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#(i do know) (it was my friend encouraging me every time i showed him progress)

lucy90712 · 3 months

Note

Gavi watching his s/o perfoming at her concert and him being so happy and proud of her.

WC: 2.2k Tonight is the night my dream finally comes true. I have always liked to sing and I've wondered if I could ever make it as a singer but for a long time that felt impossible. As it turns out it it's not impossible as I just released my first album and now I'm going to perform my first ever concert.

A few years ago my dream still felt impossible but then I met Pablo. We started off as friends after a mutual friend introduced us but we were both attracted to each other so things quickly progressed into us dating. A few months after we met we made things official and once we did we were pretty much inseparable. One day I was over at his place waiting for him to get home from training as he wanted us to spend as much time together as possible as he had a busy time coming up. While I was waiting I was making the both of us lunch and like I always do I was singing as I work but I was so in my own world that I didn't hear the door open and Pablo come in. As soon as he heard me singing and we talked about it a bit Pablo insisted that I at least try and make it as a singer.

Pablo did everything he could to support me as I started proper voice lessons and begin to write and record songs. I used some of the money I had saved to pay for all of that but Pablo also helped me out which I tried to tell him not to do but he insisted on helping me out. When things felt impossible and like a waste of time Pablo encouraged me by saying that he used to feel that way when he was younger but now he's achieved his dream because he kept working hard. He really wanted us both to be living our dreams and be that power couple who have both worked so hard to achieve their dreams all while supporting each other every step of the way. It was his positivity and belief in me that kept me going even when things were hard.

After a lot of hard work behind the scenes I released my first song which a few people listened to but it wasn't a success at all. That didn't deter me though I kept going and trying to find my style which eventually I did and that was rewarded by the song somehow blowing up on tiktok which brought more attention to all of my other music. Once more people started to listen to my music I made sure that I kept them interested by putting out more music as quickly as I could. Eventually things became more stable and I had created a proper fan base which was doing nothing but growing. Once it got to this point Pablo used my song in his Instagram story and a few weeks later we went public with our relationship which helped me a lot too. He offered his help from the beginning but I wanted to make it on my own as that's the only way I'd feel like my success was my own.

Since then I've been working hard every day and I even quit my job as I was starting to make money from my music and Pablo said he would help support me if I needed it. Last month I released my first full album and now I'm preparing for my first concert right where it all started in Barcelona. After this I have a small tour around Spain but I just had to start here in Barcelona so that Pablo and the rest of my friends could attend.

I have been at the venue for a few hours already because I had to be here to do sound check as well as many other things but the main reason I got here so early is because I'm so nervous. I barely slept last night because I was so worried that no one would turn up even though I know exactly how many tickets have been sold. Also running through my mind was the thought that everyone might hate my voice as I know I'll sound different in real life even though I don't use auto tune. We had sound check first which took my mind off things for a bit but then I was back to sitting around until rehearsals which allowed me to go back to thinking about everything that could go wrong. After rehearsals I had a few hours until the start of the show which was supposed to be for me to get ready but I started it by sitting and having a panic attack.

"Are you ok my love?" Pablo asked as he poked his head round the door

"Yeah I'm fine what are you doing here so early" I said

"I wanted to come and see you because I knew you'd be nervous and I can tell that you are not having a good time so its a good thing I'm here" he said

"Now tell me what's going through your mind" he said

"I just don't want everyone to hate me I mean what if I'm not as good as they thought I was" I said

"If anyone thinks that then they're crazy because I know nothing about singing but you have always sounded like an angel to me even when you're not trying so everyone will love you don't stress yourself over that" he said

"I'm definitely not that good but thank you" I laughed

"Aren't you supposed to be getting ready?" He asked

"Yeah I am" I replied

"Then what are you waiting for you I know I love watching you get ready" he smiled

He wasn't lying so I grabbed all of my makeup stuff and started to get myself ready while Pablo sat behind me watching in the mirror as his arms clung around my waist. While I was concentrating he just kept talking which was actually really helpful as it kept me distracted and made me laugh every now and then. Once my makeup was done it was time for hair and Pablo being the good boyfriend he is helped me section my hair and hold strands out the way while I did the style I had planned. He then helped me into my outfit while I put my earpieces in as there was only a few minutes until I was supposed to go on.

Once I was ready Pablo grabbed my hand and we walked backstage together. That's when I started to hear the crowd and things suddenly felt so much more real than they did earlier. All of those people are here for me which is such a crazy concept and slightly overwhelming to think about. Pablo must've been able to tell that I was getting nervous again as he spun me round to face him and placed his hands on my waist. He held me close to him and had me look directly into his eyes which made it feel like we were the only two people there which really calmed my anxiety.

"You've got this cariño just go out there and give it your all I will be right there the whole time so just look at me if you feel anxious" he said

"Thank you amor" I whispered back

With that he let go of me and gave me one last kiss before running off to make it to his seat. I jumped up and down a bit and to hype myself up before finally walking out onto the stage. The noise was almost deafening as people in the crowd screamed and cheered for me. I couldn't help but smile knowing that there was this much excitement just to hear me sing I mean I'm not anything special I'm not like Taylor Swift but I sure felt like it walking out into that stage. To help settle myself I spoke to the crowd a bit and I looked for Pablo who was sat with some of the boys right in my eye line.

When I finally started my set I begun to feel a whole lot more confident and I really got into it. I was completely in my own world feeling myself as I sung all of my songs and did all of the dances I had worked on with a choreographer. Every now and then I looked over to Pablo who was singing along every time I looked over without a care in the world which gave me even more confidence to do the same. All of the boys looked like they were having a good time but when I caught Pablo's eyes and saw him give me the biggest smile I could feel his proud he was. For a second I wondered if that's how he felt when I did the same for him whilst he was playing but I couldn't think about it for too long as the show had to go on.

"I have one last song for you all I'm sure you can guess which one it is but before I start I want to thank a special someone who's actually here watching me today" I said

"Pablo thank you for believing in me every step of the way if you hadn't of convinced me to give singing a try there is no way I'd be stood here today I owe all of this to you so thank you for helping me achieve my dream" I continued

As I performed my last song I kept my eyes on Pablo who had tears in his eyes which were obvious even from a distance. This song was one of the first ones I ever wrote and it has always been his favourite of mine so it was only right to dedicate it to him and sing it as if we were the only people mind the room. The whole night had been magical but this moment made me feel like I was dreaming I could faintly hear the crowd in the background as I rounded up this amazing experience by sending a kiss to Pablo who sent one right back. Before leaving the stage I thanked everyone for coming and thanked the small team I had helping me as they deserve some of the recognition too.

Once I got off stage and back to my dressing room all of the adrenaline left my body and suddenly I was exhausted but also all of the emotions caught up with me and nothing could wipe the smile off my face. The fact that I'd just done my first concert finally sunk in and I felt an overwhelming sense of pride in myself this is such a big occasion and could mark the start of a whole new life for me especially as I leave tomorrow for my next show in Madrid. After a few minutes of alone time there was a knock on my dressing room door so I went to open it thinking it might be my manager coming to check on me but instead I was greeted by Pablo and everyone else who came holding bouquets of flowers. There was so many flowers that once they were handed to me I couldn't see anything so I had to put them all down in the small sofa in the room. I thanked all the guys for coming and for the flowers and they all congratulated me on my performance before they all left so that I could be with Pablo. It only took a matter of seconds before Pablo smashed his lips onto mine.

"You were so amazing out there" he said giving me a kiss in between each word

"Thank you it felt amazing I've never felt such a rush in my life" I said

"I knew you'd have the best time" he smiled

"Also you didn't have to say all that about me this is your success all I did was steer you in the right direction" he said

"I know but you've supported me whenever I wanted to give up and you posting with my songs has helped me a lot I really do owe you a lot because I wouldn't be here without you" I said

"Thats sweet of you to say but I think you were destined for this life I'm glad I get to be a part of it and see you live your dream" he said

"You're going to make me cry" I laughed

"Don't cry my love just be happy you achieved a big thing today you should be smiling and so proud of yourself" he said

We stayed at the venue for a bit longer before Pablo drove me back to his place so we could spend the night together. Along the way he got me to order whatever food I wanted for dinner was I hadn't eaten since lunch and was starving. We spent the night watching movies together on the sofa eating a lot of food all of which Pablo shouldn't have but he told me it was fine as it was a special day which only made the smile on my face bigger if that was even possible.

#gavi imagine #gavi imagines #pablo gavi imagine #pablo gavi imagines #gavi #gavi oneshots #gavi x reader #pablo gavi #football imagine

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yutahoes · 1 year

Text

MAIN CHARACTER

word count: 1k words

summary: Watching High and Low the Worst X.

warnings: High and Low movie spoilers, mild language, suggestive content

a/n: Wow, Tumblr changed a lot. I don't know how to post anymore.😅 Anyways, this is a small gift for all the readers who still kept on encouraging me to write and sent me messages during the time I wasn't here. 🥰 An attempt in writing has been made. I'm sorry if this isn't much or it isn't that good, I'm honestly taking baby steps in writing again. I hope you like this short fic. ❤

"Am I just a pawn? I thought we were friends." You stifled a sob at the statement. Ryo had always been there for Amagai yet he calls his friend a pawn. How despicable! It doesn't help that you hated Amagai and his bossy attitude.

As the movie progressed, you felt tears running down your cheeks. This should be an action movie. Why are you even crying?

"I'm home." You heard the door open, followed by your boyfriend's voice. Hastily, you dried your tears. He cannot see you in this state. But you just saw him stop in his tracks, staring at you in worry before you could bundle up your favorite fleece blanket. "What happened?"

Instead of hiding it, you cried louder. The images on the TV screen showed three men fighting, your favorite character looking really beaten up. "Why is Ryo like that?" You whined. "Although they grew up together, Amagai clearly told Ryo that he's just his pawn. Why would he hurt himself for that annoying jerk?" Your boyfriend sighed, dropping his duffel bag on the floor, before sitting beside you on the couch. He stretched his arm out for you, brushing your hair to calm you down. “And why would they hurt Ryo like that? In the face? Really? He’s so handsome to be hit like that.”

The guy beside you chuckled. "I knew getting that Blu-Ray would be bad for you." You watched how Fujio and Ryo fought. Every punch and kick makes your heart ache. When Amagai lunged a knife at Fujio and Ryo was seen on the screen, you gasped. Your hand covered your mouth while watching your favorite character be emotional, trying to hide the fact that you’re as emotional as the person on the screen.

Your boyfriend held your shoulder, pulling you closer as you sobbed uncontrollably. “Are you really that emotional over this movie?” You mumbled a yes which made him chuckle. “You’ve watched it like five times already.”

“Seventh.” You corrected. His laughter echoed through the room. “My favorite character is hurting, what do you expect? Why must Ryo get hurt like that?” You cried.

His hand on your back comforted you, his warm breathing against your ear slowly calming you down. “I’m now starting to question if you like Ryo more than me.”

It was your turn to chuckle lightly. “Probably.”

“Yah!” Your boyfriend revolted, poking your side to tickle you.

You held both his cheeks, staring intently at him. Although they look the same, how can the person on the screen be different from the guy you’re looking at right now? “Were you hurt…” You asked innocently, “...when they punched you?”

Yuta smiled then shook his head, “It was a choreographed fight scene. I didn’t get hurt but just pretended that I did.” He reasoned out then grinned proudly. “Seeing how you empathized with my character, I think I did a great job.”

You nodded. He did.

You were just in awe at how amazing he is the first time you watched the movie. It was the reason why you kept on repeating watching the same movie even though you knew what would happen in the end. Yuta is an amazing actor, no doubt about that. “You should act some more.” He smiled, nodding at you. “But can you refrain from doing action movies? I don’t want to watch your pretty face getting hurt.”

He chuckled, patting the top of your head. “Shall I do romance instead?”

“Then I’ll definitely leave you for Ryo Suzaki.”

—----

It was a tiring day. You let out a heavy sigh when you sat on the couch and then noticed the apartment keys on the table. Is Yuta home? He doesn’t have any schedules today? Maybe he’s sleeping. “Yuta?” You asked, not lifting your body from the couch.

The door to your bedroom opened and out came a man with black hair, a red jacket, and red pants. He grinned at your stunned face, raising an eyebrow when you suddenly stood up from the couch. “Suzaki Ryo!”

“Wow,” Yuta exclaimed. “You’re really that excited seeing Ryo? It’s making me jealous.” He then chuckled at your unwavering stare. The man you’re just watching on TV, in front of you. Why is Yuta wearing that uniform? And did he suddenly change his hair?

“The Senomon uniform looks good on you. It just feels weird seeing you smiling wearing that uniform.” Yuta giggled. “And without bruises or cuts on your face.”

Yuta walked in front of you, cupping your face with his hands. “I know it’s a tiring day and I wanted you to have a memorable date with your favorite character.” A grin can be seen on your face. “You look so happy now that I want to erase the existence of Ryo Suzaki so badly.” You giggled. You love it when Yuta is jealous. It makes you feel loved. Not that he didn’t tell you how much he loves you, but there’s something about this gorgeous man getting jealous that someone else is taking you away from him. Like how a main character in a movie feels. “So what do you want to do, baby?”

“I want to watch a movie.” He gave you a tired, annoyed look. “Let’s watch High and Low.” You quickly opened the television and the player. You can hear Yuta mumbling, while sitting on the couch, about Ryo being in front of you yet you’re opting to watch a movie. “It’s not just Ryo who I liked in the movie,” you teased. “I also want to see Yuken’s body.”

Yuta laughed. “That’s very likely of you.” He leaned closer, slowly undoing the buttons of his uniform that showed his black tank top underneath. “You know, Ryo has a better body than Yuken.”

You covered him with your favorite blanket while giggling at his attempt. “Ryo.” You called that made your boyfriend roll his eyes in obvious annoyance. “Don’t tempt me.” Yuta rolled his head back, laughing at that statement, wrapping you in his arms. “Although I have a huge crush on you, I’m still Yuta’s.”

“Yeah, you are.” He mumbled. “And Yuta will go all Ryo if someone takes you away from him.”

You smiled. You definitely are the main character in this movie.

#yuta #yuta nakamoto #nakamoto yuta #nct 127 yuta #nct yuta #yuta fluff #yuta nakamoto fluff #nakamoto yuta fluff

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writing-house-of-m · 1 year

Text

Someone Better

Leigh Shaw x Reader

Genre: Fluff, Angst

Warnings: None (I think)

Word count: 1,570

Summary: Leigh sees you after being apart for a few years wanting to start your relationship over.

A/N: I wanted to get this out sooner because it's based around the holiday season but here we are... Anyway the request can be found here. I hope you enjoy reading and even more I hope everyone's 2023 is better in every single way than their 2022. Happy new year!

You didn't think you would ever see her again.

But here she is, sitting in front of you, warm drink cupped in her hands as her forearms rest on the table, wrapped in a sweater.

Blue always did suit her.

You spoke a little about yourself, caught her up on how you had progressed in your job, "And you? Are you still at the studio?"

She had tapped you on the shoulder as you finished paying, saying she thought it was you sifting through the records on the shelf.

You were surprised she approached you. Your relationship together didn't end in the best way.

Nevertheless, you matched her energy giving her a smile and returned her hug.

With it being winter you opted to catch up in a cafe not far from the music store.

"I actually started writing again," she says proudly with a grin slowly taking over her face.

Your mind goes back to the doubts she would voice to you. Wanting to go back to writing but not sure she would be able to do it having not written anything for a while, "I knew you could do it, I'm glad you finally pushed yourself into doing it," you smile back at her.

Leigh remembers you consistently being in her corner, encouraging her to do what she wanted and not making her feel like she was doing the wrong thing even when she knew it was a big risk.

"You always were my biggest supporter," she says nostalgically.

The relationship wasn't a long one, all in all it lasted around two years. There was love there, maybe too much of it but not enough communication.

To move the conversation on, you clear your throat bringing up her best friend, "I bet Drew was happy we split," you say before taking a sip of your warm drink.

Leigh furrows her eyebrows, "Why would he be happy?" She asks, confused as to why you would think that.

"Don't act like you don't know. He hated me from the moment I called him 'the Bur-miester'," you get out as you chuckle, recounting the memory while shaking your head.

Leigh catches on clapping her hands once, "Oh my god, yeah! I remember that!," she says while giggling, bringing her hand to her mouth, "It was the first time you met him! 'There he is, the Bur-miester!'" She says impersonating you, setting you both off into a fit of laughter.

This is nice. Laughing with her. Talking to her.

It feels completely different from the way things ended. Leigh has grown, you can see it in the way she carries herself, no longer looking like she was being weighed down by something.

As the laughing slows down you look down to your cup to not stare at her.

She always had a beautiful smile.

Surprising you for the second time, Leigh says the words you thought you would never hear from her, "I'm sorry."

You look at her and the shock must show on your face because she scoffs sadly. Looking at her coffee as she explains further, "I know I made things difficult," she meets your gaze again, "I know that's why you left."

Your confusion was more down to the fact you thought she was wrong.

To begin with the two of you were relieved to have found each other. Both of you, suffering your own losses - You, losing your sister; Leigh, losing her husband.

You felt you understood each other, fell into bed together fast and got married even faster.

Both of you thought it was the right thing to do because it was a love that felt easy.

But as fast as it all started, it ended just as quickly.

The longer you were together the more you both realised you had rushed into things but neither of you, voicing those thoughts. There were constant disagreements which led to fights and eventually the demise of the relationship altogether.

"I'm sorry too Leigh," she looks at you inquisitively. "It was both of us," you take a breath to gather your thoughts, finding the right words to say.

You want her to know you don't blame her. It was just the circumstances you both found yourself in.

"Instead of taking time to heal ourselves, we dove head first into making something happen between us. We ignored the fact we needed time to mourn our losses properly and hoped to find something that wasn't ready yet in each other," you clarify.

It's quiet for a moment as you take in the moment and the words that were just spoken.

"You know, it's funny I ran into you," she hesitates to say her next words but says them anyway, "I've actually been thinking about you. A lot."

You look at her expectedly because of her hopeful tone but shake your head a little sadly, "Leigh-" you try to start, voice lower than before.

"Let's try again. Please," she cuts you off. "You were always so good to me, we were good together despite everything," she continues.

"Leigh, I-"

She rushes her words out wanting to get to her point quickly, "Like you said, we needed to heal, which I think we've both done, because you-" she takes a short pause a soft smile gracing her face, you are about to say what is on your mind but she gets there first, "you look good. And I feel good. Better than I have for a long time. I'd really like for us to try again."

You really want to interject but she doesn't stop, "We can start from fresh and go as slo-"

"Leigh, I'm engaged!" You blurt out regretfully.

You can't help but feel sad for her. Especially because she freezes and her eyes glaze over.

"I'm sorry, but I... I've moved on. It's been a long time and I found someone in that time."

"Oh," she tries to hide the hurt evident in her expression with a smile but it doesn't work, "I should have let you say your thing first," she scoffs.

"Leigh, I have every faith you will find your person one day," you put your hand over hers getting her to look at you, "it just isn't me. I am sorry, I should have said something sooner."

As if on queue your phone, that is on the table, rings making you both jump slightly. Eyes are drawn to 'Keysha' displayed on the screen. All the evidence Leigh needs is the heart emoji next to the name to know who it is.

You apologise to Leigh pulling your hands back saying you had to answer because you weren't supposed to be out long. Your trip to the music store was just to get your fiance one last gift before the stores close for the holiday season.

While you explain on the phone you got caught up catching up with someone and that you would be home soon, Leigh finally notices the ring on your finger as you play with your mug on the table. How could she have missed that?

She was too busy looking at your face. The smile that she has missed. The way you run your tongue along your bottom lip as you listen. She used to take that as an invitation to kiss you silly before she realised it was a habit.

After agreeing to pick something up for her with a smile full of love on your face, a smile the brunette can't help being envious of, you hang up.

"So, Keysha?" Leigh enquires to which you smile shyly at and nod, pocketing your phone, "What is she like?"

You laugh through your nose, smile not leaving your lips as you speak about how wonderful she is at the same time not overdoing it so Leigh doesn't feel bad.

That would be impossible though, Leigh is breaking inside. The excitement to see you broke to pieces as soon as you revealed you were taken. She lost her chance with you feeling the regret consume her slowly.

"I'm happy for you Y/n, I really am," she smiles even though she feels bitter inside. Her mind reeling with thoughts of you and her together, memories of you being cuddled up warm in each other's arms to whether she'll be alone for the rest of her life or not.

You announce that you do need to leave before joking that you will get a scolding for taking so much longer than you needed to.

As you stand outside the storefront you say your goodbyes and tell the woman it was nice seeing her again.

Releasing her from your hug, that ended far too soon for Leigh's liking, missing your warmth already, you keep a hand on her, giving her some, what you hope are, encouraging words, "I have no doubt you'll find someone who will be better for you," you say, squeezing her shoulder.

With that you tell her to give your regards to Jules and Amy, hoping they all have a nice holiday season, taking your leave shortly after, walking in the direction of where you parked your car while Leigh walks the opposite way to hers.

When she first met you she felt like it was a miracle which soon turned into a disaster.

Now, Leigh is left wondering how she will find someone that is better than the best she has ever had.

#leigh shaw #leigh x reader #leigh shaw x reader #leigh shaw x you #leigh shaw x y/n #elizabeth olsen x reader #elizabeth olsen x y/n #sorry for your loss #sfyl #self insert fanfiction #reader insert #fic #someone better tag

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quillandink333 · 3 months

Text

꓄ꋪꍏꌚꀍꎇꀤꋪꏂ

As the red shadows retreated and the lights in the basement flickered back on, Yoongi had taken the shell-shocked Emily into his arms, holding her tight and letting his shoulder shield her eyes. “That’s my girl,” he praised, his tone low and loving and utterly nonchalant. “I’m so proud of you.”

