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beybladeninja · 10 months

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I had this idea for a Future AU based off of my Elemental Masters AU, and it involves the My Hero Academia universe. I’ve posted this on my Wattpad account, but I’m curious as to what others think.

(If you are sensitive to talk of bodily harm, blood, or child abuse, please do not read this.)

PREPARE THYSELF.

I call this: UNITIZED AU.

—————

In the future after each of the boys have Awakened their Elements and they are revered as the world's protectors, a new enemy arises in their home Realm. A company by the name of Unitize, who claims that their main purpose is to spread peace and prosperity throughout the world.

And the company's chairwoman, Ms. Yang, sees the boys as a threat. She doesn't understand why the world relied on a group of kids to secure their safety, and apparently had been doing so for generations. She sees them as some sort of monarchy that had an centuries old iron grip on the world. Such a power dynamic threatened the influence of Unitize. HER influence.

So she resolves to destroying them and the line of Elemental Masters completely.

To start, Ms. Yang pulls a Hitler - she reverses all media and social propaganda about the boys to make them seem like the bad guys. With the public no longer on their side, PIXAL advises the boys to flee and go into hiding. Out in the wild, they are alone and scared. Perfect prey for Unitize.

Soon Ms. Yang kidnaps all of the boys and takes them to an underground bunker, where she experiments on how to stop the Elemental Cycle. They refuse to talk, to the point that they’re considered mute by many, but they let her know that it doesn't matter what she does. If she drains their power, they will simply come back in time. If she kills them, the Elements will simply find worthy successors and the Cycle will continue anew.

But then Ms. Yang discovers that the boys are powerless when surrounded by vengestone. After experimenting with the stone, she has her scientists create a liquid substance that mimics its nullifying effects. She orders the boys encased in tanks of the stuff, which are then frozen, thus freezing them as well. Her plan is to keep them frozen in the vengestone substance for eternity, keeping the Cycle from continuing and keeping the boys from interfering with Unitize.

But to ensure that the Cycle stays paused, Ms. Yang takes it a few Hitler steps further. First, she has the frozen boys moved to places around the world where their Elements would be useless - Xander and Lui are moved to the Polar Ice Caps, Fubuki and Naoki are moved to volcanic islands, etc.

Then she hunts down any and all people that the boys were close with, especially friends and family. If the Elements are able to escape their frozen prisons, she wants to ensure all possible successors are eliminated. The search is long and hard, but she's unable to find anyone that was closely associated with the boys.

Nearly an entire town of people... gone.

Whatever. Better for Ms. Yang anyway. Problem solved without any dirty work.

But it's not good enough. She wants all traces of them wiped clean off of the Earth - no one can remember their legacy. A few political tricks and reversed propaganda later, and she's able to get the entire sport of Beyblade illegal. Tournaments cancelled, arenas torn down, stadiums recalled and destroyed. Nothing to remember the boys by.

With that all done, she was free to take care of PIXAL, who she was able to find unlike the rest. The Nindroid warns her that the loss of the Elements is a loss she could never understand. Nature would find a way to fill their absence, and the result would be something Ms. Yang could not control. She arrogantly doesn't believe PIXAL and gives the order to have her disassembled.

It should have been over. Ms. Yang believed herself to have won, and Unitize was in complete control of the world.

But then a few days later during a press conference, where she was going to declare the "Elemental Menace" over and done with, a man ran onto the scene and started screaming that a baby had just been born.

A baby that could glow.

Nature found a way.

—————

Many historians have argued over the circumstances that led to the creation of Quirks. A disturbance in Earth's magnetic fields? A foreshadowing of glory? A warning for doom?

No. They were made for something much more complicated.

They were made to fill an absence.

An absence so great, so crippling... that it could never fully be filled.

—————

(Fast forward to the year 2175.

I read somewhere a long time ago that this year is when My Hero Academia takes place, and it honestly makes a lot more sense to me than the current timeline.)

Pro Hero Selkie is on patrol with his team when his echolocation picks up a mysterious object on the bottom of the ocean floor. Upon bringing it on board the ship, they discover it to be a hunk of some sort of veined quartz.

And Selkie's echolocation also reveals that there's a foreign form inside the quartz.

Curiosity caused Selkie's team to crack open the quartz. They didn't expect to find much - maybe a fossil of a long deceased dinosaur that got caught between two slabs of quartz deep within the Earth's surface.

They didn't expect a young boy with tan hair and bright lime eyes to come tumbling out.

The boy is catatonic and refuses to talk to anyone, staying in his designated room with only short bursts of loud physical panic attacks to inform the crew that he's even there. He's offered food, but he leaves all of it untouched.

Selkie keeps trying though, coming to his room everyday and talking to him in an attempt to get him to open up. Little by little, his frantic shell cracks and he's able to answer Selkie's questions in short, one word answers. Does he know how he got in that quartz? Yes. Will he tell them how? No. He's actually one of the few people who find Selkie cute.

But still. No one knows what to do with the kid.

A few days later, though, the crew is attacked by a band of pirates. They use a type of experimental drug that strengthens their Quirks into something nearly unstoppable, and the Heroes find themselves outnumbered and outmatched.

That's when the mysterious boy decides to repay his hosts' kindness. He reveals a control over the Earth's gravity that has both Hero and Villain flailing. The Villains are powerless against this new adversary, and they have no choice but to surrender.

The boy had meant the action as a truce between him and the Heroes, but they were terrified. They had never seen a Quirk of this magnitude before. It had made their decision for them - they had to turn him over to the Hero Public Safety Commission.

When the boy finds out where they were sending him, he has a full blown panic attack. He speaks in full sentences for the first time and begs both the Heroes and Commission members not to throw him in a cell, that he simply can't go back there, and that he'd do anything to keep himself from being thrown into one.

So the Commission gives him a job. At the moment, they were at tense odds with a group known as the Paranormal Liberation Front, led by a man known only as All For One. If the boy could help the heroes in defeating the PLF once and for all, they would consider not throwing him in a cell.

Naturally, the boy had no choice but to accept.

So he soon finds himself on the battlefield between the Heroes and the PLF, right as Pro Heroes Endeavor, Hawks, Tsukuyomi, and Earphone Jack were fighting the infamous All For One. While he was fighting the Heroes, AFO kept boasting about his ideals and how the Heroes had no chance of winning. The boy hears all of this and it reminds him of a certain woman from his past. A woman whose last name rhymed with “sang”. The memory of the woman makes him angry. AFO makes him angry.

So he uses his abilities to increase the force of gravity acting on the outside of AFO's body so that's stronger than the force of gravity acting on the inside of his body.

Effectively tearing the man to shreds.

But the boy isn't done. The battlefield is covered in fires. Still controlling gravity as to keep AFO's remains afloat, he carries them over to one of these fires and feeds them into the flames little by little, with speechless people on each side of the war watching in horror. No Quirk the man had could possibly bring him back from such a far gone state.

When he's done, he runs away from the battlefield; anyone who tries to follow him is blown backwards by an unseen force. With everybody still in shock, no one else tries to stop him. It's not until after the battle is over, when Tomura Shigaraki is defeated, that search parties are sent out to find him.

Izuku Midoriya uses his abilities of Float and Danger Sense to eventually find the boy in a restaurant - in SPAIN. The boy had apparently gone there after killing AFO, by reasons and for reasons Izuku could not begin to understand. The staff, having watched the news coverage on the war in Japan, had taken pity on the boy, giving him a glass of water and a plate of seafood paella. Despite all that’s happened, the boy had quite the appetite, and had three quarters of the food chowed down by the time Izuku had arrived.

The boy doesn’t respond to Izuku’s questions when he approaches him. Questions like where he came from, what his Quirk was, what had possessed him to commit such an act - it all goes unanswered. When Izuku asks him what he wanted, however, his response was quiet and simple: "I want to make a home for me and my brothers to go back to."

Izuku sympathizes with the boy. After all, he also has a power that he occasionally loses control over. He promises to give the boy a stable home. The boy is still wary, but he has no where else to turn. He takes Izuku's hand and his offer.

The Commission fights tooth and nail to gain custody of the boy - someone with his power could prove valuable in the future - but Izuku's class and teachers stand with him on his decision to keep him. What he needs is a home that makes him feel safe. The boy would never admit it out loud, but he was grateful for their support.

During negotiations with Principal Nezu in regards to where he would be staying on UA Campus, he was offered a chance to room with one of the other classes, but he turned it down. He instead asked if he could stay in one of the empty dormitories, which was usually used for storage. When asked what he could possibly need so much space for, his response is strangely ominous: "I don't intend to be alone for much longer. I have nineteen brothers... and I intend to find them all."

For legal reasons, he was asked to sign his name on the lodging agreement. He signed it Kit Lopez.

—————

Extra Facts

- The boys didn't think much about Unitize at first - it was just another company that promised world peace. They figured it would lose popularity in time. If only they knew how wrong they would be.

- The reason why Ms. Yang couldn't find any of the boys' close acquaintances and family was because PIXAL got to them first. She'd overheard Ms. Yang's plan to eliminate them all and rounded them all up. She explained the situation to them and led them to the First Realm, where she also explained things to Firstbourne. The First Mother agreed to protect the outsiders, and she used the extent of her powers to freeze the Realms in time. All of them except the boys' home Realm and the two Departed Realms, so time would have the illusion of continuing. Meanwhile, PIXAL returned to the Home Realm to deal with Unitize herself.

- PIXAL was never able to find the boys before she was disassembled and tossed into the scrap heap, but she wasn't finished. Her central processing system was still functional, so she manipulated the wires in her ruined body to dislocate and grant her movement. It was a long, slow process, but she was able to return to the streets of the city and continue her search for her boys. Her ocular and hearing devices were removed, so she has to rely on touch (the signals through her wires) to get around. Her jaw had also been broken during her disassembling, so she can only speak in vowels. She comes off as frightening to those who see her, so she's taken to wearing a mask. She's now known as the "Metal Banshee" and is told in ghost stories and "be good or else" stories. She still searches for her boys by feeling the facial features of those she ensnares in her wires. If they're not any of her boys, she immediately lets them go and starts searching again.

- Unitize was going strong after the boys were frozen, but their hold started weakening when Quirks appeared. People started to realize that the company didn't have a handle on everything and lost trust in them. Ms. Yang suffered a mental breakdown at her losses and eventually committed suicide.

- The boys were placed in places that would further nullify their powers. Kit was placed in the ocean floor because gravity doesn't matter down there - if you're not lighter than the entire ocean, you're pretty much dead. With this thought in mind, Kit has been researching past Unitize facilities and trying to figure out where each of his brothers are most likely to be. He can often be found in the UA Library.

- Kit absolutely HATES being touched. It brings back bad memories.

- Kit's necklace was a gift to him from PIXAL - all of the boys got one. It's a specialized locket that's in the shape of a flower so it can hold many pictures at one time. The clasp is made of titanium and is DNA sensitive, so if anyone besides Kit tries to take it off, they get a painful shock instead.

Relationship Headcannons:

- The only UA student that isn't afraid of Kit is Hanta (since I headcannon that Hanta is of Mexican ancestry - Spaniards and Mexicans don't have the same culture, but they have similar tastes). Kit had been making churros and albondigas for his supper, and Hanta had caught a whiff of the dishes and popped on over to see what was cooking. Unsure of what to do, since none of the other students had ever willingly approached him, Kit gave him a plate. Hanta fell in love with his cooking and started stopping by more often; eventually the two became friends. Hanta is constantly hounded by other students who want to know what the mysterious newcomer is like.

He teaches Kit about all that had happened in the years that he'd been frozen, or at least his knowledge of the facts: the emergence of Quirks, the creation of the job of Hero, and the establishment of Hero schools like UA. In return, Kit tells him about how the world used to be: beys, bey arenas, bey stadiums everywhere. Hanta is confused as to the concept of Beyblade, but he listens like the dutiful best friend he is.

They would also speak Spanish to each other in public to mess with others - which annoys Denki and Mina to no end!

- Next is Eri. The little darling is curious about the newcomer on campus and starts spying on him from afar. Kit, being the ever observant boy he is, notices after the first few times and calls her out. She's embarrassed, but Kit assures her that he's not mad and starts talking with her. She starts coming over nearly as often as Hanta and the three of them become really close. Eri's caretakers (mainly Mr. Aizawa) are uneasy about her being near a boy who quite literally ripped a man to pieces, but as long she doesn't come home crying, they're okay with it.

- Izuku Midoriya is the one who found Kit after he'd killed AFO, but the display of power had chilled him just like everyone else. He brought back the kid and gave him a home, but he tries to keep his distance. Kit spends a lot of time in the library though, and can often be found reading in multiple places on campus. Izuku occasionally spots him with one book or another, and, being a fellow book nerd, curiosity often pushes him to get closer to see what book it is. Kit always looks up when he gets too close though, prompting Izuku to jolt and scram.

-Katsuki Bakugo acts high and mighty and often approaches Kit about sparring with him to establish who's stronger, but Kit could care less. He's not afraid of Katsuki; he's seen scarier threats from Lui.

In fact, I picture him telling off the angry Pomeranian something like this:

"I've seen worse than you. I've DEALT with worse than you. There are several things in this world that are worse than you, and I'm sure you're well aware of that. So why do you keep trying to act all tough, huh? Trying to make up for something?"

Imprisonment has made him sassy, ladies and gentlemen.

- I've already established in my AU that Kit has a knack for rapping, though I also think he could be a pretty good singer if he let his voice go soft. When he's not reading or needs to think through something, he sings a song from back in his day. Kyoka Jirou, the musician of the class, hears his singing coupled with the odd lyrics and thinks he's a great singer. Of course, she'll never get close enough to tell him that.

- Ochako Uraraka is IMMENSELY intimidated by Kit. His power over gravity is far greater than her Quirk, and she feels both awed and terrified by his prowess. She stares at him often, wondering just how much power could fit into such a little body. Whenever he catches her staring, she flinches and tries to hide her intimidated fear. Kit knows she's afraid of him, but couldn't care less about contradicting it. If anything, he's quietly enjoying the attention.

- Minoru Mineta is hated by practically everyone on UA campus, and Kit is no exception. He hated the guy from the moment he first laid eyes on him, mentally calling him a "purple prick". His attitude towards Minoru only got worse when he noticed his intense perversion of the female student body. He threatens Minoru every time he notices him being creepy - he's as feared as Minoru is hated, so the guy tries to keep his hands in his pockets whenever Kit is around.

- Kit's Element is greater than any Quirk the Hero population has ever seen, and he often uses that amazement to show off. Whenever he sees high-flying Heroes like Tsukuyomi and Hawks, he jumps into the sky to show them up, passing them with yelled quips like "on your left" and "move over birdies - there's a new sheriff in these skies". The two bird Heroes are flabbergasted by his speed, and Hawks is slightly intimidated by the new flying Hero.

- Kit often prefers Spanish dishes, though his time spent around Japanese brothers-in-arms has made him crave their native dishes as well. He's terrible at cooking them though, so he heads to the UA cafeteria whenever he's craving Japanese food. Everyone is too scared to sit with him, and he often comes when Class 1-A with Hanta isn't there, so he sits by himself. Pro Hero Lunch Rush takes pity on him and gives him dishes that he always enjoys. Most of the school faculty is afraid of Kit, but at least he has a friend in the cook.

Lunch Rush knows what Kit did, of course - the whole faculty knows and that's why they're afraid of him. Even MR. AIZAWA has second thoughts about being in the same room with him. But Lunch Rush doesn't care; he's just happy that he has a new satisfied customer.

(Lunch Rush was so hard to draw. What does he look like under that mask, anyway?)

- Neito Monoma picks on anyone who isn't Class 1-B, and Kit is unfortunately no exception. Whenever he gets going though, Kit makes it clear that it's not worth his time and he doesn't give a shit. He just holds up his middle finger and walks off, much to Neito's annoyance and everyone else's amusement.

(Yes, that is supposed to be Neito - I didn't even try on his hair.)

- Also, neither Mr. Aizawa nor Neito can Erase Kit's power or Copy it - they don't understand that it's not a typical Quirk. The fact that they can't affect him to any degree makes them even more on edge around him, though Neito tries to hide his uneasiness by messing with Kit more often.

- Mirio Togata is afraid of Kit like everyone else, but at least he tries to get along with him. He pulls the same stunt he did with Izuku and pops his head out of numerous surfaces. Kit's lived with guys that could dissipate into smoke and travel through shadows, so he's not fazed, just slightly weirded out. It'll take him a bit to open up to Mirio like he's done with his other allies, but it's a start.

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lunar-wandering · 3 years

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so today i remembered to transfer the Shadowpeach Drabbles I wrote for @winterpower98 Cursed AU onto Ao3, and in honor of that (and simply because I wanted to) I have written a bonus part-

"Another cave? Seriously?"

The group of three stood at the entrance to the cave, looking in, trying to see as far as they could into the darkness.

"Must we explore every cave we stumble upon?" Macaque sighed.

"Well, it's not gonna explore itself." MK shrugged, turning to go in, only to be stopped as Wukong leapt in front of him.

"Oh no you don't." He said, "You're not going in there by yourselves. I'm coming with you this time."

"Wait, why would you-" Macaque started, confused.

"Because the last time you two went into a cave by yourselves, MK ended up with an injured leg." Wukong said, arms crossed. "I'm coming with you this time, and that's final."

"But what about-" MK started-

"It's fine. I'll be fine." Wukong said, walking past MK and Macaque, marching into the cave as though if he waited any longer he'd loose his nerve. "Let's hurry up and get this over with."

MK watched his mentors back with concern, before glancing to the side to see Macaque mirroring his expression. Said expression snapped back into a more neutral one once he noticed that MK was looking at him though.

"C'mon." Macaque said, nudging MK as he walked past him. "Let's make sure he doesn't freak out and fall down a hole or something."

Surprisingly enough, things didn't immediately go downhill.

Well, that is, up until-

A loose rock tumbled down from above, and Wukong, who was already very on edge, startled backwards, bumping into Macaque and knocking him over, sending the both of them rolling over a ledge and down a small cliff, the both of them ending up laying on top of each other.

MK, after doing a quick check and making sure they were both okay, stood on the edge of the ledge and smirked.

"I thought you said you were going to keep him from falling down a hole." He said, and Macaque groaned.

"I didn't think he'd knock me down with him." He said, slowly moving to sit up as Wukong hurriedly backed off of him, giving a murmured apology.

And then MK jumped down the ledge, landing with a thump and knocking loose a few more rocks, and suddenly Wukong was clinging to Macaque again.

(Macaque was suddenly grateful, that he was the one with the super hearing. He wasn't particularly fond of the idea of Wukong noticing how fast his heart was racing from the close contact.)

"Sorry." MK said, wincing as he realized he'd startled his mentor. Wukong gave him a nervous smile.

"It's fine bud." He said, but Macaque could feel him shaking a little. Macaque sighed, before starting to try and peel Wukong's arms off of him.

"You can let go of me now." He said, trying to ignore the knowing look MK was giving him. "C'mon, we won't be able to move if you keep clinging to me like this-"

"It...helps though. The touch, I mean." Wukong reluctantly admitted, slowly letting go. "Though you're right, I guess we wouldn't be able to move if I'm clinging to you like-"

"Why don't you just carry him then?" MK asked, and Macaque's head shot up.

"What-" He hissed, and then nearly bit his tongue to keep himself from yelping as suddenly he was being lifted up, being held tight against Wukong. The Monkey King wordlessly held him bridal style, obviously happy for a way to maintain contact while also being able to move. His arms were tight around Macaque as though he was holding onto a teddy bear for comfort. He turned around, starting to walk as Macaque remained silent in shock, trying to process what had just happened.

He looked over Wukong's shoulder, back at MK, who gave him a smirk and a thumbs up.

Oh that little sh-

The shock finally wore off, and Macaque started struggling.

"Put me down!" He hissed, fur bristling. "I can walk by myself!"

"I know." Wukong said, but didn't even loosen his grip in the slightest.

Macaque gave up on struggling suspiciously quickly.

Oh, how MK wished he had a camera.

Well, actually, he did, in fact, have his phone with him, but every time he started trying to pull it out, Macaque would glare at him from over Wukong's shoulder.

MK eventually resolved to committing the image to memory in order to draw it later.

