#Our first hero! Certainly not our only hero but she is one of... if not THE title character of the OG show...

[vivwritesfics]

Mini Me

With how shitty my life is rn, I keep having these depressive episodes. Turns out my depressive episodes breed fluff

Max's six year old son has just started karting and his wife has to take him. Boy oh boy, does he miss his wife and son.

"So, Max, can we expect to see your little one around the paddock today?"

Ever since the day he was born, Fabian Verstappen had been seen with his parents around the Formula One paddock. He was always smiling and waving at those he knew and those he didn't. Fabian Verstappen was the happiest boy around.

Max was very proud of his boy. He showed him off to whoever he could. When he was young, he sat on Max's hip while he completed interviews and such.

Fabian was Max's number one supporter (Tied only by Max's wife and Fabians mother, Y/N. She followed him around the world three times before agreeing to marry him. It was a year long engagement, and in that time Y/N found out she was pregnant. They managed to keep it hidden until after their wedding, although Y/N did have to get a dress that better fit her bump).

There was a year between Fabian being born and him being able to attend his first race. Christian was happy to get him fitted out in Red bull Racing merchandise. He got his own little hat and a too large Red bull shirt with a thirty three on it (Max had lost that years championship. Red bull had won the constructors but Max had just missed out on the WDC. Red bull had worked out the kinks in the car and Max was bound to win this year, just as he had the previous year).

This year was the first year Fabian and Y/N weren't there to cheer Max on. And interviewers certainly picked up on it.

"Uh, no," Max answered when they asked about Fabian. "He and my wife are at a karting event right now."

The interviewer gave him a nod. "Following in your footsteps perhaps?"

Letting out a laugh, Max nodded his head. "We can only hope," he said.

"Do you think we'll be seeing him in a Red bull Racing suit in the next fifteen years?"

Again, Max nodded his head. "If he's anything like his dad, he'll be in a Red bull Racing suit before that," he said and adjusted the cap on his head.

Max left the interview and checked his phone. As much as he wanted Fabian and Y/N at his race, he knew how important karting was to his son.

Max has always been Fabian's hero. His first full sentence was 'I wanna be like daddy'. Max and Y/N did whatever they could to make Fabian's dream come true.

The one thing Fabian wanted but he couldn't have was to have his daddy at his karting races, watching him. There had been a lot of screaming and crying while Max and Y/N tried to explain to him why his father couldn't be there.

But Fabian had made friends at his Karting matches. He and the other kids he had raced against got along like peas in a pod. Fabian's first ever play date was with his karting friends. Some of them had been sat with their eyes and mouths wide open while Max brought them juice. They couldn't believe he, their hero and favourite driver, was Fabian's dad.

Max pulled out his phone and checked his messages. Nothing from his wife yet, but Fabian's race should have been done, he realised when he checked the time.

Dialling her number, Max pressed his phone to his ear.

It took Y/N a moment to pick up. "Hey handsome," she said in a chipper voice when she picked up the phone. Her voice was distant and slightly distorted, and Max realised she was in the car.

"Hello, Liefje. How's our little racer?" He asked her.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Came Fabian's voice. "I won! I won! I won!" He shouted.

Well, that answered Max's question. His cheeks were warm as he smiled, listening to his son. "Ik ben zo trots op je, mijn jongen. Ik kan niet wachten om jullie twee weer te zien!" (I'm so proud of you, my boy. I can't wait to see you too again!)

There was a moment before Fabian responded. He was fluent in English and French, but he was only good at Dutch. It still took him some time before he could work out what Max was saying and respond.

"Papa, ik... heb een... trofee." (Daddy, I got a trophy.)

There was a certain sense of joy that filled Max whenever Fabian answered him in Dutch. "Fabi, make sure mommy sends me a picture of your trophy," he said.

"I will do, Maxy," Y/N responded for the little boy. "Fabi, what do we say to papa?"

Again, Fabian was quiet for a moment. "Oh!" He suddenly cried from the back of the car. "Good luck with your race, Papa! Maybe you can win like me!"

The Verstappens laughed.

"Good luck, Max. Call me after you've won."

"I will, Liefje. I love you."

"I love you too."

Max hung up the phone after that. He his qualifying to get ready for. As he got ready, though, he spent the entire time thinking about his wife and son. He checked his phone constantly, waiting for Y/N to send over the picture of Fabian and his trophy.

No father had ever been prouder of his little boy than Max. Fabian was his everything and he couldn't wait to see him in the big leagues. Who knows, maybe Max would still be racing alongside him. Maybe he'd have Horner's job, team principle of Red bull Racing while his son raced as their number one driver.

No matter what, Max would always be Fabian's number one supporter.

#max verstappen #max verstappen imagine #max verstappen x reader #max verstappen x you #max verstappen x female reader #max verstappen fluff #max verstappen smut #max verstappen x reader smut #f1 #f1 imagine #f1 x reader #formula one #formula one imagine #formula one x reader #formula 1 #formula 1 imagine #formula 1 x reader #mv1 imagine #mv1 x reader #mv1 #mv1 smut #mv1 x reader smut

[gglitch1dd]

HIIIIII!! I am so glad the anon feature is back Im so shy!

could I please request a small little blurb of Izuku beating up kaachan just overall tired of getting berated and things like that from katsuki. idk im rewatching the series and just want Izuku to put katsuki in his place one time for the one time! ORR a small story of reader, Izuku, and katsuki being friends and growing up together and reader always stood up for my boy Izuku.

pink and green heart anon (im on my laptop and can't access my emojis)

Ooooh Someone speaking my language. Hello 💚🩷 Anon!! I'm so sorry this took so long to answer. I've been busy IRL and with my main fics so I haven't gotten to all my asks but I'm sorting through them. I hope you're doing okay sweetheart :)

Fuck you

Midoriya Izuku x Reader

You sat in the common room of the dorms trying to think up of a plan for this years culture festival. Being in third year UA High School, the past two years you had always done something musical themed, but now your class wasn't entirely sure on what to do this year.

"I think maybe a combined project with Class B could work." Midoriya pitched in. The green haired hero had certainly changed the past three years. He was taller now, with added muscle gain too, however often than not you barely noticed unless he was shirtless. His emerald eyes looked over at the group of you that stood around the table. "They are good at plays and we are good at music. Together we could put on something that caters to both and inbetween audiences."

Iida Tenya nodded his head with furrowed eyebrows. "I can talk to Kendo-san but i doubt she would be opposed to it with them."

Asui let out a ribbit as she smiled. "That sounds like a great idea Midoriya-kun." She stated.

You nodded your head as you looked at the green haired teenager in your class. "It is a brilliant idea. We could do a musical!" You suggested. "Why didn't we think of that before. Good job, Midoriya." You praised as well with a light shove to the side of him.

A light blush went to his face but he just smiled, grateful for your support. He opened his mouth to speak but a TSK was heard.

Leaning back in a chair around the table was Bakugou Katsuki, who you were even shocked was here in the first place. Judging by Kirishima (the big man he was starting to turn out to be) was standing behind him, you could only guess it was his idea. "That's a stupid idea, but no surprise considering it came from Deku."

"Whoa dude." Denki let out surprised a the unnecessary friendly fire.

"Bakugou, don't be so rude!" Kirishima hissed down at his best friend. His ruby eyes moved up to Midoriya who stood with a frown on his face. "I'm sorry Midoriya."

"I'm not." Bakugou let out as he stopped leaning back to sit up straight. "The last thing we need is a combined project. It takes too much time and our two classes have different scheduled times too."

Momo had her hands holding her arms as she kept her sweater tight around her. "I'm sure we can work around it." She suggested with a gentle shrug.

"Not with the way Aizawa has been grilling us into the ground. I mean, really Deku? Joining with Class B? A fifth grader could have come up with that!" Bakugou shouted.

"Bakugou, just stop it okay." You said with a frown. "Leave him alone, it's a good idea!"

Instead of looking bashful of shy or ashamed, Midoriya just stared at Katsuki with emotionless green eyes. Midoriya had started getting more and more fed up with Bakugou's antics and the two started butting heads more and more. "What is your problem?"

"HUH?!"

"You fucking heard me, don't make me repeat myself." You had to double take as you looked to Midoriya, shocked that you just heard what he said come out of his mouth. He kept his hands in his pockets as he looked down at Bakugou in half disgust. Iida was shocked himself, not even trying to correct Midoriya on his language.

Bakugou paused with a disbelieving look. He closed his crimson red eyes and let out a light scoff as he moved to put his hands on the table as he stood up. "My problem? If I find an idea stupid, I'll call it stupid."

"No." Midoriya denied with a shake of his head. "No, this is deeper. You have an issue with me and I want to know why? What did I ever do to you!?" He asked as he put a hand to his chest.

"You coming to this fucking school." Bakugou specified. "You trying to act like you aren't the same quirkless little loser that you were four years ago! A hand me down quirk from All Might will never change that."

"Oh my God." Midoriya laughed in disbelief. "Why won't you grow up, Kacchan! How on earth you can feel threatened by me is something I can't even try and understand!"

Bakugou's eyebrows raised. "Threatened by you? Oh no, Deku. I can't be threatened by nothing."

You gasped as you snapped to look at the blond. "What the hell!"

"That's not very nice, Bakugou." Todoroki let out with a frown and furrowed eyebrows.

Bakugou just stared at Midoriya. "I preferred you in middle school. At least then you knew your place."

Midoriya didn't move for a moment before he slowly started to nod his head. Almost like he understood where Bakugou was coming from. However, not even a second later, Bakugou was on the floor and there was a flash of light.

Midoriya had pinned Bakugou to the ground as he raised his right hand up and punched the blond again with little to no humanity in his eyes. The green haired boy, seemed more determined to kill than anything.

"MIDORIYA!" Kirishima shouted as he tried to pull the green haired boy off of Bakugou.

Bakugou grinned as he laughed with a bloody smile but just managed to get Midoriya on the side of his face. A spark of his palm was aimed at Midoriya's face but Midoriya easily dodged with One for All, before punching him square in the nose.

Suddenly Shinso's binding cloth wrapped around Midoriya as he was pulled off of Bakugou. He frowned with a similar expression to Aizawa Sensei. Sero quickly managed to tape up Bakugou to keep the blond away from Midoriya as well. With the both of them restrained and restricted from each other.

Midoriya let out a frustrated growl as he fought against Shinso's binding. Bakugou let out a laugh as he grinned. "You punch like shit!"

"FUCK YOU!" Midoriya shouted at the blond with thin small pupils as he untangled himself and walked out of the common room.

-Glitch1d

#midoriya izuku angst #midoriya izuku #midoriya x reader #izuku x reader #mha x y/n #kirishima x reader #izuku midoriya x reader #deku x reader #izuku midoriya angst #tw angst

[unreliablesnake]

Tough choice (Simon Riley x reader)

Summary: After a successful mission, you get a lot of job offers. But there's one that gets your attention.

Note: We lost a hero, it's hard to fill his shoes. / This will probably get another part where Simon confesses his feelings. And tells the reader about what he thought of them during the first meeting.

Warnings: character death mentioned

Ever since that mission last year, people have been extremely interested in getting you on their side. You were swimming in options, going from briefing to briefing to find that one job which managed to pique your interest. The CIA wanted you higher up the ladder, giving you more responsibilities, while some PMC’s sniffed out what happened and were now trying to sweep you off your feet. Shadow Company offered a fortune for your services, but even Phillip Graves’s charm wasn’t enough to convince you.

And now Laswell brought you an opportunity that made you think. Task force 141. “Ask Alex for reference,” was all she said before handing you the number of Captain John Price. 

It took days to get a hold of your friend, but once you did, he spoke highly of the team he helped out every now and then. “I think they need you to fill some big shoes. A sergeant was KIA and now Ghost needs a partner on the field,” he explained.

“Ghost?”

“Mhm. Man’s a mystery, but he’s damn good at what he does. If I were you, I would go for it.”

So you called Price and organized a meeting with him. This was the first round of the interview process, the opportunity to learn more about your possible future boss, the team, and, of course, how they operate. The captain works with a sergeant called Gaz, while Ghost had worked with Soap, another sergeant who had been KIA. That latter you already knew from Alex. 

Price told you to visit the base the next time they're all there, and you gladly accepted the invitation. The team’s mystery man, the one you would have to work with, grabbed your attention. His superior spoke highly of him, and the fact Alex also emphasized that he was excellent at what he did made you curious. He certainly lived up to his call sign by keeping his identity so hidden. You didn’t know his name, you didn’t know his age, you didn’t know what he looked like. All you knew is that he was a Brit, just like Price and Gaz. 

It took your schedules to align almost four weeks, but eventually you made it to their location and were greeted by the captain as if you were already a member of their team. His warm smile brought one to your lips too, and you soon found yourselves deep in a conversation about Kate and Alex. He liked working with them, and despite Alex being labeled a deserter, the team often crossed paths with him. That was good. Meeting him every once in a while would be nice.

“Ghost is waiting for us in my office,” Price began to say, only to pause for a brief moment when he stopped in front of a door. “But I think I’ll give you two the chance to talk alone. I already told him about you, even mentioned that I want you to work with us, but he has to be the one to finalize our decision.”

Nodding, you waited for him to open the door, then stepped inside the dimly lit room. The window shades were pulled down and the only source of light came from the small lamp on the desk. Ghost was sitting in the swivel chair behind it, his eyes scanning a file that you assumed was yours.

You opened your mouth to say something, but Ghost interrupted you right away. “I want you on my team,” he stated sternly as if it was an order, then threw the file on the top of several other documents. 

Despite your best efforts to keep things professional, a snort coming from you filled the room upon hearing his words. “So does everybody else,” you informed him, slowly folding your arms over your chest. “I already turned down several offers. Convince me; why should I pick this team?”

The lieutenant stood up and walked over to you, finally letting you realize just how much bigger he was. He was intimidating, yes, but that didn’t stop you from keeping eye contact with him. “You know Laswell. If you trust her, you can trust us,” he said.

“It’s not a matter of trust.”

“Then what do you want to hear?”

A sigh left your lips. It wasn’t about the money. If it was, you would be working for Shadow Company now. To be honest, you didn’t even know what you wanted from the job. But there was one question that bugged you since you first heard about this guy. “Are you a good person?” you asked him seriously.

Since you could only see a small part of his face, you almost missed that surprised glint in his eyes. “No,” came his answer. 

For a few moments you just watched him, thinking about his response. He was honest, that you truly appreciated, but you could hear something in his voice that you couldn’t quite place yet. Regret? Pain? Doubt? Self-hate? Whatever it was, it made him sound and look human. Without realizing what you were doing, you took a step closer to him, making this giant man lean his hips against the desk to build back some distance. 

“When can I start?” 

Out of the corner of your eye you noticed the way his large fingers tightly gripped the edge of the desk at your words, as if he was trying to ground himself. Was he thinking about the sergeant he had lost? If it was you, your mind would always return to the person who died under your command. What if this one dies too? You would be asking yourself this over and over again. So you didn’t want to rush him, you just stood there and waited for him to pull himself together. 

And then, after several minutes of deafening silence, he finally spoke up. “Good decision. Price will tell you the details,” Ghost informed you before moving past you to rush out the door.

#simon ghost riley #simon riley #ghost #simon riley x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #ghost x reader #modern warfare #call of duty #mw3 #mw2

[tarjapearce]

Hi hi! Thank you for letting me go ahead and send it through! I didn’t want to overwhelm you, that’s absolutely fine still take your time and keep taking those breaks mamas!

I’ve seen a lot of single dilf Miguel x reader but I don’t think I’ve ever read where reader was a single parent. So I was thinking reader is new to spider society and on the day she’s told to join she has to bring her baby because she didn’t have a babysitter. Well Miguel sees her and it’s like he’s instantly drawn to her like sunflowers are to the sun, sunflowers move where the sun goes and when the sun doesn’t shine they face each other (She’s kinda like his day and night if that makes sense) but instead of acting on it he dismisses her but kinda admires her and her baby from a distance.

Well one day she’s having a small part for the main group and she invited Miguel because she always felt the feelings but also dismissed them. Then after the party he stays to help and the end up getting closer and yeah. It can be nsfw I don’t mind, I also hope this makes sense it’s been in my mind for a while and you’d be so good for this!

The rest is all up to you if you decide to write it pretty girl. Just remember to take your time and all the breaks you need. Mental, physical, and emotional health is important don’t overwork yourself 💕

Im so sorry this taken me soo long. Hope this make it justice 😊❤️. Thanks for requesting dear.

If it wasn't for the webs that stopped Rhino as he was about to deliver the last blow to you, you'd be certainly gravely injured or worse.

Another Spiderwoman, clad in a red, yellow and black suit had helped you through. Both of your minds in sync, that soon earned you the win over a now unconscious Rhino.

She introduced herself as Jessica Drew. Another Spiderwoman from another universe. At first her explanation of what the Arachnohumanoid-Polymultiverse was, had your head spinning and confused, but after quite a while of visiting you on duty, and clearing up as much questions you needed, you had been officially 'invited' to join, by Miguel’s orders.

You've never met the man, but the way people talked about him, made you not only curious but excited to meet him. Everyone described him as a good yet scary boss.

----

"Let's go"

"Hope you don't mind?" Your nervous smile reached Jess as you packed in your child's stuff in the baby sling. A couple of diapers, extra clothes and bottles.

"Look at this beautiful boy" Jessica held him as you finished packing up stuff, "Didn't know you had one"

"Oh, well. You never asked. Plus we always met on duty. The babysitter I get for him called in sick and I have none as a back up. Hope Miguel doesn't mind."

"What about his dad?"

Your head shook softly and sighed.

"He decided to not be part of our lives."

Jessica just nodded, lips pursing.

"His loss, really. Anyways, ready to go?"

------

Not even in your wildest dreams you'd imagine something as The Babylon Tower or HQ as most Spiders called it, could exist. Different sort of Spiders paraded around and greeted Jess upon her arrival.

Some even greeted your toddler that cooed and giggled upon the many heroes that came his way.

"Let's get you to Miguel." Jess walked ahead and you followed, you baby's eyes wandered, marveling at the different colors and people. You'd sometimes make hamocs and web playgrounds for him to be more active. Your babysitter was the only person you could actually trust your identity, she had even helped you sometimes by calling the cops, or even fixing your suit.

Another man in a pink bathrobe approached and gasped at your baby

"Please tell me we're getting a Spider Parents exclusive division now."

You chuckled and Jess just rolled her eyes

"Sweetie, this is Peter."

"As in Peter Parker?"

"Nah. As in Peter Benjamin 'B' Parker."

"Oh... And whose that cutie over there?" Your eyes trailed to Mayday as she beamed at you.

"Mayday. A lil spider in growth"

"She has spider powers?! Oh my goodness!"

"It's chaos, I know. What about yours?"

"Normal baby so far. Should I be concerned?"

"Not really, it comes in the least unexpected moment and them BAM! Spider baby. "

You giggled as you made your way through the halls to a much more secluded and dark area.

"Miguel?"

Your baby couldn't help but babble as a hulking figure approached from the furthest corner.

"He's so dramatic" Peter whispered and again, you giggled under your mouth.

Jess introduced you both and explained your progress to him. Apparently they had been observing you for quite the time.

" I apologize for bringing my child. My babysitter called in sick."

"No problem."

Even though his voice was calm, the coldness in it made you recoil to yourself. His scrutinizing gaze fixed on you and your baby. By instinct you held him close.

Red eyes settled on yours, but the subtle stare contest was interrupted by the anomaly alarm.

-----

As your time in the Spider Society advanced, your interactions with Miguel improved significantly, and by that it'd mean longer conversations, a joke here and there and of course moments so subtle between you both that you had to be quite analytical to know that he gave glances your way or lean to you slightly whenever speaking to him.

Not that you were inmune to his looks, but his patience stood proudly among his other virtues. And to your surprise he seemed to handle Mayday well enough. What actually made you to be drawn to him is that in one of your many occasions that you couldn't leave your baby boy alone, and brought him into HQ with you, he'd be instantly looking for Miguel.

Your cheeks would flush impossibly red as your baby clung to his leg and erupted in a bubbly laughter.

"God, I'm so so sorry, he just... seem to like the blue alot."

An airy chuckle was everything that escaped his lips. Of course there was so many questions he'd want to do out of curiosity. He had noticed you didn't wear a ring, neither talked about the baby's father. It was something he never seemed to coax out of you. No matter how subtle he was about it.

Pa pa

You both froze as your baby mumbled and grabbed a few strands of his hair.

"I'm so sorry..." You pried the baby away from him and fled the place as soon as you could. He just watched you leave, the inner turmoil in his heart was surely playing dirty. The way the baby had clung to him, and climbed ontop of his chest made his heart to leap after a long long while.

-----

You had been avoiding him, for sure. Ever since your little incident with the baby mumbling his first words, you had taken your distance with him. Of course you weren't ready for your baby's actions, but the fear of going through all that again, had surely dismissed all possible blooming feelings you had for your boss. Besides he seemed way too busy and aloof to try and pursue anything with anyone.

Not that you blamed him, the multiverse depended basically on him. It was for the best.

----

The moment you were falling asleep, your Spider senses tingled so hard you had a little headache coming your way.

Dread settled on your brain as your baby boy screamed and wailed.

No No No!

You were already darting towards his room, and pulled him with one of your webs towards you, holding onto him for dear life as the creature shredded his crib to bits with its elongated talons.

Your eyes went wide at the sudden action, your baby kept wailing in fear, earning the humanoid like creature to snap it's attention to you. You were fast, but the creature was faster and sliced through your flesh in one of your sides. You fell on your back protecting your son from the impact with a groan.

You needed to get out, or at least put your baby out of danger.

Survival mode kicked in as you dodged and took as much damage as you could from the creature that seemed way too keen into hurting your child.

You fought but exhaustion was taking over, the blows of the creature only seemed harder and powerful, but no matter what your priority was to keep your child safe, even if it costed your life.

The creature pounced on you, but the final blow never came. There was a commotion as you tried to get up, all you could hear was inhuman shrieks, growlings and finally the engine of a too familiar motorcycle revving up.

Your baby was pried away from your hands and you whimpered

"N-No!" even in your injured state, your mother instinct kicked in.

Your name was called, several times until you were held against a sturdy yet warm body with such care and tenderness that stilled your thrashing body. Vision blurred, but the last thing you saw the led lights of a blue and red suit, red eyes staring at you with concern.

-----

You woke up in HQ's medical bay. Pain surging through your body as you tried to sit down, Miguel's hand stopped you. Face with his ever permanent frown and something else. Worry.

"Where's... Where's my baby?"

"He's fine. Out of danger." His hands reached for a new set of bandages, he took your arm gently and began replacing the bandages himself, some were stained in a fresh layer of blood.

The silence fell upon you both until he decided to break it.

"You... were brave. We still don't know what that creature was, yet you didn't hesitate to fight back."