After a long, heavy moment of silent reflection, she mumbled, “For what?”

“What else, dummy? For seeing this through with me. For getting rid of our miserable fucking excuses for parents.” He looked down at her with nothing but an indecipherable grin before pressing a silent kiss to the crown of her head. “You did great.”

Her first instinct was to feel flattered, to accept his sweet nothings without question, but then something about what he’d just said clashed in her head with something else she remembered him saying seven years ago on a night just like this one, in the aftermath of her very first ritual. “But…I didn’t do anything, right? I mean, technically it was the demon who…”

His smile was only accompanied by a warm chuckle as he played with strands of her hair. “Yes, you’re right, I’m sorry,” he dismissively said, and to her guilty conscience it almost sounded like sarcasm. “You’ve done nothing wrong at all, have you? My innocent little butterfly.”

Word Count: 2.1k

And yet, there was something the demon had whispered to her during the rite that she couldn’t get out from under her skin. Something about ‘her volitionless puppet over there’ and how she would no doubt go crying to him ‘like a snivelling hypocrite’ after it was all said and done. The sickening sigil he bore on the back of his neck… She was the only human alive who knew about it; he couldn’t see it even when she tried to show him. Wondering in vain about what it could possibly represent had kept her awake at night for the past seven years—it got so bad at one point that she’d started to wonder if it was all just a delusion—but now her main theory had finally been confirmed thanks to the passing jab from her little friend on the other side.

Her next absence seizure was the only thing saving her from spending the rest of her life knowing she’d cursed her brother to be her scapegoat, acting not by free will but by her own deepest, darkest, most shunned desires so that she would never have to dirty her own hands.

“Alright, let’s get these good-for-nothing sacks of flesh filleted and up to the kitchen, yeah?” he said, squeezing her shoulder once before setting to work untying the bleeding bodies from the support post in the middle of the summoning circle.

“We’re eating them?” she inferred while reluctantly following his lead.

“Aren’t we?”

As she yanked their mom free of her candy-coloured restraints, she felt something. It was the slow, shallow expanding and collapsing of her lungs. She and their dad were still breathing.

Emily froze. This changed everything—everything she thought she had done and everything she feared she’d grown capable of. It might’ve relieved some of the weight of her own sins, but it also meant that the sins of her beloved weighed all the heavier. Every ritual she’d held, every sacrifice she’d made, he’d always been the one to dispatch what remained after the souls had been taken.

“Uh… Yeah…”

Thankfully her Oppa didn’t seem to give himself the chance to realise what she just had, wasting no time getting the butchering process underway. Snuffing out the flames of their parents’ lives once and for all.

He hid it well, but in reality Yoongi indeed had noticed the vital signs of life as well before taking his knife to them. He chose not to bring it up, however, as it seemed both unnecessary and counterproductive at this point. Over the past week, he’d watched her make so much progress in her ability to ‘kill’ without remorse through these sacrificial rituals. The main reason he encouraged her to undergo this ‘exposure therapy,’ as he called it, was because he was sure it would help her move on from her guilt of seven years ago. Even so, her grief aside, he couldn’t deny how proud of her he was. With each time she ‘took a life’ he saw more and more of himself shining through in her. If she ever found out she hadn’t actually killed anyone and that the one responsible for the deaths had been him all along, all that progress would be lost and there was no telling how her esteem for him would shift.

To his delight, as he dismembered, disembowelled, and decapitated the soulless creatures, she for once didn’t turn away. She watched quietly the entire time, almost looking like she wanted to offer her help but was holding herself back for some reason. He considered pressing her about it, but decided against it. He was happy enough just to see she could stomach the sight of it all.

“I’ll…go find some trash bags or something to carry them in,” she announced, not waiting for a reply before running upstairs.

Dinner went just about as smoothly as the sacrifice had. There was a home-grown vegetable garden in the backyard, which he used along with some side dishes they found in the fridge to make lettuce wraps. It was a feast fit for royalty, especially compared to their diet consisting of nothing but salt water that they’d been not sustaining off of for the past three months of isolation.

At least the kimchi covered up the smell of blood and gore for the most part.

“So…hypothetically, if we ended up having to go off the census completely after this,” she posed, “could you see us having a little veggie garden like the one here? Like, if we had to live out in the woods away from any supermarkets.”

“Mmh,” he hummed in agreement around a mouthful of their dad’s arm with a side of pickled radish. “I can picture that. We could grow all our own produce and hunt all our own, uh, meat. I can’t imagine growing your own rice could be all that hard, right?”

“Yeah…” Her tone dropped somewhat after his addition, the change too subtle for anyone but him to pick up on.

“Hey, don’t worry.” He let his own tone shift to something a little softer as he gave her a light nudge in the shoulder. “I doubt it’ll actually come to that. We have our money; all we need now are some fake IDs and we’ll be able to live out the rest of our lives as a normal couple.”

She stayed quiet for a few seconds even after his attempt to reassure her, not that her response offended him like it would have their parents on the rare occasion they’d ever felt a need to pacify her. “‘Normal…’” she echoed with an unsmiling scoff. “Yeah, okay.”

“Baby, you trust me, don’t you? Look at me,” he pressed gently and held her by the chin.

Even though the demon’s cruel revelation from earlier was as good as erased from her memory, when her eyes met his, she was still haunted by the gut feeling that something was wrong. Then again, she couldn’t recall a time in her life when that feeling hadn’t followed her everywhere she went.

“Yeah,” she sighed. “I trust you, Oppa.”

Once they’d packed away as much delicious nutrients as they could, Yoongi resumed the process of dealing with the remains while Emily watched timidly from the sidelines. “Uhm… Shouldn’t we be more careful not to make such a mess?” she asked. From the basement to the kitchen, there ran a copious trail of bloody puddles on the floor. “Since that’s how we did it in the apartment—I dunno.”

Her brother kept his gaze lowered. “Don’t worry about that; we won’t be leaving any traces behind this time.” He then clued her in by pulling his cigarette lighter from his pocket and holding it up. She gasped, but gave no reply other than that. “Hey, think you could go look for some propane tanks or something while I take care of this?”

“What?!” Her eyes widened, but she reminded herself how much she trusted him and relaxed to the best of her ability. “But how can we… H-How would that work? I mean, we’d have to light it from pretty close up, right?”

“Eh, we’ll figure it out as we go,” he shrugged. “If they’re too heavy for you, just leave them and tell me where you found them.”

“Okay…” The more she thought about it, she supposed she wouldn’t mind if they burned or suffocated to death at this point as long as they died together. “But what if we get caught inside and we can’t escape, and then someone around here calls the fire department and gets us out alive? They’re gonna know what happened, they’re gonna know what we’ve done… And then we’ll be—”

“Lily. It’s gonna be okay,” he interjected, stroking her cheek and tucking her hair back with a crimson-covered hand. She leaned into his touch. “I promise. Just relax and let Oppa take care of everything, okay? You don’t have to take on anything you can’t handle. Just…try not to overthink.” Like he was one to talk. “Why don’t we get cleaned up and changed now? The fire should do the rest of the work for us, and we can talk about whatever you want while we take our shower.”

Finally, for the first time since yesterday, a smile graced her features. “That sounds nice.”

As an experienced arsonist, he’d worked with propane once or twice before, but the circumstances were different now. Not only were supplies limited, but he had his little sister with him and was thus putting her at risk. Thankfully they both came out of it unscathed. She was resourceful enough to come up with an idea in the shower that would spare them. First he would put one gas tank in the basement and another in the living room, covering his face with a rag while he unsealed the nozzles. Then he would use whatever gunpowder was left in the warden’s pistol to create a fuse running from the porch to the living room.

Having to resist every nerve in her body telling her to run back and stay close to him, in the end, Emily complied with his wish for her to keep out of harm’s way and she waited in the lot where their stolen car was parked. She waited and waited. It seemed never-ending. What if he didn’t make it out? What would she do if she couldn’t follow him? But the moment she spotted smoke rising in the direction from which she had fled, the car door opened behind her and Yoongi climbed into the driver’s seat, making her jump.

“Aww, did I startle you?” he chuckled and placed a quick kiss on the bridge of her precious hooked nose. “Sorry to keep you waiting. You alright?”

“Yeah. Well, I am now,” she stammered, despite her heart still racing beyond reason. “I think…”

“That’s good.” He kissed her once more on the lips for good measure, letting it linger for a moment in the hopes of calming her down. This seemed to work; she gave a deep sigh and leaned into it, her shaky hands coming to rest on his lap until he broke away. “Let’s get out of here.”

The drive, aside from having no end in sight, felt strangely ordinary, like they were going on a regular road trip together and nothing more. Yoongi kept a clear head and a calm disposition as he navigated the deserted highways. It would have worried her if she weren’t aware of his impeccable ability to mask his own inner turmoil.

“Did you make sure our death certificates got destroyed?”

“Yes, and the neighbour’s letter saying that losing us was ‘a blessing in disguise.’” He rolled his eyes.

“And their faces?” she fretted. “What about their fingerprints? Wait, did you leave any of yours anywhere?”

“I was plenty thorough, sis, I promise,” he told her dismissively. “No one will be able to link this back to us, assuming they even bother to do an investigation. The world already thinks we’re dead after that god-forsaken operation they sold us into got burned to high hell.”

“Okay…” She couldn’t fathom that he could be so free of doubt in a situation like this. He didn’t use to be so sure of himself. It was probably for the best, though, considering how riddled with insecurity she tended to be. His self-assurance (or at least his facade of such) was the perfect counterbalance to her self-doubt—one of the infinite reasons she could never afford to be parted from him.

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crisiscutie · 4 months

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Dissidia Sephiroth and JENOVA!Dissidia Darling

Excerpt from my analysis of Yandere Dissidia Sephy.

Content Warning: Gaslighting/Emotional Abuse. Body Change. Allusions to pregnancy. Just a long ramble, don't bother reading if you're expecting a writing prompt.

If you've been following the Dissidia AU, you might know that in that universe, Sephiroth's darling is a summoner he took under his wing (no pun intended), masquerading as her jaded and well-meaning mentor. Eventually, he earned her trust and admiration, leading her to summon JENOVA into their universe. Darling was successful in this endeavor, but little did she know JENOVA required a physical vessel, and she chose Darling herself. Darling had no idea she succeeded, while Sephiroth, who knew, used that to his advantage in his plans to become one with her and ascend to godhood.

No matter which version, we know Sephiroth is obsessed with carrying on his mother's legacy and her bidding. He has a severe messiah complex, which made me think about how this would show up in his relationship with Dissidia Darling.

Then, I realized he would definitely view this manifestation within her as if it was like a sacred pregnancy, stroking his inflated ego even further and fueling his delusions. So, for sure, he'd be determined to see her through the entire "pregnancy," supporting her all the way. In some ways, Sephiroth still acts as a mentor to darling, but we know well that our Crisis Cutie loves weaving half-truths into his web of deception and lies. That's why I adore him as a yandere - his ruthless and obsessed personality and his storyline in Opera Omnia, where he's desperately trying to resurrect JENOVA, are the perfect foundations for this AU.

I like how there are even similarities to the Virgin Mary's tale, if you think about it. The goddess JENOVA selects the "virgin" darling to bear her new form in the Dissidia universe... Sephiroth also interpreted this as a sign that darling was the chosen girl for him. Darling and Sephiroth also bear similarities to Eve and the Serpent! If you haven't read my analysis of Sephiroth's Mommy Issues, I suggest doing so to gain insight into my next point.

To be expected, this manifestation would undoubtedly trigger Dissidia Sephiroth's mommy issues like hell, much like Fluffy Sephiroth, but he would handle it differently than him. He would seize every opportunity to "mentor" Darling, shaping her into the perfect doll mother. Not only her body must be immaculate but her psychological state as well. And if he needs to break the doll repeatedly to do that, he will. His idealized vision of motherhood will be recognized. She will be his in every sense.

So, under his "guidance," he nurtures her; encouraging strength, fostering hatred, and instilling confidence within her. And he always takes the time to ask darling about her thoughts on motherhood occasionally, dropping cryptic hints about the manifestation. She feels like he is hinting at something, but is not exactly sure what. The man just loves to watch her squirm, yearning for more information, just like he does with everyone else. But then he downplays it, perhaps making her question herself. At times, he even uses this manipulation as a playful way to charm her, making her turn a deep shade of red when coyly saying that he is might be the one to make her a mother. The cruel amusement he derives from this is almost overwhelming.

In my recent fic, Sephiroth gets a lovely taste in the distant future as a reward for his impressive progress at darling's reunion. But not too long after that, she finds herself separated from him, stumbling upon new friends who might show her the light.

But don't worry. He's desperately searching for ways to reclaim her from them. And when he's ready to confront them, he will double down on the pregnancy allusions. Perhaps he'd say something like, "You are carrying our future within you, darling."

Poor Darling would be so disturbed, feeling violated by this monster growing within her, taking over her very being. Nonetheless, Sephiroth would gaslight her, reminding her that she had willingly agreed to help him summon JENOVA, all the while wearing his signature sadistic smirk. Then, he would gradually shift back to his well-meaning mentor persona to deepen her trauma; Gently cupping her cheeks, wiping away her tears and assuring her he would take care of her. Why? Because HE was the only one who could understand her. Care for her. Love her. The worlds were against her. He was the only one fighting by her side... Makes you wonder how darling will respond to these manipulations...

Anyway, Sephiroth has essentially baby-trapped the poor darling, and I absolutely adore that allusion. It perfectly embodies the core traits of a yandere - delusion, manipulation, protectiveness, objectification, obsession, and possession. Sephiroth embodies all of these TOO well.. I can't wait to talk more about this in the full detailed analysis and in later ones of how I explain how other yandere Sephiroths put these concepts into practice with their darlings.

To end on a playful note, it's worth noting the irony that darling ended up forming connections with other FF characters, all stemming from her bond with Sephiroth. I plan on delving further into Darling's interactions with characters beyond Sephiroth and Kadaj; she's managed to gather quite the harem, xD. Perhaps the most prominent example is how Sephiroth still keeps his other "tools" around, like Seymour and Weiss, because darling is still inexperienced and not quite ready to be his sole partner. However, it's only natural that spending time with others would lead to bonding, so this turned out to be a major oversight on Sephiroth's part. He never expected his tools to form a connection with darling. So it's no surprise that Sephiroth's objectification of darling and his allies will have some eventual negative consequences. How these consequences will be explored? Well, you'll just have to keep tuning into the AU.

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ae-azile · 2 months

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Progression - Chapter 20 Preview

Arm: I'm taking the day off. Sorry. Good luck with the meeting and the dinner later, because I am not attending it either.

Once Kinn looks at the message, it forces him to do a double take at his phone screen. He can (almost) ignore the fact that Douglas is talking to Porsche.

Almost.

The abrupt text really isn't like Arm. He rarely takes days off, likely because he is the most knowledgeable in all aspects of their security. There was no question on who would be replacing Chan. They asked Arm as soon as he began organizing the reconstruction and clean up. Tankhun had thrown a fit, and Arm initially said no because he thought it meant being removed from Tankhun’s team. It took a lot of incentives and adjustments to get him to agree, including letting him stay on Khun’s security team and becoming the co-head of it with Pol, which admittedly made sense since Arm was now the most seasoned out of Khun's guards and Pol was the most frequently scheduled with him. But Kinn has never seen Arm argue so much prior to that, although emotions were running high. While Arm never said as much, he is sure Pete’s abrupt departure upset him. Pa faking his death and getting so many people hurt or killed probably pissed him off more. Since he respects Arm and they could NOT lose more staff, Arm got pretty much every incentive he asked for. He probably knew he had the upperhand. Kinn is relatively sure Khun strongly encouraged Arm to play his hand that way, although Khun never admitted that. When Kinn mentioned Arm suddenly being a pain about it, Khun just smirked.

Despite all of that, Kinn eventually respected Arm more for the out-of-character stubbornness he showed. But he hasn't experienced a defiant Arm since.

At least until now.

Kinn: This is sort of sudden, considering you left the conference room without a word. Is everything okay?

Arm: My preference is to not lie to you about this, so no. It's not okay. I sent the email file with the security upgrade plans and presentation if you wish to present it anyway.

Kinn: We can reschedule the presentation. The guests will be here all week.

Arm: I will let you know if I feel like I can do it without significant decisions and adjustments being made.

What the fuck? Why is Arm being an asshole right now? Since there is no active discussion going on and people are just socializing, he takes the time to step away to call him instead. He is actually grateful that Tankhun decided Arm and Pol would keep their phones, even if it was technically special treatment. He's probably right. They are in the know about Namphueng, and Arm is the head of security and surveillance. After everything he has done, he deserves his phone.

But Arm sends his call to voicemail.

That. Fucker.

Kinn: This is unprofessional. Call me.

Arm: I am getting your brother out of the compound. That is more important right now. I apologize for the lack of notice. We should be back late tonight. Pol is staying with Nam and Phoenix. If you feel reprimanding me is called for, you can do so when we get back if you are still up. Or you can do it first thing in the morning. Up to you.

Kinn grips his phone tightly in his hand, then lets out a steadying breath. If Pa saw these messages, he would require a punishment. He may say it calmly, or even chuckle about Arm’s sudden audacity, but he would still require it.

He would punish Arm for having his phone without prior authorization too, but Kinn has long decided to let that drop.

The thought of punishing Arm leaves a bad taste in his mouth. He has spent a lot of time with him the last few months, and he is the one who tracked down Kim. Not only does Kinn respect him, but he has also felt like a good and very reliable friend as of late. The anxiety brought on by the thought of spending the day in close proximity to Douglas actually lessened because he knew he would have people he trusted there. Mainly Porsche, but Arm was in second place, since Arm has been a friend. That's what he thought, at least.

So more than anything, he feels hurt.

Kinn: I really don't want to do that. Are you upset with me about something? You are being very short with me, so if you are and want to discuss some things, we can do that tonight or tomorrow. If I did anything to piss you off, I apologize.

Kinn: I can't think of anything recent, but please let me know if I did.

Kinn: Can you let me know what it is?

Arm: I have no issues with you. I am sorry if I came off that way. My sudden absence has nothing to do with you, but I need some time to cool off. It's personal, but I will let you know if I am able to talk about it soon. I need to leave for the day, and I want to work on some things tonight when I get back. I will let you know if we can talk about this in the morning. Sorry again.

Just as Kinn trying to figure out a way to get Arm to call him so he can get a slightly better idea of what's going on, he gets a text from Khun.

Khun: Leave Arm be. Please. It's my fault he's so worked up. He's protective of me. You know that. We are going on a day trip so we can both get our minds off it.

Kinn: Off of what?

Khun: If I say, then I am failing to get my mind off of it, aren't I? 🙄 Arm is trying his best though. He even called Pete to see if he wanted to go on the day trip with us! But Pete is already out of town with Vegas and Macau. 😒 I would be more hurt, but he said he would rather be with us. Some family drama is going on back in Sisaket. He said his grandma was fine, so it is probably his annoying and abusive estranged father getting arrested for assault or drugs. 😡😤 His grandma HATES his father, so she won't help her ex son-in-law when he gets in trouble with the law. If Vegas truly loves Pete as much as his Instagram implies, he should slaughter him for everyone’s sake.

Kinn knows Khun is trying to distract him from the topic at hand. It's glaringly obvious, even if Khun is telling the truth and genuinely wants Vegas to kill Pete’s father. The thing is, it sort of works. Bringing up Vegas tends to distract Kinn from whatever he was talking about. It doesn't distract him in a good way, but it distracts him.

But that frustration is quelled by the relief of seeing emojis in Khun’s text. The first one didn't have any, and that is usually a sign Khun is anxious and not doing well, as strange of a sign that is.

Kinn: Can you please convince Arm to meet with me tomorrow morning?

Khun takes longer to answer than Kinn likes, but he does get back to him.

Khun: We’ll see.

Whatever.

“Is everything okay?” Porsche asks when Kinn walks in. Kinn doesn't nod, shake his head, or provide any peace of mind. He just opens his texts with Arm and hands his phone over to Porsche.

“What has gotten into him?” Porsche asks, “This isn't like him.”

“I was hoping you could tell me. He's your friend.”

Porsche glances at him, “He's becoming yours too. This might be a good sign, at least in some ways. He feels more comfortable being defiant with you.”

“Is defiance something he frequently displays outside of work?”

“Not really,” Porsche says, “But he has a strong sass streak when he's feeling annoyed.”

Kinn huffs at that, “Still shouldn't have left.”

“Oh, come on,” Porsche says quietly, “Maybe something personal happened and he needs some time. It's not the greatest timing, but he's done so much for everyone. I doubt he would just take off without a legitimate reason. Besides, all these men are longtime allies, right? The mutual business connections are beneficial for everyone? There probably isn't a reason to prepare for a significant threat. Right?”

As Kinn looks away and chooses not to answer that, he locks eyes with Douglas. The older man is staring right back at him with a smirk on his face.

#armkhun fic #kimchay fic #kimchay fanfic #kinnporsche fanfic #progression spoilers #progression preview #chapter 20 preview

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steddieas-shegoes · 5 months

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✨ Fic Writing Review 2023 ✨

I got tagged by @thefreakandthehair, who is a hero in this fandom and a lovely friend 💖

Words and Fics

663,182 words on ao3 so far (holiday drabbles still to be added for the rest of this month, plus a birthday fic for @t-boyeddie and a server holiday fic)

212 works published on ao3, many more short drabbles on here

4 multi-chapter fics completed (one that turned into a series!)

1 multi-chapter fic in progress (i know, I KNOW, i'm gonna be working on that next!)

Top 10 Fics by Kudos

call me sunshine, send me to space

one little nugget

i thought we were more, why aren't we more?

it led me to you

it brought us here

my turn to save you

if you lose your sight, if you lose your voice, we'll still be here

we got him, always

your tattoo around my neck, yours on my heart

so much skin

My fandom fic events in 2023

@steddiemicrofic - co-mod with @wynnyfryd, plus i write for it more than i really have time for but those can be found here

@steddieholidaydrabbles - mod and i've written for every day of the challenge!