As it was though, they'd found another exit out of the cave, one that lead into a wide open meadow instead of the dark forest they'd been traveling through. Wukong immediately let out a relieved sigh, slouching a little and loosening his grip on Macaque, who almost immediately jumped out of his arms, brushing invisible dirt off his clothes.

"Glad that's over." He said, before registering the muffled giggling coming from behind him.

MK kept one hand covering his mouth to keep his giggles quiet, and at Macaque's questioning look, he subtly gestured to the monkey's tail.

Which was currently wrapped around Wukong's.

Wukong seemed to notice this fact at the exact same time Macaque did, an embarrassed flush taking over both monkeys faces, their tails letting go of each other as they looked away in different directions, avoiding eye contact.

MK almost wished that Mei (or maybe even Red Son) was here so that he could have someone to lose his mind over this with.

Pretty much anyone would do, really, he just needed someone to rant to about all this-

Wait. He could have someone to rant to, now that he thinks about it.

He looked back over at Wukong and Macaque, making sure that they were suitably distracted.

And then he took one of his hairs and blew on it.

And Porty MK popped into existence.

He still looked like a monkey, exactly like how MK currently did, but the sunglasses and coat made it obvious that it was Porty. (MK never really did understand how Porty and the others had managed to maintain their clothes and personality. To be honest he....didn't really want to think too hard about it.)

Anyways, back to business.

"Are you seeing this?" MK asked, gesturing over at where Wukong and Macaque had somehow swapped from looking away from each other, flustered, to all out glaring at each other, albeit with a certain sense of playfulness in it that would be hidden to anyone who wasn't looking for it.

"Oh, I'm seeing it alright." Porty said, before smirking a little. "But don't worry OG, y'see, I've got a plan."

And really, MK should've dispelled Porty right then and there.

But on the other hand, it'd been weeks. Weeks of dealing with the mutual pining that rivaled the number of pine trees in the forest they'd been walking through.

In the end, he'd ended up accepting Porty's plan.

Porty shook MK awake later that night. (MK had dispelled him as they'd walked through the meadow, only bringing him back in secret before going to bed once they'd made it back to the edge of the forest.) The clone must've been hiding in the trees or in a bush, MK thought, as there were stray leaves within his hair.

"They're asleep." Porty whispered, "C'mon, OG. Let's hurry this up."

MK crawled out of his sleeping bag, shaking some of the tiredness out of his body as he stood up.

The plan was simple.

MK would push Wukong out of the tree. Porty would catch him. (MK had, recently, discovered the Monkey King was actually a heavy sleeper. His strong nighttime vigilance from legends had literally only been the result of him not sleeping at all.) Once they'd secured Wukong, they'd carry him and lay him down near where Macaque slept, and simply let things play out from there.

MK was halfway up the tree Wukong was sleeping in when he remembered something important.

"...Are you sure you'll be able to catch him?" MK asked, and both he and Porty went silent as they remembered just how easily a clone could be destroyed.

"...Good point, OG." Porty said, "Let's swap, I'll push him out of the tree, you can catch him."

With a quick change of positions, the plan was back in motion. Porty shoved Wukong out of the tree, and MK caught him, stumbling a little under the dead weight. (And oh, was he ever glad for his super strength.) The two of them paused for a moment, waiting to see if Wukong would wake up.

When the Monkey King showed no signs of stirring, Porty jumped down from the tree, landing beside MK, and the both of them turned around, slowly walking over to where Macaque lay on the other side of the camp.

"...What are you doing?"

And oh, MK had just known he had forgotten something.

Both MK and Porty startled, MK only just barely keeping himself from dropping Wukong, as they whirled around to see-

Wukong's hair clone, lounging back on his cloud, watching them with a disapproving look.

"It was his idea!" Porty quickly said, pointing at MK, who let out an offended "Hey!", before suddenly Porty dispelled himself, disappearing in a quick flash, leaving MK alone with the Wukong hair clone.

MK nervously giggled, tightening his grip on the asleep Monkey King as the hair clone's eyes narrowed.

And then suddenly the clone smirked, amusement in it's eyes, and MK relaxed, letting out a breath of relief.

"It's about time you actually tried to push things along." The hair clone said, lounging back on its cloud, looking away. "I can't say he's gonna be happy in the morning though."

MK rolled his eyes, he'd already long since accepted he'd probably have to go through some kind of stern telling off tomorrow. With the hair clone seemingly having given it's permission, MK turned, completing his mission of bringing Wukong over to Macaque, gently laying the Monkey King on the ground beside the shadow monkey.

Macaque shifted, rolling over, and MK froze, worrying that he'd accidentally made too much noise-

But then Macaque put an arm around Wukong, pulling him closer, Wukong responding by nuzzling into the other's neck as their tails curled together.

MK made no short work of pulling out his phone and snapping a picture. (And sending said picture to both Mei and his own email. One could never have too many backups after all, Macaque was sure to try and delete it once he knew it existed).

Mission accomplished, he returned to his own sleeping bag, whispering a quiet good night to the Wukong hair clone as he walked by.

(In all honesty, MK didn't think this would get Wukong or Macaque to confess. It might push them a little closer to it, yes, but it wouldn't make it actually happen, no, there was far too much going on, too much history for one night of cuddling together to lead to a full out love confession.

Until that time, he'd be fine with just watching the chaos that unfolds.

....He was fairly sure that, come morning, their expressions would be hilarious to witness though).

#Monkie Kid #Cursed AU #Shadowpeach #my writing #Snitching Clones

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jadoue1999 · 3 years

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Peter Maximoff’s complicated relationship with Star Wars

Summary: Peter didn't like Star Wars. But not because they were bad movies, no. It's because they somehow were very similar to his own life, and they also showed him what might have been, had his twin lived long enough. This is the story of Peter Maximoff, told through the many similarities between the original trilogy and his own life.

*All Star Wars quotes are in italics*

Peter doesn’t like Star Wars

Don’t get him wrong, the movies are great. The first movie had come out when he was 22 years old, and he had found it amazing. He had never seen anything like it before and had sneaked into the movie theater to rewatch it with his twin several times.

‘I need your help, Luke.’

It was almost ironic how his life resembled some parts of the movie. Both he and Wendy had some characteristics of Luke and Leia. He was the goofball, the one who had been recruited to break someone out of an impenetrable prison. Hell, Charles could be Obi-Wan, the old wizard with strange mind control powers (though he didn’t have them at the time), Hank was Chewbacca, the fierce beast who was loyal to his family, and then the claw guy, Logan, was Han Solo. The dark-haired man with a don’t-mess-with-me attitude that would shoot you down without hesitation. That made him Luke, the farm boy that was raised isolated, unaware of the true danger. Only difference was that Erik wasn’t Leia, no he was Vader. Wendy was Leia, the fierce, loud mouthed, badass princess that didn’t let anyone boss her around.

They had loved the first movie, but then tragedy struck. His twin’s powers were always unpredictable, always on the verge of lashing out. He had tried to help as much as he could, but just a few months after their 23rd birthday, it was too much for Wendy to bear. She lost control and died, taking half a block with her. Peter did his best to carry on, but their lost connection was all he could feel. The aching emptiness that had always been occupied by his twin sister. It took awhile, but he did eventually go see the second Star Wars. It was... a bittersweet experience to say the least.

Seeing the big bad Vader being related to Luke really did a number on him. All he could think about was the fact that he too was related to a literal terrorist. Someone who had hurt hundred of people and would probably not hesitate to hurt him as well. And then it was revealed that Luke and Leia shared a connection, where they could hear each other and feel each other, and it just overwhelmed him. Minus the kissing (ew, that was gross, why did they even include that?!) Luke and Leia’s relationship reminded him of his and Wendy’s.

That’s why he wasn’t surprised when they were revealed to be twins in the next movie.

Actually, he had been surprised, but more about the fact that his grief took over for a moment. Seeing Leia try to reason with Luke, telling him that nothing good would come out of chasing Vader, their father... that was a conversation that had really happened after their mom told them who exactly was Magneto. Peter had decided to chase Erik down the moment he had resurfaced.

‘I won't fail - I'm not afraid.’

‘Oh, you will be. You will be.’

His mom had warned him about Magneto, how nothing good came out of chasing ghosts, but he had to try. A confrontation with the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Cloud city The mansion was full of people, and the place was exploding. He saved them all (minus one), of course, because that’s what he did. Why be a speedster if you can’t save people from catastrophe?

‘Luke, don't - it's a trap!’

Yeah, it had been a trap, alright. But unlike Luke, he hadn’t had Leia to warn him. So, the carbon freezing chamber knock out gun had worked. That’s how he ended up captured by the government and woke up in a weird green room. The others, he could understand why they were taken, they seemed to know the man holding them, but why him? Peter was of no interest to them. Unless they knew he was related to Magneto and planned to use him as a bargaining chip, but it seemed unlikely.

Then, they were freed and, on their way to confront En Sabah Nur, or as Hank had described him, the blue god. He had told Raven about his relationship with Erik, and she promised him that she would make sure she would tell him.

‘There is no escape. Don't make me destroy you.’

The cold, cold eyes of Magneto were staring at him with something that seemed almost like interest. “And you?”

‘I am your father.’

It was right there, a perfect opportunity served on a silver platter. An opportunity to make Erik realize he wasn’t alone, that he had more family. Perhaps he’d turn back to the light side if he knew. “I’m your-“

But it was Wendy who was the brave one, she was the chosen one. She never would have hesitated. And he wasn’t his sister. “I’m here for my family too.”

It was all sad and tragic because his life was just like that. He could feel Raven’s eyes on him, she couldn’t understand why he hadn’t told him, but she couldn’t know about Wendy. It was his own painful secret.

With how similar his life was to Luke’s he wasn’t sure why he was even surprised when he got his hand cut off leg broken. Then, there he was, trying to hold on to consciousness as shock settled into his body.

‘Hear me! Leia!’

Oh, how he wished Wendy were here. She would have destroyed them. Peter would have done anything for his twin to answer, like Leia did with Luke. But she was dead, there was no one to answer him. Just the cobwebs of their broken connection and the burning pain of his leg. He didn’t really care what happened next, he was all too focused on getting his message to his long-lost sister. He didn’t really believe in a higher power, of some all-powerful entity that somehow watched over everyone. He did, however, believe in Wendy, his strong, beautiful, powerful sister.

‘I would have preferred her too’

The blue God’s voice resonated in his head, catching him off guard. No one had ever reached in his mind like that, Wendy only could because of their connection.

‘If you will not turn to the dark side, then perhaps she will.’

Would his father have tried recruiting Wendy for his brotherhood? Yeah, definitely. She would have been the true last hope. A daughter to be proud about. One with abilities beyond anything anyone had ever seen. One that truly would have saved everyone, hell, she would have prevented the mansion from exploding and never would have been captured in the first place. The blue god looked at him with disdain in his eyes and Peter knew it didn’t mean anything good. He tried to crawl away, but in his current position, that did absolutely nothing.

‘It is pointless to resist, my son.’

En Sabah Nur grabbed him by the hair and tugged, holding him painfully upright and vulnerable. He’d always hated staying still, he was always too full of energy, always eager to chase after the next distraction.

Peter looked up at his father, trying to see if he would do anything, but he saw nothing but indifference. Magneto didn’t care about him. He was an insignificant mutant, a face amongst a thousand others. Soon to be counted amongst the hundred of corpses that Erik had seen in his life.

‘Now, young Skywalker...you will die.’

The god pulled his head back sharply, exposing his throat. “End him.”

One of his horsemen was approaching him with a sharp sword. Peter was slightly thankful that it wasn’t his dad that was chosen to be his executioner. His powers had kicked in, trying to give him an opportunity to escape. But it only made his imminent doom even worse.

Then, he didn’t die, and the hope of seeing his twin again was brushed aside for another near-death situation. As it turned out, Raven was a great person when the son of her friend was in danger.

En Sabah Nur let him go too quickly to focus on the blue mutant. He gasped and writhed as he fell to the ground as electricity pain coursed through his body. The blue god didn’t care about him, he continued calling for Charles, calling for his true target.

‘Father! Help me!’

He should cry out like Luke did, there was no way Magneto would act if he didn’t. Then again, he didn’t have a clue who he was. It was doubtful he remembered him from the Pentagon, it had been nearly 10 years and Erik had had a whole other family since. He was just the nameless idiot that got a big head and tried to take on a god and got defeated like a loser.

In the end, they were all fine, just a little shaken. Erik gave him a weird look, either he pitied him, or he was wondering what he had wanted to tell him. But Peter was on the verge of passing out, there was no way he could hold a conversation at the moment. They came back to the mansion and Peter decided to stay, maybe getting out of his isolation wouldn’t be so bad.

So, even if his life was similar to Star Wars, in its turns and tragedy, it wasn’t even close to how the trilogy ended. The scruffy Han never came back, Obi-wan wasn’t next to a redeemed Anakin (he just left all together) and Leia wasn’t at his side anymore. A happy ending wasn’t something that happened in real life. Everything he wanted resolved wasn’t wrapped neatly into a bow. He still had his loads of daddy issues caused by a father who didn’t know was a father and Wendy, his amazing long gone twin still wasn’t at his side. Peter figured that some good would eventually come to him, it couldn’t be all bad, right?

‘This is our most desperate hour.’

He had faith in that, so, when he was woken up by a burning sensation in his chest, he did his best to understand. The pain was so familiar, it was grief. But not his grief, no, this came from the connection he shared with his twin.

“Wanda?” he called out. Using her real name because she was calling to him. Because she needed him. Because she was somewhere all alone.

“I had a brother, his name was… Pietro.”

It was painful for her to talk about him, so he made sure to let her know through their bond that he was there for her, she just had to reach out. Wanda was confused to feel him, but her scarlet magic soon opened a portal. It might be a trap, there was no way to be certain, but Peter trusted his sister. He took and deep breath and ran into the portal without hesitation. She was alone and she was suffering, it was his job as her twin to help her.

‘Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.’

#peter maximoff #pietro maximoff #Erik Lehnsherr #star wars #marvel #x men #marvel fanfiction #x men fanfiction #quicksilver #wendy maximoff #wanda maximoff #x men apocalypse #Charles Xavier #Evan Peters #Michael Fassbender #dadneto #wandavision

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whimsicallyenchantedrose · 2 years

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Until the Stars Are All Alight--Previously on...

So yeah. The last time I updated this fic was....I don’t even know, it’s been so long. Between various other fic events/plot bunnies that I’ve been working on, a muse that seems to have left on a near-permanent vacation, and the fact that the stress of all the horrible things happening in the world has just zapped my motivation to do much of anything, I’ve simply found writing this fic to be nearly impossible.

But I have decided, now that it’s spring and the world is waking back up after a long winter, I need to buckle down and actually finish this story. I plan to do something on this story each week day (whether that be writing a scene, editing or outlining the next chapter), and I plan to have the next chapter posted on or before April 1.

As a bit of a teaser, here is a list of the remaining chapter titles:

Chapter 18: Renewed Shall be Blade That Was Broken

Chapter 19: The Pyre of Rumplestiltskin

Chapter 20: Lament for the Fallen

Chapter 21: The Gray Havens

Epilogue

Since it has been so very, very long since I last updated, I’ve decided to begin chapter 18 with a “previously on” section, where I recap what’s been happening in the last few chapters. That section’s written, so I thought I’d share it with you to hopefully whet your appetite for what’s to come!

Tagging a few people who may be interested (Let me know if you want to be added or taken off the list): @sailormew4 @annaamell @flslp87 @emmateo26@bethacaciakay @ultraluckycatnd @effulgent-mind @ilovemesomekillianjones @kat2609 @brooke-to-broch @missgymgirl @galadriel26 @the-lady-of-misthaven @charmingturkeysandwich @jennjenn615 @laschatzi @kimmy46 @snowbellewells @iamanneenigma @daxx04 @nickillian @a-rose-for-a-savior @in-spirational @gillie @britishguyslover @ginnyjinxedandhanshotritafirst @kmomof4 @linda8084 @golfgirld @captain-swan-coffee @searchingwardrobes @hollyethecurious @laughswaytoomuch @deathbycaptainswan @allyourdarlingswans @killiarious @winterbaby89 @facesiousbutton82 @cssns @therooksshiningknight, @lfh1226-linda @tiganasummertree

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A/N: I know, it’s been like 84 years since I updated this fic. I’m sorry! I’ve been busy with various fic events, not to mention the fact that my unhelpful muse has been wanting to follow every plot bunny that hops by rather than actually work on this story, but I’m determined to buckle down, and actually see this thing through to the end before allowing myself to write anything else. Following this chapter, there are 3 chapters and an epilogue to go. Due to the fact that it has been such a very, very long time since this story last updated–so long that even I had to go back and reread in order to remember what’s been happening–I decided to provide you with a little “previously on” section to catch you up on what’s been happening with our favorites.

Previously on Until the Stars Are All Alight: Emma, Killian and newborn Henry spend seven happy, perfectly normal years in the Land Without Magic. As Emma’s twenty-eighth birthday approaches, Merlin becomes concerned that Killian will fail in getting Emma to understand and accept her destiny, and so he appears to now-seven-year-old Henry, giving him the storybook and asking him to help his mother believe. Upon hearing about the encounter, Killian’s resolve is renewed, but Emma only digs in her heels further. On the morning of her 28th birthday, Emma’s tattoo comes off of her arm and forms itself into the dagger, but even that is not enough to pierce through her determined unbelief. Seeing this, young Henry decides to destroy the dagger himself. Taking the dagger, he runs away from home, and quickly runs into Peter Pan, who tricks him into trusting him. Pan convinces Henry to create a portal and come with him through it, but as soon as they reach the Enchanted Forest, Pan reveals he’s actually the evil Malcolm. Kidnapping Henry, he takes the boy to Neverland Castle, the fortress Malcolm shares with his wife, Fiona, the Black Fairy.

Malcolm and Fiona imprison Henry with the other boys they’d stolen to be their slaves and the pair try everything in their power to convince Henry to give them the dagger, but despite everything he holds firm. When the Black Fairy threatens the life of Henry’s new friend and cell mate, Henry offers them a compromise. He can’t give them the dagger, but he can use it to mine all of the dark fairy dust they’d been using their stolen children to mine. This fairy dust will be enough to free the Dark One from his prison.

When Emma and Killian discover Henry’s run away and taken the dagger, the fear and panic is finally enough to convince Emma to believe. Using her connection to the dagger, she’s able to create a portal to the Enchanted Forest. They go to Misthaven castle, and Emma is reunited with her parents. The Charmings and CS use Merlin’s Mirror to figure out where Henry’s been taken–and they’re horrified when they realize it’s Neverland. The next morning, Emma, Killian, Graham and Ruby go on a rescue mission. They succeed in rescuing Henry (and the dagger), and in the process, Emma is forced to kill the Black Fairy. Pan/Malcolm, however, escapes with the black fairy dust. He free’s Rumple from his prison. Rumple, angry that the dagger was in Pan’s grasp, but he failed to get it, kills Pan.

And that brings us up to speed.

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lord-squiggletits · 2 years

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10 reasons to ship IDW MegOP

Full text dump and squeeing under the cut.

1. JRO wrote in a subtextual BDSM scene for them... like, this man deadass wrote a script that had multiple scenes of Megatron being shackled and restrained while playing games with Optimus to provoke him into hurting him. Optimus literally says something like ‘I know what he wanted now, and I think I just gave it to him’ after nearly electrocuting Megatron to death. But honestly, BDSM subtext aside, the entire Police Action/Chaos Theory pre-war story is so fucking good for both of them. It establishes both of their unique identities for this continuity as well as planting the seeds for how they first met and why their fates are entertwined, even if they weren’t friends before the war as in many other continuities. Then again, Orion Pax calls Megatron his friend after just reading his essays and talking to him for a few seconds, so it seems like the connection is there, isn’t it?

2. Personality-wise, Megatron and Optimus are surprisingly similar. While Megatron’s anger issues and propensity for violence are obvious given who he is, Optimus is also written as having a bit of a foul temper despite his best efforts to suppress it and stay optimistic. And even then, OP has never had any qualms about resorting to violence when the time comes. Then you have Megatron who began his life as an idealistic, pacifist miner (much as Optimus strove to be) but turned to violence due to constant state abuse, and even when he became a tyrant himself, he leans on ideals of freedom from oppression to justify himself. That leads into another point...