"It was going for my son... If I would've got there a second too late..." Voice broke and eyes filled up with tears.

The knot only tightened around his throat upon remembering the anomaly alarm in your world and saw you fighting for your son's life. He didn't think twice before jumping into action.

"The anomaly was terminated."

Terminated, not contained.

"I see"

"Your safety is all that matters to... this organization"

To me

You nodded

"Thanks."

----

He had learned that you were a single parent thanks to Jessica. Something he had trouble understanding sometimes. How could a man abandon his own family? He'd give everything to have one more chance and at least make things right, he wouldn't interfere with Gabriella, no matter how much he'd like to, just to keep her safe and alive.

But seeing you fighting for your son, made that side of him he thought buried forever to claw back full force on him. You were a great mother that wouldn't hesitate to attack and lash out at everything that menaced your son. It was the last straw for him.

----

A couple of months had gone by since your incident, and as a retribution you had decided to do a small gathering. Not only to say thanks to them, but to also celebrate your son's birthday.

Wounds were properly healed thanks to Miguel's attention and cares. Music echoed through your apartment. You weren't sure he'd show up, but the invitation was delivered to him.

Your son was having the time of his life as Peter and Jess played with him. Mayday was such a great play date and everyone seemed to have a great time. A portal was open to your kitchen and Miguel stepped out. Suit underneath civilian clothes. It was weird to see him out of the blue and red suit you were always used to see.

"Hey" You smiled and he placed a little present in your hands.

"Hope he likes it."

"I'm sure he will, thanks."

Your smile turned bashful as he leaned on the kitchen counter. Your place seemed normal, cozy even. Full with your son and you pictures. One was cut out and the only trace of a man existing in your life was the forgotten hand you were oblivious in cutting out. And even so, he seemed unsure since his fingers were barely touching you or your son.

"Here." You offered a plate full of food, which he took and scarfed down.

"When was the last time you actually ate?"

His eyes locked on yours, wide by the sudden question.

"There is more if you want to."

"I don't want to overstep-"

"The rest already had their portion. And I frankly went a bit overboard with it. So it's fine."

Your baby's laughter roared from the other side, earning you a chuckle.

"I'm... sorry though"

"For?"

"Him, calling you that. I know what happened and I'm sure it's not nice to just-"

"Couldn't blame a baby. Is it... ok for me to ask what happened to the father?"

"He just decided that we weren't enough for him. So he went for a new one. Away from us."

His eyebrows knit deeper and a light scowl drew in his face.

"But, it's fine. It's less of a burden knowing that you don't have to raise another man child."

He chuckled and nodded

"You're a great mother." You served him another plate but stopped when the corner of his mouth was doused in sauce. Giggling you reached for napkin and got in your tip toes.

"Excuse me" You wiped his mouth and smiled, "Sorry, can't help it"

His hand went to the back of your nape and leaned down for a kiss.

"Lo siento..." (Im sorry)

It was something that felt out of his character, he knew much, but it couldn't be helped. You had come like a little storm that turned into a hurricane in his heart. And that harrowing night where he saw you fighting with everything you had, only grounded him into allowing himself to feel and experience for once.

You got in your tip toes again and pulled him down for a kiss. There was no words needed, just a look of mutual understanding and complicity between the both. A kiss in the palm of your hand sealed up the implicit deal.

You were his now.

#miguel o'hara #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara x you #atsv miguel #Spider person reader #t writes✨ #miguel o'hara imagine #miguel ohara fanfiction #miguel o'hara fluff #atsv angst #miguel atsv

[cobaltperun]

Woe out the Storm (11) - Holding out for a Hero

Wednesday Addams x female Reader

Summary: It took some time, but eventually you came to realize only Wednesday Addams could look at the raging storm of chaos and destruction and make a home out of it. Only she could listen to the cacophony of the roaring thunder and hear a melody.

Story warnings: Wednesday Addams, violence, slow burn

Story Masterlist / First part / Previous part / Next part

Word count: 5.1k

-Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat-

Wednesday woke up in a bed that was softer than her own, though not uncomfortable, something about it made her feel uneasy in a good way. And then the memories of her last waking moments came to her mind, and she couldn’t help but hide her face in the pillow.

Which wasn’t the right choice…

Her being in your bed only reminded her that you spent the storm last night outside. Well, in your shed, but she knew that was hardly the right protection from the storm for you.

She couldn’t even comprehend what possessed her to sleep in your bed, to blatantly ignore her allergy in favor of… whatever this was. It felt wrong, it felt like she was intruding on something, like she was forcing herself into a part of your life she had no business being in. That was how she felt.

She most certainly didn’t feel like she was trying to fill the void left by your absence.

So, she just remained there, after all, with you and Enid gone, she had nothing to worry about. No one else but her and Thing would know about this.

~X~

The damn rain was persistent. It’s been raining since last night and there were no signs it would stop anytime soon. Speaking of persistent, Enid was in your shed. She came to tell you the mayor died, but she stayed for other reasons…

“You have to go back to our room, Y/N! Look at you, you’re exhausted!” she exclaimed, worried and anxious for multiple reasons connected to you staying in the shed.

“Forget it,” yet you remained stubborn, lazily leaning back against your chair and throwing your head back. You really were exhausted. There were so many electronic devices in the shed and that was enough to make you even more on edge than you already were. One moment of weakness and you’d likely blow the entire shed up.

“Wednesday made a mistake, but you shouldn’t ruin all of your work over it!” Enid argued, throwing her hands down in frustration.

You narrowed your eyes at that. Wednesday… You cooled down, significantly, but you were still angry at her. Well, anger wasn’t quite the right word. “Why couldn’t she just take me with you? I could have done something,” you sighed, you were hurt, you were frightened by what could have happened. It was a similar feeling to seeing that person a few nights ago, only this time it wasn’t for you, but for Wednesday and Enid. Why couldn’t Wednesday just trust you to be able to help her?

“And put you in danger as well? Come on, Y/N, didn’t she do enough already?! She placed you in a bathtub filled with water!” Enid clearly couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You’ve done more than I did, you just accepted her right from the start and that’s how she responds?”

“Stop, Enid,” you closed your eyes, hoping she would get a hint and give up.

“I won’t stop, Wednesday doesn’t appreciate what either of us did for her,” she was hurt, she believed Wednesday didn’t care. In fact, you were willing to bet Enid was even more hurt by the fact Wednesday didn’t take you along than you were. To Enid it probably looked like Wednesday was more than willing to put her in danger while simultaneously making sure you weren’t in danger, at least the same kind of danger.

“And part of that is our fault as well. Yes, she’d cold, she doesn’t show her emotions and all that, but she’s honest. We both got exactly what she said she was, so you can either give up on being friends with her, or understand that’s how Wednesday works and accept it,” you’d accept it, but you just needed to get away from her for a few days so you could properly figure out what to do. You were trying to make sense of what you were feeling, because, whether you were willing to admit it or not, you knew you had it bad for the girl.

She was just… special. The way she accepted you, the way she wasn’t bothered by being seen with you in places that would imply a much more intimate relationship between you two, the way she wasn’t afraid of your lightning. You hated to admit it, but you craved that, and she was giving it to you, regardless of that probably being unconscious on her part. It wasn’t just her acceptance of you, she was ambitious, smart, not the easiest or warmest to approach to, but easy to be around as long as you knew what you were getting into. Wednesday would judge based on opinions, or behavior, but never for things out of your control, and you admired that. And, as you said to Enid, with Wednesday you got exactly who she said she was. If she said she wasn’t a friend material, she most certainly was right, she wasn’t a friend material in a more accepted definition of a friend.

And you were so stupidly drawn in by everything Wednesday you just knew you couldn’t let go. But she did hurt you, and she did make you angry, and she was reckless and made you worried. For all of that you needed some time away from her, and hopefully that would get the message across to her.

“I really can’t change your mind?” Enid asked, even if already knew the answer.

“Nope. My mind’s made up.”

~X~

You would be a liar if you said you weren’t expecting Thing to show up. “You’re not off the hook either, buddy,” you said as you looked at him. Unlike with Enid you couldn’t avert your eyes, you needed to watch the hand to know what he was telling you.

You wondered if anyone ever used Thing for ‘Talk to the hand’ joke.

He began signing, telling you basically the same words Enid did. That you needed to come back to your room for your own sake.

“I’m good here,” you refused, even if you weren’t, as you said, good here.

‘Wednesday misses you!’ he revealed, even if the statement didn’t make much sense. Still, you figured there must be something you wanted to accomplish because, even, or rather especially, if it was true he’d likely lose several fingers.

“Thing,” you sighed, not willing to hope. “She made her decision, and so did I.”

Yet, Thing remained stubborn. ‘She loves you!'

Your eyes widened at that, and you nearly lit up like fireworks from momentarily losing your focus. That would be a dumb way to die, especially since you'd take Thing with you, and you were sure Wednesday would bring your soul back to torment you for the rest of her life if that happened. “Come on, Thing. Sure, she doesn’t hate me, but she loves me? Don’t give me that,” you couldn’t just believe him, even if you were sure no one in this school knew Wednesday as well as Thing did. Hell, there might not be anyone in the world aside from her parents who knew her better than Thing and you were sure he could give even them a run for their money. It really depended on how much time she spent with Thing as a child.

‘She does!’ Thing remained adamant in his beliefs and kept claiming that.

“If she really misses me, well, first she needs to apologize for tying me up and leaving me in a bathtub. Then we can talk,” there, a compromise, you set definitive conditions for your return, and you were sure Thing would tell Wednesday what you wanted. Somehow, with Enid and Thing coming to talk to you, you almost felt like you and Wednesday were going through a breakup. Their reactions definitely backed that feeling up.

~X~

Reuniting with her uncle Fester and attending a funeral kept Wednesday’s mind off of you and Enid leaving. She was genuinely happy to see him and she always got along with him. And since he needed a place to lay low she had just the spot for him.

“This place belongs to a friend,” she said as they entered the beekeeper house.

“You actually made a friend? That poor kid will be going home in a body bag,” it was an understandable assumption.

Yet something clutched Wednesday’s heart and refused to let go as she looked away from her uncle. Eugene was still in a coma, she was told by her mother you might die for her, her vision made it clear you could be attacked by the monster, and you were already attacked a few nights ago, Tyler got hurt, Enid could have been hurt as well. It seemed like all she accomplished in her investigation was to get people hurt. She wanted to take it all back. To join another club and skip attending, to never start talking to you more than she needed, and the same went for Enid and Tyler, if she could take it all back and make sure you didn’t get close to her none of this would have happened to the four of you.

Only those who were Addams were safe, it seemed. The rest got hurt by being close to her.

Like Nero over a decade ago.

She truly was meant to be alone. Rejected by society and causing pain to those that didn’t reject her.

“Oh! I like a hideout that comes with snacks,” Fester’s excitement made her snap out of her thoughts.

“Those bees are hibernating. They’re practically Eugene’s children,” yet he still reached in to grab them. “That means do not eat them!” at least she could keep something precious to Eugene safe while he was in a coma, if she couldn’t fix what happened with you, Enid and Tyler.

Fester turned around, obviously puzzled by her reaction, but he put the bee back. “You know, when you give me that death stare of disapproval, you remind me of your mother,” he pointed out.

Great. Another reminded of her mother and what she said.

“Speaking of scary things, you know what kind of monster you’re dealing with?” he asked gleefully, much like a child that was excited about a new toy.

“I haven’t been able to identify it,” she handed him Xavier’s drawing and the moment he looked at it he seemed to recognize it.

“Oooh, it’s called a Hyde,” he revealed and handed the picture to her.

“As in Jekyll and Hyde?” she asked.

“Mhm.”

“You’ve seen one before?” finally, she was getting somewhere.

“In ’83, during my vacay at the Zurich Institute for the Criminally Insane. Where I got my first lobotomy, but you know lobotomies. They’re like tattoos. Can’t just get one,” he wasn’t focusing on what was important and she needed him to do that.

“Tell me about the Hyde,” she reminded him of her goal.

“Ah, Olga Malacova,” he seemed to be reminiscing. “Jeez. She had it all. Beauty, brains and a penchant for necrophilia,” he was getting sidetracked again. “Olga was a concert pianist until one night she transformed in the middle of a Chopin sonata. Massacred a dozen audience members and three music critics.”

“What triggered her? Or did she just change on her own? How was she stopped?” she needed to know all of those information. At least now she was certain the monster, the Hyde, was also a human.

“No idea about the first two, but a raiju stopped her. Raiju are usually handy when dealing with outcasts as strong as Hydes, fight fire with fire, or fire with lightning in this case,” again with raiju being useful. It was as if the entire world wanted to make fun of her for getting attached to you, a raiju.

“There’s never been any mention of Hydes in any outcast book,” she was frustrated, but she couldn’t let him know what was the other reason for her frustration. “And Nevermore is reputed for having the best collection,” she nearly snapped, irked by everything going on.

“You try Nathaniel Faulkner’s diary?” Fester suggested and her silence and turning around to face him again clued him in that she didn’t. “Mmmm! Before he founded Nevermore, Faulkner traveled the world, cataloging every outcast community.”

“How do you know this?” it wasn’t an information she expected Fester to have.

“You think your parents can’t keep their hands off each other now, oy vey. I showed up unannounced one night in Gomez’s dorm room, let’s just say I wasn’t interrupting a pillow fight,” he chuckled at his own joke.

“Uncle Fester!” she was growing tired of unnecessary details. “The diary, where is it?”

He gave her a restrained laugh and focused once again. “Nightshades Library. Your dad parked me there and said I should settle in for a long stretch and that’s when I found this nifty little safe. I was hoping for a stash of cash or jewels, but instead I found a diary.”

“We’ll sneak into the Nightshades Library tonight. In the meantime, lay low,” she instructed him, hopefully that would be enough to keep him out of trouble.

“Is Elijah’s kid coming with us? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a raiju shift!” his words made Wednesday freeze for a moment.

Of course, her parents told him about you.

“She’s not, and she won’t shift,” she opened the doors and left before he could reply. Only then did she remember to remind him of one last crucial detail. “And leave the bees alone!” she warned sternly, and just in time as he turned to grab the bees the moment she first stepped outside.

~X~

Thing was more than a little annoying. He actually went to talk to you, traitorous hand. ‘Just talk to her and apologize!’ Thing had the guts to demand that of Wednesday.

“Do you want me to apologize for putting people in danger or for keeping them out of it, make up your mind,” Wednesday was losing her patience with him with every word he said.

‘You miss Y/N!’ he claimed, as if he could understand how she felt.

“Don’t get involved with this, Thing. I won’t warn you again,” she seethed, already feeling the turmoil in her heart due to his bold, albeit true, claim. She did miss having you around, even more so now that she knew what the monster was.

It was ridiculous, how she wanted to share her information with you, yet wanted to keep you as far from the case as possible in order to keep you safe. It was a paradox of sorts. “I have more important business to attend to,” she stopped paying attention to Thing’s persistent attempts to get her to talk to you. She wouldn’t. You made it clear you were angry at her.

You made it clear you didn’t want to see her.

And if this would keep you alive, then this was the best option.

For you, at the very least.

And for Wednesday as well, after all, she’d rather know you were alive and well, than carry the guilt of your death on her consciousness.

~X~

Despite an unwanted interaction with Xavier things were going as planned and Thing opened the safe holding the diary.

Wednesday took it and then a pocket watch caught her eye. “Was that Faulkner’s?” she asked, assuming it was, but somehow she still felt the need to ask.

“Hmm? No, I think it was some raiju’s from way before Faulkner. Faulkner believed it would keep the school safe or something,” Fester told her.

Wednesday frowned, again with a raiju. Knowing her luck it probably belonged to Diego, Goody’s raiju, and she wanted nothing to do with it. But her fingers still brushed against it and her head snapped back.

When Wednesday opened her eyes, she was in the middle of a burning field, Diego, Goody’s raiju, was in his beast form, staring down Crackstone.

“Cursed beast, I shall vanquish you where you stand!” Crackstone yelled, sending torrents of fire toward the blue wolf, yet the raiju remained still, countering the flames with his lightning. It looked like Crackstone was trying to restrain him, but whenever he managed to do it, Diego would simply turn into lightning and move.

Seeing the exhaustion on Crackstone’s face, Wednesday realized they’ve been fighting for a while and the pilgrim was at his limit. And Diego knew that too, as he shifted back into his human form, not a single wound on his body, though it was littered with old scars. “You’re wrong Joseph. I’ll vanquish you, I shall end Goody’s quest for vengeance tonight,” he raised his hand, gathering lightning around it to end the man’s life in one attack. “Your ambush was a mistake.”

His eyes were yellow, and Wednesday thought she figured out how it worked. Red eyes turned to orange when shifting, orange turned to yellow, and yellow to blue, indicating increased heat of lightning that came with shifting into the beast form. The stronger the raiju, the hotter the lightning, she supposed.

But then Crackstone began laughing. “You are a beast cursed by arrogance, be judged by God, my own and your own!”

Diego looked puzzled for a moment, but then a figure appeared behind him. Wearing a battle armor similar to that of a samurai and wearing a cloak to cover the head, the most striking feature of the figure were completely blue eyes and Wednesday recognized them. Those were the same eyes she saw in her vision.

Lightning burst from the figure, forcing Diego to jump to the side and shift, at the very least he was doing much better than you did, as he immediately countered. He fired bolts of lightning from his mouth, destroying the ground around the hooded figure, man, Wednesday guessed judging by the size and shape of Diego’s enemy.

Yet the man merely raised his hand, halting the advances of Diego’s lightning bolts with his own lightning. Was he a raiju too? With his eyes already blue despite not being in the beast form? By Wednesday’s logic it would mean he was stronger than Diego, and from the looks of it that was the case.

Diego landed on the ground and paused, waiting for the man’s attack. It never came, the man was simply content with observing him. Diego’s howl mixed with the sound of thunder as massive amounts of electricity began surrounding him. His body began turning entirely into lightning and he rushed the man, hitting him right in the chest and lifting him off the ground. Diego’s attack was brutal, zapping and slamming into the man from different angles repeatedly and gaining speed and power with every attack.

To finish it, he fired three more lightning bolts from his mouth and landed back on the ground.

Wednesday watched in awe as lightning danced around Diego, following his every whim, and responding to his will. Not a single spark was wasted, he was in complete control, and Wednesday wondered how it would look like when you achieved this kind of control.

The other raiju got up, the cloak covering his head was gone, revealing that it was, in fact, a man. He looked like he was around forty, with blue hair that spiked up as if constantly pushed up by lightning. His smirk revealed sharp teeth, and an angry, almost animalistic look on his face made the sight of him chilling to most people.

The beast and the man clashed, lightning bursting around both of them, destroying and reshaping the field. They rose up to the skies, clashing so fast Wednesday barely managed to keep up with them. She could see Diego biting down on the man’s forearm, yet his teeth didn’t pierce the man’s skin, instead the attack only left Diego open for a lightning strike right to the mouth and the blood coming from it made it clear Diego’s throat got severely damaged.

Yet, Goody’s raiju didn’t stop. He backed away, charging up lightning and forming a spear out of it to send straight at the man. Judging by the intensity of lightning Diego gathered, Wednesday guessed it was one of his stronger abilities, yet the man just caught and crushed the spear in his bare hands.

The man created a tornado of lightning around him and Diego, trapping them both, yet he didn’t seem worried in the slightest as the tornado closed in on them and exploded in a burst of lightning and sparks. That display, done by simply clapping his hands together, was more powerful than anything Wednesday saw you, your father or Diego do, and it left a massive crater on the ground and Diego severely injured and covered in blood. The man didn’t take any damage from his own attack.

Despite taking all those hits, and his own attack, the man just brushed the dirt and dust off his armor, as if asking Diego if that was all he could do. Diego, defiant to his likely end, got back up, much to the man’s clear amusement. The man disappeared, he didn’t even zap like you did, he just vanished and appeared in a burst of lightning next to Diego. His fist, engulfed by lightning, just barely missed Diego, but then an arc of lightning came as a follow-up to the uppercut, catching and wounding Diego.

The wolf howled in pain, whimpering as lightning, probably for the first time in his life, left him paralyzed. What followed was an effortless toying with the wolf raiju, slamming him into the ground, just slightly shifting to the side to dodge the counterattack, and then hitting Diego with another lightning until Goody’s raiju shifted back into his human form.

He didn’t look hurt, and that made Wednesday think the injuries to one form didn’t transfer to the other. The pain probably did, as Diego fell back, writhing on the ground from the aftereffects of lightning strikes he endured.

“Without beast,” Diego gasped, barely able to sit up and though he didn’t finish his sentence Wednesday understood what he meant. The enemy had defeated him without even using the beast form raiju had.

“Beast?” for the first time the raiju spoke. He laughed, throwing his head back and covering his eyes. “You have grown arrogant, my beast!” lightning crackled in the man’s hand. Wednesday didn’t understand what he meant but seeing Diego’s eyes fill with terror she realized Goody’s raiju finally understood something.

“Raijin,” he hung his head low, accepting the defeat and imminent death as lightning struck him. His enemy disappeared in a flash of lightning, and Wednesday watched as Diego’s eyes, blue, not from being a raiju, but from the amount of lightning that struck him, clung to life.

“Diego!” that was Goody’s voice, she made it to the battlefield only to grasp her raiju’s hand as he breathed his last breath.

Wednesday gasped, her vision was over, and she realized Fester and Thing were next to her. Thing stuttered as he asked her if she was okay.

“What happened? You were unconscious for fifteen minutes! Morticia’s visions never lasted that long!” her uncle was equally worried.

“I’m fine,” she said, despising how shaky her voice was, even if most people wouldn’t notice it. She finally knew what attacked you, and considering how easily Diego was defeated it was a miracle that you didn’t get killed at the mayor’s office. But there was no mistaking it. Those blue eyes were the same blue eyes she saw when she touched you that night. And it didn’t make any sense. How was the same person alive over four hundred years later? Or was the power passed down in that form? She didn’t understand it, and she needed to because if that was after you now, she’d need all the information she could get her hands on to make sure you survived.

~X~

“These are some sweet digs. How’d you swing your own single? And where’s the raiju kid?” Fester asked as he looked outside the window of her room.

“My former roommates couldn’t handle my toxic personality,” she refused to answer questions related to you. As she flipped through the pages she was looking for two things, the Hyde and, as much as she wouldn’t admit it, raiju. The Hyde was the first one she found and she showed it to Fester. “Here it is. Faulkner describes Hydes as artists by nature but equally vindictive in temperament. Born of mutation, the Hyde lays dormant until unleashed by a traumatic event or unlocked through chemical inducement or hypnosis. This act causes the Hyde to develop an immediate bond with its liberator, who the creature now sees as its master. It becomes the willing instrument of whatever nefarious agenda this new master might propose.”

“Anyone willing to unlock a Hyde is a next-level sicko,” Fester commented, but that wasn’t important to Wednesday, no, another information was much more crucial to her investigation.

