was sleeping on a sofa.

She quickly grabbed Phoebe's Book and Mnemosyne's Amulet and decided to find out why the Trojan Turf War happened and what happened to Achilles and the Olympians. From the book, it revealed everything:

Eris was the one that planted the idea of the Trojan War in Zeus's mind. Zeus liked the idea since he, like his Quaternary incarnation, has been tired of heroes and demigods living among mortal. When the war ended, he exiled every surviving hero and demigods to a paradise far from Greece where it sunk into the ocean years later.

Eris also stole the Omphalos stone from Zeus to give to Achilles who swore an oath so that he can avenge Camilla. To avoid the blame, Eris blames Heracles who was exiled to Orthys where he committed suicide.

Eris then left Zeus to take the blame for bringing mortals to near-extinction again; However, this time, the oath of not fighting one another is broken, causing the gods to turn on each other and wipe off nearly all of the pantheon. They were now worse than the mortals who fought each other. Eris retreated to somewhere to avoid death.

Hermes and Hephaestus managed to be the only survivors and asked the minor Olympian gods to scatter and help mortals. Afterward, gods and goddesses would be among them as normal mortals.

Back with Achilles, he did get his revenge but ended up dying with an arrow in his heel. As he died, he made one more oath to Eris, asking for a descendant to continue his legacy. She was obliged to do so as she found an advantage.

Camille quickly closes the book and can guess the rest of the events.

It was night.

#Future #Plot #Project Titanomachy

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