3. The two of them have mirror opposite arcs in this continuity. (For the sake of brevity, some things are simplified or glossed over.) Orion Pax began his life basically as one of the bad guys of the regime, but had his eyes opened thanks to Megatron, eventually became a figure of freedom stopping the oppression of organics, but then post-war started to fall to his own fatal flaw, and at the end of his life it was said of him that he may have caused more destruction than he prevented.

Meanwhile, Megatron began as an activist writer coming from an oppressed working class, grew hard under constant state abuse, then lost all attachments and embraced violence as a way of live, eventually becoming the very same type of tyrant he once swore to destroy. But at the end of his life, he did see the error of his ways and do his best to atone.

And JRO was the one who both 1. wrote Orion as a cop and 2. was basically the first writer who actually paid attention to Megatron Origin and put in effort to making it a part of the lore, so it’s plausible that this parallel was intended. Or at least, Barber’s additions as a writer made them parallels of each other.

A lot of people give Optimus shit in this continuity for being problematic, or fawn over Megatron for being “right all along,” but I think that both of them having highly tumultuous lives where they inspired great good and committed great evil is perfect for making them equal rivals as all good MegOP dynamics should be.

4. If you’re into stories with politics, reading (or writing) works that explore IDW1′s lore is rich for MegOP potential. Megatron and Optimus are both incredibly, incredibly political people. Their positions within Cybertronian society, the circumstances they met, and the reasons they became enemies are entirely based on the politics of the society they lived in. They are products of Cybertron. They are emblematic of Cybertron. Any romantic interpretation of them is super juicy because it means that they must resolve their political disputes and heal the wrongs that they (and their factions) have inflicted on each other, not just fall in love on personal terms. IDW MegOP romance is just extremely high stakes and complex. What’s not to love?

5. To go along with the previous points, Megatron and Optimus are both leaders with EXTREMELY big mistakes in their past. They’re both such charismatic figures that each of them basically built up an entire cult of personality around themselves. Of course, that means that all the atrocities of war ultimately fall onto their shoulders to be responsible for. Because of this, their sense of regret for their actions is equally strong-- AND I EMPHASIZE THIS POINT because if Megatron hadn’t started with pure activist intentions, and if Optimus hadn’t once been an enforcer of the regime, they wouldn’t have as high stakes to feel regret as they do! Megatron regrets how far from his original intentions he strayed. Optimus regrets the role (or lack thereof) he played, not doing enough to prevent the war from happening. They’re both full of so much fucking regret, but it gets lonely at the top. Who else can understand them but another person who is equally larger-than-life, equally flawed, and equally crushed by the fact that they spent their lives fighting a pointless war that they themselves could have stopped at any time?

6. Equality is a big part of the appeal of MegOP, and in IDW1, they’ve both wronged each other. In so many ways. Besides the fact that they were military enemies and have hurt/nearly killed each other in many ways, there’s also the personal level. Orion Pax seemingly listening to Megatron, only to become a state dog under Zeta. Megatron taking Damus and indoctrinating him into Tarn just to make a point to Optimus that “anyone can be turned.” Optimus making Megatron denounce the Decepticons. Megatron shooting Orion in the back after they defeated Zeta togther (also creating his own worst enemy in a very poetic irony kind of way).

These guys’ hands are so dirty, not just when it comes to war and politics, but to each other. Neither of them can truthfully claim to be a victim of the other. Both of them have to admit that they fucked up and did completely uncalled for stuff. I like the idea of an eventual romantic dynamic because love between them would mean reconciling and forgiving all of the things they’ve done to each other, politically and personally.

Anyways, that’s the big and heavy stuff, let’s go into more of the fluffy/romantic and possibly silly stuff.

7. Orion/Optimus SIMPS FOR MEGATRON SO FUCKING HARD IN IDW1 HOLY SHIT. This man stormed the Senate and quoted from Megatron’s essays after mere seconds of knowing him, he constantly praises Megatron’s name and words to basically everyone he’s friends with (Roller, Shockwave, etc). Hell, this dude literally threw out all sense of logic or propriety to put Megatron, a fucking convicted war criminal, on the fucking Lost Light just so that he could have his own redemption journey. I know Optimus attached contingencies, but still??? Under what circumstance is letting a genocidal dictator go free a good decision??? Because Optimus is fucking gay for him that’s why.

And let’s not forget about stuff like Megatron muttering Orion’s name/talking about him when he’s tired, the way he knew Optimus well enough to provoke him into hurting him with the VVH, the way that on the Lost Light he takes it as a high compliment to be compared to Orion Pax. IDW OP may be a simp, but let’s be honest, Megatron is just as interested in OP, he’s just better at controlling himself lmao.

8. In general, during the few times OP and Megatron get to talk to each other without trying to kill each other, they banter as if they’re old friends and just generally display comfortable familiarity. To the point that people like Prowl and Rodimus react with discomfort or disgust at how they’re enemies yet talk as if they’re friends, lmao. (Oh and of course there’s the phone call between past Orion and present Megatron in MTMTE.) Point is, they have really good personal chemistry. Also, tying back into the points made earlier, they’re both assholes so I think they would be comfortable criticizing/calling each other out. Which is what both of them need, because they’ve spent almost all their lives being worshipped and idolized. And who doesn’t like the “old married couple” bitchy-but-fond relationship dynamic?

9. Megatron used to be a poet and a writer, so he has the skills to send Optimus romantic poems and letters about how much he means to him. Or he could send scathing critiques of his life choices and call him an idiot. This is MegOP, so probably both. And then Optimus would argue with him right back, because Optimus is also well-spoken and snarky. Cranky old men expressing love via petty fighting and agreeable bickering/banter.

10. And honestly, they’re two big, bulky guys that look super tough and imposing. You have to admit that the visual aesthetic of two equally large, buff guys setting aside their violent ways to gently hold hands and kiss is just a nice mental image. And they’re both sexy as fuck whether you look at the Orion Pax frame and Gladiator Megatron, Bomber Megatron, phase 2 Optimus, MTMTE tank Megatron. Like, their designs are so good and they just look good together.

#squiggposting #megop #megaop #idw megop #anyways that's my fuckin rant ayyyyy #this is probably a mess but it made me happy in a depressing evening so #holy shit this is 1.5k words long #anyways it's serious and kinda shitposty so like i didn't cite all my sources and add screencaps or w/e #but this is my blog you know me by now

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stxleslyds · 3 years

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Red Hood and the lost art of telling Joker to shup up.

Okay, I know that I talked about Jason and Joker in a recent post but this is something different, I promise.

I really want to talk about how different Jason has been written since UtRH when it comes to him confronting Joker. Jason hasn’t been put in that position a lot but the times that he has, he lets Joker talk for far too long and actually pays attention to whatever he has to say.

The Jason vs Joker thing is basic in on itself and letting Joker talk isn’t exactly the problem here, the real problem is Jason letting Joker’s thoughts shape his future thoughts and decisions, I do understand that that’s exactly what writers want though, they want to build the problematic of: “Jason is just like Joker and the fact that he uses the name Red Hood only proves that Joker made who Jason is now”.

But the thing is that THAT problem is overdone at this point and the only time it worked was the first time it was brought up and it worked because Jason shut the Joker down.

Let’s see all the times (that I remember) the Joker and Jason have had a little chat and/or the times Joker’s words actually influence Jason’s thinking and decision making.

Under the Red Hood – Batman (1940) #649

This is the first real confrontation we get to see between Jason and Joker after Jason’s death and it is beautiful. It's absolutely amazingly written, Joker goes on and on forever about how he killed Jason about how Jason is just as bad as him but that he is also just like Batman because he hasn’t killed him yet.

“You let me live after everything I did, you couldn’t pop my balloon. You just couldn’t. The apple doesn’t tumble too far from the paterfamilias. You are just like daddy-kins”

Jason lets him talk, yes. But he absolutely destroys Joker with what he tells him next.

“You couldn’t be more wrong about me. If right were a country on earth you’d be circling on the edge of the milky way. Yeah, I let you live but like always, every damned minute of your addled, posturing, psychopathic life, you think this is about you. You’re a worm. I’ve pitched you on a hook and dropped you into the brine. And I will beat the hell out of you Pagliacci because it was too much fun not to.”

“Listen to me Joker, I’m not you. I´m nothing like you. I know what I do and I know why I do it. You, you are, clinically speaking, a whack-job. But I know a secret, a good one.”

“You are not nearly as crazy as you would like us all to believe or even as crazy as you would like to believe. It just makes it easier to justify every sick monstrous thing you’ve ever done when you play the part of the mad clown. You are crazy, bubba, but you ain’t that crazy. Look at that. I wiped a smile off of Joker’s face. I have been waiting a long time for that.”

Everything about this is perfect, Jason gives Joker no room to mess with him. Whatever the Joker had planned on saying he had to eat because Jason wasn’t playing games and he was ready for any kind of lie the Joker had ready to tell. This is Jason Todd. He won’t let the Joker get under his skin because he knows the Joker and he, also, knows better.

Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011) #15

Here Jason comes across Joker during the “Death of the Family” event. In this issue the Joker has information about all of the members of the “Batfamily” and he uses that to mess around with each one of them, in Jason’s case he insinuates that he was present in very specific moments of his life when Jason’s father got shot, when his mother overdosed and when he was on his own before joining Batman.

Jason doesn’t quite believe that Joker was there but as the reader, we can see this sort of sense of doubt in Jason. He hesitates a few times before resolving that the Joker is playing with him.

But as far as this issue goes let’s just say that what the Joker says doesn’t get to Jason, this changes though in the issue that follows up this story.

Teen Titans (2011) #16

This is where that story continues and where Jason starts to buy the story that Joker is selling.

Joker convinces Jason that he has his father and Tim’s father and that the only way for Jason (or Tim) to save their dads is by killing the other (Jason or Tim). Tim doesn’t believe it but Jason is ready to shoot Tim almost immediately.

However, Jason changes his mind about killing Tim just as Tim comes up with a plan for them to not actually have to kill each other. Here is where Lobdell’s writing shows all of its flaws, Lobdell is so desperate to show that Jason and Tim are besties that he forgets that Jason had no reason to stop trying to kill Tim to save his shit father because it is later revealed that Jason truly believed that Joker had found his father and had him captive. It wasn’t until Tim explained his thought process as to why those men weren’t their dads that Jason just goes “you realize, of course, the only reason I didn’t kill you right off is that I knew your big brain will figure out some way out of this” HA, nice save Lobdell but I see right through your bullshit.

Jason bought what the Joker was selling and that is the beginning of Jason’s downgrade when it comes to not playing Joker’s games.

Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011) #17

Well, in this issue Lobdell goes back to Jason kinda not believing what Joker told him, and Jason asks Bruce of all people if he thinks the Joker truly “made him or not”. Bruce says that he doesn’t believe that and that he didn’t have anything to do with the man that Jason has become either. For some reason, Jason is actually happy with what Bruce said and for a couple of moments, Jason goes back to being sure that the Joker knows nothing and that he is his own man.

It doesn’t last long though. At the very end of the issue, the trap that Joker had set up in Jason’s helmet triggers and Jason gets his face fucked up with acid or something.

But that’s not all because a hologram of Joker has something to say: “you were supposed to be my masterpiece from start to finish. But you were too stubborn to stay dead. So here is what we are going to do… You’re so determined to be your own man? Fine, let’s start with a clean slate”.

Basically, the Joker insinuates once more that he had something to do with who Jason was supposed to become and that Jason isn’t truly “his own man”, This is all a setup for a very dense storyline that will be continued in this run later.

Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011) #18

In this issue, Jason is in a coma after he is dosed with that gas in the previous issue. The Joker isn’t really present in this issue but he does make an appearance as part of Jason’s “nightmare” while he is unconscious.

That’s not all though, Jason has an illusion of Ducra (someone that he appreciates a lot), telling him that “after you left the All-Castle after you went back to the world you continued to let your life be defined by the actions of that man. You became a killer, lashing out at people who may or may not have deserved it. Eventually, you will hurt all those you have cared for. In that way, how are you any different from the Joker?”.

In this statement, there is a lot of wrongs that can come from two places, either bad writing on Lobdell’s part or just Ducra telling lies as a plot point.

“Let your life be defined by the actions of that man” is a sentence that horribly simplifies Jason’s thinking during the events of UtRH, because while he did resent the Joker, his real problem was with Bruce who had not avenged his death by killing the Joker himself. Also, Jason was doing other things back then, like being a pain in the ass for Black Mask and disrupting the drug trade in Gotham as well as trying to control the drug dealing to children. So that little sentence is just a gross misinterpretation of the true events which means that Ducra was wrong, and “she” continues to be wrong when she says that there might be no difference between Jason and Joker.

Luckily Jason thinks the same because he tells “Ducra”: “…don’t you dare compare me to that monster Ducra. I am nothing like the Joker! Nothing!”

Once again please don’t be fooled by Jason’s thinking because in the next issue it turns around really fast and really bad.

Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011) #19

Just a heads up this issue has a change of writer, Lobdell isn’t writing this arc, the writer that gives us this hellish story arc is James Tynion IV.

All that talk about Jason not being affected or not believing what the Joker told him is yeeted out of the window and it’s not a fun ride.

In this issue, Roy and Kory find a Jason that doesn’t know who they are or who he, himself, is. This is because S’aru that little floaty little shit took his memories away after Jason asked him to do so, well Jason asked S’aru to erase every memory that darkness has touched (Joker) and he does that. But him doing that is apparently erasing everything which, holy shit, how messed up is that?

But let’s take a look at what Jason says before he gets his memories taken away: “Not only did the Joker almost take my face, but he tells me he might have manipulated my entire life from the beginning! Even the good is tainted by him now. I can’t do it anymore. I can’t have that kind of doubt. If you take it away, I can go on living. I can keep fighting”. So, yeah that was a pretty emo speech. But the thing here is that if Jason is asking this dude to erase every memory that has been tainted by the Joker and he erases all of them then we might be facing one of two situations, either Joker has been messing up with Jason’s life from the beginning or S’aru is just a little bitch.

We will later find out in #20 that S’aru and Ducra planned the whole thing, meaning that they took all of his memories for ulterior motives not because the Joker had actually tainted all of them.

For many issues Jason has no memories and now that I am revisiting these issues, I now remember the twisted and completely insane plot they came up with for the “League of Assassins” and Jason being the “Chosen One”, everything was happening in this run, my god, it's like they wanted Jason to be the center of every single trope in writing history.

It’s in issue #26 that Jason asks for his memories back but the Joker having tainted his memories or not isn’t important anymore to anyone, including the writer (because he is too focused on telling this messy story), Jason (because he has enough problems at the moment) and the reader (because this book makes zero sense and it changes the story and motivations every single issue).

But there is another truth to be revealed in the next issue.

Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011) #27

Jason has planned along Ducra and S’aru to give up all of his memories to be cleansed so he could defeat Ra’s Al Ghul. But (there is always a but) Ducra says this: “Your greatest enemy returned and nearly took your face away from you. And in the process, shook your sense of identity to the core” “The final battle here will take place in the Well of Sins, and with all the doubt and fear clouding your mind, it would eat you whole”.

So yeah, now we have confirmation from Ducra that Jason had indeed let what the Joker told him cloud his sense of self and made him doubt who he was and if he really was in control.

All that back and forth for these many issues just to say, yes, Jason let Joker’s words affect him.

So here it is, let Joker get in Jason’s head to build the plot of a story, fantastic, the story was a mess because it had so much information, the mischaracterizations of Roy and Kory were at their maximum potential, and in this particular story arc not only are the events of Red Hood: The Lost Days officially erased from Jason’s canon but something quite out there is added to Jason’s canon from before he was even Robin (that’s a whole different story that I won’t be talking about here).

What an insane ride this arc was. Definitely not the kind of story I enjoy in a Red Hood book but that’s just my preference.

*This whole arc was written by James Tynion IV.

Red Hood/Arsenal #11

Joker is dead during the events of this run but the person who has something to say to Jason about how the Joker made the person that he is now is Duela Dent (“Joker’s daughter”, she isn’t his daughter she just found Joker’s face somewhere and she puts it on and “becomes” crazy, she is an incredibly weird character).

She says this, “You’re a lot like dad in that way” to which Jason says “He is not my father. He’s not even your father” but Duela continues by saying. “You’re kidding yourself if you genuinely believe that. Yeah, he took your life but look what you got in its place, you ingrate. You got your freedom. You were reborn.”

Jason doesn’t fall for it or anything of the sort but once again writers are bringing up the Joker as the maker of the Red Hood and “suggesting” that what Jason has been doing and who he has become is all thanks to Joker. The idea of Jason having no free will is still present in this narrative, even when Jason doesn’t believe it.

Red Hood/Arsenal #12

I talked too soon because in this issue Jason is having some weird thoughts.

“Funny, isn’t it, so easy to call Duela “crazy” because she wears a dead man’s face. Because isn’t that what I’m doing? Before he was the Joker, he was the Red Hood. So maybe the line between men and the Joker’s daughter is a lot thinner than I’d like to admit.”

Here he is comparing himself to Duela and to the Joker to an extent, writers often bring up the fact that Jason uses the code name that his killer once had and they have people or Jason himself questioning why he uses that name.

Personally, I don’t think there is much to build from it (at least not from the perspective of Lost Days and UtRH), it was just a joke, a morbid one if you will. He wears the mantle of the person that destroys Gotham and fills its people with fear while he is trying to control the city’s drug trade and trying to keep the people safe in his own way. And the way he wanted to do it is almost the complete opposite of the way that Batman does things.

I just think that he is being ironic and acidic about the whole thing. He has obviously moved on from the fact that Joker killed him but he has issues with the fact that Batman has yet another child working with him while the Joker is still alive. And Jason really wanted to make Bruce suffer, so him taking the name and a similar appearance to how the joker used to look is also done to get a reaction from Bruce.

I really don’t think there is any sort of connection to make between Jason and Joker beyond that, much like there is no connection between the name Nightwing and the Court of Owls. Even though Lincoln March tried to convince Dick Grayson that he chose the name Nightwing because Owls fly at night and that meant that he was supposed to become a Talon and all that Dick still didn’t believe it because he knew why he chose that name and no one can twist his reason.

Red Hood and the Outlaws (2016) #10

Finally, I can stop re-reading New 52 books, I don’t enjoy it but I have to do it if I want to talk/complain about stuff.

This one is a little different because while Jason does talk with the Joker, the Joker isn’t really there he is just part of Jason’s imagination just like the Robin Jason that he is also seeing.

In this story, Jason is helping Artemis discover who she is but he gets captured in Qurac, yup that place, and worst of all from where he is being held, he can see the place where he died. All of that is helping Jason have some very vivid memories/illusions. He does actively hold a conversation with the imaginary Joker and Robin Jason though, and he is also having a lot of thoughts that let us know how the Joker affects Jason.

“This is why it was stupid of me to come back to Qurac. Even to help Artemis, even if I thought I could handle it. Physically, I am alone, but in my head? I’m drowning in memories of the worst day of what was my very short life. The day I was murdered.”

That’s what Jason is thinking but what I write next is what Jason’s saying as he talks to the imaginary Joker.

“Not interested in replaying this over again, like I have every night of my life since it happened Joker”

So, we are told that Jason thinks about that day very often, the Joker might not be involved much in Jason’s books but he definitely has a bigger role inside of Jason’s head. They chat for a bit up until Jason decides to “kill” the Joker, he knows, of course, that it is not real but it does give him satisfaction. (If only they would have let Jason actually kill the clown for real, or at the very least chase him just to show the reader that Jason does actually want to finish the job since the Bat won’t do it himself).

Having said all that, Joker’s imaginary death doesn’t last long because Jason is trapped in his mind and the Joker is basically functioning on a loop inside of it.

That is where the problem lies in this issue because Jason is letting us know that he is still heavily influenced by what happened that day and that he hasn’t been able to walk away from it. But once more that’s not the worst thing, because all of these thoughts have led Jason to think that he (in the present and as a fifteen-year-old) is the one to blame for having ended up dead. Yeah, it is messed up.