Discord Server gift exchange that has to be a secret until the 31st!

Upcoming Events and Projects for 2024

@steddiesongfics - mod for this monthly challenge starting january that i'm SO excited to work on!

@steddiebang if it happens again! i already have my fic planned, so we'll see if i am patient enough for the bang or if i just do it

continuing the camboy steve series after a lot of people begged for more and then @wormdebut said i had to

More chaptered fics! I have at least three more with a rough outline to work on after i finish the one i'm currently writing

Opening the inbox for requests! I don't have definite dates for this yet, but I'm thinking next summer (May-June) I will open up my inbox for requests again and then work on them as time permits between other projects

A stranger things OC week inspired and encouraged by @steves-strapcollection and the STuad (more info to come sometime in January!)

Rules & Tags below the cut!

Rules: Feel free to show whatever stats you have. Only want to show Ao3 stats? Rock on. Want to include some quantitative info instead of stats? Please do this. Want to change how yours is presented? Absolutely do that. Would rather eat glass than do this? Please don’t eat glass but don’t feel like you have to do this either.

Pretty sure most people have done this by now but no pressure tags: @wormdebut @wynnyfryd @messessentialist @scarcrossdlvrs @t-boyeddie @flowercrowngods @vecnuthy @sidekick-hero @legitcookie @griefabyss69 @just-my-latest-hyperfixation and anyone else who wants to share their AO3 wrapped 😂

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #tag game #fics #ao3

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missvelvetsstuff · 10 months

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Where You Goin, Star?

Bucky Barnes x Reader

BikerAU

Summary: Reader meets Bucky when the truck hauling her show horses breaks down as she is trying to leave for an event and he works for the mechanic. Passionate, secret love affair ensues. After a confrontation with her father, Bucky decides she deserves better than a poor biker like him and leaves town with his friends Steve and Sam.

Three years later, reader is trapped in an abusive relationship and about to give up hope of things ever improving, when Bucky comes back.

Chapter 15

Warnings: swearing, angst

The rest of the week flew by as Star spent hours preparing for the upcoming trial and working with business associates to manage her businesses. The Saturday night before the trial started Bucky planned a quiet and relaxing evening in for just the two of them.

Since they were still sticking close to Stark tower, for safety reasons until the trial was over, he asked Pepper for help and planned a picnic in Y/N's room. Pepper called Y/N to shop at her place and they spent hours looking at clothes, debating styles, fabrics and colors.

It was after 6pm when Y/N realized how much time had passed "Damn Pep, why didn't you tell me it was getting so late? I was supposed to meet Bucky 20 minutes ago." She grabbed her phone, surprised that there were no messages.

Pepper looked at her knowingly "How are things going with you two? Anything steamy to gossip about?"

Y/N felt her face heat up and shook her head "No, nothing like that. He's just been very supportive and protective. A good friend."

Pepper looked at her sympathetically "I understand why you are being careful but that man is crazy about you. It's written all over his face. Yours too. Taking it slow is smart but don't let John or your fathers words throw you off track. They were hate filled bastards so don't let them ruin what you have."

Y/N wiped a tear off of her face, still overwhelmed at any kindness offered to her "Thank you, Pepper. You don't know how much your and Tony's friendship and support has meant to me. I really had given up on the idea of people helping others for the sake of helping, without any conditions or expectations." She hugged Pepper quickly "We'll finish this shopping later." And bolted out of the apartment and to her own.

The door was unlocked so she knew Bucky was already there but she wasn't expecting her rooms to be turned into a fairy tale. There were twinkle lights everywhere and a few candles, which made the room glow softly and left a hint of vanilla behind. Mellow jazz was playing softly.

Bucky looked up at her and smiled nervously, hoping that she liked it, that he wasn't moving too fast. The smile on her face encouraged him.

"Welcome home, Star. I have supper ready if you're hungry. Have a seat on the pillows in there and I'll bring everything out."

When they were settled in Bucky's nest, eating dinner he told her about his day at the motorcycle shop, the custom bike he was working on for a client. The customer who had a fit about paying the already agreed upon charges and how a 10% discount shut him up.

Star told him about the progress she was making sorting through her father's business mess, deciding the fate of each individual business and property. And about shopping with Pepper.

Bucky smiled at how she was slowly coming back to the woman he had fallen in love with. Like every layer of her father and John that she pulled back and let go of revealed more of the woman she was meant to be.

They picked out a silly movie to watch and cuddled up closely, Star on his lap, his arms holding her steady. At one point she laughed so hard she pulled away from Bucky and he took the opportunity to look at her in the soft lighting. He was still amazed, every day, that she was here with him, that they might have another chance to be together.

When her laughing calmed down, Star noticed him looking at her.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" She looked down as she felt her face heat up but Bucky gently grabbed her chin and pulled her up to look at him.

He shook his head "No, your face is beautiful. I'm just, I don't know, I'm still in awe and a bit of disbelief that you're here. With me. My Star is here and I'm expecting to wake up from this dream, like I have so many times in the last 3 years." He lowered his voice to a whisper and looked at her with tears in his eyes "Please don't be a dream."

She leaned into him and her lips brushed his so softly he almost couldn't feel it. He kissed her back, thrilling at the feel of her. She deepened the kiss, his mouth sweet and not aggressive like she was used to, when she was kissed at all. His tongue softly traced along the seam of her lips, he wanted her more than he could describe but didn't want to push her. She accepted his tongue and they danced until they both needed air.

Bucky slowly and softly traced his hands down her back, pulling her closer. Star moaned into his mouth, desperate for real affection instead of the way she had been used over the years.

When she felt his hardness pushed up against her, something in Star snapped and she was back in John's bed, she tried to breathe, remind herself that this wasn't him, that sex could feel good for her. She really tried but couldn't stop the images, the feelings and she froze.

Bucky felt her freeze and quickly pulled back to see her eyes were glazed over but before he could say anything she did.

"No, stop. I, nonono, John please. I can't, please" she pushed him away.

Bucky tried to soothe her but she was deep in a memory, thrashing in his arms with tears streaming down her face. "Please John, it hurts. Brock hurt me. Stop. Please."

Bucky relaxed His hold, hoping to keep her from hurting herself and rocking gently, whispering words of love and encouragement. His heart ached for her but he also felt rage over what they had done to his sweet Star. He would kill both of them with his bare hands if he could.

They sat like this for a few minutes until she calmed down, his voice bringing her back to reality.

When she realized what happened she pulled away from him, afraid to look him in the eyes and trying not to cry "I'm so sorry Jamie, it just felt like it took over my brain and felt so real." She glanced up at his face and caught his eyes. They were warm blue, like a tropical sea, and full of concern.

He hesitantly reached out to caress her cheek. She tensed a little but his touch was so warm and safe, he smelled so good. It felt like home and she relaxed, leaning into his hand.

Bucky shook his head "No, Star, don't be sorry. What they did to you was not your fault and forced you to live for survival. Now you will be able to really live but it's gonna take time to relearn." He kissed her forehead "I'll be here for you every step, however you need me."

Star looked at him sadly "I don't know if I can be that woman anymore, Jamie. Even if I find a way to heal, I have lived with the darker side of people for years. I'll never be able to unsee or forget everything."

Bucky smiled sadly "I know, doll. That kind of shit sticks with you. I had some troubles after we came home from Afghanistan. It still fucks me up sometimes but I learned how to live with it. And with myself."

He carefully pulled her back into his arms "You will too, your therapist will help and I'll be here."

Star shook her head and took a deep breath, afraid to say what she felt she had to say to him, in case he...

"Jamie." She said it so firmly that he pulled back to look in her eyes. Her insides fluttered.

"I, uh I don't want you to stay and help me if it's just out of guilt or some sense of obligation. I've already forgiven you and I um..." Her brain froze and her mouth stumbled over the whispered words. "I still love you and want to be with you." She took a breath to steady herself and cleared her throat "But I'm broken, don't know if I'll ever be ok again.

She looked down, unable to face his rejection.

Bucky felt his heart swelling, love for her filling every part of him. "Y/N, my sweet, perfect, shining Star. You are all I want. All I've wanted since the day we met and I will wait as long as you need me to. I'm not going anywhere if I have any say over the matter."

She looked up at him with wide eyes "But why? How can you...still want me? I'm broken. Used. How could you want someone like me?"

"Oh doll, everyone is broken in one way or another. I told you some of the stories from my time in the military or growing up with my POS father. Did you know you were part of my healing? All the shit with my dad, what he did to my mom the rare times he showed up. I didn't know relationships could be like ours. What we had and will find again. Just don't give up on me, on us. Please. Our love is too precious to let go of."

Star saw the love in his eyes and pushed past her fear to let herself trust in it, in him, in them.

"It's getting late sweetheart, lets get some rest." He picked her up and carried her to her bed before stripping to his briefs and pulling her into his arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Friday woke them up to have brunch with Tony, Pepper and baby Morgan. They had a fun brunch with a couple of drag queens that Pepper knew, listening to show tunes and playing trivia. When they were finished eating, Tony took Bucky to his lab to show him some ideas he had for motorcycle upgrades and Pepper took Y/N to her wardrobe where they indulged in massages, facials and mani/pedi plus champagne and edibles. Pepper hoped to keep Star distracted about the trial starting the next day.

Star was nervous, John and Olivia had been bad mouthing her to anyone who would listen, claiming that Y/N had been the mastermind behind everything that had happened from forcing John to end his relationship with Olivia so she could marry him, to having Sharon end her father.

She knew the evidence supported her version but she had been unceremoniously dumped by a couple of charities that she was involved with and some who backed her therapeutic stable pulled their funding. She could afford to pay for the stables operations but then learned some of the parents pulled riders from her lessons and it broke her heart. All she could do was tell her truth and hope people would come back when they learned what actually happened.

Pepper tried to console her "You know how people can be, over cautious, but the truth will come out and they will come back."

Star nodded in understanding "I know, it's just such bullshit. I haven't even been involved in that program since I married John."

Star had a light dinner with Pepper before having a glass of wine and an edibla with Bucky. They curled up together for a restless nights sleep, visions of worst case scenarios waking her up repeatedly until she gave up and climbed up to the garden on the roof to watch the sun rise.

@pattiemac1 @hhiggs

Chapter 16

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #james bucky barnes x reader #james bucky barnes #bucky barnes x you #angst with a happy ending #biker au

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miss-andromeda · 7 months

Text

All's Fair in Love and Science

Chapter 8: ...But I Just Can't Prove It

A news report about a missing scientist prompts Andi and Donnie to investigate, but they end up uncovering a mystery regarding his colleague, a monkey, and a canister of mutagen - and ends up bringing them closer in the process.

And we're back with another chapter! Hope you enjoyed Andi's increased presence in the last one, she's finally coming into her own here! Special thanks as always to my dear friend @tinkabelle19 for her help, and thank you all for the continued encouragement and feedback!

And with that said, on with the show! 🩷

Another day brought forth another training session between Mikey and Donnie.

As the former kept performing forward folds and standing side stretches (all with a cocky smile on his face,) the latter was getting progressively more annoyed - until he kicked off the sparring session with a battle yell and approached.

The moment Donnie tried to land a spinning back-kick, Mikey immediately leaped up to dodge, then avoided being pinned behind the back by Donnie with a flip to free his arm, then completely avoided being tossed over his elder brother's head and onto the ground by doing a perfect back flip. Once he landed, he laughed in victory as Donnie stood where he was, looking annoyed - not because Mikey outsmarted him, but because of his technique.

"Dude, what are you doing? You don't defend against seoi nage with backflips." Donnie told him - that was not at all what Splinter had taught them, and like Leo, Donnie was always one to want to follow what they had been taught - regardless of how much it really affected the victor of the fight. It was the principle that mattered.

But Mikey, being the free spirit he was, disagreed. "Why not? Backflips are where it's at!" Clearly it was if he was able to outsmart Donnie with incredible ease.

Donnie still didn't understand the logic, though. "The best defense is to roll along my back, then take me to the ground and put me in an armlock." In typical Donnie fashion, though, he immediately started thinking of alternative methods to respond to such an attack. "Unless, of course, I counter with a-"

"Hey, man, you can't take the fire out of-" Interrupting his brother, Mikey yelled a battle cry as he backflipped again, before putting his hands to his face to emphasize the brilliant name he had just come up with...for himself. "-Dr. Flip-enstein!"

Giving him a bewildered look, Donnie shook his head at the absurdity. "I don't even know what that means." To be fair, no one really did understand what went through Mikey's head a lot of the time. He was about to go back to sparring when he saw Splinter emerge from his room - and immediately decided to clear up what was more effective in a fight. "Master Splinter, what would you do if someone tried to throw you with seoi nage?"

Splinter gave the most succinct answer possible: "I don't know."

Even more bewildered, Donnie continued to ask. "Come on, you must have planned for a response for every attack." How else would Splinter have become such a brilliant ninja and sensei?

This time, Splinter decided to give him a more thought-provoking answer. "If you think too much about what is coming, you lose sight of what is. You must be fully in the moment so you can fight without thinking."

But to Donnie, that sounded like he would be asking for disaster. "Why would I want to fight without thinking?"

So Splinter decided to give him a perfect example of why. "Allow me to demonstrate. Prepare to defend against seoi nage!" Rather than toss Donnie over his shoulder, though, the rat used his tail to sweep him off his feet, then force him into an armlock on the ground with one foot on his shell. Easy victory once again.

"Ow! That wasn't seoi nage!" Donnie told him, feeling a hint of betrayal at being lied to. But the point was definitely there - even if Donnie didn't entirely grasp it right away.

Splinter managed a small chuckle. "No, but you thought it would be." He simply explained, letting Donnie go so he could get to his feet. "Now, would you like to defend against a spinning back-kick?"

This time, the purple-masked turtle knew better. "No, I'm good." He replied in a strained voice as Splinter left him be.

Once it was back to the two of them, Mikey decided to rub some salt in the wound with a little laugh as he walked over to Donnie. "You know what would've worked there?" And in true younger brother fashion, he exclaimed, "Backflip!" while also performing jazz hands - and Donnie groaned at both the pain and Mikey being a nuisance.

This was going to be a long day.

After the utter humiliation that was sparring with Mikey, Donnie was back in the lab and drawing precise lines on a sheet of poster paper, connecting small pictures together as a flowchart. On the top in intense lettering wrote: 'Masterplan: HANG WITH ANDI (again).'

"What'cha up to, Donnie?"

His concentration was broken as he let out a little yelp, noticing the sudden presence of Leo, Raph, and Mikey - who were surrounding him with knowing smiles on their faces. But he quickly regained his composure as he went back to drawing the lines. "Just putting the finishing touches on my master plan."

"Master plan?" Raph asked incredulously, to which Donnie simply replied, "Yeah, to make sure that Andi and I hang out again."

All three boys laughed at that possibility - while Donnie ignored them and just continued drawing. They knew how much he liked her, but wasn't this a little bit extreme - even for him? They all knew that Andi would never say no to hanging out with him - so it must've just been his confidence that was waning when it came to her.

Either that, or he was being his overly romantic (to the point of concerning) self when it came to her.

"Uh, try this. 'Andi, building Metalhead was fun last time. Do you want to hang out again?'" Leo told him, intentionally dumbing his voice to the most simple tone imaginable to prove his point.

"Yeah, you see, it's not that simple. I have to prepare for every possible outcome to maximize my chances of success." Donnie explained, adding another line to the chart. He must've been up to...at least 100 at this point.

"Aw, that's so romantic." Mikey smiled with his head now resting on his palm as he watched Donnie stand up and place the chart against the back of a poster display stand. Of course, there was a tinge of sarcasm, but there was genuinely a part of him that was rooting for this to work. He was arguably the most familiar with emotions (save for Donnie, of course,) and to see his elder brother be this head over heels for a girl was sweet...if a tiny bit weird.

Grabbing a nearby wooden pointer, Donnie cleared his throat like he was...about to give a lecture. "Yeah, for instance. If Andi says she can't because she's working on a project, then I will suggest coming over to her apartment to help her out. Granted, her lab isn't as spacious as mine, but I'm sure it'd be able to house another scientist." He explained, pointing to a little picture of Andi with a beaker in her hand which then led to another picture of the two of them smiling at each other with goggles on their heads.

"Well, what if she says she can't because you're somehow an even bigger nerd than her?" Raph asked, his bluntness adding a sense of humor, as well as a sense of realism, to the conversation.

However, Donnie wasn't phased. "Ah, that's this thread here!" He added, moving to the other side of the chart. "I will suggest activities that don't require much intelligence and aren't perceived as nerdy, such as watching a movie together or listening to one of her favorite albums."

"Guys!" And speak of the devil, there she was with April.

Immediately, Donnie yelped and frantically turned the stand around, showing an old poster of Space Heroes III: The Resurrection of Mindstrong - from the 1980s. "Uh, hey, girls." He tried to play it off as he leaned against the stand, thanking his lucky stars that Andi didn't see it.

"You guys got to check this out." April told them as Andi opened her laptop (it was very clearly hers by the pink case and the stickers on it - ranging from Salem's Witches to the biology stickers April gave her for her birthday to Marie Curie quotes) and pulled up the video from the news site, then gestured for the boys to crowd around her as it played.

"Renowned neurochemist Dr. Tyler Rockwell has been reported missing. I spoke with Rockwell's colleague, Dr. Victor Falco."

The video then cut to an aging man who, honestly, looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. It was likely that it was because of stress regarding what happened to Rockwell, or maybe he just always looked like that. "I hadn't heard from him in days, so I stopped by his lab. The place was a mess and he was gone. I..." He let out a deep sigh at the thought. "...fear the worst."

"Police say they have-" Before the report could continue, Andi closed her laptop, and when Raph asked, "So?", she gave him a serious look. "So, the Kraang have been kidnapping scientists all over the city!"

"Including my dad." April chimed in, making Andi nod in agreement. "Exactly, maybe that's what happened to this Dr. Rockwell."

"Or they may not be connected at all." Leo theorized, making the girl hum in acknowledgment. "Possibility, but we should go to that lab and look around. See if we can find any hints."

Immediately, Donnie stood up from his spot next to her. "Andi's right, we should go check it out." He agreed, then put his hand to his ear. "What's that? You guys are busy? Guess the girls and I are going then." He then started to lead the girls out of the lab when April stopped them, hiding a smirk.

Time for a little bit of matchmaker.

"Actually, I can't go either. Something came up last minute with my aunt and...I just can't go." When Andi frowned at her in confusion, April smiled back. "Don't worry about me, you two should totally go! Three's a crowd anyway!" As she watched Andi shrug in acceptance, she winked at Donnie when he gave her a grateful smile and an 'I owe you' over his shoulder.

"Now, get going already!" She then pushed them out of the lab, making Andi break her confusion and huff out a laugh as she stumbled out - but gave a little smile to Donnie as he helped to stabilize her.

Turning back to the trio, April smiled proudly at them. "It's called, 'I'm on a mission to get the two of them together because Donnie's in love with her, and Andi probably doesn't know it yet, but she likely is too.'"

Leo snickered at her insistence. "Maybe you should've worked on this flowchart with him." He commented, turning over the stand so April could look at it - which she did with a chuckle. "I'm not that-"

She was then cut off by a small picture showing Andi holding a magnifying glass and looking for clues like a bona fide detective...while Donnie followed her, almost like a lovesick puppy. "-okay, how he was able to predict a mystery happening is beyond me, because that is weird..."

Before the pair knew it, they had made it to Rockwell's lab. Noticing the locked door, Donnie hummed in slight confusion as he took out a small device with a computer chip sticking out of the top, and after a small procedure (mostly hitting a few buttons on the device and then holding it up to the lock,) the door swung open. He smiled at Andi proudly. "There isn't an electronic lock out there my digital lock pick can't crack."

Andi shared his smile. "Impressive. Teach me how to make one sometime?" She then chuckled when he slightly stammered in saying "absolutely," and walked inside the decrepit lab.

Immediately, her mood changed from playful to serious as Donnie joined her and she held up a flashlight to look around. The lab looked completely disheveled; test tubes were missing from the rack, papers were strewn everywhere, a ceiling panel was close to falling...it looked like either Rockwell had a nervous breakdown and disappeared or someone had kidnapped him and ransacked his lab, likely looking for his work to steal. Important notes, a prototype...something.

It made a cold shiver go up Andi's back.

And clearly, Donnie agreed when he said with a grimace, "Wow, this place is a wreck..."

Looking to the left, they came across a busted cage - with an open door and the bars, amazingly, holding on with how bent they were. Regardless, the sight made Andi scoff with disgust. "He must've been experimenting on animals." She assumed, shaking her head. "You know, that's the one thing I despise about being a scientist. Animal testing is, like, the norm. I'm not a vegetarian or anything like that, but come on, now, that's just...ugh, all kinds of wrong." She ranted.

She was about to go further when Donnie pressed a finger to her lips and pointed to the chair in front of them, making her eyes widen. It didn't even look like a chair, it looked like a type of medieval torture device for the poor soul that was to be used in one of Rockwell's experiments. "What...? Why would he need that?"

"Either someone was up to some secret research, or they were renting space to one freaky dentist..." Donnie remarked, making Andi manage the faintest of smiles at the absurdity of that comment. Whether that was intentional or not, it was enough to make her smile - which she enjoyed in a place as cold and creepy as this.

Walking a little further, they came across Rockwell's desk - and save for some disheveled papers, a pencil, and a landline phone, it was completely empty. Donnie was the one to make it first, and after examining one (which appeared to be lab notes,) he hummed and handed it to Andi, then let her read it over as he went to search the drawers. He couldn't help but smile as she talked to herself as she read, saying things like, "What?" or "This guy had some weird ideas in his mind..."