“That means I’m not looking for one killer, but two. The monster and its master,” the knocking on her door made her put the diary away before anyone, likely Thornhill, could see it. And it was Thornhill, luckily, Fester managed to hide in time.

Thornhill sighed as Wednesday approached her. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“I was just working on my novel,” she easily lied to cover up what she was actually doing.

“Enid has requested to room with Yoko for the rest of the school year,” Thornhill’s words made Wednesday feel like someone was stabbing her in the back with a serrated knife.

“She did?” she tried to keep her voice neutral, as if she was already expecting this. Somehow, the reality of Enid leaving only now became something she fully understood. Because up until now  Enid’s departure, as well as your own, felt temporary, as if it would end when Enid and you decided you had enough.

“When there’s a falling out, I like to get both girls’ perspectives on what happened, you two seemed as thick as thieves,” Thornhill continued, clearly expecting an answer from Wednesday.

Wednesday turned away and took a few steps to distance herself from Thornhill. “Ultimately, thieves turn on each other. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

“Deflect all you want, but you and I both know that you care about Enid. And you have to admit she managed to bring out a spark of warmth in you,” well, Wednesday found that to be rather offensive. “Oh, don’t worry,” Thornhill raised her hand slightly. “Just a tiny spark.”

Wednesday crossed her arms at that, though she remained silent.

“Barely perceptible to the average eye, but I noticed. Part of the dorm experience is making friends with people that you wouldn’t normally connect with. And those friendships often turn into lifelong bonds,” Thornhill was trying to get her to fix things with Enid, but she wasn’t saying a word about you.

Wednesday didn’t need any more of those lifelong bonds, the one her mother claimed she had with you was already enough of a torture, even for her. “I would rather buy a rope.”

“Is it really so difficult for you to admit that you made a friend, and now that she’s gone you might actually miss her?” Thornhill asked, consistently focusing only on Wednesday’s relationship with Enid. Perhaps starting off on the wrong foot with you really did make Thornhill see you as only a lightning beast that could lose control.

“I’ll survive alone, I always have,” Wednesday refused to comply, if Enid made her choice, then so be it.

“Well, if that’s your decision, I’ll submit the forms to Principal Weems,” she seemed disappointed, she even shook her head slightly before turning to leave.

“What about Y/N?” Wednesday asked before she could stop herself.

Thornhill turned around, sighing heavily. “She can’t room anywhere else, so whether Principal Weems forces her to come back, or she willingly comes back here, there’s no other room for her. I managed to keep her absence hidden from Principal Weems, but I suggest the two of you find a solution before other people find out. Acting this recklessly could cause Y/N to shift, and even if she doesn’t, taking this additional risk alone might be enough to get her expelled.”

Wednesday swallowed the lump in her throat as Thornhill left. You were aware of the potential consequences, and dangers of your choice, yet you still made them. Wednesday wouldn’t get involved.

“Raiju kid will be fine,” Fester came up to her with a grin on his face. “If she’s anything like her dad she’s resilient and as adamant on staying in control as Elijah was at her age,” that brought some comfort to Wednesday, but she refused to address him when it came to you.

Once left alone, Wednesday went back to the diary and began flipping through the pages again. Aimlessly she began walking around, the diary in hand, until she sat down on the bed and moved to lie down. Your scent caught her attention and she realized too late that she, once again, went to your bed instead of her own. It wouldn’t hurt to spend the night there again.

So, she continued flipping the pages until she found what she was looking for. Faulkner’s notes on raiju.

The images revealed various beasts, with varying amount of lightning coming from them. Faulkner noted the solitary nature of raiju, their struggle with water, the docile behavior unless there was a storm going on. The beast form, was, in fact, something raiju had no control over, shifting into an animal closest to their nature. The beast form was driven mostly by instinct, unable to speak or fully comprehend human speech. He confirmed Wednesday’s theory on the eye color and the heat of the lightning, and she took note of the control indicator in the beast form. The less lightning came out of raiju’s body while they were in beast form the more in control they were. By the end of the text Wednesday thought she didn’t learn anything new, or significant, other than the level of control and the nature of the beast form, only for the biggest revelation to strike her right at the end.

‘Raiju aren’t natural outcast community, they were originally normies, punished by Raijin to turn into beasts during storms and forced to, during said storms, follow his command. As Raijin created more raiju some escaped, spreading around the world, and passing down the ability to transform.’

Wednesday closed the diary and left it next to your bed, her mind filled with thoughts of you, of your argument. As rain once again began falling she barely stopped herself from going out to get you.

A/N: Surely you didn’t think we’d have raiju without raijin being involved, right? Four chapters to go people!

#wednesday addams x female reader #wednesday addams x you #wednesday addams x reader #wednesday netflix #wednesday addams #enid sinclair #jenna ortega x reader

[wandixx]

Ghost of fries and Hero of cookies

All work words count: 14 593

Words in this part: 2 224

Summary of whole work: Duke wasn't expecting to wake up from his quick rooftop nap to some meta kid with fries. He also wasn't expecting kid to stay Or Danny asked Dani to stay safe while she was in Gotham. Where would she be safer than under the wing of local hero? And he looked like he needed bad day combo anyway

This part summary: First meeting and training discussions Beta read by @audhumla-sailor though English is second language for both of us, so proceed with this in mind. I also know all of the charaters through fics alone, so probably ooc. Stay catious if it's something you don't like

Duke was running out of fumes to run on. Last few days would be exhausting if it was just vigilante or just civilian stuff but no, he had to have it both. Because of Arkham break out he had been called in three nights in a row, not for a whole patrol but he couldn't exactly sleep it of during the day like others did, especially not in a week when every teacher decided they need to have test or quiz or what not. Naps meant he wasn't as sleep deprived as he could be but he needed far more. But he couldn't because crime in Gotham never sleeps so he had normal patrol to finish and there were about two ours left.

Would something bad happen if he just stopped for a moment and laid on a roof? Ten up to fifteen minutes. It was a slow day too...

Yeah, no, he deserved a moment to rest and if something disastrous was to happen in the meantime he would shame other Bats for not giving him enough time to sleep.

It certainly said something that he found gravel covering this roof to be quite comfortable. He set a timer for ten minutes and let himself close his eyes.

When loud screech of timer jolted him awake, he was suddenly fully aware that he wasn't alone anymore. He sat up a little too quickly.

"Oh, you're awake," white haired girl around Damian's age chimed, sitting cross legged just few feets away from him. She wore something that could only be described as an unholy mix of lab safety hazmat and skintight workout jumpsuit, white and black. When had Gotham gotten a new vigilante? "Good, I just returned from snack hunt," she added, gesturing at a big textile bag lying next to her. Duke didn't have enough brainpower to do anything more than ask.

"What?"

Girl shrugged, take out from BatBurger in her hand.

"You look like you have a bad day if not few days, so I've got you my cousin's bad day combo or at least closest thing I could. BatBurger burger isn't as good as NastyBurger but you certainly have better fries," as she spoke, second take out bag, 1 quart bottle of energy drink, juice bottle of same size and pack of convenience store brownies joined greasy paper bag sealed with a sticker.

"Is your cousin a speedster?" Excuse Duke, it was a totally valid question, he saw with his bare eyes both Wally West and Bart Allen when they visited Manor. Noone else would be able to stomach the amount of food they inhaled during their stays.

"Nah, we're not that fast or that hungry. Though I think I may get closer to speed of sound," So, clearly a meta if white hair and weir aura that let his eyes rest weren't enough indication "My cousin when he has bad few days he often forgets to eat so this combo has to help with there too. But I'll steal your fries of course."

Duke was not going to look gift horse in teeth, so he grabbed one bag and tore it open. There was classic combo with bigger fries and NightWings inside.

"Thank you..." he trailed off, hoping that girl would take a clue and introduce herself but she didn't. She just drowned her fries in ketchup and started munching. She had her own juice.

"My cousin always said that each part of this combo has different purpose," she explained instead, slightly muffled because of fries in her mouth, "This" she gestured towards fast food meal "is to sooth your stomach. This "she tapped energy drink "is to sooth your brain and kick it back online. This "she raised bottle of juice, "is to sooth your taste buds because energy drinks are war crime against them and this "she nudged brownies "is to sooth your heart because Ancients damn it, this day is awful and you deserve it. At least that's what he told me when I had day bad enough to deserve that," she shrugged, licking ketchup of her finger. Suddenly she froze "You aren't allergic, are you?

"No, I'm not," he confessed bewildered.

"Good"

For a long moment they sat in silence, devouring food the little girl brought. Duke distantly wondered if this was how night shift spent their snack breaks. It felt nice.

He was finishing his part of brownies when girl spoke up again.

"Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah" he was a little surprised to realize that it was true. He'll have to note down what she put in this 'bad day combo'. "Thank you"

"Don't mention it," she shrugged with general gesture of dismissal, "You're one of my cousin's favorite heroes because you're vaguely his age and handle Gotham alone during the day and I quote, "she did honest to God air quotes at that" 'As only hero in Amity-' which is a lie by the way, Val is doing great and even if he suddenly got problem with how she feels about his alter ego, he still has Sam and Tuck even if they're usually more of moral support. And I helped when I visited, so no, he isn't only one. Anyway as he said 'As only hero in Amity, my heart goes out for anyone who deals with this type of bullshit so Dani if you absolutely have to prank heroes, leave them out of it, especially Signal, he can't be older than Jazz, he doesn't need any more mess to handle.' All aliens and lanterns are also off limits because he is a space nerd. But you aren't space related so I'm like 80% percent sure he has celebrity crush on you," she slurped more juice, unbothered.

Duke was thankful he wasn't swallowing anything because for sure she would choke. He took split second to consider addressing... this whole situation and choose not to. He was not ready to be anyone's celebrity crush.

"Your name is Danny?" he asked instead.

"Dani" she corrected" with an I"

"Ok. It's nice to meet you Dani-with-an-I," She giggled, nodding her head slightly.

"It's nice to meet you too Signal"

Duke stood up, stretching a little. Dani joined him after hastily putting all the trash in her bag. She was a little higher than expected.

"I have to get back to my patrol"

"Cool," she drifted back a bit, making him realize that she was floating a few inches above the ground. She fixed her bag on her arm.

"Hey, can I hang out a little bit more? My cousin will go green out of jealousy when I tell him," she added with a mischievous smirk but Duke could tell there was more to it. He took a moment to consider it, which apparently made girl nervous "I can be invisible the whole time, like before," she offered, disappearing in the meantime. He could still tell where she was, because of her heat signature and other waves she excluded but for regular people she would be no different than surrounding air.

"Yeah, you can hang around and you don't have to be invisible. Just don't get in my way when I have to actually do some fighting."

She popped back to visible spectrum and pouted like Damian whenever he got benched.

"I can fight, y'know? I stopped mugging on a snack run."

It was ten god damn minutes, how could she get so much food and stop mugging in such a short time?!

Oh, right, superspeed. Still, impressive.

"I haven't seen it-" he started, channeling all Dick-trying-to-wrangle-Damian-into-socially-acceptable-activity energy he could muster "-so I don't know how you fight or even what powers do you have. If we tried to fight together we would trip over each other" It was a bare faced lie, Bat training made sure of that but he knew for fact that if he said anything else, the girl would be mad and probably did her own thing.

Was that what Bruce thought about all of them?

Oh no.

Dani still looked displeased but after a moment of consideration she nodded with a defeated sigh.

Suddenly she straightened like she got struck by lightning and whipped around.

"Wha-"

She just shushed, raising finger to her mouth. Duke did indeed quietened.

"I have enhanced hearing," she whispered "There is a mugging somewhere this way."

"Let's go then," he shot his grapple, waving his other hand at Dani to come with him before he jumped off the roof. He heard the girl giggle as she flew right after him.

"After this you'll show me the coolest gargoyles, okay? Sam asked for photos"

"Okay"

It seemed that the end of this patrol wouldn't be as bad as the start was. Hopefully.

And afterwards he was going to lock himself in his room until sky falls down or he was well rested.

Yeah, that was a good plan.

********

"Hey kid," Signal started, dropping from fire escape to cuff weirdo in clown mask who Dani just fought. He did it deliberately slowly to show her how to do it like he always did. She choose to not be to annoyed at being called kid again and noted to herself to come up with good codename later. All her previous ideas apparently weren't cutting it and she couldn't keep going by Dani because reasons.

"Yes?"

"Who gave you a combat training?" he asked getting up from a crouch and gesturing towards roof. So it's going to be longer talk, okay.

"My cousin," well, Flashes in Central taught her some stuff but it was more rescue and reassure type of deal not punch and kick, Sam tried to get her through basics of psychological warfare in activism, Tucker sweared he would teach her some programming and hacking but never got around to it, Jazz did some emotional training and Val offered to teach her Red Huntress skills when she got back, but yeah, all in all, Danny was the one to show her how to punch people. Even though it was more of 'shit we have to fight, observe maybe, idk' most of the time. She picked some tricks from Vlad too now that she thought about it, not that she planned to give him any credit for it, like, ever. "Why?"

"I have a bone to pick with him," vigilante announced, melting with the shadows. Dani sped as much as she could to beat him to the roof. She was competitive spirit like that.

Unfortunately he was first. She made another note to herself (she was so going to forget them in next five to ten minutes) to train her speed a bit more. She got tips from the guy with the title of The Fastest Man Alive for crying out loud, she shouldn't loose with the person who technically doesn't even have superspeed!

Signal sat cross legged on the gravel and tossed her a healthy granola bar. He kept doing it for some reason.

"I'm sorry to break it to you, but almost everything in your fighting technique is horrible. Your cousin did shitty job as a teacher" he started in warm slightly teasing tone. Dani felt attacked anyway.

"It's not like he has any sort of training either," she started, trying to sound nonchalant, rolling her eyes. "Cut him some slack," She bit a snack in attempt to cover her furry. It had chocolate and raspberries, was quite tasty and she was kinda hungry anyway. She wasn't sure she wanted to know how Signal knew it though "Everything he learned is from the trial and error by crashing through a few walls. Quite hard to care about 'technique'. I at least got his mistakes to learn from so don't you dare to speak about him like that!" alright, she lost it, she can admit it. But, Signal might be cool and Danny may or may not like him (she hoped he didn't, Val was much better option) but Gotham's hero had no right to say anything bad about her template. He didn't know anything. He didn't understand.

Signal looked like he was going to say something so she put her ghostly vocal cords to use and growled.

Don't-harm-family/will-fight/ protect-mine/don't-you-dare

She didn't stop to consider how unlikely it was for him to understand her. She crossed her hands on her chest, glaring.

Turned out, growl was enough of the warning. He carefully picked his next words.

"Sorry, it's not the way I should've phrase it," he started, his mouth doing the thing it did when people were embarrassed with themselves but in an uncomfortable, a bit angry way. He understood his mistake, good. She calmed her glare a bit. "I wasn't aware of you circumstances. If you want, I can show you some tricks, Batman is very throughout with his training"

"No, thank you, I'm good" she was still mad. So mad. And she was not pouting.

"Of course you're good but you can be better, more efficient."

"No." Whatever Signal would propose to her, she wouldn't agree. He said mean things about Danny not even a minute before. She couldn't let him have it on a principle!

"I'll give you a cookie after every training," he pleaded "The homemade, tasty one"

Well, that changed things. A lot of things.

"Yes please!"

He apologized anyway.

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

Second part

I know democratic winner in poll for now is "publish all at once" and believe me, I respect democracy, especially now that I finally have rights to do things, but Tumblr wouldn't let me. Too long or something. So, it'll be in parts, sorry guys. I'll try to post all of the parts this weekend though (or one each day, I'll see).

Yes, I didn't have a name for this fic until five minutes ago, how did you know? It's quite alright though, I think. If you have better idea I may reconsider

#dpxdc #dc x dp #dp x dc #dcxdp #dani hangs out with duke #signal got new sidekick and he doesn't even know it yet #not fully at least #Dani: I'm going Goth(am) #Danny: Maybe don't? #Dani: Nah #Danny: Stay safe? #Dani: Alright *imprints on the first hero she sees* #this random mugger Dani stopped: Last thing I saw was feral racoon child #police officer: what? #almost mugging victim: I was saved by said feral racoon child #police officer: What?! #Dani: Alright. Good deed for today done. They're calling my name in BatBurger to get my stuff. See ya! #Dani: I hope I can make it back before Signal wakes up #Police guy&mugger&victim: Did she kidnap our hero??? #Dani: *fights* #Duke: With all due respect. How did you survive this long?! *died inside a little bit from stress* #wandixx writes #ghost of fries and hero of cookies #have a nice day dear stranger who got to this part

[meimi-haneoka]

Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Special Chapter: Comments and Analysis

WELCOME BACK, CCS FAAAAAAAAAAAANSSS!!!!!

Oh my god 3 months went already by from that December 1st and chapter 80, didn't they?? Feels like yesterday 🙈But we're finally here, finally ready for the release of the definitive, last SPECIAL CHAPTER of Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card!!!! After this, no more CCS for at least a while!!

Why do you see me so euphoric?? WELL, THERE IS MORE THAN ONE VERY GOOD REASON 😂 But let's not jump the gun and let's introduce this post properly: this time around, I won't be posting pictures to "illustrate" the analysis/commentary, because this special chapter was treated differently from the other ones. It didn't get, in fact, a free release on CLAMP's Youtube channel, in any language, and wasn't even uploaded for digital purchase on Comic Days like all the rest of the chapters. The only way to obtain it was via the April issue of Nakayoshi, either with the physical or digital version. Since it is clear to me their intention to keep this gem of a special chapter away from the internet jungle, and since lately I used only the screenshots from Youtube to illustrate my analysis, this time around I won't be posting anything (aside from the color page, which was released by the official account themselves).

AND! I won't be mixing analysis and summary, because I have already conveniently prepared some screenshots with a detailed summary of the chapter for the people who were curious to know, but didn't get to see the chapter yet or did see it but couldn't read Japanese. I have already posted these screenshots on my Twitter account, and I'll put them here too under the cut (please don't repost them around or in other social media), so you can immediately get a broad view on the content of the chapter (I don't have to point out translation mistakes, haha 😅), and then, afterwards, I'll write my commentary. And there is SO MUCH to say!!

But before starting, we can't break the tradition right at the LAST ROUND of our chapter commentaries, right?? So off we go, with the GIF OF THE MONTH!!

Yes, I think this is the GIF that can represent this chapter the most. 😂

The Color Page

This special chapter is composed of 33 pages, and of course I can't avoid starting my commentary precisely from the color page!!

I admit it, I hoped for a color spread with the four main characters of Clear Card (hence, including Kaito and Akiho too), but since the other two appeared with their own color page just in chapter 79, we'll gladly take this single color page with SyaoSaku too!! ❤️ The JP text reads "We've been together till now, and we will always be! Featuring a long-awaited special chapter!!" Syaosaku look absolutely adorable....and so, so happy!! Looking at us, from a wreath made of cherry blossoms, of course dressed in their image colors pink and green, in a "pair look"...I think their shiny smiles conquered the hearts of the entire fandom (saw many comments about it) and it is certainly a perfect introduction to a chapter that is, indeed, completely made of this happy, leisurely, warm atmosphere. I feel like it tastes even better, after all the anxiety they made us go through, right? I'm pretty sure that was CLAMP's goal all along, giving us this little reward after all the hard situations they've put their characters through. This color page looks like Sakura and Syaoran are saying "goodbye" to us, holding their hands in a lover's hold, but seeing them so cute and happy definitely soothes the sad feeling 🥲 Until we meet again...hopefully!

Letters From Around The World

But it's when the chapter starts that we get our first surprise: the time skip is of one entire year!!! We left our little heroes at the end of the first year of Tomoeda Middle school, ready to go in spring break and then start the second year...here, Sakura says she's in her spring break of the next year, ready to become a 9th grader!!! I almost couldn't believe they actually went that far, I knew from CLAMP's podcast that there was a timeskip, but I expected just some months! Although....I have to say the characters don't look that different, Mokona said she made them a tiny bit older and she kept true to that, because it's barely visible! 🤭 But if you compare them with how they looked at the middle of the story, of course the difference is visible.

I was so happy to see that the chapter started right away with a letter from Akiho: a letter or a videocall was definitely among the type of content I wanted to see in this chapter, because of course I still was quite preoccupied about the difficult journey Akiho and Kaito embarked on, so I wanted to see how they were faring. The amount of letters Sakura accumulated over the span of this year tells me that they moved around quite a lot, and she had always something to share with her "long-distance sister" 🤭 Kero praising Akiho's skills and even feeling some sort of "reverence" for her insane talent to find all the crazy and rare books was so funny and nice!! 😂Sakura is adorable, feeling all proud about the talent of her "sister" 🤭 Loved that they actually mentioned the place where Akiho and Kaito are currently at!! (cause they didn't reveal where they'd go first, in chapter 80, and I guess we'll never know). I appreciated SO SO much that they let us see that Akiho didn't drop, but actually continued to practice her sewing skills like she was doing before everything went down the drain with the Alice in Clockland play: moreover, finding out later that this skill is also helping her greatly with the true ambition of her life made me incredibly satisfied. How cute of her to send outfits for Kero and Suppy, even from far away??

I was quite surprised to find out that Akiho sends all the rare books to Eriol, and then laughed my as* off at Kero saying he's selling them off (the way Kero phrases it in JP makes it look a QUITE shady activity 😂). This shows there's a continued collaboration between the "group" in England and YunaAki, and it's very nice. They're not only "taking" support from Eriol, Akiho also does return the favor, providing Eriol with the books he needs.

And then....got really emotional to know that Kaito wrote a letter to Sakura, back when they left one year ago 🥲 I DID feel like some kind of acknowledgement or apology from Kaito to Sakura was missing from chapter 80 (but honestly, with everything they had to explain, where they could fit that?) and so this little mention completely fixed that sense of "he made a mess and barely managed to apologize to Akiho before leaving". Kaito isn't an ass*ole so of course he would've done something like that, and a letter seems perfect for an introvert boy of few words like him. I imagine the letter wasn't really long either. The little moon on the sealing wax...❤️The fact that Sakura is storing that single letter together with Akiho's letters in a specific box makes me almost cry. She cares for those two so, so much! 😭 Sakura wishes to receive more letters from Kaito and I really hope he will open up to her along the way, because he could benefit ENORMOUSLY from her advices and perspective! Also THANK YOU CLAMP for giving us a little "still" of those two next to eachother from the moment when they were leaving Tomoeda, with the suitcases and all 🥲that last faraway shot of all four of them together in chapter 80 was so great, but I wanted to see them like this too!