This is what Jason says to imaginary Robin Jason, “He is never going to die, Jason. Not here. Not in my mind, not if at some point I don’t stand up and walk away from my memories. From you.”

This is a major downgrade, from the Jason that we had in UtRH because that Jason had moved on from the fact that he had been killed what he was looking for was for Batman to avenge his death. He had other things in mind as well, like I said before in this post Jason had a lot of things going on, killing Joker wasn’t his only plan.

And this situation (written by Lobdell) is also very different from what was going on in New 52 where Jason being influenced by the Joker was used to build a plot. This is just a writer letting us know that this “new version” of Jason hasn’t worked out his problems when it comes to his death and his killer. That means that we are going backward.

After he realizes that he was unconscious all that time and that he was being tortured he does get his shit together in order to get out of captivity and go help Artemis.

The Joker and that whole thing that happened in his mind aren’t mentioned again, it was just for the reader to know that Rebirth Jason has unsolved issues with his death.

Batman: Three Jokers #1

Oh yes, here we are, we have arrived to that dreaded book, awful writing gorgeous art. In this book, the “Joker made Jason as he is now” trope is at its full potential; Johns drives this hellish truck of a book at full speed into our homes and then ends it by giving us one of the worst takes on Jason Todd’s characterization ever.

But first, let’s talk about the Joker and Jason interaction in the first issue. As Jason and Barbara are left alone with the Joker that they came across moments ago the Joker begins talking because that’s what he does.

He says this, “I’m the loop-de-loop, the hamster-wheel-of-doom. The cycle of pain each one of you is trapped in. Take “Red Hood” here, for example. Have you ever wondered why he uses my former moniker? Who in their right mind would take on the identity of their killer? Am I right?”

He is obviously being a little shit on purpose and is waiting to see if somebody will take the bait. Jason is the first to talk and he says this: “I took it because I’m owning what you did to me. You made me into this. I will be your destruction”.

Congratulations Jason, you took the bait, and now Barbara will fight with you over it.

Jason raises his gun to “break the cycle” and Barbara is like “please don’t do it” and boy is Joker having the time of his life! Both of these idiots are playing his game, Johns really did both Jason and Barbara dirty with this.

Here is where THE problem with letting the Joker talk is. This Joker got under Jason’s skin in seconds and Barbara did nothing while it happened.

This is what the Joker had to say. “Let’s look at the facts here bat-people. I bashed this boy’s skull in. I killed this Robin” to which Jason says “You didn’t kill me, you only made me stronger” which is weird because the Joker did kill him so I don’t know what kinda comeback that was supposed to be but Joker wasn’t done because he continues by saying “Yes, you crawled from the shallow grave I left you in. You lived on to fight another day. Hurrah! You survived because of your tenacity! Or maybe… maybe I beat you to a bloody mess… I took you right to the edge… because I wanted to leave you alive.”

Great that’s where the clown is going, just fantastic, more of the “I made you” but that’s not all because the Joker tells Jason that him having hurt Jason wasn’t because he didn’t like Jason, it was all about Batman, Jason doesn’t matter.

But that’s not the worse thing that was written in this awful book, Geoff Johns seems to have felt that the trauma that Jason went through in the original “Death in the Family” story wasn’t enough because he decided to add something new.

That’s why the Joker says this next, “Do you recall what you said to me while I was breaking your head in with that crowbar? As your blood streamed into your eyes and your skull cracked? Because I cherish those words. I’ll always cherish them. ‘Please stop! Please! If you let me live, I’ll do anything you say. I’ll be your Robin’” “And look at you now my little “Red Hood” shooting up people and making Batman’s life miserable! You are my Robin!”

What a nightmare Johns decided to put Jason and Jason Nation through huh? I hate this, this is the worst thing that has ever been written in a Jason Todd story (although I can say that about many things that were written in this three-issue book).

Jason kills the Joker after he says all that, Barbara does (for some reason) try to stop him from doing it but luckily, she can’t stop Jason.

But here is the thing, Jason killing the Joker doesn’t make me feel as satisfied as I would have liked, and it doesn’t feel that way because Jason let Joker talk for far too long and what Joker said ended up getting in Jason’s head and messing with him.

Batman: Three Jokers #2

Yeah, there is no rest for us, Jason Nation, in this issue Jason goes looking for another Joker to kill and he finds one but he gets captured. Johns really had to get Jason naked for Joker to torture him mentally and physically? Johns is, himself, a major red flag but that’s not what I am here to talk about.

In this issue the Joker that captures Jason has the same things to say as the other one, DC writers really have no imagination when it comes to building conflict between Joker and Jason, huh?

Anyway, Joker says this, “tell me something. Why would you put on that helmet and call yourself Red Hood after what we did?” Jason of course replies “Come on, is every one of you copycats gonna ask me the same thing? It’s a joke” the answer isn’t enough for Joker (the two of them that are here with Jason) so he continues talking. “A joke? We left you with brain damage and permanent nerve pain. Physical and emotional trauma so severe that the only relief you ever find is when you inflict pain on others. You and me, boy, we’re more alike than you’d care to admit. But you know that already. You nearly died and you blame the Batman. You hate him for it. Me too. You hate him most of all don’t you?”

Now, here is the thing, that whole thing is bullshit, none of it makes sense. From Jason having permanent nerve pain to Jason hating Batman the most, everything is a lie. And my confusion here is that I don’t know if I have to feel like Joker is doing it on purpose to be a little bitch or if Geoff Johns was on crack when he wrote this and he had actually never heard of Jason Todd in his life before.

The whole thing is a mess, it feels like he is writing Jason from an origin and story that we never read. I don’t know how to explain it, but the whole thing feels cheap, it’s a cheap trope and it’s a cheap take on who Jason Todd is, was, and will be.

The nightmare doesn’t end Jason Nation because these two Jokers have something else in mind, you see, if they said that they made the Red Hood when they killed Jason the first time, maybe if they kill him this time then he could possibly come back as the Joker. Yeah, this book did nothing for Jason.

Let’s make something clear, Jason does NOT hate Batman/Bruce for not being able to save him, he hates the fact that Batman/Bruce didn’t kill the Joker to avenge him. That simple thing doesn’t exist in Three Jokers and that’s why things like the ones that happen next are allowed to happen in this story.

Bruce and Barbara find Jason and when Bruce asks if he is okay Jason just goes berserk, he says: “Am I all right? What do you think Bruce?! You did this to me. You put me on this path. And I do hate you for it. For leaving me in the dirt. Replacing me one Robin after another without a thought.”

This, everybody is what you get when you mix bad writing with Jason being mentally manipulated by the Joker.

It's a shame that Jason is being treated this way at this point in time, in a book that came out in 2020 when Jason was able to shut the clown up with a knife and a couple of words back in 2005. What a downgrade.

At the end of this issue, Jason is safe and recovering but he still is in the same mindset, he says, “What the Joker said about how I’ve been on the path to being like them for years… they are not wrong. I don’t want to be like them though. I really don’t.”

It’s like a never-ending wheel of pain with this book. Jason is talking to Barbara when he says that and he is trying to look for comfort in her. And here is where the Jason/Barbara subplot begins and I only bring this up because something that happens in the next issue is based on the kiss that Barbara gave Jason but then was like “that doesn’t mean anything, I was just trying to comfort you”. Johns shouldn’t be allowed to write Barbara and Jason ever again.

Batman: Three Jokers #3

It’s in this issue that we find out the big subplot that Johns has prepared for Jason, are you ready for it? Yup, Jason should stop being the Red Hood because if he keeps it up, he will eventually become the Joker.

I know, I know! Jason would never stop being Red Hood, he is not on a path to become the Joker, that’s crazy! Jason’s Red Hood is a character on its own and he is amazing and just because he has different morals from Batman doesn’t mean that he is a bad guy! Right?...

“I’ll give up being Red Hood for us. I can be something else. Or I can be just Jason.”

To this day I cannot believe that those words supposedly were written by Jason Todd to Barbara Gordon after Barbara rejected him three times. The level of “what the fuck is this” is incredibly high with this one…

This whole book was a mess and I am so glad that it didn’t last longer.

Anyway, that’s it. In conclusion, Jason didn’t let the Joker get under his skin the first time they interacted after he came back from the dead but later when DC decided that UtRH was just too good of a book they came up with stories where Joker does get under Jason’s skin and Jason becomes convinced that he has no free will (or at the very least he doubts his free will) when it comes to him becoming his own man.

As I have said before, that for Jason Todd is a major downgrade. And it's one of the many things that hurts Jason’s characterization in current comics.

#jason todd #Jason Todd #red hood #Red Hood #red hood and the outlaws #red hood outlaw #three jokers #batman under the red hood #dc comics

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mara-xx217 · 2 years

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I need angst. Gimme killer scenarios that radiate death and misery.

Oh, you want death and misery?? I'll give you death and misery, baby! Just you wait!!

We got Evan, Max, and Bubba under the cut!

Evan Macmillan/The Trapper

It was inevitable that this would happen. Evan first saw you seeing your farther off at the entrance of the Macmillan mines. You were a pretty young thing, wearing old, handmade clothing and looking simply exhausted. He was immediately attracted to you, and wanted to know more about you. Who your family was, where you and your family were from, and, more importantly, what your name was.

This wasn't terribly difficult information to discover. Treating the workers as human beings, Evan often asked about family and friends at home waiting for the miners to return home: fathers, mothers, wives, sons, daughters... He learned your name and a few little details about you, curtesy of your father, and quickly realized that he would much rather get to know you on a more... personal level.

It took months for Evan to finally catch your attention. You were quiet and reserved, keeping your distance from him in the beginning. He was pretty sure you knew who he was, and feared that anything you said or did could or would be used against your father. It made Evan uncomfortable and sick, in a way, but it only hardened his resolve. Finally, after nearly five months of polite greetings and you practically ignoring him, you finally returned his greeting properly, even giving him a small smile in return. Perfect.

At first, all discussions between the two of you were merely done out of civility and cordialness. But after a few more times of actually talking to Evan, you realized that he was nothing like his father. He was kind, charming, intelligent, and genuinely thoughtful. And Evan couldn't get enough of you. You were everything that your father said and then some. After months of continued conversations and sneaking off to meet one another, it was no wonder that the two of you, rather quickly, fell in love.

Even though, deep down, Evan knows that this couldn't possibly work out, he hopes against hope for a miracle that will make it so. If his father ever found out... You both knew that this was a fantasy that wouldn't last, but... you didn't care. You both really loved each other. You were each other's first everything, and that would be the one and only thing that time wouldn't steal from the two of you.

On that fateful day, Archie Macmillan found it; one of the many, many letters that you had written to Evan over the nearly yearlong affair that the two of you had. The fallout was unlike anything in Evan's worst nightmares. Not only was he beaten within an inch of his life by his father, your father was promptly fired and blacklisted from any and all companies within a hundred-mile radius of the Macmillan mines. And, worst of all...

He had to break your heart in a million pieces...

Archie forced his son to meet up with you for the final time, under the cover of night, just as you would always do. Only this time, there was no happy embrace and a loving kiss to greet you. Only Evan's bloodied, blackened, and swollen face completely crestfallen and unable to meet your worried and terrified gaze.

You knew that this was the end that the two of you desperately pretended wasn't on the horizon. It did nothing to deafen the traumatic blow to your heart. Nor did it make what was said any easier to hear: "I never loved you. It was only a brief fling. I was using you for your body. You're nothing but lower-class trash. It's your fault that your family is in ruins..." On and on and on... Every hit broke your heart more and more, until it was pulverized into dust.

You were left, broken and weeping at your love's feet. Evan, numb and completely shattered by one of his father's ultimate acts of cruelty, turned and left you there, alone and destroyed. Little did he know; you wouldn't find your way home that night. Blinded by tears, betrayal, and an unnatural black fog, you were unable to find your way home that night.

Rumors spread that you didn't simply get turned around, but rather, that the older Macmillan had done something terrible in the woods that night, jealous and bitter of the young friendship that his son had kindled with you and your family. Your body was never found, just as the bodies of the dozens of miners that were unexplainably lost in a "freak" cave in that shook the Macmillan mines shortly after. Evan was never the same, and he became the right arm of his father's cruelty and malice, even long after his disappearance.

Max Thompson Jr./The Hillbilly

That incessant buzzing and ringing always returned two-fold whenever it was least convenient for Max. He rubbed his ear, a vain attempt to alleviate the pressure that was steadily building up underneath his skull. It always seemed to get even worse when it was quiet.

That all that was left now. The quiet... Max had grown so accustom to the sounds of his own anguish, his parents' indifference, and the cruelties of their guest that he didn't know what to do with all this quiet that was laid before him. He... didn't exactly hate it, but at the same time, he couldn't stand it.

He sat on his Ma and Pa's bed, uncomfortable with how soft and springy it was. Has he ever been in their room..? No, never, not once. Not once did he ever have the opportunity to spend time with them, or have them comfort him when he was terrified of the dark or when he was having a nightmare o-or... Max grits his teeth as he stands, pacing back and forth anxiously.

A dresser catches his eye, or rather, the things on top of it do. Some old photographs, some more recent, bits of jewelry that his Ma would wear around every now and then, especially when company was over... He picks up a particular frame and inspects it. His Ma and Pa, both dressed real pretty and proper like. A... wedding, right? Max holds it closer, taking in every little detail that he can soak up. They... They look... happy...

He's never seen them like that. Not once... Not once has Max ever really seen them smile, at least not like in the picture. It's always mean spirited and cruel, not... actually happy... The squealing in his ears was now unbearable. The frame slips from his hands and the glass shatters on the floor. Panic and fear threaten to swallow him whole. S-Shit..! He d-didn't mean to break it..! He's gonna get hit over this! He's-! He's gonna get hit and yelled at and-and-!!

Max crumples into a heap on the floor, curling into a protective ball, waiting on the first of many blows that were to come... Only it doesn't. Of course it doesn't come. He's- His parents are already- Heaving, broken sobs wrack his twisted body, making him cough and gasp as he struggles for air. It was all encompassing despair, and it strangled all the light away from him as everything seemed to grow both too close and too far away. A chill cut straight to his already aching bones as sweat broke out all over his body. This is it. This is- It's- It-

That ear piercing ring split all Max's thoughts in half, making him feel even more disoriented and sick than he did before. He just wants it to stop. It's gotta stop..! Please stop! Please, God, please please please make it STOP-!! All he can do is shake and cry. Nothing in his life has been what it should have been. Nothing. It wasn't fair and it wasn't just, either. It was all wrong, and there was no one left to make it right.

No one...

Bubba Sawyer/Leatherface

When Bubba woke up, the bed was unusually cold and empty. You were never up before him. Ever. Was something wrong..? Did he over sleep?? That's never happened before, but stranger things have happened in the Sawyer household. As worried as he was, he quickly got dressed and headed out to see if he could find you.

To his surprise, his twin older brothers, Nubbins and Choptop were already up, meandering around aimlessly and quietly with a sullen look on their faces. This is not only strange, but worrying. Nubbins was the first to notice his younger brother, standing there awkwardly and unsure of what to do with himself. Nubbins hesitates, but attempts to give Bubba a smile, no matter how forced it was.

"H-Hey, B-B-Bubba... You- A-Are you ok-kay..?" His tone was as forced as his smile, and Bubba couldn't hide his distress.

Where are you..? Nubbins physically wilts, any colour on his face quickly vanishes as moisture gleams in his eyes. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, unsure of what to say. Nubbins looks to his twin, silently pleading for help but Choptop just sighs and shakes his head with a shrug, shoving his hands in his pockets. Taking several deep breaths, Nubbins places a hand on Bubba's shoulder.

"S-She- U-Uh, she... B-Bubba she's n-not- She's b-been g-gone for m-m-months, Bubba..." He doesn't understand. You're... gone? How..? Why..? Nubbins wipes his running nose with the back of his hand and shrugs, tapping his foot repeatedly as Bubba prods him for answers.

Drayton must have heard the commotion from the kitchen since he had entered the living room, that permanent frown of his somehow different than it usually is. Deeper, but softer. He shakes his head, leaning his shoulder against a nearby doorframe. "You really got rocks for brains, don'tcha boy..." It wasn't a question, but a statement. Bubba didn't understand what he had done wrong, but Drayton held up a hand before shakily running it through his greying hair.

"The girl's been dead for about five months now. How much longer are ya gonna pretend it ain't so?"

...but it ain't so..! Is it..? Bubba was sure that you would walk through that door as though nothing had happened. As though the night that an intruder had broken into the Sawyer home and stabbed you to death had never happened at all. That you would somehow come home to them all, safe and sound.

But it ain't so. You ain't coming home, no matter how hard he pretends it to be so.

@prettycutebunny

@randomyklol

@kennbb

@furanshinufuransu

#dead by daylight #dbd #the texas chainsaw massacre #dbd the trapper #dbd the hillbilly #bubba sawyer #angst

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arvandus · 3 years

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CONGRATS ON 500 OMG 🎉🎉🎉 IT'S MORE THAN DESERVED!!!!

Can I put in a request for All Might, #35 with a fluff ending?

Sooo.... I’m gonna be honest, I was so excited when I saw this request because.... angsty dialogue with a happy ending? That shit is my jam. And with All Might? Perfect.

A couple things before we get started: I went with All Might in his skinny form, cuz the prompt lends itself to that (so sorry if you were hoping for buff Might!) Also, took the artistic liberty of giving reader a healing quirk for this one called ‘Cat’s Cradle.’ You’ll (hopefully) see why it’s called that when you read it…

I hope you enjoy, and sorry it’s taken so long to get this out!

Um... Warnings: Blood (sorry, it’s Yagi... kinda a given), angst + happy ending

Word Count: 3,223 and no regrets!

35. “I can’t sit here and watch you destroy yourself.”

There was a familiar knock at your door, and in an instant you knew exactly who it was. Your teeth clenched, your jaw stiffened.

You weren’t going to answer it. Not this time.

Knock knock knock

You waited, frozen, unwilling to move, yet listening intently. The sound of wet, guttural coughing reverberated through the wooden barrier.

God damn it.

When it came to a certain world-famous hero, it didn’t really take much for you to give up your resolve. You made your way to the door and peeked through the peephole. Yagi supported himself with one hand against the door frame as his other hand clutched at his chest. The front of his shirt was bunched in his grasp, blood coating his pale hands and the white fabric beneath it. A curse fell from your lips as your hands unlatched the lock on your door, swinging it wide open.

Yagi looked up at you with grateful blue eyes, sunken deep into dark pits. His wild, blond hair stuck to his ashen face with sweat, his brow furrowed in pain.

“Hey,” he greeted with a lighthearted grin.

“Jesus Christ, Yagi…” you growled.

You grabbed him by the elbow and ushered him into your space before closing and locking the door behind you.

There was no time to rush him into the bathroom like you normally did. Instead, you had him sit in a dining chair and began to peel off his blood-soaked shirt. Just as the fabric lifted off his head, another round of coughing doubled him over, blood splattering the tiled floor.

“Shit…” Yagi muttered.

“Don’t worry about it.” You replied. But it was hardly convincing. Your tone was cold and hard with frustration.

You weren’t mad about the floor, though… honestly, you couldn’t have cared less. What mattered was the man currently looking like he was on Death’s doorstep. It pained you to see him so clearly suffering, his skin covered in sweat and blood even as he tried to smile reassuringly at you. It didn’t matter how bright his smile was; it held little weight against the scar carved into his side, or the atrophy that stretched over his bones.

Your heart couldn’t handle much more of this.

Gently, you pressed your hands against the front of Yagi’s shoulders until he was sitting up, back straight. Even without his buff form, Yagi was tall. With your body so close to his, you could feel his ragged breath on your cheek, hear the air rattling from his lungs like leaves. You couldn’t help but look him in the eyes then, and a faint flush crept across his sallow cheeks that made your own skin feel hot.

“Stay still.” You instructed.