Meanwhile, the first drawer Donnie searched had nothing but typical lab equipment - a journal, some empty containers, (weirdly enough) a box of matches - well, maybe that was in case a Bunsen burner wasn't working or something, Donnie figured.

The second drawer was more interesting. On the top layer, there was nothing - but a faint green glow pulsated underneath the cover Rockwell had seemingly put over it - and upon raising the cover, Donnie gasped in shock - which got Andi's attention and made her do the same as she frantically put the paper down.

"He had mutagen too?" She asked as she carefully picked up the canister. "This guy keeps getting more and more fascinating..."

But then a cold chill went through the air, making her look up and nearly yelp in fear as she put down the mutagen. Someone behind Donnie...and it looked like he had a weapon. "Don, behind you!"

Right as the unknown figure went to strike, Donnie's bo staff blocked the attack and turned the tables (quite literally as he spun the figure around) so that he was pinning the attacker down.

Thankfully, Andi had found a light switch and flicked it on - and who the attacker was made her eyes widen again. "Wha-Dr. Falco?"

Upon seeing who (or rather, what) had him pinned down, Falco let out a scream. "What are you?!"

"Relax, I'm not gonna hurt you." Donnie assured him - which was a major paradox to the fact that he still had the man pinned down.

And something that Falco pointed out with, "You already hurt me!"

"I mean, anymore." Donnie quickly added as he finally got off him and gave a little smile to Andi as she helped the man up.

"Apologies for the break-in, sir. We saw the news report and figured we would try and help in finding out any clues." She politely explained, then smiled herself when Falco let out a sigh of relief.

Now they were getting somewhere.

After Falco had gotten situated in the nearby desk chair, Andi and Donnie had gone on to explain what had been going on - specifically about scientists going missing in the city in the past few weeks, including Kirby - and how they believed that Rockwell was another victim. After they finished, Falco sighed and shook his head, deeply regretful that he couldn't give them any information. "I'm sorry, I wish I knew something about your friend's father, but I don't."

Andi nodded in understanding as Donnie held up the mutagen canister. "So what can you tell us about this?" The latter asked.

That question, Falco had an answer to. "Some shady corporate goon paid Rockwell a lot of money to experiment with it." He told them, making Donnie and Andi look at each other and the latter pull up a picture on her phone. If this was the case, then this was absolutely a clue into Rockwell's disappearance.

"Is this what he looked like?" She asked, holding up a picture of a Kraangdroid in its human form. And Falco nodded in agreement, simply saying, "That's him."

"The Kraang!" Donnie exclaimed, more in shock than ever. Maybe Rockwell was working with them all along...or maybe after he proved to no longer be useful to the Kraang, they eliminated him? Who was to say?

Immediately, Falco cleared something up - something he knew must have been going on both of their minds since Rockwell was a colleague of his. "Well, I wanted no part of that stuff. Who knows what kind of...monstrosities could result?" He then realized how wrong that sounded (as if Andi's frown didn't give it away) and looked at Donnie. "No offense." He added quickly.

"Some taken." Donnie admitted, making her jump back into the questioning. "Is that what was in that cage over there? One of his..." She struggled to find a word to use that wasn't offensive, until she finally settled on something that sounded...well, better. "...experiments?"That made Donnie let out a quiet 'eh' and mutter, "Better than 'monstrosities,' I guess."

Andi gave him a look like 'I'd like to see you do better,' then turned back to Falco as he continued speaking and was now looking at the busted cage. "That's where he kept the monkey he was experimenting on." His voice had taken a more solemn approach, like he was recalling the experiments Rockwell would perform.

When the pair looked at the cage with sympathy, Donnie frowned. "Whoa, it sure didn't like being locked up in there." Andi nodded her head in agreement with a sad sigh. "Who would be?"

That was only proven further when Falco added, "Rockwell didn't treat it very well." His voice became a bit more gravelly this time, full of sorrow. It seemed like he had regrets about not putting an end to it sooner - which made Andi look at him in sympathy before her eyes got wide and she snapped up to look at Donnie.

"I just thought of something. Maybe the Kraang didn't take Dr. Rockwell. Maybe the monkey was finally driven insane, broke out of the cage, and dragged him off to get its revenge. It's dark, but it's a possible lead." She told him, making him nod in understanding. "It's entirely possible, the question is, how do we follow up on it?"

"We'll figure that out in due time." Andi told him, then smiled at Falco as he stood up, getting ready to leave. "Thank you for the insight, sir. You've given us a fantastic start on how we're gonna find Dr. Rockwell."

Falco gave her a similar polite smile, reaching up to shake her hand. "Anytime, Miss...um, I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." When Andi told him, he nodded and shook her hand firmly. "Anytime, Miss Rhodes. I wish you all the best in finding him."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Donnie slip something into his belt, making her momentarily confused, but avert her gaze back to Falco so as not to draw any attention towards him. She let go of the scientist's hand and smiled graciously at him before walking back over to Donnie. "Let's go, Don." She gave him a confident smile (which he reciprocated ever so slightly) as he walked her out of the lab, holding the door for her on the way out.

Mission...for the most part, accomplished.

As they cut through an alley, Andi's mind was still swimming with questions about Falco and Rockwell's disappearance. "So how do you suppose we're gonna find Rockwell without having any idea of where he could be?" She asked Donnie, who only smiled at her. "Well, maybe we'll know once we take a look at his flash drive."

Andi looked at him confusedly - completely oblivious to the ominous figure jumping across the rooftops like it was hunting for them - but then smiled back as she realized what he was talking about. "Is that what you grabbed while I was talking to him?"

Donnie proudly grinned, displaying the blue flash drive from his belt. "Indeed it is."

Andi nodded, clearly impressed with him. "First the lock-picking device and now this...am I becoming friends with a criminal?" She teased, making Donnie laugh and shake his head.

"Not yet you're not. Though it is worth noting that keeping cool under pressure is one of the cornerstones of-"

He was interrupted by that shadowy figure leaping in front of them - and by the furious growl it emitted, it was not happy to see them.

Andi internally groaned (of course she didn't bring her laser gun when she actually needed it,) but her eyes widened when Donnie put his arm out in front of her to shield her and drew his bo staff, looking as stern as ever. "Don, be careful! You know how dangerous an animal can be - especially a mutated one?!" She told him, her tone panicked.

But Donnie didn't look phased - instead, he glanced at her with a steely, dangerous look in his eye. "That makes two of us then. Get somewhere safe, now."

Her breath hitched at that, her face felt hot (and was probably bright pink,) and her stomach began fluttering - and she didn't realize she was staring until Donnie yelled for her to run, which made her snap out of it and run to the corner of the nearest wall.

Once he was sure she was safe, Donnie started to swing the bo staff around (likely in an attempt to intimidate the monkey,) but it didn't work as the gigantic creature gave a strong kick to his abdomen and sent him flying (and skidding onto his knees) and dropping his staff in the process, which it grabbed and promptly tossed it aside.

Seeing him already bruised and scuffed up made Andi's eyes widen. "Don, let me help you, you can't take this on by yourself!" She protested - and was about to run to his side until Donnie gently pushed her back to the wall. "No, I can handle it, promise." He assured her (though his voice was strained from the damage he had taken,) making her shake her head in disapproval as he jumped back into the fray.

He tried to charge at the monkey, but the latter was faster, jumping onto a fire escape and then proceeding to avoid every attack Donnie tried to throw with skillful dodging. It was like...he could read exactly what moves Donnie was about to perform - and respond with a proper dodge.

Even when Donnie tried to get a strike in with three of his ninja stars, the monkey was still completely untouched - though much angrier. Immediately, he hit Donnie with a flurry of punches, making said recipient yelp in pain as he tried to fight him off to no avail.

And Andi was getting even more scared at this point. Glancing at him from the corner, her heart broke as he started to look even more battered and bruised. She was still more than willing to join him - but she knew exactly what his answer would be.

And he knew that as he stood up weakly to look at her, trying to assure her that he was okay. "I was just figuring out his timing. He is going to regret-"

As if by some type of irony, he was hit with another punch in the abdomen from the monkey, followed by quite a bit more - as well as an uppercut to the chin, all while he was trying to convince Andi that everything was fine...even if it wasn't, obviously. "Ow! That-that too! Ow, and that! Got a lot of regrets, monkey!" Eventually, the monkey had had enough of what appeared to be Donnie's shenanigans and latched onto his face, before kicking him onto his shell.

And when Donnie opened his eyes, his face melted into shock as the monkey leaped into the air, seemingly about to finish him off.

Okay, now Andi needed to do something.

The monkey was now on top of Donnie and hammering his fists into his head, all while the latter was trying fruitlessly to dodge it and yelling for it to stop. "Hey, come on! Ow!"

And suddenly, an idea hit her.

She remembered reading about this both in school and on her own, and admittedly, had wanted to see if it was as effective as countless movie scenes had shown it to be. Though, that was against humans, not a gigantic, mutated monkey...

Well, couldn't hurt to try.

Taking a breath, she ran behind the monkey and pinched its neck, right below the chin - hard enough to stifle the blood flow to its brain, but not enough to cause any serious nerve damage. And sure enough, the monkey twitched for a moment, then became unconscious as Andi laid him on the ground.

"He should be awake in a few minutes." She mumbled, but her professional attitude wore off quickly and was replaced by fear as she ran over to Donnie, examining all of the damage on his body. She assumed he didn't break an arm or a foot, but he did have a lot of bruising and probably some type of head trauma.

"How did you do that...?" He muttered weakly as she cradled his throbbing head.

Andi held up her other hand, pinching her index finger and thumb together. "Just pinched the vagus nerve and temporarily stopped the blood flow to his brain. It should be effective for a few minutes." She then shook her head to end her rant as he lifted his arm pitifully, making her take his hand to ease some of the stress. "But enough about that. On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad does it feel?"

On any other day, Donnie would've been smiling (and probably blushing) at how nurturing and doctor-like she was being. But of course, today was the day he got beaten to a pulp and utterly humiliated himself in front of the girl he was crushing on.

Go figure.

"Er, probably a 9..." Donnie managed, letting out a groan as he tried to sit himself up. "Along with my pride, I think he ruptured some type of internal organ..."

Rolling her eyes fondly at the beginning, Andi helped him up (and was privy to the pained moan he let out.) "I'll treat you when we get back to the lair." She promised him, already starting to walk him back.

This was definitely going to be interesting to explain to the boys.

Finally, they were walking inside the lair, Andi still propping Donnie up as he now had an arm around her for extra support. "You're almost there, just a few more steps..." She whispered to him. "Then you can rest on the couch and I'll start treating these." She softly added.

If he wasn't in even more pain from walking, he would've been giving her the sweetest smile he could muster for her doing this for him.

Once Mikey caught a glimpse of the two of them, his eyes widened from fear as he gestured for Leo and Raph to follow him, with the red-masked turtle asking once they saw the pair, "Whoa, what happened?"

Andi sighed sadly as Donnie held his head, the intense pain making him think it was the work of an upcoming concussion. "Long story, but the concise version: Don suffered the blunt force of a lab monkey that must've escaped Rockwell's lab."

The trio exchanged concerned looks as Leo walked over to them, taking the stress off Andi by propping up Donnie himself. "Andi, can you get an ice pack?" He requested, and once Andi nodded and left for the kitchen, he walked Donnie over to the couch so he could rest - but not without the girl calling from the kitchen, "Make sure his legs are above his heart, it's important for the blood flow and reduces the risk of swelling!"

Leo did what she suggested, resting his younger brother's head on a throw pillow and grabbing the other pillow on the couch to rest his legs underneath. And once Donnie was resting as comfortably as possible (well, that wasn't easy considering how much pain he was in,) the leader asked, "Donnie, are you gonna be okay?"

Through his pained groans, Donnie managed out a, "Yeah...yeah, I'll be fine..."

"Then, in that case-"

Almost like it was confirmation, Leo, Raph, and Mikey started laughing - all while Donnie's eyes shrunk from embarrassment. Yes, it was humiliating, but did the others really need to rub it in his face about it?

Through his laughter, Raph decided to ask for confirmation of how absurd the story was. "Y-You got beaten up by a monkey? In front of your girlfriend?!"

Donnie managed a weak scowl at them. "She's not my girlfriend! And that monkey was a vicious mutant!"

Still seeing the humor and absurdity of it all, the boys continued to laugh and joke about it. "Yeah, I'm sure he went bananas!" Leo joked, making all three of them laugh harder. "Oh, no, no, no! He went ape!"

That made Mikey fall onto his shell from laughter while Leo and Raph fell to soft belly laughter - which only stopped as Andi was walking out of the kitchen with an ice pack and a scowl at their behavior. At that, Raph made a 'cut it out' motion with his hand as Andi stared them down, with the red-masked turtle only adding, "No more monkey puns."

She first added another pillow underneath Donnie's legs, then rested his head on her lap as she placed the ice pack directly on his head - the same spot that Donnie was holding as they walked back to the lair. "Joke all you want, guys, but he saved me. If he weren't there, I wouldn't have made it back here alive." She told them seriously, not noticing the admiring smile the purple-masked turtle was giving her.

Beautiful, attentive, and willing to stand up for him...it was moments like these that made Donnie remember why he had such a crush on her in the first place.

But of course, Mikey had to ruin it. "Yeah, but it's just funny that he saved you from a monkey!" He started to laugh again at the circumstances, and when she caught Leo and Raph snickering again, Andi huffed and rolled her eyes. Clearly, they weren't listening to her spiel if that was still what they retained from it.

"You guys are idiots."

The next day found a newly recovered Donnie (though he was still in a bit of pain) kneeling in front of the wading pool - and lamenting over how badly he messed up when fighting the monkey. "I just don't get it. I mean, I'm a highly trained martial artist, how could I lose to something so mindless?" He muttered to himself, splashing the water that had shown his face. And in front of Andi, too...he felt like a gigantic failure, just like when Metalhead-er, rather, Engelberger, blew up in their faces.

Sensing his son's frustration, Splinter walked over to him. "You are very intelligent." He began, getting Donnie's attention and making him look up at him. "But in a fight, you cannot be up here." He emphasized, placing a finger on his temple to further his point.

Now confused, Donnie stood up to face him. "But I just don't understand how you can fight without thinking." He said again, recalling the sparring match between him and Mikey that brought up this conversation in the first place.

Speaking of Mikey, as he walked past them, listening to some music on some over-ear headphones and being in the zone, Splinter got an idea. "Observe."

As Mikey started to dance about to the music, he effortlessly dodged a punch from Splinter, then did a perfect back flip as Splinter tried to strike again and then stopped a final punch from occurring - all without removing the headphones. He was still too in the zone to notice Donnie's stunned stare at him.

"You see?" Splinter rhetorically told him, gesturing to Mikey, who had since removed his headphones so he could hear what Splinter was saying. "Michelangelo does not think."

Still in the zone, Mikey dreamily replied with, "Thank you..." Splinter gave him an amused "you're welcome" before catching his son off guard by whipping his tail against Mikey's feet, sending him flying into the beanbag chair resting against the wall and his headphones landing next to him.

"You must find the space between your thoughts and learn to live there. That's what Michelangelo does." Splinter went back to advising Donnie, gesturing to his youngest son still lounging against the chair and slightly groaning in pain.

But Donnie still took fault with that line of reasoning. "True, but Mikey's got a lot more space between his thoughts than I do."

As if to confirm Donnie's logic, when his hands were scouring the wall, Mikey cheered, "Ooh, pepperoni!" before proceeding to eat said topping...right after it had been on the wall for who knows how long.

Gross.

"Yes, well..." Splinter hesitantly agreed, but still found another way to make this a learning moment. "Michelangelo has his challenges too."

And while it was true (if anything, Mikey had the opposite problem that Donnie had,) it still didn't entirely click with the resident genius.

Maybe if it happened in battle, he would understand.

Later on, the girls were reading some of the notes from the flash drive on Andi's computer - and one of the pieces of text made their eyes widen and look at the boys. "Guys, I think we just made a breakthrough!" April exclaimed, getting the attention of Leo and Mikey sparring and Donnie putting the final touches on a new invention.

When the trio gathered around them, Raph put his comic down as Andi typed in a few codes, prompting the notes to appear on her screen and scroll on their own. "These notes are a bit hard to follow, apparently Rockwell enjoyed writing his notes and then translating them to binary code, but from what I could translate, it looks like he was able to modify the mutagen." She then looked directly at Donnie. "Probably why we found that canister in his drawer."

"Why would he do that?" Leo asked, making Andi go back to her computer and bring up multiple images Rockwell had included in his notes, ranging from a syringe injecting a chemical into a man's head to said man's head emitting psychic rays.

April decided to fill in the gaps for her as the genius continued to translate more notes. "He thought he could use it to create a type of neurochemical that could temporarily give someone psychic abilities."

"You mean that monkey was psychic?" Raph asked as he went back to reading his comic, making Andi shake her head and stop translating notes - only to roll her eyes as she saw that Raph was likely not even paying attention.

"Not really, more like he was reading our emotions. Chances are, if I came into contact with him, I may not have been killed, since I was more scared out of my wits. Meanwhile, Don was...for lack of a better word, hostile with him, so the monkey responded accordingly." Andi explained, managing a little smile when Donnie gave her a slightly deadpan look, clearly still bitter about being defeated.

"Yeah, well, next time I'll be sure to think friendly thoughts when I'm beatin' a little sunshine into him." Donnie replied as he hit his fist against his open palm, making Andi snicker at the wording, before shaking her head and closing her laptop.

"Okay, we need to track him down before he hurts someone else." Leo told them. "Let's go up the surface, spread out, and search."

But Raph had a legitimate question - and his comic had long since been abandoned. "How are we gonna stay in contact?"

"I have a little something that might help." Donnie proudly announced, standing up in front of his brothers and the girls. "Gentlemen, and ladies-" That earned curious looks and smiles from Andi and April. "-I give you, the tPhone!" He exclaimed, holding a shell-shaped cell phone with what looked like a normal touch screen on a smartphone. The buttons on the screen looked simple enough that the boys, who had next to no experience with modern technology like a smartphone (well, except for Donnie, obviously), could use it without question.

It was brilliant.

But there was one small complaint that Mikey had with the tPhone. "Dude, I'm in charge of namin' stuff! I would've called it-" He then waved his hand for dramatic effect, a proud smile on his face. "-the tPhone."

Donnie gave him a confused look as he glanced at the phone. "I did call it the tPhone."

"Yeah, but I would've called it the tPhone..." Mikey mumbled, his tone becoming more despondent at the feeling of his idea being "stolen" from him. However, he was immediately stopped from moping when Raph hit him across the head, making him let out an "ow!"

"And girls," Donnie walked up to them with a bright smile, holding out the phone in front of him. "If you give me your cell numbers, I can patch you guys into our network?" He offered, making Andi give him a curious smirk as she took the phone first.

"As long as you don't track my history, hack my files or corrupt my data, professor, we're good to go." She teased as she put her name and number into the phone, completely oblivious to the scarlet hue that was now on Donnie's face at the new name and the knowing smile April was giving him.

"U-Uh, wouldn't dream of it."

Andi's smirk melted into a smile as she handed the phone to April. "Glad to hear that." She then realized something as the latter handed the phone back to Donnie. "Oh, wait, um...I've got to get my gun from my apartment. Can I start my search from there?"

April smiled at the idea. "I'll go with you. Don't want you going alone with a gigantic monkey on the loose." She offered, making Andi smile back at her and nod.

As the girls got up to leave, they didn't notice Donnie bragging to Raph in a whisper, "See that? I got her number!"

But Raph shook his head at the absurdity - and decided to rain on his parade on top of it. "Her number's on the fridge, you dork - hers and April's."

And as Donnie scowled at him, his eyes told him one thing: It was the principle that mattered.

Now they were all scanning the streets - the boys perched on rooftops and keeping watch like hawks while the girls walked along the sidewalks, currently on Bleecker Avenue.

Andi's laser gun was hidden under her dress, strapped to her thigh by a garter belt - the last thing she wanted was for the police to spot her with a weapon and arrest her for illegally carrying. She and April were holding their phones to use as walkie-talkies with the boys, just in case any of them heard any chatter - or better yet, saw the monkey themselves.

And while the latter wasn't the case, they did overhear a middle-aged man muttering to himself as he walked home with grocery bags, "Can't believe it, a monkey! Must've escaped from the zoo or somethin'...they really ought to get on that, 'cause if that's what our tax dollars are goin' towards..."

The girls shared a shocked look as Andi held her phone up, her light pink case with roses on full display. "Guys! Someone just spotted the monkey on Bleecker!" She spoke into it, immediately getting a response from Raph.

"I think I'm on his trail, shortcake."

Before she could respond to the nickname, he leaped into action, jumping onto an adjacent rooftop with a flip. He then ran to the edge to get a better look and hummed in satisfaction. "I got eyes on him." He spoke into the makeshift walkie-talkie on the tPhone. "He's headed south on Delancey."

"I'm on Houston, I'll cut him off!" Donnie responded, and after rolling his eyes at Andi's quip of "let's avoid another incident, Don," he crossed rooftops in hopes of keeping up with the monkey - but when he got to the last one on the block, he stared in confusion at the empty street. "Where'd he go?"

He didn't notice the monkey hiding behind the corner store on the next block over, before changing direction and running down Eastman. Which, thankfully, caught Leo's attention. "He changed direction." He reported into the walkie-talkie - then remembered that Mikey had perched himself on the next street, Brigham. "Mikey, the monkey is headed your way!"

It was a relief that he made that call, because Mikey was in the middle of playing Meteoroids and was completely distracted - until Leo got his attention. And upon seeing the monkey run past him, he jumped into action. "I'm on it!" He grabbed his skateboard and threw it onto the empty street, before jumping on it and chasing the monkey. He swung his kusarigama chain, but it proved fruitless as the monkey quickly changed direction, causing it to latch onto a nearby lamppost.