The SyaoSaku Date

Aaaaaand then we get to the long awaited, craved, coveted SYAOSAKU DATE!!! 🤣 I can't count how many people I've seen wishing for this....to be honest I was going to be ok with any kind of sweet moment between the two, but gotta admit that a carefree afternoon watching a stage play and then taking refreshment at a café gives this sense of normal, complete fun that was missing a bit for them. They are dressed in a very fancy way (loved that Sakura isn't wearing her usual long one-pieces but something different, with puff shorts! A sign of her growing up?) and even though they're not exactly wearing a "pair look" (too corny, maybe?), they are well matching eachother's outfits. And of course we find out that Tomoyo made Sakura's cute outfit and even the decorations on Syaoran's collar! The fact she was the one asking Syaoran to wear them at the date is kinda funny, like some sort of guidance into looking like a couple, thanks to the matching decorations! Tomoyo really takes care of everything....yes....everything. 🥲 The mention of Sakura's wedding dress of course made me go "OH MY GOD" and made me realize that if Tomoyo is already mentioning that.......we aren't *that* far away from that day (I always imagined SyaoSaku marrying early, since they're soulmates and got together so young!! 😆). Truly an emotional, sweet moment that was reinforced by Tomoyo's tender expression in the flashback. Her resolution to devote herself to learn to design even normal everyday outfits, or date outfits, everything that could accompany her dear Sakura everyday, reminded me that Tomoyo found her very own way to be with Sakura, and she's perfectly content with that. Tomoyo's happiness is seeing Sakura happy, and she will do anything to achieve that. ✨

Syaoran and Kaito's Friendship

And then my blushy blushy Sakura changes topic and suddenly throws me on the floor in a fit of laughter, because seeing Syaoran's confused look while he was trying to make sense of the pictures Kaito sent him on his phone WAS HONESTLY PRICELESS. 😆 My god, how long have I wished to see them like this? Moving their timid steps into a friendship (since their girlfriends are like sisters and Sakura literally saved Kaito's derriere), being their awkward dorky selves...they surprisingly get along so well and Syaoran doesn't seem to hold resentment towards him, which is GREAT for me!! He's learning from Sakura to just let go of hard feelings, when you've found out the person who acted in an oppositive way was just in a very desperate situation and had actually no ill intentions. And that makes me incredibly happy. Kaito needs all the support he can get, to make the right decisions in his life, and I can totally see him finding a particular connection with Syaoran, due to how they're both moon boys, who would give their life for the person they love. I think precisely for this, precisely because Syaoran can understand to a degree Kaito's situation and behavior, he wouldn't feel judged and would feel more free to establish a connection with him. I was k*lled with laughter and endearment when I saw that Syaoran felt confused, but still tried to understand Kaito's peculiar way of communicating with him 😂 And guess what? I think he doesn't realize it, but he's totally starting to get it! 😂The way our wolfie boy snaps that picture IMMEDIATELY as the cat passes by, and how he only framed the ear, really shows how in the end he's speaking "the same language" as Kaito 😂 Seeing Sakura so excitedly think to herself that the two became such good friends made me scream "SAME SAKURA-CHAN, SAME!!!" 😂 All in all, seeing these two having such a relaxed, comfortable date talking about their friends and stuff that happened lately made me completely feel that one year that elapsed, and now they act totally like a couple that's been dating for quite some time. 😊 Ooooh thank you sensei, really. Thank you so much for this scene. 🙏

The Moon Is Really Beautiful, Right?

BUT! The real reason why CLAMP will always have my heart and my gratitude is hidden in the next scene. 😂

Oh my god, the screams I've belted out when I saw them. And when I've read THAT. But let's go in order, let's go in order and not jump the gun! We're in Germany, Akiho and Kaito now seem to be living in an apartment in a nice building! They're still talking in keigo, and still calling eachother "Akiho-san" and "Kaito-san". 😊

Kaito SMILES genuinely at the picture Syaoran sent him!! And answers, to an observant Akiho, that he's having fun!! 😭HIM! The one who couldn't understand what was fun in interacting with others!!! He looks honestly so radiant and happy, a sign that his mental recovery is going strong. And that he's slowly expanding his "trusted people" network. 🥲🙏Also, he looks younger than ever!!! 😂

It made me INCREDIBLY HAPPY to see that Akiho didn't drop the "hobby" she had started in chapter 26 (ages ago!!), remember this scene?

I remember how much I loved to know she had started learning how to do this, because together with my friends, at the time, we all thought this could easily become her aspiration in life......and guess what?? CLAMP confirmed she wants to take on a job revolving around books and book repairing!! This is all canon!! T___T oh my happy tears.... There's a sense of pride in seeing that this journey for Akiho isn't only revolving around finding the cure for Kaito's shortened lifespan (which hurt his body terribly) and restarting his "stopped time", or finding Momo and the Alice in Clockland book, but she's also got the mental resolution to do something for herself, for what she wants to do in life, something that is completely disconnected from Kaito. Again, I cannot reiterate enough how this girl doesn't have an unhealthy codependent relationship with Kaito, and she's completely capable of thinking about her own future, aspirations and wishes. She wants him with her, and she could never live happily without him, but the love of her life isn't the only thing that exists for her. It is incredibly satisfying to see her working hard for her own future, where she'll be able to contribute (especially financially) to their livelihood. I can see Kaito helping her and assisting her with that. The other day I was dreaming away with my friends about Kaito and Akiho managing a "book cafè" together somewhere, how impossibly sweet that would be?

Seeing this volitive, ambitious, strong-willed Akiho once again filled my heart immensely. And I wasn't the only one, apparently.....

Oh god, you have no idea of the SHRIEKS I belted out when I saw Kaito saying "the moon is really beautiful, right?" in full daylight. Like. It is absolutely unmistakable at this point what kind of love he feels for her, and while I always knew, I'm sure the character took his own sweet time and personal introspection to reach that conclusion. If you remember, I've always said it and reiterated it at the end of chapter 80: Kaito won't understand things overnight, it will take a long time. And one year, at that age, is enough of a long time to come to terms with one's feelings and understanding what exactly they mean. They lived all that time together as two "equals", no more butler/boss bullsh*t, so they had even more opportunities to see eachother's true colors. And Kaito couldn't help but fall even more in love with Akiho, to the point that seeing her working so excitedly for her future made him gently overflow with that feeling....and said that sweet quote of Natsume Soseki that we all know, by now, what it means. I think the mere fact that what made his heart explode was seeing her so independent and strong, is a good sign that Kaito's love for her is the healthy and supportive kind, too. He doesn't love her and feels attracted to her soul because she's a weaker, younger, malleable being that he can dominate (as a toxic relationship would portray), but at the contrary, because she's free and strong and wonderful on her own. The more he sees her shining, the more that feeling grows. Throughout this scene, he looks at her and talks to her in such an intensely sweet way, you can totally see he's smitten with her.

The most popular reply to someone who confesses with "the moon is beautiful" is the equivalent of "I could die for you/I can die happy now", in Japanese. And Kaito had been unconsciously replying that way, with his actions, the whole damn time during the serialization of Clear Card. But since he took it way too literally, things were really heading to tragedy. Nobody wanted him to die for real, and yet, subconsciously, that was the only way he had found to give outlet to an enormous amount of feels that he couldn't express (because it wasn't appropriate, and nobody would ever love him, and he only caused her pain, and he had to let go of Akiho anyway at the end of it).

So considering all of THAT, this "I love you very much" he said now (he added とても, "very", like Akiho did ❤️) in this way, makes me think even more "yes, you finally understood what was the best way to convey it!" and therefore, it represents another character development for our moon boy. 🥲

There's debate over whether he had already understood what Akiho had meant, in chapter 48. I stand firmly by my convinction that, even if he was informed of the Japanese folklore tale around it, he quickly dismissed it as "no, she's meaning it literally for the moon", since he couldn't really believe that anyone would ever take interest in him, and was sure he would've always been alone. Otherwise, if he really understood and believed that Akiho was in love with him, I don't think he could've ever said that "I thought you didn't need me to be happy". It doesn't make sense. But everything that happened at the fake moon, and all her angry tears, and all her resolution to find a way to cure him, made him finally see that she really meant it in that way. ❤️So his own acceptance and introspection could finally start, and....it brought to this. ❤️ If you want to know more about the popular phrase "the moon is beautiful, right?", I invite you to check my first Clear Card Trivia post, focused on the literary and musical references portrayed throughout this story!

And LOL, I couldn't help but noticing several things in how this scene played out: first, he immediately "runs away" blabbering about the breakfast being ready, a very similar way to how he "ran away" in chapter 52 when Akiho could see right through him and was trying to express her support and feelings to him. This is definitely an indication (taking into consideration also how he acted when he was little) that the reason why Kaito walked away back then, slamming the door, had a sprinkle of embarrassment embedded in it, too. Yeah. I mean, look at the face he's making here, just before he notices, puzzled, that his hand is shaking:

He's smiling so tenderly, among the pain he's feeling because of his poor health. He even laughs! He's happy he heard that! But he just couldn't stay hearing any longer, back then. Now, in this scene of the special chapter, he literally throws "the bomb" and runs away without hearing her answer or reaction 😂😂😂this is definitely embarrassment, and I'd like to think there's even a hint of teasing streak that I've always seen between the lines in his personality. It came out particularly with Syaoran and Momo, but Akiho isn't excluded from this dynamic! 😂

And excuse me, but Akiho's reaction literally made me roll on the floor laughing!! 😂The poor girl is probably so used to live abroad, and Japanese folklore isn't probably coming up immediately in her mind anymore, despite it's a phrase SHE used HERSELF back then! 😂Or maybe it's because she didn't really expect it from him, and so she took a moment to connect the dots. Either way, it was extremely funny! And I can't absolutely avoid pointing out how our girl isn't blushing like mad anymore, but just slightly.... I mean. It must have been quite clear to her too, by now, that her feelings were in some kind "reciprocated", be it for what Sakura said back at the fake moon, his decision to go back to her, and his decision to reveal his true name, hence giving her his most vulnerable part of himself... This isn't a shock for her, and she probably waited patiently, patiently, for him to finally say something like this. So maybe, more than embarrassed, she's surprised that the day finally came! 🥲 Goodness. This really puts all my worries to rest, Akiho will truly be happy. And it makes total sense that CLAMP made him say this now, and not at the end of chapter 80. As I said, more time was needed. This entire scene leaves me with a sweet, soft, comfortable feeling, and it's totally how I've always imagined their relationship to be. Also....no more of that "he loves her as a daughter/sister" crap, not canon-wise at least. 😊

One last thing I have to point out about this scene, which curiously reconnects everything together, is that recently CLAMP have announced the themes to which their upcoming exhibition will revolve around: among them, there's LOVE (of course!), and among the decorations surrounding the featured character on the key visual (Sakura, for now, but there's at least another one coming!) there are a couple of birds too. Birds are, in this sense, a symbol of love in CLAMP's language. I couldn't really help but noticing all the birds flying outside the window next to Akiho, the moment Kaito says that "the moon is really beautiful, right?". Basically, CLAMP were trying to scream it all over the place, however they could. 😂

"Momo-san?!"

It was so nice to see Yukito and Kero-chan gossiping about Touya right in his face, with the complete intention to tease him 😂in that sense, Yukito really seems like a sweet and harmless character, but don't be fooled! His teasing power is over 9000!! 😂Touya's killing glare made me crack up! He's so done for, now that both Kero and Yukito can tease him in the open! 😂😂😂

But please, please, let me scream about MOMO!!! Oh my god I would've never accepted a special chapter that didn't feature her!! Aaaaahhh I'm so glad to see that she's fine 🥲 The conversation between her and Sakura made clear to me that she isn't that free to move how I imagined her to be. Certainly, she decides where to go and who the book stays with (and when to leave), but the impartiality imposed on her role doesn't allow her to act freely like she wants, unless she pays a price. And she decided to pay a price, not to see Akiho and Kaito, but to go and thank Sakura herself first. Because, as her "those kids" suggests, she of course still feels some kind of maternal instinct towards them, and as any mother would do, she wants to thank Sakura from the bottom of her heart for having helped and saved those two. Even her body language (the position of her hands) portrays that. And excuse me, but I A B S O L U T E L Y loved how CLAMP clarified once and for all, addressing directly the complaints of their own fandom, that Sakura wasn't forcingly dragged into a matter that wasn't related to her. Everything she did, she decided to do it because she felt it touched her personally. From the moment she became Akiho's friend and came to care for her, everything that happened and everything that she was involved with was related to her too. This wasn't "somebody else's business" anymore. Because Akiho is one of her most beloved friends, no matter how "fast" that happened. Some relationships bloom almost immediately, because the connection is just that strong. And so, this turned into just another expression of "your happiness is my happiness", with Sakura acting according to what her heart suggested. As Kaito is Akiho's most beloved person, Sakura couldn't help but care for him too, because doing so would've made her friend happy, in a wonderful "circulation of love".

Special mention for the scene with pregnant Lilie, oh my god I didn't really expect this either. How long ago I wrote that Tumblr post about cosmos flowers and the origin of Akiho's name? A couple of weeks ago? It's like CLAMP answered my curiosity, with this scene. I still keep my interpretation in my heart, but I also love the logic "it is a flower that keeps the same name in many countries". Of course. "Wherever you'll go, you'll always be your unique self". (And now I want to cry, mama's heart is so big😭) The way Lilie keeps her hands over her womb made me tear up. The ring isn't there anymore, a sign that she probably already gave it to Momo (understandably, since once Akiho would be born, she wouldn't really have much time left). The baby bump isn't that noticeable, probably because she's at the beginning of her pregnancy. Who knows if she kept seeing little Kaito while she was pregnant. 🥲Who knows if in the scene where she's telling him about how wonderful it is to have something you love, especially a person, she was already pregnant with Akiho. 🥲

Momo and Sakura's final words made me understand that Momo cannot go back to Akiho and Kaito till the circumstances and the moment is right. Whether it depends on Akiho's wish, or the right cosmic arrangement, it's surely not in the short term. Especially considering the limited scope of Momo's agency. It cannot come from Momo (unless she pays a huge price), it needs to come from them, strongly enough. I also want to think that, again as an acquired mother figure, Momo wants those two to find their own way, identity and figure out their relationship on their own, without her interference. I'm sure she's keeping an eye on them from faraway, though. 🥲Even though this still feels bittersweet because I wanted to see them reuniting in canon so badly, it gave me lots of hope for the future. Momo is just waiting for the right moment, and she'll be ready to embrace them when the time is right. Maybe, who knows, we'll see that reunion in another series or in a special publication in the future?

The End

And then....the final scene 🥲NOW it is finally clear what Ohkawa meant in that one Twitter Space, when she mentioned that there was a reason why they never featured Sakura's birthday!!! THEY NEEDED TO KEEP THE EXCLUSIVITY FOR THIS!! 😂 I'm so glad they did, really...it's so sweet to see her reaching 14 years old (the "standard age" of many shoujo heroines! 😂) and seeing Syaoran giving her a present, with that strikingly sweet smile full of love...but most importantly....the breathtaking final double spread 🥲🥲🥲🥲 The way she pulls his hand close to her chest, to her heart, while saying that Syaoran will be forever and ever her most important and special person.....really, this chapter is meant to k*ll us all with feels!🥲and I love how CLAMP keep finding ways to portray their physical displays of affection without resorting to the classic, most wanted (but also probably considered not appropriate yet) "kiss". The very final page is a direct parallel of a page from chapter one, where Sakura was going to school alone and looked back down the street to admire the cherry blossoms in full bloom.

Now, she's not alone anymore, but actually hugging the love of her life on her special day! Really, what a wonderful and fulfilling way to give the final touch to this amazing story! 🥲 Her very last line also contributed to this. Sakura leaves us again, 24 years after the first ending, with words of positivity for the future, and love for her important people. This wraps everything up nicely, but it still keeps things quite "open-ended", hopefully in the eventuality to return to this wonderful series in the future. Sakura is growing up, as CLAMP wished, and it might be possible to see her dealing with more "grown-up" situations, magic and non-magic wise. But one thing is for sure, her relationship with her loved ones will always take top priority. ❤️

Well well well, we came to the end of this looooooong commentary for this special chapter too. I can't help but thank once again all of you who followed my posts all these years, and commented with your POVs on the story.

As I've said multiple times, Cardcaptor Sakura gave me so much ever since I was a kid, and this sequel was no exception. This special chapter, in particular, overflowed with things I wanted to see, and I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking so. I once again want to congratulate CLAMP for wrapping everything up nicely, and thank them from the bottom of my heart for these almost 8 years of emotional journey. 🙏

See you around with my other tumblr posts, and let's look forward to the release of volume 16 on April 1st, and hopefully, news about the anime sequel of Clear Card!!

#cardcaptor sakura #card captor sakura #clear card arc #ccsakura #ccs spoilers #sakura kinomoto #syaoran li #akiho shinomoto #yuna d. kaito #syaosaku #yunaaki #special chapter #translation differences #how come this post is so freaking long even without translation differences? #well dammit I had A LOT TO SAY #and even some itches to scratch #aaaah the satisfaction #😊so happy

[missmonsters2]

—ADRONITIS | One

Pairing: Wednesday Addams x OFC/Fem!Reader

Summary: Wednesday's quite aware she has no people skills, but that doesn't stop her from wondering why she can't know everything about one person immediately.

Warnings: None.

Series Masterlist || Library Blog || AO3

Reminder there's no taglist but you can follow my library blog for notifications 💘

Count: 1.9k

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷†⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Adronitis: noun. The frustration with how long it takes to get to know someone.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷†⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Everyone who knows Wednesday can confidently say she's not a people person, and even Wednesday herself can tell you she's not. People are strange, annoying, emotional creatures that she's fairly certain she lacks a particular trait to handle. 

Of course, some individuals have unfortunately made it past her prickly walls. Her roommate and begrudgingly best friend, Enid, can be tolerated in longer spurts. Eugene is just another Pugsley, so she has to look after him. She supposes Xavier isn't dreadful to deal with. Now. 

Would Wednesday commit first-degree murder for them? Yes, but that's not the point. 

The point—what was the point? 

Wednesday internally huffs with annoyance. She's an articulate person, but lately, she isn't. 

Reluctantly, Wednesday's eyes trail to the side, where she sees her reason for inarticulation. 

"Ah, so this is why you're sitting in the courtyard today," Enid smiles innocently, but Wednesday can see the knowing look in her eyes and purses her lips in a scowl as her eyes return to her book. She's finally gotten her hands on Goody's spellbook, and she's been trying to finish reading it for weeks. 

But alas...she's been...distracted.

"I don't blame you," Enid sighs as she looks over to where Wednesday was just gazing. "Everyone's looking at our resident Faerie. I wish she'd sit at our table today."

Wednesday silently agrees but tells herself she didn't. But she did. It's been nearly a week since you've sat with their tiny group of weirdos. Heroes, but weirdos. 

Today, you're sitting with the fangs, and Wednesday just can't fathom why. She gets your little rotation schedule, but vampires were so overrated, and from the small conversations she's heard here and there—incredibly boring.

Who cares about their diet? Wednesday thinks they lack innovation if their only choices are humans or animals (because, quite frankly, another outcast could kick their ass).

Yet, you sit there, smiling serenely and nodding with genuine interest. You ask questions and laugh at their witless jokes, and it drives Wednesday crazy.

Wednesday doesn't understand your sense of humor. Although, no one understands Wednesday's sense of humor either. That's usually the pattern. Sometimes, it feels like you and she are two sides of the same coin. 

You're both very different at Nevermore. While you're both outcasts within the outcasts, it's not the same. Whereas Wednesday didn't understand people, and they didn't gravitate toward her, people seemed to argue for your time.

Hence, why you sat at a different lunch table every day. 

Wednesday's mind drifts as she frowns. There's little known about Faeries as they're usually recluses, and there are so few of them. Especially night faeries. 

But now, it makes her wonder. Are Faeries like sirens? Do they lure everyone in their proximity without choice? That would certainly make more sense on Wednesday, and it would explain her recent behavior. 

Wednesday frowns deeper. Principal Weems has already sternly told others that while the Faeries are extremely beautiful and charming, they have no such powers. 

So, Wednesday was at a loss. She was beginning to think this school was designed to be the bane of her existence. Unwillingly, her gaze drifted again, but this time, you turned your head simultaneously and caught her eye.

You smile soft and sincere but unobtrusively at her, and Wednesday looks away, her face impassive. 

It wasn't unusual. 

This was exactly how all her interactions with you went. Very often, no words are exchanged, but you smile and wave at her as you pass by in the hallways. You greet her warmly when you sit at their table or in class. 

"Your unhappy face is showing," Enid points out, a slight upward quirk on her lips as she bites into her sandwich.

"This is always my face," Wednesday deadpans. 

"No, it's not," Enid shakes her head confidently. If there's one thing Enid can say, she stares at Wednesday a lot, so she knows her roommate very well. "You tilt your chin down and glare through your eyebrows more than look through them. It's very protruding," Enid points directly at Wednesday's eyebrow and forehead. "See? Unhappy face."

Xavier is looking at her through his apple, using it to shield how he's holding back his laughter as he grins at her. 

Wednesday relaxes her brows, her eyes becoming less narrow before she raises her brow at Enid. "Then what face is this?" The werewolf ponders her roommate's face and then sighs like she's been chastised. 

"General distaste," Enid mutters, but then she brightens as she looks up. "Oh, Fae is coming over here!" 

"Why do you insist on calling her that when she has a name?" Wednesday asks. You never seem mad about it, and it's not like Wednesday would care if people walked around calling her witch instead of Wednesday, but it's another thing she doesn't understand.

"Hm," Enid hums. "I guess it just became a nickname when she came. I mean, I guess it's kind of weird to call someone by their creature name...should we try to come up with a new one for her?"

"Whatcha guys talking about?" You smile as you approach. You've got a grape lollipop in your mouth given to you by one of the shapeshifters. Xavier and Eugene move over so you can sit down, directly facing Wednesday. "Hi, Wednesday," you say her name so casually, staring at her until Wednesday nods in acknowledgment. 

She's tense as she grips the edge of her book tightly. Her eyes are steadfastly attached to the pages even if she's not reading them. 

"We're talking about how everyone started to call you Fae," Enid grins, her smile wide and excited, but then frowns. "I hope it doesn't bother you."

You hum for a long moment, a sound that Wednesday hangs onto. She can see you through her peripherals. You seem in deep thought, and Wednesday can't understand why it's taking you so long to decide whether it bothers you. She wants to tell you to hurry it up so she—they can have the answer.

"I supposed it started when one of the psychics saw me in person, and all he could stutter out was 'Fae' over and over," you shrug.

"Feeble-minded," Wednesday mutters, and you smirk at her, and now she's wondering what exactly that could mean. 

"It doesn't bother me," you continue on. "I mean, I guess it's fine since there are no other faeries at the school, but it might be confusing when there are. I can't exactly go around calling on a person wolfy when that could be any of the werewolves here."

They all nod, except Wednesday.

"We should try to find a new nickname for you!" Eugene exclaims, emboldened by your friendliness to him. "How about nightcrawler!"