You carefully placed one hand in front of his chest and the other behind his back, your fingertips hovering over his body. Glowing, translucent-white threads emanated from your fingers, passing through him to connect together deep within his lungs. Slowly, you began weaving, fingers dancing and flicking like a game of Cat’s Cradle as your quirk stitched and healed the damaged tissue. It was painstaking work, what was left of his lungs already in poor condition, and the more he pushed himself past his limits, the harder it was to repair what he’d repeatedly broken. Sweat beaded your brow as you worked, your hands moving meticulously. One wrong move, one wrong stitch…

But you’d done this countless times over the years. It was nearly second nature to you now… you knew his body nearly as well as your own. You stared at the glistening red staining from his lips to his chest as you worked, your vision blurred as you focused on your quirk’s senses.

Slowly, you could hear Yagi’s ragged breaths begin to improve. His gasps for air filled deeper into his chest, expanding his rib cage. His exhales followed clean and steady. The tension in his face relaxed, his brow smoothing over as he closed his eyes.

Finally, you broke the connection and slumped into your own chair, exhaustion overtaking you. It was far from perfect, but it was the best you could do given his level of deterioration. You watched Yagi take a few more deep, experimental breaths before he looked up at you. You opened your mouth to scold him, your brow furrowed into a frown, but froze as soon as you saw his gentle expression become guarded as he prepared for your verbal onslaught.

An ache filled your throat where your words were supposed to be, and you closed your mouth. How easy it was to revert back to old habits when you were together. The two of you were broken; the same old wounds seeping red because they were never given a chance to properly heal.

You weren’t going to go through it again; not this time. You were too tired. And it wasn’t like it made much difference anyway. It didn’t matter how much you begged, cried, or yelled. Yagi wouldn’t stop. He couldn’t stop.

Silence fell between you as you both stared at each other, the space between you feeling empty. No doubt your hurt was evident in your face, your body language, your eyes. And if there was one thing you knew Yagi hated, it was seeing you upset. He wanted to hold you. You could see it in the way his body leaned towards you of its own accord, arms shifting just the slightest bit closer to your torso. You could see the words on the edge of his tongue too, suspended between parted, bloodstained lips.

Don’t. A part of you begged. You didn’t want his comfort. You didn’t want his excuses.

Just as his mouth opened wider to speak, you averted your eyes and shifted your body away from him. It was difficult – painful, as if you were a plant being pulled from the earth, fragile roots breaking in the soil.

“You should go clean up.” You said quietly.

Another long pause greeted you before he finally spoke. “Yeah. Okay.” He stood. “Do you still have my clothes?”

“Yeah. Dresser, bottom drawer.” You replied.

Yagi excused himself, and a moment later you heard the sound of running water in the bathroom. You stared at the bloodied floor and the stained shirt balled up on your table. Nausea filled you, twisting your gut.

Quickly, you grabbed your cleaning supplies and set to work, watching as the blood soaked into the white paper towels like an inkblot test. Each fresh bloom of crimson spelled the foreshadowing you tried to erase, until you were wiping and scrubbing at the floor in frantic anger, tears dripping from your lashes. It felt futile. No matter how many paper towels you used, you always seemed to need more.

By the end of it, the trash can was full, the roll noticeably smaller than when you had started. You added Yagi’s ruined shirt to the top of the pile and stashed the bin away out of sight beneath your kitchen sink. You’d take it out as soon as he left.

You could still hear the shower running in your bathroom, so you went to your living room and slouched onto your couch, waiting for Yagi to finish.

You had hoped that cleaning up the mess would help reduce the severity from the situation, help you mask your growing fears. But it was too late. All you could see was red. The red on his lips, the red on your floor, the red in the paper towels...

The emotions you had hoped you could suppress until he left began to crest in you, and you vacated the living room in favor of the privacy of your bedroom. Maybe if you could let a few tears out during his shower, then you’d have enough composure until he left. You curled onto your bed, your pillow clutched tightly in your arms as you buried your face into the plush fabric.

For so long you’d held out, hoping that one day he’d understand. That he’d see the damage to his body, see how quickly he was deteriorating. That he’d see the fear in your eyes every time he showed up on your doorstep needing your help. You’d hoped that your countless conversations would eventually amount to something, your words secretly unravelling the veil he chose to wear over his eyes as he fought battle after battle.

It was that pesky, lingering hope that had been keeping you going. Hope that eventually, there’d be an end to it all. Hope that Yagi could finally stop killing himself for the sake of the greater good. Hope that the two of you could eventually pick up where you’d fallen and live a happy life.

And it was hope that made you open the door for him each time.

But now, that hope was finally gone. You were done trying. You realized it as soon as you’d finally given up talking to him – finally given up trying to save him.

An emptiness took its place, cold and heavy. Its absence gave no place for your love to nest, no place for your dreams to take root. All you had left was the heavy, gut-wrenching reality that eventually, inevitably, you’d lose him. Either he’d die in battle, or worse… He’d show up at your doorstep, his body beyond repair, and the only thing you’d be able to do is hold him as his lungs filled with blood.

Your chest constricted so tightly at that single, horrible thought that you couldn’t even breathe, your lungs burning in a frantic need for oxygen. There was nothing in the world worse than that single moment coming to life. But you couldn’t erase it, couldn’t run from it. It sat there, as real and permanent as the blood-soaked rags lurking in your kitchen trash. You tried to suck air into your lungs, but the knot in your throat didn’t allow it, a suffocating sob lodged like a rock. Your arms tightened around your pillow.

You were going to lose him. And there was nothing you could do about it.

Grief settled itself onto your shoulders, heavy as an anchor. Grief for a future that could never be. Grief for the death of a love that never fully had a chance to bloom. Grief for a man who would eventually slip through your fingers to become bones and dust, leaving nothing but the ache of his memory upon your soul. You buckled under its weight, the heavy sob finally spilling from your parted lips as tears soaked into your pillow.

You didn’t even notice as Yagi entered the room to find you curled up in your bed, sobbing.

“Hey…” He whispered as he rushed over.

His arms were around you in an instant, pulling you up against his bony chest, your head tucked under his chin.

“Hey, hey…” he soothed as he held you.

You leaned into his embrace, letting his presence envelop you. Maybe you should have fought it; pushed him away instead of letting yourself indulge. But it felt too good, too safe, and your arms tightened around him selfishly as you cried. It brought back familiar memories of a time when the two of you had been happy, surrendering to your feelings for each other, before it all fell apart.

God, how you missed this. Love had never been the issue for the two of you. No, that was the easy part. But it wasn’t enough. Not when all of Japan rested on his shoulders, leaving little space for you no matter how deeply he cared for you.

He held you as you cried, silently holding the space for you, his arms a safety net for all of the emotional weight you couldn’t carry alone. Your tears soaked his shirt, your arms wound tight around his ribs, as you wished for nothing more than the power to change what was.

“I don’t want to lose you…” you sobbed.

“You won’t.” He replied.

His words were meant to be comforting, but their effect was the opposite, making your heart ache even more at his inability to address the issue head on. He always was an optimist when it came to things of the heart. It was part of what made him such a great hero. But optimism wouldn’t save either of you here.

You pulled away from him slightly, already missing the closeness of him.

“Don’t…” you pleaded. “Don’t do that.”

Yagi looked down at your tear-stained face. “Do what?”

Quietly, you grabbed a tissue from the tissue box on your nightstand and wiped at your nose. The material crumpled into a ball within your fist and you stared at it, your vision already blurring with fresh tears.

“Don’t try to give me hope.” You replied.

Yagi stared with wide eyes before withdrawing his arms. His expression fell, wounded by the truth in your honesty.

You struggled not to let it sway you.

“I… I can’t keep doing this.” You whispered as you wiped the last of the tears from your cheeks. “Every time you show up on my doorstep, you’re worse than before. I won’t always be able to help you.”

He watched you in silence for a moment before looking away in shame, his fingers interlaced in front of him as he leaned forward. “I know.” He replied.

Regret filled you at rejecting him. You wanted him to touch you, to hold you. To have his presence surround you. To feel him alive beneath you, whole and here. But you had to set a boundary. You had to stop following him, stop hoping… if you didn’t, it would destroy you.

Instead, you sat with your arms wrapped around yourself, a pitiful defense against the familiar allure of the man next to you.

“You keep wanting me to save you, Yagi… but how can I save you if you won’t save yourself?” You looked at him then, your eyes locking with his. “You keep choosing to fight, to push yourself well past your limits. And you keep coming here, because you know that I still love you and won’t turn you away.”

Yagi sucked air into his lungs, his posture going stiff at your words. You were right. He knew you were right. His inability to counter your statement was evidence enough of that. Disappointment and guilt filled you as you broke eye contact to look at your shaking hands.

“But… I can’t sit here and watch you destroy yourself. And you shouldn’t expect me to.” You whispered.

The words were heavy, filling the empty space between you with their finality. You refused to look at Yagi; you knew he’d be hurt. You knew his shoulders would slump in defeat, his mouth pulled into a deep frown. Guilt filled you, making your hands fidget and your shoulders tense as you waited for his response.

“You’re right.”

His words were a whisper and your eyes snapped up to stare at him, bewilderment on your face. He’d never said those words to you before... not about this. His mask had cracked, and you could finally see his emotions flashing across his face as he struggled to transform them into words. Remorse. Panic. Love. Fear.

He cleared his throat and repeated himself. “You’re right. I have asked a lot of you.” His brow furrowed. “I don’t know why I keep coming back. I guess I just get… homesick.”

Your breath hitched in your throat as your heart pounded like a battle drum in your chest. You opened your mouth to respond, but the words were stolen from you when Yagi’s eyes met yours, deep and familiar.

“I miss you.” He stated.

“Yagi...” You cupped his cheek in your hand. He leaned into it briefly, before removing your hand from his face and holding it within his own.

“Listen... I... didn’t intend to come here for your help. Not this time. But you know how these things are...” He explained. “I was on my way over when a villain showed up, and...” Yagi’s words faltered as he saw the expression on your face begin to fall. He was doing it again, getting caught up in his work, making excuses... hurting you.

He cleared his throat. “It’s... not important. The point is, is that there was something I wanted to tell you. But... I’m not sure it’ll make much of a difference.” He averted his gaze, his brows pulled together pensively.

Your own brow furrowed in response, confused by his ambiguity. A part of you was hesitant... you’d truly felt that you were done, that you’d reached your limit. But could tell that whatever it was, it was important to him, and it was something that he wanted to share specially with you.

“Just... tell me.” You said quietly, as you emotionally braced yourself.

His blue eyes looked back at you, and he took a steady breath. “Alright...” He took your other hand in his own. Now he held both of your hands between you as he sat with you on your bed. “I... found a successor.”

Your eyes widened, as you felt overcome with dizziness. You were lightheaded, suddenly floating on his words that still lingered in the air like morning mist.

“W... what??” you choked out. Your heart pounded wildly as your hands gripped his, the warm, firm touch barely grounding you.

“I found a successor.” He repeated, a slow smile starting to spread across his lips at your dumbfounded reaction.

A smile began to spread across your lips. “Does that mean... you’re retiring?”

“Yeah-”

Your lips were on his before he could say anything more, your arms flinging themselves around his neck. He laughed against your lips as he returned the kiss, his arms wrapping around your waist to pull you into his lap.

You pulled away for a moment and stared into his eyes. They sparkled with mirth, blue as a summer’s day.

“Well, that went better than I expected...” Yagi teased.

“Tell me it’s true. You’re really done?” you asked.

“Well, I still have to train my apprentice... he’s got a big heart and a strength in him that I don’t think he even realizes he has yet. But it’s going to take some time for him to learn how to wield all that power.” Yagi’s expression turned from happy to serious. “And... I have to admit that I can’t retire just yet.”

You opened your mouth to protest, but he covered your lips with his finger.

“Hang on a second, firecracker.” He grinned. “I will retire. But I still have remnants of One For All in me, and I need to protect this kid until he’s able to master that power. I’ll still be All Might until that last spark leaves me. I’m sure you understand that much, right? I have a responsibility to him.”

You brushed aside his long bangs, relishing in the feel of the golden locks between your fingers. Of course, you understood. You’d never expected it to be immediate anyway. But at least things were in motion. All he had to do was survive. And if Yagi was good at anything, it was surviving.

You had to believe in him.

“Yeah...” you whispered. “I understand.”

Now it was Yagi’s turn to be surprised. “Really?”

You smiled and kissed him again. “Really.”

You had hope.

#Arv’s 500 Followers Event #All Might x reader #yagi toshinori x reader #angst to fluff #All Might fanfic #bnha #mha

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autumnslance · 3 years

Text

FFXIV Write 2021 #5: Freebie - Passion (Aberrant pt 2) NSFW

((Since some of y’all are thirsty and let’s face it I am deep in this backstory))

Corran fumbled with the door to their room, managing to get it open without dropping Emelia. “Don’t slam it!” She admonished as he kicked it closed behind them.

It was only a few steps to their bed, to drop her on the mattress and follow her down, kissing her once more. Gods, the shape of her mouth fit perfectly against his, and her taste was more delectable than his favorite meal.

She broke the kiss, preventing him from chasing her with a hand against his chest. “Lock the door,” she panted.

Corran grunted in frustration, but got up to do as she bid. As much as he hated pausing now, it was better than possibly being walked in on by their small son; the lock would keep him at bay for a brief time.

Corran yanked his shirt off as he crossed the room, the night air doing little to cool the fever in his skin. He threw the lock and turned back to the bed, eyes already adjusted to the dim light, his breath caught by the sight of her.

“Stop,” he ordered as she finished removing her dress, leaving her in her flimsy petticoat and chemise. Emelia blinked at him, head tilted in her usual quizzical expression while letting the dress fall to the ground. Corran stalked forward, unlacing his breeches. “I want to undress you myself,” he told her, his voice pitched low. He was gratified to see her shiver in response, waiting while he removed his boots so he could drop his pants, left only in his smalls. He saw the tip of her tongue flick over her lips as her gaze took in his arousal through the thin fabric.

Corran fell on her again, mouth finding hers once more, tongue plunging between her lips. He made his way down her neck as he untied and unhooked her remaining clothes, freeing her shoulders to kiss along them. Emelia’s cool hands smoothed over his back and sides, and she made sweet little sounds of pleasure as his lips and teeth raked over familiar sensitive places. “You feel hot as an oven,” she murmured. “Are you all right, love?”

“More than,” Corran replied, freeing her breasts. He cupped and squeezed one, her head falling back as he nipped the stiffened nipple of the other. They weren’t large breasts, but perfect for being held, or taken into his mouth. The shape and feel of them had changed after being used to feed their child, but Corran couldn’t recall anymore how they used to be and he liked them just fine now.

He pushed her clothes down her slender torso and over her hips, which she lifted for him. He pressed kisses to her ribs, her stomach, her sides. His tongue traced along her stretch marks, teasing the sensitive places they led to. She had been so worried about the effects carrying and bearing a child had on her form, but Corran thought the lines and altered shape of her abdomen lovely--further reminders of the love and life they had created together.

Her fingers raked through his hair as he found the waist of her smalls and pulled them down along with her petticoat. He had not quite freed her legs but his impatience won out, helping her kick off the tangle of fabric as he nipped at her inner thighs and over her hips. A needy whine came from her and destroyed what was left of his resolve, his mouth covering her sex.

Emelia arced beneath him, a small cry passing her lips. He grinned against her softness, relishing the scent and taste of her desire as he laved his tongue along her wet folds. He thrust his tongue into her as deep as he could, knowing it wasn’t enough for her but gods he loved how she tasted, how she spread her legs further, inviting him closer and deeper. He made his way up to the sensitive nub at the crown and covered it entirely, sucking and licking at it. She practically wailed, one hand gripping the sheets, the other his scalp. He knew exactly how much pressure to use, how to use his tongue in long strokes to push her swiftly to the brink.

“Gods, Corran, I—” she was writhing in his grasp, breath catching. He hummed an affirmation against her, unrelenting. Usually he liked to draw this out, taking his time while slowly ratcheting up her tension, ensuring she was ready to take him in, but tonight he needed to drink from her and hear her scream for him.

She did, calling his name while her hips bucked as much as he would allow, the heady scent of her release filling his nose, her taste filling his mouth, finally overpowering the aftertaste of Avengret’s blood as he pressed his tongue into Emelia again. He looked up, breathing heavily, watching her. Her midnight hair pooled around her head on the skewed pillows, chest heaving, golden-brown skin slick and shining with sweat as her sparkling dark eyes returned his gaze.

“Perfect,” he growled, rising up to kiss her again, her arms and a leg eagerly wrapping around him as she responded with equal fervor, working his smalls down his legs to free and stroke his throbbing cock.

“Gods, Em,” he moaned, her touch making him dizzy. “Soon as you’re ready—”

“Take me, Cor,” she urged, guiding him. “I need you inside.”

He needed no further encouragement, shifting position and thrusting into her, hilting himself in one swift motion. She gasped, nails digging into his shoulders. Corran groaned against the curve of her neck; she felt so damned good, wet heat tight around him, soft muscles fluttering and clenching along his length.

“Oh, gods,” she exclaimed as he drew back and thrust again, setting a quick, hard pace. He lifted himself, arms straight with elbows locked, watching her, knowing just the right angles to keep pressure on her clit while also dragging himself over that sweet spot inside her. Emelia’s head tossed, face scrunching, breath coming in gulps and gasps with each rough stroke and her body’s own responses, rocking to meet his every motion. Her nails left scratches down his arms as their bodies slapped wetly against each other, the bed frame creaking and squealing and slamming against the wall.

Her hips stuttered, internal muscles clenching and fluttering wildly as her breath came shorter, her tension building. Corran grinned, sweat dripping from him to splash on the pillows and her. “Th-that’s it,” he managed. “Come, Em; lemme hear you.”

“Cor—!” She lost coherence as she cried out, lifting toward him, her release pulsing around him as he continued his hard pace, falling to his elbows as he did not, could not, let up, his own tension building until the rush of blood in his head nearly drowned out all other sound. She gripped the nape of his neck and his back now, her nails digging into his skin and cutting through the haze of sensation. He reached down and hooked his arm under her leg, opening her further, taking him deeper as he needed more of her, more, more…

There!

He shouted her name, vaguely aware he had pushed her from the previous orgasm to yet another peak as he spilled inside her, Emelia crying out again and clinging to him for dear life as she shook like a leaf, body still jumping against his as they both slowly came down.

Corran rolled and fell to the side, pulling her tight to him, stroking her hair and back, burying his face in the crook of her neck again, idly licking the bruising bite mark he had left there, claiming his mate. He was heaving for air and sweating like the sinner he was, but the raging firestorm in his veins had abated, the Song merely a faint echo in his head and drowned out by the little sounds his wife made as they recovered.

“L-let me up,” she finally said, still shaky.

He growled and held her closer.

“I need to clean up,” she insisted, finally extricating herself while Corran pouted. She could barely stand, wobbling as she snagged her robe and unlocked the door to make her way to the wash.

Corran lay on his back, arms splayed, staring at nothing, head blessedly free from the earlier buzzing, empty of thought beyond the growing awareness of the aftermath of their lovemaking. He eventually forced himself up to pull the soaked coverlet off the bed--they hadn’t even gotten underneath it to the sheets--leaving it in a ball in the corner to be dealt with in the morning. He filled a glass from the pitcher she kept on the nightstand, drinking it swiftly and pouring another to drink at a more normal pace.

By the time Emelia returned, their discarded clothing had been picked up and hung on the correct pegs along the wall to also be dealt with on the morrow while Corran lay among the turned down sheets.

She slid into bed next to him, hands remaining a cooling balm as they ran over his chest. “Zaine’s still sleeping, somehow,” she said. “Though we were loud enough to rouse the dead.”

“Didn’t hear you complaining,” he teased, pulling her close once more.

“Certainly not,” she answered, looking down at him. “Though I am curious what brought that on.”

For a wild second he thought of telling her, but dismissed the notion before it even finished forming. He brushed strands of damp hair away from her face and smiled. He would continue to keep her as far from his people’s war as possible; he had decided that from the beginning. “Can’t a man want to swive his beautiful wife he adores with all his heart now and again?”

She laughed, that easy blush blooming on her cheeks once more. “I suppose he can; I know I enjoyed it. Although,” she yawned and settled against him, using his chest as a pillow.

“Although?”

“We were reckless; I’ll have to track myself for the next moon.”

His heart paused for a moment as he realized what she meant. While she often took a medicine to regulate her cycles, he usually wore a skin, or finished outside of her to be on the safe side. That...had not happened tonight, and he wondered how much of that was the dragon’s influence versus his simple, instinctual need for his beloved after the day’s events.