Which, in turn, caused Mikey to scream and crash headfirst into it.

Seeing Mikey effectively taken out of the game made Raph spring back into action. Crossing a final roof, he jumped down from the fire escape and chased after the monkey, doing the same thing he did; jumping over walls and following the same path he did.

Eventually, Leo caught on to the monkey's path, following Raph's idea of jumping off the fire escape and running onto the street to join with his red-masked brother.

Meanwhile, Mikey was gliding along casually on his skateboard, running into the monkey with a "whoa!" and an irritated "watch it!"

But then he remembered what their mission was and skated after him, skating across the patio of a building and grinding on the railing - before meeting up with his brothers and the girls while the monkey was gone.

"Anybody see where he went?" Leo asked in a confused tone, to which Donnie replied while gesturing to the left, "I thought he headed in that direction."

Raph immediately disagreed with, "I thought it was that way!" He said this as he pointed to the right - the exact opposite as Donnie.

That prompted the trio to break into an argument, while Mikey started trying to get the monkey's attention like it was a lost pet. "Here, monkey, monkey, monkey!"

Andi shook her head in exasperation, but stopped when April nudged her shoulder and started walking to the south, to a lone dumpster that had been making some weird rustling sounds, like...

Like there was a creature inside.

That made Andi follow her, getting her gun from under her dress just in case of an emergency. She did not want to go through what she went through with Donnie before...

But then again, if a monkey that could read emotions and respond accordingly saw that she had a laser gun...well, things would probably go worse than what happened with Donnie.

Better safe than sorry though.

Opening the dumpster lid, April peeked inside, then stared in shock as there was the monkey, curled up in the fetal position and frantically hooting, clearly scared out of his wits. "Andi, look!" She whispered, and when her best friend saw the heartbreaking scene, she put her gun away and stared down in sympathy. "Poor thing...let's get him out of there."

April agreed, giving the scared creature a reassuring smile as she offered him a hand out of the dumpster.

The monkey was clearly hesitant at first, but when he saw the look of kindness in April's cerulean eyes and Andi's comforting whisper of "It's okay, you can trust us, we're not gonna hurt you," he caved. Taking April's hand, he stepped out of the dumpster and stared at the two girls, almost like he wanted to thank them for being so kind to him.

Until Mikey's kusarigama chain came flying in from out of nowhere and wrapped itself around the monkey, making April gasp in shock and Andi yelp, before glaring at the youngest turtle. "We were making progress, you guys!" She yelled at them.

As if to reflect her anger (and to express his own,) the monkey started to thrash and howl in anger again, fighting against the chain in a desperate attempt to break free.

"Gotcha that time." Mikey smiled in satisfaction, completely ignoring the annoyed look on Andi's face at being interrupted and prompting the monkey to lash out again.

"Great, we got the monkey. But we're still not any closer to finding Dr. Rockwell." Raph commented as the girls started to move closer to him, in an attempt to calm him down. When he yelled in both pain and rage, showing his razor-like teeth, both girls flinched (with Andi even reaching for her gun again,) but stopped when the monkey's eyes sunk back into place and he calmed down.

Something wasn't right, and they could tell.

"Thinking what I'm thinking?" Andi whispered to her, and when April nodded in agreement, she continued to look into the monkey's now dilated pupils. "Actually, we're a lot closer than you think." The redhead remarked to answer Raph's earlier comment.

"What? How?" Donnie asked, now more confused than ever.

Andi sighed to herself as she lightly brushed the top of the monkey's head in a bid to soothe him further. "This monkey is Dr. Rockwell." She suggested sadly. "He must've been...mutated somehow."

And when the monkey didn't struggle or give any kind of protest, she knew she was on the right track.

This just opened a whole new can of worms.

Instead of letting Rockwell roam the streets, they decided to take him to the safest place they could think of - Falco's lab.

Strapped down, Rockwell thrashed about and tried to escape from his bonds, until Falco injected him with a sedative. At that, his pupils became dilated again and his eyes drooped shut, until he was peacefully sleeping in the chair.

"There." Falco breathed a sigh of relief as he discarded the used needle, then moved to stand behind the sleeping monkey. "That should calm him down a little. Poor Rockwell." He mused, shaking his head in sadness.

"Is there any way to get him back to normal, sir?" Andi asked with concern. "Any type of serum or...or retro-mutagen?"

Falco sighed again, this time with disappointment, as he shook his head. "Unfortunately, Miss Rhodes, I wouldn't even know where to begin."

That made Andi frown. If Falco was Rockwell's colleague and the latter had been able to modify the mutagen so effortlessly, surely they would be able to come up with at least ideas of how to turn someone back into a human after coming into contact with mutagen?

As if he was sensing her confusion, Falco immediately followed up on his previous comment. "But I'll see if I can give him some semblance of a normal life."

"But, sir, why not start researching a possible solution instead of leaving Rockwell like this?" Andi asked with confusion. "I mean, you're a brilliant scientist, surely you can come up with a solution for your-"

She was promptly interrupted by Falco giving her an icy stare - the same stare her mother used to give her - making her look down in submission. "I'm well aware of what I'm doing, Miss Rhodes. I understand you're a scientist yourself, so I would appreciate it if you respected what I choose to do."

"Yes, sir." Andi mumbled to herself, making April put a comforting hand on her back. When Falco seemed pleased with her answer and turned back around, her head shot back up as she realized something.

"I understand you're a scientist yourself."

'How did he know I was a scientist?' She mouthed to Donnie, her eyes wide.

Now they were back in the lair, waiting for Raph to return with dinner. Leo was searching for plates, April was sitting on a stool quietly, Donnie and Andi were reviewing more of Rockwell's notes, and Mikey was the only source of noise as he continued playing Meteoroids on his tPhone. "Man, this asteroid field is tough! I just can't beat it!"

Thankfully, Raph provided some news as he walked in, holding a pizza box like the stereotypical pizza guy would. "Pizza's here!"

Surprisingly enough, that didn't strike the youngest's attention as expected. He must've been so engrossed in his game to not notice Leo taking two slices of pizza and putting them on plates, before handing one to April (making her smile in gratitude) and taking the other for himself.

But the scent got to him immediately, and his brain started to shout one thing: 'EAT PIZZA.' And considering he wasn't the most strong-willed turtle of the bunch, he was so tempted to eat all of it...but he really wanted to finish the level. "Must eat pizza, but can't stop playing, but must eat pizza, but can't stop playing, but must eat pizza!" It was the ultimate stalemate for him; pause the level and eat a slice? Or wait to finish the level and likely have the pie be gone before he could even eat?

Wait...he could do both at the same time!

And he did, slamming his face in the pie and eating a slice without putting down his tPhone. It would've been impressive if it wasn't so gross.

As they watched the charade incredulously, Leo decided to address something that had to have been on April's mind. "Sorry we couldn't get any closer to finding your dad, April."

"It's okay." April assured him, putting a hand up to tell him he didn't need to apologize. "Everything we learn about the Kraang is another step of the puzzle."

"Yeah, but psychic research?" Leo rhetorically asked, putting a hand to his chin to think. "This is one weird puzzle."

"I'm curious, April." Splinter interjected, holding a plate with a slice for himself. "How did you and Andromeda know that the monkey was really a human?"

That made April smile to herself as she glanced over at Andi - too lost in thought to acknowledge her. "Well, Andi's smart, so she must've noticed something with his anatomy - like how his eyes dilated when he calmed down, like a normal person-" She then realized how wrong that sounded. "-er, or mutant does." When it came to her, she let out a little puff of air and shook her head. "As for me, well...I don't really know. Sometimes I just get a feeling about things."

"A feeling?" Splinter asked, his interest now piqued as he began to walk away. "Interesting." He started to get an idea about something...something that could help her hone in on that "feeling" she was talking about - and maybe even learn what it was.

As the duo went back to eating, Leo glanced over at Andi and Donnie - they still hadn't eaten, their noses buried in files ever since they had come back from bringing Rockwell to Falco. "Uh, Donnie, Andi? Why aren't you guys eating?"

Andi only shook her head as she finished reading the contents of a document. "Uh, I'm good, Leo."

"Same here, I'm not hungry." Donnie quickly replied. "Something's been bothering me. Falco said Rockwell was experimenting on a monkey."

Andi nodded, backing him up. "And he said that he wasn't kind to it, that's why there was a busted-up cage in there."

"And?" Leo asked, not entirely understanding where the pair was coming from.

"Well, according to these notes, he never had a monkey in his lab. He was using samples of monkey DNA."

"We're still not following you." Leo admitted.

"If he never had a monkey, what broke out of that cage?" Donnie asked in response, making Andi gasp as the realization hit her.

But Raph beat her to it. "Must've been Rockwell!"

And Donnie decided to deliver the realization in full. "Which means Falco put him there and he's been lying this whole time!"

Now Andi was starting to get mad - if there was one thing she hated, it was being deceived. "That no-good, lying son of a-"

But then she realized something else - something she had been wondering ever since they had gotten back to the lair. "Which also means that the psychic powers Rockwell was trying to create...Falco must've stolen them! That's how he knew I was a scientist!"

The weather must've seen exactly what was happening, as now there was a heavy storm and even some thunder and lightning.

A still-unconscious Rockwell had been startled awake by Falco injecting yet another serum into his head, making him thrash and roar in pain and fury at his supposed friend and colleague. As he continued to resist, Falco brushed off the mutant's clear pain with a sadistic smile. "Oh, stop struggling, Tyler. You were always so dramatic."

Rockwell's pain was finally ended as Falco removed the needle, staring at the mutagen-laced blood with a delighted grin. If this worked like he thought it would...

After he injected it into his neck, his eyes became bloodshot as he laughed like a classic mad scientist. He had done it! He was officially psychic, no one could step to him if he knew their every move!

Well, the boys opted to challenge that assumption with Leo yelling, "Alright, Falco! We've had enough of your-"

As if he knew what his older brother would say, Raph immediately cut him off with, "Do not say 'monkeying around.'"

Leo immediately replied with, "I wasn't going to." But Falco decided to show off his newfound psychic abilities by smartly replying, "Yes, you were."

Donnie quietly gasped to himself at that - just what Andi had predicted. But as he stepped into view, the anger (and admittedly, disgust for Falco's practices) boiled to the surface. "It's over, Falco! We know it was you who mutated Rockwell! All just to steal his psychic serum!"

Falco gave them a smirk. So they figured it out after all. "I used him as a guinea pig." He casually explained, giving a side-eye to the unmoving and unconscious Rockwell.

But Mikey didn't necessarily pick up on the metaphor Falco had used - and took it literally. "Well, it didn't work! You turned him into a monkey." That earned him a side-eye from both Donnie and Leo.

Falco ignored the blatant error, deciding to spell out his plan - once again, like a mad scientist. "The psychic neurochemical I extracted from his mutant brain is changing me. Your minds are opening up to me!"

Donnie glared daggers at him. "That's why you shut Andi down before - you knew what she was thinking and was starting to suspect you. She was right, wasn't she? That you wanted the chemical for yourself?"

The crazed man only sneered at him. "Andromeda Rhodes is smarter than I gave her credit for. But if only to humor you, I'll confirm it - of course. After all, no man can defeat you when you know his every thought."

Raph decided to challenge that assertion. "Oh, really? Then you must know I'm gonna smack-"

But Falco only replied with, "-smack the white off my lab coat?" He then laughed arrogantly and shook his head at the threat. "How humorous."

As Leo and Donnie only looked more intense and Mikey was staring in awe at Raph at how effortlessly Falco knew that, Raph growled. "Lucky guess!" He then jumped into battle, charging at Falco with a fierce battle cry.

Immediately, Falco started to play dirty - his psychic abilities activated, and he could see everything Raph was about to do. Charge him, then perform a spinning back-kick.

'Child's play,' he thought as he effortlessly dodged the attack, his cocky smirk still on full display.

"What?" Raph asked, now more confused than ever. So not only could he read their thoughts perfectly...he could predict what they were about to hit him with? How unfair was that?

Falco only continued to taunt him, making a 'come hither' motion with his finger - daring Raph to try again.

And the latter did, trying different attacks this time; a smaller spinning back-kick, followed by a set of punches, and all leading up to an intense glare as Raph still hadn't managed to get any hits on him.

This was starting to get ridiculous.

And Falco knew that as he chuckled with an arrogant overtone and tutted at how simple Raph's attacks were. That only fueled the red-masked turtle further as he tried another back-kick, but once again, Falco dodged with ease.

But this time, he had a plan. He grabbed Raph's sai from his belt and hit him with the butt of it directly in the forehead, sending the turtle onto the floor in mere seconds. He then followed it up with a strong kick to the abdomen, sending Raph bouncing across the floor and colliding with Mikey and Donnie, sending the pair onto the floor as well.

Thankfully, Leo jumped into the fray, but the 'shing' of his katana caught Falco's attention - right as the eldest was about to land a hit, Falco dodged easily - and did the same as Leo swung the katana fervently, desperately trying to get any kind of attack on him.

Still recovering from getting knocked onto the floor, Mikey caught a glimpse of Leo and Falco fighting - or rather, Leo trying to fight and Falco avoiding every attack. "Whoa! It's like he's psychic!" He commented as Donnie stood from the floor, holding his head to ease some of the pain. He still wasn't entirely over the concussion yet - so his head was still more sensitive than usual.

But hearing Mikey's absurd comment made him side-eye his little brother again. "He is psychic, shell-brain! Andi suspected he was, and he just confirmed it!"

"Oh, yeah." Mikey sheepishly laughed. "I kinda tuned out when he did his whole 'I'm evil, blah blah blah' thing." He explained, exaggerated facial expressions included when he described what he retained from Falco's reveal. "And uh, wasn't really listening when Andi started thinkin' he was a bad dude." That only earned him an eye roll from Donnie at the charade.

Meanwhile, Leo was still failing at getting any attacks on Falco - no matter what he tried, the man just always managed to dodge it, and all with that same arrogant look on his face. Until finally, he decided to play dirty again - he used Raph's sai to block a swing from Leo's katana, then easily swung the pair of swords towards Donnie and Mikey, who leaped out of the way to avoid being impaled. Helpless, Leo was met with Falco hitting him the same way Raph was hit - the butt of his katana got him in the forehead.

This was not going well.

"How are we gonna defeat him if he can read our minds?" Donnie asked. They were essentially between a rock and a hard place - either fight him and end up like Raph and Leo, or surrender and let him walk free - potentially allowing him to hurt Andi as well.

Thankfully, it seemed like Mikey had a solid solution. "No prob, I'm good at this! I just have to fight without thinking." But in a true ironic twist, he inherited Donnie's issue - overthinking. "Wait a minute...how do I fight without thinking?!" Then he started to panic. "Oh no! Now I'm thinking about not thinking!"

But his tirade was short-lived as Falco hit him in the head with the butt of Raph's sai, bringing him to the ground as well.

Now it was just Donnie.

Still holding Raph's sai, Falco started to walk towards him intimidatingly. "A man who can read minds is unstoppable. Once I dispose of you and Andromeda, no one will be able to stand in my way."

At the threat towards Andi, Donnie's eyes got steely and cold again as he unsheathed his bo staff. "We'll see about that." He merely replied, before charging just like Raph did.

But unfortunately, Falco played dirty again - his psychic skill emerging as he could see Donnie's every move. He would swing the staff a bit, jump and strike - so he only needed to dodge to the left to avoid it completely. When he saw that the turtle would try and follow up with more strikes, he only moved to the right and then dodged downward - still as unphased and cool as ever.

Then he tossed Raph's sai towards Donnie, who swatted it aside and continued to stare the man down - before jabbing the staff towards him.

But Falco saw it as a golden opportunity, grabbing it and using it to swing Donnie directly into the wall, making him land on the ground and groan in pain.

Believing that he was victorious, Falco decided to taunt Donnie - though instead of with gestures, he chose words. "I really must admire that complex brain of yours, you come up with so many ideas." He then chortled to himself. "Too bad I can see them all coming." He then decided to rub salt in the wound a bit more by adding, "By the way, I find your hopes of Andromeda actually reciprocating your feelings laughable. You do realize she only sees you as a friend, right?"

That got him another glare from Donnie - though not as intense as when he threatened her life earlier.

But then he started to focus. He squeezed his eyes shut and whispered to himself, "I can do this. Just have to fight without thinking. No thinking, no thinking..."

He imagined all of his attacks leaving his body and mind and proving fruitless against Falco, making him laugh as he could see them all coming.

But that confidence faded when Donnie only whispered, "Don't think. Just do."

And following that logic, he charged - mirroring Falco's smug smile.

The man was, admittedly, caught off guard by that, and desperately tried to see through Donnie and see what he would do.

But it didn't work.

Donnie kept running towards him and eventually started attacking. A high spinning back-kick that slammed Falco into the wall, followed by a light kick to the kneecaps that tripped the mad scientist up. Then a strong uppercut to the jaw, a strong side-kick to the back (that would probably cause some type of spinal damage) that made Falco collide with a nearby desk, then a graceful backflip when Falco tried to strike.

Mikey was going to have a field day with that.

Landing on the wall, Donnie gave the final blow; spinning his body like a torpedo, he delivered a flurry of punches with such quick succession that Falco was completely powerless - and caused him to end up unconscious and stuck in a vent, his psychic powers failing him as he groaned.

He had failed.

As Donnie breathed a sigh of relief and put his staff away, Raph decided to give credit where credit was due. "Wow, Donnie, nice work!"

But as predicted, Mikey decided to bring up the elephant in the room as he held a canister of mutagen. "What'd I tell you about those backflips, huh? Pretty cool!"

Donnie rolled his eyes at that, but decided to focus on the bigger picture. "Now that we've got the ooze, let's see what Falco knows about the Kraang." He suggested - but when they looked at the vent, they gasped.

He was gone.

But rather than go searching for him, they glanced over to see Rockwell conscious and struggling, his eyes begging them to let him go. "What do we do about him?" Mikey asked, a concerned look in his eye.

Donnie decided to oblige the request, though, loosening the restraints on Rockwell's wrists enough so that he could slip out of them with no issue. And immediately, Rockwel leaped for the window, but turned around to look at them, a calm and humane look in his eye.

The same look he gave Andi and April for helping him out of the dumpster.

And Donnie picked up on that as he started to smile a bit. "I'm no psychic, but I think he's trying to thank us."

Rockwell let out a little hoot (like it was agreement to what he assumed,) before leaping out of the window, running free into the New York night.

But Raph noticed the massive issue in allowing him to roam free. "Uh, if he reacts to angry thoughts, is New York City really the best place for him?" He had a point there; considering they had lived in the city for their entire lives, they were no strangers to an angry New York citizen. Heck, they had seen Andi angry when she found out Falco had been lying to them.

Not to mention Donnie had gotten beaten up to a pulp with how hostile he was beforehand, even if he was protecting Andi.

And the red-masked turtle's point was proven even further as a car horn was heard, followed by the angry voice of a man. "Hey, monkey! Get outta the-"

But his tirade was interrupted by what sounded like Rockwell committing hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars worth of property damage (as well as at least one car accident) and panicked screaming from both the man and other patrons.

Sensing the gravity of the situation, Leo gave his brothers a forced, awkward smile. "Uh, I'm sure he'll be okay."

But the look in all of their eyes said that they had to book it back to the sewers, before someone had a heart attack from seeing both a rampaging monkey and four mutant turtles.

Ah, well. All in a day's work, they supposed?

Now that the boys were home safe and sound, Splinter opted to call the girls into the dojo. And once the pair were seated comfortably, Splinter directed his attention to April first.

"April, it seems that you have a rare gift. A sensitivity that I have trained my entire life to develop."

Andi's eyes widened at that. But...it made sense. For as long as they were friends, April had always had "feelings" about...well, anything. She tended to assume that April just had better intuition than her, which balanced out her tendency to overthink and be avoidant. She was the brain, April was the impulse.

To hear that it was a gift, though...it made complete sense.

When she looked at April, the latter looked sympathetic rather than surprised. "Don't worry, you'll get it."

Andi smiled at the rare moment of naivety, while Splinter didn't look amused. "I did, it just took me a long time."

Another naïve moment from April as she replied, "That's nothing to be ashamed of."

That made Andi shake her head and turn to face April. "April, the point is, you have an amazing gift. You can sense things that not a lot of other people can do without intense training."

Splinter nodded, admittedly grateful that she was here to guide the conversation back to where he wanted it to go. "Indeed. And what I am trying to say is that I would like to train you to be a Kunoichi, a female ninja."

That made Andi gasp and start to smile, while April's eyes widened this time and a gleam shone in her eye. "Wow, that's quite an honor!" The latter commented, than thought of something. "If I do this, does that mean I can kick everybody's butt?" The gleam was replaced by a determined sharpness and her fist was now clenched - and while it was meant to make her look intimidating, it only made Andi giggle to herself. "Focus, O'Neil." She commented.

Splinter subtly agreed with her. "We don't believe in using our abilities that way." He sternly told her, making April turn sheepish.

"Oh, oh, yeah! Me neither!" She hastily replied, but the gleam came back as she smiled to herself. "But I could, right?"

That made Splinter finally chuckle. "Yes." He confirmed, but his stoic demeanor came back immediately. "But I warn you, it will be the hardest thing you have ever done. It will drain you mentally, physically and spiritually."

But April's carefree smile came back. "Well, it can't be worse than high school." She commented, making Andi affectionately roll her eyes and watch as her best friend went to leave the dojo.

Right as she was about to follow, though, Splinter called her back to sit down, making her do so almost hastily.

"I would like to train you as well, Andromeda. You're very intelligent, and you have the spirit and determination that a Kunoichi would need."

Andi's breath hitched at that, but her mind started to weigh her options. Being a Kunoichi would be challenging, but it couldn't be as bad as what her past entailed.