"As enchanting as that is, I'm going to have to veto that one," you give him a wry smile. He slumps in defeat while Xavier gives in a pat on the back.

"Oh," Enid squeals excitedly, and Wednesday shirk and winces at the sound. "We could all try to find a new nickname for you until we get the right one!"

"And why should we if Fae says it doesn't bother her?" Xavier asks as he turns over and gives you what Wednesday believes he thinks is a boyish smile. 

"Spoken like a true simpleton," Wednesday cut in, still not looking up. "Will that be your new nickname?"

"Ouch," Xavier laughs, the insult falling off his back. Although, he doesn't doubt that's his contact name on Wednesday's phone. "Alright, I get it. Fine, the person who gets their nickname chosen gets Fae's number. How's that?" He looks over to you, and Wednesday snaps her head up, finally to look at you too. 

You seem pensive. Another thing Wednesday knows but doesn't understand. It's getting irritating with how many things are adding up that Wednesday wants to know now and can't. 

Nobody in the school has your number though they all see you on your phone as you stroll down the hallway. Wednesday has heard you turning people down when they ask for your number, citing how there've been too many requests, and the number of texts or calls you'd get would be too overwhelming. So, now it's been an unspoken rule between the school that no one gets your number if they cannot all have it. 

You peer over at Wednesday, and she doesn't flinch away from your gaze. She refuses to lose whatever staring game you've created.

"Okay," you acquiesce, staring at Wednesday for a moment longer before standing up. "I'll see you guys in class. I'm going to see if the shapeshifters have more grape lollipops. They're my favorite."

Grape lollipops are your favorite. Is it just the lollipop, or is it grape in general?

"Well, this should be fun," Enid bounces her seat before she looks at Eugene. "I'm going to have to say it's looking unlikely for you, bud."

"I have more ideas!" Eugene protests.

"Never accept defeat," Wednesday looks back at her book, inwardly frowning when she's still on the same page she's been trying to read for the last 20 minutes. "Would be an acceptable suggestion for me. Accept defeat in this case, Eugene."

There's more bickering at the table while Enid bumps her shoulder against Wednesday. "So? Are you going to try to come up with something and get Fae's number?" 

"No, it's a trivial matter. Why would I want it? The only time I ever use my phone is when you've dragged me into your 24/7 addiction and Xavier cries for my attention."

"I do NOT cry—"

"So, I have no need for it."

Plus, would you expect her to text you if she had your number? Would she even want to text you? Wednesday supposes it'd be an equal trade of information, so you'd have her number too. Should she expect you to text her?

Wednesday glances in her peripheral and sees you with another lollipop as you sit with the shapeshifters. You've got an apple in your hand, but you look at it blandly. 

Not a fan of apples, then?

Wednesday feels annoyance gnaw at her insides. It's not irregular for Wednesday to sometimes show interest in others. Knowing others is valuable information that can be used at a later date.

But why in the hell does it take so long to get to know someone? Why can't Wednesday just know all your deep, dark secrets first and then make her way out to the trivial things?

"What a shame," Enid sighs casually, looking straight ahead, but her eyes tilt to the side to stare at her gloomy roommate. "I think having a phone and texting is great! It's way faster to get to know someone over text since you can always be in communication. You know what else is a thing? At 2AM, people lower their guard down, and they're more likely to spill secrets."

Wednesday slams her book shut, standing up and leaving briskly.

Research is needed. Her father has few skills, but one of them is coming up with nicknames. That skill should undoubtedly pass on to her. 

Wednesday glances at you as she walks out of the courtyard. You look over at her and smile with a wave before turning back to your conversation.

Defeat is not in Wednesday's vocabulary. She will beat the constraints of time and know everything there is to know in haste. There will be victory, and it will be hers.

PART TWO

#wednesday addams x reader #wednesday x reader #wednesday addams imagine #wednesday addams x ofc #wednesday x ofc #wednesday addams #jenna ortega x reader #jenna ortega imagine #mm: my fics

[utilitycaster]

The narrative of D&D

Fantasy High Junior Year has made its exploration of the tropes, mechanics, and structures of D&D readily apparent, perhaps even more so than the earlier two seasons. This is unsurprising for a show in which the characters are, in-universe, extremely aware of their mechanics and indeed in a high school intended to develop them. And yet, while Brennan Lee Mulligan pokes at these structures, the story still rests squarely within them.

This is not accidental; in longer form narratives (and Fantasy High as an overall story certainly is one, though each individual season exists in a strange no-man's land of campaign length) there is a distinctive pattern to the D&D narrative, one that is outright stated in the player's handbook. D&D is a progressive advancement game; characters grow in power and in sociopolitical import as they level up. They begin, even at level 1, as exceptional people (no commoner stats for them) and are destined by the fact that they are in a D&D game for greatness. There are things D&D supports well; travel, social interaction, one-time skill use, and combat. There are things it does poorly, notably downtime and stories that are not built along the lines of heroic fantasy.

I think this is a value neutral statement, in that I think that trying to avoid playing D&D while playing D&D is a futile exercise; your character will become more powerful while playing it and the only way to avoid gaining this power is to play a different game. I also think that while D&D has the potential to comment on our world from a new perspective, as most speculative fiction does, and is certainly not without flaws, that conversation is one for a later date. The structure exists; like it or not, it exists. There are other games to play that support other stories.

Fantasy High is direct in its engagement: characters are aware of their classes. They learn about the conventions thereof in their high school coursework, and must justify their multiclassing, both with their current level of power in their base class as well as with what they have done (both narrative and mechanical justifications). The antagonists of Junior Year are the Rat Grinders, explicitly commenting on Experience vs. Milestone leveling; several characters provide an eye into such D&D player tropes as min-maxxing and focusing on RP vs only on the game and mechanical elements. The Seven, set in the same world, operates on a similar premise; the party risks being broken up because half are still in high school and they would not survive a split of that level. Adventurers at the Aguefort Academy must adventure, and both the humor and deconstruction come from the juxtaposition of the conventions of D&D with the typical life of a high school student. The characters do level up; they do become more recognizable; they do have to save the world, repeatedly.

A somewhat subtler deconstruction comes in the form of NADDPod's first campaign, or as it was introduced, The Campaign after the Campaign. As envisioned by Brian Murphy (a player in Fantasy High; it is perhaps relevant that the two shows both began production around the same time), the world in which it is set is grappling with the aftermath of the "campaign" of the three legendary heroes Alanis, Thiala, and Ulfgar, who had slain Asmodeus, among other feats. While this ended a war, it set off several crucial events. Most centrally to the story of NADDPod, Thiala, disillusioned with her role as the healer, broke her worship of Pelor and used the heart of Asmodeus to ascend to godhood; she would eventually become the final antagonist of the campaign. However, the death of Asmodeus also set off a power vacuum in Hell. NADDPod's third campaign is set two centuries after the first, and the new legendary heroes (the Band of Boobs of the first campaign) have been dealing with the aftermath of an extraplanar war of the gods; Mothership, the main antagonist, arose in Thiala's wake. This is all typical actions leading to consequences, but the idea that the butterfly that flapped its wings was the resentment of someone having to play the cleric is notable (and is directly contrasted by Emily Axford's Bahumia characters, who openly embrace healing and support casting, breaking Thiala's cycle while cleaning up her mess.) But NADDPod too is heroic fantasy, even with the science fantasy elements present in the second season, and even slots nicely into the PHB tiers.

Critical Role does not, per se, strive to deconstruct in the same way (though Matt Mercer does provide some direct retorts to Forgotten Realms lore, particularly that of drow). But like NADDPod, the consequences of past campaigns influence subsequent ones. Campaign 1 is very easily recognizable as a classic "gain influence and power" story, and while Campaign 2's heroes the Mighty Nein retain a refreshingly low profile throughout the story, it does still progress in a typical way, though in a rather more self-directed manner.

Campaign 3 is interesting, in that it initially deviates from some of the more classic tropes of early D&D, but ultimately succumbs (to its benefit, in my opinion) to the inertia of the heroic fantasy arc. Bells Hells do not work their way up from level 1 or 2 taking on odd jobs; they begin the campaign by joining up with a benevolent patron, and several party members have pre-existing powerful connections. They receive the use of a skyship by episode 22 and level 6 (something even Vox Machina considered having to steal at level 13) and inherit it not long after. And yet: despite this, and a pivotal set piece of the apogee solstice in which a comparatively low level party plays a part among many factions, following a brief split the campaign begins to run on more familiar tracks. For all the early privileges the team enjoyed and the theological debates they engaged in, they ultimately find themselves in a position identical to that of the archetypal Vox Machina: facing an evil wizard who, after a rushed solstice ritual mid-campaign, only partially unsealed a long-imprisoned ancient deity of manipulation and destruction and now wishes to finish the job. One must assume Delilah Briarwood is appreciating the parallels from within Laudna's psyche.

Worlds Beyond Number is a player on the scene to watch out for, especially because Mulligan has shown himself to enjoy playing with these tropes and his players are all immensely knowledgeable and experienced players (and in Aabria Iyengar's case, DMs) themselves. Rather like Bells Hells, two of its three characters are coming in already in storied positions, despite being level 2, and it will be interesting to see if it bucks the trend. I don't think it needs to. I think there's plenty of variety to be had within this subgenre, and I think a quiet pushing at the boundaries is frequently more effective than full-scale subverstion. But should that be the plan, it will take a lot of work; even with immense awareness of the path D&D sets forth it seems DMs - and players - tend to stay on it.

#i gotta make a separate like. website-based blog for shit like this i'm basically writing articles for free (which. they'd still be free) #cr tag #d20 tag #naddpod tag #wbn tag #i'd been thinking of this since fhjy got really into it and some joking around about c1 vs. c3 parallels motivated me to finally write it #anyway! hope you like it. #also i killed a very hilarious darling here expect a shitpost soon probably

[abalidoth]

With all the attention on the film of Goncharov recently, I wanted to talk about a particular rabbit hole of mine from a few years ago: the obscure, little-known licensed Goncharov game for the Atari 2600.

Released in August of 1979 and developed by Sinneslöschen (a small German company that would later become better known for other titles), Goncharov (1979) is a fascinating case study in adaptation.

Many early video game adaptations of this era have little to nothing to do with their source material. On the surface, Goncharov is the same: a simplistic beat-em-up where our hero, armed with a tommy gun (apparently only able to use it in melee range) kills a series of waves of faceless, suited mooks. Nothing to do with the morally complex, thoughtful film.

However, there was clearly a film lover among the programmers at Sinneslöschen.

The first thing is the focus on the film's consistent clock motif. Every level has both a prominent red clock in the background art, as well as a time indicator in the corner, indicating the progress of one particularly violent night in the lives of these characters. The clock's prominence is eerie and out of place, drawing attention to itself as a strangely off-scale element of the skyline. It gives a true sense of the inexorable closing of the night that gives the film its poignancy -- clumsy, but necessarily so.

The second interesting aspect is the choice of protagonists. Plural.

Levels alternate between Goncharov and Katya. Mechanically they are identical, but the scenes they progress through roughly match the plot and progression of the film. (The screengrab above is, of course, from the boat scene.)

Also of note is what Goncharov (1979) has to say about the ending of Goncharov (1973). Specifically, with regards to Katya's fate. Katya's ultimate ending is vague in the film, subject to a large degree of speculation on the part of watchers. In the game, though, despite her increasingly bloodied white dress, she emerges unquestionably triumphant even as her husband lies defeated. (That she rides off into the sunset with Sofia isn't explicitly shown, but you'd better believe that's my personal read.)

I'm not really sure what Sinneslöschen were trying to say with this. Certainly this overtly girlbossish message has been blamed for the game's dismal commercial failure and general obscurity; but it's difficult to see what the purpose of that adaptational decision was. (Other than just throwing more fuel on the already raging fire that is the speculation about the end of Goncharov 73.)

#goncharov #goncharov 1973 #unreality #tessa writes stuff #tessa makes stuff #i am. inordinately proud of this.

[itsabouttimex2]

LSO AU sounds really interesting! Are we allowed to ask questions about AUs or does it count as a request?

Hi, thank you for asking! Questions are always allowed, even when requests are closed! I’ll elaborate on Let’s Start Over a little bit!

After his own journey ends and MK has his own story penned and published, peace settles across Megapolis and the world in general.

He’s even got himself a new title- “Monkie Knight”, after years of working for the king.

MK still steps in to ward off greater threats and more serious demons, but mostly steps back and attends to the noodle shop with Pigsy, who’s just about ready to pass the keys to his son and maybe take up a more casual lifestyle of teaching instead of serving. Maybe a YouTube channel where he teaches basic skills and recipes to viewers. Tang comes in to both expand on the history of what Pigsy is cooking and to taste test the end result. As expected, he adores the food each time.

Things are okay.

There’s trauma and bitterness that MK needs to work through, but… things are alright. With time, they’ll get better.

And then you come around to the shop one day to visit, right as the Ruyi Jingu Bang comes toppling down from where it’s been set- and you catch it.

So starts your journey.

Our golden-hearted hero is a little soured now, having been thrust into dangerous fights again and again. He’s somewhat resentful to certain individuals-

Mei, for not fighting beside him more often, in spite of her combat prowess and draconic powers. He gets a little twitchy when she’s around, thinking of all the fun she had off on her motorcycle, all the live-streams she giggled and joked her way through. MK doesn’t hate her. Not in a million years. Never. But damn if there’s not some bitterness. He’ll still ask her to ‘babysit’ you when he needs to go off and fight.

Though he still cares about Sandy as a friend, MK has shifted his perspective to disliking the river demon’s pacifistic outlook, viewing it as naive and somewhat selfish. He still goes over to paint and have tea, but things are somewhat strained between the two. It’s easy for someone like Sandy, a side-liner, to say “I’m not fighting anymore!” but MK never had that chance. Given that he was in his mid-teens during the start of his journey in this AU, the hero finds it messed up that he had to fight, but an honest to goodness ex-soldier chose not to. Again, no hatred. Things are just a little tense.

Macaque is pretty far down on his shitlist, actually. MK has taken some time to think on the simian’s actions and kinda wishes he had just let Wukong pummel him to death. Most of these feelings relate to their first meeting, but him assaulting Tang and attacking Mei certainly haven’t helped. Or his unnecessary destruction of the Dragon Palace of the East Sea. Or his refusal to apologize. Yeah, this guy doesn’t get to come anywhere near you. MK will act civil because he does believe in redemption and second chances, but dear lord is it hard.

(And he massively regrets the “you aren’t a bad guy” speech he gave to Macaque. Looking back on it, MK thinks he was naively seeing goodness where it didn’t exist.)

And of course, Sun Wukong, for… a lot of things. He talks rather bitterly of his mentor, viewing the Great Sage as irresponsible and rather immature. He wishes there had been more effort and care in the monkey’s teaching, and less “you can handle this”. There’s still some genuine respect and gratitude for the simian, but MK majorly fixates on being ‘different’ in his own mentorship. Problem is…

He’s choosing to be different instead of better.

Wukong had genuine and honest belief in MK, enough to let him handle trouble on his own. The Great Sage didn’t step in not out of laziness, but because he knew that the kid could handle things on his own. Sure, he was way too secretive and hands-off, but his intentions were only ever to help MK grow.

So when he decides to be entirely opposite to Wukong, our newly titled ‘Knight’ becomes a massive roadblock for you. Instead of cutting you loose with confidence, MK is stifling and protective. He’ll fight for you, cook for you, tend to your wounds, etc. Wukong tried to let MK grow without any form of safety net, but MK refuses to allow any growth without complete safety, which is rare.

Instead of being a mentor who’s trying to build you into the best you that you can be, he’s trying to be a father.

And honestly? Sometimes, he’s so good at the act that you wish it were real.

#Platonic Yandere #Yandere Lego Monkie Kid #Yandere LMK #Let’s Start Over #MK

[ankh-morporkianpostalworker]

The Use of Robert Moses as a Foil in The Unsleeping City

For those of you who don’t remember 10th grade English and don’t have a degree in Literature from a state school, a foil is a character who exists to contrast another character in order to highlight the characteristics of both characters. There are many great examples of this not only in literature (Hamlet and Laertes, Tybalt and Benvolio, Adam Trask and Cathy Ames) but also in film (Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, Batman and the Joker), comics (see: Batman and the Joker) and a host of other mediums. With all that said, and those examples given, I posit that Robert Moses is a foil for the Heroes of New York in Dimension 20: The Unsleeping City. 

First and most obviously, he is a reflection of Kingston Brown if Kingston Brown wasn’t a strict adherent to Uncle Ben’s axiom. Moses took every bit of power he could for his own use and, in real life, screwed over the city of New York where Brown uses everything he’s given to make the city better (in a flashback, we find out that the first thing Brown asks the Dragon of Bleeker Street after becoming the Vox Populi is how he can use his power to help other people). 

Second, he’s a version of Kugrash that never learned the importance of caring for others. Throughout season one, Kugrash acts as a protector for the homeless and dispossessed of New York, feeding and clothing and protecting them from harm, a lesson he learned after he was cursed by a powerful spellcaster. The people he protects are those who Robert Moses’s realm would destroy, the people Robert Moses cares nothing for. This service comes not purely from penance, but also from a heartfelt desire to help others to the point that he sacrifices his body to save New York. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is his reaction to the final words of Robert Moses’s phylactery after his (Kugrash’s) sacrifice - greed is good. To quote the man himself -  “ Greed is good, for rat motherfuckers like Robert Moses, but not in our town, not in our fuckin' city!”

Third, Robert Moses is a reflection of Pete if Pete had given in to corruption and temptation and hatred and greed, which he almost does multiple times in the series, the final time being in Showdown at the Stock Exchange, the penultimate fight of season one. This final choice is offered as two options on the Wild Magic Table - embrace the darkness to match Robert Moses in power, or resist temptation and rise above, Pete choosing the later. For this rejection of evil, Pete is killed (I choose to read the game of Eenie Miney Minie Mo as being a theatrically show that Robert Moses put on just to prove how evil he is). 

Fourth, both he and Misty/Rowan feed on the power of the city for their own ends, Robert to control it and Misty to maintain her youth and beauty. The difference lies in the fact that, as Nod points out, Misty/Rowan gives back to the people more than she takes, giving them hope and joy (and using her magic to protect the people), while Robert Moses gives nothing in return. She also cares for the immaterial things in life, like beauty and art and entertainment, while he does not.

Fifth, Ricky’s self-sacrificing nature is in stark contrast to Robert Moses’s. Throughout the series, Ricky puts himself on the line to protect others, a good portion of his magic being used to protect others from harm and the rest (notably his smites) used in defense of the innocent. In the final battle of season one, against Robert Moses’s nightmarish American Dream, he uses an ability that he knows will almost certainly kill him. His words to Kingston Brown moments before the sacrifice - “You got me if you got me” - show that while he would like to come back and knows his friend will do what he can to make that happen, he also knows that there’s a chance that this is the end for him, and he does it anyway, a sacrifice Robert Moses would never accept. 

Finally, there’s Sofia. Sofia was the hardest of these to write about, but eventually I realize that the contrast comes in relation to wealth - Sof rejects her family’s ill-gotten wealth, choosing to live (temporarily) as a monk with little more than the contents of a backpack to her name, while Robert Moses craves wealth so much that his whole plan revolves around creating a new realm in New York city specifically for his own gain. It’s not a lot, but it’s something. 

There’s also the fact that the heroes all love New York while Robert Moses sees it as a tool for his own gain, but that mostly goes without saying. 

I’m about 90% sure that this is the longest post I’ve made on this site but I really enjoyed writing it. I definitely plan on making more like it, analyzing D&D series through a serious literary lens and discussing the uses of literary and narrative techniques, although these won’t be as frequent as my shorter observations. 

If you got all the way through this, thank you and you’re awesome. 

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 the unsleeping city #the unsleeping city #pete the plug #kingston brown #kugrash #ricky matsui #rowan berry #misty moore #sofia bicicleta

[freesidexjunkie]

First Light

I have FINALLY got the first chapter of my Rolan fic ready!! This one is just fluff, so no big tags. Alcohol mention, bittersweet ending.

Word count: 9,129

AO3 Link here

It is a truth universally acknowledged that an archmage in good standing must be in want of an apprentice. That was what awaited Rolan in Baldur’s Gate, he reminded himself. He would happily sit through this night of drunken merriment if it meant they were finally free to continue on in the morning. Well, perhaps not happily, but tolerably. In his opinion, they had already wasted enough time while they cowered in the druid's grove; but Lia and Cal would not allow themselves to be swayed before properly thanking their so-called hero.

“Hells, Rolan. You look far too dour for someone who’s supposed to be celebrating,” his brother said, leaning against a felled log with a drink in hand.

“I’d rather not end up as a drunken fool by the end of the night. I’m sure you’ll already have that taken care of,” Rolan replied. “Besides, I’ll celebrate when there's a real reason to. All any of us accomplished was being the damsels in distress to a crew of adventurers.”

Lia raised her glass to point at him, swaying a bit as she did. “Glowering in the corner all night won't get us to the Gate any faster, Rol. You may as well join us ‘drunken fools.’”

“I bet he wouldn't be so grumpy if a certain person wasn’t still talking to Ikaron,” Cal said, nudging his sister in the side. He nodded his head in the direction of a half-elf woman a little ways off, sharing a drink with one of the refugee guards.

Rolan begrudgingly turned his head to look at Rhiannon, laughing and standing unnecessarily close to the tiefling. Not unnecessarily close, he chided himself; she was free to seek the company of whomever she wished. The rest of the camp certainly was.

“She likes the grumpy ones, doesn’t she?” Lia said, flashing an unendurably knowing grin at Rolan. He didn't deign to reply, only grunting in annoyance and rolling his eyes as he turned his back to the scene.

He certainly had no expectations of Rhiannon seeking his company out. He had assumed when they met that she was nothing but talk and pomp, and had treated her as such. As a result, she likely thought the exact same of him, he imagined; another overconfident wizard who's bark was worse than his pitiful bite. He had done little to suggest otherwise, stewing and grumbling behind the grove’s safe walls while threats abounded outside. A less generous person may have even called it whining – his sister certainly had. But while he sat about worrying and complaining, Rhiannon had acted, clearing the road of goblins and saving them all. Rolan liked to fancy himself more than capable of a little skirmish, but that, it seemed, was the difference between them; where he fancied, she did. 

“You gonna talk to her at any point, or just keep glaring at Ikaron all night?” Cal asked.

Lia snorted from beside Cal. “Please. He’s been staring at her for daaays,” she said, her drunken drawl dragging out the word. “He's just too chicken shit to admit it.”

Rolan’s face grew warm as he started to flush. He lifted his wine to his lips to hide it. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he muttered into the glass.

“Aww, see, Cal? He’s embarrassed,” she continued. “Admit it, Rol. She’s not such a… what did you call her, again?”

“Nothing,” he hissed.