“It wouldn’t be a bad thing,” he said, not realizing immediately he had said it out loud, but then she tilted her head up.

“You want another baby?” She asked, tentative.

Could he maintain his responsibility to the cause, reaffirmed just this day? Probably, though it would be difficult. He had waited long enough, while life itself, he was finding, did not. “Do you?”

She hummed a little, snuggling in again. “It could be nice,” she replied. “I think Zaine would like a brother or sister.”

“Well,” Corran said, licking his suddenly dry lips. “If tonight doesn’t do it, I suppose we’ll just have to try again.” He tilted her chin up to kiss her one more time--gods, he really did love kissing her--and smiled. “Assuming you’re agreeable.”

“I’m sure you’ll convince me,” she replied, lips brushing his as they spoke. They laughed together, and he continued to stroke her back as she settled back down to using him as a pillow.

It took time for Corran to fall asleep, aware of Emelia’s steady breathing and her soft form alongside him, cooling the remaining heat in his blood. When he finally did close his eyes, he dreamed of her laughter while dragon wings beat through the sky.

---

(Direct sequel to Aberrant, Day 2 prompt for the FFXIVWrite2021)

#FFXIVWrite2021 #Final Fantasy XIV #Lyn Writing #Backstory #Corran Striker #Emelia Striker #sometimes I write smut #Lemons

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creacherkeeper · 3 years

Note

i just thought about adaine&aelwyn pacific rim au so take that as well (if not those two, i'll take any of the others fh babes for pacific rim too :D)

the thing is, they don't get along

they've never gotten along

and why would they? their parents pitted them against each other since childhood. it made aelwyn study harder, strive more, accomplish, overcome, win, and all it ever did for adaine was make her rebel. while aelwyn was getting her phd in engineering and applied sciences, adaine was training. sometimes she felt like she'd been born for war. as a small child, she couldn't have guessed what it would be war with. but she knew who she was. she knew why her parents hated her. why they always favored the science-minded and, in their eyes, delicate aelwyn. she wasn't the one staging battles with her stuffed animals

adaine was the youngest to ever be accepted as a pilot. she was sure her parents saw it on the news, but they didn't bother congratulating her. she hadn't heard from her family since emancipating herself at 16, and that was fine. she had a new family now. and she had a jaeger

she gets sent to hong kong, because they all get sent to hong kong. everyone who's left. adaine wonders if she found her place right as the floor started collapsing beneath her. but it's fine. she'll fight until she's the last one standing

well, that is, if she can find a co-pilot

she's not as strong as a lot of the others. but they aren't as smart as her. they don't have her eye for strategy, for tactics, for precise strikes executed to perfection. they assign her the most light and nimble jaeger they have. and she waits. and she tests. and she spars.

no one seems to be a match

she has a good night of getting wasted with her friends, and then a good night of crying in her bunk, because she knows she's done. the whole program is falling apart anyway. it's not like they'll find anyone in time for her to ever see the inside of the machine

the next morning, hungover to hell and back, eyes puffy and exhausted, she makes eye contact with her sister over a tray of dry cereal and toast

it's awkward. it's not like they talked about being stationed together. adaine hadn't even heard from her sister in years. she wonders if this is aguefort's doing, bringing them both to base like this. she wouldn't put it past him. on the other hand, they needed new jaegers. and aelwyn knew how to build them

they avoid each other, at first. what else are they supposed to do? they did nothing but torment each other as children, and now here they are. all grown up. mostly. as much as they maybe ever will be, if the world is coming to an end

it lasts for a few weeks. things are tense. then aelwyn is assigned to make upgrades to adaine's jaeger, since, you know, she's being pulled from the project to be replaced with someone who's actually drift compatible. adaine won't leave the cockpit. they scream, a little. or a lot, to anyone else you asked. but it feels like it needed to happen. they've barely done more than nod in the hallways. it's a release of tension. they can be in the same room now, at least

adaine has one last chance to say goodbye to the machine she never got to pilot. aelwyn comes to offer some consolation, though it's with the utmost hesitation, something adaine doesn't remember her ever showing before. she snagged the last dessert from the cafeteria. they split it on the cockpit floor

"i spend all my time designing these machines. but i don't even know what they feel like"

"can i show you?"

so, adaine might be drift compatible, it turns out. with one person in particular. it's incredibly unfortunate that it's with a scientist, not a pilot. it's even more unfortunate that it's her sister

they fight about that, too, after they come out of the drift, while their minds are no longer melded and everything doesn't feel quite so achingly close. aelwyn was pulling away from her the second they linked. hiding something. adaine wanted to know what. so, they fight. they yell. they storm away

aguefort calls them to his office the next morning saying they have to drift again. just as a test. he reminds them about security cameras and computers and all the other shit that they had forgotten about over a split tiramisu

aelwyn refuses. she's not a pilot. she never wanted to be. and what would their parents say? like, okay, yes, of course she knows how they work. she knows everything about jaegers. she could pilot it, theoretically. but she won't. and especially not with her sister

two kaiju come through the breach

riz and fabian nearly go down. their jaeger literally crawls home. electrical scars run over the skin and muscles of their arms.

fig nearly destroys the base in frustration when their medic, kristen, says they can't pilot again. not so soon. maybe not ever. jawbone is getting older, no matter how much tracker would deny it in front of him. and gorgug and zelda can't handle multiple kaiju by themselves. no one could

ayda goes to aelwyn the next morning, scientist to scientist, pilot to ... something. and says she has to try. she has to drift again. she has to fight. there may not be a world left to save if she doesn't

they stand across from each other in the cockpit. they know there's no holding back, this time. no secrets. nothing left unsaid. and they drift

adaine sees shame, she sees self-hatred, she sees fear - such absolute, overwhelming fear. aelwyn sees anger, and in the face of it, resolve. she feels, then pulls away from, then lets herself feel, again, just for a moment, love in spite of that. it's hard to hide from, the enormity of adaine's love

they drift. and they know they can do it, if they need to. they can fight. they can win

the next day, the storm oracle is released into the ocean. they have a kaiju to fight, and even more to prove. and they do

#fantasy high #dimension 20 #adaine abernant #aelwyn abernant #the post: list 5 headcanons #me: okay but what if-#pacific rim au

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hopelesshawks · 3 years

Text

History of Us Part 11- Qualifiers

Summary: Once upon a time Todoroki and (y/n) were best friends. Now they haven’t spoken in years. When (y/n) is forced to transfer to UA, will she and Shoto reconnect or will their troubled past keep them apart? A childhood friends to enemies to lovers hybrid fic.

If you don’t want to see History of Us content blacklist #hopelesshou

Masterlist Kofi

The moment right before the start of the sports festival is shockingly nerve-wracking. Each step through the tunnels, closer to the main field of the arena, fills you with more dread and excitement and anticipation. You keep your head raised high, wearing your UA gym uniform proudly as the roaring of the crowd starts to meet your ears. With Bakugo on your right and Kirishima on your left, you almost feel invincible. This is your chance, your opportunity, to show everyone what you’re capable of and show all of Japan that you refuse to be defined by your father’s tainted legacy. Present Mic’s voice booms over the speakers, his grinning face plastered across the monitors as you finally step out onto the field, astroturf crunching beneath your feet as he sings the praises of hero course class 3A. The crowd’s enthusiastic cheering is addictive. You make a point to soak it in while you can. Right now each and every one of them see you as a hero. While some of the students lamented not being able to wear their costumes for the event, you were secretly glad for it. The uniform made you a generic UA student; for now, unburdened by the past.

“This never gets old,” Kirishima grins next to you as you all step into the central area and the other classes begin to filter out into the coliseum as well. A few of them grumble, giving the hero classes jaded looks, but even their ire cannot dampen the overall atmosphere. You instinctively find yourself seeking out a familiar pair of heterochromatic eyes, eventually finding them next to Midoriya, Iida, and Uraraka. You can’t help the way your heart trips over itself when you lock eyes with Shoto. Memories of the night before and of waking up in his arms float to the forefront of your mind and you scowl before shaking your head to physically dispel the image from your mind. You turn away from him, missing the hurt that flashes across his eyes. He redirects his attention back to Principal Nezu, chief umpire as usual for the third years. “Now Shoto Todoroki will give the class pledge,” Nezu announces before ceding the floor.

The school had made the executive decision not to let Bakugo give the pledge after that first year. Midoriya had nearly passed out when it was his turn second year (as much as he has grown, public speaking still isn’t quite his forte). This made Todoroki the obvious choice for this year’s class pledge. As he approaches the mic he can’t help but think of Bakugo’s first speech. He remembers Midoriya telling him later the apparent narcissistic declaration that Bakugo had made to be number one had actually been to box himself into a corner to make sure he followed through. The more he thinks on it the more Shoto relates to that desire. His eyes scan the crowd until he spots his father amongst the rest. He makes sure to make direct eye contact, his eyes boring into his father’s as he leans down to speak into the mic. “I pledge... that we will create a new legacy of our own and destroy legacies of old,” he says confidently. He thinks he sees a flash of hurt and disappointment in Endeavor’s eyes even from the great distance between them. He turns to stride down the stairs of the stage and he can’t help but seek you out amongst the crowd of fellow students, hoping you got the message.

You tense a bit as your heart skips another beat. That boy is going to give you heart palpitations. Bakugo nudges you harshly in the side, causing you to jerk your head to scowl at him. “You good, nerd?” he asks, concern softening his usual bite a fraction. “I’m great. Ready to start kicking ass,” you reply, pushing down all your Shoto-related feelings for examination later. “Good,” is all Bakugo replies before his attention returns to Nezu. You can’t help but smile a little at Bakugo’s concern. He’s a surprisingly good friend and you’re grateful Kirishima introduced the two of you. When the direct elimination round comes around you’ll be merciless, but you have full confidence the two of you will make it through the qualifiers and you know the two of you and Kirishima will make for a great team for whatever the second round will be. “Don’t forget loser. I better see you on the fucking podium,” you remind him with a smirk. “You ain’t gotta worry about me idiot. Worry about yourself,” he replies although there’s no heat behind the words and he’s smirking just as much as you.

As the first game is announced you resolve yourself to staying middle of the pack for now. You don’t want to draw too much attention and let everyone discover your identity too quickly. You’re keenly aware that the second round is almost always a team event and without knowing how many people will be on a team, you can’t rely on Bakugo and Kirishima. Furthermore, any team you’re on would only become a target. Bakugo would kill you if he knew you have no intentions of trying your all in the qualifying round of course but you have to be strategic. No one pays much attention to the lower ranks from round 1, it’ll be easier to slip under the radar. Then, in round 2, you’ll kick it up a notch to prove your worth. At that point winning will become the only important matter. Creating a new legacy while destroying the old, as Shoto put it.

So that’s exactly what you do. The first game is a so called “Tower of Terror” that had been constructed in the preceding weeks. The task is simple enough in theory: scale the tower, cross from there to the ramp connected to the stadium, and return to the field. Only rule is that falling off the tower entirely is an immediate elimination. The amount of people being promoted out of the qualifying round is, as usual, a secret but you do the math to get a good idea of how many would optimally be removed and think you have a good estimate to ensure you’ll remain relatively anonymous. Your strategy pays off and you finish in the 30s out of the approximately 50 who qualify. As you finish your slide down the ramp, glowing faintly as you heal the minor injuries you’ve collected, a fuming Bakugo is storming up to you and you roll your eyes.

“The fuck you doing half and half?” he demands as you dust yourself off. “None of your goddamn business Pomeranian,” you fire back. “What happened to trying to be the best huh? Didn’t think you were one for dirty tricks,” he accuses. You feel your temper starting to genuinely flare at that comment. “I’m not pulling dirty tricks I’m trying to survive asshole. Not all of us can afford to be showy right out the gate,” you seethe. “I didn’t take you for a coward.” “I didn’t take you for an idiot.” “Say that shit again and I’ll blast you out the fucking stadium.” “I’d like to see you fucking try.” Both of you grip hold of the front of each other’s shirts, your right hand raised as your quirk makes shadows pool in it and one of his hands raised already popping off explosions. Before either of you can draw more attention to yourselves or actually act on your anger, you’re frozen in place. Literally. “All that work you did to keep your identity under wraps will be for nothing if Present Mic or Nezu comment about you and Bakugo fighting between games. Especially if they decide to disqualify you over it,” Shoto says as he approaches the both of you before melting the ice keeping you and Bakugo from pummeling each other. “I don’t recall fucking asking you,” you spit back, whirring to face your former friend. “I’m only trying to help,” Shoto responds placatingly but it’s too late to quell your anger. “Well fucking stop trying to,” you tell him before storming off. You need to focus on the next event anyway and not stupid Shoto with his stupid face and his stupid need to stick his nose in your fucking business.

The second event is...

Rough.

To say the least.

You and Bakugo were still too pissed at each other to make a proper team so you’d ended up with Yaoyorozu, Denki, and Sero. You admired their quirks and objectively they were strong, but it wasn’t exactly a perfectly complementary combination of skills. Each member of the team was given a target they were required to protect, almost exactly like the provisional licensing exam held during your first year, except with one major twist. Every member of your team was linked together by a short leash attached to their wrists. Last four teams standing would advance to the finals. Without his costume or support items to help direct his lightning Denki’s quirk was difficult to utilize without risking stunning the entire team. Sero’s quirk was more useful but the placement of the leash made it difficult for him to use it without tugging around the hands of the teammates on either side of him. You and Yaoyorozu, the only two whose quirks weren’t actively impeded, struggled to compensate for the other two and coordinate your actions. In the end, the four of you had barely qualified, leaving you frustrated.

So much for crafting a new legacy.

As Present Mic gleefully announces that the teams of Midoriya, Bakugo, Monoma, and Yaoyorozu will be moving on, a picture of all those advancing flashing on the monitors, you can’t help but sink deeper and deeper into regret and frustration. The others head to the cafeteria as the lunch break is announced but you storm off in the opposite direction in hopes of getting an opportunity to cool off and clear your head before the break ends and the next game begins. The universe, however, seems to have other plans because instead you crash into another, much larger body. As you look up your apology shrivels up and dies on your tongue as you find yourself staring into the eyes of the only man who inspires similar ire in you as your father does.

Enji Todoroki aka Endeavor aka the (second) largest tool in the entirety of Japan.

“Where are you sneaking off to?” he asks, making no attempt to mask his suspicion of you. “None of your fucking business,” you retort. You move to step around him but he quickly steps back in front of you. “The cafeteria is the opposite direction,” Endeavor informs you. “Gee thanks, I had no idea even though I literally go to this fucking school,” you reply, each word dripping with sarcasm. “Then what could possibly have you traveling this direction instead?” “Like I said. None of your fucking business.” “Your suspicious behavior is my business. I made a mistake with a (y/l/n) before, I won’t make one again,” Endeavor swears and you reel back almost as if struck. “I am not my father,” you spit out. Your quirk activates unbidden in response to your anger, black shadows curling out of your clenched right hand and forearm. “Sure looks like it to me,” Endeavor scoffs, looking pointedly at the shadowy tendrils rising out of the right side of your body. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” a familiar voice asks from behind you and you wish the earth would swallow you up. Shoto steps around and in front of you, taking up an almost protective stance between you and his father. “Shoto step aside and-“ “No,” Shoto insists, staring down his father in challenge. He and Endeavor’s gazes stay locked in a silent argument, neither willing to back down, so you take the opportunity while they’re both distracted to slip away. You make it to about halfway down the hallway when a hand catches your shoulder. You whirl around knocking it away to find Shoto there looking genuinely stunned at your hostility. “Jesus christ will you fuck off!” you snap at him and maybe it isn’t fair but you’re frustrated and angry and you fought with one of your best friends and you’ve barely squeaked through each round so far and the last thing you are mentally or emotionally prepared to do is confront your increasingly complex thoughts on Shoto fucking Todoroki whose father just all but accused you of attempting to sabotage the competition.

“Hey I just wanted to check on you,” he says and for some reason, the show of compassion only pisses you off even more. “Why can’t you just leave me the fuck alone?” you demand. “Please (y/n) I-“ he tries to say, clearly confused by your rage. You know most of your anger is actually directed inwards and not at him but you don’t care. “I get that you are trying to grow as a person or whatever and pity me because you were a complete and utter dickhead a decade ago but I don’t want your fucking pity friendship so leave me the fuck alone Icyhot,” you spit with all the venom you can muster before promptly spinning around and continuing your path down the hallway, leaving a stunned Shoto behind.

No one needs to know that you’ve already started crying before you’ve even turned the corner away from him.

A/N: Oh you thought the good feelings from last chapter would last? Nah, have some angst 🙃

Taglist: @sorrythatspussynal @miss-bakugo-writes @pixelwisp @larkspyrr @sokkaandzukosimp @akkaso @sunaispretty @mindofess @todoplusultra @oliviasslut

#hopelesshou #shoto smau #shoto x fem!reader #shoto x reader #shoto x y/n #todoroki smau #todoroki x fem!reader #todoroki x reader #todoroki x y/n #shoto todoroki

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fenristheorem · 3 years

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Hi! First of all... You are a LEGEND🤩! Your head cons are sooooooo good. When I read theme I really get into the story and can feel the emotion you put on the characters, 💖its amazing! Not that long ago you did a head con of Erika being ok with Leiftan being a Demon. So I was wondering... Could you do a head con of Lance accepting to take Erika with him, were she becomes a demon and enters the plot with Lance against the guard🤔? It would be very interesting to se that.😊 Hope u have a good day, evening or night!

Oh thank you so much! 😄 That’s so kind of you to say, I don’t think you truly know how much I value your compliment! You’re so kind! 😊

I originally considered nearly completely re-writing the plot from episode 15 (I believe that’s when she asks him to take her) for this ask, but then realized I would be re-writing half the plot of Origins lol. That would take way too long to write (while including different emotions and perspectives and requiring knowledge that’s too hard to hunt down or doesn’t exist) so I decided to write this with a very broad spectrum of headcanons, including some major alternative events (usually not including the guard since she’ll be holed up in a secret place so Lance doesn’t need to watch out for her every second of every day) and Lance and Guardienne’s overall compatibility.

This is probably my most bizarre ask yet, in the manner of how I’ve responded, so brace yourself because there’s a few crazy moments in this lol. Also, there’s a bit of swearing in this - I have a tendency to write stories / headcanons in a pretty crude style sometimes.

~Under the cut~

Guardienne joins Lance against the guard:

To start off with, when Guardienne asked Lance to take her with him, she didn’t know his identity. He was still Ashkore to her. That changed somewhat quickly.

I theorize Lance did actually have some sort of “home base” deep within a forest or the mountains somewhat near the guard. He did have to sleep and eat after all. And where do you think he was taking all those supplies on the night Guardienne asked him to take her with him? Where do you think he stored that frying pan so dear to him? Buried it in the ground? Hung it on a tree branch for a Sabali to find later? Sure, he moved around a lot, but he had to keep his stolen resources somewhere, so he must have had a main cabin or cave or something that no one knew about that he made a temporary home of sorts.

Assuming that; that’s probably where he kept Guardienne most of the time after she came with him. Of course, he would be sure to restrict her movements for a while - after all, she could have asked to come merely to find out what a day in the life of Ashkore is like and then tell that to the guard - but once he realizes that she truly was compliant and happy to be there, even helping him by providing information he didn’t know already and taking care of basic chores like cooking and such so he can spend more time screwing with the guard, he loosened up and let her roam around his domain.

He kept personal things well hidden; any old drawings, weapons, and clothing. Basically anything he didn’t want her to touch... which was most of his stuff... but he was reasonable and didn’t restrain her too much. Just as long as she didn’t bother him and continued to help he didn’t mind her presence... too much anyways.

But again, it wasn’t too long before Guardienne found out his true identity. In reference to the existing plot-line, I imagine her finding out his identity in this AU long before she found out in the existing plot-line. After all - they’re living together now, and he needs to take off his mask and armor sometimes. Do you think he always sleeps in his mask? And armor for that case? What about when he eats or bathes? Certainly he can do most of those things in private, but I don’t see Lance demanding she turn her back every time he removes his mask and armor. I can see him doing that to begin with - when she’s restricted - but once he realizes she truly wants to help, he’ll find it to be inconvenient to always hide himself whenever he wants to do anything without his mask and armor. He’ll probably still want her to call him Ashkore, though... and that’ll be the case until she realizes his identity and refuses to call him anything but Lance.