She had gone through the wringer before; growing up feeling isolated and not being like other kids, losing her dad, her mom basically abandoning her...

If she wanted to, she could do it.

But the issue was, she didn't really want to.

"I'm sorry, Master Splinter, but I'll have to decline that offer." At his surprised face, she decided to explain herself. "Science is my true talent, and it's my passion. For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a scientist, and, frankly, I don't want to lose that dream because I decided to start training to become a Kunoichi. You said it yourself, it would drain me in more ways than one. If I started training to be a Kunoichi, I would stray from what I've wanted to do for so long now. And in good conscience, I can't do that."

Splinter hummed in disappointment, but he couldn't blame her. It was her decision at the end of the day, and he wasn't about to coerce her. "I understand. The offer is always available, should you change your mind."

Andi smiled softly at his assurance and bowed her head in appreciation. "Thank you, Master Splinter."

When she left the dojo, she was immediately met by April, who asked what Splinter wanted to talk to her about. When Andi told her the conversation and that she didn't take up the opportunity (and why,) the redhead hummed in understanding.

"All right, all right. But you're gonna need to patch me up if I get hurt." She joked, making Andi snicker and nod in agreement. "Duly noted." She then remembered something. "Oh, hey, you want to-"

But before she could, Donnie interrupted her, standing against the doorway leading into the lab. "Hey, Andi, you wanna hang out tomorrow night?"

And when she looked at him, her smile turned apologetic. "I'd love to, Don, but I can't. I've got to help April with her trig homework." She explained, gesturing to the named girl.

But to Andi's surprise, April was smirking at the two of them and shaking her head. "What are you talking about? We have the whole weekend to get it done, we'll do it on Sunday! You two spend some time together and hang out."

Before Andi could ask any questions, she winked at Donnie (who was giving her the most appreciative look) and walked off, leaving the two of them alone.

"O...kay, then?" Andi asked more than said, then found herself smiling at the purple-masked turtle. "I guess I'm all yours then."

Donnie's smile turned into a grin as he nodded excitedly. "It doesn't have to be anything major. We can just hang out in the lab, have some snacks, goof around..." He then got an idea that he knew she would like. "And maybe you can introduce me to that band you and April like? Salem's-"

"Salem's Witches? Of course!" Now Andi was grinning like he was. "I'll bring over my computer and play you my favorite album!"

He tried his hardest not to stare at how cute she was as he nodded again. "Sure, sounds good." He agreed, his smile becoming more calm and relaxed. He then watched as she walked away with an excited glint in her eye, his smile becoming more dorky again.

"Yes!" He cheered to himself in a whisper. It wasn't a date or anything, but he just made plans to hang out with his crush - alone! No brothers to annoy them, no Kraang threat, no Foot Clan threat, nothing.

Just him and Andi.

He sighed dreamily at the thought as he turned around to walk into the lab, but was startled out of his daze by bumping into the flowchart that he had nearby in case he screwed up talking to her. At seeing it, though, he smiled to himself as he took it off the stand.

"Maybe I don't need this stupid thing after all." He mumbled to himself as he rolled it up and carried it into the lab with him.

He wasn't going to burn it or throw it away (he had spent way too much time creating it,) but who knows? Maybe he would need it in the future.

But right now, it wasn't necessary.

Right now, he was going to focus on the now - and the now included the satisfaction of knowing that he could actually talk to Andi and make plans with her without coming off like a total idiot.

And for him, that was a complete and utter win.

Want to be tagged for future chapters or updates - or when I feel like being silly? Just let me know 🩷

@tinkabelle19 @android-cap-007 @kikithedreamerwriter @happymoonangel @raphsmuneca @eveandtheturtles @jasminarts01 @thelaundrybitch

#all's fair in love and science #oc andi rhodes #donatello #tmnt 2012

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hbyrde36 · 8 months

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Self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 🖤

oh! so fun, thanks anon!

In no particular order because they are all precious to me:

Steve Harrington: Vampire Hunter

Vampire Eddie Munson, Vampire Hunter Steve Harrington, P.I. Robin Buckley, bad-ass gun toting Nancy Wheeler, VAMPIRE DUSTIN!, Stripper Chrissy Cunningham, and so much more.

My ‘steddie as Anita and Jean-Claude from the Anita Blake novels’ fic. I fucking love this thing. It’s SO FUN. The book series it’s pulled from start out in the 90’s (yes I’m old and I read them when they were originally published🙈) and as much as I love the idea of Vampire Hunter Steve having a beeper, I decided to bring things up to present day (along with quite a few other changes to make it my own, and to fit the steddie vibe). It’s weird and a little challenging writing a fic intermingling two different pieces of media, but I love weaving in and combing elements of each universe's lore, while still maintaining the main beats of the story. If nothing else, read this one for the dream sequences!

2. Caught in the Undertow

Post season 4, Canon Divergent – Eddie lives and Vecna has been defeated.

AKA the sad Eddie fic, or, as i used to call it in my head, 'the passively suicidal Eddie fic'. This was my first foray into the ‘giving my own issues to my blorbos’ thing, although it still seems to be in character for them, I think. Don’t worry, I spread it out between both Eddie and Steve, so they’re both a little fucked up. I loved and hated writing every word of this fic. It was so hard sometimes and I made myself cry more than once, but it was incredibly cathartic. This is the fic I go back to and read parts of more than anything else I’ve written.

3. Times Like These

Time loop, Eddie POV

TLT was my first brain worm, my first ever fanfic, and the first thing I’d written period in a very long time. I had no idea what I was doing, but I was so intrigued by the idea and there weren’t many (any?) Eddie POV time loops on ao3 at that point so it was definitely a little bit of a “fine I’ll do it myself” moment. I was just so curious how it would play out if Eddie, the new guy who knew so little about the upside down, who got thrown into the mix and died all within a single week, were to be the one stuck in a loop. What would he think was happening to him? Would he trust the party enough to tell them? What would he do or change to try and fix things? I think I’ve improved quite a bit as a writer since I finished this, just through sheer practice, but I’m still so very proud of my first baby and think about it often.

4. Life is a Game (and True Love is a Trophy)

Canon was just a crazy homebrew D&D game, sort of.

My second brain worm, this fic lived in my head for 8 months before I had written a single word of it. It all started with the idea that, 'what if all of the events from the show had just been a D&D game played by the boys in Mike’s basement?', and then I ran with it from there. It’s a work in progress and we have still have a ways to go (I’m not sure we’re even at the halfway point yet) but I love how it’s turning out. The response from readers, in comments on ao3 and tumblr, to this one has been very kind and encouraging. It makes it SO easy to work on knowing others love it as much as I do.

5. Thank God we didn’t peak in High School

Friends-with-Benefits to Lovers, Modern Au, life after high school au, no upside down

I wrote this series at the last minute for Steddie Week. Last minute, as in I didn’t even start until several days into the event. I’ve never put out so many words so fast. This fic is loosely based on my own marriage’s origin story, although our beginnings were even more dramatic than this (I felt like I had to tone it down to make it believable). This is the first project that made me realize how fun writing from prompts could be! It’s definitely not my best writing, but the story is fun and cute, a little dramatic and angsty, and as always the boys get their happy ending!

#asks #my fics <3 #steddie fanfic #self rec #stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve x eddie #steve harrington/eddie munson #steddie #time loops and AUs and trauma - oh my!

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ramshackledtrickster · 2 years

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Hello friend, do you have any ezioleo headcanons you're willing to share?

I know this has been in my asks for . A billion years so I am so so sorry /!)/‘shmSJBJDHS

It’s hard to come up with headcanons that aren’t already stated or agreed upon by the fan base already but I’ll try!!

This whole post is pretty long so I’m putting these under a cut

1. In my personal canon they get more involved and together towards the end of ac2 but there’s lots of confused feelings building up for a while — not really a hc but I’m just putting that out there. Also Rosa is supportive of them.

2. Leonardo says the most batshit things in his sleep. Ezio’s reactions range from concern, mild amusement, and existential dread depending on what sloughs off of Leo’s subconscious that instance.

3. Both of their love languages heavily involve physical touch, but Ezio’s also includes Acts of Service and Leonardo in turn loves quality time (and also acts of service considering he makes things for Ezio. But I think he’s most at home just talking about whatever interests him and doing whatever and Ezio actually lending an ear, listening and actively engaging). Ezio 100% gets Leonardo toys and puzzles for enrichment.

4. Leonardo is so thankful for Ezio introducing him to coffee. So so thankful. It actually helps him concentrate a bit more when his mind is too all over the place so yeah. Leonardo probably would like his coffee with lots of sugar and cream (and in a modern au, flavorings!!). Ezio’s surprisingly more well balanced especially with his comment to Antonio in ac2 about throwing in some cream and sugar because straight up black coffee was so bitter.

5. Leonardo and Ezio not only hug on sight but probably have a secret handshake. Probably more applicable in modern au but imagining them doing it in their capes and frills brings me unbelievable delight.

6. We know it probably took a little bit for Ezio to be comfortable talking about his emotions and venting to Leonardo, but Leo himself is pretty guarded as well and has a habit of bottling things up until it becomes too much and he gets in a self destructive spiral. I’m kinda basing this hc off the scene where Ezio off-hand insults the broken flying machine and Leo takes it very personally and starts pinning the blame on himself and getting mad at himself no I don’t see myself in this shut up. But yeah Leonardo is usually so jovial and eager to help and please and fix things and comfort that he neglects to take care of himself and his own emotional needs, probably also contributed to by the fact he’s trying to keep up a certain image? Since he’s trying to rise up in the world of art. But yeah Ezio learns to kinda be more careful with how he words things especially if it’s something that means so much to Leonardo, and it takes a while for Leonardo to feel comfortable enough with being honest with his more negative feelings, but hey they’re all human.

7. Leonardo loves getting referred to as Leo. He loves it. Dorky “oh my god we’re using nicknames?? !!” Type realization. It gets his attention every time, and Ezio loves seeing his reaction and how it rolls off the tongue. In turn, Ezio loves being called ‘tesoro’ or ‘bello’. Tickles the brain good.

8. Leonardo and Ezio have gone to carnivale together all decked out in masks and fancy clothes at least once. It fucking ruled.

9. Ezio loves listening to Leonardo. He goes from napping during codex decoding sessions to peering over his shoulder to actively asking questions and at some point Leonardo has to show some restraint and tell him to wait a bit because he keeps getting distracted!! And Ezio is encouraging his tangents and infodumping!! How dare he. But yeah Ezio could listen to Leonardo talk and share his ideas for hours and hours.

10. Leonardo knows how to wield a knife thanks to Ezio. He’s not the best at it but it’s enough to self defend and make a quick escape if he needs to. Ezio’s proud of his progress.

11. 8 times out of 10 Ezio enters Leo’s workshop through a window. I’m ignoring the game. Mental images of Ezio rolling onto the floor in a tired heap from the window or Leonardo preemptively yanking Ezio through the window to avoid other gazes is very entertaining to me.

12. Claudia hates having Leo in Monterrigioni. Don’t get her wrong, she loves him and absolutely loves their time together. But him and Ezio are IMPOSSIBLE ago navigate around. Joined at the hip. Endless “no you go first” “no You go first silly!” “Nooo you!”. They get so lovey-dovey and cushy and she can’t even tease Ezio for it because he totally embraces it. Trying times for our dear Claudia Auditore. This also applies with Tiber Island.

13. Leonardo loves to just,, study Ezio. Beyond the obvious physical appearance of him and counting the scars and all that stuff. Every micro expression, every detail of his body language and how he talks with his hands and his inflections and mannerisms. Every subtle thing. It makes Ezio so much more real to him (if that makes sense).

14. Leo loves Ezio’s hair and delights in playing with it and scooping his fringes out of his vision. Ezio loves playing with Leo’s hair too (also tangentially related but he knows how to tie a braided bun thanks to helping Claudia with hers all the time).

15. Ezio patching up Leo’s wounds. Ever since like,, ac2 time after Leo has done so much healing for him it’s nice to picture him doing that for Leo in return. Like if he gets splinters, or he knicks his hand on something, just accidentally hurting his hands or his back or knocking his head against a poorly placed wooden frame while working on his engineering pieces. He’s got his own share of cuts and bruises and calluses, and Ezio has tried his best to help with them.

16. Patching up Leo’s wounds part 2: Da Vinci Disappearance edition. Leonardo sports a prominent nose scar since the end of that game that lasts with him the rest of his life, and he tries to smile and turn it into a positive by saying hey at least we have matching scars now. Ezio finds comfort in Leo’s attitude but it’s still sad seeing how this resulted in Leo being tied to the assassin’s and their who,e business and the cultists finding him due to those ties (I think— I haven’t played the dlc yet so forgive me).

17. They spend less time together as their paths drift apart towards the end of brotherhood, and though they kinda ‘softly’ broke off, they still have had a soft spot for each other. They still make visits though! Leonardo sees little Flavia and an even littler Marcelo at least once, and he’s so overjoyed.

18. Later in his life as he settles down and finds time for himself, Ezio tried to salvage and re-make his own little models of Leonardo’s machines through the years as keepsakes. They’re not perfect, but they’re still pretty damn good. He loves showing them off to Sofia and his kids. He especially loves regaling his kids with stories of how they worked, and how he actually took flight in hi younger years (after a few failed attempts).

19. On Leo’s death bed, he’s wracked with last minute anxiety as he feels like he hasn’t done enough in his life or for the world. His final last words irl included something along the lines of being a disappointment to god, if I remember correctly. He’s scared, he’s distressed, he’s sad, he’s disappointed, but Ezio is there. He steps forward and cups his old friend’s head, telling him not to say that. Leonardo has done and made so much in his life, and has definitely made an impact on the world and people around him, and Ezio promises him that he would never be forgotten by time. He keeps his promise he made in Reflections, making sure his passing would be swift and painless. Leonardo, with a comforted and more restful mind, passes away peacefully, and Ezio closes his eyes and whispers “Requiescat in pace, my oldest friend”.

Hope these are alright!!

#assassins creed 2 #assassins creed #leonardo da vinci #ezio auditore #ezioleo #assassin’s creed brotherhood #ac leonardo #fanart #my art #headcanons

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bt5bby · 1 year

Text

Hello 👋🏻

I will spare you the long reason why this story took me forever… but I finally got it into the editing website I use which was my biggest hurdle for 2 months. 😅 (sorry if it’s a bit disjointed too)

Anyway, here is Namjoonie’s story… Lonely.

Warning ⚠️ - Graphic child birth, Mpreg, mentions of rape and sexual slavery(kinda), mention of threats/violence, sick children.

————————————————————————

Namjoon heaved against the bed posts. His body was ready to give in and pass out, but he knew he couldn't. He had to continue to work hard, holding his legs in the correct position and using all his strength.

Oh, how he wished he had someone else here. He didn't want to do this alone. He wanted someone holding his hand, encouraging him, telling him how well he was doing and that it was nearly over. He wished he didn't have to do this in his crappy apartment, hours away from anyone he knew.

He wanted to be at a hospital, safe and secure. People tell him what to do and how to do it. He wanted to ensure everything would be ok, but he wasn't at a hospital. He didn't have anyone around him to help, and he didn't know if everything was ok. He was alone, giving birth to his baby in a dank apartment in a city far away from his home.

He screamed again, feeling the pain of a contraction. He had been at it for hours, pushing as hard as he could but not finding any real progress. When the pain stopped, he laid his head back again, struggling to catch his breath between sobs.

All he could do was cry. Cry and wait for the next contraction, which wasn't far away, and then start pushing again. The pain was worse than he imagined, but he was determined to do this. He chose to keep his baby, and now he would bring it to life, even if it killed him.

He pleaded with it internally as if the baby could hear him while in his body. 'Please come out. I can't take much more!' He screamed again, the next contraction clenching his muscles to push the baby out of his body.

Before he was in the mid stages of his labour, he walked around the house, thinking just how lucky he was that his baby was tiny. The nurse he saw last told him that he was a bit underweight.

Namjoon regretted doing all he could to ensure his baby was born at an average weight for those last two months. He was sure that the baby must have grown into a bowling ball or something because as he felt the head starting to push his hole open, he swore he nearly tore it in half.

The scream that left his mouth was so shrill he was sure it had set off the dog 10 blocks over. Namjoon was just thankful that the place he lived in was so poor that none cared enough to call the police. They would all just ignore him.

With the next push, Namjoon felt his hole stretch around the broadest part of the baby's head. He must be so close to crowning. Namjoon was sure he could feel the top of the baby's head on the next push. He wept more, hearing another ding from his phone beside him.

He had turned off all GPS and signals, routing the location to a different place every few days to make it look like he was constantly moving, but he kept it on. He had never changed his number, just in case he needed something. Just in case he decided to go back.

The noise drew his attention away momentarily, and he looked at the phone. As much as he had it, he didn't really use it. In fact, it had been several weeks since he unlocked it. He didn't need to do everything he could on his phone; he could do it on his laptop, which was much harder to track. He looked at the phone screen light up, seeing a message from another of his old band members.

They had been piling up for a long time, showing all on the notifications board on his phone. Six individual chats pinging away over time. He had read each one and never replied, but he read them all. They made his heart hurt every time, but he wouldn't stop. He liked to torture himself. He cried a little harder reading the message from his friends.

"I still don't even know if you are reading these, but it makes me feel better." The text read. "I don't know what happened, and I don't know why, but know that wherever you are, I'm always here, right where you left me."

Namjoon screamed again, the next contraction ripping through his body again. He sent a hand down to feel between his legs, the baby's head was now sticking out slightly, and he could feel the hair on its head. "I miss you, and wherever you are, I hope you're safe and happy." He finished.

Namjoon hiccuped his sobs from his chest. He tried so hard to calm his breathing, but now the added stress of the message really made him feel lightheaded. Just thinking about the boy made Namjoon's heart flutter.

He was at a loss for words, but that could have been the intense pain making him numb to all thinking. He mentally replied to the message, pouring his heart out until the next contraction came. This time Namjoon pushed his very hardest. He felt slightly more determined to get his baby out.

The boys had always strengthened him, even when they weren't there. With the force of the push, he managed to get most of the head out. He felt a tear as the baby reached the widest part of its skull, but he powered through it. It didn't even hurt, not compared to the rest of it. He doubled down, his contractions seeming much quicker after such a hard push, the pressure coming again.

Namjoon felt the baby's nose pop out, pushing past his tight rim. He was also relieved that the baby hadn't inherited his chin. He barely felt it pop out. Once the whole head was out, Namjoon gave himself a rest. He had seen many birth videos online, and most of them got the mother to wait after pushing the head out, not pushing in that contraction, but god, was it hard.

Every fibre in his body pleaded with him to get the big intrusion out of his body. "Ok, just a few more." He cheered to himself out loud.

He breathed through the first contraction, struggling to keep his pushes at bay, but he did it. Now it was time for the baby to get the fuck out. He pushed as hard as he could. He gently turned the baby, angling the shoulders to not hurt the arms.

Namjoon had been mortified when he saw some babies come out with dislocated shoulders. He couldn't let that happen. He would keep his baby safe.

The final contractions really hit hard for the once-great leader. He screamed for the next three, pushing as hard as possible. He felt the small baby slide out of his body, and a loud wail erupted from the tiny creature.

Namjoon sobbed a little harder, hearing his baby. He wasn't sure if it was relief or just his emotional outlet, but when he reached forward and picked the blood-covered thing up, he and it just sat for a few minutes, crying.

The new father took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and started to rock his baby. He still wasn't finished yet, and he knew it. He had to push the placenta out, cut the umbilical cord and make sure he wasn't bleeding to death all before he could stay with his baby, but calming them down for a few seconds wouldn't hurt.

He waited until the crying died and then sat the small thing to his side on a towel he had placed beforehand. He wrapped them up, so they were warm and then went back to pushing the placenta out. It took him another few minutes, but once he was sure it was mostly out, he used the cord to pull the rest, letting out a tiny wail once it left his body. He was so sore. Everything ached, and he was so tired.

All he wanted to do was cry. Cry and hug his baby and have someone hug him. God, he missed his friends and his family. He didn't want to be alone, but he had to. The baby let out another whimper, and he quickly picked it back up. He'd come to realise he was never alone.

Finally, he could have a good look at his little bundle. He looked down at the baby, cooing instantly. The small little nose, soft lips, and puffy eyes were all adorable to him. He moved the towel to get a good look at the baby.

He had never found out the gender when he got his scan. He felt bad for neglecting the health problems of not checking the baby properly, but he couldn't risk going to the hospital more than once.

They would report him if they picked up on who he really was. He would have to go back, and he couldn't. So now was the first time he would know his baby's gender. He took a deep breath, trying not to think about how creepy it felt to look at his baby's privates purposefully and look.

He let out a happy cry seeing his baby girl. He had a little girl. He moved her closer to his chest, making sure she remained warm. "Hello, baby." He chuckled wetly. "It's nice to finally meet you. I'm your Appa."

He didn't know whether to call himself an Appa, but he couldn't see himself as anything else. This wasn't supposed to be his life, but with his little girl in his arms, he couldn't regret it.

It took Namjoon a few days to get used to life with a baby now. It was hard for him because he was doing it alone.

He was sleep deprived, hungry from not having time or energy to go out to get food for himself, and a bit grotty because nipping off to shower couldn't happen, but he was trying his best. He had been sore the first two days, just staying around his room, looking after the baby and laying in bed.

He couldn't really do much anyways because he couldn't leave. He barely kept the two alive for the first week, but things felt better for the second week.

He set the little girl down for a sleep on the seventh day and quickly nipped in for a shower. The feeling of water on his skin was amazing but short-lived, as he had to get back out before she woke up. He ordered groceries online and delivered them to the apartment, and once he managed all that, he got a good night's sleep. His little girl had been wonderful the whole time.

He was so happy with her until the third week arrived. It started off on the Tuesday night of the third week. The little thing seemed fussy throughout her dinner, making Namjoon anxious.