But they remained undaunted. “A ‘meddlesome little goodie two shoes,’ I think,” Cal said.

“Oh, pardon me for being skeptical of a group of mercenary adventurers,” he replied sourly. He surely couldn't be faulted for his suspicions, especially after what Aradin and his crew had done. Most people, after all, were only in it for what they could get; she was merely the unexpected exception. “I am… grateful for their help, and I will be even more grateful in the morning when we can be on our way.”

“Riiight, that’s why you keep sneaking glances at her when you think no one’s looking,” Lia said with a hiccup. “Why don’t you just admit you think she’s -hic- cute?”

Rolan choked on his wine. He spluttered, turning his face to hide the creeping blush. In a voice that he hoped sounded unbothered, he answered, “she’s… tolerable, I suppose. I wouldn't go so far as to call her pretty, but–”

“Who said pretty? Besides you, that is,” Cal said.

“Idiots, both of you,” Rolan hissed again. “Don't you have anything better to do?”

“Mmm, I dunno, Lia,” Cal said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “He picks an awful lot of fights with her. Most people don’t pick so many fights with someone they have a crush on.”

The word flustered Rolan even more. Crush? Ridiculous.

“Rolan's not most people,” Lia replied. “For him, picking useless arguments with her daily is practically begging her to–”

“Enough!” Rolan shouted. Their teasing was relentless. He looked around to make sure they hadn’t attracted any attention as he coolly straightened his robes. “You are both completely out of line. I assure you, I have no opinion of the woman either way.”

Rather than silencing them, his outrage only added fuel to their snickering fire. “If you say so, Rol,” Cal said. “So, if she came over to talk to us, you'd continue to be totally unbothered, like you clearly are now?”

“Of course,” Rolan answered sharply as he sipped his wine.

“Oh?” A dangerous glint was catching in Lia’s eyes; he saw the wheels turning in her head just a moment too late to stop them. “Let’s test that then! Hey, Rhi–”

Rolan jumped to stop her as she cupped her hands around her mouth, but it was too late; the adventurer was already looking towards them. He let go of Lia’s arm and cursed under his breath as his siblings waved for her to join.

Rhiannon was, of course, all smiles as she excused herself from Ikaron and walked towards them. She was always all smiles; excessively so, it seemed to Rolan. Still, she looked somehow different than he remembered as she bounced over to Lia’s side. Her hunting leathers were abandoned in favor of light summer clothes; and her dark hair flowed in careless waves behind her, instead of tightly braided up and out of the way. All the blood and dirt she usually sported had been scrubbed away for the occasion, and for once, she smelled less like goblin guts and more like… honeysuckle? He was staring; he knew he was, gods dammit all, and he would never hear the end of it.

“Hey Lia. Hi Cal,” she said warmly. With just a glance at him, she added quickly, “Rolan.” She almost sounded nervous; had he given her that poor of an impression? He nodded silently to her in acknowledgment, silently making a note to absolutely throttle his siblings for this later.

Rolan suddenly wished he had prepared a good invisibility spell; with his siblings, he should have expected something like this. Surely everyone was too drunk or distracted to notice if he slipped away? He began to search his mind for any half believable reason to leave, but before he could open his mouth, his siblings flanked him.

“We just wanted to make sure you were enjoying your party. Rolan thought you might be a bit bored over there,” Cal said, clapping his brother on the shoulder. Rolan didn't respond, only clenched his jaw; he considered how bad the collateral damage might be if he were to cast a fireball at his brother right now. He almost thought he saw Rhiannon’s cheeks flush. Gods, was the mere idea of him that abhorrent to her?

“It’s not my party,” she replied, “but it’s nice of you to–”

“Oh, I beg to differ, fearless goblin slayer,” Lia interrupted, throwing an arm around her shoulders. “Alfira’s been trying to write your ballad all evening.”

“What drives a hero like yourself, anyways?” Cal asked, shooting a sideways glance at Rolan. “What do you get out of meddling in our affairs?”

Rhiannon let out a small laugh, running her fingers through her hair as she pushed it back. “Wrong place at the right time? I don't know. It just… needed to be done, I suppose, and we were in a position to do it.”

Cal nodded, as if he was trying to look very serious. “Very admirable. Wouldn't you agree, Rolan?”

Rhiannon answered before Rolan could begin to formulate a reply. “Reckless is more like it, I think,” she said, “and I don't think I could claim it was entirely altruistic. We needed the First Druid and a clear road just as much as anyone else.”

“Regardless, I think we need to share a drink with our savior!” Lia said, wobbling a bit as she raised an open bottle in cheers.

Rhiannon took the bottle from her with one hand and reached to steady Lia with the other. “I think you've had plenty,” she said, gently righting them both. To his surprise, Rolan found himself enjoying the scene - only for a moment, of course. And only at Lia’s foolish behavior, obviously.

But a moment was long enough for Lia’s notice; he was caught, and whatever momentary delight he may have found died under her scheming eyes. “Noooo, you should definitely stay. Rolan’s just about to show off his spells.”

An unspoken agreement passed between his siblings in the next few moments. “Oh, of course,” Cal said, sounding a touch too eager. “Rolan’s been dying to show you his magic touch.”

Rolan glared pointedly at Cal as his brother and sister snickered. Rhiannon was looking at him expectantly from under Lia’s arm, still trying to keep his sister upright as she grinned smugly at him. He tried to regain his composure. “You don’t – I… am sure you have better things to do than…” He trailed off, gesturing a hand and a slight bow of his head in place of any words.

“What’s the matter, Rolan? Performance issues?” Cal whispered loudly.

“Too much wine, Rol? Or is something else distracting you?” Lia asked, far too transparent for Rolan’s liking as she shot a wink at Cal that he prayed to all the gods went unnoticed.

“Oh, for… hush, both of you,” he answered with a scowl, heat crawling up the back of his neck. He was no stranger to his siblings' taunts and teases, and could normally give as good as he got – in private. They weren't likely to drop the topic until he was utterly mortified or Rhiannon was entirely put off from him - or both. Rolan cast half a glance at her before looking quickly away, as if his eyes couldn’t bear the humiliation of seeing her reactions to all this. “You… can stay, of course. If you wish.”

“Oh, she’s staying,” Lia said, half-dragging the woman along with her to sit on a nearby rock. Rhiannon made no objection, only laughing as his sister pulled her along, assuring Lia she “wouldn’t dream of missing it.” Cal stood on the other side of her. All three were now staring expectantly at Rolan - though it was only her gaze he found himself faltering under. He stood still for a moment, trying desperately to remember any spell of the dozens he had taught himself while his sister continued to taunt him. “Well? Get on with it, wiz.”

“I… be patient,” he scolded with a nervous huff, trying to will himself to appear calm. “Have you no respect for showmanship?”

Cal snorted loudly, earning himself a playful swat from Rhiannon before all eyes turned to Rolan. Clearing his throat, Rolan began to move his hands across the sky, fingers deftly tracing intricate patterns into the air in front of him. With a final flourish, a shower of shimmering purple lights flickered to life in front of them. He looked on at his handiwork with a self pleased grin - until he caught sight of Rhiannon. She was leaning forward in her seat, positively enthralled as the shimmer of the spell sparkled against her gray eyes. He was almost transfixed himself, either by her or from the wine in his system as he watched the lights dance across her face. He was so enraptured by the sight that he had barely noticed her gaze drift past the spell onto him; she had caught him openly staring, he realized, as she laughed and looked away.

He cursed himself silently. By the way she fidgeted now in her seat, he had surely made her uncomfortable again. But Cal didn't seem to notice, letting out a low whistle as he leaned back. He looked at Lia over the top of Rhiannon’s head. “Remember when he could barely cast that?”

“They grow up so fast,” she replied, miming as if to wipe a tear from her eye.

Rolan scoffed back at them as he rolled his eyes. “It was you two who insisted on a magic show.”

Rhiannon simply laughed, a warm and friendly sound that made his insides flutter. “Well, I thought it was lovely,” she said. “Very impressive.”

“Lot of fuss for some twinkly lights,” Cal said, waving his hands around in an animated pantomime of spellcasting.

“Of course. I’d never expect a troglodyte such as yourself to appreciate the finer things,” Rolan quipped, trying to appear less amused than he was as his brother clutched at his chest.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Lia looking mischievously at Rhiannon. Whatever unspoken words passed between them made her blush rather furiously as she jumped to her feet. She cleared her throat and let out another nervous laugh. “Well! I’m sure I should get out of your hair. But thank you, really. For including me in your…”

“Oh,” Rolan replied, his face falling serious again. “Of course. I…” He wasn’t sure if he was feeling more relieved or disappointed, only that he found it hard to meet her gaze as she made to leave.

“Actually,” Lia said as she shot up from her seat, still more than a bit wobbly and clinging to Rhiannon’s shoulders, “me and Cal were just leaving.”

Both of her brothers looked at her with a quizzical brow. “We– oh!” Cal said as she kicked at his leg. “Right. Alfira said she needed us for… you know, that thing. The, uh…”

“Lute strings!” Lia finished. “And once she restrings her lute, we were going to help her finish her song, so we’ll be gone for a while. Say, Rhiannon, if you're not busy…?”

Rolan was painfully aware of the ideas forming in Lia’s mind as Rhiannon looked at her, head cocked to the side. “I… not exactly, no. But really, I wouldn't want to impose on–”

“Ah, nonsense!” Cal said as he clapped her lightly on the back, walking past her to grab Lia’s arm. “He doesn't mind. Do you, Rolan?” He didn't wait for a reply, other than the withering glare Rolan shot at him.

“Great, that’s settled then!” Lia said as she slid past them. “He’s not busy, either. And he wouldn't be so cruel as to turn up his nose at your company – would you, Rol?” She stood beside Rhiannon, hands on her shoulders as she flashed her best not-so-innocent eyes at her brother. He wanted to strangle them for this; for trying to embarrass him, and for dragging Rhiannon into their little scheme, to boot. 

Rhiannon gently shrugged her way out of Lia’s grasp and opened her mouth – no doubt to politely decline, he was sure. So much so that he found himself greatly surprised by her answer. “I… wouldn’t mind the company,” she said, folding her hands in front of her. “If you don’t mind, that is.”

He stared at her for a second, wondering if he perhaps had misheard her. Disbelief, then surprise, and something like relief crossed his face in a matter of moments. Before he could respond, Lia spoke. “Great! I’m sure the two of you will have fun,” she said, shooting a covert wink at her brother as she passed.

“Yeah, let him show off for someone else for a change,” Cal added with a grin.

Rolan started, watching them leave with a defeated grimace. “I swear, the two of you are–”

“Play nice, Rolan!” Lia called over her shoulder as the two of them disappeared. Rolan shook his head as he let out a sound somewhere between a nervous sigh and a chuckle. He turned back to Rhiannon, a bit unsure of what to do next; she was still standing in front of him, still clutching the bottle of wine to her chest as she shuffled back and forth on her feet. Was she waiting for him to speak? Did he know what to say, anything to say to her? 

“Wine?” She asked, stiffly sticking her arm out to offer him the bottle.

“Gods, please,” he replied, gratefully taking it and pulling a long swig. He winced against the bite of the cheap drink, no doubt salvaged from some ransacked village, and wiped the remnants from his lips with the back of his hand. “Sorry. About them. They’re…” He shook his head again with a huff. “You don’t have to… if you have somewhere else you'd rather be, I wouldn't… I would hate to hold you up here, I mean.”

“No,” she answered quickly, before adding, “but I wouldn't want to be a bother if–”

“You’re not,” Rolan answered, offering the bottle back with a small smile as his own nerves lessened. “I'm more worried about being poor company, I suppose.”

“You’re not,” she answered back softly with her own grin. “A bit grumpy sometimes, though. Insufferably cocky, according to some.”

“I am not–” He looked up to defend himself, but the anger in his chest melted to surprised amusement when he saw her smirk: was she… teasing him? “You’re worse than Cal and Lia, you know. If I had known you stuck around just to mock me…”

She took a sip from their now shared bottle with a playful smile. “Oh, I wouldn't dream of mocking you, Rolan. Besides, cocky isn't exactly a bad look for you.” At that, Rhiannon  started, as if her own words had snuck up on her. “Or… for wizards in general, I mean. After all your studying and everything, I’m sure you've earned it.”

“Don't let Lia hear you say that,” he replied. She laughed again, swaying ever so slightly towards him as she did; his heart suddenly felt like it was doing flips in his chest. This might have been the longest conversation he could remember having with her, now that he thought about it; the longest without some snide remark slipping from his lips, at least. He cringed to himself again at what an utter ass he had been to her; but looking down at her now, laughing and smiling, standing so close to him that he could smell her perfume, flowers and wine and her godsdamned laugh muddling his thoughts…

“It's impressive,” she said, bringing him back to reality as she leaned against the rock again. “Did you really teach yourself everything?”

“Of course,” he answered. “No one in Elturel had the time or the inclination to teach an orphaned tiefling child how to be more dangerous, but I knew I had it within me to be great. I became my own teacher.”

“How did you do it?” Rhiannon asked. “I mean, it couldn't have just been books, right?”

Rolan stepped forward to reach for the bottle and took a quick swig before answering. “Books, yes, and practice. I… I used to sneak out to watch the Hellriders when they were fighting. We weren't supposed to, and our mother would've been furious if she caught me, but… I watched the mages casting, and tried to copy what they were doing until it worked.”

“Huh.” She was staring at him critically - or perhaps inquisitively. “I never had the chance to study magic. Always wanted to try, but being on the road, village after village… traveling tutors weren't exactly in the budget. That, and I'm afraid I never had your discipline when it came to studying.”

“Oh?” He replied. “I would have thought you’d meet plenty of mages on the road. They couldn't teach you?”

Rhiannon took another sip of wine with a rueful smile. “Yeah, well… truthfully, my dad wasn't thrilled with the idea of it. He taught me a few practical things, of course, like he used - healing spells and some stuff with my bow. But there was always a reason not to take any lessons. We didn't have time to stop, or money was too tight. Spellbooks were too heavy to lug all over the Sword Coast. But really, I think he was just scared of me running off like–” She stopped short, as if she had surprised her own self with her story. “I… sorry, must be the wine. I’m sure I didn't stay to talk your ear off with my life story.”

He recognized the look on her face as she eyed the ground; the same look he saw on his siblings and the other refugees when they were trying not to dwell on Elturel. It was the look they usually made right before leaving to sulk in their own misfortunes. But he wasn’t ready for her to leave; truthfully, he was desperate for her to stay, to keep talking and laughing and just be near him. He searched his mind for anything to salvage the conversation before it was too late.

“Why did you stick around, then? If not to pick fun at me.”

She started a bit, pushing a strand of hair back from her face as she looked from the ground to him, a mischievous twinkle lighting in her eyes.

“I'm only here to watch some magic, of course,” she answered with a coy smile.

He smirked back, his own eyes lighting up at her smile. “Of course,” he said, though not without noticing the way that she blushed. Surely just the wine, he told himself, but... “By all means then. What kind of magic were you hoping to see?”

“I… don't know?” She answered, perking up against the rocky seat. “I thought you were supposed to be the expert on magic. What can you do?”

Rolan answered with a very self-assured snort. “Plenty. Watch.” He moved to stand beside her as she watched with one eyebrow raised at him. With a little looking, he found his target: Cal, trying his luck with the dark-haired cleric on the other side of the camp. He gave Rhiannon a quick sideways glance before casting; in moments, a short gust of wind knocked his brother off his feet, sending his drink careening towards the woman’s clothes.

Rhiannon gasped beside him before breaking out in laughter. “You’re horrible!” She said between laughs, trying to sound serious as she swatted his arm. “I never knew magic could be so petty.”

“When the need arises,” he said, looking over at her. Her hand was still on his arm, resting just at his elbow as she watched the scene unfold with guilty amusement. “Don’t feel too badly for him. He’s not as innocent as he seems.”

“Is that so?” She asked, laughing. “Well, gods forbid I ever end up on your bad side. If that’s what you do to your own brother, I can’t imagine I’d have any hope.” She swayed a bit as she laughed, bumping into his arm and sending a shiver through him.

“I wouldn't worry about that,” he said, surprising himself with how gentle his own voice sounded. 

He paused; Rhiannon had suddenly gone silent. Had that been the wrong thing to say? The wrong way to say it? He looked down at her, frozen at his side now, eyes locked onto his with a more serious expression. He’d accidentally overstepped, misread the tone of their conversation, and had now put her in an awkward position. It was Rhiannon who broke the stillness, before he could come up with an appropriate apology. She looked down at her hand in mild alarm, as if she was surprised to see it still laying on his arm, and stiffly patted the spot as she withdrew.

“Well, that’s a relief,” she said, taking a nervous step back. “And I thought you didn't like me.”

He let out a tentative sigh of relief as he cast his eyes on the ground. “Yes, well… I do give off that impression, don't I?”

“Oh no, I didn't mean– I just… hells,” she said. “I didn't exactly make a great impression on you, either, I’m sure. With the whole… sticking my nose into your family’s business, and then delaying your apprenticeship, and… I wouldn't have blamed you for holding it against me. I didn't blame you, in fact.”

Rolan looked at her, a bit… confused, honestly. She thought that she was to blame for his horrendous behavior? His rude remarks, constantly belittling her - she thought she had deserved that? After everything she had done to help the refugees, the grove, all of them, he’d still been unable to reign in his terse manner; and for some reason, Rhiannon had not only not held it against him, but believed it was what she was due.

Even if she saw no problem with his behavior, he felt that he couldn't let it stand. “Rhiannon, I believe I owe you an apology. Many apologies, probably, for my… ‘disagreeable behavior’ would be too polite to describe how I’ve treated you. You did nothing to deserve that, and you continued to help us regardless. I shouldn't have–”

Rhiannon cut him off with a wave of her hands. “You don't owe me anything, Rolan,” she said with that disarming smile. “If anything, we’re even for getting on each other’s nerves.”

He felt a lightness blossoming in his chest at her words, as if he was just now realizing how much this guilt had been weighing on him. He disagreed, of course. Her teasing and badgering were not at all “even” with his own harsh words, but he wasn't going to pick a fight with her over how many fights he had already picked with her; not now, at least. They fell into silence instead; he was unsure how to continue, but reluctant to let her go just yet. As she stood in front of him, kicking at the dirt and awkwardly shuffling the wine bottle in her hands, an idea came to him. He reached for the bottle and took a swig for courage. “Let me make it up to you, then.”

Her eyes shot up to meet his, twinkling with curiosity as she crinkled her nose. “How?”

He didn’t answer her question, only giving her a little smile as he nodded to an empty patch of shore a few yards away. “I think we’ll need more space for this.” Rolan held out a hand to gesture her forwards,  a silent “after you” before following her to the water’s edge.

 “Alright,” she answered as she eyed him with a grin, “but if you conjure up something to push me into the water like you did to Cal…”

He barked out a short laugh. “I wouldn’t dare. Just a peace offering,” he said, moving behind her while she watched him quizzically. Looking over her shoulder, he said, “here; hold up your hands… no, more like this…” Gingerly, he set his hands on her arms and guided them into the right position. He was painfully aware now of their proximity, of the very short distance between them. close enough to feel the coolness of her skin compared to his. A single movement could have brought them together, any sway or stumble or bump. That thought alone terrified him, the worry of another misstep to test her good graces as he poured all his focus into acting normal. He tried to keep his mind clear, to focus instead on the Weave around them. Hovering his hands just over her forearms, he began to to channel a small amount of magic through to her.

“Alright,” he said, steadying his voice, “try to focus on the Weave. Can you feel it?”

“I… I'm not sure,” she answered quietly, crinkling her face. Could she tell how nervous he was? Was it possible for her to pick up on his thoughts through the magic he was lending her? “I feel… something, I think.”

“Good. Grab onto that,” he said, chasing his paranoid ramblings away. “Now, you need to just copy my hands.” He demonstrated the casting gesture, a simple pattern traced with the fingers followed by a wave.

“Like this?” She asked, looking over her shoulder at him for confirmation. Her fingertips crackled lightly as she finished the gesture.

“Exactly,” he said. “Now, just grab on to that fragment of the Weave you felt earlier. Channel it outwards while you do that again, and…” With a small wave of both hands and a flourish outwards, shimmering silver stars burst forth from Rhiannon’s hands and hung in the air before them.

She stood there for a moment, mesmerized by the display as Rolan watched the stars twinkle in her eyes. “You did that, right?” She asked, still looking forward.

“No,” he answered, his eyes still locked on her. “I provided a channel for the Weave, but the spell is all yours.”

Watching her eyes light up in wonder at her own spell work, Rolan was struck with another idea. Casting a slight modification of the gesture, the stars in front of them slowly transformed into glittering silver sprites, couples dressed in ball gowns and finery as they waltzed across the air in front of them.

Rhiannon gasped as the dancers took shape. “That’s amazing,” she said with an almost breath less laugh. “And you do this all the time?”

“The magic? Of course,” he replied. “I don't often… I don't teach it to others, normally, but… I…”

The words melted away from his mind as she turned to look at him, shoulder just barely leaning into his chest as she smiled coquettishly over it. “Good,” she said, “I was worried this was the trick you showed all the women you were trying to impress.”

He laughed, letting his arms fall to his side. His heartbeat was picking up rapidly. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” she said, her teasing smile shining brighter than anything he could conjure as she turned and laid a hand on his chest. Would she be able to feel his heart, he wondered, beating wildly against his ribs with her every word? She leaned against him a bit more. “I was hoping I might be a special case.”

Time froze on that moment, balancing on the precipice between the playful teasing of a friend, or something more. He hadn’t even allowed himself to consider her a friend before; he didn't think he had earned the right. Rolan’s thoughts seemed to stop, completely consumed by Rhiannon, by everything about her. The way her laughs against him had seemed to reverberate through every inch of his being; the coolness of her hand on his chest; the electrifying thrill of her touch, through only a thin layer of fabric. He was lost in her eyes, her smile, her lips; gods, her perfect lips. With his breath still catching in his throat, he gently raised his hand, fingertips lightly brushing a few stray wisps of hair off of her cheek.

“You are,” he whispered before closing the space between them, placing his lips on her own. He went slowly at first; a gentle, tender, sweet kiss, with his arm around her waist oh so lightly, giving her ample leave to pull away if he had misjudged. But she didn't pull away; her own hands slid up his chest to cup his face as she pulled him in closer. Rolan felt like his world was exploding, infinitely, more and more with every movement of her lips against his. He felt her fingers weave gently through his hair as she ran her tongue across his lips with a small hum against them in the form of a question. He gave in quite willingly, their tongues aching to find each other while he wrapped his arm tightly around her middle, pulling her closer until she was left clinging to him for balance. But nothing was enough, it felt like; he needed more of her, a feeling she seemed to share. One of her hands made its way toward the belt of his robes, snaking just underneath the fabric to feel his skin, her delicate fingers sending a shiver up his spine as he lost himself in her. It was wonderful; it was perfect; it was–

“Rolan! Are you doing fireworks again?” 