Now I forget if she knew about Lance’s existence at the time of asking to leave with him (I believe she did), but since she never got a description I imagine it would take her a small while to connect the dots once she's living with him. She would certainly have theories that Ashkore is Lance, and she would certainly irritate the utter crap out of him with countless questions regarding possible confirmation or hints to back up her theory, but she wouldn’t get many answers. Either he would ignore her, or turn to level his icy stare on her. She would quickly understand that he’s not interested in answering questions about his identity and past. He eventually threatened to cut her tongue out a few times if she kept asking nonsensical questions, but she didn't seem to care much and he eventually let it be; perhaps he realized that she would be even more irritating then. She wouldn't be able to speak easily without her tongue, but her resolve is steady, so she'd still try to find some way to speak with him - and then he'd still need to deal with her questions in whatever way she deemed fit, which included investing time to learn this new way of communication. Threatening her friends wouldn't work as she doesn't consider the guard her friends, so Lance came to recognize that's it better to just deal with her questions and ignore her.

However, he would answer general questions that couldn’t be used heavily against him if she were captured and questioned; why is he trying to destroy the crystal, what’s with his grudge against Eldarya, what does he know about the Blue Sacrifice? From his answers she can put a few logical pieces together. The Eldaryans don’t deserve to live? They’re disrespecting the kind gift of life the dragons gave them? They were apparently forced to sacrifice? Then hunted down after the sacrifice despite their generous gesture? Well he must be a dragon, since angels didn’t end up sacrificing and he speaks so passionately about them. And Valk said he was faelien, so either he lied and does know or Ashkore (being Lance in her theory) somehow found out their genetics while Valk remained clueless to it. And they look so similar, they would have to be brothers. Ashkore’s story started around the same time that Lance apparently died? Lance apparently fought valiantly and passionately for the things he believed in, like what she’s seen with Ashkore? Goodness are the pieces adding up now.

Guardienne would eventually approach him about her theory and he would respond with a cold hiss.

“What, you want a reward? A pat on the back and a ‘well done’? Why does my identity matter to you?”

He never said a direct yes - he was basically incapable of responding calmly or reasonably with touchy subjects - but she would know she has it right.

You would think them being on different sides of the war would mean they’d be more likely to try and kill each other, right? Wrong. Them being around each other all the time, I believe, leads them to be more likely to kill each other. Why? Recall episode 26 - their overall chemistry. Regardless of if choices made increased the LOM or decreased it, bizarre, entertaining conversation between the two still ensued. The main thing with that episode was that Lance became emotionally vulnerable as time went on, so actual tender...-ish moments came about where both of them were taken seriously but gently. Now imagine both of them - neither of them in vulnerable moments - being around the other constantly, both working together but still stepping on each other’s toes. Guardienne wants to make a meal; where’s this ingredient? What’s the ingredient compatibility? What do these things taste like? That’s not a food, that’s an alchemy ingredient? AND WHERE IS THE GODDAMN FRYING PAN!? (*cue Lance in the background clutching the pan and hissing at Guardienne*). Now Lance - who’s holed himself up in a private room - needs to plan his next attack on the guard; he needs this map of the layout, and this item to help him plan. He can use this pathway to- “Hey Lance?” ... Silence - if he pretends he’s not in there she’ll surely leave... Anyways, this pathway will probably be the safest, and his destination is there. Leiftan can- “Lance, I know you’re there, don’t ignore me!” ... Leiftan can- “Where’s the corn!?” Oh by the Oracle! But what the hell is corn? He’ll go to the door and crack it open only enough to give her an odd look. “Small, yellow, hard grain but smooth? About the size of a fingernail?” ... “Back right, lower pantry.” He’ll slam the door and hover over the map again. Ok, Leiftan... yes, that’s what he was going to do. Then he’ll have access to- “Oh - where’s the big pot?” *SLAM* Pain will shoot up his arm from his fist as the table shakes and he turns his head to seethe at the woman through the door. “You’ve lived here for weeks, you know where it is!” “Well you seem to have an obsession with hiding things, so actually I don’t because everything is always moved around!” He’ll rush to the door and fling it open to glare down at her. The door and it’s frame creak unsteadily at his tight grip as he looms over her. “Find. It. Yourself.” He’ll go to recede back into the room but she’ll grab his shirt and pull him into the room she’s in - he’ll snarl at her in response. “I’ve tried looking for it, it’s impossible to find.” She’ll hiss back at him with folded arms. “I’m busy planning.” He growls at her. “Well take a break then.” She snaps as they stare each other down... Silence again... “You make me want to kill myself.” “Don’t. You need to destroy the guard first.” He throws his hand back towards the door he was stolen from with a wild look in his scathing eyes; what did she think he was planning for in there!? “You gonna help me or what?” She speaks as if this is completely alright. He nearly shouts in rage as he slams his fist against the wall - pain shooting up his arm a second time - before pacing and clutching his head, eventually resigning to stomping towards the makeshift kitchen - not caring about whether she follows - and tearing through his stores to find the pot. He’ll throw it on the counter and cast a livid glare at her as he passes to head back to planning. “Well goodness, you didn’t need to throw a tantrum over it.” He whirls around and nearly leaps on her - she’s helping to destroy the crystal, she’s helping to destroy the crystal, she’s helping to destroy the crystal, WHY DOES A POT MATTER RIGHT NOW!?

So yes, they’re more likely to attempt to kill each other when on the same side; only because they’re alone and around each other more so they can chew on each other's nerves more.

However, as time carries on and they spend more time together, they actually begin to... enjoy each other's presence sometimes - not even sometimes; a good portion of the time. Sure they have moments where they argue and are a breath away from stabbing each other, but there are also moments where they aren’t treading on the other, by accident or purposeful. In these moments, they see a different side of each other - a good side of each other.

Guardienne quickly picks up on how passionate, resolute, and intelligent Lance is, noting that he’ll spend hours on end studying texts he’s found and maps of the areas the guard will be around next. He’ll carry these texts and maps around with him as he ghosts around their make-shift home, spending most of his days off curled up next to a small indoor fireplace and moving only for a few moments to take a quick break. Ironically, Guardienne leaves him alone to study more when he studies within her presence rather than when he locks himself alone in a separate area for hours, so in time Lance realizes he’s less likely to be interrupted if he studies in their living room/common area. As he begins to study more within her sight, Guardienne begins to see what he studies - and many of those things provide great insight for her regarding knowing Lance better. These things can range from different languages, histories and cultures, maps, geography, alchemy, mission reports (stolen from the guard of course) and even a few books touching on warfare, philosophy and psychology - what little of those latter texts exists in their world, at least. Guardienne begins to realize that, while Lance is very set on destroying the guard and the crystal, he’s also much more than just a man who wishes to exact revenge. He studies these texts to learn how to use it to his advantage, sure, but he also seems to have a genuine interest in these subjects. She even interrupted him one day - finding that he was oddly patient with answering this specific question - to ask if he perhaps ever grows bored of learning about these things, stressing that it’s a good idea to take a break from working constantly all the time - only for him to respond that he doesn’t view all of it as work. Some subjects he’s less interested in but are necessary to know for his agenda of revenge, but in the case where he’s feeling drained from that he’ll turn to reading another subject that he’s more interested in and go back to it later. She sometimes resigns to observing him as he studies - and she knows that Lance knows she watches him by the way his gaze will flick over to her every once and a while - but eventually she’ll begin to ask exactly what’s written in the books or what he’s thinking regarding the maps, asking to try to get to know his thought process better or just having nothing better to do at the moment. This is how Guardienne learns to grow closer to him; he doesn’t snap at her half as much when he explains what he’s studying, and he explains things in such a way that she doesn’t need to interrupt him to ask him to explain it better. In turn, she also begins to learn a bit about what he’s studying and can provide a bit of her own interesting input. Occasionally they debate these topics with one another, and Lance is actually very temperate when debating these things - he can speak in beautiful, grand tones about certain subjects, clearly showing just how much he’s interested in it. His eyes will glow with a warmth and passion that seems to dull even the indoor fire that burns with an eternal energy. These moments of enthusiasm actually entertain her greatly, and she begins to realize that she truly enjoys being around him in these moments. However, this also leads to minor conversations about his past, usually sparked from conversing about past experiences in these fields, and Guardienne witnesses firsthand the icing over of his personality from the reminder of his past. She’ll mention anything about his past; the village he lived in, his brother, his time in the guard, any memories he has, and the lively shimmer in his eyes will dull. His shoulders will drop and gaze will be cast to the floor as he bows his head slightly, a weight seeming to settle on him as he stares into a void for just a few mere moments. Then his facial features will harden, a stone cold look will invade his eyes and he’ll straighten again despite the clear effort it takes for him to stand tall. His formerly lively, sonorous tone will harden into cold, scathing words that are nearly spat out as he closes himself off, snapping and growling at her if she attempts to connect with him again. It’s from these continuous experiences that she recognizes something important; he's not truly as evil as he seems - he's wounded and aches for his reality to not be what it is now, and he seeks every day to ease that torturous pain, believing that that pain can only be eased by hurting others, by showing them just how much he’s hurt from his knowledge. Nobody is born evil, she realizes - he’s cruel only because he feels this is the only way he can deal with the pain of reality.

In turn, she tries her best to be understanding and comforting when she can. She understands, in some ways, his pain of knowing about the guard and sacrifice - she’s against the guard as well for her own reasons not too different than his - and seeing just how much Lance has broken because of the guard - just like her - only makes her want to burn it to the ground more. Lance notices this in time; where she once always pushed him to tell her more about his past and identity and reasoning, she’s now willing to drop the subject for a while or ask in a manner that’s more... considerate or empathetic. She begins to overlook his snapping and huffing at her, and instead focuses more on what he says and his reaction to those words instead of his irritation at her persistence. As Guardienne comes to understand Lance more, she realizes that he actually enjoys her company as well, even if he won’t admit it. He’ll jump at the chance to explain and debate his studies with her, and when she backs off of a sensitive topic she accidentally tread on for a while, he’ll be more temperate if she returns in a few hours and touches at the topic again, provided she approaches it in a neutral, tactful way. After all, the topic she wishes to speak about is a reminder of or is the exact reason he went from honorable and righteous to cruel and destructive - in his perception, if she doesn’t know how to approach it in a cautious, gentle manner then she doesn’t deserve to know exactly what happened and why it bothers him so much. However, she does learn this in in time, and he eventually allows her to listen to his most personal thoughts on... well, nearly everything. As they grow to understand each other better, she begins to provide a bit of support for him. He’s been alone for so long that sometimes he wonders if he’s truly losing his mind, but her presence reminds him that he’s not as lost as he thinks sometimes. Guardienne becomes a grounding force for him. She willingly - happily - listens to his rants and stories of his past if he agrees to talk about it, even if he’s fuming and raging the whole time, and eventually she can actually calm him down a bit. As much as he wishes to maintain a distance between them, in time he can’t help but grow a bit protective over her for personal reasons; her perspectives agree with his, she readily and willingly - even humorously, sometimes - puts up with his temperamental outbursts, eagerly speaks with him about basically anything, and wants to do something about what she feels is right or wrong. He refuses to fully acknowledge the hold she has on him - he’s not supposed to be attached to anyone in any way if his mission is to succeed- but when he stares at her as she nestles next to a stream, eyes bright and curious with innocence as she watches shimmering native fish glide by and turns to him to ask why they’re swimming up-stream instead of down, he can’t help but forget his past and feel normal with her.

She’ll eventually be made aware of Leiftan and Chrome as well. Not at first, but when Lance drags her half-way across Eldarya with him because he needs to fuck with the guard in foreign lands she’ll be dragged into their late-night-hang-out-meetings.

Leiftan quickly takes to her, Lance notices, and this is also how - in this version of the story - Guardienne finds out about her genetics. They need her strength in the war, so Leiftan will enlighten her and encourage her to train her abilities, even helping her in the few moments he can.

Lance quickly snaps at him, making sure he knows he can’t jeopardize his fake role within the guard to train her late in the night. He comes up with all sorts of excuses and aggressively reminds Leif that he can’t spend too much time around her. She’s supposed to not exist anymore and Leiftan needs to pretend like nothing is going on.

Really, though, Lance is just feeling threatened. He doesn’t want his personal source of information, good food, and entertainment to be wooed and stolen away. Good luck getting him to admit that, though.

Lance believes she’s safest with him; he’s the one outside the guard and his location and activities are unknown most of the time. All he needs to do is keep her veiled in that shroud of mysterious unknown to the guard and she’ll be impossible to find. Of course, she won’t want to just sit around forever. She’ll eventually want to be more proactive in helping him destroy the guard, and he’ll argue it at first until she becomes just so annoying that he can’t possibly stand it anymore! It’s either she helps or he kills her because she won’t shut up, so he trains her; hard and brutally. He’ll train her in how to master her demon abilities, how to gain the upper hand in any fight with any enemy, the most lethal points of different creatures, the most lethal tactics she could use, how to improve her strength, stamina, speed and stealth. He was once Chief of the Obsidian Guard; he knows how to turn a weak, scraggly runt into a masterful, fearsome warrior. When he finally sees fit, he’ll gift her with personalized equipment - bought or made specifically by him - so she can slink around the guard late at night with him. Of course, he’ll demand that she call him Ashkore on premises - or anywhere except home, really - but she’ll follow his lead in that case; she knows how important it is to remain unknown.

So how exactly do these restock or attack missions go? Well, she’s usually brought along for restock missions - where no one is supposed to know they were there in the first place - in which case her role is to stay quiet and help him throw stuff into the bag. She’ll typically be left to carrying the bags unless there’s one that’s too heavy for her to remain quiet - he’ll take the heavier bags. Lance will usually be busy designing their path out and planning their timing correctly while she focuses on following him. He doesn’t really take her on attack missions, though. He wants her to remain unknown. If a feminine figure is suddenly working with him not too long after Guardienne’s disappearance, especially since it was clear there was a rift between her and the guard, then suspicions will rise, and unfortunately those questions could then begin trace further back to reflect on Lance’s death and Ashkore’s appearance due to the similar time-frame of events. Basically, their stories and disappearance/death to villain appearance time-frame would begin to mirror each other. If she was to remain unknown then she can’t directly fight the guard, so no attack missions for her. However, Lance isn’t against turning a restock mission into a restock-attack mission if he sees the chance - he’ll just make sure she’s basically safe the rest of the way back home before enacting on it, even going as far as retracing his steps back to the guard to cause trouble.

In the original plot-line, it seems that most of the time when Lance, Leiftan and Guardienne are fighting each other it’s due mainly to the fact that Leiftan abandons the plans against the guard because he's in love with Guardienne, Lance wants Leiftan to continue against the guard, and then he realizes he needs Guardienne out of the picture so Leiftan forgets about her and so he can gain some other information he needs/use her as leverage against the guard. Since in this AU, she's happily on their side (so Leiftan isn't abandoning his plans against the guard and Lance has all access to her power/information) I can see a bit less of a rift among their team as their plans harmonize together. Instead of Leiftan and Lance fighting, Lance kidnapping Guardienne, Lance becoming reckless by putting off breaking the crystal, and many other things happening caused by the rift between them, they’d most likely collaborate and work together better, and they’d be more coordinated in attacks and better at getting to the crystal. Of course, it’s possible that Leiftan may have wanted Eldarya to be saved at some point so he could spend his life with Guardienne, but seeing how Leiftan would do nearly anything for her throughout the original plot-line, I wouldn’t be surprised if he continued his efforts against the guard knowing that she’d want him to in this AU. It would also help knowing that the guard hurt her many times in many ways, so he’d be seeking revenge for that as well.

Dragging Guardienne around Eldarya with Lance, however, has risks and consequences that could come down on top of them if not careful. One such issue is the fact that, while Lance is very good at evading the guard, occasionally he’s caught and is sent on a wild-goose chase trying to flee from them. This occasionally can put Guardienne at risk of being found out, as she’s nearly always close to him, but Lance has considered this possibility a long time ago and has already devised a plan during these times to avoid from any heavy repercussions falling back on them. He’s just fine with fleeing with her - he knows how to keep her out of sight and her equipment is lightweight enough so that she has no trouble moving swiftly and flexibly if needed - but he’s realized that it may not be the smartest idea to have her fleeing with him while clearly seeming to be working with him. Instead, Lance realized, it would be a good idea for her to act as though she’s a hostage if she’s about to be revealed. That way, if she’s captured at any point in the future, she can play the innocent victim who knows nothing, and the guard - while persistent in finding out anything she may know, no matter how little the information may be- certainly won’t hurt their precious Guardienne who has already been through so much while in the clutches of the evil Ashkore. If she’s seen as a hostage, she can use excuses like “I’m sorry, it just so hard to talk about so soon... can we continue this later”, “I honestly don’t remember much, I was so busy focusing on a possible way of escaping that I didn’t pay much attention to that detail”, and “He kept me locked away in a certain area, I don’t know if there were any landmarks around that could point to his location” to deter their questioning and buy time before she needs to reveal anything actually important, else she look like she’s protecting him. Acting as a hostage will also assure that she won’t be thrown in the prison and guarded the whole time; so being free to roam around the guard while buying time to keep important information a secret will allow Lance the time to plan a rescue mission - disguised as another easy kidnapping since she won’t be guarded - to return her to their side. This is merely a backup plan if they know she’ll likely be captured at some point, and it will only work if the guard is unaware of a female figure helping him out, but provided that everything goes smoothly it should be a solid plan with little negative effects. However, this can’t happen more than once or twice; the first time will be easily accepted by the guard, the second time she plays the innocent, panicking fool she’ll be walking the line between seeming suspicious or if she’s truly that foolish, and for her sake the second time she will need to reveal some important information. A third time and the guard would know that something is up.

These hostage situations can get quite amusing for Guardienne - despite how fragile the situation is - and, frankly, Lance would snap at her every time she snickers about this, except he finds these situations absolutely hilarious as well. They’ll be running around Eldarya, the guard occasionally cornering them before they flee, and Guardienne will do her best to attack Lance in ways that are weak enough to not actually effect anything, but are strong enough to make it look like she’s truly trying to escape. Is the guard within ear-shot and they know they’ll be found out eventually? Great, Lance has an escape plan to get out of there already, so Guardienne can throw a screeching hissy-fit at him to make it seem like she’s trying to escape. Sometimes this can aid them as well, as they can set up a maze that the guard will certainly come running through to find Guardienne, following the sound of her struggle, only to then be trapped somewhere because Lance has traps set up that Guardienne certainly couldn’t have known about since she’s a hostage. Other times she’ll do her best to attack Lance - but let’s face it, even if he did train her she would still have a hard time bringing him down if their fight was serious - and he’ll quickly disarm her in front of the guard before finding a way to gain distance from them again. This is all just to reconfirm the illusion that she’s a hostage to the guard, and of course they panic every time and believe it, but it’s knowing that they’re running circles around the guard - bringing them here and having her bait them to this location so Lance can attack them, or leading them to discover a certain fact at some point so they think they have a useful piece of information on Lance when in fact Lance is using that to draw them out in confidence so he can crush them - that they find truly amusing. The guard is being played this whole time and they keep falling for it. Even Lance can’t help but laugh at a few moments of running the guard around with Guardienne later, when they’re no longer in danger.

Of course, this all leads up to the grand finale; the final shattering of the crystal. I imagine this happening much sooner than in the original plot-line because Guardienne isn’t a hindering factor anymore, and I can see it happening with much more ease than how it originally played out. Perhaps they’ll lure the important members of the guard to another land - letting them think that they’ve caught Guardienne’s trail over there - and launch their final attack when no one who can stop them is around. They might decide to fuck with the guard one last time, running them around within the guard while Lance infiltrates the crystal room. Perhaps they decide to go out with a bang and capture the important members of the guard, binding them and closing off the crystal room so they can reveal their identities and the guard can watch as the people that were once held dear to them destroy their world while they’re helpless to do anything. It doesn’t matter much how it happens, though, at this point - with an angered dragon and two powerful demons - there’s nothing that the guard can do to stop them. In some ways it will hurt, knowing that this is the end of their beautiful story of revenge, but - no matter what happens after this - they’ll know they succeeded, and that will be the last truth Eldarya will ever know.