She didn't have much, and then she was quiet until the two had been asleep for about 35 minutes. A loud wail emitted from her tiny lungs, alerting her Appa.

Namjoon shot awake, bolting to the baby. "Hey, honey, what's wrong?" He cooed, picking her up. He checked her nappy, seeing if it needed to be changed. No, so he figured she was hungry again. She hadn't eaten before, so he tried to feed her, but she didn't take to that either. He frowned. Maybe she needed to burp again?

He laid her over his shoulder, patting her back, but again nothing came up. Finally, he figured she just wanted some soothing. He began to rock her back and forth, swaying his hips to keep her calm. "Shhhh baby, Appa's got you." He said sweetly.

She continued to wail until she was exhausted, pretty much passing out. Namjoon sighed and laid her down in the crib. He wondered what must have been wrong, but he figured maybe she was just fussy tonight. Maybe something disagreed with her. He noted to keep an eye on her the next day and then went back to sleep.

Namjoon started to panic on the third day of this. For the second day, she seemed to be mostly fine like the day before, just a bit whiny. On the third day, however, she really started to fuss.

Right from the moment she awoke at 5 in the morning, she started wailing. Namjoon rushed to her side, quick to soothe her, offering food and cuddles. The baby quieted but never really stopped her whining.

Every little thing seemed to set her off, and she would scream loudly, ensuring everyone on the whole level could hear her.

Namjoon was starting to become stressed and worried. Was there something wrong with his baby? Had he hurt her in some way? He thought he was doing well. He tried his hardest not to become upset but lost the battle.

He managed to get her down for a small nap in the middle of the day, probably out of exhaustion again, allowing him time to calm himself, but it hit its peak at around 6 in the night.

She screamed and screamed, crying and wriggling around in his arms. Her little face was scrunched up, with tears running down her red face. He felt like he had hit a wall, his emotions bursting as he cried. "I'm sorry! I don't know what you need." He sobbed along with her.

He was rocking back and forth again, trying to soothe her with a dummy, but she kept spitting it out.

"I've tried everything." Namjoon pleaded with the baby. He was beyond worried about his little one, the stress eating him inside. The final straw was a loud thumping on the wall beside his bedroom. "Shut that fucking baby up, or I'll come and shut it up for you!" A person yelled. Namjoon only cried harder along with his baby.

Great, even the druggies think he's a bad parent.

He had to do something for her. She was clearly suffering for some reason, and he couldn't fix it alone. He had avoided the hospital at all costs, but now he had to take the risk. He couldn't lose his baby.

Namjoon packed a bag of overnight things for him and the baby and then strapped her into a carrier. He pulled out his phone, which he had turned off for several days, and called for an Uber. He ignored the pings on his phone as he quickly ordered the car to take him to the hospital and then went to the curb to wait.

It was now in the middle of winter, so he wrapped the baby in two blankets while dressing her in a thick onesie, a beanie, little mittens and some thick socks. He pulled the cover-up over the carrier, ensuring no wind blew into her face.

He had an old jacket on. It was a bit tight as he still had a lot of baby fat, but he didn't care about himself. He would take his jacket off if his baby needed more cover.

Thankfully, the man quickly arrived, helping Namjoon strap the car seat in and start to drive. The car was warm inside, so Namjoon pulled the blankets down to try and calm the baby again. Her cries were still loud but not as bad as before.

"Is she ok?" The driver asked worriedly. Namjoon sniffled. "I don't know. I'm gonna take her to the hospital." He admitted. The man nodded, telling Namjoon he would get them there quickly but safely.

Namjoon greatly appreciated it and then went back to comforting his girl. The man kept true to his word, and they were at the hospital no less than 20 minutes later.

Namjoon thanked the man, giving him a nice tip for being so helpful and then rushed into the ICU. He moved to the reception and placed the carrier on the desk. "Hello, how may I help you?" The lady asked.

Namjoon looked at her with a red face and teary eyes. "Hi, I need someone to check up on my baby. She has been crying nonstop all day, and I don't know what she needs. She won't eat as much, only sleeps if she's worn out completely, and she just doesn't stop crying." He rushed, feeling very agitated. He wanted her looked after right now.

"Can you tell me how old she is?" The lady asked, standing up to look in at the small baby, crying in the carrier. "She's just under four weeks old," Namjoon said. "And was she born ok? Early or anything?"

Namjoon didn't know, but he was sure she was born around when she was supposed to be. "She was born around 37 weeks." He admitted. The lady said that was fine.

She looked over at the little one, not seeing anything wrong, but she could tell that the crying wasn't just a hungry or tired cry.

"Alright, have you been to this hospital before?" Namjoon stilled. He would have to give their information. "No, I haven't." He said.

The lady nodded. "Ok, I'll need you to fill out some forms and get some information about your previous consultant so we can cross-check for a better diagnosis, but I have put you through to the NICU, and they will look after her immediately."

Namjoon nodded thankfully to the lady. He grabbed the board with the forms on it and then followed her to the NICU. A nurse approached them once they entered the wing and took Namjoon's baby from him.

"Follow me, sweetie. I'll check on her." The lady smiled at Namjoon. He did as told and moved into the room, sitting on a chair anxiously as the lady began to assess the baby. "You fill out those forms, and I'll do a quick exam of this little one." She smiled down at the little girl.

Namjoon nodded and hesitantly began to fill the forms out. He knew he would have to show ID, so lying was pointless. He really just wanted his baby to be ok. He filled the form out quickly and then placed it to the side, moving to stand by his child.

"She seemed to have shallow breathing. Did you say she was born early?" The lady asked. Namjoon shook his head. "I'm fairly sure she was born around 37 weeks." The lady frowned. "And you said that she hasn't been feeding right either?" Namjoon nodded.

"She'll take for a little while and then stop. She's only had like 3 feeds in the last day." Namjoon worried. The nurse nodded and looked back down, putting on her stethoscope and listening to the baby's breathing. "How long has she been like this?" She asked.

Namjoon sighed. "She started to fuss two days ago, but only today has she been really bad. She ate fine most of the time, maybe briefly, but then stopped today."

The nurse took a mental note and then stood up. "It seems like she's got some respiratory problems. I'll need to take an X-ray of her chest to make sure nothing is stuck. I'll start her on some oxygen to keep her breathing normal. I'll need to ask some questions about your birth and history." The lady said.

Namjoon felt anxious, but he had to find out what was wrong. He would give all the information he needed to get his baby girl healthy again. The nurse left to set up the oxygen machine and hand in the forms Namjoon had filled out.

The nurse in reception filled out the information in the system. She looked over the previous physician's list and found it empty. She frowned, wondering why he would have left it empty. "I'm going back in now. Can you page me when the X-ray is available?" The other nurse said. The lady nodded and went back to her job.

Namjoon watched as the lady taped a breathing tube onto his baby's face, keeping the tube in her nose. "This will help. Then we can discover the main problem once she's back to normal breathing." The nurse smiled calmly at Namjoon, making him feel better. He thanked her, relieved.

"So, I have some questions about what might be wrong." Namjoon nodded and looked at the lady. "The birth, was it problematic in any way?" Namjoon hung his head.

"Yes, it was quite stressful." He admitted. The lady nodded. "Was there anything wrong with her at the time? No breathing problems. The cord wasn't around her throat?"

"No, she was fine when she was born." The lady scrunched her nose, thinking for a moment. "What did the doctor say at her first check-up?" She asked. Namjoon awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at his girl.

"She hasn't gone for a check-up. This is her first one." He knew it sounded bad, but they had been doing well... The lady looked at him concerned.

"She was supposed to have a check at 3-5 days? Didn't your previous doctor tell you that when you got released after the birth?" Namjoon shook his head. "I had her at my house. T-there wasn't a nurse there." He made his tone soft, nearly a whisper.

"What?" She asked, a bit surprised at what she thought she had heard. "I had her by myself at my house. I couldn't make it to a doctor." The nurse was stunned. She wondered how the man had managed all by himself and why he hadn't taken the baby to a hospital sooner.

"I can't really afford it." He lied. He could afford it but didn't want to get turned in.

The nurse gave him a sympathetic look and then repeated the questions. "So would you say it was a hard birth? Sometimes a stressful birth can cause problems." The lady said. Namjoon shrugged shamefully.

He had never given birth before, so he didn't know if it was hard. "I'm sorry, I'm still new to all of this." He felt bad for not being more of a help.

The lady shook her head. "It's alright. The X-rays will give me a good hint at what is going on." She smiled. Namjoon nodded and relaxed, the lady leaving him until she had to come back for the X-rays.

He moved over to the seat by his baby, looking at her now calm little face. She was fast asleep, probably tired from being up for so long. He, too, decided to get some shut-eye, dozing off in the chair.

About half an hour later, the lady returned to the room, waking Namjoon up to go for the test. He stayed with his little girl the whole way, ensuring she was ok.

The lady was very happy with her behaviour throughout the procedure, giving her a little stuffed toy to sleep with. Namjoon smiled happily as his little girl was just about the same size as the teddy bear she was given.

"It will take a little while for the results to check them over. You can both return to the room. I'm sure you'll want a rest." Namjoon thanked the nurse again, returning to the room for more sleep.

He fed his little girl just before putting her to sleep again and then dozed himself. They managed a good two hours before the nurse came to get him.

"Thankfully, we have found nothing serious. I let you guys have a bit longer to sleep, knowing that you might need it." She smiled. Namjoon was incredibly thankful.

"She has asthma. It's not a bad case, either. It is probably just worse because of the cold. She will get prescribed a puffer and spacer. I'll teach you how to use it if you don't know. Give her one to two puffs when you think her breathing is getting shallow, and she should be good."

Namjoon sighed in relief. He could cry hearing the news. In fact, he did. Fat tears started to spill out of his eyes.

"She's not dying." He breathed heavily, burying his face into his hands with a relieved chuckle. The lady moved closer and touched his back, reassuringly rubbing it.

"No, your baby girl is just fine. In fact, apart from asthma, she's very healthy. She could be much worse from what you said about the birth." Namjoon looked up at the lady. "You're doing a great job at taking care of her." She smiled, and Namjoon couldn't hold the need to hug the girl back. He jumped off the bed and wrapped her in a hug.

The nurse chuckled and patted his back again. "Thank you so much." He sniffled, moving away once he realised how inappropriate he was being.

"It's ok. I assume it's stressful to be a new parent, especially a single one." She said with a soft smile. Namjoon nodded, slightly ashamed, but he knew she wasn't judging him. "Once I fill out the prescription, you both can go home." She smiled.

Namjoon was beyond ready to head back to his house. He was so happy that the lady was so nice, but he didn't want to risk being out in public more than necessary.

About an hour later, Namjoon said goodbye to the nurses and took his baby home. The kind lady smiled and waved him off before turning back to the other nurse at the desk.

"So we just send his reference to the outpatients." She said. The nurse nodded and brought up his file. Her face fell slightly, and she looked back to the nurse. "Wait, is that his name?" She asked.

"Yeah, Namjoon. Why?" She furrowed her brow at the weird reaction. "He's part of a missing persons case. We have an alert to look out for him." The nurse looked back out the glass windows after Namjoon. She felt bad for the guy. She didn't know the reasons for his life. Maybe he was kidnapped, maybe he was raped or domestically assaulted.

"We have mandatory reporting." The other lady said, looking sad as well. Both ladies sighed, knowing there was nothing they could do. It was law, and they had families to look after.

Namjoon had been having a much easier time with his little girl now. Just before she went to sleep, he would give her two puffs of the inhaler and ensure she was snuggled up in warm blankets. He bought an air humidifier to help with the cold air as soon as possible.

His little girl had been doing fine. He managed another week by himself with no problems until the crying returned. He worked through the first night, rocking her gently and calming her down.

He decided to sleep in the chair beside her cot that night, knowing she always slept better when he was around. He wondered whether she could sense his presence. Maybe she just needed to be with her daddy.

However, his idea was spoiled the next night when she wouldn't calm down, even when he held her. "No, please don't start this again. Appa is trying his hardest." Namjoon sighed, feeling his own emotion bubbling again.

He rocked, changed, fed, and gave her her puffer, yet she still wouldn't stop crying. "I'm sorry I'm not a good parent. I'm sorry I can't fix this." He cried again. He couldn't stop the thoughts if only he had help.

"Are you sure this was the address?" Jin asked, eyeing the building. It was run down and creepy looking. They had already heard 3 different sirens going off in the last 10 minutes, indicating how bad the neighbourhood was.

"Yes, this is where the investigator said he was." Yoongi sighed. The six boys all gave each other a nervous look and then headed into the stairwell to go up the floors.

"There isn't even an elevator? What type of place is this?" Taehyung whined as they approached the second set of stairs. Jungkook rolled his eyes at his lazy Hyung, joking about the older wanting the others to carry him up the stairs.

"Don't tempt me." Tae quipped back as they started onto the third set of stairs.

"God, Namjoon Hyung had to do this every day?" Jimin questioned as they topped the third. The others all shrugged, finding it not hard, just annoying.

"We still don't know this is him," Yoongi said cautiously. He didn't want to be a downer but wouldn't get his hopes up. They had been looking for Namjoon for the last 5 months. It had been a rough time, and hope could only last them so long. "Let's not hold our breath." He warned, finally coming to the top of the fourth stairs.

He looked around at the fifth floor they were now on. It was dinky and smelt of cigarettes and piss. He couldn't believe that their leader would live in a place like this. They all took a deep breath and then moved to the 5th apartment.

This was the address the investigator had given him, and as much as this place was horrible, he fucking hoped it was right. Only so many times can you tell yourself that it doesn't hurt.

They approached the door, silence among them. "I'm sorry I'm not a good parent. I'm sorry I can't fix this." A voice echoed through the paper-thin door. They could hear the sound of a loud baby crying, but they all were only focused on Namjoon.

"T-that voice... it's familiar." Hoseok whispered just loud enough that they all heard. The others all agreed, which made them all even more anxious. "There's nothing I can do! I'm failing." The voice called again with loud hiccups and sobs.

"Joon-!" Jungkook tried to call, but Jin put his hand over his mouth. "Shhh, don't yell. You'll scare him away." They remained quiet momentarily, hoping they hadn't given themselves away.

"God, I think I'm going crazy." A chuckle came from inside the apartment. "I can hear them. Your uncles. They always come to me when I need them." The boys' hearts ached to hear their leader talk about them.

"I miss them with all my heart." He said. "And I'm sorry you won't ever know how much they would have loved you." He sniffled again. "You would have been the light of their lives like mine."

All the boys had the exact same thought at that moment. Jimin, closest to the door, rushed forward and gripped the handle. He was surprised when the door opened, making a mental note to scold Namjoon about locking the doors later.

All six rushed in, finding the big leader looking up stunned in the middle of the floor.

The apartment Namjoon rented wasn't very big. It was a small studio apartment, but that's all he needed. He was trying to save money for the baby's later life, so the small room was enough for a single parent.

He had been crying on the floor with his baby in his arms when he heard his door burst open. He gasped and looked up, expecting to find a bunch of robbers or maybe busy police doing a search of the building. He did not expect to see the six boys he was talking about.

His eyes were so wide he was sure they would pop out of his head. Everything froze, and his little girl must have sensed a change in the room because she had stopped crying.

"Joonie?" Jin asked, looking at the tall boy on the floor with a baby in his arms.

Namjoon didn't want to move, scared that anything he might do would be wrong. He wholeheartedly wanted this to be his friends, his favourite people coming to find him, but he knew this wasn't good. This would make things so much worse.

"It's us, Namjoon-ah," Yoongi said softly, putting his arms out to show he meant no harm. Namjoon didn't need to swallow to feel the lump in his throat. It was so big that he almost thought it was blocking his breathing, but he knew that wasn't true. He was blocking his own breathing. "You can't be here." He choked out after more silence. The six boys looked at him cautiously.

"But we are. We are here for you." Jimin smiled, trying to show Namjoon their love, but the leader shook his head. He felt his tears returning, and he was positive he couldn't stop them. His whole body began to shake as he looked at the six.

"You have to leave. You have to leave." He chanted a few times with a fragile voice. "Please go away." He turned back down to his baby and held her closer.

"Hey Joon, it's ok. We aren't going to judge you." Hoseok reassured the boy, thinking he was nervous over the baby, but Namjoon kept rocking himself, telling them to go away. He pulled the small baby to his chest and tried to curl in on himself.

"If I close my eyes, you'll go away." He mumbled. The boys were concerned that he wasn't as mentally stable as once.

"Namjoonie, we aren't going anywhere. We just found you again." Jin said, trying to keep his voice happy and hopeful.

"Please, Hyung," Jungkook said. "We can go home now." Namjoon shot his head up, looking at the youngest.

"I can't go home. I can never go home." He said, his voice very clear and low.

Everyone was a bit stunned by the sudden firmness in his voice. "Why not Joon-ah?" Yoongi asked. He made the first attempt to get closer to the boy. He crouched down and went to rest a hand on Namjoon's shoulder, but the boy flinched away.

"Somebody did this to you, didn't they?" Taehyung asked, watching the leader intensely. It seemed obvious that Namjoon had been forced into something he didn't want. "Who did this? We can help you." Tae encouraged, joining Yoongi by the leader.

Namjoon shook his head and held his baby tighter. She fussed slightly at the tight grip, so Namjoon quickly let go again.

"Who hurt you, Namjoon? We will find them and make them pay." Jimin's face was stone cold. His voice was laced with venom. He was ready to beat whoever hurt his leader, friend, and brother.

"No, no, I can't. He said he'd hurt you if I did." Namjoon choked on another sob, starting to work himself up again.

"He can't hurt us, Hyung. We will find him and make him pay for hurting you." Jungkook held a fist up, showing that he meant to use it. There was silence for a moment, waiting for Namjoon to answer. "We are going to help you, Joonie. We will fix this. I'll take a DNA test of that baby to fix this if I have to." Jin said. Once again, Namjoon hugged the baby closer, thinking about his baby being used against him.

"Tell us who did this." Yoongi finally managed to touch the boy without him flinching away. He held his chin, lifting his face to look into his eyes.

"It started last year." He said, looking straight into Yoongi's eyes, though the rapper could tell he wasn't focused.

"Mr Lee approached me after dance and said I was falling behind." Namjoon's voice shook as he told his friends his biggest secret. "He offered me extra time to dance, and I wanted to be better for you all." He blinked a few times, trying to keep his tears away. "It didn't happen until the fourth time I stayed back." He could feel the tension from the rest of the group, so he kept his eyes on Yoongi. "I went to the bathroom after I finished the extra practice when he came in. I freaked out at him, telling him he was a weirdo for barging in when he knew I was there, but he just laughed at me. He pushed me against the wall of the cubical and started to touch me." Namjoon's voice broke the more he spoke. "I tried hard to fight back but was tired after all the practices. He had been making me stay back so he could wear me out, and then he struck when I was weakest." Namjoon took a moment, collecting his thoughts before he continued again. "After he raped me, he took pictures of me and said if I told anyone, he would leak them. I was so scared, so I didn't do anything." Namjoon felt ashamed. His pride had gotten him into this mess. "Eventually, I told him that I didn't care anymore. I wouldn't put up with this, but then Tae fell down the stairs, Jin Hyung nearly got hit with the sandbag on stage, and Hobi got the knife in the mail." The boys' eyes all widened, looking at Namjoon. "He said he would hurt you all if I told anyone." Finally breaking eye contact with Yoongi, Namjoon hung his head, looking down at his daughter. "Then, on the 5th of May, I found out I was pregnant. I told him I would get rid of the baby, but he told me not to. He said he would hurt everyone if I got rid of the baby, and then he told me to run away. He wanted me gone." Namjoon felt a hand on his shoulder but didn't look up.

"Joonie, you didn't have to protect us," Jin said, his voice weak.

"He got into our house once, he left death threats for Jimin, but I got them first. I couldn't risk letting you all get hurt." Namjoon sniffled, seeing how sad his friends looked at his sacrifice for them. "He could have done anything to us when we slept when we weren't home. I couldn't risk it." Namjoon looked up. "Not once I had my baby."

The others all gathered around him close. They hadn't forgotten the seriousness of the conversation, but they knew not to push too hard. Taehyung got down on his knees, looking at the small girl. "What's her name?" He asked with a kind smile. He touched her foot, giving it a cute little shake.

Namjoon frowned and looked down at her. "I...I haven't named her yet." He admitted.

"What? Why not?" Jimin furrowed his brows at the father. The baby must have been a few weeks old by then, and she still didn't have a name.

"I don't know. I couldn't think of a name for her. They all made me sad. Wondering if I was picking the right one for her to have her whole life."

Namjoon looked at her soft little face. She had finally drifted off to sleep, calm from the people surrounding her. "I didn't have anyone to tell me whether it was a good name." The leader shrugged. There was silence again for a moment until the youngest spoke.

"What about Sook-sun?" Namjoon looked to Jungkook, contemplating the name. "It means pureness for Sook and goodness for Sun. It would be pure goodness." The suggestion warmed Namjoon's heart.

He thought about it for a while, looking back at his baby. He gave a small chuckle when her nose wiggled in her sleep. "Sook-sun. I love it." He smiled brightly. Jungkook grinned at the two, happy to be able to help.

"It's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl," Jin said, placing a hand on Namjoon's shoulder. "She is pure goodness to us all," Tae added.

Namjoon felt his heart soar. His friends were amazing. Not even knowing about the little baby for more than an hour, they all looked down at her with endless love.

"You're an amazing parent Joon-ah." Hoseok admired the leader's skill. "She's such an amazing little human already." He added, happy to be able to make Namjoon smile wider. "We won't let her be alone again, and neither will you," Jimin said strongly.

The tone of the voice made shivers run down Namjoon's back. "We are going to sue that man for everything he's worth. You're coming home with us, and we aren't accepting no." Yoongi insisted, crossing his arms, so they knew he really meant it.