It was very rudely interrupted. They shot apart from each other at the sound of the tiefling child’s voice, followed by the patter of small feet running towards the shoreline. “Can you do– hey!”

“Not for you, squirt,” Cal’s voice followed. Rolan saw him grab the little boy by the shoulder and turn him back around. “Run off and play somewhere else.”

He thought he saw a sly smirk on his brother’s face as he shepherded the boy away; Cal and Lia were surely going to be unbearable when he saw them next. He stood stock still, dumbfounded as he tried to make sense of the last few moments. It wasn't until he felt Rhiannon start to shake with poorly stifled laughter that he realized his arms were still wrapped around her. His heart sank to his stomach, fear that he had done something wrong after all flooding in. “What?”

“Nothing,” she said, trying to master her own laughter. “It’s just…” She looked up from his chest, standing up on her toes to reach his lips as she leaned in. “Remind me to thank your wingmen later.”

***

The sun was well above the horizon before Rhiannon was able to rouse herself from her tent. So much for an early start, she thought as she dragged herself to the fire and blearily poured some coffee. As exhausted as she felt, she didn't regret a thing; she had spent half the night laying on the beach with Rolan, teasing the tiefling wizard between lazy kisses, and the other half lying awake thinking about him. Her heart fluttered as she thought over it again, memories of the night before playing through her head on repeat. 

But as much as she had enjoyed it, his timing couldn't have been worse; the tiefling party was leaving for Baldur’s Gate this morning, and her own group was bound for Moonrise Towers. How bittersweet that their first moment’s together were set to be their last. But still, she thought that she would much prefer to carry the memory of sweet kisses that came too late than the regret of them never having come at all.

“There you are. I’ve been looking for you,” came a gruff voice from the edge of their camp.

Rhiannon felt a grin tug at the corners of her lips as she saw Rolan walking towards her very seriously. She smirked at him over the rim of her mug. “Good morning to you, too,” she said, stepping closer until she was only inches from him. He stopped short, a blush creeping across his cheeks adorably as he faltered, the cracks in his determined veneer coming apart so easily at the slightest provocation.

“I…” He stopped, letting out a chuckle as a small smile donned his lips. “Good morning. I thought I might’ve missed you.”

She shook her head, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “I just overslept. For some reason, I didn’t get much sleep last night,” she teased. “I was actually worried you might’ve already left.”

“Of course not.” The way he said it, so matter-of-factly, might have sounded short or even rude to her yesterday; but the thought that he hadn't wanted to leave without seeing her, as if the idea of it was ridiculous to even consider, spawned butterflies in her stomach.

“I– well, Cal and Lia and myself, we– I thought that– ugh,” He threw his head back with a disgruntled huff.

Rhiannon cocked her head at him, confused, before realization washed over her like ice. Was he having second thoughts? Did he regret their night together, showing her stars and magic tricks and tenderness? Was he trying to find the words to let her down easy, to avoid awkward expectations if they met again in the city? “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s just– I am… not good at… this,” he said, gesturing broadly at her. “At…”

The lightness that had been in her chest turned to lead. She was making too much out of one impulsive evening; of course she was, and he could tell. Hells, everyone at the party had been looking for someone to spend it with. Why had she assumed it was more than that? 

“Oh,” she said, taking a step away to hide her reddening face. “I… it’s fine. You don’t have to explain, Rolan. I understand if you don't–”

“No!” He said quickly, reaching out for her arm. “No, that’s not… Gods, I’m already making a mess of this.” He paused, taking a deep breath to collect his thoughts before continuing. “I… we thought… if we’re all headed to the city anyways, and there’s strength in numbers, that you might… you all could…”

“Come with you?” She asked hopefully, the words out of her mouth before she realized.

“I… yes,” he answered. “Or that, if the rest of your group doesn't want to, that at least… you might stay with us.”

He… was asking to stick together? Rhiannon’s heart swelled to an ache at the thought; at the idea of Rolan wanting her near, and the knowledge that she couldn't accept. 

“Oh, Rolan, I… it’s not that I don't want to, believe me. I would in a heartbeat if I could, but… we really can't split up. Even if we wanted to. And we have to go to Moonrise Towers, and…” She realized she’d been avoiding his eyes. And the crestfallen look on his face as she looked up at him, the way he was already retreating back from the moment - it stung in her chest. She grabbed his hand earnestly as she continued, stepping in closer to him. “Rolan, please believe me when I say I wish I could. And I… just to know that you - or, all of you, that you want me around, is…”

“Why can't you, then?” Rolan asked insistently. “What’s so important about some ruined old towers? If you’re after adventures and gold, there’s plenty of other places that aren't so–”

“It’s not that,” she interrupted. She could feel her chest tightening as she spoke. “It’s complicated. I can't– it’s not easy to explain, but we can’t just… go our own ways.”

“Why not?” He demanded. Rhiannon looked away again as her eyes began to water. Not now. Don’t mess this up now. “Rhiannon?”

Images of the night before flashed in front of her as she looked at him. Shining little couples dancing across the sky, awkward laughs and sweet kisses, gentle arms around her. She shut her eyes tightly, trying to ebb the flow of tears threatening to break loose. “I… I'm worried if I tell you everything, you’ll…” She took a deep and nervous breath. “You won't look at me the same way. You’ll see… something else entirely. I just don’t want to… to ruin something… nice.”

Rolan furrowed his brow and tilted his head at her, confused and concerned eyes darting over her face. But he didn't pull away. “Tell me anyways.”

A choked laugh bubbled its way up her throat. Of course he couldn't just make this easy; he was going to pull the truth out of her, and afterwards, she knew that all he’d be able to see in her was a monster waiting to happen.

So be it, then. “Alright,” she sighed, nervously fidgeting with his fingers in her hand. She looked at the sky, then the trees, and the ground; anywhere but his face. She didn't have the strength to see the look in his eyes when heard what she was about to say. “When that ship crashed… we were all on it. We’re all abductees who somehow managed to survive the crash.”

She watched the realization form in his head. “But that was a nautiloid. It was a mindflayer ship.”

Rhiannon bit her lip nervously. “Yeah.”

“But if you were abducted, they would have�� it's been weeks, that’s not possible. How could you still be…?”

Tentacle free? Blissfully in control of their own minds? “Alive?” She settled on. “I don't know. We think it has something to do with that little box Shadowheart carries, so as long as we stay together, we’re fine. But that’s why we needed Halsin. That’s why we have to go to Moonrise; he says the… he says it comes from there.” 

She couldn't bring herself to say the word: tadpoles. The tadpoles that were slithering through their skulls, threatening to turn them all into soulless abominations. This would certainly be the end of any goodwill, let alone any feelings Rolan or his siblings might have had towards them. Towards her in particular. “I know it must feel like a betrayal, but I swear, Nettie made sure we wouldn't pose any danger to you all. We never showed any symptoms, and she gave us a bottle of wyvern poison to take if we–”

“Wyvern poison?” Rolan scoffed, a flash of anger in his voice. “She wanted you to poison yourself?”

“To keep us from hurting any of you. In case we couldn't find Halsin, or… who knows what else. I promise, Rolan, we never wanted to put any of you in danger. I never meant to–”

“We’ll come with you, then,” he interrupted.

Rhiannon stopped, tears halting as she cocked her head at him. “What?”

“If you’re going into the shadow curse, you’ll need magic to counteract it. Not to disparage Gale’s talents, but I doubt he has the experience that I do in these kinds of magic. And if you’re delving into ancient ruins, you'll need even more help. Lia is good with a bow, and Cal can handle a sword well enough,” he said. He didn't look angry, or upset, or utterly disgusted by her admission; he looked… determined.

Rhiannon felt confused; he didn't understand, surely. “No, you– it’ll be dangerous.”

“We can handle ourselves, I assure you.”

“That’s not what I mean. I… we could… change at any time. It wouldn't be fair to put all of you at risk like that.”

“You won't,” Rolan said decisively. “Not as long as you have that box, whatever it is. That’s what you said.”

“Well, as far as we know, but…” She continued to stare into his face, bewildered and bemused; and a little in awe, to be honest. “What about your apprenticeship? Weren't you in a hurry?”

“It… will still be there,” Rolan answered; he tried to sound cool and unbothered, but the nervous flickering of his tail betrayed him. “I can send word ahead with the other refugees. Besides, studying mindflayer repelling boxes and shadow-cursed lands must count as some kind of experience. Lorroakan will be all the more impressed, I’m sure.”

His offer was incredibly tempting, to be sure; but the weight of it all still loomed over her. “You don't have to do this, you know. No one could blame you for sticking to the safe route, especially when it’s not your fight,” she said. “I can't ask you to do this.”

“You’re not,” he replied, very matter-of-factly before melting into a faint smirk. “Lia is, actually. I think she’s grown rather fond of you.”

Rhiannon let out a small snort that erupted into a burst of giggles. It felt like too much to expect; she almost wondered if was still dreaming.

“Is that so?” She asked, tentatively laying her free hand on his chest, feeling his heart pound wildly as she hovered inches from his lips. “You’re saying Lia would miss me, then?”

She could hear the sharp breath he drew in getting caught in his throat as he wrapped an arm around her waist; could feel the shaky exhale against her lips as he stared deeply into her eyes. His answer was barely a whisper: “very much.”

She grinned back at him, biting her lower lip with a contemplative hum. Her heart felt like it was trying to climb its way out of her throat, the elation and anticipation within her too much to fit in such a small space. She leaned in slowly, heart thumping, her eyes never breaking from his. “In that case…”

“There you are. Are you quite ready to– …oh.” Rolan started under her hand, blush creeping up his cheeks before burning into annoyance at the elf’s salacious tone and very unwelcome intrusion.

Rhiannon glared at him pointedly. “Can I help you, Astarion?”

“Apologies, I didn't realize you were busy,” he replied, cutting suggestive eyes at the two of them. “Some of us were simply wondering if you’d be ready to depart any time soon. You know, worms to be cured, cults to be dealt with…”

“...oh,” she replied, deflating as she sank back down to her feet. It was late into the morning, to be sure, but she had hoped… “Are they already ready?”

“Very nearly,” Astarion answered. “Halsin is talking to his druids; probably telling them when to water his trees in his absence, or whatever it is druids do.”

Across the camp, Halsin’s hulking form jutted out above the rest, in jovial conversation with his people. He was the one with the knowledge of the shadow curse; they would have to clear this with him if Rolan was to join their party. Rhiannon grabbed Rolan’s hand, uttering a quick “thank you” to Astarion as they took off in that direction.

“Halsin?” Rhiannon called as they grew near. “Do you have a moment?”

Halsin looked up from his discussion with a kind smile. “Of course, my friend. Speak your mind.”

“Right. Well, I– or rather, Rolan was saying– if it would be possible, that is, we…” Her stuttering, fumbling words came to a halt as they all tried to come crashing out of her mouth at once. She looked sideways to Rolan and nodded towards Halsin, a silent plea of a little help, please? 

“My family and I are coming with you,” he said, stepping forward insistently as if he meant to leave no room for argument.

Halsin's face fell; he noticed the clasped hands between them. “I… see. I'm afraid we aren't bound for the city for quite some time, unfortunately.”

“I know,” Rolan replied. “We’re coming all the same.”

“The nature of our business at Moonrise is–”

“He already knows about the tadpoles,” Rhiannon interrupted, bouncing nervously at Rolan’s side. “They want to help, and I know it won't be easy to get to Moonrise, but that’s exactly why we could use their help. Right?”

But it was clear to her by the way Halsin looked at them that they weren’t going to like his answer. “I understand why you wish to come along, and I admire your bravery, but–”

“We’re more than capable of holding our own,” Rolan interrupted, the telltale signs of his temper flaring up. “So if you’re going to try and convince me that we can’t handle it, you can save your breath. We’ve survived more since the Descent than your peaceful little grove has seen in–”

Rhiannon tugged on his hand, a silent signal to please stop blowing up at the person they were asking a favor from. He grunted in response, clearly annoyed, but let any further words remain unspoken. 

Thankfully, Halsin remained calm in his address. “I don't doubt your abilities, or your achievements. But the shadow curse, and this cult, present challenges that cannot be felled with force. If they are using these tadpoles as a means of control, as I suspect they are, I hesitate to allow any more people than is necessary to risk their lives.”

“We haven't been infected. They can’t control us,” Rolan replied huffily.

“Exactly,” Halsin continued. “They will recognize you as outsiders, at which point they will try to infect you with a tadpole we may not be able to counteract, or…”

“Or worse,” Rhiannon finished under her breath, remembering the scenes of murder and desecration they had witnessed at the goblin camp. “You’re right.”

“That’s not your decision to make,” Rolan answered, almost snarling on the words as he continued to challenge the druid.

Rhiannon pulled his sleeve again. “Rolan…”

“What?” He replied as he turned on her, the words coming out almost harsh enough to sting.

“Can I speak to you privately?” She asked. Rolan bristled, but bitterly acquiesced, his tail kicking up dirt as it swished angrily behind him.

“Your conviction is admirable, as is your dedication to each other,” Halsin said before letting them go. “I take no joy in splitting a young couple apart, but… Oak Father willing, we’ll all meet again in the city.”

Rolan snorted derisively, like he had another biting remark ready as Rhiannon pulled him away, muttering a small thanks to Halsin.

“He means well, Rolan,” she said once they were by themselves again.

He shook his hand loose from hers. “Don’t try to patronize me. Just because the druid doesn't think we can handle it–”

“I’m not,” she replied, laying a hand on his arm. “I know you can. If any of you could handle the shadow curse, I’m sure it would be you.”

Rolan scoffed harshly. “Then why do I sense a ‘but’ coming on?”

Rhiannon struggled to look him in the eye, fiddling with his sleeve as she stepped closer.  “Halsin’s… right about the cult, I think. Especially about the… listen, getting yourselves infected would be bad enough, but they could do much worse. I saw them do worse, Rolan.” 

“So everyone keeps saying, but I think we’ll manage against a few bloody cult nutters who fall to any group of adventurers,” Rolan insisted, “not that I mean any offense, but–”

“No, Rolan, you don't understand. The things they were doing in that camp, the things they spoke about, you can't–” Panic rose in her voice as she remembered the gruesome scenes burned into her mind; torture racks and cages, men thrown to wild beasts out of boredom, bodies made unrecognizable as they roasted on spits, or butchered like cattle to become worg feed. And everywhere they turned, the repeated promise of more at Moonrise. 

She forced a deep breath. “You have to stay with the other refugees,” she said, the words spilling out of her as her breath returned. “Because I can't watch them do that to you, any of you. Certainly not because of me.”

“Rhiannon–”

“Please.” She put her hands on either side of his chest as she stepped into his arms, gripping at the fabric of his robe. “I know you don't need to be coddled and talked down to. I’m not trying to, but I… I can’t be the reason you all take this risk. Not when you don't have to.”

She stood there for what felt like far too long, her heart drumming erratically as she waited for him to respond. Finally, he answered with a defeated sigh. “I… alright. Fine.”

She let out a heavy sigh of relief, melting into his chest. “Thank you,” she replied softly. “And I'm sorry, Rolan. I am. I just–”

“Don’t be,” he interrupted. He sounded gruff, almost annoyed at her; but the gentle, nervous way he laid his hands on her hips suggested otherwise. 

She let out another sigh, more comfortable this time than anxious. “It’ll work out better like this anyway, won’t it? The other tieflings need your help more than we will. That’s the reason you stayed behind to begin with, isn't it?”

Rolan ran his thumb over her side, looking down at her with an almost sad smile. “Of course.”

“Right,” she said. “And this way, you won't be late for your apprenticeship. And I can send you some very detailed letters about the shadow curse to impress Lorroakan with. Maybe even some samples of whatever weird shadow magic you were hoping to study.”

“Oh?” He asked, amused. “And where will you find a courier in the shadow cursed lands?”

“You mean there isn't some magical letter service you can whip up?” She replied. “How do you wizards get anything done?”

He chuckled at her under his breath. Her eyes were still streaked with red, and a single tear trailed its way down her cheek. As he reached to brush it away, she caught his hand in her own and pulled him in for a kiss. It only took a moment for him to register; he wrapped his free arm around her waist as he kissed her back, fiercely, full of purpose and promise as she wove her fingers through the hair at the top of his neck. He splayed his fingers across the small of her back as she pressed herself further into his chest, rolling every inch of herself against him in ways that would surely haunt his dreams in the months to come. As suddenly as she had started the kiss, she pulled away, still holding his head to hers, leaving him breathless and hopelessly dazed as he clung to her form.

“Just wanted to give you something to look forward to,” she murmured. She pressed one last chaste kiss to his lips before pulling away from him entirely, leaving only the tips of their fingers linked between outstretched arms. “Where will you be when I get to Baldur’s Gate?”

Rolan blinked as he recollected himself. “I… Ramazith’s Tower,” he answered by rote as his mind replayed what had just passed between them.

“Alright. It’s a date.” Rhiannon let her fingers drop from his on the last word as she backed away, eyes locked on him and a smirk on her lips. She kept up the coy facade until she turned away, letting it slip with a shaky breath once she was certain he wouldn't hear. Don’t let him see you making a fuss over it, she chided herself. No long, teary goodbyes to taint what should be a happy memory. It should be some sweet little thought to get her through the coming weeks; not something lost, but something had. But perhaps it could be something more, if she could make it to the city in one piece. The promise of something between them to keep her moving forward.

Something to look forward to.

#bg3 rolan #holy rolan empire #rolan x tav #rolan #rolan bg3 #rhiannon oc #fanfic #tw alchohol mention #tw alcohol #fluff

[tinygameroom]

Played some more today and I think Voice of the Paranoid is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I spent so much time exploring the Nightmare that the 'heart, lungs, liver, nerves' mantra became sort of soothing, and him arguing back and forth with The Hero about maintaining it as you lead the Nightmare out of the cabin was very fun. And the Hero taking up the mantra (and sucking at it) was also great.

My favorite bit was when the Hero egged the Paranoid out and took his turn doing the mantra so the Paranoid could advise our decision about whether to let the Princess out or slay her, and his immediate reaction is 'Well don't listen to the Narrator, fuck this guy we hate him.' His absolute distain for the Narrator is so fucking funny and so core. I feel like he and the Hero play off each other super well especially in scenarios like this because the Hero is the simple moral compass who's trying to find the most rational and beneficial solution, but failing all else wants to stand by us and do the best thing, and the Paranoid is fiercely angry and protective and wants firstly to survive, and secondly to spite anyone who tries to control us. I love them both a lot and their dynamic is great.

I think this is also the first time I've heard the Narrator say 'kill her' - it's definitely an uncommon occurrence because the Hero even points it out. The Narrator dismissively says it's the same thing but it's really telling that his word choice is so deliberate, because his words and information are his source of control, and he's set this up the whole time like a noble deed, slaying a creature so dangerous she's practically inhuman, always quick to point out her uncanny or monstrous features as they appear, and yet when he gets desperate in this specific scenario he switches to 'kill' for a moment and emphasizes it.

And if you do kill the Princess and get trapped in her basement, when the Paranoid suggests killing yourself, the Narrator says he doesn't want you to, and when pressed claims he cares about every individual life. Which, obviously this is true, life is the whole reason he's done this. But it feels ironic and hollow when he's just demanded you kill the Princess - he says nothing about valuing her life or it being a necessary sacrifice, and the Hero doesn't bring it up - and you're already trapped in a hellhole where you will either die or exist in nothingness forever.

And it's like, aside from the question of 'what is life without death?' I'm asking 'what is life without autonomy?' because I'm certainly not going to believe a creature who has put me in an impossible situation, continually denied me choice, gotten me trapped in a terrible fate, and then tried to deny me a way out, actually puts any value on my life.

And while none of the voices have the full picture, the Paranoid gets that the Narrator not only can't be trusted, but undermines everything we value.

Also the Nightmare is soso creepy I love her.

#slay the princess #now playing

[eijakushingomel]

The Heroes & The Beasts

The Ancient Heroes, unfortunately, had been captured. Shadow Milk had taken them by surprise, snatched away Pure Vanilla, and used him as bait to lure White Lily away from you and the gang. The only good thing was that White Lily was able to pass her Soul Jam on to GingerBrave before she, too, was taken away.

You, GingerBrave and the rest was the Earthbread's final hope.

But let not focus on you cookies. Let put our attention towards the locked up Ancient Heroes.

They were somewhere in a black pitch void, the same void that Shadow Milk had presented to you guys when the first time he appeared. Numerous eyes trailed aimlessly on the walls and ceiling. Sometimes, half of them stared at Pure Vanilla, sometimes at White Lily. Either way, it won't stop staring at one place as long as Shadow Milk doesn't possess them.

But those eyes weren't the worst part. No, they were like a small hill compared to the mountain. Because Shadow Milk wasn't the only Beast presented in the void.

You read that right, he wasn't the only one.

White Lily trembled inside the bird cage when Silent Salt shifted his helmeted head towards her. Her calla lily staff was prepared in front of her, but it didn't lessen her fear.

Pure Vanilla heard her trembles from the second cage. His head bowed down, self-hatred grew larger towards himself at the thought he had failed her again. She had tried to reassure him he had done his best, but the fact they were trapped in cages like some sort of pet did not supported the statement.

The void Shadow Milk had brought that had some sort of mental magic mixed in, at least that was what the two genius mages concluded. For with the exception of Shadow Milk, the rest of the Beasts didn't have their physical bodies. Hopefully, not yet and never. Their consciousness were connected to Shadow Milk's, and the Beast of Deceit made use of it to create whatever plan he had in mind.

Still, it didn't lessen the scare of seeing the Fallen Heroes with one's own eyes.

None of the heroes were having a splendid time.

But Shadow Milk certainly did.

"Awwwww~, look guys," the jester cooed, animatedly pointed at the cage Pure Vanilla was placed. "Isn't mine so cute? He's trying to conjure an escape plan, and it isn't working!"

Pure Vanilla certainly was having a terrible moment.

His predecessor (could he even call him that?) didn't stop cooing and awing over him ever since they were brought here. Unlike White Lily, whose cage hung in the air and string connected to the endless like ceiling, he was forced into a cage similiar design like hers but placed on a round table. Shadow Milk had summoned a chair and placed himself next to the healer. Since then, the jester had been watching him like he was watching a kid show.

"Huh," Burning Spice scoffed. He and Silent Salt had been hovering around White Lily for some time. The Beast of Destruction snapped his knuckles on the silver cage, causing it to move abruptly and for White Lily to yelp. "So this is the new Hero? Your successor sure is something, Salt."

Pure Vanilla bit the inside of his cheek as White Lily tucked her head behind her staff. They couldn't find a way out of here. Magic seemed to be useless against a mastermind like Shadow Milk. Their only hope was you and the gang. Hopefully, he prayed that all of you were able to escape Beast-Yeast and requested help from Dark Cacao, Hollyberry, and Golden Cheese.