I think this may be one of the longer headcanons that I’ve written so far, and I’m very pleased with how it turned out! Also, Tumblr ate this ask while it was a draft once or twice (it was in the 3-draft radius of asks that were at risk of being eaten so it disappeared a few times) so it did take a bit longer to write than I’d hoped, but fortunately no progress had been deleted so I’m just fine with that.

Thank you for asking!

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#eldarya #eldarya origins #eldarya lance #eldarya lance origins #eldarya lance headcanons #fenristheorem writing #askfenris

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cannibal-witchh · 3 years

Text

"I'm No Hero, Lady"

Reader(fem) x Carlos Oliveira

Written by cannibal_witchh

Contains: Violence, gore, vulgar language, some fluff

Notes: I previously wrote a fluff fanfic about Carlos snuggling the reader in bed during a storm. The reader had a nightmare about the past which was the incident in Racoon City. This is the scenario that occurred when the reader is saved by Carlos before the end up together.

The previous story:

The city was cast in flames, the fire resembled an angry ocean of embers, quickly devouring collapsing buildings and destroyed vehicles. The decaying humans once recognizable, slowly met the fate of existing as the undead, as putrefing skin consumed them. There were several minutes of sickening screams, gnashing of teeth, buildings crumbling, and the blazing of an angry sea of heat. And the following after that was stilled silence, painful, vacant, lifeless, and numbing. The air almost seemed heavy, ears desperate and clawing for a sound to be stirred.

Several hours had past since a violent rage of a deadly pandemic disturbed Racoon City. You had been locked away in your supervisor's office at the museum, alone and terrified. You possessed no expierence in defense, you were simply a staff member of the local museum. It wasn't until an unfamiliar face offered you help, it was an incredibly risky gamble to take, but it was either be supposedly 'saved' or stay under a desk in a poorly protected office for however long.

"Y/N, I'm gonna need you to stay close to me, there's too many of those freaks roaming around, and from the little knowledge disclosed they are very contagious. A bite, maybe a scratch, will cause a nasty infection.", Carlos informed as you nervously followed closely behind. He was leading you through the south wing of the museum where the dinosaur fossils were displayed. It was eerie, the entire large room completely in darkness, and Carlos' gun light being the only illumination you both had. " Relax, I took all these fuckers out already. You're safe, lady. " he looked over his shoulder at you and gave a warm grin. It was hard to find complete emotional relief but he certainly was charming. His shaggy dark hair brushing on his forehead and above his brown eyes, his olive muscular figure, and his scruffy beard. He definitely was handsome and unusually young to be working in this field. " How many of them were there?", you whispered, darting your eyes all around the room, examining for any movement or noise.

" Maybe twenty, there wasn't too many."

" What about how many survivors you and your team found?"

" Sadly, just fifteen. Either civilians refused help and barricaded themselves in. Or they were found too late and turned into one of those monsters."

" That's awful.", you felt the sting of reality flood through your body. Just fifteen. You continued pacing attentively behind him as he held his rifle close against his chest. "Walk carefully over here, this is where I had to clear a group of them out.", he muttered as you both managed to enter the corridor leaving the fossil room. There were adleast ten dead bodies scattered along the ground. Gore staining the white tiles, the stench of expiration filling the narrow hall, and decoral tarnished and destroyed everywhere. Discomposure deluged your body, you froze, standing idle, and quivering. It was an electric feeling of absolute fear that paralyzed you. You would have to maneuver around carcuses that could still possibly be alive, and you were not in proper attire to protect yourself at all from their attacks. You dressed in a tight grey houndstooth pencil skirt, and a silk mint collared blouse. Definitely not fit for an apocalypse. Carlos turned facing you, realizing you had stopped following him. His expression was serious for a few seconds, and a few times he would glance behind him confirming nothing was there. " C'mon, Y/N, we don't have much time." He beckoned

" I can't, I'm afraid."

"I cleared all this hallway, I promise. I won't let them hurt you.'

"I'm sorry Carlos. I'm too afraid...", you admitted with humiliation.

" Lady, ugh...don't hit me ok?", he playfully smiled and swung his rifle around his back. He plodded over to you and quietly scooped you up against his chest. He let out a awkward giggle and started to regain his balance with your weight. For someone who just witnessed this horrible pandemic, killed the undead, and did this independently he sure was calm. It was comforting, though. "Sorry, but I'm not leaving you behind nor am I wasting time.", he glanced over at you, making brief eye contact. His eyes were soft, it didn't display the slightest fear, and his hair swayed side to side above his gentle eyes. For someone roaming around in rubble, blood, and sweat, his aroma smelled wonderful. He smelled of spices and his own sweat. It was strange but he didn't smell too bad. Carlos coggled back ahead, carefully stepping over corpses, and just as he promised, they really were all dead. Occasionally, he would bounce you up to gain more security when holding you. You draped your arms tightly around his neck to stay supported. His breathing was slow and quiet against your face as he carried you closer and closer to the exit. " Do me a favor, please. Please watch my back.", he requested finally making it to the exit. The exit sign flickered red, static occasionally sparking from the sign, and shimmering down onto the ground. You looked over Carlos' shoulder and with your relief, nothing was there. No rustles and no movements. Carlos was struggling to open the door, he continued to press against the bar of the wide door a few times until he finally gave up. " Fuck!", he quietly shouted as he stepped back from the door. He took a few more steps back until he had a little space between the door and him. He lifted his foot up and kicked out the door. The door rattled loudly and swung wide open. " Thank God,", he sighed in relief as he transported you outside the museum.

"OK, ok, you can let me go. Sorry, for the trouble. ", you bashfully removed your arms from over his neck, and he slowly lowered you to your feet. "Didn't like being held, huh? I'm just kidding, let's keep going.", he teased as he began walking down the alongated museum alleyway. The two of you had finally made it out of the museum, and the alleyways seemed relatively tame. There wasn't too many corpses lurking down it. And the ones that did approach the two of you, Carlos would resolve with a knife to their skull and quickly they would collapse. He tried not to resolve issues with his gun unless it was when it was absolutely out of control. A few minutes of carefully walking down the backstreet, there was an abrupt crash of shattering glass behind you. It startled you and you immediately drew your eyes to the direction of the loud sound. " C-Carlos...", you stuttered backing away in terror. The virus effected animals too. A large dog had launched itself out of the window, snarling and foaming blood from between its teeth. He stood in an agressively pose, not removing its eyes on Carlos or you. " Try staying quiet, Y/N. We don't need to attract more attention."

"P-p....please shoot it..", your eyes watered on the verge of a break down.

The dog darted forward directly at you, something yanked at your wrist pulling you backwards. Carlos had grabbed you leading you both into a full on sprint. " I don't want to fire off in such a small space. I'm not sure if other freaks are around and they'll go towards the sound. We have to be careful." He quickly clarified, dragging you by the wrist to the very end of the alley. The dog continued racing towards the two of you, snarling and barking loudly. "Carlos!!!", the dog jumped forward at you, nearly biting your arm but a bullet dove forward directly into its skull. The dog flew backwards in a pained whimper. " Shit!", Carlos cursed in frustration, he moved his head around examining all directions. " Fuck, fuck, fuck...we gotta go!", he gripped your wrist and began to guide the both of you back towards the middle of the alley. The dead had be drawn to all the barking and the gun shot. Unfortunately, a group was forming on both ends of the alleyway, and blocking any escape. " Y/N, look! ", a broken fire escape ladder hung in the middle of the alley, it was the absolute only opportunity to escape. Carlos squated down, holding his hands together to give you a boost up to it. " Go, go, go, ", he chanted trying to sound as hopeful as he could. You hoped up and grabbed the ladder, with as much strength as you could gather, you began to pull yourself up. The swarm of creatures got closer and closer and you feared for Carlos' safety. Come on climb already! He jumped as high as he could, latching on to the ladder, and pulling himself quickly up. He let out multiple gasps of air in exhaustion and then gestured with his head to continue climbing all the way up. "Let's get all the way up, away from these fuck faces!", you both felt rattling from the fire escape with each step and climb you both took. You felt unsecure having your weight, Carlos', and his equipment. Within a few minutes of climbing up very high, you both managed to get to the roof of the building. Carlos immediately dropped his gun to the ground and laid on his back. For minutes, he laid there breathing heavily as if he ran a marathon. You walked a few feet away from him, dropping to the ground, and covering your face in your palms. So many emotions churned inside your mind, you were exhausted, terrified, confused, and livid. What was going on? Tears began collecting in your eyes, you failed to suppress the tense emotions clenching your chest, your body quivering in shock, and you began to fall apart in your own hands.

"What's wrong, Y/N? Are you hurt?", a large hand squeezed your shoulder.

" No..., I just, I dont know if I can take all this.", you sniffed continuing to conceal your face away from Carlos'. You felt his large arms wrap around you, pulling you close against him, and he rested his head against your's. " I get it. I'm scared shitless too. But you know what, we aren't doing so bad. We've survived this long."

" I only survived because you decided to be a hero and save me! I would've died on my own. I'm useless!", you cried, feeling tears escape between your finger tips. "Woah, no, you aren't useless. Its not like every other day a random pandemic hits and you get used to this stuff. I've never dealt with this shit before in my life. This is new. Everyone is just trying to survive, you made it on your own for hours with no help. Don't be so hard on yourself." Carlos brushed his large hands against your arms trying his best to calm you. He wasn't exactly great with words but you could tell he tried to make effort. You lowered your hands, revealing your tired red eyes, your face sticky and hot from crying. You felt embarrassed but it was just so difficult to keep it together. " We are almost out of here, chin up.", he grinned, squeezing you against him warmly. " T-Thank you, I'm so sorry you're putting up with my shit.", you glanced from the corner of your eyes at him, too embarrassed to completely turn over to show your reddened face. " Stop. Look at me.", you obeyed his request, although it was hard, you turned to face him. " This is what I'm here for. I want to help and I am happy to help you. Its a plus that you're a cute lady running around in a pencil skirt too. " He teased patting the top of your head, ruffling your hair and giving a light hearted giggle.

Unexpectedly, Carlos' walkie talkie beeped and static flooded through for a brief moment. " Carlos, where are you? Are you alive?"

"Tyrell, I'm alive, surprisingly. I'm up on a roof across Racoon City's museum with one survivor."

"Good! I hadn't heard from you for hours wanted to make sure you weren't having too much fun. So you only found one survivor?"

"Just one. I looked in several areas in the B territory but either the survivors were barricading themselves and uncooperative or turning."

" Shit, well, the boss man says we have to make this our last run. Things are getting bad and we are borderline at max capacity. Hurry up! I will stall."

There was a beep following static and it then it ended. " Looks, like we have to go. I have to take you to the exit we made. There will be a bus and they will take you far from this city to safety."

"What about you? You make it sound like you're not coming?"

"My commands remain. I have to stay."

You felt your cheeks buzz with heat, he was directed to remain?

****

Carlos and you had waited on the roof top for adleast half an hour. He had given Tyrell an update before the two of you finally climbed down the ladder. Luckily, all the zombies had migrated else where. The two of you quietly hurried, it took nearly another fourty minutes before you finally saw a buses gathered by an exit. It was filled with a civilians, and surrounded by military workers. You felt relief hit you, as you saw other evidence of survivors and humanity. You looked over at Carlos, he turned to face you completely, and he placed a hand on your shoulder. "It was a pleasure helping you.", he smiled, squeezing your shoulder as he walked you to the bus. A doctor on his team examined you for any signs of infections before you boarded, thankfully, you were ok. Thanks to Carlos. You entered the bus and turned around to properly depart from Racoon City, and to depart from your hero. " Thank you, Carlos. You really are a hero.", you smiled displaying truely appreciation. Carlos chuckled for a second and shook his head. " I'm no hero, lady. Hopefully, I see you around. Hopefully, still running around in a cute pencil skirt! ", he winked playfully, as blush scattered across his face and your's. Was he flirting with you? "Just try finding me at museum then. Well, thank you, Carlos. Really. Thank you.", you leaned forward and pecked his cheek.

"Until then."

The bus door closed, and you moved to your seat. You watched as the bus began to leave, your eyes fixed on Carlos, as your view grew smaller and smaller of the city and him. You hoped maybe one day you would see him again. You hoped your hero would survive this. You believed he would.

#resident evil #re3 #re3 remake #resident evil 3 #resident evil 3 remake #carlos x reader #carlos oliveira x reader #carlos oliveira imagine #carlos oliveira fanfic #carlos oliveira #fanfic #resident evil fanfic

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undercoveravenger · 3 years

Text

The Scales of Justice

Creature Week 2020: Day Five

Pairing: Cato x Dragon Shapeshifter!Male!Reader

Request: “Hi so I just saw your ‘creature week announcement’ and was wondering if I could ask for a hunger games one again lol. A Cato x male reader, but the reader is a shape shifter(turns into a dragon). Could it be a fantasy AU? One where Cato is hired to hunt down the male reader but Cato ends up falling for reader because he sees that the reader isn’t a bad person/creature? I’m sorry if this doesn’t make sense.”

A/N: God, I love dragons.

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There were few honors that meant as much as being personally selected for a mission by the Gamemakers, the ruling class of the Capitol. It meant you were talented, skilled, trusted with knowledge about the goings-on of the court, even if only the pertinent details were shared with you. It meant that you could expect honor and wealth upon your return.

Cato supposed that that was why he hadn’t been surprised when the messenger came to find him. He’d been one of the kingdom’s most valued knights since he’d been old enough to join the academy. He had known that it was only a matter of time until he was given a high-stakes mission of his own, but this? To be the one chosen to slay a dragon? Cato couldn’t be prouder of himself.

He was still glowing with pride as he scaled the mountain that the beast had made its home on, though there was a slight tremor in his hands as he approached the wide entrance to the cave the dragon was dwelling in, wide and dark like a gaping mouth ready to swallow him whole. He took a deep breath as he came to a stop on the narrow ledge outside the dragon’s den, steeling his resolve before drawing his sword from its scabbard and making his way into the cave.

It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the relative darkness of the cave, but he was stunned by the sheer size of the cavern around him. He turned in a slow circle as he took in the towering ceiling and curved walls, easily the size of the grand ballroom at the castle, with every surface carved so smooth that he could almost see his reflection in the gleaming onyx stone. He gaped as he realized that the smoothness of the rock must have been caused by the dragon’s scales and wings dragging over them as it made its way further back into the cavern each day.

His brows furrowed as he realized something even more peculiar about the dragon’s den: there was no dragon to be found.

Cato slowly wandered deeper into the cave, remaining on alert even as he reached the back of the huge room and found that it did not end there. Instead, a sharp turn behind an outcropping of rock revealed a much smaller antechamber that had been dug meticulously out of the inside of the mountain. The smaller room was filled with piles and piles of gold and jewels that towered over him, though unlike the larger chamber, the walls and ceiling of this room were rough, as though the dragon was not in here often enough for its scales and spines to wear away at the rock. The blond was amazed at the sight of the beast’s hoard, though he was still confused; everything he had ever heard about dragons had taught him that they were notoriously protective of their hoards, so the very fact that it had put its hoard in a room it couldn’t even fit in was odd.

Cato whirled around as gold coins came cascading down a pile on his left, brandishing his sword high in anticipation of the great beast itself. He hesitated at the sight of a (h/c)-haired male that looked about his age picking his way slowly down the heap of treasure, clad only in a worn pair of breeches. Cato found his eyes tracing the stranger’s features longingly, fingers itching to reach out and cup his face in his hands and lips aching to tell him that he’d make sure that nothing could do him harm again, for surely he must have been some stolen prince for as handsome as he was.

The (h/c) froze at the sight of him, visibly tensing like he was going to try to run away. Cato could see his eyes darting from the knight toward the entrance into the larger cavern.

“Hey, it’s alright,” Cato called up to him, a soft smile twisting his lips upward as the (h/c) looked back toward him. “I didn’t come to hurt you.” He sheathed his sword and held up his hands to show he meant no harm, unsure as to whether the presumed captive could understand him at all. “My name is Cato, and I can protect you from the monster.”

The (h/c)’s eyes narrowed suddenly, flashing dangerously in the low light as he turned away, carefully making his way down the pile of gold until his bare feet met the cold stone of the cave floor. “I doubt that very much,” he huffed, shoulders tense as he strode further into the antechamber.

“Excuse you?” Cato asked, a little offended. “I’m a knight of the Capitol! I’m sure I could handle myself against an overgrown lizard!” he protested as he followed after the stranger.

The stranger snorted in amusement, though he didn’t turn to look at Cato as he ducked into yet another small chamber, this one with a small fire smoldering in a pit dug into the floor. Sunlight streamed in through a small hole that had been carved into one of the top edges of the room to let smoke out. “I’m sure you could.”

The knight was beginning to think that his imprisonment had driven the stranger mad. “Then why did you say-”

Cato was cut off by the (h/c) turning sharply to look at him. “I did not say that you could not hold your own against a dragon. I meant that I doubted you were not here to hurt me.”

The blond’s eyebrows furrowed as he stared in confusion at him, “Why would I hurt you? You were put at risk from the dragon the same way my kingdom has been, if not worse. You can come with me back to the Capitol, and then, when you’re feeling up to it, we can return you to your own kingdom.”

The (h/c) rolled his eyes, turning away again and heading for the fire. He dropped down to sit before it and dragged a piece of roasting meat from a skewer that Cato had not initially noticed. “I have never been at risk from the dragon that lives here and neither has your city. The only humans he injures or kills are those that would take his life if he did not defend himself.”

“How do you know that? Dragons are vicious! They’d sooner turn a city into an inferno than live in peace!” Cato snapped, now fully convinced that there was no saving whoever this guy was, no matter how attractive he may be.

The (h/c) raised an eyebrow challengingly, “Then why haven’t I done it yet?”

Cato’s mind went blank as he stared down at him. “Why haven’t- what?”

The (h/c) set aside his food and pushed back to his feet, turning his back to Cato and revealing an intricately detailed pair of batlike wings tattooed down the length of his back. As Cato watched, the ink seemed to dance and shift against his skin, the lines and shapes lifting and spreading as it became three dimensional. As the formerly tattooed wings came to life color faded into them, turning black and white shading into gleaming scales the colors of rubies. Each wing extended above the (h/c)’s shoulders by nearly half his height and flared wide on either side of him.

The (h/c) turned to look at Cato, formerly (e/c) eyes glowing golden with the power emanating from him. “I’m the dragon that lives in this cave. If I were going to destroy your town or the people that live there, I would have done it.”

Cato’s azure eyes were wide as he eyed the dragon, “You- You’re the- But why…?”

“Has it occurred to you that maybe I just want to live?” The shape-shifter’s wings pulled tight against his back, storming back into the treasure chamber. He snatched up a small pouch from one of the heaps and scooped a few handfuls of gold coins into it. “Here,” he held it out to Cato, “Take this and disappear. It should be more than enough to buy you transport and a new start somewhere far away. It’s the same deal I made every other knight that your Capitol sent to kill me.”

The blond’s brows furrowed, a little disappointed in his fellow knights. “That worked on all of them?”

“Not all of them.” Cato was confused for a moment until he understood the remorseful look on the (h/c)’s face. “But I did what I had to.”

Cato hesitated, torn between what his duty demanded of him and what his heart told him. Eventually he found the strength, “You didn’t have a choice.”

“No,” the shape-shifter said softly, eyes fading back to their original color. “But you do.” He held out the bag of gold, “You can take this and leave, or you can draw your weapon and try to do what those before you could not.”

The knight’s eyes flickered between the offering and the hilt of his sword as he considered his choice. He slowly pulled his sword from his scabbard, examining his reflection in the gleaming blade for a long moment before throwing it aside. “What if I want another option?”

“And what would that be?” The (h/c) replied, raising an eyebrow.

Cato bit his lip, lowering his eyes nervously. “I want to understand you better.”

The dragon-shifter’s face remained blank for a long moment, but relief washed over Cato when a pleased grin found its way to the (h/c)’s lips. “That can be arranged.”

154 notes · View notes