"H-how can I go back?" Namjoon asked quietly. "I can't be in the band with a baby. Not to mention I've lost all talent I had. I'll be right back at square one." Namjoon sighed, but the others scoffed.

"Lost your talent? As if you ever could." Hoseok chuckled at the stupid words of the leader. "Joon-ah, you have more talent in your little finger than anyone else could." Namjoon looked up with sparkling eyes. He hated that he wanted to cry once again, but his hormones were still a mess. "Nothing could stop us from wanting you to come back, Hyung. We will all help you with Sunni." Namjoon smiled at his baby's nickname already.

"We will work everything out." Taehyung looked at the others, seeing them all agreeing with him. They would bring Namjoon home...

Because they would never leave him behind. They found him now, and he wasn't going anywhere again. They were always 7.

#bts pregnancy blog #pregnant Namjoon

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gremlin-writes-angst · 1 year

Text

Unforgiving

the title is a work in progress, if any oof you have ides please tell me

2.3 k words

Fandom: Redacted Audio/Redacted ASMR/ Redactedverse

Couple: Lasko/Gavin, Past Lasko/ original male character

TW/CW: Past large age gap, mentioned cheating

After being heartbroken Lasko plots revenge with the help of and incubus. Fake dating

Let me know if I missed a trigger.

Please comment and reblog, it lets me know people like my stuff and encourages me to write more!!!!!!

Click here if you want to see more of my work and follow me for more!

Disgust, heartbreak, regret, loneliness, helplessness.

“Mother of god- Gavin- what- what are you doing here? And why do you have to - scare me like that every time.”

Fear, shame, relief

“My fault Sunshine, did not mean to frighten you.”

Anxiety, Hesitation

“Liar.”

“You know me so well.”

Calm

“You didn't answer, why are you here? Do you need something- I heard that your- um interested in classes- I could help-but um- I don't think right no-”

“ I'm not here for that Sweets. “

It was hard to ignore the tear stains and the wobble in his voice, even an unempowered would notice. A demon though, he could feel the heartbreak from miles away.

“I could feel it.”

Shock, Fear

“What?”

He knew what Gavin meant but almost didn't believe it.

“ I'm sorry Lasko, I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, I'm kind of tuned in to my friends.”

Lasko stumbled into his chair. He let a few more tears slide down his face.

“You-you don't need to be sorry- it's my fault. I'm an idiot- it's my fault. I let that- I let them play me. I-”

He stopped to breathe. Gavin stood, listened, and waited. Lasko took the time he needed, he crossed his arms over the desk, stuck his head in, and cried. Gavin felt the slow shift in Lasko's energy. He wasn't calming down.

Anger

“ I wish it was different."

Lasko said, inaudible to Gavin

“Puppy, I can't understand your words when you're talking through your arm."

He lifted his head, seating his chin on his arms. He wasn't blushing like he normally was when Gavin used any nickname. Now he was just blank-faced.

“I wish it was different. He was always- he was very possessive- and even if- if he said that he doesn't love me- that she's who he loves. I know- I know he'll hate it- he'll hate seeing me happy with someone else, 'cause he knows that he treated me like shit. And I want him to know that. I want to make him jealous, I want him to hate himself for leaving me. I WANT HIM TO BE THE ONE THAT BEGS FOR MY LOVE. “

Anger, Desperation

“Lasko.”

They make eye contact. in Gavin's eyes there's sympathy and confusion but somehow it's paired with understanding. It brings Lasko a sense of calm. He takes a few breaths before standing up and walking around to the other side of his desk. Standing right in front of Gavin. He looks up, a strange sense of confidence flashes through his body. A very small flash, before Lasko, got sucked back into his shell. His head down avoiding confrontation.

“ I used to beg him. To stay, to show me, love.”

Shame, Regret, Guilt

“I know I should have realized-should have- should have left. It was my fau-”

“Lasko.”

Thankful

Gavins takes a hold of Lasko.

“It's not your fault, there are a lot of people who have learned, trained how to use people, they know how to make you think, feel loved. It's not your fault.”

“A part of me knows that, I want to believe that.”

Rage

“ But I still, I want him to feel how I feel, he needs to understand what he does to people. I want to make him so jealous he begs for me back.”

Hope

“ But you won't go back”

Anxiety, Fear

There's a pause

“Of- of course”

He lies.

Gavin pulls Lasko out of his chest and tilts his head up to him.

“I'm serious, Lasko, you can make him jealous, Get your revenge. But you can't go back, you won't.”

Lasko nods, that's all. Before he pulls and turns away.

Fear

Gavin wondered what Lasko was scared of now.

“Gavin.”

“Yes”

“Will you help me?”

Gavin knew what Lasko meant. He realized why Lasko was scared. He's expecting him to say no, with good reason.

“Lasko, you know I don't do relationships.”

“I know that, but he doesn't, we can fake it. Pretend we're together when he's around”

Desperation

" and you can benefit off it cause you can feed off m-"

" I'll do it Sweets, but because you're my friend, not because you're offering to let me feed off you. We should have some rules though."

Relief, Excitement

"Yes, of course. Do you have any in mind?"

"Well, it depends. Who do you want to lie to everyone, or just him?"

" I mean- I guess everyone, I think we can, or should tell our friends. I don't want to lie to them. So just in public, we'll- we can act like a couple."

Fear, shame

Gavin is tired of Lasko hiding stuff from him.

"There's more, come on, out with it."

"I- I think the best way to sell- to make him believable and make him jealous well have to- be physical. But only when he's around, and only if you're comfortable. That's why I said you could use my energy because if I'm going to be, umm touching and if I'm touching you, you might as well take what I'm giving you. I've already come up with a few ideas, scenarios, and things I know will hurt him. But just the thought - uhh fluster me- you know."

" I think you mean 'turned on' but it's cute that you can barely even hint at such"

"Shut up, Gavin"

" ah ah ah that's not my name. Y'know what -"

" Lasko what is this empty section, I told you to fill my schedule as much as po-Gavin."

"Damien.”

Gavin greets the frantic confused fire element before he turns back to Lasko. kissing the back of Lasko's hand before saying goodbye to the both of them

“ it seems my time with you is over, for now. I hope you start feeling better, night sweets. Damien, good luck with your schedule, but don't overwork yourself.”

And then he was gone.

Lasko moves back to his deck, trying to move past what just happened and act as if nothing happened.

“ I- so I put a space in your- um schedule because well- you need it but also the timing of the classes were unreasonable- impossible, you - no one would be able to make it across the campus like needed in that time. So I decided that it would be best to giv-'

“ What the fuck was that Lasko?”

“Oh it was - it's nothing- not important. So do you still want me to - to fix you-”

“ Lasko don't - don't fucking lie to me, what was Gavin doing here, and the kiss?”

“ ok- so "

Damien gave Lasko a look telling him not to try lying again

“Gavin and I have decided to- fake a relationship with each other.”

“Lasko.”

“I suggested it, I've mentioned umm Zen to you before, he cheated on me, left me, and -I wanted to make him jealous.”

“God Lasko, how stupid- “

Damien stopped, realizing now wasn't the time to use harsh words.

“ I don't think that's wise Lasko.”

“Why's that? I know I act like- like a shy nerd but I deserve revenge, don't you thi-”

“ Of course I do, but this isn't the way”

“Why not?!”

“ because you'll just get hurt”

“ No, I won't it's fake I'll be fi-”

“ Lasko, I've seen it, you fall in love when someone looks at you. When Gavin starts giving you all that attention you're going to fall for him, hard. And you'll start to think that he feels the same because you're in this fake relationship. And when you confess, he's going to reject you, and you'll be heartbroken, inconsolable.”

“That's not true!”

Damien sighed knowing there was nothing he could say to stop Lasko's plan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Professor Dawson"

Damien stared at the closed door, here for one reason. To meet up with Xavier, but he didn't want to go in.

"Damien?"

Huxley's voice and shoulder nudge broke Damien's thoughts

"We can head in, the class is over, Xavier is just talking to the professor."

Huxley steps in front of Damien and opens that door, holding it open for his friend.

The door shuts when both men are inside. Xavier and Professor Dawson are the only others in the room, just a few steps ahead, Xavior notices his friends come in and waves them over to join in the conversation. Huxley takes a few large steps while Damien begrudgingly shuffles closer, head down avoiding the professor's gaze.

“Dawson, this is Huxley one of my amazing teammates, and Damien”

“Sophia's kid?”

Damien didn't allow himself to physically react, but he was shocked by the professor's knowledge of his mother. He didn't like it.

“Yeah.”

“ I've heard quite a bit about your mother, I've watched her display her element, and I've heard of her accomplishments as a human born, she's truly remarkable. I didn't believe it a first when I was told she was human-born.”

Damien snapped his head up, his eyes not hiding his burning rage. He knew this guy was a piece of work, from what Lasko told him but now it was personal. Damien waited for the professor to speak, make a mistake, so Damien could let himself go, let the stereotype of being hot-headed win.

Then Dawson laughed.

Right in Damien's face

Damien looked at his friends

What the fuck was funny

“Oh, Damien, I'm sorry I offended you, and your mother. I was very young when I thought that, I was still ignorant. I was barely ten, my father quickly corrected my thoughts. I'm sorry.”

Damien was confused

He was sincere

He wasn't lying

Sure Damien was no lie detector but he considered himself pretty good at spotting lies and insincerity.

Damien kept his eyes locked with Dawson. The professor's eyes soften from ice to snow.

“Truly Damien, I didn't mean anything by my statement. I hope you realize that.”

Xavier stepped in, realizing Damien wasn't calming down, and the room was only getting hotter.

“I know professor, I'm sure Damien does too but we're going to go ahead and leave, thanks for class”

The three students headed to the door as the professor commented to talk

“ Of course Xavior, I'll see you, and Huxley at your next game. Which is?”

“ Friday sir”

“ got it, I'll be there”

When the three were in the hall, with the door to professor Dawsons closed, Damien let out a groan

“I fucking hate that guy”

“Wow, Damien, that- this was the first time you met him”

Hux was shocked at his friend's immediate distaste for the professor

Xavier tried to calm the fire elemental down with a joke

“Maybe it's because of your opposing elements?”

Hux made a face at the ice boy, Xavier knew he messed up. Xavier still didn't know Damien too well.

“ Xavier, you're an ice elemental, I don't hate you.”

Xavior took that as a good sign.

Huxley changed the topic when they got outside, using his vast knowledge of the earth to keep the fire elemental from becoming angrier. It worked, the group found a table to have lunch at as they talked about various things

“Wow, is that Lasko and Gavin”

Damien slowly turns his head to see Gavin and Lasko sitting on the same side of a small table, Gavin's hand on Lasko's knee, Laskos face bright red.

“Yep”

Damien says it like he saw the two like this every day.

“ What do you mean ‘yep’, it's Lasko and Gavin.”

Huxley gestured toward the two, he was pretty freaked out by the unexpected pair. The more he looked the more things clicked

“Oh my gosh bro, is Gavin his not-so-secret boyfriend”

“ Not so secret boyfriend?”

Xavier questions, a little out of the loop with Huxley's friend group. Damien calmly explained, already tired of this conversation.

“Lasko tried to, and thinks he did hide that he was in a relationship but everyone in our group knew. He's pretty bad at lying.”

Huxley jumped in

“ yeah but he told you who it was”

Huxley then turned to Xavier

“But he wouldn't tell us- which is totally respectable, Lasko wanted to keep it a secret”

“No, he didn't.”

The two athletes snapped their heads to Damien

They didn't have to ask as Damien started to explain

“ Gavin isn't the ’secret boyfriend’. They broke up, and Lasko never wanted to lie or keep his relationship a secret he was forced to”

Huxley didn't like hearing that, he looked over at his air-powered friend. Xavier asked the next question

“Why?”

Huxley wanted to know but he was also scared of the answer, he couldn't come up with many good reasons to lie about a relationship[

“His partner thought it would look bad.”

Damien's hands grabbed at his jeans, squeezing hard as he thought about it

“Like- Lasko was embarrassing to be seen with?”

Huxley's voice had changed, it was steady but still unsure.

“Partly.” Xavier felt it wasn't his place to talk, but he felt for Lasko.

Huxley continued to stare at Lasko. Damiens stared at his jeans as he began to speak

“He thought-”

“ Who was it?”

Huxley's voice was, emotionless, not angry, or sad, but Damien knew it was a demand

“Zen Dawson.”

Xavier took a deep breath and looked over at Lasko, he'd always wondered why Lasko often came into Dawson's room after class.

“Isn't Dawson like twice Laskos age?”

“No”

Huxley and Damien were surprised that Xavier was the one to answer. Damien finished what Xavier said

“He's 12 years older, that was one of the reasons he didn't want the relationship to go public”

“I'm starting to understand your hatred towards that guy.”

Damien let out a huffed laugh.

“There's more”

Huxley looked out the window as Professor Zen Dawson walked by, waving to the table as he passed.

Damien watches him as he walks.

“So much more.”

#redacted angst #redacted huxley #redacted fanfic #redacted asmr #redacted lasko #redacted gavin #redacted oc #redactedverse #redacted freelancer #lasko/gavin #lasko x gavin #redacted audio #fake dating #revenge

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gogogogolev · 1 year

Photo

It's the 7th anniversary of our blog.

Click to read more

Seven years may not be a long time, but with his absences it has felt very long. Stephen has not told us what his career plans are so we do not know when he plans to retire. If he wishes to move on after the 2026 Olympics we have three more years left, but if he is planning to leave after the 2030 Olympics we are at the halfway point, with seven years left to go. He might even want to go until 2034. Let’s see what he decides.

Year 7 started at a low point and turned into an emotional roller coaster. After a forced withdrawal from 2022 Nationals Stephen placed a respectable 5th at Junior Worlds, then began his season with what was one of his best ever short programs at Glacier Falls Summer Classic. After a rocky autumn with his GP debut he is still looking for that kind of short program skate though his free skates are showing us his technical prowess. He barely competed last season, and did not compete at all the season prior, so it is remarkable what he has been able to do.

We have to acknowledge Stephen’s mental strength in what he has been doing. Coming back from rough performances, skating as if they never happened, takes a lot of determination and courage. His parents have done a great job to raise such a tenacious young man. May they remain in good health to be able to watch his career progress. May he also remain in good health.

I was privileged to watch him compete twice this season. It was nice to be able to wave a Canadian flag for him, and to witness his skating at Nationals. It just made me realize how much I missed his skating since he left. There is no one else like him in Canada. I hope he was also able to feel the love from the Canadian audiences. It was not just my friends and I, but whole arenas full of people on their feet, cheering for his every jumping pass and encouraging him to keep going when things got tough.

I have to thank you all for your patience with me. I have become much busier but I am continuing to do what I can, just at a slower pace now. My belief in Stephen and desire to support him are still as strong as when I first became a fan. In the time he was away I thought he might have changed a lot. He did grow substantially, but after watching him live I can say the essence of him looks to be unchanged. He is still a hardworking and talented skater with grit.

I also owe Stephen an apology for my views on his short program. I focused on the music, but really should have been looking solely at the lyrics and what meaning they hold to him. They encapsulate a sadness and coming to terms with the realities of growing up.

We knew we were Impervious no matter how we'd bleed We never fought for breath Priest and prophetess We were nothing we would defy Invincible skin It's how we all begin

He was a child prodigy who ended up facing injuries and going through a lot of pain as he grew. We only learned a bit about it so we cannot fathom how he felt. We just mourned his absence while worrying for him. Now he is facing challenges in getting back to the level of success he had achieved. Considering all that, this music choice makes perfect sense. Admittedly I might still be misunderstanding this program. I read a post on the song by The Music Enthusiast and I think we are in agreement. Either way, I apologize. I hope Stephen feels that he has come out of his dark days.

Year eight will bring big things. He is going to be skating at his first senior ISU championship next week. Stephen may be achieving a long time goal of his in going to the World Championships. We will also have 2024 Nationals, which will be used for selection to the 2024 World Championships in Montreal. It will be an exciting and busy time.

Let’s wish Stephen the best of luck for Four Continents, and all that the future holds for him in year eight.

Photo: Aflo Sports

#stephen gogolev #2022 2023 season #NHK22 #photos

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character-fan19 · 1 year

Text

MLB Season 4 Character Analysis: "Crocoduel"

Introduction

Hey there everyone, I'm back with another season 4 character analysis post and this time it's episode 12. If you missed my last post, you can find ithere. For the new people who want to read this first anyway, in this series I look at the emotions, behaviours and thought processes of the individual characters in every individual episode of the characterization-rich season that is season 4 to outline the progress these characters have made in this season as a whole.

So "Crocoduel", we not only get another new hero in the form of Purple Tigress who seems to be really popular in the fandom, but we also get a follow up from "Truth" on Marinette and Luka's break-up and how it has affected both of them. It also tackles the relationship between Anarka and Jagged. So yeah, this analysis is going to be interesting so let's get started.

Character POVs

Juleka

"Mom, Dad, I'm sorry but TALK IT OVER INSTEAD OF ARGUING!"

Obviously since this is Juleka's episode, we're going to start with her. LikeMyleneandRose, she also had a character arc in getting her Miraculous and for her it was learning to raise her voice and speak up about her feelings, something Luka can learn from his twin sister. Hey, I found something they have in common as siblings! Anyway, back to Juleka's character arc.

At the starting episode, we see Juleka afraid of speaking up and letting people know how she feels, being pretty submissive when Alya and the rest of Marinette's friends begged Juleka to let them have her birthday on her family's houseboat instead of going to the movies like they planned to get Marinette to confront Luka and being asked by Marinette to try to get Luka not to be at his house during their birthday party so that she won't have to confront him and due to being to submissive Juleka accepted Marinette's request as well and felt overwhelmed. Her submissiveness was also the reason she didn't stand up to her father when she heard that he was giving her brother a guitar and nothing to her and if it hadn't been for Marinette, she wouldn't have talked to him at all.

But her learning to speak up about her feelings actually happens when she meets her kwami, Roarr. Kwamis truly are the perfect therapists for their respective holders. Roarr encouraging Juleka to speak up is what gave her the strength to be vocal about her feelings when she became a superhero and after she helped Ladybug defeat her parents when she kinda settled their feud by raising her voice.

2.Marinette/Ladybug

"But it will be so awkward. You know that Luka's in love with me but I'm in love with Adrien and every time we see each other he just ends up getting hurt all over again 'cause he knows I'll never feel the same."

Moving on to the Marinette-Luka breakup aftermath, starting with Marinette's side of things. After breaking up with Luka in "Truth", Marinette became very awkward with Luka which led to her wanting to avoid him because she is ashamed of having to break up with him and doesn't want to have him getting hurt all over again just because she can't return his feelings towards her.

When she realizes that she has to come to Luka and Juleka's houseboat for their birthday party, she panics due to this fear which leads to her to asking Juleka to make sure Luka isn't at the party when she's coming there, unaware that this was overwhelming poor Juleka. When she did realize what she did hurt her and could have by extension hurt Luka, she felt remorse for her actions and apologized like she doesn't whenever she realizes that what she what she is doing is hurting someone and even stands up for her when it appears as though Jagged was showing favoritism towards Luka by giving him and guitar and nothing to Juleka.

By the end of the episode she admits her mistake and settles things with Luka, officially becoming buddies.

3.Luka

"You know, it hurts a lot more not seeing you that seeing you"

Now let's look at Luka's side of the conflict which people seem to understand more. After their breakup, when Marinette started avoiding him, Luka felt as if Marinette hated her when in reality she was only just afraid to hurt him. He knew she had a secret that she didn't want to share and was completely OK with that. When Marinette showed up and they settled things between them by finally communicating which honestly seems to be the theme of this season.

Luka also finally communicates his feelings to her by saying that it hurts a lot more for not seeing her than seeing her which is great development for him. Hey, what do you know? Both the Couffaine twins spoke up this episode: Juleka with the argument between their parents and Luka with how feels about Marinette avoiding her so good job on both of them.

4.Anarka

"Jagged Stone, you really are a shipwrecker. How dare you come here and give my son the album that caused our breakup!"

Now we're going to look at the Anaka-Jagged conflict which seems to be based on an album they made which supposedly caused their breakup. From what I'm gathering, from Anarka's POV it seems as though Jagged left their family when he realized they were having kids because he didn't think he would be a good enough dad and to Anarka it seems as though he left her for his music career to raise the kids all on her own and that has to be pretty rough, hence why she never wanted to talk about it with Luka or Juleka.

When Juleka raised her voice and told them to talk out their problems peacefully, they both agreed to do so for the sake of their kids.

5.Jagged

"Caused our breakup? You mean the album that helped me get my life back after you left me!"

From Jagged's side of the conflict we can see that he was concerned about not being a good-enough dad to their kids and Anarka, not understanding these concerns, left him with nothing but their album which was the one thing that managed to help him get his life back after he became all alone. His way of coping with a problem was to channel the emotions into a song similar to his son and when he found out how much he had in common with him, it gave him hope that he might be able to be a good dad after all.

He shows how much he cares about both his kids, although it didn't seem like he cared about Juleka at first, by giving Juleka the first guitar he ever owned and giving his son Luka the album that help him rise up again after he was left in the dumps by Anarka. By the end of the episode both Anarka and Jagged admitted their faults and apologized to each other when Juleka told them settle things peacefully.

Conclusion

Well, that's the end of the analysis. Gotta say it was a pretty fun one since we had two conflicts and one Miraculous hero introduction. Both the Couffaine twins learn to speak up about how they feel and Jagged and Anarka settle their long-time feud. So if I missed anything about any of the characters in this episode, let me know in the comments and also let me know your thoughts on this analysis. Feel free to try to dig deeper than I have for these characters.

#ml character analysis #mlb characterization #ml season 4 #juleka couffaine #marinette sugar #luka couffaine #anarka couffaine #jagged stone #ml crocoduel

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