Somewhere in the background, Eternal Sugar peered from her fake cloud and clicked her tongue, "I thought our Soul Jams would at least be given to some cookie," she yawned halfway on her speech, not even caring to cover her mouth, "...who at least able to stand on their own ground," lazily, she shrugged. "I guess I was too optimistic. Awe, it's so tiring...!"

Burning Spice smirked, "But I heard she was the one eho able to create vines that hold us back for many moons. I guess she lost her touch, huh?"

"Awww, look look! He's turning his head away from me!"

Mystic Flour stepped closer between Silent Salt and Burning Spice. Her eyes were closed, but White Lily could felt the gaze upon her.

"Hm, just seeing her made me ponder what our counterparts were like. Was mine as patience as I? Was he or she got what it takes to inherited a piece of me? Was they enough?"

"Oh my gosh, he's shoving his head inside his cone head! Haha! So silly, and so cute!"

Silent Salt cocked his head aside, and one hand lifted to tap on the silver cage. His movement was in complete silence and fast. But bold and loud in its own way.

"Ah yes," Mystic Flour hummed. "I guess yours deserve a bit of recognition. She did strengthened the hold on our prison," one eye peeled halfway open, revealed a pale golden eye behind it. "As annoying as it might be."

White Lily failed to do not cower at the resentful gaze.

"Ehh, don't ignore them! Guys, my son keeps avoiding the servants I made for him. How ungrateful."

"Hmmm...she's pretty much a scaredy cat."

"Maybe we should rip her arm apart. That toughen a dough up."

"I think—"

"No, son, you suppose to be holding that servant's hand, not trying to cuts his strings— ey, ey! Cut it!"

"We should—"

"No, Nilla, that's illegal—"

With a flicker of his wrist, Silent Salt threw his sword towards the jester. Shadow Milk simply tilted his head aside to avoid the blade, continued on puppettering a few of soulless cookies around Pure Vanilla inside the cage.

"Come on, Nilla," the Beast murmured, one of the soulless cookies leaning down with a jelly in its hand, "I know you're hungry. Eat the jelly!"

"Could you ever shut up?" Eternal Sugar growled, one hand lifted from grasping her cloud to scratch the side of her head.

Burning Spice barked, harshly pointed at the blue Beast, "Shut your mouth and stop your yapping about your successor! How can you even coddle him when he's so weak?!"

Faced the raging red Beast, Shadow Milk beamed (much to the rest of the Beast and the Heroes' dismay) and raised Pure Vanilla's cage like a young cookie dough showing off his brand new toy, "But he's soooo cute! You want me to hate him when he's all dolly like this!"

To further prove his point, the jester shoved the cage to the closest Beast, which unfortunately to be Burning Spice. Anger flared up, the Beast of Destruction punched away the cage, and it would have even been terrible for Pure Vanilla if his predecessor didn't pull away in time.

White Lily was having a stroke witnessing that.

"You know," Shadow Milk tucked Pure Vanilla's cage close to his chest. Chin rested on top of the cage while his body relaxed and leaned forward at his peers, "Maybe we should do some parents–bonding with your counterparts. That'll be fun."

'It would be horrid,' Pure Vanilla and White Lily shared the same thought.

Silent Salt shooks his head. For once, White Lily agreed with him.

Mystic Flour gave a disgusted look at the trickster, "You know I don't engage in useless activity."

"And sides! You just met him for a couple of hours! Don't just claim around he's your spawn!"

Pure Vanilla was glad that at least some of the Beasts had common sense. Although it directly came from the Beast of Destruction out of all cookies...

"You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, and you shouldn't judge a cookie by its frosting. Who knows, maybe you'd get quality time on the way," the blue Beast sang, body swayed left to right. Pure Vanilla had to grip on the iron bars to not get thrown around.

Burning Spice snapped, "But the book's cover intention is to describe the content in the graphic way! Isn't that its job?!"

Silent Salt and Mystic Flour shared a look. They stared at their fuming comrade for a second before averted their attentions back to White Lily's cage.

"And reading is boring!" Eternal Sugar whined, all arms and legs stretched upwards before it slumped down. Her fingers glided through her lyre to create a short-term melody. "Wouldn't listening to music much more exciting than simply laying down, doing nothing?"

Mystic Flour, who Pure Vanilla guessed a fan of reading book, shots the pink Beast a dissatisfied glance, "Boring, you say? But you seem to think otherwise when you were reading those...fanfics of yours!"

At that, the Beast of Sloth hastily pushed herself up from her cloud. She glared at the other female with reddened cheeks, fingers buried into her cloud as she growled, "You say you won't peek!"

The Beast of Apathy tilted her aside in a mocking manner, "Oh? Did I? I guess I had been slipping in recollecting with all those thousands books you have."

Eternal Sugar's countenance grew redder. She glared at Burning Spice and Shadow Milk, who were snickering. The two males instantly straightened their stand and pretended to do nothing. Silent Salt sighed, and at the same time, White Lily did the same as well.

Shadow Milk chuckled when Eternal Sugar stormed over to Mystic Flour with a literal storm from her cloud. He relaxed further on Pure Vanilla's cage, fingers drumming on the bars in rhythms manner.

"Man, you can never imagine how many she got those books. Honestly, where did she get those? But eh," he shrugged. "I don't indulge in those. I'm not into those reader-insert stories."

"...?" Pure Vanilla glanced at Shadow Milk behind his closed eyes, "...reader-insert stories?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Silent Salt dropped his sword.

Straightened his stand, the trickster turned Pure Vanilla's cage around so the healer could properly face him. With a serious, intense expression, Shadow Milk asked the cookie.

"Do you know what reader-insert story is?"

"...no?"

Then there were those cracks again. The same cracking noise when you declared of elopement with the former king of the Vanilla Kingdom. Pure Vanilla turned around worriedly, fear that he might angered the Beast without meaning to. But instead of spite or ire, the blue Beast marched towards the chair he previously sat with Pure Vanilla in hand.

Wordlessly, Eternal Cookie flew next to them and plopped down a stack of book in various thickness. Shadow placed Pure Vanilla's cage on his laps, and with a snap, a reading glass rested on the jester's countenance.

"My son, here's what we'll be doing today," Shadow Milk stated. Unnaturally solemn and distress. "I might not indulge in these kinds of things, but I won't be having an outdated heir when I am this magnificent! A trickster must be acknowledged in all things!"

"...what?"

Picked one book up, Shadow Milk flipped it open and thus, the lesson began.

White Lily idly slammed her head on her cage. Witches, she hoped you and the rest would get them out as soon as possible.

#shadow milk cookie #pure vanilla cookie #white lily cookie #eternal sugar cookie #silent salt cookie #burning spice cookie #mystic flour cookie #cookie run kingdom

[callsignavalon]

Daddy enji x daughter!reader

Warnings: incest (daddy enji  x daughter!reader), pure filth, fingering, mentions of loss of virginity, cunninglingus, blow jobs, afab reader, dom daddy enji, rough but also fluff, breeding kink!!!! (but pls wrap it up folx), jealousy, kinda non-con, angry!enji, daddy is probably a little overused lol, also enji is self loathing and hates himself hehe,, lots of anger lol,, let me know if i need to add more! 

 also: reader is of age!! as always, MDNI 18+ only 

Endeavor was not a good father. He never had been. He didn’t deserve a loving daughter, he didn’t deserve you. You had always stuck to him even when he hurt you, even when he treated you like he did his other children. You forced him to realize you were never leaving, that you loved him and didn’t want to lose him. Enji Todoroki realized the relationship he had with his daughter was not normal, he knew everything he did was wrong. But you were so gentle, so caring, you really did love your daddy, he couldn’t say no to you.

Maybe it was the side of you that grew up needing to please your father, dying for him to take notice of your accomplishments, working extra hard to be the good girl he wanted you to be, maybe that's why you found yourself sucking your father off. Maybe it was the longing for the praise that he never gave you that left you fucked out on your fathers cock. It was years of lacking physical affection that led you to crying and begging your daddy to do something, make you feel something, and he did. Enji couldn’t explain how he ended up with you on his thigh that night, sobbing into his chest as you made yourself cum in his lap. 

He realized how horrible a father he must’ve been, his own daughter so desperate for attention she begged for her daddys cock? He didn’t have the right to tell you no. He neglected you, pushed you past your breaking point so far that you did anything just to see him happy. So Enji did his best to show you the love you never got to feel, it wasn’t what you needed then but certainly what you begged for now. He wrecked any possible chance of going back when he took your virginity, you were a complete mess under him, crying in pain but begging for more. You let your father take away something so intimate and special, he made you feel loved for the first time in your life and after that you couldn’t let go.  He hated himself for what he had turned you into, but he couldn’t help but adore how much you needed him, wanted and begged for him. Enji loathed himself but that wasn’t enough for him to stop stuffing his little girl's cunt. 

Recently he had been neglecting the softness that you longed for, only giving you enough attention to fuck you then go to sleep. He had been so busy he didn’t realize he had actually pushed you away, hurt your feelings enough you started seeking his attention in another way. You started doing things you knew he didn’t approve of, like dressing slutty in public, making scenes and knowing people would film you. You were the number one hero's daughter after all, all eyes were always on you. But even that wasn’t enough to get his attention back on you. He was just too busy. It took resorting to something you felt was possibly unforgivable to finally get your father to focus on you again. 

He caught you sucking off another man in his house. 

How dare you disrespect me? 

How dare you bring some worthless piece of scum into our home?

Those words made you see red. You screamed and cried and cussed at your father, the man you had brought in left amid the chaos, not wanting to be scorched by the pro-hero. All the hurt that you had been feeling the past few weeks hit you and you were ready to make him feel like shit for what he’s done. But as you want to start screaming, your voice cracked and you let out a silent sob.  You let yourself fall back to your bed, body shaking as you just stared at your lap.

What have you done wrong? Why was he suddenly so distant? Your whole body ached for the loving father you were finally getting to experience but he had become cold and distant again. Everything was starting to feel like before, empty and void of the love you had always craved. When you finally met your fathers gaze it was still blazing (literally) with fury as his icy eyes stared down at you. Part of him was concerned, but the other part was just pissed. Why did you feel like you needed to bring some lowlife scum in when you had him? Had he not been taking care of you like you begged him to do? He couldn’t understand what brought this on but he had his own solution to the problem. 

“You want to be treated like a whore so bad? Can’t even wait for me to fuck you?” His voice boomed, his hand going into your hair to force your eyes back to him. Hot tears fell down your cheeks, not even able to form words as your father glared down at you. Every part of you wanted to scream ‘NO’ and wanted to tell him how you felt, but the look in his eyes made you feel helpless. “I’ve spent my whole day working, stopping people from getting hurt and taking down villains just to come home to my daughter being a little slut.” Am I not enough? That's what he wanted to say, he felt hurt, angry that you’d get with someone else.

Enji yanked your hair again, “Take care of me then, slut.” You didn’t want to. You just kept crying as your hands moved to free your father from his clothes. “Get me hard, and then maybe you can beg for my forgiveness.” Another sob shook your body as he held his cock out, pushing your head toward his length. “Suck.”

He had never been this harsh, never forced you to do anything you weren’t comfortable with. He was mean, shoving his cock down your throat, which even soft was bigger than the man you had just been with. You choked, gagging and sobbing around his cock as tears continued to flow down your face. This wasn’t your daddy, this was the monster you knew people feared when they heard the name Endeavor. He fucked your throat raw as you continued to cry, to angry to even notice you were actually in pain. He was so upset with you he barely registered you clawing at his thighs to get him away, it wasn’t until he had came down your throat that he realized just how upset you were. 

  When Enji tried to check on you he was met with a shove, it was a pitiful attempt on your part, he barely even felt it. You didn’t want him near you, not after that. He was so quick to hurt you, so fast to make assumptions and not even talk to you about why you did what you did. Every attempt was met with silence, you just curled in on yourself even as your father picked you up, whispering soft things to you. You stayed quiet as he carried you to his bathroom, didn’t even look up as he undressed you and placed you in the tub. He took his time washing you, being as gentle as he possibly could be. He washed your hair, gently tugging the knots out as he tried to think of what to say to you. 

“Why do you hurt me?” 

Your voice was quiet, breaking a little from how much it hurt. He hurt you growing up, he hurt you by sleeping with you, making you feel loved and then taking that away too, and now this? It just seemed like he was only capable of hurting you. He soothed a hand over your hair, sighing softly as he took in your form. “You brought someone into our home.. I had to punish you.” Your eyes snapped up to him, hurt, angry, sad. You wanted to hate him, you wanted to fight. 

“That’s not what I mean..” you gulp, finding your voice as you glare at your father. He was knelt at the side of the tub, just staring at you like he didn’t even know what you could mean.  

“Daddy.. You’re mean. You ignored me my whole life..” It took you a minute to gather your words, to place your thoughts in order. “I always stayed by your side.. I did everything to make you happy and you never noticed me..” 

“And then you finally did.. and..I've never been so happy but you’re taking that away. I’ve done everything I could to get you to notice me and.. all I’m worth to you is just a quick fuck and you’re gone.”

“You’ve never loved me, not the way I have begged for my whole life.” There it was, the breaking point. You felt hopeless, you needed your daddy but it was clear he didn’t need you. 

There was a long silence before either of you spoke again, Enji was hating himself for being such a terrible father. You had provided yourself to him in ways you never should have, he had hurt you more than he had any of his other children. Ruined you in ways the others would never understand, you were fully connected to him and he had betrayed that. It was not until now that Enji realized how much you truly needed him, that you probably always would. You were broken and it was all his fault. He was going to have to prove himself to you.

“My sweet girl..” Even his voice was cracking, mostly because he hated himself, hated what he did, hated what he’s done to you. “I am so sorry.” He whispered, pressing a kiss to your forehead before lifting you from the tub, wrapping a towel around you and just sitting on the floor with you in his lap. “I’ve been neglecting you huh?” a little nod from you, bottom lip shaking as he held you close. 

“I’m so sorry, pretty.. I get so involved with work..” he trailed off, he didn't really have an excuse for his actions. “Baby doll, the truth is.. I don’t know how to love properly.. When I get scared I put myself into my work and neglect things.. I neglect the people who matter.” Enji tugged you closer, letting out a sigh of relief when you rested against his chest, small hands reaching for his large ones. You knew forgiving him so easily was stupid, but you had always forgiven him, always looked at him differently than your siblings did. You just wanted your daddy back, even if he did hurt you.

“What can I do to make it up to you? I promise I’ll be better for you.” Enji was never soft, but looking down at you, his precious daughter, all he wanted to do was be better. How could he have ever neglected you? He rubs his thumb over your cheek, taking you in as he pushes your hair from your face. “Tell me what you need.” 

“I need.. I just need you..” your hands gripped the towel, not making eye contact with him. His hand tilted your face up, icy eyes meeting each other as he peered down at you. “Are you sure that’s what you want?” He didn’t want to rush into anything, not after what he had just done to you. But you just leaned up, pressing your body into his as you pressed a soft kiss to your daddys lips. It felt like the two of you spent hours just sitting there on the floor, kissing and holding each other. This is what you had missed, this is what you craved. You kissed down his jaw, little nips as you pressed yourself into him.

 “Daddy..” your little whine was all enji needed to carry you into his bedroom. He wanted to show you how much he loved you, make you feel protected, safe in his arms like you always should have been. Your body was laid back against the bed, Enji slotting himself between your thighs. He pressed little kisses to your thighs, mumbling about how pretty his little girl was. Before going too far, enji peered up at you, which elicited a whine from your lips immediately. 

“You sure this is what you wanna do?” You tugged on your fathers hair, almost teary eyed as you watch him. “Yes.. please. Daddy I need you.. Please.” 

For once in his life Enji was just going to relax and give you exactly what you needed. He was going to make this about you, he wasn’t going to let guilt or shame get in the way. His daughter needed him, and maybe this wasn’t what good parents did for their children, but enji was going to take care of you. His lips finally kissed over your cunt, licking between your folds before he pushed his tongue in you. He rubbed gently at your clit, getting a steady rhythm going as he devoured you. Your hands dug into his hair, loud moans leaving your lips as you pushed your cunny up to meet him.

Pleas of ‘daddy more’ flew from your lips as your daddy held you tight against his face. It wasn’t long before he replaced his tongue with a finger, spreading you open so you’d be ready for his cock. “Such a good girl.. gonna fuck my pretty girl so good.” another finger added and you were squeezing around him, moaning and crying out for him. You weren't sure if the tears were from the pleasure or the joy of finally having his focus on you again. It didn’t matter though because you were feeling that blissful feeling hit your stomach as his pace picked up. 

“Daddy.. Ah gonna cum… daddy!” enji fingers didn’t stop, his thumb on your clit began moving faster, the digits that were in you pumping in you working you through your first orgasm. You clenched around his fingers, hips arching as little whines left your mouth, he still didn’t stop. His thumb on your clit continued as he pulled his fingers out, chuckling as your pussy clenched around nothing. “Don’t worry baby.. Daddy’s just gonna clean you up..” it took one arm wrapped around your body to hold you still as your daddy pushed his tongue back in you. He needed to taste his sweet girl, loved seeing the way your head lolled to the side as he cleaned you up. 

This went on for a while, him just fingering you, making you cum, cleaning you up. He had made you cum on his mouth so many times you were beginning to lose count. When he felt you had finally been taken care of enough, he moved up to finally take a good look at you. A hazy drunken smile was on your face which was puffy and stained with tears, completely fucked out. You still wanted more though, you needed your daddys cock buried in your cunny, needed him to show you that you belonged to each other. 

His hand cupped your face, a soft smile painted his features as he took you in. You were perfect, his precious girl. He knew he would never love someone as much as he loved his daughter. For a man who literally had hellfire in his veins, you were the one who warmed his heart, made him think there was a chance he could be a better man.

“Daddy..” you brought him back to earth, touching his hand that was on your face. You still had a loopy smile, but you felt it too. You felt the warmth spreading to your heart, love for your father warming your veins. “I love you..” It was soft, it was new. He had never said that before, not to his wife, not even to any of his other children. Your grin widened, and even though you were shaky and light headed, you threw your arms around him, tugging his full body weight against you as you kissed him. 

“I love you too..” you cupped his face, smiling as you watched his eyes soften as he looked at you. This was all so new. Of course you had always loved your daddy but this.. This was something different. You both knew it was something you couldn’t come back from. There was a silence in the room, both of you just taking the other in, sharing kisses and soft touches as you lay there together. Then you did something unexpected, said something you knew daughters weren’t supposed to ask of their fathers.

“Daddy.. I want you to fuck me.” you had switched positions while laying down, so you took the opportunity to straddle his waist. “B-but I don’t want you to pull out.. I don't want you to wear protection.. I don’t want you to stop.” It was a request that made both of you hold your breath, though it didn’t stop you from rubbing your pussy against his cock. 

“I-I don’t know if we should…” oh but he wanted to, Enji thought about breeding his little girl so many times. He had came in his hand to the idea of his cum leaking out of your cunt so many times. And maybe.. Maybe the thought of seeing you, his perfect replica pregnant.. swollen tits.. 

“Daddy.. Pleaseee.” you wanted this so bad. Of course you knew being pregnant by your own father would never be okay, knew that nobody would accept it. But the thought of a second chance, watching your daddy be a good, loving father.. It made you dizzy and happy. 

“Please.. Just wanna have daddys cum in me..” How was he supposed to deny you? How could he say no when you were begging for your daddys cum? His hands gripped your waist, he was about to lose any ounce of sanity he had. He had always been safe, always used protection. He couldn’t risk getting his daughter, his own flesh and blood pregnant, but as you bucked your hips along the shaft of his cock.. any brink of sanity he had left vanished. 

Enji lifted you onto his cock, granting your wish as he sheathed himself inside of you. “Ah. fuck.” you fell against his chest, wrapping your arms around his neck just to be close. He was sitting up now, holding you in his lap as he bottomed out in your cunt. Your walls fluttered, pussy clenching down from the stretch of your daddys cock. “Please daddy.. Please.” 

Letting out a throaty groan, Enji began bouncing you up and down on his cock, making sure he did all the work so you could just enjoy it. It was almost embarrassing the noises that came from you as you bounced on your daddys cock. All you could do was dig your nails into his back, just sputtering out nonsense as he fucked you dumb. You were so full, taking in all of him every time you were brought back down. He kept a steady pace, wanting you to feel him stretch you out, needing to take his time with you just so he could savor the feeling of your pussy clenching on him. He never knew how much better you would feel without a condom, there was no way he could ever go back to fucking you with one. 

“Gonna fill you up baby.. Watch your belly swell with our baby..” Enji didn’t even know what he was saying, just knew he was about to lose himself in his daughter's pussy. He just kept bringing you down on him, hips thrusting up to push him further every time. Your walls fluttered around him, trying to meet his thrusts but you just couldn't keep up as he started to lose himself. 

“yes , yes yes.. Daddy fill me up!” Neither one of you was even fully aware of what you were agreeing to, but both knowing it was all you craved. Everytime your hips met each other it became sloppier, filled with more need as you both got lost in the pleasure. Enji knew he wasn’t going to last much longer so his thumb found your puffy, overused clit and he began to rub circles. “Cum on daddy's cock baby.. Wanna feel you clenching ‘round me when I fill you up..”

You could barely handle it, you had already come so many times and this one felt like it was going to push you over the edge. Tears brimmed your eyes as your nails dug into his shoulders, head falling back as it hit you. Your orgasm ripped through you and before you could even try to pull away from his thumb on your clit both of Enji’s hands were pulling you down on him. He grunted, head falling against your shoulder as hot ropes of his cum filled you up, every muscle in his body clenching as he held you against him. He was so warm, your body felt like it was on fire as you both finally stilled, blissed out and so so full of each other. 

You both finally came back to the earth, chests heaving as you brought his face back to look at yours. He gave you a lazy smile, pushing your sweaty hair from your face as he leaned back against the bed. Neither one of you was ready to be apart yet. You let out a shaky breath at the new position, just keeping yourself firmly pressed against your daddys cock. You didn’t want to lose him, you needed him to stay with you forever. 

“I love you daddy…” 

Enji smiled, cupped your jaw firmly so he could look at you properly, he really just wanted to admire you. You looked so pretty, felt so nice just laying on his chest, pussy still fluttering around his length. He didn’t think he could ever get tired of this feeling. As much as he hated to admit it, he ran from you because you made him feel human again. He ran because he really was in love with you. But enji was tired of running, he just wanted to stay right here with his daughter forever. So with a soft kiss to your lips, he said once again the words he had always run away from, the words that always scared him. 

“I love you too.”

#daddy k!nk #bnha smut #bnha x reader #my hero academia #mha smut #todoroki smut #tw!incest #daddy enji #enji x daughter #todoroki enji x reader #bnha endeavor #daughter!reader #enji smut